liiRfiipnffinnpff ,.j ,/"i.J,.,.^,.l" \3 \MES D. FORBI: IHililliHHiiHI Ainu'j iy JIiXLIBRISiim i '(Tl Travels Through the Alps JAMES U FORBES Travels Through the Alps BY THE LATE , JAMES D. rOEBES, F.E.S., Sec. E.S. Ed., F.G.S. CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE, PROFESSOR OF NATURAL PHILOSOPHV IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH, PRINCIPAL OF THE UNITED COLLEGE IN THE UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS, ETC., ETC., ETC. Sage mir was du an dieser kalt3ii und starren Liobaabereyen gefunden bast. Goethe. NEW EDITION REVISED AND ANNOTATED W. A. B. COOLIDGE FELLOW OF MAGDALEN COLLEGE, OXFORD AND FORMERLY EDITOR OF THE ' ALPINE JOURNAL ' With Portrait, new Maps, and many Illustrations and Diagrams LONDON ADAM AND CHAELES BLACK 1900 PKEFACE TO THE PEESENT EDITION In 1859 Professor Forbes collected his scattered essays and notes relating to his scientific observations on glaciers in a volume entitled, Occasional Papers on the Theory of Glaciers, now first collected and chronologically arranged (Edinburgh, A. & C. Black). Forbes, however, never seems to have thought of similarly collecting his writings which describe his travels in the Alps. The present volume is an attempt to fill this gap, and is thus a companion to that of 1859, the one being purely scientific and the other purely narrative. The present volume comprises four of Forbes's chief writings relating to his Alpine travels : — 1. Travels through the Ali^s of Savoy and other parts of the Pennine chain Originally published at Edinburgh in 1843 by Messrs. Black, a second and enlarged edition was issued in 1845, and this has formed the basis of the new edition herewith given to the reading public. The text has been reproduced in extenso, a few misprints being silently corrected, and the spelling of the place names being brought into accordance with modern visage. But the entire appendix to the second edition has been omitted, as it is exclusively scientific, and has been reprinted in the 1859 work mentioned above. Some of the chapters in Travels deal indeed more or less with scientific matters, but in a popular fashion, while Forbes's account of his survey of the Mer de Glace at Chamonix is too valuable and interesting to be thrust out of the position to which the author himself assigned it. The whole of the text has been carefully annotated with the special view of enabling the reader of to-day to appreciate the full meaning 9^1878 vi Travels through the Alps of Forbes's wonderfully interesting narrative. In particular, pains have been ttiken to give the most recent determinations of the heights of the various peaks and passes mentioned, so that the reader may see for himself how slight are the variations from those obtained by Forbes half a century ago by the aid of comparatively imperfect instruments. The present editor's notes are always enclosed within square brackets, while the quotations from Avorks of Alpine travel have been carefully verified, and corrected if necessary. The large lithographs have not been reproduced, as they are very old-fashioned. The topographical sketches have been reduced in size (but not corrected), and are now inserted in the text. The large map of the Mer de Glace is given without any changes being made in it, but that of the Pennine Alps has been replaced by a new large scale outline map, on which Forbes's route is marked in red. All the diagrams have been retained in the present edition. 2. Journals of Excursions in the High Alps of Dauphine, Berne, and Savoy These journals were printed at the end of Forbes's Nm-way and its Glaciers visited in 1851 (Edinburgh, A. & C. Black, 1853), and so are but little known to the Alpine reading public. Yet they are of extreme importance and interest, for they narrate some very early explorations in the snowy ranges of Dauphin^, the first British ascent of the Jungfrau, and the first visit by a traveller to the great Glaciers of Tour and Saleinaz in the chain of Mont Blanc. As in the case of the Savoy, the large lithographs have been omitted, but all the other illustrations and diagrams have been retained. The spelling of the place names has been revised, and the text fully annotated. Entirely ncAv maps (there were none in the 1853 issue) of the Dauphine and Bernese Alps (with Forbes's routes marked in red) are supplied, as well as an accurate diagram of the intricate topography of the head of the Tour, Trient, Argenti^re, and Saleinaz Glaciers, since Forbes's diagram is very faulty, and is now only of historical interest. o. Fedestrianisni in Switzerland This is an article originally printed in the Quarterly lieview for April, 1857, and is a most interesting review by one of the early pioneers of the principal new works relating to the Alps. It has Preface to the Present Edition vii also considerable historical importance, as it appeared nine months hpj'orc the foundation of the English Alpine Club. 4. Tojiography of the Chain of Mont Blanc This is an article published in the Nwth British Review for March, 1865, and is here reprinted by the kind permission of Mr. Douglas. It is specially concerned with Mr. Adams Reilly's map of the Chain of Mont Blanc, which in a way was the continuation of Forbes's own labours on the Mer de Glace. The reproduction of an early form of this map is in this edition replaced by a more recent map of the chain. We have omitted the reproduction of Peter Martel's quaint old map, and also the diagram showing the Argentiere, Tour, and Saleinaz Glaciers, as the more accurate diagram (given under 2 above) completely supersedes it. It is hoped that the present edition of the Alpine writings of one of the first British pioneers in the High Alps may be acceptable to a wide circle of readers. I acknowledge gratefully much help received from M. Louis Kurz of Neuchatel (the chief authority on the chain of Mont Blanc), who has read through all the proofs, especially of that portion of the volume relating to the chain of Mont Blanc. W. A. B. COOLIDGE. Grindelwald, February 1900. INTEODUCTION TO THE PRESENT EDITION THE PLACE OF FOEBES IN THE HISTORY OF THE EXPLORATION OF THE HIGH ALPS There is a vague idea afloat that the exploration of the High Alps (i.e. those above the snow-level) has been mainly due to English travellers. But like many others this idea is so far from being accurate that it would be truer to assert as a general pro- position that the contrary was the case. In particular districts and in the case of some very famous peaks, English climbers have no doubt been to the fore, as well as in the detailed study of certain ranges, originally first visited by travellers of other nationalities. But till about the middle of the fifties English climbers were few and far between, though since then they have done their best to make up for lost time and lost ground. Yet to all general rules there are exceptions, and Forbes merits an honourable pre-eminence as one of the earliest British explorers of the High Alps, as the author of the first detailed book in English relating to such explorations, and as a link between Saussure and the founders of the English Alpine Club. Before, however, dwelling on these characteristics of his Alpine career it may be well to set down the main facts of that career as contained in his own writings or in his letters and diary, printed in the interesting Life and Letters which was compiled by Principal Shairp, Professor Tait, and Mr. Adams Reilly, and published in 1873. Born in 1809 of an ancient Scotch family, Forbes was elected (against Sir David Brewster) to the Professorship of Natural Philosophy in the University of Edinburgh in 1833, when not quite twenty-four years of age. This post he exchanged X Travels through the Alps at the cud of 1859 only, aud that in consequence of ill health, for the Principalship of the United College in the University of St. Andrews, a dignified position which he filled till within six weeks of his death on the last day of 1868. In the framework of this life of industrious simplicity are set his frequent visits to the Alps, one of the chief features of which was that they meant to him simply the continuation of his studies and researches, amid different surroundings, but yet on the same lines as in his quiet home. This feature explains why he always preferred to travel leisurely, and to make expeditions which might supply him with information such as his studies required rather than those which would only serve topographical or gymnastic ends. In other words, his mountain explorations were made with a fixed object in view — the study of hitherto more or less unexplained phenomena of nature, in particular all that relates to glaciers, their motion, characteristics, etc. This was the primary object Forbes set before him. In this paper, however, we have not to con- sider him as a student of the physical sciences, but as a wanderer among the Alps, a topographical explorer, and an Alpine climber — that is, in short, to lay stress on what to him were the secondary objects of liis travels. But from this point of view his place in the history of Alpine exploration is certainly not lower than that which he worthily occupies in the history of the Glacier Theory. In 1826, when but seventeen, he paid his first visit to the Alps, spending a day at Chamonix, and making an excursion on the Mer de Glace, the future scene of his remarkable labours. In 1832 he again visited Chamonix and the Mer de Glace, pushing on as far as the Jardin, but had to cut his trip short in order to return home to enter on the contest for the Professorship, which he succeeded in obtaining. His visits in 1835 to the Pyrenees, and in 1837 to the Tyrol (including the Dolomites) do not concern us here, especially as he seems to have reached no great height during these wanderings. It is in 1839 that his career as a mountain explorer may be said to begin. From Marseilles (which he had reached after spending some days in Auvergne) he made his way up the Durance and Ubaye valleys to Barcelonnette, and crossed from the head of the latter valley by tlie Col de la Cula (c. 9700 feet) to St. Yeran (the highest village in France), and so to Abries in the Guil valley. Introduction to the Present Edition xi Following the latter valley to its very head he made the " Tour of Monte Viso " by several laborious passes — the Col de la Traver- sette (9679 feet), the Col dei Viso (8704 feet), either the Sagnette (9761 feet), or the San Chiaffredo Passes (9069 feet), and the Col de Yallante (9269 feet). He then recrossed from the Guil valley by the Col de la Croix (7576 feet) to the Wal- densian valleys of Piedmont, where he spent a few days. Thence he made his way up the Chisone valley, and crossed successively the Col de Sestrieres (6631 feet), the Mont Genevre (6083 feet), and the Col du Lautaret (6808 feet) to the little town of Bourg d'Oisans in the Dauphine Alps ; hence he made an excursion up the Veneon valley to La Berarde in the heart of the Dauphine Alps, being probably the first English traveller to visit that remote hamlet. Then by way of Grenoble and Geneva he made his way to Chamonix for the third time, once more exploring the Mer de Glace and the Jardin, and later in the season making the " Tour of IMont Blanc " to Courmayeur. Turin was reached rid Cogne, the Col della Nouva (9623 feet), and Cuorgne. A few days later Forbes returned to Savoy by the Mont Cenis (6893 feet), and then crossed from Lanslebourg by the Col d'Iseran (9085 feet) to the head of the Isere valley, down which he made his way past Tignes, Bourg St. Maurice, and Moutiers Tarentaise, in order to gain Chambery and Lyons. The published notices of this long journey are very scanty. This is much to be regretted, for it led him through regions which even now are not very familiar to English travellers, and in which he was often probably the first Englishman ever seen. But save on one or two excursions he did not on this occasion penetrate very far into the high snow regions. The case is very different wnth his travels in 1841 and 1842, on which his fame as a mountain climber must rest. In 1841 he went from Grenoble to Allevard, and then by the Sept Laux (7169 feet) to Bourg d'Oisans. Thence he again went up the Veneon valley to La Berarde, but this time did not return by the same route. On July 25 he traversed the high snowy Col du Says (10,289 feet)— this being the first known passage by a traveller — to the remote Val Gaudemar. Thence, after a day spent in geologising in the Navettes glen, he crossed another high glacier pass, the Col du Sellar (10,063 feet), being no doubt the first foreign traveller to achieve this xii Travels through the Alps expedition — to the Yallouise. A visit to Arvieux in the Queyras (the scene of the devoted labours of F^lix Neff, who had only died in 1828) was followed by a geological excursion to a remark- able phenomenon at the foot of the Pic de Combeynot on his way over the Col du Lautaret to La Grave. The long but easy Col de rinfernet (8826 feet) led him to the Mont Cenis road at St. Jean de Maurienne. This campaign in the Dauphine Alps is of very great historical interest, for they were then all Init unknown to English (or Indeed to any) travellers, and Forbes's expeditions form the starting-point of the later explorations of this district, many years after his visit. From Dauphine Forbes hurried by the Little St Bernard (7179 feet), the Col Ferret (8311 feet), and the Grimsel Pass (7139 feet) to the Grimsel Hospice to keep an engagement with Agassiz and his party, then occupied in studying the Unteraar Glacier. On the very first day he set foot on that glacier (August 9) Forbes's attention was attracted by the striking phenomenon of the veined or ribbon structure of the ice, a noteworthy instance of his perspicacity. He remained some time at the Grimsel, or at Agassiz's hut on the Unteraar Glacier (the hut is best known as the " Hotel des Neuchatelois "), excursionising to the Gross Sidelhorn (9452 feet) and to the Ehone Glacier. On August 20 he crossed the Gauli Pass (10,519 feet) to the Urbachthal, climbing on the way up the Ewig- schneehorn (10,929 feet), of which the first ascent had been made a few days earlier by Desor. The whole party on August 2 7 crossed the Oberaarjoch (10,607 feet) from the Grimsel to the chalets by the now well-known Miirjelen lake, and next day made the ascent of the Jungfrau (13,669 feet). This was but the fourth recorded ascent of this beautiful peak, which had not been attained since 1828. It was the first ascent of the moun- tain in which any other than Swiss took part, and it was not till 1856 that another native of Great Britain (Mr. Chapman) attained this summit. Forbes's Alpine travels in 1841 were brought to a close by visits to Saas Fee and to Zermatt (where he made several excursions, including one to the summit of the St. Theodule Pass), and then by a day's geologising at Yernayaz and Salvan. On the way home he called in upon Agassiz and Desor at Neuchatel, and on Professor Bernard Studer at Berne. In many respects this journey of Forbes in 1841 was the most important that he ever made in the High Alps, for the expedi- Introduction to the Present Edition xiii tions were the most difficult he achieved in the course of his Alpine career ; he never attained in later years a greater height than the Jungfrau ; and (last but not least) his observations on the Unteraar G-lacier induced him to form the project of himself instituting a systematic and thorough examination of a great Alpine glacier. Hence, in 1842, the greater part of liis summer was occupied by such observations on the Mer de Glace at Chamonix, which he selected as the scene of his labours. The very day (June 24) he reached Chamonix from St. Gervais by the Col de la Forclaz (5105 feet) he made the acquaintance of Auguste Balmat (who had been recommended to him by the Cure of Chamonix), a man who became his faithful guide and companion during his examina- tion of the Mer de Glace, and on his later travels, though oddly enough not on the Col du Geant or on the round with Prof. Studer. He made a journey to Turin to observe a total eclipse of the sun, and on his way back stopped some days at Courmayeur, making excursions to the Cramont (8980 feet) with Chanoine Carrel of Aosta, the Col de Checouri (6431 feet), and the Croix de la Bernarda (8314 feet), as well as to the great Brenva and Italian Miage glaciers. On July 23, as in duty bound, he followed in the steps of his revered master, H. B. de Saussure, across the Col du Geant (11,060 feet), thus regaining his head- quarters at the Montenvers. A few days later he received a visit at Chamonix from Prof. B. Studer, whom he agreed to meet at the Great St. Bernard on August 12. The friends met at the convent on the appointed day (Forbes having with him Victor Tairraz of Chamonix), and then set out on a most interesting journey through the mountains in the direc- tion of Zermatt. After descending to Orsieres they mounted the entire Val de Bagnes, and on August 15 crossed the Col de Fenetre (9141 feet) to the village of Valpelline above Aosta. Thence they ascended the Val Pelline to the Praraye huts, and on August 17 traversed the little known Col de CoUon (10,270 feet) to AroUa and Evolena, names now familiar to summer travellers, though Forbes was probably the first English traveller to visit either spot. The bad accommodation at Evolena so disgusted Prof. Studer that he fled to the Val dAnniviers, thus leaving Forbes the honour of making (August 19) the first certain passage by travellers of the snowy Col d'Herens (11,418 feet), xiv Travels through the Alps with whicli he combined the ascent of the Stockhorn (11,795 feet). This pass brought him by the Z'Mutt glacier to Zermatt, whence he climbed the Eiffelhorn (9617 feet), which he had tried in 1841, but which had been first scaled by some students a few days before Forbes's arrival at Zermatt in 1842. After a slight detention at Zermatt (due to an injured foot) he started off again with Prof. Studer to make the " Tour of Monte Eosa." This involved crossing the St. Theodule (10,899 feet) to the village of Val Tournanche, the Col de Portola (7924 feet) thence to Brusson in the Val d'Ayas, the Col della Eanzola (7123 feet) to St. Jean de Gressoney, the Col d'Olen (9420 feet) to Alagna and Kiva in the Val Sesia, the Turlo Pass (8977 feet) to Macug- naga in the Val Anzasca, and the Monte Moro (9390 feet) to Saas and Visp. On the way Forbes made the acquaintance of Zumstein and of Gnifetti (two of the early explorers of Monte Eosa), and visited the Lys and Macugnaga glaciers. He then returned to Chamonix vid Martigny, not failing to examine the Argentiere and Trient Glaciers en route. He had accomplished a splendid summer's work, whether in carrying out his great survey of the Mer de Glace or in his Alpine wanderings in un- frequented parts of the Pennine chain. He himself writes in his journal that this summer " was the happiest he had ever spent" {Life and Letters, p. 155). All the winter of 1842-43 he was engaged in writing his Travels through the Alps of Savoy, which forms the first portion of the present volume. It is mainly devoted to his campaign of 1842, for the notices of his earlier Alpine travels appeared only in the form of an " Appendix " (the second portion of the present volume) to his book on Norway that was not published till 1853. The Savoy book gave him much work, not merely in reducing his observations, but also in drawing the splendid map of the Mer de Glace, in the preparation of the numerous smaller topographical sketches to illustrate the exact topography of certain parts of his journeys, and in the superintendence of the reproduction of his larger and smaller diagrams. The dedication to his friend Prof. B. Studer is dated July 1, 1843, and on the 4th of the same month Forbes married, starting at once to pass his honeymoon in the Alps. But his brilliant Alpine career was now (the pity of it !) to be brought practically to a close, for on -luly 20 at Bonn he was struck Introduction to the Present Edition xv down by gastric fever, and it was only after a most dangerous illness (and one from the effects of which he never completely recovered) that, about the middle of August, he at last reached Switzerland. After spending some time at Bex, where he dis- cussed glacier problems with Charpentier, he succeeded on September 4 in getting across the Col de Balme to Chanionix, where he was warmly welcomed by his many humble friends. He was even strong enough to resume his observations on the Mer de Glace in a certain degree. On the way home he crossed the Gemmi Pass (7641 feet), visited Grindelwald and its Eismeer, ascended the Faulhorn (8803 feet), and travelled by way of the Great Scheidegg (6434 feet) and Meiriugen to Thun and Berne. But what a sad contrast was his trip of 1843 to those of 1841-42! In 1844 Forbes made a tour through the Italian Lakes, and then entered Switzerland by the Simplon Pass (659 2 feet). He spent some days at the Simplon Hospice, and on July 22 made thence, in the company of one of the Austin Canons, his last important Alpine ascent, that of the Wasenhorn (10,680 feet), above the Kaltwasser Glacier. A few days later he minutely studied the Marjelen lake (known to him from his bivouac near by in 1841), the Great Aletsch Glacier, and the Massa gorge through which the Great Aletsch Glacier sends its waters to the Ehone. Then he spent three weeks at Chamonix and the Mont- envers, again making a long series of observations on the various phenomena presented by the Mer de Glace. These served to complete and to correct his previous work, and are not unfrequently mentioned in the second edition of his Savoy, issued in 1845. Forbes did not go abroad in 1845, but in 1846 he spent a long time at the Montenvers. On the way thither he visited Bishop Eendu (a great authority on glaciers) at Annecy. But, apart from renewed visits to the Brenva and Italian Miage Glaciers, Forbes that summer did little climbing. He was un- successful in an attempt to climb the Aiguille du Moine, and also in another to explore the Tour Glacier. On August 22 he crossed the Col de Cheville (6273 feet) from Bex to Sion, and wound up his summer wanderings by visits to the Ehone and Unteraar Glaciers. Several years passed by before Forbes in 1850 again caught a xvi Travels through the Alps glimpse of his beloved Alps. He naturally went to his well- known haunts at Chamonix, and on July 17 climbed the Aiguille de la Gliere (c. 8800 feet) in the chain of the Aiguilles Eouges, north of Chamonix. And on July 20 he had the satisfaction of at last carrying out his long-planned exploration of the Tour Glacier, crossing thence by the Col Blanc (11,162 feet) to the upper plateau of the Trient Glacier, and then through the Fenetre de Saleinaz (10,709 feet) to the Saleinaz Glacier, and so to Orsieres. This was his last expedition in the High Alps, so that a peak in the neighbourhood was fitly named many years later the " Aiguille Forbes " (11,418 feet) in honour of the first great British explorer and mountain climber. The narrative (see Chap. V. of Part II. below) of this expedition is printed in the Appendix to his Norway book, which is mainly concerned with the account of a visit to Norway in 1851, and was published in 1853. In the spring of 1853 his faithful companion, Auguste Balmat, came to England to see Forbes at Clifton, near Bristol. That summer Forbes made a short journey to Switzerland, visit- ing Zurich and the St. Gotthard, — his last visit, for an attempt in 1857 broke down at Folkestone. But though he never again set eyes on the Alps he loved them to the last. " ]\Iy heart," he wistfully said, " remains where my body can never be. . . . My yearnings towards the Colinton banks " (the home of his youth) " and towards the Swiss mountains are much on a par — both home-sickness " {Life and Letters, p. 340). Naturally, therefore, he took the keenest interest in the growth and spread in the early fifties of the taste for Alpine climbing among the younger generation of Englishmen. In 1857 he made the acquaintance of Mr. Alfred Wills (now the Hon, Mr. Justice Wills), who a few months later was one of the founders of the club. Forbes made Mr. Wills's book, Wandcrinfis among the High Alps, one of the subjects of an article in the Quarterly Revieiv for April, 1857, on " Pedestrianism in Switzer- land " (reprinted as the third portion of the present volume). At the instance of Forbes Mr. Wills in 1858 carried out the com- plete exploration of the Col du Tour, and so rounded off Forbes's work in that region. On July 19, 1859, Forbes was elected an honorary member of the Alpine Club, deservedly the first man to receive tliis honour. He a|)preciated keenly the success (in Introduction to the Present Edition xvii 1861) of Mr. F. F. Tuckett in reaching Mont Blanc from St. Gervais by way of the Bosses du Dromadaire, and the same mountaineer's epoch-making explorations in 1862 of the high glacier passes of Dauphine, which had been all but totally neglected since Forbes's own journey of 1841. He was very specially drawn towards Mr. Adams Eeilly, who had undertaken to construct a detailed map of the entire chain of Mont Blanc, and made an early version of it the text of an article on the " Topography of the Chain of Mont Blanc " in the North British Review (reprinted as the fourth portion of the present volume) for March, 1865, the complete map itself appearing later in the same year. Such are the main facts of Forbes's Alpine career, the keynote of which is given in the enthusiastic words of Charles Kingsley : " We have heard Professor Forbes's book on glaciers called an Epic Poem, and not without reason. But what gives that noble book its epic character is neither the glaciers, nor the laws of them, but the discovery of those laws ; the methodic, truthful, valiant, patient battle between man and Nature, his final victory, his wresting from her the secret which had been locked for ages in the ice-caves of the Alps, guarded by cold and fatigue, danger and superstitious dread " {Life and Letters, p. 162). Let me now briefly dwell on the three characteristics which, as I pointed out at the beginning of this paper, seem to me to distinguish Forbes's work in the Alps other than his purely scientific observations on glaciers. 1. He VMS one of the Earliest British Explorers of the Lligh Alps His known predecessors are indeed few and far between, while they all made isolated expeditions, not prolonged tours among the snow and ice regions. Here are the names of some of them. In 1786 Mr. Hill crossed the Col du Geant, and his footsteps were followed by one or two English parties, among them being Mrs. and Miss Campbell in 1822. Colonel Beaufoy, in 1787, was the first Englishman to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, and was succeeded by a bare dozen English parties before 1839. Mr. Cade's party crossed the St. Theodule in 1800, and was followed by a few other travellers. Sir John Herschel ascended the Breithorn in 1822, and Lord Minto in 1830; h xviii Travels through the Alps while iu 1835 Mr. Callander crossed the Mittelgrat or "Old Strahlegg" Pass. Mr. Brockedon, between 1824 and 1829, crossed several high glacier passes in the Tarentaise and the Maurienne, and in 1845 Mr. Speer made the first ascent of the Mittelhorn, the highest summit of the Wetterhorn. Mr. A. T. Malkin's climbs among the High Alps began in 1839, as did those of Forbes. But all these were, so to say, " spurts " or " tours de force," while it will be noticed as a curiosity that the Scotch element is very strong among these early Alpine climbers. On the other hand, Forbes's climbs are spread over several successive summers, and were made in widely distant regions of the Alpine chain. In particular his ascent of the Wasenhorn, in 1844, is noteworthy as being, so far as I can discover, the earliest " first ascent" of a peak over 10,000 feet ever made by a native of Great Britain, for Forbes thus beat by just a year his brother Scotchman, Mr. Speer, on the Wetterhorn. In face of this enterprise one is surprised that it never seems to have occurred to Forbes to attempt the ascent of Mont Blanc itself, though his master Saussure had vanquished it, or even to explore any portion of that great mountain, despite his many and prolonged visits to Chamonix and the Mont Blanc range in general. 2. Forbes was the author of the first Detailed Booh in English relating to such Explorations in the High Alps This may seem astonishing, but I believe my statement is perfectly accurate. Before 1843 the various English climbers mentioned above had published very little as to their doings. Save the pamphlets or booklets given to the world by pretty well every one of the English parties which had ascended Mont Blanc, and Mr. Brockedon's articles in Blackwood in 1836, and in Eraser in 1839 (for his Journals of Excursions in the Alps does not deal with the High Alps save as regards the St. Thdodule and Gries Passes), the notes left by the other English parties were generally published very many years later, and in no case do they amount to more than notes or short magazine articles. Forbes's Savoy therefore led the way in the matter of English works relating to the High Alps, the number of such works being now very great. But it must not be forgotten that as non-Englishmen had Introduction to the Present Edition xix climbed many peaks, and had crossed many passes in the High Alps before the time of Forbes, so they had also published several works relating more or less to their doings ; a list of these (all quoted or mentioned by Forbes himself) is given at the end of this paper. 3. Forles tvas a link between Saussure and the Founders of the English Alpine Chih Forbes always regarded Saussure as his master, for as he tells us himself in the early pages of his Savoy, " It is now a good many years since I proposed to myself to travel, not as an amusement, but as a serious occupation, and with De Saussure before me as a model." And his Savoy is avowedly an " endeavour to follow De Saussure in his own country and to meet him on his own ground " — in short a continuation (though of a more special nature) of the Voyages dans les Alpes, both works treating of scientific subjects as well as giving a narrative of the excursions during which these scientific observations were made. There is even a very interesting personal link between Saussure and Forbes. In Forbes's journal of his first visit to the Alps in 1826, he tells us how on his very first exploration of the snow regions one of his guides w^as Cachat " le Geant," who had travelled so much with Saussure, particularly on his ascent of Mont Blanc and on his passage of the Col du Geant. On the other hand, Forbes, w^hile thus looking back towards Saussure, looks forward towards the younger Englishmen who were to successfully carry out the minute exploration of the Alps. We have seen above how he encouraged Mr. Wills, one of the founders of the Alpine Club and its third President, while it was to Mr. Wills that Forbes handed on his guide Auguste Balmat. We have seen too how interested he was in the explora- tions of Mr. Tuckett and the Mont Blanc map of Mr. Adams Eeilly. No doubt he showed the same friendly encouragement to many others of the rising English climbers. And thus, whether by his example, or by his personal help ever generously rendered, Forbes forms the true link that binds together in one long golden chain the mountaineers of the eighteenth century who first systematically attempted to penetrate the secrets of the world of ice and snow in the Alps with their successors a XX Travels through the Alps hundred years later, to w horn it has been given to complete the explorations thus set on foot. For all these reasons, and doubtless others could be added, Forbes fills a very high position in the history of the exploration of the High Alps, especially in the British chapter of that history, so that should a calendar of Alpine worthies ever be drawn up his name would deserve a foremost place therein, whether as an Alpine pioneer, as an Alpine writer, or as a link between past and present Alpine climbers. W. A. B. COOLIDGE. 1. Principal Expeditions above the Snow Line made by Forbes 1832. Jardin (9833 feet). 1839. Col della Nouva (9623 feet). 1841. Cols du Says (10,289 feet) and duSellar (10,063 feet). Gauli Pass (10,519 feet). Ewigschneehorn (10,929 feet). Oberaarjoch (10,607 feet). Jungfrau (13,669 feet). 1842. Cols du Geant (11,060 feet), de Fenetre (9141 feet), de Collon (10,270 feet), and d'Herens (11,418 feet). Stockhorn (11,795 feet). St. Tht'odule (10,899 feet). 1844. Wasenhorn (10,680 feet). 1850. Col Blanc (11,162 feet), and Fenetre de Saleinaz (10,709 feet). 2. Principal Boohs relating to the Alps which arc quoted by Foi'bes Agassiz (L.) " Etudes sur les Glaciers." Neuchutel, 1840. Auldjo (J.) "A Narrative of an Ascent to the Summit of Mont Blanc on the 8th and 9th of August, 1827." 2nd edition. London, 1830. Bakeivell {li.) "Travels in the Tarentaise, &c., in 1820-22." 2 vols. London, 1823. Ball {John). "The Alpine Guide." Voh i. " The Western Alps." London, 1863. Baruffi{G. F.) " Pellegrinazioni autunnali." 4 vols, Turin, 1841-43. Bourrit (J/. T.) " Nouvelle Description des Glacieres, Valines de Glace, et Glaciers qui forment la grand chaine des Alpes de Suisse, d'ltalie, et de Savoie." 3 vols. Geneva, 1785. Brockedon (W.) "Journals of Excursions in the Alps." London, 1833. 2n(l edition, 1845. Brmone {J. D. II.) " Ten Scenes in the Last Ascent of j\Iont Blanc. " London, 1853. Charpenticr {J. de). "E.ssai sur les Glaciers et le Terrain Erratique du Bassin du Rhone." Lausanne, 1841. Charpenticr {J. de). ' ' Notice sur la cause probable du transport des Blocs Erratiques de la Suisse." Article in vol. viii., 1835, of the " Annales des Mines." Paris. Coleman (E. T.) "Scenes from the S now- Fields ; being Illustrations from tin- Upper Ice- World of Mont Blanc." London, 1859. Introduction to the Present Edition xxi ]>csor {E.) "Excursions et Sejours dans les Glaciers et les Hautes RL-gions des Alices de M. Agassiz et de ses compagnons de voyage." Neuchritel and Paris, 1844. Ebel {J. G.) " Manuel du Yoyageur en Suisse." 2nd French edition. 4 vols. Ziirich, 1810-11. Engclhardt (C. M.) " Naturschilderungen, Sittenziige, und AVissenschaftliche Bemerkuugen aus den liochsten Schweizer-Alpen, besonders in Slid-AVallis und Graubiinden. " Paris, Strasburg, and Basel. 1840. Frohcl {Julius). " Pieise in die weniger bekannten Thaler auf der Nordseite der Peuninischen Alpen." Berlin, 1840. Godcffroy {Charles). "Notice sur les Glaciers, les Moraines, et les Blocs Errat- iques des Alpes." Paris and Geneva, 1840. Gruner {G. S.) " Die Eisgebirge des Schweizerlandes. " 3 vols. Bern, 1760. Hall {Captain Basil). "Patchwork." 3 vols. London, 1841. Hirzel-Esclier. "Wanderungen in weniger besuchte Alpengegenden der Schweiz, und ihrer nachsten Umgebungen. " Ziirich, 1829. Hudson {C. ) and Kennedy {E. S.) " Where there's a AVill there's a Way : An Ascent of Mont Blanc by a Xew Route and without Guides." London, 1856. Hugi {F. J.) "Naturhistorische Alpenreise." Soleure, 1830. Latrobe {C. J.) "The Alpenstock: or Sketches of Swiss Scenery and Manners, 1825-26." London, 1829. 2nd edition, 1839. Meyer {J. R. and H.) " Reise auf den Jungfrau-Gletscher und Ersteigung seines Gipfels." Aarau, 1811. See also Zsclwkke. Meyer-Ahrens {Conrad). " Die Bergkrankheit." Leipzig, 1854. Murray's " Handbook for Travellers in Switzerland and the Alps of Savoy and Piedmont." 1st edition, 1838 ; 2nd edition, 1842 ; 7th edition, 1856 ; 10th edition, 1863. Xecker {L. A.) "Etudes Geologiques dans les Alpes." Vol. i. (all published). Paris, 1841. Roidu {Louis, later Bishop of Annecy). " Tht'orie des Glaciers de la Savoie." Originally published in 1840 at Chambery in the "Memoires de la Societe Royale Academique de Savoie." Reprinted, with an English Translation, by Mr. Alfred Wills at London in 1874. Raskin {John). " On Mountain Beauty " (vol. iv. of " Modern Painters "). London, 1856. Saussure {H. B. de). " Voyages dans les Alpes." 4 vols. Neuchatel and Geneva, 1779-96. Sa\issure {H. B. de). " Partie Pittoresque de ses ouvrages." 3rd edition. Paris, 1855. Scheuchzer {J. J.) " Itinera per Helvetise Alpinas Regiones facta annis 1702-11." Collected Edition. Leyden, 1723. Schlagintweit (H. and A. ) " Untersuchungen iiber die physicalische Geograpliie der Alpen." Two series. Leipzig, 1850 and 1854. Schott {Albert). " Die deutschen Colonien in Piemont." Stuttgart and Tiibingen, 1842. Shenvill {Markham). "Historical Sketch of the Valley of Chamouni." Paris, 1832. Simler {Josias). " Vallesise Descriptio et De Alpibus Commentarius. " Zurich, 1574. Simoml {L.) "Voyage en Suisse fait dans les Annees 1817-19." Paris, 1822. English translation. 2 vols. London, 1823. Smith {Albert). "The Story of Mont Blanc." 2nd edition, 1854. Studcr {Gottlieb). " Topographische Mittheilungen aus dem Alpengebirge." With an Atlas of Mountain Outlines. Bern and St. Gallen, 1843. xxii Travels through the Alps Ulrich {Melchior). "Die Seitenthiiler des "Wallis und der Monterosa." Zurich, 1850. Venetz (L.) "Memoire sur les Variations de la Temperature dans les Alpes de la Suisse." Ziiiich, 1833. Article in vol. i. part 2 of the " Denkschrifteu der AUgemeinen Schweizerischen Gesellschaft fiir die gesammten Naturwissen- schaften. " JVelden {L. von). "Der Monte Rosa." Vienna, 1824. Windham {IV.) and Martcl (P.) "An Account of the Glacieres or Ice Alps in Savoy, in Two Letters. One from an English gentleman to his friend at Geneva ; the other from Peter Martel, engineer, to the said English gentleman. Illustrated with a map and two views of the place, etc. As laid before the Royal Society." London : printed for Peter Martel, 1744. JVills {Alfred). " Wanderings among the High Alps." London, 1856. Zschokke {H.) " Reise auf die Eisgebirge des Kantons Bern und Ersteigung ihrer hbchsten Gipfel im Sommer 1812." Aarau, 1813. Compiled from information given by the Meyers. Compare E. Meyer's original narrative printed in the " Alpenrosen" (Aarau and Tlmn) for 1852. TO M. BEENAED STUDER DOCTOR IN PHILOSOPHY, COKBESPONDIXG MEMBEE, OF THE ACADEMIES OF BERLIN, TURIN, AND MILAN, OF THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF WASHINGTON, OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF FRANCE, ETC., ETC., AND PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY AND PHYSICS IX THE UNIVERSITY OF BERNE My dear Sir — In former times Dedications were usually the fulfilment of a stipulation, by which Patronage was to be purchased by Eulogy. But since Patronage has ceased to secure success to medioci^ity, and complimentary phrases have become too trite to be gratifying, a Dedication has become a rare appendage to a book. Nevertheless, it has always appeared to me an opportunity to be valued by a literary man, of expressing publicly his respect for the talents, and his esteem for the character of another, in terms requiring no rhetorical embellishments, because, in that case, the language of Truth and of Eulogy is the same. That you were my companion through several of the most interest- ing scenes described in this volume would alone be a good reason for requesting permission to dedicate it to you, especially as its appearance is not wholly unconnected with conversations which then passed between us. Bvit when I add, that your intimate acquaintance with the Alps and their structure, derived from many years of unwearied research, gives you an especial right to judge of a work relating to their Geography and Natural History — a further reason for this Dedication will be understood by those who are aAvare that the best-informed are usually the most candid judges of the merits of others. Independently of this, I am happy in being able to claim your sympathy and friendship as the best reason of all, — a sympathy derived from common pursuits, and a friendship which, though not yet old, may certainly be affirmed to be not untried. — I remain, my dear Sir, yours very sincerely, James D. Forbes. Edinburgh, 1st Juhi 1843. PEEFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION (1845) In the present Edition the alterations have been chiefly confined to verbal corrections, and to the addition of some more important points of recent information in footnotes and in the Appendix. The text has been as slightly altered as possible, for I have often observed with regret how new Editions may become new Books without any corresponding advantage. If a work require to be so entirely recast, it ought to be considered as a new one. The narrative form adopted in the present volume, and its constant reference to observations and theories made at the time, render it difficult to incorporate new matter in the same manner as if it were, or professed to be, a Systematic Treatise. These Observations and Theories prove their own date : • — this work was written to give them publicity, and I should wish it still to be considered as the depository of them in essen- tially the same shape in which they were originally given to the world. Of course, this ought not to prevent ambiguities from being explained or errors corrected. It would be culpable not to take the opportunity of making such important alterations. I have, however, found few such to be requisite, though it may be feared that others have escaped me. But I have had favourable oppor- tunities of reconsidering the entire subject of the present volume, and particularly the Facts of observation and Theories connected with Glaciers, by the aid of subsequent journeys, of comparative leisure, and of the generally candid and intelligent criticism to which my work has fortunately been subjected. xxvi Travels through the Alps I owe this acknowledgment not only to the Iteviews of this country, of America, and of the Continent, which have done me the honour of noticing it, and to the highly qualified Translator ^ who has introduced it to the German public, but to the numerous Scientific Friends who, with much kindness and courtesy, have privately acquainted me with the difficulties and objections which suggested themselves during the perusal of my work. From the number and variety of the letters which I have received, it is probable that no considerable oversight has escaped my attention. In many instances I have been able to explain difficulties to the satisfaction of the proposer ; if in all cases the new Edition may not seem to have removed them entirely, it must not be ascribed to a want of respectful attention, but either to the remaining obscurity of the subject, or to a wish not to mix up what I consider to be plain and certain, with explana- tions merely specious, and theories which a few years might possibly overturn. The Map of the Mer de Glace has been verified in many parts, and considerable additions and corrections have been made, especially to the part north of the chain of Aiguilles ; but the topography of the upper part of the Glacier du Geant remains still imperfect, as mentioned at page 109. The height of the Croix de Flegere, being questionable, has been removed from the Table, page 116; it is, however, certainly lower than the Montanvert." The facts and laws of the motion and structure of glaciers contained in Chapters VII. and VIII., have been not only verified by myself, but confirmed by independent authorities. The additional footnotes are, for the most part, distinguished by brackets, thus, [ ].■' The most important arc those at p. 145, on the annual motion of the Mer de Glace; at p. 160, on the Dirt Bands; and at pp. 164, 165, on the Law of the Crevasses, 1 Dr. G. vou Leonhaid [Stuttgart, 1845]. - [The Flegere is 6158 feet, and the Moutenvers 6267 feet.] ^ [In the present edition by tlie date " 1845 " ; as [ ] indicate notes added l)y Mr. Coolidgf'.] Preface to the Second Edition xxvii illustrated by figures. A fuller detail of recent observations will be found in the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Letters on Glaciers, now added to the Appendix, and which form in themselves a nearly complete supplement to the first edition.^ Part of the close of Chapter VIII., which was virtually repeated in Chapter XXI., has been suppressed in order to make room for the additional notes, and some sentences have been transferred to that chapter. In this way, the original arrangement of the matter has been very little interfered with, and the refer- ences to the pages will be found to he almost the same as in the First Edition ; a convenience which has been studied throughout. In the concluding chapter, on the Theory of Glacier Motion, the only modification requiring notice is a rectification of certain conclusions drawn from the models described and figured at pages 378-381 of the First Edition [and of this edition also]. The boundaries of the coloured pastes do not, as Mr. Hopkins has justly remarked, necessarily coincide with the surfaces of greatest tension. I have, therefore, re-written the passage ex- planatory of them ; and I have removed from a footnote into the text the description of the other and more important models in which the veined structure is produced by the movement of a surface strewed with coloured powder. This experiment was first made whilst the previous edition was in the press, which will account for its insertion in a note, added after the text was written. It is now put in a more prominent position, and illustrated by a figure. The theory itself has not undergone any alteration, either in substance or expression, unless a qualification of the efficiency of the cold of winter as the sole cause of the congelation of the blue bands in the depth of the glacier may be considered as such. 1 [These ' ' Letters " are omitted in the present edition, as the complete set was published by Forbes in his Occasional Papers on tJie Theory of Glaciers, 1859. It is to this volume that references are given whenever in his "Travels" Forbes makes mention of any of these " Letters."] xxviii Travels through the Alps I have the pleasure of adding, in Appendix No. V., a short summary, by M. Studer himself, of his Geological Observations in the part of the Alps which we travelled over together, and which forms a valuable addition to the statements of Chapter 1 [These "Geological Observations ' have been omitted in tlie present edition.] Edinburgh, ^th Jime 1845. CONTENTS PAKT I TKAVELS THEOUGH THE ALPS OF SAVOY AND OTHEE PAETS OF THE PENNINE CHAIN CHAPTEE I The Alps and Alpine Travellers Ways of travelling and books of travels — The Alps an unexhausted field — De Saussure — His successors — The author's experience — Travelling in Switzer- land^Action and speculation in travelling — Plan proposed — The Pennine Alps ........ Pages 1-16 CHAPTEE II Some Account of Glaciers Generally The snow-line — The waste of ice and its supply in glaciers — Causes of waste — Motion — Fallen blocks — Moraines, medial and lateral — Glacier tables and cones — Formation of holes in ice — Veined structure of the ice in glaciers — The Unteraar and Rhone glaciers — The neve — Cause of glacier motion — De Saus- sure's Gravitation theory — De Charpentier's theory of Dilatation — Objections to each ........ 17-37 CHAPTEE III On the Geological Agency of Glaciers Reasons for supposing glaciers to have caused the transportation of primitive blocks in Switzerland — Playfair — Venetz — De Charpentier — Agassiz — Action of glaciers upon rocks — The Pierre a Bot — The blocks of Monthey — Abradeil surfaces near the Pissevache — Objections to the theory of ancient glaciers con- sidered ........ 38-54 XXX Travels through the Alps CHAPTEK IV Description of the Mer de Glace of Chamodni Physical geography of the ice-world— Glacier de Lechaud— Glacier du Geant — Source of the Arveyron— Hameau des Bois— Cote du Piget— Ancient moraine of Lavancher— Le Chapeau— :\Iauvais Pas— Cattle traversing the glacier— Blue colour of ice— Montanvert— Accommodation- The view— Les Ponts—L' Angle —Passage of the glacier- -Les Charmoz—Trelaporte . . Pages 55-77 CHAPTEK y Description of the Mer de (tlace — Continued Trdlaporte— A traveller crag-fast amongst precipices— The moraines of the Mer de Glace— "Moulins"— Discovery of De Saussure's ladder— Tacul Lake— Bivouac under a rock— Thunder-storm— The chamois hunter— Superb glacier table- Glaciers of L&haud and Talefre—Jardin— Pierre a Beranger . . 78-94 CHAPTEE VI Account of a Survey of the Mer de Glace and its Environs Object of the survey— The instruments— The base line— The triangulation— Heights of the stations referred to Montanvert— Slope of the glacier— Heights of the neighbouring mountains above the sea— Construction of the map— Geographical positions ...•••■• 95-117 CHAPTEE VII Account of Experiments on the Motion of the Ice of the Mer de Glace of Chamouni Glacier motion a mechanical problem — Contradictory opinions respecting it — Experiments commenced— Daily motion detected— Motion by day and by night —Hourly motion — Centre moves fastest— Table of results — Laws of glacier motion from observation— As respects the length and breadth of the glacier —The season of the year, and state of the thermometer— Changes of level of the ice at different seasons ..... 118-149 Contents xxxi CHAPTEE VIII On the Structure of the Ice op Glaciers and of THE Mer de Glace in Particular General facts of structure — Discovery of wave-like bands on the surface of the glacier— Figures of the structure, and sections of the Mer de Glace — Details- Glacier de Talefre— Crevasses of glaciers— Their monthly changes— Minute fissures of the ice — Its permeability to vs^ater — Veined structure explained Pages 150-171 CHAPTEE IX The Tour of Mont Blanc — Chamouni to Courmayeur Glacier des Bossons— Its chief phenomena — Route to the Montauvert by the Glacier des Pelerins — Glacier de Taconnaz — Roches moutonn^es at Pont Pelissier — Baths of St. Gervais— Origin of the blocks of the Valine de Montjoie— Nantborrant— Col du Bonhomme— Col de la Seigne — Allee Blanche— Courmayeur 172-184 CHAPTEE X The Glaciers op Miage and La Brhnva The ascent of the Allee Blanche — Moraine of Miage — Its height and extent- Chamois— Tributary glaciers — Their structure and forms of union with the principal one — Scene of desolation on a moraine — La Breuva — Its remarkable structure — A superimposed glacier — Interesting contact of the ice with the rock beneath — Increase of the glacier of La Brenva in 1818 — A tradition ........ 185-201 CHAPTEE XI Environs of Courmayeur — Geology Mineral springs of Courmayeur and Pre St. Didier- Remarkable relations of lime- stone and granite in the Val Ferret — Mont de la Saxe — Croix de la Bernarda and Mont Chiitif— Symmetry of the geology on either side of the Alps— Ascent of the Cramont — Observations on solar radiation . . . 202-210 xxxii Travels through the Alps CHAPTEE XII .. The Passage of the Col du G^ant Passes of the chain of Mont Blanc — History of this pass — Preliminary obstacles — Departure from Courmayeur — Ascent of Mont Frety — Experiment on the com- parative intensity of moonlight, twilight, and that of a total eclipse — Granite and granite blocks of Mont Frety— Arrival on the Col— The view — History of De Saussure's sojourn — And of his observations — The descent — Diffi- culties of the glacier — Follow the track of a chamois — Reach the iler de Glace— Montanvert ..... Pages 211-238 CHAPTEE XIII From Courmayeur to Chamouni, by the Col Ferret axd Col de Balme Piedmontese Val Ferret — Glacier of Triolet — View from the Col — Swiss Val Ferret — Martigny to Chamouni— Glacier of Trient — Col de Balme— Glacier of Argentiere 239-249 CHAPTEE XIV Journey from Chamouni to Valpelline, by the Val de Bagnes AND Col de Fenetre Traces of ancient glaciers from Les Montets to the Tete Noire — Arrival at the Great St. Bernard— Find M. Studer— Return to Orsieres— The Val de Bagnes— Chable— The inhabitants— Glacier of Gietroz— The debacle of 1818- Chalets of Torrembey — Economy of chalets, and manners of the inmates — Glacier of Chermontane — Col de Fenetre — View into Italy — Valley of OUomont — Goitres — Arrival at Valpelline ..... 250-270 CHAPTEE XY From Valpelline to Evolena by the Col de Collon Ascent of the Valpelline to Bionaz — Geology — Syenites — Chalets of Praraye — Head of the valley — Ascent of the Col de Collon — Remains of travellers lost in a Tourmente — Glacier d'Arolla — Its structural bands — Jlagiiifu'cnt view of Mont Collon — Opportune meeting with Pralong — History of the victims — Arrival at Evolena ...... 271-284 Contents xxxiii CHAPTEE XVI From Evolena in the Valley op Herens to Zermatt in the Valley OF St. Nicolas, by the Glaciers op Ferp^cle and Z'Mutt A night at Evolena— Wretched accommodation— Departure for Bricolla— Aspect of the Glacier of Ferpecle— A night in the chalets— Ascent of the glacier— The Motta Rotta— The Stoekhorn— Magnificent view of Monte Rosa and Mont Cervin— Dangerous descent — Precipices — The Bergschrund— Pralong returns — The Glacier of Z'Mutt — Structure of the Mont Cervin — Arrival at Zermatt Pages 285-308 CHAPTEE XVII The Environs op Zermatt Valley of St. Nicolas from Visp to Zermatt— Torrents— The Bies Glacier— Position of Zermatt— Glacier marks on the rocks— Glacier of Corner— The Kiffelberg— View and bearings from it— Sketch of the geology of this part of the Alps — Simple minerals ....... 309-318 CHAPTEE XVIII From Zerm.-vtt to Gressoney by the Col op Mont Cervin Detainment at Zermatt— Ascent to the pass of Mont Cervin— The Col— Fortifica- tions — The descent — Highly electric state of the atmosphere— Custom-house officers— Breuil—Val Tournanche— Chamois— Col de Portola — Val d'Ayas— Brusson— Col della Ranzola— Arrival at Gressoney— M. Zumstein 319-328 CHAPTEE XIX Gressoney — Monte Rosa The German valleys of Monte Rosa — Peculiar race, of questionable origin — Their manners and dialect — Topography of Monte Rosa — Attempts to ascend it by Vincent and Zumstein — The highest point still unattained — An excursion to the Glacier of Lys — Its retreat — Its structure — Return to Stavel . 329-339 C xxxiv Travels through the Alps CHAPTKK XX -. Tour of Monte Rosa Concluded — From Gressoney to Visp, BY Macugnaga and Monte Moro Passage of tlie Col d'Oleu — Alagna -Kiva — The Tuiio Pass — Val Quarazza — Its polished rocks — Macugnaga — The people aud their habitations — Excursion to the glacier of Macugnaga — The Weiss Thor, a remarkable pass — Structure of the glacier — Glaciers of the second order — Geology of the chain of Monte Rosa — Petriolo — Gigantic fragments of rocks — Return to Macugnaga — Pass of Monte Moro — View of Monte Rosa — Descent to Saas — Glaciers of Schwarzberg and Allalin — Gabbro — Saas — Stalden— Peasants' theatricals — Visp Pages 340-356 CHAPTEPt XXI An attempt to Explain the Leading Phenomena of Glaciers The Dilatation theorj'^ considered, and compared with observation — The Gravitation theory examined — The author's theory proposed— Glaciers really plastic — Con- ditions of fluid motion — Compared with those of a glacier — Efl'ect of viscosity — The veined structure of the ice a consequence of the viscous theory — Illustrated by experiments — Comparison of a glacier to a river — Conclusion . 357-390 PART II JOURNALS OF EXCUESIONS IN THE HIGH ALPS OF DAUPHINE, BERNE, AND SAVOY CHAPTER I Narrative of Excursions in the Alps of Dauphin^ IN 1839 AND 1841 lioundaries of the district described — Mountains of the Oisans — Their geological peculiarities — Hot springs — AUevard — Les Sept Laux — AUemout — Bourg d'Oisans — Valley of tiie Romanche— Valley of St. Cliristophe — Venose — Fall of a mountain — Village of St. Cliristophe— Scene from Les Etages — Les Ecrins —Hamlet of La Berarde ...... 391-407 Contents xxxv CHAPTER II The Same — Continued Cross the Col du Says— Glacier de la Pilatte— Descent to La Chapelle— Passage of the Col du Sellar— Glacier and dangerous precipices— EntraigueS—Ville Val Louise— Mont Pelvoux— Monetier— Col du Lautaret— Superposition of gneiss to lias — La Grave — The scenery — Combe de Malaval— Passage of the Col de ITnfcrnet— Remarks on the geology of the Montagues del'Oisans Pages 408-426 CHAPTER III Excursion on the Glaciers of the Bernese Alps, preceding THE Ascent of the Jungfrau Engagement with M. Agassiz— Residence on the Unteraar Glacier— Topography of the Bernese Oberland and the glaciers originating near the Finsteraarhorn- Two panoramas — Excursion from the Grimsel to the Glacier of Aletsch in the Vallais— Departure— The Glacier and Col of the Oberaar— Descent on the Glacier of Viesch — Caverns in the nevt^ — Enormous block of stone on the moraine— Arrival at the chalets of Marjelen — Preparation for the ascent of the Jungfrau 427-440 CHAPTER IV The Ascent op the Jungfrau History of attempts to ascend the Jungfrau — Departure from the chalets of Mar- jelen— Lake and glacier of Aletsch— Prospect of the range of the Jungfrau— The Firn or neve— The Ascent commences— Passage of the great crevasse— Col of the Roth thai reached — Final ascent of 1000 feet on a slope of ice — The summit described — The view, and stupendous cloud— Return to the chalets by moonlight — The lower portion of the glacier of Aletsch described — Its termination in the Massa ravine— Arrival at Brieg . . 441-455 CHAPTER V Narrative of the Passage of the Fenetre de Saleinaz from the Valley of Chamouni to that op Ferret in 1850 Peculiarities of the chain of Mont Blanc — Glacier of Le Tour little visited — Leave the Col de Balme — Ascend the glacier — Its features — Attain the Ridge— Its unexpected elevation—Exceeds the Col du Geant — Proposed as an experimental station— Descent on the Glacier of Saleinaz — Fine Protogine— Topography — Difficult route — Sudden fog — Extrication — Reach Orsieres in the Val Ferret 456-467 J) xxxvi Travels through the Alps PART III PEDESTEIANISM IN SWITZEELAND (469-520) PART IV TOPOGEAPHY OF THE CHAIN OF MONT BLANC (521-554) LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTEATIONS MAPS The Pennine Alps The Central Dauphin^ Alps • . The Bernese Oberland . The Tour and Saleinaz Glaciers The Chain of Mont Blanc The Mer de Glace of Chamouni' in Pocket at end of Book . to face p. 391 427 . „ „ 459 . , „ 521 in Pocket at end of Book TOPOGEAPHICAL SKETCHES (IN THE TEXT) I. The Miage Glacier II. The Brenva Glacier III. The Environs of Courmayeur IV. The Argenti^re Glacier . V. The Col de Fen^tre and neighbouring VI. The Col de Collon VII. The Col d'Hj^rens VIII. The Macugnaga Glacier . IX. The Allalin Glacier 186 195 204 246 Glaciers 266 276 297 345 353 ILLUSTEATIONS Portrait of Professor Forbes . Moraine near the Montanvert, Chamouni Glacier Moraines The Rhone Glacier Frontispiece 17 24 29 xxxviii Travels through the Alps Ideal Sectional View of a Glacier Pierre a Bot, near NeuchItel . ... Two Erratic Boulders . Granite Block on the Mer de Glace . Points of Observation on the Mer de Glace Diagrams relating to the rate op motion of Glace .... Twisted Veins on a Glacier Vein Structure of the Mer de Glace Crevasses on a Glacier. The Miage Glacier and its Moraine . Tributary Glaciers The Col du G^ant from the Cramont . Monte Rosa from the Col du G^nt Profile op the Pointe des Ecrins Glacier and Water Marks on Limestone Monte Rosa from the Col d'Herens Passing the Bergschrund The Matterhorn from the N.W. Superposition of the N^v:6 on the Macugnaga Monte Rosa from the Monte Moro Pass Glacier Structure TWO streams on of THE veined Model showing the Curves produced by a Viscous Fluid Agassiz's Idea op Glacier Structure Model showing the effect of the union of the motion of a viscid fluid Model illustrating the mechanical theory Structure .... Source of the Arveyron Scene at La B^rarde Mont Pelvoux from the Val Louise . The Bernese Alps from the North and the The Bergschrund on the Jungfrau corniche on the jungprau The Top op the Jungfrau The Tour Glacier from the Aiguille de la GLii<;RE . Plan of the Saleinaz Glacier . . • • 29, 130, Mer de 158, 165, Glacier 373, 374, 3 South PACK 373 38 54 55 158 134 157 160 167 185 190 219 220 222 256 300 305 307 347 350 , 377 378 379 381 383 388 391 408 431 445 447 449 456 460 PAKT I TRAVELS THROUGH THE ALPS OF SAVOY PART I TRAVELS THROUGH THE ALPS OF SAVOY CHAPTEE I THE ALPS AND ALPINE TRAVELLEPtS Ways of travelling and books of travels — The Alps an unexhausted field — De Saussure — His successors — The author's experience — Travelling in Switzerland — Action and speculation in travelling — Plan proposed — The Pennine Alps. Men travel from a great variety of motives, and they publish their travels perhaps from a still greater. The manner of travelling and the forms of publication are equally diverse, and mark strongly the features of the age. The folio of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the quarto of the eighteenth, and even of our own time, have melted into the modern duodecimo : and something like a corresponding change may be traced in the contents. " Pilgrimages " are out of date, and the traveller's portfolio on his return is as light in comparison as his port- manteau at starting : both are necessarily proportioned to the rapidity of his movements. The modern facilities for locomotion extend not only to England, France, Germany, and what in former days was called the grand tour, but gentlemen now wallc across Siberia with as little discomposure as ladies ride on horseback to Florence. Even the Atlantic is but a highway for loungers on the American continent, and the overland route to India is chronicled like that from London to Bath. The Desert has its post-houses, and Athens has its omnibuses. 1 2 Travels through the Alps of Savoy One consequence of this surprising change has heen, upon a great scale, like that which the existence of railways has produced in any particular district. Persons who travel for the purpose of seeing, and relating what they have seen, are in such haste to escape from more familiar and accessible objects, that the world gradually accepts it as a principle, that wliat is worth describing must be distant by at least the breadth of an ocean, or half a continent, from the home of the traveller. The result is, that those who write books of travels with other objects than to make money, or to indulge a harmless vanity, have usually sought remote countries for the subject of their writings. Thus by an insatiate thirst for novelty, and for communicating what is most new or strange, rather than what is worth knowing, we find that the proper dignity of an intelligent book of travels has been often overlooked. The question may yet remain, whether it is not a greater service to the community to show how much re- mains to be seen and studied in countries, comparatively speak- ing, accessible to all, than to write detailed descriptions of regions presenting few natural objects of importance, or of remote tribes, unvisited perhaps only because uninteresting or dangerous. To write a book of Travels in the Alps will no doubt appear to many persons a very unpromising as well as superfluous undertaking, it being taken for granted that wliat is so easily accessible must be perfectly well known ; and the absence of any recent book of the kind, intended for more than a temporary object, and speedy oblivion, might tend to confirm the idea that no such work is required. It has, however, been the result of journeys continued throughout several summers, in countries commonly called the best known in Europe, that I am persuaded that even in these there is yet much to be seen, much explained, and much of which a general account may prove as interesting as that of visits to more distant, though scarcely more unknown lands. An excellent work might be written — and it would be a large one — on the less known or undescribed parts of the most frequented districts of Europe, which would sliow what a narrow line it is — no broader sometimes than the cuniinon border on a colom'ed map, separating one province ur kingdom h\nn another — which divides the known from the unknown ; the highway along which roll daily the luxurious Lia veiling equipages of Iiu.ssian wealth or English fashion, and the remote valley The Alps and Alpine Travellers 3 scarcely outlined iu our atlases, with a population speaking no acknowledged European language, and to whom the sight of a foreign pedestrian occurs perhaps but once or twice a year. Nor this alone. Even where all men go, none may have stopped ; what all men see, none may have observed. As in many parts of experimental science unexpected discoveries are made in a workshop or manufactory, so the book of nature, whose pages are open to all, is read but by a few ; and the notoriety of a fact, or a supposed fact, is often exactly the cause why no explanation of it is sought, or its questionable authenticity tested. It is not too much to say that the natural history of a great part of the chain of Alps, the most instructive and grandest theatre of natural operations in Europe, is in this predicament. Thousands of travellers, many of them amongst the most enlightened men of their day, frequent them. But where is the fruit ? Whilst Parry, and Franklin, and Foster, and Sabine, and Eoss, and Darwin brave the severities of Arctic and Antarctic climates, to reap the knowledge of the various phenomena of earth and atmosphere, climate and animals, the geology, meteorology, and botany of countries comparatively uninteresting to us, are we perfectly informed of all these particulars even in our own quarter of the globe ? Undoubtedly not. Where are we to look for travels like De Saussure's, and why are com- prehensive works, adapted for the general reader and student of nature, to be replaced entirely by studied monographs connected with some single science in some single district ? The belief that the narrative form is at once the most agreeable and the most natural, both to author and reader, when truths progressively attained, and founded on numerous obser- vations of detached facts, are the subjects, has finally determined me to fulfil an early and nearly abandoned project of writing a book of travels. The present volume is the result. It may be considered as an attempt to show, upon a small scale, what it is believed might advantageously be pursued upon a larger one. The aim of the work is confessedly to illustrate the physical geography of a particular district in one of the most frequented regions of the Alps ; and more especially to arrive at results of a definite kind, respecting the natural history of glaciers, those great masses of ice which so generally attract the casual, though only the casual, notice of travellers. 4 Travels through the Alps of Savoy It is a duty which every one who writes owes to the public and to himself, to be informed, generally at least, of the labours of his predecessors, that he may not, even involuntarily, assume to himself credit for that which belongs to another, nor invite attention to that which is already well known. The duty is not an easy one. Topographical literature, more than almost any other, is diffused over bulky and unindexed compilations, or more irrevocably lost in fugitive pamphlets. I well know, from some former experience, the labour of an attempt to analyse all the writings connected with even a small district, and, generally speaking, its little value as regards substantive information ; and I soon saw that such an attempt in the present case would be wholly incompatible with the proposed extent of this work, and with the time which I could withdraw from other duties for writing it. I hope that it will appear, notwithstanding, that I have not been inattentive to what my predecessors have done, and that I have endeavoured throughout, in matters of original observation, to render to them their due. I do not, indeed, pretend to have read the ivliole works of Simler, Scheuchzer, and Gruner,^ the older Alpine historians; but I have carefully examined them in many parts, especially those which bear upon the doctrine of glaciers. The writings " of De Saussure ^ have been the subject of perpetual reference — not only at home, but amongst the very scenes which he has described, and where it is easy to retrace the exactness of his assertions, and the faithful yet sober colouring of his descriptions. Himself a man of independence and station at Geneva, early imbued with a taste for exploring mountain scenery ; well instructed in the then existing state of natural history and the allied branches of physics, he was exactly in the proper position for advancing a knowledge of his own country, and of those natural laws which may best be studied amongst its mountains. His journeys were not " tours de 1 [Josias Simler, Lorn 1530, died 1576; Dc Alpibus commentarius, Ziirich, 1574. J. J. Scheuchzer, boni 1672, died 1733 ; Itinera jKr Hdvctiac alpuias rcgioncs facta annis 1702-1711 ; collected edition, Leyden, 1723. G. S. Gruner, born 1717, died 1778 ; Die Eisgchlfjc (A.s Schurizcrldmlcs, Bern, 1760.] 2 Voyages dans Ics Alpcs, 4 vols, in 4to [1779-1706]; also in S vols. 8vo [1780-1796]. 3 [Horace Benedict de Saussure was born in 17-10 and died in 1799. Portraits of him are given at p[). 24 and 72 of ]\Ir. C. E. Mathews' Annals of Mont Blanc, Loudon, 1898.1 The Alps and Alpine Travellers 5 force" miracles of rapidity and boldness, from which, if anything were gained, it must have been by a sort of intuition. On the contrary, even his more adventurous expeditions were commenced with a calm foresight, peculiar to himself, of the ends to be gained, and the best methods of attaining them. He did not court dangers ; he did not affect to despise even inconveniences. His fortune permitted him to travel and observe in a manner which is as rare at the present day as formerly. He was frequently accompanied by ten or twelve men, and four or six mules carrying baggage, provisions, instruments, beds, and a tent ; and perhaps to this precaution may be partly attrilnited the long period of life through which he w^as able to extend his laborious researches, trying to most constitutions, and from which, he states, that even he did not fail to suffer at last. Owing to his convenient position (for he always resided at Geneva) he acquired a familiarity with many of the scenes which he described, by repeated visits, each one clearing up the doubts of the last. For many years he made an annual journey, and a great part of the Alps was traversed by him, although unnoticed in his published Travels. De Saussure had a particular caution and anxiety about the editorial part of his writings ; — it is probable that he only selected the most complete for publication.^ It undoubtedly requires a very long apprenticeship to the art of travelling to learn how to group facts, — to observe with intelligence, and to record observations on the spot with sufficient clearness and detail." De Saussure had seen some other countries which he was able to compare with the structure of the Alps, although he does not appear to have travelled much beyond Switzerland and France, excepting one journey to Sicily. It is 1 See the Advertisement to the first volume of his Travels, dated 1779. ' - The practice which I have long adopted with advantage is this : to carry a memorandum-book with Harwood's prepared paper and metallic pencil, in which notes, and observations, and slight sketches of every description are made on the spot, and in the exact order in which they occur. These notes are almost ineffaceable, and are preserved for reference. They are then extended, as far as possible, every evening, with pen and ink, in a suitable book, in the form of a journal — from which, finally, they may be extracted and modified for any ultimate purpose. The speedy extension of memoranda has several great advantages ; it secures a deliberate revision of observations, whether of instruments or of nature, whilst the circumstances are fresh in the mind, vvhilst further explanation may be sought, and very often whilst ambiguities or contradictions admit of removal by a fresh appeal to facts. By this precaution, too, the not inconsiderable risk of losing all the fruits of some weeks of labour, by tlie loss of a pocket-book, is avoided. 6 Travels through the Alps of Savoy not easy to ascertain from his published journeys, and still less from the meagre biography which exists of him by Senebier,^ the exact time which he spent upon his travels each summer. As far as I can gather, however, it appears not to have been very long ; and we are struck with the circumstance that many remarkable parts of the Alps, within easy reach of Geneva, are wholly uudescribed, and that he would appear very seldom to have taken up his residence for a considerable time at one station. That De Saussure was a bold mountaineer is plain from his well-known ascent of Mont Blanc," at a time when such difficulties, little understood, seemed far more formidable than at present, when the chief obstacles to such a feat arise from its very familiarity, and the ostentatious and expensive precautions which, not unwisely perhaps, have been interposed to its accomplishment. But the most interesting and most adventurous feat wliich De Saussure performed, was his residence of seventeen days on the Col du Geant, a height of above 11,000 feet ; ^ of which I shall give a separate account in the course of this work. De Saussure's style is generally easy and interesting, without any pretension to elaboration, and in this respect his work con- trasts most happily with that of Bourrit, published about the same time ; '^ who, though by no means an uninteresting writer, conveys the simplest facts through a medium of such unmixed bombast as to disgust the reader, rather than arouse his sympathies for admiration or for awe. In both, liowever, it must be admitted that here and there a natural passage of calm eloquence may be found, descriptive of natural beauty, and of the sentiments, irrepressible in most minds, of Natural Eeligion, which familiarity with great mountain scenery peculiarly calls forth. De Saussure has aimed at variety in his work — and beyond 1 [J. Senebier, Memoirc historiqnc sur la rie ct Ics ecrifs r/c If.-JJ. de Saussure, Geneva, 1801.] "in 1787.] 'll,OGO feot.] 'Marc Theodore Bourrit, born in 1739, died in 1819. His principal work was Descri2)tion dcs AI2KS Fennincs ct lihetiauics, originally publislied in 2 vols, at Geneva in 1781, reprinted in 1783 (under the title of Kouvcllc Description dcs glaciercs, vallees de glace, ct glaciers qui formcnt la grande chainc des Alpcs dc Suisse, d' Italic ct de Savoyc), and re-published, with additions, in 3 vols, in 1785. In the 9th vol. of the Jljiinr Jnimial Mr. Douglas I'reshfiold has given a more just apjirt'ciatiiiii of IJourril's real inipt)rtanw in Alpine liistoiy.] The Alps and Alpine Travellers 7 a doubt successfully. Topography, natural history, and personal adventure are happily combined ; and many persons who would have been repelled by a professed work on the geology of the Alps, have read with avidity one which offers so much else to their attention. Even at the present time De Saussure's Travels can hardly be called obsolete, because no other work has replaced them ; ^ and though the geology of his day is in some degree exploded, the texture of the work is sufiicient to retain for it a permanent interest. The arrangement is generally topographical ; if any place has been repeatedly visited, the description refers to the general result of the observations. If only once visited, the narrative form is adopted. Occasional chapters are devoted to the explanation of subjects which have occupied much of his attention, without reference to particular localities. Such an arrangement has many advantages. The plates in De Saussure's work, though more faithful than those of Bourrit, are not happy, and the maps give but an unfavourable impression of the state of topography or of art at that time in Switzerland. There is scarcely one of the more modern writers, with whom I am acquainted, whose writings can be classed with those of the great historian of the Alps. The reputation of De Saussure seems to have deterred others, however well qualified, from resuming and continuing a work which, whether we regard the state of knowledge when it was written, or the vast extent of Alpine country scarcely noticed or unmentioned in its pages, ought rather to have been considered as a commencement and a model, than as the completion of an undertaking so vast and so varied. Far be it from me to underrate what has been accom- plished since his time for the natural history of Switzerland by most able and zealous observers in special departments of science, to which the excellent Journals, and the valuable Academical Transactions published there, — especially those of Geneva and of the Swiss Society," — bear ample testimony. Far be it from me to overlook the mongraphs, by Necker and Studer, Escher and De Charpentier, Lardy and Zumstein in the country itself, and those of many eminent foreigners, connected with geology ; and 1 [It must be remembered that Forbes was writing in 1842.] - [J/ewioircs dc la Societe de physique et d'histoire naturelle de Geneve. Denkschriften der allgcmeinen schweizerischen Gesellschaft fiir die rjesammten Natur- vjisscnschaften ; or perhaps Forbes alhides to the J^crhandluncien der allgemcinen schivcizerischen naturforschenden Gesellschaft. ] 8 Travels through the Alps of Savoy of Venetz, De Charpentier, Agassiz and Rendu on the subject of glaciers, which have recalled attention to what De Saussure had only outlined, and whilst showing the incompleteness of liis generalisations, revived in us at the same time admiration of his genius, his fidelity, and his varied knowledge. Two works only of late years seem at all to emulate De Saussure in style or matter — the Naturhistorische Alpenreise of Hugi,^ and the Etudes dans Ics Alpes of Necker. The former is a singular, we might call it a lantastical work. With a praiseworthy desire to benefit experimental philosophy, as well as the sciences of observation, by his very unusual and intrepid journeys, the Professor of Soleure describes in detail his instruments and the results he obtains with them, which are often, however, so much at variance with those of iuduliitable authority, as to render us somewhat diffident in the adoption of them. We cannot but remark, too, that the ostentatious style of travelling which he preferred, often with twelve or fifteen com- panions and guides largely paid, was necessarily confined to very short and interrupted excursions, which in most cases were brought to a premature close by bad weather, when he was com- pelled to break up his band, and relinquish his objects. Amidst much which appears so paradoxical in Hugi's writings, as to pass with many for fabulous, we perceive a bold and determined spirit daring to follow nature, and in the lively, sometimes really eloquent, descriptions of scenery, we discover, too, the heart that can feel nature. Amidst a mass of dry details there is sufficient narrative to render the volume of Hugi agreeable reading, and this is another testimony to the value of the style of writing of which we speak, which presents even scientific truths in a form calculated to interest persons at large. Very different is the volume of M. Necker, Honorary Pro- fessor of Mineralogy at Geneva, and grandson of De Saussure.- It forms only a portion of an extended work, calculated to embrace the geology of a large district of the Alps. Its arrange- ment, is, however, rather systematic than local, and, therefore, it wants some of the liveliness which characterises the writings of the author of the Vcnjagcs dans les Aljycs. Containing, as it ' [Soleure, 1S30. Franz Joliaim Hugi was born 1796 and died 1855.] - [L. A. Keeker Etudes rjiolocjiqucs dans Ics Alpcs, vol. i. — no more jiuMished —Paris, 1841.1 The Alps and Alpine Travellers 9 does, abundant references to the localities of the Alps, to which the author's inquiries are especially directed, it is enriched with the fruits of his observations and long residence in other countries. Still, by its nature and arrangement, it is a book of geology, and not of travels.^ With respect to the present work, it is considerably more special than I could have wished it to be, had my sole object been to give a specimen of a continuation of travels in the Alps in the manner of De Saussure. "Whilst general geology may be considered as the basis of his work, or the investigation which guided the course of his travels, the theory of glaciers, and of the departments of geology and topography more immediately connected with them, forms the groundwork of mine. This circumstance has led me in the journeys, which are to be described in this volume, through more wild and remote scenery than any other inducement, except, perhaps, a passion for the chase, is likely to carry a traveller. Some account of these scenes may have sufiicient interest for the general reader, to induce him to excuse the more scientific details. I can at least plead, in excuse for an attempt w^hich I feel to border on presumption, — the endeavour to follow the great historian of the Alps ^ in his own country, and to meet him on his own ground, — that it is upon no sudden impulse that I came forward with the hasty notes of a few months' tour to lay them before the public. It is now a good many years since I proposed to myself to travel, not as ail amusement, but as a serious occupation, and with De Saussure before me as a model. I have reason to be glad that circumstances, by postponing its execution, led me to appreciate 1 For a copious list of works published iu Switzerland, see Ebel's Manuel du Voyagcur en Suisse, tome i. ilany of these contain valuable information ; and even from common tour and guide-books useful facts may often be gained. Those of Ebel himself, of Latrobe and Simond, of Frobel and Engelhardt, of Brockedon and Bakewell may be mentioned ; but they do not properly come under the class of works referred to in the text. [A very complete list of works of travel in Switzer- land is given in A. Waber's Landes- %(.nd Reischcsehreibungen, Bern, 1899 ; while a select list of similar works relating to all parts of the Alpine chain is given in Appendix A of Hints and Notes, Practical and Scientific, for Travellers in the Alps, a new edition — London, 1S99 — of Mr. .Tohn Ball's "General Intro- duction " to his Alpine Guide.] - [This name properly belongs to Bourrit, to whom it was given by Frederic II. of Pnissia. The Emperor Joseph II., when at Geneva, paid a special visit to Bourrit, i'historiographe des Alpcs.] lO Travels through the Alps of Sav /oy more fully the ditticulties of the plan, and to come to its fulfil- ment after some experience, with moderated expectations of ultimate success. The habit of observation, I have already said, is of slow growth, — to use opportunities, we must prepare to seize them. I had the advantage of receiving my first impres- sions of Switzerland in early youth ; ^ and I have carefully refreshed and strengthened them by successive visits to almost every district of the Alps between Provence and Austria. I have crossed the principal chain of Alps twenty-seven times, generally on foot, by twenty-three different Passes," and have, of course, intersected the lateral chains in very many directions. In my journeys I have most frequently been alone, although occasionally I have had the advantage of eminent naturalists and esteemed friends for my companions, from whose superior know- ledge I have been happy to gain information as a learner, and by whose urbanity and kindness the roughest way has been smoothed, and the longest day beguiled. I have likewise undertaken similar journeys in other 1 [Forbes' first visit to the Alps took place in 1826, Avhen he was 17 years of age.] ■■^ The following are the names and directions of these passes [a number of corrections of various kinds have been made in this list and the latest heights of the passes inserted. Several of these passes are 71010 traversed by railways, carriage roads, or mule paths, while but four at the most are "glacier passes" — Geant, Fenetre, Collon, and St. Theodule], commencing with the Maritime Alps : — Col de I'Argentiere (6545 ft.) Col de Vallante (9269 ft.) Col de la Traversette (9679 ft.) Col de la Croix (7576 ft.) Mt. Gene\Te (6083 ft.) Mt. Cenis (6893 ft.) Petit St. Bernard (7179 ft.) Col du Bonhomme (8147 ft.) Col du Geant (11,060 ft.) Col Ferret (8311 ft.) Grand St. Bernard (8111 ft.) Col de Fenetre (9141 ft.) Colde Collon (10,270 ft.) St. Theodule (10,899 ft.) Monte Moro (9390 ft.) Simj)lon (6592 ft.) St. Gotthard (6936 ft.) Spliigen(6946 ft.) Stelvio (9055 ft.) Brenner (4195 ft.) Vclljcr Taucrn (8334 ft.) jMallnitzer Tauern (7910 ft.) Prebichl (3950 ft.) From Barcelonnette To Coni (Cuneo). Abries Castel Delfino. Abries Saluzzo. Abries Torre Pellice. Brian con Turin. Lauslebourg Turin. Moutiers Tarentaise Aosta. St. Gervais Chapieux. Chamouni Courmayeur. Martigny Courmayeur. .Martigny Aosta. Chable Yalpelline. Evolena Valpelline. Zonnatt Chutillon. Saas l^Iacugnaga. Brieg Domo d'Ossola. Altdorf Bellinzona. Coire Chiavenna. Innsliruck Bormio. Innsl)ru(.k Bozen. iMittersill Windisch Matrei. Casteiii 01. cr Vellach. Eisenerz Bruck an der Mur. The Alps and Alpine Travellers 1 1 mountainous countries with a view to compare the results. I have spent a part of ten summers on the Continent, and six of these in the Alps and adjacent country.^ I have thus repeated my visits to the same spot, and, without almost any exception, I have found more to enjoy, to admire, and to learn on the renewal of my acquaintance with it. Most of the places de- scribed in this volume have been visited twice, and several of them in four different years. As the mere novelty of travelling- wears off, its deeper charms impress themselves more indelibly — the habits of observation and of thought are strengthened — the short term of human life itself seems to expand in proportion to the variety and greatness of the objects contemplated ; and if the solitary pedestrian in foreign parts feels his heart often glow with thoughts which bear him untiring company, incommuni- cable, and with which the stranger cannot intermeddle, he may yet have an honest gratification in attempting to convey to others some part of his enjoyment in the conquest of obstacles, and in the pursuit of truth. Switzerland is undoubtedly one of the most agreeable, as well as most interesting countries in the world to travel in. The Alps rise to all the elevation wdiich is necessary in order to convey to the imagination the fullest sense of the sublime in such objects, whilst their dimensions — gigantic, no doubt, compared to the mountains of the British islands — do not present the un- wieldy extent of the Andes or Himalaya. There is no transverse valley in the Alps — that is, one leading directly from the plains to the highest ridge — up which an active man cannot walk in two days, and the actual passage of the chain may usually be effected in one. Now, any great increase upon such a scale necessarily wearies the traveller with monotony, even though it be the monotony of grandeur, whilst it tasks his physical powers by keeping them too long upon the stretch. The circuit of Mont Blanc or Monte Eosa is quite as long and fatiguing as most persons will consider necessary to give them a vivid con- ception of an immense hill ; and if we accurately examine the slow progress which the uneducated eye makes to a correct estimate of magnitudes and distances in the Alps, we find that, practically, their scale is sufficiently great to afford to at least 1 [1826, 1832, 1837, 1839, 1841, 1S42. The author is wiiting in the winter of 1842-43.] 12 Travels through the Alps of Savoy nine -tenths of travellers the most majestic conceptions with which such objects can at all inspire them. Add to this, that the actual height of the zone of perpetual snow is as great as that of any mountains in the world, with one or two exceptions ; for the highest land on the surface of the globe is near the equator, where the corresponding high tempera- ture raises the limit at which perpetual snow commences to nearly the extreme height of European mountains. The eye — which must always have some actual or conventional standard of reference — if it cannot judge by the level of the sea, takes the level of the plain as a starting-point, or, if there be no plain, the level of perpetual snow is a natural index of elevation, which, connected as it is with height, solitude, and vastness, impresses the mind with the highest sense of grandeur in natural scenery. It has often been observed, that Chimborazo is less elevated above the table-land from which it rises than Mont Blanc is above the valley of Chamouni ; and taking the level of perpetual snow in the Alps at 8500 feet, Mont Blanc is snow-clad throughout its higher 7000 feet. Now, a peak in the Himalaya range, in order to show as much, would need to rise to above 23,000 feet — a height which few of them exceed. The climate of the Alps, as well as their scale, is highly favourable to observation and to personal exertion ; and it must not be reckoned a small advantage, that shelter, if not accom- modation, is to be found within a moderate distance of the most retired and wildest scenery. Obstacles to travelling, whether from rude curiosity or violence on the part of the inhabitants, are undoubtedly smaller in Switzerland that in any other country in Europe. The traveller who makes a sojourn of some length in the remoter parts of even the most frequented countries, is as often subjected to the suspicions of the authorities as of the people. The mere fact of his traversing mountains where no one habitually passes, is a sufficient crime in the eyes of the vigilant police ; and if to this he add a turn for sketching, or the use of a hammer or barometer, or any such instrument, he is likely to raise a host of popular prejudices, whose extent can often only be guessed from the extraordinary conjectures which he occasionally finds to be current respecting liis character and pursuits. Having, at different times, had my own share of these troubles, I appreciate liighly the ha]>i)y indeiiendence of a The Alps and Alpine Travellers 13 pedestrian iu Switzerland, where, partly from the peculiar character of the people, partly from their form of government, and partly from their familiarity with strangers of every country, race, occupation, and fancy, no one need fear being set down either for a magician or a political agent — the two offensive categories in which he is often elsewhere included ; and even the philosopher, with all his whims and his chattels, his labours and hardships which seem to end in nothing, is allowed, after a short cross-examination, and a significant shrug .from the questioner, to pursue quietly an avocation wdiich is considered at least as harmless as walking in a motley suit would be, or twenty other vagaries. I own, that although the character of the Swiss or Savoyard peasant can rarely excite much enthusiasm or admiration, I always feel a satisfaction and a freedom from restraint when I approach these mountains and their exhilarat- ing atmosphere, which dispel anxiety, and invite to sustained exertion. What a field, indeed, for those whom professional and other cares, and even the habits of the society which they frequent, leave, during a great portion of life, but a few hours together, never a whole day, which can be called their own, to find them- selves transplanted to a new position — time at command — no interruptions — no calls, invitations, or engagements — no letters to write or receive but those which give pleasure — surrounded by nature in its grandest forms, delighting the eye, yet affording far keener pleasure to the intellect, by the interest of the problems which it presents for solution ! The attention, undistracted, dwells on the objects around without hindrance or satiety. The sense of perfect health — the rapid and refreshing sleep which attends most persons escaped from the hot-bed languor of towns to the freshness of the Alps, stimulate the powers of thought ; and thought is without fatigue when each passing event gives a varied tone to it — when each step furnishes a new subject for its exercise — when all nature is our laboratory, and we read the axioms of her philosophy indelibly engraven on the eternal hills. Mere change of scene and active exercise produce fatigue at last, unless the mind have some wholesome employment as well as the body ; and most of those who have made the trial will probably regard as amongst the happiest periods of their lives 14 Travels through the Alps of Savoy those in which a luvouiite study has been pursued in the retire- ment of mountain scenery. Mornings of active exercise, from sunrise till afternoon, and evenings of quiet thought and specula- tion, with here and there a day interposed of easy society with intelligent travellers, or employed in reducing and digesting the knowledge previously acquired by observation, give the sense of living twice over. The body and the mind are alike invigorated and refreshed ; weariness from fatigue, and weariness from inac- tivity, are forgotten, together with the other evils of our more artificial existence. The student in his closet exhausts his powers by one kind of toil, whilst the fox-hunter and deer-stalker exhausts them by another ; both call it pleasure ; but the one is all too exclusively speculative, the other too exclusively active. Let speculation and action minister to one another ; then, like a well-compacted body, the members act in harmony, — the double exercise prevents fatigue. Happy the traveller who, content to leave to others the glory of counting the thousands of leagues of earth and ocean they have left behind them, [and] established in some mountain shelter with his books, starts on his first day's walk amongst the Alps in the tranquil morning of a long July day, brushing the early dew before him, and, armed with his staff, makes for the hill-top — begirt with ice or rock, as the case may be — whence he sees the field of his summer's campaign spread out before him, its wonders, its beauties, and its difficulties, to be explained, to be admired, and to be overcome. " Ignotis errare locis, ignota videre Fhimina gaudebat ; studio minuente laborem." It only remains to be added here, that the country which it is proposed to describe in the present [pages], includes exactly that part of the Alpine chain called by the ancients the " Pennine Alps," a term of doubtful origin, but which it is convenient to retain, as having no modern synonyme. It extends from the Col du Bonhomme on the west side of Mont Blanc to Monte Ptosa inclusive, thus comprising the highest ground in Europe, and the two most colossal mountain groups. The map [in the pocket of the present volume] shows its limits, and will be found useful in tracing the routes to be described. It has been compiled with care, though on a small scale. The basis is the last edition of Keller's map. The valley of Hcirens and its neighbourhood are The Alps and Alpine Travellers 1 5 corrected from Frobel; those of St. Nicolas and Saas from De Charpentier and Eugelhardt ; the southern side of Monte Eosa from von Welden and the new Sardinian Survey ; and the passes and glaciers between Great St. Bernard and Mont Cervin, from my own observations, so far as they go.^ The Pennine chain is particularly distinguished by the number and extent of its glaciers ; and as the study of these formed the chief object of my journey in 1842, upon which the material of this volume is based, it presented itself as the most natural field for my inquiries. The Ifer de Glace of Chamouni, from its very easy access, and its great extent and variety of surface, seemed to me the most eligible post, and I am inclined to think that it is, on the whole, the best fitted in Switzerland or Savoy for investigations like those which I had in view. Within a stone's throw of the ice, at the Montanvert, is to be found sufficient shelter, fitted for a permanent residence of some weeks or months, which is of the very first importance in the prosecution of a task requiring much perseverance, detail, the use of a multi- plicity of instruments, the performance of calculations, and the making of drawings. I know from experience how little of this can be accomplished in a temporary residence, such as a tent or hut, without tables, chairs, or a fire ; and however amusing such privations are for a time, and however pleasant it may be to laugh over them in good company, such expeditions tend rather to amusement than edification. I preferred, therefore, in general, the least expensive and least ostentatious methods of pursuing my inquiries, and I felt the necessity of carrying them out alone. I employed neither draughtsman, surveyor, or naturalist ; every- thing that it was possible to do I executed with my own hands, noted the result on the spot, and extended it as speedily as possible afterwards. My only assistant was a very intelligent and very worthy guide of Chamouni, Auguste Balmat by name," to whom I shall have frequent occasion to refer in these pages ; and I am indebted to the friendship of the Cure of Chamouni, M. Lanvers, for having recommended him to me, as well as for many other 1 [In the present edition, a new large scale map of the Pennine chain is given in place of that compiled by Forbes at a time when no trustworthy maps of that district existed.] 2 [Forbes and Balmat became acquainted on June 24, 1S42. Balmat accom- panied Forbes in 1842, 1843, 1844, 1846, and 1850, and paid the Professor a visit in England in 1853. He was born in 1808, and died in 1862.] 1 6 Travels through the Alps of Savoy acts of substantial kindness, for which I shall ever remain his debtor.^ Although, as has been said, I was acquainted, from former visits, with many of the places to be described, yet all the detailed observations which will be given were conducted during the course of last season (1842). The information collected in that time will at least, I hope, be thought creditable to my industry, and it may be an encouragement to persons who might be withheld (as no doubt many have been) from similar undertakings, by an erroneous estimate of the scale of assistance and expenditure required, which may truly be termed the trappings and parapher- nalia of science, to know what may be effected with patience and previous study, in a moderate space of time, and in a very simple way. I spent the latter part of June 1842 at the Montanvert (Chamouni), the first half of July on the southern side of Mont Blanc and in Piedmont. I then returned to the Montanvert by the Col du Geant, and continued my experiments on the Mer de Glace until the 9 th August. I then passed a month on a journey (partly in company with M. Studer) to Monte Eosa and the adjacent country, when I returned for the second time to Chamouni, and spent the remainder of September on or near the glacier. 1 It happened very rarely indeed that I reqnired any other assistance tlian that of Balmat. MORAINE NK\R THE JIOXTANVERT, CHAPTEE II SOME ACCOUNT OF GLACIERS GENERALLY The snow-line — The waste of ice and its supply in glaciers — Causes of waste — Motion — Fallen blocks — -Moraines, medial and lateral — Glacier tables and cones — Formation of holes in ice — Veined structure of the ice in glaciers — The Unteraar and Ehone glaciers — The neve — Cause of glacier motion — De Saussure's Gravitation theory — De Charpentier's theory of Dilatation — Objections to each. " Where so wide, In old or later time, its marble floor Did ever temple boast as this, which here Spreads its bright level many a league around ? " Dyer's Fleece. It has already been said, that no small part of the present work refers to the nature and phenomena of glaciers.^ It may be well, therefore, before proceeding to details, to explain a little the state of our present knowledge respecting these great ice-masses, which are objects of a kind to interest even those who know them only from description, whilst those who have actually witnessed their wonderfully striking and grand characteristics can hardly need an inducement to enter into some inquiry respecting their nature and origin." 1 [The standard work on glaciers in general is now Prof. A Heim's Handbuch dcr Gletscherkundc, Stuttgart, 1885 ; a very full summary in English was published By Mr. Tuckett in vol. xii. of the Alpine Journal, pp. 219-240, 300-313.] 2 For some further details than would be consistent with the due length of this preliminary chapter, I would refer the reader to an article in the Edivburgk Eeviexc, for April, 1842, on the subject of glaciers, which has been admirably trans- 2 1 8 Travels through the Alps of Savoy I have already alluded to the fact, that higli mountains in every part of the world are covered with snow. It is enough for our present purpose that the fact is, that the atmosphere becomes colder as we ascend in it, until that cold reaches a great and hitherto unmeasured intensity. Consequently, by merely ascending the slope of a hill, we pass through successive grada- tions of seasons. Whilst the plains are covered with the verdure of summer, eternal winter reigns upon the summits, and thus the stupendous ranges of the Himalaya or the Andes present, in one condensed picture, all the climates of the earth, from the tropics to the poles. Since, then, the long summer's day, of six months' duration in the Arctic regions, is insufficient to melt the accumulated ice, it is not surprising that at a certain height above the earth's surface snow always lies, — a height greatest at the equator, amounting there to 16,000 feet above the sea, which, in the Swiss Alps, has diminished to 8700 feet, and which in very high latitudes reaches to the level of the ocean, so that there the natural cover- ing of the eartli is snow, and the very soil is frozen to an increasing depth. The mere continuance of snow on any spot does not lead to the inference that snow never melts there. Were that the case, a progressive and unceasing accumulation would be the result : the position of the snoiv-line, or what is often erroneously called the line of 'per'petual congelation, is deter- mined solely by this circumstance, that during one complete revolution of the seasons, or in the course of a year, the snoiv which falls is just melted and no more. Now, a snow-clad mountain is not a glacier. AVhence the real difference, or how it comes that in some climates glaciers are produced in situations and circumstances apparently similar to those which yet do not produce them in others, is a question which we do not mean now to handle. But let us first see what is understood by a glacier in the more familiar sense of the word.-* The common form of a glacier is a river of ice filling a latcd into Fieiuli in the Annalcs de Chimic, for October and November, 1842. iMoin that article (written by myself) I have extracted one or two passages in this and the next chapter. [This article was for the most jiart reprinted by Forbes at the liead of his 2\mr of Mont Blanc and Monte Jiosa (1855), a reproduction of the ])urely narrative portions of his Travels throiKjh the Alps of iiaroy.] ' Glacier French, Gletschcr German, ghiacciaio Italian. But the glaciers have also jirovincial names, as Fcrmr in the Tyrolese Ali)s, Kass in Carinthia, vedrctla ill ]iart of Italy, liinjno in tlic Vallais, rni\c in I'irdniont, scrncille in tiic Pyrenees. Some Account of Glaciers 1 9 valley, and pouring down its mass into other valleys yet lower. It is not a frozen ocean, but a frozen torrent. Its origin or fountain is in the ramifications of the higher valleys and gorges, which descend amongst the mountains perpetually snow-clad. But what gives to a glacier its most peculiar and characteristic feature is, that it does not belong exclusively or necessarily to the snowy region already mentioned. The snow disappears from its surface in summer as regularly as from that of the rocks which sustain its mass. It is the prolongation or outlet of the winter- world al:)Ove ; its gelid mass is protruded into the midst of warm and pine-clad slopes and greensward, and sometimes reaches even to the borders of cultivation. The very huts of the peasantry are sometimes invaded by this moving ice, and many persons now living have seen the full ears of corn touching the glacier, or gathered ripe cherries from the tree with one foot standing on the ice. Thus much, then, is plain, that the existence of the glacier in comparatively warm and sheltered situations, exposed to every influence which can ensure and accelerate its liquefaction, can only be accounted for by supposing that the ice is pressed onwards by some secret spring, that its daily waste is renewed by its daily descent, and that the termination of the glacier, which presents a seeming barrier or crystal wall, immovable, and having usually the same appearance and position, is, in fact, perpetually changing — a stationary form, of which the substance wastes — a thing permanent in the act of dissolution. The result of the heat of the valley in thawing the ice is a stream of ice-cold turbid water, which issues from beneath its extremity, and which, by gradually undermining, works out a lofty cavern, from beneath which it rolls. This water is derived from various sources : in the first place, from the natm-al springs which, it may be conceived, rise from the earth beneath the ice, just as they would do in any other valley. This source remains, in a great measure, even in winter, when the glacier stream, though diminished, does not vanish. Secondly, from the heat of the earth in contact with the ice, which probably melts annually a very small thickness of its mass. This, too, will not [" Kees " is a better kllo^v^l form of " Kass," but '-biegno" is very rare. " Vedretta" appears under the form "vadret" in the Engadine ; '-ruise" also under the forms "roesa, roise, reuse," and so '-.Monte Rosa.' J 2 Travels through the Alps of Savoy depend upon the season. Thirdly, the fall of rain upon the whole area which the glacier valley drains — which acts, in the first place, by melting the superficial ice,, and snow; — and the rain-water being thus reduced to the freezing-point, washes through the cracks and fissures of the ice by inniunerable streamlets, which unite beneath its mass, and swell the general stream. Fourthly, the waste of the glacier itself due to the action both of sun and rain — a most important item, and which con- stitutes the main volume of most glacier streams, except in the depth of winter. It is on this account that the Eliine and other great rivers, derived from Alpine sources, have their greatest tioods in July, and not in spring or autumn, as would be the case if they were alimented by rain-water only. On the same account, the mountain torrents may be seen to swell visibly, and roar more loudly, as the hotter part of the day advances, to diminish towards evening, and in the morning to be smallest. The lower end of a glacier is usually very steep and in- accessible. This arises, in some cases, from the figure of the ground, over which the glacier tumbles in an icy cascade often a thousand feet higli. Its middle course is more level, and its highest portion, again, steeper : thus the final ice-fall of the Glacier des Bois at Chamouni is inclined 20°, the mean portion between 4° and 5"", and the higher part at least S"" or 10°. The mean or middle portion of the glacier is a gently sloping icy torrent, from half a mile to two miles wide, more or less undulating on its surface, and this undulating surface more or less broken up by crevasses} which, generally nearly vertical in their direction, have a width of from a few inches to many feet ; and a length which sometimes extends almost from side to side of the glacier. In all this there is little or no resem- blance to water tranquilly frozen. The surface is not only uneven, but rough ; and the texture of the ice wants the homo- geneity of that formed on the surface of lakes. The hollows, which appear but trifling when viewed from a height and compared with the expanse of ice, are individually so great as to render the passage amongst .them toilsome in the extreme, • Tlie translatiini of the French word crevasse into the English crevice is so evidently inai)plicable to these vast lissured chasms, that we shall constantly adopt the French spelling. Some Account of Glaciers 2 1 even independent of the crevasses ; and the traveller who has to walk for several hours along a glacier, will often prefer scrambling over stones and rocks on the side, to the harassing inequalities which appeared at first so trivial. In a day of hot sunshine or of mild rain, the origin of the hummocky ridges is apparent : the intervening hollows have every one of them their rill, which, by a complicated system of surface-draining, discharge the water, copiously melted by the solar influence, the contact of warm air, and the washing of the rain. These rills combine and unite into larger streams, which assume sometimes the velocity and volume of a common mill-race. They run in icy channels, excavated by themselves, and, unlike the water escaping from he7icath the glacier, being of exquisite purity, they are both beautiful and refreshing. They seldom, however, pursue their uninterrupted course very far, but reaching some crevasse or cavity in the glacier, mechanically formed during its motion, they are precipitated in bold cascades into its icy bowels — there, in all probability, to augment the flood which issues from its lower termination. Nothing is more striking than the contrast which day and night produce in the superficial drainage of the glacier. No sooner is the sun set than the rapid chill of evening, reducing the temperature of the air to the freezing-point or lower, the nocturnal radiation at the same time violently cooling the surface — the glacier life seems to lie torpid — the sparkling rills shrink and come to nothing — their gushing murmurs and the roar of their waterfalls gradually subside — and by the time that the ruddy tints have quitted the higher hill-tops, a death- like silence reigns amidst these untenanted wilds. Winter is a long night amongst the glaciers. The sun's rays have scarcely power to melt a little of the snowy coating which defends the proper surface of the ice ; the superficial waste is next to nothing ; and the glacier torrent is reduced to its narrowest dimensions. The glacier in this part of its course is more or less covered with blocks of stone which move along with it, or rather are borne down upon its surface. The motion of the glacier we have already inferred from the subsistence of the ice in valleys where the daily waste is immense, and where yet the glacier maintains its position ; but its progress is also well marked by the dis- placement of great blocks of stone upon its surface, which, from 22 Travels through the Alps of Savoy their size or figure, caunot be mistukeii, and wliieh may be watched from year to year descending the icy stream whose deliberate speed they mark, as a floating leaf does that of a cur- rent of water. These detached rocks fall from the cliffs which usually bound both sides of a glacier in its middle portion, and from which the alternate effects of frost and thaw rapidly and surely separate them. They may be seen to fall almost every summer's day, in consequence of the loosening of the icy bands which hold together fragments previously wrenched asunder by the irresistible expansion of freezing water. A single promontory may yield a great stream of those blocks in the course of years ; were the ice stationary, they would accumulate on its surface at the base of the promontory, but as the ice advances, its charge is carried along with it, and the glacier becomes burdened on both sides with a band of blocks, which by their geological character Ijear the impress of their origin, and thus not unfre- (^uently bring down to the reach of the mineralogist specimens which otherwise would be quite unattainable, and whose native place may be surely inferred by observing the direction of the ice-stream which is charged with them. Such, for instance, are fragments of the gabbro of Saas, which has not yet been found in situ, but which is discharged by the glacier of Allalin, in the Vallais, near Monte Eosa. What a curious internal historical evidence, then, does a glacier bear to the progress of events which have modified its surface ! It is an endless scroll, a stream of time, upon whose stainless ground is engraven the succession of events, whose dates iiir transcend the memory of living man. Assuming, roughly, the length of a glacier to be twenty miles, and its annual pro- gression 500 feet, the block which is novj discharged from its surface on the terminal moraine may have started from its rocky origin in the reign of Charles I. ! The glacier history of 200 years is revealed in the interval, and a block larger than the greatest of the Egyptian obelisks, which has just commenced its march, will see out the course of six generations of men ere its ])ilgrimage, too, be accomplished, and it is laid low and motionless i]i the common grave of its predecessors. The stony borders now described are called moraines in French, Guffer or Gufferlinien in German. The glacier retains a portion of them on its own surface, and throws up a part upon Some Account of Glaciers 2 3 the bank or shore which confines it. If the shore be precipitous, it will be conceived that the blocks cannot be stranded, and there- fore either remain on the surface of the ice, or fall into the occasional vacuities left between the ice and its wall, and there are ground and chafed, acting, of course, in a notable manner upon the rock, and producing rounded surfaces, the angles being worn off, and grooves and scratches parallel to the direction of motion of the ice. All this is an immediate and necessary con- sequence of the fact of the glacier moving and bearing blocks along near its edges. When the rocky slope or shore of the glacier is less steep, since the ice almost invariably sinks towards the sides, owing to the heat reflected and communicated from the ground, a portion of the load of blocks falls over, and is accumu- lated in a ridge as from an over-filled waggon. But the more striking cause of this accumulation is the oscillation of dimension of the glacier at different seasons, and in different years. If the glacier, from any cause whatever, becomes enlarged, and, like a swollen torrent, occupies its bed to an unusual depth, the moraines are uplifted with it, and when the return of summer or warmer seasons reduces the ice to its former bulk, the blocks are deposited at the higher level. Such moraines are to be seen in the neigh- bourhood of most modern glaciers, and they are important to be observed, because the existence of similar mounds in places remote from existing glaciers, has been inferred to demonstrate their former presence. The sketch at the head of this chapter repre- sents a moraine about a hundred feet above the present level of the Mer de Glace of Chamouni. It often happens that two glaciers, having separate sources, unite in a common valley, exactly as two rivers would do. Each, of course, has its edging moraine or list, and therefore, where the glaciers unite, the two inner moraines must unite also. This does not, however, alter their character ; as in the case of the Ehone and Saone uniting their streams at Lyons, each preserves the characteristic colour of its water for a long way down, unmixed with its neighbour river — so, much more, does the compact and firm glacier. The debris proper to each unite upon the surface, and mark by a band of stones, often for miles, the actual separa- tion of the two ice -streams, which otherwise would (at that distance) have become undistinguishable. These united bands, which are equal in number to the junctions of tributary glaciers ^4 Travels through the Alps of Savoy which combine to form a great one, are called medicd moraines, whilst those formerly described are called lateral moraines. The former have only been distinctly explained of late years, by Agassiz ^ and De Charpentier," whilst the latter have been long perfectly understood. There is nothing more surprising to be found in the writings of De Saussure than the most unsatisfactory explanation which he gives of medial moraines.