, 1898-10-29

most terrible mountain accidents of moder
times" I quote from the Times Of Tuesday
August 80. What were the facts D
HopkinsOn, with his son and two daughter
attempted the ascent Of Petit Dent Veisiv
which among mosntaiHcers is not considered
Of frat rale importance. They went withou
guides and We're rOped.
They did not return at the expected time
aud Mrs. Iiopkinsnn naturally becoming
anxious, search parties were started, one Of
which found DR.. Hopkinson and his children
dead, and rOped. 1t was obvious that soEe
one OF the party had slipped and dragged the
others to their doom. They fell several
hundred feet over rocks. We shall never
know the exact nature OF this calamity. 1t
raises once more the important question as to
whether it is lusti6abls to cut the rope if by
80 doing you can save your W life when
Shere seems no possible chance OF saving the
lives Of others.
A CASE of this kind occurred a fortnight
ago on the Ortlsr range when one brother,
Andrew Kosula, cut the rope and by so doing
saved his wi life aud his brother was lost.
1t is considered one Of the first rules OF a
guide nAver to allow any one to perish alone;
il ropsd, it 10 his duty to stick to his man
under all circumstances Let us imagine Q
condition in which q guide might be rOped
to several persons, and that one or more
might slip over a precipice, and. dangling in
space. be too heavy for the one whose feet
wore firmly planted for him to hope to drag
them to his level. Let US suppose that he
knows positively that if he does not sever the
rope he will be dragged over by sheer weight,
and that oil will perish. The situation is q
horrible one to contemplate. A story is c"r-
rent in which it is stated that q certain
guide was roped to a man, and whilst they
we're In 3 position Of difficulty the novice
LOSE his footing, and. slipping, hung simply
by the rope which connected him. with the
guide. The former, realisiag the position,
begged the guide to cut the rope, and save
his own life. The guide refused to do 40,
and both were, apparently, only awaiting
certain death when happily they were dis
covered and rescued. This amateur was al
Ehglishman, and both mon were heroes.
1t is within the range OF probability that
DIR. John Hopkinson might have saved his
own life il he had cut the rope. Had he
done 80, we venture to say that not a single
man or woman lives who would not have
condemned the act. Better, far better, as it
is. IE is one of the penalties which those
who face the great realities OF Nature such
as mountains, seas, or tsmpests, must be pre-
pared to pay under certain conditions.
There Inust be some strange, inexplicable
charm about climbing q mountain side, for
do we rot find the most learned men Ofben
losing their lives whilst engaged ipIthe e4-
plot?
DR.. Hopkinson is an example. Professor
Nettleship lost his life by q mountain acct
dent only o few years back. Year by year
the death roll grows, and the victims are
often men of ability aud women of cultur6!
The charm, men say, lies partly in tho desire
to do more than others have done. Proba.
bly, this 10 true. 1t is the same force which
Grives o man into a foreign country or irresis-
tibly pushes him towards the North Pole.
1t is the spirit of enterprise, he spirit of
emulation, and it is just the spirit which
makes natures grow and a s!Iong. 1t is
awful to contemplate these four souIs-ohe
girl was only eighteen years old-sO sudden
" cut OF in the full tide Of life and enjoy
ment and to picture them lying on their
rough stretchers covered with wrsaths and
mountain flowers. Still behind it all 10 Ia
feeling OF admiration for the courage, call it
teokless courage il you like, which allowed
these four to link themselves together and
ra,t ON an ascent which they must lave known
was full of daT yerous possibilities.