ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16484, 25 February 1914, Page 9

ANOTHER ACCOUNT.

HOW THE NEWS CAME TO THE HERMITAGE.

Another account of what it is non practically certain is a fatality wai supplied by Mr Batey, an ofiicer of tin Tourist Department, who was at tin old Mount Cook Hermitage at the tin*/ of the disaster, and who arrived ii Christchurch last night. Mr Batey: version of the story differs in many essential details from the account forwarded to the Hon R. H. Rhodes.

Mr Batey told a “ Times ” reportei that Mr S. L. King, who had had. considerable climbing experience in th, Swiss Alps, came to New Zealand a weeks ago to try and ascend the biggei peaks in the Mount Cook group. Hi attempted several of the peaks recently, the last occasion being on. Mount Sef ton, when he was . accompanied by Guides Graham and Thompson. Mi King had a few days’ spell, and ther decided to attempt the aseent of Mourn Cook. He started from the old Mount Cook Hermitage with the guides “Darby” Thompson and “Jock” Richmond at 4 a m. on Saturday. They were expected back on Sunday afternoon. All the members of the party were in good spirits and sanguine ol success. 1 i

Some ten or twelve hours later Mi Turner and Lieutenant Dennistoun, of H.M.S. Pyramus, set out over the same route, intending to makan ascent without guides. The} followed the tracks of Mr King's party till high up on the Linda Pass, under the shadow of Mount Silberhorn. Here there were evidences that a great avalanche had descended. A search was made, but the tracks could not be discovered on the farther side of the avalanche, and Messrs Dennistoun and Turner were forced to the conclusion that the whole party had been swept into one of the crevasses, which in this place, and in fact over the whole of the rout© up the side oi Mount Silberhorn, were extremely numerous. Messrs Dennistoun and Turner at once returned to the Hermitage and reported what they had seen.

THE LOST GUIDES. “ Darby ” Thompson was a very wellknown and extremely popular guide. Ho was second in seniority only tc Peter Graham, and had been many years among the Mount Cook group of peaks. He was an exceptionally good mountaineer. He was a native of the West Coast, hailing from Ho Ho, three miles from Hokitika, and belongs to a family of very old settlers in the Hokitika district. Thompson, strangely enough, seoir.fi to have had some premonition of disaster. He was discussing the perils of mountaineering with a Christchurch resident during a recent visit to this city, and he referred to the fact that there had been no fatal accidents among the guides in the Mount Cook district. “ All the same,” lie said, ■‘we carry our lives in our hands. Don’t be surprised if you hear soon that one of us has met his Waterloo.” “ Jock ” Richmond had. been in the guide service for about three years. He was Peter Graham’s assistant. His age was about twenty-six, but very little is known concerning his antecedents, except that he belonged to mllowbridge.

THE LATEST MESSAGES. . The following message was received from the Hermitage &% ten o clock last night by the Hon R- H. Rhodes: 1 ' No further news and no chance of any to-night. Have therefore released telegraph operators as far as th« Hermitage is concerned.” INFORMING THE RELATIVES.

Immediately on receipt of news the Hon R. H. Rhodes sent a cable message to the High Commissioner, London, asking him to advise the Alpine Club that it was feared that Mr'S. L. King had been lost on Mount Cook, with two guides. The message added that a search party was out and thal lie would communicate with the clul later. He asked that the club authorities should convey the news to M? King’s relatives. Tho Minister also sent messages t< the relatives of the two guides who ar missing. , .