Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-09-01
FIELDS OF ADVENTURE.
THRILLING INCIDENTS AND DARING
DEEDS ON LAND AND SEA.

A Wonderful Story which Antoine, the
Famous Chamois Hunter, Tells of a
Personal Experience in the Alps
Buried Alive by Bear.
"They tell wonderful tales of the
chamois and the chamois hunter in
Switzerland" said one who has been
in Switzerland frequently, and was
good listener while there, ''and Antoine
Gimlich, a middle.aged hunter, agile
and elastic in mind as we'll as body, 1
imagine, had in his repertoire of re-
miniscences of that shy and sure
footed antelope of the Alps more to
excite the interest az l strain the
credulity of the listener than any other
Swiss mountaineer ever heard give
himself liberty on the subject. Antoine
was dweller in the Bernese Oberland,
and to hear him tell it, he had hunted
and was at home in every part of the
Alps. His favorite narrative, for it
was the first one he always told when
he had listener, was of an adventure
he had once at the head of the great
Zmutt Glacier. He had been follow
ing chamois for two days among the
perilous rocks and icy slopes in that
locality, and at last discovered it on
the apex of high rock that rose fifty
feet above him. He himself was
standing at the foot of steep slope of
glacial debris, where the footing was
insecure, and which terminated on
the brink of chasm hundreds of feet
deep. The instant he saw the chamois
above him he fred. The animal
tumbled from the rock and fell at his
feet. Itwas not/dead, and it struggled
to rise. Antoine seized il by both
hind legs, and in doing SO lost his
footing. He fell forward, still hold
ing the chamois by the legs, and in
stantly both hunter and quarry were
sliding down the slope toward the
chasm.
Antoine made desperate efforts to
thrust his feet into some crack or
crevice in the debris to save himself,
and even the poor chamois paved
desperately with its forefeet to gain
foothold and stay the journey to
death. The efforts were vain. Antoine
retained his hold on the chamois' legs,
in the desperate hope that impels the
drowning man to grasp at straws. AS
they neared the brink of the chasm
the chamois, in its struggle, had
turned upon its back. Antoine sud-
denly felt the solid ground fall away
beneath him, and he knew he had
passed over the precipice's edge. But
instead of tumbling on down into the
abyss, he found himself suspended
from the cliff, hanging to the chamois'
legs. Antoine glanced upward. The
curved horns of the chamois had
plunged into deep crevice near the
precipice's edge as hunter and ante
lope shot over it. The strong horns
withstood the shock of the sudden
cessation of motion, and there Antoine
hung.
"Antoine at once uttered fervent
prayer of thanks for being thus un-
expectedly saved from the plunge, but
when he had time to collect himself
he changed his mind He had moth
ing to be thankful for, he thought, for
at best he could not see how the sit
uation was anything more than re-
prieve. 1t was impossible for him to
draw himself back to the, slope by
means of the chamois; the chances of
his being discovered and rescued were
rs one in thousand, and even with
that chance in his favor, discovery
must come quickly if all, to save him,
for his strength could not long sustain
him suspended by the antelope's legs
in, ,,ntIoir a1
he hung over that waiting abyss, suf.
fering torture in mind and body, and
he felt that his strength could last
but few minutes more, when he
heard shout, and then another. He
tried to answer the shouts, but only
hoarse gasps came from his throat. An
age seemed to pass. Then he heard the
sound of men making their way down
the slope. The sounds ca me nearer
then voices. Presently the form of
two hunters filed the space within
the range of his vision, ON the edge
of the precipice above him. Words of
cheer came from them. Antoine
grasped the antelope's legs firmly
with all his remaining strength. He
felt himself gradually rising toward
the slope. He closed his eyes; his
heart stood still; he scarcely breathed.
By and by strong hands seized him.
He knew no more until he found con-
sciousness in place of safety. His
rescuers were with him, and of course
no language could tell them what was
in his heart.
Everybody knows Antoine in the
Bernese Oberland. Inever found any
one who knew the two hunters who
rescued him that day at the head of
the great Zmutt Glacier. New York
Sun.