^ As these facts are important to be distinctly apprehended, some slight figures may tend to illustrate them. Thus, Fig. 1 represents a plan of an ideal glacier composed of five streams, A, B, c, D, E, each of which has its lateral moraines, and the union of these represented by the dotted lines, 1, 2, 3, -4, forms the super- ficial trains of rocks, which are carried along on the surface of the ice. A mere prominent rock or islet in the ice, as that be- tween D and E, may yield also its small contribution of blocks. The section in Fig. 2 represents a glacier having a steep wall, a, where, consequently, the debris are ingulfed between the wall and the ice, producing friction ; and an inclined shore, h, on which the lateral moraine has been deposited. There is also shown, at c, the position of an ancient moraine, deposited at a time when the glacier w^as elevated enough to have submerged the promontory a. One of the medial moraines is shown at d : the ice rises to a greater height under it than at any other part, owing to a circumstance to be mentioned immediately. An exact idea of the general phenomena of moraines will be obtained from the large map of the Mer de Glace of Chamouni accompanying this work. The presence of these blocks upon the surface of the glacier, and of the fine sand and debris which is produced by their trituration, gives rise to a peculiar and striking class of pheno- mena, easily explained, yet at first sight most astonishing. The 1 Jihufcs .sur les Glaciers, 1840. - Essai tmr Ics Glaciers, 1841. ^ Voijaycs. § 537. Some Account of Glaciers 2 5 sui-face of a glacier is usually divided by numerous rents or crevasses, and into these rents blocks are continually falling. Still, the fact is, that the moraines remain upon the surface, and unless after a very long or very uneven course, they are not dissipated or ingulfed. On the contrary, the largest stones are set on a conspicuous pre-eminence, — the heaviest moraine, far from indenting the surface of the ice, or sinking amongst its substance, rides upon an icy ridge as an excrescence, which gives to it the character of a colossal back-bone of the glacier, or some- times appears like a noble causeway, fit indeed for giants, stretch- ing away for leagues over monotonous ice, with a breadth of some hundreds of feet, and raised from fifty to eighty feet above the general level. Almost every stone, however, rests on ice ; the mound is not a mound of debris, as it might at first sight appear to be. Nor is this all. Some block of greater size than its neighbours, covering a considerable surface of the ice, becomes detached from them, and seems shot up upon an icy pedestal, in the way represented in the frontispiece,^ from a real and very striking example which occurred in 1842 on the Mer de Glace of Chamouni. This apparent tendency of the ice to rise wher-\ ever it is covered by a stone of any size, results from the fact j that its surface is depressed everywhere else by the melting action j of the sun and rain ; the block, like an umbrella, protects it from | both ; its elevation measures the level of the glacier at a former ' period, and as the depression of surface is very rapid — amounting even to a foot per week, during the warm months of summer — the ice, like the fields, puts forth its mushrooms, which expand under the influence of the warm showers, until the cap, becoming too heavy for the stalk, or the centre of gravity of the block ceasing to be supported, the slab begins to slide, and, falling on the surface of the glacier, it defends a new space of ice, and forthwith begins to mount afresh. These appearances are called Glacier Tables. Their origin was perfectly explained by De Saussure [^ 537]. Where sand derived from the moraines has been washed by superficial water-runs into the deep cavities which are occasionally formed in the glacier, the accumulation is at length sufficient to check the progress of the waste of ice, and what was a hole filled with sand becomes a pyramid projecting above its surface, 1 [This frontispiece is omitted in the present edition.] 2 6 Travels through the Alps of Savoy and coated with the protecting layer.^ These ijroduce glacier cones, which are amongst the most singular and apparently un- accountable of this class of phenomena. They are sometimes astonishingly regular, 20 or 30 feet in height, and 80 or 100 in circumference ; — but this is one of the rarer appearances. From what has been said, it will appear that a glacier has a remarkable tendency to reverse its contour, or to present at one time the mould or cast of what it was at another ; any part of the surface prominently exposed is sure to be speedily reduced, and the hollows, whether holes or cracks or water-runs, by being silted up are protected from further decay. The valleys are (literally exalted, and the hills levelled. It is owing to this beautiful compensation that the glacier maintains a tolerable 'evenness of surface. A converse action, however, may be noticed. It is always on a small scale, and there are two causes. The first occurs from the collection of small objects of a dark colour and in no great quantity on the surface of the ice, which absorbing the solar heat, transmit it quickly to the ice beneath, and such particles of black sand, or even leaves which are wafted by the wind from vast distances upon the glaciers, are found sinking into cavities, whilst blocks, larger than a cottage, and weighing millions of pounds, rise above the surface. The other fact is the deepening of cavities in the ice, once formed and filled with water, but containing no considerable quantity of detritus. These basins, or laignoires, as they are usually called, appear to be formed in the following manner, first explained by Count Eumford. Water, just freezing, is lighter than water at a temperature somewhat higher; the water at 32°, therefore, floats on the surface of the other. Imagine a small cavity in ice, filled witli water just thawed. The sun's rays first heat the surface of the water, which becoming denser descends, and is replaced by water at 32°. But the water which subsided with a temperature, suppose of 3G°, soon communicates its heat to the sides of the icy receptacle, and being cooled to 32° it rises in its turn. The lieat of the denser water is thus spent in melting the ice of the bottom of the cavity, which is deepened by the continual current. The ice of which the glacier, in the stage which we have 1 See Agassiz, Jttmiis, chap. x. Some Account of Glaciers 27 described, is composed, is uulike that produced by freezing still water in a lake or pond. Although remarkably pure and free from all intermixture of earthy matter, and even the smallest fragments of rock (except very near where it touches the soil), it is far from homogeneous or uniformly transparent. It has been described as composed of layers of perfect ice and of frozen snow intermixed, l3ut this does not express the fact as observed in the middle and lower glacier. The ice is indeed porous and full of air-bubbles, and it is very probable that these bubbles result from the freezing of snow imbibed with water ; but as it exists in the glacier it is not granular. Lamina?, or thin plates of compact transparent blue ice, alternate in most parts of every glacier, with laminas of ice not less hard and perfect, but filled with countless air-bubbles, which give it a frothy semi-opaque look. This peculiar structure, which gives to glacier ice its extreme brittleness (which makes the formation of steps with a common hatchet a very easy task compared to what it would be in common ice), may be compared to what geologists call the slaty cleavage of many rocks, rather than to stratification, properly so called. The distinction is important, and amounts to this : that strata are deposited in succession, and owe their form and separation to that circumstance only ; whereas, slaty cleavage, or structural planes, occur in rocks, and in many bodies, wholly irrespective of stratification or deposition, and may be communicated to a mass after complete or partial con- solidation. Tlie alternation of bands, then, in a glacier, is marked by blue and greenish -blue or white curves, which are seen to traverse the ice throughout its thickness whenever a section is made. It is, therefore, no external accident, it is the intimate structure of a glacier, and the only one which it possesses,'and may be expected to throw light upon the circumstances of the formation and motion of these masses. I became acquainted with this fact by observing these bands on the Unteraar glacier when I visited it for the first time in company with M. Agassiz and Mr. Heath in August, 1841.-' It appeared so plain, that I was surprised to find that M. Agassiz, who had passed a part of two 1 [The first observation of this phenomenon by Forbes was made on August 9, 184]. See Occasional Papers, ji. 3; and Life OMd Letters, pp. 258, 259, and 546.] 2 8 Travels through the Alps of Savoy preceding summers on the same glacier, should have overlooked it. At first he maintained that it was a superficial striping of the ice, owing to the washing of sand along its surface ; but when I showed that it descended to a depth of twenty feet or more in the crevasses, he stated that it must certainly have appeared since the previous year. I speedily, however, verified its occurrence in other glaciers, where it had not been remarked any more than on the Unteraar glacier, and from that time the attention of glacial theorists has been generally directed to this curious, important and quite general phenomenon. M. Guyot, an ingenious professor of Neuchatel, stated, after I had left Switzerland, that he had observed a similar appearance in one glacier (that of the Gries) some years before, which he described along with a number of other facts connected with glaciers, in a Memoir read ^ before a provincial meeting of naturalists at Porrentruy in France. This Memoir remained unprinted, and the insulated fact observed on the Gries glacier was forgotten until I drew attention to its importance and generality in 1841. It is singular, that not only in the writ- ings of De Saussure and the older naturalists (so far as yet appears) can there be traced no notice of this veined structure which pervades glaciers, but in the modern literature of the subject, Hugi's Travels, published in 1830, and the writings of Agassiz, Godeffroy, De Charpentier and Eendu devoted ex- clusively to glaciers, and published in 1840 and 1841, there is an equal silence as to the real nature of glacier structure, which we can scarcely account for, if so obviously important a fact, however difficult to explain, had been known to any of these authors. It will be seen, from the descriptions we shall have to give in another place (Chap. VIII.), that this appearance is in riiany glaciers a striking one. It has, I know, been dis- tinctly remarked by several ingenious persons, both in this country and abroad, who yet, from not having been eiigaged in the special study of glaciers, or from having attached to it no particular importance, or perhaps from a very natural sup- position that it must be already described, have published no account of it. Amongst others. Colonel Sabine and M. Elie de Beaumont have mentioned it to me as a circumstance whicli they recollected to have attracted their attention whilst on the ' [In 1838, at ;i meeting of the Geological Society of France.] Some Account of Glaciers 29 ice ; and Sir David Brewster has shown me a memorandum to the same effect in 1814.^ As observed on the Unteraar glacier it exhibited an ap- pearance of ahnost vertical layers nearly parallel to the length of the ^y glacier, inclining outwards a little, \-.^' like the rays of a fan, as it ap- """■''''^^---yy_y proached either shore. It was difficult to make out its form at the lower termination. A visit which I subsequently paid to the /_>•=— '•. \ glacier of the Khone satisfied me r\ y ^y / 1 \ \. that these apparent layers bent ^,. round the lower extremity of the JeI' /\ /--~7 «/ A- glacier, dipping forwards as the \n surface was depressed, and at last \V^^ ((/Hv^^__^ , -. • 1 • ^1 \ \M/'^ ^ cut by the becoming nearly or quite horizontal. \imy This circumstance was mentioned Wr by me at the time to M. Agassiz -^ TheRhoi,.. (who was not present when I visited the Ehone glacier), and explained in a paper read in December, 1841,totheEoyal ;. Society of Edin- "-" ^* burgh.'-^ It was ^ illustrated by the sketch of a ground plan of the glacier of the Ehone, Fig. , '*'i,\ k f^'^ _^^^^^ 3, which shows, by ' * ^* '%/-_ ^^ — --^^'^^^^^mK^ the dotted lines, ^i> 'n^^^=^^i«^^^M^HPbfe how these struc- w^is^^^ tural veins followed the circumference Fl(_ 4— IDEVL sLLfl N \L \ ILW Ot \ OLA.C1EK n i ■ 1 of the ice ; but the circumstance of the varying dip and cup-like form which they assume will be better understood from Fig. 4, in which an attempt is made to represent by ideal sections a glacier of this kind. 1 Since the above was written, it appears that Sir David printed liis observation in the Edinhihrgh Encyclo2xrdia, article "Glaciers." '^ [Occasional Papers, pp. 1-9.] 30 Travels through the Alps of Savoy My later observations will be detailed in another part of the present work. The phenomena we have described belong to the 'middle and loiver part of glaciers : let us now trace them to their origin amongst the perpetual snows, of which it is impossible to doubt, that the glaciers are in some sense the outlets, — that is, that they are fed or maintained by the snow, which otherwise would accumulate in the higher valleys. But let us at once and for good dispel the natural error which induces many persons who have never seen a glacier, to suppose, that in its middle or lower part it is fed or increased by the snows which fall annually upon its surface, or are wedged in at its sides. Let it be distinctly understood that the snow as regularly disappears and melts from the surface of the glacier as it does from the surface of the gromid in its neighbourhood. Here and there a patch of the last winter's snow in a shady nook, or a deep crevasse, enables us in a moment to draw the distinction between ice and mere hardened snow ; — the one is blue or bluish-green, and transparent, though filled here and there with air-bubbles and cavities ; the other remains throughout the whole year of a dull white, without an approximation to the character of ice, or the least tendency to enter into a complete union with it at the point of contact : the two things remain as distinct as the geological contact of sandstone with slate. In whatever way the middle and lower glacier may be maintained, it is most assuredly not by the assimilation into its substance of the fallen snow of winter, either superficially or laterally. The case, however, differs in the higher ice-world. A\\' find the snow disappearing more and more tardily from the surface of the ice as we ascend, and at length we reach a point where it never disappears at all. This is, of course, the snow-line upon the glacier. It is somewhat lower than the snow-line upon the ground, but it is fundamentally the same tiling. Here a well- marked change occurs. There is often a passage nearly in- sensible from perfect snow to perfect ice : at other times the level of the superficial snow is well marked, and the ice occurs beneath it.^ Xo doubt the transition is effected in this way : The summer's thaw percolates the snow to a great depth with ' See the descriiitioii of tlie glacier of .Macugnaga in the latter part of [Part i. er is still a storehouse ol' valuable iutoruiation. though it needs cor- rections and additions. It tills pp. 1-38 of Part II. of vol. i., Ziirich, 1833, of the Denkschriftcii der alUjcmcuicn schwcizcrischcn Gcsdlscluift fur die gcsamvUcn Naturwisscnschcrften, and is entitled Memoirc aur Ics variations dc la tcmp6raturc dans Us Aljjes dc la Suisse. The Monchjoch reference is at ji. 8, and that relating to the Col d'Herens at pp. 7, 8, vhile the Monte Moro is mentioned on jt. 9.] 2 [These supposed passages of the ilonchjoch have been disproved by the careful examination of the baptismal registers of Grindelwald ; the error was due to the fact that certain natives of the Vallais, resident in Orindehvald, had their children christened in the (Jrindehvald church. See Herr A. "\V;iber's excellent article in vol. xxvii. of the Jahrbuch of the Swiss Alpine Club, pj). 262-264, 270-272.] 3 [The passage of the Col d'Herens in early times by such a jn-ocession seems quite certain, for, in consequence of a petition of the Zermatters to the Bishop, this jirocession was altered ill 1666 to one to the neighbouring hamlet of Tiisch only, ]iart of the dues in money being payable to the cure of Trisch, and the rest reserved to the three churches in Sion to which this i)ilgrimage was originally made ; the dues payable at Sion were commuted for a ca]iital sum in 1816 only. There are other bits of evidence ])roving early direct communication between Zermatt and the Eiingerthal. See Mr. Coolidge's Striss Travel and Swiss Guidc-Books, pp. 252, 253.] i Geological Agency of Glaciers 43 from analysing the theories which have been given, because I find them all unsatisfactory. M. Venetz has, in his memoir/ further pointed out certain ancient moraines, belonging to modern glaciers, which indicate their previously greater extension ; an evidence which had formerly been accepted by De Saussure, especially in the case of the G-lacier des Bois at Chamouni,'' and that of the Ehone.^ The remark is important, because it requires us to investigate the character of a moraine, so as to recognise it wherever it may be found. It does not appear that M. Venetz has published any other memoir on the subject of glaciers ; * but it is quite certain that he was the first person publicly to maintain in Switzerland the doctrine of the former extension of the glaciers to the Jura, as the transporting agents of the erratics. I was introduced per- sonally to M. Venetz in 1832, as the man who had originated a speculation, which, though it had not then perhaps another advocate, was acknowledged to be novel, ingenious and bold ; and the reputation which the author of it had acquired, as the intrepid and skilful engineer of the works on the glacier of Gietroz (the cause of inundations which threatened the town of Martigny with destruction), gave it a consequence which might not otherwise have been conceded to it. In the second edition of Goethe's Wilhelrii Meister, he has introduced a discussion as to the cause of the transport of erratic blocks, which I have placed at the head of this chapter, and in which the glacier theory is not forgotten, and was most likely borrowed from Playfair. The further history of the geological theory need not be detailed. It received in Switzerland the powerful support of De Charpentier,^ and was yet further pushed by Agassiz, who 1 [P. 16 sqq.'\ ^ Voyages, § 623. ^ lb. § 1722. 4 [In 1829 Venetz read a paper at the meeting of the Swiss Natural History Society on the Great St. Bernard ; this paper dealt with the extent of the ancient glaciers and of their retreat, but it does not appear that it was published in the Transactions of the Society till 1861— it is entitled M4moire sur V extension cles anciens glaciers et quelques explications sur leurs effets remarquablcs, a posthumous work.] 5 [Forbes does not mention Charpen tier's most interesting conversation in 1815 with J. P. Perraudin, a chamois hunter of Lourtier in the Val de Bagnes, wlio, says Charpentier, pp. 242, 243, was the,^?-S!! to point out to him the former extension of glaciers in the Val de Bagnes, and the traces they had left behind them in the shape of huge boulders, too heavy to be moved by water. Venetz (p. 24), too, 44 Travels through the Alps of Savoy attempted to extend it, with some variations, to every part of the temperate zone, and to explain the distribution of the Scan- dinavian blocks, and those of Great Britain, by a similar action. We shall confine ourselves, however, for the present, to a brief consideration of the erratic phenomena as they present them- selves in Switzerland, and, without attempting to demonstrate the absurdity of other suppositions, give some reasons for con- sidering the former existence of glaciers 100 miles long or more, as a less extravagant hypothesis than almost any one will at first sight be disposed to regard it. There are two principal grounds upon which it is maintained that the former presence of a glacier can be proved. In the first place, from the transportation of blocks ; and, secondly, from the FORJi AND POLISH which glaciers give to tlie rocks which they chafe during their descent. The most weighty objections urged against the theory, are (1) the difficulty of admitting a former condition of climate cold enough to permit so vast an extension of glaciers as would be required ; and (2) that under any circum- stances of climate, it is difficult or impossible to conceive that glaciers could have existed in the particular situations con- jectured, on account of the little declivity which the surface could have had, and which it is assumed is inconsistent with their progression. We shall consider these points briefly in order. The transportation of blocks by existing glaciers has been already spoken of as one of their most marked prerogatives. The quantity is often so great as almost entirely to conceal the mass of the ice under the prodigious load which, during a long descent, is accumulated upon it. Thus, the lower parts of the Glacier de Miage,^ near Mont Blanc, and the Glacier of Z'Mutt, near Monte Eosa, are completely darkened by the quantity of rocks which they transport. And although in some cases the disappearance of these moraines, which, it would seem, ought to have formed, in the course of ages, a vast accumulation at the foot of the glacier, may require some further explanation ; in otliers, there mentions Penaiulin as liaving told liini of many ancient moraines in the Val de Bagnes, now far distant from their respective glaciers, and says of him tliat lie was an amateur de ccs sortes d'observatiom. Charpentier ahso reports liow the same idea was put before him in 1834 by a Meiringen peasant, and had also been set forth by various other peasants in the Val Ferret, near Yverdon, and at Clianiouiiix.] 1 [The Italian Miage Glacier is meant.] Geological Agency of Glaciers 45 is 110 want of evidence of their geolo^neal power, filling up entire valleys, and forming lakes, as in the case of the Glacier de Miage, just mentioned, and that of Allalin in the valley of Saas/ The dimensions of the transported masses, of which we shall presently speak, offer no difficulty on this theory ; masses of nearly or quite equal size may be seen on existing glaciers, nor does there appear to be any limit to their magnitude, except the cohesion of the granite or other rock of which they are formed. I have seen a mass actually on the ice of the Glacier of Viesch in the Vallais, nearly 100 feet long (judging by the eye), and 40 or 50 feet high. There is also a block of green slate in the valley of Saas, pushed forward by the glacier of Schwarzberg, which contains, according to Venetz,^ 244,000 cubic feet. It was deposited about twenty years ago, and the glacier has now retreated at least half a mile, leaving the intervening space covered with true erratics, and which, in that condition, is called by the German writers Gletscherloden. Again, a very remarkable action of existing glaciers is to chafe and polish the rocks over which they are pushed or dragged, whether by their weight, or by any other cause. The fact is certain, that, at least at their sides, there is a continued contact between the supporting rock or wall of the glacier and the glacier itself. Its stupendous unwieldy mass is dragged over the rocky surface, it first denudes it of every blade of grass, and every fragment of soil, and then proceeds to wear down the solid granite, or slate, or limestone, and to leave most undeniable proofs of its action upon these rocks. It is very strange that this most evident and seemingly natural action should have been so long oveiiooked, and finally contested ; it is to De Charpentier that we owe its clear assertion, and the proof, in the following passage, published in 1835: "We know that the glaciers rub, wear, and polish the rocks with which they are in contact. Struggling to dilate, they follow all the sinuosities, and press and mould themselves into all the hollows and excava- tions they can reach, polishing even overhanging surfaces, which a current of water, hurrying stones along with it, could not 1 For an account of all these phenomena in this work, see the Index under the proper names. - [Cliarpentier, pp. 41 and 252 : the block was moved by the glacier in 181S.] 46 Travels through the Alps of Savoy effect." ' An utteutive survey of the glaciers cannot leave the slightest doubt of this action on the mind of any unprejudiced person. There can be no doubt from observation, that a glacier carries along with its inferior surface a mass of pulverised gravel and slime, which, pressed by an enormous superincumbent weight of ice, iiuist grind and smooth the surface of its rocky bed. The peculiar character of glacier water is itself a testimony to this fact. Its turbid appearance, constantly the same from year to year, and from age to age, is due to the impalpably fine Jluirr of rocks ground in this ponderous mill betwixt rock and ice. It is so fine as to be scarcely depositable. No one who drives from Avignon to Vaucluse can fail to be struck with the contrast of the streams, artificially conveyed on one and on the other side of the road, in order to irrigate the parcheil plain of Provence. The one is the incomparably limpid water of Petrarch's fountain ; the other an offset ^ from the turbid Durance, which has carried into the heart of this sun-burnt region the unequivocal mark of its birth amidst the perpetual snows of Monte Viso. This is the pulverising action of ice. Most erroneously have those argued who object to this theory that ice cannot scratch quartz — ice is only the setting of the harder fragments, which first round, then furrow, afterwards polish, and finally scratch the surface over which it moves. It is not the wheel of the lapidary which slits a pebble, l)ut the emery with which it is primed. The gravel, sand and impalpable mud are the emery of the glacier. Although tlie contacts of ice and rock are very generally covered by moraines, an attentive examination of almost any glacier affords evidence to the wear of the lateral rocks. We shall show in future chapters how unequivocally this appears on the Mer de Glace of Chamouni, and on the glacier of La Brenva, to which, in the meantime, we refer as evidence of the ftict. Having stated that the transporting and the abrading power of glaciers is undoubted, we shall now describe some of the ' Xoticc snr la atusr prohahJi' tin frinisport ilcs Ji/ucs Erratiqucs dc la Siiissr. Par M. J. l)e Chaiiieutier. (Extiait du tome viii. dos Anmih-s dcs Jlincs.) 183f.. - [The reference is to the Ouil river, which rises near the foot of Monte Viso : but the rare glaciers or snow-patelios on that {>eak feed the To, or its tributaries,, the Lenta and the Varaita, only.] ( Geological Agency of Glaciers 47 phenomena at a distance from glaciers, which are supposed to give sure evidence of these powers having formerly been exerted. This evidence is so very remarkable (we speak now of Switzer- land) as to deserve a most careful study before any hypothesis admitted to be mechanically adequate is rejected on grounds of indirect improbability or opposition to experience ; for the facts to be explained, if they rested on other evidence than that of eye-witnesses, would themselves be rejected as incredible and absurd. A glance at any map of Switzerland will show that it consists of three distinct portions — the great chain of Alps ; the plain of Switzerland containing numerous lakes ; and the secondary chain of the Jura, which runs parallel to the Alps, and attains a very inferior elevation. The plain, or great valley, runs of course parallel to the two ranges which bound it, that is, in a direction from south-west to north-east, and having a breadth which may be roughly stated at 30 English miles, but the distance from the highest part of the Alps to the highest part of the Jura is not less than 80 English miles. Nearly opposite to the great gap in the main chain formed by the valley of the Ehone w^here it opens upon the Lake of GJ-eneva, we have the Lake of Neu- chatel, with mountains of secondary limestone, corresponding to some parts of our Oolite formation, rising to a height of nearly 3000 feet above the valley. Upon the slope of this range, — not at the level of the lake but considerably higher, and just facing the Ehone valley, lie extensive deposits of angular blocks of the kind of granite whicli especially characterises the eastern part of the range of Mont Blanc, which is also the nearest point where the rock in question occurs in situ. It may be difficult to point out with certainty the locality whence these fragments are derived, as the kind of granite called Protogine (which contains talc instead of mica) of which they consist, is common in many parts of the Alps. But it is perfectly certain that no rock approaching to it in the remotest degree is to be found either in the Jura or nearer than the part of the Alps which I have mentioned, and which may be from 60 to 70 miles distant as the crow flies. A great belt of these blocks occupies a line, extending for miles, at an average height of 800 feet above the level of the Lake of Neuchatel, and above and below that line they diminish in 48 Travels through the Alps of Savoy number, although nut entirely wanting. They have been most extensively broken up and removed, for building purposes, or merely to disencumber the land, and many of them are concealed amidst the woods which clothe the mountain slope. But wherever seen they fill the mind with astonishment, when it is recollected that, as a matter of certainty, these vast rocks, larger than no mean cottages, have been removed from the distant peaks of the Alps, visible in dim perspective amidst the eternal snows, at the very instant that we stand on their debris. The most notable of these masses, called the Pierre a Bot (or toad- stone), lies in a belt of wood, not far from a farmhouse, about two miles west of Neuchatel, and near the road to Valangin and La Chaux de Fonds.^ The first height above the lake being gained (vine-clad on its lower slopes), we come rather abruptly upon a well-cultivated flat or terrace, where the farmhouse just mentioned is situated. This hollow in the hill permits some accumulation of soil, which elsewhere is very thin and bare, and probably the configuration of the ground has had something to do with the deposition of the blocks, which have no doubt been carefully cleared away from this more level spot. Immediately behind, however, the hill again rises, covered with thick wood, in every part of which, not a few, but hundreds and thousands of travelled blocks may be found ; some small and rounded, but a vast number exceeding a cubic yard in contents, and perfectly angular, or at least with only the corners and edges slightly worn, but without any appearance of considerable attrition, or of violence having been used in their transport. Indeed, such violence would be quite inconsistent with their appearance and present position. The Pierre a Bot is figured at the head of this chapter, from a sketch made on the spot. Its dimensions, according to von Euch, are 50 feet long, 20 wide, and 40 high, containing 40,000 cubic feet (French). It forms a stupendous monument of power. It is impossible to look at it without emotion, after surveying the distance which separates it from its birthplace. No wonder that geologists have vied with one another in attempting to account for so extensive and surprising a phenomenon. If transported by water, why do these masses form a band so high above the plain? — why, rather, were they not buried in the ' [It is about half nil lioui's walk IVoiii Ncucliatcl.] Geological Agency of Glaciers 49 depths of the lake beneath ; and why do they show such slight marks of the friction which they must inevitably have ex- perienced ? If they slid down an inclined plane, touching the Alps and Jura, of what was that plane made, and what has since become of its material .'' Besides, how is it possible that rough blocks could slide down any natural slope of 1" 8' 50", which is all that the relative positions of the blocks and their origin permit ? ^ Lastly, if these blocks were transported, like the erratics of the arctic regions, upon floating rafts of ice, what was the extent, and what the boundaries and barriers of the natural lake on which they were transported ? Such boundaries or barriers can- not be pointed out, consistently with what has b^en said as to the unchanged condition of the superficial deposit in Switzerland generally, since the period of the transport of erratics. Their orderly distribution with respect to the nature of the rocks, those from the same origin being generally grouped together, is inconsistent with the idea of icebergs floating hither and thither, and wrecked or sunk by chance on any part of the lake. Nor is this all : the supposition of a lake washing the base of the Jura range, and cold enough to maintain a heavy fleet of ice-islands, is a supposition as gratuitous, and very nearly, if not quite, as violent with respect to change of climate, as that of Venetz and De Charpentier, who attribute this transportation of rocky masses to a mere extension of glaciers now existing, which are at this hour depositing terminal moraines of blocks similar to those upon the Jura, but which are conflned to the heads of the valleys, which they formerly entirely occupied, as well as the plains beyond. Of course, this recession was not instantaneous, but went on gradually throughout a long series of years, so that the moraines which commence on the Jura have covered by degrees the whole intervening space between the former and the actual termination of the glaciers. If this theory have any foundation, we ought to find con- firmations of it in the valleys through which the supposed glaciers must have passed, and this we do in a most remarkable manner. Not to dwell too long on a general point, which would admit of much detail, I will confine myself to a few observations which I have had an opportunity of making, chiefly in company 1 Charpentier, p. 174. 50 Travels through the Alps of Savoy with M. de Charpentier himself, in the part of the Ehone valley between Martigny and the Lake of Geneva. The narrow gorge through which the Ehone passes at St. Maurice is familiar to all Swiss travellers. If the glacier which then filled all the upper and tributary valleys whose waters now form the current of the Ehone passed through this place, it must have been violently accumulated in this ravine, and pressed with excessive force upon the bottom and sides of the valley. The marks of glacier wear and polish are here extremely visible, especially on the rocks which occupy the bottom between St. Maurice and Bex ; and they extend to a very great height on the eastern side of the valley, exactly opposite to the village of Bex, where M. de Charpentier pointed out to me the most exquisitely polished surfaces of rock, quite as smooth as a school- boy's slate, and displaying an artificial section of all the interior veins. After passing the defile of St. Maurice, the glacier spread itself over the enlarged basin immediately beyond, partly formed by the tributary Val d'llliez. The north-western face of that valley fronts the tide of ice which then flowed through the rocky defile (on the theory we are discussing), and which bore upon it with its lateral moraine. The result is not less sur- prising than what we have described upon the Jura. The rock here, too, is limestone, and not perhaps a fourth part of the distance of the Chaumont (above Neuchatel) from native granite, but the magnitude of the moraine is proportionally greater. The " blocks of Monthey," as they are called, from the village im- mediately below them, must be seen to be appreciated. I wandered amongst them for a whole forenoon, and though I had previously heard much of their magnitude, I had formed no idea of what I then saw We have here, again, a belt or band of blocks — poised, as it were, on a mountain side, it may be five hunilred feet above the alluvial flat through which the Ehone winds below. This belt has no great vertical height, but extends for miles — yes, for miles along the mountain side ; it is composed of blocks of granite of thirty, forty, fifty and sixty feet in the side — not a few, but by hundreds, fantastically balanced on the angles of one another, their grey weather-beaten tops standing out in prominent relief from the verdant slopes of secondary formation on which they rest. They are thickest in the midst of a wood, and the traveller lias his adniii'ation divided l)etween Geological Agency of Glaciers 5 i the singularity of the phenomenon and the exquisite ^picturesque of the spot. For three or four miles there is a path preserving nearly the same level, leading amidst the gnarled stems of ancient chestnut trees which struggle round and among the pile of blocks, which leave them barely room to grow: so that numberless combinations of wood and rock are formed, where a landscape painter might spend days in study and enjoyment. The trees opening here and there display the valley of the Eh one beneath, and the exquisite meadows and orchards which surround the town of Bex, surmounted by the lofty and imposing summits of the Grand Muveran and the Dent de Morcles. The blocks are piled one on another, the greater on the smaller, leaving deep recesses between, in which the flocks or their shepherds seek shelter from the snow-storm,^ and seemed not hurled by a natm^al catastrophe, Imt as if balanced in sport by giant hands. For how came they thus to alight upon the steep, and there remain ? What force transported them, and when transported, thus lodged them high and dry five hundred feet at least above the plain ? We reply, a glacier might do this. AVhat other inanimate agent could do it, we know not. I have adverted to the marks of friction and polish visible upon the flxed rocks near St. Maurice : I must add a word about another appearance higher up, and which gave me a strong con- viction of the impossibility of currents of water producing these effects, which I examined carefully in August, 1841. The cas- cade of the Pissevache between Martigny and St. Maurice, upon the left bank of the Ehone, is perfectly known to travellers, but few probably have taken the trouble to ascend to the level of the higher valley through which the stream (the Sallanche) descends before being finally precipitated. When by a toilsome climb the higher level has been gained — fully 1500 feet above the Ehone valley — bare rocks are seen to rise almost precipitously on either side of the channel through which, at a great depth below, the stream leaps from crag to crag, and even the din of its greater tall is lost in the depth. Now these vertical precipices, which 1 Oue of these artbrded shelter to a monoinaiiiac, disappointed in love, whose sad story is known to many of the inhabitants of the valley who recollect him. The block which is figured in De Charpentier's work is named from the poor man, who lived, I think, for forty years under it, Pierre a Milan. [Charpentier, however, points out on p. 361 of his work tliat the block figured therein as the Ficrrc a Milaa is not that boulder.] 5 2 Travels through the Alps of Savoy form the iimiiil angle uv buttress between the valley of the Sallanche and that of the Ehone (which are at right angles to one another), are scored by horizontal stripes, or grooves, or fluting, evidently the result of superficial wear. But what could have worn it in this position ? Could a current of water, of 1500 feet deep, have borne boulders on its surface which should leave these plain horizontal markings ? What could have been moved with a steady pressure as a carpenter presses his cornice plane on the wood, or as a potter moulds with a stick his clay, pressed laterally too, with a perpendicular face of 1500 feet be- neath ? Nothing that I am acquainted with save a glacier, which at this day presses and moulds and scores the rocky flanks of its bed, extending to a depth often certainly of hundreds of feet beneath. A torrent, however impetuous ; a river, however gigantic ; a flood, however terrific, could never do this. The result of the attrition of fixed rocks attributed to glaciers is threefold. In the first place, the surface of rock, instead of being jagged, rugged, or worn into deep defiles, is even and rounded, often dome -shaped or spheroidal, showing the struc- ture of the rock in section, and occasionally so smooth as to be diflicultly accessible, as at the Hollenplatte, near the Handeck. Such surfaces were called Roches Moutonnc'es by l)e Saussure. Secondly. Subordinate to these general forms are the long, smooth, parallel grooves or flutings which have been already mentioned. Thirdly. These polished grooves are often traversed Ijy fine lines or striie, cut as it were by a hard point, which often cross one another. These various phenomena are observed l»uth close to modern glaciers and in the districts of the Alps and Jura which abound with erratics. The striie of the Pissevache are accompanied by the presence of erratic Ijlocks. They are all, I think, from the neighbouring mountains to the westward. From this fact, and from the direction of the marks on the rock, I concluded, in 1841, that the Val du Trient was formerly occupied by a glacier which passed by the village of Salvan and joined the great Ehone glacier, by sweeping round the angle of the Pissevache. This conjecture will be found to be confirmed by more recent observa- Geological Agency of Glaciers 53 tions in the valley of Vallorcine, which will l)e found in one of the later chapters of this work. It remains to close this very brief sketch by referring to the two chief objections already mentioned, by which the glacier tlieory has been most ably opposed. And (1) that the cold supposed is contrary to received geological opinions, or to probability. To this I will briefly answer, first, that the opinion of geologists appears to have been far too exclusively grounded in this, as in some other parts of their science, on zoological evidence ; and in the present case that evidence appears to be both inconclusive and contradictory; inconclusive, because new recent species (I allude to inhabitants of the ocean) are being continually found in climates to which they were not formerly supposed to belong, and contradictory, because, instead of a constantly warmer climate in former times appearing from tlie evidence, such as it is, of the fossil shells, it is affirmed, not without plausibility, by Mr. James Smith, Mr. Lyell, and M. Agassiz, that the shells of the particular epoch corresponding to the dispersion of erratic blocks have a decidedly arctic character. I answer, secondly, that the advocates of the theory of ice rafts require a much greater degree of cold than at present, and that all geologists, from De Saussure to M. Elie de Beaumont, admit that there are traces in certain glaciers of the Alps of their liaving formerly extended a certain way beyond their present limits. I observe, thirdly, that the depression of temperature need not probably be so very great, as might at first sight appear, in order to cover Switzerland with ice. It will be seen in the course of the present work that many glaciers have under- gone surprising variations of extent, and covered whole acres with their debris, within the memory of persons now living, and this due to causes which, though doubtless energetic, are not sufficiently developed to enable us to clearly to define them.^ It would not be difficult to show, did space permit, that a great in- crease of glacier surface must result from a small depression of atmospheric temperature. (2) A more formidable objection has been drawn from the small inclination under which these primitive glaciers must have moved, and carried down their debris. The mean inclination of 1 See references to the glaciers des Bois, of La Brenva, of the Val de Bagnes, of Lys, and Schwarzberg in the Index. 54 Travels through the Alps of Savoy the entire glacier of the Ehone valley has been estimated by De Charpentier at 1° 8'; but the slope of a great part of its course must have been much less, and, comparing the height of the erratics near Martigny with those upon the Jura, it is estimated by M. de Beaumont at nearly 15'. The question then comes to be, can a glacier move at all under such slopes ? Speaking from experience, we find the mean slope of glaciers to be much above what has been stated, but whether this is essential to their motion or not, is quite a different question ; it may result merely from the actual inclination of the valleys to which the glaciers are confined by the present laws of climate. It seems impossible to give any just answer to the question, " Under what slope would a glacier 100 miles long move ? " without first answering another, " What is the immediate cause and mode of glacier motion ? " It is hoped that something like an answer to the latter question may be found in this volume. We may then attempt to reply to the former. Some further illustrations of the subject of this chapter will be found in the Edinburgh Revieiu already quoted, in which I have stated my opinions on several points more at large ; as well as in the clear and able work of De Charpentier, where the rival theories are ingeniously handled. In conclusion, I shall call attention to two simple woodcuts, of parallel and similar but very distant phenomena, — the one, of travelled blocks resting on an ice-worn surface, within a few fathoms of a modern glacier, by which they have been deposited, — the other represents a fragment of similar rock, upon a limestone surface, 90 miles in a right line from the preceding, and 60 miles from the nearest granite. The first figure is from blocks stranded by the Mer de Glace, near the Montanvert. The scene of the second is on the face of the Jura range above Bienne, close to the great road. MONTANVKRT. GKANITE BLOCK OX THE MER DE OLACE. CHAPTEE IV DESCRIPTION OF THE MER DE GLACE OF CHAMOUNI Physical geography of the ice-world — Glacier de Lechaud — Glacier du Geant — Source of the Arveyron — Hameau des Bois — Cote du Piget — Ancient moraine of Lavancher — Le Chapeau — Mauvais Pas — Cattle traversing the glacier — Blue colour of ice — Montanvert- — Accommo- dation — The view — Les Ponts—L' Angle — Passage of the glacier — Les Charmoz — Trelaporte. Nee vidisse sat est : durum calcavimus aequor. Ovid, Trist. in. x, 39. The glacier which occupies the vast gorge or system of valleys to the east of Mont Blauc is usually, and, I believe, correctly termed the Mkt de Glace, — the name of Glacier des Bois being confined to its lower extremity, where, escaping from the rocky defile between the promontory of the Montanvert and the base of the Aiguille du Dru, it pours in a cascade of icy fragments, assuming the most fantastic forms, into the valley beneath, between the fir woods of Lavancher on the one hand, and those through which the usually frequented path to the Montanvert passes on the other. If I do not always use the Glacier des Bois to signify the lower, and the Mer de Glace the middle and upper part of this vast ice-stream, I shall not probably incur any risk of being misunderstood. It is proposed, in this chapter, to describe such peculiarities of structure, either in the valley in which the glacier lies, or in 56 Travels through the Alps of Savoy the ice itself, tis may tend to illustrate the physical geography of the district, and especially the theory of existing glaciers, and of their former extension ; and if the details into which I shall enter appear somewhat minute, it may be well to recollect that the absence of such local knowledge has been the cause of much of the uncertainty under which we at present labour as to the past history of these wonderful masses. A permanent record of their present limits, condition, and phenomena will be an important document for future times ; and the conviction of this led me to incur the very great labour of constructing a detailed map of nearly the whole glacier. A more particular account of the survey will, as a matter apart, and less interesting to the general reader, be found in a separate chapter. The time required for such an undertaking, and for the minute inspection of every portion, was of the highest importance in forcing upon my attention facts which it is almost impossible not to overlook on a superficial glance ; and the topographical detail I am now to give may aid the reader, in a similar manner, to transport himself in imagina- tion to the scene of the experiments on glacier motion wliich I shall afterwards detail. There is nothing more practically striking, or more captivating to the imagination, than the extreme slowness with which we learn to judge of distances, and to recognise localities on the glacier surface. Long after icy scenes have become perfectly familiar, we find that the eye is still uneducated in these respects, and that phenomena the most remarkable, when pointed out, have utterly escaped attention amidst the magnificence of the surrounding scenery, the invigoration which the bracing air produces, and the astonishing effect of interminable vastness with which icy plains outspread for miles, terminated by a perspective of almost shadow- less snowy slopes, impress the mind. I cannot now recall, without some degree of shame, the almost blindfold way in which, until lately, 1 was in the habit of visiting the glaciers. During three different previous summers I had visited the Mer de Glace, and during two of them, 1832 and 1839, I had traversed many miles of its surface ; yet I failed to remark a thousand peculiarities of the most obvious kind, or to speculate upon their cause ; or else the clearer apprehension which I now have of these things has wholly driven from my mind the previous faint impression. Of the existence of the moraines, generally, and their cause, as well The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 57 as of the fact of the descent of the glaciers, I was aware, hut I can scarcely recall another of the many singularities which they present, as affecting my imagination then in a lively manner — the wear and polish of the rocks — the vast masses of travelled stone thrown up high and dry far above the present level of the ice, like fragments of wreck, indicating, by their elevation on the lieach, the fury of the past storm — the pillars of ice, with their, rocky capitals, studded over the plain like fantastic monuments of the Druid age — or the beautiful veined structure of the interior of the ice, apparent in almost every crevasse, — these things, so far as I now recollect, were passed by unobserved. Even in the summer of 1842, during which the present survey was made, I had abundant proof of how much remained unseen only for want of the faculty of concentrating the atten- tion at once upon all the parts of so wide and glorious a field. We are not aware, in our ordinary researches in physical geography, or the natural sciences in general, how much we fall back upon our general knowledge and habitual observation in pursuing any special line of inquiry, or what would be our difficulty in entering as men upon the study of a world which we had not familiarly known as children. The terms of science are generally but translations into precise language of the vague observations of the uncultivated senses. Now the ice-world is like a new planet, full of conditions, appearances and associa- tions alien to our common experience ; and it is not wonderful that it should be only after a long training, after much fatigue, and dazzling of eyes, and weary steps, and many a hard bed, that the Alpine traveller acquires some of that nice perception of cause and effect — -the instinct of the children of nature — which guides the Indian on his trail, and teaches hun, with unerring philosophy, to read the signs of change in earth or air. But to return to the Mer de Glace. A glance at the map will show that this great ice-river has near its origin two divided streams, derived from different sources. The westward branch, denominated the Glacier du Geant, or Glacier du Tacul, has its rise in a vast basin immediately to the eastward of Mont Blanc, confined between the proper ridge of the Alps extending to the Col du Geant, on the south, and the chain of Aiguilles of Chamouni ^ on the north, commencing nearest Mont Blanc with 1 I retain De Saiissure's spelling of this familiar name, although I am aware 58 Travels through the Alps of Savoy the Aiguille du Midi, and terminating with that of the Charmoz, round whose eastern foot the Mer de Glace sweeps. The other branch, called the Glacier de Lechaud,^ has its origin at the foot of the Grandes Jorasses, one of the highest mountains of the chain which separates the Val Ferret from that of Chamouni. This glacier is smaller than its neighbour, although it is swelled before their junction by the tributary ice of the Glacier de Tal^fre, which falls in upon its right bank from a detached basin, encircled by inaccessible pinnacles of rock,- in whose centre is the spot called the Jardin, now so frequently visited. The length of the whole Mer de Glace is estimated by the guides of Chamouni at eighteen leagues, an enormous exaggeration, if leagues of the usual horizontal measure be reckoned. A league, however, is generally understood to mean an houi-'s walk amongst \ the mountains, and in that view the estimate will appear less absurd, although it conveys no correct idea of superficial extent. The distance from the foot of the Glacier des Bois to the top of the Glacier de Lechaud might probably be traversed in six or seven hours, and by the other branch to the Col du Geant, supposing that the state of the glacier permitted the traveller constantly to advance (which is not the case), in about nine. The shortest linear distance from the foot of the glacier to the highest ridge of the Alps is, by my survey, about seven miles, and the breadth of the glacier seldom, if ever, exceeds two-thirds of a mile, but is generally much less. This does not give any idea of its apparent extent. The toil of traversing it, the endless detours, and the recurring monotony of its crevasses, exaggerate inconceivably the distance, even to those most experienced. We commence our survey at the foot or lower end of the glacier, proceeding upwards. The view of the lower end of the Mer de Glace, from the road leading from Chamouni to Argentiere, is exceedingly striking. The valley of Chamouni is here broad and flat. Three hamlets of small size are planted in sight of one another, — Les that the most correct orthography is Charaonix. But I have, in general, preferred De Saussure's authority, on tlie spelling of proper names, to all others, and that of Chamouni has been usual amongst English, as well as many Swiss authors. The second syllable is pronounced rather short. 1 [Tills name is now usually spelt " Lcschau.x," but as the old spelling causes no confusion, it is retained in deference to Forbes's opinion, expressed in the previous note.] - [They have all been climbed since 1842.] The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 59 Praz, Les Tines, and the Hameau des Bois. The latter is ahnost in contact with the glacier; and, indeed, in 1820, it attained a distance of only sixty yards from the house of Jean Marie Tournier, the nearest in the village, when its further progress was providentially stayed. The valley down which the ice pours meets that of Chamouni at a considerable elevation : the western side of the glacier (in contact with the Montanvert) presses right upon the verge of a precipice, down which frag- ments of ice are precipitated at all seasons, whilst the eastern stream, following a gentle slope of ground, sweeps round the foot of the Aiguille a Bochard, and beneath the station called the Chapeau, when it is again diverted to the west, partly by the accumulation of its own moraine in front, and partly by a projecting rock of a remarkable kind, of which we shall im- mediately speak. From the village of Les Praz, then, this cascade of ice is seen directly in front, but the source of the Arveyron, at its lower extremity, is hid by the mass of the moraines. The source offers, however, nothing extremely re- markable, and the views which have been given of it are, in general, greatly exaggerated. It is an arched cavity, almost annihilated in winter, and gradually increasing as the season of waste and avalanches advances, until it forms an archway of considerable height and width, from which the turbid stream of the Arveyron flows. The quantity of water varies excessively at difierent seasons, and even, I have been assured, on different days. It is fullest, I think, in July ; and, in winter, though small, I am assured by natives that it is very far indeed from altogether ceasing, retaining, I was informed, at least half as much water as when I saw it in September, when I estimated the discharge very rudely (it does not admit of exactness) at three hundred cubic feet per second. The source of this water in winter, when the glacier is frozen, may be partly from the heat of the ground in contact with the ice, as supposed by De Saussure ; but it must also be recoUected, that the ice valley of the Montanvert may be supposed to have a due proportion of springs taking their origin in the interior of the earth at a depth to which even the cold glacier -contact does not com- municate a sensible influence, and the source of the Arveyron is the natural drainage of the springs of that valley. The final slope of the Glacier des Bois has a vertical height 6o Travels through the Alps of Savoy of at least 1800 feet (the lieight of the suininit called Le Chapeau, above the valley at Les Tines), down which, as has l)een said, the ice descends half shattered, half continuous, twisted into wild shapes, and traversed by countless fissures, whilst on the right the precipice above the source of the Arveyron raises its bare forehead without even a stunted tree or a blade of grass, for its surface is continually furrowed by avalanches, and its hollows washed clean by foaming cascades, which both originate in the diadem of jagged pinnacles of ice by which it is sur- mounted. To the right and left the prospect is enclosed by the warm green fir woods which touch either moraine of the glacier, and behind and aloft the view is terminated by the stupendous granitic obelisk of the Dru, which has scarcely its equal in the Alps for apparent insulation and steepness — a monolith, by whose side those of Egypt might stand literally lost through insignificance. When we approach the foot of the glacier at the Hameau des Bois, we are at no loss to perceive that the ice has retreated. The blocks of the moraine of 1820, in which year the glacier made its greatest incursion (in modern times) into the valley, lie scattered almost at the doors of the houses, and have raised a for- midable bulwark at less than a pistol-shot of distance, where cultivation and all verdure suddenly cease, and a wilderness of stones of all shapes and sizes commences, reaching as far as the present ice. Tlie limit of the moraine of 1820 is marked in the map, whence it appears that the form of the extremity of the glacier was not very different from the present one, only that it swelled out more, and that it had very nearly divided itself into two streams, separated by the promontory marked Cote du Piget. This promontory counnands an excellent view of the extremity of the glacier. Upon its southern face the glacier has spent its strength, heaping ridge upon ridge of its moraines against it. The northern slope is perfectly protected, and trees grow to the foot of it. One cannot help being reminded of the position of tlie Hermitage of St. Salvador, on Mount Vesuvius, round which tlie lava streams pass innocuous. But this hillock has an especial interest. Its resistance to tlie pressure of tlie ice led me to suspect that it is composed of tirm materials, and is not merely a heap of rubbish. And so it proved : but wliilst the cliffs above the source of the Arveyron The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 6 1 are of gneiss, whose beds dip inwards towards the axis of the chain at an angle somewhere about 30°, this hillock is of stratified limestone dipping similarly under the gneiss, and at about the same angle. We find it continued, in exactly the same circum- stances, a little to the eastward, at the foot of the Aiguille a Bochard, on the path leading from the village of Lavancher to the Chapeau. There is there a lime-kiln, and it is burned for use. The Cote du Piget is mentioned by De Saussure,^ and he refers to its calcareous nature, in his chapter on the secondary rocks of the valley of Chamouni. But he does not notice tlie section below the Chapeau. The moraine of 1820 rises some way upon the slopes which border the east side of the terminal part of the glacier. But when we come to examine these slopes themselves, we find in them indubitable evidence of their being real moraines of a former age, left by the glacier when it had a greater extension than at present. This is a fact of which it seems scarcely possible to douljt. We find it admitted by De Saussure,^ and most, if not all, of his followers. There are circumstances connected with this moraine which render it worthy of most particular attention, for it is a common ground on which the advocates of the former vast extension of the glaciers, and the opponents of that doctrine, are ready to meet, both admitting that this mass 'Of debris, extending quite up the present glacier, has unequivocal marks of having been a former moraine. Its form is not a little peculiar. It is the convex escarpment seen in the map to traverse the valley of Chamouni above the village of Les Tines, presenting its convexity towards Chamouni. Its length, reckoning from the existing glacier, was estimated by De Saussure at 1300 or 1400 feet; but by the map it would appear to be 6000 feet, or above a mile, reckoning from the rock of the Aiguille a Bochard to the opposite side of the Arve from Lavancher. It has already been said that the valley opposite to the Glacier des Bois is flat and level ; the road from Les Praz to Les Tines, a distance of above half a mile, is almost perfectly so. There we reach the foot of the convex escarpment of blocks, which are covered with soil and trees on the side next Chamouni ; but its composition is abundantly testified by the appearance of its summit, and especially by the section in the ravine through 1 Voyages, § 709. - lb. § 023. 62 Travels through the Alps of Savoy which the river Arve, descending from the Col de Bahne, and swelled by the glacier streams of Le Tour and Argentiere, forces its way. The cut is a deep one, and we find the mound to be almost entirely composed of detached fragments of transported granite, similar to that of the chain of Mont Blanc, rough and angular, or only rounded at the edges by partial friction, and accumulated in the utmost disorder, mingled with sand, without any appearance of stratification. The embankment has been cut through by the river, so that a portion remains attached to the northern side of the valley (the slopes below the Flegere and the Aio-uilles Eouges), upon which vast insulated granitic fragments may be found lying at a considerable height. There can be no | reasonable douiat that this mound was once continuous, and | obstructed the course of the river. Of this we have a further | evidence in the deposit of the alluvial flats which succeed it in \ ascending the valley towards Argentiere, evidently formed by ^ the waters of a lake ; and just at the margin of these, close to the eastern side of the mound, the village of Lavancher now stands. The entire mound, I have already said, is composed of materials similar to those of the moraines of glaciers generally, and of the Glacier des Bois in particular. The arrangement of these materials is also the same. The escarpment to the west does not appear to be the result of erosion subsequent to the deposit, but to be the original form into which the materials have been wrought. The summit is a long narrow ridge, sloping rather steeply both ways, and garnished with huge blocks on its very top. The largest of these is marked on the map under the name of la Pierre de Lisholi, and in some places these ridges are multiplied and parallel, exactly as in a modern moraine. It will l)e observed that the ground plan of this mound is very singular, being convex towards the glacier, instead of concave as is usually the case. This is an important fact, and requires a special ex- planation, on the hypothesis (generally admitted) of its being due to the former extension of the Mer de Glace. The ice must have descended in such a mass as to have blocked up com])letely the whole valley, and abutted against the opposite slopes of the Fleg6re. So great was its mass, and so nearly level the valley of Chamouni into which it descended, that when resisted in front it spread laterally in both directions, and pushed its moraine up The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 63 the valley as well as down. The presence of the glacier, ob- structing the course of the Arve, produced a lake, as in other well-known cases — such as the lake of Combal in the AUee Blanche, formed by the Glacier de Miage, and that of Mattmark in the valley of Saas, formed by the Glacier of Allalin. The almost entire disappearance of the moraine on the loestern or lower side of the glacier is no argument against its existence ; ^ on the contrary, we have direct evidence in favour of it, derived from vast blocks of granite which are met with as far down the valley as the village of Chamouni, and which were formerly very numerous indeed, but are every day disappearing with the progress of cultivation. In external and mineralogical characters they are identical with those already noticed. A further con- firmation will be found in the enormous transported blocks which lie some hundred feet above the level of the glacier on its western side near the Montanvert, and which are not, I think, alluded to by any writer. Possibly the glacier once filled the valley of Chamouni to a great extent, and thus formed its own barrier, and perhaps we are to look for the proper terminal moraine much farther down. This is indeed the more probable hypothesis, both owing to the appearance of the rocks below Les Ouches,"^ which we shall hereafter notice, and because it would be difficult to account for the removal of a vast lateral barrier on the west side sufficient to produce such an accumulation on the east. De Saussure's remark on the smallness of the terminal moraines is one of the most acute in his work. He says, "Les blocs de pierres dont est charge le bas de ce glacier invitent a une re- flexion assez importante. Lorsqu'on considere leur nombre et que Ton pense qu'ils se deposent et s'accumulent a cette extremite du glacier a mesure que ses glaces se fondent, on est etonne qu'il n'y en ait pas des amas beaucoup plus considerables. Et cette observation, d'accord en cela avec ieaucoup d'autres que je 1 In 1843 I was fortunate enough to discover this moraine. It forms a vast terrace of debris of rocks exclusively belonging to the central chain, over whicli the path from Chamouni to the Montanvert passes for a considerable distance, in fact nearly all tlie way from the hamlet of Les Mouilles to that of Planaz (see the General Map and Occasional Papers, p. 42). The cultivated fields at Planaz point out plainly tlie terrace-like form of the moraine, and the rapid bend in the lower part of the course of the torrents of Grepon and Fouilly, as seen in the map, is owing to the opposition offered by the mass of debris to their direct descent towards the valley (1845). 2 [Properly Les Houches, but the older form is retained for the reasons given above on p. 58 note.] 64 Travels through the Alps of Savoy dcvelupperai suceessivemL'iit, doniie lieu de croire, coumie le fait M. de Luc, que I'etat actuel de iiotre globe ii'est point aussi ancien que quelques philosoplies Tout imagine" {Voyages,'^ 625). The reason which we would assign for this remarkable fact is that the extremity of the glacier having a movable position, the blocks have been gradually deposited as the glacier retreated from the lower end of the valley of Chamouni to its present position. If we continue our survey of the glacier, ascending the ancient moraine of Lavancher, we reach the rock a little higher than the Pierre de Lisboli, and the rock here is limestone, as already mentioned. It is just in contact with the gneiss, whose beds lie sloping southwards exactly at the same angle with the limestone, namely, about 30°. This limestone is, no doubt, of the same formation with that which has been noticed in other parts of the valley of Chamouni, and especially by De Saussure, as underlying the gneiss of the Aiguilles opposite Chamouni, towards the hamlet of Blaiticre. Its position is very remarkable, thus interposed between two granitic masses, for the Aiguilles Eouges are also of gneiss or granite ; and the almost exact symmetry, in point of arrangement and stratification, which we shall find to exist on the southern side of the chain at Courmayeur, gives to it a peculiar interest. When we begin to command the view of the glacier in approaching the Chapeau, we are struck by the size of the blocks which seem poised on the projections of the cliff, at a great height above the ice, and which are rounded and scored in such a way as to show that the detached masses were deposited liere in the usual progress of the glacier when it attained this height. The view here of the Aiguille du Dru, and of the pinnacles of ice of the Mer de Glace itself, is very striking. A portion of the moraine of 1820 is next crossed, and at length, after passing a torrent, we find ourselves at the foot of the hillock called the Chapeau, on the precipitous side of which is a cavern affording some shelter, and an excellent view not only of the glacier, but of the valley of Chamouni which it commands, and the effect is extremely beautiful, especially in the evening. This spot, although extremely easy of access, is rarely visited by tourists,^ unless at seasons when the Montanvert is too much 1 [Nowadiiys tliis .sjm.I — .^279 feet— is the ol.jcct of one of the reguhir excursions The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 65 enveloped in snow to be conveniently reached ; but the two views have veiy little resemblance, since the portion of the glacier seen from the Chapeau is the lower part, or Glacier des Bois, whilst the upper part, or Mer de Glace, is commanded from the Montanvert, and the other is nearly concealed. Beyond the Chapeau, the precipices of the Aiguille a Bochard actually meet the glacier, where it tumbles headlong from the rocks, and both seem to forbid farther passage. Nevertheless it is practicable, keeping the face of the rock, to continue the ascent along the east bank of the glacier ; and indeed there is scarcely any part of this bank of the Mer de Glace as high as the foot of the Aiguille du Moine, which I have not traversed. The rocky precipice alluded to would be very difficult to pass were it not marked by rude steps ^ cut here and there in the soft steatitic rocks, which mingle with the gneiss, and which, being continually wetted by trickling rills, are very slippery. The goatherds are in the habit of continually passing, and there is nothing to daunt any tolerable moun- taineer, although the spot has acquired the name of the Mauvais Pas, which it bears more frequently than its proper one of the Eoche de Muret. This rock (which is exactly opposite to the extreme promontory of the hill of Montanvert on the west side) forms one of the barriers of the 3£er de Glace above, past which it pours down the precipice in the manner already mentioned. Consequently, when the height of the Eoche de Muret has been gained, we have a new reach of the glacier in view, and the ice begins to assume a connected and consistent appearance, although still so excessively full of crevasses as to be generally impassable but for a very short distance. But the ice is here the real icy mass of the Mer de Glace, whilst below it has been tossed and twisted so as to be entirely remoulded, and to bear none of its original impress. At the point at which we have now arrived, the glacier may be compared to the inclined, dark, unruffled sw^ell of swift water; rushing to precipitate itself in a mass of foam over a precipice, it has all the forms of of tourists, who from the Montanveit cross the Mer de Glace, and then go bj- the Mauvais Pas, Chapeau, and Lavancher to Chamouni. There is an inn on the Chapeau, reached by a mule-path from Lavancher that comes to an end a short distance only below the Chapeau.] ^ [These form the "Mauvais Pas," which has been much improved since Forbes's time, and is fm-ther guarded by a railing.] 5 66 Travels through the Alps of Savoy a compact moving mass of ice, although rent asunder across its breadth by the rapid depressiim of the bed ahjng which it is urged. The promontory of the Eoche de Muret gaineil and passed, the slight bay behind has, as usual, been partly filled up by accumulated moraines, upon which we now walk instead of on the solid rock. Somewhat farther on a noisy, foaming torrent, called the Nant Blanc, descends from a seemingly small glacier, called the Glacier du Nant Blanc, lodged in a ravine interposed between the Aiguilles of Bochard and Dru ; this torrent is well seen from the Montanvert — it is most copious in July, and its appearance is a good index to the state of temperature in the higher regions, instantly diminishing with the first cold nights of autumn. A second torrent descends farther on from the glacier at the foot of the Aiguille du Dru, and beyond this are some fine pasturages, which extend along the foot of the jagged and rocky chain which extends from the Dru to the point of Les Echelets marked in the map. Here, on the higher part of these grassy slopes, near the promontory of Les Echelets, are the highest stunted pines and larches which occur on either side of the Mer de Glace. From amongst them, now and then, some grand peeps may be obtained of the Aiguille du Dru, which shoots almost vertically above the eye like some tall steeple — pointing to the deep blue sky. These pastures are worthy of notice from one circumstance, namely, that they are grazed by coivs for a good many weeks in summer. How a cow can find footing among such rocks, or ascend and descend pathways which might be pronounced dis- agreeably precipitous by even a not fastidious traveller, and whose zigzags are often not half the length of the animal's body, may appear sufficiently surprising ; but it is nothing- compared to the seeming impossibility of ever bringing them there at all or removing them. To traverse the Mer de Glace opposite the Montanvert is at all times a feat of some difficulty for an unloaded man ; it is commonly said that there exists but a single practicable pathway amongst the crevasses. That this is not correct, and that it varies much at different seasons, I know from experience — but at all times it requires an expert iceman (a correlative word to seaman or rocksman may perhaps be admitted) to effect this passage with certainty and alone. I The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 67 remember to have found .some stray goats, which had wandered from the shore, quite lost amidst the wilderness of crevasses, and bleating for help.-^ The only other access to this pasturage is by the Eoche de Muret, and there, most certainly, no animal heavier than a goat or a man could make its way unaided. The most usual way of transporting the cows is by the glacier at the foot of the Mauvais Pas, where I have already said the ice is in the very act of tumbling headlong down. There, by the aid of hatchets and planks, a sort of rude pathway is constructed the day before the ascent or descent of the cattle is to be performed, and then about thirty peasants assemble to pass as many cows, and by the aid of ropes succeed, usually without any loss, in compelling the poor animals to traverse the rude gangways which they have prepared. The cows were taken to the valley in the end of September last (1842), and I regretted extremely that I missed the opportunity of witnessing so singular a cavalcade. I have traversed the Mauvais Pas frequently. On one of these occasions, I proposed to Auguste Balmat to attempt to cross the glacier diagonally from just above the promontory of the Eoche de Muret to the Montanvert. The thing had never been done, he said, but there was no reason v/hy it should be impossible, and at the worst we could but come back. We got upon the ice ; and after a long and circuitous progress succeeded in reaching the other side as we proposed ; and I often crossed the glacier afterwards in nearly every direction (excepting just above the final chute) where the guides declared that no one ever had passed, or could pass without ropes or a hatchet. The former we never used and the latter rarely. Auguste, though he had lived three years at the Montanvert, had never been compelled to traverse the ice but in a few directions, and it was as new to him as to me ; but his intelligence and zeal were superior to the lazy dogmas of impossibility, which are frequently heard even amongst the guides of Chamouni. Speaking generally, the fissures of the glacier in this part (between the Montanvert and the Dru) are mostly transversal, 1 Cattle are sometimes taken across the glacier at this place, and one of the hotel-keepers at Chamouni recounted to me a curious history of the risk which he and a companion had run in transporting a mule. They were assisting him with ropes, and the animal slipping, pulled them both into a crevasse : they escaped with difficulty, abandoning the mule to his fate. 68 Travels through the Alps of Savoy thougli so int(!rlac'ed, and I'onninii; so many compound fractures, that the solid part continually thins out into an edge, which at length becomes evanescent between two crevasses. It is evident that in this way a glacier maintaining its continuity beneath may become absolutely impassable, except by descending one vertical face and ascending another, which, owing to the depth and width of the crevasses here, would always- be a perilous attempt. The crevasses of the western and middle part of the Mer de Glace below the Montanvert are very continuous and straight, and some of them extend for at least half the entire breadth of the glacier. They are often 15 or 20 feet wide, with walls perfectly vertical, and to move at all parallel to the length of the glacier in this place requires immense detours. It is the east side which is so excessively crevassed, and that during the whole length of the united stream of the ]\Ier de Glace. Whenever we touch the medial moraine (the mark of the junction) there the multiplied and complicated crevasses begin. The reason I believe to be this : the glacier which forms the greater or western portion, w^hich is derived from the Glacier du G^ant, moves fastest, and has by far the greater mass. The other, from the Glacier de Lechaud, uniting with it, is compelled to follow, or rather accompany it. It is, therefore, drawn out, and at the same time squeezed into very much narrower limits, as the united stream is forced through a space not greater than the larger alone had before occupied, — just as when two rivers unite, the smaller and weaker is thrown into turbulent eddies by the union with the swifter and more powerful. Turning now to the western side of the Mer de Glace in its inferior part, but a few remarks occur. The usual path from Chamouni to the Montanvert, and the steep ascent of La Filiaz,^ from the source of the Arveyron, require no particular mention, but the examination of the promontory north of the chalet of Montanvert is not without interest. It is possible there to get a little way upon the glacier, amongst the immense fissures which precede its abrupt descent ; and from this icy platform a fine view of tlic valley is obtained. The ice here is remarkably pure, 1 I do not know the origin of the name. Thinking that it might refer to some legendary story of a young woman lost at the source of the Arveyron, I once asked a native of Clianiouni its meaning, to wliich lie rcjilied, simj)ly enough, — " Je ne sais pas si ce n'est parcequ'on y /^s tout droit," which all who have dcsandcd it will readily admit to be the case. The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 69 and the fine blue caverns and crevasses may be as well studied as in almost any glacier in Switzerland. Of the cause of this I colour I may observe once for all, that I consider it to be the colour of pure water, whether liquid or solid ; though there are no doubt conditions of aggregation which give it more or less intensity, or change its hue. But this has a parallel in very many cases not considered as paradoxical. Most bodies when powdered have a different hue than when crystallised and com- pact, the topaz and the iodide of starch change their colour with temperature, and many bodies change their tint with their consistency, or lose it altogether when mixed with grosser matter. During an expedition which I made upon the ice in the month of September, during a snow-storm, I observed that the snow lying eighteen inches deep exhibited a fine Hue at a small depth (about six inches) wherever pierced by my stick. Nor could this possibly be due to any atmospheric reflection, for the sky was of an uniform leaden hue, and snow was falling at the time.^ The west bank of the Mer de Glace is here extremely steep, though not absolutely precipitous. It is clothed with grass and rhododendron, and in many places with spruce firs of consider- able size. Amongst these lie fragments of transported granite, wherever a ledge exists sufficient to maintain them, and they are accumulated especially at the promontory at the foot of which the glacier still sweeps, though at a great depth below. On the steep side of the hill facing the valley of Chamouni, and there- fore sheltered from the glacier, these masses are comparatively rare. They extend quite up to the dwelling of the Montanvert, a height of 240 feet above the glacier, and even somewhat higher ; but the limit is perfectly well marked ; for although the rocky ridge which descends from the Aiguille des Charmoz to the Montanvert (and which is here called simply Les Charmoz) is covered with vast debris, — these debris are all in situ, and in contact with the native rock, a slaty talcose gneiss. These blocks constitute, therefore, an undoubted moraine, corresponding to that of Lavancher and Les Tines on the east side, and indi- cating the maximum level of the glacier in very remote times. 1 On the colour of pure water see Newton, Optics, Book I. Part ii. Prop. 10 ; Humboldt, Voijages, 8vo, vol. ii. p. 133 ; Davy, Salmonia, 3rd edit. p. 317 ; Arago, Comptes liendus, July 23, 1838 ; Count Maistre, Edin. Axw Pliil. Journal, vol. xv. 70 Travels through the Alps of Savoy I may add, too, for the sake of connection, that the fixed rocks in the immediate neighbourhood of the house of the Montanvert, exhibit clear traces of being rounded and furrowed, though too much weathered to exhiljit anything like polish. Such rocks occur on the descending patli to the glacier. The earliest habitation on the Montanvert is thus described by De Saussure: — "Mais oii couche-t-on sur le Montanvert? On y couche dans un chateau ; car c'est ainsi que les Chamouni- ards, nation gaie et railleuse, nomment par dt^rision la chetive retraite du berger qui garde les troupeaux de cette montagne. Un grand bloc de granit, porte la anciennement par le glacier, ou par quelque revolution plus ancienne, est assis sur une de ses faces, tandis qu'une autre face se releve en faisant un angle aigu avec le terrain, et laisse ainsi un espace vuide au-dessous d'elle. Le berger industrieux a pris la face saillante de ce granit pour le toit et le plafond de son chateau, la terre pour son parquet ; il s'est preserve des vents coulis, en entourant cet abri d'un mur de pierres seches, et il a laisse dans la partie la plus elevee un vuide ou il a place une porte haute de quarante pouces et large de seize. Quant aux fenetres, il n'en a pas eu besoin, non plus que de cheminee ; le jour entre et la fum^e sort par les vuides que laissent entr'elles les pierres de la muraille. Voila done I'interieur de sa demeure : cet espace angulaire, renferme entre le bloc de granit, la terre et la muraille, forme la cuisine, la chambre a coucher, le cellier, la laiterie, en un mot, tout le domicile du berger de Montanvert." (Voyages, | 627.) This was in 1778. But it appears that things were soon improved ; for, in one of Link's excellent coloured views (pub- lished at Geneva, and very superior to all the more recent ones), entitled " Vue de la Mer de Glace et de I'Hopital de Blair, du Sommet du Montanvert, dans le mois d'Aoust 1781," a regularly built cabin, with a wooden roof, is represented, witli this inscrip- tion above the door : — " blair's hospital, utile dulci " I'roni whence I conclude tliat this hut was built by an English- man named Blair, between the years 1778 and 1781.^ 1 [Mr. Blair, .an Eiiglisliniaii lesidcnt at riciicva, gave four guineas for the con- struction of a cabin, wliich was Imill in 177!> and used that year by Goctlie. It subsisted till 1812.] The Mer de Glace of Chamouni / At a later period a small, solid stoue house of a single apartment ^ was built at the expense of M. Desportes, the French Eesident at Geneva," having a black marble slab above the door, with the inscription, A la Nature. On my first visit to Cham- ouni this was the only building, but soon after ^ a much more substantial and effectual shelter was erected at the expense of the Commune of Chamouni, and is let to the present tenent, David Couttet (together with the grazing round), for the con- siderable sum of 1400 francs. The principal floor consists of an ample public room, a small kitchen, a guides' room, and three bedrooms for strangers, besides accommodation below for the servants of the establishment, of whom two or three remain here for four months of the year. This establishment, though simple and unobtrusive, is sufficiently comfortable and cleanly; and I should be very ungrateful not to acknowledge the kindness and attention which I uniformly experienced during many weeks' residence in this house; cold and desolate it certainly was occasionally — in September the thermometer fell to 39° F. in my bedroom, and there was little choice of provisions beyond the excellent mutton of the Montanvert ; yet, on the whole, I pre- ferred the tranquillity of the arrangements to the bustle of the hotels of Chamouni, whither I seldom resorted but under stress of weather. We are almost tempted to forget that a view so universally seen, and so often described as that from the windows of the Montanvert loses none of its real majesty in consequence of the ease and familiarity with which it is visited by thousands of travellers. For myself, repeated visits and a long residence have only heightened my admiration of this, certainly one of the grandest of Alpine views. The Aiguille du Dru has in its way scarcely a rival, and there are very few glaciers indeed with a 1 [This lioiise was built in 1795, mainly through the exertions of Bourrit, to whom Desportes gave 2000 francs for that purpose. It still exists.] 2 Ebel gives the following account of it: "M. Bourrit de Geneve, I'aubergiste Tcrraz [Tairraz], et les guides Jacques [Balmat] dcs Dames et Cachat le Geant ont execute le plan de M. Desportes. Le batiment otfroit une gi-ande salle pourvue d'une cheminee, de deux fenetres, de quatre lits de sangle, avec des chaises, des tables, des glaces, etc. Les frais de I'etablissement monterent a 95 loms."— Manuel du Foyageur (1810), tome ii. p. 364. ^ [hi 1840. This first inn was replaced in 1879 by the present three-storied building, which can accommodate from forty to fifty persons. Needless to add that the rent is now far higher than in Forbes's time. The height of the hotel is 6267 feet.] 72 Travels through the Alps of Savoy course so undulating and picturesque as the Mer de Glace, and with banks so wildly grand, of which the general effect can be so well seized from any one point.^ Besides former visits, I have this year (1842) seen it under every circumstance which could enhance its sublimity, — under the piercing glow of the almost insupportable midsummer's sun, and again in the snowy shroud of premature winter— in the repose of the stillest and serenest moonlight, and lit up at midniglit ])y the brilliancy of almost tropical lightning. The glacier immediately below the Montanvert is easily accessible, 'whilst it presents at the same time all the grander and more remarkable features of glacier ice. The moraine is abundant, and the crevasses moderately large. A few hundred feet farther down, there was this year (1842) a mass of travelling rock of enormous dimensions upon the ice. A sketch of it is given at the head of this chapter. Its position, which is accurately fixed on the map (where this block is marked D 7), will define the motion of the glacier in future years. There is a footpath here along tlie moraine, which is a steep stony ridge, about thirty feet high on the landward side, and much more towards the glacier at its present level. The masses of which it, and, indeed, all the older moraines of this neighbourhood are composed are not larger than those which are at present to be seen on the surface of the glacier. Proceeding upwards in our survey of the Mer de Glace, we find a footpath which conducts us from the house of the Montan- vert, first nearly down to its level, and then nearly parallel to its length. By and by we come to pretty smooth faces of rock, which go down sheer under the ice, evidently ground away by its friction, or rather that of the mass of abraded rocks mixed with sharp stones and sand, which it drags along with it. To cross this rocky face, some rude steps are cut in the slaty gneiss, and the two passes of this description are called the 2»'('f>'iei- ci second Fonts. De Saussure mentions (§ 628) having employed" two men to blast the rocks to facilitate this passage, and the marks may still easily be seen. Opposite to this promontory the glacier is greatly heaved and cont(U'ted, owing probaltly to the ' It may be seen to most advantage from a station some hundred feet liiglier nn tlic Charmoz. ^ [In 1778. Of course the jvatli has since been greatly improved.] The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 73 inequalities of its bed. It is not easy to estimate tlie magnitude of these icy hillocks or waves, as they have been termed. This arises chiefly from the enormous magnitude and great angular elevation of the peaks and wild rocks beyond. I had a proof of this one day on the rather rare occasion of a fog settling down to near the level of the glacier, which enveloped entirely the scenery of the farther bank. Then the ice inequalities seemed to rise to mountains, and it was difficult to persuade oneself that the glacier, like the ocean, did not now and then raise its billows in a storm, to twice or thrice the height which continual observation had made so familiar. It might be easily, and indeed is generally, supposed, that the glacier is here impassable ; but on the 18th September last (1842) I crossed it with Balmat, and found it less diflicult than the oblique traverse we subsequently made to return to the Montanvert. Having passed the second " Pont," the path descends to the moraine, which partly fills a sinuosity in the outline of the hill ; and, having followed this for some hundred yards, we are met by a perpendicular cliff, the foot of which is abraded by the ice. This is the point marked L' Angle on the map, nearly opposite to the promontory of Les Echelets, formerly mentioned. Here there is no alternative but to descend upon tlie ice, and its contact with the rock offers some peculiarities worth observation. When the ice of the glacier, in the course of its progress downwards, has been forced against an opposing promontory of rock, and has passed it, it will easily be understood, that a cavity will be left behind the promontory, which the ice does not immediately fill up. Here it is easy (occasionally at least) to descend into such a cavity, with a wall of ice on the left hand, and of rock on the right. Between the two are wedged masses of granite, which have slipt from the moraine between the ice and rock, and which, pressed by the incumbent weight of the glacier, and carried along in its progress, evidently must, and really do, wear furrows in the retaining wall, which is all freshly streaked, near the level of the ice, with distinct parallel lines, resulting from this abra- sion. The juxtaposition of the power, the tool, and the matter operated on, is such as to leave not a moment's doubt that such striae must result, even if their presence could not be directly proved. The Angle is the point noticed by De Saussure as the junction 74 Travels through the Alps of Savoy of the true granite with the rocks of gneiss. It is a full half- hour's walk from the Montanvert. To advance higher up the glacier, two courses may be taken ; either to resume the moraine as soon as the promontory has been passed, and thus advance as far as possible along the foot of the Aiguille des Charmoz, or to follow the glacier near its western border, by an intricate passage amongst the numerous crevasses by which it is traversed. The former is very fatiguing, and not without danger from the frequent fall of stones from the small glacier at the foot of the Charmoz. On one occasion I saw an immense discharge of stones and mud take place, arising from some sudden change in the glacier, with loud noise, which con- tinued for several minutes. The passage of the Mer de Glace almost requires an experienced guide.^ I know of no better instance of the confusing monotony of the glacier surface, and the kind of skill required to retrace one's steps on the ice, than the passage of the Angle. The crevasses are so multiplied, yet so similar, that each seems to rise endlessly " another yet the same." "We continually fancy that we recognise a particular feature, which is perhaps a hundred times repeated, with the slightest possible variation of form. Once strayed from the right path, it is difficult to find it again, because a false turn may separate us from the region we are endeavouring to reach by impassable crevasses. Consequently, the guides, who very frequently pass during the season in conducting travellers to and from the Jardin, resort to piling stones here and there upon the ice, or upon blocks, as landmarks, such as are used occasionally on moors or hills subject to fogs. Even one who has great facility in retrac- ing a path once pursued on solid ground, or in discovering a track for the first time, finds himself here quite at fault ; and I have frequently known experienced guides of Chamouni go astray, and lead travellers into difficult and embarrassing situations, or place landmarks in altogether wrong positions, so as to mislead future passers-by. I suppose that I passed the Angle at least forty or fifty times last summer (1842), and although I at last became pretty well acquainted with its intricacies, yet it was impossible to extricate oneself meclianically, or without vigilant attention. M. Itourrit has given a just and not exaggerated description of similar difficulties. " Eien ne pent donncr une id(5e du iioml)ro ^ [One must not forget that Forbes wrote this in 1842.] The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 75 prodigieux des crevasses de cette vallee, que la difficult('' d'eii sortir. II n'est jamais arriv^ de retrouver au sortir le meme banc de glace par ou Ton est entre ; souvent, au contraire, Ton erre pendant trois quarts d'heure, et les guides (itonnes recourent aux enchantemens pour expliquer cet effet de la multiplicite d'objets seniblables et qu'une longue frequentation n'apprend point a distinguer." ^ It deserves, however, to be mentioned, as a point not only curious in itself, but highly important in considering the constitution of glaciers, that they present year after year a surface so very similar, that an experienced guide will make his way over the ice in the same direction, and seem to avoid the same crevasses, whilst he is, in fact, walking upon ice wholly changed — that is, which has replaced in position the ice of the previous year, which has been pushed onwards by the progressive/ movement of the glacier. This is a fact which, though generally enough admitted, has not yet excited sufficient attention. The surface of the glacier has, for the most part, the same appearance as to the variations of level, the occurrence of moraines, the systems of complex crevasses, and the formation of superficial watercourses, in any one season as in another. These phenomena, then, are deter- mined by the form of the bottom and sides of the rocky trough in which the glacier lies, and by its slope at the spot. Just as . in a river, where the same molecules of water form in succession) the deep still pool, the foaming cascade, and the swift eddy, 1 all of which maintain their position with reference to the fixed objects past which the water itself is ever hurrying onwards. The passage of the Angle is more difficult in some seasons than others, but it probably varies much more in its character between spring and autumn of any one year than between one year and another. This I have, on the unanimous testimony of the guides, and my observations of three different years con- firm it. The Angle past, the most conspicuous object is the imposing Aiguille des Charmoz, which rises on the right. The rocky pinnacles of which it is composed exceed in sharpness those which I have seen in any other part of the Alps. There is one which is conspicuous from the Montanvert, and which has an unnatural and exaggerated appearance in most of the engravings, 1 Description des Glaciercs, vol. iii. pp. 106, 107. 76 Travels through the Alps of Savoy which is really as attenuated as it is possible to represent it. The mass is of granite, in which sapphires are found, though rarely, in the Couloir immediately beyond the Angle ; I have found a singular porphyritic rock amongst the fragments, con- taining felspar and epidote, which it is difficult to refer to any class of primitive rocks. From the foot of the high summits of the Aiguille des Charmoz, a small glacier, which has been already alluded to, takes its origin. It is one of those short limited glaciers termed by De Saussure glaciers of the second order} They may be studied to advantage in these valleys, though the ice of which they are composed rarely descends so as to touch the principal glacier, which occupies the bottom of the valley. Tiieir extent would hardly be conceived from the foreshortened view which we have in looking up at them. The map shows that they cover a large surface. They do not essentially differ in structure from other glaciers, but are shorter, owing in all probability to the little surface which they present for receiving snow, and thus increasing their dimensions, as well as to the great angle of in- clination of the beds on which they commonly rest. This is indeed such as to render their adhesion to the ground an astonishing circumstance. M. de Charpentier has very justly quoted several examples as proving, that if these glaciers merely slid over the soil, as De Saussure supposed, these could not for a moment sustain their position at an angle of 30° or more. In the higher part of the Mer de Glace, or rather, on the great chain between the Grandes Jorasses and Mont Mallet, there are some of the icy masses which seem to hold on to the face of the rocks by mere adhesion, presenting precipices certainly of several hundred feet in height. I have watched these masses day after day, when the sun shone so as to throw the deep shadow of the ice-cliff northwards, giving it a magnificent relief, when the stability of these glaciers appeared little short of miraculous. It would be of importance to ascertain the rate of motion of such glaciers. I had intended doing so, but the bad weather of the month of September, 1842, put an end to this as to several other plans.^ It is evident that the little glacier at the foot of the Charmoz 1 Voyages, §§ 521, 529. - This I have since done elsewhere, see Occasional. Papers, pp. Gl-77 (1845). The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 77 has been more extensive and thicker, within no very long time. The former level of the ice remains perfectly well marked on the rock behind, showing its subsequent diminution; and occasionally these glaciers altogether disappear, and probably reappear again after a series of cold seasons. I noticed [see p. 247 below] on the Glacier d'Ar gentler e, at the foot of the Aiguille of the same name, the vacant bed of a glacier which had melted away. De Saussvire asserts the appearance of new glaciers (8 540), though he does not give any instance of them within his own knowledge ; but there is no reason to doubt the fact. From the glacier of Charmoz^ the Passage de I'Etala," said to be difficult, communicates with the Glacier of Nantillons, passing between the Aiguille des Cliarmoz and the rocky summit called Petits Charmoz.^ A rocky ridge, descending eastwards from the Charmoz, composes the massive promontory of Trilaidorte, round the foot of which the Mer de Glace struggles more violently in its passage than at any other part. The result is a series of fissures, which immediately at the turn of the rock are quite impassable, and w^hich extend radially outwards, like the joints of a fan, in the same way as M. Agassiz has figured in the great glacier of Gorner, at the north foot of Monte Eosa. To pursue the course up the glacier, these crevasses must be crossed nearly at right angles, until the centre of the glacier has been gained, or the great moraine descending from the promontory of the Tacul, which divides the glacier into two portions. We may, however, ascend the promontory of Trelaporte itself, which commands a very interesting view. ^ [Called Thendia glacier on M. Kurz's map.] 2 [Now known as the Col de la Buche.] 