The Dickinson press., 1905-12-02
AN ALPINE TRAGEDY.
ThEillang story. OF a-EaM.Down the
Matfer60rn. 80

ThEillang story fsa.Fal.D ownsthe
Matferhorn. ss
Zone Of the most thrilling stories In
Alpine history is that Of Mr.. Sloggett's
fall on the Matterhorn,.swrit Aubrey
lie Blond. With two Zermatt guides
-Alphons Furrer and Augustin Cent?
netta-this young Englishman had
made q quick ascent Of the mountain
and was a long way down on the re-
turn journey. At n spot it is neces-
sary to cross a c%ouloir, or gully OF
snow and ice, and down this channel
fall most of the stones that detach
themselves from the shattered face OF
the peak. The leading guide, Furrer,
was making his way over when a
stone, dropping from q considerable
height, struck him full on the head
and instantly killed him. The two
others, attached by their rope to his
dead body, We're unable in their pre-
carious foothoid to resist the shock and
We're Immediately swept away down
the cou!oir at terrific speed. Their
axes We're torn from their grasp, and
Gentinetta, who never lost conscious
ness, was convinced that death must
await them at the end of that awful
journey. but this man of iron nerve
kept his presence Of mind and showed
what a stout heart and q keen intel
ligence can do even in the o des-
perate situation.
about 800 feet below the spot where
the party were carried off a small
b~ergschrund or revasse ran across the
ice slope which forms the base of the
Matterh0rn on its eastern side. This
crevasse is not always open-in fact,
in October, 1908, when l went on to
the mountain to photograph the scene
of this accident, it did not exist at all.
Beneath it are ice cliffs, and any one
shooting the crevass and falling over
these would have a sheer drop which
must Immediately be fatal, but in Mr..
Sloggett's case the crack was several
feet wide and into it the two still liv-
ing men and their dead companion
were precipitated. The chasm was
partly filled with stones and sand, and
Mr.. Sloggett fell face down. Cent?
Meta, though terribly bruised, without
an instant's delay seized the helpless
form of his employer, pulled him out
of the position in which he lay, almost
suffocating, and cleared the sand gu
of his throat and eyes.
Ellis jaw was broken, and his bruises
were even worse than those of Cent?
Meta, but no other bones were broken.
The disaster was already bad enough.
but at any moment an even more ter
rible catastrophe threatened the two
poor wounded men in the crcvasse.
The couloir was. as l have said. Il nat
ural channel for falling stones, ana it
was just the hottest hour Of the day.
when the SNOW was thawing fast and
loosening from it's letters the missiles
1t had earlier held fast frozen to the
mountain. 1t was imperative to lose
no time i'll waiting for assistance from
the other parties who were OH the Mat
terhorn. So the guide and the English
man, without axes, bruised, shaken
and weak, started on the desperate
task of climbing back up that CLASSY.
blood stained wall, a task hard enough,
even FOR an uninjured and fully equip
ped party.
"How it was accomplished Gentinct-
ia declares he does not know, but by
an extraordinary display Of pluck ana
skill the two at length reached their
old tracks and gained a place of safe
ty. Assistance was now Mt hand, and
with the help of the other parties the
wounded men eventually arrived at
the Schwartz hotel. Though laid Up
for many weeks after, both in the chi
made an excellent recovery. Poor. Fur.
rer's body was with much difficulty
brought down next day from the ere
vase"
A Ruse of War.
II 60 not 11-,y- .,>o1s.,, 4>