The Matterhorn.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 13704, 19 September 1908, Page 2 (Supplement)

The Matterhorn.

REVIEW BY THE MOUXTAIXEER WHO FIRST CLIMBED IT. By Edward Whymper. "The Matterhorn," by Guido Rev, is the most important work that has been published about the Matterhorn. It- gives very complete descriptions of its appearance, accounts of its history, and of those who have principally been concerned with it-. Aided by a series of attractive views, the volume is fascinating alike to these who are on familiar terms with the Matterhorn and to those who have never seen it. Wtihout going so far as saying that the Matterhorn, as a mountain, is unique," one may say that it is unique in the Alps. There are other mountains in world which are equally daring in form and striking in outline. There are thousands of mountains in the world loftier than the Matterhorn, but in the whole world there is only one Matterhorn, and no other mountain can compete with it—it- is beyond competition. Most mountains have a dull side. They may look imposing from one direction, yet commonplace from another. In this respect the Matterhorn stands supreme. A MOUNTAIN'S SECRETS. Whether it is regarded from the north, south, east, or west, or at an intermediate point, it is magnificent. It rises abruptly, by a series of cliffs which may properly be termed precipices, a clear 5000 feefc' above the glaciers which surround the base. It is almost the last great Alpine peak to remain unsealed—less on account of the difficulty of doing so than from the terror inspired by its invincible appearance. There seemed io f be a cordon drawn around it. up to which one might go, but- no further. Within that invincible line Gins and Effreets were supposed to exist, the Wandering Jew and the spirits of the danined. The superstitious natives in the Surrounding valleys (many of wljom firmly believed it to be, not only the highest, mountain in the Alps, but in the world) spoke of a ruined city on its wherein the spirits dwelt; and, if you laughed, they gravely shook their Iwadrf. told you to look yourself to see the castles and the walls, and warned you against a raish approach, lest the infuriated demons, from their impregnable heights, might hurl down vengeance for one's derision. .Such, without any'exaggeration, were the traditions of the natives. Nature and Man.

The book by Signor Guido Rey was first- of all published at Milan in 1904; it was then translated into French, and published at Paris in 1905, and obtained a conspicuous success. It Ims now come out in London, at the right moment, as there : ; is A; ischeme -afloat? #for defiling thfe mountain, a resuscitation of an old project which has'been lying dormant for a long time. Signor R6y alludes to it only casually in bis Appendix. At the time his book was written it ,-rt-as not thought likely that this scheme would be carried out. * The present moment seems to be a favourable one to the promoters for brining it forward again. Anyhow, it 16 understood throughout Switzerland that the project is shortly to be laid before the Council of the Canton Balais, and, if it passes that body, it will-go before the Federal Council at Berne for confirmation or rejection. Signor Rev's work is in six chapters, apd has a copious Appendix. The first division embraces historical information, extending from the earliest times down to the year 1855, and be inquires "What had we done during this period?" "Italy busied for so many years with the winning of her liberty, had lagged in many respects behind other nations." The second chapter' is principally occupied by descriptions of the Yal Tonrnanche, its inhabitants, and their manners and customs Patriotism and love of the picturesque run through the. whole chapter, and make it attractive reading. The writer deplores, the increasing vulgaris tion of the Alps. He wishes for a return to primitive simplicity: " Remain as thou art, Val Tonrnanche (he says), small and obscure, and then we who love the mountains for the simplicity of the life we had among them will love thee the more. . . . Ancient- Mont®

