AN EPIC OF HEROISM

Taranaki Daily News, 18 October 1927, Page 6

AN EPIC OF HEROISM

STORY Or A BRAVE DEED A WONDERFUL TALE FROM INDIA. RESCUE FROM THE MOUNTAINS. ,A cable in Monday’s issue of the “News'’ announced that Lieut. Bain Smith; of the Royal Artillery, was •warded the Albert Medal for heroism. The “Times of India - ’ records the story of his bravery and endurance, and rightly calls it “an epic of heroism” although different it is worthy to be placed with the etory of Oates who made the Great Sacrifice during the Scott Polar Expedition. Writing of this episode the London “Times” says: "The self-sacrifice was in vain. But the heroism remains; and it is something to know that the spirit .■which risks all for the sake of another lias not passed away with the War.” “It would first be well to explain that Dharmsala is at an altitude of about fiCOO feet, Triund rest house at 9000 feet. Above Triund is a shepherd's camming ground at a place called Lakka, M;SW feet above sea level. This is just below the pass into Chamba. Mount Mun is the the right, or couth, of the pass and rises to 15,500 feet and the accident occurred soon after the climbers had left the summit,” says the “Times” of India.

“There is an epic of heroism in the full details which a special inquiry lias revealed concerning the fatal accident whereby Major H. D. Minehinton, M.C., lest his life while elimbing near Dharmaala on June 3 and the efforts of Lieut. G. F. Bain Smith, 1.A.0.C. to rescue him before he died from hie injuries. Major Minehinton was an officer of the Ist battalion, Ist King George’s Own Gurkha Rifles, and was stationed with his battalion at Dharmsala. He was one of the taost intrepid and experienced mountaineers in India. He had for years been a member of the Alpine Club and had constantly climbed in Switzerland.

"Major Minehinton went up the hill from Dharmsala with his wife on June 2 Cor n few Saytt’ outing. They reached that day a forest rest house at Triund, intending to make it their base for the next three days, and after breakfast on the 3rd, Major Minehinton went out with two Gurkha soldiers to climb a hill locally called Muri. The officer and his companions, Riflemen Ganjsing and Baghtir Thapa, climbed the mountain and started on their - return journey, al! three being roped together. STEEP SNOW SLOPE. "They were oft a eteep enow elope, slowly prpgreesing by cutting steps for their fe«jj/ when Baghtit Thapa, according to the account givejrby him. slipped. The rope field’By tl»e other two in front of him saved him from disappearing down the slope, but before he completely regained the cut steps he felt himself jerked off his feet by the rope and pulled down the hill. "Somebody else had evidently also fallen and the three men slipped and rolled together at a pace which made it impossible for them to regain control. They at last stopped and Baghtir Thapa then found that hie officer and the other Gurkha were too badly hurt to move any further. lie himself Was marvellously free from Serious injury. Major Minehinton to talk and accordingly it was arranged that Baghtir Thapa should go for help. This he did, after settling' the other two as comfortably as possible, and he called to the rescue Mr. Bain Smith. What that officer did cannot better be told than in his own words as recorded at the official inquiry. MF. BAIN SMITH’S EFFORT. "Mr Ruh. ifemitbi anu M«#Wife walked up from Dharmeala to Triund on the morning of the 3rd and there saw Mrs Minehinton, who pointed out the directicil. jj* Sfiiidi her husband had gone. They then went on to Lakka and Mr Bain Smith's etory begins at the moment of their starting homeward. ‘As we were about to return,' he says, ‘we saw a Guxgha staggering along the path, lie pulled himself together only enough le'4cbnvev that Major Minehinton had had an accident. He said that Minchinton was about an hour's walk away. Had I known the difficulties ahead I ehould at once have sent to the Gurkha ’ Mess for help, though even so this party could not have arrived much before nightfall. My wife went back to Triund to get help and I took a tiffin coolie with me The Gurkha attempted to come With me to show the way, but was left behind.

" ’Having climbed 2000 or 3000 feet. I heard Minehinton calling, and saw him in the middle of a enow slope. As I had no ice axe or grass shoes, it took koe till 4.30 p;m. to cross an intervening snow elope, which had a frozen crust on it. Kicking steps through the crust with stockinged feet was the only method practicable. "Mr Bain Smith goes on to say that •he found Major Minehinton conscious and able to talk at intervale, though the only coherent information he could give was that ‘we must have fallen a thousand feet and I cannot understand how any man can be alive after it; I have been here three or four hours,’ Mr. ‘ Bain Smith found the injured man badly cut about the head and face, but chiefly hurt in his back ’which was twisted.' He was not in much pain. The reseller gave him some brandy and offered chocolate, but he could not eat. Mr. Bain Smith then took of his coat, got the major on to it and started to

