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Sierra Club Bulletin. 



again into the twilight and the rain. Our path soon led 

 along a narrow ridge of rock with precipices on both 

 sides. It was slippery and we had to pick our way with 

 care. Burgener and David were sent ahead to prepare 

 our supper and to look after our comfort for the night, 

 while we came along more leisurely, enjoying the sublim- 

 ity of the surroundings. At last we sighted the welcome 

 beams of a light in the window of a firmly built stone 

 lodge. Under ordinary circumstances it would not have 

 afforded much comfort. But up there in cloudland the 

 rickety and fuming old stove in the corner, the straw- 

 covered platform, and the loosely hung door, seemed to 

 enfold a world of comfort. Outside the storm raged with 

 increasing fury. Snow, sleet, and rain beat down upon 

 our shelter, sending us deeper and deeper into the blankets. 

 We were not alone in the hut. An old Italian guide, who 

 needed no further touches to play the role of bandit, had 

 preceded us with his Signor. We kept the partition be- 

 tween us and them. To attempt the ascent the next day 

 (Wednesday) was out of question. The storm continued 

 and heavy clouds obscured the summit of the Matterhorn. 

 It was a most impressive thing, during a few sunlit 

 hours of the day, to watch cannonades of rock come 

 down the east face and bound out with a fearful roar 

 upon the Furggen Glacier. Rocks acquire frightful mo- 

 mentum on the sides of the Matterhorn. During a part 

 of the way their path from a distance is visible only by 

 the puffs of smoke that rise where they strike. At night 

 they leave a long trail of fire. This and the infernal noise 

 which accompanies them leave no doubt in the mind of 

 the ignorant Swiss peasant that the devil beguiles his 

 leisure moments by sliding down the face of the Matter- 

 horn. Amid such diversions, including a magnificent 

 display of cloud-forms, the day wore away, to be suc- 

 ceeded by another night of wind and storm. Fortunately 

 we had slept a good deal during the day, for our slumbers 

 that night were rudely broken by the arrival of a party 

 under the guidance of Alexander Burgener, Senior. 



