The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1886-02-06

clasp-knife, but with this poor tool
began desperately hacking inches 70
my hands and feet in the ice. 1t wa
slow and painful work. When at tn
end Of four or five hours | found that
had not progressed more than TEL
yards upward, my heart siekened, l re
Taxed my hold, and slid, numbed an,
despairing, to the bottom again.
BY this time the night had come upol
the world above and in the chasm i
was perfectly black. | wrapped M.
coat about me and lay down in thu
crevasse, perfectly careless as to thu
end of it all. Some time toward morn
ing, worn out with fatigue and excite
ment, l fell asleep,
1t must have been Late in the day
when / awoke. | started to my fee
and looked around me. A signifcant
change had taken place in the condi
ton of the crevasse. When | had fallen
into it the chasm had been fully twenty
| feet in width. 1t was now less than
six. The cleft of the sky was reduced
TO a mere white line far above. The
walls were approaching each other
the crnvassc was closing again. In the
course of q few hours l should be
crushed to pieces between the meeting
masses Of ice.
The thought had now no terror TO,
me. Mentally and physically l was
benumbed and c~allous. | sat down
upon the bottom of the ~creyassc, stol-
Idly watching the slow approach of the
opposite wall. until it began to press
against my feet, then l arose to a stand.
ing posture and continued to eye it va.
cantly as before.
Another hour went by; it might have
been a moment or an age, 80 far as my
dullCd comprehension was concerned.
The walls had now approached SO
closely that | could touch the opposite
one with my outstretchcd hands. AT
this juncture a small object struck me
sharply upon the head. | supposed it
to be a fragment of ice detached from
the icc-walls above, and paid no atten-
ton to it, But the blow was repeated
more violently, and | lookedup careless.
ly to see whence it came.
1t was with a sense of absolute pain.
30 great was the Revision from despair
% hope, that | saw the end of a knot
ed rope dangling before me. Some
one had discovered NV situation, who
t was or how l did not stop to think,
and had come to my rescue.
| seized the rope and hurriedly knot
ted it under my arms, and, uttering a
shout to those above, was slowly and
painfully drawn up through the fast
narrowing cleft. A dozen strong arms
lifted me out into the sunlight, Eager
among which l recognized those
Franz and the old guide, bent we
me; then | knew no more.
My fainting fit lasted only a few mo
.ents, but as | opened my eyes and sat
up, the crcvasse out of which | had
been drawn closed together with a ter.
rife crash.
| learned that | had been cngulfed
alone and hat Franz had been left safe
lpon a detached block of ice. Atcarly
finding the crevass closing
around and the glacier becoming pass
able again. he had fastened back to
village and procured ropes and as
slstance, with the hope that l might
still be alive at the bottom of the Gre
vase. They had trailcd the rope along
~crevasse, knowing that if | was
still alive it would attract my attcn-
Jon. Fortunately for me, the device
succeeded and l was rescued at the
very last moment.
If, as they say, we measure time only
Dy our emotions, | should be at q loss
o calculate the number of centuries |
passed through during that terrible
hight in the crevasse.-C. l.. HldreM,
n N. \. World.