3 [The former summit is now called the Aiguille des Petits Charmoz, and the latter the Aiguille de I'M.] CHAPTEE V DESCRIPTION OF THE MER DE GLACE CONTINUED Trelaporte — A traveller crag-fast amongst precipices — The moraines of tlie Mer de Glace — " Moulins " — Discovery of De Saussure's ladder — Tacul — Lake — Bivouac under a rock — Tlumder-storm— The chamois hunter Superb glacier table — Glaciers of L^chaud and Talefre — Jardin — Pierre a Beranger. No part of the valley of the Mer de Glace shows better than the Trelaporte the abrading action of the ice upon the rocks, or the height to which the glacier has evidently once risen. The forms are everywhere smoothed and rounded. Vast sheets of bare granite, nearly vertical, and without a fissure, occur up to a great height, and a few hundred feet above the glacier level is a sort of shelf, covered with large detached masses of granite, which have formed an ancient moraine. On the top of one of these my surveying station G- was actually planted. There is some- thing singularly desolate about the appearance of these rocks, broken here and there by a tuft of grass, which adheres in the midst of an inaccessible precipice ; and as a few sheep pasture here every year, without any resident shepherd, these poor animals, straying in search of food, perish in considerable numbers from famine, or by falling down the cliffs. A singular incident occurred here in the past autumn, which shows the danger of venturing into such places without a guide, or at least an attendant. On September 17, 1842, I walked up to this lonely promontory, which, as it leads nowhere, is unfrequented, except by the occasional visit of the shepherd, to carry salt to his sheep.^ Having stopped to sketcli the bold outlines of the Dm 1 Accordingly, here and elsewhere, ii traveller may be incommoded by the im- portunate earnestness with which the sheep surround and follow him, supposing that he has brought salt with him. They are as tame as domestic animals. The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 79 and Moine, which form the opposite buimdaiy of the glacier, I sent Auguste to seek some water, which, owing to the form of the rocks I have mentioned, it is difficult to find. I was not sur- prised that he did not immediately return, bat when, having waited half an hour, and finished my sketch, I saw nothing of him, I began to fear that he had got entangled amidst these wild rocks, and proceeded in search of him. After some time I saw him coming up with two lads of Chamouni, whom he had seen start from the Montanvert in the morning for the Jardin, and leading between them a man evidently exhausted, confused, and his clothes torn to rags. On approaching I found Auguste scarcely less excited than the man he led, and to rescue whom from a ledge of rock, on which he had passed the tcliole night, he had placed himself in imminent danger. This person proved to be an American traveller, who had wandered all alone the morning of the day before over the hill of Charmoz, above the Montanvert, and scrambled as far as the solitary precipices of Trelaporte, unvisited, as we have said, except casually by a shepherd, and still more rarely by some chamois hunter. To- wards afternoon (by his own account) he had slipped over a rock, and being caught by the clothes on some bushes had his fall checked, so as to gain a little ledge surrounded by precipices on every side, where he found himself lodged in a perfectly hopeless prison. Here he passed the whole night, which, fortunately, was not cold, and in the morning he succeeded in attracting, by his cries, the young men of Chamouni, who were on their way across the glacier, at a great distance below. The two boldest, with difficulty, climbed, by a circuitous path, so as to gain a position above him ; but their united efforts would have been unequal to rescue him had I not providentially gone, with my guide, the same morning, to this remote spot. Whilst he was on a search for the water which I required, he came within sight of the boys, vainly attempting to extricate the traveller. Balmat instantly joined them, and by great personal courage, as well as strength, succeeded in dragging the man up by the arm, from a spot whence a chamois could not have escaped alive. Balmat told me, that whilst he bore the entire weight of the man on a slippery ledge to which he himself clung he felt his foot give way and for a moment he thought himself lost, which was the cause of the very visible emotion of which he bore traces 8o Travels through the Alps of Savoy when lie joined nie. I gave -wine and food to the traveller, and the others, and especially applauded the humanity and courage of the lads, one of whom conducted the traveller back to Chamouni, for his nervous system was greatly affected, and for a time I doubted whether he was not deranged.^ I returned with Balmat to view the exact spot of the adventure, and a more dreadful prison it is impossible to conceive. It was, as I have said, a ledge about a foot broad in most places, and but a few feet long, with grass and juniper growing on it. It thinned off upon the cliff entirely in one direction, and on the other (where widest) it terminated abruptly against a portion of the solid rock, not only vertical, but overhanging, and at least ten feet high, so that no man, unassisted, could have climbed it. The direction of his fall was attested by the shreds of his House, which were hanging from some juniper bushes, which he had grazed in his descent, but for which evidences it would have appeared to me inconceiv- able that any falling object could so have attained the shelf on which he was almost miraculously lodged. Immediately below the spot he fell from, the shelf had thinned off so completely that it was plain he must have fallen obliquely across the precipice, so as to attain it. The ledge was about twenty feet below the top of the smooth granitic precipice, to which a cat could not have clung, and below, the same polished surface went sheer down, without a break, for a depth of at least 200 feet, where it sinks under the glacier, whose yawning crevasses would have received the mangled body, and never would have betrayed the traveller's fate. A more astonishing escape, in all its parts, it is impossible to conceive. It is probable, that had the young men not crossed the glacier at the fortunate moment, my guide and I would have passed the rock fifty yards above him (it was in the direction in which we were going) without citlier party having the remotest idea of the other's presence. The same day I climbed, with some difficulty, towards the ridge of the Charmoz from this spot, intending to gain a remark- able cleft - in the rock, conspicuous both from the upper and lower part of the glacier, and denoted on the map by the mark G*. 1 I regretted to learn afterwards that he had not shown himself generously sensible of tlie great effort used in his preservation. '^ In 1844 I was fortunate enough twice to reach this i)oint, and to take a great number of angles with the theodolite, for the improvement of tlie map. The view is one of the most comprehensive and splendid of the entire glacier (ISdf)). The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 8 i There was fresh snow on the rocks, which made the ascent very disagreeable, and the secondary glacier, which extends for a long- way on the south-eastern foot of the Charnioz, facing the Tacul, sent down an intermitting fire of stones by the passage which we chose to attempt, and rendered it prudent to abandon the ascent until more favourable weather. This never came, and I was obliged to quit the Montanvert without accomplishing it. This I regretted, for the station G* would command the whole glacier, and would have enabled me to make observations of use for the perfecting of my map.^ To return to the Mer de Glace. The foot of the Trelaporte offers several excellent contacts of the ice and rock, which is there, as at the Angle, much worn by the abrasion of the stones or gravel. It is quite practicable to traverse the glacier from hence to the Tacul, or promontory at the bifurcation of the Glaciers du G^ant and de L4chaud. The usual course of proceeding- is, as we have observed above, to cross the glacier before reaching Trelaporte, until the principal medial moraine is attained. The whole of the eastern part of the glacier is here much lower than the western, which is heaped up against the promontory, and the effect is to squeeze the moraines together into the smaller or eastern portion of the glacier. The regular curvature and general parallelism of these moraines, amidst all this confusion and dis- location, is exceedingly remarkable. From the point we have now reached, upwards, four of them may be most distinctly traced. Two descending the Glacier de Lechaud, one from the promontory of the Tacul, and one the principal medial moraine of the Glacier du Geant, which, descending from the promontory called La Noire (see the map), we shall designate by that name. Of the first two, one descends all the way from the foot of the Courtes, on the Glacier de Talefre, and the other is the medial moraine of the Glacier de Lechaud. The moraine of La Noire has a remarkable dislocation or lateral displacement, opposite to Trelaporte, which arises from some cause w^hich I am unable to determine. Nor do I know whether this apparent dislocation advances with the progress of the glacier. Near the same spot are the " Moulins," which the guides always take care to point out to travellers going to the Jardin. They are deep and nearly cylindrical holes in the ice, into which ^ [See last note on previous page.] 82 Travels through the Alps of Savoy the water accumulated in the rills, which form the superficial drainage of this part of the glacier, is precipitated in a more or less copious cascade according to the season. Sometimes these cascades are double in the same hole, or one stream separates into two cascades ; but always, tvhatever he the state or 2>i'oyrcss of the t glacier, these cascades or "moulins" are found in almost exactly \ the same position, that is, opposite to the same fixed objects on I the side of the glacier. This is an evident proof of the continued renewal of tlie glacier as to its state of aggregation, the external forms remaining fixed, whilst the integrant parts are advancing. I was greatly struck by the change which I perceived in this part of the glacier, between the month of June, when I first visited ~$ it last season (1842), and the close of September, when I quitted it. At the former time the crevasses were comparatively trifling, and they continued to open more and more the whole summer, so that at the end many places were nearly impassable, which earlier I had traversed without difficulty. This is a most important fact, for it shows that during winter the glacier consolidates, and that every summer its crevasses open afresh, whilst its continued adaptation to the external constraint which its walls or bed impose show that the glacier mass is far more passive and plastic than has usually been supposed. I might have stated that in the lower part of the glacier this is perhaps even more striking, for there, the thaw beginning earlier, and being more complete, the crevasses which have opened in spring attain their widest extension in July and the beginning of August, and afterwards by the collapsing of their sides, and the general ■ softening of the mass, they subside into rounder forms, and the cavities being partially filled are more easily crossed. It was nearly opposite the " Moulins," — that is, between the stations marked G and H on the map, that in 1832, on my way to the Jardin, my guide, Joseph Marie Couttet, pointed out to me some fragments of wood, evidently much wasted and rubbed, which he assured me were part of the identical ladder which De Saussure had used on his memorable journey to the Col du Geant, forty-four years before. I kept a portion of the wood as I a relic, without, however, attaching very great faith to its t history; but the inquiries which I made this year (1842) dis- l)Ose me to believe it probably correct. Couttet and his brother repeated to me exactly the same story as Itcfore, and inenlioned The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 83 the year 1832 as that in which the hidder reappeared, and pointed out the very spot where I had myself found it, without having the least idea that I had heard of the thing before. Tliey further mentioned that there was no question that it was a ladder, for Captain Sherwill had seen and taken some of the steps still adhering to the lateral props. It was certain that the morsels in question had descended from La Noire, or at least in that direction, for this, the most westerly of the medial moraines, has its origin there ; ^ and it is quite certain that De Saussure ascended the glacier on that side, and that he left a ladder there:- for he tells us (§ 2028) that he was vmable to pass by the western side of the Glacier du Tacul, on account of the crevasses, and Couttet's father was himself on the expedition, and descended from the Col with the enormous load of 160 pounds after the termination of the expedition, and he assured his sons that the ladder had been left there. Besides, among the few ascents to the Col du Geant since the time of De Saussure, perhaps every one has been performed by the western side of the glacier, which, as I have said, is the safer and more usual course ; and had a ladder been left there, it could never have reached the medial moraine of La Noire. There is indeed one other alternative, — that the ladder had been used by the crystal hunters, who used to frequent the rocks of La Noire for the black quartz crystals, which, perhaps, occasioned the name of tlie spot. But in this case it is more than probable that the 1 The fact that the origin of the medial moraines is familiarly known to the guides of Clianiouni seems equivalent to the possession of a true theory of these moraines, so strangely misapprehended by De Saussure and most of his followers. Since a medial moraine may always be traced up to a promontory, and there be seen to originate, or at least to be combined out of the two lateral moraines which there unite, it would seem impossible to ascribe to them any other than the true origin. And tliat the Chamoniards perfectly understand this, is plain from the fact that they seek in each moraine the minerals proper to the source whence it is derived ; for instance, the red fluor-spar in the most easterly moraine of the (ilacier de Lechaud, which has descended the Talefre, and has its origin at the foot of the rocks called Les Courtes, where this rare mineral is sought in situ. 2 [Saussure ascended from the Tacul and descended to Courmayeur, but makes no mention of having left a ladder. On the other hand, Bourrit, on the occasion of his passage of the Col ifi 1787 — the year before Saussure's — had a ladder 14 feet long with him (see his Description des Cols on Passages des Alpcs, vol. 1. p. 11.5). From this narrative it is impossible to determine his precise route, though he passed by the "Tacul," but Saussure asserts distinctly that the 1787 party passed by the icest side of the Tacul glacier. Yet Bourrit, in his Itindrairc de Gcntivc (1808 edition, p. 71), states clearly that his party ascended " [lar le milieu du fflacier."! 84 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Couttets themselves, the most experienced crystal hunters of the valley, would have been aware of the circumstance. On the whole, then, in the absence of any direct information of any other ladder having been left in this particular quarter besides that of De Saussure, it seems reasonable to admit that the ladder in question descended from La Noire to the point in question, near the ]\Ioulins, between the year 1788 and the year 1832. The observation is interesting, as determining so far the mean motion of the glacier in the interval. By the map, the distance, allowing for the sinuosities of the glacier, appears to be about 13,000 feet, which, being travelled in forty-four years, gives nearly 300 feet ^er annum for the mean motion of this part of the glacier.^ We shall afterwards consider the theoretical Ijear- ing of tliis fact. A little higher up we stand in the centre of three valleys, and in the most extensive part of the Mer de Glace. The guides believe, and probably with reason, that it is here deepest. Tliey assure me that they have sounded a " moulin " of above 350 feet deep. What is perhaps as good a proof as any of the mass and solidity of the ice, is that I have seen enormous crevasses and basins holding still water, and therefore completely closed below. The water was of an exquisite blue colour, inde- pendent of the colour of the ice." The view from the centre of the glacier in fine weather is one of the finest which can be conceived. In order to reach the promontory of the Tacul, where the glaciers divide, it is usual to cross the fourth and tliird moraines (I shall in future designate them by numbers, counting from the east), and in the centre the glacier is here easily traversed. The TacuP is reached commonly in three hours from the Montanvert, but a practised walker will do it in two, and I have descended in much less. The union of the two glaciers is attended with some circumstances worthy of notice. That 1 These numbers are corrected for an error in tlie juisilion of tlie jidint of La Noire, contained in the lirst edition. See the remarks (in tlie maj) in ('hay. VI. (184;-,). - 1 liave described it in my Journal as '• nearly or (juite as Mue as the Rhone at Geneva." 3 [It nuist always he remembered that liy "Tacul" Forbes means nol Ihr Aiguille of that name, but the base of the rid<,'e projeeting from it, where is the lake between the rocks and the moraines from the Taeul and Lesehaux glaeieis that here join.] The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 85 descending from the Geant is by far the most powerful one, and the other is forced to yield somewhat to its pressure. The mass of rock forming the lateral moraine of the Glacier de Lechaud is, however, the most considerable, and this is wildly tossed up into a lofty medial moraine at the meeting of the ice-streams. The Glacier de Lechaud clings, as it were, to the rocky wall of the promontory, — the Glacier du Geant has thrown up a vast mound of debris, which prevents it from approaching the rock within some hundred feet, and leaves a hollow between, part of which is faced by a huge icy barrier, of considerable elevation, and difficult to scale. In this hollow — between the edge of the Glacier du Geant and the promontory of Tacul — there exists, at certain seasons of the year, a small lake. I first visited it in 1842, on the 25th June, when it contained no water, but a few days of continued hot weather, by melting the ice, filled it, and it remained more or less full during the remainder of the season. I have seen it, however, vary exceedingly in level from one day to another, so that there can be no doubt tliat it has an outlet through the moraine under the glacier. Balmat affirms that the source of the Arveyron is seen suddenly to burst forth with great vigour, and that this is attributed to the emptying of the Lac du Tacul, — which is by no means im- possible. It appears from the testimony of Bourrit {Description des GlacUres, vol. iii. p. 90) that De Saussure was the first stranger who reached the Tacul. The point marked B on the promontory of the Tacul was one of my principal stations, commanding an extensive view of nearly the whole glacier. It was at a height of 277 feet above the lake, so that the view embraced not merely the three branches of the glacier, but that of Talefre, the Jardin and the mountains beyond, and a portion of the valley of Chamouni opposite the Montauvert, the range of the Aiguilles Eouges, and the snowy summit of the Buet peeping over beyond. Near the side of the lake, at the foot of the promontory, lies an enormous block of granite belonging to the moraine of Lechaud. The cavity beneath its south-west side is a well- known refuge for chamois hunters, and for the few travellers who pass the Col du Geant, wdio usually save from two to three hours of fatiguing walking by sleeping here instead of at the 86 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Moiitauvert/ It is, in tine weather, a pretty, tranquil spot. The glacier is in a great measure concealed by its lofty embank- ments, which shelter it from the chillest winds. The slopes round are grassy, and diversified with juniper bushes, and the little piece of water, when unfrozen, has a cheerful effect. Here I spent two nights with Balmat, with a view to advance my survey and the experiments on the ice ; for whilst pursuing my inquiries on the higher glaciers, it was found to make a most laborious day to ascend so far from the Montanvert (carrying instruments and food) before the day's work could be begun, and to return again in the evening. Day after day I have been out thus from ten to thirteen hours upon the glacier. A bivouac was, in favourable weather, a preferable alternative. The juniper bushes afforded a cheerful and serviceable fire, and with the aid of a chamois skin to protect me from the damp ground, and a strong blanket hastily sewed into the form of a bag, in which I slept, the nights passed not uncomfortably. But, on both occasions, when I meant to have passed some days here, I was forced to descend from the bad weather, against which we had no sufficient protection, the cavity under the stone being quite open in front. The last time that we were driven from this poor shelter was on the 6 th August, when a day of unnatural mildness was succeeded in the evening by the most terrific thunder-storm I have ever witnessed. We were over- taken by it, and thoroughly drenched, before we could reach the Montanvert ; Ijut after sunset it raged with the greatest fury. From the windows of the little inn I watched with admiration the whole scenery of the Mer de Glace, lit up by the explosive lightnings which followed for some hours with little inter- mission, whilst the frail building seemed to rock under the fury of the gale, and vibrate to every peal of thunder. Each tiny torrent now gave tongue increasingly, until the fitful roar became a steady din, with now and then a crash arising from the discharge of stones hurried along by the fiood, or an ava- lanche prematurely torn from the glacier of the Nant Blanc. It was a Saturday night, and Balmat had gone down to Chamouni to attend mass next morning. He told me afterwards that the dazzling effect of the lightning was such, that it was with the 1 [Now of course th.T.' is the little inn-^ till lately :i elul. hut only— oh tlio Col du Guunt, besides the inu ol' iloiit Frety on the Italian side of that pass.] The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 8 7 utmost difficulty he could keep the familiar path from the Montanvert, and that he wandered, drenched to the skin, as if blindfold, through the wood. Next day brought tidings of disasters from the valley. The road at Les Ouches had been broken up by the torrents, so as to be impassable ; many cottages were filled with stones and gravel, and deserted by the in- habitants ; and I believe some small barns were carried away — but no lives were lost. One night I had a guest in my rude shelter. It was a poor man of Chamouni, who, impelled by an irresistible passion for the chase, came to pass the night on the glacier, in hopes of finding his game in the morning ; — a hopeless task, — for the Mer de G-lace is now so completely bereft of chamois, that, during the whole summer, I do not recollect to have seen more than two upon it, though on other less frequented glaciers I have seen whole herds.^ The chasseur was very poor, and by no means young ; he gladly partook of the provisions which I could spare ; and learning that he was a respectable man, though unsettled in his habits, I could not but feel an interest in the singular ardour with which he pursued his thankless toil. Truly might he say with the hunter in " Manfred " — her nimble feet Ha\'e Ijafflecl me ; my gain to-day will scarce Repay my break-neck travail. The poor fellow owned the infatuation of what he called his " malheureuse passion " ; but he seemed willing to die for it. Late on the afternoon of next day I met him ; his sport con- sisted in having seen a chamois' track, and killed a marmot. By his want of dexterity, however, he had very nearly made a victim of one whom I could ill have spared. Balmat, whilst em- ployed for me on the ice, heard a ball whiz close past him, and, looking up, saw our guest of the previous evening behind a rock, whence he had taken aim at a marmot ! These animals are very abundant in every part of the higher Alps. They emit a shrill cry like a whistle ; they lie torpid in holes a great part of the year, and are valued for their fat. When young they are eaten. The chamois hunter seeks the limits of the glacier region 1 Singularly enough, during a comparatively short residence in 1844, I saw a herd of chamois more than once (1845). 88 Travels through the Alps of Savoy in tlie evening ; lies under a rock, as we did, and starts before dawn to watch the known avenues by which the chamois descend to feed. If alarmed, they take to the hill-tops — to crags rather than glaciers ; there he must follow them, heedless of danger, impelled alone by the excitement of the sport. The day is soon spent in fruitless ambuscades — night arrives — and liis previous shelter is luxury compared to what he has now the option of; — a face of rock, or leafless bed of debris must be his couch, and his supper is bread and clieese. After a -few hours' rest, he repeats his meal, drinks some brandy, and starts again. If the chase be prolonged, physical endurance is pushed to the utmost. A most respectable man of the Canton of Berne, who had himself killed seventy-two chamois, assured me that he had wandered thus for three days together, tasting nothing but water ; which would seem incredible if we did not recollect that hunger is often repelled for a time l)y fatigue. De Saussure mentions three hunters, father, son, and grandson, who suc- cessively lost their lives in the chase ; ^ but such accidents are, I conceive, now more rare. The value of a chamois is only from twelve to fifteen francs, including the skin, so that it offers little pecuniary temptation to the exposure of life.^ No doubt, as the historian of the Alps ^ adds, the excitement is the real reward, as in the soldier, sailor, and gamester; and perhaps the naturalist has little reason to express surprise at the risks and privations of the hunter's life, when liis own would appear to so many persons much less intelligible. But to return to the glacier. Following the eastern branch above the separation at the Tacul, we find ourselves on the Glacier de Lcchaud. Two conspicuous moraines l)elong to it, which I have called Nos. 1 and 2. The first is the medial moraine of the tributary glacier of the Talefre ; the other comes from the eastern side of Lechaud, above the union with the Talefre. It is in connection with the former of these moraines, and nearly opposite the promontory of tlie Couvercle, that tliere lies upon the ice a very rcniarkablt' Hat block of ' Voy(((ji's, § 73(3. [All Uii-ec belonged to 8i.\t.J - [The ])ecuniiiry value of a cliamois is now iar higher, jiartly in consequence of the increasing rarity of this animal, jjartly because of the increased demand for its skin and horns.] 2 [Saussure is meant, but the name jn-operly belongs to IJourrit. See note on jp. 9 above.] The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 89 granite, which particularly attracted my attention on my first visit in 1842 to this part of the glacier. It is a magnificent slab (marked C on the map, being the position which it occupied in the month of June), of the dimensions of 23 feet by 17, and about 3^ feet in thickness. It was then easily accessible, and by climbing upon it, and erecting my theodolite, I made observa- tions on the movement of the ice. But as the season advanced it changed its appearance remarkably. In conformity with the known fact of the waste of the ice at its surface, the glacier sunk all round the stone, while the ice immediately beneath it was protected from the sun and rain. The stone thus appeared to rise above the level of the glacier, supported on an elegant pedestal of beautifully veined ice. Each time I visited it, it was more difficult of ascent, and at last, on the 6 th August, the pillar of ice was thirteen feet high, and the broad stone so delicately poised on the summit of it (which measured but a few feet in any direction) that it was almost impossible to guess in what direction it would ultimately fall, although, by the progress of the thaw, its fall in the course of the summer was <.'ertain. On a still later day I made the sketch in the frontis- piece,^ when probably it was the most beautiful object of the kind to be seen anywhere in Switzerland.- The ice of the pedestal presented the beautiful lamellar structure parallel to the length of the glacier. During my absence in the end of August it slipped from its support, and in the month of September it was beginning to rise upon a new one, whilst the unnielted base of the first was still very visible upon the glacier. The Glacier de Lechaud is on the whole pretty, even on its -surface — I mean tliat part which lies to the south-west of the medial moraines. On account of its great elevation it is covered in its higher part with snow almost the whole year, and until the month of August it offers very disagreeable walking, on account of the half-melted snow on the surface, which likewise conceals the crevasses, and renders it somewhat dangerous. It is joined by some small tributary glaciers from the Aiguille du ^ [Omitted in the present edition.] - [Forbes here as elsewhere uses the term ''Switzerland" as equivalent to "the Alps" ; of course in 1842 Chamouni and the rest of Savoy belonged to the kingdom of Sardinia.] 90 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Tacul. Opposite the Glacier de Tuletre occur two " moulins," one of which was remarkable last summer for its great depth aud perfect verticality. I had intended to ascertain the depth precisely, but was impeded by a fall of fresh snow, and broke the cord which I had lowered with my geological hammer attached to a weight for the purpose. About an hour's walk above the Tacul is station E, on the east side of the glacier, whence I watched its motion. It is here just passing into the state of neve, which defines the limit of perpetual snow on the surface of the glacier, whilst there is true ice beneath. The view here is very grand. The level is 7926 feet above the sea, and the glacier, almost free from crevasses, is spread out like a magnificent level floor, from which rises the tremendous and inaccessible ^ wall terminating the view to the southward, of which the Grandes and Petites Jorasses form a part. The Grandes Jorasses is the highest mountain of the range, next to Mont Blanc,^ and its northern side is quite precipitous. From the point E it is seen under an angle of 30 degrees, the hori- zontal distance of its summit being less than two miles. The origin or feeders of the Glacier de Lechaud are derived from the right and left. From the immediate top or head it has no proper feeder except the fallen snows, which cannot adhere to the rocky precipice before mentioned. To the south-east there is a tributary glacier, which runs up to between the Petites Jorasses and the range of the Aiguilles de Lechaud,^ which separate the glaciers of Talefre and Lechaud. It has its origin at a lofty and remote summit, considerably to the eastward of the Petites Jorasses, about which I made frequent inquiries of the guides, and I found that it was called (in translation from the patois) the Montague des Eboulements, ou des Euines, being, as they assured me, and I daresay with reason, the summit at the head of the Glacier de Triolet, which descends into the Val Ferret in Piedmont, and of which the 1 [The great wall at the liead of the Lescliaux ghicier has since Foibes's time been crossed at five points at least.] - ["And its satellites," ibr the I\Ioiit P.huie de Courinaj-eur, the Dome du Gouter, the Mont Maudit, and thn Mont i5Uuir dn Tacul all surpass the Grandes Jorasses in height.] ^ [Forbes evidently includes under tliis general term the three perl'ectly distinct summits of the Aiguilles de Leschaux, de I'Eboulement, and de Talefre. On his niaj) the name "Aiguille de Lechaud" is given to the last-named peak, wliich rises between the Leschaux, Talefre, and Triolet glaciers.] The Mer de Glace of Chamouni 9 1 fall (partly of the glacier and partly of rocks) was attended with disastrous consequences about a century ago.^ The western feeder of the Glacier de Lechaud descends from behind the Aiguille du Tacul, from the serrated ridge which connects it with the great Alpine chain. This ridge is called Les P6riades, and its culminating point, Mont Mallet, which, however, is to be distinguished from the Aiguille du Geant in its neighbour- hood, which bears also the name of Mont Mallet on the Italian side of the Alps, from which it alone is visible. From the eastern foot of the pinnacle of Mont Mallet the tributary glacier descends. It is pretty extensive, and not wholly in- accessible, for the brothers Couttet assure me that they have thus gained the summit of the Aiguille du Tacul from behind, which, at the best, must be a very long and diflticult journey. The higher part of the Glacier de Lechaud is scarcely ever visited, except by crystal and chamois hunters. Tourists who venture across the Mer de Glace always make their way to the Jardin, and with good reason, as it offers some of the grandest points of view anywhere to be found on this glacier ; nor is there perhaps in the Alps any expedition so practicable in fine weather, which repays so completely the traveller who appreciates the wildest and grandest natural scenery. The traveller to the Jardin does not need to touch the Tacul at all. He crosses two of the medial moraines at the moulins between Trelaporte and the Couvercle, and higher up he passes the other two, near the great stone, C. It is difficult to approach the lower part of the Couvercle much nearer. I have more than once ventured down the east side of the glacier, under the Aiguille du Moine, towards station F, but the passage is embarrassing, often impossible. When the two glaciers meet (as I have already remarked) the eastern half is dislocated excessively, and is all but impassable. The promontory of the Couvercle itself, opposite C, may be easily reached, and offers some interest from the visible friction to which it is subjected by the descent of the glacier. Farther up we stand in front of the descending ice of the Glacier de Talefre, which presents a majestic and perfectly inaccessible 1 [This fall took place on September 12, l717.'JSee the Latin account by an eyewitness in Signor Vaccarone's Le vie delle Alpi Occiclentali negli antici tempi (Turin, 1884), p. 118, and the French translation in the BoUcttino of the Italian Alpine Club, No. 50, p. 68.] 92 Travels through the Alps of Savoy uccumulatioii of icy pyruinids and fragments ejected through the narrow opening which gives vent to the basin of the glacier, which pours over the precipice in a solid cascade, presenting a perfect chaos of forms. Of the structure of the ice here I shall afterwards speak ; but I may observe that the preservation of the medial moraine in the midst of this mass of confusion is a very startling fact. It is indicated merely by a stripe of dirt, which discolours the centre of the icy cascade, but no sooner has it reached a comparative level than the masses of rock dislodged from the side of the higher glacier are found on the surface, arranging tliemselves with admirable order along a line of no great breadth, wliich forms the medial moraine No. 1, which may be traced distinct from the others along by far the greater part of the Mer de Glace. The ascent to the Glacier de Talefre is usually ^ accomplished by rocks of the Couvercle at the foot of the Aiguille du Moine. It offers no kind of difficulty. The ascent, where steepest, is called Le8 Egrcdcts. Above these the view becomes wild, but very grand. On the left is the Aiguille du Moine," one of the most elegant and uniformly conical summits of the chain ; at its foot are huge blocks of fallen rock, tenanted l)y marmots. Look- ing backwards, we command a large space of the Mer de Glace, and the grand view up the Glacier du Geant opens, and Mont Blanc begins to appear for the first time, fortified on this side by the impassable barriers of the Mont Maudit. The Aiguille du Midi, from its height, begins to overtop those of Grepon and Blaitiere, and between it and Mont Blanc the rounded form of the DoniQ du Gouter is not to be mistaken. In front, the wide basin of the Glacier de Talefre, in a great measure concealed from the Mer de Glace by its height and the steepness of its outlet, begins to open. It has a singular and interesting appear- ance. It is shaped almost like a volcanic crater with one side blown out, and it is surrounded by rocky pinnacles of the wildest forms, which appear, and for the most part are, totally inacces- sible. It is certain that no one ^ has succeeded in passing this ' [As till' great sliriukagu of tlic glacier has made tlie Couvercle more difficult of access tlian formerly, des])ite the iron stancliions fixed on tiie steepest rocks rovision of apparatus that I had no occasion for anything in addition which was not readily i)rocurable at Chamouni. It may not be useless to add that in ]ioint of clothing, though my wardrobe was very far from bulky, I seldom suffered from cold. AVithout any voluminous cloaks or furs, I found ilannel next the skin (doubled if necessary), surmounted by a complete suit of soft chamois leather to be warmer than it was generally agi'ee- able to wear even in sleeiiing in the open air near the glacier in summer. To avoid the continual risk of exposure to cold during protracted observations after a laborious walk, I generally found a woollen waistcoat with sleeves, over the one I usually wear, a sufficient i)rotection ; and together with a light Scotch woollen plaid, or a common single - lireasted greatcoat, sufficient for the worst weather 0. 1)3. A. English. Euglish. English. English. English. 1842. Inches. Feet. 1842. in. Ft. 184. jir 1842. In. 1 Ft. 184-2. m. Ft. June 29 July 28 Sept. 17 June 29 1 June 26 July 1 35-0 2-9 Aug. 1 84 -fl 7-0 ,, 20 50-11 4-9 July 1 54-2 4-5 15-2 1-2 „ 28 518-5 43-2 „ 9 278 23-2 „ 20 |170-7| 14-9 „ 28 774-2 64-6 >I 28 31-5 2-6 Aug. 1 585-5 48-8 „ 28 227-1' 18-9 Aug. 1 801-2i 71-7 „ 29 49 4-1 ,. « 715-5 59-0 Sept. 10 1902-7 103-0 „ 30 60-4 5-5 Sept. Hi \:;w:< 1 lii-i'.' 1)5. „ IT 1980-4 105-5 July 28 400-9 38-4 ,. 1" Ulii-4 1 l.s-ii „ 20 2047 170-5 Aug. 1 515-4 42-0 „ ]S 1 i:ii)-.' 1 Vx->\ Si-lit. 17 j(i 1 1 „ 20 2109 1180-7 033 52 -T 1 „ 10 1443-3 iL'O-a ,. 10 37-2 '3-1 1 „ 28 -2215 ;iS4-0 Sept. 10 1127 94 1 „ 20 1450-0 121-G „ 20 57-5 4-8 1 j „ 20 1238 103-2 ; ,, 20 1544-8 128-0 „ 20 172-7 14-4 ., 28 1583-8 132-0 ,, 28 2'J3-1 18-0 1 Experiments on the Motion of Ice 133 Glac. (le Lechaud Pierre Plate. Jnue 27 „ 30 Aug. 2 Glacier de Le- chaud. June 30 Aug. 2 Sept. 17 Glacier du ! Geaiit. I Glacier du Geant. June 30 Aug. 2 English. In. I Ft. I I 454 3. _ 482 J40-2 510-5 42-5 i>49 ,79-1 Aug. Sept. ] Glacier de Le- chaud. English In.l Ft. July 29 : Aug. 2 ! 45! 3-7 47 „ 8 13110-9 Sept. 25 1(372 56 Glacier de Li- chayid. July 29 Aug. 2 8 j English. I In. Ft. 8 54 4 152 12 TABLE II MEAN DAILY MOTION D2. Inches. D3, Inches. B 1. Inches June 29 to 1 July 17-5 June 29 to 1 July 27-1 June 30 to 2 Aug. 10-8 .July 1 - '28 „ 17-3 July 1-28 „ 25-7 Aug. 2 - „ 10-0 „ 28 — 1 Aug. 16-2 „ 28-1 Aug. 21-0 „ 6—17 Sept. 9-7 Aug. 1 - 9 „ 16-6 Aug. 1—16 Sept. 24-0 9 - 10 Sept. 18-0 Sept. 16 - 17 „ 23-7 Sept. 16 - 17 „ 16-9 „ 17 — 20 „ 20-3 „ 17 — IS „ 13-S „ -20 — 26 „ 20-4 June 30—2 Aug. 13-8 „ 18 - 19 „ 13-1 „ 26 - -28 „ 22-5 Aug. 2 — 4 „ 14-0 „ 19 — 20 „ 16-3 4—6 „ 14-25 „ 20 — 26 „ „ 26 - 28 „ 14-2 A. 0—17 Sept. 10-4 D4. July 28 — 1 Aug. Aug. 1 - 9 „ 21-0 24-7 June 26 — 27 June „ 27 — 28 ,, „ 28 — -29 „ „ 29 - 30 „ „ 30 — 28 July 15-2 16-3 17-4 14- B3. Aug. 4—6 Aug. „ 6-17 Sept. 1 18-0 12-6 D5. July 28 - 1 Aug. 13-6 Sept. 17 — 19 Sept. IS-,-, Aug. 1 — „ 15-4 „ 19 - 20 „ 20-3 9 — 10 Sept. 13-0 July 29 - 2 Aug. 11-3 „ 20 — -26 ,, 10-2 Sept. 16—20 „ 11-15 Aug. 2 — 8 „ 14-3 „ 26 - 28 „ „ 8-25 Sept. 11-3 U6. C. Sept. 17 - 20 Sept. 19-7 June 27 — 30 June 10-2 E 2. „ 20 - -26 „ 20-1 „ 30—2 Aug. 9-9 July 29 — 2 Aug. 13-5 ., 26 — -28 „ 23-7 Aug. 2 — 17 Sept. 8-7 Aug. 2 — 8 „ ..s| From the preceding tables, especially the second, we may gain a great deal of practical information. The consistency which Diagrams of the Mean Kate of Daily Motion of Different Parts of the Mer de Glace of Chamouni, and the Corre- sponding Mean Temperature. 1842.— June, w- «•- Mean temperature i\v e-- periods, at the Great '>"; St. Bernanl. -'„., stations. D2. Near Moutanvert (west side). D3. Montanvert (a little east of centre). D 4. D 5. Montanvert (nearest D 2). D6. Montanvert (between D 4 & D 3). Station A. L'Angle. Station C. Pierre Plate. Stations 1. Glacier de Lecliaud. Station B 2. Glacier du Geant (south-east side). Station B 3. Glacier du Geant (near centre). Station E 1. Glacier de Li'cliaud (east side). Station E 2. Glacier de Li'^cliaud (centre). {fe Experiments on the Motion of Ice 135 may be sliowu to subsist between their parts, inspires great con- fidence as to the results for this particular glacier, and shows that a very feiv experiments, as carefully made, would suffice to determine all that it is important to know respecting any other. A convenient way of representing the results to the eye, is to project the velocity of any point of the glacier by a vertical line, whilst the lapse of time is expressed by a horizontal line, whence the space moved over in the interval of any two times will be denoted by the area of the shaded spaces represented in the opposite figure. Had the velocities been measured daily, we should have had a curve whose height would have been con- stantly varying. As it is, we, of course, give to the velocity its mean value, and suppose it constant during the intervals of observation. An increase in the rapidity of motion of any part of the glacier, will be indicated by a rise in the serrated line ; .a decrease by a fall. A careful examination of the second Table, and of the Diagrams, will confirm the following deductions, more full and explicit than those which my first week's observations afforded, and which lay down, I believe for the first time, the General Laws of the Motion of a Glacier deduced from obser- vation. I. Tlie viotion of the higher 2^(^<'^'is of the Mer de Glace is, on the whole, slower than that of its lower portion ; hut the motion of the middle region is shiver than either. I had not failed to point out, when I proposed the deter- mination of the velocity of different points of a glacier, as a test of the cause of its motion, that this must depend materially upon the form of its section at different parts. The velocity of a river is greatest where it narrows, and is small in the large pools. Just so in the Mer de Glace. It is truly a vast magazine of ice, with a comparatively narrow outlet, as the map distinctly shows ; the two glaciers of Geant and Lechaud, uniting just above the strait formed by the promontories of Trelaporte and the Couvercle. Hence results, as we have seen, the great ice-basin, where we have reason to conclude (as before observed), that the glacier attains a greater thickness than at any other part, and thus, though the breadth of the two confluent glaciers taken separately is greater than after their union, yet being shallower, their area of section is smaller, and therefore the velocity of the ice will be greater. 136 Travels through the Alps of Savoy There will, indeed, be always a condensation of the ice within the triangle BHG (shown on the map), owing to the resistance opposed to its egress; and here, accordingly, the surface of the ice is most level. It is not indeed strictly true, tliat the quantity of ice passing through any section of the glacier in a given time, is exactly equal ; because there is effusion and evaporation, amounting to an actual loss of substance, between any two sec- tions, and this becomes especially obvious near the lower extremity of the glacier. It is like the well-known problem of the distri- bution of heat in a bar of iron come to a steady temperature, where the transfer of heat across any section of the bar is equal to the transfer across any other section nearer the source of heat, diminished by the amount radiated by the surface in the interval. There is, therefore, no ground for surprise at the fact, that the middle part of the glacier moves forward slower than the higher parts. Had the glacier continued to expand in breadth, as very many glaciers do, no check would have occurred, and the anomaly would have disappeared. Since we have no accurate means of gauging the section of the glacier in any part, can we form any judgment of what would be the motion of the ice in a uniform canal, or draw any conclusion as to the cause of glacier motion ? I think we can ; but first let us place the observed law of velocity in a more concise shape. The first station in order, — that at the mark I) 2, a little below the Montan vert, and at 100 yards from the western edge of the glacier, — has been that, on the whole, most constantly observed throughout the whole season. Taking its motion as a standard of comparison, we may compare it with the motion of any other part of the glacier during the particular season when the latter was observed, and tlius we shall obtain an apjrroximation to the relative velocities of the different points of the glacier to D 2, taken as a standard. That this ratio depends in some degree on the season, will be shown farther on ; still it affords tlie most ready way of obtaining a practical comparison. Thus, for example, it will be found, from Table I., that the point C of the glacier moved, between the 27th June and the l,7tb September, over 757'6 inches, whilst D 2 moved over loTO'S inches, or more than twice the former. The exact ratio is 470 to '1000, which may be conveniently expressed l»y the decimal fraction -470 for Experiments on the Motion of Ice 137 station C ; and so of the others. Thus, the velocity-ratios of the different points are, as in the annexed Table : — TABLE III. Names of the Stations. Relative Velocities of the Ice. D'2 1 -000 D4, D5 1-375 D6 1 -356 D3 1-398 A 0-770 C 0-479 Bl 0-574 B2 0-678 B3 0-722 El 0-674 E2 0-925 We may select from amongst these, the points most fitted for our purpose of comparison, those, for example, along the Mer de Glace and Glacier de Lechaud, not very distant from the edge, and therefore all retarded by the friction of the sides — D 2 A C E 1 1-000 0-770 0-479 0-674 Let us observe then, — the mere mechanical constraint to which the glacier is subjected, by the form of its valley, would necessarily, and irrespective of all theory, infer a (quicker motion at D 2 and A, than at C, where the glacier is near its greatest width, or at E, near its origin. These facts are, then, so far in conformity with the mechanical necessity alluded to. But again, if the cause of glacier motion were the expansion of the superior portion of the ice forcing down the lower end, that velocity (supposing the section constant) would be proportional to the distance from the upper end or origin. Now, to take a most extreme supposition, let us imagine the Glacier de Lechaud (see the map) to take its origin at the very foot of the Grandes Jorasses, which is 8000 feet beyond station E ; then, on the Dilatation theory, the motion at E would be due to the expan- sion of 8000 feet of ice, by the congelation of infiltrated water. This, we will suppose, produced the mean daily motion of 14-2 13H Travels through the Alps of Savoy inches in the height oi' suniiniT. Then, considering only the influence of length, irrespective of section, the station D 2 is 23,000 feet fixrther down, or nearly four times as far from the Grandes Jorasses, — the velocity ought, therefore, to have Ijeen four times greater, or fifty-six inches per day. It was only 1G"6 inches, or one-seventh part greater. And yet we have seen that the influence of section must have been to accelerate the motion in the lower part. 1 do not mean to say that the reasoning just issued is rigorous, but the results to which it leads are so wholly opposed to the truth, as to be, it seems to me, quite conclusive against the theory of Dilatation. We have two powerful glaciers uniting, forming a great ice-pool, which issues by a channel not wider than the smaller of its feeders ; making all allowance for evaporation, we conclude, without difficulty, that, in order that the ice-stream still discharge itself, it must accumulate above the contraction, diminish in velocity there, and then rapidly increase in swiftness, as it issues through the opening, where it will certainly move faster than in either of the original tributaries, whose united breadth is far greater than the single channel of efflux. All this happens, as the simple mechanical theory of discharge without indefinite accumulation would indicate ; but if we come to combine with this a theory of glacier motion which would recjuire a velocity in the lower part of the glacier three times greater than we find it to be, we are entitled to reject the theory as inconsistent with facts, even although the mere state- ment, that the lower end of a glacier, on the wiiole, moves fastest, may appear to confirm it. At present we have to do with the conclusions of our own observations, and not with other or hypothetical cases.^ I may observe, however, that if a glacier widens uniformly, the mere law of discharge vntliout accumulation, or change of volume, would give a diminishing velocity at the lower extremity. Such an occurrence would, evidently, be still more opposed to the theory of Dilatation. II. The Glacier du Geant moves faster than the CJlaiiei' dc Lechaud, in the proportion of about seven to six (compare B 1 1 This First Proiiosition or empirical law has been carefully restricted to the " Mer de fHace" in particular, as in the above passage, and at i)ages 133, 135. But the conclusions regarding the Dilatation Theory have been more than con- tirnicd by observations on other glaciers (1845). [See Occnsional Pajn-rs, pp. 68-77.1 Experiments on the Motion of Ice 139 with B 2 aud B 3 in Table III.)- The vast mass of the foriu(>r glacier tends to overpower the other, in some measure, and it takes the lion's share of the exit through the strait between Trtilaporte and the Couvercle, squeezing the ice of Lechaud and Tal^fre united into little more than one-third of the breadth of the whole. It is to this circumstance that I impute the exces- sively crevassed state of the eastern side of all the Mer de Glace, which renders it almost impossible to be traversed ; the ice is tumultuously borne along, and, at the same time, squeezed laterall}^ by the greater velocity and mass of the western branch. This is probably, also, the cause of the dislocation of the moraine of La ISToire, opposite Trelaporte, mentioned page 81. III. The centre of the glacier moves faster (as w^e have seen) than the sides. When two glaciers unite, they act as a single one in this respect, just as two united rivers w^ould do. Now this variation is most rapid near the sides, and a great part of the central portion of the glacier moves with no great variation of velocity. Thus we find that four stations taken in order,^ from the side to the centre of the glacier (or a little beyond it), have (by Table III.) the following rates of motion : — 1-000 1-375 1-356 1398. Or if we compare observations made all at the same season of the year (September), we shall find the increase of velocity in every case — 1000 1-332 1-356 1-367. The first point was 100 yards from the edge of the glacier ; the next 130 yards farther. In this short space the velocity had increased above a third part. The explanation which we offer of this, as due to the friction of the walls of the glacier, would lead us to expect such a law of motion. The retardation of a river is chiefly confined to its sides ; the motion in tlie centre is comparatively uniform. Similar reasoning would lead us to expect that (supposing the glacier to slide along its base) the portions of ice in contact with the bed of the valley will be retarded, and the superficial j)arts ought to advance more rapidly. The change in velocity in this case also will be greatest near the bottom. 1 See page 1-37. 140 Travels through the Alps of Savoy IV. 'The difference of. motion of the centre and sides of the glacier varies (1) with the season of the year, and (2) at different parts of the length of the glacier. 1. The following numbers show the velocity - ratios of the centre and side of the glacier, near the Montanvert, at the marks D 3 and V 2, during different parts of the season 1842 : — Relative Velocity, D 3 : D 2. June 29— July 1 1-548 Jxily 1— July 28 1-489 July 28 — September 10 .... 1-349 September 16 — September 28 . . . 1-367 In general, therefore, the variation of velocity diminished as tlte season advanced ; we shall presently show that it was very nearly proportional to the absolute velocity of the glacier at the same time. 2. The variation of velocity with the breadth of the glacier is least considerable in the higher parts of the glacier or near its origin. Thus, if we compare the velocities of station C, and the mark B 1 on the Glacier de Lechaud near the Tacul, tlie former being near the side, the latter near the centre of the glacier, we find — Relative Velocity, B 1 to C. June 30— August 2 1-09 August 2 — September 17 . . • .1-12 Again, higher up the same glacier, opposite E, we have the velocity-ratios at the centre and side of the glacier — E 2 : E 1. July 29— August 2 1-19 August 2 — August 8 1-14 This ratio is indeed a little greater than the preceding, which corresponds with the fact which we have already found, that the absolute velocity of the glacier is greater at E than at C. Hence it is highly probable in every case that the variation of velocity in the breadth of a glacier is proportioned to the absolute velocity, at the time, of the ice under experiment. This is fui-ther confirmed by the velocities of the Glacier du Geant at the marks B 2 and B 3, of which the former is near tlie side, and the latter near the centre — Velocity-rutio, B 3 : B 2. August 4— August 6 1-30 August C— September 17 . • .1-21 Experiments on the Motion of Ice 141 Now the absolute velocity of this glacier is greater than that of Lechaud, but less than that at the Montanvert. V. The motion of the glacier generally varies with the season of the year and the state of the thermometer. Perhaps the most critical consideration of any for the various theories of glacier motion is the influence of external temperature upon the velocity. In this respect my observations, though confined only to the summer and autumn, are capable of giving pretty definite infor- mation. Indeed, one circumstance which on other accounts I had reason to regret, I mean the rigorous weather of the month of September, which hindered many of my undertakings, gave me an opportunity of observing the effect of the first frosts, and thus establishing some important facts as to the influence of cold and wet upon the glacier. Tliis I apprehend to be clearly made out from my experiments, tluit t J tawing weather and a wet state of the ice conduces to its advancement, and that cold, w^hether sudden or prolonged, checks its ^irogress. I may appeal generally to the curves of page 134 as showing the variations of velocity with the season. It is to be attended to in looking at these figures, that they only represent the mean motion during certain intervals which are not exactly the same at the different points, and that, therefore, the rises and falls do not appear always to coincide when they might actually do so, being lost in the average of a distinct period. A careful examination of them will, however, show that the variations of velocity have been remarkably general and simultaneous, and that we are entitled to look for a common cause. This cause seems clearly to be found in the temperature of the air, combined with the degree of moisture which on a glacier usually accompanies a rise of temperature. The rapid movement in the end of June which is perceptible at D 2, D 3, A and C, is due to the very hot weather which then occurred, and the very marked reduction at the end of July, to a cold week which occurred at that period. The striking variations in September, especially at the lower stations, which were frequently observed, proved the connection of temperature with velocity to demonstra- tion. During the continuance of cold weather, accompanied !)}■ snow, from the 18th to the 27th September, it will be observed that the glacier motion was visibly retarded at all the lower stations which were then observed. During this period the 142 Travels through the Alps of Savoy thermometer fell at the Muntanvert tu 2u^ i'ahr. ; but when ]iiild weather set in again, the glacier became clear of snow (which took place in the lower part on the 27th), and being thoroughly saturated with moisture, it resumed a march as rapid as that in the height of summer. This fact is surely most important as showing that we cannot possibly ascribe the motion of the glacier to the effect of congela- tion ; for, saturated as the ice was by the effects of the damp and changeable weather of the month of September, — when a week of frost set in, everything must have been exactly in the condi- tion to acquire a rapid increase of velocity, exactly in propor- tion as the cold penetrated the mass of the glacier, supposing that it did penetrate to a considerable depth, which I shall after- wards endeavour to prove clearly was not the case then, and a fortiori never can be the case in the height of summer, when the glacier motion is most rapid. But I would further request attention to a still more direct proof of the dependence of the velocity of the glacier upon the external temperature. I have taken from the register, kept at the Great St. Bernard, the mean daily temperatures during the summer months of 1842. I have divided them into periods corresponding to those intervals at which the progress of the glacier at the point D 2 was ascertained ; and I have taken the mean temperature of those periods. I find that in almost every instance a change of increase or diminution of mean temperature is accompanied with an increase or diminution of the glacier's motion. And when we consider the difference of position of the stations, the coincidence seems (luite as perfect as we can reasonably expect. The convent of St. Bernard is 21 English miles distant from the Montanvert, in a right line, and 1900 feet higher ; ^ but as many parts of the ice of the Mer de Glace have a still greater elevation, it may be supposed to represent pretty truly the conditions of clinuite to whicli the entire glacier was subjected. A comparison of the first curve, or serrated line, in page 134, which represents the mean temperature of certain periods, with the curve immediately below, which shows the glacier motion for the same intervals, will fully justify the assertions just made. I do not s;iy that the velocity is always the same at the ' [Precisely 1844 ieet.] Experiments on the Motion of Ice 143 same temperature. In autiimu tlie velocity was as great with a temperature of 0° Centigrade, as in summer with a temperature of 10° C. This was the case, however, only at the side of the glacier. Near its centre, as at D 3, it will be seen by the diagram that the motion is still more nearly conformable to the change of temperature. All that I infer from the comparison is, that a rise of temperature was generally accompanied with an increased rate of motion of the glacier, and the converse. If the state of iriihihition, or wetness of the glacier, be the main cause of the increased velocity, as I believe it is, we can readily under- stand how mild rain, or thawing snow, produces the same effect as intense sunshine. Whilst it appears probable, or, indeed, certain, from these facts, that the motion of the ice depends upon the temperature of the air in contact with it, and that it is greater in warm and least in cold weather, it does not at all follow, as has in general been too hastily assumed, that the glacier stands still in winter. On the contrary, I have long believed that it continually advances, although in a less degree. The circumstance just mentioned, that, though hot and cold weather produce relatively the effect of accelerating and retarding the movement of the ice, the velocity is in no direct proportion to the temperature, confirms this. The opinion of many of the most intelligent peasants, whom I have consulted on the point, are also in favour of this view. They generally believe, that the glacier pushes itself forward under the snow in winter; and when I have applied to them for the evidence, they assure me that they have seen the ice, at the lower extremity of a glacier, pressing the snow onwards. I do not, indeed, lay great stress upon this testimony, considering the facility with which such persons often adopt wrong opinions ; but its generality amongst the peasantry, and its coming in direct corroboration of the same conclusion to which I have been led from other sources, entitle it to some weight. These grounds will be stated more particularly when we come to consider the question in another place in a more general form ; but I may add, that as the best conjectures which I can at present form, in the absence of direct experiments, as to the annual motion of the Mer de Glace, would give a result so very much exceeding that which can reasonably be attributed to the progress, during the summer months alone, it is highly probable that the motion 144 Travels through the Alps of Savoy is continuous, though une(j[ual, tliroughout the year, and is far from being nothing at anj season. I will give one example of my meaning. The motion of the Glacier du Geant, at the mark B 2, has been shown above to be "678, or about two-thirds of the motion of the ice at mark D 2, near the side of the glacier below the Montanvert. Now, let us admit, for a moment, the story of De Saussure's ladder, which would assign, if true, a velocity of 300 feet per annum to this part of the glacier ; consequently, the comparative advance of the lower ice would be a half more, or 450 feet. Now, of these 450 feet, only 132 (see Table I.) were performed during the three hottest months of the year, which barely amounts to the pro- portional rate of motion of a quarter of a year. Now, this estimate may be thought a very rude one, from the nature of the authority whence it is derived. But without supposing these facts to be more than presumptive evidence, they, at least, give strong reason for believing that the velocity of motion is not excessively small even in winter.^ From information which I have received since my return home, I find that my guide, Auguste Balmat, has, at my request, watched the progress of the great block of stone below the Montanvert (marked D 7 on the map), and has found that it moved : — From OctobtT 20 to December 12, 1842, 53 days . Its daily velocity was therefore ..... or very nearly its average summer velocity. From December 12, 1842, to February 17, 1843, it moved Or daily ......... From February 17 to April 4, 1843, it moved Or daily ......... I have perfect confidence in the fidelity of these observations ; as, however, in the first and last case, Balmat observed tliat the stone had rolled onwards, so as to fall upon a new sitle, and has attempted to estimate its rolling progress, there may be a slight error on this account. The measurements are in English feet, made with a line which I left at Chamouni, on purpose.-' 1 The preceding pages were written before 1 pos.sessed the direct proof's of the winter motion of the glacier contained in the succeeding paragraphs. - The following postsci'i})t was placed at the end of the first edition, canying down the observations to the 8th June : — " From April 4 to June 8. tlie great stone, D 7. moved . 88 feet 1 inch ; Or daily ltJ-3 inches. 70 feet. 15 8 inches 76 feet ; 13-6 inclu> G6 feet ; 17-2 inclie Experiments on the Motion of Ice 145 I presume that the immobility of glaciers in winter, so long received as an undoubted fact, as a basis of theory, will now be admitted to have been as gratuitously assumed, as the greater velocity of the sides of a glacier compared to its centre. The continuity of glacier motion, even in winter, might have been inferred from the well-known instances on record of the fall of great avalanches of ice during that season : such, for instance, was the fall of the Eanda [Bies] Glacier in the valley of St. Mcolas, on the 27th December, 1819 ;^ and such is the direct testimony of De Saussure in these words : " Les glaciers mettent aussi en mouvement, et chassent devant eux les terres et les pierres accumu- lees devant leurs glaces, a leur extremite inferieure. Je vis ce phenomene en 1764, de la maniere la plus evidente, et j'eus en meme temps la preuve que ce mouvement avcdt lieu, meme dans une saison qui est encore hiver pour ces rnontagnesr' Comme le glacier et tous ses alentours etaient en entier converts de neige, lorsqu'il poussait en avant les terres accumulees devant ses glacons, ces terres en s'eboulant se renversaieut par dessus la " Connecting the observations of pages 143, 144, with those of the motion of the neighbouring station, D 2, in the summer of 1842 (page 132), we obtain for the total motion of the lateral part of the Mar de Glace, at the ilontanvert : — June 29 to Sept. 28 Oct. 20 to Dec. 12 Dec. 12 to Feb. 17 Feb. 1 7 to April 4 April 4 to .June 8 .... . Motion in 322 days .... Proportional motion for the wliole year " The movement of the centre is probably at least two-fifths gi-eater, correspond- ing closely with the intervals of the ' dirt bands ' of the glacier ; see page 158." I have now to add (1845), that when I visited the Montanvert in September, 1843, I found the block, D 7, thrown up so close upon the side, that it had scarcely- moved since Balmat had observed it in June. The total annual motion could not, therefore, be deduced ; but the measurement I then made, sho\\-ing that the block had descended on the whole 375 feet since my observation of the previous year, entirely confirmed the accuracy of Balmat's partial measurements. I have, however, since obtained measurements, giving the annual motion of the glacier at the Angle, amounting to 482| feet per annum, and at the Pierre Plate, or station C, in 1842-43, to 260 feet, and in 1843-44, to 288 feet, quantities giving a daily motion so near that observed in summer as entirely to bear out Balmat's observations in respect to the great amount of motion in winter. Still later, I have received observations upon two glaciers during the winter 1844-45, showing that the winter motion is a very large fraction of that in summer (1845). ^ Agassiz, p. 158. - This appears most probably to have been in the month of March, 1764. from a jpurallel passage in § 520 of De Saussure. 10 132 feet. 70 ,, 76 „ 66 „ 88 ,. 432 feet. 483 feet. 146 Travels through the Alps of Savoy neige, et luettaient eu evidence les plus petits mouvcmeuts du glacier, qui se continuereut sous mes yeux pendant tout le temps que je passai a I'observer." ' On the Clicmge of Level of the Mer ele Glace. It has already been oljserved, that one of my first cares on reaching the glacier in June, was to ascertain the level of the ice at station A. These levels were taken from time to time, and afford unequivocal proof of the depression of the surface of the glacier during summer, to an extent which has probably not l)een suspected. Tlie Le vel had Di ulj' Depression lowered— the Interval. 1842. Feet. Ineho. Inches. June 26 to June 30 . 1 9-0 . 4-1 „ 26 , , July 28 . . 10 11-0 . 3-6 „ 26 , „ Aug. 9 . . 14 10-0 . 3-7 „ 26 ., „ Sept. 16 . . 24 6-5 . 2-5 Now this depression is not necessarily the result of superficial waste alone. I doubt whether it is even mainly due to that cause, — and not rather to a subsidence of the entire mass of the ice, which visibly collapses as the warm season advances. Such a collapse may be due to several circumstances: (1) the under- mining of the glacier by the excavating action of the water streams which flow beneath it in summer ; (2) the fusion of the ice in contact with the soil, due to the earth's heat ; (3) the lower extremity of the glacier moving faster than its higher portions, and thus extenuating the mass, a cause which acts with energy at those seasons when the difference of motions of the two parts is the maximum. The superficial waste is not so easily measured as at first sight it might appear to be. M. Escher de la Linth measured it in 1841, upon the glacier of Aletsch, by the exposure of stakes inserted to a certain depth in the ice, — as the ice melted the stakes were exposed. M. Martins measured it by the geometrical depression of the surface. The last method we have seen measures several effects instead of one ; the former may lead to the most inaccurate results ; for when the stakes have been exposed to a certain depth, the apparent result is actually inverted — the hole is deepened. The irregularities 1 Dc Saussiuv, ]'oya(jes, % 538. Experiments on the Motion of Ice 147 resulting from this mode of observation will appear from the following facts : ^ — luclies. At the mark D 2, tlie stick rose out of the hole in the ice from July 1 to July 6 . . 17 From July 16 to July 28, only 5 At the mark D 3, during the first period the stick rose . . 22^ During the second period it actually sunk, showing that from some cause the hole had deepened faster than the surface wasted. At station A, from June 30 to July 16, the stick rose . . 29 From July 16 to July 28, it siihX- . . • . . 2 At the mark B 1, from June 30 to July 16 the stick ruse . .28 From July 16 to July 29, it sunk ..... 5 The cause of this anomalous action it is not difficult to explain. It is, I apprehend, the same as we have pointed out on page 26, as occasioning the formation and perpetuation of holes in the ice, owing to the less density of freezing water than that some degrees warmer. The holes by which my stations were marked always contained more or less water. Whilst the stick fitted them accurately, it nearly or completely obstructed the fluid currents ; but, in proportion as the holes widened, the water circulated more freely, and the cavities spontaneously deepened, which is one cause of their preservation. It is evident, that the apparent loss of surface of the ice in this experiment will be generally too small, and never too great. Thus it appears, that at stations A and B 1, the superficial loss of ice was, at least, 29 and 28 inches respectively, during the first sixteen days of July, or about 1^ inch per day. The actual /«// of the surface at this time was, as we have seen, twice as great ; but this I attribute mainly to the general subsidence. A method, which seems the only sure one of determining the superficial loss (an important datum), would be to drive horizontal holes in the vertical walls of conspicuous fissures, and to measure their distance from the surface of the glacier. At those stations which did not conveniently admit of running a level to the side, I employed a different and very simple method of measuring the absolute depression of the surface. It had the advantage of being applied at the same time that the motion of ^ The holes were examined, and the sticks notched at the level of the ice by Balmat on the 16th July, wlien they were also deepened, and the variations were afterwards measured by myself. 148 Travels through the Alps of Savoy the glacier was measured, and witli little additional trouble. Thus, at station D, whence the various marks across the glacier were observed in succession, the progress was noted by causing an assistant to descend to the ice with a deal rod, a chisel, hammer, and pegs of wood. If the motion since the last observa- tion was small, he was directed to lay the deal rod parallel to the length of the glacier, and to push it up or down as directed by signals until the extremity was in the exact azimuth of the opposite mark beyond the ice. A pencil mark and number were then made upon the deal rod, in order to fix the distance from the previous station. If the distance moved over was greater, the extremity of the rod was moved parallel to the glacier as before, and when duly placed, a hole was made in the ice with a chisel, and a peg inserted, until I had time myself to descend and measure with a line, and in a carefully determined direction, the whole motion from the last fixed point. Now, in addition to this, in order to ascertain the change of level of the ice, I had only to observe from my elevated position the angular depression of the marks in succession on any particular day. These were, for example, on the 20th September— D 2. = 22° 0' 0'' I) 6. = 11° :U' 45'' D ?>. = 10° G' O". A vertical rod being placed at each of these points on any future day, the telescope, being depressed to the same degree, pointed, of course, to a height upon the rod equivalent to the former level of the ice, which was determined by my assistant sliding up or down a slip of paper in obedience to my signals. It is to be recollected, that the ice was here much crevassed ; and though its onward movement was wonderfully regular, it was liable to local subsidences. Occasionally, I have found as great a depres- sion as a foot per day during wet mild weather in the latter part of the season. During frost, when the glacier had more con- sistence, the subsidence was evidently diminished. This much is certain respecting the level of the ice, that the glacier undergoes a surprising waste during the summer, and that there is not the slightest reason for believing that any process, whether of congelation or other, assists in its renewal during that season. The comparison of a glacier to a mass of leavened bread expanding upwards, and thus supplying the superficial waste, appears to involve an assertion wholly unsupported Ity evidence, Experiments on the Motion of Ice 149 and contradicted b}- my experiments. And as I readily admit, that such a swelling or vertical dilatation of the mass would be a, necessary result of the theory which ascribes the motion of the glacier to the expansion of water frozen in its fissures, I must consider the fact, that no such dilatation is apparent at the season when the motion is most rapid, to be in itself conclusive against the dilatation theory of glacier progression. CHAPTER VllI ON THE STRUCTURE OF THE ICE OF GLACIERS AND OF THE MER DE GLACE IN PARTICULAR Oenerul facts of structuve — Discovery of wave-like bands on the surface of the glacier — Figures of the structure, and sections of the Mer de Glace —Details — Glacier de Talefre — Crevasses of glaciers— Their monthly changes — Minute fissures of the ice — Its permeability to water — Veined structure explained. Some account has already been given, on page 28 of this work, of the structure of ice, which was noticed by M. Guyot of Neuchatel, in 1838, in the Gries glacier, and which I rediscovered in 1841, on the Unteraar, Rhone, and other glaciers, and described as being one, probably general, and certainly important in the consideration of the mechanism and functions of glaciers. It has already been said, that I am disposed to regard the problem of the cause of glacier motion as a purely mechanical one, and that it should be treated, like other problems of motion, by a consideration of the manner and degree in which that motion varies with seasons and circumstances, rather than by endeavour- ing to deduce, a i^riori, the motion from the circumstances, and from a liypothetical structure of ice, or any peculiar functions of its molecular constitution. I am far from denying, however, that a knowledge of that internal constitution will be of the utmost consequence in modifying or confirming our mechanical theories. From an early period, I felt convinced that the veined structure of ice, described by me in December, 1841,^ was an important, though obscure, index of the mode of glacier progression ; and when I proceeded, in 1842, to obtain definite information to bear upon my speculations, I proposed to myself, as a chief problem, ' [See Occasional l^apcrm, y\\ !-'.<.] Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 151 to endeavour to combine the direct evidence wldch the observation of the velocity of the ice in different parts of its 7nass might famish as to the cause of motion, ivith the statical or permanent evidoue, which the forms of the veins or ribboned structure, ivhich pervades its mass, undoubtedly bear to some change operated or operating in its interior. I am inclined to think, that I have arrived at a result which combines these independent evidences ; and I feel the more confidence in it, because I am conscious of having commenced my researches with no bias in favour of one theory of glacier motion rather than another, or one cause of veined structure rather than another : indeed, I might rather say, that I com- menced them, in 1842, with an equal distrust of all theories pro- posed to account for the former, and in ignorance of any theory worthy of the name which should account for the latter. Further than this, I spent some weeks amongst the glaciers in June and July, 1842, without even approximating to a theory either of motion or of structure, until at length I began to fear, that days and months of incessant observation, or patient thought, would leave me no wiser about this great problem than when I com- menced. But, as is often the process of discovery in complicated questions, — when the confusion seems greatest, and the mind is so imbued with the subject, that the very multitude of details confounds, and the antagonism of conflicting speculations sets order at defiance, then from some unsuspectecl corner springs up a light, unsought, and seemingly casual, but which struggles into more perfect evidence by being dwelt upon, and at last, throws a complete illumination over the scattered elements which appeared undecipherable and unmeaning, only because they were dimly seen. Such information respecting the theory of the glacier struc- ture, I acquired first on the 24th of July, and again a fortnight after, on the 7th August 1842. One half hour on each of these days seemed to teach me all that I learnt during my stay upon the ice. All before was preparatory to knowing, all after was simply confirmatory, or proving what I knew. But before I can make the reader aware of the nature of the observations and reflections which then came home to me with so much force, I must endeavour to describe what I had previously observed with respect to the structure of the ice of the Mer de Glace in particular. The external form of the ice, the crevasses by which it is 152 Travels through the Alps of Savoy fissured, and often divided into transverse slices or pyramidical blocks, and the finer network of fissures, which we shall also find to pervade its interior, all these may be described as, in some sense, the " structure " of the ice. But what we here mean by " structure " is something anterior to, and more fundamental than all these, — it is the intimate arrangement of the very particles of the frozen water, and which constitutes as properly its structure, as the pattern of a piece of curious damask does, or as the veins of a woody fibre do in a piece of mahogany. The proximate cause of the ribboned structure of the ice, it has been seen, that I ascribed to the alternation of bands, or parallel veins of ice, of different textures. These bands or veins were conspicuously dis- tinguished (on the Unteraar Glacier and others) by two characters : (1) difference of hardness: (2) difference of colour. The former distinction causes the harder (which are also the hlv.er) veins to stand up in ridges, as the ice melts by the action of the sun or rain, and allows the comminuted sand from the moraines to lodge in the intervening linear hollows, which led, as we have seen, some persons to suppose that the heat of the sun, acting upon the sand, caused the hollows in which it lay. This peculiarity is admirably seen on many parts of the Mer de Glace ; and no- where better than upon the common route from the Montanvert to the Jardin, where it passes by the foot of the Aiguille des Charmoz, between the Angle and Trelaporte. Here the whole surface seems striated with fine lines ; and where groups of the harder bands occur, there are projecting ridges, with grooves between, continuous for very many fathoms along the ice, resem- bling the cart-ruts of a much-travelled road, when covered with stiff mud, which was the accurate comparison of an English traveller, whose attention was directed to them last summer for the first time. This appearance is most conspicuous after rain. The other characteristic, that of coloiir, requires an attentive examination to perceive its immediate cause ; but in any glacier, where the structure is well developed, there is no dilllculty in deciding upon it. The phenomenon is not one of those which, like the colour of water, or of air, can only be seen in vast masses. I have often detached hand specimens of the ice, which, if they could be preserved in cabinets, would convey the most ])erfect idea of the structure ; there, to be sure, the depth of colour has nearly vanished, but the bands and the cause of colour Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 153 remain. If we attempt to look through such a piece of ice across the direction of the ribboned structure, it looks opaque ; but if we look 2^n')rdlel to the veins, we perceive that semi-opaque bands alternate with others of glassy purity ; the former appear greenish white on a great scale, — the latter blue. If we examine thenij closely, either with the eye or with a magnifying glass, we findj that the blue and glassy part is pure smooth ice, whilst the in- termediate portion is, not granular or snowy, as I myself at ont time supposed, but simply frothy or full of air-bubbles of various forms, disseminated through the pure ice, and always arranged in parallel planes, of more or less abundance, producing greater or less opacity. These cavities do not appear to communicate, though we shall see reason to believe that they generally do so. It is a general fact, that, as ice loses the perfection of its crystalline structure, it passes from blue, through green, to white, which is always its colour when granulated. It is for this reason, that the transition from ice to snow, in the higher glacier regions, is usually through shades of green ; but when even common snow has acquired a certain degree of imbibition by moisture, and is no longer dry and powdery, but allows a pretty free passage to the light, it becomes distinctly hhie, by transmitted light, and of as great or greater intensity than I have ever observed in pure ice or water at the same thickness. I attribute it to the free admission of light, in consequence of moisture filling the cavities between the snowy granules. I have elsewhere (p. 69 above) observed, that I consider that no further explanation of the blue colour is required, or can be given, but that it is the colour proper to pure water, both in its solid and its liquid form. It has been said, in Chapter II., as well as in [Occasional Papers, pp. 5-8], that the direction of the bands depends materially upon the configuration of the glacier, and the nature of its boundaries. In a long, canal-shaped glacier, like that of the Unteraar, it was nearly parallel to its length, and nearly vertical, but inclining upwards and outwards where the ice was supported by the lateral rocks. On the glacier of the Ehone, on the other hand, which has not a very elongated form, and which enlarges itself suddenly, these bands described oval lines upon the surface of the ice, as we have already seen, and dipping in- wards at angles more nearly perpendicular, as the centre of the glacier was approached, might be compared to sections of inverted 154 Travels through the Alps of Savoy cones, having a common apex pointed downwards, but whose angles continually diminished towards the centre. Not, indeed, that the ovals were complete all round the glacier, but they were complete, or nearly so, for two-thirds or three-fourths of the circumference, as shown in page 29. Guided by what I saw^ at the glacier of the Ehone, I ascribed the apparent frontal strati- fication of the lower extremity of the Unteraar glacier to the same cause, namely, the twisting round of the planes of structure which cropped out (to use a geological phrase) on the slope of the lower end of the glacier, with a continually diminishing dip, as the level of the ground was approached. Evidently, then, the one of these structures was but the limiting case of the other; the canal -shaped glacier is but the oval glacier drawn out longitudinally, its lower or unsupported part invariably assuming the depressed conoidal structure. In the course of my numerous crossings and recrossings of the Mer de Glace, I observed a general confirmation of the disposition of the ice to a parallel structure, sometimes vertical, sometimes leaning against the walls of the glacier, and often, where one side of the glacier was heaved up in its progress against some opposing promontory, the whole structure (preserv- ing the general trough-shaped section) appeared to lean over in one direction, as shown in the figure No. V., page 158. At the same time, I found so many anomalies, as to make me cautious of hazarding the assertion that the trough-shaped structure was rigorous and general, and I determined, by patient observation, and laying down on a sketch the bearing of the veins or bands, and their dip at a great number of points, to obtain an empirical representation of the structure in question, over as large a portion of the surface as possible. The labour would have been great, without some better clue to guide so extensive an inquiry ; fortunately it had hardly commenced before I obtained one. On the evening of the 24th of July, the day following my descent from the Col du Geant, I walked up the hill of Charmoz to a heiglit of 600 or 700 feet above the Montanvert, or about 1000 feet above the level of the glacier. The tints of sunset were cast in a glorious manner over the distant mountains, whilst the glacier was thrown into comparative shadow. This Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 155 condition of half illumination is far more proper for distinguish- ing feeble shades of colour on a very white surface like that of a glacier than the broad day. Accordingly, whilst revolving in my mind during this evening's stroll the singular problems of the ice-world, my eye was caught by a very peculiar appearance of the surface of the ice, which I was certain that I now saw for the first time. It consisted of a series of nearly hyperbolic brownish l;)ands on the glacier, the curves pointing downwards, and the two branches mingling indiscriminately with the moraines, presenting an appearance of a succession of waves some hundred feet apart, and having, opposite to the Montanvert, the peculiar form which I have attempted to show upon the map, where they are repre- sented in the exact figure and number in which they occur. They were evidently distinguished from the general mass of the glacier by discoloration of some kind, and indeed they had the appearance of being supernumerary moraines of a curvilinear form, detached from the principal moraines, and uniting in the centre of the glacier. Although this was my first idea I was satisfied from the general knowledge which I then had of the direc- tion of the " veined structure " of the ice that these discoloured bauds probably followed that direction : and accordingly next day I carefully examined the surface of the ice, with the view of determining, if possible, their connection and cause, being well satisfied that this new appearance was one of great importance, although, from the two circumstances of being best seen at a distance or considerable height, and in a feeble or slanting light, it had very naturally been hitherto overlooked, lioth by myself and othei's. I had often observed that some parts of the ice were dirty, and some parts clean, but it was not until I examined its surface minutely on 25th July that I discovered that the "dirt bands," as I called them, had a definite position upon the glacier and a regular recurrence. I had no difficulty now, whilst examining the ice when on its surface, in deciding whether I was standing upon one of the " dirt bands " or on the clean ice, although, from the ine(|ualities of the surface and local effects of light, it would have been almost impossible to have traced out, step by step, the forms of these discolorations. They are like what are called " blind paths " over moors, visible at a distance, but lost when we stand upon them. 156 Travels through the Alps of Savoy The caiixc of the discoloration was the next point, and niy examination satisfied me that it was not, properly speaking, a diversion of the moraine, hut that the particles of earth and sand, or disintegrated rock, which the winds and avalanches and water- runs spread over the entire breadth of the ice, found a lodgment in those portions of the glacier where the ice was most porous, and that, consequently, the " dirt bands " were merely indices of a ^peculiarly porous veined structure traversing the mass of the glacier in these directions} A most patient examination of the structure of the ice opposite to the Montanvert satisfied me completely of the parallelism of the " veined structure " to the " dirt bands " ; the former was the cause of the latter ; and some more general cause, yet to be explained, caused the alternation of the porous veins at certain intervals along the glacier. This, then, tended to clear up a multitude of doubts respecting the real type of glacier structure in long or canal-shaped glaciers. That it was not merely trough-shaped was clear, but the direction and dip of the veins near the centre of the glacier was generally too con- fused to give a ready solution of its real structure. I now Ibund that the veins appeared generally parallel to the moraines and sides of the glacier, only because the curves representing their real forms had branches which merged into parallelism, and that there really was a tendency in the direction of the veins on the two sides of the glacier to converge to a point in the centre. But the most difficult point to decide was. What is the form assumed by the veins where they meet in the centre, at the vertex of the curve ? After much attention I found that the normal structure here (though often obscured or annihilated) turned round and formed a loop exactly as in the oval-shaped glacier already described, the direction of the structure being, for a short space, directly across the strata, and dipping inwards at a considerable angle. The ground plan, transverse section, and longitudinal section (at the centre of the glacier) of such a structure would l)e the following : — 1 I'roiii the ciuiriil ol tservatioiis of two additional summers, I can positively alliriu the conxctue.ss of this reference of the "dirt bands" to the recm-rence of a higiily porous structure. The dirt is absolutely siqicrjicial, a few blows of a hanimcr or axe suffice to disclose the veined structure in its highest purity beneath. "What, then, are we to tliink of the argument of tlioso who have cx]>laincd these bands by the intcrstratilieation of impurities lyiii.u im the surface of the ii.'v/ liy the super- position of fresh clean snow '! (184ri). Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 157 TWISTED VEINS. Opposite to the Montanvert the dip inwards (that is, towards the origin of the glacier) at a a a appeared to be 45". This is only through a narrow space, and is often extremely confused, but whenever the structure appears clearly this is its position. The ice is often contorted in the most fantastic manner, like lime- stone strata in the Alps, or the veins of knotty wood. Of course, after the discovery of these " dirt bands " below the Montanvert, it became an object to trace them throughout the glacier, mark their variations, and compare them with the structure of the ice, so as to ascertain that they rigorously corresponded ; lastly, to fix their numbers, distances, and form. Although at most times of the day I could distinguish their position after once ascertaining their existence, yet to see them well, or to count them throughout any extent of the glacier, required an elevated position and a peculiar effect of tempered sunshine or moonlight. In broad daylight, without clouds, only the more conspicuous ones could be seen ; but it is not to be supposed from this that there was anything illusory in their existence or position. On the contrary, both were so perfectly definite that I have repeatedly counted the bands visible from station L (on the Charmoz, above the Montanvert), all the way between the ice precipice at the Chapeau to the promontory of Trelaporte, which are exactly 18 in number as laid down in the map. The lower 10 bands (including 9 intervals) are contained between the right lines joining stations L and I, and L and F, and the distances of these lines are laid down on the map from actual survey. The mean intervals will be found by taking the distance along the axis of the glacier between the lines just mentioned and dividing it by 0. That distance is 6-100 feet, and consequently the average interval is 7 1 1 feet. But the intervals are not all alike ; indeed, they differed sensibly to the eye. The difference, however, for GLTaWhc „,^ 158 Travels through the Alps of Savoy this part of the glacier is probably not a tenth part of the mean for any one interval. The distance between the vertices of the two dirt bands immediately op- posite to station I) was found trigonometrically to be 667 feet. Tiie ground plan of the ribboned or veined structure generally, and of those porous veins in particular constituting the" " dirt bands," may be pretty correctly judged of from the map ; but for a complete under- standing of the structure, and its modifications, the following re- marks are essential, which will be made plain by a reference to the sections on this page, taken from eye - sketches made on the spot, and to the ground plan, which is here repeated from p. 130, and which shows the lines of section. Thus, a h corresponds to section No. I. Rd e ,. „ No. II. / G „ „ No. III. MonToiniert F A D D No. IV. No. V. C^^^"-^--^ .,. ^H, Tig.ni LecK.n,!. Horizontal .So.iU aiiO'i-fcfi 1. Opposite to the Montanvert, and up to beyond Les Echelets, the curved loops extend across the entire (jlacier. They are single, and therefore ciit the medial moraine, at an angle of nearly ''>0\ The structure of the ice to the east of the medial moraine is neaily i)arallel to the length uf tlie glacier. It is also Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 159 nearly vertical ; but the whole trough- shaped structure, accom- modating itself to the irregular form of the glacier, leans over towards the Angle, as if tilted up by the promontory of Les Echelets, which is really the case, as shown in the sections Xos. IV. and V. 2. The vertices of the curves of structure incline towards the left bank of the glacier, as we approach the promontory of Trelaporte ; and about that portion of the glacier we begin to distinguish a separation in the structure of the two confluent glaciers, which do not appear to be there fully consoHdated. The Glacier du Geant has its own system of cur-\'es, and the Glacier de Lechaud its system, as shown in the map. From about the position where the dislocation of the moraines is marked on the map, near the Moulins, up to the promontory of the Tacul, the great medial moraine of the two glaciers, marks, as it were, a common vertical wall, formed by the mutual pressure of the ice- streams, and throughout all that space the vertical structure of the ice follows precisely the direction of the moraine. On either side it begins to incline into the trough of its own glacier, as shown in the sections Xos. ITI. and II. After the glaciers have thoroughly amalgamated, the structure of the more powerful glacier (Geant) predominates, and absorbs the other. 3. We have seen that the Frontal Dip, that is, the dip of the veined structure inwards throughout the very narrow space in which its direction is transverse to the glacier, or near the centre of the ice-stream, is about 45°. This dip certainly increases as we ascend, exactly as I have shown [in Occasional Papers, pp. 1-9], and shall show- (Chap. X.) that it does in those glaciers where, the ice being less confined, the frontal dip is a well- marked angular phenomenon, as in the glacier of the Ehone, of Bossons, of La Brenva, and at the lower extremities of many other glaciers. Xow, just above Trelaporte, on the Glacier du Geant, though the frontal dip is undistinguishable, yet the curva- ture of the structural planes is perfectly clear, and likewise the occurrence of the dirt bands, which are here more rounded, and not so excessively drawn out as at the Montanvert. But, if we pursue the Glacier du Geant higher up, as opposite K, the trans- verse structure in the centre of the glacier is perfectly distinct, and the frontal dip is vertical. This is an important fact, and con- formable to what I have observed on the Glacier of the Ehone. i6o Travels through the Alps of Savoy 4. The Glacier du Geant has a single or simple structure between Trelaporte and the Tacul, and for some way higher up. The system of curves, formed by the structural planes intersecting the surface of the ice, have their vertices near the centre of the glacier, and become parallel to its length near the banks, cutting the moraine of La Noire, and stretching quite from side to side. But as we advance higher up, and approach La Noire, which separates the great mass of the glacier from the small glacier descending from the range of Les Periades, we perceive a tendency to a double structure, as at the union of the Glaciers of Lechaud and Geant (see Section No. I.). I am unable to state the exact number of dirt bands between the foot of the ice-cascade opposite La Noire and the corner of Trt^laporte.^ Under a ' I am now (1845) able to supply the defective evidence as to the existence and iiunibt'i- of the "dirt bands" on the Glacier du Geant, and to notice an additional discovery respecting them, which will be found detailed in my Fifth Letter on Glaciers \_Ocmsional Papers, pp. 39- 41]. lu 1843, from an elevated station at the foot of the Aiguille du Moine, I counted six dirt bands beyond the pro- montory of Trelajjorte, where my former reckoning (p. 157) ceased. Then there occurred a space equal to that of three intervals, in which the bands were undis- tinguishable, and beyond this the position of the bauds was evidently marked by the remains of the last winter's snow lying in crescent - shaped hollows iu the ice, precisely coiTespondiug to the form and intervals of the dirt bands. These wrinkles % in the ice (seen below in a longitudinal section) are evidently an important part of the jihenomeuon of the dirt bands, and appear to connect them more closely with the result of periodic change like the annual rings of trees, and the wrinkles on the horns of animals. From the final sweep of the glacier above tlie Chapeau to the point of Trelajiorte there are IS intervals, extending over 13,300 feet, or about 740 feet each at an average. Above Tre- laporte we have 6 distinct " rings, a blank e(pial to 7/////////'/!t>7' three which could not be observed, and 10 more marked by the snowy wrinkles, making in all 19 in a space estimated at 9000 feet, or 470 feet for one interval, fully corroborating the remark in the text as to the remarkable co>uZ6"/m^^o^^ of the bands and their round fronts, in the liiglier part of the glacier. These observations were fully continued by my visit iu 1 !^ 1 1 lo station VT/. ^ Structure of the Ice of Glaciers i6i favourable light they may perfectly well be counted, and I recollect doing so once, but the number was not iioted, as I intended to make the observation more scrupulously another time, but was prevented by the fall of snow in September. Indeed, it is for but a very few weeks of the year that this part of the glacier is tolerably free of snow. My belief is, however, that these bands are not only more uniformly curved (as has already been said), but are compi^essed, or more numerous in the same space. This appeared to me to depend partly upon the smallness of the declivity of the glacier. 5. If we follow the Glacier de Lechaud from the Moulins, we have, in the first instance, as has been said, the vertical stratifi- cation accompanying the medial moraine up to the Tacul. There are two medial moraines on the Glacier de Lechaud itself ; one coming from the Jardin and the other from the Aiguille de Lechaud.^ The ice between the latter and the Couvercle is the ice of the Glacier de Talefre ; that between the same moraine and the Tacul belongs to the Glacier de Lechaud, descending from the Grandes Jorasses. Now, this moraine {de V Aiguille de IJchaud) divides the separate structures belonging to these two ice-streams, wliilst the structure of the ice derived from the Talefre cuts the moraine of the Jardin at an angle, and forms only a single system of curves. Botli of these systems die out about the same time, after a complete union has been effected with the Glacier du Geant. I have not particularly noticed the dirt bands on the Glacier de Lechaud, but I have carefully examined its structural planes, and traced them quite up to their disappearance, which takes place a little below station E, where the glacier is without any trace of structure. The structure commences a little below the junction of the steep glacier descending from the foot of the Capucin du Tacul, and it is manifestly augmented, and becomes general after the confluence of the Glacier de Talefre. I have often observed (and believe it to be a general rule) that irltcre a glacier is contracted and jostled O*, above Trelapoite, which affords incomparably the finest view of the entire glacier from the Chapeau to the Col du Geant, wlience I counted, exactly as in 1842, 18 bands from the precipice below Montanvert to the point of Trelaporte. The wrinkles of tlie higher glacier could be seen, although entirely covered with snow. (1845.) 1 [This is the true Aiguille de Talefre, but the moraine mentioned seems to proceed rather from the Aiguille de I'Eboulement.] 11 1 62 Travels through the Alps of Savoy by its union with others, if not violently crevassed, there the sti'ucture comes out best. The structure is rather elongated here, and not so transverse as in the Glacier du Geant. 6. The structure of the ice of the Talefre, forming the north- eastern portion of the Glacier de Lechaud, is remarkably well brought out, and instructive. At the Pierre Plate 0, it is beautifully shown ; and here I first distinctly remarked, that the structure is not always parallel to a medial moraine, as I had at one time supposed. It evidently cuts the moraine of the Jardin, as already mentioned. This part of the glacier is steep, and its surface convex. It has very much the character of a glacier poured out into a valley, as it really is, being derived from the stupendous ice-cascade which falls from the basin of Talefre. The forms of the veined structure are more rounded than in most other parts of the Mer de Glace : I mean, that the super- ficial curves do not come to a sharp point, but have more of a circular sweep, and a well-defined transverse course, and a frontal dip inwards of 63°. But one of the most interesting points connected with this ice-stream is the sudden change of structure which it undergoes at the foot of the ice-fall descending from the Talefre. The structure of the ice throughout the fall is more distinctly striated in a vertical direction, and parallel to the sides of the glacier, than I recollect to have observed in any glacier so violently crevassed and dislocated. The moraines are faintly perceptible by dirty stripes during the fall. But when the shattered ice is collected, and remoulded, upon reaching the foot of the precipice, by the pressure of the Glacier de Lechaud, a most remarkable and sudden change takes place. The ice, from fragmentary and fissured, becomes compact and swollen into a convex form, produced, no doubt, by the lateral pressure to which it is now subjected, and which it struggles to overcome. Within the space of a few hundred feet, the transverse structure becomes developed, the former longitudinal structure at right angles having disappeared in the interval, and the wave-like forms of the structure swell out more and more as the glacier is urged down the steep slope towards station C, with the Pierre Plate. The convexity of this part of the glacier will be perceived from Section II., page 158; and as the glacier is swollen and pressed onwards, the crevasses in this part radiate, as from a centre, or in directions perpendicular to the lines of Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 163 structure, exactly as I have described iu the Glacier of the Ehone. These facts, which I have verified in many other glaciers, conclusively show, that the structure is developed during \ the progress of the ice dotviiwards — is subject to the variations which its momentary conditions of constraint impress — and that it has not the slightest reference to the snow beds of the neve, or to any primitive conformation whatever. 7. When we trace the structure up to the icy basin of Talefre, we perceive the origin of the linear vertical structure of the ice which accompanies it in its fall. The ice, near the moraines of the Jardin, is distinctly ribboned in a vertical direction parallel to those moraines ; and this structure, so far as I have been able to observe it at the most favourable season, when this glacier is tolerably free of snow, spreads itself upwards, moulding itself by the forms of the rocky basin which confines it, nearly as represented in the map. The directions remind one irresistibly of the lines of floating matter upon a current of water converging towards a narrow outlet. The direction of the crevasses above the outlet, or icy cascade, is still perpendicular to the direction of the structvire, and therefore their lines of fracture are convex upivards. Higher up the Glacier de Talefre, as the structure of the ice becomes more snowy and less crystalline, the ribboned appearance vanishes altogether at the surface, although it is probably continued at a greater depth. Such are the facts which I have been able to observe most carefully with respect to the arrangement and distribution of this remarkable structure over a glacier of great size and variety of surface. It will be found to represent very well the normal type of all glaciers, as we shall afterwards have occasion to illustrate by examples. In the meantime, I shall say a few words respecting the accidents of crevasses, and then endeavour to explain the views which the study of the Mer de Glace suggested with respect to the cause of the veined appearance. Perhaps the most usual and general rule for defining the direction of crevasses, when a glacier is not violently dislocated by moving over excessively steep or irregular surfaces, is, that they tend to a direction perpendicular to the structure ; since, however, a rent once determined is often prolonged, irrespective ' of the immediately producing cause, such crevasses may, through- 164 Travels through the Alps of Savoy out their length, cut the structure at different angles, which they often do. Some of the crevasses of the Mer de Glace are probably 2000 feet long. I carefully examined a crevasse near the Montanvert, extending from the medial moraine quite to the western side ; and in the higher parts of glaciers, as towards the Col du Geant, crevasses extend, by communication with one another, to far greater distances. It has been stated by some authors, that crevasses are generally in lines transverse to the glacier, and convex downwards; and others (as M. Agassiz^) more correctly, that they are most frequently convex towards the origin of the glacier ; but he drew a wrong consequence in concluding that therefore the motion is most rapid at the sides. It is by no means so easy as it appears, to ascertain the general ground plan of a system of crevasses, for nothing is commoner, in viewing a glacier from a height, and seeing one system of crevasses, than to lose sight altogether of another set which cross the former. This is the case opposite to the Montanvert, where there are two distinct systems of crevasses, equally inclined to the axis of the glacier, and forming an angle on its surface of 65° with one another, so that each set deviates 32^° from a line transverse to the glacier. In turning round the promontory of Trelaporte, a series of fan -shaped crevasses succeed one another, as already remarked. It is extremely curious to observe the hyperbolic " dirt bands " maintaining their position amongst that confusion. Higher up, the crevasses become transverse, and less numerous. When the glacier makes a rather abrupt turn, as between the Echelets and the Angle, it appeared to me that the crevasses of the higher glacier are stopped np by the pressure of the ice where it is reflected Irom the rock, and a new set open, corre- sponding to the new direction of motion. It is this interference of a current of water and its reflection from a promontory, which hreaks the surface of a river into foam ; and something of the same kind may be perceived, if I mistake not, between the ; Angle and the Montanvert. The old crevasses are sealed up, and new ones formed, cutting them across, which produce the tumultuous looking hillocks in tliat part of the ice.