The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-08-11


80 80 o' neve or ice The suov h-sslx
aay under the weight ~ -sA 49, :. 80
~s1S Aaexn down with IL ssyrrsAssr,s.z -. =
- E y safety. sometimes Z, a erevasss
-4sfise, OF course has lad down
- e. rules for determining Whether snov-
go, sa-S sost is safe, bur the hezt men
,Irna. Wen az a-natsurs-rnay some
s.a. s De Fnisl@d. Pref Tyndau. for In
sNdnce. was always a ca,,tfa,s~ as .,ew
.-.Ala.st mounfafneer- yet there was a dsy
.aa the professors snoweraf1 fsffes hin
81 sie came very near to paving for his
oaun0er with his life
a. place was the Pig Morteratzch. n
I,,1,. sc. ard The time the month OF
80 LS4 Prof. Tvnaalps eorpauAars
~e,e SIR Hutchinson and T,ee wa~~e~
81. the guides Jenni ard Walter Ienrt
al mat tfE7e the dictator ~ Fsnr.ra
saha- and he seems 70 h.ye So on. urstb
80 -, oetioerate Intention Of showing hfs
was "Aaa n
me ascent was accommodates urtsh,r.
-. alls incident 81 note. On tho way down
-, p@Fty reached q broad couioir. or gatIv
i1 WIN snow. which had been rryeftss
-, ttltozen, SO Ak to expose A sseeplv
1sspl.s Wal Of ice. The question arose
N.in'i'fI y would BE- better IN descend this
- -. y - keeD % the steep rocks by
ehe side Of H. Prof Tyndall preferred The
soeks. Jeani inclined toward the slope and
Stattea 70 lead the way uron IL
me. mere "s-s a renonstranee from the pro-
1enni." be said. do YOU know where
$ou are going2 The slope is pure ice"
know it, the guide replIed. "hut +ho
ice Is quite bare for a Few rods opIy
ACROSS this exposed portion I viii cut
saeph, and then the SNOW which covers the
ice viii give rs footing"
20 lney started. roped together. Jenui in
front Mr. Tyndall next. followed by Mr.
Hutchinson, AIR. Lee Warner. the one in
experienced member Of the partv. and last
o. all the guide. Walter. ready 10 cheek a.,
lns instant any false step that Mr.. Lee
warner might make
after few steps Jenni began to see that
the slope vas less safe than he had sIp-
posed lie stopped and turned round 10
above him
Keep carefully in the steps. gentlemen. T"
ne SAID "a false step here might start an
avalanche"
And, even as he spoke. the false step was
MADE There was a sound Of a fall and a
rush. and Prof TyndaIl saw his friends
and their guide. all apparently rntaugIeS
whiried past him. He planted himself 10
resist the shock but II was Irresistible, he
too, was torn from his foothola and Jenni
followed him, and all five found them
selves riding downward with uncontrolIa-
pie speed on the back of an avalanche
which a single slip had started
Turn on your face and grind the point
or your axe or baton through the moving
snow into the ice"-that is the golden rule
for cases of the kind the only way in
which the falIer can do anything TO arrest
ms speed. But IL seldom avaiis much, and
In this instance it availed nothing
NO time" writes Prof TyndaH was
allowed for the brakes action; for L had
fhffx for
when / came into collision with some OBJ
stacle and was rudely tossed through the
air, Jenni at the same time being shot
down upon me. Both of us here lost our
batons. We had been carried over ere
vase. had hit it's lower edge and instead
of dropping into IL were pitched by our
great velocity beyond it, / was quite be-
wiidered for moment, but Immediately
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"
Presently second crevasse was reached
Jenni knew that il was there and did a
brave thing He deliberately threw him
self into the chasm, thinking that the
strain thus pat upon the rope would stop
the motion. But. though he was over thIr-
teen stone in weight. he was violently
jerked out of the assure. and almost
squeezed to death by the pressure of the
rome.
And so they continued TO slide on Be-
low them was a long slope leading direct
" downward TO a brow where the glacier
fell precipitiously and at the base OF the
declivity the ice was cut by a series OF pro-
found chasms where they must fall, and
where the tail OF the avalanche would
cover them up forever.
The three foremost men rode upon the
forehead of the avalanche. and were at
times almost wholly hidden by the snow,