The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-12-31
ALPINE ACCIDENTS.
Nearly Two Hundred Fatal Ones III
Thirty-si, Years.


London Telegraph: Since the year
1860 near 200 fatal accidents have oc-
CURED upon tho Swiss Alps alone. or
these how many were Cccasioned by
mnla druIt, feeble az timid ciImbers'
The safety OF every mountaineering
party demands In advance that e1rh
member OF u should be Il pr0CtIcednnd
steady climber; thnt no serious ascent
should be undertaken by any man who
cannot rely upon his own nerve and
capabilities, his power of hsnvlnE IA
tigur and standing cold; aud, hnnlly.
that the party should be accompanied
by n auiTlcicn; number OF professional
guides. Mr.. Leslie Stephens lays II
down as 4 rule that the lOltiest noun
tain may be scaled with safety by
trained mountainecrs. provided that
fine weather, good guides and favor
able conditions OF rock and snow have
FIRST been occurred ION the other
hand" he adds. There Is no noun
tain which may not be excessively
dangerous II the weather be bad, the
guides incompetent. the climbers IN
experienced, the conditions OF rock or
snow unfavorable." Who. for Instance.
can say with confidence until he has
been tried that he has nerve enough
10 stand the crucial test which Prof.
ASassl2 ConfcsScs was almost more
than he could bear. when In 1871. he
was one " party Of twelve who as
ccndcd the Juugfrau, half or them be-
inG professional guides, with the ce!e-
bruted Jacob Lenthold. who died soon
afterwurd OF consumption, az their
head?"
I'VE started" wrote AgaSsiz. from
the Ghimsel hospice at O'Clock n. IN.
on August q. 1871. sleeping the first
night nj the chalets OF Meril, md COM
ple;inS the ascent OF the JungfFau
next day. Our difficulties were not 4
little Increased by heavy mlstS and
intense cold. At last the ascent became
more and more steep, and every step
had 10 be CUE In the Zee. Lenthold kept
us close 10 the edge OF the ridge OF fro
zen SHOW. because the Ice yielded there
more easily to the axe. II was. how
ever. SO trying TO our nerves that |. for
one should not like TO repeat the tx
perience. The awful preciplce beneath
US was constantly In view. and we
could drive our aipcnstocks through the
rim OF frozen SNOW and gaze sheer
down through the hole into a vast
nmphithcater which seemed yawn!ng
TO swallow US thousands and thousands
OF yards below. The apex OF t:lr jung
frau IS so small that only on. person
can stand upon Il. At .. m. I'VE start
ed upun our downward path. turning
our faces to the icy slope. and feeling
with the foot fox each step below, these
steps being more than seven hundred
In all. At ll:30 o'clock p. III. we reach
ed the chaieis OF Mrril. which We had
LEFT that morning at the earliest dawn
OF day" The least imaginative mind
can readily realize what one false step
made UPON n surface SO steep anu slip
perry that It is impossible 10 think OF It
without q shuddcr, would have involV-
ed IL the worst accident tina. ever
happened on the M1tterhOrn-that
which betcll Lord Francis Douglass
and his three hapless cnnphnions-i;
is notorious that one false step made
BY an inexperienced climber. and fol-
lowed by the breaking OF rope. was
the sole cause Of TINT terrible tragedy.