Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1872-07-10
Miscellany.
Mountain climbing.

caileo an lnsiguihcant planet. and 50 II
may be if We consider il relatively to the
whole universe. but when we remember
that thousands Of years have not sufiiced
for man to exhaust its wonders, we can no
longer call it insignificant. lodeed, so
far from having reached the limit of in
vesiigation il seems as boundless as ever
and though hundreds of generations of
scientists should yet assail nature to wrest
from her her secrets, she promises still to
be able to withhold more than she surren-
ders.
For few years past an especial inter-
est has been aroused in regard to the stu
dy and examination Of mountains. Al
though the mere love Of adventure has
urged some TO scale the most inaccessible
Of the mountains, others have dune so to
gain some light on the problems which
perplex the lovers Of natural science.
The cause Of the formation of mountains,
their geological structure, glaciers, atmos-
pheric changes, and clouds are subjects
which have tempted men to brave every
peril on those heights. 1t makes one pos.
itively dlyzy TO read the stories of those
brave men although they are told with
the modesty Of ftrue greatness.
Between the years 1860 aud 1865, two
gentlemen, Prof Tyndall and Mr.. Ed
ward Whymper, We'd with each other iu
the attempt to reach the summit of the
Matterhorn. supposed to be one of the
most inaccessible as well as most grand
Of the Alpine peaks. Their "scrambles'
and excursions in pursuance of this OBJ.
ject are described in two very interesting
books. As they have been brief 10 theil
accounts, passing over whole descent'
aud ascents in a single line," it is impos
sible to give in limited newspaper arti
Gle any just conception Of their "ups and
downs" But few incidents may be Sc
lectcd not as remarkable above otherl
but as Indicative Of all. a.
The Mattcrhorn is nearly $4,000 fee
high, and rises abruptly by a series o
cliffs which may properly be called prcc
pices nearly mile above the glacier
which surround its base. Its invincibl,
appearance had inspired a terror whicl
left it the last of the Alpine peaks to b.
scaled. The superstitious natives in th
ucighboring valleys believed il to be tn
highest mountain in the world and peoples
it with demons. There the Wanderin,
Jew was SUI posed to have his home. an'
at the summit a ruined city was imagine'
whose iufurated spirit.inhabitants woul
hurl vengeance upon any mortal VIII
should dare 10 iDtrude upon them.
The mountain guides who await the EN-
ployment Of the traveller are a motley sci
Their dress is lndescribable. Their peel
ed blistered and swollen faces are wort
studying. They have been scorched o
rocks and roasted on glaciers. Thei
cheeks--6rst puffed and then cracked
have exuded a turpentine-like matte
which courses down their faces, and ha
dried in patches like the resin on tn
trunks Of pines. They have removed ita
the same time pulling off fakes of skin
They have gone on from bad to worst
7 heir unhappy countenances have be
come hopeless and complete ruiz
Their lips are cracked, their cheeks az
swollen, their eyes are bloodshot, thei
noses peeled and indescribable. But the
are intrepid aud faithful men, and NOR
than one has lost his life in the service {
tourists,
It is wonderful to conceive the wonder
ful heights of preciplce and depths
c hasm which meet the traveller in hi
path up the mountain-sides. Before on
reaches the height beyond which dome'
tic animals do not venture, there are gls
ciers crossed by frightful crevasses maxim
their slow but potent way down into tn
valleys. "
Prof. Tyndall in one Of his excursion
came upon one such near which he obseI
we'd a group of persons who seemed to b
in trouble. He and bis companion ha'
tened to offer their assistance, fearing
man had become lodged in the jaws of
crevasse. But he found it was only
COW. 1t was firmly held between tn
the sides Of the issure and was groaniu
piteously. With judicious application {
ropes and the combined strength of th
party. the poor creature was extricate
painting and trembling. The situatio
was, perhaps in this case little amusing
but when instead Of brute it is ma
who is in such peril, it becomes terrible
The professor and his guide had one Q
occasion sent two porters in advance