The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-06-28
IN AN AVALANCHE.
The Perilous Adventure of a Mountain



The Perilous Adventure of a Mountain
Climber.
Among the many accomplishments of
Prof. Tyndal1 must be reckoned that
of being firSt-clasS mountaineer. His
ascents of Monte Rosa, Mont Blanc and
the Weisshorn are of themselves enough
to establish his reputation in this re-
gard. In 1864 he had an adventure up
on the Piz Morteratsch, of which he
afterward gave the world highly in
teresting account. The trip was made
with two friends and two guides. The
top of the mountain was reached with
out any exceptional difficulty; but in
descending the party came to a broad
couloir filled with snow, which had
melted and refrozen and appeared like
a frozen wall of ice.
The five men were rOped together,
with Jenni. one of the guides, in front,
and the other behind Jenni cut steps
until he reached snow which he thought
would give the party a footing. AS he
went cautiously forward he said, 'Keep
carefully in the steps, gentlemen; a
false step here might start an avail
anche."
''The words were scarcely out of his
mouth says Prof. Tyndall, when !
heard the sound of a fall behind me,
then rush, and in a moment my two
friends and their guide, all apparently
tangled together, whirled past me.
planted myself to resist the shock, but
in an instant was in their wake. The
impetus was irresistible. A moment
afterward Jenni was whirled away, and
thus, in the twinkling of an eye, all five
of us found ourselves riding downward
with uncomfortable speed on the back
of an avalanche which single slip had
originated.
before stepping on the slope had
according to habit, made clear to my
mind what was to be done in case of
mishap; and so, when overthrown,
turned promptly on my face, and drove
my baton through the moving snow,
and into the ice beneath. But | had
held it thus for a few seconds only, when
came into collision with some obstacle
and was tossed through the air, Jenni
at the same time being shot upon me.
Both of us lost our batons We had
been carried over a crevasse and pitch
ed by our velocity far Leyond it. was
bewildered for moment, but immedi-
ately righted myself, and could see the
men in front of me half buried in the
snow, and jolted from side TO side by
the ruts among which we were passing,
'' Suddenly I saw them tumbled over
by lurch of the avalanche, and i'm
mediately found myself initiating their
motion. This was caused by q second
crevaSse.
''The three foremost men rode upon
the forehead of the avalanche, and
were at times almost immersed in the
snow; but the moving layer was thinner
behind and Jenni rose necessarily and
with desperate energy drove his feet in
to the frmer substance beneath.
"A kind Of condensed memory, like
that described by people who have mar
rowly escaped drowning, took posses
sion of me, and my power of reasoning
remained intact. thought Of Bennen
on the Haut de Cry, and muttered, 1t
is now my turn Then / coolly scanned
that, if their momentum was the only
thing to be neutralized, Jenni and my
self could stop them; but 20 arrest both
them and the mass Of snow in which
they were caught was hopeless.
II experienced no intolerable dread.
In fact the start was too sudden and the
excitement 7f the rush too great 20 per
init the development Of terror.
Looking in advance. ] noticed that
the slope FOR a short distance became /
less steep. and then fell as before. Now
or never we must be brought TO rest /
The speed slackened visi0Iy. and
thought we were saved But the mo- I
mentuIn had been too great; the ava /
lanche crossed The brow and II part re- I
gained It's motion
Here Hutchinson threw his arm
round his friend, al hope being extin- 1
g1ished. while 1 grasped nv belt and .
struggled to free myself Finding this (
difficult, from the tossing. ! sulieniy .
resumed the strain UPON the rope. and .
fortunately we came 70 rest 50 near toe T
brow that two or three seconds more (
must have carried Us oxer Had thiz
occurred. we should have fallen into
the chasm and osen buried by TIE tsli .
q the avalanche.
Hutchinson emerged from the snow
with his forehead bleeding. bBt the
wound was superficial. Jeuni had b.t
a flesh removed from hss hard ~ COL
lisioa against stone. the pressure q
the rope had left black welts or nv
arms, and vre al experienced a tirgling
sensation over The bzusls, which ecu-
tsnue5 so- severai day& This was all
-Yoath's Companion