BRUSHES WITH DEATH.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume I, Issue 27, 14 January 1911, Page 4 (Supplement)

BRUSHES WITH DEATH.

THRILLING STORIES OF MEN MHO HAVE BEEN RESCUED FROM REMARKABLE PERILS.

Occasionally a ronsiticnal r«?ue is accomplished while, practically speaking. all tho world looks on and applauds th«- rescuers as it congratulates the rescued But more often the narrow es«ipe f:om death is’ something known only to the person who his taken th- first stope into the valley of tho shadow and to the few friends to whom h - has related his experiences. A M’ONDERFUL ESCAPE. Ernest Whymper, greatest of Alpino ' climbers, has had many narrow escapes ! from death, but none so narrow as that i by which he inis-cd destruction in the early d.iys of his career when the Mattei horn was still uneonquered. He had arranged for guides to accompany nun in an .attempt to reach the top, but was ob’igcd to wait for a day- or two until they were free. In tho meantime I ho de'erinined to scale one or two of I the lower peaks alone, and get a good { working know ledge of the first part ot the journey. Leaving his hotel at Breud, he ascended to a point where there was a r< ugh ,-ahin, spent a short time m admit ing the magnificent view, then started to return to the valley. Think-

i.i that the i.e axe which he carried wa- merely an <ncumberancc, he detache 1 tne head from the stock and left the former behind him. Very soon, however, he discovered that the steps which he had cut on his way up had Ix-en o’diu rated by the strong sun, and it would be necessary to cut others. HIS FATAL CARELESSNESS.

It may be that he d’d not regard tne undertaking with sufficient seriousness. and became careless for one fatal moment, for he slipped and fell forward. Strapped between his shoulders was a hoav,- knapsack, the weight of which caused him to pitch on his head.

lie landed twelve feet lieiow on some rocks then I ounded off and went heels ever head into a gully. About two bundled feet .’head of him was a precipice o‘. about eight hundred feet to the glacier below. From rock to rock he bound- d. each plunge being longer than tLe one before. Finally, when close to the yawning rift he was thrown high in tho air and fell on some jagged rocks, that caught what was left of his clothes. The cloth would not have held biin. Hit th? momentary detention allowed him to dig his feet into a deep si.owdrift and clutch at the nearest projection. fhit end bruis.d in a hundred places, and exhausted with loss of blood, fie stiugg e-1 to his feet, and clambered on to a ledge alxive him and fainted. Afte’- about two hours he regained his senses, and, working slowly, was able at last to make h’s way to the valley.

A SHIPWRECK IN THE CHANNEL. Although John Hyslop is well known among yachting rirclrs, very few have heard the story of his struggles on the lx rderla’id.

On October 13, 18 : 8, the Mohegan was steaming down the Channel, when at a ] oint almost opposite the Lizard th're w.i.s a c ash forward 'that shook the ship from stem to .-tern. An indescribable scene followed within the next ten minutes. A heady the s:c:’’r.cr was sinking, and heroism and discipline had liegun the battle with bintnl cowardice and helpless despair. A beat war. lowered, but was immediatelv swamped. Another boat was lowered, only to suffer the same fate. M'”i .se:z"d life-belts and flung themselves into the water to fight alone the •errible ?eis. Hys'op clung to the trainmast to which instinct had driven him. Presently ho felt the ship going dean. Quickly, with the activity of the trained sailor, he elamliered up the rigging. From below came sounds of floating objects dished against the sides Tiie cries, cursings, prayers, orders—all had ceased. Again the vessel dropped, s i suddenly and so deeply that k was with difficulty that he kept bp head above water.

He forced" hinpelf to climb higher, i and with great difficulty reached the | ton ot tlm mast. But now. with no I sudden lurchings. but with a steady' and gradual sott'ing the Mohegan sank Inner am! lower. Even at the mrs -top the water overtook him and submerged him. Fighting for his life, he one? more got his held dear and ! struggled ve* a little higher, but as h? did ‘o he felt a tremendous p?i'l on | h:-? foot. Holding hi? breath, be gripped | th-* r-ttbngs ami dragged himself tinj void. Tne strain upon bis leg re'axod f end s ion .-.pp;*. red b’s : d- his own the heed of the s cond offi-er. Both were too exhausted to S'eak, and when a momen‘ la’er one of the second robin pussan ger-- fought his wav through, the three merely looked the question that ca h was asking.

PREPARING FOR THE LAST. But the ordeal had scarcely begun. It was now onlv eight o'clock, and j Irtig hours of darkness had to be en- : durrd before they < o”ld so much as m\" n ’? n ‘^ ea their situation. I liiroiigh those Jone black hours they c.ung Io the rigging, their e-.es bnhrI mg with terror, their hands nunded j with cold. At lest the dawn came, and thev I were able to get son.e idea <.f what ( bail happened. Thev were we ! -e<l tmh j on the Manacles. Put how ti.?•+ 9 What night be exnected at the - v t ride? ! Mould the water ris? or fall 9 ros"

But Providence was mo-ciful The wares graduallv sank—lower and i< ?er until they could fee some ot the ,-*cks piotrml ng in the water. And then ? cry of relief burst f.om t'.dr p’rehed

throats as they saw a lifeboat coming towards them. They were saved! ENTOMBED ALIVE. Still more thiilling is the story of the French miners who were taken alive from the mine at Courrieries a year or so ago, after all attempts at rescue had been abandoned for more than two weeks. For twenty days the men had been entombed in a distant gallery, and that they finally were restored to taeir families 'was due to one of their number, a miner named Nemy. _ Tha* any of them retained their senses—and half of them were temporarily insane when rescued—was due to the' courage of this leader, who organised them into committees of exploration, of comnii.-sariat, and of entertainment. H-e himselUwas chaiiman ol all thiee. He led the party over the bodies of dear comrades, seeking an outlet from the prison. It w-as he who discovered not only a dead horse, but the carrots which had formed part of its provender: he who kept their spirits up by telling them stories and singing songs. It was his cheerfulness and wonderful strength of character that inspired his comrades with hope and saved them frtim the tragedy of despair. But tne doctor who was summoned took care to bandage his eyes and the eyes of all of tlic*~ other terrible wrecks of manhood liefore ho allowed any of the thirteen to be taken to the mouth of the pit.