Rosa Hotel, keep thyself as thou wort known to the first ardent lovera or Jho Alps. Remain a typical Italian inn. with the small outside staircase in the old fashion, with the shutters painted gaily green, and wooden terrace. . . . Do not suffer tJie removal of the ancient log on which the guides and: eldons of the village came to sit and smoke their pipf-s. and tell the simple tales -of the mountains.' . There are many who will eoy Hear! •Hear! to this. The Conquering Heroes. The whole book in interesting, arid is writ fen with good taste and feeling. It is the third chapter, however, that is likely to hold the attention of most readers. " It is entitled "The Conquerors," and gives an accurate and impartial relation of the atrempts which were made to ascend the mountain before iu conquest was effected. It is not known with certainty, either how tlw name Matterhoru arox', or who saw and ftpoke about it- It is probnblo that it was first near at hand by j* crossing the Pass which is called the Col Theodule. This Pass w named after Theodul, who is said to have been Bishop of Sion from 381 to 391 A.I). He jiuv>i have been a remarkable man. if nil the stories that are told about him are tnte, with superhuman powers, Signor Uy giv<s the following 'illustration of bw ability as occurring once ujwn a timeeay, 1500 years ago: " It befel bint that on his way through Breuil (a ham Set at the upper end of the Val Xournanche), ho stopjHil in thoM} poor chalets, where the tdiepherdu v-«-<l him wish respect, and shared with him their modest. provision. Th' 4 lollop gave them his episcopal bles>ing, and went on hki wav.

On his return lie stopped again at tie* chaieu and found that mis fort tine had come uj»n tl>e hot»e: a child had been bitten by a terrible serpent, and the mother was weeping hot iejrrs in her help-Ic-tw-* to .saw her Utile one. Then the Tli*hop, movnd to pity, invoked the grace of c'Sod, murmured a prayer over the wound, and forthwith t}»•- child te covered. "Theodul then left tlw* house, amid the repealed thank* of the good jn-oph-. and. railing bis band, bktsx-d that, plot of p> <>i I. and command*-,! that ttei |*nti> an«r other venomous beaat* should i'e«> !<> :i»other eide «f tlx- torrent. Immediately a great hiding wus heard 'it the ait. and -« t |»eiit*, tvcorpimit,, and toad* weiv f'tn departing. T!i- l)evi!Y> Wager. Signor Hey doc-* not, how.-ver. jjive the following fs!<»rv, which w;t* published long ago bv Mutvi. t *■'!»-'• iil«■, ;» Sin#** |>a"-'..-r : J; i» known ' b«- save,! that 'liKoilul. th<firt.t. B>*hop of Sion. and patron »f the Va I was .i nam; to whom |*-<-iihar tradition attributed n-m:ukab!.- mtlucni-e. » \vn «>\t*r dunon l -. t <iiv day. at Sion, ho learnt *uddeniy that tie t'o|«e. a: Rome w,»> in K ri;,! danger. and that- it w.-if, 1j:» duty ht warn him, so ».ave h*> life. TrouhU-d in .*pirit, and not knowins li»w to r-tnd a t,pc»"dy to (Irllu'v father, he ajx-ned hi*- window, and , liirdevilf, • darning merrily <!i a r.-of, Th<- e.unUv hr-Stop I«■ckoit'-d in them to «-<»!»«.• h«-ar, and a.*k«-d which w a* tii-- !iv--lie»S. " I." iitsc. " 1 a> ",*»vi!*t the u:n<!\" " I/' v.i:d ati o»h"f " I llv bke an ntrow." " Thi* «ouple,*' -ii! tin- third. " sr.- id!« t.dL , Tf-. 1 .nil a-, <ju;. L at ti»- <d woniati " "Will, Kiij) 'l'hf«Mliii, '1 ttvat M:'h you ; an.l I ij. that I am y.iut* if, beior*- the muqil •>' <•niiri.iv, v.,-a UU Il>~ to Umiki and bark agam 'J h«* b.trg!i>n «.m i-Micloib=d .1 till? 1 1 '< I. i o. 1,. a!i<i - * I :' . r, ;. aga:ti»'. h j ;« t<-!urn, the (tj!i ,i-'>!ind tin- ;<>« n Uhj Hirdiop J'ltit a «bite re w k «.n t!,<- r:f t,f ji'jf. .ind toid -t r<"! Z'i Ui w -~ 7 i' cj» on;;] he b-i< k