him down the slope. The injured man immediately experienced great pain and became delirious with it, and in that state he continued while he was dragged aome 500 feet. RELUCTANT SHEPHERDS. The etory continues: “The snew began to freeze over at (1.30 p.m.. I found J could no longer keep him under control. I had been obliged to let my coolie stay behind, as he could not tackle the snow slops. I went about one mile downwards and across the ice slopes and got two shepherds to come and help me. Un my return, Minehinton was unable to speak but was conscious, We got him down another 500 feet. Whenever we moved him he was in great agony, Having reached rough and frozen enow, vve could go on no further, and I eent one man down for more men. He did ®ot return.’ ' “So Mr, Bain Smith went himself Jor j/elp and got four extremely reluctant

shepherds. T sent these men back to Minehinton, but as I was exhausted I could only follow by crawling.’ When Mr Bain Smith got back to the Major he found him still struggling, but unable to recognise his rescuer. His struggles prevented him being moved, and the snow had now turned to ice. The second Gurkha of the climbing party had somehow managed to get himself down the slopes in company with Mr Bain Smith and Major Minehinton, and Mr Bain Smith, finding that the man could just keep on his feet, sent him down with two shepherds. Then, ‘I made repeated efforts to move Minehinton. At sunset the shepherds deserted me.’ “The tale goes on. ‘I stayed with Minehinton, who was now completely unconscious, whether alive or not I cannot say, for about half and hour after dark, but soon realised that nothing could remain alive on that snow after dark. The wind was very strong and there had been intermittent hailstorms all-the afternoon. I got down to a fire below the glacier about an hour and a half after sunset and found Mrs Minehinton with some men whom ehe had brought. None of these was capable or equipped to tackle the snow in the dark. I sent Mrs Minehinton back to Triund and on the arrival of the first working party at 3 a.m. escorted them a short distance to point out where Minehinton lay. “ ‘ln this evidence,’ concluded Mr Bain Smith, ‘I have mentioned certain difficulties. These are freely mentioned to give reasons for the delay in moving Minehinton.’

“Captain J. 0. Fulton, of Major Minchinton’e regiment, who went out with the relief party from it, reported that when they came to Mr Bain Smith they found him thoroughly exhausted and shaking with cold. There was an icy wind blowing and the surface. of the snow was frozen. They found the Major quite dead. They had to carry the body 2000 feet down the snow slope, cutting steps with an axe and using ropes. Captain Fulton was accompanied by Captain J. L. O’Farrall, and neither of them had ever used an ice axe before. “The surgeon who examined Major Minehinton found that his back was broken, that he probably therefore suffered practically no pain and that for the same reason his life was doomed from the outset. A FINE TRIBUTE. “Lieut.-Col. H. Holdemess, the officer commanding the Ist K.G.O. Gurkha Rilke has officially written to the higher authorities a letter calling their attention to the fine efforts of the three rescue officers. His tribute to Mr Bain is specially high and in it he says: “ ’After reaching an altitude of 10,500 feet at Lakka, Lieut. Bain Smith had to climb more than 3000 feet further to get to the injured man. As far as Lakka camping ground there is a forest read in very bad repair, but above this the sheep tracks were no use, and Lieut. Bain Smith had to take to the open mountain side. Normally speaking, no sane man would attempt to climb these mountains without properly nailed boots and an ice axe. Further, no sane man would go far from Lakka without companions and a rope. Lieut. Bain Smith, who had never been on a hill before, went alone without boots and without an ice axe. His plain soled shoes he had to discard, as he could not stand up in them and he spent the rest of the day and the night in hie stockinged feet. “ ‘From 16-30 hours, when he first reached Major Minehinton, till dark, which closes down soon after 20-00 hours, Lieut. Bain Smith climbed down to the camping ground and up twice. I do not think anyone unacquainted with these mountains can realise the mere physical effort which this entailed on a man who had already climbed up from 6000 feet altitude at Dharmsala to 13,500 feet, which was the approximate height at which Major Minehinton was found. In addition to this Lieut. Bain Smith had, as I have already pointed out, been in his stockinged feet on rock, snow and later frozen snow since about 13-30 - hours.

“ ‘Clad entirely in cotton clothes, Lieut. Bain Smith gave his coat to Major Minehinton and from then onwards till 03-30 hours on the 4th he was clad only in a shirt, a pair of shorts and a pair of stockings in the bitter alpine atmosphere. From 09-45 hours on the 3rd to #3-30 hour® on the 4th he was entirely without food. When the first party arrived he was on the verge of collapse and both feet were frostbitten.’”