The San Francisco call., 1905-05-15
GLACIER MAY
GIVE Up BODY
Believed Remains of Lord
Francis Douglas Will Be
Found After Forty Years
HIS SISTER ASKS AID
Young Englishman Met His
Death During Attempt to
Master the Matterhorn
Special Dispatch to The Call.


LONDON, May 14.-In the hope that
the slowly moving Zmutt glacier may
this year yield up the long entombed
body Of one of its most famous VIC
tins, Lady Florence Dixie has pub
lished letter appealing to all Alpine
climbers who may be in the vicinity 10
keep a sharp lookout for the corpse
of her brother, Lord Francis Douglas,
who perished there nearly forty years
ago. Notwithstanding the great lapse
of time, experts declare that il dis
covered it will be found in an ex-
cellent state Of preservation, practical
ly embalmed In ice, and will be easily
recognizable.
It was during the first attempt TO
master the Matterhorn that the terrible
tragedy occurred which caused the
death of three out of the four intrepid
adventures who had successfully ac-
complished the feat. and one of their
guides. The fourth member of the
party, Edward Whymper. still sur
wives, and Is one of the most renowned
of mountain climbers. The ascent. the
first on record. was made on July IA,
1865. After resting at the summit for
an hour and exulting in the knowledge
that they had accomplished something
that no men in the world had ever sue
ceeded in doing before, the little party
started to descend.
THEIR FALL TO DEATH.
They had three guides with them
and one OF these, Michael Croz of
Chamounix, after placing the feet of
Hadow in the inches which he had
cut, turned to go a step lower. He
either missed his footing or was
NV,
There was shrek of horror and then
the two glided down the slope, pulling
after them first the Rev. Charles Hud-
son and then Lord Francis Douglas,
both of whom were tied to the same
rope.
Whymper and the other two guides
had just time to plant themselves firm
ly when the shock came. The rope
| which would also have drawn them to
death snapped.
For two or three seconds" says
Whymper in his account of the dis
aster, I'VE saw our unfortunate COM
panions sliding downward on their
backs and spreading out their hands
endeavoring to save themselves; then
they disanneared one by one and fell
from precipice to precipice on to the
glacier below, distance of 1000 feet
In the frigid embrace. of the glacier
from, that day to this the body of
Lord Francis has remained. No trace
of it was ever discovered beyond a
portion of one sleeve The other three
bodies were recovered and buried. At
a ratesof speed which admits of almost
exact mathematical calculation, the
glacier has since been steadily descend
ing, and this year that portion of 1t
on which the Alpinists.z fell should
reach the valley, 1t is that which has
led Lady Florence Dixie to ask all
who may be visiting Zmutt this sum-
mer to be. on the watch for it.
DARING OF HIS SISTER.
'I was very little child when the
accident in question occurred" says
Lady Florence in her letter, "but I
recall the fact that my brother .ex-
pressed a wish before leaving for the
Alps that If he should be killed and
his remains recovered he should be
buried on the spot
The tragic fate of her brother did
not check the development of an equal
ly adventurous spirit in Lady Flor
ence. She has been in perils often of
her own seeking. AS far back as 1873
she explored the unknown wastes of
Patagonia and a few years later found
her acting as a war correspondent in
the earlier Boer war.
Chamounix has twice witnessed cases
of such late recovery as that now
hoped for. The remains of three guides
overwhelmed by an avalanche on Mont
Blanc in 1920 reappeared four miles
lower in 1861, and the body of Captain
Arkwright, another avalanche victim,
was similarly found forty years later.