The Dickinson press., 1889-05-11
UNDER THE O


eW'1sAAo uA liApIlSonHlent OF nVe weeks un-
der an avalanche is recorded in "Narratives
OF Peril and Suffering" In the valley of the
Upper Stura, at the foot of the Alp is the
little hamlet of Bcrgoletto. In the winter of
1853 tho falls of snow wcrc uncommonly
heavy. On tho 10Th of March the parish
priest, who was on his way to the church,
heard n noise from the mountains, and, cast
ing up his eyes, he saw two avalanchcs dc.
scendlnS towards the village. He gave the
alarm to some villagers md then rctreatcd
into his own house.
Tho avalanches came and buried over thirty
houses, and twenty-five persons were found
to DO missing, among them the parish priest
who had given the alarm. The amount of
snow which lay over the ruined dwellings
was about AZ feet deep, go feet long and ~
feet wide.
When tho surviving peasants had shaken
OH the terror and depression which such an
event must necessarily cause. they set about
trying to save any life or property possible.
More thar 500 peasants from neighboring vii
lagos camo to their assistance. But they
could do little; the thickness of the snow
mass was so great, and the SNOW continued to
fali from the clouds in such amount that they
were obliged to discontinue their ~fruitlcss cx-
%ertions, and wait till the setting in of the
warm April winds which would partly melt
tho gigantic snow piles.
On tho 18th of April tho villagers returned
to their melancholy task. 1t was with no
hopo of finding any human being alive. Ono
OF them named Roccia, whose whole family
was beneath the avalanche, was most active
i'll the search. BY tho oath of April he had
advanced so far, that after breaking through
six feet of ice he could touch the ground with
a long pole. Three friends worked with him.
The four worked vigorously, and made
their way, at length, into Roccia's house, but
no one, dead or living, was there. AS it was
probable that, at tho fatal moment, tho vic
tins had sought shelter in the stable, which
was about il hundred feet from tho house,
ltoccia and his companions directed their
efforts i'll that quarter.
After they had burrowed for some time.
one of them thrust Il pole through an apcr.-
tnre, and on withdrawing it heard a hoarse,
faint voice say:
Help, oh dear husband! Help, dear
brother! We are alivc.'
They now worked with rcdoubled activity,
and soon made a considerable opening. And
there, under tho SNOW, Roccia. to his Joy,
found his wife. daughter and n s~ister-in-law.
Tho three sufferers We're incapable of NOV.
Ing, ami were shrunken almost to skeletons.
They were carefully removed from their
place OF imprisonment and conveyed to the
house of IL friend, and proper measures
adopted for their restoration. In Il few DAYS
they We're fairly recovered.
Their lives were preserved during these
long five weeks in tho following manner:
They had taaen refuge in the rack and man.
ger, which, being strong, had withstood the
strain, though the roof fell. Fortunately
two goats were near them, which supplied
them with goats milk in quantity sufficient to
sustain life.
lofecd the goats was of prime Importance.
Immediately ovcr tho Manager was u hole into
the hay loft; through this hole one of tho
women was able to pull down fodder into the
rack, and when shc could no longer reach it,
the saSacious animals climbed upon her shout.
ders and helped themselves.
Through tho whole of their Imprisonment
they were il: total darkness. After tho first
five or six days they suffered little from
hunger, though Il quart of goats milk had to
suffice for three. They suffered far more
from tue excessive GOODNESS of the snow water
that tricklea over them, and from the con-
strained posture into which they were forced.
Youths COMPANION.
Japanese Etiquette.
When the guests arrive, say for dinner. the
VI PSI dio 10 Qlllcu lOOSH. WIN
great apparent hesitation they enter, b,wing
low with their hands on their knees if they
arc men, or dropping on their knees and
touching tllei: forehcads almost to the ground
II they are ladies. Tho first Japanese saluta-
ton corresponds exactly to the Norwegian
TAX for sidst'-''rhank you for tho pleas
uro had tho last time l met you" This,
however, is but tho merest beginning
Of Japanese greeting. A conversation come.
thing after this style cnsucs:
81 beg your pardon for my rudencss OH the
last occasion" GLOW can you say such q
thing when it was l who failed to show YOU
duo courtesy?' Far from it! 1 received u
lesson i'll good manners from you.' How can
you condcscend to como to such n poor house
as this?' Glow can you, indeed, be so kind
as to receive such an unimportant person as
myself under your distinguished roofg"
All this punctuatcd with low bows and the
sound of breath sucked rapidly in between
the teeth, expressive of great emprcssement.
AT last, amid a final chorus of arigatos, tho
guests come to anchor upon the floor. Va
rious objects arc handed to them, to entertain
them, q curio or two, q few photographs, no
matter what, for it is de rigucur in Japanese
etiquette to affect a great interest and I'D
mlration. Spectator.
Galc So1,:nna