- ' Etudes, [I. 107. - The fact of the general perpeudicularity of the crevasses to the veined structure is now so well confirmed, that after the ample details given for ascertain- Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 165 But still more important are the circumstances attending the formation and change of crevasses during different seasons. Be- yond the general admission that crevasses result from a glacier being pushed over a surface presenting great irregularities, which irregularities break the semi-rigid mass over them, little or nothing has been agreed upon by authors as to their origin. That crevasses form with a sudden noise, and are at first mere cracks into which the blade of a knife would scarcely enter, is beyond a doubt. But the fact for which I was least prepared, but which my long residence on the Mer de Glace last summer convinced me of, is this, that these crevasses, if not entirely renewed every year, are so at least in a great degree ; that they are formed during spring, summer, and autumn, by which time ing the direction of the latter, the former might be, in ahnost every case, easily- inferred ; nevertheless, since some indefiniteness still prevails as to the law of crevasses, I shall state it here somewhat more particularly. In the canal-shaped glacier of uniform breadth (Fig. 1), the crevasses nearest the banks, intersecting the elon- gated branches of the structural surfaces, point slightly up the glacier, and as they cut the loops nearer the centre of the glacier, the tendency to point upwards is slightly increased, but, as mentioned in the text, a crevasse is often prolonged in a direction in which it would not have originated, and hence it happens, that the two systems of lateral crevasses are prolonged till they meet, and thus form one system, rudely arched towards the origin of the glacier. In one instance I have seen, as the figure is intended to represent, two lateral systems, so rigorously perpendicular to the ground plan of the ribboned structure as to be slightly concave to the origin, met by a thu-d system in the Fig. 1. Fio. ■:. centre, which, in combination with them, gave the usual character of convexity. Such a glacier, at its lower extremity, exhibits the phenomenon of Fig. 2, where the crevasses are exhibited upon surfaces of considerable inclination, and pass in a beautifully graduated manner fiom transverse to radiating ; but still perpendicular to the veins. The dots in this figure indicate the manner of dispersion of the lateral moraines over the surface. An oval glacier, like that of the Rhone, presents the phenomena figured page 29. A glacier, like that of Talefre, emerging from a basin-shaped valley through a narrow outlet (see the General Map), has a structure in lines diverging towards the origin, and consequently crevasses throughout in the same direction (1845). 1 66 Travels through the Alps of Savoy the face of the glacier is in some respects entirely changed — much more so indeed during a few months than it ever is from one year to another — so that a traveller may revisit a glacier from year to year, and think that he recognises localities on the ice, he may map the fissures and accidents, and seem to discover them afresh, but they are only the ghosts of his departed friends, — forms, which unlike a wave which moves on whilst the sub- stance which moulds it is still, remain planted amidst motion, as if anchored in the icy cataract. This fact has formerly been insisted on, but what I wish now to make plain is the certain fact that the crevasses are in a good measure formed afresh every season. When I traversed the glacier in a great many directions in the end of June, I had ample means of judging of its state from the obstacles which were opposed to a passage over it ; I had also an opportunity of noticing the width of the crevasses, their regularity, and the sharpness and verticality with which they generally terminated at the surface of the glacier. In July and August, during many excursions in the same directions, the change was most conspicuous, and especially in the higher parts of the glacier, between the stations G, B, and H, where the snow had recently covered the ice at my first visit. There the crevasses had increased to such a degree in number and breadth that the glacier seemed unlike what it was, and a space which I had formerly considered as almost sufficiently even for measuring a base line upon the ice, was now traversed by clefts. Even at the Montanvert the crevasses were visibly wider, and the whole texture of the ice more shaken. But it was in the month of September that the change was most perceptible in the lower part of the glacier. I have already adverted to the loss of surface, and to the general subsidence of the whole mass of the glacier. The several stations where I made my regular observations on the ice had of course their topography and peculiarities firmly fixed on my memory, and there the change of feature within a few weeks was such as to render them scarcely recognisable. Great cavities or clefts were entirely soldered up,^ — others liad encroached on their solid partitions so as to unite Avith independent ones ; precipices had become gentle inclined planes ; the landmarks of great stones were lost — they liad tumbled into crevasses, or been so tossed Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 167 over as to seem no longer the same : but the general character at this season was a subduing of all the angular rugged character of the ice in spring. The fissures, though wide, were many of them choked, their walls melted, and their edges deformed. The mid- day sun shines along the glacier, hence (the fissures running generally from east to west) the southern wall of ice was shaded, the northern exposed to the sun. Thus, it happened that in the month of September the northern edges of the crevasses were nearly all de- graded in the manner repre- sented opposite,^ and the eminences falling into the hollows rendered the passage of the glacier much easier than it had been some weeks before. This occurred also in the higher parts : above Trelaporte I observed crevasses similarly deformed, and at the same time closed, so that a mere crack now stood in the place of the open cleft. It may here be proper to say one word about a system of crevices, of small dimension, which appear to traverse the ice of glaciers, and about which much has been said which is imimportant, and much has been supposed which is untrue. We have already observed that glacier ice is eminently fragile, — hence the facility of making steps with a hatchet, by which means alone many otherwise inaccessible summits are gained. This fragility depends upon the ice being traversed by an infinity of capillary fissures — generally invisible — but which become distinctly seen near the walls and moraines of glaciers, and wherever the ice is exposed to sudden alternations of temperature, by being in contact with rocks or stones. There the glacier consists of a congeries of tightly wedged polyhedrons, of the most irregular figures, often three inches or more in length, and of which a bunch may be held connectedly together, until, h^ melting, they become disengaged and fall asunder. But, whilst the pieces remain thus connected, the fissures impart to the mass a certain rude flexibility within small limits, and they undoubtedly permit the free infiltration of surface water to great depths in the ice. These crevices and the granules which they separate, have 1 II. Rendu has made a similar remark. [P. 109 of the 1874 reprint.] 1 68 Travels through the Alps of Savoy beeu pariieularly described, and their existence insisted on by Scheiichzer, Hugi, De Cliarpentier, and Agassiz ; and this has been described as the peculiar structure of 'the ice, while the veins of cleavage, or ribboned structure, remained unnoticed ; it is, however, entirely subordinate to, and superinduced upon the latter, as I may later have occasion to show. Its existence near moraines and fixed rocks is too obvious to be doubted ; but I was for some time sceptical as to its pervading the glacier generally. When I had the pleasure of visiting the Unteraar Glacier with M. Agassiz in 1841, I communicated my doubts to him, and suggested making a hole in tlie most compact part of the ice, and putting into it a coloured liquid, which might inject the crevices by which it is traversed, and thus demonstrate their existence. M. Agassiz was obliging enough to sacrifice two bottles of red wine to this inquiry, but the result was not entirely satisfactory to me, as though the wine certainly escaped, it left no traces of its passage. I therefore resolved to perform the experiment more carefully in 1842, and took with me several portable colouring matters. To these, by the advice of M. Eegnault, of Paris, I added some cakes of lithographic ink, which not being soluble, but only suspended in water, might, he ingeniously suggested, adhere to the capillary fissures, and indicate them more plainly. Holes about a foot square were made, to a small depth, in the most compact part of the ice, near the Montanvert, in the evening, when the superficial wet was least, and the black ^ and red dyes, very concentrated, were poured into them, to the extent of some pints. I shall state the result obtained the next forenoon in the words in which I noted it at the time : — " With an axe I carefully cut the ice round the cup of ice in which the madder infusion had been put last evening, and also round another similar one, in which dissolved (diffused) litho- graphic ink had been placed this morning. Though much colour- ing matter yet remained in each, much was effectually and visibly infiltrated into the ice beneath and around; the small solid colour-particles being visibly confined in the air cavities from whicli no visible capillary fissures extended, and (from which) they could not be removed by ordinary washing. This 1 The lilack was ]ioured in in tlic moniiutr, some hours hefore the final examination. Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 169 ice is seemingly compact ; it does not exhibit obvious traces of capillary fissures, and mere immersion in a coloured fluid produces no true infiltration — the adhering colour may be immediately washed off; whilst, where the ice is exposed to the air, it is fissured into the grains so often mentioned, and which may be immediately infiltrated with wine, ink, or any fluid. But this experiment shows that these do exist, and unite the air-cells, or many of them, though unperceived ; even the undissolved fibres of madder and grains of lamp-black had penetrated to considerable distances." I therefore freely admit — what I formerly doubted — that a glacier in summer is penetrated to a great depth by water, which saturates all its pores. I am equally satisfied that during summer this water never freezes, and in winter only partially. Hence a glacier is not a mass of solid ice, but a compound of ice and water, more or less yielding, according to its state of wetness or infiltration. Exactly a fortnight after observing the hyperbolic dirt bands opposite the Montanvert, I walked on the 7th August to the same spot, and I then obtained an insight into the cause of the phenomenon of the ribboned structure, and of glacier motion generally, which I have no doubt is in substance the true one. The forms of the superficial curves before me recalled almost involuntarily the idea oi fiuicl motion ; — they resembled perfectly the lines into which the froth or scum on the surface of a viscous fiuid would form themselves if that fluid were propelled along an inclined trough or basin. The cause of such a form is evidently the greater rapidity of the centre than of the sides, a rapidity which, in the case of a viscous fluid, is occasioned by the less adhesion between its particles than between the fluid and the vessel in which it is contained ; and in any fluid a similar effect would arise from the friction of the banks or sides. Then the reflection naturally occurred — it is not only prolable that such would be the motion of a semi-fluid or pasty mass placed in the conditions of the glacier, but it is certain, from my own experi- ments already detailed, that the actual motion is such as we have supposed it might be ; it does move faster in the centre than at the sides ; it is no hypothesis to say that the glacier moves as a viscous or pasty mass would move — we know that opposite the 170 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Alontanvert the motion of the ice at the centre of the glacier is two-fifths greater than at even a very sensible distance from the bank. A glacier may, therefore, really be in its structure and formation, like what I had compared it to in 1841, — "A pailful of thickish mortar " poured out,^ and the wrinkles on the surface of the one and of the other may have more than a vague analogy. But I carried my theory further. I considered that [in the case of] a semi-rigid mass, like a glacier, which has no pretension to be called a Huid in the common sense of the word, if it do not (as it certainly does not) move in all its parts parallel to itself, there must be a solution of continuity between the adjacent particles of ice to enable the middle to move faster than the sides. Imagine the surface of a glacier to be divided into a number of stripes parallel to its length, and adjoining but not cohering. If it be ascertained that each stripe nearer the centre moves faster than its neigh- bour nearer the side, the stripes will move past one another parallel to their length, the central stripes gaining upon the lateral ones. If we attempt to give such a varying motion to the parts of a flat stiff body, as a long sheet of paper, we cannot effect it without tearing the paper by rents parallel to its length, or the direction of movement. Now, such must be the case with u mass of ice which does not move with a uniform velocity in its transverse section, but where every line of particles has the velocity proper to its position in the ice-stream. The ice will, therefore, be rent by innumerable fissures whose general direction will be parallel to its motion, and these fissures becoming filled with water and ultimately frozen, will produce the appearance of bands traversing the general mass of the ice having a difierent texture. We have hitherto spoken only of the influence of the sides of a canal upon fluid or viscous motion, but the bottom has also its influence. It cannot, I think, be doubted, after what has been stated, that the motion of the ice is more rapid at the surface than at the bottom, for the very same reason, that it is more rapid in the centre than at the side. The friction of the bottom must retard it ; and the less plastic the matter, the farther from the sides or bottom will the influence of friction extend. The result must be a tendency to separation of the superficial from the ' EdinUirgh Philosophical Jounuil, .January, 184:2. [See Occasional Papcrf, V- 7.] Structure of the Ice of Glaciers 171 lower parts of the ice, just as the central are dragged past the lateral ones. The consequence must be, in either case, the formation of surfaces of discontinuity ; and we shall attempt to show, when we return to the theory in Chapter XXI. below, that such surfaces must have the forms already described as character- ising the veined structure. CHAPTER IX THE TOUR OF MONT BLANC CHAMOUNI TO COURMAYEUR Glacier des Bossons — Its chief phenomena — Route to the Montanvert by the Glacier des Polerins — Glacier de Taconnaz— Roches moutonnees at Pont Pelissier — Baths of St. Gervais — Origin of the blocks of the Vallee de Montjoie — Xantborrant — Col du Bonhomme — Col de la Seigne — Allee Blanche — Courmayeur. What is called the tour or circuit of Mont Blanc is an easy journey round its base, beginning and ending at Chamouni. It is familiarly described in many works, and well deserves all the praise which can be bestowed upon the admirable and varied scenery through which it leads us. To those who look at matters more closely, it offers great interest, because it gives an opportunity of examining in succession every one of the valleys and ravines which take their origin in the chain of Mont Blanc, and which are usually in part or entirely filled with glaciers. I shall suppose the traveller starting from Chamouni so as to cross Mont Blanc at its western shoulder, called the Col du Bon- homme, where he comes amongst valleys which pour their streams into the Isere, and thence into the Ehone ; turning next to the eastward, and crossing the Col de la Seigne, he enters the Allee Blanche, a valley of singular grandeur on the southern side of Mont Blanc, and parallel to that of Chamouni. Here the river Doire {Dora Baltea) takes its origin, which, joining the Po below Ivrea, goes to swell the waters of the Adriatic. Courmayeur, a Piedmontese watering-place, is situated on the Doire, immediately behind the chain of Mont Blanc. The map [in the pocket] contains the route which we are now considering. The first object of importance after leaving Chamouni is the Tour of Mont Blanc 173 Glacier des Bossons^ (the patois form of Buissons, as it is spelt by De Saussure), of which the exquisite purity is known to all travellers. I shall not stop to describe the phenomena of its aiyuilles of ice, and its greenish-blue crevasses, so familiarly known, but I shall point out shortly what seems most worthy of remark, especially in connection with the theory of glaciers. 1. The Glacier of Bossons is one, which, taking its origin at a great elevation, pours itself down in a confused mass into a valley at a low level, where it spreads itself out as far as the principle of the equality of waste and supply (page 19) will permit. This glacier has brought down beside and beneath it a great mass of debris of the rocks of Mont Blanc (including serpentines of doubtful origin, but most likely from the foot of the Aiguille du Midi), and these have formed a steep embank- ment, projecting into the valley, upon whose top the glacier rests. This gives to it a very remarkable appearance, especially as seen from Les Ouches, farther down the valley, where the fir woods conceal the origin of the glacier, and the lower part, thrust forward as it were from out of the side of the hill, stands forth like an island of crystal in the bottom of the valley. This part of the glacier is nearly flat, and it is there easily crossed. Quite at its termination it falls over the slope of its moraine, and forms deep chasms and lofty pinnacles. 2. The Glacier of Bossons, like most of those in the same neighbourhood, attained in 1820 its greatest extent in recent times, when the moraines advanced over cultivated fields, very near to the Hameau des Bossons. The traces of this progress are very visible. One enormous block has rolled out from amongst its neighbours on the eastern side of the glacier, and has mowed down a path for itself, through the wood, on that side, and there it lies on a slope surrounded by trees, exactly like the moraines of the Chaumont, or of Monthey (Chap. III.). 3. The Glacier of Bossons has no medial moraine. It descends (as De Saussure has remarked) in an unbroken con- tinuity of ice from the very summit of Mont Blanc. Its great feeder is the Grand Plateau, and almost the only rocks which break its passage are the Grands Mulcts, the first stage on the ^ Before crossing from tlie right to the left bank of the Arve, some hne springs are passed at the foot of the Brc-vent : they are called Eaux dc GaiUand. The temperature on the 27th August, 1832, was 44 -ti' Falirenheit. 174 Travels through the Alps of Savoy ascent of Mont Blanc. Tlie detritus of these is, however, too inconsiderable to aftbrd any medial moraine, especially as the glacier is one of the most precipitous, for its-.extent, in the Alps. 4. The structure of this glacier is generally homogeneous, and almost snowy, or at least opaque white, with little green or blue tinge, except near its edges, where it is most icy. The veim, or bands, are distinct near the sides, and fall towards the centre in the usual manner. They are not formed in this glacier by a simple alternation of parallel layers, but the icy bands have all the appearance of iDOsterior infiltration, occasioned by fissures thinning off both ways, and filled with frozen water. The icy cascade above seems to have little or no structure. The struc- ture is gradually developed as the glacier consolidates and moves more horizontally, but it is never perfect, owing apparently to the shortness of its course, and the want of lateral barriers. The tendency, however, is evidently towards the usual type of such glaciers, the structural veins bending round in a loop, as seen on the surface, and with a frontal dip diminishing as the glacier approaches its termination, where the bands are more distinct, and indeed well defined, inclining altogether forwards and parallel to the soil on which the ice rests.^ 5. The paucity of moraines, and the slightly developed structure near the centre of the ice, occasion the extraordinary purity of the Glacier des Bossons, in which it has a remarkable analogy with that of Eosenlaui, in the canton of Berne, which has a somewhat similar course. We have seen that it is the veined structure which intercepts and retains the sand of the moraines. Now, in the case before us, where the glacier is in contact with the lateral moraines, we perceive fragments of stone and earthy matters intermixed with the ice to a considerable thickness, and evidently following in the direction of its cleavage. These are, no doubt, the earthy beds of which De Charpentier speaks," and which he distinguishes from true stratification, but of which, nevertheless, he gives a very unsatisfactory account, supposing that they arise from debris which had fallen into 1 No glacier with which I am ac(iuaiiited shows so convincingly that the ribboned structure of the ice is the result of a system of mechanical rents, infiltrated and frozen up, as the Glacier of Bossons. In this respect, as well as the ease with which the forms of the structural sliells and the frontal dip may here be studied, this glacier merits especial attention. On the platform the frontal dip is 7r>" (IS IT.). - Essai, p. 7;'-. Tour of Mont Blanc 175 cievassses, and which had afterwards become parallel to the sides of the glacier, or its line of contact with the moraine, by some process which he does not explain. The real explanation, upon the theory of these veins which I have given in the last chapter, appears to be, that they are due to the fissures developed near the edge of the glacier, where its friction is greatest, and the velocity of its layers most unequal, and, owing to this inequality, the faster moving parts of the ice drag along with them some of the particles of the moraine with which they have become soiled. In these parts the icy structure is perfect, owing to the complete thaw which the near contact of the warm ground produces, for the lower level of the Glacier of Bossons is un- usually deep in the valley, not probably more than 3300 feet above the sea,^ or at least 5000 feet below perpetual snow. 6. The Glacier of Bossons, then, by showing the exact manner in which an almost homogeneous mass of opaque white ice begins to have a structure developed 10,000 feet below its origin, by the formation of fissures into which water being in- filtrated assumes the appearance of bluish veins, which finally present the usual forms of glacier structure, is highly illustrative of the views formerly explained. I must add, that the peculiar phenomena of dirt hands on a great scale described in page 155 are not here wanting, although from the dazzling whiteness of the ice they may very easily be overlooked. They are best seen in cloudy weather, when two or three of great breadth may be easily seen traversing the lower end or snout of the glacier where it dies away in the valley. The Glacier of Bossons is bounded on the east by a steep grassy hill, which rises to the foot of the Aiguille du Midi, where it is surmounted by the Glacier des Pelerins. A very interesting and by no means dangerous excursion may be made in this direction from the Glacier des Bossons to the Montanvert, or the reverse. Above the chalet of La Para (on the slope just men- tioned, and the last habitation passed on the ascent of Mont Blanc) is a grassy height,^ which may be from 7000 to 8000 feet above the sea, and whence a most interesting view is obtained 1 [On ]\I. Kiuz's map, 3606 feet.] " [Probably the Aiguille de la Tour, 7566 feet, twenty iniuutes above the Pierre Poiutue Inn, is meant. There is now a mule-path direct from Chamouni to the Plan de I'Aiguille.] 176 Travels through the Alps of Savoy of the highest part of tlie (Jlacier des Bossons, the Gands Mulcts rocks, the Ch'and Plateau, and, indeed, the whole course of the route to the sunnnit of Mont Blanc. From thence the Glacier des Pelerins is crossed (where De Saussure met with one of the narrowest escapes of his life ^) to the Plan de I' Aiguille, or SoinmiU des Croix, another green hill-top which offers a magnificent view ; and continuing nearly on the same level, avoiding or crossing with precaution the Glaciers of Blaitiere and Nantillons,^ the ridge of the Charmoz is gained, along which the descent upon the Montanvert is easy. The western side of the Glacier des Bossons is bounded by the Montague de la Cote, a very narrow and steep ridge of rock, covered, however, Ijy many pines, which separates the glacier just named from that of Taconnaz, which descends immediately to the westward, and has a common origin with it amidst the snows of Mont Blanc. Naturally enough the earlier attempts to ascend Mont Blanc were made by the Montague de la Cote, but it has been found on the whole easier to traverse the glacier. It was by the Montague de la Cote that De Saussure ascended,"^ and he slept on the summit the first night. The Glacier of Taconnaz is remarkable from this circumstance, that it appears to have diminished notably in modern times, whilst that of Bossons has either increased or perhaps remained stationary. The modern Glacier of Taconnaz has but small moraines, whilst the ground below, and indeed the whole neighbouring valley in the direction of Les Ouches, is strewed with immense fragments of the granite of Mont Blanc, which, it seems impossible to doubt, have been transported by this glacier when it formerly attained a greater bulk, and crossing the Arve, deposited these blocks on its farther bank, where the river takes a sudden turn to enter the valley of Servoz. Limestone occurs on both sides of the Arve, in the neighbourhood of Les Ouches, and is connected with the great secondary chain to the north of the Brevent. Farther down, however, it is succeeded by a nondescript quartzose rock, forming the ridge between Servoz and St. Gervais. Between Les Ouches and the Pont Pelissier, this rock is furrowed and polished in the most characteristic manner of the glacier action of the Alps, in a direction parallel to the length of the valley, and which it is impossible for one moment to doubt being due to the abrasion of ' Voycujcs, § G75. - [It is also possible to pass below them.] •' [In 1787.] Tour of Mont Blanc 177 some heavy superincumbent rulDbing body. These forms may Ije compared to those produced in ductile plaster by the wooden mould with which the workman finishes a cornice. They extend to some height on the western slope, where I first noticed them in descending from the Col de la Forclaz. The whole of this part of the valley scarcely contains one angular fixed rock — all are smoothed and polished. Near the Pont Pelissier, and on the western side of the Arve, are several hillocks presenting precisely the phenomena of roches moutonn^es, and that their forms are due to glacier action, is rendered the more probable from the occurrence of blocks amongst them, one of which, of immense size and angular shape, seems poised on the very top of one of these bee- hive-like summits ; such phenomena have been called by De Charpentier hlocs percMs, and it is impossible to see a better example than the one I have just mentioned. It is truly surprising that in the minute mineralogical description which De Saussure gives of this route ^ he makes no allusion to these phenomena. This is one example amongst many how obvious facts may escape the most experienced and assiduous observer, for De Saussure must have passed through this valley dozens, if not hundreds of times. Some miles below Servoz, the valley of the Arve is joined l)y the Vallee de Montjoie on the left, traversed by the rapid and cheerful stream of the Bon Nant, which forms a remarkably pretty and well-known cascade immediately behind the Baths of St. Gervais. These baths are situated in a deep and picturesque ravine, a little below the village of the same name, whose gay and neat appearance at a distance, with its fantastic spire, decorated, like most of the churches of the province of Faucigny, with burnished tin plate, gives a sparkling character to the landscape. The mineral springs of St. Gervais issue from alluvium, through the floor of a subterranean gallery. The three hottest vary in temperature from 104^ to 106° Fahrenheit. They con- tain iron and sulphur. Like most thermal springs, they issue near the union of different rocks. The valley on one side being composed of slate, quartz rock, and conglomerate, and on the other of limestone, limestone shale, and thick beds of gypsum, from which copious springs rise, with a temperature of 51°, at no great distance from the others. Several excursions of interest 1 I'oijagcs, §§ 499-516. 12 1 78 Travels through the Alps of Savoy may be made from St. Gervais, which we will not stop to particularise ; the views are very striking, although the higher Alps are concealed, but the limestone range of the Aiguille de Varens, which rises above St. Martin, is singularly picturesque in its outline and detail. What interested me most, however, in my last visit to St. Gervais, was the discovery of what I cannot doubt to be numerous and extensive moraines in its neighbourhood, although the nearest modern glacier is some hours' walk distant. It is to be observed, in the first place, that the valley is choked, as it were, in its lower part, by a mass of debris, through which the river has worked its way below the village of St. Gervais. The rock, where it appears, is usually slaty limestone ; but the surface of the soil is every here and there strewed with blocks of granite, some of them insulated and of great size, at other times accumulated in ridge-like mounds along the face of the slopes, exactly like moraines. Amongst the woods on the western side of the valley, not far from the baths, I found blocks of from thirty to forty feet in length, composed of well charac- terised protogine or granite of the chain of Mont Blanc. An extensive and well-marked moraine stretches along the face of the hill in the direction of Sallanches, and on the slope fronting the valley of the Arve, where it is almost inconceivable that a torrent could have been embayed, so as to deposit its blocks, supposing it could have moved such immense ones. They lie high above the open plain, and in a regular ridge, exactly like that figured on page 17, from the Mcr de Glace of Chamouni. The ridge just mentioned is partly grassy, and partly covered with small trees, but there is ample evidence of its composition being similar to that of a moraine. The most direct route from Chamouni to St. Gervais is not by Servoz, but across the Col de la Forclaz, which rises immedi- ately above the village of St. Gervais. For a great height on this path, angular granite blocks are strewed about. The Col de la Forclaz ^ is a gorge, and therefore offers no view from the summit. The Col de Bellevue or Col de Voza, which crosses the chain of Mont Lachat somewhat higher up, and communicates between the village of Les Ouches, in the valley of Chamouni, and that of Bionnay in the Val Montjoie, and commands the i)rospect of Chamouni and Mont Blanc, is, • [5105 feet.] Tour of Mont Blanc 179 therefore, deservedly more frequented. It also gives au oppor- tunity of inspecting the Grlacier of Biounassay, which descends in a north-western direction from near the summit of Mont Blanc, and approaches near the chalets of the same name. The Pavilion de Belle vue on the Col is nearly 7000 feet above the sea,^ and yet erratic blocks are strewed all around. Not only is it incon- ceivable that a torrent should have passed over a hill like this, fit to carry great blocks of granite, but the erratics of the Col mix insensibly with the modern moraine of the Glacier of Bionnassay beneath, so that it is impossible to say where the erratic phenomenon ends, and where the glacial 2^^^^'>^omcnon begins. This is an argument, very striking on the spot, in favour of the glacial theory of erratics, and these very blocks of protogine may be traced, I believe, without any intermission, down to the Baths of St. Gervais, and perhaps to Sallanches. There are three, if not four,' distinct glaciers which occupy the higher parts of valleys communicating with that of Montjoie : Bionnassay (already mentioned), Miage ^ (to be distinguished from that of the same name in the Allee Blanche), and Trelatete, which descends opposite the chalets of Nantborrant. All of these transport numerous primitive blocks, and sometimes deposit them upon insulated summits near the openings of the respective valleys. From Contamines '^ (where there is an indifferent inn) to Notre Dame de la Gorge (a chapel and mission-house, without a village), the scenery is cheerful and pretty. There the defile narrows, and the steep rocks of gneiss on either hand, between which the stream struggles, are picturesquely clothed with larch and pines ; and here, as is almost universal in valleys containing erratics, the surface of the rock is worn, rounded, and cut by long smooth furrows, which resemble those produced by glaciers. The torrent is passed by a bridge immediately above a fine waterfall, and we ^ 6939 English feet. See De CandoUe, Hypsometric. [The Pavilion de Bellevue, 5843 feet, is some way above the Col de Voza, 5496 feet.] - [Forbes omits that of Frasse, the nearest to Contamines, which is the principal hamlet in the Montjoie glen.] ' [This is the French or Savoyard Miage Glacier ; that in the Allee Blanche is the Italian or Piedmontese glacier of that name.] * [There is now a char road from the Chamouni valley at Le Fayet past the village of St. Gervais — the Baths lie below in a gorge and have a char road of their own from Le Fayet to Contamines — and from Contamines to Notre Dame de la Gorge. Thence there is a mnle- track to Courmayenr. There are now inns at Nantborrant, La Balme, Chapieux, Mottets, and La Visaille, on the Bonhomme- Seigne route between Contamines and Courmayenr.] i8o Travels through the Alps of Savoy tiiul ourselves in an upland pastoral country, but still pleasingly diversified by wood. A main branch of the Bon Xant descends a narrow rough gorge from the CJlacier of TrelatOte. We are now at Xantborrant, where travellers, making the tour of ]\Iont Blanc, usually pass the night. Nantborrant is about seven hours' walk from Chamouni. The Col du Bonhomme is between two and three hours farther. The way lies chiefly over upland pastures, not unmixed with good trees, but the higher part is bare rock, with patches of snow. The upper portion of the valley is composed of secondary limestone, containing Belemnites, and presents no granite blocks. But though the little plain of La Balme is covered with vast calcareous fragments fallen from the clift's above, these do not extend (so far as I have observed) into the valley beneath ; and the numerous primitive blocks already mentioned cease entirely above Nantborrant, that is, they commence with the Glacier of Trelatete, thus showing that the transporting cause of these erratics had its origin, not in the natural prolongation of the valley (at the Col du Bonhomme), ])ut in the highest tributary which contains a glacier. The passage of the Bonhomme is one of the most dreary in the Alps, and in bad weather it is dreaded by the guides. The strong west wind spends itself upon this great outlier of the chain of Mont Blanc, and raises the snow into fearful eddies, called tovvmcntcs in the French and Guxen in the German Alps, which are justly feared by those who have been exposed to them. Here two English travellers lost their lives some years since.' Their last entry is still to be found in the travellers' book at Xantborrant. I have crossed the Col du Bonhomme three times, and on one of these occasions, having merely a porter with me, who did not know the way, we got bewildered in fog amongst the rocks, from which we were only extricated by my referring to the map and compass, instead of following the directions of my companion. When the sumndt ^ is gained a wide view is seen over the valleys [N.] of the Tarentaise, and the traveller naturally thinks of descending immediately by a path right before 1 [Theso woro the Rovs. KiclKinl l>r;ukeu and Augustus Canipliell, who jioiishcd on Se])tc'mbcr 13, 1830.] - [The lirst pass is 7678 feet in height. It is sometimes called "Col du Bon- homme," to distinguish it from the true pass, or the "Croix du Bonhomme."] Tour of Mont Blanc i8i liim. Let him, however, beware of this, for it will lead him into the valley of Beaufort, which, most likely, is not his intended route. If going to Courniayeur, he follows an ill-traced path on liis left, over black shale (or snow during part of the season), which conducts him nearly on a level, after a quarter of an hour's walk, to a point somewhat higher than the last, which is called the Croix du Bonhomme, and which, on my last journey, I found to be 8195 feet above the sea.^ The view from thence is striking, although Mont Blanc is concealed. The mountains of the Upper Isere, stretching away towards the Mont Cenis, are fully in view ; and conspicuous amongst these is the Aiguille de la Vanoise,^ a snow-clad pyramidal summit between IMoiitiers Tarentaise and Lanslebourg, and which is undeniably one of the most elegant mountains in the Alps. Immediately before the spectator is the very deep valley of Bonneval, which takes its rise at the foot of the Col de la Seigne, and which, turning sharply at the chalets of Chapieux (whose position may be seen at an immense depth below), forms a very wild and uninhabited gorge,^ extending nearly to Bourg St. Maurice, in the valley of the Isere. By this route the traveller reaches the pass of the Little St. Bernard, which he may traverse to the Val d'Aoste. If, on the other hand, he wish to reach Courniayeur directly, he may either descend from the Croix du ]jonhomme to Chapieux and ascend to the Hameau du Glacier at the head of the valley, or he may cross the Col des Fours, which conducts him by a shorter but rougher road ; or, finally, he may scramble along the rocks by an intermediate path, without descend- ing so low as Chapieux. The passage of the Col des Fours is still more savage than that of the Bonhomme, and it is consider- ably higher.* I shall long remember an hour spent here in magnetic and barometric observations in August, 1832, amongst perpetual snow and exposed to a biting wind. It is about 850 feet higher than the Croix du Bonhomme.' The middle path just 1 [Really 8147 feet.] - [It is really the Mont Pourri, 12,428 feet, second only in the Tarentaise to the (irande Casse, 12,668 feet, the name "Aiguille de la Vanoise" having been formerly applied to the latter, as it overhangs the Col de la Yanoise.] ^ [There is now a char road through this glen from Chapieux to Bourg Saint ^Maurice. Two-thirds of the way down is the " Etablissement " of Bonneval les 15ains. Bourg Saint IMaurice is close to the foot of the Little St. Bernard.] * [It is 8891 feet.] '^ [Really 744 feet.] 1 82 Travels through the Alps of Savoy alluded to is, in some respects, interesting. Instead of descending the steep pastures of Chapieux we follow an obscure track amongst the rocks towards the east, and after traversing for some distance the limestone strata rising towards the north, of which the main chain is here formed, we come to a mass of granite, rising from the valley and overlying them at a considerable angle. Near the same point there is a magnificent view of Mont Blanc and the adjacent mountains, seen above the Col de la Seigne, which appears just in front. It presents the w^hole range, from the Grandes Jorasses on the east to the summit called Aiguille des Glaciers on the west, from which the vast glacier ^ descends whicli occupies the head of the valley of Bonneval. At the chalets of IMottets the traveller will probably make as short a stay as possible, and will then proceed to ascend the Col de la Seigne, which, as has been said, separates the tributary streams of the Khone from those of the Po. The ascent is very easy, but tedious. The summit is 8422 feet above the sea,^ by my observations, and was fortified, as I was informed, when the French army endeavoured to force this pass. From the top the extent of the Allee Blanche is well seen, with the great masses of the chain of Mont Blanc, which bound it on the left. Mont Blanc itself presents a singular appearance in this direction, and would not be easily recognised by those who know it only in a northern or eastern direction. The western and southern faces are very steep, although not so absolutely precipitous as they would appear to be when viewed in front. The former falls abruptly towards the Glacier de Miage, the latter into the Alice Blanche itself. The bottom of the valley is here not more than 4000 English feet above the sea, consequently this colossal mountain rises above it at a very short horizontal distance, and no less than 11,700 feet of vertical height, which, though not an unbroken precipice, is composed entirely of steep and savage rock, upon which the snow cannot lie for any extent. Its aspect is, therefore, far more imminent and imposing than on the side of Chamouni, where the eye is greatly deceived as to the actual distance of the top, and consequently as to its height. But here the details rather aid the perspective, and when seen in profile irom the Col de la Seigne, the stupendous buttresses by wliicli the mountain is supported, and especially one prodigious aiguille ' [Now much slirmikcii.] - [It is 8242 feet.] Tour of Mont Blanc 183 of granite, called Mont Peteret/ come out in relief, although, when a front view is taken from Courmayeur or its neighbourhood, these pinnacles, thousands of feet in height, are lost against the tower- ing mass behind, which then seems to rise like a wall. I am unable to state the exact line of junction of the limestone with the central mass of granite. I apprehend, however, that it runs from some way to the north of the Col de la Seigne (which is calcareous) to the Cime des Fours, and so down nearly to Nantborrant, leaving the Aiguille des Glaciers and the greater part of the G-lacier de Trelatete within the primitive boundary. To the east the limit is, in a good measure, determined by the direction of the Allee Blanche, which separates, for some distance, the granite from the limestone. Two conspicuous summits, how- ever, which appear near the foreground of the view, a little higher than the Col de la Seigne, are the Pyramides Calcaires de 1' Allee Blanche of De Saussure. They are upon the left hand in descend- ing. It is a walk of nearly five hours from the top of the Col to Courmayeur, during which we traverse the whole length of the Allee Blanche.'^ It is there met by another parallel valley which opens exactly opposite to it, and forms, as it were, the prolongation of the Allee Blanche for about five hours farther. This is called the Val Ferret, and terminates at the Col Ferret. The chief glaciers of the Allee Blanche (on the north side) are the following: (1) the Glacier de I'Estellette ; (2) the Glacier de I'Allee Blanche; (3) the Glacier de Miage ; (4) the Glacier de la Brenva. The second and third of these have formed barriers across the valley by moraines, so as to have occasioned lakes from the interruption of the course of the river. That formed by the Glacier de 1' Allee Blanche is nearly filled up by alluvial matter, but an extensive flat attests its former existence, together with the extensive barricade of debris, through which the river now tumbles in a foaming rapid. The moraine of the Glacier de Miage is, perhaps, the most extraordinary in the whole Alps, and has given rise to the Lac de Combal, which will be especially described in the next chapter. Below the moraine of Miage, which occupies the valley for a great space, are some chalets,^ and then a level fertile plain, 1 [Both the Aiguille Blanche de Peteret — the loftier — and the Aiguille Noire de Peteret are seen. The latter is probably the peak meant by Forbes.] 2 De Saussure (§ 854) states that below the Glacier de Miage the name of Allee Blanche is exchanged for that of Val Yeni. 3 [Here is now the little Visaille inn.] 1 84 Travels through the Alps of Savoy whilst the valley widens and becomes more romantic and less savage. Trees appear on both sides, especially on the right, where the forest is very fine, and clothes all' the northern slope of a remarkable hill with a conical summit, called the ]\Iont Chetif, or Pain de Sucre, which is composed of granite, although separated from the great chain by secondary rocks. The paths through these woods are amongst the most beautiful and striking with which I am acquainted. That leading to Courmayeur, after attaining some height above the torrent, proceeds nearly on a level, until, emerging from the trees, we come into full view of the majestic Glacier de la Brenva, which, formed in a hollow to the east of Mont Blanc, pours its mass into the valley, which it has, in a good measure, filled up with its moraine, forming a kind of bridge, which it has pushed before it, and on which it bestrides obliquely the Allee Blanche, abutting against its opposite side, at the foot of the Mont Chetif. Its appearance and phenomena will also be described in the next chapter. A chapel, dedicated to Notre Dame de la Guerison,^ stands on the right-hand side of the way, exactly opposite to the ice, and another steep descent conducts us again to the bank of the river, which here turns abruptly, after its confluence with the stream of the Val Ferret, into a ravine, cutting the range of the Pain de Sucre. The united streams are passed by a wooden bridge at the Baths of la Saxe, and twenty minutes more brings the traveller to the beautifully situated village of Courmayeur, after a laborious walk of eleven hours from Nantborrant. ' [Or de Benier.] THE GI.ACIKR DE MIAGE AN!" ITS MORAINE PYEAMIDES CALCAIKES. GLACIER DE MIAGE. li, t^LACIER DE LALLEE BLANCHE. (/, COL DE LA SEIGNE. CHAP TEE X THE GLACIERS OF MIAGE AND LA BRENVA The ascent of the Allee Blauclie — Moraine of Miage — Its lieight and extent — Chainois^Triljutaj-y glaciers — Their structure and forms of union with the principal one — Scene of desolation on a moraine — La Brenva — Its remarkable structure — A superimposed glacier — Interesting con- tact of the ice with the rock beneath — Increase of the glacier of La Brenva in 1818 — A tradition. ' ' I am acquainted with only one other scene in the world which can pretend to lival, in natural magnificence, the Glacier de Miage ; I mean Xiagara." Basil H.\ll. C'OUEMAYEUR would be worth a visit, if it were only for the purpose of examining in detail the Glaciers of the Allee Blanche. But this excursion is rarely made. Travellers are usually con- tent with wiiat they see of them in descending from the Col de la Seigne, and there are but few guides who have ever traversed either of these glaciers. A short day is sufficient for visiting the Glacier of La Brenva, but it is a laborious day's work fully to examine the Glacier de Miage.^ I shall begin with the latter. I had twice before passed the Lac de Combal, and the 1 [On this glacier Signor Martino Baretti's monograph, published at Turin in 1880 in the Memorie ddla Rcale Accculcmia delle Scienze dl Torino, series ii. vol. xxxii., should be consulted. It has a map and diagrams.] 1 86 Travels through the Alps of Savoy moraine of the glacier whicli I have described as pushed out into the valley which it occupies for several miles in length, nearly a mile in breadth, and several hundred feet in depth. I had no small curiosity to see the chasm in the mountains whence this mass of debris had been derived, and to examine the glacier which had been and still continues to be so powerful an agent of degradation and transport. Accordingly, on July 15, 1842, 1 left Courmayeur at half-past five a.m., on foot, and reached ToFoor.APHXA:. Sketch N' 1 . ' 11 .J /'=> 4'^-- ETF. SKXTtIf or THE GLACIER 1 m. \ MlAOK. \ M'Br. r"'- ' •^^ i I , . r „ /,/'J/»'- •^'^ ^ -.:.• ■^■■^■■:^^-'-^^J.:''-" the lower extremity of the moraine at the chalets of La Visaille in about two hours. The Doire there struggles through the narrow ravine left between the moraine and the foot of the calcareous hills on the south side. The path keeps the side of the moraine, and is every year more or less injured by the falls of rubbish. In this ravine on the south side is a deep hole in the gypsum rock which occurs there, in which my guide Antoine Proment assured me that chamois frequently pass the night, and their young are sometimes taken alive. This surprised me, and I was inclined to doubt it, but we saw traces of them on a patch of snow within a short distance. In three hours from Cour- mayeur I reached the Lac de Combal,^ where the Doire issues ' [Sec Haretti, pp. 16-18 of tlie separate reprint, as to this lake.] Glaciers of Miage and La Brenva 1 8 from it (see the Topographical Sketch, No. I.). A dam has been formed so as to secure its regulated discharge, and to prevent accidents. This lake, as has been already said, is formed entirely by the moraine of the glacier, which is here shot out from the side ravine, and occupies the entire breadth of the valley. The moraine consists of two parts, the old and the new. It is the old which bounds the lake ; the new moraine rises to a greater height, and sweeps more gently round, until it becomes parallel to the length of the valley. The old moraines are still fortified by the low walls with slits of musketry, erected probably by the Piedmontese troops in 1794.^ It is strange to see this applica- tion of the artificial-looking mounds which the glacier has raised, and which themselves bear no slight resemblance to a series of gigantic outworks of an extensive fortification. It is the outer- most of these ridges which is so occupied. The arrangement of the others is abundantly singular, forming a series of four semi- lunar curves with their convexity up the valley, as shown in the ground-plan, which is taken from a careful sketch made upon the spot. A small lake is formed behind these moraines, which is further enclosed by other convex, though less perfect moraines beyond, of which the greater part are now grass-grown. I am by no means satisfied as to the way in which these successive ridges of debris were deposited by the glacier. They may either have been frontal moraines, or the contents of vast fissures which were deposited as the glacier melted. Something of the latter kind I have since observed to have taken place in the recent retirement of the Glacier de Lys, in the valley of Gressoney, near Monte Eosa. But as I cannot give any certain explanation, I shall not dwell upon it. Having observed the barometer at the level of the lake, I proceeded to ascend the modern moraine, which is higher than would readily be believed from mere inspection, and when I had gained the top and commanded a view of the Glacier de Miage, I observed the barometer again, and found the vertical height of the moraine (besides what is below the level of the lake) to be 395 feet.^' Here I found the veined structure of the ice distinct, 1 [But they are mentioned by P. A. Arnod in his careful report as to the passes of the Yal d'Aosta, written in 1691-94. See Signor Vaccarone's Lc vie delle Alpi Occidentali ncgli anticiii tempi (Turin, 1884), pp. 49, 103.] - The height of the Lac de Combal is, by my observation, l'091 feet above Cour- mayeur, or 6302 feet above the sea. [Really 6365 feet.] 1 88 Travels through the Alps of Savoy parallel to the length of the glacier, but dipping inwards at an angle of 70°. The Glacier de Miage, as I have said, is here pretty level ; it is shot out as it were from a narrow valley which works its way back into the very entrails of the great chain, so that the liead of the valley is considerably to the north-west of the summit of Mont Blanc, which here presents inaccessible escarp- ments. The valley is almost straight, and the sides parallel, without subdividing itself into considerable branches. The ice is shoved along this uniform canal, and receives a few tributaries from either side,^ which descend with great steepness. One which I remarked on the right bank of the glacier, at a spot marked A on Sketch No. I., descends at an angle, which, so far as I could ascertain it without being on its surface, was inclined 50°, and which is the steepest nnhroJcen surface of ice I have ever seen. It descended a narrow couloir from the Aiguilles Eouges (called Mont Sue by De Saussure)^ from a great height. The narrowness of the main valley makes it like an unfinished ex- cavation intended to have cut the chain of Mont Blanc in two, and struck me with surprise, although I was somewhat prepared for it after viewing the prodigious mass of solid matter which the glacier had poured out into the Allee Blanche. It may be cited as a most striking instance of excavation by the ceaseless action of seemingly trifling causes. The continual fall of frag- ments detached from the neighbouring summits loads the glacier with debris, which it bears incessantly down from the head of the valley ; and as we judge of the size of a quarry from viewing its rubbish heaps, so here we have the mould and the cast, the die and the relief, the matter transported and the spot of its excavation. I traversed the glacier in several directions with a view to examine its structure, and whilst standing on the moraine I saw a female chamois and her calf cross the glacier, within a very short distance, towards the Aiguilles Jiouges. They were fol- lowed by eight full-grown chamois, which I could watch all at once. They were tame, and stopped frequently to look about !Tlie three most, iinpoitaiit desceiid tioiii .Mout IJlaiic and its iiorth-westeni The proper name ol' the Aif,'iiilles Rouges is '• Aiguille T^^:P-- tt \ Counnayfur f\E SKETCH A-Vn A SECTION cflhc Cham c/'M^/rtun Courmatjettr ta Chamouiu and which had been so far anticipated by De Saussure and ]\1. Necker. In the ravine now mentioned the junction may lie traced for a long way towards the centre of the chain, the line of contact between the limestone and the overlying protogine or gneiss, being inclined in the higher part of the section 38° to the horizon (dipping north-west), and in the lower part of the section 50°. The strata are therefore bent at the junction, but at a little distance they have a pretty uniform north-west dip of 38 . There is no dilliculty in reacliing the junction. The lime- stone shale is altered and crystalline near the contact. The gneiss is altered also. Tliese i)henomena bear the most striking analogy with those which I liave seen in the Alps of 1 ),iuphinr, Environs of Courmayeur 205 and which have been so well described by M. Elie de Beaumont. The junction may be traced nearly as far as the Glacier of La Brenva, but not (I think) farther west. The Mont Frety, which lies immediately to the east of the ravine in question, is also of limestone, which dips under the granite of the Col du Geant, and a close examination would, I have no doubt, give proofs of the same thing all along the north side of the Val Perret as far as the Col of that name, where the limestone becomes nearly vertical. This analogy in the arrangement of the rocks on either side of the great chain is not the only one, for on either side of Mont Blanc is a secondary range also composed partly of granite. The Aiguilles Eouges (which, however, are not included in the section) are granitic, although separated from the main chain by the limestones of the valley of Chamouni ; and the Mont Chetif and part of the opposing Mont de la Saxe near Courmayeur are in like manner granitic. The form of the latter mass, as shown in the section, is a great tabular body of imperfect granite, greenish, slaty, and containing an excess of quartz, with limestone above and below, very nearly in the manner in which the greenstone of Salisbury Crags, near Edinburgh, is interposed between the sandstones. Both the granite and limestone rise towards Mont Blanc, consequently, the limestones on the two sides of the Val Ferret rise towards the axis of that valley, — a very remarkable arrangment. The tabular mass of Mont Chetif is cut through by the Doire at the baths of La Saxe, where there is an excellent section : the granite is then lost under the Mont de la Saxe to the eastward, which is chiefly composed of limestone which envelopes the granite, and is also covered with herbage. I had, however, remarked a summit parallel to the axis of Mont Blanc, on the eastern part of the ridge of this hill, which I suspected to be granite, and having made an excursion on purpose, I found my conjecture to be confirmed. This summit is called the Croix de la Bernarda ^ (see the Sketch) ; it may be easily reached either from the Val Ferret, or from the little valley of La Saxe. Farther east the granite is again lost under the limestone. The general dip of the limestone mountains farther from the main chain is towards the south-east. In returning from the Croix de la Bernarda by the \d\ 1 [831-1 feet.] 2o6 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Ferret, I observed a very reiuark.ible accuinulatioii of debris of granite, which occupies the liottoin oi' the valley to a great de})th, and which has been evidently cut in two by the river, the deposit being of Alpine boulders resendjling a moraine, which lie heaped upon the north side of the Mont de la Saxe, as shown in the section already referred to. The existence of this moraine, ii' we may so call it, taken in connection with the deposit of similar blocks upon the face of the limestone outlier of the great chain called Mont Frety, and which will l)e more particularly mentioned in the next chapter, certainly appears to favour the conclusion that the glaciers, such as those of En- treves and Mont Frety, which have now retreated towards the Alpine summits, once tilled the entire space below, and trans- ported these debris. They are deposited close to the sudden turn of the river betwx^en the Val Ferret and the l)aths of La Saxe. I made another excursion towards the Mont Chetif, to determine the relations of the granite in that quarter. 1 ascended the little valley above the village of iJolina,^ marked in the sketch behind the Mont Chetif, until I reached a col or passage which leads into the Allee Blanche, and which comnuinds a magnificent view of the range of Mont Blanc. This is called the Col de Checruit." I had here an opportunity of examining the granite of the ridge on which I stood, and of seeing it dis- appear to the westward under the limestone, which it has greatly altered just at the Col. It is impossible to trace the connection of the granite of Mont Chetif with that of Mont Blanc, owing to the mass of debris and verdure with which the north slope is covered. I apprehend, however, that there is an undoubted connection between the granite of Mont Peteret and that of Mont Chetif, and that it crosses the valley in that place. The last exposed limestone is seen (as observed in the last chapter) on the south side of the valley just opposite to the Glacier of La Brenva. From the Col de Checruit 1 saw very distinctly the dip of the limestone of Mont Frety, under the granite of the Col du (jreant, which 1 afterwards confirmed on the spot. The descent IDolloU.'.l [Col dc Cliucouri, 0-l:Jl loi't ; lioiico there is now ;i iiiule-patli to the Lae de Coiiilial.] Environs of Courmayeur 207 into the AUee Blanche, throiigli some of the finest pine forests in the Alps, is ;i most interesting walk. Every one has noticed how rarely fine trees are to be seen in almost any part of the Alps. The forests on the north side of Mont Chetif are an exception, and whilst those in the valley of Courmayeur and La Tlmille,^ are very generally in a dying state, from some cause which seems not to be understood, — these are flourishing. Several encampments of charcoal burners are met with during the descent ; and the latter part of the walk may be performed along a conduit of water through the wood, from which, at intervals, the noblest views of the unequalled range of mountains and glaciers beyond, and in both directions, may be obtained. The path of the AUee Blanche being reached, I returned to Cour- mayeur by La Saxe. De Savissure mentions the granite of La Saxe, though he does not advert to the peculiarity of its position, as respects the great chain. He notices, however, what he calls " cette super- position monstrueuse des roches primitives sur les secondaires," - at La Saxe. In the haste and exhaustion with which he descended from the Col du Geant,^ he probably omitted to examine the rocks of Mont Frety. M. Sismonda, the able geologist of Turin, mentions "^ the superposition of granite to limestone at Pra Sec, beneath the Grandes Jorasses, where I noticed it in 1841. But the remarkable symmetry of the chain on both sides, has not, so far as I am aware, been hitherto remarked. The ascent of tlie Cramont is one of the best known excur- sions near Courmayeur. The great object is to command the complete \iew of the southern precipices of Mont Blanc and the adjoining chain. Its elevation is considerable, being, accord- ing to my observations, 4932 feet above Courmayeur, and, by contemporaneous observations at Aosta, I find it to be 9081 English feet (2768 metres) above the sea.'^ The route usually followed is, to descend the valley of the Doire as far as Pre St. Didier, and to ascend the Cramont by its southern slope, although that mountain lies nearly due west of Courmayeur. It is 1 [Oil the way from I're St. Didier to the Little St. Bernard.] - Voyages, § 881. ■- Ih. % 2034. ^ Memoria sui terreni stratificati dellc Alpi, di Aiigelo Sismonda, p. 1 2. 5 [Really 8980 feet.] 2o8 Travels through the Alps of Savoy extremely precipitous on all sides except the south. On the present occasion I walked down to Pre St. Didier in tlie evening, in company with M. Carrel, whom I have already mentioned ; and, having gone to bed for a few hours, we started by starlight, in a beautiful morning, at half-past three a.m., so as to gain the summit early. The first stage of the journey is on the mule-path ^ of the Little St. Bernard, which rapidly ascends the ravine whence the hot spring issues, as already mentioned. On this road is one of the grandest bursts of scenery in the Alps — that, namely, which is enjoyed in descending from La Thuille, at the instant that the Aiguille du Geant, the Grandes Jorasses, and the whole of the eastern chain of Mont Blanc come first into view. The road is soon after left; and along but easy path, through meadows, brings the traveller insensibly above the level of the adjoining hills. At length, the highest irrigation is passed, and a full hour's ascent remains, over the short turf, by which the top of the Cramont may easily be reached in four hours from Pre St. Didier. I was so fully imbued with De Saussure's enthusiastic picture - of the grandeur of the station, that I was a little disappointed to find it, not only equalled in height by some others in the neighbourhood, but overtopped by one, also of limestone, which stands between the Cramont and the Allee Blanche, effectually preventing the eye from diving into its depths, and thus measuring Mont Blanc at once from top to bottom, as is the case in the view from the Brevent, above the valley of Chamouni. This interfering summit, which I cannot help thinking has been mistaken by some topographers for the Cramont described by De Saussure, lies nearly west from the Cramont, and at the head of the valley whose streamlet passes Dolina. (See the Topographical Sketch, No. III.). It is, in fact, the prolongation of the Mont Chetif and Col de Checruit, and separates that valley from the Alice Blanche. The ascent is obviously easy and direct, much more so than that of the (Jramont ; the height is greater : it is nearer Mont Blanc, and commands completely the Alice Blanche and its glaciers. On all these accounts, T do not doubt that this hill is worth • [Now a iiiie carriage-road.] - [§§ 904-910. Saussure inadct tlie ascent twice, in 177-1 and 1778, and his name lias been given to the slielter-liut Iniilt near the summit by tlie Italian Alpine Chib.] Environs of Courmayeur 209 ascending, although it appears to be unknown to tourists, and even to natives, for I could not learn its name.^ The Cramont is part of the limestone group, whose strata dip southwards, and the northern face being composed of the broken edges, is extremely abrupt. A ragged cliff extends for a long way, without any great variation of height. M. Carrel, myself, and my guide, Antoine Proment, had carried to the summit a considerable collection of meteorological instruments ; for my intention was to spend the entire day upon the top, in order to observe the force of solar radiation. It is a familiar fact to mountaineers, that the sun's rays have an intensity and energy at great heights, which they entirely want on the plains. At first, this might be supposed imaginary, or to result from the reflection of the heat by the snow. On a station like the Cramont, where there is no permanent snow, this error is avoided ; and no one who has compared the effect of a single day's exposure amongst the Alps, in discolouring the hands and face, with that of the hottest weather at Paris or Marseilles, will be disposed to question the former assertion. The differ- ence admits of being shown instrumentally, by means of the valuable apparatus, called an actinometer, invented by Sir John Herschel, and I was provided with two of these instruments on the present occasion. My object was, in completion of some experiments made in former years, in other parts of the Alps, to ascertain the varying solar force at different hours of the day, at a height and at a season of the year in which the sun's rays travel through the atmosphere with least resistance.^' I had, accordingly, brought these instruments on purpose from Eng- land, and I sought this hill in the month of July, soon after the solstice, for no other purpose. But such experiments are at- tended with numberless chances of disappointment. The day, though fine and bright, was by no means so cloudless as to warrant any conclusions from the experiments, which I con- tinued every hour from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the whole of which time I spent upon the smmmit of the mountain. I had, therefore, abundance of time to survey the magnificent panorama by which 1 [It is no doubt the Tete d'Ai-jj, 9023 feet, or 43 feet higher than the Cramont. It is separated from the Cramont by the Col de I'Arp, over which a mule-path now runs from DoUone.] ^ See a paper on this subject in the Philosophical Transactions for 1842, being the Bakerian Lecture for that year. 14 2IO Travels through the Alps of Savoy I was surrounded ; aud haviug brought up a very good telescope by Tulley, of 2 j inches aperture, with a tripod stand, I could inspect minutely the forms and details, both of the nearer and more distant objects, — Mont Blanc, with its glaciers ; the pass of the Col du Guant, exactly opposite to me, on which, with the glass, I could discover almost every step aud every difficulty of the road ; and to the eastward, the summits of Mont Cervin and Monte Eosa especially engaged my attention. As it was now late, I proposed to Proment (M. Carrel had left us early) to descend to Courmayeur by the rocks. He had not before done it ; but we found little difficulty in discovering a most direct and not dangerous passage of the cliff, which is here at least 1500 feet high. Observing the limit of the larch in the valley of Courmayeur to be remarkably well defined, I took the level of it, which I found to be 7200 feet above the sea. From this point, the walk to Courmayeur was easy and pleasant, and remarkably direct. CHAPTEK XII THE PASSAGE OF THE COL DU GEANT Passes of the chain of Mont Blanc — History of this pass — Preliminary- obstacles — ^ Departure from Courmayeur — Ascent of Mont Frety — Experiment on the comparative intensity of moonlight, twilight, and that of a total eclipse — Granite and granite blocks of Mont Frety — Arrival on the Col — The view — History of De Saussure's sojourn — And of his observations — The descent — Difficulties of the glacier — Follow the track of a chamois — Reach the Mer de Glace — Montanvert. And followed where the flying chamois leaps Across the dark blue rifts, the unfathom'd glacier deeps. Hemans. The chaiu of which Mont Blanc forms the cuhninating point has a very peculiar structure, and is connected in a remarkable manner with the great chain of Alps. One would hardly guess from the common maps, that Mont Blanc, and its adjacent tributaries, form a kind of oval group rather than a portion of a line of mountain continuous from the Mediterranean to the Tyrol, such as the Alps are usually represented. In length this group extends from the Col du Bonhomme, on the confines of the Tarentaise, to the Mont Catogne, in the valley of Sembrancher, above Martiguy, a distance of thirty English miles in a north- east and south-west direction, whilst its breadth at right angles to the former, from Chamouni to Courmayeur, is only thirteen English miles. Now, to perform these thirteen miles, a tedious journey of two days (one of them of nearly twelve hours' walk- ing) is necessary, because this chain or group, being, generally speaking, impassable, must be gone round. To avoid so great a circuit, the Col du Geant offers the shortest passage from the one valley to the other. It forms the 2 12 Travels through the Alps of Savoy crest of the chain, where the western branch of the Mev de Glace takes its rise ; and, notwithstanding its immense height, it would probably be frequented but for the dangers of the glacier on its northern side. A tradition,^ common to this and many other passes of the Alps, states, that formerly the glacier was less formidable, and that communication was not unfrequent between Chamouni and Courmayeur.'-^ This has not occurred, however, within some centuries from the present time. The passage of the Col du Geant appears to have been reckoned im- practicable as late as 1785. M. Bourrit, writing in that year, and speaking of the aspect of that branch of the Mer de Glace of Chamouni called the Glacier du Tacul, says, with respect to the crevasses : " Elles sont si effroyables qu'elles font desesperer de retrouver jamais la route qui conduisait a la Val d'Aoste." ^ De Saussure, in the second volume of his Travels, speaking of the Glacier du Tacul, does not say one word of this historical passage of the Alps, though he seems to have thought it just possible that the summit of Mont Blanc might be gained in this direction ; ■* and, in the fourth volume, written some years later, when about to give an account of his memorable residence on the Col du Geant, he speaks of " la route nouvellement decou- verte," ^ from Chamouni to Courmayeur. This was in 1788. There is said to be a passage which has been effected from the Glacier de Miage, which penetrates very deeply indeed on the south side of the chain of Mont Blanc, to the valley of Contamines, by the glacier also bearing the name of Miage, on the north side ; but I have no accurate information of its accomplishment, and the appearance of the head of the glacier on the south side gives little encouragement to the attempt.^' ' [It is certain that in 1689 P. A. Aniod, an ofiicial of the Duke of Savoj-, tried in vain to cross tliis pass (as to which a local tradition prevailed), but was defeated by the huge crevasses. Yet, about 1740, a Genevesc letter-carrier, named Ribel, seems certainly to have crossed the pass, though, in 1741-42, "Windham and Martel were told at Chamouni that it was then impossible to cross it, as avalanches blocked the former route. The Col was certainly crossed in 1786 by an Englishman named Hill, in 1787 by M. Hxchaquct, and again by Bourrit, and, in 1788 by Saussure. Consult M. Durier's Lc Mont Blanc, pp. 40-42, 146, 417; Signor Vaccarone's Le rie delle A/pi (hr!,lnil„n unjli nnlkhi tempi (Tmin, 1884), ].).. .^i6-.'')8, and tlie Alpine Journal, vol. i\. I'p. l'i.'-24, 87, 88.] •^ Bourrit, J)i srription dcs Gluciiirs, vol. iii. ]>. 7'J. 3 Ih. vol. iii. p. 106. ■• § 629. '■ § 2025. <' [This is the Col de Miage, 11,077 feet, the rocks on the right bank of the small Passage of the Col du Geant 213 One other passage of the chain has, however, been made, and that is by the Glacier of Le Tour, near the Col de Balme, descending by the Glacier of Saleinaz into the Val Ferret. This was discovered a few years since by a guide of Chamouni, named Munier.^ It cannot be very long, and is probably not very dangerous. Such are the only known passes of this wild country." I was induced to undertake the passage of the Col du Geant, chiefly for two reasons : in the first place, from a desire which I had long entertained to visit a spot rendered memorable by De Saussure's extraordinary residence, and admirable observa- tions ; and, secondly, having occasion, on other grounds, to visit Courmayeur, and to return to Chamouni, I preferred any alterna- tive to that of experiencing once more the tedium of either of the circuits, by the Cols du Bonhomme and de la Seigne, on the one hand, or the Cols Ferret and de Balme on the other. I had already traversed the former three times on foot in difl'erent years ; and, though I had passed the latter only once, I wished to avoid the repetition of so long and dull a route. Accordingly, having reached Courmayeur in the beginning of July, 1842, by the Col du Bonhomme, in order to go to Turin to see the total eclipse of the sun, my resolution was taken to return by the Col du Geant. The guides of Courmayeur were, with one exception, un- acquainted with the passage. I therefore wrote to Chamouni about the middle of July, desiring my old guide, Jean Marie Couttet, who knew the passage well, to come by the Col du Bonhomme, on the 19th, to be ready to return by the Geant on the 20 th. I had previously ascertained that my guide of Courmayeur, Antoine Proment, would consent to undertake the passage with a single competent guide of Chamouni, for I had seen so much of the uselessness and inconvenience of numerous guides on such expeditions, that I resolved to take two only. glacier that excited the fears of Forbes giving comparatively easy access to it on the Italian side. The pass was certainly crossed in 1798 by some chamois hunters, one of whom perished in a crevasse on the French side ; and again in 1849 by MoUard of St. Gervais and some comrades. The first traveller was Mr. E. T. Coleman in 1858.] 1 [This spelling is the right one : the man was a miller by profession. On p. 462 below, Forbes attributes the discovery to Michel Charlet in 1838.] " [Since 1842 the number of glacier passes in this chain has greatly in- creased.] 2 14 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Another item of expense and trouble was saved at the suggestion of Proment. Hitherto tlie passage had, in every instance, been effected in two days. In starting from Chamouni, the Tacul was the place of the first night's bivouac ; and, in the one or two passages which have been made from the side of Oourmayeur, the travellers had slept, or at least lain on the exposed and almost precipitous face on the southern ascent, which offers no spot at all adapted for the most indifferent night's quarters. Proment suggested passing the Col without any halt, as the first part of the way, being without danger, might be performed in the dark. I determined, accordingly, to leave Courmayeur in the night, and to reach Col soon after sunrise, or at least before the morning was far advanced. Couttet arrived a day before his time, and the day of his arrival was also the last of fine weather, which had continued almost without interruption for a month. The south wind began to blow, the dew-point rose, fogs covered the range of the Cramont, and formed a belt along the chain of Mont Blanc, and it was but too evident that the weather was deranged for some days. The provisions were ready, the guides astir, and I was called at midnight of the 19th to consult upon the state of the weather ; when it was unanimously agreed to be unfit for such an expedition. A repetition of the same occurrences took place for several successive days and nights. I was immovably fixed in my purpose to return by no other route, and as resolute not to attempt the Pass but with the finest weather. Proment, who was at home, bore the tantalising delay philosophically enough, but Couttet fretted himself into such a state of impatience, that I believed he would have left me, and returned to Chamouni. Sometimes he urged me to depart, whatever might be the weather ; l)ut, when the hour of midnight came, and the council was called, his better sense warned him not to make so rash an attempt ; then he tried to induce me to give up the plan, and return by the Bonhomme, — anything to avoid the ennui of Courmayeur. But I was inflexible. The 20th, 21st, and 22nd July were spent thus. On the evening of the latter day the weather gave a promise of mending, whilst the snow which had fallen on the Col, and even a great deal lower, gave the prospect of some inconvenience from the cold, and increased difficulty in passing the glacier. Couttet put these prominently before me, Passage of the Col du Geant 215 as the last temptation to abandon my project ; but, finding me resolute, he made up his mind for departure that night, good or bad. I was called a little after midnight, between the 22nd and 23rd July, and to my inexpressible satisfaction, I beheld a magnificent calm night, illuminated by a moon just full. I had sent off by an opportunity some days before my heavier luggage, so that my packet was soon made. I carried, as usual, my barometer, hammer, compass, and telescope ; one guide took my little knapsack, and the other a similar one containing provisions. I took some soup before departing ; and we were detained, and my temper a little ruffled, by the stale imposition of a supplementary bill, containing items left out by inadvertence in the regular account paid the night before, which was presented to me at one o'clock in the morning, when remonstrance and appeal were alike unavailing. Travellers who undertake expeditions beyond the common run of excursions, cannot be too much put upon their guard against the systematic extortion of innkeepers, seconded by the love of indulgence of their guides. The better way would be to let the guides pay for themselves in every case. Being fairly on foot at 30 minutes past 1 a.m. of the 23rd July, my ill-humour was soon dissipated by the exquisite beauty of the scene which the valley of Courmayeur presented. The full moon was riding at its highest noon in a cloudless sky — the air calm and slightly fresh, blowing very gently down the valley. The village and neighbourhood lay, of course, in all the stillness of the dead of night ; and as I headed our little caravan, and walked musingly up the familiar road which led to the Allee Blanche and the foot of Mont Blanc, — that vast wall of mountain, crowned with its eternal glaciers, seemed to raise itself aloft, and to close in the narrow and half- shaded valley of Courmayeur, verdant with all the luxuriance of summer, and smelling freshly after the lately fallen rain. Of all the views in the Alps, few, if any, can, to my mind, be compared with the majesty of this, and seen at such a moment, and with the pleasing excitement of thinking that within a few hours I hoped to be standing on the very icy battlements which now rose so proudly and so inaccessibly, it may be believed that I had never before regarded it with so much complacency. 2i6 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Having left the baths of La Saxe on our right, we crossed the stream (.lescending from the Val Feriet, and skirting the village of Entreves under the guidance of Proment, who knew the bye-paths through the fields, we gained, after about an hour of pleasant walking, the woods of larch which clothe the south- eastern foot of the Mont Frety, as the pasture mountain is called, above which the Col du Geant stands. The Mont Frety may be ascended either on its eastern or western side ; both are steep and rugged, but not difficult. Some of the trees are of considerable size, and every now and then, from between their trunks, I caught an admirable peep of the still scenery of the low country, bathed in moonlight, whilst as we gradually but steadily ascended, our progress was measured by the successive hills or mountains which we left below our level : first, the Mont de la Saxe — then the Pain de Sucre ^ — finally, the Cramont itself sunk its head amongst more distant ranges of hills. Couttet had now taken the lead, and kept going steadily up hill at a very easy measured pace, but without the least intermission. In this way admirable progress is made ; the mind yields to the monotony of the exer- tion, and ceases to measure time, or to long for a remission of so moderate an effort. The footing being easy, no annoyance was felt from the want of full daylight, and the eye was left generally free to dwell on the objects around. Two hours had passed from the time of starting before we emerged from the larch wood upon the bare slope of Mont Fr^ty.- Twilight was beginning to make evident progress in the serene sky above the Col Ferret. The moon was still high in the south-west, 20° or 25" above the horizon; and I was curious to notice the relative intensity of the moonlight and the dawn with reference to some experiments which I had made during the total eclipse of the sun a fortnight before. On that occasion, the light permitted me to distinguish small print with difficulty in the open air, and I think I could not have read writing. I compared it afterwards to the darkness in a clear evening one and a quarter to one and a half hour alter sunset. The moon- light now was evidently incomparably brighter than the light of the eclipsed sun, and cnal)led me to read writing easily. As we I [Or Mont Clu'tif.] - [Here tlicre is now a littlo inn at a height of 7130 feet: it is now reacheil from Courniaycur by a nniU-patli which continues for some distance above the inn.] Passage of the Col du Geant 217 ascended the slope with the increasmg dawn on the right hand, and the setting moon on the left, I referred continually to a written paper in my hand, to mark the moment when it should appear equally legible by either. The difference of colour of the light caused some difficulty. It was the contrary of what we usually perceive ; the moonlight seemed yellow and warm, the dawn was cold and grey. This was evidently no illusion, and arose from the quantity of blue rays reflected by the large surface of sky whence the twilight was derived. At 3 h. 30 m. A.M., I judged the two lights to be equal, and in a very few minutes the dawn had so manifestly gained upon the other, that it showed the method to be susceptible of some accuracy. Now, the summit of Mont Blanc was not touched by the sunbeams until 4 h. 2 m. or 5 minutes later. This corresponds sufficiently well with my former estimate of the darkness of the total eclipse. It was very far less bright than the light of the full moon ; as much less, in fact, as the dawn 80 or 90 minutes before sunrise {in the month of July) is than the dawn 50 minutes before sunrise, which is probably not much more than a fourth part. This little experiment required no delay, and we kept always advancing. The Mont Frety projects considerably towards Cour- mayeur from the great chain, although, viewed from below, it seems an almost precipitous slope. There is a ravine on either hand, the highest portion of which contains a glacier — the Glacier du Mont Frety ^ on the west, and the Glacier d'Entr^ves on the right." What may be called the summit of Mont Frety is. a green pasturage, interspersed with enormous blocks. By frequent examination from below with a telescope, I had satisfied myself that the upper part was of granite, overlying strata of limestone, which dipped inwards at a considerable angle, and also that the blocks on the summit were granitic masses removed from some distance ; both of these conjectures were confirmed by examina- tion. The dimness of twilight permitted me only to ascertain generally the fact of the superposition of the granite to the lime- stone. As I approached the level of the scattered blocks of granite, I was struck by the peculiarity of their position. These enormous masses lie on an isolated ridge of very little extent, and 1 [Now better known as the Glacier de Toule.] - These are the names given by De Saussure (§ 2035). 2 1 8 Travels through the Alps of Savoy on a steep declivity. There are ravines on either liand ; precipices above, and the valley nearly .'5000 feet below. The level at which they occur is very remarkably preserved ; and without by any means vouching for the explanation, they seem to me not to have alighted on this promontory in the course of rolling down from the cliffs above, which is scarcely probable, but rather to have been deposited by the glaciers descending on either hand. If those glaciers formerly reached the valley beneath — which is not unlikely — they probably occasioned the remarkable deposit of boulders exactly opposite to Mont Frety, on the farthest or south side of the torrent of Val Ferret, described in the last chapter. The section in the Topographical Section, No. III., will give an idea of the combination of these remarkable pheno- mena, which contribute to render the environs of Courmayeur very interesting to the geologist. I have only to add, that the granite of the boulders on Mont Frety does not resemble the rock on which they lie, being more crystalline, and evidently derived from the neighbourhood of the Col du G^ant. The blocks in the valley have the same character. Having passed the sort of top or prominent Hat of Mont Frety, and having now arrived at the foot of the final ascent after three hours of continuous walking without any pause, we halted by a spring to break our fast at 30 minutes past 4. The sun was just about to rise, and this was the coldest period of the morning ; at the height which we had now reached the frost was pretty intense, and the herbage white and crisp. I breakfasted heartily on hard eggs and cold tea, of which I had brought a good store in a gourd. After a halt of about 20 minutes, we proceeded, the cold continuing sharp — the ther- mometer was 30°. The ascent now began in earnest, and before long we had left all grassy slopes behind, and clambered upon the bare rock. This was at first precipitous, though not dangerous. I had so completely studied the route with the telescope from the Cramont,^ that I should have had no difficulty in selecting, had it been necessary, the easiest path. There was but one point where it was necessary to touch the snow, and that but for ' Tlie vignette on the next page gives an iini)eifeet reinvsontation of the aseent of the Col du Geant as seen from tlie Craniont. It is, however, somewhat deiieicnt botli in clearness and accuraey. [The latter phrase is but too tnu.] Passage of the Col du Geant 219 a few steps. Keeping always along the ^ ridge, we climbed patiently amongst the loose masses of rock, which it re- (|uired some care not to overthrow upon one another. We were yet nearly 1000 feet below the top, where Couttet felt his Ijreathing a little affected, though not distressingly so. This is a symptom very common, and depending nmcli upon the state of health at the time. I scarcely felt it even at the top; but in 1841 I was distinctly incom- moded at a lower level on the ascent of the Jungfrau. The guides say that it depends upon the state of the air ; and David Couttet ' has assured me, that on some days, he and his brother have simultaneously felt incon- venience from the action • ; - of the lungs at very mod- erate elevations. Continu- ing steadily to mount, and invigorated rather than in- commoded by the sun's rays, whicli now began to beat upon us, we reached the summit with scarcely any halt at 20 minutes past 7 A.M., or in 5 hours 50 minutes from Cour- mayeur. The vertical ele- vation is 7000 English feet,-^ and it never before occurred to me to make a long ascent so nearly in one right line. The point at which we arrived (marked a in the sketch) is the very lowest point of the chain, and is precisely at De Saussure's station. The disagreeable feeling of cold had now entirely subsided. The sun's rays had taken off the frosty chill, though in conse- quence of our increased height, the thermometer was only 29°; we established ourselves, nevertheless, not uncomfortably, in a hollow of the rock facing the south, where we could rest after tliis, the most toilsome, though not the most difficult part of tlie 1 [Precisely 7044 feet.] 2 20 Travels through the Alps of Savoy day's work, and survey the astonishing prospect which was spread out before us. We were at a height of 11,140 feet above the sea/ It is very rare to be at this elevation at so early an hour as seven in the morning, and still rarer to combine this essential for a distant prospect with such magnificent weather as the day in question aflbrded. The atmosphere was, perhaps, as the event proved, too clear for very permanently fine weather, — not a cloud — not even a vapour was visible. The air of this lofty region was in the most tranquil state. Eange over range of the Alps, to the east, south, and west, rose before us, with a perfect definition up to the extreme limit which the actual horizon permitted us to see. Never in my life have 1 seen a distant mountain view in the perfection that I did this, and yet I have often been upon the alert to gain the summits liefore the hazy veil of day had spread itself. Perhaps it enhanced my admiration of the scene tliat a great part of the labyrinth of mountains were familiar in their forms to my eye, and that from having penetrated many of their recesses in different journeys, this wide glance filled my mind with a pleasing confusion of the images of grandeur and beauty which had been laboriously gathered during many pedestrian tours, whose course and bounds I now overlooked at a glance. To the eastward the ]\Iont Cervin, with its obelisk form, never to lie mistaken, presented evidently the same outline as I had sketched last year, from a point diametrically opposed, near Zermatt ; close to it, on the left, rose another " , ])(>ak, which I conjectured and ^■i^J^'>m^ ai'terwards ascertained to be the ^ Dent d'H(jrens." A little to the right, most exquisitely defined in outline, yet with every detail delicately subdued by the undefinable blue of immense distance, was the whole mass of Monte Eosa, the rival of Mont Blanc, with its many heads of nearly equal height, whose geography I looked forward to exploring in the course of the summer. Tlie hirsute 1 [Precisely 11,060 feet] - I cannot positively assert that the Mont Cervin is visilile iVoin tlic very Col. I rather think not, but I saw it as deserihed Ironi a little lower level. 1 verified my recognition of the mountains, on the spot, by the excellent reduced map of tlie Sardinian (iovernnient triangulation, connecting France with Ital}-. Passage of the Col du Geant 221 and jagged rocks of the Valpelline and its neighbourhood formed the base out of which the chain of Monte Eosa seemed to rise, and a httle more to the right lay the indentation of the Val d'Aoste, well marked by the complete separation which it makes between the mountains just mentioned and those which formed the middle group of the picture, the savage chain of Cogne to the south of Aosta. These mountains (which I had partly traversed in 1839)1 contain many summits of 11,000 and 12,000 feet high, scarcely known even by name, such as the Becca di Nona, 11,738 English feet above the sea,^ which has been repeatedly ascended by M. Carrel of Aosta, who even passed the night of the 7th July there in order to witness the solar eclipse; the Montague de Cogne,^ the Grand Paradis, and the Aiguille de la Sassiere,* all streaming with glaciers. These were flanked on the left by the stern grey mountains of Champorclier, and on the right by the snowy wastes of the Eutor. Behind the last rose the vast mass of Mont Iseran,'^ which completely conceals the Alpine chain beyond, and of course the Monte Viso, which I had hoped to have recognised. Hitherward from the Eutor the pass of the Little St. Bernard carries the eye to the valley of the Isere, whose whole course I had also followed up to its parent glaciers in the year 1839.^ Then a fresh range of snowy mountains to the right, above which rises conspicuous the Aiguille de la Vauoise ^ (between Mou tiers and Lanslebourg), a mountain which for elegance vies with any in the whole chain. To the west, and beyond, stood forth in clear perspective the yet more distant range of Mont Thabor, separating the valleys of the Arc and the Durance, and Savoy from France. There, a very well defined, though very distant, group of familiar forms reached my eye. It was the 1 [On August 1, 1839, Forbes crossed from Cogiie to Cuorgne by the Col della jSiouva, 9623 feet. See Life and Letters, jx 254.] - [Really but 10,309 feet. It is sometimes called "Pic Carrel," as Chanoine Carrel did so much to make it known to travellers.] ^ [Or the Grivola, 13,022 feet, and only siirpassed in this district by the Grand Paradis, 13,324 feet.] * [The Aiguille de la Sassiere, 12,323 feet, lies west of the Cogne mountains, of which it forms no part.] •'■ [Probably Forbes means the Pointe de Charbonel, 12,336 feet, the Ciamarella, 12,061 feet, the Levamia, 11,943 feet, and their neighbours.] •■' [In August, 1839, Forbes went from Lanslebourg to Bourg St. Maurice by the Col d'Iseran, 9085 feet, Tignes, and the upper Isere valley. See Life and Letters, p. 2_55.] " [Really the Mont Pourri, 12,428 feet. It is the peak so conspicuous from the Col du Bonhomme. See p. 181 above.] 222 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Mont Pelvoux ^ in Dauphinc, rising })roudly from its rugged basis of lofty hills, the highest mountain between Mont Blanc and the ^^ Mediterranean, and of which I ^-f, ' had laboriously made the circuit in 1841, in company with Mr. Heath, by passing Cols them- ^^omu.' ..Ns. selves above 10,000 feet in height." The adjacent mass of the Grandes Rousses, sloping towards C4renoble, closed this admirable panorama, which was thus cut short exactly where it would have become uninteresting by the colossal mass of Mont Blanc, which, with its huge sentinel, the Mont Peteret (that vast rocky Aiguille which guards it on the side of the Allee Blanche) stood forth in the closest proximity, and still at a height of 4600 feet above us.^ I shall not stop to describe the appearance of the valleys immediately beneath us, and of which the eye seized at once the ground plan from the great height at which we stood. It is very rare, as I have observed, to find so long and uniform a slope, affording a clear view to the very bottom, near 8000 feet deep. The Allee Blanche, with its glaciers, its lake, and its torrents, all in piano, the peaks of the Mont Chetif, and even the Cramont, now completely subdued, the monotonous length of the Val Ferret, the hamlets of Courmayeur and La Saxe almost at our feet, and the meadows of Pre St. Didier, green as an emerald, and set in a solid chasing of precipices, begirt with pines — all these familiar objects scarcely withdrew my attention from the magnificence of the wide Alpine view beyond. The barometer (one of Bunten's) had been set up on our arrival, and whilst admiring the scenery, a second and more substantial breakfast of cold fowl was proceeding, with marked advantage to the prospects of the journey, — for our appetites were excellent. I scarcely tasted the wine, and not at all of the brandy which Couttet had plentifully provided and liberally partook of. We had yet many hours' walk in the heat of the day, over dry snow, where no drop of water is ever seen. The barometer had been exposed for forty minutes in the 1 [Thf Poiiite lies Eeriiis, 13,4(32 loot.] - [Sec pp. 407-425 below.] :' [.Muut Blanc is 4722 feet higher than tlio Col du (^.eant.] Passage of the Col du Geant 223 shade, and was now carefully observed. It stands '08 millimetre lower than the corrected barometer at Geneva (3bservatory. Col du Geant, 1842, ) 23rd July, 8 h. m. a.m. j -The following had been the readings at Courmayeur (hotel de I'Ange, second floor) the previous day, during the whole of which the barometer had been steadily rising : — Baroni. Att. Ther. Det. Tlier mm. Ceut. Fahr. 507-9 + 0-6 29°-8 Courmayeur, 22nd July, 4 a.m. 657-5 18-0 10 „ 659-4 18-3 61 12 „ 659-8 18-1 62 4 P.M. 660-25 18-0 65 8* „ 660-85 15-7 55 m „ 661-35 17-5 50 The corresponding height of the barometer at Geneva was — 729-85 mm. at 0° Cent. D.T. 17°-2 Cent., whence the height of the Col du Geant above Geneva is 9803 feet;^ above the sea 11,146 feet; above Courmayeur, by the previous observations, 6979 feet. The Col du Geant, by observa- tions at the Montanvert on arriving there, is 4841 feet above that station. This result we shall afterwards find to agree with the direct comparison with Geneva, and hence we are disposed to place the Col du Geant at 11,146 feet above the level of the sea." De Saussure (§§ 2037-2049) determined it, trigonometrically, by reference to Chamouni ; using the Aiguille du Midi as an inter- mediate point seen from both, and taking the barometrical height of Chamouni, he obtained for the Col du Geant 1763 toises, or 11,172 English feet. By his seventeen days' barometrical observations, compared with simultaneous ones at Chamouni, he obtained by the formula of Trembley 16 toises less, reducing the height to 11,070 English feet. I have recalculated his simul- taneous observations at the Col du Geant and Geneva, and have obtained so low a result as 11,028 feet. The rock under which we breakfasted had supported the " Cabane " of De Saussure. I pleased myself with contemplating a board which yet remained of the materials of his habitation, and a very considerable quantity of straw which lay under the 1 Calculated both by Baily's Tables and those of the French Annuaire. ^ [It is, according to the latest observations, 11,060 feet.] 2 24 Travels through the Alps of Savoy stones which liad formed its walls.^ The frosts of this elevation had preserved the straw in a pretty fresh state for half a century. There was also an empty bottle entire. This, indeed, had no claim to be so old, but it might be a relic of another illustrious guest — M. Elie de Beaumont, the last traveller but one, who, seven years ago had passed this wild spot. De Saussure's habitation, as figured very intelligibly in Plate HI. of the fourth volume of his work, consisted of a wretched stone hovel six feet square, and two tents. Here this remarkable man passed sixteen days and nights, keeping, together with his son, M. Theodore de Saussure (the only surviving sharer of the expedi- tion), almost perpetual watch upon the instruments which he had undertaken to observe.^ No system of connected physical observa- tions, at a great height in the atmosphere, has ever been under- taken which can compare with that of De Saussure. At any time such self-denial and perseverance would be admirable, but if we look to the small acquaintance which philosophers of sixty years ago had with the dangers of the higher Alps, and the consequently exaggerated colouring wliich was given to them, it must be pro- nounced heroic. De Saussure and his son arrived at the Col du Geant on the 3rd July 1788, accompanied by a number of guides and porters, who carried two tents, and the utensils required for a long residence, having slept by the Lake of the Tacul. On the 19th of the same month he descended on the side of Courmayeur, having remained seventeen days at this great elevation. It may be believed, that those guides who remained to share the wretched accommodations of this truly philosophical encampment, were not a little exhausted by the tedium of such prolonged hardships. De Saussure states (§ 2034) that he believes they secreted the provisions appropriated to the day of their descent, in order to render impossible a prolongation of their exile from the world. The astonishment of the country people on the side of riedmont, whence the position of De Saussure's cabin is ' [In 1853 Mr. Wills found a few fragments of straw on the site, and in 1855 Messrs. Hudson and E. S. Kennedy a few stones. Of recent years an excellent club Imt has been built a few feet below the ])ass on the Italian side, and in 1899 a small mountain inn was oj)ened on this spot.] - [The narrative jiortion of Saussure iills §§ 2025-203-1 of his work, but his scientific observations extend from § 2035 to § 2112. For a view of his camp see M. Ziirbriggen's book (1899), p. 18.] Passage of the Col du Geant 225 distinctly visible, it may be believed, was great ; and it naturally showed itself in the form of superstition. It is still well remembered at Courmayeur, that that mouth of July, having been exceedingly dry, the report arose that the sorcerers who had established themselves on the mountain had stopped the avenues of rain, and that it was gravely proposed to send a deputation to dislodge them by force, — a task probably of some difficulty, for a few men could defend the Col du Geant against an army. If we look to what was accomplished by these indefatigable observers, we shall find that it was fully commensurate to the eff'orts made to attain it. There is scarcely a point in the "Physique du Globe," which was not illustrated by their experi- ments. Geology, meteorology, and magnetism were amongst the most conspicuous. I shall pause a moment to state some of their leading results, which, as respects meteorology, are of permanent and, even now, almost of unique interest in the science. It were, indeed, to be desired that the original registers, which are under- stood to be in the possession of the family, were published entire. After mentioning the few observations ^ which could be made on the plants and animals (§§ 2038-2040) of this wild spot, and the rocks (§§ 2041-2048) of which the Col is composed, the Meteorological Observations are next discussed.- These were conducted every two hours, from 4 a.m. to midnight, by the alternate care of M. de Saussure and his son. We extract the following from the simple history of their days, each so like another, as to make the time seem to pass with extreme rapidity : " Vers les 1 heures du soir le vent se calmait ; c'etait I'heure ou je laissais mon fils se coucher dans la cabane ; j'allais alors dans la tente de la boussole me blottir dans ma fourrure, avec une pierre chaude sous mes pieds, prendre des notes de ee que j'avais fait dans la journee. Je sortais par intervalles pour observer mes instruments et le ciel, qui presque toujours etait alors de la plus grande purete. Ces deux heures de re- traite et de contemplation me paraissaient extremement douces ; j'allais ensuite me coucher dans la cabane sur mon petit matelas L'tendu a terre a cote de celui de mon fils, et j'y trouvais un ]ueilleur sommeil que dans mon lit de la plaine." ^ ^ [§§ 2035-2037 deal with the geographical position and elevation of the pass.] - Voyages, § 2049. - § 2032. 15 226 Travels through the Alps of Savoy The mean height of the barometer during eigl)ty-five observa- tions was 227*3 5 5 French lines.^ At Chamouni the corresponding mean height was 300-G38 Unes, and at Geneva 323-668 lines, the temperatures of the air being 3°-630, 17°'288, and 19°-934 Eeaumur, respectively. The temperature of the mercury of the barometer is not given. De Saussure clearly established, — at a period, too, when the diurnal variations of the barometer were little attended to, — that these oscillations are reversed in their direction at great heights, the barometer standing highest at 2 o'clock in the day, and lowest in the morning and evening. His thermometric observations (^§ 2050-2054) are not less interesting or original. His deduction of the law of decrease of temperature in the atmosphere is, probably, the best that we yet possess, 1° E^aumur for 100 toises of ascent. He shows that a decreasing arithmetical progression satisfies the observa- tions better than the harmonic law proposed by Euler ; he points out the importance of his conclusions to the theory of astro- nomical refractions ; he insists on the diminishing range of daily and annual temperature as we ascend, and observes, that this causes a corresponding daily and annual change in the rate of decrement with height ; and he shows that he had a clear idea of space possessing a definite temperature at a distance from any planetary body. He considers, with much neatness and simplicity, the variations in the progress and extremes of daily temperature in the month of July at the three stations of the Col du Geant, Chamouni, and Geneva. The mean daily ranges were — 4°"257 Reaumur 10°-092 ir-035 or in the proportion of 2 to 5 nearly at the first and last stations. The progress of the diurnal warmth is most rapid at the higher station, for whilst the lowest temperature of the night occurred at all the stations at 4 a.m., the mean temperature of the day was already attained at 6 a.m. at the Col, at Chamouni at 8, at Geneva only at 9 a.m. These experiments are amongst the most definite and exact which we yet possess on these subjects.^ 1 Iiigeiuiity never contrived a more perverse system ol' notation tlian the sub- divisions of tlie l)arometer in the time of ]3e Saussure, who gives his results in inches, lines (or twelfths), 16ths of these lines, and lOOOths of these 16ths. I have reduced them to lines and decimals. 2 See a jtaper on the Diminution of Temperature with Hei<,'ht in the Atmosjiherc and on the Diurnal Curves. — Edin. I'rans., vol. xiv. j). 480. Passage of the Col du Geant 227 On solar radiation the experiments of De Saussure were not so conclusive as on most other subjects. He employed undefended thermometers, exposed in the sun and shade, and generally not even blackened. Hence the ditference of these was always trifling, and depended fully as much on the force of the wind (as he himself notices) as upon any other circumstance. The effect of radiation from the surface of the snow, reducing its temperature below that of the surrounding air, he seems to have particularly noticed ; and though he quotes Dr. Wilson's paper ^ on the subject (§ 2054), it may be inferred that he was not familiar with that curious observation at the time of his own experiment. This remark, however, seems to have led him to make some most interesting observations on the temperature of the interior mass of snow. He notices, that the hard crust of congealed snow on the Col du Geant extended to the depth of only some inches, and that below that, down to 12 feet, the temperature was continually 0^ Reaumur, or the freezing-point. The following passage, in which De Saussure reasons respecting the progress of the winter's cold into masses of snow and ice, compared to that in common soils, is so important to the modern theories of glaciers, and is, I think, so just, that I will quote it entire : " La croiite gelee," says he, ■' qui recouvre les neiges, est sans doute plus epaisse en hiver qu'en ete ; je ne crois cepen- dant pas qu'elle ait plus de dix pieds d'epaisseur ; et je suis persuade, qu'au dela de cette profondeur les neiges demeurent tendres, et, comme en ete, au terme de la congelation. En eftet, si Ton adopte le principe que j'ai pose dans I'article precedent que la difference entre la temperature des plaines et celle des hautes montagnes n'est en hiver que les deux tiers de ce qu'elle est en ete ; on verra que, puisque la temperature moyenne du Col du Geant n'est en ete (pie de 15 degres plus froide que celle de Geneve, elle ne le sera que de 10 en hiver. Ainsi comme nos plus grands froids n'excedent guere 15 degres au- dessous de zero, ceux du Col n'excederaient guere 25, et ceux de la cime du Mont Blanc 30 ou 31 ; ce qui est un pen moins que les plus grands froids de St. Petersbourg. Or, puisqu'a la bale de Hudson, dont le climat est beaucoup plus froid que celui ' [Philosophical Transact ions, vols. Ixx. Ixxi.] 228 Travels through the Alps of Savoy de St. IV'tersbourg, la terre ne gele qu'a la profoncleur de 16 pieds anglais, environ 15 pieds de France; on ne s'ecartera pas beaucoup de la veiite, en supposant que, sur les haiites cimes des Alpes, la neige ne gele en hiver qu'a 10 pieds de profon- deur ; surtout si Ton considere que la neige se laisse penetrer par le froid plus difficilement que la terre." ^ These views will be found to be in accordance with those which have lately been brought forward to illustrate the Theory of Glaciers. On the electricity of the atmosphere, De Saussure made many observations (§§ 2054-2057) on the Col du Geant, of which it may be said, that the imperfections were those of every observation of the kind, and that even at the present day it would be difficult to suggest very material improvements. He found the diurnal variations similar to those at the same season in the plains, showing that variation of temperature merely is not the cause of the dissimilar phenomena presented at different seasons. A very interesting chapter (§§ 2058-2069) refers to experi- ments on evaporation, and the dryness of the air, which, though tinged by the erroneous views on Hygrometry then prevalent, present several results of value. The rate of evaporation was determined by the ingenious device of exposing a moistened cloth on a stretching frame, whose loss of weight, in a given time, was determined by means of a nice balance. He thus ascertained, by direct experiment, " that other things being the same with respect to temperature and dryness, a diminution of about one- third in the density of the air doubles the amount of evaporation," - Besides these, we have observations (§§ 2070-2092) of great interest upon clouds, the formation of hail, an elaborate series of experiments, with the cyanometer invented by himself, upon the blue colour of the sky, on falling stars, on the colour of shadows, on the transparency of the air, on the scintillation of stars, and on the duration of twilight. He observed a sensible twilight when the sun was 45° below the horizon, instead of 18"", as is usually reckoned in the plains. Pictet concluded,^ that this reflected light was derived from an elevation in the atmosphere of 121 leagues, where the air must be inconceivably rare, if indeed it exist at all. It seems so much more natural to suppose, as Arago has done, that the light of twilight has undergone 1 Voya'jes, § 2051. - § 2062. ■'' De Saiissurc, I'oyafjrx, ^ 2090, note. Passage of the Col du Geant 229 several successive reflections, from comparatively dense air, that one wonders that so probable an opinion was not earlier held. De Saussure likewise made use of the influence of light in facilitating certain chemical operations, as a measure of the intensity of light at the Col du Geant, compared to the level of Geneva. Besides all these varied subjects of iuqviiry, we find that De Saussure devoted particular attention (§§ 2093-2104) to the phenomena of magnetism on the Col du Geant. Indeed, it was one of his chief objects, as was shown by the extreme pains which he bestowed on the arrangement and observation of his magnetic apparatus. Seven times was the pedestal of his varia- tion instrument constructed before it presented sufficient stability to afford consistent results, and it is not easy to appreciate the zeal which, in such trying circumstances, returned so often to the fulfilment of its object. He found the diurnal variations to subsist at this height as at Geneva and Chamouni, and to have generally the same direction. Their magnitude did not appear to be considerably altered. He was also probably the first person who attempted to inquire, whether the terrestrial magnetic intensity is sensibly diminished at these great heights. The observations made at Chamouni and the Col du Geant, at nearly the same temperature, agree very closely, and do not seem to warrant the supposition towards which De Saussure seems to lean (though with his usual caution), that the diminution was very apparent.