Year: 1863

attempted In 1920, and the disaster &C.
Cured on the second day Of the journey


The doctor who, by the way, died about
year ago at Geneva, wrote thus


"When near the Rochers Rouges, nv
companion Il and three OF the
guides passed me, so that was now the
sixth in the line aud the centre man.


II was next before me, and as It
was the first time we had been so circum-
stanced during the whole morning, he re-
marked it, and said we ought to have one
guide at least between us in case of acei-
dent. This overruled by referring him
to the absence of all appearances of dan
ger at that point of march, to which he
assentod. | did.sn attempt to recover
my place in front, though the wish more
than once crossed my mind, finding, per-
haps, that my present one was less labo-
rious. To this apparently trivial circum-
stance l owe my life. A few minutes af-
ter the above conversation, my veil being
still up, and my eyes turned towards the
summit of the mountain which was on
the right. as we were crossing obliquely
the long slope above described, which was
to conduct us to the Mount Maudit, the
snow suddenly gave way beneath our feet,
beginning at the head Of the line, and
carried us all down to our left.


was instantly thrown off my feet, but
was still on my, knees and endeavoring to
regain my footing, when, in u few seconds,
the snow on our right, which was, of
coursegabove US, rushed into the gap thus
suddenly made, and completed the catas-
trophe by burying us all at once in its
mass hurrying US downwards two crevasses
about furlong below US, and nearly par
allel to the line of our march. The ac-
cumulation of snow instantly threw me
backwards, and | was carried down, in
spite of all my struggles. In less thansa
minute emerged, partly from my own
cxertions. and partly because the velocity
OF the falling mass had subsidized from It's
nssfriction. vas obliged to resign my
pole,in the struggle, feeling it forced out
of my hand A short time afterwards |
found it on the very brink of the Gre
vase. This had hitherto escaped my
notice, from its being SO far below US,
and it was not until some time after the
snow had settled that perceived it. At
the moment Of my emerging l was SO far
from being alive to the danger of our sit
uatiou, that on seeing my two companions
at some distance below me, up to the
waste in snow, and sitting motionless and
silent, jest was arising to NY lips till a
second glance showed me that, with the
exception of Mathieu Balmat. they were
the only remnants Of the party visible.
Two more. however, being those in the
interval between myself and the rear ofI
the party, having quickly reappeared, [
was still inclined to treat the affair as a
perplexing though ludicrous delay, I'M
having sent us down SO many hundred
feet lower, rather than in the light of a
serious accident, when Matthew Balmat
cried out that some of the party were lost,
and pointed 10 the crevasse, which had
hitherto escaped our notice into which he
said they had fallen. A nearer view con-
vinced US all of the sad truth. The three
front guides, p Corrie, P Balmat, A.
Tairraz. being where the slope was some
what sleeper, had been carried down with
great rapidity, and to greater distance,
and had thus been hurried into the ere
vase, with an immense mass of snow on
them, which rose nearly to the brink
Mathieu Balmat, who was fourth in the
line, being man of great muscular
strength as well as presence of mind, had
suddenly thrust his pole into the firm
snow beneath, which certainly checked
the force of his fall Tie two guides
Julien and Devassoux and Joseph Marie
Coutet soon separated. 1t was long be-
fore we could convince ouselves that the
others were past hope; and we exhausted
ourselves fruitlessly for some time in
fathoming the loose snow with our poles.
We ventured in the crevasse, on the snow
which had fallen therein. Happily ii
did not give way beneath our weight.
Here we continual above quarter of an
hour to make every exertion for the re-
covery of our poor comrades. After
thrusting the poles in to their full length,
we knelt down and applied our mouths to
the end, shouting along them, and then
listening for an answer in the fond hope
that they might be still alive, sheltered
by some projection of the icy walls of the
crevasse; but alas all was silent as the
grave"


This calamity, of course, resulted in
| the abandonment of DIR. Hamel's enter
prise, and served fora time as check to
other attempts to reach the summit oi
Mount Blanc. The scene in Chamounix
among the friends of the lost men, on the
return of the survivors of the party, was
most distressing


A few years after, some scientific men
Of Geneva, who had carefully studied the
subject of the movements Of glaciers, pre-


dicted that in forty two years the bodies
of the lost guides would re-appear; anG


with almost astronomical precision the


calculation proved true, for about ffteer


month ago-just forty-two years after the
disaster--an arm and other fragments o


human body, recognized as having once
belonging to Pierre Balmat, were elected
by the remorseful glacier, and were buried


at Chamounix, with due religious cere


monies Last week further portions O


the same body-a thigh, and another arm


and hand were found, and all in state o
preservation, as far as flesh and bone


were concerned-were discovered, and in


tered in the same grave with the preyi
| f.or &c