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

Reynaud.
"He came to ths edge and made dec-
laratiOns. He wruDe his hands, oh;
what fearful placcr IL is nothing.
Reynaud, | said, 1t is nothing Jump
cried the others, Jump But he turned
round as far as one can do such a thing
in an ice-step. and covered his face with
his hands. calculating. Upon my word Il
is not possible, No! MOI! NO -! IL is
not possible.
How he came over do not know.
We saw toe--it seemed to belong to
Moore; We saw Reynaud, a flying body.
coming down as If taking header into
the water; with arms aud legs all abroad,
his leg of mutton flying in The air, his ta-
ton escaped from his grasp; and then we
heard a thud as il bundle of carpets had |
been pitched out Of window. When set
upon his feet he was sorry spectacle.
The tying referred to seems a straoge
method Of securing safety. and indeed i'll
not properly managed it becomes an ele-
ment of danger. Rightly arranged. the
rope may enable company to save man
who has slipped or dropped into crevasse
from the consequence Of his fall. Persons
who are 10 ascend have their rope taut be-
tween them, and are consequently able at
once to help either who should fall. If it
is allowed to drag loosely it is evident il
may become eutaugled aud is certainly to
be worn dangerously by the rocks.
The couloirs which are only gullies part
ly filed with snow, are joy to the noun.
taiueer, for they afford often safe pass
age over places which would otherwise be
inaccessible. 1t Is true that sometimes the
traveller is assailed by falling stones from
the cliffs above, but by keeping at such
times close to the sides of the couloir and
avoiding the middle, the danger is not Of.
ten found very considerable, although it
seems very great. Whymper says that
once ......... .r..1'..' -.r
"While the men were unpacking the
food, l went to little promontory to ex-
anime our proposed route more narrowly
and to admire one noble couloir which led
straight up into the heart of the mountain
fully one thousand feet. While l was
gazing up at it, | saw few little stones
skidding down. ] consoled myself with
thinking that they would not interfere with
US if wc adhered to the side. But then a
larger one came down, rushing at the rate
Of sixty miles an hour, and another, ant
another. l was unwilling to raise the
fears Of the men unnecessarily and sait
nothing to them. They did not hear tn,
/. stones. One was seated on rock, carv
ing large slices from leg Of mutton. the
: others we're chatting, and the FIRST intima
tion they had of danger was from crasl
"a sudden roar-whlch reverberated aw
fully among the cliffs, and looking up the.
saw masses of rocks, boulders and stones
big aud little dart round the corner SO'
feet or SO above us, fly with fearful fur,
against the opposite cliffs, rebound frou
: them against the opposite walls on on
side and descend; some ricochetting fror
> side to side in frantic manner; ; som
bounding down 10 leaps Of hundred fee
: " or more over the snow; and more hailin
down 10 junbled, confused mass, nike
with snow aud ice deepening the groove
y which, moment before, had excited m
6 admiration. a.,os s, sa.e4t.a
It The men looked wildly around for pre-
lection, and dropping the food, dashed UT
e der cover in all directions. The preciou
a mutton was pitched on one side, the wine
d bag was let fall and its contents eushe
e out from the unclosed neck, while all fou
); covered under projecting rocks, endea,
9 oriag to make themselves as email as 20.
J, sible. Let it not be supposed that thei
o fright was unreasonable, or that l was FIRE
It from it. l took good care to make my
P self safe. But their scramble was indt
u scribab;y ludircous. Such a panic upon
t mountain size" 4.... ,t vee !
i The grain of the snow upon these noun
!. tain heights is sometimes SO fine and is 9
= pure and moist that the weight of the bod
i presses it into safe path. Mr.. lynda
. speaks of passing over 4 ridge, which
J, growing narrower and narrower. becam
mere wall, with fearfully sheer prec
t pice on either side. Upon this wall {
J; rock was u second wall Of snow whic
: dwindled to knife edge at the top Hi
t guide stepped upon it and he followed
s "as boy walking along horizontal pole
/. with toes turned outward" and they safe
! ly reached the opposite rock, the sno'
: forming solid path beneath them. Bu
! it is only by experience that the mountai
!. climber learns to prefer snow path to th
l. apparently less dangerous rocks. Nj
| Whymper says it took him five seasons t