190 SPORT, TRAVEL, AND ADVENTURE 



again. I was delighted to see my little tent on the 

 moraine, and when I reached it I found my hunter 

 resting quite contentedly with his back to the tent 

 and with my overcoat over him to protect him from 

 the cold north wind that was blowing." 



The following thrilling story from Mr. Clarence 

 King's book on mountaineering in the Sierra Nevada I 

 is an excellent illustration of the spirit of comradeship 

 which exists among climbers. The records of the sport 

 are rich in similar instances of the climber's readiness to 

 risk his own life to ensure the safety of a comrade : " As 

 we tied ourselves together I told Cotter to hold him- 

 self in readiness to jump down into one of the crevices 

 in case I fell, and started to climb up the wall, suc- 

 ceeding quite well for about twenty feet. About two feet 

 above my hands was a crack, which, if my arms had 

 been long enough to reach, would probably have led 

 me to the very top ; but I judged it beyond my 

 powers, and with great care descended to the side of 

 Cotter, who believed that his superior length of arm 

 would enable him to make the reach. 



I planted myself against the rock, and he started 

 cautiously up the wall. Looking down the glare front 

 of ice, it was not pleasant to consider at what velocity 

 a slip would send me to the bottom, or at what angle 

 and to what probable depth I should be projected 

 into the ice-water. Indeed, the idea of such a sudden 

 bath was so annoying that I lifted my eyes toward 

 my companion. He reached my farthest point with- 

 out difficulty, and made a bold spring for the crack, 

 reaching it without an inch to spare, and holding on 

 wholly by his fingers. He thus worked himself slowly 

 1 See Bibliography, 35. 