^ In reviewing thus hastily the results ' of the memorable journey of De Saussure, we cannot but be struck with the com- pleteness of a plan of observation in terrestrial physics, to which it would be difficult, even at the present day, to make any con- siderable addition, except as to metliods. Himself on the borders of fifty, and with the assistance only of his son, at the age of eighteen, he filled actively the part of geologist, naturalist, and physicien during seventeen days and nights, at a height which, but a few years before, was believed to be inaccessible in Europe,^ 1 § 2103. See also a paper by the author, Iklin. Trans., vol. xiv. p. 22. - [§§ 2105-2112 deal with physiological observations.] ■^ " Environ 180 toises plus haut que la cime du Buet, qui passait il y a quelques aunees pour la sommite accessible la plus elevee des Alpes." — Voyages, § 2032.1 1 [The Col du Geant is S59 feet higher than the Buet.] 230 Travels through the Alps of Savoy and where it might well have been doubted whether human lite could continue to be supported. Whilst the ascent of Mont Blanc (1787) has ever been considered De Saussure's most popular claim to his deserved reputation, the annals of science will register the residence on the Col du Geant (1788) as the more striking, as well as more useful achievement. I left the Col to descend its northern side towards Chamouni at 8 A.M. A few steps brought me to the edge of the glacier, which may be considered as the head of the Mer de Glace in this direction. The view, though very grand, wants the effect of distance which the southern panorama presented. The summit of j\Iont Blanc is perfectly distinct ; but it appears close at hand, and its elevation, though still 4600^ feet above the spectator, loses somewhat of its grandeur from its apparent proximity. The chain of aigitilles, which separates this branch of the Mer de Glace (or Glacier du Geant or du Tacul) from the valley of Chamouni, completely bounds the view to the north, and yet does not rise to a great height above the eye. The row of their sunnnits, exactly in the reversed order from that in which they are seen from Chamouni, is, however, abundantly striking, com- mencing with the Aiguille du Midi on the left, succeeded by the Aiguilles "' de Blaitiere, de Grepon, and des Charmoz. The great tooth-like form of the Aiguille du Geant, belonging to the chain on which we stood, rose imposingly on the right, supported by a mass which completely cut off any view in the easterly direction. The comparatively small summits of the Aiguilles Marbrees, figured by Saussure, occupied the foreground in that direction. But perhaps the most striking part of the northern prospect was the dazzling mass of glacier upon whose surface we were now to walk for some hours, which occupied the basin to the depth of several thousand feet beneath us, intermixed with craggy pinnacles, which here and there connected themselves with the rocks on either hand, or stood out as islets amidst the breadth of unbroken white. On rising from breakfast on the Col, we had taken the pre- caution to tie ourselves together with two strong new cords which Couttet had provided ; and as ho t(Kik the lead, I being in the ' [Precisely 17-'-' feet.] - [It will he reeollcetotl that I'oihes, eoiitraiy to present usuye, groups the Aiguilles du Plan and de Blaitiiie together. Sec p. 110 above,] Passage of the Col du Geant 231 centre, and Proment behind, about 10 feet apart, we had soon occasion to test their utility. The snow had fallen to a con- siderable depth during the late stormy days, and added consider- ably to the difficulty of detecting hidden chasms in the ice ; almost the tirst step that Couttet took upon the glacier, he sunk up to his middle in a hole. By dint of reasonable precaution in sounding with a staff, even so trifling an accident was not repeated, and we passed safely over the beautiful snow beds, sloping at first gently towards the north. The map of the Mer de Glace gives a tolerably correct idea of the serrated ridges of granite peaks which break the monotony of the scene. The first which we passed on our left is called the Tour Ronde. This is connected with the main ridge of Alps, a little to the westward of the Cabin of De Saussure, where it terminates in a remarkably shaped hill, called Le Flambeau. It must be observed, however, that there are two rocks of this name, and which resemble one another extremely. The one marked on the Map 2'^ Flambeau, is still farther west, and forms part of a transversal, and appar- ently inaccessible,^ ridge, which stretches quite across from the Glacier of La Brenva on the south to that of [Geant] on the north, forming the mass of the Mont Maudit. These appear effectually to cut off access to the summit of Mont Blanc on this side, nor does De Saussure hint at the possibility of ascending it from hence."^ The western, or Second Flambeau, is a summit conspicuous from several points, whence it could hardly be expected to be seen, as, for instance, from the Col de Balme. The glacier here, enclosed between the Tour Eonde and the Aiguille du Geant, is very broad, but it is only one of the tributaries which aliment this branch of the Mer de Glace — another descends from between the first and second Flambeau by the foot of a promontory called Le Capucin (see the Map), owing to the fantastical forms which the granitic obelisks here assume, and one of which has the rude outline of a human figure. Another and very large ice-flow descends from the Aiguille du Midi, and is more precipitous and broken ; it breaks against a 1 [Several passes have of recent years been effected across this ridge.] - [In 1888 an English party mounted in 5| hours from the hut on the Col du Geant direct to the ridge between the Mont Maudit andthe Mont Blanc du TacuL while the year before an Austrian party had succeeded in traversing the ridge from the Col de la Tour Ronde to the summit of the Mont Maudit. Both expeditions were " tours de force."] 232 Travels through the Alps of Savoy small rock called Le Kognon, nearly opposite to La Noire, and surrounded entirely by the glacier. It was up this glacier tliat Col. Beaufoy tirst, and afterwards M. Itomilly of Geneva, ascended the Aiguille du Midi,^ at least up to the foot of the last rocky summit, which I believe is inaccessible. We continued to descend with precaution, though without any inconvenience, excepting from the sun, which was now high and brilliant, and its light reflected with more intensity than I had ever felt it from the facettes of the highly crystallised and fresh snow by which we were surrounded. I began to think that the passage was to be effected without any difficulty worth mentioning, until we arrived at the part of the valley where the three tributary glaciers already mentioned began to unite, and are together squeezed through the comparatively narrow passage between La Noire on the right, and the rock which I have marked Petit Rognon on the left. It is difficult to say, whether the ascent or descent of such a glacier is more arduous ; but in descending, one is at least more taken by surprise ; the eye wanders over the wilds of ice sloping forwards, and in which the most terrific chasms and rents are hidden like the ditch in a ha- ha fence. The crevasses of the glacier gradually widened ; the uniting streams from different quarters met and jostled, sometimes tossing high their icy waves, at others leaying yawning vacuities. The slope, at first gradual, and covered continually with snow, became steeper, and as we risked less from hidden rents, the multitude and length of the open ones caused us to make considerable circuits. But the slope ended at last almost in a precipice. At the point where the glacier is narrowest it is also steepest, and the descending ice is torn piece-meal in its effort to extricate itself from the strait. Almost in a moment we found ourselves amidst 1 [This statement is repeated by Forbes in liis lS,o7 Qiutrtcrhi Jl>'vicir article, (see p. 514 below), so far as regards M. Roniilly, but nothing moie unluckily .seems to be known as to either expedition. Col. Beaufoy, on August 9, 1787, made the fourth ascent of Mont Blanc — the first by an Englishman — but in his jiublished narrative of that feat {Jnncds of Philosophy, February, 1817) does not allude to any attenijjt on the Aiguille du Midi. Forbes states that Romilly's ascent was made " nearly forty years " before 18.57, and it is odd that in August, 1818 — a date that would just answer — a young Pole, Count Matzewski, with six guides, did really scale the second and lower summit of the Midi (12,412 I'eet), the higher summit (12,608 feet) not having been conquered till 1856. An account of Count JIatzewski's expedition ai)j)eared in Blackwood's Magazhie for November, 1818, and is rejirinted in the Alpine Journal, vol. xvii. jij). 198, 199.] Passage of the Col du Geant 233 toppling crags and vertical precipices of ice, and divided from the Mer de Glace beneath by a chaos of fissures of seemingly impassable depth and width, and without order or number. Our embarrassment was still further increased by the very small distance to which it was possible to command by the eye the details of the labyrinth through which we must pass. The most promising track might end in inextricable difficulties, and the most difficult might chance ultimately to be the only safe one. The spectacle gave us pause. We had made for the north- western side of the glacier, near the foot of the Petit Eognon, lioping to get down near the side of the rocks, although not upon them. But when we neared this part of the glacier, even Couttet shook his head, and proposed rather to attempt the old passage by the foot of La Noire, where De Saussure left his ladder,^ — a passage avoided by the guides on account of the steep icy slopes it presents, and the great danger which is run from the fragments of stone which, during the heat of the day, are discharged, and roll down from the rocks above. These stones are amongst the most dangerous accidents of glacier travels. A stone, even if seen beforehand, may fall in a direction from which the traveller, engaged amidst the perils of crevasses, or on the precarious footing of a narrow ledge of rock, cannot possibly withdraw in time to avoid it. And seldom do they come alone. Like an avalanche, they gain others during their descent. Urged with the velocity acquired in half rolling, half bounding down a precipitous slope of a thousand feet high, they strike fire by collision with their neighbours — are split perhaps into a thousand shivers, and detach by the blow a still greater mass ; which, once discharged, thunders with an explosive roar upon the glacier beneath, accompanied by clouds of dust or smoke, produced in the collision. I have sometimes been exposed to these dry avalanches ; they are amongst the most terrible of the ammunition with which the genius of these mountain solitudes repels the approach of curious man." Their 1 [See p. 83 above.] - At saxum quoties iiigenti ponderis ictu Exciititur, qualis ru})es, quam vertice montis Abscidit impulsu ventorum adjuta vetustas, Frangit cuncta ruens : nee tantum corpora pressa Exanimat ; totos cum sanguine dissipat artus. LrcAX, Phar. iii. 46.0. 2 34 Travels through the Alps of Savoy course is marked on the rocks, and they are most studiously avoided by every prudent guide. It was, however, in the direction of La Xoire that it was thought that we might pass ; and we accordingly crossed the glacier to inspect the passage. But there, barriers still more in- surmountable appeared. One prodigious chasm stretched quite across the glacier ; and the width of this chasm was not less than 500 feet. It terminated opposite to the precipices of the point of La Noire in one vast cnfoncement of ice bounded on the hither side by precipices not less terrible. A glance convinced every one that here, at least, there was not a chance of passing, unprovided as we were with long ropes or ladders. Nothing remained but to resume the track we had at first abandoned ; for the whole centre of the glacier was completely cut off from the lower world by this stupendous cleft. Here the experience of Couttet stood us in good stead, and his presence of mind inspired me with perfect confidence, so that we soon set about ascertain- ing, by a method of trial and error, whether any passage could l>e forced among the labyrinth of smaller crevasses on the northern side of the glacier. A chamois, whose track we had followed earlier, seemed here to have been as much baffled as ourselves, for he had made so many crossings back and forward upon the glacier, and had been so often forced to return upon his steps, that we lost the track for a time. This animal is exceedingly timorous upon a glacier covered with snow, since the form of the foot prevents it from offering almost any resistance when hidden rents are to be crossed. We had accordingly passed earlier in many places where the chamois had not ventured ; but the case was now different on the hard ice. He took leaps upon which we dared not venture ; and as we were never sure of not being obliged to retrace every step we made, we took good care never to make a descending leap which might cut off our retreat. Many a time we were obliged to return, and many a weary circuit was to be made in order to reconniience again : Init we seldom failed ultimately to recover the chamois track, which is the safest guide in such situations. The excitement was highly pleasing. The extrication from our dilemma was like playing a complicated game, and the difliculty of the steps was forgotten in the interest of observing whether any progress had been gained ; for now we were obliged to descend into tlie bosom of the glacier, Passage of the Col du Geant 235 and to select its most jagged and pulverised parts, in order to cross the crevasses where they had become choked by the decay and subsidence of their walls. Thus hampered by our icy prison, we only emerged occasionally so as to catch a glimpse of what lay beyond, and to estimate our slow and devious progress. At length, by great skill on the part of Couttet, and patience on the part of all of us (for we remained inseparably tied together all this time), by clambering down one side of a chasm, up another, and round a third, hewing our steps,^ and holding on one by one with the rope, we gradually extricated ourselves from a chaos which at first sight appeared absolutely impenetrable, and that without any very dangerous positions. Whilst we were in the middle of this confusion and difficulty, I could not help remarking how totally unserviceable any addition to the number of guides would have been. On saying as much to Couttet, he replied, " ils ne seraient bons que pour faire peur les uns aux autres," which was perfectly true. At length, having been for some hours engaged in these toils, we , saw a comparatively clear field before us, the glacier became more level and compact, the crevasses were knit, and though no trace of life or habitation, not the most stunted tree, was within any part of the horizon, the familiar localities of the Mer de Glace were apparent, the Tacul with the branching glacier, the Couvercle, the Jardin, the Charmoz, and the Moine. Here we halted about one o'clock, for we had now reached water, always a joyful sight to those who have been long wandering over snow fields. We drank of it freely, and the guides added fresh libations of brandy, which caused them to complain of intolerable thirst and heat of the head all the rest of the way to the Montanvert, which, by confining myself to cold tea, and a very little wine with water, I entirely escaped. As I have not described this branch of the Mer de Glace, above the Tacul, I shall here add the very few words which it requires. La Noire, on the south, and the Aiguilles de Blaitiere ^ and ' A geological hammer sharpened at one end is nearly as good an implement for this purpose as a hatchet. For this reason, amongst others, I generally wore it. A person so provided, if he falls uninjured into a crevasse, possesses the most essential means of extrication. - [As usual, Forbes groups the Aiguilles du Plan and de Blaitiere under one name, though they are really quite distinct. See p. 110 above.] 236 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Grepon, on the north, here bound the Glacier of Tacul (or G^ant). The former gives rise to a pretty extensive lateral glacier, which descends from tlie foot of the Aiguille du G^ant and the Mont Mallet. I distinguish these two, as it will be seen is done on the map. But the Aiguille du Geant is itself some- times called Mont Mallet, on the south side of the Alps. What I have termed Mont Mallet, on the authority of the guides of Chamouni, is a very remarkable peak, a little to the north-east of the Aiguille du Geant. The Geant appears to be 13,099 feet above the sea, Mont Mallet 13,068.^ The glacier descending from them, called Glacier des Periades, is very convex and copious ; and, by its union with the others, tends to consolidate the whole. It is from La Noire (probably so called from having formerly been visited in search of smoky quartz crystals), that the fourth moraine of the Mer de Glace, mentioned in a former chapter (p. 81), descends. This moraine offers a feature similar to that of the Glaciers de Talefre and de Lechaud, namely, that it is at first imperceptible, or nearly so, and increases in distinct- ness and mass as we descend the glacier. It is several miles below its origin, namely, near the " Moulins," that it is best developed. This very singular fact admits of no contest, but the mode of explanation varies. Some have supposed that it arises from the rejection of the stones through the matter of the ice, which presupposes that the fragments have been mixed up with or engaged in the solid ice. I believe that it arises from a very simple cause. When two glaciers do not unite at exactly the same level (the most common case), or even where, the level being the same, the one vastly preponderates, the lower or smaller glacier flows or forces itself some way under the upper or greater, and thus the fragments of rock borne by each to the point of union, are naturally carried inwards at the sloping junction, where they lie for a time buried, as in Fig. 1, page 158, which represents the section of the glacier at this place, until the thaw or waste of the surface brings them gradually to light. This is attempted to be represented on the map, and it is one of the most striking features of these accumulations. I must add, that, at the foot of the icy precipice opposite to La Noire, I found rocks and sand appearing on the surface in a way not very easy • [The Geant is 13,170 feet, aiicl tlie :\I<)iit .MuU.t 13,08r) leet ; they are, of course, perfectly distinct peaks.] Passage of the Col du Geant 237 to comprehend. They were probably, or ahnost certainly, derived from the Petit Eognon, but by what mechanism they were brought to light I am unable satisfactorily to decide. As soon as the glacier becomes compact and moderately fissured, the veined structure of the ice makes its appearance, and continues the whole way down the Mer de Glace, as has been already particularly described. The Glacier du Tacul, below La Noire, is of great and nearly uniform width. I have, on the present and other occasions, traversed it in various directions. It is little fissured, and consequently great water-courses are formed, which pursue their way along the surface of the glacier, of w^hich the inequalities are sometimes very considerable, so that the water at last finds an exit through some great funnel, or vertical opening in the ice ; and here and there it stands in pools to a great depth. About half-way from La Noire to the Tacul, there is a rocky promontory on the right bank of the glacier, marked K in the map, which was one of my points of observation, and opposite to it is an offset from the range of the Aiguilles of Chamouni, on the left, which forms a series of very fantastical summits, one of which might deserve a peculiar name, and is figured in the map as the Aiguille de Blaitih^e derri^rc} Truncated glaciers of the second order festoon the wild en- closures of the valley on both sides. Those on the left are nearly continuous, and may, I believe, be traversed, so as to reach the shoulder of the Charmoz, or station G*, from the upper part of the Glacier du Geant, an experiment which I was prevented from trying by premature bad weather. From La Noire it seems but a step to the foot of the Tacul, but the elevation is considerable, the glacier very wide, and I was surprised at the distance which separated me from the regions with which I was then familiar. I must not omit to add, that the view in descending the Glacier du Geant is admirable. The picturesque mass of the Aiguilles du Moine and du Dru, terminating in the enormous elevation of the Aiguille Verte, forms a group of singular majesty, which cannot be so well appreciated from any other point. The basin of the Glacier de Talefre is likewise exposed, and the triangular rock of the Jardin stands forth in form and dimensions very apparent. 1 [It is now known as the Dent du Requin, or "shark's tooth." It is 11,218 feet and was first climbed in 1893.] 23B Travels through the Alps of Savoy We all felt au exuberant cheerfulness at being relieved from our embarrassments, and ran cheerfully down the magnificent glacier, leaping crevasses which at another moment we would rather have avoided. Soon on the platform at the continence with the Glacier de Lechaud, all was plain and direct ; and I reached the Montanvert at a quarter before four p.m., without fatigue, headache, or lassitude. Here I remained, intending to spend some weeks. My guides, having finished their brandy, descended to Chamouni, where their arrival created, I was told, some astonishment, as no one had before crossed the Col du Geant in a single day, and as it was supposed that the fresh snow must at any rate have rendered the attempt impracticable. I slept that night somewhat sounder and longer than usual, but rose next morning with a freshness and elasticity to which the inhabitant of the plains is a stranger. A threatening of inflam- mation of the eyes confined me partly to the house, but it fortunately subsided ; I felt at first a slight shortness of breathing on ascending a hill, but that also disappeared the second day. My guides, as I afterwards learned, entirely lost the skin off their faces. The barometer on my arrival was — unii. A.T. D.T. Montanvert, 1842. July 23. 3 hrs. 45 niin. p.m. 610-8 15-8 C. 51 F. 5 „ 15 „ „ 610-2 11-4 51 This, compared with the observation of the Col du (ieant, gives 4841 feet for its height above the Montanvert, or 11,144 above the sea.^ 1 [The real height is 11,060 feet, or -1793 feet above the Montanvert iim.] CHAPTEE XIII FEOM COUKMAYEUK TO CHAMOUNI, BY THE COL FERRET AND COL DE BALME Piedmontese Val Ferret — Glacier of Triolet — View from the Col — Swiss Val Ferret — Martiguy to Cliamouni — Glacier of Trient — Col de Baliae — Glacier of Argentiere. In order to complete our narrative of the tour, or circuit of Mont Blanc, I proceed to describe shortly the route by the Col Ferret across the great chain of Alps, and that from Martigny to Chamouni Ijy the Col de Balme, and those glaciers of the vaUey of Chamouni which have not as yet been enumerated. The former part of the route I performed in 1841, in company with Mr. Heath ; I have three times visited the Col de Balme, in different years. The passage of the Col Ferret is tedious, and perhaps less interesting than most others in the Alps : travellers usually, and perhaps wisely, prefer the longer round, by Aosta and the Great St. Bernard, which offers greater variety. This route, however, completes the closer inspection of the great chain of Mont Blanc, which is very completely separated, both geographically and geologically, by the Col Ferret, from the mountains on the east of which Mont Yt'lan ^ forms the culminating point. After having ascended the Piedmontese A^al Ferret (the prolongation of the Allee Blanche), and descended the S\viss Val Ferret to Orsieres ; and having, either by Martigny or otherwise, reached the Col de Balme, and thus passed into the valley of Chamouni, the circuit of Mont Blanc and its chain is complete. Unless by passing difficult or dangerous glaciers, as in the case of the Col du Geant, ^ [Really Mont Velan, 12,353 feet, is surjiassed by its mighty neighbour, the Grand Combin, 14,164 feet.] 240 Travels through the Alps of Savoy this exteusive chain may be considered as impracticable, or nearly so, in its whole length. The ascent of the Val Ferret from Courmayeur seems mono- tonous after the more varied grandeur of the Alice Blanche and Val Veni ; for here, though there are numerous glaciers on the left hand, they do not descend completely into the valley except near the head of it, and the mural precipices of the Jorasses, which separate this valley from the tributaries of the Mer de Glace of Chamouni, although magnificent at a distance, rise here so completely overhead as to conceal their own elevation, and the magnificent summits by which they are crowned. As the secondary mountains on the right hand — forming the prolonga- tion of the Mont de la Saxe — offer nothing of interest beyond what has been already mentioned in Chap. XI., I shall merely enumerate the glaciers which descend from the primary chain so far as I was able to ascertain their names from native guides. I am aware that the guides of Chamouni ^ differ a little in their nomenclature. Eastwards from the Glacier of La Brenva we have first the Glacier of Mont Frety, and then that of Entreves with the Mont Frety between. From the Aiguille du Geant descends the Glacier de Eochefort, and between it and the Grandes Jorasses the Glacier des Grandes Jorasses." The next in order is the Glacier de Triolet, which, as already mentioned in the fifth chapter, is nearly opposite to the head of the Glacier de L^chaud, and descends from a summit called by the Chamouni guides, " Montague des Eboulements." "^ The event to which the name refers took place, I believe, in 1728, though I failed in obtaining at Courmayeur any autlientic documentary evidence respecting it."* According to a small printed work which was shown to me, the avalanche, or sudden descent of the whole glacier, took place on the night of the loth- 16th August in that year, and completely overwhelmed the chalets of Pre de Bar, which were situated exactly in front of it, destroying of course the inmates and cattle. The modern chalets of Pro de Bar are higher up on the southern side of the valley. They are very filthy. ^ [It is not their own district.] - [Formed by tlie Pra Sec and Planpansiere Glaciers. Forbes omits the Frcbouzie Glacier tliat descends IVom the Petites Jorasses.] ^ [Tlie Aiguille do I'Eboulement.] -» [Really on September 12, 1717. See ]i. 91, above] From Courmayeur to Chamouni 241 Beyond the glacier just named is the Mont Eu/ which separ- ates it from the G-lacier of Mondolent," the highest in the valley. This one appears to have greatly retreated of late years. There are two passages of the Col Ferret, the Petit Ferret, which is a footpath, and the horse road, which is more circuitous. It is five hours' walk from Courmayeur to the Col.^ The path of the Petit Ferret is close to the junction of the limestone and granite. The former is nearly vertical, rising against the latter at an angle of at least 70". The junction is well marked, and the limestone is a tabular slate. Indeed, the chief interest of this route consists in the closeness with which the geological boundary is followed. Behind the Grandes Jorasses, at a point called Pra Sec, two hours from Courmayeur, is a junction and apparent superposition of granite to limestone, which I noticed in 1841, and again from a distance in 1842. On neither occasion had I any doubt that the limestone actually dipped under the granite, as, in the interval of the two observations, I had estab- lished that it does farther west. De Saussvire, however, who ascended to the junction, maintains (^ 872) that the strata rise towards the granite, although he seems to admit that farther west both the granite and limestone dip inwards ; but he never asserts the superposition distinctly. The view from the Col Ferret,^ looking back, is certainly one of the finest which I have seen. The prodigious outworks which sustain the mass of Mont Blanc on the southern side are more conspicuous here than from any other point, especially the Mont Peteret, which stands out like a majestic Gothic pinnacle. From hence, as from the Col de la Seigne, we see how far this side of the chain is from being an absolute precipice, as it appears when viewed in front, as from the Cramont. The descent of the Swiss Val Ferret to Orsieres offers no great interest, and it is of most tedious length. On the right hand is seen the passage of the Col de Fen^tre,^ leading to the Great St. Bernard, by which the produce of the valley, and ^ [Les Monts Rouges.] - [Really the Pre de Bar Glacier. The name " Mont Dolent Glacier " is now given to the next glacier on the east, but this descends into the Swiss Val Ferret.] ■* [There is now a char road from Courmayeur to the Ferache chalets, and from the Swiss Ferret chalets to Orsieres ; it will probably be soon continued across the Col.] ■» [It is 8311 feet high.] ^ [It is 8855 feet high, and is traversed by a mule-patli.] 16 242 Travels through the Alps of Savoy especially firewood, the property of the convent, is conve}ed witli the aid of mules. Several glaciers are passed on the left ; since, however, the side of the valley is exceedingly steep, several of these are only seen peeping over the precipices. One of them has evidently descended formerly into the valley, and has deposited in it an immense transversal moraine which now stands alone ; — the glacier having retreated into the upland ravine. It is commonly supposed to be from these glaciers that the vast granite masses descended which are still found on all the neighbouring slopes at a great height above the valleys, the blocks of Monthey and those upon the Jura. The aiguilles to the east of Mont Blanc are indeed the only ones in this district capable of yielding rocks of the kind in question, and the secondary mountains adjoining Orsieres are strewed with masses, having evidently a common origin with those in the valley of the Ehone. These were well known to De Saussure,^ and accurately described by his corre- spondent M. Murith,^ but they form one of the especial grounds of the theory of Venetz and De Charpentier, and have been more particularly described by the latter. I shall not dwell upon the descent of the Drause to Martigny, or the circumstances of the debacle of the Yal de Bagnes, to which I shall shortly again recur ; but I proceed to describe a journey which I took from Martigny to Chamouni, in September 1842, in which, avoiding as much as possible the common route, I visited the Glaciers of Trient and Argentiere. The Glacier of Trient may be reached from Orsieres by crossing the Mont Catogne,^ or from Martigny by the Col de la Forclaz, In the latter case, the village of Trient being passed, instead of turning to the right in ascending the valley, which would lead to the Col de Balme, I followed the eastern side of the glacier stream, and after a rough walk (having missed the patli), I arrived at a group of chalets. The glacier is then well seen ; it descends into a kind of ^ Voyages, § 1022. 2 [Laurent Joseph iMuritli, born 1742 at Sera brand ler. He became a Canon of the Great St. Bernard in 1760, and Cure of Liddes in 1778. In 1779 he made the Hrst ascent of tlie Monte Velan : lie was Prior of the order at the Motherhou.se at Martigny from 1791 till his death in 1816. In 1810 he published a Guide du Botanistc qui voi/nr/e dans le Valnis. He was a famous botanist, and the Botanical Society of the Yallais bears his name.] 2 [I'orbes really means past Champe.x — at the foot of the Catogue — and tlien by the glen and pass of Arpette.] From Courmayeur to Chamouni 243 basin, apparently inaccessible in its higher parts/ from granitic pinnacles which divide this valley from the Val Ferret. Of these the most conspicuous is a fine point on the right hand, looking towards the head of the glacier ; it was named to me Salena ; and is no doubt also at the head of the glacier so called, whilst at the same time it separates the Glacier of Trient from that of Le Tour. I think it most likely that this is the Pointe d'Orny, seen from Orsieres." The lower end of the Glacier du Trient is about an hour's walk above the village of the same name. It is a well-spread- out glacier, with few ramifications, and a rather attenuated front ; it somewhat resembles in contour the Glacier of the Ehone, or that of La Brenva, but it communicates more directly with the higher slopes. An inspection of the structure proved it to be quite normal ; so much so, indeed, that I could have accurately predicted it beforehand, by seeing merely the external form of the ice. Suffice it to say, that it corresponds generally to the structure figured on page 29. The crevasses in the lower part are also radial, as in every glacier of this order (see the full lines marked a on the figure, page 29). In its middle or mean portion, the glacier is as usual most readily traversed, and here very easily. I crossed over, making observations in different directions, and observing especially the character of the granite blocks which come down the western moraine from the summit just mentioned. These blocks are remarkably chafed and rounded, no doubt from the friction they have experienced between the ice and rocks ; but neither in this or in any other case have I perceived an approach to polish on glacier -moved blocks, which cannot (I think) for a moment be confounded with those smooth pebbles and boulders plentifully found in the diluvium of all countries, and composing many of those gravel heaps which have been styled moraines. The nature of the granite, or protogine, appeared to me accurately to resemble that of the blocks of ' [This is by no means tlie case. The Plateau du Trient can be gained by keeping near the right bank of the Trient Glacier ; the plateau was actually visited by Forbes in 1850. See below, p. 463.] - See more on this subject in the next chapter, p. 253. [The Petite Fourche, 11,503 feet, is the only summit that dominates the three glaciers named ; it is seen in the view from the Aiguille de la Gliere, given on p. 456 of this volume. It is separated from the Pointe d'Orny by the extensive snowy " Plateau du Trient," but of the two peaks the Pointe d'Orny alone is visible from the Lys chalets, and that is to the left of the spectator.] 244 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Monthey, and those on the Jura. Supposing them to liave been derived from the Pointe d'Orny, they may either have descended the Glacier du Trient, when it filled the valley of the Tete Noire, and joined that of the Rhone below Salvan, or (as is more probable, from the distribution of the blocks) followed the exterior of the chain by Sembrancher and Martigny. The highest chalets ^ on the eastern side, named La Lys, are somewhat higher than where I crossed the glacier, and I reached the western bank under the chalets of Chazettes,^ which are close to a ravine which contains a stream from a glacier, which fills its higher part, and which descends from the ridge of the Aiguille du Tour. Finding nothing more particularly worth exploring, I proceeded to look for the path which, I had been informed, led directly to the Col de Balme, without descending to Trient. It was, I was told, above the precipices which bound the valley of Trient to a great height on its western side. Although I met with no one here to give me information, I succeeded in discovering the path, which is a bold and romantic one, and crosses the mountain by which the Col de Balme is separated from the Glacier du Trient, at a great height on its precipitous eastern side. In the course of this walk I obtained a more correct idea of the chain to which the Dent du Midi belongs than I before had. Instead of being an insulated pyramid, or a pair of summits, as it appears from most points, it belongs to a jagged ridge, which is very elevated, and which extends from east to west, including great fields of snow, and glaciers of the second order. I arrived early at the little inn upon the Col de Balme, and slept there. Next morning I left the Col de Balme at six, with fine weather, intending to explore the Glacier of Argentiere. I had long had a great curiosity to visit this glacier, because, though so near Chamouni, it is very little known ; and still more, because on all the models it is represented like an unbroken, perfectly uniform, nearly level canal, extending to the very axis of the Alps ; and I was anxious, if possible, to determine ils 1 [M. Kurz's map marks some other huts, those of Vaisevay, still higher up this side of tlie Trient Glacier.] 2 [This name does not appear on the maps of the chain of Mont Blanc. Perhai)s the huts meant are those of the "Plan des Cercles " (see M. Kurz's map), which are just opposite La Lys : the cross path to the Col de Balme track starts from these huts ; the neighbouring glacier is that of Grands.] From Courmayeur to Chamouni 245 boundaries as respected the barriers of the Glacier de Talefre, to which I understood it to be contiguous. It is a glacier little known to the guides of Chamouni ; but a few of whom frequent it for the sake of the crystals, with which it is said to abound ; but the length of the way is so great, and the snow lies so long and so deep upon the higher parts, which are sheltered from the sun by their northern exposure, that it is an expedition only to be attempted (I mean for the search of minerals) in the finest weather, and at a late season of the year, when the boundary of the snow is highest. But as the days are then short, it is necessary to sleep out, and this is no pleasant task in so very wild and remote a spot. So far as the report of the guides may be believed as to the locality of the minerals (a matter on which the current information is little to be believed), the Glacier d'Argentiere is the richest field in the chain of Mont Blanc ; and specimens of red. fiuor-spar and smoky quartz — the most ex- pensive in the cabinets of Chamouni — are understood to have been brought from thence, often at imminent peril to those who secured them. I have said that few of the professed guides have been on the higher part of the Glacier d'Argentiere. The makers of the two best models of this part of the Alps have admitted to me, that they took their design of its locality from the perspective view from the Buet, which looks right up it. De Saussure, I believe, only mentions it once ; ^ and as he speaks of having visited it and the Glacier des Bois in early spring, it is certain that he can only have examined its lowest part. It is unnoticed, or all but unnoticed, by Ebel and by Pictet. Understanding from the innkeeper on the Col de Balme — himself a good mountaineer — that the Glacier d'Argentiere presented no unusual difficulties, I contented myself with taking along with me the man who usually accompanied me, although he was also unacquainted with the way. As we knew that we must again ascend, we unwillingly went down the great depth which separates the Col de Balme from the foot of the Glacier of Le Tour. I then regretted that I had not taken the guide of the Col de Balme, who offered to conduct me by a little known route " across the upper part of the Glacier of Le Tour, and to descend upon that of Argentiere, near the Aiguille du Char- 1 Voyages, §§ 739, 740. 2 [Probably the Col du Passon.] 246 Travels through the Alps of Savoy (lonnet. l>ut I was anxious to see the glacier in all its length, and not to come upon it in the middle. The Glacier of Le Tour has considerably shrunk in its dimensions of late years, as well as that of Trient. Beyond the village of Le Tour, which I left on the right, a sharp ascent led me through extensive pastures, up to about the level whence we had started, and keeping along about that line, we there came in sight of the Glacier of Argeutiere, at a great depth below us. I did not descend, however, but kept along the face of the hill, represented in the upper left-hand corner of the Topographical Sketch No. IV., so Topographical Sketch N' IV .^^. .^w^f^;^^'^ ^^ tir (Itatjonnet 4^ . /'V^ .. l\.liUuc ■■'^. *^%'*-. ETE SKETCH )r THE CLACICn Argentieive. as not to lose the height we had gained. The path became smaller,— then a mere sheep track, — and that again was sub- divided. The mountain face became precipitous, and in some places went sheer down to the glacier. As my guide, or rather companion, was somewhat nervous on untried excursions, — rather, perhaps, from a caution characteristic of the Savoyard peasant of getting himself into trouble by bringing a traveller into danger than from any want of personal courage, — I took the lead both on this occasion and on the previous day, and fortunately extricated myself satisfactorily from the precipices, which, when seen in the afternoon from the opposite side of the glacier, were of a sufficiently dangerous kind, and had we From Courmayeur to Chamouni 247 attempted a passage either higher or lower, we must have failed. The precipices passed, a long and fatiguing slope of debris was to be crossed, and then a vast lateral moraine of the glacier, covering a great surface with huge blocks, which, however, afforded solid and comparatively easy footing, after what we had passed. Amongst these blocks I was astonished to observe some sheep, which must have been driven across the nearly pathless rocks which I had traversed. Nearly opposite this moraine, which is marked on the Sketch, the glacier is tolerably flat, and might be traversed from side to side ; but being precipitous both above and below, I continued along the moraine until I came to the foot of the rocks descending immediately from the Aiguille du Chardonnet to the glacier. There I made for the ice, having had, rather to my surprise, a fatiguing walk of four hours from the Col de Balme before setting foot upon the glacier. The Aiguilles of Argentiere and of Chardonnet ^ separate the Glaciers of Le Tour and Argentiere, and between these Aiguilles there descends a steep tributary glacier to the level of the latter.^ On the ridge connected with the Aiguille d'Argentiere there is a remarkable instance of a glacier of the second order, which appears to be rapidly disappearing. It is marked a on the Topographical Sketch No. IV. Its former boundary is indicated by the whiteness of the rock where it has been beneath the ice, of which there is now scarcely a trace. On the Glacier of Argentiere there is only one medial moraine of any extent, which comes from the higher part of the glacier, on the left in ascending. There are two lateral glaciers also on the left, which appear to communicate with the Glacier of Le Tour.^ Having gained the ice, I proceeded without difficulty, for on the higher part it is not much crevassed, and the higher we ascend the more level it liecomes. The Aiguille Yerte rises 1 [Forbes always reverses the position of these two summits, and his text has been throughout corrected in this particular. The Chardonnet (12,540 feet) dominates the Argentiere, the Tour, and the Saleinaz Glaciers, but the Argentiere (12,819 feet) rises between the Argentiere and Saleinaz Glaciers.] - [This is the Chardonnet Glacier, that descends from the Col du Chardonnet (10,909 feet) between the two aiguilles, but the pass over it leads over to the Saleinaz, and not to the Tour Glacier, as Forbes imagined. This pass is alluded to by Forbes when describing his passage of the Fenetre de Saleinaz in 1850, see p. 464 lielow.] ■* [Really both communicate with the Salehiaz Glacier.] 248 Travels through the Alps of Savoy in yreat majesty on the right, and from its rugged sides some short glaciers descend to meet that of Argentiere. I walked on, having reached the neve, or iDerpetual snow, until I had left the Aiguille Verte quite behind me, and was now within a short distance of the head of the glacier, that is to say, not much exceeding an hour's walk. The surface is even, and the whole topography is easily seized. The direction of the glacier, which up to the Aiguille Yerte had been S. 25° E., now became S. 50° E. This bend in the direction corresponds to the basin of the Glacier de Talefre, which is only separated, as has been said, from the higher part of the Glacier d'Argentiere by the range of the Tour des Courtes, which appears to be of small thickness, and is one continued precipice on its north-eastern side. I can only guess at the height of the upper part of the Glacier d'Argentiere, as I was provided with an imperfect in- strument. It is, no doubt, more than 8000 feet above the sea.^ The extremity of the view is terminated by a snowy peak, which I believe is probably that marked [A] on the large map of the Mer de Glace, and which was also visible at the Jardin, — perhax^s the Mondolent.'-^' The structure of this glacier is very confused. The vertical linear bands are, of course, visible throughout up to the neve ; but it would be dilticult to trace the curves. The middle and lower part is excessively crevassed ; and the extremity near Argentiere has very much shrunk of late years. After a careful examination of the higher part I returned by the western side, under the Aiguille Verte, and gained the bank somewhat below the tributary glacier on that side. There is a small snowy peak ^ to the north of the Aiguille Verte, which is connected with it by a ridge dividing the ice which falls in the direction of the Mer de Glace and in that of Argentiere. From the same peak descends a small glacier on the north side, called Glacier de la Pendant, or de Lognan, which, judging from the ' [M. Kuvz's map gives the hci^^dit as 9502 feet.] - [Forbes's "Peak A" is really the Aiguille de Triolet (r2,717 feet), which rises above the Argentiere, Talefre, Triolet, and Pre de Bar Glaciers. It is separated by the Col du Mont Dolent from the Mont Dolent — Forbes's "Pic Blanc "—(12,5-13 feet), which also rises above four glaciers — Argentiere, Pre de ]5ar, I\Iont Dolent, and La Neuvaz, and is besides the meeting-point of the French, Swiss, and Italian frontiers. See above, j). 93.] 3 [This is the Aiguille des Grands Montets (10,827 feet), a very line view-point. South of it an easy glacier pass leads over to the Mer de Glace.] 1 From Courmayeur to Chamouni 249 polished rocks below, appears to have been formerly more extensive. From the highest chalets ^ there is a path to the village of Argentiere, and another less easily found, which descends near Lavancher. Both pass through fine fir wood. From thence the village or Prieure of Chamouni is soon reached. 1 [Those of Lognan. Here there is now a small iuu above the left bank of the Argentiere glacier.] CHAPTER XIV JOURNEY FROM CHAMOUNI TO VALPELLINE, BY THE VAL DE BAGNES AND COL DE FENETllE Traces of ancient glaciers from Les Montets to the Tete Noire — Arrival at the Great St. Bernard — Find U. Studer — Eeturn to Orsieres — The Val de Bagnes— Chable — The inhabitants — Glacier of Gietroz — The ddbacle of 1818 — Chalets of Torrembey — Economy of chalets, and manners of the inmates — Glacier of Chermontane — Col de Fenetre — View into Italy — Valley of Ollomont — Goitres — Arrival at Valpelline. Before going to Chamouni in June, 1842, I had visited my friend M. Studer/ Professor of Geology at Berne. We then agreed, that a plan which had been vaguely discussed between us the year before — of visiting the neighbourhood of ]\Ionte Eosa, and the almost unexplored valleys to the westward — should, if possible, be accomplished in company that summer. j\I. Studer visited me on the 1st August, at the Montanvert, and we then fixed the 12th of that month for a rendezvous at the Convent of the Great St. Bernard, he, in the meanwhile, making an excur- sion into the Tarentaise, whilst I remained pursuing my survey of the Mer de Glace, and determining its motion. Accordingly, on the 11th, I left Chamouni, having engaged an active young man (not a professed guide) of the neighbourhood, named Victor Tairraz, to accompany me on the expedition, and to carry my haversack and instruments. M. Studer and myself had already J [This is Bernhard Studer, to whom Forbes dedicated liis Travels through the Alps of Savoy ; he was born in 1794 and died in 1887. His chief writings were Geologic der Schiveiz (2 vols. 1851-53), and Oeschichte dcr physisclicn Gcographie dcr Sehweiz bis ISlo (1863). A portrait of him is given on p. 232 of vol. ii. oi Die Schweiz im lOten Jahrhundcrf, 1899. He must be carefully distinguished from his first cousin Ooftlkb Studer, who is mentioned hy Forbes in connection with his ascent of the JuuiifVau— see below, pp. 442, 446 ; lie was born in 1804, and died in 1890; a biography with portrait was i)ul)lislied in the Jahrhuch of tlie Swiss Alpine Club, vol. x.\vi. pp. 305-318. See also Alpine Journal, vol. xiii. pp. 334-336, and vol. xv. i)p. 343-348.] From Chamouni to Valpelline 251 decided on taking one man a-piece as a personal attendant, and to secure guides from time to time, to assist in carrying the provisions, — which he was well aware would be requisite, from having in 1841 visited the valley of Kerens, and seen the almost total destitution which there exists of the commoner commodities of life. I had proposed crossing the chain of Mont Blanc, by the Glacier of Le Tour, to the valley of Orsieres, a pass which has already been alluded to ; but I was prevented, partly from the difficulties and endless formalities always made by the guides of Chamouni, when any unusual expedition is contemplated, with a view of enhancing their services — and partly from a trifling accident to my foot, which yet occasioned me some concern, with the prospect of a prolonged and difficult expedition before me. I therefore rode to Martigny by the Tete Noire, a route with which I was already pretty well acquainted, but which offered me new subjects of remark and speculation connected with the ancient extension of glaciers. I observed the distinct prolonga- tion of the ancient moraine of the Glacier d'Argentiere towards the pass leading by Les Monte.ts from the valley of Chamouni into that of Vallorcine. This moraine seemed to me not less clear in its origin and details than that of the Glacier des Bois at Les Tines ; and the low ridge of rock separating the two valleys is strongly marked by glacier action, which has also deposited a number of granite boulders on the summit of the pass. The whole valley of the Tete Noire shows, from time to time, proofs of having formerly been filled with moving ice, and between the cascade of La Barberine and the little inn of Tete Noire, I observed the celebrated Vallorcine pudding-stone rock, which is exceedingly hard, beautifully fluted and polished, at a great height above the bed of the torrent. I slept at Martigny, and next day proceeded in company with other travellers as far as Liddes, in a char, whence we walked to the convent, where I had the great satisfaction of finding that M. Studer had arrived only half an hour before from the southern side of the Alps, together with his tried and faithful attendant, Glaus,^ a peasant of the Oberland, who, for 1 [Forbes always spells this name "Klaus," but the man was really named " H. Glaus" (see the Schwcizcr Alpcn-ZcituTuj, vol. v. p. 124); he was of Hasli, and perhaps came from Guttannen on the Grimsel road, like his successor Peter Sulzer.] 252 Travels through the Alps of Savoy twenty summers, has followed the iiiJefatigal^le Professor of Berne in his geological rambles, and has rendered himself a deserved favourite and friend, by his experience, hardihood, simplicity, and that peculiar patience and fertility in expedients which characterises the best guides of German[-speaking] Switzer- land, together with an honest warmth, and even playfulness, which is less commonly united with it. Our greetings were hearty when we met around the hospitable fire, which, even in August, is the chiefest luxury in the domicile of the worthy Fathers of the Great St. Bernard. The evening was partly spent in discussing our plans, to which the priests lent an interested ear. One of them, the Chanoine L'Eglise, almost volunteered to accompany us on a part of our journey, but unavoidable engagements in the convent prevented it ; however, he kindly gave us letters, which proved of service. The next morning, at eight o'clock, I found water to boil at 199°-08 Fahr., the convent barometer being at 576-1 millimetres, unusually high in this position. Accordingly, the Fathers predicted favourable weather for our expedition.^ We walked leisurely down to Orsieres by the same road as I had ascended the previous day, for we had decided upon commencing our journey by ascending the valley of Bagnes, which separates at Sembrancher,^ a little below Orsieres, from the valley of Entremont leading to the Great St. Bernard. I was struck with the extremely small interest of the Swiss side of the St. Bernard Pass. It was ten years, within a few days, since I had last visited it, but I well remembered the tedium of that interminable descent to Martigny. All the higher part is bare and wild, without either grandeur or variety, — of course I mean in comparison with other Alpine passes. At Orsieres we introduced ourselves to M. Biselx, formerly Prior of the Convent, and now Cure of Orsieres, a man known in the scientific world by his zeal and acquirements, an intimate friend of M. de Charpentier, and partaking his views on glacier theories. Our introduction was easy, and the evening passed 1 I deterniinod the gcof^raiiliical position of the (ireat St. Bernard, as I did tliat of Chamouni in 1832, and found it to be Lat. 4rj'' 50' IG" N. Long. 7° 4' 45" E. of Grecnwieh. - [This name is also spelt "St. Brancher," which is believed to point to its derivation from St. I'ancratius or I'ancras, who is certainly the patron saint of the village.] From Chamouni to Valpelline 253 pleasantly in his "society. Indeed, we had a marked proof both of his skill and experience ; for learning that M. Studer's syphon barometer was injured by having taken air, and considering the interesting results which it might afford on our present excur- sion, he begged to be allowed to boil the mercury in the tube, a critical and disagreeable operation, as everyone knows, but which he most effectually accomplished on the spot with his own hands over a charcoal stove in the kitchen of the inn ; he then bade us a hearty farewell. At Orsieres, we made a considerable provision of food for our journey, for we were immediately to leave the beaten track. A guide was engaged to go as far as Chable, the principal village of the Val de Bagnes, where M. Studer had already been the preceding year, and had made an acquaintance wlio might be useful in procuring us a person as a guide to the higher parts of the valley, and the Col de Fenetre leading into Italy. At length, all preliminaries being settled, we left Orsieres, on a beautiful morning. The view towards the chain of Mont Blanc was particularly fine, as seen by the early sunlight. The landlord of the Hotel des Alpes particularly pointed out to us a conspicuous granite peak, which he called Pointe d'Orny, and which he assured us was known by no other name in these parts.^ This must, therefore, undoubtedly be the same as Von Buch has referred to in his paper in the Berlin Meynoirs on the distribution of erratic blocks, and to the neighbourhood of which he referred the origin of the Pierre a Bot and other masses of granite on the Jura range. The Mont Catogne, a conspicuous hill on the left of the road between Orsieres and Sembrancher, is composed partly of granite, but its eastern face, which is very steep, presents a vast triangular revetement of limestone, which Iiere, as elsewhere, rises against the primitive rock, which, as we have seen, bounds the Val Ferret in its whole extent. On the face of this limestone slope lies one of those vast masses of transported granite described by M. de Charpentier, under the name of blocs perches, which afford so strong an evidence in 1 [Really the peak seen from the inn at Orsieres is the Portalet, 10,975 feet, which is separated from the rather lower Pointe d'Orny by the Orny Glacier. Naturally, in 1842, the various summits round the Orny Glacier were not dis- tinguished by separate names. As a matter of fact the Portalet is the highest summit dominating the Orny Glacier, so that it has some claim to be called the Pointe d'Orny, though that name is now attributed to an entirely different peak.] 2 54 Travels through the Alps of Savoy favour of his theory of glacier extension. This vast mass may be distinctly seen, notwithstanding its distance and height from Orsieres, on a steep part of the rock, free from the trees which nearly surround it. Its position is exceedingly remarkable, for it seems impossible to conceive a block of that size deposited by the mere force of water at such a height above the bed of the valley. Our party now amounted to five, of whom the three guides were all considerably laden, for, besides personal effects, and some instruments, we carried a provision of rice, bread, and meat, intended for three days. M. Studer's barometer was the only instrument for measuring heights which we could at the time depend upon, but I had a portable sympiesometer, by Adie, constructed on purpose for this journey, but whose indications required a special correction diflicult to determine, and one of those very convenient Eussian furnaces, made by Stevenson of Edinburgh, which proved an invaluable adjunct for melting snow, for making tea, and at the same time for ascertaining the temperature of boiling water by a thermometer, which I had adapted to it, reading from 185° to 213° Fahr., and on which a fiftieth of a degree was capable of estimation. This is the only instrument which I have found capable of resisting sufficiently the influence of wind and cold to produce boiling water even from snow, in almost any situation, and it replaced the barometer usefully, on several occasions, as will be seen.^ Our appearance was sufficiently remarkable to attract the attention of the passers-by, of whom, at this early hour, there were a number on their way to spend the day at Orsieres, as it happened to be a great festival in this and the neighbouring valleys, — the eve of the Assumption of the Virgin.- The day, as I have said, was splendid, and promised to be very warm ; but our course, as far as Chable, lay almost entirely on the shady side of the valley of Bagnes, which we entered by turning abruptly to our right, before entering the village of Sembrancher, an hour's walk l)elow Orsieres. 1 An account of the metliod used for calculating heights from the tenijieraturc of boiling water will be found in the Edinhimjh Transactions, vol. .\v. part 3. I liave found that the temperature of tlic boiling point falls l*" Fahr. for 550 feet of ascent, nniformlij for all heights. '■^ [This great feast of the whole Roman Church falls on August 15, and it was the day before that Forbes's party starteil from Orsieres.] From Chamouni to Valpelline 255 The path/ which was scarcely traced on the left bank of the rapid and impetuous Dranse, passed through woods and meadows, and the whole scene was refreshing and peaceful in the highest degree, and seemed to augur success to an excursion so happily commenced. Chable is a considerable village, very pleasantly situated in a tolerably open space, into which the village enlarges itself, near the foot of the Pierre a Voir, a conspicuous summit, which separates this valley from that of the Rhone, and not far from which a path leads from Chable to Eiddes, on the Simplon road.' The neighbourhood is very fertile, covered with fruit trees and meadows, and studded with several villages ; at this season it has a peculiarly cheerful and thriving aspect. As we approached the village (having joined the great road) we were struck by the appearance of the peasantry, and by the great numbers who had met together on occasion of the festival. So numerous were they, that we were not surprised to learn, that within the very small range of the Val de Bagnes, which is permanently inhabited, there is a population of 9000 souls.^ All the avenues to the church were crowded with well dressed, respectable-looking men, the women being chiefly within the building. Our arrival and accoutre- ments excited some surprise, but we were allowed to pass un- molested by ill-bred curiosity, to one of the principal houses of the place, belonging to M. Gard, to whom M. Studer had been recommended on his former visit, and who, though a person of some consequence in the place, condescends, as is not unusual in similar circumstances in many countries, to make his house one of public entertainment, and the resort of the better class of peasantry, who, when the service was over, came and called for their cliopine of wine, as they would have done in any common inn. It was vain to think of proceeding any farther in a hurry. The demeanour of the people was intelligent, independent, and almost sarcastic. A guide was our first requisition ; and it was evident that though there would be no difliculty in procuring 1 [Forbes took a short-cut. But there is now a char road from Orsieres past Sembrancher and Chable to Fionnay in the Yal de Bagnes, and thence a mule-path to the -village of Valpelline.] - [This is the Col des Etablons, 7159 feet.] 2 [These figures must be wrong, for, according to the last Swiss census — 1888 — the population was but 5956.] 256 Travels through the Alps of Savoy one who WHS acquainted with the pass into the Pays d'Aoste, his accompanying us would be considered rather as a favour, and must be upon his own terms. These, however, were in due time adjusted with the usual success and conciliation with which M. Studer always contrived to effect these negotiations, which he kindly undertook to superintend ; and after a considerable delay, which had not, however, the effect of enabling us to escape the hottest hours of a very warm day, we set forth under the guidance of Jean Pierre Feilay,^ who had been recommended by M. Gard, and who presented a fair specimen of a manly bearing and somewhat haughty independence which I have mentioned as characteristic of the inhabitants of this valley. After half an hour's walk from Chable we reached Champsec, a small hamlet, in a great measure destroyed by the catastrophe of the inunda- tion of 1818. Here our guide lived; and as he had some domestic arrangements to complete, we lost the greater part of another hour in waiting for him. At last all was complete, and we were fairly in marching order. A little way beyond we gained the northern side of the Dranse ; and having passed the village of Lourtier, the last in the valley ,2 the path ascends rapidly. The river is discharged through a sort of chasm, which shows evident marks of the devastating force of the torrent on the occasion alluded to. The character of the scenery becomes more grand, the walnut trees and irrigation disappear, and we are once more in the region of pines and savage rocks. We remarked here a pretty illustra- tion of the friction of glaciers as distinguished from that of water. The sides of one of the ravines through which the stream struggles is distinctly marked on its bold limestone surface by the long grooves which have been considered as peculiarly characteristic of the abrasion of glaciers. Though the descent is very steep, and the wall of ' [Fellcy is the proper sj)elling.] 2 [It is odd that Forbes never mentions Fionnay, 4912 iVi't, tlie last village, which is beautifully situated and now has good inns. It is some way beyond the steep ascent mentioned by Forbes.] GLACIER AND WATER MARKS ON LIMESTONE. From Chamouni to Valpelline 257 rock almost vertical, these chiselled and polished grooves are worn out in a nearly horizontal, slightly declining direction, and are continuous for many yards or fathoms. Superimposed upon these, on the very same surface, are the marks of wear resulting from the action of floods, probably charged with great masses of debris. The water-marks are rough and contused, quite in con- trast with the smooth prolongation of the other. They also slope downwards at a angle similar to that of the river bed, whilst, as has been said, the others are nearly horizontal. A succession of basins and rocky chasms diversifies the length of the valley during several hours. I have seldom felt heat more oppressive than during the first part of this walk, while toiling up the steeps above Lourtier. Having, for several weeks previously, been almost constantly on the ice and at a height of 6000 feet above the sea, the contrast of temperature was, I suppose, more strongly felt. The chasms presented wild cascades, containing the whole body of water in the Dranse ; but the picturesque effect was certainly very much injured by the dingy and opaque appearance of the glacier stream, which rendered the sheets dull and lustreless, instead of sparkling and transparent. The valley above Chable is very confined, and almost untenanted ; there are but a few chalets, inhabited during a small part of the summer, higher than Lourtier. Hence the Val de Bagnes, which is very long, acquires a wilder and more lonely appearance than many valleys more remote, and more difficult of access. Many cottages which once existed are now dismantled, and it was near one of these that we stopped to take our mid^day meal beside a brook ; a little higher the defile became suddenly narrow, and presented a bold and picturesque outline. The Mont Pleureur stood l^efore us on the left, from which descends the well-known Glacier of Gietroz. Still more on the left is the little frequented pass called the Col d'Orsera, leading to the valley of Heremence, which had been traversed by M. Studer in 1841.^ The Dranse emerges from a dark defile, 1 [On Woii's map the name of " Col d'Orsera" is given to the pass now called "Col de Louvie," 9639 feet, -which really leads into the Nendaz glen, though "Worl makes it descend into the Val d'Heremence, the middle reach of which is called Val d'Orsera. See, too, Frobel, p. 43 and below, p. 290. But from Prof. B. Studer's Geologic dcr Schiveiz (Bern, 1851), vol. i. pp. 371, 372, it is certain that he went from Evolena to the lower Barma hut in the Val d'Heremence by the Col de Meina or d'Arzinol, 8878 feet, and thence by the Ecoulaies Glacier and the Col du Cret, 10,329 feet — some way south of the Col de Louvie — to the Val de Bagnes. Hence 17 258 Travels through the Alps of Savoy impassable on the left, and only to be traversed on the right by taking a high line above its level ; from thence the water, swelled to its fullest in the month of August by the contributions of the various glaciers which we were soon to approach, emerged, some- times in thundering cascades, sometimes pausing in still deep pools as it passes under a fine and romantic stone-arched bridge, called Pont de Mauvoisin, by which we were to pass from the right bank of the river, which, since Champsec, we had con- tinually followed, to its lefL bank, on which alone we could pass the defile. The bridge here, like almost every other in the valley, was carried away by the debacle of 1818, and the present lofty stone one has been since built, with a solidity which is rarely met with in such sequestered spots, where but a very few persons pass during the entire year. A few huts in front — the last built with any degree of solidity — concluded the picture. The bridge passed, we slowly gained tlie elevation of rock on the other side.^ A carefully made path continues for some way farther, and traverses one of those steep inclines of shingle annually swept by avalanches, which require the track to be made afresh every year. This path continues on the left bank of the Dranse at a great height above it, affording at the same time a striking view of the Mont Pleureur, and the glacier which has been the principal cause of so much devastation. I felt some disappointment in viewing the Glacier de Gie- troz, of which I had heard so much, and of which the disastrous effects had been so great. 1 had expected to see one as vast and beautiful as the Glacier of La Brenva, for example, where, falling into the Allee Blanche, it forms a natural bridge above the torrent ; or that of Miage, whose stupendous moraine has formed a lake, as the ice of Gietroz did. Instead of this, I found the defile narrow and confined, and though savage, scarcely picturesque. The proper Glacier of Gietroz is situated at a great height amidst the defiles of the Mont Pleureur, so that its extent cannot be appreciated, or its beauty admired, even from the elevation of the path opposite. The real source of the in 1842 eitlier Forbes nnsuudeistood Piol". Studer, or the latter nuule a iiiistaki' as to his route iu 1841.] ' [Hero there is now a small inn. The bridge fornieily marked the limits of tlie lordslii]) of (^uart in the valley of Aosta.] From Chamouni to Valpelline 259 mischief is a secondary, and very uninteresting looking glacier, which, in its present diminished form, scarcely attracts attention in the depth of the valley, and resembles the masses of unmelted snow which so often choke elevated defiles during a great part of the summer. It is in reality composed of the fallen fragments of ice, projected in the form of avalanches over a cliff of enormous height, where the true glacier terminates, whose mass, as it advances, is broken off, and falls headlong into the abyss. The glacier remaniS which results is soiled, and imperfectly consoli- dated, and still forms a partial bar to the river Dranse. It must continue to do so as long as the stream has no independent outlet, for the defile is so narrow, and the falling masses of the glacier so extensive, that the outlet must inevitably be choked in winter and spring, when the Dranse (which owes its origin almost entirely to the glaciers still higher up the valley) has too feeble a current to keep its way clear. The story of the debacle of the Val de Bagnes in 1818 is too well known to require to be detailed here, and I have no new facts to add. It is sufficient to call to mind, that twice in the sixteenth century ^ a similar mishap occurred, and indeed it is difficult to conceive why it should not have been much oftener repeated. The year 1818 had been, as we have seen, remarkable for the extension which most of the glaciers in Switzerland had experienced after a series of cold winters, and in this year the ice beneath the Glacier of Gi^troz accumulated so much, as to have formed, by the stoppage of the Dranse, a lake no less than half a league long, 700 feet wide, and at one part 200 feet deep. The impending danger was perceived, — the bursting of the lake with the return of spring was a certainty. M. Venetz, the intrepid engineer, of the Vallais, and the founder of the modern Geological Theory of Glaciers, proposed to avert it by cutting a canal through the ice, which should gradually drain the lake. Between the 10 th of May and the 13 th of June this was effected, and it was trusted that the channel would be sufficiently deepened to let the water gradually escape. But water already at 32° has only a feeble action in eroding ice, and the result was, that the cascade tumbling over the icy barrier worked back upon it so fast, that the gallery or canal, which had been originally 600 feet long, was destroyed, and fell away in fragments. Nor was ^ [One only, in 1595, seems to be known to Alpine historians.] 2 6o Travels through the Alps of Savoy this all ; the cascade working on the soil beneath had loosened it so as to detach the remaining ice fronr the mountain, and thus precipitated tlie catastrophe. A deluge^ of 500 millions of cubic feet of water were let loose in the space of half an hour, to sweep through a tortuous valley full of defiles, — literally with the besom of destruction. A flood Ave times greater than that of the Ehine at Basle filled the bed of a mountain torrent. It was an awful but a grand lesson for the geologist. The power of water was exerted on a scale such as Hutton and Play fair would have desired to see, could it have been exerted without the destruction of life and property. Bridges yielded ; that at Chable dammed back the torrent upon the village, but happily gave way just as the houses seemed doomed to ruin. In this short space of its course (from Gietroz to Chable) the fall is no less than 2800 feet. Its acquired velocity was therefore enormous, — at the commencement of its course 33 feet in a second. Its power to overthroiu buildings, and to cany wWi it trees, hay-stacks, barns, and gravel, cannot surprise us. But its transporting force upon blocks has probably been overrated." Enormous masses were certainly moved, especially in the neigh- bourhood of Martigny, as described by Captain Hall and Mr. Lyell, who were both on the spot soon after the event. But there is no kind of evidence that these granite masses were brought down from the higher valleys by the torrent. On the contrary, I believe that there is no question but that they lay (having been transported by ancient glaciers, or in some other mode) within a very short distance of their present positions, and that some of them were merely rolled over a few times by the force of the current. I apprehend that the debacle of Gi(^troz gives no countenance whatever to the opinion, that blocks of 20 or 30 feet of linear dimensions can be transported to any distance even by such stupendous currents. When we passed the Glacier of Gietroz, there were workmen (for whose use chiefly, no doubt, this road is kept in repair) employed in dividing the ice into blocks, by the ingenious process of A^enetz, in order to be carried off by the stream, and prevent • [Tlds was on June IC, 1818.] - On tlic debuelc of Bagnos, sec Bibliotheqiie Universellc, 1818 ; Edin. P/iil. Journal, vol. i. ; Lyell's Geolocjij, 1st edit., vol. i. ; Captain Hall's Patchicort, vol. i. [See, too, a contemporary narratixe printed in tlie Echodes Alpcs, 1887, jip. 349-353.] From Chamouni to Valpelline 261 futiu-e accumulations. Tlie process consists in turning streamlets of water (not ice-cold) by means of wooden canals upon the ice, so as to saw it through in the required direction, which is effected with rapidity and certainty. This operation is annually repeated, requiring the combined labour of several men for many weeks each summer. The expense is borne by the Canton. There is but one way of permanently avoiding the risk in future, namely, by constructing a tunnel, or cutting one through the rock, by which the torrent may have a certain egress, independent of the state of the glacier ; but this has been considered as too expensive and difficult an operation under the circumstances.^ Our way now lay up the bed of tlie former so formidable lake. The bottom of the valley is flat and monotonous, the river wandering from side to side, amidst rolled pebbles. Descending to its level, we recrossed to the eastern bank. Our walk from Chable had cost us nearly four hours, and an hour and a half later we reached our humble resting-place for the night, the chalet of Torrembey, 5300 feet above the sea." The accommodation offered in the upland and unfrequented chalets is everywhere nearly the same, and may therefore be worth describing for once. There are usually two buildings, quite distinct, the day and the night apartment. The reader must not, however, suppose that these correspond in the remotest degree either in appearance or in furnishing to the correlative establishments of a drawing-room and a bed-room ; the first contains neither tables nor chairs, the latter neither mattress nor pillow. The morning room is more properly a manufactory of cheese and butter than a place of ordinary accommodation. The fire is kept up for the purpose of heating the milk, which is done in copper cauldrons, whose size and weight, and bright polish, contrast strongly with the want of every ordinary convenience of life. A repetition of copper and other vessels for holding milk and raising cream occupy most of the spare room in the apart- ment ; the floor is of earth and uneven, but, except in Piedmont, not usually dirty.^ The fireplace is a hole in the ground, the ' [The glacier has much shrunk since 1842, and its snout is now 2000 feet above the level of the valley. The inundations in the valley in 1894 and 1898 ' were due to the bursting of a small lake formed near the foot of the Crete Seche Glacier.] - [Really 5935 feet.] ■* [The iloor is often very dirty even outside Piedmont.] 262 Travels through the Alps of Savoy fuel is juniper, or scrap.s of larch wood where these can be had ; and a sort of movable wooden crane, from which the copper-pot is hung, is one of the most artificial accommodations. There is no chimney, and therefore the fire is usually made near the do(jr; nor are there windows of any description. For light, tliey use a little fat, burning with a wick in a small vessel, but often merely a bit of the more resinous pine -wood, which they keep on purpose. There is no such thing as a table, unless the top of a chance barrel be admitted as the representative of one ; nor are there any chairs, though the one-legged milking stool, which affords an inconvenient repose to a weary traveller, is an in- dulgence which he probably owes solely to its indispensability in the great and overweening object in which all the uses and habits of a chalet centre, — -the keeping and feeding of cows, and the procuring and manufacture of milk. Morning, noon, and night, the inhabitants think of but milk ; it is their first, last, and only care ; they eat exclusively preparations of it ; their only com- panions are the cattle which yield it ; money can procure for them here no luxuries : they count their wealth by cheeses. The absolute want of culinary utensils is surprising and embarrassing. The only pot is sometimes that employed lor heating milk, and of copper ; at other times there is also an iron one ; but except certain wooden skimming-spoons, nearly square, and five or six inches wide in the mouth, there is often no other kind or description of dish, vessel, platter, spoon, or ladle. Where the civilisation is a little greater (as at Torrembey), there are a few ^cttelles or wooden bowls. Of course these deficiencies only created amusement to us, and the rice we had brought was boiled with milk and salt (which is kept for the cattle) in the only iron pot, and made a most substantial and not unpalatable mess for five hungry men, with a surprisingly small consumption of our stock. The evening meal being concluded, we betook ourselves to early rest.^ The sleeping apartment, I have said, is usually, as in this case, a separate hut, without window, fire, or chimney, built of loose stones, and with a door about three feet high, the floor being covered with grass more or less dry. On this we arranged ourselves in parallel order, covering ourselves with a sufficiency of tht- luiy. Tt might have been hoped, that here we ' [Nowadays there is tlie excellent club liut at Chaniinn, 8071 feet, at the foot of tlie Otenima Glacier.] From Chamouni to Valpelline 263 should have escaped the torments of a bad bed, — I mean the vermin ; but we had the inconveniences of a hay-loft without its inestimable advantage — cleanliness ; and in the course of the night I was forced to rise, and, stumbling over the bodies of four or five of my insensible companions, seek relief for a while in the open air, which was exceedingly mild. We were astir by five. But it is impossible, generally speak- ing, to depart in a hurry from a chalet, any more than from a fashionable hotel. It was half-past six before we had breakfasted, and made up our packages : and having left our hosts satisfied by a moderate gratuity, our caravan was once more under way with the glaciers in our front. Before leaving the subject of chalets, I may observe that the character of the inhabitants is not undeserving of notice. I have always received, both in Switzerland and Savoy, a gentle, and kind, and disinterestedly hospitable reception in the chalets, on the very bounds of civilisation, where a night's lodging, however rude, is an inestim- able boon to a traveller. These simple people differ very much (it has struck me) from the other inhabitants of the same valleys — their own relatives, who, living in villages during the busy trafficking season of summer, have more worldly ways, more excitement, wider interests, and greater selfishness. The true Pdtre of the Alps is one of the simplest, and, perhaps, one of the most honest and trustworthy of human beings. I have often met with touches of character amongst them which have affected me, as I may elsewhere notice ; but, generally, there is an inde- scribable unity and monotony of idea which fills the minds of these men, who live during all the finest and stirring part of the year in the fastnesses of their sublimest mountains, seeing scarcely any strange faces, and Ijut few familiar ones, and these always the same ; living on friendly terms with their dumb herds, so accustomed to privation as to dream of no luxury, and utterly careless of the fate of empires, or the change of dynasties. Instead of the busy curiosity about a traveller's motives and objects in undertaking strange journeys, which is more experienced in villages the more remote they be, these simple shepherds never evince surprise, and scarcely seem to have curiosity to gratify. Yet far are they from brutish or uncouth ; they show a natural shyness of intermeddling with the concerns of strangers, and a respect for their character testified Ijy their unofficious care in 264 Travels through the Alps of Savoy providing and arranging what conveniences they can produce. Their hospitality is neither that of ostentation nor of necessity. They give readily what they have, and do not encumber you with apologies for what they have not. Every traveller will see in this description strong opposition to the Swiss character as usually displayed ; my remarks are confined to my experience in the higher chalets of the Alps. Of course, I do not mean to state that exceptions are not to be met with. The same menage exists merely on a larger scale, where the Alp or pasture-ground is greater. In many, an extensive range of cow-houses is attached to the enclosure of the chalets. In some places the cows are brought in to be milked ; in others, this operation is more picturesquely performed by ranging the cows — {Ranz cles Vaches — whence the popular name of some Swiss airs) — on greensward terraces on a hillside, where they may be seen to the number of some hundreds, tied each to a little stake, whilst the shepherds busy themselves amongst them with their milk-pails and one-legged stools. But to return to the Val de Bagnes. At half-past six we left Torrembey, and ascended the remain- ing part of the valley, which opened itself a little higher (the now small stream of the Dranse being again crossed to its western or left bank) into a scene of greater majesty than it had yet presented. A corner was turned, the valley trending more to the south-east, and several glaciers hitherto concealed came into view. The recollection of the heat of yesterday made these a welcome sight, and I looked forward with pleasure to setting foot on ice again. The tirst glacier ^ visible on the right hand deseentlcd in 1821, as our guide Feilay " informed us, so far into the valley as to approach the torrent. It has now retreated to a great height on the mountain side. Again, on the opposite or eastern bank, a vast glacier descends from the lofty chain which separates tlie Val de Bagnes from that of Hcri'mence. It is called the (rlacier de la Brena^ and is probably that marked " les 28" in Wcirl's map. It now terminates on the bank of debris, which it has carried down on the farther side of the torrent, but we ' [The Zessetta (Jlacier.] '^ [I'VUi'V-] ■' [The Breiiey (ilacier. It is "les 28 " of Wurl's map, this naiiie Leini; taken I'loin tlie clialcts of Vingthiiit at its foot in tlie Val de leagues.] From Chamouni to Valpelline 265 were assured that, in 1822, it had extended so far as to cross the torrent, which made its way under it, and to rise to a great height on the western side. Indeed, this was matter of ocular evidence, for our path touched the extremity of the enormous frontal moraine which it had thrown up, — a mound of rocky fragments, from whose top we could clearly survey the vast area, of many acres in extent, which the glacier has uncovered during the last twenty years, strewed with fragments, and doomed to sterility. The material of the moraine is a true granite, the iirst we had met with in this valley, for below, the rock is a kind of gneiss. According to our guide, the ice then presented a front seventy feet high. A little farther in advance an extensive glacier, named Glacier du Mont Durand, descended from the Grand Combin on our right, which it was impossible to avoid ; we therefore prepared to cross it, which we did without difficulty.^ It descends quite into the valley and crosses the stream as the Breney Glacier had done, leaving a free passage beneath. The mere crossing of a valley by a glacier, if it be of any moderate breadth, is not of itself sufiicient to produce a catastrophe like that of Gietroz. Here is one example : the Glacier of La Brenva in the Alice Blanche is another, and that of Allalin in the valley of Saas. It is probably the circumstance" that the dam was formed by the 6houlement of the Glacier of Gietroz, and not by the glacier itself, which occasions its particular danger. A channel once formed under a glacier is kept con- tinually open as the glacier advances gradually onwards, but the falling in of ice may produce an abrupt stoppage. The Mont Durand Glacier presents an even and clean terminal slope of a convex form, with few fissures, and shows the system of veins which I have elsewhere descrilied as proper to that form. This glacier crossed, we arrived at the upper chalets of Chermontane, at the foot of the glacier of the same name,^ which fills the entire head of the Val de Bagnes, and nearly touches the Mont Durand Glacier (see the Map [in tlie pocket] and Topographical Sketch, No. V., which shows the Col 1 [The in-escnt path now avoids traversing the glacier by crossing and recrossing the stream.] - [Tliis is certainly the case.] ■' [Now better known as the Otemma Glacier.] 266 Travels through the Alps of Savoy de Fenetre). From tliese chalets (which are still on the western side of the valley, and at the footof a hill called Mont Avril) there is a very fine view ; the Glacier of Chermontane is ii magnificent sea of ice, nearly or quite unexplored. It appears to have three great tributaries; one descending from behind the mountain called Otemma,^ and where there is every appearance of „.,„„^^, ^„ ,., there being a Col or pass; we thought that we clearly saw the summit level. In this direction it is probable that a passage might be effected to the Glacier of Lendarey in the Val d'Here- mence, or to that of AroUa, at the head of the Vallee d'Herens ; but the descent on the other side would be more difficult."' The second branch passes between the Trumma de Bouc and the Mont Gele, derived partly from a very lofty snow-capped peak,^ and partly from a short branch immediately behind the Mont Gele, which can be of no great extent, since, from its direction, it must speedily reach the Yalpelline ; and, indeed, we were informed that the shortest way to the village of Bionaz was in that direction, but oui guide had never passed there.^ The third great arm of the glacier stretches up to the Col de Fenetre, between the summit of Mont Gele and Mont Avril, by w^hich we were to pass. The Glacier of Chermontane terminates a ' [Tlie Pointc d'Otemma, 11,136 feet. Tliis is tlie nuiin stiviuu ol tlie glacier.] - [Tlie Col de Chermontane, 10,119 feet, at the head of this glacier, jiroperly leads to the Arolla Glacier. From the Gietroz Glacier it is possible to gain the Lendarey Glacier, but the Col de Seilon, at the head of the (iietroz Glacier, leads to the Seilon (ilacier at the head of the Val d'Heremence. — See y. 290.] •' [Probably the Bee d'Kpicouii, 11,57'2 feet, is meant.] * [The true Trumma dcs lioucs is more to the east, but the pass meant is clearly the Col de Crete Seche, 9475 feet. It leads without difilculty, though it is not passable by mules, to Bionaz, and is described by P. A. Arnod in his report, dated 1691-94. The range between this Col and tlie Col de Collon separates the Otenima Glacier from the ValpcUhie ; it is minutely described in Signori Canzio, Mondini, and Vigna's admirable monograph ''In Valpellin.i " in No. 65 (1S99) of the Bolhttivo of the Italian Alpine Club.] ^'^^^ 1 Ol l./fkneTHES s i Z.B,.„„' ■" .i(Jl,;„ ^ -T J^"-" From Chamouni to Valpelliiie 267 little below the [upper] chalets of that uame. Ou its farther side is a pretty pasturage, called Ohanrion {Chavi2^ Bond), where there are two small lakes — one formed in a hollow of the hill, the other between the slope of the hill and the ice of the glacier, somewhat like the Marjelen lake on the Glacier of Aletsch. I have akeady said that the upper part of the Val de Bagnes is little visited. I find no notice of it in the writings of De Saussm-e; but Bourrit, in his lively work on the glaciers of Savoy (vol. i. p. 55 sqq.), describes his having reached the chalet of Chermontane, where he slept two nights, and visited the neigh- bouring glacier, of which he gives a somewhat pompous account, and a most exaggerated di-awing of the lake ; but he did not attain any summit or Col: indeed, I have not met with a description of the Col de Fenetre from personal observation in any work.^ It was by this pass that Calvin fled in 1535 from persecution in Aosta, where he had been established for five years.-^ Though M. Bourrit speaks much of the discoveries which he made during his visit to Chermontane, they appear to amount merely to this : that he ascertained the existence of a great glacier, but neither its extent, its practicability, nor the connections of the ramified valleys which meet near its head. Formerly it appears that this Col, like many others in the higher Alps, was easier passed than at present, and was even a common route of commerce.^ At that time, it is stated,'* the Mont Durand Glacier did not extend so low as to require to be crossed, but was avoided. So small is the communication now that there is not even a station of Custom-house officers on the pass, though there is at Valpelline. We did not stop at Chermontane, or even go to the chalets, Ijut keeping on our way at a higher level, along the slope of Mont Avril, we gradually ascended towards the Col de Fenetre, always on turf, and without any difficulty. The ascent was tedious, and we skirted the glacier without going upon it for 1 [It is fully described by P. A. Aruod, 1691-94, but his narrative was not printed till 1881. It is best consulted in Signor Vacearone's Le Vie dellc Alpi Occidcntali, pp. 113, 114, where the pass is called the '• Fenetre de Durant." The pass was fortified against the Waldensians in 1688-90.] - Compare Bourrit, vol. i. p. 76, and Baruffi, PdUgrinazioni autunnaU, Lettera ^ [In 1476 it was crossed by an army.] ^ Godeffroy, Notice sur les Glaciers, p. 63. 2 68 Travels through the Alps of Savoy the greater part of the way. The Glacier de Fenetre is hiit little inclined or crevassed ; in its higher part we traversed a portion of it without difficulty, so as to gain the Col more quickly.^ We reached the summit in four hours of easy walking from Torrembey. For its height — wliich appears to be 9213 English feet, by M. Studer's observations- — this must be con- sidered as an easy pass, presenting in good weather not a shadow of danger. The view towards Italy is wonderfully striking. The mountains beyond Aosta and the glaciers of the Kutor are spread out in the distance, and beneath we have the exceedingly deep valley of Ollomont, communicating with the Valpelline, which is itself a tributary of the Val d'Aosta. It is enclosed by ridges of the most fantastic and savage grandeur, which descend from the mountains on either side of the Col on which we stood, — on the north-west from the Grand Combin, rising to a height of 14,200 English feet; on the south-east from the Mont Gele, which is 11,100 feet high, and almost too steep to bear snow, presenting a perfect ridge of pyramidal aiguilles stretching towards Valpelline.^ The side of Mont Gele towards the Col presents an adhering snowy coat so steep that, seen in front, it appears almost vertical; measured laterally with a clinometer, I its angle was found to be 55% this appeared to be loose snow\ ■ Our course to Valpelline required us to skirt the foot of the peaky ridge just described: the descent was unusually rapid, and without particular difficulty. We passed a small lake partly bordered with snow, and soon after gained the pastures. Here we made a hearty meal by a brook, which exhausted a good part of our available provisions, and we thence dismissed our guide, who had plenty of time to recross the mountain l)y daylight. It was a considerable way 1)efore we reached any chalet, but when we did so w^e caught a charming view of the bottom of the valley of Ollomont, wliich had hitherto been mostly • [Now the i)ath keeps to tlie west of tlic iiiiK-h sliruiikeii glacier, wliich is, how- ever, perieetly easy.] 2 [Really 9141 feet.] 3 [The (Jraiul Comliiii is 14,16-1 feet, ami the Mont Uele 11,539 feet; the latter has a eonsideiahle glacier on its south slope, but is elsewhere rugged, if not precipitous, though the rock wall is easily sealed from the Italian side, and so the glacier and then the iieak attained. The "perfect ridge of pyramidal aiguilles" is the Morion or Faudery range.] From Chamouni to Valpelliiie 269 concealed, covered with exquisite verdure, studded with houses, and traversed by lively streams, all seen as on a map, for our elevation was still 2000, if not 3000 feet above it. Beyond, the mountains near the Great St. Bernard were apparent ; below, the village of Vaux, which we mistook for Ollomont. There we found copper works abandoned ; they appear to have been very extensive and complete; the ore is a sulphuret, in the (meta- morphic ?) gneiss of which the whole of this district is composed. There are several other villages, and Ollomont itself, composed of but a few scattered houses, distinguished by a church, is pleasingly situated. But here, as at Aosta, the enjoyment of natural beauty is rendered impossible by the loathsome deformity of the inhabitants ; we were really shocked to find that none of the villages through which we passed seemed to contain one reasonable human being — goitres and cretinism appeared uni- versal and inseparable.^ Eepeatedly I tried to obtain an answer to a simple question from the most rational looking of the inhabitants — but in vain. This astonished and shocked us, for we were still at a height of 4000 English feet above the sea," where these maladies commonly disappear ; and we looked forward with despair to the prospect of obtaining a guide for the diificult and unknown country which we were next to traverse from amongst such a population. But in this, as in very many similar cases, first appearances are not to be inter- preted to the letter. It was still the fete of Notre Dame de la mi-Aoiit,^ and the effective population had mostly gone down to Valpelline, the chief place of the district, and others perhaps were with their herds in the mountains. The scenery continued more and more engaging. In the course of four hours' walk we had passed from ice and eternal snow to the charms of Italian scenery and climate, with more than Italian verdure. We looked anxiously about for the village of Valpelline, which we expected to have seen from a distance, — we feared that our maps had deceived us, and that we had yet a considerable walk before us, when suddenly, on turning a corner, we found ourselves in the valley of Valpelline ; the church, with a spire of the Italian taste, and a few scattered houses, mantled with vines and peeping out amidst walnut trees of exquisite 1 [Matters in this respect are now somewhat better than in 1842.] - [Ollomont is 4387 feet.] ^ [-^-e-, the Assumption of om- Lady.] 270 Travels through the Alps of Savoy beauty, proclaimed the little capital of the district. In descend- ing we noticed large fragments of true syenitic granite, which appeared to have their origin at no great distance, which we lioped that our next day's walk would reveal ; in the meantime we entered the village. CHAPTER XV FROM VALPELLINE TO EVOLENA BY THE COL DE COLLON Ascent of the Valpelline to Bionaz — Geology — Syenites — Chalets of Praraye — Head of the valley — Ascent of the Col de CoUon — Remains of travellers lost in a Tourmente — Glacier d'AroUa — Its structural bands — Magnificent view of Mont Collon — Oijportune meeting with Pralong — History of the victims — Arrival at Evolena. " C'est le (lomaine ties glaces et des neiges, le jialais de I'liiver, le royaume de la mort." A. Dumas. The village or hamlet of Valpelline offered little prospect of comfortable accommodation, but we recollected a letter with which M. Biselx had provided us at Orsieres, addressed to a proprietor and householder of the place, by whom we were received in a manner which I am sure that neither M. Studer nor myself will ever forget. The unexpected appearance of travellers by so unfrequented a pass, and accompanied only by strangers (for it will be recollected that we had sent back our guide to Bagnes), produced a momentary hesitation. The wife of the gentleman to whom we were recommended had not re- turned from church, and an awkward pause took place at the door of the house, which was locked, whilst our arrival excited some curiosity amongst the loitering groups around. At length the lady came, and hearing our story and recommendation, instantly set about every arrangement which true hospitality could devise to ensure our comfort whilst we remained, and to speed our journey when we departed. The afternoon was not far advanced, and we spent it in repose, — in a short stroll through the beautiful meadows surrounding the village, and in conversing with our host and his sons, well educated and 272 Travels through the Alps of Savoy sensible boys, whilst our excellent hostess busied herself in preparing supper and in arranging our -apartment, which was the best the house afforded. Meanwhile we made inquiry, not without anxiety, as to the possibility of finding a trusty and skilful guide who should conduct us across a glacier-pass which we understood to connect the head of the valley of Valpelline, which is in Piedmont, with the Valine d'Herens in the Vallais. This had always appeared the most doubtful step in oiur ex- pedition. Though we had reason to believe that such a pass existed,^ we had no information of any traveller who had actually passed it, and we had been led to think that though o-uides might be found on the Swiss side, it would be much more diflicult to procure them in Italy. The specimen we had seen of the natives of OUomont increased our doubts ; but the very circumstance of the fete, which had drawn so many to Valpelline, gave us the greater choice of guides, and our host kindly aided us in the selection, and by his authority and con- sequence in the place, procured us a most satisfactory guarantee for the capacity and fidelity of any one who should accompany us. Amongst the visitors at Valpelline that day was a tall, athletic, and handsome man, below middle age, who passed for being the strongest man of the whole valley, and whose usual residence was some leagues higher up. \Yith him our arrange- ment was soon made ; he promised to remain all night, and to accompany us next day to the head of the valley of Bionaz (as the higher part of the Valpelline is called), whence, starting early the following morning, the glaciers might be crossed to Kerens. He assured us that he w^as perfectly acquainted with the pass, which he called the Col de Collon. The village of Valpelline is near the opening of the valley of the same name, and only from two or three hours' walk from the city of Aosta. It possesses the Italian character of scenery and products, although 3040 English feet above the sea.- The morning of our departure proved the prelude to a very hot day. We were tempted to rest longer than usual in our comfortable quarters, and as we had but a short journey before us wa^ were 1 [It is luentioned by Sebastian Miiuster in 1543, and described in some detail by P. A. Arnod in 1691.] - [It is 3130 feet high, and 8 miles above Aosta, with which it is now connected liy a char road.] Valpeliine to Evolena 273 iu no hurry to depart. Madame A had anticipated all our wants. She had even prevented our servants from attempting to procure any of the necessaries which we wanted for our arduous journey, by insisting on providing them, much more effectually of course, from her own stores. The cordiality and genuine kindness of all her arrangements left us no room to offer any return but our truly heartfelt thanks for her generosity, and we quitted this worthy family with regret, being accom- panied by one of the sons for a mile or two on our way. The valley was always narrow, but at Oyace, a little way above Valpeliine, it seems to close, and the village of that name is planted ^ upon a rocky barrier which crosses the ravine, and which we found to be composed of true syenite, the same as M. Studer first noticed in boulders the day before, when descend- ing upon Valpeliine. There appear to be from point to point among these wild hills outbreaks of syenitic rocks which have more or less metamorphosed the neighbouring sedimentary de- posits, and have confounded all mineralogical characters in the result of this supervening action. Such at least was the opinion of my learned companion, whose long and close attention to the excessively intricate phenomena of Alpine geology entitles it to the greatest weight ; and to which any observations which I had an opportunity of making in his company induce me entirely to subscribe. It is well known that M. Sismonda, the intelligent geologist of Turin, has endeavoured to separate the rocks of this part of the Alps into primitive and metamorphic, the one of which he has coloured red, and the other blue. So far as we could observe, this separation seems indistinct and inconclusive ; and, with the single exception of the true unstratified syenites — such as those of the Breney Glacier in the Val de Bagnes, and that of Oyace — the felspathose rocks seem to admit of no sub- division, but must be classed under the common denomination of gneiss, whether primitive or metamorphic. The boulders already mentioned, and others which occur from time to time in the valley, appear to be all derived from the neighbouring mountains ; and it is exceedingly remarkable, and quite in contrast to the appearances in the Val de Bagnes, that we found few or no striated and polished rocks, nor great masses of transported materials. 1 [At a height of 4485 feet.] 18 2 74 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Between tlu' villages of Oyace and IWonaz, we visited a vein of limestone, interstratified with the felspathose rocks in a direction parallel to the length of the valley, and reappearing at intervals up even to its very highest part, where, as here, it is burnt for lime. Very near this, copper is found in the same rock as at Ollomont. The village of Bionaz is the last of any size in the valley — the last, I think, which has a church.^ The valley takes hence- forth the same name, Bionaz. We halted here, and made a hearty meal in the open air upon fresh eggs and good Aostan wine. AVe then resumed our march, as the day became cooler, and the scenery, at the same time, still more picturesque and interesting. An excellent foot or mule path leads all the way up the valley — a convenience which the traveller owes to the Jesuits of Aosta, who have extensive property in the higher pastures of Bionaz ; and it was at the chalet belonging to them that we proposed passing the night. The village of Bionaz is 5315 feet above the sea, by M. Studer's observation.^ Farther on, the larch trees descend into the valley, and the river passes through some picturesque defiles. The views looking back were very pleasing, and in front, at the head of the valley, rose a lofty chain of mountains (a mere appendage, however, to the great chain), separating the valley of Bionaz from the Yal Tournanche ; over which we afterwards learned that a passage may be effected, though not without difficulty.^ At length we reached the chalets of Praraye, which belong- to the Jesuits of Aosta,'* and are marked by a lofty crucifix in front. They are pleasingly situated in a green meadow near the head of the valley, and about six hours' walk from A'al- pelline. There was no one visible, and it was some time before we obtained admission into the smaller and humbler building, the larger one being locked up. Whilst supper was preparing, I walked up alone to the head of the valley, which I was anxious to explore, for our guide informed us that our next 1 [Bionaz is the last village, Imt tlieri' i.s a cIkiik'I iirai- tin- rraiav.- i-halcts.J - I It is 5250 feet.] •■' [The Col de Valeounicra, 10,3^'") feet, a huiiter.s' pass, and iiieiitioiicd l)y P. A. Aniod, 1691-94.] ■» [In 1649 the -Jesuits beeanie the secular eaudus of the ("olle-iate (foiuierly served by Austin canons regular) Cliuicli of St. I'rsus at Aosta, but in ],">1S this l»asture was sold by them to a [irivate iiiilividual.] Valpelline to Evolena 275 day's journey did not lie in that direction, but that we should have to return upon our steps a little way, and then turn sharply to the northward. It was an hour's walk to the com- mencement of the glacier,^ which fills the top of the valley, and which descends directly from the great chain. Having gained an eminence on the south-east side of the valley which com- manded the glacier, I saw that the ascent of it must be in some places very steep, though, I should think, not wholly impracti- cable. I recognised the limestone which we had found farther down the valley. Eeturning to the chalets, I found our evening- meal prepared ; and I observed the temperature of boiling w^ater to be 201°-58, whilst M. Studer's barometer stood at 608-3 millimetres. The height above the sea is 6588 feet.^ The general direction of the Valpelline is N. 60° E. (true); but for the upper two leagues K". 