"LET OFF WITH A CAUTION."

Press, Volume XLVIL, Issue 7728, 6 December 1890, Page 2

"LET OFF WITH A CAUTION."

■There Iβ 1 i* maxitn which eeerae to ordinary eara, a and which yes applies with a 'eingulftr and- qraphio intensity to the Strange pastime of moan* tafevclimbtog; JM* this: that you TOUsC thipk of everything the minute before i 6 happens, anol not the minute after.. If it isreter eisy "to forgetr'the dbservktion of such a rule,; it is particularly ao withidceeacd to the enoce*tjlv© steps in-i * difficult rock climb. There ia thim remarkable difference—one may rs.markable differencer-one may the tidier—between sriW and rook: ,1 progress, orer the former Iβ more or less continuous; while'over* the latter it is Urdken, detached, composed (so to speak, of very different, It small stages, Ascend, lag or passing over snow—even when the process is so dangerous that your guide forbids you to epeak —is not quite like thfej ":The difference between the first-, step and the last is, perhaps, only marked by a greater or le«a degree, of excitement; And exhaustion. On the rock; ac the first step, you may be In a position which you could hold against two or three men* from -iwhlch-yotf could pull up half a dozen if. they wanted help. In ibe'iiext four or five feet upwards or round; */corner, you may very likely be jost able to preeerTe you? equilibrium, while, the < slightest touch—so you feel— would... certainly send you over. It is curious liow oia these occasion* that dull dogma, the law of gravitation, seemn to take a sort of spirit form and walk beside you—"one; mistake, one undecided o r foolish step, and you are mine; no loage r a lively and interesting human being, a mere body, obeying tbo laWβ of the matter into Which it is to be resolved i" Imagina. tion apart, however, it is well known that when the ground Is so difficult that no one oE the party Iβ likely to have any taper fluous eafety, co to speak, to distribute, to Ms friends/ there is not much use ia being ropeaV. .- ■• • ■.- * ~. ■„.• ..... . " ; ■ That is why Leonard Galveaton, hla friend Qurrell, and the guide who accompanied them, Efans Welrother, from S&tnaden, had already. dis carded the rope by the time they tad done about three-qoarters-of. the ascent of of Piz Coltella In theEngadine. The Pi* Coltella—a singular curve and pointed spur give the peak this suggestive name—is a rook mountain,bb e Qja trhjch' no *now ,Jifts in. summer. time> something under 11,000 ft in height ; ; . "an interesting peak," cpn. aoisseurt confide to you carelessly at table d'h6te, if you sco up the tight way!" CurreU and Galveaton— Led, his friends called him—were going - upthajright way.' The frleiide of the latter .(OttTrell was an older hand), and certainly His female relatives, would probably have thought otherwise. Gtalveaton, however —a 1 brisk, athletic English ever demanded a cold bath in a foreign hotel»—was only nlled with a'pare and wild delight a& he and his two com. panlone threaded their way, iefgsaggfag backwards and forwarde up and along the cracks and interstices, narrow ledges* and itrlOe" otjgysas; that seejn at m distaaco «aerl Marking courts ia the maaorn'y of the of the Pis Coitelia. Progress becotsilnff easier-for a moment, one of the part} tilrtjed a little one way and one the other. It was stiil. of course, hat'd climbing. Galveaton had eaing , hia ,&lpet\s&iciS <m to the belt o! his Norfolk jacket and was working hie waf, ©very! niuecle strained to clutch .now tbi roots of I tuft.aud U(?w etnuU ridges of rock I, Auofcher ten eeeonde passed—ie this sort ujl. progress itts so easy to get harried— and a tea? seized him. He could not keep foot or hand hold a moment longer. Could ! h& have gone .back? Impossible: co it Meemed< -Kβ madfea furioas efl'ort fotward, upward; The wall Of rock seemed to project right over bins, Through the only crevice Before him he struggled :. fcaatlcaily. ~A tuft of grass gave way, but as it fell he had graaped aiaothar. The roek-*dgeafehiftlefbeeemed to be cominjr his hand. One more a&ruggle Uftward; one more yet. & loose splinter of rockieJlrattling down; and he stood erect, breafc&losa and with t»en»p£ration. For one half-second, as his exhausted lungs filled and his attained hal£e4fHpedfnusclearelasted,didGfelvaatoti gftiile ihe smile of the victor over a -pbyalcal obstacle:' th'er next he turned 'deadly paje; for he and those watching him saw tnat mslMt energetic movement had been a falsa &fe& atid had landed him -—accord ing . ,<to . ySfjksir . but expressive pjSance—-" In the hole." All had passed Ia littis mtoi tbau a inioute, fiafie <W«!t<>tlieS" ( earefally placing hie heavy alpatastock in a crack in the rocks, and shifting, the bag ot provisions from his b»etf» me*ei£ observed (bu& Curpll lelt that no espres9i6a of horror could hav§ '* Wait, "The ydunf geaUemanhas feone too much to the left. $alreaton~ leaked up again, to be sure that his first gi&cce kd not daeeived „ Mod ; .flw plase might have been a niche 60 ia facfc; and M, the ega^ae."standing with his face to tike Wall; .with jfSst-Tooiw it- stand, unable to st»r %fitiii Wattes to right or left, WhaS was te&h knew well enough, 4hoEj?h the could co& see, aow—a blank; Ho 6ni6 could help bim, In front was a ledge—* aorC of