The journey to Rome was as quick as 1 lightning. -The Holy Father expressed i his gratitnde to Theodul by preeenting j him with a bell for the church., and the Devil undertook to carry the. gift to the Cathedral of £jion. Before 2 o'clock in the morning, the Bisiiop -with his bell and its porter, vere back again. Satan took a short- cut. and scaled the Alps at a bound. The episcopal cock, wide awake on the roof, heard a great row, and crowed lustily as he saw his master flying through the air, and the black cock did the same. The Devil, on arriving at Sion, furions on finding that he had lost his bet, hurled the bell with such force to the ground that it was buried nine armsMengths in the soil. . The Theodul Pass has been known and used for a long while. Many Roman coins have been picked up on it from time to time,, some dating as far back as 200 B.C. They are found generally as isolated coins, which probably have been dropped by travellers unintentionally, and as the number of such coins is large, it is pretty certain that the pass was traversed extensively at an earlier period, and that multitudes of people must- have seen the' Matterhorn while crossing it. Yet the mountain was little talked about -until the middle of? last century. At the end of the 'fifties there began to be frequent- references to it. in books, and this was perhaps mainly due to tJ>e-influence that was exerted by the views of it which appeared in Ruskin's *'Modern Painters" —places of great beauty, which remain [ the best thai have ever'been published of the Matterhorn. It was at this time -that the earliest- attempts were made to ascend it. In 1858 and in 1859 some of the chasseurs of the Val Tonrnanche (there were no mountainguides, properly speaking, in the valley at that* time) made several efforts; but, as they stopped out only for a day at a time, they did not get- very high. It was not until the practice arose of sleeping out upon the mountain that considerable advances were made. Signor Rev gives a very complete account of the different attempts, and tries to do justice to all. Preparing for Battle.

The freshest part of his Chapter TIL is the portion which relates how the Italians becamer seriously interested in the conquest of the Matterhorn. It seems that, stimulated by the formaion of the English Alpine Club, several prominent men held a meeting at Turin in 1863 to .start something of a similar nature. A&ongst the better known of them were Sig. Sella, the Italian Minister, Gastaldi the Geologist, and Sig. Giordano, Ingenieur on Chef des Mines. The. summit- of the Matterhorn was? to be one of their first aims,; and Giordano was delegated to secure it. They did iiot, however, get to work very rapidly. Giordano did not- come to Val Tonrnanche to set the wheels in movement until July 1865, and'then he found an obstacle in the shape of a young Englishman, named W- , "who had entertained similar aims several years before. Sig. Rey has been permitted by the Sella family to see the letters which were written by the engineer to the Minister at- that- time. The first .is dated

Turin, July 7, 1865. Dear iQuintino, —I am starting off, heavily armed, for the destination you wot of. I sent off the day before yesterday the first tent, 500 metres of rope, and iron hoops and .rings, besides various kinds of provisions. . . I have also sent Carrel 200f., in order that he may meet these articles at Chatillon, and transport them to Val Tonrnanche and Breuil at once. I shall up there myself to-morrow evening, to* superintend the work. ...

You need only trouble about your own personal requirements, viz., your headgear, a few rugs, etc., and some good cigars; if possible also a . little good wine, and a few shekels, because I have only been able to bring about 3,000f. with me. Let us, then, set out to attack that devil's mountain, and lei us that we succeed, if only W has not been beforehand with us.

The Carrel who is referred to in this letter was Jean-Antoine Carrel, whose skill and ability as a mountaineer had been discovered by tho Englishman W—four yc-ates before. That. " Englishman W " A . few days later this was followed bv another letter, dated from Breuil Hotel, at the foot of the Theodul. July 11. evening. Dear Quintino,—lt is high time for me to send you news from her<\ I reached Val Tournanelie on Nnturdav at middav. There I found Carrel (i.e.,* Jean-Antoine Carrel), who had jnst returned from a reconnoitring expedition on the Matterhorn, which has proved a failure, owing to bad weather. W—-~ had arrived two or three days

before; as tisriafl, he tdsiied to make tb» ascent, and engaged Carrel, -who, not having yet had my letters, had agreed, bat for a few days only; Fortunately the weather turned bad. W was unable to make his fresh attempt, and Carrel left him. and came •with me, 'together' with five other picked men, who are the bests guides in the valley. We immediately sent off our advance guard, with Cartel at- its head. s » .

