Page:Old Westland (1939).pdf/119

Rh For the first ten days the weather was all that could be desired, then it suddenly changed, rain and snow falling heavily, which apart from delaying their progress, saturated their biscuits which became a mass of wet dough. Having left their tent behind, they were exposed to the full fury of the elements and suffered very severely.

On the 24th they reached some rocks in the river, which it was necessary to cross; “here the boulders were of enormous size, and there was a deep whirlpool where the water boiled, hissed and foamed like a witch’s cauldron.” This appeared impossible to cross, the sides being perpendicular; but to return was even more difficult, as a great depth of snow must have fallen on the pass since they had crossed over. Lauper, however, had had experience of difficulties amongst his native Swiss mountains, and, seeing the point of a rock projecting over the surface of the water, he fastened a rope to a small rock, which he placed in the water on the opposite side, then threw the other end on the projecting point, and lowered himself carefully down with his hands. He descended up to the chin in the whirlpool, but, as he could find no bottom, he drew himself back on to the rock. Perceiving a small hollow in the side of the rock, about a foot above the water, where he could just place half the length of his finger, he