Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1880-04-01
Lost In the Snow.

Among the dangers Of the winter in the
Pass of st. Gothard is the fearful snow
storm called the ''guXeten" by the Germans 8
and the tourmente or ''tormenta" by the
Swiss. The mountain snow differs in form
aswell as in thickness and specific gravity,
from the star shaped snow-takes on the
lower heights and in the valleys. 1t is
quite floury, dry and sandy, and therefore
very light. When viewed through micro
SCOPE it assumes at times the form of little
prismatiC needles, at other times that of in
Vulnerable small siX-sided pyramids, from
which, as from the morning star, little
points iut out on all sides, and which driven
by the wind, cut through the air with
great speed. With this fine ice-dust of the
mountain snow, the wind drives its wild
game through the clefts of the high Alps
and over the passes particularly that of St.
Gothard Suddenly il tears up few hun
dred thousand cubic feet of this snow, and
whirls it up high into the air leaving it to
the mercy of the upper current, to fall to
the ground again in the form of the thickest
snow storm, or 90 be dispersed at will like
.glittering ice crystals. AT times the wind
sweeps up large tracts of the dry ice dust,
and pours them down upon a deep-lying
valley amid the mountains, or on the sum-
init of the passes, obliterating in a few
seconds the labOrously eXcavated mountain
road at which whole company OF rutners
have toiled for days. All these appear
ances resemble the avalanches of other Alps
but cannot be regarded in the same light as
the true snow storm, the tOrmenta or guXe-
ten. This is -:mComparably more severe,
and hundreds on hundreds of lives have
fallen sacrifices 10 its fury. These have
mostly been travelling strangers, who either
did not distinguish the signs of the coming
storm, Or in proud reliance on their own
power, refused to listen to well-meant
warnings, and continued their route. AL
most every year adds a large number of
victims to the list Of those who have fallen
a prey to the snow-storm. History and
the oral tradition of the mountains record
many incidents of accidents which have
been occasioned by the fall of avalanches.
During the BellinZona war, IN 1873, as the
coniederates with force of 10000 men,
were crossing the st. -Gothard, the men of
Zurich were preceding the army as van
guard. They had just refreshed themselves
with some wine, and were marching up the
wild gorge, shouting and singing, in spite
of the warning of their guides. Then in
the heights above, an avalanche was sudden
ly loosened, which rushed down. lpon the
road, and in its itnpetuous torrent buried
sixty warriors fdr below in the Reuss, in.
full sight of those following.
On the 18th of March, 1913, in the So
called Pfanggen, above the tent of shelter
at the Matelli, thirteen men who were con-
veying the post, were thrown by violent
avalanche into the bed of the Reuss, with
their horses and sledges. Three men,
fathers of families and nine horses were
killed. the Others. were saved by hastily
sInnmUped help. Bat one of their deliver
ers, Joseph Muller, of Hospenthal, met a
hero's death while engaged in the rescue
he had FASTENED TO help his nelghbcrs,
but i'll the district called the Harness
he and two others were over
whGlmed. by second violent avalanche,
and lost their lives. In the same year the
post going. g.up the; mountain from Air6la
was overtaken by an avalanche near the
house of the shelter at Ponte Tremola. A
traveller from BergauU was killed; the rest
escaped. History tells of most striking
rescue from an avalanche on the ST.. GOthard.
In the year 1928, Landamman KaSper, of
Brahdenburg, the newly chosen Governor
of BellenZ, was riding over the St Gothard,
from Zng, accompanied by his servant and
a faithful dog. At the top of the pass the
party was oyertaken by an avalanche which
1escehded from the Lucendro. The dog
alone shook himself free His first care
was to extricate his'master. Bit when lie
saw he could not. succeed lp doing this, he
FASTENED back tothe hospice, and there, by
pitiful bowling and whining, announced
that an accident had happened. The
landlord and his servant set out Immediately
with shovels and pickaxcs, and followed
the dog, which ran quickly before them.
They soon reached the place where the
avalanche had fallen. Here the faithful
dog stopped suddenly, plunged his face in
to the snow, and began to scratch it up,
barking and whining. The men set to
work at once, and after a long and difficult
labor succeeded in rescuing the Landam-
man, soon afterwards his servant; they were
both alive, after spending thirty-six fearful
hours beneath the snow, oppressed by the
most painful: thoughts: They had heard
the bowling and barking of the dog quite
plainly; and had noticed his sudden de-
parture, and the arrival of their deliverers;
they had heard them talking and working,
without being able TO move or utter sound.
The Landamman's will ordained that an
image of the faithful dog should be sculp-
tured at his feet on his tomb. This monu-
ment was seen till lately in st. Oswald's
nt