Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1882-03-23
GaIes aab Skettbes.
An ALPINE HONEYMOON.
Continued from yesterday.


Indeed, heard afterwards that she had
looked with heart as well as eyes. The
hotel guests congratulated her warmly
upon her husbands success ch Il good
mnuntaineer,
Then the summit climbers ate some
thing and drank their champagne, mixed
with snow; then came feeling Of lazy
calm, of utter enjoyment. a. they reclin-
ed on the warm snow and lit their pipes
The top was not large. and the precipices
all sides were terrific. Amid the
brightness one small dark cloud ob-cured
the sun for moment. and threw tenn
pOrary shadow upon the scene and on
Walters highly-wrought feelings, but it
soon disappeared and the glow returGed.
Walter was impatient to start.
I'VE shall be down in six hours Hans,
il we take the most direct line ?'' he ask
ed. The guide thought they might do il
in about six or perhaps seven hours.
They rested barely AN hour upon the
hardly-won, enhancing summit; and then
the hotel telescope saw three little black
dots move and disappear over the crest.
MY wife will see the last of us before
we descend ~ said Walter. gleefully.
They thought that they could take a
shorter course downward, and get on to
the arete without again traversing the
talse dome.
below the aretc they could, Hans said,
take a more direct way to the glacier.
When they began to descend the sun
was burning siingingly, there was no wind,
and the heat was intense-the blue sky.
the wind void of air, the vast expanse Of
snow-field, were glazing, trembling.
scorching in the branding blaze of fierce
sunlight.
They commenced the descent Of the
cone with their faces to the steep incline
The snow was too loose to afford holding
tor their heels. On the arete their tracks
Of the morning were but family visible
almost melted away by the heat. The
snow was deep and incoherent, and they
had to tread with care. Below the arete
very long and steep snow slope ran
down for some 300 feet and terminated
in the glacier, deep beneath. The smooth,
sun-smtten white surface was specked
occasionally with giisteDng blocks OF
rock. At the foot of the slope where the
glacier spread out its wrinkled crevassc-
scanned expanse, were masses of great
rocks and huge bergschrund Each
lump of rock, standing out from the long
slope. threw it, soft. clearlv -defined
shadow-which had edgcs-upon the
binding shining of the snow. Their
spectacles were sorely needed. They sank
sometimes only foot deep; but the next
step they went into the soft snow up to
their waists They went slowly. sither-
ing in loose holes and sometimes almost
slipping down. The Young guide Franz
went first; then came Walter. and Berg
mann was last OH the rope.
There has been u tremendous lot of
La.
land don't quite like the state of it, It's
worse than thought it would be- wish
we were well off i, 80
Just then Franz slipped and sank in up
to his shoulders. He was held up with
some difficulty by Walter and by Hans
This occasioned a momentary stop. -'Cour-
age, vOrwarts-langsam vorwarts," cried
Bergman. and they went on again. TAX
ing heed to every insecure step-and all
were insecure At one place the incline
became so steep and the snow was So deep
that they began To traverse the slope, and
to make for "A rock boulder. One or the
other sank deeply in every moment
Suddenly the whole vast snow field
seemed 10 split in two. and the mountain
GERS were on the lower half
For moment the snow slid down: but
it soon acquired fearful velocity.
Die Lawine ~ shricked Bergman
who then uttered that wild terrible cry of
All experienced guides despair such as
was once heard from Croz on the Matter
horn. Thank God. never heard such Il
cry! Poor Hans had at least a moment of
consciousness of the whole extent of his
danger.
With snow dust rising from it like Il
steam-hissing. creaking, roaring,
thundering-the great avalanche rushed
along with arrowy speed. flying down the
mountain side towards the glacier. far
below. Indeed. the whole mountain side
was moving. The three men were wrench
ed from all tooihold. and descended back
wards. being covered with downward
tearing. suilocating snow masses which
were. perhaps, some ten or twelve feet
deep. The mass that had fallen was
probably 100 yards in breadth The
pressure of the snow alone was enough To
crush the life out6f man buried in it.
borne along with il; and that pressure
tended to freeze the closely -compacted
avalanche. How long did sense or feel
ing remain with the unhappy travellers
Who can tell A very few seconds NAV
contain mental and physical agony
which is-happily- beyond the limit of
human endurance.
The speed of the avalanche was guessed
at sixty miles an hour.
Arrived at the rocks at the foot of the
incline. it stopped and rested then all
was quiet; but what lay hidden in those
cruel. heartless depths of pure shining.
innocent-looking snow,
The porter. Joseph. after the habit of
his kind. beguiled the tedium of waiting
for the return of his party by eating and
by sleeping. lie did not waste thought
upon the scenery around him. but after u
short meal. curled himself up and took
long sleep. He was awakened by the roar
of an avalanche, and stood up toSsee its
smoke and rush. Stretching himself and
yawning, he regarded it without much
emotion. saw it stop. and then fell TO
thinking whether the party ought not TO
be at least visible on their return journey
Under the arete he could just make out
the marks of footsteps. and theu-yes. it
surely was so-they seemed TO cease Just
about the point from which the avalanche
started. The porter thought slowly and
thought long. until a great horror took