The Arkansaw traveler., 1888-08-11

trated on the precautions necessary for safety.
 Besides this, we have the terrible enhancement of the calamity, when the slipping of a single individual carries number of others to destruc- tion. It was 8 slip-by whom we know not-that caused the disaster on the Matterhorn which so profoundly stirred the public mind some years ago. On that occasion, one of the foremost guides of the Alps and one of the best gentleman climbers lost their lives, in company with two younger colleagues.
 The fearful disaster on the Jungfrau this year was, doubtless, due to the same cause. Six strong climbers, all natives of Switzerland, succeeded, without guides, in scaling the moun- tain from the northern side. From the summit they attempted to descend the southern slope, the danger of which varies with the condition of the snow or ice. I had frequently won- dered that no accident had ever oc- cured here, for, to an experienced eye, the possibility of fatal accident was plain enough.
 On this slope the six climbers met their doom. They were roped to- gether, and probably only one of them slipped, but his slip involved the de- struction of them all. A few weeks after it's occurrence, I inspected the scene of the disaster, saw the rocks down which the men had fallen and the snowfeld on which their bodies were found.
 On the fine October morning when these lines are written we find our selves surrounded everywhere by gilt tering snow. The river glacier and it's fianking mountains are dazzling in their whiteness.
 This morning I opened the glass door of our little sitting-r room, which faces south, and stepped out upon our terrace.
 The scene was unspeakably grand. To the right rose the peak of the Weisshorn the most perfect embodi- ment of Alpine majesty, purity and grace. Next came the noble Mischa- belhorner surmounted by "the Dom" Right opposite rose the Fletschorn, 8 rugged, honest looking mass, of true mountain mould while to the left of Napoleon's road over the Simplon pass, stretched the snow-ridge of the Monte Leone, which, no doubt, de- rlves it's name from the resemblance to & couchant lion. Soft, gleaming clouds wrapped themselves at times grandly round the mountains, reveal ing and concealing, as they shifted, melted, or were re- created, the snow capped peaks.
 About 1900 feet below us the white covering came to an end, while, be- yond this, sunny green pastures de- scended to the valley of the Rhone. From the chimneys of our cottage a light wind carried the smoke in a southwesterly direction; the clouds just referred to being, therefore, to leeward, and not in "the winds eye" did not portend bad weather.
 To the north, the peaks grouped themselves round the massive Aletsch- horn, the second in height among these Oberland mountains. Over the Aletschhorn the sky was clear, which is one of the surest signs of fine weather. On a morning as fair and exhilarating as the present one, but earlier in the year, Mrs. Tyndall and l, from the top of the Aetschhorn-a height of 14,000 feet-once looked down upon the summit of the Jung frau.
 A conspicuous danger of the Alps is found in crevasses which have been the grave of many a gallant moun- taineer. They are especially danger ous when concealed by roofs of snow, which is frequently the case in the highest portion of the glacier.
 Of this danger my own experience furnishes examples not to be forgotten. Passing them by, may mention that during the present year an esteemed English clergyman was lost upon an easy glacier of the Engadine, through the yieldingl of aS snow bridge over which he was passing.
 hC SACNdocC AulO WHICH uC Ioll could not have been deep, as he was able to converse with a companion above, and to make the tapping of his ice-axe heard. He did not, as far as I know, complain of being hurt, but de- sired his companion to hasten to pro- cure 8 rope. The distance to be passed over, however, before the rope and necessary help could be obtained was considerable; and when rope and help arrived the clergyman was dead.
 A discussion followed in the news papers as to the amount of blame to be assigned to the gentleman who went for the rope. It was said by one writer that he ought to have tied his clothes together, and, by their aid, to have drawn upvhis friend. The reader of MT. Laurence Oliphant's last re- markable volume will remember that