cutting sound. The snow-field split in two about fourteen or fifteen feet above us. The cleft was at first quite narrow, not more than an inch broad. 7. An awful silence ensued; it lasted but a few seconds, and then it was broken by Bennen's voice, 'Wir sind alle verloren' (We are all lost.) His words were slow and solemn, and those who knew him felt what they really meant when spoken by such a man as Bennen. They were his last words. I drove my alpenstock into the snow, and brought the weight of my body to bear on it; it went within three inches of the top. I then waited. 8. It was an awful moment of suspense. I turned my head towards Bennen to see whether he had done the same thing. To my astonishment, I saw him turn round, face the valley, and stretch out both arms. The ground on which we stood began to move slowly, and I felt the utter uselessness of any alpenstock. I soon sank up to my shoulders and began descending backwards. From this moment I saw nothing of what had happened to the rest of the party. 9. With a good deal of trouble I succeeded in turning round. The speed of the avalanche increased rapidly, and before long I was covered up with snow and in utter darkness. I was suffocating, when with a jerk I suddenly came to the surface again. The rope had caught on a rock, and this was evidently the moment when it broke. LESSON LXI. AN ALPINE AVALANCHE. PART SECOND. Pre çēd'ed, went before in or- | Ex'tri cate, to free from diffi der of place or time. Tre měn'doŭs, terrible; dread ful. Con elu'sion, inference; de duction; decision. Per suãd'ed, prevailed on; induced. culties; to disembarrass. Sen sa'tion, feeling; sensibility. ward. I WAS on a wave of the avalanche, and saw it before me as I was carried down. It was the most awful sight I ever witnessed. The head of the avalanche was already at the spot where we had made our last halt. The head alone was preceded by a thick cloud of dust; the rest of the avalanche was clear. 2. Around me I heard the horrid hissing of the snow, and far before me the thundering of the foremost part of the avalanche. To prevent myself sinking again, I made use of my arms much in the same way as when swimming in a standing position. 3. At last I noticed that I was moving more slowly; then I saw the pieces of snow in front of me stop at some yards' distance; then the snow straight before me stopped, and I heard on a larger scale the same creaking sound that is produced when a heavy cart passes over hard-frozen snow in winter. I felt that I also had stopped, and instantly threw up both arms to protect my head in case I should again be covered up. 4. I had stopped, but the snow behind me was still in motion; its pressure on my body was so strong that I thought I should be crushed to death. This tremendous pressure lasted but a short time, and ceased as suddenly as it had begun. I was then covered up by snow coming from behind me. 5. My first impulse was to try and uncover my head -but this I could not do: the avalanche had frozen by pressure the moment it stopped, and I was frozen in. Whilst trying vainly to move my arms, I suddenly became aware that the hands as far as the wrist had the faculty of motion. The conclusion was easy; they must be above the snow. 6. I set to work as well as I could; it was time, for I could not have held out much longer. At last I saw a faint glimmer of light. The crust above my head was getting thinner, and it let a little air pass, but I could not reach it any more with my hands; the idea struck me that I might pierce it with my breath. 7. After several efforts I succeeded in doing so, and felt suddenly a rush of air towards my mouth, and saw the sky again through a little round hole. A dead silence reigned around me; I was so surprised to be still alive, and so persuaded at the first moment that none of my fellow-sufferers had survived, that I did not even think of shouting for them. 8. I then made vain efforts to extricate my arms, but found it impossible; the most I could do was to join the ends of my fingers, but they could not reach the snow any longer. After a few minutes I heard a man shouting what a relief it was to know that I was not the sole survivor! to know that perhaps he was not frozen in and could come to my assistance. : 9. I answered; the voice approached, but seemed un certain where to go, and yet it was now quite near. A sudden exclamation of surprise! Rebot had seen my hands. He cleared my head in an instant, and was about to try and cut me out completely, when I saw a foot above the snow, and so near me that I could touch it with my arms. 10. I at once tried to move the foot; it was my poor friend's. A pang of agony shot through me as I saw that the foot did not move. Poor Boissonet had lost sensation, and was perhaps already dead. Rebot did his best after some time he wished me to help him, so he freed my arms a little more, so that I could make use of them. 11. I could do but little, for Rebot had torn the axe from my shoulder as soon as he had cleared my head, -I generally carried an axe separate from my alpenstock, the blade tied to the belt, and the handle attached to the left shoulder. Before coming to me Rebot had helped Nance out of the snow; he was lying nearly horizontally, and was not much covered over. 12. Nance found Bevord who was upright in the snow, but covered up to the head. After about twenty minutes the two last named guides came up. I was at length taken out; the snow had to be cut with the axe down to my feet before it could be accomplished. A few minutes after one o'clock in the afternoon we came to my poor friend's face, and could see that he was dead. 13. I wished the body to be taken out completely, but nothing could induce the three guides to work any longer, from the moment they saw it was too late to save him. I acknowledge that they were nearly as incapable of doing anything as I was. When I was taken out of the snow the cord by which we had been attached had to be cut. 14. We tried the end going towards Bennen, but could not move it; it went nearly straight down, and showed us that there was the grave of the bravest guide the Valais ever had, and ever will have. The cold had done its work on us; we could stand it no longer, and began the descent. We followed the frozen avalanche for about twenty-five minutes, that being the easiest way of progressing, and then took the track we had made in the morning, reaching Ardon in five hours. PHILIP C. GOSSETT. LESSON LXII. THE ANGELS OF BUENA VISTA. Lançe, a soldier armed with a Foot, infantry soldiers; those who march and fight on foot. spear; a lancer. S PEAK and tell us, our Ximena, looking northward far away, O'er the camp of the invaders, o'er the Mexican ar ray, Who is losing? who is winning? Are they far, or come they near? Look abroad, and tell us, sister, whither rolls the storm we hear. 2. "Down the hills of Angostura still the storm of battle rolls; Blood is flowing, men are dying; God have mercy on their souls!" |