Page:Whymper - Scrambles amongst the Alps.djvu/455

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THE ACTUAL SUMMIT OF THE MATTERHORN IN 1865.

CHAPTER XXII.

DESCENT OF THE MATTERHORN.[1]

Hudson and I again consulted as to the best and safest arrangement of the party. We agreed that it would be best for Croz to go first,[2] and Hadow second; Hudson, who was almost equal to a guide in sureness of foot, wished to be third; Lord F. Douglas was placed next, and old Peter, the strongest of the remainder, after him. I suggested to Hudson that we should attach a rope to the rocks on our arrival at the difficult bit, and hold it as we descended, as an additional protection. He approved the idea, but it was not definitely settled that it should be done. The party was being

  1. The substance of Chapter XXII. appeared in a letter in the Times, August 8, 1865. A few paragraphs have now been added, and a few corrections have been made. The former will help to mate clear that which was obscure in the original account, and the latter are, mostly, unimportant.
  2. If the members of the party had been more equally efficient, Croz would have been placed last.