Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-05-05
DEATH FROM FREEZING.
A TRAVELLER DESCRIBES HIS FIX.
pERlENCE IN THIS LINE.


Great st. Bernard-First Indication OF
Something yrong-strange and Deli.
cious Sensations.
On the particular occasion referred to, ]
started from Martigny at q a. M. and in.
tended to traverse the thirty miles 10 the
hospice of the Great ST. Bernard before
night. Time being of consequence, |
thought it prudent, SO as to get to the
summit Of the pass before dark, not to stop
for meal to be cooked at Orsieres or
Liddes, but pressed forward to the last
place before the snow tramp commenced,
the Cantine de PROF.. There / met with q
young nobleman and his guide. After an
Interchange of inquiries, and an offer on
my part of some chocolate and biscuits TO
the other travellers, as the cantine was
hard up hat day in eatables, we set out
together, and had crosse,. .he Plan de Mia
rengO without any presentimsnt of what
was going to happen. The first indicari m
of something wrong was the peculiar ap-
pearance which my surroundings seemed
TO assume. Evel ything looked haZy to
| my vision-even the snow and the rocks
iyink about looked as if enveloped in a
fog, although the afternoon was beauti-
fully clear. Then l felt that must sit
down and enjoy it, but the guides flask
or kirschwasser set me- going again. Very
sooh, however, the former feeling re.
| turned; hut the same treatment tempo
rarily recovered me. At last took to
stumbling along, fell down several times,
aud ut length could not help myself Ny
companions urged me in vain to arouse to
one more effort, but it was useless.
| The guides experience was now Of the
utmost service. Divining the exact state
Of the case, and what might happen. lie
took II very sensible course. Leaving IL
marquis to see TO me- he hurried forward
to meet the two monks who always came
down from the hospice at a particular
hour each day, So as to obtain THEN
efficient help On their arrival, the mar
Quis either went on, on his own account,
or was requested to go forward with the
news. Anyhow, | was informed the next
day that his report was, that M. lie -
had perished in the SHOWS" In tt
meantime the two monks and guide took
me in hand, and, shaking me up, made
my hands clasp belt around the guides
waist. and each of the monks took sn
arm. The former acted as substitute
for horse power and the two latter es
wheels. As for myself l was fast becom-
ing dead weight. Between the cantine
and the hospice there is a space Of seven
and half miles Of very rough walking,
uphill, of course, and with depth of
several feet of snow where the cantonniers
had not cleared path. suspect that
my deliverers had very difficult task,
over at least five miles, to keep me from
getting into that sleep from which there
Is no waking.
The sensations of that journey during
occasional CLEANS of consciousness will
never be erased from my mind. Is there
such an essence of ecstatic delight as
elixir mortis, II there is, it must have
been something like it, or the very thing
Itself, which l enjoyed that day No
words can possibly express the surprising
desire which felt to sit down and enjoy
my felicity-and sleep. But my inexora-
bic friends knew that sleep meant death.
and though my repeated appeals Of
''Doucement, duucement," were plaintiye
enough, they were met by redoubled
efforts to force me onward, even when my
own legs would not move any longer The
collapse was complete. During the sus-
tained efforts OF the three men, had but
momentary glimpses Of consciousness. l
remember seeing two something's, black,
one on each side, but very indistinct
These, of course, were the friendly
monks. The one overwhelming idea that
filled my mind then was how to get to
that sleep, that blissful euthanasia which
poets have sung about, but which my
companions were doing their best to rob
me Of, just when had got it within my
grasp.
Another lucid interval occurred just as
We approached the door of the hospice, for
saw two or three OF the dogs; and then
was lost again, till found myself In the
large room, surrounded by several of the
canons. One administered some extract
Of orange flowers, and that was followed
by some warm broth. Then another
tugged off my boots, socks, etc., and be-
tween them, somehow or other, they got
me into bed. Crhis particular room would
not have been mine if had gone as an or
binary traveller usually does am under
the impression that it was looked upon as
the best bedroom, being the one used by
Napoleon Bonaparte when he stopped at
the hospice en- route to the Itahan cam
paign.) In the night woke, breathing
very quickly and very hard. The room
itself had the appearance Of being one
E.tSs o. COTTON WOOL .SOngeSClOn OF the
lungs had got hold Of me now, and l felt
very Ill indeed. But, however, the next
morning did what the monks had inef-
fectually tried to impress upon me the
night before, and | made an effort. My
first duty to others was TO see the excel
lent guide and make him a due acknowl-
edgment; and as the noble and heroic
monks, who live only for others, would
not. hear of anything but thanks, l had
recourse to the tronc Of the church. To
the three men l am. humanity speaking,
indebted for my life. A grateful heart
need never be ashamed of its precious
burden. Journal
tn Sikhs q staiwart Race.
The people from Benares to north Of
Delhi are much more stalwart and manly
than are the Bengalese, but they in their
turn are greatly inferior to the men OF
the Punjab. This wood means and ex-
presses the country lying between the
five great branches Of the Indus. In this
country is n magnificent race Of men.
The Sikh soldiers in the army are the
handsomest body of men have ever seen,
and indeed have never seen any Euro