THE DEATH IN A MATTERHORN HUT.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VII, Issue 350, 2 January 1880, Page 9

THE DEATH IN A MATTERHORN HUT.

The Times Geneva Correspondent writes under date September 21 •— "On August 21 you printed a letter of mine underthe headine •Alpine. Accidents,' m which mention was made of the death of the guide Brantschen in a hut on the Matterhorn, and in IJkesSL^S the 23rd a fuller account and a different VeK I of thTSme occurrence were given in a communication from an ' Enelish Aloine Clubman,' purporting to be based on the testimony of an ev^ witness. This account, it will be remembered, was to the effect that on August 12th two members of the Swiss Alpine Sub left BreSl with two guides and a porter to sleep in the hut on the Matterhorn, with the intention of crossing the mountain and descending to Zermatt the next day. On the way up one of the guides, Brantschen! felt sick, and though he managed to reach -the hut, he Same so much worse during the night that in the morning it was quite impossible for him to move. But, so runs the account, the Swiss Club, men had resolved not to be balked of their expedition, and%otwitnstanding the pitiful entreaties of the poor guide, who felt h£ end approaching, they left him to his fate, and when nexlday too glides, who had been sent from Zermatt, arrived at the hut, they found their former comrade/ stretched across the floor, his hands clinched as if m a wild effort to reach the door and admit the air, stone dSad/ This story, reflecting, as it did, so severely on the humanity of two members of the Swiss Alpine Club, whose names, though not men- *°*£ 1 Vl* &**?*]? wdl k *own, naturally attracted the attention Jr- LL B**8 *** o^' and t ? e committee of the Basle section of the club, to which the two gentlemen in question belong, were requested to call upon them for an explanation of the conduct imputed to them and P re P?re a report Sf» the matter - This report, which has just been published, substantially confirms the version of the occurrence given in my letter of August 21 and differs very materially from that of your correspondent, an'Englisn Alpine Clubman.' Brantschen.it seems, suffered from a serious internal complaint of which the Swiss Alpine Clubmen, one of whom is Professor Schiess, when they engaged him, knew nothing whatever. When the party arrived on the summit of the Matterhorn the poor fellow became alarmingly ill, but he succeeded with the help of the others in reaching the hut and next morning he appeared and declared himself much better! At the same time he did not feel that he was sufficiently recovered to undertake the descent to Zermatt. The others left him in fair spirits amply supplied with food and quite contented with their assurance that they would send help from Zermatt as soon as they arrived there. He made no request that any one should stay with him, and the only man that he would have cared to detain, the second guide, his friend and neighbour, could not be spared, for without his aid the two Uubmen might not have succeeded in reaching Zermatt at all The mountain was descended with all speed, and not a moment was lost in despatching the two guides, who were, however, unfortunately too late to be of any use. But the ghastly picture of Brantschen struggling to reach the door and perishing miserably in the vain attempt to get a breath of fresh air has no foundation in fact. Brantscben^as appears from tbe medical report, was affected with heart disease, the cause of his death being paralysis of that orean and of the lungs. It may have occurred shortly after his companion and the tourists left the hut, and in any case must have been equally sudden and painless. It would, therefore, appear that Herr Schiess and his friend have nothing to reproach themselves with, and it is difficult to see how., in the circumstances, they could have acted otherwise than they did. The event, nevertheless, teaches an important lesson, and future Alpine climbers would do well before attempting any important ascent to make special inquiries as to the physical condition of all their companions, for a guide with chronic heart disease may not only die as poor Brantschen died, but might easily, by succumbing to bis malady at a critical moment, endanger the lives of an entire party. B

The municipal council of Berlin recommends the universal adontion of cremation. r There seem to be two currents at work in the German political world— the social current, which is friendly to Russia, and unier the influence of which the aged Kaiser visits the Czar ; and the political current, which many believe Bismark to have originated, and which points to the existence of an hostility too deep and bitter to be checked by Koyal interviews. The BulgariscJie Correspondent gives some interesting statistics as to the progress of the Bulgarian newspaper Press since the enfranchisement of the principality. The Derzhavi Vyestnik, an exclusively Government paper, appears once a week at Sofia. The Vitoska, so cs'K«&omc s'K« &om the name of the mountain which looks down on the city of bona, and which is frequently alluded to in the popular songs of Bulgaria, is a bi-weeky, Conservative in tendency, and has a circulation of about 2,000 copies. The Tselofoipna Belgariya (United Bulgaria) edited by Peter Slaveikof, a poet and the Nestor of Bulgarian } 0 ?™ ah ? s> 1S the orpan of tbe so-called National party, and numbers 1,600 subscribers. The Bolgarin published at Kustchuk, is the most widely circulated of Bulgarian newspapers, and represents the Opposition party. The Narud appears twice a week at Sistova. The Maritza, also bi-weekly, is published at Philippopolis and is noted for its energetic propaganda of the national idea— the union, namely, of North and South Bulgaria ; it has a circularion of 2 500, and is edited by Dan of, a veteran champion o* Bulgarian liberty. Bolgarskoe Aiamya is published at Slivno, the Narodni Glas at Philippopolis, and the SUwyanin at Kustchuk. The Naliovalnya, published at Sofia is edited by Dr. Bogorof, one of the most learned of Bulgarians, and lias for its leading object the purification of the Bulgarian language from Turkish, Greek, and other foreign elements, and even from provincialism. Lastly, the Bulgarische On-rospondenz, published in the German language by the Croat journalist, M. Lukshich, is designed to keep foreigners acquainted with the affairs of the ncv Pii&cipakty.-— Academy,