The Red Cloud chief., 1886-01-29

clasp-knife. but with this poor tool
began desperately hacking inches foI
my hands and feet in the ice. II wa,
slow and painful work. When at th'
end Of four or five hours ] found that
had nc progressed more than ten
yards upward, my heart sickened. l re.
Taxed my hold. and slid. numbed and
despairing, to the bottom again.
By this time the nigh, had come upon
the world above and in the chasm il
was perfectly black. 1 wrapped my
Goa: about me and lay down in the
c%revasse. perfectly careless a To the
end Of il all. Some time toward morn.
ing. worn out with fatigue and excite
ment, / fen asleep.
1t must have been late in the day
when I awoke. l started to my feet
and looked around me. a significant
change had taken place in the condi-
ton Of the crevasse. When l 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 e mere white line far above. The
walls were approaching each other
the crevassc was closing again. In the
course Of a few hours / should be
crushed to pieces between the meeting
masses of ice.
The thought had now no terror for
me. Mentally and physically l was
bcnumbed and ~callous. l sat down
upon tie bottom of the ~crevasse, stol-
lilly watching the slow approach Of the
opposite wall. until it began to press
against my feet, then / arose to a stand
ing posture and continued to eve it va
cantly as before.
Another hour went by; it might have
been a moment or an age. SO far as my
dulled comprehension was concerned.
The walls had now approached so
closely that / could touch the opposite
N with my Outstretched hands. At
this juncture a small object struck ME
sharply upon the head. supposed it
TO be a fragment of ice detached from
the ice-walls above, and paid no atten.
ton to it. But the blow was repeated
more violently, and l looked up careless
~ to see whence it came.
1t was with a sense Of absolute pain,
so great was the revulsion from despair
to hope, that I saw the end Of a knot
ted rope dangling before me. Some
one had discovered NV situation, who
it was or how l did not stop to think.
and had come to my rescue.
l seized the rope and hurriedly knot
ted it under my arms, and. uttering 4
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
faces. among which l recognized those
of Franz and the old guide, bent over
me; then | knew no more.
My fainting fit lasted only a few mo-
ments, but as / opened my eyes and sat
up, the crevassc out of which / bad
been drawn closed together with a ter
rifle crash.
l learned that l had been engulfed
alone. and that Franz had been left safe
upon 4 detached block of ice. At early
dawn, finding the crevasse closing
around and the glacier becoming pass
able again, he had fastened back to
The village and procured ropes and as
'istance, with the hope that I might
till be alive at the bottom Of the Gre
They had trailed the rope along
he crevasse. knowing that if l was
till alive is would attract my atten-
ion. Fortunately for ME. the device
ucceeded and l vas rescued at the
'ery last moment.
II. as they say We measure time only
~ III emotions, ! should be at a loss
o calculate the number of centuries l
'assed through during that terrible
light in the crpvasse.-C. l.. HiIdreth,
N. Y. World.