Jasper County Democrat, Volume 17, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 May 1914 — AT THE BOTTOM OF A CREVASSE [ARTICLE]

AT THE BOTTOM OF A CREVASSE

True Heroism Shows Its Metal In the Swiss Alps.

sitting on a hotel porch among the Sh iss Alps it) August with uiy Uncle G< • !_e, l»"tli of us gazing up at a gla cier winding its way to the valley, 1 Hoiked a sail look in his eye. "Doesn't the view invigorate you uncle?'' 1 asked. • I've been thinking, Billy,” he re plied; "t is what?" "Our e-uitoniptihle natures.” 1 knew uiy uncle was a pessimist. Most old men are. I made no reply. • When 1 was your age.” lie continued, "l gave way to a weakness- a good many weaknesses, but one es.pteiaiiy right here in these mountAt t!ie time to have confessed i: w-buul have been a strain on me. Suiv mv ait seems nothing more than what mi-lit he expected from a descendant of that half brute, half savage, called prehistoric man.” "Rot there an* redeeming traits." "1 wish I could see them in my case.” "Well, tell your story. I'm sure you have one to tell.” "I was in this region with a party 61 tourists. Bob South wick, a classmate of mine in college, had come over with me. and we were doing these mountains mi foot. Bob Was a great climber. while I preferred to look at the mountains from a distance, as we are doing now. The party i mentioned joined us here. Among them was a girl of nineteen, and Bob fell in love with her Then lie was called away to Paris for awhile; and during his absence I —well, 1 cut him out with the girl.

"When Bob came back, as was to be expected, there was constraint between him and the girl. Bob seemed to he ju a mental fever; btyt; strange to say, it showed itself toward her and not at all to me. But I found out afterward that he didn't know what I'd been iqi to, and 1 hadn't the manliness to tell him. At any rate, lie was hot for climbing and wanted me to go with him. The very day after his return be invited me to make a trip as far up the glacier as we could go between daylight and dark. I didn't wish to go, and I didn't like to refuse. To stay behind with the girl I had robbed him pf seemed to add to my contemptible conduct. I consented to go. "We started at 4 o’clock the next morning, taking axes and a rope sot making difficult passages. We climbed over those places that from here look a trifle rough up there—we found them at times impassable—proceeding on our way till noon. Then we stopped and ale our lunch, after which we Started to put in another hour on the upward course before returning. “Coming to a crevasse perhaps six feet across, we determined to Jump it \\ e fastened the rope about our waists, and Bob jumped first. The other side mus steep and somewhat soft, but Bob after some stamping and cutting with his ax got a foothold. Then I jumped am] struck snow. 1 felt myself goingbackward and tried to get a hold /m projecting ice with my ax. 1 failed. Bob saw what was coming and braced himself for the shopk. I went over.

“The rope held. Bob was dragged a few feet and then got a firmer foothold. but a precarious one. There was no possibility of his pulling me up. and if the strain continued I would soon drag him over. We talked together about the prospect, he trying to encourage me. i knew I had to go to the bottom, and it depended upon me whether or not I dragged Bob with me. I'd done one mean act toward him, and I couldn’t bring myself to drag him down with me. especially when it wouldn't save me. I put my hand in my pocket, took out my knife and. breathing a prayer that my soul should be received in the ottfer world, cut the rope.”

Another pause. I saxv my uncle shudder. “I heard something between a shriek and a groan from Bob. To my astonishment, 1 fell only about thirty feet and landed in soft snow. I was buried up to my armpits. Of course I called up to Bob that I was all right, and 1 shall never forget the ‘Thank God!’ I heard him utter. “Well, there I was, stuck in snow at the) bottom of a crevasse, with no means of getting out. The rope wasn't long enough by half to reach me. Bob of course was eiiabled to secure his own position, or. rather, to jump to the other side of the crevasse. He jumped safely, and we held a parley. There seemed nothing to do but for him to go down to the hotel for assistance and a ro P e i_ Fortunately some one there was watching us a glass, saw the accident and met him on the way. In the middle of the afternoon l was drawn up.” We.snt for a few moments in silence. I overwhelmed with the utter absence of consciousness on the part of my un cle of his heroism; then I said; “What did your friend say about your cutting the rope?” “He never thought to examine the cut. He supposed the rope had bro ken." “And didn’t you tell him?” “No. What was the use?" Again I was lost in astonishment. “And the girl?” I asked presently. “Ob. the girl! Well, she fooled us both." “Uncle,” I said after another pause “If you were conscious of being a h *ro I suppose you wouldn’t be one.”