As soon as I haven any good news I *will send "a message to St. - Vincent," the nearest telegraph office, and do you then coihe at once. Meanwhile, on receipt of ; the present* please send me a few lines in reply, with some advice, because I aril * head over ears in difficulty here, what with iho weather, the expense, and W v ; I have tried to keep everything secret, but - that fellow, whose life seems to depend upon the Matterhorn, is here, suspiciously prying ■ into everything. I have taken all the competent men away from him, tod yet he is so enamoured of;i this mountain that he may go up with others, and make : a scene. 'He is here in, this hotel and I try to avoid speaking to him. > This was followed by a letter, dated. July ' 14, bidding Sig. Sella, to come on at once,- as "at. 2 p.m. to-day I saw Carrel and Co. on the top peak of the : Matterhorn. Many others jaw them alls well as I, so success seems W— has gone.off to make •an attempt on the other side, but I think in' yam/' In a few hours more 'toother letter wits " sent, and r Sig; Sella was disillusioned: Yesterday, said Giordano, was a bad day, and W——, after all, gained the victory over the unfortunate Carrel. W- ,as I havd told you, was desperate, and seeing Carrel climbing the mountain, tried his fortune on the Zermatt slope. : Everyone here, ahd Carrel above all, considered tlie ascent absolutely impossible on that- side j v so we were all easy in our minds. _ The First- Ascent. The story of the fitsst ascent, of the Matterhorn wass only extracted from tlie young Englishman by the combined pressure of the president of the Alpine Club and the editor of the- " Times." He did not'"wish for publicity, s It can be read in Sig. Bey's pages. Although successful; it was disastrous. Owing to the injudiciousnes 6t taking a very young tean< along, who had nbt acquired the art of keeping on his legs, lour out of the party of seven were killed. " On returning from that, successful, but fatal, expedition, Peter Perrn, who was nfc tliafc time 5 "olve of the leading guides. at Zermatt, sdid,. "It was a very great eriror on the' part of Herr Hudson t-o Herr Hadow along with'him. H 6 knew that he hrfd slipped several ifjrtes »upon Mjorit Blanc tipon plft>jes which are as easy as a"'gr&nde route* Perrn "was by nature a jocular man. With a face brimming over with smiles, bt|fc trhen he ssiid this his countenance wfls serious and tears were in his eyes. He had Wen with Hadow and Hudson only a few days* before, upon Mount. .Blanc. 5 The whole of "the ehrtracters who are mentioned in Sig. tley's book : are now dead, with the reception of the young Englishman, " that fellow whose to depend upon the Matterhorn;* Jeari-Antoine Carrel, t4je Abbe ■ Gorret. Sig. Sella; the Minister, and Sig. Giordano, arv all gone. The death of Carrel was dramatic and pathetic. He /died upon Ais own side of his own mountain, •whilst aiding his employer. In his luKt moments, when his associates gathered round and asked, " What is the matter:'* he said, "It is nothing,'* and expir'ed. The story is given in Sig. Bey's Hook. He does not. however, say anything about the end of Sig. ftiordanii, "who died in 1892. When strolling about one evening he> tumbled into «. jkkil arid was by leeches. Ik» was missed, and search wa* made for him, arid when discovered was found to bo with leeches. He died a few hours afterwards.

Signoti Rey, doubtless, would, with ardour and affection, opjxise any tailv*y scheme for th# Mattfrhorn, Ho. is Italian, and ilw project 1 Swiss;'. But a large part, if not tha gmitcr part, of the Swiss are against th< i project. A short time ago I h<card i Btrwie Rwjwy. JlofJlw ilift if yon will, but leave the" Mntierhorn am! to that I think most, of my eona-trynu-n vili say (< Hedr, beai\'* This is, howev«r, 'a :in*it«r for tfio Swiss t hemvdres to determine. They am Either sanction or forbid the wchejno. If th<y do the former they .will liavo to say good-bye to many of the old clients. An eminent traveller, upon a pnblie oeowdon, recently spoke as fob low*? i "The Alp?r ars threatened with invasion by a horde of Goths and vandals, the company-promoter, tho syndicate. and {lk* specalat-or, men who know not nature, ami Bfhose god is jntrtiunon." that fs what a larga number of Rnefel io be true.