75° E., as far as the foot of the glacier, after which its course is N. 5° W. We passed a comfortable night in a clean hay-loft, and slept longer than we intended, for we were not ready to start until G A.M. The morning was very favourable. Our guide, " I'homme fort de Bionaz," as he was called, or " I'hahit rouge," the solriquet which we had given him, from the curious practice of wearing a coat of scarlet cloth, which is common in the Pays d'Aoste — gave us at first no small concern. He was in low spirits last evening, and in no hurry to start to-day, and apparently not averse to draw unfavourable presages of the weather. We began to fear that he had undertaken more than he could perform, and that the way was perhaps known to him only by report. But our doubts gradually vanished. He took to the hill wnth that in- stinctive confidence which showed that he understood his business, and the farther we advanced the more readily did he go on, and became more communicative. We afterwards found that he had been really unwell from the results of a drunken fit, w^iich he had not thrown off when we first engaged him, and also that some doubt whether we should be able to follow him over the glacier and rocks, and a fear that he might be brought into trouble through our means, had probably oppressed him. We 1 [This is the great Za-de-Zau Glacier, which is divided into two jjortions by a great icefall. From its head the easy glacier pass of the Col de Valpelline, 11,687 feet, leads to the Z'Mutt Glacier and so to Zermatt. It would have been the shortest way for Forbes's party, but it was only discovered and crossed in 1S60.] - [The height is 6539 feet. There is now a little mountain inn here.] 2^b Travels through the Alps of Savoy '^ra r^L 'Sketch N° "VI I'uund liini gentle, dueile, rol)Ust, and trustworthy. During a part of this day's journey, he carried not only all our provisions, hut no light share of the contents of (Jlaus's liottc, or basket. His name was Bionaz, as well as that (jf his native place. As we had been told the night before, we returned a little way upon our steps ; then, following a water-course used for irrigation, we turned sharply to the right. All our maps were here at fault. That of Worl especially, the most detailed, pre- sents no kind of resemblance to the outlines even of the great chain, and the passage must have been put down at random. It will be seen by the Topographical Sketch, No. VI., which probably approximates to the real arrange- ment of the mountains, tliough in some degree conjectural, that the pass is through the first lat- eral valley of the Val de Bionaz below its head. We there find a deep gorge,^ completely glacier- bound at its upper end ; but from the nature of the rocks, it admits of an easier ascent than the glacier at the top of the Val de Bionaz. We passed some wretched shepherds' huts ; and following an impetuous stream, we came to the foot of a glacier descending on our left,^ which has blockaded the valley with its prodigious moraine, and left a swampy flat above. This passed, we kept to our right hand, having in front of us another great glacier, which descends from the Col de Collon, and more to the left a great and steep glacier, which appears to descend from the group of mountains connected with the origin of the Glacier of Chermontane.^ The direction ' [The Oreii glen.] - [The ghicier (lesccudiiig fiom tlic Col de Sassa, tliat leads over to the lower portion of the Valpelline.] ^ ['J'lio Oreii Cilaeier, over whieh the Col d'Oren, ] 0,637 feet, leads to the great Oteiniiia (Uacier. The " i)roI)al)lc jiassage to tlie A'al Tournaiiehe," marked on Topo- grapliical Sketch No. VI., is most likely the Col Bellaza, 10,050 feet.] m SKLHH or THE PASS Mont Collon. Valpelline to Evolena 277 of the valley we asceuded was at first N. 20^ W. (true), and when we came in sight of the glacier which we were to follow, it turned sharply to N. 25° E. Pursuing a very steep and laborious ascent over rocks (without, however, any danger), we reached the glacier, where it was much more level than in its lower part, and obtained a distant view of the Col. The ice was not much fissured, and we proceeded at ease — only we came at length to where it was covered with perpetual snow, and there we required to proceed with caution. We left, upon our right hand, the mass of mountains which separate this pass from the head of Valpelline, and on ovir left new and hitherto unseen chains began to display themselves, and rocks rising above the Col or pass, which we were surprised to find marked by a very small iron cross,^ showing that it is well known to the country people, although unfrequented by travellers. The only traveller whom I am aware of as having passed here "" is M. Godeffroy, the author of an Essay on Glaciers,^ already quoted. We now also learned the secret of our friend, " I'habit rouge," being so well acquainted with this obscure route, for he admitted that he had frequently passed it with bands of smugglers, who avail them- selves of all the less frequented passes for introducing the articles of free commerce in Switzerland into Piedmont. We reached the Col in three hours from the chalet, which was sooner than we expected ; and as it was only nine o'clock and a beavitiful morning, we sat for a long time on the rocks on the west side of the Col, and enjoyed the noble scenery. Although the height is 10,33;] feet above the sea'* (barometer, o28-l millimetres) it is so much surrounded by summits still more elevated as to com- mand no very distant scenery. But before us, to the north, rose the majestic form of Mont Collon,^ round which swept the very extensive glacier which we had yet to traverse in its entire length during several hours ; and to the eastward, beyond snow- fields of seemingly great extent, rose snowy peaks, which after- wards appeared to me to be the same as I saw from the Col d'Herens, and over which it is just possible that a passage might be effected from the Val Bionaz to that of St. Nicolas, though, ' [It bears the date 1754.] - [In August, 1838.] ■^ Notice sur Us Glaciers, \\ ^'j- •* [Really 10,270 feet.] •' 111,956 feet high.] 27^ Travels through the Alps of Savoy from the distimce, it might prohaljly he iinpossil)le to aceomplisli it witlioiit sleeping out on tlie glacier/ As we were far ahove the limits where water is found on the glacier, 1 used my portable furnace to melt snow for the use of the party, and afterwards to ascertain the temperature of boiling water, which I inund to 1)e ll).")''-!,"'.. We spent an hour of great enjoyment, for we now saw our way clearly, and all doubts were at an end of accomplishing a passage which, not to have performed, would have materially deranged our travelling plans : we then set forth in a cheerful mood to descend the long stretch of glacier which lay before us. There were few crevasses, — though whilst on the snow we walked with precaution and in a line, but without ropes ; — we descended rapidly, whilst the majestic form of Mont Collon rose with increased grandeur Ijc- fore us. When we were fairly abreast of it our guide set up a wild and sonorous shout which the rarely wakened echoes of those stupendous precipices sent pealing back again in tones yet more fantastic. He added that this echo was well known to the smugglers, and that the reverberation of Mont Collon served to guide them in foggy weather, in a tract whicli must be then singularly perilous, from the great breadth and monotony of the glacier here, and the' number of branches into which it divides in its higher part, any one of which might easily be mistaken for another. Wiiilst we were amusing ourselves witli the discordant shouts of the party, and responses of the mountain, our attention was suddenly led to a very different matter. A dark object was descried on the snow to our left, just under the precipices of Mont Collon. We were not yet low enough to have entered on the ice, but were still on snow^ This proved to be the body of a man, fully clothed, fallen with his head in the direction in which we were going." From the appearance of the body as it lay, it might have been presumed to be recent ; but when it was ' [From tlio Col dc Collon Foi'l)c.s coulil scMrccly liavo scon the iipprr slopes of tlic Za-(1('-Zaii Clacier, whoiiec tiie Col de Valpolliiu" loads ovor to Zrnnatt. He peiliaps alludes to tiie Col des Houquetiiis, l)C3'ond the ]3ents des liou(]uctins (his '•snowy peaks"), that gives access from the ValiK-lliiie to tlie great siiow-iiclds on the Kvolena side of tlic Col d'Hereus.] '■' [Mr. .Tolin Ball crosscil the jiass in Septendier, lSr)3, and heard from liis A'al d'Hurens guide the tcrrihiu story of the adventures in 1811 of a iiarty of Kvolena men on this glacier. Three of them perisiied, and the hoy Forltes in 1842 was that of one of these victims. See lielow, p. 282.] Valpelline to Evolena 279 raised the head and face were found to be in a state of frightful decay, and covered with hlootl, evidently arising from an incipient thaw, after having remained perhaps for a twelvemonth perfectly congealed. The clothes were quite entire and uninjured, and being hard frozen, still protected the corpse beneath. It was evident that an unhappy peasant had been overtaken in a storm, probably of the previous year, and had lain there covered with snow during the whole winter and spring, and that we were now, in the month of August, the first travellers who had passed this way and ascertained his fate. The hands were gloved, and in the pockets, in the attitude of a person maintaining the last glow of heat, and the body being extended on the snow, which was pretty steep, it appeared that he had been hurrying towards the valley when his strength was exhausted, and he lay simply as he fell. The effect upon us all was electric ; and had not the sun shone forth in its full glory, and the very wilderness of eternal snow seemed gladdened under the serenity of such a summer's day as is rare at these heights, we should certainly have felt a. deeper thrill, arising from the sense of personal danger. As it was, when we had recovered our first surprise, and interchanged our expressions of sympathy for the poor traveller, and gazed with awe on the disfigured relics of one who had so lately been in the same plight as ourselves, we turned and surveyed, with a stronger sense of sublimity than before, the desolation by which w^e were surrounded, and became still more sensible of our isolation from human dwellings, human help, and human sympathy, — our loneliness with nature, and, as it were, the more immediate presence of God. Our guide and attendants felt it as deeply as we. At such moments all refinements of sentiment are forgotten, religion or superstition may tinge the reflections of one or another, but, at the bottom, all think and feel alike. We are men, and we stand in the chamber of death. Our friend of Bionaz, though he was the first to raise and handle the body, from which the others rather shrunk, — and though he examined the rigid clothes for the articles which they con- tained, and with our consent took out a knife and snuff-box from the pocket, and a little treasury of mixed Swiss and Pied- montese small coins, concealed in a waistband all entire and untouched (by means of which we could identify the person and 2 8o Travels through the Alps of Savoy restore the iiioney to his iriends), — though he performed all this with seeming indifference, we had no sooner left the spot than he declared that he would rather make a circuit home by the Great. St. Bernard than return alone by this spot. Indeed it might well require resolution in a solitary man, with the chances of weather, to pass alone a Col like this, where, sup- posing him caught in a tourmente, it would require no vivid sensibility to raise the image of the last sufferer before him, and hasten the moment of despair, when the spirit yields to the pressure of hunger, fatigue, and bewilderment, and subsides in- sensibly into the sleep which knows no waking. A very little farther on we found traces of another victim, probably of an earlier date ; — some shreds of clothes, and frag- ments of a knapsack ; but the body had disappeared. Still lower, the remains of the bones and skin of two chamois, and near them the complete bones of a man. The latter were arranged in a very singular manner, nearly the whole skeleton being there in detached bones, laid in order along the ice, — the skull lowest, next the arms and ribs, and finally the bones of the pelvis, legs, and feet, disposed along the glacier, so that the distance between the head and feet might be five yards, a disposition certainly arising from some natural cause, not very easy to assign. The glacier now enters a regular valley, and leaves the high slopes. It is bounded by Mont Collon on the left, sweeping for some miles round its base, and on the right by rugged cliffs, chiefly of gneiss, in which we could distinctly see well characterised granitic veins, shooting in irregular zigzags through the mass. The glacier on which we now were is the Glacier of AroUa, that which occupies the head of the western branch of the Vallee d'Herens. It is very long. Probably we might have continued most easily all the way along the ice towards the centre ; but our guide advised us to follow the right bank along the moraine, an excessively rough and fatiguing scramble, for a great distance, on angular moving blocks, without a trace of a path. This was by far the most tedious and disagreeable part of our day's journey ; but M. Studer was rewarded by finding a mixture of gabbro or diallage rock, in immediate connection with real granite and metaniorphic gneiss, to whicli he attached considerable importance. Tlie structure of the Glacier of Arolla is perfectly normal, Valpelline to Evolena 281 presenting bands or veins nearly parallel, and vertical tlirough- out a great part of its length, which sweep round in the conoidal forms, proper, as we have seen, to the lower termination or unsupported part of the glacier. The lower extremity is very clean, little fissured, and has from below a most commanding- appearance, with the majestic summit of Mont CoUou towering up behind. The frontal bands are very distinct, and even at a distance of a mile or more, those very marked ones which, in describing the Mer de Glace of Chamouni, I have called " dii-t bands," and which, perhaps, are the annual rings or marks of yearly growth of the glacier, are beautifully developed, and recur at intervals marked with almost mathematical precision. The stream which descends the valley rises from under an arch of ice at the foot of the glacier. The bottom of the valley is wide, gravelly, and waste. A number of desolate and stunted pine trees occupy the western bank, and seem chilled by the near approach of the ice ; many are dead, and some fallen. Tliey serve to give a scale to the majestic scenery behind. Their species is the Pinus ccmhra, the hardiest of their class which grow to any size in Switzerland, and they are consequently to be met with at great elevations. This pine has various names. In the patois of Savoy, and many other places, it is called '■ Arolla," whence the name of the valley and glacier. It is also called " Arve," and " Zirbelnusskiefer." It yields an edible fruit, and the wood is soft and well fitted for carving, for which it is preferred, especially in the Tyrol and Eastern Alps. This wood of pines lies exactly between the foot of the Glacier of Arolla and a small detached one ^ descending from the mountain called Pigno dAiolla, a summit on the western side of the great glacier. I ought to have mentioned, that in quitting the northern foot of Mont CoUon, during our descent, we left upon our left hand a great tributary glacier,^ steep and difficult of access, which separates the Mont Collon from the Pigno dAroUa, and which may possibly communicate with the icy mountain of Chermontane, beyond the head of the valley of Heremence. We 1 [The Piece Glacier.] -' [The Vuibez Glacier, with a very grand icefall. This can sometimes be forced, but in general the round by the Piece Glacier is preferred. In either case, as Forbes rightly conjectured, tlie Col de Chermontane at the head of the great Otemma Glacier is attained.] 282 Travels through the Alps of Savoy stayed some time to contemplate the wonderful majesty of the scene, of wliich T made a sketch, and we then proceeded down the valley. The chalets of Arolla were a little way lower, across the torrent on our left, and the shepherd who kept them, perceiving the unusual sight of visitors, aime down to meet us, and courteously invited us to rest oiirselves, which, as the day was not too far advanced, and the way was now plain, we willingly did, and partook of his cheese and hard bread, with excellent butter. The chalets ^ had even a finer view of the glacier than that which we had quitted, and thus looking in front of it, I saw very plainly the succession of structural bands disposed with the remarkable regularity already alluded to. One of our first imjuiries was connected with the fate of the unfortunate men whose relics we had observed ; and it appeared that our enter- tainer, I'ralong by name, had himself been one of the party to which the most recently deceased of these men belonged. They had started in the end of October last year (1841) to cross the Col into Piedmont, in all twelve men ; but being overtaken by a tremendous storm, they at length resolved to return ; but too late for three of their number, who, worn out with fatigue, and benundjed with cold, w^ere left behind, — the imperious calls of self-preservation requiring their abandonment. Our informant assured us that he himself was the last to quit these unfortunate men in succession, when every effort to stimulate or assist them had been tried in vain. We understood that two of the bodies had already been recovered ; tlie third was, no doubt, the one that we first saw. The articles which Bionaz had taken from the body were afterwards recognised in Evolena, and the money (which did not amount to more than three or four French francs) was faithfully paid over to the Cure, and measures were taken to have the body brought down for interment. Our new acquaintance of Arolla gave us other information, which interested me as much. Having complimented us on the successful passage we had made, he asked if we were not desirous of atteni])ting the more arduous passage from Evolena to I [At a hei<,'lit of 6572 fret. Near tliein is tlie ..M liotrl, Imilt in 1S7l', to succeed a chalet (constnu'tetl in ISCif)), ami alinvc tlirin tin' new Knrlians. liotli now mueli (Vequenteil liy ]Mi,i,'lisli visitms in siininicr. Foibrs was ]iii)liably tlic first native of Great liiitaiii {<> \isil this now well-know ii spot.] Valpelline to Evolena 283 Zermatt/ which, he assured us, that he and his father had more than once performed, and that thej were indeed the only persons in the valley who had done so. Now this passage had long piqued my curiosity, having a sort of romantic interest, whicli attaches to what has been so seldom performed, as to render its possibility almost fabulous. It w^as certain that it must carry the traveller amongst some of the highest and most majestic peaks of this almost unknown district. Its elevation and character I had already studied in 1841 from the side of Zermatt, and had conceived the most lively curiosity to traverse these glaciers, and to ascertain the relations of a group of mountains 13,000 and 14,000 feet high, some of which are scarcely indicated on several of the latest maps. My great doubt had been as to the possibility of finding any guide in Evolena, and, therefore, tliat the first man whom we met with in the valley should be the very person who, I knew from Frobel's work," was reported to have some personal knowledge of this celebrated pass, seemed a piece of good fortune not to be lightly thrown away. After a short consultation with M. Studer, I found that the heavy marching trim of the worthy Glaus, and his own wish to visit the valley of Anniviers, would prevent him from undertaking this journey, although we were both eventually bound for Zermatt ; therefore after a few minutes' arrangement I determined my plan, engaged Pralong to come down to Evolena next morning, and thence start with me in the afternoon for the foot of the Ferpecle Glacier, where we might sleep, and attempt the passage the following day. Pralong desired nothing better, and w^e soon started for Evolena. The w-alk to Hauderes, where the valley of Arolla joins that of Ferpecle, the union of the two forming the Vallee d'Herens, was very agreeable, and at times beautiful. At the hamlet of Chatorma ^ we noticed striated and polished rocks, of which, as has lieen already said, we saw none in the Valpelline. Below St. Barthelemi the way becomes steep, the torrent descends in rapids, and the banks are clothed with larch and pine wood ; the ravine is altogether grand and picturesque. We then came to steep w'atered meadows, and at length, crossing first one stream and them another, we arrived at tlie hamlet of Hauderes. Half an hour, wliicli seemed a tedious while, over a ' [By the Col d'Herens.] - Picisr in die Penninische Alpcn, p. 73. ■' [Satarma.] 284 Travels through the Alps of Savoy fertile flat, diviileJ into grass tiekls, and thickly studded with l)arns, brought us to the capital of the valley, the village of Evolena, which seemed to us the largest place which we had seen for some time. A nearer approach showed that the houses, which looked so imposing at a distance, were built of logs, and had dark and uninviting exteriors. But when we came to seek for accommodation, we found every anticipation we could possibly liave made of discomfort and privation much (exceeded. CHAPTER XVI from evolena in the valley of kerens to zermatt in the valley of st. nicolas, by the glaciers of ferpecle and z'mutt. A niglit at Evolena — Wretched accommodation — Departure for Bricolla — Aspect of the Glacier of Ferpecle — A night in the chalets — Ascent of the glacier — The Motta Rotta — The Stockhorn — Magnificent view of Monte Rosa and Mont Cervin — Dangerous descent — Precipices — The Bergschrund — Pralong returns — The Glacier of Z'Mutt — Structure of the Mont Cervin — Arrival at Zermatt. We knew too well what accommodation might be expected even in the capital of a remote Vallaisan valley to anticipate any luxuries at Evolena. Indeed, M. Studer had already been there the previous year, and having lodged with the Cure, forewarned me that our accommodation would not be splendid. A change had, however, occurred in the establishment of the " Pfarrhaus," since 1841, by the introduction of the Cure's sister, who usually lived at Sion, a person of ungovernable temper and rude manners, who seemed to find pleasure in the arrival of strangers only as fresh subjects whereon to vent her spleen, and to show how heartily she despised the inhabitants of her brother's parish compared to the aristocratic burghers of the decayed town of Sion. Had this been all, and had our corporeal wants been reasonably attended to, we might have forgotten the ill-nature of expressions directed at random against ourselves and all man- kind ; but we experienced the greatest difficulty not only in procuring anything to eat, but even in being allowed to cook our own provisions. The Cure, a timid worldly man, gave us no comfort, and exercised no hospitality, evidently regarding our visit as an intrusion. Indeed, jaded by a fatiguing journey. 286 Travels through the Alps of Savoy withuut any prospect of beds (for we had been told at once that we could not lodge in the Cure), we wished ourselves a hundred times, in the course of the evening, at the deserted chalets of Praraye, where we had spent the former night ; whilst the amiable family of A at Valpelline seemed, by contrast, to belong to another race of beings. The faithful Glaus, too, had been taken unwell during tlie latter part of the day ; but there was no alternative but to sit round a table, attired as we were, for two hours, before a soup, prepared with our own rice, was presented to us. At a late hour in the evening we were told that one ])ed could be had in the village ; we gladly left the rfarrhaus, sliaking the dust from our feet, and went to the destined lodging, where we found civil, and tolerably cleanly people, whose jargon, however, it was quite impossible to under- stand. There was actually but one spare bed in the whole village.^ We drew lots for the prize, which fell to me. It was clean, though neither soft nor even; but between two such journeys as I was undertaking, even to undress was a luxury, and I slept till late next morning, when I was awakened by 'M. Studer entering. Where he had slept never transpired. He had, however, spent a night of misery, and came to communicate his intention of departing immediately for the Yal d'Anniviers, instead of passing the day in the neighbourhood of Evolena, as he had intended. I could not gainsay the propriety of his determination, although sorry to part. He left shortly after- wards, and we agreed to meet at Zermatt, — he going by Msp, 1 by Ferpecle. Before I had finished dressing, our worthy guide from Val- pelline came to bid me adieu. During the latter part of our yesterday's walk we had become well acquainted, and his sim- plicity of character had touched us both. He had more than once expressed a wish to accompany us farther, as well as to avoid returning to his own country the same way. He urged nothing of the kind now, but quietly bid me good-bye and took the road to Hauderes. When T saw him fairly gone, I could not but regret liaving parted with him so easily. I thought that he might be very useful in the more difficult journey which awaited me, my own servant being inexperienced, and the guide of Arolla, thougli he promised well, being quite unknown to me. ' [Xiiw there are two good niouutain liotols.J Evolena to Zermatt 287 I, therefore, ran after " I'habit rouge," and asked if he would accompany me to Zermatt, and return home by the Val Tour- nanche in Italy. To this he at once assented. There was no bargaining or hesitation, and he turned back with me. In the forenoon Pralong joined me, according to promise. Having first dined, I started with my three men about two o'clock, with very fine weather, intending to sleep at the last chalets of Ferpecle, and to cross the glacier the following morn- ing. Before quitting Evolena I shall say a few words respecting the valleys of which it is the centre and capital. The group of valleys of which we speak, and of which Kerens is the chief, is situated between the Khone and the great chain of Alps. Tlieir openings into the valley of the Ehone are so small and unconspicuous that they are passed by the traveller, rolling along in his private carriage, or that of the Simplon courier, almost without perceiving their existence ; yet opposite to three well known stages on that road, Sion, Sierre, and Tourte- magne, three several valleys proceed, the Val d'Erin or d'Herens (Eringerthal), the Val d'Anniviers (Einfischthal), and the A^allee de Tourtemagne (Turtmanntlial). Their magnitude and import- ance are in the order just stated. The Val d'Herens divides into two branches, the valley of Evolena and that of Heremence, both of which terminate in great glaciers, to wit, the Glaciers of Eerpecle, Arolla [Seilon], and Lendarey. The Val d'Anniviers divides into the Val de Torrent and Val de Zinal, with glaciers of the same names. The valley of Tourtemagne is uninhabited, except in summer, and terminates in a glacier at the foot of the Weisshorn. These valleys have not only been hitherto unfrequented by tourists, but are almost unknown even to travellers^ (to make a distinction commonly and not unjustly drawn in Switzerland). De Saussure says nothing of them. Bourrit^ speaks of them so slightly that it may be doubted whether he ever was even so far as Evolena. Ebel mentions them only to acknowledge his want of information, and Simond is silent alike on their history and existence. Even at the time I am describing, although it was 1 [Xowadays Evolena, Arolla, Ferpecle, St. Liic, and Zinal are much frequented by travellers, but the Turtniannthal is still known to comparatively few wanderers through the Alps.] - [Vol. i. pp. 111-llG ; Bourrit describes tlie Val d'Herens only, and that merely from hearsay.] 2 88 Travels through the Alps of Savoy past tilt' middle of August, the Cure iufornied us that we were the only strangers who had yet appeared that season at Evolena. A pleasant little work, by Julius Frobel, entitled, Heise in die wcniger bekannten 'Thaler auf der Nordseite der Fenninischen Alpen) has given the first and only detailed account of them worth notice, and even his visit was one of but a very few days, and directed only to the more accessible points. His work is valuable from an improved map which it contains, and which corrects many of the almost incredible errors of the best executed maps before that time — such as those of Weiss, Keller, and Worl. T should add, that a work published at Basel, also in 1840, by C. M. Engelhardt, under the title of NaturscMlderungen aus den liiklisten Schweizer-Alpen, gives some account^ of these valleys, and confirms the unanimous testimony of travellers respecting the discomfort and incivility experienced at Evolena. It seems to be admitted by all who have mentioned these valleys, that their population is of a distinct race from their Swiss neighbours.^ Very different origins have been assigned to them, — that they came from the east, and were originally tribes of Huns and Alani, and that they settled here in the fifth century, is the most prevalent theory ; others pronounced them to be Saracenic, dating from the ninth century, whilst Frobel inclines (chiefly upon etymological grounds, not perhaps very conclusive) to consider them a Celtic race. Tliat they lived in a very independent manner, were heathens long after the con- version of their neighbours, became subject to the Bishop of Sion, and were christianised by his missionaries, is confidently stated. In modern times we know that they have shown a spirit of stubborn independence, and resisted, in their un- approachable fastnesses, the incursions of the French armies, at a time when the rest of the Vallais had submitted to the yoke of Bonaparte. Their character does not appear to differ much from that of the Vallaisans, or, indeed, of the Swiss generally. Their hospi- tality, according to Frobel (p. 92), is seldom disinterested, and an intense love of money predomiiuites in all their transactions. 1 Berlin, 1840. ^ [Tlie detailed account of luif^elhardt's visit in lS;i7 to the Vals d'llercns and d'Anniviers is given in hi.s A'tit ii rsehildcnmgcii, \^\^. 100-132.] ^ [This wild theory is entirely devoid of the slightest historical foundation.] Evolena to Zermatt 289 A dollar which once finds its way to Kerens is never changed, and never comes forth again. This feature, supposed generally to be an imported vice, conspicuous only on the great and frequented roads, is, therefore, not merely the result of English folly and extravagance ; and my experience in other remote places confirms the opinion. The character of the people is, further, accordiug to the same writer (p. 91), stiff and pedantic, not unfrequently producing a ludicrous appearance of self-im- portance amidst an utter neglect of the common comforts and almost decencies of life. Their food is not only coarse, but scanty, and even unwholesome ; their houses and apartments are amongst the worst in the Alps : cleanliness is not amongst their virtues (p. 83). Much of this may be traced to laziness, which, Frobel says, is the prevailing vice : mules are abundant for country uses, and no man walks who can possibly ride (even second) on a mule ; still less will any one carry a common knap- sack without complaint (p. 91). Glaus's hotte was the wonder of all who met us. Frobel has, indeed, said so much about the impossibility of obtaining good guides in Evolena,^ that I had despaired of undertaking any considerable expedition, but Pra- long seemed to be rather an exception to the usual character, being active, civil, and far from exacting : he also displayed much personal courage and resolution. The language is barbarous, but I doubt whether it is more so, or more decidedly national than in many other remote valleys of the Alps. The word " fliithig " for cleanly, which Frobel has mentioned (p. 83) as distinctive, I have heard in the valley of Saas, where the population is, I believe, purely German. The name Evolena is said (p. 86) to mean, in the native dialect, " tepid water," and may be derived from a number of very beautiful springs, which rise from the fallen debris at the foot of the mountain slope immediately behind the town. Borgne means brook (p. 169); Uegno, glacier (p. 52); and jpigno, mountain top; which last Frobel (p. 67 n. and p. 171) says is synonymous with the Spanish pefion, the French pignon, the mons penninus of the Eomans, and the Gaelic bein. These valleys, notwithstanding the seeming poverty of their 1 "Die Maimer von Evolena siiid schleclite Bergleute." " Zehn bis funfzelui Pfiuiil auf deni Riickeu zu liabeu ist einem Mamie von Evolena eine unertriigUche Unbequemlichkeit," p. 91. 19 290 Travels through the Alps of Savoy inhabitauts, annually export a great deal of produce. Evolena is eight hours distant from Sion.-' Its neighbourhood presents a very lively and fertile appearance, the valley being broad and well watered, covered with pasture, and studded with barns and chalets up to a great height on both sides ; for although the secondary ranges — those which divide Kerens from Heremence and Anniviers, — are of considerable height, and of a fatiguing nature to climb, as those who have passed testify, they are fertile and grassy, affording excellent pasture. The cheerful appearance is indeed diminished when we approach, and find what seem to be villages to be mere barns, or rather hay-lofts, without a single inmate, and when, in the inhabited places, we find so much want of comfort and cleanliness. But as I have said, the exports of dairy produce to the low country are large, and probably very greatly exceed the imports, although these must include most of what are commonly considered as the necessaries of life. Besides the natural entrances to these valleys from the valley of the Ehone, which, as we have said, are narrow and unconspicuous, there are various passes to and from the higher parts of these valleys. In former times the glaciers were, as we have also seen, undoubtedly much more accessible, and even the pass to Zermatt seems at one time, like the Col du Geant, to have been frequently used. From Heremence there is said to exist a passage to the Glacier of Chermontane,^ which may have been in the direction which we saw in crossing the Col de Feuetre. There is also a long pass, but not over ice, into the Val de Bagnes, below Mont Pleureur, which M. Studer crossed in 1841.^ From Anniviers, it is very doubtful whether any glacier-pass exists ; ^ but from Tourtemagne, which is a valley inhabited only in summer, it is possible to cross the northern part of the Weisshorn into the valley of St. Nicolas above Stalden. '' But to resume our journey. Having quitted Evolena at 2 i-.M.,*" I walked to Hauderes, where my guide, Jean Pralong, 1 [Now it is 16 miles distant by a carriage road.] - [Probably the Col de Seiloii, which leads to the Gietroz C! lacier, is nieaut. See p. 266.] ^ [The Col du Crct. Sue \). 257.] ■* Nowadays i)lenty are known to both the Zermatt and Herons valleys.] '' "Either the Augstbord Pass, 9492 feet, or the Jung Pass, 9823 feet, is meant.] '' The lieight of Evolena is 4532 English feet above tlie sea by M. Studer's observation compared with the barometers at (Jeneva and St. Bernard. [It is really 4521 feet. Evolena to Zermatt 291 lived. This village is at the juuction of the two Bovfjnes, three miles above Evolena. It was nearly deserted. Pralong took the key of his house from under a stone, and invited me into it. The entrance was rude and ill-furnished, the light and air coming in on all hands ; but he conducted me up a trap-stair to a very tolerable apartment, with clean-looking beds, which we should have envied the night before. He offered me wine, and took a supply himself for the journey, candles for our use at night, and various other articles, including a rope to be used on the glacier. We then started, and followed the east side of the eastern rivulet, that descending from the Glacier of Ferpecle. We followed narrow water-courses to abridge our way, and during our ascent I was surprised to notice the oriental plane-tree and the currant both growing wild. The rocks exhibit traces of glacier friction, but neither here nor in the other branch of the valley towards Arolla are the transported blocks numerous. After two hours' walk from Evolena, we reached the chalets of Ferpecle,^ the only habitations of this part of the valley. Here we proposed to get some hay to form our bed at night, which we conjectured might be a scarce commodity at the still higher station, where we proposed sleeping. But this was not so easy a matter, for this seeming village contained not a single inhabitant ; the greater part was composed merely of hay-lofts, which, upon examination, proved to be much better secured than at first sight seemed probable. But Pralong was not daunted by the resistance of wooden bars and iron shackles, and my geological hammer was unscrupulously applied to obtain an entrance with the deliberate purpose of pillage. At length one door was forced, and a good armful of dry clean hay was secured and carried off, and all else replaced as before. We had now the lower end of the Glacier of Ferpecle immediately before us. The valley is very deep, and the scene solitary and striking, but it is impossible to form here any idea of the extent of the ice. Keeping always to the left, we began a smart ascent at first over the moraine of the glacier, which here as elsewhere seems to have retreated of late years. At length we gained a better path, traversing high pastures, and crossing the beds of several vast torrents. Having now got considerably above the ice, we advanced nearly on a level. 1 [Probably those of Salay are meant. Here there is now a pleasant little mountain inn.] 292 Travels through the Alps of Savoy We also saw rising Ijeyoncl groups o'i jagged sunmiits/ whieh separate the Glaciers of Ferpecle aud AroUa, of which the most conspicuous is a sharp pinnacle called Aiguille de la Za.- These terminate towards the great chain in a range called the Dents des Bouquetins.^ This led us to speak of those animals, and I asked Pralong whether any were ever seen. He replied that the}- had long disappeared, and that the story went that long ago the Government of the Vallais, desirous to preserve the race, declared the shooting of a bouquetin to be a capital offence, from which time not one of these animals has been seen, — a practical proof, he probably meant to infer, of the impotence of extreme legisla- tion. He also began spontaneously to talk about the glaciers, and the cause of their motion, and put several very pertinent questions. Amongst other things, he affirmed distinctly, that the glaciers advance indifferently in summer and in winter, and even that if the lower extremity be diminishing, it continues to do so — if advancing, to advance also — in winter as in summer. As the evening fell we gradually approached — by a path which certainly seemed to lead to no human habitation, but to an endless wilderness of ice and rocks — the chalets of Bricolla, which we reached in an hour and a half from the chalets of Ferpecle. The first symptoms of human art were two pyramids of stone (hommes de pierres, as they are generally called), which directed us from a distance ; then two stone huts near together, and one or two others a little beyond. We soon found that there were inhabitants, and we were received with simplicity, and with that composure and seeming absence of curiosity which I have already mentioned as remarkable amongst the Pdtrcs of the higher Alps. A visit even from Evolena is a rarity, but most likely none of them had before seen or lodged a traveller and his guides, prepared to cross the glacier to Zermatt. Never- theless, as their reception was far from repelling or suspicious, I was well satisfied with their tranquillity about my concerns and objects ; and preparing my arrangements for the evening, I left my guides, who all spoke different native tongues, to satisfy, as best they might, any latent curiosity of our hosts. ' [The Dent TeiTOc aud the Dents de Yeisi\i, which arc all grouped under tlu name of " Lcs Orandes Dents."] - [12,051 feet. Although not conquered till 1868, it is now one of the favourite ascents from Arolla.] •■' [12,625 feet.] Evolena to Zermatt 293 It was u charming evening, almost too mild to give quite a lavourable prognostic for the weather. After sunset the moon, which was almost full, rose, and threw her light over a scene not to be surpassed. These chalets, placed on a broad grassy shelf of rich verdure, overhanging, at a height of several hundred feet, one of the noblest glaciers in the Alps, are not much less elevated than the Convent of the Great St. Bernard/ — a position sufficient in most cases to diminish the effect of the higher summits, but which here only increases it, so stupendous is the scale of nature at this spot. Eising abruptly from the glacier, at no great distance on the left, is the grand summit of the Dent Blanche,^ which is called Hovenghorn as seen from Zermatt. Its height is probably unmeasured, but is marked in Keller's map 13,000 French feet, which, I believe, is rather under the mark.^ To the south the view is bounded l)y the ridge which I proposed passing, from which the glacier descends in some places very steeply, and with a striking effect, breaking over a rock called Motta Eotta, which divides its current for a short space. To the west of this a narrow ridge of angular summits, very abrupt and bare, divides the glacier into two distinct branches. This is called the Mont Mine, and is reputed to contain indications of ancient mines. I was surprised to learn that sheep are usually conveyed across the glacier to graze upon what seems a mass of broken rock. Between the Mont Mine and the ridge formerly mentioned as separating the Glaciers of AroUa and Ferpecle, the western branch * of the Ferpecle glacier descends. This ridge is far higher, and more commanding than the Mont Mine. It has its origin at the Dents des Bouquetins, near the axis of the chain, and it descends to the Aiguille de la Za, and continues to its termination above Hauderes, in the Dents de Veisivi. From the considerable height at which I stood, the glacier was seen (in its lower part at least) in plan, and presented a view of the same description, but more extensive and wild, than that of the Mer de Glace from the Montanvert. As now seen by moonlight, its appearance was indescribably grand and peaceful, and I stood 1 [The Bricolla chalets are 7960 feet, and the Convent 8111 feet.] - See the Topographical Sketch, No. VII., \k 297, for this route. ■' [Its height is 14,318 English feet.] ^ [It is now called the Mont Mine Glacier, the name Ferpecle Glacier being given to the east branch, which is really the main stream. Both flow from tlie great snow-fields that extend from the Dents des Bouquetins to the Dent Blanche.] 294 Travels through the Alps of Savoy long in fixed admiration of the scene, the most striking of its kind which T have witnessed, unless, perhaps, I were to except a moonlight walk over the great Glacier of Aletsch imder very similar circumstances. Amongst other things, I did not fail to remark the wave-like l)ands, or "dirt beds," at regular intervals on the surface of the glacier, in precise correspondence with what I had observed at Chamouni from the Charmoz. Here they were, if possible, more striking, more numerous, and not less regular. Instead of eighteen bands, I here counted thirty, at intervals sensibly equal, and in forms like those figured on the map of the Mer de Glace. The moonlight was very favouraljle to this observation. I soon after returned to the hut to supper. As might be expected, the cheer was not great, but cheerfully given. There could not be much less comfort than at Evolena ; but it was at least freely offered. There was no temptation to prolong a stay within doors, unless to sleep. I retired early with my guides to the lodging prepared for us with the aid of the hay which we had brought. It was a small shed, about six feet square, and four high, attached to the principal hut, entered by a door- way through which one could creep with difficulty, and which was shut up with a piece of cloth. I was placed next the wall, and the others slept beside me. The shepherds themselves slept in a separate hut a little way removed. Before we went to rest, it was agreed that they should call us at o A.^r., that we might be on foot before day, for all reports agreed, that whatever might be the diflfieulties of the journey, it was, at least, a very long one. In order to awaken us at the right time, they begged to have my watch with them for the night, a request which, in some other countries, might have been suspicious (it was a valuable gold chronometer) but which here I granted as readily as it was un- doubtingly asked. As we lay down I was struck by the conduct of Pralong, who knelt down on the hay and said his prayers shortly, and without form or pretension of any kind ; and we had not been long composed to rest before we heard a solemn and not unmusical voice proceeding from the neighbouring apart- ment. On inquiry of Pralong, I found that the practice of evening prayer is kept up amongst the assembled shepherds ; a rare but touching solemnity amongst men of the common ranks, — for no women usually live in the higher chalets, — separated Evolena to Zermatt 295 during so large a part of the year from the means of public worship. I passed a sleepless, though far from an uncomfortable night. Pralong had spoken doubtingly of the weather in the evening, and I well knew that any thing like uncertainty in that respect could not be hazarded on such an expedition, for which I felt more and more disposed as I got better acquainted with the scenery of this interesting chain. Every change of direction of the moon's rays falling through the open walls and roof of our shelter I mistook for a cloud, and felt fresh anxiety lest the hour of rising should be overpast, as it had been at Praraye. I was up before the rest, and whilst the stars were shining bright, the moon having set, I performed my hasty toilet. It was some time before breakfast could be got ready, and, as usual, an hour and a quarter elapsed before we were fairly under way, exactly at a quarter to five. It may not be out of place to mention here what was known respecting this pass, which has remained less celebrated than the Col du G-eant, or the Strahleck (both of which it exceeds in height),^ because the valleys between which it communicates are, I believe, little known. I first heard of it from a guide at Zermatt, Peter Damatter, who told me, in 1841, that he had passed it, and that the town of Sion was visible from the top. He represented the distance as excessively great, so as with difficulty to be accomplished in a day. Yenetz, the able engineer, of the Yallais (to which canton this country belongs), wrote, in 1821, that this pass was so dangerous that he had never known but one man (Josef Perren) who had accomplished it ; " whilst he mentions it as a proof of the great increase of the glaciers in modern times, that formerly it was in considerable use, and certainly, for the rare occasions that any one may be supposed to have business between Evolena and Zermatt, the circuit of three or four tedious days' jom-ney by Sion and Visp is by no means cheering.^ Frobel mentions, that some years before he wrote, several gentlemen of Sion effected the passage under perilous 1 [The Col d'Herens is 11,418 feet, the Col du Giant 11,060 feet, and the Strahleck 10,995 feet.] ■^ Mtinoirc sur Ics Variations de la Temperature dans les Alpes de la Suisse, pp. 7, 8. I quote from a citation, not having the original by me. [See p. 42 above.] 3 [Venetz also mentions the old procession from Zermatt to Sion by the Val d'Herens. See p. 42 above.] 296 Travels through the Alps of Savoy circumstances, having passed the entire day, from two in the morning until evening dusk, between the last chalets of Ferpecle, and the first of Z'Mutt.^ Making all customary allowance for exaggeration, I had good reason to take all precautions, and to start with the early dawn ; indeed we were scarcely off when Pralong intimated that he feared we were already somewhat too late. It will be recollected that, besides Pralong, the guide of Evolena, I had the trusty Bionaz, of Val Bionaz, and Tairraz of Chamouni, as my attendants. The provisions, and my personal effects, made a burden so light for each, that even an Eringer could not reasonably complain ; and taking leave of our hosts with thanks and remuneration, we hastened at a good pace to gain the glacier. But this was not the work of a moment. I have already said that the chalets of Bricolla stand on a shelf many hundred feet above the glacier ; and, what is always dis- agreeable, our first step to mounting was a steep and uncomfort- able descent. We had not left the chalets ten minutes when we found a foaming torrent to be crossed. Now, a plunge up to the knees in a river even ice-cold is a trifle in ordinary travelling, and might be considered a refreshing commencement of a long day's walk ; but when that walk is to be of ten or twelve hours on a glacier, and over snows 11,000 or 12,000 feet high, such a freak might endanger life or limb. Accordingly, while Pralong and Bionaz spluttered through, I sought an easier passage higher up, which I at length found, and was followed by the wary Savoyard. Without difficulties worth mentioning we gained the surface of the ice, liaving lost, however, in level, a height of perhaps 1000 feet ; we then patiently and warily proceeded on our march, — ' "Die Angaben iiber (lie Gaiigbavkeit dieses Passes sind sehr verschiedeii. Wit! bei aller Gletscherpiissen wird audi liier alles vom Jahrgaiige und von der Wittt'iuiig abhangen. Der Herr Doniherr Berchtold ^ in Sitten welclier icli iiber dc^nsellicn befragte, benierkte niir, es sei in jedem Falle ' eine Aventure,' iiber ihn zu gelien." — -Frobel, p. 73.- I [Josef Anton Uerchtolil, born 1780, tlied 1851), was a Canon of Sion from ISKi and an eager studfiMt of applied inatheniatics. IJeUveen 1831 and 1834 at his own cost he had determined the heights (if iii:ii]y spots in llic Vallais. In 1834 he was entrusted by the Swiss military atithorities witli tlir lil,iii;;iiliLtiiiii III tlir N'alhiis for the " Dufour map," and complete D Erix Evolena a^d Zliuivxt i " . .■^^i . y ,>i^i'-- ^\VsiP of the Alps, they suffered distressingly from the poison. For myself, long experience had made me almost wholly avoid these messes, and every preparation of milk. I had drunk tea both night and morning, prepared in my portable boiler, and had filled my gourd with some of the same invaluable stomachic, which I now administered with effect to Tairraz and Bionaz, whilst Pra- loug declared that his casket, or keg as it would be called in Scotland, of red wine, was worth all the tea in the universe. Happily, I suffered no uneasiness, and the others, being prol)ably accustomed to the disorder, made light of it, and gradually recovered ; meanwhile we pursued our way. AVe were now (see 1 Shakspeare, Henry A'] Act i. Scene 1. 29^ Travels through the Alps of Savoy the Topograpliietil Sketch, No. VII.) close under the rocks which bordered the glacier on our left, beneath the lofty peak of the Dent Blanche. Before us was the Motta Eotta, the rocky precipice already descrilied as rising through the ice. At length the glacier became much crevassed, and we had a choice of difliculties, either to skirt the precipitous rocks on our left, or to make for the centre of the glacier on our right, with the chance of crevasses yet more impassable. Pralong, indeed, broached the notion of attempting the ascent of the glacier between the Motta Eotta and the Mont Mine, which, he said, would lead us more directly to the Col ; but he did not know that such a passage had been attempted, and as, upon examination with the telescope, I perceived an enormous JBergscliruiul, or well-defined crevasse, which separated the higher summits from the glacier steep, I preferred pursuing the direction in which he had already passed. We accordingly made for the rocks, and scrambled along and up them for a considerable way. We were preceded by a whole troop of chamois, eleven in number, which we startled upon the ice, and which took immediately to the cliffs. At length it became difficult to say whether the rock or the glacier was the more formidable opponent, and we regained, with some difficulty, the surface of the latter, being now more than on a level with the chalets which we had left. The sun was only now rising behind the ridge of the Dent Blanche, the ice was still hard frozen and slippery. The glacier was very steep and rugged, but the crevasses were exposed and the walking was more difficult than dangerous, although once I was only withheld by my companions from slipping into a chasm. But the snow-line was soon gained, and the surface being still crisp, our footing was sure, and the bed of snow too thick to create any risk from crevasses. We were on the north or shady exposure, always the easiest to mount, and had a fatiguing climb up dazzling snow fields, about 30° of elevation abreast of the Motta Itotta, which was on our right.^ Pralong took the lead manfully, and was now quite recovered from his indisposition. The heights of the Motta Eotta gained, the Col might be said to l)e reached, for although snow fields of great extent separated us from it, they evidently presented no dilliculty. It is, perhaps, ' [Forlifs thus iiassed to the east of tlie Motta Rotta, wliich is still the ordinary way.] Evolena to Zermatt 299 only ill this part of the Alps that such a prodigious extent of comparative table-lands of snow are to be found at such an elevation. New peaks began to rise before us, and especially the Mont Cervin, or Matterhorn, and the Dent d'Herens, whilst to the westward, the summits of Mont CoUon, and the neighbouring chains peeped over the wilderness of snow and ice. The Col or pass, lay now, Pralong told me, considerably to the right, but seeing just before us a snowy summit, which alone concealed from us the view of Monte Eosa, and the great chain of Alps in that direction, I proposed, as we had gained this height at a very early hour, and with far less difficulty than I expected, to climb to the top of it to enjoy the view. Now, Pralong was not one of those teasing, pedantic guides who will never listen to any opinion, and who make it a point to thwart a proposition merely to show their consequence, the more so if it offer a chance of delay. I liked him for his confidence and good temper. He admitted that a traveller's opinion might be taken, at least as to the course which would please him best ; accordingly, we walked right over towards the precipice marked on the Sketch as stretching from the Dent Blanche to the Stockhorn. As we approached it, I caught one of those glorious bursts of scenery of which all description must ever fail to realise the incommunicable grandeur, and one sight of which at once and instantly repays the traveller for days of toil and sleepless nights. Wandering on alone as near the verge of the snow-crowned precipice as I dared venture (for there an unseen fissure in the compacted snow, some yards from the very ledge, might readily occasion the detachment of a mass, by the traveller's weight, into the abyss), I gained the summit of the Stockhorn, of which I had considerably overrated the height from where I first proposed the deviation, and was seated on its top exactly at nine o'clock. I wish I could convey an impression, however faint, of the view to the east. The morning was calm, the sky pure, and the sun bright ; indeed, there was not a breath of wind, though I was here at a height of 11,760 feet above the sea, or 600 feet higher than the Col du Geant;^ and this stillness, combined with the reflected sun heat, made the air feel perfectly mild, although, to my surprise, I found the thermometer to be only 34°. The whole range of Monte Ptosa, including that proble- 1 [The Stockhorn is 11,795 feet, or 735 feet higher than the Col du Geant.] 300 Travels through the Alps of Savoy matical summit,^ scarcely inferior to it in height, called by some Montagne de Fee, and by others Mittaghorn, filled the eastern dis- tance. From the great height at which I stood, there could Ije no doubt about which was the highest point. Although between 3000 and 4000 feet higher, the distance was so great as to bring the eye apparently almost on a level, and in no direction is tlie relation of these much contested simimits better seen. The summit which I thus judged to be the liighest, is exactly the ilont Cervin. MONTE ROSA FROM THE COL d'hEREKS. " Hochste Spitze" of von Welden, 15,158 English feet above the sea," of whicli more hereafter. The whole lustre of the morning sun shone sliadowless upon these snowy heights, and upon the vast surface of the Glacier of Z'Mutt, of which only a portion can be included in the Topo- graphical Sketch, and which lay completely, as in a map, at my feet, separated from me by stupendous precipices — " a vast vacuity." It is the cliff attempted to be shown in the Sketch, of which the Stockhorn on which I was seated forms at once the salient angle and the highest point. A branch of the glacier, it will be observed, comes close to the foot of the- Dent Blanche, and to the base of the precipice. The Dent Blanche, thus seen in its precipitous height from top to bottom, had a magnificent appear- ance, and from the height which I afterwards ascertained of the point on which I stood, I cannot doubt tliat its reported height ' Wliat voii Welden (pp. 19, '-'9) lias vaUvd '•Jicig X.' [Undoubtedly the Miscliabelliiirner, of which the highest summit is the Dom, 14,942 feet, the second highest peak wholly in Switzerland. It dominates Fee on the east, while the name •Mittaghorn is now given to a rocky point at the east edge of the great Tee Glacier.] - [15,217 feet, the highest summit wholly in Switzerland.] Evolena to Zermatt 301 (nearly 14,000 feet) ^ is not overrated. Beyond the Dent Blanche appeared the elegant and commanding summit of the Weisshorn, whose height, recently determined by M. Berchtold of Sion, is 14,812 English feet,^ and which sinks into comparative insignificance the Gabelhorner and other rugged mountains, which separate the head of the Val d'Anniviers from the Glacier of Z'Mutt. But amongst the objects nearer at hand, even the Dent Blanche was not the finest. Eight opposite, separated from me just by the breadth of the Glacier of Z'Mutt, were the Mont Cervin and the Dent d'Herens, the former of 14,766 feet,^ the latter conjecturally 14,000 feet above the sea.^ The unsealed and unscalable pyramid of the former is, beyond comparison, the most striking object in the Alps. The Dent d'Herens forms distinctly a part of the same range, united by a continuous and inaccessible precipice, and they are not isolated and uncon- nected masses, as represented in Frobel's map. To the westward were seen the mountain groups of the head of the Valpelline, — the Mont Collon, and the Pigno d'Arolla, the Dents des Bouquetins, and the seemingly interminable ice-fields over which (as I have said above ^) a passage might possibly be effected to the Col de Collon, above which I thought that I perceived the Mont Gele, near the Col de Fenetre ; but in this I might easily be mistaken. It is probable that the Mont Velan and the Grand Combin might be seen in the same direction, but clouds rested on that part, and on that alone, of the horizon. I apprehend that Mont Blanc must be concealed by the mountains last named. To the north was the Glacier of Ferpecle, which we had ascended, stretched out in all its length, flanked by its aiguilles, and descending into the depth of the valley, in which we easily traced the village and church of Evolena, but Sion is certainly not visible. Of all the views which I have seen in the higher Alps, none can compare with that from the Stockhorn ^' of the Col d'Herens 1 [It is really 14,318 feet.] '^ [It is really 14,804 feet.] 3 De Saussiire. M. Berchtold's measurement is not sensibly different — namel}-, 13,839 French, or 14,750 English feet, as stated by Engelhardt in the Proceedings of the Swiss naturalists for 1841. The numbers given in Engelhardt's Natur- schilderungcn are many of them inaccurate. [14,781 feet ; it was not vanquished till 1865.] 4 [13,715 feet.] ^ [See p. 278.] ^ [Perhaps an even finer panorama may be gained from the easily accessible snow}- pyramid of the Tete Blanche, 12,304 feet, to the south-west of the Col d'Herens.] 302 Travels through the Alps of Savoy (as I propose to call this pass, which has not yet received a name). The unequalled view of Monte Eosa, and the centrical position with respect to the three summits of the second (if not of the iirst) order, the Mont Cervin, Dent Blanche, and Dent d'Herens, which seem all so near as almost to be tangible, are sufficient to mark its character. The Weisshorn and the Cima di Jazzi,^ as well as Mont Cervin, all border on 15,000 feet; so that counting all the peaks of Monte Eosa but as one, we see at once at least five distinct mountains higher than the Finsteraarhorn, long esteemed the highest in Switzerland proper. Compared to the Col du Geant, the view is here more vast and savage, and the individual objects finer and closer ; though the distant view of the chain of the Alps gives to the former a delightful and peculiar charm. Before leaving this part of our description, I must say one word on the geography of this part of the chain. By Worl's map, or that of Keller until the edition of 1842, it would appear impossible that such a pass can exist as that which I am now describing. The chain of Alps (I write with Worl's map before me) is represented as turning from the Mont Cervin abruptly to the N.W., — ^as including the Dent Blanche, at the southern foot of which the Valpelline is made to take its rise (!) and then, as bending back again towards the head of the Glacier of Arolla. Since the Dent Blanche is rightly " placed betw^een the Glacier of Ferpecle and that of the Val de Torrent, it evidently would have been impossible to reach Zermatt from Evolena without crossing into Italy, and recrossing near the Mont Cervin. Now, without detailing other varieties of error, the reality is, that the main chain of Alps is here well defined, and nearly straight, extending from Mont Cervin through the Dent d'Herens to the nameless^ summits south of Mont Collon, and at the true head of Valpelline or Bionaz. The whole north face of Mont Cervin and the Dent d'Herens is a united and inaccessible precipice,'* which falls into the Glacier of Z'Mutt, 1 [The Cima di Jazzi is but 12,527 feet ; the Finsteraarhorn is 14,026 feet.] - [Quite wrongly. The Dent Blanche rises between the Ferpecle and Zinal (Jlaciers ; it is only the Grand Cornier (13,022 feet) to its north which overlooks the Val dc Torrent.] ■' [This refers to the range — the summit of which now possess so many names that great confusion has been caused — running from the Evcque towards the Mont Gele. See p. 266.] ■• [Both peaks have since been climbed from that direction, while two passes between them have been forced.] Evolena to Zermatt 303 which extends far to the westward of both/ not rising (as even Erobel inaccurately represents it) immediately behind the Mont Cervin, but in the great ice-mass to the westward of the Dent d'Herens. Now, just where the Glacier of Z'Mutt takes its rise, is the commencement of a great lateral chain on so stupendous a scale as to create little surprise that it has often been mistaken for the great chain. The Glacier of Ferpecle descends from its north-western flank, where it forms the Col d'Herens and the Stockhorn, upon which we conceive ourselves stationed. It then expands itself into the mass of the Dent Blanche, which sends forth the ramifications of the Dents d'Abricolla and Zatalane," which separate the valleys of Kerens and Anniviers. From the Dent Blanche the chain takes an easterly direction, forming the summit called Moming in Herens, Triftenhorn at Zermatt (where the Dent Blanche is called Hovenghorn), ^ which separates the valley of Zinal and that of Z'Mutt. This part of the chain seemed to me quite impassable.'* Then follow a range of peaks, called Gabelhorner,^ which continue the chain in a north-easterly direction, parallel to the valley of St. Nicolas, until we reach the culminating point of the Weisshorn, a seemingly inaccessible peak of 14,812 English feet,*^ which is often mistaken for Monte Eosa, especially from the Gemmi Pass, whence it and the other parts of the chain just mentioned have been elaborately figured in von Weldeu's work (Plate IV.) as the actual chain of Monte Eosa, and received specific names accordingly, although the real Monte Eosa is some thirty miles distant, and wholly concealed ! ' It will thus be distinctly understood that the passage of the Col d'Herens is not that of the great chain, but only of this ramification of it. 1 [This is not so.] - [The former summit is no doubt the Graud Cornier, 13,022 feet, and the latter the Zadelano, 11,070 feet.] ^ [/.c, Hohwiinghorn, a name now given to a neighbouring and lower point on the S. side of the ridge between the Dent Blanche and the Gabelhorn. Forbes probably took the name from Engelhardt's Naturschildcrimgen (pp. 225,226), where it is applied to a far lower summit than the Dent Blanche, and is so marked on Engelhardt's 1840 map. Engelhardt, in his 1852 book {Das Monte-Rosa Gebircj, p. 185), says that Forbes really meant to give this name to the lowest slopes on the south towards the Dent Blanche, and marks it thus on his 1850 and 1856 maps.] ■* [It is not so, however, in reality.] ^ [The positions of the Gabelhorn, 13,364 feet, and the Moming or Zinal Roth- horn, 13,856 feet, are reversed, the former being the nearer to the Dent Blanche. There are nmny passes over the range between the Dent Blanche and the Rothhorn.] « [14,804 feet, first scaled in 1861.] ' [Xot from the (iemmi.] 304 Travels through the Alps of Savoy M. Studer having taken his barometer witli him to Anniviers, I had only the sympiesometer and the boiling-water apparatus to depend upon for the determination of the height. I consider the latter as the most certain, and as probably not erring more than 50 feet from the truth. It gave (by comparison with the barometer at Geneva) a height of 11,770 feet,^ the temperature of boiling water being 192^-45 (or 191°'9;3 corrected), and that of the air 34". I melted snow, and caused the water to boil with great ease, even at this height, and thus supplied the party with plenty of water to drink, which otherwise it would have been impossible to procure. Stretched upon the snow, we made a hearty meal ; and the hour and a half which I spent here in observing my instrument, taking magnetic bearings of the principal objects, sketching the outline of Monte Eosa, and trying effectually to impress upon my memory a scene which I scarcely expect ever to see equalled or under circumstances so favourable, went quickly by, when Pralong modestly invited me to depart, as our task was far from accom- plished ; indeed, as it appeared, the most difficult part was to come. Our object was now to descend upon the Glacier of Z'Mutt, of which, as I have endeavoured to explain, and to represent upon the Topographical Sketch, No. VII., the lower or more level part swept along the base of the Mont Cervin and Dent d'Herens, whilst a higher stage of it rose to the foot of the lofty precipice above which we stood. Xow, wiiilst the top of this precipice sunk from the summit of the Stockhorn, westwards to the Col, and then rose a little, the glacier and the foot of the precipice rose rapidly and continuously to the westward, so that the top and bottom of the precipice became at length blended together, under a snowy sheet. To reach this point, however, would have been a long d(^tour, and the glacier appeared dangerously crevassed. Having, therefore, descended from the Stockhorn [towards] the Col (which was not a great deal lower), Pralong proposed to attempt descending the cliff'," by which he recollected to have passed when he last crossed, and to liave successfully reached the ' [Really ll,79o feet.] - [This is jirobably the Wandiluiijouh, which was successfully forced upwards fioiu the Z'Mutt Glacier Viy the present Editor's party in 1871. It is said that in 1851 this pass was made from Zermatt by the late Herr Alexandre Seiler (later the well-known innkeeper at Zermatt) the then (Jure of Zermatt, and a young student from Sion : the party were without guides or local knowledge, and missed tiie riglit way over the Col d'Herens owing to clouds (^Schiccizer AliKd-ZcUuu'j, vol. i. ].. K57).] Evolena to Zermatt 305 glacier below. We began cautiously to descend, for it was an absolute precipice : Praloug first, and I following, leaving the other guides to wait about the middle, until we should see whether or not a passage could be eft'ected. The precipice was several hundred feet high. Some bad turns were passed, and . I began to hope that no insurmountable difficulty would appear, when Pralong announced that the snow this year had melted so much more completely than on the former occasion, as to cut off all communi- cation with the glacier, for there was a height of at least 30 vertical feet of rocky wall, which we could by no means circum- vent. Thus, all was to do over again, and the cliff was reascended. We looked right and left for a more feasible spot, but descried none. Having regained the snows above, we cautiously skirted the precipice, until we should find a place favourable to the attempt.^ At length, the rocks became mostly masked under steep snow slopes, and down one of these, Pralong, with no common courage, proposed to venture, and put himself at once in the place of danger. We were now separated by perhaps but 200 feet from the glacier beneath. The slope was chiefly of soft deep snow, lying at a high angle. There was no difficulty in securing our footing in it, but the danger was of pro- ducing an avalanche by our weight. This, it may be thought, was a small matter, if we were to alight on the glacier below ; but such a sm-face of snow upon rock rarely connects with a glacier without a break, and we all knew very well that the formidable . 96). •* [Schott (j). 94) — on whom Forbes is relying — quite misunderstands Scheuchzer's phrase (p. 303) ; it is quite fclear that Sclieuchzer means tlie Val Tournanche by the expression " Kriimcrtlial," wliich is nowada3's the German name of the valley. Hence the name has nothing whatever to do with Grcssoncy, though of course many small merchants and pedlars emigrate from that valley, as from nearly all the Alpine valleys on the south side of the chain of the Alps.] ^ Kriimer-Thal. Gressoney 331 of pedlars in southern Germany were termed " Gressoneyer " collectively. Their habits are cleanly and active, and their houses, built in tlie true German taste, would alone, and at once, distinguish them from their Italian neighbours. I spent a Sunday at Gressoney, as already mentioned, which gave me an opportunity of seeing the holiday costume of the women, which resembles some of the gayest in Switzerland, especially the abundance of gold and silver lace, and the metallic helmet-caps. In religion they are strictly Eoman Catholics : their churches are adorned with frescos in the Italian taste. Since De Saussure called particular attention to the German settlers of Monte Eosa, several German authors have written respecting them. Of these the chief are Hirzel-Escher,-^ von Welden, and Schott. Of these works now before me, the last " is the most elaborate as respects the question of population ; but it is tedious from its detail, and disagreeable to read, from an affectation of singularity in the spelling and printing of the German language.^ Schott has given (in chap. vii. of his work) specimens of the patois of each of the various communes of the German valleys — namely, Issime and Gressoney in the Val de Lys ; Alagna, the highest village, which alone is German, in the Val Sesia ; Eima in the Val Sermenza ; Eimella in the Val Mastallone ; and Macugnaga in the Val Anzasca. That of Gressoney appears to be the least impure German ; and indeed it is there alone that the striking externals of the German race are to be found in perfection : nearest to it in this respect is the valley of Anzasca. In every case the patois is a corrupt mixture of Eoman and Teutonic roots, of which the author has given an elaborate vocabulary. It is curious to observe that in the proper names of these valleys the family names have preserved pretty 1 [Hirzel-Esclier, IVanderungen in ivenigcr hesuchte Alpcvgegendcn dcr Sclaveiz, Zurich, 1829, pp. 46-49.] 2 Die Deutschen Coloiiien in Piemont, ihr Land, ihrc Mundart, und Herl-uvft, Von Albert Schott, Stuttgart, 1S42. ^ [Much has been since written on the subject. It seems probable that the Gressoney colony was brought over the St. Theodule by the Bishop of Sion — who had lan(ls in the Lys valley — probably in the twelfth or thirteenth century ; the other colonies probably came from Visp over the Monte Moro and other jjasses. See pp. 493 and 524 of the new edition (1898) of vol. i. of Mr. John Ball's Alinne, Guide, and the references in the index of that work to the various villages named.] 332 Travels through the Alps of Savoy generally tlieir German character, as Achermann, Beck, Schwarz, Zininiermann, Zunistein, \vliiLst the Christian names are chiefly Italian.' The second of the works above named, that of von Weldeu, is interesting from the topographical details wliich it gives of the complicated environs of Monte Eosa, which, till then, were very imperfectly understood, — and not less so from the details of successive attempts to reach its highest summit, made Ly M. Zumstein (a native of these valleys), and described in his own words. The vexed question of the comparative height of Mont Blanc and Monte Eosa was undecided before the survey of von Welden, which was published in 1824.^ It required an elaborate opera- tion to determine its absolute height, on account of the complica- tion of peaks of nearly equal elevation which form its summit, all of which cannot be seen from perhaps any point external to them, and which must nevertheless be separately and minutely observed, in order to ascertain which is really the highest. Thus De Saussure, as appears evidently from his own view ( Voyages, tome iv., PI. V.), measured not the highest peak, but only the third in height, now called the Zumsteinspitze. He made it 2430 toises, or 15,540 English feet above the sea.^ This was within 200 feet of the height of Mont Blanc ; but later and more precise observations all agree in making even the highest point considerably lower.* Von Weldeu (pp. 12-20) finds it to be 14,222 French or 15,158 English feet, which agrees nearly with the mean of the results of Carlini, Oriani, and Corabceuf.^ Monte Eosa is a union of several mountain chains rather than one summit. The map will give an idea of their arrange- ment. From it, or from any map based upon \o\\ Welden's, it will be seen tliat a vast inaccessible *^ ridge stretches nearly east 1 Schott, pp. 212, 213. - Dcr Monte Rosa, ei7ic tupo/jraphiscJic und nalur/i inloriscJic Ski:u', A'iuiina, 1824. 3 royages, § 2135. « [The Dufourspitze is 15,217 feet, tlic Nonl End 15,132 feet, and the Zum- steinspitze 15,004 feet. Mont Bhiuc is 15,782 feet.] ^ Carlini, 2387 toises. Oriani, 2385 ,, von Welden, 2370 ,, Curabteiif, 2379 ,, Brugierc, Orographic de V Europe, ]). 208. '• [All till' peaks have since been climbed and nvany passes made between them.] Gressoney 333 and west, commencing at the Col du ]\Iont Cervin, between Zermatt and Breiiil, and terminating in the Cima della Pissa, to the east of Monte Kosa. This chain includes the Petit Mont Cervin, the Breithorn, [the Twins], and the Lyskamm. Another vast ridge, though a shorter one, meets this nearly at right angles, stretching from Monte Ptosa, northwards, towards the Cima di Jazzi. It also crosses the chain to the south, so as to form the ridge of the Col d'Olen between the Val de Lys and Val Sesia. The union or hiot formed by these two chains is the locality of the elevated summits properly called Monte Kosa. Of course four cavities or angles are left when the traverse chain meets the longitudinal one. The one of these to the north- eastward, which is the most precipitous, and which, indeed, has been compared by De Saussure to a crater, forms the head of the Val Anzasca, and embosoms the Glacier of Macugnaga ; the north-western one, vaster, but less precipitous, gives birth to the great glacier of Corner, or of Zermatt; the south-western angle contains the glacier of Lys, which descends from the Lyskamm ^ into the valley of Gressoney ; the fourth, or south- eastern cavity, is occupied by the head of the Yal Sesia, and has also extensive, though less prominent glaciers. Thus Monte Eosa is in ground plan like a four-rayed star or cross. All the highest summits are ranged along the northern and southern rays, especially the former. The point of union of the rays is not the most elevated, though, in some respects, it is the most generally commanding top. It is the most conspicuous from the Italian side of the Alps ; it has been called by von Welden " Signal Kuppe." It is the fourth in point of height." The three higher lie all immediately north from it ; the first in order is the " Zumsteinspitze," the highest which has been ascended, which is a snowy blunt summit, mistaken by De Saussure for the highest. Next follows the highest ; a sharp rocky obelisk, well seen from the Col d'Herens (see p. 300), and from Monte Moro (see next chapter). It is connected with the Zumsteinspitze by a longitudinal very sharp icy ridge Hke a house roof, which, on the eastern side,^ descends with appalling 1 Kamm, a comb-shaped or jagged mountain ridge. 2 [14,965 feet. It is also called Punta Gnifetti, from the Cure of Alagna, who first vanq\ushed it on August 9, 1842, just three weeks before Forbes's visit to Alagna. See p. 341 below. There is now a large club hut close to the summit.] 3 [Strictly speaking, the Hochste Spitze, 15,217 feet— conquered in 1855— 334 Travels through the Alps of Savoy rapidity to an abyss which is scarcely equalled in the Alps for depth and steepness. Beyond the highest^ or " Hochste Spitze," is the second highest, called by von Welden " Nord End," which, like the last, has never been scaled.-^ The difference of height of these four summits is trifling, amounting to only 34 toises, or little more than 200 feet, from the highest to the lowest. Three other summits of somewhat less height form the southern arm of the Cross, namely, the " Parrotspitze," " Ludwigshohe," and " Vincent Pyramide," the last of which, and also the lowest, was the first ascended of the group.- Having now endeavoured to give a distinct geographical idea of the position of this group of mountains (which I have seen and sketched in almost every direction from whence they are visible), I shall add a very few words respecting the attempts which have been made to ascend it, which have excited far less interest than those upon Mont Blanc ; and such is the confusion prevalent on the subject, that some guides of Chamouni main- tain that they have ascended the summit of Monte Kosa from the Col of Mont Cervin,^ which is a good deal more ridiculous than if they proposed to scale Mont Blanc by ascending the Glacier of Argentiere. The explorers of Monte Eosa, in its wilder recesses, were MM. Vincent and Zumstein, the former the earlier, the latter the more persevering and successful. I can only mention briefly the results of their journeys, which may be found contained in an interesting series of papers by M. Zumstein in von "Welden's work (p. 97 sqq.). The first ascent of the lowest summit was by M. Mncent alone, in August, 1819, whence his name was justly given to it. rises altogether in Switzerland on a promontory that detaches itself from the Grenzgipfel, 15,194 feet, which, like the Signal Kuppe, Zumsteinspitze, and Nord End, is on the watershed that also forms the i)olitical frontier.] 1 [The Nord End is 15,132 feet, and was first climbed in 1861.] 2 [The Parrotspitze, 14,643 feet, was first climbed in 1863 ; the Ludwigshohe, 14,259 feet, in 1822 ; and the Vincent Pyramide in 1819. There are two or three other minor points.] ■* [This is jirobably an allusion to the first ascent of the Brcithorn, enVcted in 1813 from the St. Theodule Pass by Monsieur Hem-i Maynard, a Freinliman, accompanied by several guides, among whom was J. M. Couttet, who in 1792 liad ascended the neighbouring Petit Mont Cervin with Saussure. Tiie original account states expressly that it was an ascent of Monte Rosa. See von Welden, p. 7 ; Alpine Journtd, vol. xv. pp. 437, 438 ; Durier's Le Mont Blanc, p. 243, note; and Dollfus-Ausset's jisccnsions duns Ics I/aitfcs lli'-gions dcs Alpoi (1864), p. 109.] Gressoney 335 Then he and M. Zumstein together repeated the ascent a week later, with more favourable weather. The chief difficulties experienced were from a huge ice cleft, or Bergschrund, and from the labour of cutting 600 steps with a hatchet on a steep ice slope. The ascent on this, as on all other occasions, was made from the side of Gressoney, near the Col d'Olen, where gold mines are worked above the limits of perpetual snow, and where, therefore, a shelter, however rude, could be obtained, at a height of 10,800 feet, certainly the highest temporary habitation in Europe. The second journey, that of 1820, was performed by Zum- stein alone, with the purpose of making for the summits farther to the north, and also the highest. He was accompanied by a surveyor, with a theodolite, who was commissioned by the Turin Academy to make observations for the improvement of the maps of Monte Eosa ; but the Italian surveyor being unused to such excursions, the labour and expense of the journey were unavail- ing, although it clearly appears from the narrative, that had Zumstein himself been able to make the observations, he would have had ample time and opportunity for doing so, — one proof amongst many of the necessity (which De Saussure saw and acted on) of the director and chief of such an expedition being not only an experienced mountaineer, but himself capable of undertaking all the experiments and observations which he desires to be made. Under such circumstances, the zeal and sense of responsibility of the traveller and discoverer himself, are alone equal to the task of making observations of any value, or rather, not positively mischievous by their inaccuracy. The most perfect land-measurer, the most experienced laboratory assistant, are alike thrown out when they are expected to make their contacts, verify their zero points, record degrees, minutes, and seconds with as much deliberation balanced on a dizzy pinnacle or exposed to a pinching frosty gale, as in their ordinary localities, and with the usual appliances. M. Zumstein left the peak which he had before ascended, and several others, on his right hand, following the elevated snow valley which separates the high range of Monte Eosa from the Lyskamm. It appears that these vast snow-fields may be traversed without danger, unless from the chance of being overtaken by night or bad weather at so great a distance from 33^ Travels through the Alps of Savoy- shelter. The valley of Zermatt is visible from them ; and we find that some peasants of Gressoney, who reached this point [in 1778], brought back startling reports of an unknown pastoral valley ^ discovered by them amidst the wilds of Monte Eosa ; ^ the fact being merely that they saw the woods and meadows [to- wards Zermatt], backed by the icy chains of the Dent Blanche and Weisshorn. So distant are the higher summits of Monte Eosa from the gold-miner's hut whence the party had started in the morning, that the day was spent before the loaded guides and the timid surveyor could be got forward to the foot of the higher peaks. Here Zumstein had the courage to determine upon passing tlie night in a cleft of the ice at the height of 13,128 French, or 13,992 English feet above the sea, — undoubtedly the greatest height at which any one has passed a night in Europe.^ Tlie next morning the summit bearing the name of Zum- stein was attained without much difficulty. Here, too, the opportunity of making observations was lost, for whilst waiting for the ever-tardy engineer, the horizon became clouded. The party perceived, however, that they were not, as they expected, upon the highest point, which was 750 yards farther north, and 200 feet higher. It appeared to them to be inaccessible in this direction.^ The barometer stood at 16-^ French inches. None of the party experienced the exhaustion and other symptoms so often felt on Mont Blanc. They returned to the huts after having been forty hours on the snow. Twice afterwards M. Zumstein repeated his visits to this peak, but without succeeding in making farther progress. I shall conclude this chapter with some account of an excursion in the valley of Gressoney, where we stopped at the close of the last chapter, in the friendly company of M. Zuni- 1 [Or the " Valleu Perdue." The seven j'oung men — among wliom was Vincent's father — reached a rocky tooth just west of the ]n-esent Lysjoch between the Lyskainm and the main mass of Monte Rosa ; this tooth was named hy them the " Entdeckungfels " or "Discovery Rock." Sir Martin Conway visited it in 1884, and has described the prospect thence. See Alpine Journal, vol. xii. p. 73.] ^ Compare Do Sanssure, Voyages, § 2156, and Zumstein in von "Welden, p. 124. " [Of course since 1842 some persons liave spent the night on the summit of Mont Blanc' itself.] ■* [Vet the climb was acliieved in 1874, and did not prove so very dilhcnlt.] Gressoney 337 stein, the mention of whose name naturally suggested this digression. The valley of Gressoney, or Lys-Tlial, is more contracted and mountainous than I had expected to find it, and this is characteristic of several of the valleys which diverge from Monte Eosa, which seem to be mere cracks or rents, without diverging branches of any extent. The sides are steep without being precipitously grand. Near St. Jean the valley is flat and fertile : at Castell, half an hour's walk above, it rises suddenly amongst rocks to H higher level. Tlie distant view of Monte Eosa, which ought to be the centre of interest, was indeed wanting, for it remained impenetrably covered with clouds. Nevertheless, with M. Zumstein for my guide, I left Noversch, forty minutes' walk above St. Jean, for the Glacier of Lys. At the hamlet of La Trinite, which is situated in the midst of a little plain, one hour from St. Jean, a small valley branches to the right, which affords the easiest road to the Col d'Olen leading to the Val Sesia on the east. We continued a due northerly course, passing several cottages, which, though small, were clean and cheerful. In the lower part of the valley are many houses of considerable pretension, and at least three storeys high, which are all built of wood, and inhabited by the wealthier natives, who have returned with fortunes acquired in foreign countries, to pass the re- mainder of their days at home. Amongst these is Baron Peccoz, who acquired his nobility from the King of Bavaria, and who, having made money in trade in Germany, passes the greater part of the year at the very head of the valley of Lys, where he can indulge what is, with him, an insatiable passion for chamois hunting. His substantial dwelling is the very last permanent habitation in the valley, at a spot called Am Bett} and within half an hour's walk of the glacier. He entertained the sons of the King of Sardinia, and their suite, on a visit which they made some years since to Monte Eosa. Having an introduction to him, through M, Plana's kindness, I might have availed my- self of his hospitality, but he was absent upon his favourite sport, and M. Zumstein was good enough to secure for me humbler, but most comfortable, quarters for the night, in the 1 [The Betta huts are half way between La Trinite and Cortlis. Forbes probably confused the spot with Stavel.] 22 338 Travels through the Alps of Savoy cottage of a worthy peasant of the valley. At a place called Stavel/ the serpentine unites with the chlorite slate, and higher up is replaced by red gneiss. At a spot called Cortlis are some traces of glacier action, namely, polished rocks, which, it has been observed, are rather rare in this valley. At Castell there are some blocks which appear to have been transported ; but this evidence is doubtful where the geology is so mono- tonous. At length we reached the glacier, at a distance of not more than two and a half hours' walk from St. Jean. It has re- treated continually since 1820, and has left a vast enclosure — sharply defined by its moraine — a perfect waste, having (as I judged) not less than a square mile of area. Within this area is a kind of rocky precipice, above which the glacier has now retired : it is composed of gneiss, including quartz veins, and though these have never before been uncovered by the ice in the memory of man, M. Zumstein assui*es me that he has found marks of blast holes where metallic veins had been sought for, probably gold, which is still worked in the neighbourhood. We ascended on our right the eastern moraine of the glacier, I mean its ancient moraine, which extends yet far beyond that of 1820, and with some labour and fatigue we gained the level of a kind of plateau, which intervenes between the crevassed ice descending from Monte Eosa and the final slope of the glacier, at its lower end. Here the view ought to have been very grand, l)ut we were now completely in the clouds, with a drizzling rain. I wished to cross the glacier, in order to examine its structure, and a rise in the mist favoured us. The glacier stream is here composed of two great ice flows, derived from the two sides of a promontory, called die Nase, or the Nose, and the eastern one is itself the result of two others, so that three streams of ice appear distinct where we crossed the glacier, with the usual belted structure, vertical near the sides, and under the medial moraine, and presenting a threefold convexity in its front, as I have observed in other very wide glaciers, where the individual structure is not immediately lost. The bands were very well developed. I pointed them out to M. Zumstein, who candidly 1 [" Stavel" is the local jiatois form of "Staffel." Here the late M. de Pcccoz owned a villa which has been used several times as a summer residence by the Queen of Italy.] Gressoney 339 admitted that, much as he had been amongst glaciers, he had never noticed them before. The moraines of the Glacier de Lys are composed exclusively of gneiss and syenite, without a trace of green slate or serpentine, so abundant below. Having crossed the glacier, we took refuge for a while from the weather in one of the rude cabins constructed by the shepherds amongst the blocks of the ancient moraine. We then descended the west side ; and I observed, in the moraine of 1820, several bands or heaps of stones, arranged transversely to the glacier, and parallel, like the ridges of a ploughed field. I am uncertain whether or not these were deposited in the last crevasses of the glacier before it disappeared. We returned somewhat wet to the village of Stavel, and slept in the clean beds which had been provided for us. The guide whom I had desired to follow me from St. Jean to cross the Col d'Olen next day, and to bring provisions, did not appear, and indeed the guides of this country seem to be not altogether sure. I eat cheerfully, however, the rye bread of the house, baked at Christmas, 1841, and cut with a hatchet into morsels like sugar, of a size which could be put into the mouth at once. I found it not unpalatable, and even preferred it to fresh bread of the same kind. CHAPTEE XX TOUR OF MONTE EOSA CONCLUDED FKOM GKESSONEY TO VISP, BY MACUGNAGA AND MONTE MOltO of tlie Col d'Oleu — Alagna — Riva — The Turlo Pass — Val Quarazza Its polished rocks — Maciignaga — The people and their habitations — Excursion to the glacier of IMacugnaga — The "Weiss Thor, a remark- able pass — Structure of the glacier — Glaciers of the second order — Geology of the chain of Monte Rosa — Petriolo — Gigantic fragments of rock — Return to Macugnaga — Pass of Monte Moro — View of Monte Rosa — Descent to Saas — Glaciers of Schwarzberg and Allalin — Gabbro — Saas — Stalden — Peasants' tlieatricals — Yisp. Next morning, after taking a cordial leave of M. Zumsteiu, I started soon after dawn from the hospitable roof of my enter- tainer at Stavel, with dull but fair weather, to cross the Col d'Olen to Alagna, in the Val Sesia. A cheerful well-mannered peasant, named Joseph Skinoball,^ replaced my faithless guide as far as the Col, whence he turned back. During the ascent we left upon the left hand the gold mines of Indren, and the spot named " Die hohe Licht," so often referred to in Zumstein's ascents of Monte Eosa. The Col d'Olen might be reached either from La Trinite or from Stavel, or direct from the Glacier of Lys. In fine weather it would not be too long a day's work to go from St. Jean to the glacier, and then to Alagna or Eiva, to sleep. The Col is wild, and composed of jagged rock mingled with snow. I ascended in two hours and a quarter from Stavel. Water boiled at 195°-70, by the thermometer, whence I find the height to be 9758 feet- above the sea. Keller makes it 1000 feet less. 1 [The name looks odd, but the right form is not obvious.] - [Really 9'120 feet. Just below the pass on the Alagna side there is now a comfortable mountain inn.] Gressoney to Visp 341 From a little way beyond the Col there is a line view east- wards, including part of the Lago Maggiore and the hills beyond. The descent to Alagna is very steep and long (as it lies much lower than Gressoney), but, at the same time, interesting. The Yal Sesia is here very narrow, and is included between two serrated chains of mountains, of which the Zuber ^ on the western, and the Tagliaferro and Monte Turlo ^ on the eastern side, are conspicuous. The lower part of the descent to Alagna is through beautiful wood and green pastures. Alagna itself has a pretty church, in the Italian taste, and is most agreeably situated. I called on the Cure, who had ascended the Signal Kuppe (one of the summits of Monte Eosa) a month before.^ Alagna is a very poor place. A much more barbarous German is spoken than at Gressoney, and it is so completely on the German boundary that at Eiva, only half an hour's walk farther down the valley, Piedmontese is exclusively spoken, so that I was assured that a great part of the whole inhabitants of these two communes, especially the women, are incapable of under- standing one another. There being no inn at Alagna,^ I descended the valley to Eiva to sleep, although I should have to retrace my steps. I had, indeed, intended walking farther down the Val Sesia, which is more pleasing than the Val de Lys — for I arrived at Eiva before noon ; but a violent thunder-storm, which lasted all afternoon and part of the night, prevented me. The result, however, was happy. It put an end to the recent uncomfortable weather, and the wind having changed, some of the finest days of the season succeeded, commencing with the 1st September. It is a singular, and not unimportant fact, which every native of these valleys whom I consulted agreed in stating, that the N.W. and N.N.W. wind brings fine weather, and that the E. wind, which in Switzerland (and even at Courmayeur) is dry, is here the wet wind. M. Plana mentioned the same as being true at Turin. The following morning I was up before daylight, and left 1 [The Punta di Starling, south of the Zube Pass, is probably meant.] - [Now called the Fallerhorn, to the north-west of the Turlo Pass.] 3 [Giovanni Gnifetti, who, on August 9, 1842, ascended the Signal Kuppe, now also called the "Punta Gnifetti." See the narrative of his attempts and final success in his little book, Nozioni Topografiche del Monte Rosa, eel Ascensioni su di csso (Novara, 1858), pp. 40-87.] * [There are now several, one of which is excellent,] 342 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Eiva at a quarter past five. The weather was beautifully clear, and the summits of Monte Eosa showed finally, with the morning sun above the deep wooded valley. Eiva is situated at the foot of the Col de Valdobbia, and is, therefore, nearly opposite to St. Jean de Gressoney. The chui'ch contains some paintings of a rude kind. I had soon retraced my steps to Alagna, and there was introduced by the Cure to a shepherd of Biella, who was going to cross the Turlo Pass, and who offered to show the way. He was a merry fellow of the true Italian cast, with a broad brimmed hat, and spoke only the Piedmontese jargon. He had spent the night over the wine -skin, and pathetically lamented the fatigues of the ascent, for which, indeed, he was not in very good training, and before we reached the top he declared himself to be " prope della morte." About three quarters of an hour's walk above Alagna we passed an extensive establishment connected with a gold mine, the property of the Sardinian Government ; but, like most of the others in this neighbourhood, it has fallen completely into decay.^ The only gold mines which I believe are now worked to any extent are those of Pestarena, in the Val Anzasca. We crossed the stream soon after, and commenced the ascent of the Turlo. At a little height, Monte Eosa had a grand appearance, the chief summits visible being (as I judged by the map) Vincent's Pyramide, Ludwig's Hohe, [Parrotspitze], and the Signal Kuppe. A steep zigzag leads to the higher chalets seated in an extensive hollow in the hill. From hence, a seemingly endless ascent over smoothish rocks mixed with turf leads to the Col, which remains in view the whole way. Monte Eosa is hid, and there is no variety of view. All travellers consider this, and justly, as one of the most tedious passes in the Alps, although it presents no kind of difficulty. The last part of the ascent is over fallen masses of rock. I observed a group of chamois to the right. The summit is marked by a cross. Here I found the tempera- ture of boiling water to be by my thermometer 196°'68, that of the air being 36° at 11 A.M.; from which I conclude the lieight to be 9141 English feet, instead of 8400 as marked by Keller." 1 [Tlicse are now worked again by an English Company like that at Pestarena.] - [lieally 8977 feet. The name Turlo is an Italianised I'onn of the German " daa Thiirle" or wicket.] Gressoney to Visp 343 The view from the Turlo Pass is a wild one. The ridge is itself jagged and pinnacled in fantastic forms, on the eastern side the ground falls (as usual) much more steeply, and the bottom of the Val Quarazza seems at an immeasurable depth, separated by an extensive snow-field. Monte Eosa is still concealed by the mass of the Pizzo Bianco, which rises on the left. A very steep descent, first over snow, and then over fallen rocks, brought us, not without fatigue, down a height of several thousand feet. When we had reached the level of the highest sheep pastures, my guide took his leave ; he gratefully accepted the trifle which I gave him for his safe conduct, and then he started off with the half-cheerful, half-plaintive exclamation — "We shall meet no more but in Paradise ; " and so we separated. Not long after I reached the chalets of La Piana, which, like most of those in the neighbourhood, are inhabited by Piedmontese, and not by the German settlers, and conseqviently are very filthy. I rested awhile on the rocks between the chalets and the river, which were very beautifully rounded and striated, I have no doubt by glacier action. The forms were smooth, undulating ones, and the polish fine; the rock is a gneiss, approaching nearly to granite, I may mention that, in the Val Sesia — that is, in the very small space of it which I traversed — I observed no glacier marks on the rocks. In the higher part above Alagna I noticed a very beautiful syenite in blocks; I also observed quartz-rock in situ, near the gold works. Near the Turlo Pass there occurs a beautiful mica slate, with crystals of schorl (which mineral I also found on the G-lacier de Lys), succeeded by a granitoid gneiss with large felspar crystals. The Val Quarazza, which is a tributary of the Val Anzasca, contains in its lower part granitoid blocks, probably transported by glaciers. I crossed the torrent a little below the chalets of Piana ; the valley there becomes picturesque and wooded, and a series of cascades occur near the junction of the valleys. Turning to the left, by the village of Isella, I reached Macugnaga about 4 p.m., having travelled very quietly. This valley is very pleasing in its ap- pearance, the houses are dispersed over its surface rather than grouped in villages, but Macugnaga is the last Commune. The people are agreeable, talking German ; the houses neat, and the hay-harvest gave a lively appearance to the scene. Por a while I could not get access to the inn, until the landlord, a decrepit. 344 Travels through the Alps of Savoy liunchbacked, and blind man, though still below middle age, made his appearance from labouring in the liayfield, and by his pleasing manner, and his attention, soon gained my interest, and made me well satisfied with what his house afforded, which, indeed, was more than average comfort, considering the remote- ness of the spot. There was a visitor's book, and I do not think that a dozen travellers of all countries had entered their names since the previous year. The landlord's name is [Gaspard] Verra, and his wife is an obliging person.^ On the 2nd September I rose at five, intending to cross the Monte Moro into the Vallais. The weather was superb, and Monte Eosa clear. Whilst I dressed I began to regret my purpose ; and when I descended to breakfast, and got a view of the head of the Valley of Macugnaga, in all its magnificence, I called to mind that I had seldom, if ever, regretted a day's delay in the midst of fine scenery, and had often repented over the infectious haste of travellers. Therefore, although I had lost two days at Gressoney, I called my Savoyard [Victor Tairraz], and desired him to prepare for a trip to the neighbouring glacier. We were soon on foot, with an enchanting morning, the sun was not yet risen on the valley, which had a freshness very symptomatic of fine weather, and which I had not enjoyed for some time ; the north-west wind had established itself. A little above the village stands the church of Macugnaga, and beside it a noble and thriving lime-tree, forming an excellent foreground to the vast scenery behind, which is, beyond all comparison, the finest view of Monte Eosa itself. From thence I passed to the village of Pecetto, with its church, which is the last in the valley, and both here and at Macugnaga I was struck with the unusual taste displayed in ornamental gardens at the cottage doors, and with the great beauty and luxuriance of some of the choice flowers, especially carnations. The inhabitants I met, and wjio greeted me in German, were chiefly females and old men. All the young men leave the valley to seek their fortune in France, or elsewhere, as merchants. The inhabitants of the Val Sesia are, in like manner, chiefly colporteurs or hawkers. This circum- stance explains a curious remark of De Saussure, who, wishing to have a heavy case of minerals transported to Vanzone from * [For an account of this inn see Mr. Coolidf,'c's Swiss Travel and Swiss Guide- Books (1889), pp. 232, 233.] Gressoney to Visp 345 Macugnaga, inquired for a man who could carry them. He was answered that no man in the valley was equal to the task, hut that a woman could easily do it, if it was the same to him. And it is certain, he adds, that two women can carry a mule's burden.^ Beyond Pecetto a charming path lay through fields and woods, without habitations, but interspersed with barns ; and the great glacier which occupies the head of the valley appears conspicuously. I ascended a steep wooded slope, which separates TopoGE»iPH c^L imcH N°VTTr '■'^:k ^..^-^.^^^ ^^ qp ^^^^ clacier Macugivaga. t2 and 121)1. Tlio path over it is first mentioned in 1403. The pass was much used by pilgrims on the way to Varallo, or persons bound for the fair at Macugnaga or later at Vogogna. The origin of tlie nann! " Moro " has not yet been satisfactorily explained. Forbes is wrong in thinking that the decision of 1.015 referred to the Jlonte Moro; it really relates to tlie Antrona Pass, another equally ancient pass that leads from Haas to Uif Val Antrona.] Gressoney to Visp 351 the Simplon. On the left is the redoubtable Saasgrat, a lofty chain of inaccessible "^ snowy peaks, separating the valley of Saas from that of Zermatt or St. Nicolas, and from which a series of glaciers descend into the former. There is said to be a passage " from the one valley to the other from the top of the Findelen Glacier to the north of the Strahlhorn, which must enter the Saaserthal near Distel, the highest group of chalets. Damatter assured me, at Zermatt, that there is no other practicable pass across the Saasgrat.^ I must say a word here respecting the maps of this country,'* which are worse than those of perhaps any other part of the Alps, and are all nearly equally bad, though with a great diversity of errors, which, showing that the artists have copied neither nature nor one another, leaves us to consider them as pure fabrications. Thus, in the map of apparently most authority of any — von Welden's — attached to a work professedly geodetical and topographical, whilst the Italian side of the mountain and its valleys are neatly and well laid down, the northern or Swiss side is a mass of pure invention, in which the most obvious features are nowhere to be found, and villages and glaciers, lakes and moun- tains, are jumbled into inextricable confusion. Take the easily accessible neighbourhood of Zermatt : the great Glacier of Gorner is to be recognised only by its name (Zermatt Gletscher), and dehouches on a lake which has no existence ; the Eiffelberg and the Glacier of Z'Mutt are nowhere ! Nor is the valley of Saas better. The Mattmark See, a lake below Distel, is supplanted by an imaginary glacier, composed of tributaries from all sides, and across which the path of the Moro is carried. A very pretty and detailed map of the Simplon pass and its neighbour- hood, published by authority, replaces the great Glacier of Macugnaga by a great lake ! Worl, in his map, has copied von Welden's errors. Even the new Government map of Sardinia, of which a sheet has lately appeared, has perpetuated blunders even worse than von Welden's, in exquisite engraving. Lakes are 1 [^All since climbed from both sides.] - [The Allalin Pass, 11,713 feet, is meant, the Strahlhorn being confounded with the higher Rimpfischhoru. The route reaches the valley at Mattmark.] 3 [Now there are a number of passes over the Saasgrat ; among them is the lofty Domjoch, 14,062 feet, between the two highest summits, the Dom and the Tiischhorn.] * [Nowadays there are excellent large scale (1/50,000) majis published by the Swiss and Italian Governments.] 352 Travels through the Alps of Savoy created, villages are displaced, and others which have no existence inserted where glaciers should be ! The Italian side is, however, admirably executed, even though not quite precise in the details of roads and villages. On the whole, the most careful map of the Swiss part of the chain is that in Engelhardt's work ; ^ but the author has unfortunately adopted a complex and impractic- able system of projection, partly picturesque, partly geometrical, which greatly diminishes its value. I cannot help thinking also that in this, as in other maps, the breadth of the Saasgrat is underrated at its upper part. It is a very pretty, though cer- tainly not an easy topographical problem, to unravel the compli- cation of this chain, of which the mountains are so inaccessible, so varying in their forms, and each called by several different names. But to resume the descent to Saas. Four glaciers are passed by the way. The first is of small size, on the right hand, and near the pass.^ It is steep, but even, and exquisitely ribboned in the usual manner. The second glacier is on the left, descending from the summit called on the Sardinian map Monte Moro.^ It chiefly struck me, from the small stream of pure water which flowed from under it, as was also the case in the last glacier. The third glacier is below the chalets of Distel on the left. It is called Schwarzberg. It is very remarkable, from its shrunk and wasted appearance. The limits of a moraine of recent date stretch quite to the eastern side of the valley (which is here wide), where it has left one enormous block of green-slate, a cube of about sixty feet, slightly rounded on the edges.'* As far as I could learn from some peasants who were passing, this block was deposited about twenty years ago. The glacier has now retreated quite to the other side of the valley. The fourth glacier, called Allalin, is the most remarkable of any. It completely crosses the valley (which is here rather narrower) with its moraine, which, damming up the river, forms a lake called the Mattmark See. The moraine supplies the well-known blocks of gabbro, containing Smaragdite, which are 1 Naturschildcrungcn aus den h'dchstcn Schwcizcr-Alpen, 1840. ^ [The Thiilliboden Glacier, along the west edge of which the Jloro track is carried.] 