The avant courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1871-1872, 1871-10-26
Abide ON an ATalanche.

y s4s#Y = SAeAsAC OAa se1A AAa1&tMGA&Cs
We had reached the point at which ii VA wa
necessary % quit our mornings track, an,
5 Immediately afterwards got upon some stee]
y J rocks. rendered slippery here and there b,
!, ! the water which trick led over them. TO on
right was 4 broad eouloar filed with snow
which had been melted and re-frozen, 80 Il
to expose = steeply sloping wall Of ice. ",
! were tied together III the following e4tler.
Jenai led I came next then Mr.. HnteksHsosn-
4 practised mountaineer- Mr. Warner
and, last. Of all, the guide, Walter, Lee war
ner had had but little experience Of th,
higher Alps, and be was placed in front b
. Walter, 50 that any false. sep on his par
4 might be Instantly checked. After descend
i ing the rocks for u time Jenni turned ant
4 4 asked me whether thought them Of tho ics
slope the better track. T pronounced with
cut hesitation III faysr DC the rocks, but hi
seemed q niisun nderssand me-, md turned 10.
wards the eots1oir. j stopped him III the edge
Iof IT, and said: Jenpi, DO you know where
you are going The sIopeis pure ice II he
replied, s know Il but the ice is quite bare
for few yards only. Aeross this exposed
Iportion will errt steps, and then the snow
| which covers the ice will give MS d footing&''
He cut the steps, reached the snow, and de-
seelded carefully along il, all following him,
apparently, in good order. After some time
| he stopped, turned, and looked upwards at
| the last three. men. !. Keep cavefally i'll the
steps. gentlemen he said, "a false step
might. defaeh an avalanche = The word was
scarcely uttered, when heard the sound OF a
fall behind me, then a rush, and in moment
my two friends. and their guide, all apparent
II entanglad together, Wlirred past me. +
suddenly planted myself to resist theirshock,
but ia an instant I was in their wake, for their
impetus was irresistible. A moment after
wards Jenni was whirled away, and thus, in
the twinkling Of al eye, all five of us found
ourselves riding downwasds with uncontroll-
able speed on the back OF an avalanche which
4 single slip had originated. Previous to
stepping on the slope | bad, according to
habit, made clear 70 my mind what was to
be done in case of nlishap and accordingly,
when overthrown, turned promptly on my
face and drove my baton through the NOV
ing snow and into the ice underneath No
time, however. was allowed for the breaks,
action, for had held it firmly thus for q few.
seconds only, when came into collision with
some obstacle and was rudely tossed til rough
the air. Jenni at the same time being shot
down upon me. Both of us here lost our
batons. We had been carried over Gre
vase, had hit its lower edge. and, instead Of
dropping into it, had been pitched by our.
great velocity far beyond II. ( was quite be-
yildered for q moment, but immediately
sighted myself and could see the men III |
'front.' of me half buried id the snow and iolted
rom side to side BY the ruts among. which
We ware passing. Suddenly saw them tum
Die by 1urch of the avalanche, and inmedi- |
ateIy afterwards found myself initiating their
notion. sYhis was caused BY 4 second ere
,lunged, he toldme into TIA brave act, but
or the time unavailing. BY jumping into
he chasm he thought strain might be put
lpon the rope sufficient to check the motion.
But, though over thirteen stone In weight, he
vas violently jerked out Of the fissure, and
he rope. A long slope was below us, which
ed directly downwards to brow where The
,lacier fell preeipitously. At the base Of tlle
ecliyity the ice was cut BY a series OF pro-
ound chasms, towards which we were rap
idly borne. The three foremost men rode E.
pon the sforehead Of tlie avalanche, and were
t times wholly immersed iii the snow, but
be moving layer was thinner behind and
enni rose necessarily and with desperate en-
rgy drove his feet info the fir1ner substance .
nderneath. His voice, shouting Halt. !,
[err Jesus, halt ~ was tile only one \,
card during the descent AZ kind Of con-1
ensed memory, such as that described by !.
eople who have narrowly escaped droWn-
lg, took possession Of me, and my reason ].
il remained intact. thought OF sBennen ]
n the Haut de Cry, and muttered, = It ii
oW my turn.'' Then coolly scanned the !.
len in front OF me, aud reflected that if ) !.
,eir vis eiea was the only thing to be neu- !.
allied, Jenni and myself could stop them
It TO arrest both them and the mass Of snow
which they were caught was hopeless. I :
kperienced iio intolerable dread. lii fact, :
le start was too sudden, and the excitement
the race too great, to permit Of the devel-
oment Of terror. Locking III advance, 1 no
ced that the slope, for 4 short distance, be-
llae less steep, and then fell as before. !,
Now or never we must be brought to rest. .',1
The speed visibly slackeAed. and thought i
e were sareds But the momentum had
,en too great; the avalanche crossed tfIe
'oW, and III part fregained its motion. Here J.
threw his arm round his friend, s
hope being extinguished, while gfasped
: belt and struggled to tree myself. Find J.
g this difficult. rom the tossing. sallenly =
sumed the strain upon the rope. Destiny s
ID 50 related the downward impetus to q
nni's pull as 70 give tile latter slight all 6,
ntage, and the whole que stion was whether e
g opposing force would have sufficient time s
act. This was also arranged III our tavor, 8
we came to rest 50 near the brow that two e e
three seconds Of our average motion Of s 8
scent must have carried us over. Had fhis Z Z
CURED, we should have fallen into the 81
asms and been covered up l,y the fl u the j. =
alanehe. Hutchinson emerged from the y
,w with lis forehead bleeding, bu1 the 8
und was superficial Ienni had Bit of s,
Ii removed from his hand BY collision I. C
b stone the pressure of tie rope had -, =,