THE MATERHORN TRAGEDY TERRIBLE DETAILS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 288, 6 December 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE MATERHORN TRAGEDY TERRIBLE DETAILS.

• Tiik Cord Had Bkoomb a Sor.m Bab of Ice. ,

A corrkbpondk.vt, writingfromGourm.iycmr to a M ilan newspaper, gives some details which he chanced to hoar during a recent visit fed Chatillon concerning the dreadful

accident at Cervino : —

Sinigaglia, the engineer, and the two guides, Gijrrel and Gorrefc, without either food or drink, had been thirty-six hours sheltering under a rock from the storm, in tha hope that a moment's calm migh b enable them to roach the lower ground. But instead of diminishing tho atortn increased and the cold became unbearable. A longer stay would have bean certain death to all three ; it seemed aa well to dare death manfully in a h'nal ttrnftgle with the elements. Buo ab this moment Carrel began' fco give in, and died in spito of tho best caro his companions could zive him, whiio Sinigaglia's hands were swollen und brniaed from hailstones as if they had beom hammered. The three climbers wore bound together — Gorreb (a colossus, to whose strength and vigour is due the safety of himself and Sinigaglia) went first, then Sinigaglia, and Carrel last. The cord had become a solid bar of ice. When Carrel died Gorreb tried to gefc iris knife out; of his pocket to cub the cord, but his jacket whs bo completely frozen rhat> he could not get at> his pocket. So for a short time theeo two helf-living. men were compelled to drag after them the body of their dead comrade, which seemed to wish to drag them back with- it into ite icy bomb. Ab last they came acroes a rock rising from the" midst of the ice, and on that with his axe Gorreb was at last able to cut the cord. With a last look at fcooir friend and a farewell which too closely recalled bbo ' Morituri te salutant, , the two survivors continued their melancholy descent. How they saved themselves fche"y are themselves unable to explain. A stoppage of even ten minutes would have been enough to freeze their stockings like the resb of their clothes, and then all progress would have been impossible. The day before yesterday I haw Sinigaglia. The marks of his wounds were still most visible. Gorret is gettiiog hotter ; ho still walks with his band in a sling, but there is hope that he will shortly be cured, Tho terrible tragedy of which he was tho hot o lias loft a ( deep impression oi> him ; he still spenke of jit ac an experience of the obher world, and is unable to explain how he escaped the fate ' of Carrel.