3 [The Seewinen Glacier, practically a portion of No. 3.] * This is mentioned by Ue Gharpentier (p. 41) under the name of the Blaustcin ; he describes it as deposited in 1818, and as having 1244,000 cubic leet of contents. Gressoney to Visp 353 recognised so extensively over the plains of Switzerland, and which have no native locality in the Alps but here. They are brought down by the glacier from the inaccessible ^ heights of the Saasgrat, which near this place rises to about 15,000 feet, so that the rock may probably never be found in situ. These masses are usually much rounded by attrition, notwithstanding their excessive hardness. The structure of the glacier of Allaliu is well developed, and quite regular. It resembles generally the Topographical Sketch N° IX- ETE SKETCH of the clacicr Allalein 'WV\' ^^^^. W..r,..„ \n '^~- 3> ^- ScAc-^ IM- 1 Srtc^id, r!> Glacier of La Brenva in the Alice Blanche, and as in that case the river passes under it. It also resembles the Glacier of the Ehone in the way in which it pours into the valley, and its subsequent structure, which is represented both in Plan and Section in the Topographical Sketch, No. IX. The veined structure is especially developed in front, i.e., against the opposing side of the valley, where the pressure is greater than laterally, and consequently the ice, seeking the direction of least resist- ance, is gradually swayed down the valley, and takes the parti- cular form shown in the map, which, together with the sections, will give a clear idea of its whole structure. The direction of the crevasses is generally radial, or perpendicular to the struc- 1 [No longer so ; the highest point, the Dom, is 14,942 feet.] 354 Travels through the Alps of Savoy tural bands. I walked over a part of the glacier, but it is not easy to advance far. The front of it is, as, I have said, pushed by the general mass against the eastern wall of the valley. The rock, which is here soft, is disintegrated and clayey, and it was interesting to see that the glacier had left vertical markings or striae upon the clay which had lately been uncovered by its melting, exactly as it would have done on rock, and in the very same direction as I , observed them in similar circumstances against fixed rock at La Brenva [pp. 197, 198 above]. Below the AUalin glacier the road falls more rapidly, and a very wild gorge is entered, which continues for a mile or two. The little village of Almagell is the first reached. Here a path on the right leads into the Val Antrona.^ In half an hour longer I was at Saas, where I received a hearty welcome from Moritz Zurbrticken, the worthy host in whose house I spent a night last year. The journey had been a short and interesting one, and its fatigues were soon forgotten over a roast leg of chamois, and a bottle of good wine. The neighbourhood of Saas presents one interesting excur- sion, which I made in 1841, to the valley of Fee, which is a small branch of the Saasthal, descending from the mountains to the west. The easiest ascent is by a footpath, exactly opposite to the village of Saas, and which is distinguished at intervals by a series of station chapels. The valley of Fee, like most of those in this neighbourhood, joins the principal valley at a higher level, and when that level is gained the view is very striking. The entire head of the valley is bounded by a vast glacier, descending from the three lofty mountains, marked in Engelhardt's map, Schwarzhorn, Fehorn, and Stufifen or Dom.'-^ The village of Fee,^ which is inhabited all the year, lies in a beautiful green hollow, amidst meadows and trees, which seem to touch the regions of ice. Indeed, a few years ago, the glacier descended so as to threaten the destruction of the higher chalets and trees, and completely to obstruct the passages to an alp or pasture between two branches of the glacier which then closed round it. About 1834 the glacier began to retreat, and 1 [The Antrona Pass (9331 i'eet), luentioucd in a note on j). 350.] - [Probably the Nadelhorn, the Alpliubel, and the Doni rcsi)cctivcly ; but Engel- hardt's map is very wild in this region.] ^ [5899 feet. It is now provided with excellent hotels, and a nnich frequented resort in summer.] Gressoney to Visp 355 has continued to do so since, so that it is now at a very con- siderable distance from the chalets, which it had almost touched. But what interested me most in the valley of Fee were the admirable traces of former glacier action throughout its length. Roches moutonndes of gneiss occur in the whole of the lower part of the valley, scooped out by horizontal grooves, perfectly con- tinuous for some yards or fathoms, and which it is impossible to contend for a moment that water, however charged with stones, is capable of producing. Some of these grooves are like elaborate chiselling, and, on the whole, it would be difficult to find a better specimen of the phenomenon in question. It is remarkable, that in the valley of Saas, above the entrance of the valley of Fee, I perceived no such traces, which, however, appear at several points iDetween Saas and Stalden. The rock of the higher valley, which is slaty and often friable, is certainly not favourable to the preservation of such surfaces. By continuing from Fee, along the western side of the valley of Saas, a beautiful walk may be followed through the wood, nearly as far as Almagell. The annual fete of the valley is held at Fee, on the 8th September.^ From Saas to Stalden there is a great variety of scenery ; and in this respect the Saas valley is much more interesting than the neighbouring one of St. Nicolas. There is a series of green flats of small extent, separated by gorges of greater or less depth ; one of these in particular, about an hour's walk above Stalden, is extremely fine. The river rushes through a very deep, narrow chasm, overhung with magnificent larch trees, amongst the finest which I have seen in the Alps, and the head of the valley is closed by a snowy peak, perhaps the Monte Moro. It is also crossed by a little foot-bridge, upon which the traveller may stand to view the scene, if he wish to increase its sublimity by no visionary sense of danger in his own position ; for the bridge is so weak that a heavy man might break it, and beneath is a furious torrent at a depth of perhaps 200 feet. The view doivn the valley is fine, as well as up ; the Bietsch- horn, a very elegant mountain north of the Rhone, stands in the opening. Where the valley of Saas is most contracted, the gneiss rocks, which form mural precipices, are striated horizontally to a great height — probably 800 feet. Glaciers 1 [The festival of the Nativity of our Lady.] 35^ Travels through the Alps of Savoy peep through the ravines on the western side, but none of them reach the valley. Stalden is beautifully situated, as already mentioned, at the junction of the valleys of Saas and St. Nicolas, I had an opportunity of witnessing here a remarkable scene on my last visit. A comedy was to be acted by peasants dressed in costume, who were to perform on a stage erected in the open air. There were not less than forty actors, the female parts being performed by men, and the costumes were elaborately and ingeniously devised — in some cases not without propriety and taste. I was able to remain long enough to see only the opening of the piece named Rosa von Tannenburg, which was preluded by a procession of the actors, amongst the most conspicuous of whom were three devils attired in tight suits of black, with horns and tails, tlu' senior wearing goat's horns and the subordinates those of the chamois. The entertainment was under the immediate patronage, and even direction, of the clergy. The morning mass at Saas was said that day at four instead of five o'clock, in order to allow the pastor and his flock to reach Stalden in good time, and one of the vicaires (who correspond to our curates) of Stalden seemed to be the master of ceremonies, for he was frequently seen in earnest conversation with the junior devil with the chamois horns. I must add, that the scene was one of the most romantic which can be conceived. Behind the village was a truly natural theatre, with a green meadow for the pit, whilst a range of low cliffs, with a concave front festooned with ivy and brushwood, represented the boxes and gallery, and an audience of not less than two thousand persons, almost entirely peasants, with their gay costume, filled the allotted spaces. The sky was intensely blue, and the summits of the Weisshorn and other snowy Alps completed the picture. I was obliged to withdraw sooner than I wished, in order to reach Visp in time for the diligence which was to take me to Sion. Thus closed one of the most interesting journeys which I have had the good fortune to make. Since leaving Orsieres three weeks before, I had not even crossed a road which admitted of the jDassage of a wheeled carriage. CHAPTER XXI AN ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN THE LEADING PHENOMENA OF GLACIERS The Dilatation tlieoiy considered, and compared with observation — The Gravitation theory examined — The author's theory iHoposed — Glaciers really plastic — Conditions of fluid motion — Compared with those of a glacier — Effect of viscosity — The veined structure of the ice a con- sequence of the viscous theory — Illustrated by experiments — Com- parison of a glacier to a river — -Conclusion. " Rieu lie me parait plus'claireuieiit demoiitre que le mouvement progressif des glaciers vers le has de la vallee, et rien eu uieine temps lie me semble plus diflBcile :i concevoir que la maniere dont s'execute ce mouvement si lent, si illegal, qui s'execute sur des pentes differentes, sur un sol garni d'asperites, et dans des canaux dont la largeur varie a chaque instant. C'est la, selon nioi, le phenomene le moins explicable des glaciers. :Marche-t-il ensemble comme un bloc de marbre sur un jilau incline ? Avance-t-il par parties brisees comme les cailloux qui se suivent (ians les couloirs des niontagnes ? S'atfaisse-t-il sur lui-meiue pour couler le long des pentes, coniine le ferait une lave a la fois ductile et liquide ? Les parties qui se detachent vers les pentes rapides suffisent-elles a imprinier du mouvement a celles qui reposent sur une surface horizontale ? Je I'ignore. Peut-etre encore pourrait-on dire que dans les grands froids I'eau qui remplit les nombreuses crevasses trausversales du glacier venant a se congeler, prend son accroissement de volume ordinaire, pousse les parois (pii la contiennent, et produit ainsi un mouvement vers le bas du canal d'ecoulement." Rendu, Theoric des Glaciers, p. 93. ^ In the second chapter of this work I stated the usually received opinions as to the cause of the formation and maintenance of glaciers. We found that authors are pretty well agreed in con- sidering that the snow which falls on the summits of the Alps becomes converted into ice by successive thaws and congelations, but that the details of the process are by no means so well under- stood, and that the immediate cause of the descent of these frozen masses towards the valleys has been very differently explained. 1 [Pp. 81, 82 of the 1874 reprint.] 35^ Travels through the Alps of Savoy The chief theories we reduced to two : the theory of dilatation and that of gravitation.^ On the former, the ice is supposed to be pressed onwards l)y an internal swelling of its parts, occa- sioned by raind alternations of freezing and thawing of its parts, or rather by the continual formation of minute crevices, into which water, derived from the warmth of the sun, and the action of the air on the surface, is introduced, and where it is frozen by the cold of the glacier, whose bullv it thus increases. On the theory that gravity or weight is the sole cause of glacier motion, the ice lying on an inclined plane of rock is supposed to slide over it, by its natural tendency to descend, aided by the action of the earth's warmth, which, on the hypothesis of De Saussure, prevents it from being frozen to the bottom. It may be proper now to inquire shortly what light has been thrown upon these two theories by the observations de- tailed in a former part of this work. Of the facts which have been established in Chaps. YII. and VIII., with respect to the motion and structure of the ice of glaciers, two seem at least to be not opposed to the theory of DILATATION. I mean the more rcqnd movement of the glacier at its centre (p. 139), and the infiltration of its mass by water permeating the capillary fissures (p. 167). The former fact having been unknown to the supporters of the dilatation theory, has not been adduced by them in its favour ; which it is, indeed, only thus much, that a body having a certain consistence and variability of form, when subjected to any pressure, whether internal or external, will yield soonest in those parts which are least retarded by friction. This fact, however, has no direct bearing on the cause of the pressure. The latter fact would be entirely favourable to the theory of De Charpentier and Agassiz, could it be carried out in its con- sequences, in the manner which they suppose. But it is not enough that there be capillary fissures and crevices, and that these be filled with water, — that does not help the matter at all, — it must also lie shown that that water undergoes conversion into ice, so as to dilate it at the time, and to the extent, re- (|uired for the motion. I conceive that the observatioiis which I have made show such a cause of motion to be inconsistent with the phenomena ; and this inconsistency is twofold, first, 1 [See p. "4 above] Phenomena of Glaciers 359 from the direct evidence that, though the ice is permeated by water, yet the water freezes rarely, and to an insignificant extent: and, secondly, from the motion of the glacier in its different parts, and at different times, being at variance with what must have held true upon the theory in question. 1. The water included in a glacier is rarely in a freezing condition. I need not now repeat the arguments which have been adduced (pp. 35, 36) to show that upon every x^rinciple of the doctrine of heat, especially the doctrine of latent heat, it is im- possible that the transient cold of the night should in any circumstances produce more than a superficial and most im- perfect congelation, — that to suppose anything else would be to suppose in a glacier an indefinite supply of cold,^ contrary to first principles, and to direct observations with the thermometer on the temperature of the ice, which has been found by M. Agassiz himself to be constantly, and at all depths, within a fraction of a degree of 32°. But besides this, the most direct observation shows that the nocturnal congelation, which is so visible at the surface, drying up the streamlets of water, and glazing the ice with a slippery crust, extends to but the most trifling depth into the mass of the glacier. This is so evident, upon consideration, that when fairly placed before him, M. de Charpentier has been obliged to abandon the idea that the diurnal variations of temperature produce any effect. In truth, there is positive evidence that no internal congelation takes place during the summer season, when the motion is most rapid, and when, therefore, the cause of motion must he most energetic. Of this I will give one striking example. Towards the end of September, 1842, when, it has been already mentioned, a premature winter had covered the Mer de Glace with snow, and lowered the temperature of the air to 22° Fahrenheit, I had occasion to make an expedition over nearly its whole extent, in the direction of the Glacier de Lechaud, in order to observe the marks which had been placed in that direc- tion, and to determine the motion of the higher parts of the ice. The excursion promised to be far from agreeable. The sky was lowering when I started from the Montanvert, and it soon began to snow, and continued to do so with little intermission during ^ This argument has been well [mt by IVI. Elie de Beaumont, with his accustomed clearness. 360 Travels through the Alps of Savoy the day. The Mer de Glace had been covered with snow /or a week, at the Montanvert to a depth of six inches, hut in its higher parts of not less than a foot and a half. I was not sorry, however, to have an opportunity of ascertaining the conditions of the ice, under circumstances so critical for the theory of dilatation, for now, if at any time, the freezing and expansive effects of cold ought to be visible, the ice having been completely saturated by the preceding wet weather, and, it might be supposed, effectually cooled by five days of frost. As the walk promised to be laborious, if not difficult, owing to the thick coating of snow, I took with me David Couttet of the Montan- vert, and Auguste Balniat, as usual, with the instruments and provisions. We started in a lowering morning at half-past six, and in less than an hour it began to snow, with a drifting wind, though fortunately without cold. To most persons the journey would have been an alarming one, but we were all three so in- timately acquainted with the surface of the ice, and the direction of the moraines, that we had no fear of losing ourselves. It required, however, all Auguste's intimate knowledge of the glacier to keep us clear of dangerous crevasses and holes ; for the snow was often knee-deep, and the glacier and moraines alike filled with innumerable pitfalls. We crossed the moraines, as usual, near the Moulins, and visited the stations Bl and C. We then kept nearly under the ice -fall of the Glacier de Talefre, and reached with precaution the higher glacier of Lechaud, on our way to station E, where I anxiously wished to make an observa- tion of the progress of the glacier. But now the bad weather increased so much that we were glad .to get behind a great stone and eat our breakfast, waiting for a favourable change. The wind blew in strong gusts from the Grandes Jorasses, tossing the snow about so as to render all objects at a distance undis- tinguishable, thus threatening to make our expedition ineffectual, I'or the rock called the Capucin du Tacul, which was my index for tlic Ijearings on the glacier from station E, was hopelessly invisible. After some delay the storm abated, and the Pierre a Beranger, whose azimutli I had fortunately taken as a check, sliowed itself. We tlierefore advanced up the glacier, l)ut again tlie storm thickened, and as we got to the foot of the rock on which station E was fixed, David Couttet (who had hitherto been the cliicf eiicournger of the cxiicdilion) said ([uictly, "Nous allons Phenomena of Glaciers 361 faire mie betise," and proposed to return, for we were half blinded l)y the snow. I begged, however, that we might at least stop and take shelter as before. We did so, and, profiting by a few minutes' pause in the drift, I fitted up my theodolite, and took an observation of the motion of the glacier since my last visit, with due care and deliberation. We then returned nearly as we had come, fortunately without accident, and reached the Montan- vert after nine hours' absence. What struck me most in this expedition was, that even at the highest station, which is 7900 feet above the sea, and in this severe weather, the ice, far from ]»eing frozen to a great depth, appeared charged with water as usual, except at the surface. The stick which marked the point <^)f the glacier observed, and which I expected to find firmly frozen into its place, was standing in water in its hole in the ice, and of course quite loose. The surface of the glacier generally was dry, — there was not a rill of water in the Moulins, or else- where : yet the congelation had scarcely penetrated at all. Couttet and Balmat were all the time afraid of treading into a watery hole, and thus getting their feet frozen, an accident which I thought very unlikely to happen ; but they both did get thei: feet wet in the course of the day. Hence there can be no doubt that, as Couttet vej;^_distinctly expressed it, the snowy covering kept the glacier warm, just as it does the ground, and that the cold penetrates extremely slowly even when winter arrives. I may add that near the Tacul I found no difficulty in obtaining a draught of water by breaking the crust of ice formed on a pool in the glacier under a stone. It was on this excursion that I observed the blue colour of snow, mentioned on p. 69, which was most distinctly perceptible by transmitted light, whenever the snow was pierced by a stick to a depth of six inches or more. It was at one part of the glacier that this was most evident, which I attributed to the particular degree of aggrega- tion which it had there, neither very dry nor very moist. From the incidents just related, I think it seems to be demonstrated beyond a doubt that, at least, any transient im- pression of cold is quite incapable of converting the infiltrated water into ice at any depth in the glacier. 2. At the same time that the preceding observations were made, the rate of motion of the glacier was carefully observed ; for I concluded, as a matter of certainty, that, if the dilatation 62 Travels through the Alps of Savoy theory were true, a sudden frost succeeding wet weather must inevitably cause the glacier to advance far more rapidly than in summer, or, indeed, at any other season ; for there could never possibly be more water to be frozen, nor could cold ever act with more energy than at the time in question. What the facts were, we have already seen in the seventh chapter, where it appears, both from the tables and figures (pp. 132-134), that the progress of the glacier was retarded during the cold weather which prevailed from the 20th to the 25th September, and that it re-advancecl when the thaw had taken place some days later. 3. The motion of the glaciers during winter, established in the same chapter (pp. 144, 145), is directly contrary to the con- clusions invariably drawn by the glacier theorists from their supposed immobility ; since they consider, that while the glacier is completely frozen, and has no alternations of congelation and thaw, there can be no dilatation. 4. The experiments mentioned on pp. 126, 127 show, that the motion of a glacier during the day and night is sensibly uniform, which is contrary to the same view. 5. The rate of motion of the glacier at different parts of its length has been shown (p. 137) to be by no means such as the expansion of an elongated body, supported at one end, and pushed along its bed, would occasion.^ 6. The advocates of the theory of dilatation have rightly maintained, as a consequence of the theory, that the ice will expand in all directions, and consequently vipwards, that being the direction in which the resistance is least of all. They thence conclude that whilst the ice wastes by melting at the surface, the surface will be raised by the inflation of the interior mass by the expansion of freezing water, and that its absolute level will thus be maintained, or will even rise, notwithstanding the daily waste. They profess to have made experiments which confirm this view; but I have already stated (p. 14G) that my own are entirely at variance with it, tlie absolute level of the ice lower- ing with great rapidity during the season of most rapid motion ; a conclusion which is entirely confirmed by the observations of MM. Martins and Bravais, lately published.- On these, amongst other grounds deduced from direct obser- ' [See especially, on this point, Occasional I'apci-x, pp. 68-77.] '■* Annates dcs Sciences Giologiqucs, par Riviere, 1842. Phenomena of Glaciers 363 vation, I consider the dilatation theory maintained l)y Scheuchzer, De Charpentier/ and Agassiz as untenable. In the next place, let us consider the sliding theory of Gruner and De Saussure, of which a sufficient account has been given in Chapter III. As I understand the gkavitatiox theory, it supposes the mass of the glacier to be a rigid one, sliding over its trough or bed in the manner of solid bodies, assisted, it may be, by the melting of the ice in contact with the soil, which possesses a proper heat of its own, and which lubricates in some degree the slope, as grease or soap does when interposed between a sliding body and an inclined plane. It^s_only in so far as the theory is considered as applicable to a rigid body that I have objections to state to ft. 1. In the case of the greater number of extensive glaciers, there are notable contractions and enlargements of the channel or bed down which they are urged. Let any one glance at the Mer de Glace, and see two extensive glaciers meeting at the Tacul, forming a vast basin or pool, from which the only outlet has a less breadth than the narrowest of the tributaries ; the idea of sliding, in the common legitimate sense of the word, is wholly out of the question. 2. We have already seen that the ice does not move as a solid body — that it does not slide down with uniformity in different parts of its section — that the sides, which might be imagined to be most completely detached from their rocky walls during summer, move slowest, and are, as it were, dragged down by the central parts. All this is consistent with motion due to weight or gravitation ; but not with the sliding of a rigid mass over its Ijed. .3. The inclination of the bed is seldom such as to render the overcoming of such obstacles as the elbows and prominences, contractions and irregularities of the bed of glaciers, even con- ceivable, being, on an average of the entire Mer de Glace, only 9°, a slope practicable for loaded carts ; but the greater part of the surface inclines less than 5°, which is below the steepest slope on the great highway of the Simplon, an artillery road. 1 [M. de Charpentier liecame converted in 1844 after reading Forbes's book. See Life and Letters, p. 162.] 364 Travels through the Alps of Savoy 4. It has lieeii eonviucingly proved in Chapter A-^II. that the motion of the glacier varies Jiot only -from one season to another, but that it has definite (though continuous) changes of motion, simultaneous throughout the whole, or a great part of its extent, and tlierefore due to some general external change. This change has been shown to be principally or solely the effect of the temperature of the air, and the condition of wetness or dry- ness of the ice. In order to reconcile this to the sliding theory, it should be shown that the disengagement of the glacier from its bed depends on the kind of weather which affects its surface and temperature. In no part of the summer is the glacier actually frozen to its lateral walls ; the difference, then, must be due to the action of the earth's heat in gradually melting away the irregularities of the inferior surface of the ice, in contact with the rocky bed on which it reposes. I have already said that I consider such an influence of the proper heat of the earth to be distinctly included in De Saussure's theory, as it has been stated by himself, and understood by his successors.^ It was, how- ever, suggested to me very distinctly by M. Studer last summer, as not inconsistent with a motion by gravity without accelera- tion ; and I admit the ingenuity of the thought, which, as it will be seen in the sequel, I am disposed to allow, may be one way of glacier motion, though not exactly the cause of it. The same thought was afterwards suggested to me by Sir John Herschel, and more lately Mr. Hopkins of Cambridge, the author of an ingenious pamphlet on the theory of glacier motion, has illus- trated it by experiment. But this is an effect which must remain nearly the same at all seasons, being due to the constant flow of heat from the interior. 5. The flow of heat from the interior is so very trifling that it may be doubted whether it is adequate to produce the par- ticular effect of wearing off the prominences of the descending ice, or of moulding it to the form of the channel. In order to do so to any effectual extent, it would be necessary that pro- minences of many feet or yards in extent should be melted away in a moderately short space of time. Now, what is the fact? ' Any one who carefully reads De Saussure's § 53') in I'onnection with § 533, will be convinced that he gives all due weight (we should be inclined to say more tiian due weight) to the effects of svibterranoan heat in detaching the ice from its bed, lubricaiiiuf it on its bed, and even clrvalinij it over obstacles by the hydro- static pressure of confined water. Phenomena of Glaciers 365 M. de Beaumont has estimated/ by the theory of Fourier, from the observations of Arago on the earth's temperature, that the quantity of central heat which reaches the surface of the earth, is capable of melting 6|- millimetres of ice, or exactly a quarter of an Englisli inch in the space of a year. Now, even admitting (as I think we may) that if the surface of the earth were covered with ice, the flow of heat would be somewhat greater, still it must be admitted to be capable of disposing of portions of ice insignificant compared to the inequalities which oppose its downward progress. 6. This small quantity of heat is not always applied (as Professor Bischoff^ and M. Elie de Beaumont have justly re- marked) to melt the ice of glaciers. Below 32'' it will simply tend to raise the temperature of the ice in contact with the soil, and powerfully adhering to it. The almost pendant glaciers of the second order, which are seen only at great heights, those, for instance, on the precipices of the Mont Mallet (see p. 76), must remain permanently frozen to the rock. Nevertheless they do actually descend over it, for they continually break off in fresh avalanches. This is a fact which neither the theory of dilatation nor tliat of gravity, as commonly stated, is capable of explaining. After the detailed though scattered deductions which have been made in the course of this work, from observations on the movement and structure of glaciers, as to the cause of these phenomena, little remains to be done but to gather together the fragments of a theory for which I have endeavoured gradually to prepare the reader, and by stating it in a somewhat more con- nected and precise form, whilst I shall no doubt make its in- completeness more apparent, I may also hope that the candid reader will find a general consistency in the whole, which, if it does not command his unhesitating assent to the theory pro- posed, may induce him to consider it as not unworthy of being farther entertained. My theory of glacier motion then is this : — A Glacier is AN IMPERFECT FLUID, OR A VISCOUS BODY, WHICH IS URGED DOWN 1 Aiiiialcs des Sciences Gco/ogiqucs, par Riviere, 1842. - TFdrmelehrc, }>. 101, etc. 366 Travels through the Alps of Savoy SLOPES OF A CERTAIN INCLINATION BY THE MUTUAL PRESSURE OF ITS PARTS.^ The sort of consistency to which we refer may be illustrated by that of moderately thick mortar, or of the contents of a tar- barrel, poured into a sloping channel. Either of these sub- stances, without actually assuming a level surface, will tend to do so. They will descend with different degrees of velocity, depend- ing on the pressure to which they are respectively subjected — the friction occasioned by the nature of the channel or surface over which they move — and the viscosity, or mutual adhesive- ness, of the particles of the semi-fluid, which prevents each from taking its own course, but subjects all to a mutual constraint. To determine completely the motion of such a semi-fluid is a most arduous, or rather, in our present state of knowledge, an imprac- ticable investigation. Instead, therefore, of aiming at a cum- brous mathematical precision, where the first data required for calculation are themselves unknown with any kind of numerical exactness, I shall endeavour to keep generally in view such plain mechanical principles as are, for the most part, sufficient to enable us to judge of the comparability of the facts of Glacier motion with tlie conditions of viscous or semi-fluid substances. That Glaciers are Scmi-Jlwids is not an Absurdity The quantity of viscidity, or imperfect mobility in the particles of fluids, may have every conceivable variation ; the extremes are perfect fluidity on the one hand, and perfect rigidity on the other. A good example is seen in the process of con- solidation of common plaster of Paris, which, from a consistency not thicker than that of milk, gradually assumes the solid state, through every possible intermediate gradation. Even water is not quite mobile ; it does not run through capillary tubes ; and a certain inclination or fall is necessary to make it floiv. This may be roughly taken as an index of the quality of viscidity in a body. Water will run freely on a slope of G inches in a mile, 1 [It may be interesting to cite liere the critieism made on Forbcs's tlieory by Professor Ileim (p. 312 of his great work, Handhuch dcr Glrtschrrlnadc). " Forbes speaks of his 'Theory of Plasticity,' but it is rather a case of abstraction from the facts than an explanation of the physical properties of ice. He says, in fact, little more than that ' the glacier moves like a stream because it is viscous.' . . . His error consisted in always comparing viscous (zahflussigc) substances with the glacier, instead of thosewhose innercohesion is less than tlieir internal friction (did-flussigc)."] Phenomena of Glaciers 367 or a fall of 1-10,000 part/ another fluid might require a fall of 1 in 1000 ; whilst many bodies may be heaped up to an angle of several degrees before their parts begin to slide over one another. Thus, a substance apparently solid may, under great pressure, begin to yield; yet that yielding, or sliding of the parts over one another, may be quite imperceptible upon the small scale, or under any but enormous pressure." A column of the body itself is the source of the pressure of which we have now to speak. Even if the ice of glaciers were admitted to be of a nature perfectly inflexible, so far as we can make any attempt to bend it by artificial force, it would not at all follow that such ice is rigid when it is acted on by a column of its own material several hundred feet in height. Pure fluid pressure, or what is commonly called hydrostatical pressure, depends not at all for its energy upon the slo'pe of the fluid, but merely upon the difference of level of the two connected parts or ends of the mass under consideration. If the body be only semi-fluid, this will no longer be the case ; at least the pressure communicated from one por- tion (say of a sloping canal) to the other will not be the ichole pressure of a vertical column of the material, equal in height to the difference of level of the parts of the fluid considered ; the consistency or mutual support of the parts opposes a certain resistance to the pressure, and prevents its indefinite trans- mission. It must be recollected that, in the case of glaciers, the pressing columns are enormous, the origin and termination of many of the largest having not less than 4000 feet of difference of level ; were they, therefore, perfectly fluid, or suddenly con- verted into water, the lower end would begin to move with the enormous velocity of 506 feet a second, or would move over 44 millions of feet in 24 hours. Now, the velocity of the Mer de Glace is only about 2 feet in that time, a difference so enormous that the fluidity of a glacier compared to water will not appear 1 According to Dubuat {Hydraidiquc, tome i. p. t34, edit. 1816), at a slope a gi'eat deal lower ; but its exact value does not now concern us. ~ This lias been illustrated in a very interesting and apposite manner by Pro- fessor Lewis Gordon of Glasgow, who has shown that Stockholm pitch, whilst so completely solid as to admit of being broken into angular fragments, yet moves under its own weight with extreme slowness, but after the manner of a fluid. See Philosophical Magazine, March, 1845. See also the Fourth Letter on Glaciers in Occasional Paixrs (p. 35), where the case of sealing-wax is referred to (1845). 368 Travels through the Alps of Savoy so preposterous as it might at first sight do, considering the small degree of transmitted pressure required to be effectual. Again, it has been attempted to show (pp. 168, 109) that a glacier is not colierent ice, but is a granular compound of ice and water, possessing, under certain circumstances, especially when much saturated with moisture, a rude flexil)ility sensible even to the hand. Further, it has been shown that the glacier dors fall together and chokes its own crevasses with its plastic substance (pp. 166, 167). When a glacier passes from a narrow gorge into a wide valley it spreads itself, in accommodation to its new circum- stances, as a viscous substance would do, and when embayed between rocks, it finds its outlet through a narrower channel than that by which it entered. This remarkable feature of Glacier motion, already several times adverted to, had not been brought prominently forward until stated by M. Eendu, now Bishop of Annecy, who has described it very clearly in these words : " II y a une foule de faits qui sembleraient faire croire que la substance des glaciers jouit d'une espece de ductilite qui lui permet de se modeler sur la localite qu'elle occupe, de s'amiucir, de se renfler, de se retrecir et de s'etendre, comme le ferait une pate molle. Cependant, quand on agit sur un morceau de glace, qu'on le frappe, on lui trouve une rigidite qui est en opposition directe avec les apparences dont nous venons de parler. Peut-etre que les experiences faites sur de plus grandcs masses donneraient d'autres resultats." ^ Now, it is by observations on the glacier itself that we can best make experiments on great masses of ice as here suggested. 2'he Motion of a Glacier resemUes that of a Viscous Fluid I All experimental philosophers are agreed as to tlie facts, 'that a fluid like water, heavy and slightly msczVZ, moves down an ^ Theorir dcs Glaciers dc ?a Savoir, p. 84 [p. 71 of the 1874 rcimnt]. Whilst I am anxious to show how far the sagacious views of M. Rendu coincide with, as tliey also preceded my own, it is fair to mention, that all my experiments were made, and indeed by far the greater i)art of the present volume was written, before I succeeded in obtaining access to M. Rendu's work, in the 10th volume of the Memoirs of the Academy of Savoy, which I owe at length to the kindness of the right reverend author. [Forbes visited the Bishop at Annecy in July, 184G. He had received a letter of congratulation and invitation in August, 1844, from the Bishop, who at the end of 1842 had sent Forbes a copy of this Jlemoir. Sec Life and Letters, pp. olG, 194, and 528.] Phenomena of Glaciers 369 inclined plane or canal, with a velocity which varies according to the slope, and which varies also from point to point of the section of the stream. The part of the stream which moves | fastest is the surface, and especially the central imrt of the ,' surface. The velocity of motion diminishes on the surface from the centre to the sides, and from the surface towards the bottom. The cause of these variations is admitted to he the friction of the sides and bottom of the canal or bed, which retards the fluid particles immediately in contact with them, and the adhesion of these particles to their neighbours, that is, their viscosity, communicates this retardation by certain gradations, which are not correctly known, to the interior mass of the fluid. Hence — I. The centre and top of the stream move faster than the sides and bottom, especially if the friction of the fluid jjarticles over one another be less than their friction against the sides of the canal. If this be not the case — if the friction of the contained mass against the containing or supporting walls be less than the friction which exists amongst its own particles, the mass will slide out of its bed, and will so far act as a solid body. If it have a certain mobility amongst its own particles, it will, whilst sliding over its bed, alter, at the same time, the relative position of its own particles — it will move partly as a solid, partly as a fluid. We may then fairly call it a semi-fluid or a semi-solid. II. From this it also evidently appears, that the greater the viscosity of the fluid, the farther will the lateral and funda- mental retardations be communicated towards its centre, and the general velocity of the stream will be more nearly regulated by the limit of the mobility of its parts. III. In every case the greatest variation of the velocity of such a stream will take place near the sides and bottom, whilst the higher and the central parts will move most nearly to- gether.^ The position of any particle moving with the mean velocity of the entire stream, has not, I believe, been determined ; 1 A slight consideration will show, that this might naturally be anticipated, yet some eminent ^vx•iters have supposed the velocity to increase uniformly from the bottom to the surface of a stream. The doctrine of the text is fully confirmed by direct experiments upon the river Rhine, quoted in Mr. Rennie's Report on Hydraulics, Part II., British Association Report (1834), p. 467, as well as by the models presently to be described. 24 370 Travels through the Alps of Savoy but Dubucat has practically found this singularly simple result, that the velocity of the top and bottom of a stream being known, the mean velocity of the entire stream is the arithmetical mean of these two velocities. IV. The difference of the velocities of a stream at the top and bottom depends upon the actual velocity of the stream, and increases as that velocity increases. The rate of increase appears to be as the square root of the velocity, and is independent of the depth.^ V. The velocity of the water in a stream increases with its declivity. If the bed of a river be highly inclined, the water flows rapidly ; and again, if the embaying of a river by a strait accumulates the water above, there its declivity will be diminished. VI. If any circumstance causes the viscosity or consistency of a fluid to vary, all these phenomena will vary proportionally. Thus, warm water is less viscid than cold, and a vessel will be sooner emptied through a narrow aperture the higher the temperature of the liquid." Now, in all these respects, we have an exact analogy with the facts of motion of a glacier, as observed on the Mer de Glace. First, we have seen that the centre of the glacier moves faster than the sides (p. 139). We have not, indeed, extended the proof to the top and bottom of the ice-stream, for it seems difficult to make this experiment in a satisfactory manner. In the case of a glacier 600 feet deep, the upper hundred feet will move nearly uniform, on the principles already mentioned ; ^ hence, crevasses formed from year to year will not incline sensibly forwards on this account, especially as the action of trickling water is to maintain the verticality of the sides. I conceive that this is a perfectly sufficient answer to an objec- tion which, at one time, I myself urged against the hypothesis of the surface of the glacier moving most rapidly. Of the fact I entertain no doubt, though I see much difficulty in obtaining a satisfactory proof of it. I have no doubt that glaciers slide over tbcir beds, as well as that the particles of ice rub over one another, and change 1 Dubuat, Arts. 37, 49, cr.. - //-. Art. 3. 3 See Occasional I'upcrs, i)p. 50-5-1 (1815). Phenomena of Glaciers 371 their mutual positions ; but I maintain tluit the former motion is caused by the latter, and that the motion impressed by gravity upon the superficial and central parts of a glacier (especially near its lower end) enables them to pull the lateral and inferior parts along with them. One proof, if I mistoake not, of such an action is, that a deep current of water will flow under a smaller declivity than a sliallow one qf the same fluid. -^ And this consideration derives no slight confirmation in its application to glaciers, from a circumstance mentioned by M. Elie de Beaumont, which is so true that one wonders it has not been more insisted on — namely, that a glacier, where it descends into a valley, is like a body pulled asunder or stretched, and not like a body forced on by superior pressure alone." Secondly, we have already seen (p. 367) how enormous would be the velocity of a glacier if suddenly converted into a fluid, and how prodigious a force is absorbed, as it were, by the consistency or solidity of the ice. The moderate, though marked difference, found (p. 139) between the lateral and central velocity of a glacier is in conformity to the second principle stated above, that the retardation due to friction will be more completely distributed over the whole section in proportion as the matter is less yielding. Thirdly, the chief variation of velocity is, we have seen (p. 139), near the sides. Fourthly, we have found on page 140 a most remarkable confirmation of Dubuat's principle, that the amount of lateral retardation depends upon the actual velocity of the stream under 1 It is well known that the mean hydraulic depth, or the ratio of the section of a stream to the perimeter of contact with its bed, is the most important element (together with the declivity) in determining its velocity, or the effectual moving force which acts upon it. Now, in the case of common friction, that of a solid body, neither the absolute nor the relative depth of the sliding body can have any influence in determining its motion. 2 It has been erroneously supposed by some, that in this and other passages of the first edition of this work, I have overlooked the opposition between the exten- sion of the ice here spoken of, and the pressure a tergo subsequently mentioned, as necessary to produce the phenomena of the veined structure. The fact is, that a .state of universal distension, or a state of universal compression, is equally incom- jiatible with the existing phenomena of most glaciers ; and that compression in some parts, and distension in others, are plainly indicated by their natural features. That a state of general compression is not, as has likewise been alleged, incompatible- with the existence of crevasses, is shown in the Ninth Letter on Glaciers ; see Occasional I'a2)ers, pp. 70-72 (1845). 372 Travels through tlic Alps of Savoy experiment ; whether we consider different points of the glacier or the same point at different times.^ Fifthly, the glacier, we have seen, like a stream, has its still pools and its rapids. Where it is embayed by rocks, it accumulates — its declivity diminishes, and its velocity at the same time ; — when it passes down a steep, or issues by a narrow outlet, its velocity increases (p. 138). The central velocities of the lower, middle, and higher regions of the Mer de Glace are (p. 137) — 1-398 -574 -925 And if we divide the length of the glacier into three parts, we shall find (pp. 112, 113) something like these numbers for its declivity-— ^^„ ^-Lo go Lastly, when the semi-fluid ice inclines to solidity during a frost, its motion is checked ; if its fluidity is increased by a thaw, the motion is instantly accelerated (p. 141). Its motion is greater in summer than in winter, Ijecause the fluidity is more complete at the former than at the latter time. The motion does not cease in winter (p. 144), because the winter's cold penetrates the ice as it does the ground, only to a limited extent (pp. 227, 361). It is greater in hot weather than in cold, because the sun's heat affords water to saturate the crevices ; but the proportion of velocity does not follow the proportion of heat (pp. 134, 142, 143), because any cause, such as the melting of a coating of snow by a sudden thaw, as in the end of September, 1842, produces the same effect as great heat would do. Also, whatever cause accelerates the movement of the centre of the ice increases tlie difference of central and lateral motion (p. 140). 'Ike Veined Str'ucture of the Ice is a co7iscquence of the Viscous Theory AVe have now to complete what was partly said in Chap. VIII., where we endeavoured to illustrate the phenomena of the veined or ribboned structure of the ice, and to explain its cause. ^ Uiie chose etoiniante, c'est que ni la grandeur du lit, ni celle de la pente n'influent en rien sur le rapjwrt des difiV-rentes vitesses dont nous parlons, tant fjHC les rilesses moyenncs rcstcnt les memus on celle dc la surface est constantc." . . . Dubuat, Art. 65. ^ These numbers do not express the actual slopes at the jioints where the velocities were measured, but the slope of the iuferioi-, middle, and superior regions of the glacier. Phenomena of Glaciers 373 This structure we have seen to consist in the recurrence of alternations of blue and white, or compact and aerated ice in a glacier resembling the veins in chalcedony, the parts being thin and delicately subdivided. AVe have seen (pp. 170, 174) that the structure has all the appearance of being due to the formation of fissures in the aerated ice or consolidated neve, which fissures having been filled with water drained from the glacier, and frozen during winter, have produced the compact blue bands. We have further seen (p. 153, etc.) that this ribboned structure follows a very peculiar course in the interior of the ice, of which the general type is the appearance of a succession of oval waves on the surface, passing into hyperbolas with the greater axis directed along the glacier. That this structure is also developed throughout the thickness of a glacier, as well as from the centre to the side, and that the structural surfaces are twisted round in such a manner that the frontal dip, as we have called it, of the veins, as exhibited on a vertical plane cutting the axis of a glacier, occurs at a small angle at its lower extremity, and increases rapidly as we advance towards the origin of the glacier, as shown in Fig. 1. We have also considered glaciers generally as of three kinds, which, having a .^^\^.^-^^.^^|^||||||^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ structure, yet exhibit it in different forms or modifications. These three glacier forms may be termed the canal- shaped, the oval, and the glaciers of the second order. Picturesque views of these[were] given Plates II , IV., and IX., representing the Mcr de Glace, the BY IDEAL SFX'TIONS. 374 Travels through the Alps of Savoy Glacier of La Brenva, and the secondary glaciers near Macugnaga. The annexed figures (one of which has heen already used) show l)y means of views with ideal sections of such glaciers, the manner in whicli the structural sur- faces traverse the uuiss of the ice. Fig. 2 shows the conoidal structure of a glacier of the oval kind. Fig. 3 shows this drawn out, as it were, into a canal-shaped glacier. On the right hand, in the upper part of the figure, a small glacier of the second order is shown, where it appears that its structure consists of a series of superimposed shells, nearly parallel to the soil, which niiglit easily be confounded with the annual layers of the neve. I All these structures I explain on the common principle of the difference of velocity of the higher and lower, as well as of the central and lateral parts of the ice; for wherever the parts of a 'stream, whether liquid or semi-solid, move with different velocities, there must he a force applied to separate them from one another, as I have fully explained at page 170. But hear Duhuat, an eminent hydrostatical writer. Speak- ing of ordinary rivers, he says, " La viscosite de I'eau on I'adhc- rence que ses particules ont entre elles, occasicame une resistance tres petite, mais finie, qui s'oppose sans cesse a leur separation : or, il ne pent y avoir de mouvement uniforme dans I'eau, sans que ses filets ne prennent diffcrentes vitesses, selon qu'ils sont plus on moins proches de la paroi qui retarde et rend unilorme le mouve- ment de toute la masse. Cette inegalitude vitesses ne pent avoir lieu sans une separation mutuelle des parties contigui-s. La viscosite, ou, si Ton \('ut, la force avec laqucHc ces parties Fig. 3.— showing the structure of by ideal sections, CANAL-SHAPED GLACIER Phenomena of Glaciers 375 s'attirent, s'oppose a cette separation ; il faut done qu'il y ait constamment une partie cle la force acceleratrice destinee a vaincre cette resistance ; et lorsque la force acceleratrice est assez petite pour lui etre seulement egale, le moiivement doit cesser, ([uoique la pente soit finie. S'ilexistait un fluide dont les parties n'eussent aucune adherence entre elles, la plus petite pente possible suffirait pour lui imprimer un mouvement ; mais les ditferents liquides connus eprouvant plus ou moins I'effet de la viscosite, la pente a laquelle ils commencent a couler est d'autant plus grande que I'adherence de leurs parties les eloigne moins de la nature des solides." ^ From this we might expect that we should have a separation of the icy particles, a rupture or Assuring of the substance of the glacier everywhere parallel to the resisting walls or liottom, pro- ducing a cross section, as in the an- nexed figure, for it cannot, I think, be doubted, after what has been stated, that the motion of the ice is more rapid at the surface than at the bottom, for the very same reason that it is more rapid at the centre than at the side. Indeed, from the form of the bed, it is impossible to say where the side ends and where the bottom begins. In glaciers of the second order, where the retardation is almost entirely due to the action of the bottom, the successive layers slip over one another with an increas- ing velocity towards the surface. See the upper part of Fig. 3. In consequence of this it is conceivable that a glacier should remain permanently frozen to its bed, and yet that the strata should move over one another, and the highest most rapidly. I am far from saying that this is actually the case ; for I believe that in most instances the glacier is detached from its bed by the natural warmth of the earth, — yet when the friction is so enormous, as when ice moves over a channel of rough rock, — and when, what is far more important and unanswerable, a glacier accumulating in an icy basin (as that of Talefre, for example) flows out by a narrower aperture than that by which it entered, motion as a solid body is out of the question — it can only move by its parts yielding — in other words it is plastic. 1 Dubuat, vol. i. p. 58. 376 Travels through the Alps of Savoy But the question arises, how does this retarding action of the sides and bottom produce the frontal dip X)f Fig. 1 ? why does not the canal-shaped glacier present a series of trough-shaped layers, as in Fig. 4, whose bottom remains parallel to the bottom or bed of the glacier ? The reason appears to be this. The iiuid is urged on (in the centre of the glacier especially) by its own weight. It is falling down an inclined plane by the force of gravity. It is, however, prevented from moving by the intense friction of the whole of the lower part of the glacier (i.e., the part lying farthest from the origin of the glacier) upon its bed. If the glacier be solid, there can be no motion, unless there be sufficient force to overcome this friction ; ^ and this we have seen to be one great (and we think insurmountable) difficulty, both of the hypothesis of De Saussure and that of De Charpentier. But the semi-fluid has another mode of progression, — the pressure mcaj not overcome the friction of the bed, or else the fluid pressure at the lower end mai/ drag the whole glacier over its bed, that is immaterial ; but any particle in a fluid or semi-fluid mass, urged by force from above, does not necessarily move in the direction in which the force impels it, it moves diagonally ; forwards, in consequence of the impulse; upwards, in consequence of the resistance directly in front. Hence a series of surfaces of separa- tion shaped (to use familiar illustrations) somewhat like the mouth of a coal-scuttle, or of a sugar-scoop, will rise towards the surface, varied in curvature by the law of velocity of the different layers of the glacier. Near the head or origin of the glacier, where the resistance in front is enormous, the tendency of the separation planes, which are those of apparent cleavage, will be very highly inclined. As the lower end of the glacier is approached, the resistance continually diminishes, the line of least resistance becomes more and more nearly horizontal ; and Anally, when the lower end of the glacier is reached, the planes fall away altogether, and the upper layers roll over the lower ones, now wholly unsupported. Such we have seen to l)e the actual phenomena of the Mer de Glace. Imagine a long narrow trough or canal stopped at both ends, and filled to a considerable depth with treacle, honey, tar, or any such viscid fluid. Imagine one rml of the trough to give way, • By fiiuticjii is Irtc intended to bo included all the resistances arising from the ineiiualities of tlie hed (1845). Phenomena of Glaciers 377 the bottom still remaiuing lioiizoutal, if the friction of the fluid against the bottom be greater than the friction against its own pai'ticles, the upper strata will roll over the lower ones, and protrude in a convex slope, which will be propagated backwards towards the other or closed end of the trough. Had the matter been quite fluid the whole would have run out and spread itself on a level ; as it is, it assumes precisely the conditions which we suppose to exist in a glacier. The greatest disturb- ance or maximum separation of the parts takes place at the lower end, and there (the retardation at the sides being proportional to the absolute velocity, see p. 140) the separation will be most violent, and the loops on the surface wdll be most elongated. Near the origin the declivity is less, and the loops are more transverse. This is true of the glacier (see p. 159). Now, let the trough be a little inclined, so as to aid the gravitating force derived from the mere depth of the fluid. Each particle will be urged on by a force due to the slope, diminished by the resistance opposed to it. The particles near the lower termination of the stream have no resistances, except their attach- ment to those behind them, — they, therefore, roll straight on ; but those in the middle of the glacier will easier raise the weight of a certain superincumbent stratum of ice, than push the entire glacier before them ; they may do part of both, but will un- doubtedly rise towards the surface, and thus slide upwards and forwards over the particles immediately in advance. Though I am not aware that this form of fluid motion has been pointed out, its existence is scarcely to be doubted from very ordinary mechanical considerations, and several obvious phenomena also indicate it. I have succeeded in illustrating these assertions and theories by an appeal to experiment — by constructing models of a viscid material (a mixture of plaster of Paris and glue, which does not set readily) poured down channels more or less irregular, repre- senting Alpine valleys. In order to trace the motions better, I at first composed the streams of alternate doses of white and blue fluid, poured in successively from the head of the mimic valleys. In others the stream was of uniform material, but the surface was covered with coloured powder, and the distortion in 37^ Travels through the Alps of Savoy each case, arising from the resisted motion and the mutual pressure of the parts, was observed. Models of the former description were shown to the Eoyal Society of Edinburgh in March, 1843, and were described in their Proceedings; the last were made about two months later. Each of these models illustrates something important in this theory. Those composed of successive layers of coloured paste, when consolidated after having flowed under their own weight, and when cut up by longitudinal and transverse sections, exhibit, as in the annexed figure, the exact results of retarded fluid FiC. 6. — VIEW OF A MODEL, SHOWINO THE CURVES GENERATED (EXPERIMENTALLY) BY THE MOTION OK A VISCOUS FLUID. motion in modifying the arrangement and rate of motion of the parts. An arrangement so conformable to the measures of the surface-velocity of different parts of the glacier, to the expanding forms of the dirt bands (see Pig. 5, Occasional Papers, Third Letter, pp. 17-25), and to the diminishing measure of the frontal dip at the lower end of the glacier, as to conflrm in a satisfactory manner my theoretical anticipations, which long preceded the construction of these models. The mere inspection of the extremely elongated curves presented by these coloured pastes, both on the surface and in the vertical longitudinal section, proves the excessive retardation of the sides and the rapid transfer of the central past the lateral portions continually repeated, evidently producing a continual separation of parts once in union in a manner consistent only with the semi-fluid or plastic condition; and tliis separation, or mutual tearing (see Phenomena of Glaciers 379 p. 170), must have taken place nearly in the direction of the very elongated branches of the looped curves on tlie surface of the stream ; whilst the continuity of the distorted layer of paste of any colour, which often extended over half the length of the model, recalled the fact of the force which must have been exerted to extenuate its parts to such a degree.^ This continuity, arising from the cohering texture of the parts, demonstrates that the surfaces of tearing or differential motion, producing the ribboned structure, will not be parallel to the sides of the glacier on account of the drag towards the centre, arising from its superior velocity. It was objected by M. Agassiz - to this theory of the veins, 1 In the first editiou I had too hastily inferred that the directions of the bound- ing surfaces of the layers of viscous fluid defined accurately the directions of greatest tension of the particles under their mutual actions. That this was an error, fis Mr. Hopkins has observed, I readily admit, although practically the approximation to the lines of greatest tension, and consequent disseverment by tearing, is so close as proliably to render the mistake inappreciable. The same observation applies to the plienomenon of frontal dip, which cannot be said to be actually represented in this kind of model, "but rather that the causes which determine and modify it are so clearly exhibited as to leave no doubt in the correct application of them to the true phenomena, which it is difficult to reproduce in a manner quite analogous to nature in any model which shall retain the trace of it. In the second kind of model described farther on, and which was only contrived and made after the text in the first edition was conipleted, the lines of tearing are correctly shown, but only for differential motions in the horizontal plane (1845). '^ Proceedings of the Ashmolean Society, Athenwum, February, 1843. In this communication M. Agassiz confirms my observation of the "dirt bands," adopts the name of "annual rings" (Edin. Phil. Journal, October, 1842), and endeavours to prove the conformity of their intervals to the actual motion of the Unteraar Glacier, as I had already done on the Mer de Glace. M. Agassiz still insists that glaciers are stratified (see p. 31 of this volume), and he distinguishes these strata, as he calls the annual rings, from the proper veined structure of the ice. He supposes, too, that the discoloration of the dirt bands arises from impurities actually interstratified with the ice at the neve, whereas it has been shown (p. 15 6) that the discoloration is an entirely superficial phenomenon, arising from the peculiar texture of the ice, but which is quite as pure, internally, there as elsewhere. Having maintained in all his earlier writings that a glacier is horizontally stratified throughout its whole extent (litndes, p. 40), M. Agassiz now adopts my figure 1 of page 373 (first published in the Edin. Phil. Jovrnal for October, 1842) for the lower end of his glacier, and connects it with the neve by a convenient series of interposed strata, first rising and then falling, as represented in the annexed cut. 380 Travels through the Alps of Savoy that, were it true, so soon as two glaciers united they wouhl each lose their individual structure, and liave single loops due to the union of their streams, whereas his observations led him to conclude that the loops of two united glaciers remain distinct. Now, in the first place, I reply that though the distinct structure of the douhle stream is maintained for a time, it is always finally loom out if the glacier be long enough, and the structure then forms single loops, cutting at an angle the medial moraines of the two glaciers (pp. 160, 161, and Occasional Papers, pp. 38, 39), and secondly, I maintain that this is precisely what a semi-fluid body might be expected to do. Eor the structure near the centre is always imperfectly developed, exactly because there the differential motion is least ; I mean that there is least discontinuity of parts, because the velocity is nearly the same throughout a considerable space (p. 139); and if two glaciers unite and move tolerably uniformly together, they will preserve for a long way the structure which they had already acquired before the new one (representing a single united stream) is superinduced upon it. Now this, as we have seen in Chap. A'lII., is exactly what takes place at the union of the Glaciers of Lechaud and Geant — of the two branches of the Glacier of Talefre, and of the Glaciers of La Noire and the Geant, all of which, originally double in structure, finally become single, and cut the separating moraine at an angle. But I appealed here also to experiment, and found that by pouring double streams of viscid plaster down a single channel the separate forms were very sloivly worn out indeed, and perpetuated far beyond the point of union of the streams. Thus the proposed objection became a strong confirmation of my theory. One of these which is accurately copied from the original iu Leonhard and Bronns' Journal, 1843, Ileit 1. I can only simply but distinctly deny the resemblance to nature of this scheme, and reiterate the observation already several times made in this work, that tlie structure of a glacier is and must be formed iu the glacier itself, not in the neve, from which it is often separated by an ice-fall, wltk-li /tan (jround the intctirant parts of tlic neve to powder, as in tlie Glacier of La Brenva (p. 195), the Glacier of iliage (p. 190), the Glacier of Talefre (p. 162), and of Allalin (p. 3.52), witli many others. Not to mention the .section, jiagc 347, of the (Jlacier of JIacugnaga, where the two structures are .seen at once, and peri)endicular to cacli other. Yet more extraordinary is the assumption made by M. Agassiz in order to account for this supposed prolongation of the beds of tlie nuvti into the inferior glacier. In ordcf to explain tlie alternate rise and fall of the strata, he altirms that near the origin of the glacier the ice in contact with the bed moves faster than at the surface, but everywhere else slower ! Phenomena of Glaciers 8i models, also shown to the Eoyal Society, is represented in the annexed figure. ION OK TWO STREAMS As the models just described exhibit geometrically the rates of motion of each point of a viscous fluid retarded bj the channel in which it moves, it "becomes a determinate problem to find the measure of separation or tearing between any set of adjoining- particles due to the differential velocity ; but this separation may be correctly exhibited by an experiment such as that supposed in page 376, and which is thus performed. A mixture of plaster of Paris and glue is poured into one end of a narrow rectangular box, placed horizontally, where it is sluiced up by a bit of wood, removable at pleasure. The surface of the viscid mass is then strewed whilst level with a coloured powder sifted upon it as uniformly as possible, and the sluice withdrawn. The liquid flows exactly as I have described, and the colouring matter is drawn out into threads precisely resembling, in delicacy and continuity, on a minute scale, the veined appearance of the glacier surface. The explanation appears to be this, that the velocity of the central portion tends to pull the lateral portion towards the centre as w^ell as parallel to the length of the glacier ; this produces a slight lateral as well as longitudinal disconti- nuity, for the actual motion of the side portions towards the centre is exceedingly small, and does not sensibly disturb the parallel- ism of motion of the parts of the ice. This is, indeed, certain from the phenomenon of moraines, and corresponds to what may 82 Travels through the Alps of Savoy be familiarly observed in any stream, like a mill-race, moving slowly in a uniform channel, which, being strewed with a powder, that powder will be divided into streaks inclined to the side of the canal, whilst the motion of a floating cork will be sensibly parallel to it. In short the internal movements are of an order so inferior to the general movement of the stream that they may probably be left out of account in describing that general movement, although by the fissured structure which they induce they leave sufficient evidence of their existence. But if the slope be great, the movement towards the centre may be of an order to modify appreciably the direction of movement of a particle. This is probably the cause of the spread of the lateral moraines over the terminal part of many glaciers. (See the figure of the Glacier of Bossons, p. 165, note.) In an ordinary liquid like water the direction of the ripple-marks occasioned by the friction of a stream proceeding from a wider to a narrower channel points out lines of a maximum mutual friction of the particles against one another. They converge rapidly towards the centre of the stream, whilst the motion of the fluid, indicated by a floating body, deviates but little from the direction of the axis of the channel, but when the slope is rapid the drag to- wards the centre is manifest, and the amount of the differential velocities produces eddies and broken surfaces.^ The annexed figure shows the result of one of these experiments on the second class of plastic models. But it also reveals another striking confirmation of the theory which we maintain. In a perfect fluid there can never be a discontinuity of the mass such as may leave an unfilled separation or crack. The result of all the pressures and tensions must be resolvable into a sliding of one particle past another. As the body passes from the fluid, through the viscous or plastic state, into that of a solid, the sliding separation is combined with the formation of open fissures transverse to the lines of tension along which the sliding separation had taken place ; and ultimately in the solid form, the division is usually entirely due to simple fracture. The models now described invariahly present hoth Si/stems, and in conformity with the empirical law already announced (see p. ' The mechanical theory of the veined structure (including the forces producing the Frontal Dip) is fully illustnited in a letter to Dr. Whewell. See 'kcasiona^ Papers, pp. 55-60 (1845). Ph enomena ofGl aciers 383 1.69, p. 170 note, and p. 29, Fig. 3, where the lines marked a represent crevasses ; and Occasional Fafpers, p. 7), the open crevasses are invariably perpendicular to the veined structure, whether the former be transverse or radiating. The whole phenomena then are such as — combined witii the evidence which I have formerly given, that the motion of a glacier is actually such as I have described that of a viscid fluid to be — can leave, I think, no reasonable doubt that the crevices formed ly the forced seimration of a half rigid mass, whose parts are compelled to move with different velocities, hecoming infiltrated unth water and subsequently frozen, produce the hands tvhich we have described. The illustrations now given will, it is hoped, show that there is a striking conformity between the fctcts of motion and the facts of structure in a glacier, and that the two, mutually supporting and confirming one another, lend strong countenance to a theory which includes both. It would be very easy to enlarge upon and multiply these illustrations and coincidences, but I am satisfied that I have said enough to put the intelligent reader in possession of the strong points of the theory, whilst to many this chapter will appear already too long. A few circumstances which have not been here insisted on, appear in the Letters on Glaciers, Nos. 1-4, 8, 9 (see Occasioned Papers). 384 Travels through the Alps of Savoy The idea of comparing a glacier to a river is anything but new, and I would not be supposed to claim that comparison or analogy as an original one. Something very like the conception of fluid motion seems to have been in the minds of several writers, although I was not aware of it at tlie time that I made my theory. In particular, M. Kendu, whose mechanical views are in many respects more precise than those of his predecessors or contemporaries, speaks [pp. 24 and 67 of the 1874 reprint] of "glaciers d'ecoulemeut " as distinct from " glaciers reservoirs "; and in the quotation at the head of this chapter, he evidently contemplates the j^ossibilitT/ of the mutual pressures of the parts overcoming the rigidity.^ He is the only writer .of the glacier school who has insisted upon the plasticity of the ice shown by moulding itself to the endlessly varying form and section of its bed, and he is also opposed to his leading contemporaries in his conjecture that the centre of the ice- stream would be found to move fastest. But M. Eendu has the candour nut to treat his ingenious speculations as leading to any certain result, not being founded on experiments worthy of confidence. " The fact of the motion exists," he says — " the progression of glaciers is demonstrated ; but the manner of it is entirely unknown. Perhaps by long observations and well-made experiments on ice and snow, we may be able to apprehend it, hut these first elements are still wanting!''' I feel bound also to quote the significant expressions of Captain Hall, pointing to the conception of a semi-tiuid glacier. " When successive layers of snow," he says, speaking of the Crlacier de Miage, " often several hundreds of feet in thickness, come to be melted by the sun and by the innumerable torrents which are poured upon them from every side, to say nothing of the heavy rains of summer, they form a mass, not liquid indeed, but such as has a tendency to move down the highly inclined faces on which they lie, every part of which is not only well lubricated by running streams resulting from the melting snows 1 See also page 107 of his work [p. 98 of the 1874 reprint] for a comparison between a ghaeier and a river. 2 " Le fait du mouvenient existe, la progi'ession dcs Glaciers est dt'niontn'e ; mais le mode est entierenient inconnu. Peut-etre avec de longucs observations, (h's experiences bien faites sur la glace ct la neige, vieudra-t-on a bont dc le saisir ; niais ces premiers ('li'inonts nous mancpiont encore." — Tlicoric dcs Glaciers, p. 90 [p. 78 of the 1874 reprint]. Phenomena of Glaciers 385 on every side, but has been well polished by the friction of ages of antecedent glaciers. Every summer a certain but very slow advance is made by these huge, sluggish, slushy, half-snowy, half-icy accumulations." ^ It is plain, I think, that the author had an idea that liquid pressure might drag a mass over its rocky bed, which would not move upon it as a solid. But such speculations could not pass into a theory until supported by the definite facts of which M. Eendu deplores the want. I too, like my predecessors, though independently of them, had compared the movement of glaciers to that of a ductile plastic mass, in 1841, when I spoke of the Glacier of the Ehone as " spreading itself out much as a pailful of thickish mortar would do in like circumstances," ^ and again, when I likened the motion of glaciers to that of a great river, or of a lava stream.^ But I knew very well that such analogies had no claim to found a theory. I knew that the onus of the proof lay with the theorist — (1) To show that (contrary to the then received opinion) the centre of a glacier moves fastest ; and (2) to prove from direct experiment that the matter of a glacier is plastic on a great scale, a fact which seems so repugnant to first impressions as lately to have been urged in a most respectable quarter,^ as rendering the doctrine of semi-fluid motion untenable. No one had a right to maintain the theory of fluid motion as more than a conjecture, until at least these preliminary obstacles were removed by direct observations. These observations have been made, and the result is the viscous or plastic theory of glaciers, as depending essentially on the three following classes of facts, all of which were ascertained for the first time by observations in 1842, of which the proofs are contained in this work. 1. That the different portions of any transverse section of a glacier move with varying velocities, and fastest in the centre. 2. That those circumstances which increase the fluidity ^ Patchwork, vol. i. p. 104 ct scq. The whole passage, which is too long to quote, gives an admirable picture of the glacier world. 2 Ed. Phil. Journal, January, 1842. [Occasional Papers, p. 7.] * Edinhurgh Review, April, 1842, p. 54. Both these articles were Avritten in 1841. * Bihliotheque Universelle, Januarv, 1843. See, also Occasional Papers, pp. Gl-67 (1845). 25 386 Travels through the Alps of Savoy of a glacier, — namely, heat and wet — invariably aecelerate its motion. 3. That the struct m-al surfaces occasioned by fissures which have traversed the interior of the ice are also the surfaces of maximum tension in a semi-solid or plastic mass, lying in an inclined channel. There is only one other point to which I would invite atten- tion, and it is this. We have noticed, pp. 146-149, the enormous depression which the surface of the ice undergoes during the warmer months of the year. We may be sure that, in some manner or other, this is made up for during winter and spring. I already suggested, in my fourth letter to Professor Jameson (in Occasional Peepers, p. 34), that this may be partly owing to the dilatation of the ice during winter by the congelation of the water in its fissures, producing, at the same time, " the veined structure." The glacier is very far indeed from being frozen to the bottom in winter, for we have seen that physical principles are opposed to this, as well as the fact that the motion continues during all that period, showing that a great portion of the icy mass is still plastic. It is, however, extremely probable that the congelation extends to a considerable depth, and produces \ the usual effects of expansion. I think, however, that the I explanation, though correct as far as it goes, is inadequate, and I that the main cause of the restoration of the surface is the ' diminished fluidity of the glacier in cold weather, which retards (as we know) the motion of all its parts, but especially of those parts which move most rapidly in summer. The disproportion of velocity throughout the length and breadth of the glacier is therefore less, the ice more pressed together and less drawn asunder ; the crevasses are consolidated, while the increased friction and viscosity causes the whole to swell, and especially the inferior parts, which are the most wasted. Such a hydrostatic pressure, likewise, tending to press the lower layers of ice upwards to the surface, may not be without its influence upon the (so-called) rejection of blocks and sand by the ice, and may even have some connection with the recurrence of the " dirt Ijands" up(ju the surface of the glacier. But I forbear to enlarge upon what is only as yet to myself conjectural. I have no doubt, however, that the convex surface of the glacier (which resembles that of mercury in a barometer tube) Phenomena of Glaciers 387 is due to this hydrostatic pressure acting upwards with most energy near the centre. It is the " renflement " of Eendu/ the " surface bombee " of Agassiz. Exactly the contrary is the case in a river, where the centre is generally lowest ; but that is on account of the extreme fluidity, so that the matter runs off faster than it can be supplied ; but in my plaster models this convexity, with its wrinkles and waves, was perfectly imitated. In its bearing on the theory of the former extension of the Swiss glaciers (Chap. III.) we find that the doctrine of semi-fluid motion leads us to this important conclusion, — that as large and deep rivers flow along a far smaller inclination than small and shallow ones (a circumstance depending mainly upon the weight increasing with the section, and the friction, in this particular case, with the line of contact with the channel), the most certain analogy leads us to the same conclusion in the case of glaciers. We cannot, therefore, admit it to be any sufficient argument ^ against the extension of ancient glaciers to the Jura, for example, that they must have moved with a superficial slope of one degree, or, in some parts, even of a half or a quarter of that amount, whilst in existing glaciers the slope is seldom or never under 3°. The decHvity requisite to insure a given velocity bears a simple proportion to the dimensions of a stream. A stream of twice the length, breadth, and depth of another will flow on a declivity half as great, and one of ten times the dimensions upon 1-1 th of the slope.^ Poets and philosophers have delighted to compare the course \ of human life to that of a river ; perhaps a still apter simile might be found in the history of a glacier. Heaven-descended in its origin, it yet takes its mould and conformation from the hidden womb of the mountains which brought it forth. At first soft and ductile, it acquires a character and firmness of its own, as an inevitable destiny urges it on its onward career. Jostled and constrained by the crosses and inequalities of its prescribed path, hedged in by impassable barriers which fix limits to its movements, it yields groaning to its fate, and still 1 [Page 99 of the 1874 reprint.] 2 Elie de Beaumont, Annales dcs Sciences Geologiques par Pdviere, 1842. 3 This results approximate!}' from the formuh-e of Dubuat and Eytelwein, — the velocity varies as the square root of the slope, and as the square root of the mean hydraulic depth. 388 Travels through the Alps of Savoy travels forward seamed with the scars of many a conflict with opposing obstacles. All this while, although wasting, it is renewed by an unseen power, — it evaporates, but is not con- sumed. On its surface it bears the spoils which, during the progress of existence, it lias made its own — often weighty burdens devoid of beauty or value, at times precious masses, sparkling with gems or with ore. Having at length attained its greatest width and extension, commanding admiration by its beauty and power, waste predominates over supply, the vital springs begin to fail ; it stoops into an attitude of decrepitude ; — it drops the burdens, one by one, which it had borne so proudly aloft, — its dissolution is inevitable. But as it is resolved into its elements, it takes all at once, a new, and livelier, and dis- embarrassed form ; — from the wreck of its members it arises, " another, yet the same," — a noble, full-bodied, arrowy stream, which leaps rejoicing over the obstacles which before had stayed its progress, and hastens through fertile valleys towards a freer existence, and a final union in the ocean with the boundless and the infinite. SOUKCli OK TllK PART II JOURNALS OF EXCURSIONS IN THE HIGH ALPS OF DAUPHIN^, BEEXE, AND SAVOY (Reprinted from "Norway and its Glaciers visited in 1851 ") Extract from the Preface to" Norway and its Glaciers visited in 1851 " " As a principal object of these pages has been to connect my observations on the glaciers of Switzerland and Savoy with those which I have made in the North of Europe, I have thought it a suitable addition to the volume to incorporate three narratives of alpine journeys of older date, which all refer to the wildest and most ice-bound regions of that noble chain. These Avere written at the time the journeys were made, or soon after, in the same detail, and nearly in the same words as they are now presented to the reader. They seemed to me worthy of preservation, and I am not likely to find a more natural occasion for publishing them. The first excursion — that in the Alps of Dauphine — refers to a region as little known as the remoter parts of Norway itself. The Mont Pelvoux [i.e. the Ecrins], the highest between Mont Blanc and the 3Iediterranean, of which I made the circuit nearly twelve years ago [in 1841], is indeed as little frequented now as it was then. The narrative of the ascent of the Jungfrau, performed the same year [1841] in company with M. Agassiz, is now for the first time printed nearly verbatim from my journals. The account of the crossing of the chain of Mont Blanc by an undescribed pass higher than the Col du Geant may be considered as a supplement to my former researches in Savoy. This journey was of much later date [1850] than the two former ones; and, indeed, was the last which I made in the Alps." J. D. Forbes. May, 1853. SCENE AT I-A BERARDEJ CHArXEE I NARKATIVE OF EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS OF DAUPHINE IN 1839 AND 1841 Boundaries of the district described — Mountains of the Oisans — Their geological peculiarities — Hot springs — Allevard — Les Sept Laux — Allemont — Bourg d'Oisans — Valley of tlie Romanche — Valley of St. Cliristophe — Venose— Fall of a mountain — Village of St. Christophe— Scene from Les Etages — Les Ecrins — Hamlet of La Bdrarde. Travellers have often bent their steps to the remoter regions of the globe to the neglect of objects worthy of attention which might be found almost within their daily range. The soil of 1 [This shows the entrance to La Berarde, with the old bridge (now replaced by a far more substantial one) over the Etancons torrent.] :A . "ry- — V THE ; _, CENTRAL DAUFHINE ALPS _\^ VTa" ^"'^ J ^'^ 1.506,0On»»T,iiglu.l. Milea Ij .n inch ,..^S^-*-s\'^ ,j^ CHAPTEE I NARRATIVE OF EXCURSIONS IN THE ALPS OF DAUPHINE IN 1839 AND 1841 Boundaries of the district described — Mountains of the Oisans — Their geological peculiarities — -Hot springs — Allevard — Les Sept Laux — Allemont— Bourg d'Oisans — Valley of the Romanche — Valley of St. Cliristoplie — Venose— Fall of a mountain — Village of St. Christophe— Scene from Les Etages — Les Ecrins — Hamlet of La Bdrarde. Travellers have often bent their steps to the remoter regions of the globe to the neglect of objects worthy of attention which might be found almost within their daily range. The soil of 1 [This shows the entrance to La Berarde, with the old bridge (now replaced by a far more substantial one) over the Etancons torrent.] 392 Excursions in the Palestine and Egypt is more trodden, and has been more minutely described than many parts of Europe, heedlessly passed over in the anxious haste to remove ourselves as far and as fast as possible from home associations. It may be doubted, however, whether those who pass the great highways of the Alps at a gallop, or are urged with almost railway speed at once by current and by steam down the course of the Ehine and Ehone, are always directing their steps to objects more worthy of attention (for the most part, certainly, to objects more frequently described), than those which exist but a few miles to the right hand or to the left of those beaten tracks, along which tourists follow one another, like a flock of sheep, in interminable succession. Amongst these almost unvisited, yet far from inaccessible districts, the Alpine country of Dauphine, including part of the modern departments of the Is^re and Hautes Alpes, is one of the most interesting, whether we regard its geological structure, or the almost fantastical sublimity of its remote and thinly -peopled glens. No great road passes through this country.^ The pass of the Mont Genevre, which approaches nearest to it, being very little traversed and now partly out of repair,- so that the fortress of Briangon, the frontier town of France on this side, forms nearly the terminus of communication on the great line of fine road which stretches along the whole course of the river Durance down to Aix and Avignon.^ Having been led in the course of an excursion on foot in the year 1839 amongst the Southern Alps to visit a portion of this country, of which the interesting geology, as described by M. Elie de Beaumont, had formerly excited my attention, — and having penetrated a certain way into its remoter valleys, which, from want of time, I left 1 [Since Forbes's day splendid mountain roads have been constructed over the Col du Lautaret from Bourg d'Oisans to Brian(;on (38i miles), and over the Col du Galibier from the Hosiiice on the Lautaret past Valloire to St. Michel de Maurienne on the Mont Cenis railway (six hours' drive). Bourg d'Oisans is now connected by a steam tramway with Grenoble (30i miles), while a magniticent mountain rail- way leads from Grenoble round to the south of the Pelvoux group by the Col de la Croix Haute and Gap to Brian(;on (136 miles).] - [There is now an excellent carriage road over the Mont Genevre from Briancon to Oulx on the Mont Cenis railway (17 miles).] 3 [The railway from Brian9on to Aix en Provence (170 miles), Avignon (198 miles), and Marseilles (189 miles) quits the valley of the Durance at Trunieres, branches off from the Grenoble line at Veynes, and re-enters the Durance valley at Sisteron ; at Pertuis it divides, running north-west along tlic Durance to Avignon, and south across the hills to Aix and IMarseilles, which of course are not in the Durance valley.] Alps of Dauphine 393 with regret, — I took an opportunity in the summer of 1841 of revisiting them, in company with my friend, the Eev. J. M. Heath. We proposed crossing some of those cols or elevated mountain passes which are described as being frequented only by chamois hunters, although they form often the sole communi- cation between valleys, distant horizontally but a few English miles — even this extremely limited communication being prac- ticable during but a very few weeks in the finest part of summer. Accounts to this effect were confirmed by what I had previously seen of the continuous and terrific precipices which bound on both sides the valleys, or rather ravines (called by the natives combes), of this granitic nucleus ; and with respect to the weather, M. Gueymard, an eminent engineer of Grenoble, has assured me that the statement I have quoted is by no means exaggerated, and that the higher mountains of Dauphine are rarely accessible for more than the last ten days of July and the first week or two of August.^ The country of which I propose to offer some description includes a mountain group of granitic formation, and no very large extent, which is separated from the main chain of Alps stretching from the Mont Cenis to the Monte Viso, by the great valley of the Durance, already mentioned. The form of the group is rudely circular, marked by the outburst of granitic and talcose rocks, through the prevalent strata of lias and chalk which characterise this part of France. It is bounded to the north by the river Isere, where it passes Grenoble, and by the course of the river Arc, which, taking its rise near the Mont Cenis,'^ flows into the Isere above Montmelian. These two rivers form an angle, which is filled by a chain of mountains also granitic, and which at their culmination constitute a desolate and stupendous mass, covered with perpetual snow, and called Les Grandes Housses, whose geological structure has been partly described by M. Dausse in the Transactions of the Geological Society of France.^ 1 [This last statement is wholly incorrect. The higher mountains of Dau- phine can be visited at any time between early June and late Sej^tember, while some bold spirits have explored them even in winter.] 2 [The Arc really rises in the glaciers of the Levanna, many miles north-east of the Mont Cenis Pass.] 3 [This essay appeared in vol. ii. (1834) of the Memoires of the Society named. The highest summit of the Grandes Rousses is 11,395 feet. It is odd that Forbes 394 Excursions in the On the west and south our district is bounded by the river Drac, which unites with the Isere below Grenoble, and which, rising at Orcieres, not far from Gap, in the department of the Hautes Alpes, nearly touches the river Durance, which again forms the eastern boundary of the district between Embrun and BrianQon. Within this space, only about forty-five English miles square, rises the highest summit occurring in the mountainous country between Mont Blanc and the Mediterranean. It is called Mont Pelvoux, and its height is 13,468 English feet, as determined by the French Engineers,^ yet it does not greatly exceed in eleva- tion other summits in its neighbourhood, which are so imper- fectly known to topographers, and so variously or inaccurately named on maps (as well as by the natives), that it is difficult to ascertain their identity, on account of the unapproachable posi- tions which many of them occupy, surrounded by precipices, and by glaciers yet more inaccessible.^ To this general group may be given the name of Montagues de I'Oisans, which has been applied to them by M. E. de Beaumont in a paper published in the fifth vol.^ of the Annales des Mines, in which he has described with much detail and spirit the remarkable geological features which they present. These are of two kinds, the struc- ture of the granitic or gneiss rock itself, and the phenomena which it presents when in contact with the stratified deposits of limestone which surround it. The whole is considered by that most eminent geologist to afford an example of a Crater of Elevation in a formation not properly volcanic — the originally never mentions the still higher chain, a little more to the east, of the Aiguilles d'Arves, three grand pinnacles of rock rising to a height of 11,520 feet ; this omis- sion is all the more remarkable, as P'orbes crossed in 1841 the Col de I'lnfernct very near them, and as they had been described in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society as far back as 1791.] 1 [Really the Pointe des Ecrins, 13,462 feet, the true Mont Pelvoux being 12,973 feet in height. The confusion between the two summits was finally cleared up by the explorations of Mr. F. F. Tuckett in 1862.] ^ There exists, however, a most admirable and faithful map of Dauphiiie by General Bourcet, which may (or might lately) be had at Paris. It is engraved in a quaint, old-fashioned style, but is extremely clear, and its fidelity makes it in- valuable to the traveller.! •' [Of tlie tinrd series, published in 1834.] 1 [Bourcet'.s map (surveyed 1749-1764) has loiiR bcPii superseded. The best general map of the Dauphiii6 mountains (the outline map given in these pages is based on it) is that (scale 1/250,000) published in vol. i. of the new edition (1898) of Mr. John Ball's Guide to the. Western Alps, but lor minute details as to the glacier region so\ith of the Col du Lautaret, M. H. Duhamels map (4 sheets, scale 1/100,000, Grenoble, 1889, anil in a revised edition, London, 1892) is unsurpassable.] Alps of Dauphine 395 horizontal structural planes of the gneiss having been elevated on all sides towards a central point or apex, from which, conse- quently, they appear to dip in every direction. " It presents," he says, " something resembling the form of a half-closed flower, of which the stamina are represented by unstratified masses of granite and dislocated fragments of gneiss, and of which the corolla corresponds to the strata of gneiss, which nearly through- out the circumference of the group rest upon the interior granite, and which sink beneath the secondary deposits raised up around in the form of the calyx." ^ M. Elie de Beaumont was also one of the first to signalise,- in 1829, the existence of that remarkable inversion of geological superposition, in which granitic rocks are found overlying lime- stones of the age of lias — a circumstance more lately noticed in several parts of the Swiss Alps, but nowhere, if we mistake not, with more perfect evidence than in the mountains of the Oisans. The most considerable of the fissures of which we have spoken forms the channel of the river Komanche, which inter- sects in its tortuous course some of the highest ground of the district. Near the village of Bourg d'Oisans, the valley divides itself into two ; the stream which retains the name of the Eomanche joins the other nearly at a right angle, having flowed in almost a straight course from east to west in the pro- found gorge called the Comhe de Malaval ; whilst the other branch, taking the name of the Veneon, runs nearly from south- east to north-west through the valley of St. Christophe, and takes its rise almost at the foot of the Mont Pelvoux, amongst the glaciers which fill the vast rocky basin in which lies the little hamlet of La Berarde, considered by M. E. de Beaumont as the centre of action of the elevating forces. The occurrence of mineral and thermal waters near the outskirts, and not at all in the centre of this district, confirms remarkably the views which I have stated in a paper on the mineral waters of the Pyrenees in the Pliilosophical Transac- tions for 1836. The great convulsions which were productive 1 Fails pom- servir a VHlstoirc des Montagues dc V Oisans, p. 30. 2 Memoircs de la Society d'Histoire Natv.rellc de Paris, tome 5, cited and figured in De la Beclie's sections and views, 1830.1 1 [In a note to liis 1834 essay M. de Beaumont informs us that it is an expanded and revised version of tliat published by him in 1829.] 39^ Excursions in the of fissures, both in the stratified and unstratified rocks, gave vent to these subterranean streams, which issue generally from chasms exactly on the line of demarcation of the primitive and secondary formations. Mineral veins are also not unfrequent accompaniments. The waters of La Motte near La Mure, on the course of the Drac, are exactly in the situation just de- scribed, and appear in connection with small outbreaks of granite indicated in the geological map of France. They are described as issuing from a ravine so narrow, confined, and precipitous, that the water (which is stated to have a temperature of 45° Keaum.) has to be carried on the back of mules to some distance before it can be administered medicinally.^ Two other sources which I have myself examined occur in the valley of the Isere, exactly on the confines of the primitive and secondary rocks. That of Uriage, about six miles from Grenoble," is sulphureous, and rises in a deep valley at the junction of granite and lias, which is, however, concealed for some way by an immense mass of detritus, through which the spring forces itself. It is con- veyed in a subterraneous conduit for a space of six or seven hundred yards from its source to the bathing-house, where it issues with a temperature of 70°'5 F. The other spring is that of Allevard, several leagues to the north - east of the former, which rises in a small tributary valley of the Isere, exactly where a stream called the Breda, descending from the high ground of the chain already mentioned as connected with Les Graudes Eousses, opens into the valley.^ This little ravine, which is wild and picturesque, appears to have been formed by a rent, and communicates in a manner no less striking in a picturesque than in a geological point of view, between the tame scenery of the fertile lias and the savage grandeur of the snow- clad granite peaks upon which this natural gateway immediately opens. It is exactly at the entrance, then, of this ravine, and within a few hundred yards of the junction of the limestone ' [The waters arc now foiiveyed througli pipes I'or about a mile iVoin the sj)rings to the " Ktablisseiueiit des Bains" of La Motte, 23 miles IVom Grenoble by a most striking mountain railway. On issuing Jrom the rock the water is said to have a temperature of 60" Centigrade {i.e. 48" Reaumur or 140" Fahrenheit).] ■'' [There is now a steam tramway (8 miles) from Grenoble to Uriage. The waters of Uriage issue from the rock at a temperature of about 94" Fahr.] ^ [Allevard is 9 miles by steam tramway from the I'onteharra station on the railway between Grenoble (20 miles from runteluura) and ClKimbery(13 miles from Pontcharra).] Alps of Dauphine 397 with the primitive talc slate, that the sulphureous mineral water, which is extensively employed for medicinal purposes (although not possessing a high temperature), immediately rises. Extensive workings of carbonate of iron are carried on in the same neighbourhood. The sparry iron divides from the walls of the vein innumerable fragments of the matrix, which is a greenish talc slate.^ It was on the 21st of July 1841, that Mr. Heath and myself, profiting by the fine weather which, in the midst of a very changeable season, accompanied us in our rambles amongst these mountains, quitted Allevard by the ravine just described, and followed the torrent of the Breda up towards its source, which has been termed in the patois of the country Les Sept Laux, or the Seven Lakes. Between the villages of Pinsot and La Ferriere we noticed the remarkable occurrence of a polished convex surface of grey slaty rock, very similar to those occurring near the Handeck and on the Grimsel. Unfamiliar though we at that time were with these supposed traces of glacier action, we could not help being struck by the perfect rotundity pre- sented by the exposed surfaces of the rock, exactly at such a contraction of the valley as must have exposed it to the shock of any descending mass. The polish too was extremely perfect when we removed the covering of soil ; the hard and the soft parts being equally sawn across at an exact level, and smoothed with wonderful precision. It appears to me, upon recollection, as indubitably marked a specimen of this kind of action as is any- where to be found in the Alps of Switzerland. It occurs at a very considerable height above the bed of the torrent and close to the path, but we could trace it for a considerable way above and below, although it was only in this part of the valley that it attracted our attention. After passing an uncomfortable night at La Ferriere, we proceeded to ascend the col of the Seven Lakes. A long and steep ascent, generally, however, practicable for mules, led us to the first of the lakes in question after five hours' walk. This 1 Allevard is a convenient point from whicli to commence our narrative, although it is not in this direction that the mountains of the Oisans are most easily approached. ^ 1 [The easiest approach is from Grenoble, by means of tlie steam traiinvay to Bourg d'Oisans (30^- miles), whence a good carriage road leads to La Gra\-e (l.OJ miles), and a bad one to St. Chris- tophe (12 miles), whence it is 3 hours' walk by mule patli up to La Berarde.] 398 Excursions in the series of small and beautifully clear tarns lies in a prolonged ravine, which at a great height separates the chain commanding the valley of the Isere from the granitic mountains to the east. By our barometrical observations, the elevation of the col is 7144 feet, yet these lakes are fed by springs, and are not like the usual accumulations of stagnant water derived from the melting snows. The temperature of the first lake was 46°"o, whilst that of the river Breda, half a league above La Ferriere, at a height of 4000 feet less, was only 46°, arising, no doubt, from the glacier origin of the main branch of that stream, which at Pinsot, below La Ferriere, had a temperature of 52°'5, at Allevard of 54°, and at Pontcharra of 56°. Near the last of the chain of lakes is a small building where travellers might sleep better upon hay than in the wretched beds of La Ferriere.^ The situation is wild and gloomy, commanding no distant view, the chain of lakes being closed in by bare peaks of no great elevation on all sides. After a long rest we proceeded to descend the southern side of the pass into the vale of Allemont, which terminates in that of the Romanche below Bourg d'Oisans. This descent is ex- cessively fatiguing, rapid, and even dangerous. In order to avoid the precipices, it is necessary to skirt the mountains at half their height by an intricate sheep track, with which our guide, it appears, was imperfectly acquainted. After scrambling down a space of at least 3000 vertical feet,^ we reached in 3 hours the hamlet of Kivier d' Allemont.^ The [Olle] gorge into which we descended was exceedingly striking and wild ; cultivation dies away at the foot of the pass. On our left a difficult track called Le Maupas leads amongst lofty granite peaks into the valley of the Maurienne ; "* to the right and before us, the fantastic range of the Montague de Belledonne ^ throws its jagged peaks to the 1 [There is now a comfortable little mountain inn near the Lac du Col, the liighest of the tarns, which really number eleven in all. Just beyond the inn is the Col des Sept Laux, 7166 feet in height.] 2 [Really 2940 feet.] 3 |ln the valley of the Olle.] ■* 'More precisely the patli runs through the gorge of Maupas to the upjier portion of the Olle valley, whence the Col du Glandon leads to La Cliambre in the I\laurienno or Arc valley, and the Col de la Croix de Fer by St. Jean d'Arves to St. Jean do JIaurionnc.] '' [Iklledoniie is the mountain that is so consjncuous from Grenoble ; the Croix (ascent very easy) is 95'25 feet, wliile the Grand I'ic (asctut dillicult) is 9781 feet.] Alps of Dauphine 399 sky. This summit doubtless receives its name from the obvious resemblance of the outline to the rude representations of the Virgin and Child by the earliest masters of the Italian or the Byzantine school. Instead of stopping at Kivier, we' resolved, in the hope of finding tolerable quarters, to push on to the village of AUemont, a distance of two hours and a half farther. ^ As the evening advanced we were fairly obliged to grope our way amidst intense darkness occasioned Ijy the rich foliage which clothes with extraordinary luxuriance the lower part of this beautiful valley, whose fertility we found next morning to present as striking a contrast as can well be imagined to the rocky scenery of its immediate neighbourhood. Near Allemont, in the mountain of Chalanches, mines of silver and lead have been worked since 1767, but have been more lately abandoned, and were for sale at the period of our journey. Our hopes of tolerable accommodation were again disappointed, and after a walk of more than ten hours we were doomed to pass another sleepless night. We next morning took mules, first to convey us to Bourg d'Oisans ^ through a flat country and along a good highway,^ from whence we proposed to explore the valley of St. Christophe, which I had visited two years before. The position of Bourg d'Oisans is sufticiently remarkable ; it lies in a swampy flat of a mile or more in width, out of which rise, especially on the west side, perpendicular walls of rock of immense elevation. On the face of these precipices the famous gold mines of La Gardette have been worked from an early period. It is impossible to doubt that this part of the valley of the Eomanche (in which the village of Bourg d'Oisans is situated) was once an enormous cleft, of a depth which it seems now almost impossible to estimate, of which we see the original walls still standing; but the lower part has been filled up by the copious depositions of mountain torrents and the degradation of mountains themselves, which have formed the enormous platform of detritus amongst which the river finds its way, leaving 1 [There is now a char road from Rivier d' Allemont to Allemont. ] ^ Bourg d'Oisans, a country town 30i miles from Grenoble, by which the country to be described is most easily approached. 3 [There is now a char road from Allemont to Les Sables at the junction of the OUe with the Romanche, from which point the high road has been superseded by the steam tramway (4^ miles from the Rochetaillee Allemont Station to Bourg d'Oisans) coming from Grenoble.] 400 Excursions in the unhealthy swamps at every stage of its passage. Such artificial obstructions have even occurred during historic times. In the lower part of the course of the Eomanche, which bends suddenly at less than a right angle after being joined by the river of Allemont, it enters a profound defile called the Comhe de Gavet, which I had visited on a former occasion, and in which a great lake was formed by the fall of a neighbouring mountain in the eleventh century, which, after existing two hundred years, burst its barrier, and carried desolation into the valley of the Drac, and even to the town of Grenoble.^ These ravines, with perpen- dicular walls and zigzag courses, recall in a striking manner the scenery of Norway, especially of the Sognefiord, described in a previous part of this volume.^ Perhaps no other part of Europe presents so close a parallel ; and, as the neighbouring gneiss formation is extremely similar, it is not too much to infer that causes not very different have operated in the two cases to produce effects so grand in themselves, and indicating such astonishing energy in their production. The cliffs immediately behind Bourg d'Oisans are generally of limestone, and rise perpendicularly to a height probably much exceeding a thousand feet. From the base issue numerous fine springs, which appear to vary greatly in their discharge at different times, for some, which issued nearly at the same season in 1839 in so great volume as to be impassable on foot, were now perfectly dry.-'' I observed, too, the great changes which the course of the torrent * had made in its passage amongst the debris in which it has formed a thousand channels, and it had completely carried away the slight track which formerly led to the valley of St. Christophe.^ The height of Bourg d'Oisans is above 2400 feet.