W& with onXnl S*' oa te«.^r gtaantle UeulderawVb , !:* tftia's foot. A atone Si. oVer ti»'- '* I bounded d O 4 t.-te-hwr it for more than Si* ' Uβ O striking the rock! XI? "^«?t,""' ; ft*n minutes paea, TW t • • '• hope; and yet relatives «IrtoXtSi** «l»: b?s ' SL had ever beeS fe &?$ long fell trora a k$ warning phenomcaou, .J"*!* sS app**r*nee t ' moat »C#reaca .80 -contrary •« Its very rarity «een,3 S sort of insurance. . * PmUiut the unconscious joy orm*'» n(i t""!"-!- 1----like a flood, {Hun phafc itB !%n his home, hi* -.- work with its inters n? c , l 4? -Increasing struggles aJr 1 /*':; «•. ■ life be hud somehow wrtvtd fct i** sbo-% .way certain people whole success were faeglnnlnK tokn*. wj. ,', he felt tabe his tW wJS* pp tWt idea of giving up tbo ' • « , . existence vow, anafor WbaTO '»' t^V Why did ho cornel Wht w^k armchair in hi* own iSii** then he prayed with furious -^t-' saved the natural coas ? «* t?fomtu, act He Sunaay , before having l\i\ with Currell oatha grass h L ! s"'" * hotel Aboat the theory o| i t? hating Ch6ughb th» !atW e Jg«; tl | antiquated. Yet he v?** b»,^ 4 r ''tf* ? faatd- £ that caa be eawJffhß, ,^ li I rowed in a boat. -Looldoeiei:^ 1 i". aaw the .valley quietly S^- 1 :t {' Everythiug elee, the whofo t, all right. How idle to eawJ2*J?'*u * - serenity woold be broken thrC> v I' projidentlftl Interfewni C And yet, fnd yefc ~A voice reTerle: 4 * Move not, triove»S il "', l" f well, dear sir; wait only!" &P\sfr f'■ who German, the tojfe I mountaUeering; \VeJroth«ri h 4 r! straggling wUB Irantic, alhkt &*? : . energy to eet near, «ud mo^CsUt,^ , f above, the fatal niche.. " Wbtht^? , **' of you—a ledge nnd % orevlcaf" <W ?;' G Say itfs , youpu6 your I . "Yea—for about a foot-* <wu I* crack. ,, "So; good. Tour Currell, and *n3n»e i good ag»inj Tic it to tb*K"- * F • Hans Weirotber i3.ndb , " liable of guides Jn the BngaS\fe f' RliM>, the " Hlct" of the dtaWnVn! I ounningof chamols-huuters, a y / te ' i U •trange<a»d vwrioan exptrlencM,- p" therefore, quietly attaches a««&£'<*> > ¥ of r6cfc to the white nmiillteia* * " * , " Good; throw It over his shol^ v f ; From where they aa» f thirty feeb belovr. and a little to T\* f Currell jodictoualy bowk tha ftirtV-U Qalvestqn'e uiche. The latter I " end In one bead. "PulMt Up fl. » f ,-, f - without hurry;" ana Galatea'r>7 t mutely wondering wa&i; win (»«; A j t ■' the end is a piece of etovit wood ahoinitC ( iron-f-soiD© two feefc of Weirothfr't el--" f atock which-tie has just eat tC !: iv.t you fbs it, in the ledue! Fi^j-Wn-care. ■It Iβ done. Thanks fee I God J It will not slip-no?" '' I GftlreetOQ now seo*) in & fl«h witj ! j | rueunt, bub calmly obeys the ?,h j c follow, passes tiia ropa rousd hh s,n J body, knotting It aecurdy, &ad U:;i £ round the wooden pivot j inea UUjrf I hie coat and spread a U oa the rc«k i>s %% %■' vent the rope rubbing; tfcea f other end tight, with two tar m tease }M I wrletjproceeda to let himself deteLUnig | down. ■».,.... . f " I have done it once or twice I Herren," explains *' heavy, buck ebomofa, whes tc«uies,c! |~ have carried him myself. At) I hJ* W there to the left. This way. H»v« »ia«/ f It was luclcy, very lacby/ I i f«« Galvesfeon was In a nMty ska to t' afternoon; it, was half afeiou?fe"w«f could get him out" eaye Cum!!, si i.i?fe r dhdte, whoa he jeoouata.ttsa f' I - "fcliere follows a chorus ot $»;s!s#&& p", : '<■'■ " * ,- A • " Whatever iaducea pespl© k> r* K!a t' such placea I never could L-' esclftlins au intaiested lady asaiie*. **! X" explains naee^ly;6hat ha faihUrj j, r of going there again.—a*. fr-: s."*. fe