Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-03-21
DANGERS OF ALPINE LIFE.
italian Soldiers Have Had . Hard Time
During This winter.

italian Soldiers Have Had . Hard Time
During This Winter.
The italian Alpine soldier has no EASY
life of it In winter, buried In small forts
on the high Alps, and being obliged to
march In storm and snow, the new mill
tary orders enforcing never-interrupted
communication between fortified places,
whatever may be the state of the
weather. A Turin correspondent, saws
the Chicago Post, gives the particulars
of the late accident when Lieutenant
zanzucchi and four of his six compan-
ions met with their death. The lieuten-
ant, with six soldiers, was following
some Alpine companies from Pieve di
Telo across Mount Tanarello to Briga
Marithima, but, as he was under free
marching orders, he remained behind
on the way. The day after he started
with his six men to climb the Tanarello,
and on arriving at the summit met with
a strong wind, which shook the mass of
snow, sending large quantities rolling
into the ravines. A path most frequent
~ used, as being the safest, descends
from the summit of the mountain to
Briga, but Lieutenant Zanzucchi, either
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ice particles with which the wind filed
the air, abandoned the path and turned
to the left toward Mount Saccarello.
When the little party reached the top
of the valley Of the Droc they began to
descend, but a wide and deep stratum
of snow, undermined by water below
or moved by the wind, suddenly gave
way beneath the travellers feet and
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thousand six hundred feet to the bottom
of the valley. The lieutenant and two
soldiers were found dead afteyward
close together. Two Of the men We're
farther away and after lying
time came to themselves, one
with his arm, the other with his
ears and nose frozen. They tried to dig
up their companions, but had no proper
tools and were also too weak, so had to
renounce the attempt.
They drank all the brandy they had
with them and then climbed down to
Briga, fearing a catastrophe at every
moment. When they reached Briga
they were half dead, and for some hours
had not even strength to relate what
had happened. One other dead soldier
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fourth lies still beneath the snow.
Only just week ago similar accident
happened, but fortunately without loss
of life. A party of a few soldiers and
citizen had set out from Fort Centrale,
four Thousand two hundred and twenty
seven feet high, to go to Fort Pepine,
six thousand six hundred and eighty
seven feet high, and were overtaken by
storm. They thought for a moment
of turning back, but the orders were
strict, and they therefore marched on.
All at once they felt the ground trem-
BILE beneath their feet, and a moment
after they saw an enormous avalanche
descending swiftly upon them with a
loud whistling sound and a violent cur
rent of air. It overlook them and
rolled them down the mountain with
the speed of an express train; vet,
strange to say, they were suddenly
stopped on level space, after a fall of
six hundred and fifty feet, unhurt be-
yond a few scratches and being a little
stunned. The avalanche went on its
path to break to pieces in a ravine, and
the young soldiers stared each other in
the face, astonished to find that they
were still alive