Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1873-06-16
A Terrible Fifty Minutes.

A Terrible Fifty Minutes
In August, 1868, | arrived at Chamouni,
with one of my friends, u traveller like myself
For live weeks we had been exploring Switzer
land, so that we had plenty Of time to get use,
to snow aud glaciers.
We had made several ascents, one to ii ,OOl
feet. | will remember the sensation | fel
| which l first saw one q those creyasses which
seam the surface of the glaciers. Holain,
firmly by my guides hand, l leaned over tha
| yawning gulf and tried to gaze down into it.
terrible depth. The two perpendicular walls O
Ice Appeared 10 meet some 800 feet below, bu
believed that. it was only the effect of per
spective, the rent probably prolonged as far as
the solid rock.
A man who falls i'll there is certain neye,
10 come Out alive said one OF my guides and
companions.
True, replied the other, 'but know one who
was rescued. A narrow escape indeed II was |;
lie still lives at drindlewald.
lie is chamois hunter; was returning home
and in descending the crevasse, his fall was
broken by projecting blocks of ice, which YIELD
ed, however, beneath his weight, when he clunR
to them.
When he reached the bottom, a distance of
some hundred feet, lie had a leg and arm brok-
en-. Between the earth and the ice he found, a
hollow place into which stream was running;
crawling along, suffering terrible pain, ne fol-
lowed the water-course, and in three hours he
was cut of the glacier
Crevasses vary in breadth from two to six
leet ut the mouth, but the sides approach rapid
ly as they descend,so that 4 man may ind him.
self jammed in between two walls of ice a
long time before lie reaches the bottom, and
then, II ropes long and strong enough are at
hand, it is possible 10 save him from a dreadful
death. But generally the ropes ara not long
enough, and the traveller perishes of cold or
falls down into the crevasse during the hours
which elapsc while some of the party have gone
to the nearest village to fetch longer and better
ropes.
Thus an unfortunate Russian nobleman per-
ished in Il glacier near Zermatt, some years
ago.
We had assembled the Dreyent and we now
had only the Mer de Glace and the Jardiu to
visit.
We slept at the Montanvcrt in the solitary
little inn ut the foot of the glaZier. Next morn
ing we were up at dawn. Furnished with
some p,ovisions and two bottles of wine, we
started with our guide. 1t was IA splendid
morning,and we argued well tor our excursion.
For half an hour we followed q rough path
which skired the Mer do Glace, which dis
played below lis its surface riven with crcvasses
and covered with rocks and fragments. Our
road ended at the glacier, upon which we now
began to descend and to traverse in zig zags in
the midst of numerous assures. The Mer de
Glaze is not considered dangerous, and it is
quite the exception to take axes and ropes when
crossing IL.
Alert and cheerful we fastened on without
taking notice ofihe guide, who, some way be-
hind, cried out to us several times TO be eau
tious and wait fl him. We were obliged at
las: to halt before vast crevasse which barred
up our passage.
1t opened with length OF some sixty Yards
and ended Upon our left in a slope of ice, some
What steep, but which thought could easily
mount Using the IRON spike Of my alpenstock
as hatchet, began to cut holes in the ice
large enough to put my feet in. At this mo-
ment our guide lrjoined us. lie looked at the
slope and at the yawning crevasse below it,and
said, In grave tone, 1T is dangerous; let lis 60
round it,
With the aid of my alpenstock had already
got half way up this icy hillock and was now
quite convinced that it was too steep aud Slip
perry to be crossed without an axe. The guides
warning confirmed my opinion. was cautious
ly lowering my right leg, seeking for the hole
that had made In the ice; my foot passed it;
and was sliding down; there was nothing
rough to stop me, not the least projection by
which could stop nyset.
The dccliyity became perpendicular and fell
into the gulf.
+. heard cry of despair from my companion
anu buiue. MY own SENSATIONS cannot be de-
scribed. was giddy and half stunned, sent
backwards and forwards from one wall Of Ice
to the other; tct myself descending to great
depth, condemned to be dashed TO pieces, TO
die horrible death.
Suddenly something stopped Inc; felt my
self suspended. o, horrors! took breath
again, and could only cry out, "a rope! q
rope -
By Gods mercy had fallen upon narrow
ledge of ice, which formed sort of bridge
across the creyasse. This frail support, US far
as could Judge was about four inches broad
and eighteen thick.
My head hung from one side of it, my feet
the other. lnstinctively and Immediately by
what means know not, | raised myself up
and Stood upright on this projection, where
there was hollow just large enough to plant
one foot
Then heard my companion say Trust in
God and take courage. The guide has run to
Montanvert to seek men and ropes. He will
come back directly!
lf he is long, l replied shall not come I'D
alive,
My position was a terrible one; the thin ledge
OF ice was so narrow that l could not place
my feet upon il; could only support myself on
one leg, half resting against one OF the ice walls
and pressing the other with my hand. The ice
was nothing to grasp.
A stream Of ice water flowed down upon NV
eIs,PerciilS tlie 10 Tie very bones. Above
my head saw the long and narrow Streak of
the sky round which the mouth of the creyasse
formed frame. The ce,whch was of the col, z
ofblue encirclipg me on all sides looked tire At
ening and gloomy. The two walls seemed if
they were about to meet in order to crush me,
rather than to release their prey.
Numerous water courses streaned down
their sides but in this extent of more than six
ty yards l could not see any other projection or
obstacle except this ledge on which i had SO
miraculously fallen.
rlsked looking, for the second only, down
into the terrible abyss, above which was sus-
pended. At the spot where was, the crevasse
was not more than two feet wide, lower down
1t narrowed rapidly, and a hundred yards be-
low the sides appeared to touch each o.her. |
believe If had fallen but very few inches on
either side from the narrow bridge which had
arrested ME, should have been buried and
jammed up at depth where no rope could have
Ielched me.