HAND AS BUFFER

Greymouth Evening Star, 14 April 1927, Page 9

HAND AS BUFFER

VIGIL OF TORTURE. CAPE TOWN, March 7. Mountaineers are lavish in then praise of a “magnificent act of courage” performed by an inexperienced climber, John Byng, while attempting to establish a new route up the face of Table Mountain, in company with Frank Cooke of Cape Town. The two men were linked togethei with a rope. After they had ascended 2000 feet Cooke fell, but was saved from certain death by the bravery and resource of his companion Byng, who had no previous experience in climbByng seized the rope by which he was linked to his friend and slipped it over a rock. He then placed his hand between the rope and “the rock so that it should act as a buffer and prevent the rope from fraying and snapping. His hand was crushed and cut, but hour after hour he braved the pain and kept the rope in position, while Cooke, who was suspended over a gorge hundreds of feet deep, was helpless owing to the fact that his thigh had been broken by coming in contact with the cliff face. By waving his handkerchief and shouting, Byng at last attracted attracted attention and as night was falling a party of mountaineers started to the rescue. Reaching Byng, who was on the point of collapse, they relieved him of the rope and set about the business of recovering Cooke. Two rescuei’s • descended to him with food and restoratives. They blindfolded him to save him the mental torture of being suspended in midair. Twenty-four hours later he was hauled, more dead than alive, to the cliff summit.