453 OLD ALPINE JOTTINGS. 



count 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 Gemmi to 

 Zermatt. 



Of the four sufferers killed on the Matterhorn, 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. Ex- 

 pected it would be terrible, but unexpected, not. I had 

 heard, however, of other griefs and sufferings conse- 

 quent on the accident, and this prompted a desire on 

 iny part to find the remaining one and bring him down. 

 I had seen the roadmakers 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 therefore de- 

 termined to secure in aid of my project the serv- 

 ices 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, 



