Lord Francis William Bouverie Douglas
Lord
Francis William Bouverie Douglas (8 February 1847 – 14 July 1865) was a
novice, British mountaineer. After sharing in the first ascent of the
Matterhorn, he died in a fall on the way down from the summit.
Born England at Harleyford, Great Marlow, the home of his grandfather Sir William Clayton, Douglas was the son of Archibald William Douglas, 8th Marquess of Queensberry and his wife
Caroline, daughter of General Sir William Robert Clayton, Bt.
(1786–1866), member of parliament for Great Marlow. He had an older
sister, Lady Gertrude Georgiana Douglas (1842-1893); an older brother John
Sholto Douglas, Viscount Drumlanrig (1844–1900), later the ninth
Marquess of Queensberry; a younger brother,
Lord Archibald Edward
Douglas (1850–1938), who became a clergyman; and a younger brother and
sister, the twins Lord James Douglas (d. 1891) and
Lady
Florence Douglas
(1855-1905), who married Sir Alexander Beaumont Churchill Dixie, 11th
Baronet.
In 1858, Douglas's father, Lord Queensberry, died in
what was reported as a shooting accident, but his death was widely
believed to have been suicide. In 1862, his mother, Lady Queensberry,
converted to Roman Catholicism and took her children to live in Paris.
Douglas was educated at the Edinburgh Academy.
At the
beginning of 1865, the Matterhorn was still unconquered, and more than
one assault on it was planned. One such group consisted of Douglas,
Edward Whymper, and their guide Peter Taugwalder. Whymper had already
made several unsuccessful attempts on the mountain. On 5 July, this
group made the second ascent (and the first by the north-north-west
ridge) of the Ober Gabelhorn, a peak of 4,053 metres on the north-west
side of the Matterhorn; also in July, Douglas made the first ascent of
the nearby Unter Gabelhorn (3,391 m) with guides Peter Taugwalder and P.
Inäbnit.
Hearing of a planned assault on the main peak by an
Italian party, Douglas and Whymper joined forces with two other British
climbers, Charles Hudson and Douglas Robert Hadow, and their guide
Michel Croz.
At 4:30 a.m. on 13 July, a combined party of seven men,
led by Whymper, set off for the Matterhorn under a clear sky: Whymper,
Douglas, Hudson and Hadow, plus Taugwalder and son, and Croz. They
climbed past the Schwarzsee to a plateau where they camped. Meanwhile,
the Italians, led by Carrel, had camped at a height of about 4000 meters
on the Lion Ridge.
On 14 July, Whymper's party proceeded to a
successful first ascent by the Hörnli route. However, on the way down,
Hadow fell, knocking down Croz, and also dragging Hudson and Douglas,
connected by a rope. The four fell to their deaths on the Matterhorn
Glacier 1,400 metres below. Three of the bodies lost were later found,
but not Douglas's.
Whymper later described the deaths as follows:
“ Michael Croz had laid aside his axe, and in order to give Mr. Hadow
greater security was absolutely taking hold of his legs and putting his
feet, one by one, into their proper positions. As far as I know, no one
was actually descending. I can not speak with certainty, because the two
leading men were partially hidden from my sight by an intervening mass
of rock, but it is my belief, from the movements of their shoulders,
that Croz, having done as I have said, was in the act of turning round
to go down a step or two himself; at the moment Mr. Hadow slipt, fell
against him and knocked him over. I heard one startled exclamation from
Croz, then saw him and Mr. Hadow flying downward; in another moment
Hudson was dragged from his steps, and Lord Francis Douglas immediately
after him. All this was the work of a moment. Immediately we heard
Croz's exclamation, old Peter and I planted ourselves as firmly as the
rocks would permit; the rope was taut between us, and the jerk came on
us both as one man. We held, but the rope broke midway between
Taugwalder and Lord Francis Douglas. For a few seconds we saw our
unfortunate companions sliding downward on their backs, and spreading
out their hands, endeavoring to save themselves. They passed from our
sight uninjured, disappeared one by one, and fell from precipice to
precipice on to the Matterhorngletscher below, a distance of nearly four
thousand feet in height. From the moment the rope broke it was
impossible to help them. So perished our comrades! For the space of half
an hour we remained on the spot without moving a single step. ”
The
rival party of Italian alpinists reached the Matterhorn's summit three
days later.
The deaths of Douglas, Croz, Hadow and Hudson led to
years of recriminations and debate, many blaming Whymper, others
suggesting sabotage and even murder. The coroner in Zermatt (a hotelier)
asked few searching questions, and the climbing fraternity was deeply
divided over the matter until long after the deaths of all concerned.
The incident is seen as marking the end of the Golden age of alpinism.
The Rev. Arthur G. Butler was inspired to defend the climbing of the
Matterhorn in verse:
“ We were not what we are
Without that other
fiery element—
The love, the thirst for venture, and the scorn
That aught should be too great for mortal powers. ”
Two years
after Lord Francis Douglas's death, his brother the Marquess of
Queensberry achieved fame as the man who gave his name to the Marquess
of Queensberry rules of boxing. Forty years on, as the father of Lord
Alfred Douglas, he became the man who brought down Oscar Wilde. Their
sister Lady Florence Dixie also came to public attention, as a
traveller, war correspondent, writer and feminist. Their brother Lord
James Douglas suffered for many years from depression and alcoholism,
and in 1891 he killed himself by cutting his throat.
A book about
the death of Douglas and his companions, The First Descent of the
Matterhorn, by Alan Lyall, was published in 1997.
Any contributions will be
gratefully accepted
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