The wageworker., 1910-05-20
Follow Me
By F. A. Mitchell
Copyright. 1910. by American Press
Association.

lam known as Mesereau the climber
The guide upon whom | always re-
lied when climbing in the region about
Interlaken was Carl Weber, d German
Swiss. He was brave and faithful,
and l became very much attached to
him. l had him with me in every
climb made out of Interaken to the
submits of the Wetterhorn. Eiger,
Monk and Jungfrau. And frequently
when l attempted ascents in the south
ern Alps l would send for him to
come to me. He always responded
with alacrity. and knew that he
would rather guide me than any one
else.
After an adventure we had on the
Matterhorn his affection for me was
greatly enhanced. We were alone on
the side of that razor backed peak
when, walking on a snow edge, a
crust gave way beneath me. and fell.
Weber. knowing that the only way to
prevent his being dragged after me
was to throw himself Oh the opposite
side, did So There we hunG, each
dangling over precipice divided by
q sharp edge Of rock Unfortunately
Weber's right arm had become caught
in a loop of the rope and bone
snapped.
Herr" he called. Il cannot pull
myself up. My arm is broken. l think
there is snow beneath you. The rope
must be cut. You will fall short
distance and may not be hurt
"And you?"
IL shall go down a thousand feet"
''Then the rope shall not be cut
will go up hand over hand and. strad-
ding the edge, will pull you up
This l did. l expected Weber would
be overjoyed at his escape, but he did
not appear to be SO much pleased as
one would suppose.
"Achv' he exclaimed bitterly. II
shall never be the same man after
having been saved by one l have guild
ed
This was the last time Weber and
ever climbed together. Not long aft
erward. while conducting a party of
Englishmen to the summit Of Mont
Blanc. the snow gave way beneath
them, an avalanche was started. and
they were all lost. Weber's body was
found buried under thirty feet of
snow. head down. his alpenstock held
tight in the grip of his icy hand.
On hearing of my faithful guides
death l resolved that l would never
climb again. This was partly because
to climb without Weber would not be
enjoyable and partly because his death
caused me to realize that there is no
safety in Alpine climbing even with
the best guide. l refrained for two
years; then. business calling me to
Europe, l found myself near my be-
loved Switzerland in the summer sea-
son and ran down to Chamonix for
visit. Unluckily for my resolution
while at Chamonix l fell in with a
party about to climb to the summit
of Mont Blanc.
stood looking up one morning at
the magnificent sight of the mountain
on which Weber had met his death.
greatly tempted to make one more as
cent. l wondered if the soul Of my
guide. freed from flesh and the at
traction of gravitation. was fitting
over the cliffs. sailing through the
vast splits between the peaks. revel-
ing in being able to go like bird
wherever it pleased. Then came to
me superstitious dread lest If l wait
should meet with misfortune.
l determined to adhere to my reso-
luton to climb no more. when one of
the party began to talk with me about
the trip and when l spoke Of remain
ing below manifested some surprise
that such a ''noted climber should be
content to see others go without going
himself. This decided me to be one OF
the party.
We made the Grand Mulets, the hut
built for halfway stop. by evening
and started the next morning under
a cloudy sky for the summit. Within
an hour we were enveloped in by far
the worst snowstorm I had ever en-
countered 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 moving in any direction diff
cult.
have never before seen Alpine
guides thoroughly frightened. I'VE
must return to the Grand Mulets."
they all said. and. turning. we began
to descend. But how could we de-
scend any more than ascend. not be-
ing able to see a distance of ten
yards? If we stopped we would be
overcome by the snow. If we proceed
ed we would likely go into crevice
or over precipice And what was
the use Of moving when we did not
know which way to move?
I went out on a circumscribed ex-
ploring trip and stood apart from the
rest. awed by the whirling snow,
when l heard a voice-a voice IA
miliar, never to be forgotten.
Herr. folgen sic mich!" (Sir. fol
low me)
| At that moment l saw through the