458 OLD ALPINE JOTTINGS. 



account of my own destruction, and soon gathered that 

 though the details were erroneous something serious 

 had occurred. At Imhof the rumour became more 

 consistent, and immediately afterwards the Matter- 

 horn catastrophe was in every mouth and in all the 

 newspapers. My friend and myself wandered on to 

 Miirren, whence, after an ineffectual attempt to cross the 

 Petersgrat, we went by Kandersteg and the Gremmi to 

 Zermatt. 



Of the four sufferers killed on the Matter horn, one 

 remained behind. But expressed in terms either of 

 mental torture or physical pain, the suffering in my 

 opinion was nil. Excitement during the first moments 

 left no room for terror, and immediate unconsciousness 

 prevented pain. No death has probably less of agony 

 in it than that caused by a fall upon a mountain. 

 Expected it would be terrible, but unexpected, not. I 

 had heard, however, of other griefs and sufferings con- 

 sequent on the accident, and this prompted a desire 

 on my part to find the remaining one and bring him 

 down. I had seen the road -makers at work between 

 St. Nicholas and Zermatt, and was struck by the 

 rapidity with which they pierced the rocks for blasting. 

 One of these fellows could drive a hole a foot deep 

 into hard granite in less than an hour. I was there- 

 fore determined to secure in aid of my project the 

 services of a road-maker. None of the Zermatt guides 

 would second me, but I found one of the Lochmatters 

 of St. Nicholas willing to do so. Him I sent to Geneva 

 to buy 3,000 feet of rope, which duly came on heavily- 

 laden mules to Zermatt. Hammers and steel punches 

 were prepared ; a tent was put in order, and the appa- 

 ratus was carried up to the chapel by the Schwartz-See. 

 But the weather would by no means smile upon the 

 undertaking. I waited in Zermatt for twenty days, 



