Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1875-03-25


down the mountaip-side, some miles be-
low the place where we find him on this
snowy afternoon.
For day or two Paolo had been very
anxious about stray goat which he be-
heved could be found up the mountain,
and probably at or near the monastery
of St.-Bernard. So when thst afternoon
four men stopped at Paolo's home to
rest little before continuing their jour.
ney over the Alps by way of the ST.
Bernard Pass the boy determined to go
with them, at least as far as the monas-
terry.
He did not say anything to his parents
about his plan, for he had heard his
father tell the men that 1t would be fool
hardy to attempt to cross the mountains
that day, when it was not only showing
but the wind was blowing at such ter
rife rate that it would be certain to start
an avalanche somewhere on the road
"And you know well enough that it
doesn't need much of wind to start an
avalanche" said Paolo's mother.
"But the winds been blowing all the
morning and half the night" said one of
the men; land if there were any ava
lanches to start they would have been on
their way before this"
So the four men started off Just after
dinner, and Paolo slipped out after them
and Joined them when they had got out
of sight of the house
One of the men wanted to make him
go back, but the others said that he
might as well come if he chose-it wasn't
showing so very hard, and if he wanted
to find his goat as much as he said he
did there was no reason why he should
not try to do it.
So they all trudged on, and nothing of
any Importance happened for an hour.
They did not have much diff Guilty in
making their way, for the. snow-storm
seemed to be decreasing, and the wind
was certainly going down.
But all of a sudden something v8y as
tonishing happened.
A violent gust of wind seemed to leap
from around the corner of tall mass of
rocks and crags, and in it's arms it car
ried vast cloud of snow, which it raised
in the air and hurled down upon our
travellers, who were instantly buried
from sight.
This was one of the terrible whirlwinds
which often occur in the Alps, when
great volumes of newly-fallen snow are
carried through the air and thrown here
or there in masses many feet IN depth
1t was as sudden as flash of lightning
one moment Paolo was walking cheer
fully along the road, and in the next he
was buried deep under an immense heap
of snow!
For u moment he did not know what
had happensd-it seemed as if he had
been struck blind. He was not hurt, but
the world had suddenly disappeared
from his sight.
1t was not long, however, before he
knew what had happened. There was
snow above and below him-snow in his
eyes, snow in his ears and nose and
mouth.
He could not get up because there was
snow on top of him, and when he tried
to get his legs under him he could find
no support for his feet, for there was
nothing but soft snow beneath him.
He could breathe, but that was about
all he could do
Paolo soon felt himself sinking lower
and lower in the soft snow. He tried
again to get his feet straight down I'M
der him and this time they touched
something hard. He knew then that he
stood on the ground.
He had no idea how much snow was
piled up over him, nor did he think
much about it. Now that he could
get his feet on something firm. all
that he thought of was to push or scratch
himself out of that bed of snow lust as
fast as he could. He thrust his feet
against the ground; he leaned forward
and scratched and dug with his hands
and arms like little terrier after rat.
He kicked and rolled and pushed and
dug and sputtered snow out of his
mouth, and so scratched his way along
for several yards. Then he suddenly
stumbled out into the open air and went
plump down precipice.
He did not know far he fell, but he
knew that he went backforemost into a
bed of snow with crust on it, through
which he broke with gentle crunch, as
when you throw stone through pane
of glass. .
The snow under the crust was not very
hard and his fall only Jared him little
And yet the snow was packed hard
enough to give him a chance to crawl
out of the hole he had made and to look
around him. He found that he was on
an old bed of snow that lay Oh a ledge
some twenty feet below the road and
from which the fresh snow had been
blown. The mass of snow which had
overwhelmed him and his companions
he could see piled up on the road above
him. If another gust of wind should