Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-07-30
MRS. STONE R|SKED
LIFE FOR HUSBAND
Brave Woman Tells How Her
Husband Died by Fall Into
Crevice.

| Banff. Alberta, July 30.-The story
| OF how Mrs. w. +. Stone, wife of the
former president of Purdue University
| dangled at the end of a rope in mid
air and then dropped exhausted on a
| four-foot ledge. the only break in a
| precipitous cliff hundreds of feet high
| after an unsuccessful attempt TO save
| her husband who had fallen into a
crevice below, was revealed yesterday
/ in despatch received here from the
correspondent of the Calgary Herald.
| Mrs. Stone is now in an improvised
camp on the mountain side, recovering
from the experience of lying on the
ledge for eight days. without food or
/ water. until rescued by Hammer, a
Swiss guide. who carried her down the
steep mountainside to safety
The correspondent told how she
! watched her husband fall as they were
attempting to climb down Mount
| canon, and then attempted TO lower
| herself with a rope in the hope OF
rescuing him. The rope, however, was
! too short, and after hanging alongside
the mountain and finding she was un-
able to pull herself back up she let go
expecting TO plunge to her death in
| the abyss below. Fate interviewed and
she landed on the narrow ledge, q
drop of ten feet.
/ The accident in which Mr.. Stone
lost his life occurred on Saturday, July
| 16. she said, and not Sunday as was al
| first believed. Mrs Stone said that or
Saturday morning they Sc, out tC
climb Mount canon without being
fastened together by rope. In the
afternoon they had nearly reached the
summit and were negotiating a par
| ticular stiff bit of almost perpendicu-
lar cliff. Mr.. Stone was slightly in ad-
! vance.
Mrs. Stone said she suddenly looked
! up and saw her husband slip. Then
| he fell past her. and she saw him
strike the face of the cliff several
| times. his body turning over and over
until he disappeared in the abyss be-
low.
/ Although Mrs. Stone held out faint
| hope of. saving her husbands life
| and realized the grave dangers that
confronted her in the task that was
| ahead she endeavored to go TO his
rescue. Fastening a rope to the edge
of ledge she climbed rapidly down
until she reached the end Of the rope
There was no foothold and no hand
hold. and she found herself dangling
against the steep mountainside
| For some time she hung there, try
| ing vainly TO draw herself back up
| again. Finally exhausted she loosed
her hold, expecting ia dash to her
death. Instead she landed on the
| four-foot ledge, the only one in sight,
about ten feet below. There she re-
| manned for eight days.
During that time clouds often sur
rounded the mountain tops, and fire.
| quently rain and wind storms, ac-
companied by lightning and thunder,
| broke about her. Long before help
arrived she had about despaired of
ever being rescued, but her remark
able stamina carried her through
| On Friday night by a forced march
| the first section of the rescue party
arrived at Mount canon. Ii consist
| ed of Hammer, the guide. William
Childs and William Peyto. both of
Banff, and a party of Canadian Royal
Mounted Police. The search was Inn
mediately started, and on Sunday
morning, after riding hard from Banff
all through the night. Gen. Mitchell.
head of the Alpine Club of Canada.
and DIR. Bell joined the rescuers.
Last Sunday evening, Hammer. the
guide found Mrs. Stone. Letting him.
self down to her ledge with a rope he
fastened it about her body. difficult
task, for she was badly bruised. Draw
ing her up 10 where foothoid could
be gained he performed what Gen.