The Alaska citizen., 1910-10-31
FOLLOW ME

am known as Mesereau the clilnh. CT. Tho guide upon whom : always relied when climbing ir the reei5n about Int,rlaken was Carl Weber. 2 German Swiss. He was brave and faithful, and | became very much attached to him with me in every climb l made cut of InteriaLen to the summits of the Wctlerhorn. Fl ger. MCnk and Jungtrau. And ire. quentlv when l attempted ao"cnts in the southern Alps l would send for him to 'ome to me He always responded with alacrity. and | knew that he would rather guide me than aus one else.
 Af,cr an a1van, Ire we had on the MatterEorn his affection for me vas greatly enhanced We were alone on tho side oi rhar razor pack ed peak when, walking on snow edge. a crust gave way beneath me. and I fell. Weber. knowing that the only way to prevent his being drag gcd after ne was to throw himself on the opposite siGe, did SO There We hung. each dangling over a prec- ipi,e divided by sharp edge of rock. Unfortunately Weber's right aru had become oaughf tu a loop Of the rope and bone snapped
 Herr" Le called, T cannot pull myself up My arm is broken. I think there is snow beneath you The rope must be cut. You will fall a snort distance ana nay not be hurt"
 And you?"
 T shall z, flown thousand feet.
 Then the rope shall not be cu, | will go UP hand over hand and Straddliag ttc edge, will pull you up."
 This did | expected Weber would be overjcyed al his escape but he did not appear to be so much pleased as one would suppose
 "Ach.' he exclaimed bitterly. II shall never be he sam, man after having hcen saved by one | have guided" "
 This was the last time Weber and ever climbed together. Not long n f. ,r,.orf ,,.L;l, ,o,I,,,f,c , ,,,r.,. of Englishmen 10 the summit of Mont Blanc the snow gave Way be meath them, an avalanch was started anl they were all lost Weber's body was found under thirty feet of snow head down his alpcnstook held tight in the grip of his icy hand.
 On hearing of my faithful guides death I resolved rhat I would never climb again This was partly be cause 10 climb without Weber would not be enjoyable, and partly because his death caused me to realize that there is no safety in Alpine ,limbing even with the best guide. reirained for two years; then. business calling me to Europe. found myself near my beloved Switzerland in the summer season and ran down to ChamoniX for a visit Unluckily for my resolution while at ChamoniX l fell in with a party ahout to climb to the summit of Mont Blanc.
 ! stood locking up one morning al the magnificent sight of the noun tain on which Weber had met his death. greatly tempted to make one more ascent. l wondered if the soul of my guide. freed from flesh and the attraction of grayiration, was iitting over the cliffs. sailing through the vast splits between the peaks, revcling in beng able to go like a bird wherever il pleased. Then came to me a superstitious dread lest if l wait l should meet Wirh misfortune
 l determined 10 adhere to my resolution 10 climb no more when one of the party began to talk with me about the trip. and when l spoke of remaining below manifested some surprise that such a noted climber should be content 10 see others go without going himself. This decid- ed me to be one Of the party.
 We made the Grand Mulets, the hut built for a halfway stop, by evening and started the next morn ing under cloudy sky for the sum init. Within an hour We were en- velopcd in by far the worst snow storm l had ever encountered in any of my asCents It was like an American blizzard, the snow falling in miniature spirals and deepening so rapidly that we soon found nov ing in any direction difficult.
 I had never before seen Alpine guides thoroughly frightened. We must return to the Grand Mulets,' y they all said. and, turning. we be- gan to descend But how could we descend any more than ascend, not