*^ A few miles higher up tlie valley we left behind us the narrow gorge through which the torrent of the 1 [Tlie lake was really formed in the plain of Bourg d'Oisans by reason of an immense fall from the Yaudaine, a great spur of Belledonne ; the barrier gave way on the night of September 14-15, 1219.] - [It will be remembered that this chapter was originally published by Forbes as an Appendix to his work entitled Norway and its Glaciers visited in 1851 (1853).] •' One of these springs, a little below Bourg d'Oisans, had a temperature of 4 8° "5 on the 11th of July, 1839, the height being about 2400 feet. * [The Veneon, flowing from the valley of St. Christoiihe.] '' [There is now a char road to St. Christophc (12 nules from Bourg d'Oisans); it leaves the Lautaret high road just after this crosses to the left bank of the Romanche (3 miles from Bourg d'Oisans), before mounting through the Malaval gorge.] [It is really 2392 feet.] Alps of Dauphine 401 Eomanche passes to unite its waters with those of the Veneon.^ Following the course of the Veneon on its left bank, we soon quitted the level plain, and began to rise alongside of the torrent which chafes itself amongst numberless scattered blocks to the little hamlet of Pont Escophier, where a magnificent scene presented itself. Behind us we could still see the whole extent of the valley of Oisans confined by its mural precipices, terminated by the distant peaks of the Belledonne, and seeming like a vast crevasse, of which the eye could not fathom the bottom. In front two confined and savage valleys^ opened right and left — that on the right, of no great extent, was soon closed to the eye by impassable walls of rock ; the other, from which the main mass of water descends, rushing at our feet beneath a frail bridge, presented a grand scene of rough mountains on either hand. In the extreme distance a glacier summit^ raised itself in glorious perspective precisely in the prolongation of the valley, richly coloured by the full beams of the setting sun ; whilst in the middle distance there appeared a speck of exquisite verdure, placed as if by enchantment in the midst of a wilderness, marking the position of the little village- of Venose, where live in independence, and even in wealth, the most considerable proprietors of this secluded and almost un- known valley. The fertility of the neighbourhood of Venose, which produces so striking an effect, admits of a very simple explanation ; for here the granite suddenly ceases, and a tongue of limestone is intruded into its interior, connected with the great deposit near Mont de Lans in the valley of the Eomanche.* The gentler forms of these strata are well marked, and a pass of easy access, and cultivated almost to the summit, forms the only practicable com- 1 Up that gorge a splendid new road has been carried, which, long ere this time probably, connects Grenoble with Briancon.i ■■^ [That to the right or south is the valley of Lauvitel, wherein is a considerable lake famous for its fine trout. Over the wall of rock at its head the rough but not difficult pass of the Breche de Valsenestre (8642 feet) leads to the Valsenestre, a tributary of the Val Jouffrey ; while that to the left or south-east is the main Veneon valley, up which lies our way. ] » This summit appears to be " la Pointe Haute du Grand Glacier" in Bourcet's map.'- ■* [This tongue is prolonged on the north as far as St. Jean de Maurienne.] 1 [It was completed in ISOl only, bavins been begun iu 1S08.] ^ x, • t 2 [Bourcet's peak is the Rateau, (12,317 feet), which cannot possibly be seen from the point mentioned by Forbes, who probably saw a bit of the great Mont de Lans Glacier or else the Aiguille du Plat, both of which, roughly speaking, are in the direction of the peak named by Bourcet.] 26 402 Excursions in the miinication between these two valleys, and is composed entirely of lias.^ On the opposite side of the Veneon the limestone strata are prolonged still farther into the heart of the granite, and the Col de la Muzelle, which they form, is one of the least difficult in the interior of the group, connecting the valley of St. Christophe with the Val Jouffrey." The structure of the limestone is extremely remarkable, being completely metamorphosed by the neighbourhood of the granite, so as to present the appearance of a very beautiful black roofing slate, of which it possesses all the most valuable characters. This is a striking example of the production of cleavage planes by metamorphic action. The village of Venose is situated on an elevated slope, clothed with rich walnut woods on the right bank of the stream."^ It is commanded by the church, a building of Eomanesque architectiu'e, from which a good view of the valley is obtained. The green pastures which lead to the Col de la Muzelle are exactly opposite, and the contact of the granite with the lias at a great height may be distinctly perceived. The torrent which flows through it descends into the valley of the Veneon by a striking cascade, presenting a great volume of water at the season of the melting of the glaciers. It may be remarked of almost all the tributary valleys of this neighbourhood, that they do not join the principal valley at a common level, but are considerably higher, so that a waterfall, often of great beauty, almost invariably accompanies the meeting of the streams, thus presenting a fresh analogy with the configuration of Norway. The lateral valleys therefore cannot be properly considered as fissures, since their section is rounded, and a steep water-course has been cut since their forma- tion by the action of water in the lapse of ages. Venose is not only the prettiest village in the district of Oisans, but also boasts a very good country inn,"* which we may be excused from mentioning amongst the peculiarities of the place. In ascending the valley of St. Christophe, the gorge soon 1 [This is the Col de I'Alpe (5446 feet), the suniniit level of which is composed of a great pasture plain, dotted with many corn and hay huts. It is the chief non- glacier i)ass between the Veneon and Romanche valleys, wliich are connected by a great number of glacier passes.] - [Strictly speaking it leads into the Valsenestre, a tributary of the Val Jouffrcy.] ■* [The char road passes through the hamlet of Bourg d'Arud, at the foot of tlie stec]) mountain slope on whicli Venose is ]ierched at a height of 3442 feet.] ■* [This is now a thing of the i)ast, but was the only tolerable stopping-place till witliin a few years.] Alps of Dauphine 403 becomes narrower, the rounded forms characterising the intruding lias are quickly left, and, the torrent having been passed on a substantial bridge, a very short distance brings us to a scene of sublime desolation. A mountain on the right hand has, at some remote time, crumbled into fragments, and literally filled the valley from side to side with a colossal heap of ruins.^ Through and amongst these winds a narrow path practicable for mules, whilst the river dashes from rock to rock with excessive commo- tion, sometimes passing under the fragments which it was unable to displace. One huge slab of granite, wide enough for three carriages to pass abreast, forms a natural and ponderous ■ bridge,'^ harmonising with the desolation of the scene. The effect of this natural barrier has evidently been, as in the Combe de Gavet, to form a temporary lake, which has since been silted up, leaving a level plain which extends for a mile or two.^ On the right stands the romantic village of Lanchatra, a hamlet consisting of a few houses perched on a projecting rock in a tributary valley above one of the beautiful cascades already mentioned. Not much farther on, the road leaves the stream and leads up the face of a rough hill to the village of St. Christophe,"* which gives its name to the valley. On this ascent several fine springs ' issue from the gneiss (which is here in vertical strata directed dm north and south), at a height of about 250 feet below the village, or 4550 feet above the sea, the temperature of these, July 10th, 1839, was 44'^-0, and July 24th, 1841, 43°-8. Just before reaching St. Christophe, a bridge crosses a very wild and narrow cleft, through which foams a wild glacier stream called Torrent du Diable.*^ We addressed ourselves to the Curd for information as to guides who could conduct us across some of the passes at the head of the valley. He received us with great cordiality, and gave us references to two, both chamois hunters, living at the village of La Berarde, the last hamlet of the district, and to which 1 [The "Clapier" (slope of boulders) of St. Christoplie.] '■^ [The " Pont Naturel," well known to former visitors to this valley ; it is now superseded by a solid stone bridge, rather higher up and just at the entrance of the "level plain" mentioned below.] '■' [Forbes clearly did not know the local name of this level plain — the " Plan du Lac " — which completely confirms his theory as to its origin.] ^ [The village is built at a height of 4823 feet.] •'' [These are called the " Fontaines Benites."] •^ [Through this wild cleft the glacier pass of the Col de la Lauze (11,625 feet) leads over to La Grave.] 404 Excursions in the distance his wild parish extended. We could, however, obtain but slender information as to the practicability of any of the passes connecting La Berarde with the adjacent valleys. En- couraged, however, by what we heard, we proceeded to ascend the course of the stream. Only two other villages exist higher up.^ The first, Les Etages, commands one of the finest Alpine views which the admirers of Swiss scenery can desire, terminated by the Montague d'Oursine,^ which stands immediately above the hamlet of La Berarde. It presents a series of rocky pinnacles in manifold rows, between which the snow can scarcely adhere ; and so utterly inaccessible does that chain appear, that any passage in this quarter to the Val Louise seems almost hopeless f in fact it is stated never to have been accomplished, except by a deserter, who having escaped many years ago from the fortress of Briancon, sought shelter in the unapproached fastnesses of the Montague d'Oursine. Its form, as seen from Les Etages, especially by the morning light, is comparable to the Aiguilles of Mont Blanc, and the valley which stretches beyond it to the foot of Mont Pelvoux^ may almost rival the scenery of the Allee Blanche. La Berarde, which is placed in the midst of this savage land- scape, consists of but very few and poor houses, with a small chapel distinguished from the rest by a belfry.^ Cultivation ceases just at the village ; a few stunted pines are found still higher up, but there is no wood worth mentioning in the valley above Venose.*^ Timber for building is all brought from Bourg d'Oisaus. This excessive sterility peculiarly characterises the valleys of Dauphine. The village of La Berarde is at a height of only 5500 feet, that of St. Christophe is 4800, and of Venose 3230,* but 1 [There is another — Champhorent^before Les Etages.] - [Really the Pointe des Ecrins — the monarch of the district. The second summit (13,396 feet) only is visible from Les Etages, the highest (13,462 feet) rising behind it. ] •^ [The deep-cut Col des Ecrins (11,205 feet), to the north of the Ecrins, is very conspicuous from Les Etages ; a steep ice couloir leads up to it on this side, but the other slope is ([uite easy. It was iirst crossed by Mr. Tuckett in 1862.] 4 [Really the Ailefroide. See p. 410 below.] '^ [A stately chapel has been recently built here at the expense of the monks of the Grande Chartreuse monastery above Grenoble. Thi' only other conspicuous house in La Berarde is tlie excellent mountain inn, or "Chalet Hotel" (opened in 1887).] •^ [There are a few birches and aspens at La Burarde, in tlie delta formed by the Veneon and Etan(;ons torrents.] 7 [Tlie height of La Berarde is 5702 feet, that of St. Chiistophc 4823 feet, and that of Venose 3442 feet.] Alps of Dauphine 405 the cliaracter of the scenery is like that of Switzerland at a greater elevation. The unbroken rocky surfaces deceive the eye to such an extent that it is difficult to realise the enormous scale of these mountains. " We seek in vain," says M. E. de Beaumont, " those landscapes, at once grand and graceful, which are so attractive at Grindelwald and Chamouni ; the bottom of the valleys is too elevated for luxuriant vegetation. The scanty pasturage soon gives place to snow or bare rock, and some poplars and straggling ash trees are alone found in the valley of La Berarde ; the snows and glaciers are their only decoration, and it is even difficult to attain positions at a sufficient distance to enjoy a good view of them. Lower, no doubt, than Mont Blanc and the Jungfrau, the mountains of the Oisans appear less elevated than they are, on account of the absolute height of the valleys and of their confined position, so that the summits can be but rarely seen. To ascertain their height we must attempt to mount them, and even then the eye has some difficulty to submit to the testimony of the limbs." ^ Scanty as the pasturages appear, they are in great request amongst the shepherds of Provence, who annually drive thousands of sheep from the plains of La Crau and the delta of the Ehone — a long journey of several weeks — to spend a month or two at the base of Mont Pelvoux.^ In 1839 I saw a herd of young mules gamboling at the foot even of the glaciers. The inhabit- ants of La Berarde received me on both my visits with surprise, but with kindness and hospitality. Their dwellings are very low, mean, and dirty. The sight of a stranger is a rare event. In 1839, on the 10th of July, I was the first visitor of the season. On that occasion, hastening late one evening, on foot and quite alone, in search of the village of St. Christophe, where I was to sleep, I met a man of whom I asked the way. He looked at me rather suspiciously, and then with much simplicity expressed a hope that I had not been guilty of any criminal action which had caused me to take refuge in these valleys. Like most unsophis- ticated mountaineers, the feeling of the picturesque is unknown. A country is a " mauvais pays " in proportion as it is elevated, and the curious traveller runs some risk of being taken for a ^ [See his previously cited 1834 essay, pp. 27, 28.] - [This is the case with most of the valleys of the Pelvoux group, as the inhabit- ants are too poor to keep beasts of their own.] 4o6 Excursions in the treasure hunter if he carry a hammer, and in any other case a refugee from justice. But notwithstanding this isolation, I was struck with a certain courtesy of manners, and especially a purity of dialect, which seemed surprising. But I afterwards learned that there is scarcely a man in the whole valley who has not been more or less a traveller ; and, indeed, that during the seven or eight months of every year, which may truly be said to constitute their winter, the whole male inhabitants, almost to a man, quit their homes, and range over every part of France as hawkers or colporteurs — their usual occupation being vending live plants and flowers. They return in the late spring with commodities neces- sary for their consumption, and which their valley is incapable of producing ; and in this way, as I have already said, a great deal of real comfort and independence is to be found among the inhabit- ants of Venose and St. Christophe,^ with a hardihood of character which reminds one more of the aristocratic peasantry of the Swiss republics than that of France generally. We found Joseph Eodier,^ the guide to whom we had been recommended, busily engaged in securing his hay crop, which he and his son were carrying in heavy bundles on their backs from the field to the hay-loft. Finding that no one in the village had ever crossed to the Val Louise, and that the ]3racticability of such a feat was altogether doubtful,^ we inquired whether, by leaving Mont Pelvoux on the left, we could pass by the extreme head of the valley to the Val Gaudemar. Eodier had twice performed this, and engaged to conduct us across the glacier which lay in the way next morning. It turned out, however, that the route which we wished to take, and ultimately took, across the Col du Says, had, so far as we could learn, been traversed by no one in 1 [This estimate of the prosperity of these villages is certainly exaggerated, though no doubt Venose is better olf than the two higher villages.] ^ [Joseph Rodier died at a very advanced age a few years ago. He was known to later travellers as the "grand pero." His son Pierre, also mentioned by Forbes, is the i)resent "Rodier pere." The best guides in the valley now are the members of the Gaspard family, whose home is at St. Christophe, but who are generally at La Berarde in the summer season, when their services are in great demand, as nianj^ travellers visit La lii'rarde each year.] ^ [Either the Ool de la Temi)le (10,771 feet) or tlic Col dc la Coste Rouge (10,342 feet) was certainly known as far back as 1673. But the old pass seems to have been forgotten. The two Rodiers re-discovered tlie former in 1844, reaching its summit from La Berardc, and led a French party across it in 1855. The latter is tlie lowest and most marked de]ircssion in the ridge, and is perhaps that alluded to in the old documents.] Alps of Dauphine 407 the valley.^ We spent the afternoon in inspecting the neigh- bourhood, and received the most hospitable kindness from the family of Eichard, to whom we had been recommended by the Cure of St. Christophe. To sleep in the house was (fortunately) impossible ; a truss of clean straw was prepared in the hay-loft, and some of its numerous apertures were closed for the occasion. We had brought coverlets as well as provisions from Venose. All our property was most carefully and considerately put under lock and key ; and, though our instruments and equipments furnished food for the curiosity of all the children and many of the grown inhabitants of the village, we experienced not the slightest rude- ness or attempt at imposition. We hung our barometer at the door of the very same cottage (Eichard's) at which I had done the same two years before ; and though the observations, owing to the distance of the station (Marseilles) with which they are compared, do not very closely agree (and even the morning and evening observation give a considerable difference due to tempera- ture), the height of this interesting station may be approximately given at 5550 feet above the Mediterranean.- ' ' [Rodier's pass was probably that now known as the Col du Chardon (10,145 feet). But the Col du Says is mentioned as early as 1673, and was visited from La Berarde by the famous Dauphine botanist, Dominique de Villars, on Sept. 13, 1786.] - [The ofRcial height is 5702 feet.] MONT PELVOUX FROM THE VAL LOUISE. CHAPTER II Cross the Col du Says — Glacier de la Pilatte — Descent to La Chapelle — Passage of the Col du Sellar — Glacier and dangerous jirecipices — En- traigues — Ville Val Louise — Mont Pelvoux — Monetier — Col du Lautaret — Superposition of gneiss to lias — La Grave — The scenery — Combe de Malaval — Passage of the Col de Tlnfernet — Remarks on the geology of the Montagues de I'Oisans. The weather next moruiug was very favourable, and, impatient to avail ourselves of it, we were up before four o'clock ; but our haste was in vain, for the guide did not make his appearance, nor was it until past six that, by our united exertions, we could accomplish the fulfilment of his many preparations, which his wife (who appeared to have given but a reluctant consent to the journey) by no means accelerated. No one had for years attempted the passage, nor does any stranger appear to have crossed from the valley of St. Christophe to the Val Gaudemar.^ ' [But see above, p. 406.] Excursions in the Alps of Dauphine 409 Our guide from Venose (who was to return with the mule which had brought our provisions and knapsack), a kind-hearted man, who now visited for the first time this part of the valley, declared it was " le bout du monde," and entreated us not to think of going farther. But seeing that we were not to be moved in our resolution, Eodier at last completed his breakfast of boiled chamois — filled his spirit-flask, took leave of his wife and the other villagers who collected to see us off; and we addressed our- selves to our journey. For two hours above La Berarde the ascent is not rapid. Opposite the valley of La Pirade,^ the most considerable ravine which descends from the Montague d'Oursine on the left, the valley divides into two branches, both extremely grand.- By either we understood that the Val Gaudemar might be reached ; but we were not then aware that our guide had passed only by the one to the right. We preferred the other, which kept close by the foot of Mont Pelvoux,^ whence we were to cross by the Glacier de la Condamina ^ and the Col du Says. Kodier, who was an excellent mountaineer and a trusty guide, though he had never passed this way, had satisfied himself on his previous journey, as he afterwards told us, that if the top of the Col du Says could be gained on the side of La Berarde, the de- scent would be practicable on the other. Leaving then the valley of Clot Chatel (in Bourcet's map) to the right, we ascended the Vallee de Conte Faviel, and reached the foot of the glacier in two hours from La Berarde. We passed a stone cabin, in which slept a Provencal shepherd. The glacier at first was not steep ; our course lay nearly due south, and when we had passed opposite to the highest summit of Mont Pelvoux, we turned more to the right, where the glacier divides into two branches.^ The fallen rocks had hitherto been true granites, consistently with the views of De Beaumont, but now they passed into epidote rocks, and others composed of felspar and hornblende, perhaps analogous to the variolites of the Drac. These gave 1 [Now the Pilatte glen.] 2 [The branch (Clot Chatel) to the right (S. W.) leads to the Glacier and Col du Chardon ; that to the left (S.E.) to the Pilatte Glacier and the Col du Says.] 3 [I.e. the Col du Says, the route of which passes at the foot of the Ailefroide (Forbes's Mont Pelvoux).] * [The Glacier de la Pilatte.] 5 [The Says Glacier, up which Forbes went, is the principal tributary of the great Pilatte Glacier.] 4IO Excursions in the place, as we ascended a very steep bank of debris, to more slaty forms ; and the Col du Says is composed of an inter- mixture of the preceding rocks with those in which talc forms a prominent ingredient, a mineral which appears to characterise a district of this group, lying in a north and south direction, passing through La Berarde, and coming out near the Col du Lautaret. I speak only in a very approximative manner ; but the rocks on the north side, between the Lautaret and Monetier, have the same character. Having reached a considerable elevation by climbing on the shingle, we dined (without, however, the advantage of water), and descended upon the higher part of the glacier by a moderately inclined snowy slope intersected by occasional crevasses. Our more dbect course would have led us to cross this arm of the glacier near its base, and to have ascended the opposite side ; but this Kodier justly considered imprudent on account of the recent traces of avalanches. But though we were now nearly on a level, or at least not greatly below the Col du Says, we had still an anxious passage to make across an extensive glacier basin, which was traversed by impassable rents in various directions, nor was it practicable to ascertain from a distance whether these could be got round or not. At length, having descended con- siderably, all difficulties were overcome, and a gentle snow slope led up to the summit of the pass. The barometer stood at 19 in. 4 lines French, and the thermometer at 34° of Fahrenheit. The height we computed to be 10,224 English feet.^ This we gained at one o'clock. Notwithstanding the cold and an approaching snow-shower, I made a careful survey from this magnificent station of the country we had just left, and took a sketch of the outline of Mont Pelvoux and the neighbouring chain, in which the Montague d'Oursine stands out with its double head in great prominence.-' The view commenced at the 1 It is called 3358 metres, or 11,017 English feet, on the authority of De Zach in Brugiere's Orographie de l' Europe. [Its real height is 10,289 feet. Nowadays it is not considered a difficult pass ; hut is rarely traversed.] - [The "Mont Pelvoux" is the Ailefroide (12,989 feet), the "Montague d'Oursine" the I'ointe des Ecrins (13,462 feet), the "Aiguille du Midi de hi Crave " is now better known as the ISIcijc (13,081 feet), the " path " (there is none, as the col is a glacier pass) to Villard d'Arene and La Grave is the Col du Clot des Cavales (10,263 feet), mentioned already in 1673, while the " Poiute des Verges" has been renamed Pic Coolidge (12,323 feet) in honour of the present Editor.] Alps of Dauphine 411 Aiguille dii Midi de la Grave on the left, to the right of which is a practicahle but rarely traversed path from La Berarde to Villard d'Arene ; next the Montague d'Oursine, with a most pre- cipitous abutment to the south-east. This is followed by the Pointe des Verges — a peculiarly pointed summit marked by M. Elie de Beaumont in his ideal section as the centre towards which all the upraised gneiss strata seem to point. I cannot say that the extensive and commanding view I now enjoyed altogether confirmed this opinion. There are undoubtedly points of view presenting a section of the mountains of Oisans from E. to W. which seem to indicate something like an anticlinal axis running N. and S. ; but, from the Col du Says, the mountains within view- have a singularly rough and formless appearance. There is a gap between the Pointe des Verges and the Mont Pelvoux, and through this gap it is possible that a passage into the Val Louise might be attempted ; beyond and through it appear (as I judge by the direction on the map) the distant peaks of the Montague des Agneaux. There rose just opposite to us, and to a height of more than 3000 feet above us, the pyramidal summit of the Mont Pelvoux itself, which predominates over the whole.^ As we reached the Col du Says a cold sleet shower passed over us, and the sky became overcast. Fortunately it was not violent or continued, for we looked with some anxiety to the descent, which our guide had never traversed. The view to the south-west carried the eye into the Val Gaudemar at a profound depth (nearly 7000 feet) below us.- The prospect of the descent was sulficiently fatiguing, if not dangerous, for, as we attained the summit, we looked over what appeared a precipice perhaps 3000 feet high, composed of rock intermixed with snow-beds of extreme steepness. There was, however, no alternative, and we boldly faced the abyss. Our intelligent guide, avoiding the inclines of 1 [There are two gaps between the P^ic Coolidge and the Ailefroide, — both crossed long before Forbes WTote,— that to the N. being the Col de la Temple (10,771 feet), and that to tlie S. the Col de la Coste Ronge (10,342 feet). Forbes probably alluded to the latter. See above, p. 406. The Montagne des Agneaux (12,008 feet) is a tine summit that rises between the sources of the Romanche and those of the stream flowing through the Vallouise. The "Mont Pelvoux" is really the Ailefroide (12,989 feet), which hides the true Mont Pelvoux ; the error arose from Bourcet's map, and was not finally cleared up till Mr. Tuckett's journey in 1862. The Ailefroide rises 2700 feet above the Col du Says, and is described by Professor Bonney (who visited the Col du Says in 1860) as "one of the grandest things I have ever seen in the Alps."] - [The difference in height between the Col du Says and Le Clot, the highest hamlet in tlie Val Gaudemar, is 5489 feet.] 412 Excursions in the snow/ led us down the least difficult parts of the precipice of rock with skill and address. The rock was still composed of a mixture of steatitic gneiss, with a variolite composed of felspar and augite, which occurs in large grained patches. The footing was often by no means firm, the rock decomposing into angular fragments ; but the last part we accomplished easily and agree- ably by allowing ourselves to slide down a moderately steep declivity of snow until we reached the pastures, when, looking back to the precipice we had passed, it seemed very nearly in- accessible, in the ordinary sense of the word. Near the bottom we saw a chamois. Our progress was now easy and rapid. Each chose his own path, and we ran gaily over the very steep pastures which form the upper part of the wholly uninhabited Val de Gioberney. At the junction of this valley with the main one of Gaudemar is a fine cascade, buried so deep in a ravine that it can with difficulty be seen ; and a little below is the hamlet of Le Clot, where it might be possible to sleep : ^ but we preferred walking two hours farther down the valley to the first commune, that of La Chapelle, where we arrived about 7 p.m. The arrival of strangers at La Chapelle is at all times a subject of surprise, but when they came from the glacier-bound head of the valley, it was a matter of curiosity to the whole inhabitants of the village, a majority of whom appeared to be more or less under the influence of wine (being a fete day ^) ; and, as we were driven from door to door by the hope of finding a decent lodging, we were followed by crowds of curious speculators. The mayor of the village was seated in the crowded room of the filthy cabaret, which formed the only pretence of an inn. A glance at the beds satisfied us that it was impossible to sleep there, and having submitted with calmness to the drunken expostulations of the man of office on the illegality of the spiked alpine poles which we carried, we at last, after much delay, found shelter with the Cure, whose timely hospitality we have good reason to remember. Clean beds and a hospital )le meal were offered to us with simplicity and kindness, and we were invited to stay all next day, an offer of importance, for ' A narrow one, but of formidable steepness, and softened by tlic warnitli of tlu^ day, we were, Iiowever, compelled to cross. - [The present Editor has often slept there in a jtrimitive inn, but now a little mountain inn has been opened at Le Clot.] •■ [St. James's day, .Tuly 25.] Alps of Dauphine 413 we had another long and difficult alpine walk before us, and desired some repose. A short excursion into the valley of Xavettes ^ gave us some further insight into the singular character of this part of Dauphine. When we had descended to La Chapelle, of which the elevation is 3525 feet/ we supposed tha,t the Val Gaudemar was one which offered easj communication with the neighbour- ing valleys ; but this is far from being the case. Its lateral branches, like Navettes, are sealed with glaciers, and it is an arduous day's joiurney to escape on either hand from the single narrow channel which the stream of the Yal Gaudemar (called the Severaisse) flows to join the Drac.^ By Navettes is a pass leading to Champoleon,'* a point of geological interest, on account of the displaced and altered limestones, but it is so lofty as to be covered with perpetual snow. My desire to visit Champoleon did not equal that to explore more completely the environs of the Mont Pelvoux, and to intersect again the heart of the chain by passing from La Chapelle to Yal Louise, whence we proposed, by the circuitous route of Freissinieres, to reach Champoleon, and to return to La Chapelle by the Col de la Meande. In the neighbourhood of Navettes, in the ravine called the Combe d'Ourcette,"^ the same limestone occurs, which at Cham- poleon and other places in this neighbourhood breaks into the granitic nucleus. This is very well marked in the geological map of France ; but the authors of it do not appear to have been aware that a stripe of limestone, composed of highly in- clined strata and of considerable extent, crosses the upper part of the Val Gaudemar in a jST-^.W. and S.S.E. direction,'' and 1 [This gleu opens just to the south of La Chapelle.] - [The French Government maps give no height, but Forbes's estimate seems a trifle too high.] •^ [The Val Gaudemar is one of the naiTowest of Alpine glens, and hence all the passes leading out of it are laboxious and steep.] * [The head of tlie Navettes glen is blocked by the ice and snow-clad range of Chaillol. At its north-east foot is the easy glacier Col de la Meande (c. 9351 feet), mentioned by Forbes ; but the usual and more direct route to Chanipoluon is by the stony Col de Valestrete (or Valestreche), 8596 feet, also marked on Bourcet's map. The Champoleon glen is traversed by the main stream of the Drac, which some way below the chief village receives the Drac d'Orcieres ; from Orcieres the easy Col d'Orcieres (8859 feet) leads through the Freissinieres glen to the valley of the Durance.] ^ [Better known now as the Tempier ra\-ine.] ** This is also the direction of the gneiss strata. This band of limestone crosses the Val Gaudemar at the village of Riou or Rif du Sap. The limestone com- numicates apparently with that of Navettes. 414 Excursions in the communicates, in all probability, with the valley of Champoleon on the one hand, whilst it stretches away into the Val Joutfrey on the other. Fragments of the epidote rocks are extremely abundant near Navettes, and I observed an amydaloid, which I afterwards noticed at Monetier, near BriauQon, but which I have not found in situ. The following day we prepared to start from La Chapelle to cross into the Val Louise by the southern branch of the chain of Mont Pelvoux. Our intention was nearly frustrated by the suspicious activity of the police. A rumour of the arrival of strangers with iron-shod poles across the glaciers had reached the town of St. Firmin at the foot of the valley ; ^ and the gendarmes arrived just in time to intercept our departure, which had been retarded by the morning mists. Seizing upon an irregularity in my friend's passport, they had almost detained us, but the letters with which I had been kindly furnished by M. Arago procured our liberation, and we started to ascend the Col du Sellar at a later hour than we should willingly have done had we been aware of the difficulties which awaited us. We had to retrace our former steps to the highest hamlet of the Val Gaudemar, named Le ' Clot,- consisting of but a few scattered houses, after which cultivation ceases, and we laboriously ascended the steep but rich pastures which intervene between the valley and the glacier, which as usual descends from the col. After two and a half hours of ascent, and four and a half hours from La Chapelle, the glacier was gained. The latter part of the way was extremely rough over the loose moraine. At this great elevation I gathered a specimen of metamorphic limestone, of which doubtless some imbedded fragments are to be found in this central and very elevated range. The lime- stone had a bluish colour, and was accompanied by a portion of red schist almost converted into porcelain jasper. It is probable that their position and relations would be very interesting if discovered ; for here we are upon the verge of the true granitic nucleus, and we quit for a time the strata of gneiss. The scenery during the ascent is very grand. The 1 [It is 10 miles by char road below La Chapelle, near the mouth of the Val CJaudemar, and is 4 miles from the great high road that connects La Mure and (tap rid Corps and St. Bonnet.] - [Its height is 4800 fuct. Tliere is now a little mountain inn here] Alps of Dauphine 415 stupendous iiiountaiu, marked Garroux ^ on Bourcet's map, with a talus of bare rock as steep as a house roof, broken here and there into pinnacles, and powdered with the fresh snow of the past night, rose majestically on our right.- At length we entered upon the snow, and after crossing a considerable tract, came to the first rocky step or stage, over whose centre a glacier pours its torpid mass, taking its origin in the mountain basin above, at the foot of the col. This barrier of rock was gained easily, but the access to the col promised greater impediments. The unusual quantity of snow of last winter had prevented all access to the second tier of rocks, except by crossing its steep inclined surface, which was of great extent, and being at this advanced time of day completely softened, presented a kind of walking which, though not difficult in itself, required the utmost precaution, since an ill-placed step would infallibly have launched the traveller on the soft snowy slide — a circumstance which had occurred but a little before to one of the party, when it was only a matter of amusement, since no greater danger than a fracture of the barometer was to be apprehended, whilst at present, unless by great address in the use of the pole, the victim of a false step must have slid down a snowy bank of some hundred feet, and landed amongst glacier precipices at the bottom. For a whole hour we had to pick our steps along this disagreeable slope, and gently mounting, at last reached the foot of the final precipice which conducted us to the col. It was soon climbed ; when a scene not less striking in its way than that from the Col du Says presented itself. The col was a mere ridge of angularly shattered granite, rising on both sides into fantastic forms of singular wildness of outline. Before and behind us were glacier basins, the one of which poured its tribute into the Vallon des Bans (a tributary of the Val Louise), the other into the Val Gaudemar. We stood suspended above both, with the intervention of a rocky precipice, so that our position resembled a gigantic wall of masonry, battered by time and the elements into irregular embrasures, and to which the snow could scarcely cling. The barometer stood at 19 French inches 6 lines -j-^ ; the temperature of the air was about 36°. 1 [Xow called '• Sirac " (11,280 feet) ; it was first ascended from the other side by the present Editor in 1877.] - [I.e. on the south.] 4i6 Excursions in the Consequently, the height was nearly as great as that of the Col du Says, and proved to be 10,0 7 3. English feet.^ We had ascended about 6500 feet, and had nearly an equal descent before us, which evidently was not unattended with difficulty, for beyond the glacier basin immediately before us the eye in vain sought for a slope to guide it into the seemingly unfathomable depth of the valley beneath ; in truth, the glacier is guarded by precipices on every side. A great rent separated the snow from the rock : this was our first difficulty, but soon overcome. We had little time to waste, for we had sjjent eight hours in climbing the col. The glacier basin was crossed with- out any of the difficulties we had experienced in ascending ; but we soon reached the rocky chasm which separated us from the habitable world beneath. Our guide, who had already passed this way several times,- led on with confidence and skill ; but it required all our assurance to follow him down the almost per- pendicular cliff", exposed and convex, without any of those narrow I crevices into which a man can, with a little practice, squeeze his ' body, and let himself gently down. This was a work of clinging from step to step ; and though our guide manifested much patience for our slow movements, he had none of the adroit use- fulness of the Swiss guides, whose familiar acquaintance with travellers enables them to assist in a thousand ways, and many of whom have ofcen risked their own lives to save that of their employers. The chamois hunter of Dauphine feels (not un- naturally) no such bond between him and the traveller whom he conducts, and will often scarcely take the trouble of making a circuit, however trifling, to avoid a pass which would make the hair of a common tourist to stand on end. Here, however, there really was no escape. Precipices surrounded us on all hands, I unless where they were masked by vertical walls of ice, or snow beds of impracticable inclination. To turn back was out of the [question. Evening approached, and the col was not yet far behind us. Who would stand upon trifles at such a moment ? In the course of this descent, I was not inattentive to the ' [The true height ia 10,063 feet, or 226 feet less tliau that of the Col du Says.] - [The, Col du Sellar is believed to have been known for several centuries. It I is quite possible to descend towards Entraigues entirely by the glacier, or to turn its steejicst portion by the hollow between the ice and the rocks. But in 1841 as now the Dauphine guides prefer diliicult rocks to what their Swiss colleagues would con- sider an easy glacier.] Alps of Dauphine 417 nature of the rocks by which we were compelled continually to cling, and was particularly struck by the occurrence of thin green veins or dykes cutting the granite dykes, which at the time I took for serpentine, but a more careful inspection shows to be green felspar. These are doubtless of the same nature with the dykes of felspar described by M. Elie de Beaumont on the Col de la Haute Pisse, between St. Christophe and the Val Jouffrey. One of the dykes on the Col du Sellar exhibited a shift or dislocation. Having reached in safety the foot of a precipice several hundred feet high, we found ourselves on the level of the glacier, and thought that our descent would now be accomplished on its surface ; but from this the guide entirely dissuaded us. Fresh traces of avalanches were everywhere strewed on the steep surface over which we must have passed. Before us rose a buttress of rock, by the foot of which the glacier swept, and which, therefore, it was impossible to turn. There was no alternative but to climb over it. A new cliff was to be scaled, then a longer precipice was to be descended by ledges of scarce a hand's-breadth ; but this being accomplished, we found ourselves on a moderately inclined slope of snow, which, owing to the very unusual extent which it had this season attained, stretched into the valley for a distance of nearly two miles, along which we slid and ran at ease ; and, as we approached the first habitations of the Yal Louise — the wretched hovels of En- traigues — the evening had already fallen, and we looked back almost with awe to the rugged heights from which we had just descended, flanked by glaciers and rocks which appeared equally inaccessible. Entraigues (as its name imports) is placed at the union of two streams, of which that on the right descends from the Vallon de Beauvoisin, which offers a circuitous but less difficult communication with the Val Gaudemar which we had just quitted.^ To remain at Entraigues was out of the question, so we pushed on in the dark for fully two hours farther, to gain the chef lieu of the valley, the poor village which goes by the 1 [The Beauvoisin glen is now known as the Selle glen. Through it the glacier Col du Loup du Val Gaudemar (10,210 feet) leads to Le Clot, an easier though longer and more circuitous route than the Col du Sellar. But Forbes -was probably thinking of the twin passes of the Col du Haut Martin and the Pas de la Cavale (8990 feet), — a military road now traverses them, — which afford an easy route from the Vallouise to the sources of the Drac and the Champoleon glen.] 27 41 8. Excursions in the imposing name of the Ville de Val Louise. "We soon found ourselves amongst wood ; and, even in the twilight, we could see that the stern features of the granitic mountains had yielded to the gentler character of the limestone hills, which commence an hour above La Ville. These hills are studded with villages and church spires, their tops clothed by the warm green pine woods, their flanks covered with fresh pasturage, and the well-watered valleys rearing stately walnut and other trees, present a scene more verdant and engaging than our eyes had rested upon since quitting AUemont ; for even Venose, beautiful as it is, and owing its beauty to the same cause — the limestone formation — is but a gem set in a massive framework of granite peaks on every hand. Little of this, however, we saw till next morning. All was dark long before we arrived at Ville Val Louise ; and we wandered disconsolately about its deserted streets, composed of great barns more than of houses, with those vast projecting roofs and verandahs which characterise this part of the French Alps, under which in unfavourable seasons the poor inhabitants strive to preserve from total destruction the crops which have not had time to ripen on the stalk ere the autumnal frosts have seized upon them. At length we got a direction to the house of the Cure, the traveller's best resort in Dauphine, where we were hospitably received, and lodged better than we had any reason to expect. The position of this village is remarkable.^ It lies near the union of the valley of Entraigues, which we had descended, with the principal branch of the Val Louise itself, called Ailefroide, which stretches up quite to the foot of the monarch of the group, the Mont Pelvoux itself," which, though at no great dis- tance, cannot be seen from the " Ville " on account of the hill which rises immediately behind. It is from this side that the ascent of the Mont Pelvoux has been attempted ; and it appears that the French engineers succeeded in attaining a summit but little inferior to the very highest point which has acquired the peculiar name of Pointe des Arcincs or dcs Ecrins. It is, as we ' [Its height is 3773 feet.] - [Tlie Mont Pelvoux is really surpassed by the tliree summits of the Ecrins, by two of the Meije, and by one of the Ailefroide. See also the next bracketed note. 1 Alps of Dauphine 419 have said, estimated by the French engineers to be 4105 metres or 13,468 English feet above the sea, by Carlini and Plana 4100 metres,^ and by Von Welden and the Austrian engineers^ 12,612 French or 13,442 English feet. It is, therefore, the highest mountain between Mont Blanc and the Mediterranean, Mont Iseran being 4045 metres (Corabceuf), and Monte Viso being only 3836 metres — a height surpassed by several of the mountains of Dauphine^.^ The Val Louise is, as I have observed, very fertile in its lower part ; and, when we descend a few miles below the town, the Mont Pelvoux is seen to rise with almost architectural solidity and boldness, the prominences of the granitic tables giving an effect, now of buttresses and now of pinnacles, which is exceedingly grand.^ Below the pretty village of Les Vigneaux, the valley contracts by the approach of the limestone rocks, and then opens rather abruptly on the valley of the Durance. We shall not detail the features of the country farther in this direction, because we soon quit the prescribed limit of the district we have to consider, but shall conclude with a short description of the north-western boundary of these mountains. The proper group of the Oisans is bounded in this direction by the valley of Monetier, by which the Guisane flows to join the Durance a little way below Briangon. It takes its rise at the Col du Lautaret, the mere watershed of the two extremities of one and the same valley, which terminates in a westerly 1 De Beaumont, Memoire, ]}. 19. 2 Der Monte Rosa, p. 30. . 3 [The lower summit (la Pyramide)— 12,921 feet— of the true Mont Pelvoux was attained by Capt. Durand with two hunters in 1830 ; but, though the party spent several days there making observations, they do not seem to have crossed the easy snow slopes that lead in a few minutes to the highest summit (12,973 feet), which does not appear to have been visited till 1848 by M. Puiseux. E. de Beaumont wrongly gave it the name of " Pointe de Ecrins," while the other writers named wrongly give the Pelvoux the lieight of the Ecrins. The two peaks are divided by the deep basin of the Ghicier Noir, and tlieir separate and distinct existence was finally proved by Mr. Tuckett in 1862. The Ecrins (4103 metres, or 13,462 feet) is the highest summit between the Mediterranean and Mont Blanc. The height of 4045 metres assigned to Mont Iseran by Coraboeuf rests on a con- fusion of that peak with the Grand Paradis, for the true height of Mont Iseran ia 10,634 feet, while Monte Viso rises to a height of 3843 metres, or 12,609 feet.] ■* See the vignette at the head of this chapter. 42 o Excursions in the direction iu the deep gorge of the Combe de Malaval formerly alluded to. This great valley, in its ^vhole extent, occupies nearly the boundary of the granite and lias, the limestone of the upper part of the Yal Louise being, according to M. Elie de Beaumont, " nummulite " limestone or chalk. At Monetier, about six miles above the valley of the Durance,^ the glaciers appear on the left descending from the group of the Montague des Agneaux, which, according to the same author, are composed of gneiss strata so regularly disposed as to be easily mistaken for limestone at a distance, dipping to the X.E. The strata of this part of the range appear to be very close in their nature, and resemble those of the Col du Says. A gentle ascent leads to the summit of the Col du Lautaret, which is covered with verdure to the very top ; and even the neighbouring mountains are clothed to a great height with pasturages of the utmost luxuriance, filled with a greater and more gorgeous variety of flowers than I recollect to have seen in any other part of the Alps. The height of the col is 6740 feet,'"' and from it a view of wonderful grandeur is obtained down the gorge of Malaval,^ and especially towards the Aiguille du Midi de la Grave, rising to a height of above 13,000 feet,'* fancifully compared by M. Elie de Beaumont to a gigantic nut-cracker menacing heaven with its open jaws. Immediately to the south of the Col du Lautaret is a very remarkable mountain which presents a section of granite and limestone which has not been, I believe, described, and which does not yield in interest, or in evidence of inverted superposition, to that at Villard d'Arene, so ably described in the memoir just cited. Immediately above the village called Le Tied du Col two streams unite,'' whose courses are separated by a hill not named in Bourcet's map, but descending from the Pointe de Combeynot, whose sides, parallel to each ravine, form a horizontal angle vary- 1 [Moiu'tier is 9.V niiles lioiii Briauroii. There is now a sjilendid carriage road over the Col du Lautaret from l>riaiii;on to Bourg d'Oisans (38A miles).] - [The true height is G808 feet, and there is now a good inn on the summits The pastures of the Lautaret are familiar to botanists, as the Hora is very rich.] 3 [Stricth' speaking this name belongs only to that portion of the Romanchc valley bcJoir La Grave.] * [Now better known as tlie Meije (13,081 feet).] ■'' [The Lautaret stream, flowing from the Col du Lautaret, tliere joins tlio Romanche. Tiie hill alluded to l)y Forbes is now called the "Pyramide du Laurichard."] Alps of Dauphine 42 1 inf from 60° to 90°. When this promontory is viewed in front it is evident that the superior part is composed of granite or gneiss, and that the base of the whole hill is limestone. This I had noticed in a general way in 1839, but in 1841 I quitted the road at the Col du Lautaret, and after ascending above a thousand feet, I reached the junction of the two rocks, where the limestone dips under the gneiss at an angle of from 65° to 70°. Both rocks were very materially altered at contact, but within a few feet of each other were perfectly well characterised. A similar section was obtained at each side of the hill ; the lime- stone dipping under the gneiss both ways, so as to leave not a moment's doubt that we have here a cap of primitive rock over- lying the secondary rocks, just as we so often see in the case of basaltic summits resting upon stratified bases. The view of the junction from Villard d'Arene (a village below Pied du Col) leaves nothing to be desired, after the nature of the rocks has been ascertained by actual inspection. A great road, leading from Grenoble to Briancjon, was being conducted, at the time of our visit, across the Col du Lautaret. Already great difficulties had been overcome. When completed,^ it will vie in the wildness of the scenery through which it leads with almost any of the Alpine passes. The descent from Villard d'Arene to La Grave is steep, and the nature of the rock (a crumbling black calcareous slate) opposes peculiar diffi- culties to the engineer. A striking cascade is passed, the whole grandeur of the glaciers of La Grave is spread out before the traveller as the path winds through the narrow street of La Grave, and then plunges steeply into the ravine of Malaval. This remarkable chasm, the result of some awful convulsion, runs nearly east and west, and is bounded on either hand by a wall of rock so steep as effectually to conceal the vast ice-fields by which (on the south side) it is surmounted.'' The fallen masses of rock which strew the valley equal in magnitude those between Venose and St. Christophe, whilst the almost monotonous straightness and uniformity in breadth of the defile, and the towering walls which shelter it even from the mid-day sun, give the ravine a ' [This took place in 1861 only.] - [These are grouped nnder the general name of the Glacier du Mont de Lans ; the easy glacier pass of the Col de la Lauze (11,6-25 feet) leads over it to St. Christophe by way of the Vallon du Diahle.] ^22 Excursions in the character of sombre wildness, which the almost total absence not only of wood, but of verdure for many miles, serves to increase. The great public work, the formation of the new road, has taken something from the solitude of the scene, and yet the scale is so great that the eye may almost overlook the tunnels and em- bankments which have cost years of labour. At La Grave we enter again upon the granitic formation, which here, near its junction with the sedimentary rocks, is, as usual, metalliferous. The galleries from which the copper ore is extracted open in the face of naked cliffs in spots apparently in- accessible to all but birds ; yet up these cliffs are carried wooden tubes through which the broken ore is allowed to slide down to be smelted at the works beneath.^ It is in these mines that these crystals, for which Dauphne is so celebrated amongst miner- alogists, are commonly found. This defile, with slight variation of direction, extends as far as the valley of the Veneon, which, as already mentioned, it joins at a short distance from Bourg d'Oisans, which is about [15|^] English miles from La Grave, or [29] from Monetier. The valley of the Eomanche just described is separated from the valley of the Arc and the district of the Maurienne by the lofty range of mountains of which the culminating mass is that of the Grandes Kousses, already adverted to. This savage mountain rises to a height of 11,900 feet above the sea.- It is consequently covered by perpetual snow, and the distance of every part of it from inhabited valleys must have rendered its geological description by M. Dausse a task of no small labour. The most prolonged chain connected with it stretches in an easterly direction towards Brian^on, and presents numerous passes, all of considerable elevation, by some of which the valley of the Arc may be reached from those of Dauphine in the course of a long day's walk.^ The excursion from La Grave to St. Jean ' [The lead mines are now no longer worked.] 2 [The Grandes Rousses attain a height of 11,395 feet, butsrise much nearer Bourg d'Oisans than La Grave. Due north of La Grave are the three fine rock ])innacles of the Aiguilles d'Arves (the highest is 11,520 feet), which (as noted above, p. 394) are strangely omitted by Forbes, though when crossing the Col do rinfernet lie was close to them.] •* [The easiest and most frpf[uentcil of these passes is the Col du Galibier (87-1 feet), over which a carriage road (the highest in the Alps save that of the Stelvio) now runs from the summit of the Col du Lautaret dinxt to St. Michel de Maurienne.] Alps of Dauphine 423 Maurienne presents some subjects for geological remark with which I shall conclude these observations. The ascent of the hill, immediately behind the village of La Grave to the northward, soon commands fine views of the ravine of Malaval and the mountains which rise to the south. The church, a pictm^esque structure of the Eomanesque style, stands on a green eminence, right in front of the great glacier which streams from the Aiguille du Midi or Meije ; and immediately to the left of it is admirably seen the section of granite and lias, which are there in contact for above half a mile, and after rain the colour of the rocks distinguishes them perfectly at any distance. The first heights gained, we overlook a small tribu- tary ravine ^ which pours its torrent over a precipice of granite into the valley below to swell the volume of the Eomanche. A beautiful cascade, just above the hamlet of Les Freaux, is the result, and this little stream intersects the junction of the granite and limestone, the whole cliffs of the Combe de Malaval being, however, composed of the former, and the limestone over- lying it, and dij)ping to the W.N.W.^ The mountains to the northward, notwithstanding their elevation and bareness, being composed of limestone, afibrd good pasture ; and in the small tributary ravine just mentioned, not far above the cascade of Les Freaux, lies the secluded village of Le Chazelet, a frontier station of the French Custom-house officers, whose duty requires them to watch this dreary frontier of Savoy.^ My letters procured me a good reception from them, and likewise a guide for the pass to St. Jean de Maurienne — that which we selected as the most direct is called the Col de I'lnfernet. As we mounted, our attention was continually attracted by the increasing magnifi- cence of the southern range opposite to us. The higher we ascended the more lofty did it appear — the more we receded the 1 [That of Buffe.] ■•^ Elie de Beaumont, p. 44. A little below Les Freaux, in the valley of tlie Roraanche, and on the right bank of the river, I found, where the rubbish had been cleared away in the recent excavations, a mass of limestone. I am unable to say whether it was there in situ, or was only a portion of an enormous mass which had fallen from the rocks above. As the cliff there contains, so far as I know, no lime- stone, the latter supposition is in some degree improbable, though it might have descended from between Les Freaux and La Grave ; but were the limestone really beneath the cliffs of gneiss, the fact would be a very interesting one, as representing a wedge or stratum of gneiss contained between two of lias. ^ [It nmst be recollected that Savoy formed part of the Sardinian kingdom till 1860-01.] ^24 Excursions in the more did it enlarge. So completely is it true that the grandeur of these mountains is lost sight of, in consequence of the pro- fundity of the ravines. Like a great city seen from a distance, its spires and turrets come first into view, when we emerge from the confinement of its streets. What seemed but a naked wall of black rock from the depths of the vale of the Eomanche, now stood forth as but the colossal base of trackless snow-fields of many leagues in extent. Above and through these rise fantastic summits, which perpetual winter clothes almost every week of the year with a slight covering of snow, again to be tossed to- wards heaven by the stormy blasts which echo from rock to rock, whose sounds, though mingled with the thunder of the avalanche, are all unheard by ear of man or beast. The height of the Col de I'lnfernet is not known, and our barometer was now broken ; but, by the time required for the ascent, I estimated it at fully 5000 feet above the village of La Orave, which I had previously determined to be 4971 feet above the sea, giving, therefore, a height of 10,000 feet.^ It was the tliird pass of this elevation (besides several lower ones) which we crossed in little more than a week. On the second of August it was covered with fresh fallen snow to a great depth, though in the latitude of only 45° ; but it offered no farther difficulty than steep and dirty paths. So piercing, however, was the cold even at this season, that, though we walked as fast as we could, we had not descended very far into Savoy before my companion had nearly fainted from the effects of the alternations of temperature to which we had been exposed. The descent to St. Jean de Maurienne" from so great an elevation was of course extremely long, and being in great part over arid limestone rocks, which for many miles afforded not a drop of good water, and cut the feet by their angular fragments, we were sufficiently fatigued ere we reached the fertile valley of the Arc, smiling with verdure, the hills clothed with rich woods, and the valleys with fruit trees, vineyards, and maize — in strange contrast with the Arctic scenes we had left but a few hours before. But how various are the causes J [Tlic height of the Col is but 8826 feet, and no portion of the route is perma- nently covered with sno^v, a mule i)ath traversing all but the uppermost slopes on cither side. The height of La Grave is f)007 feet] - [It does not ajipear whether Forbes took the route jiast the beautifully situated village of St. Jean d'Arves, or the more direct way through the entire length of tlie striking gorge of the Arvan.] Alps of Dauphine 425 of human liappiness or misery ! At La Grave not a stick can be had for firewood. Cow dung is the chief combustible in a climate which may truly be said to consist of nine months of winter and three of bad weather. Poverty, and cold, and filth offend the senses ; and yet who would exchange the robust and healthy constitution of the mountaineer of Dauphine for poverty amidst luxuriance, filth amidst natural beauty, with the superadded curse of cretinism and goitre in the sunny valleys of the Maurienne ? The view from the Col de I'lnfernet presents a noble profile of the Dauphine Alps, viewed from the N.W. Though the question of the manner and form of elevation of the gneissic formation, with its superincumbent limestone, is rather to be determined, in my opinion, by a careful comparison of the dip and direction of strata at various points, than by the outline of the mountains seen at a distance, yet the latter is also well worthy of notice. The conclusion to which I on the whole incline is this, that the elevation has not been so much circular and directed towards the valley of La Berarde as a centre, but rather towards an axis of elevation running iSr.N.W. and S.S.E., and passing through that locality. This supposition will corre- spond to the really well-marked features of the profile when viewed in either continuation of that line, as, for instance, from mountains beyond Bourg d'Oisans, or from the main chain of Alps in the direction of Barcelonnette ; whereas in the contrary direction, as from the Col du Says and the Col de I'lnfernet, the mountain profile being parallel to the axis of elevation, no trace of grouping round a centre is perceptible. But the best con- firmation of this view will be found in the following observations of the direction and dip of the strata (most of which have been collected from incidental notices in M. Elie de Beaumont's excellent memoir), which, though occurring in all parts of the group, indicate a very general tendency to parallelism in the direction which I have indicated, excepting the neighbourhood of a single locality. La Grave : — 426 Excursions in the Alps of Dauphine Locality. St. Christopho Montagne des Agneaux above 1 Col d'Arsine / Pointe de Combeynot . . . ilontagne d'Oursine [Ecrins] Aig. du Midi de la Grave [Meije] Mont Pelvoux Entraigucs, Val Louise . . < Les Freaux, La Orave . . . Villard d'Arene j Do Val Gaudemar Forniatiou. Directiou 9f Strata. Dip. Gneiss N.KW. Vertical. Gneiss x.w. 30° to X.E. Gneiss X.AV. :30°toX.E. Granite- N.W. ? To X.E. Granite N.W. ? To X.E. Gneiss N.AV. To S.^V. Gneiss, sandst. and^ limest of age of !- KW. 45' or 50° to S.W. chalk I Gneiss X. 20° E. 70° to W.X.W. Contact lias gneiss and' X.X.E. 65° to E.S.E. Lias X. 60" E. 50° or 55° to S.E. Gneiss X X.W. Xearly vertical. CHAPTER III EXCURSION ON THE GLACIERS OF THE BERNESE ALPS, PRECEDING THE ASCENT OF THE JUNGFRAU Engagement with M. Agassiz — Residence on the Unteraar Glacier — Topo- graphy of tlie Bernese Oberland and the glaciers originating near the Finsteraarhorn — Two panoramas — Excursion from the Grimsel to the Glacier of Aletsch in Vallais — Departure — The Glacier and Col of the Oberaar — Descent on the Glacier of Viesch — Caverns in the neve — Enormous block of stone on the moraine — -Arrival at the chalets of Marjelen — Preparation for the ascent of the Jungfrau. The summer of 1841 I spent in a series of journeys requiring almost constant exertion. The month of June and part of July was devoted to explore part of the volcanic countries of central France, in company with my lamented friend Mr. John Mackin- tosh.^ The remainder of the month was devoted, in company with Mr. Heath, to the excursions in Dauphine, which have been partly recorded in the preceding pages ; and from thence we proceeded by the shortest practicable route to reach the Grimsel hospice in the canton of Berne, where I was under an engage- ment to meet M. Agassiz - of Neuchatel on a certain day [July 8]. This cost us seven days of continuous exertion, during which we twice crossed the main chain of the Alps, and also several other passes of considerable elevation.^ Arrived at the Grimsel, and having met M. Agassiz, we pro- ^ An account of the results is contained in a paper in the 20tli volume of the Edinburgh Transactions. [As to Mr. Mackintosh see Life and Letters, pp. 153, 154.] 2 [Louis Agassiz, born 1807, died 1873. A portrait of him is given on page 221 of vol. ii. oi Die Schweiz im lOtcn Jahrhundert, 1899.] ■* [It would appear that Forbes went from the Maurienne to the Grimsel hospice by the Little St. Bernard, the Col Ferret, the Rhone valley, and the Grimsel Pass. The hospice was reached on the evening of August 8, 1841. It was in Sep- tember, 1840, during the meeting of the British Association at Glasgow, that Forbes agreed to visit the Bernese glaciers with Agassiz. The "huge stone" on the Unteraar Glacier is well known in Alpine history as tlie "Hotel des Neuchatelois."] CHAPTEE III EXCURSION ON THE GLACIERS OF THE BERNESE ALPS, PRECEDING THE ASCENT OF THE JUNGFRAU Engagement witli M. Agassiz — Residence on the Unteraar Glacier — Topo- graphy of the Bernese Oberland and the glaciers originating near the Finsteraarhorn — Two panoramas — Excursion from the Grimsel to the Glacier of Aletsch in Vallais — Departure — The Glacier and Col of the Oberaar — Descent on the Glacier of Viesch — Caverns in the neve — Enormous block of stone on the moraine — Arrival at the chalets of Mai"jelen — Preparation for the ascent of the Jungfrau. The summer of 1841 I spent in a series of journeys requiring almost constant exertion. The month of June and part of July was devoted to explore part of the volcanic countries of central France, in company with my lamented friend Mr. John Mackin- tosh.-^ The remainder of the month was devoted, in company with Mr. Heath, to the excursions in Dauphine, which have been partly recorded in the preceding pages ; and from thence we proceeded by the shortest practicable route to reach the Grimsel hospice in the canton of Berne, where I was under an engage- ment to meet M. Agassiz -^ of Neuchatel on a certain day [July 8]. This cost us seven days of continuous exertion, during which we twice crossed the main chain of the Alps, and also several other passes of considerable elevation.^ Arrived at the Grimsel, and having met M. Agassiz, we pro- ^ An account of the results is contained in a paper in the 20th volume of the Edinburgh Transactions. [As to Mr. Mackintosh see Life and Letters, pp. 153, 154.] ^ [Louis Agassiz, born 1807, died 1873. A portrait of him is given on page 221 of vol. ii. of Die Schwciz im lOtcn Jahrlmndcrt, 1899.] •^ [It would appear that Forbes went from the Maurienne to the Grimsel hospice by the Little St. Bernard, the Col Ferret, the Rhone valley, and tlie Grimsel Pass. The hospice was reached on the evening of August 8, 1841. It was in Sej)- tember, 1840, during the meeting of the British Association at Glasgow, that Forbes agreed to visit the Bernese glaciers Avith Agassiz. The "huge stone" on the Unteraar Glacier is well known in Alpine history as the "Hotel des Neuchatelois."] 428 Excursions in the ceeded, by his kind invitation, to pass some time on the Unteraar glacier. During several weeks, when not compelled by stress of weather to seek a more hospitable shelter, we remained in a sort of bivouac under a huge stone on the moraine of that noble glacier, and acquired an intimate acquaintance with the varying features of that astonishing ice-world which few persons have an opportunity of visiting, except for some hours at a time, generally urged by haste or overcome by fatigue. I here willingly record that I shall never forget the charm of those savage scenes ; the varying effects of sunshine, cloud, and storm upon the sky, the mountains, and the glacier ; the rosy tints of sunset, the cold hues of moonlight, on a scene which included no trace of anima- tion, and of which our party were the sole spectators. M. Agassiz had lately published his interesting work on the glaciers, in which he embodied the bold reasonings of Venetz and De Char- pentier with the results of his own observation. Guided by this, and the ready illustrations by means of examples on the spot, which M. Agassiz was as willing to afford as I was desirous to learn from, I soon found that a multitude of interesting facts had hitherto been overlooked by me, although I was already tolerably familiar with alpine scenes, and with glaciers in particular. Animated and always friendly discussions were the result ; and, without admitting in every case the deductions of my zealous and energetic instructor, I readily allowed their ingenuity. Thus the latter weeks of August passed ; and the separation of the party was approaching. Mr. Heath and myself intended to close the campaign in the environs of Monte Kosa, and to cross the pass of Monte Cervin.^ In order to arrive there, we wished to avoid the long return down the valley of the Ehone from the Grimsel to Brieg, and I inquired as to the possibility of finishing our survey of the snowy territory commanded by the giant peak of the Finsteraarhorn by traversing the glaciers near its southern base, leaving the Ehone valley considerably farther to the south. I learned that this was practicable, and M. Agassiz kindly promised us the use of his best guide. Eventually, however, he and liis other friends determined to be of the party, and further proposed, if circumstances turned out favourably, to attempt the ascent of the Jungfrau, which it was well knt)wn could only be attained from the southern side. ' [Better known as the St. Tlirodule Pass.] Bernese Alps 429 The arrangements, so far as this part of the excursion was concerned, were undertaken and carried out entirely by M. Agassiz, and with him rests the credit of our success. I was not at all aware of the nature of the ground, the obstacles to be overcome, or the chances of doing so. Perhaps I did not attach so much consequence to the resvilt as did some of my companions, with whom it had been a subject of meditation and discussion in a previous year, and I desired to be considered as a supernumerary. One reason was, that I had, a week previously, severely sprained my back and leg by half falling into a concealed crevasse on the glacier of Gauli, an accident which made me lame for some days,^ and from which I had not by any means recovered when this expedition was decided on, of which the ^;re/M/i'i%ar?/ journey only was to be a formidable day's work of twelve hours, nearly all over snow and ice. I will only here add that the ascent of the Jungfrau proved a sovereign remedy for the sprain. It may be convenient, for the better understanding of the journal which follows, to sketch briefly the disposition of the mountains and glaciers through which our journey lay. The principal group of the Bernese mountains, which runs parallel to the great chain of the Alps in nearly a KE. and S.W. direction, has the Finsteraarhorn for its culminating point. It is principally bounded on the north by the valleys of Lauter- brunnen and Grindelwald, and on the south by the valley of the Ehone. The northern side is by much the steepest, has the smallest valleys, and the least considerable glaciers, but the aspect of the mountains is on that account more imposing. On the south, and also on the east, on the other hand, lateral valleys of great extent are found, the slope is most gradual, and the glaciers are the largest in Europe. On the north side, the Jungfrau, with its companions called Monch and Eiger are the most conspicuous,^ because they over- hang the valleys, and the elegance of the form of the former has 1 [This was on August 19. Forbes, Heath, and Agassiz, with the guide J. Leut- hold, on the recommendation of Desor, mounted from their bivouac on the Untei'aar Glacier to the summit of the Ewigschneehorn (10,929 feet), were tempted to descend on to the Gauli Glacier, and finally traversed the whole of the Urbachthal (sec Desor, voh i. p. 336).] ^ [It seems strange to omit the Wetterhorn, perhaps the most graceful of all the great Oberlaud peaks.] 43 o Excursions in the Bernese Alps given it a deserved reputation second to none other in Switzer- land. It is from this side absolutely, inaccessible.^ The Finsteraarhorn is situated nearly due east from the Jungfrau, and belongs to the same range, but it is near the centre of the mountain mass, and from it the glaciers may be said to radiate. The chief ones we shall now recount: (1) The only glacier of considerable size on northern declivity is the Lower Grindelwald Glacier. Its reservoir, or snow basin, is extensive, and takes its rise close under the northern foot of the Finsteraarhorn. (2) The principal branch of the XJnteraar (Lower Aar) Glacier also rises immediately at the foot of the highest precipices of the same mountain. It is separated from the glacier last mentioned by the col of the Strahleck, a passage of considerable interest and some danger, from Grindelwald to the Grimsel. This glacier has two branches or aflEluents." That farthest from the Fin- steraarhorn rises between the Schreckhorn and the Ewigschnee- horn. The Unteraar Glacier has a nearly due E. course, and the hospice of the Grimsel lies in its prolongation. It is remarkable for its vast extent and level surface, and here the annual progress of a glacier was first measured by the energetic Hugi.^ (3) The Oberaar (Upper Aar) Glacier is parallel to No. 2. It does not spring immediately from under the Finsteraarhorn, but from the south-eastern spurs of it at no great distance. This glacier is separated from the last by an excessively rugged and probably impassable ridge.'* (4) The Glacier of Viesch, which runs almost perpendicularly to the last,^ and is separated from it at one place by a col or pass of no great difficulty,'' though very 1 [The Jungfrau was first climbed from the Wengern Alp in 1865, and from Lauterbrunnen direct, by what is called the "new route" through the Roththal and up the south-west ridge in 1885. In 1864 the Roththal Sattel was first gained by a difficult and dangerous climb direct from the Roththal, and thence the ordinary route up the Jungfrau followed to the summit of the peak.] - [It would be clearer to say that the Unteraar glacier is formed by the junction of the Finsteraar and the Lauteraar Glaciers ; the Finsteraarjoch and the Strahleck lead from the two branches of the former to the Lower Grindelwald Glacier, while the Lauteiaarjoch connects the Lauteraar Glacier with the Upper Grindelwald glacier] ■' [In 1827, 1829-30, 1832, and 1836-37.] ■* [Several passes have of late years been effected across it. In 1842 Desor ascended the Thierberg (10,506 feet), one of the summits of this chain.] " [The main stream of the Viescher Glacier Hows along the west base of the Finsteraarhorn, and at the foot of the south-east ridge of that peak is joined by the Oberaar branch, llowing from the jicak and pass of that name.] '' [The Oberaarjocli, dcscribetl below.] im, S o H ■2 S H ^ S .2 fa &^ ^ p^ ■g EH 432 Excursions in the elevated, takes its rise at the south [eastern] toot of the Finsteraar- horn, which, in the only two ascents which have been made of it,' is approached on this side. The snow basin or neve is wide and magnificent, and the glacier is proportionably long, and descends to a comparatively low level, so as to reach within no great distance of the valley of the Rhone above Brieg, where the village of Viesch (from which no doubt it takes it name) is situated. (5) The glacier of Aletsch, the largest in Switzerland or the Alps," runs nearly parallel to that of Viesch, but a little farther west, being separated from it by a range of rugged hills. A passage^ from one to the other may, however, be effected in the higher part near the great chain, and also not far above the lower termination of the glacier of Viesch, where are situated the chalets of Morill or Marjelen, referred to in the following pages. The glacier of Aletsch has three main feeders — one which comes from near the ridge to the west of the Finsteraarhorn ; the central one from the south-east foot of the Jungfrau and the back of the Monch ; a third from the direction of the Lotschenthal to the westward.* The western boundary of the Aletsch glacier is the magnificent mountain of the Aletschhorn, which has numerous though smaller glaciers of its own, and with which our survey may for the present terminate. These details will, I hope, be made more clear by the two annexed panoramic views taken from my own sketches, one of which represents the Bernese Alps from the north, or as seen from the town of Berne, the other from the south, as seen from the commanding summit of the Wasenhorn, near the pass of the Simplon. The former presents in grand succession the noble forms of the chain. It commences with the Wetterhorn on the 1 [These took place in 1812 (Arnold von Abbiihl, Alois Volker, and Joseph Bortis, tliree of R. Meyer's guides) and 1842 (Herr Sulger) ; the next (by an English party) was not made till 1857. The 1812 ascent was made by the south-east ridge (gained from the east), but the descent made on the west side of the peak.] ^ [It is 15 miles in length, with an average breadth of 1 mile, while its area (including its feeders) is no less than 65^ sip miles.] 3 [This is the Griinhornlucke (10,814 feet.] * [It would be more accurate to say that tlie Great Aletsch Glacier has six main feeders. Four of these — that llowiug from the LiJtschenliicke on the west, the Jungfrau Cilacier from the Jungfrau, the Ewigschneefeld from the Alljnch and the Viesciierhorner, and the Griinhorn Glacier (all four being rathoj- neves than true glaciers), unite at the spot which has been called the "Place de la Concorde" of Nature. Much lower down its course the Great Aletsch Glacier receives the Jlittel Aletscii CHacicr and the Ober Aletsch (formerly Jagi) Glacier, both descend- ing from the Aletschhorn, the second in height of the Obcrlund peaks (13,721 feet).] Bernese Alps 433 left ; next the Schreckliorn, boldly stands out — the upper glacier of Grindelwald being intermediate, though unseen. Next comes the slender and distant but imposing pyramid of the Finsteraar- horn, between which and the spectator (also too low to be seen) is the lower glacier of Grindelwald. Then follow in a culminat- ing series the Eiger, the Monch, and the Jungfrau, the last being seen in its most familiar aspect. It is followed by the Gletscher- horn and Ebnefluh. The second view is a portion only of an extensive panorama, taken under very favourable circumstances in 1844, from the Wasenhorn, at a height of at least 9000 feet, which may be at- tained without much difficulty from the Simplon hospice, and which commands unquestionably one of the grandest views in the Alps, extending from the Dent du Midi to the mountains of the Valtelline.^ The portion connected with the Bernese Alps is here engraved, and, though on a small scale, gives a sufficient idea of the scenes described in the following pages.^ The Grimsel hospice, from which our tour commences, is situated in the valley immediately beyond the col of the same name, which, owing to the great elevation of the spectator, appears in a depressed position towards the right of the figure, but a little to the left of the glacier of the Ehone. The hospice from which we started is in fact just under the rocky ridge marked Njigeli's Gratli. The Oberaar glacier, first traversed in the following tour, lies behind the horizon of the view to the right of the Oberaarhorn. The col or joch of the Oberaar, by which we descended on the glacier of Viesch, lies between the Oberaarhorn and the mountain between it and the spectator, which is the Kastenhorn.^ The descent of the glacier of Viesch is well seen, and the passage in a depression of the mountains between Viesch and Aletsch is im- mediately behind the summit of the ^ggischhorn, which is com- paratively in the foreground of the panorama. Concealed, there- fore, by the ^ggischhorn are the chalets of Marjelen, where we passed the night, and also the lake of Aletsch ; but the extent of the glacier of Aletsch, in the direction in which we traversed it, to its head beneath the Monch, is well seen, only the Jungfrau 1 [This peak (10,680 feet) was ascended by Forbes on July 22, 1844. Forbes exaggerates the extent of the view, which is, however, very fine. J - I regret to state that the wood-engraver has failed in giving the desired effect to this view. 2 [The Oberaar Rothhorn of modern maps.] 28 434 Excursions in the is unfortunately concealed by the majestic form of the Aletsch- horn, which rises above the west bank of the glacier. This summit is believed to equal, if not exceed in height, the Jungfrau itself, and is perhaps not inaccessible, but it has not, so far as I am aware, been measured.^ It is clothed with numerous short glaciers, and in a valley to the westward lies the considerable Ober Aletsch or Jiigi glacier, which dies away before attaining the main stream of ice. The great glacier of Aletsch terminates in the profound Massa ravine close to the left-hand corner of the drawing. With the aid of this description and a tolerable map of Switzerland, it will be easily understood that the expedition which I originally contemplated was confined to passing from the Grimsel hospice to Brieg in the Vallais, by passing over the Oberaar, Viesch, and Aletsch glaciers in succession. The addi- tional excursion to the Jungfrau was to be accomplished by passing from Viesch to Aletsch, either by the upper or lower pass which I have mentioned, tracing the central stream of the Aletsch glacier to its origin at the base of the Jungfrau, and scaling that mountain as might be found most practicable, then returning to the lower part of Aletsch. I shall now give the narrative nearly as recorded in my notes at the time." August 27, 1841. — We started from the Grimsel, with fine weather, at 5 a.m., a formidable company of six travellers and six guides,^ who carried provisions, tw^o or three small knap- sacks of clothes, two or three very small casks of wine, one of brandy, a hatchet and cord for the glaciers. Jacob Leuthold, our confidential guide, led the way, and another, by name Johannes Wiihren, who had been under medical treatment for a diseased knee, knowing that the Jungfrau was in prospect, had stolen on before, to join us about a mile from the hospice, lest 1 [The Alctschliorn is 13,721 foet, and ranks as the second highest of the Ober- lands peaks ; it was first ascended in 1859 by Mr. F. F. Tuckett.] ^ [See also the detailed account of the whole expedition given by M. Edouard Desor in the first series of his Krcursionii ct Sejoiirs siir /cs O/aclcrs (1811), ])p. 356-417. It was the fourth ascent of the Jungfrau, but the lirst in whieh a native of Great Britain took any part.] 3 [The six travellers were Forbes, Heath, Agassiz, Desor (born 1811, died 1882 — a portrait will be found in iha A'cuc AIjKnposl (Ziirich) vol. xv. p. 76), — Duchatc- licr et de Pury. The six guides were the two men mentioned in the text, J. Abplanalp. M. Bannholzer, J. Jauu of Meiringen, and J. Jaun of Ini Grund — all Hasli men and servants of the landlord of the Grimsel hosi)ice.] Bernese Alps 435 he should have been prevented from accompanying us. These two excellent guides were deserved favourites. "VViihren, a powerful, large, good-humoured, intrepid man. Leuthold, a spare, sinewy, also very strong man, with a small twinkling grey eye, intelligent expression, and a mild thoughtful face, which was very engaging, and at the same time showed a degree of resolution which inspires confidence. As we walked down the slope from the hospice the less bright stars were vanishing before the dawn, and we thought that the situation had never before appeared half so romantic. Scarce a word passed in our numerous company for two hours, except a faint exclamation on meeting Wiihren. Each was occupied with his own thoughts of how the expedition might end — which of the objects proposed he should attain — and probably all felt that they were engaging in an enterprise of some danger as well as labour, voluntarily, and on their individual responsibility — a thought which affects for a moment the most volatile. We thus traversed in silence the well-known path leading to the Unteraar glacier, but soon left it to the right, when we took the opposite bank of the river, and proceeded by the faint track through loose masses of stones, which we had one day followed before, leading up the right bank of the Aar towards the Oberaar glacier. Long before the sun had risen upon our valley, Leuthold and Wahren lingered behind the other guides (who preceded us) to point out to M. Agassiz a distant peak just touched with sunlight. It was the Jungfrau ! ^ Little was said, some perhaps doubted the asser- tion," but all probably welcomed it as a good omen touching the projected end of our excursion. The Schreckhorn, Ewigschnee- horu, and other mountains rising above the Untdraar glacier, had a grand appearance as we ascended the rugged and now pathless slope which leads to the upper glacier of the Aar. In ^ The Jungfrau first has caught the rosy hue, The BUimlis Alp and Glarnisch glitter now, And starting into life and light, we view Lake, wood, and river from the mountain's brow. Promethean-like the vital spark seems given, Even at the instant, to all under heaven. PuetiscJtc lieise (by a Lady), p. 57. ^ - [It is certainly most astonishing and unfounded. Desor states (p. 361, note) that he later ascertained that it was probably one of the Grindelwald Viescher- horner, but even this seems unlikely.] 1 [The Poetische Reise (privately printed c. 1838) is a poem in Englisli (title only in German) by Miss Drinkwater, describing a journey through Switzerland in August, 1837.] 43^ Excursions in the two liours, that is ut 7 a.m., we were already at the wretched shepherds' huts, which lie below the foot of the glacier, at a height already of 7000 French feet (according to Hugi) above the sea.-^ Instruments, I should have said, we had none, ex- cepting only hammers and thermometers, a hair hygrometer, a chronometer, polariscope, and compass. Three barometers had been broken during the summer's campaign, and one put out of order ; there was none remaining to accompany us. The Oberaar Glacier lies in a wide, rather open valley ; it has a regular, well-defined form, with longitudinal crevasses near its lower extremity, and generally a well-marked vertical striated structure, parallel to its length, as in the Unteraar, although this has no medial moraine. The end front of the glacier exhibits the usual false appearance of horizontal stratification, curved upwards at the sides, as in the Ehone Glacier. The lateral moraine is well developed ; the glacier is increas- ing, and the blocks it disengages push and furrow up the soil in wrinkles in a singular manner. We followed its left bank for about half-an-hour, then made a halt, when we observed a shepherd descending a tributary glacier on the other side at this early hour. We now got upon the ice, which presents this year a very even surface ; the transverse section of the glacier below is convex — of the upper part, where it passes into Firn^ as usual, concave. We entered the Firn, or granular snow, the higher parts of which were horizontally stratified. Walking became less secure, crevasses were to be avoided. We followed Jacob Leuthold in a line. A chamois was seen on our riglit. These animals are now scarcest, I was informed, in the higher Alps of the Oberland, and most frequent near Interlaken, etc., where they are protected, for the chase is illegal. Jacob has killed seventy-two, chiefly in spring and autumn. By and by the ascent became steeper, and the snow more yielding as we approaclied the col, precisely at the head of the glacier, between the Oberaarhorn and Kastenhorn. On the border of the Firn we stopped for the important operation of 1 [Their height is 740. o feet.] 2 Firn, German for neve, the part of a f^lacier from which the sno-\v docs not altogether melt. It in fact becomes incorporated with the ice during tlic .summer months, wliilst jiart of it thaws.' 1 [Pirn or n6v6 is rather the liard snow on the ui)ppr slopes, which in its descent becomes com- pressed into ice— it is, in short, the raw material of a glacier.] Bernese Alps 437 putting on gaiters before entering on the snow. This our guides always did with great solemnity. The view looking back from this point was striking ; the rounding and polishing of the rocks on the left side of the glacier, and to a great height, was very evident. The weather now looked no longer favourable ; clouds crowned the Oberaarhorn, and even descended near the col ; we pushed on, and soon reached some dangerous crevasses, which it required considerable precaution to pass. The great quantity of snow facilitated this, and at half-past ten we arrived safely at the col which divides the glacier of Oberaar from that of Viesch. The height of the col of Oberaar is, according to Hugi, by differ- ent measures, from 10,000 to 10,400 French feet, say 11,000 English,^ It is a depression in the principal chain of the Bernese Alps at this point, being connected on the right with the mass belonging to the Finsteraarhorn, and on the left with the less important range which extends to the Sidelhorn and the col of the Grimsel. The rocks on the right-hand side were schistose, intermediate between gneiss and mica slate, containing a good deal of limestone in a friable form, perhaps like that which Saussure described as calc tuff on the St. Theodule. Some enormous crevasses prevented our descent by the right hand on the glacier of Viesch ; by the left we clambered down, partly on loose rocks, partly by the snow, and soon reached the compara- tively level surface of the Viescherfirn. Keller's map of these glaciers is bad ; Worl's and Hugi's detailed ones are perhaps worse ; and the Munich map of 1830 worst of all. It is hardly possible to recognise the position of even the chief points."' When we descended from the col of the Oberaar we had before us, and rather to the right, a col ^ which would have con- ducted us to the glacier of Aletsch, where it divides in three below the foot of the Jungfrau. The question was, whether we were to cross this col or go down the glacier of Viesch. As we walked across the even flat my left foot sunk in a crevasse, as my other one had done in the glacier of Gauli a short time before, an accident by which I was rather seriously lamed. It 1 [The heiglit of the Oberaarjoch is 10,607 feet. A few minutes to its south- west, on the Viesch side, is now a conveniently-placed club hut, belonging to the Bienne section of the Swiss Alpine Club.] 2 [Nowadays, of course, there is the wonderfully exact Swiss Government map ("Siegfried Atlas"), on a scale of 1/50,000 for the mountain districts.] 3 [The Griinhornliicke (10,841 feet).] 43 8 ' Excursions in the sufficed to show on what a treacherous surface we were walking, as we soon after learned more fully. Eed snow was here very- abundant ; its colour comes out by trampling ; our course was marked as by footsteps of blood. Soon after Jacob (who had now carried for a long way the heaviest package of all the six guides) suddenly stopped, deposed his burden, sat down, and said we should dine. The suddenness of the procedure and the arbitrariness of the command rather amused us. But we were in no humour to dispute it, and accommodated ourselves as well as we coidd. A table was made of one of the porters' frames stuck in the snow, and to work we went with cold meat, bread, and wine. After dinner the sky was anxiously consulted. No one, perhaps, except Jacob Leuthold, understood very well what were the alternatives to be pursued in good or bad weather. He decided that the col which separated us from the Aletsch glacier should not be crossed, but that the glacier of Viesch should be descended to the Moriller See, a lake of Aletsch,^ where we should sleep in the chalets. Notwitstanding some grumbling from the other guides, and pointing to a clearing sky, this was put in practice. I was glad that it was so determined. Viesch is a magnifi- cent specimen of a glacier. The crevasses in the Firn became wider as the slope was greater, and we saw some yawning chasms with greenish-white walls (the colour of the Firn), forty, sixty, or eighty feet wide. But the grandest of all were some just under our feet. A casual opening in the snow but a few inches wide disclosed to us several times some of the most exquisite sights in nature. The crevasses of the Firn or neve are not like those of the glacier — mere wedge-like splits with icy walls — but roomy expanded chambers of irregular forms, partly snow and partly ice ; partly roofed over with tufted bridges of snow ; partly open to the air, with vast dislocated masses tossing about. Stalactites of ice, possibly forty or fifty feet long," hanging from the w^alls and sides exactly like those in the finest calcareous grotto, but infinitely superior in so far as the light which shows them is not the smoky glare of a few tallow candles, but a mellow radiance streaming from the sides of the caverns themselves, and wliich, by the faintness or intensity of its delicate hue, assists the eye in seizing the relations of many parts. ' [Now well known .-is the Maijclon lake] - So in my notes. Bernese Alps 439 I do not recollect to have imagined anything of the kind so exquisitely beautiful as one in particular of these chasms, over which by chance we found ourselves walking, when a gap not a foot wide in its snowy roof admitted us to the somewhat awful acquaintance of the concealed abysses over which we trod. ^ The horizontal stratification of the Firn was here still dis- tinct. Soon after it became confused in the general rupture of the mass by the declivity over which it was forced to incline. The ice now became too crevassed to be passed in the centre, and an extensive tributary glacier (according to some, the main feeder of the Viescher Gletscher) '■^ falling in from the right, we were unable to follow the side, and were obliged to pass over the latter, which was fearfully crevassed, and appeared all but impracticable. Nevertheless the skill of our guides accomplished this with very few bad steps ; and we resumed the right moraine of the united glacier. After a pause we proceeded, not without difficulty, being forced in one place to leave the glacier entirely, and to climb the rocks and re-descend a considerable precipice again to its level. The moraine continued very uneven, and, now upon it, now on the bank, and now on the solid ice, we had a rough walk until we came to some small chalets, not a great way above the lower termination of the glacier of Viesch. Less than an hour above these chalets, we observed very admirable polished surfaces in contact with ice, whose very recent character, and the height to which they were rubbed, left hardly a doubt as to their origin. Near this we observed an enormous transported block on the ice, probably 100 feet long, and 40 or 50 high. It had been detached from the rocks of the higher glacier, and in the course of a few years more will be deposited on the terminal moraine. The glacier has also medial moraines, which may be traced amongst all the fissures and aiguilles into which it is broken. From the chalets above mentioned (marked avf Tiler on Worl's map, more correctly auf dem Titer ^) we had a steep hill to ascend on the right (which, at the end of such a day's journey, was fatiguing) to reach the chalets of Marjelen. They are situated at a height, it is stated, of not less than 7600 English ^ "Ringsum in dammerendeu Abgriinden die Welt in grauser Gestaltenfiille sich vergletschert. " — Hiigi \_Katiirliistorische Alpenreisc, p. 277.] ■■^ [This is certainly the case. See above, p. 430.] 2 [Really the Stock huts (6273 feet.) The Titer chalets are at the very extremity of the Viescher Glacier.] 440 Excursions in the Bernese Alps feet/ near the Murillcr or Aletscher See," on the Glacier of Aletsch, whicli lies at so great a height here above that of Viesch, that this long and steep ascent brings us only to its level. The lake has been artificially drained in this direction to avoid the floods occasioned by an accumulation of water behind the ice of the Aletsch Glacier. This condition of things is interesting, because a small increase of ice would give a second outlet to the Glacier of Aletsch through that of Viesch, and the polished rocks between the Moriller See and the Viesch Glacier are similar to those on the col of the Grimsel. We arrived, some of us at least heartily tired, at half-past five at the chalets, one of which afforded much more tolerable accom- modation than could have been looked for. We found plenty of milk and butter, a good fire, with sufficient hay (rather damp indeed) to lie on, made more agreeable by great civility and a cordial welcome from the owners. The weather seemed more promising. If fine, to-morrow was to be devoted to the Jungfrau, and a man was despatched down to the village of Viesch for a ladder ^ to cross the crevasses. I lay down, but could not sleep. Past eleven, the man returned from a fruitless errand, and another messenger w:as sent off to obtain the indispensable article at all hazards. I got up and went out ; the evening was splendid, with a bright moon. I afterwards fell asleep, and slept soundly till five, when the man returned with the ladder. 1 [Really 7756 feet.] 2 [The Marjelen See.] 2 [Desor (p. 377, 78) tells lis that Leuthold, on occasion of his attempt to ascend the Jungfi-au in 1832 with Hugi, had left a ladder near thegi-eat crevasse at the foot of the Roththalsattol. A Viesch man, however, later brought it down, and having repaired it claimed it as his own propert}'. Hence a second message had to be sent down to this man, declaring that if the ladder was not restored at once the whole party would come down and take it by force. This threat proved successful, but the start for the ascent was much delayed.] CHAPTER IV THE ASCENT OF THE JUNGFIIAU History of attempts to ascend the Jungfrau — Departure from the chalets of Murjelen — Lake and Glacier of Aletsch — Prospect of the range of the Jungfrau — The Firn or neve — The Ascent commences — Passage of the great crevasse — Col of the Roththal reached — Final ascent of 1000 feet on a slope of ice — The summit described — The view, and stu- pendous cloud — Return to the chalets by moonlight — The lower portion of the Glacier of Aletsch described — Its termination in the Massa ravine — Arrival at Brieg. The ascent of the Jungfrau was claimed to have been first made in 1811 by the brothers Meyer of Aarau, who published an account of it.^ Their flag was not, however, seen from the valleys, and probably the inhabitants of Grindelwald were not prepared to watch for it, the ascent being made from the southern side, in which direction the Jungfrau is not visible from any inhabited spot whatever. This, the only independent evidence of their success, being wanting, doubt was thrown upon the reality of the expedition, and another of the same family, 1 [There is no doubt ichatever that the Jungfrau had been successfully ascended thrice before Forbes's expedition. The first ascent was made on August 3, 1811, by Herren J. R. and Hieronymus Meyer (two brothers, of Aarau) with two Vallais hunters. They approached the peak from the Lotschenthal, crossing the Lotschen- hicke, and then attaining the Roththalsattel from the south by traversing round or over the Roththalhorn. The second ascent was effected on Sept. 3, 1812, by Herr Gottlieb Meyer (son of J. R. Meyer) with the same two hunters, Alois Volker and Joseph Bortis. They bivouacked on the Griineck rocks (opposite the present Con- cordia Inn), having mounted the Aletsch Glacier from the Miirjelen huts, and reached the Roththalsattel from the casi!— their route being precisely that of Forbes's party. The third ascent took place on Sept. 10, 1828, and was made by six Grindelwald men (headed by Peter Baumann). They crossed the two Monchjochs from Grindelwald (as is done nowadays by Jungfrau parties starting from Grindel- wald), and then joined the 1812 route at the foot of the ascent to the Roththalsattel. Forbes's ascent was the fourth, but the first in which a native of Great Britain took part.] 442 Excursions in the the Meyers, repeated it next year, when he asserts liaving again gained the summit from the eastern side, , The flag, I suppose, remained still unseen, for, unreasonable as it may appear, a general scepticism continued to prevail as to their having really attained tlie peak of the Jungfrau. At this distance of time it is impossible to unravel these doubts, which are not perhaps deserving of much weight,^ unless in so far as they are confirmed by the unquestionable ambiguity of the narratives themselves,^ which is indeed such as to be scarcely accountable, except on the supposition that they had been written some time after the events — although the details of such an expedition can hardly be erased from any memory by the lapse even of years. The description by the Meyers of the very peculiar form of the summit is, however, sufficiently precise to make it very probable that it was written from observation. At the same time, it appears to me (as to others) little short of impossible, that the Jungfrau can be gained on the side of the Mc3nch, as described in the second of these journeys.^ A long interval succeeded the journey of the Meyers ; but in 1828 Baumann and some other peasants of Grindelwald unquestionably attained the summit, and by the same route as we afterwards took. The enterprising Swiss naturalist and traveller Hugi, soon after made some attempts, but from the side of Lauterbrunnen, which presents probably insuperable obstacles."* He was afterwards foiled by bad weather on the opposite side, when our present guide Jacob Leuthold accompanied him. This was in 1832, the date, I lielieve, of the last attempt of ^ I observe, however, that it is mentioned by M. G. Studer, in the account (p. 131) of his subsequent ascent, that a respectable person assured him that lie had seen the Meyers' flag from Unterseen. The Vallaisan guides, on the other hand, maintained that thci/ alone, and not the Meyers, reached tlie top. As an instance of tlie disposition to suggest and propagate doubts on such matters, I may mention that two years after our successful ascent, being at the inn on tlie Faulhorn, near Grindelwald, the ascent of the Jungfrau in 1S41 having been incidentally mentioned, I lieard the fact stoutly denied ; and yet our flag was seen, I believe, as far as Thun. - [Tlie narratives arc clearer than the map which accompanies the latter. It should not be forgotten that these expeditions were the Jirst exploration of a liitherto completely unknown world of ice and snow.] ^ [FoiIjcs makes a sliji here, for the 1812 route was precisely that taken by his party in 1841.] * [Hugi's attempts from tlio Koththal were made in ISl'S-20. On August 21,- 1828, two English travellers, Mr. Veats llrown and Mr. Frederick Slade, with a number of Lauterbrunnen guides, maile an attempt from tlie same direction.] Bernese Alps 443 the kind. I now resume my narrative, commenced in the last chapter. August 28, 1841. — The expedition for the ladder prevented our leaving the huts of Mitrjelen (7180 French feet, Hugi) ^ till 6 A.M. when we set forward, the travellers first, the guides Ijehind. Three quarters of an hour brought us to the end of the lake next the glacier. It is, I believe, the only one in the Alps in such a position, being enclosed, as I have endeavoured to explain, in an elbow of the valley in which the Glacier of Aletsch rests by the ice of the glacier itself. The usual efflux of the lake is towards Viesch by the artificial canal already mentioned, but occasionally its waters drain off almost entirely beneath tlie ice of the glacier in the opposite direction. There are floating masses on its surface, and a precipitous wall of ice next the glacier. The artificial outlet is at the farther end next the huts. Fortunately, walking is comparatively easy on the upper part of the Aletsch Glacier, for its extent is very great. We had not much trouble in traversing the crevasses, and each advanced in his own path without much communication. M. Agassiz had previously announced Leuthold's declaration, that, owing to the lateness of the hour of departure, all must be prepared to follow at a tolerably quick pace, or else give up the attempt. At first we had the Monch right in front, the great Eiger a little behind it, and to the right. Soon after reaching the glacier the Jungfrau itself appeared. Plate X.^ is from a sketch drawn on a subsequent occasion, and gives an idea of the dis- position of the mountains near the head of Aletsch, I immediately perceived that the ascent must be up the steep snowy slope, immediately to the left of the summit, and that this would be the chief danger, if the ascent was otherwise practicable. The rocks just appeared to the left of this slope, but not so as to give much hope of a guard or safe footing ; they are in fact the prominences of the tremendous precipices of the Eoththal, into which a false step would hurry the climber. Looking back we had a superb view of the chain of Monte Eosa, though not of the Monte Eosa itself. The Matterhorn (Mont 1 [Really 7756 feet.] '•^ [This plate is omitted in the present edition, as it is far below the standard now re(iuirL'd.] 44-4 Excursions in the Cervin) rose in superior grandeur between the Weissliorn and Strahlhorn, which are generally seen from tlie Vallais. After nearly two hours' walk on the glacier, the crevasses became concealed with snow, and dangerous, then tlie whole passes into the state of Firn and is nearly safe ; whilst a great arm of the glacier (c) separates to the left, towards the glaciers of the Lotschthal. On the right (at d) we left the col leading across the range of the Viescherhurner to the top of the glacier of Viesch.-^ After 4|- hours' hard walking we made a halt, where the snow thickened near the foot of the hill marked Trugberg in the sketch.^ This name (the deceptive hill) was given to it by some of our party in consequence of the man whom we brought with the ladder from the chalet insisting that it was the Jungfrau — an assertion scorned by our leader, Leuthold, who knew very well what he was about, from the experience of his former recon- naissance with Hugi, when he approached the Jungfrau from a direction in which it could not be mistaken. All persons, how- ever, who have ascended the Aletsch Glacier admit that the familiar forms seen from Interlaken are no longer recognisable. The place of our halt was at the entrance of the deep bay or recess at the head of the Aletsch Glacier, the Monch before us, to the left the Jungfrau, rising from the snowy plain almost XDrecipitously. Still farther to the left, the projecting ridge of the Kranzberg, on the right the ridge of the Trugberg. We were somewhat exhausted by the rapidity of our march from the chalets, and partook of bread and wine. Then the serious task of putting on gaiters, which Jacob performed with more than common solemnity and deliberation. After half an hour we started forward up the narrowing and steepening neve, always with splendid weather. The walking became more laborious from the depth of the snow, but we followed all in one another's steps. Crevasses in the higher Firn commenced, and the rope was produced. Jacob went first, having tied it round his waist. Johann Jaun held the rope fast, which was then passed round the left arm of every one behind in succession. Here the real 1 [Forbes is here describing the view from the " Place de'la Concorde " : (c) leads west towards the Lotschenliicke, and (<;) cast towards the ClriinhornUieke.] - [It is the snow ridge rising between the Jungfrau ghu'icr (or rather Firn) and Ewigsehneefelil, and attains a height of 1 'J, 90-1 feet, or only 765 feet less than the Jungfrau itself. 1 Bernese Alp; 445 ascent began. Melcliior Bannholzer, a young man we brought from the Grimsel, carried the ladder, which was 22 or 24 feet long, with great dexterity — going everywhere indifferently, making a path for himself, and advancing with his load whilst others rested. Several crevasses and some loose ground being passed, we were again on deep sno\v of considerable depth and softness. It became also very steep, and about this time we turned round the foot of the hill marked b^ in Plate X., when we found ourselves in a narrow valley terminating in precipices at the proper base of the Jungfrau. The precipices on the right were of rock, those on the left of ice and hardened snow. We pushed nearly straight forward, and attained a considerable height by climbing up the steep soft snow. At a height which I estimated at not above 12,000 English feet I felt my breath- ing sensibly affected — but I was much fatigued this morning on starting ; after a few steps at a time, I felt some exhaustion, which passed off after a moment's repose. Some others of the party felt the same thing about the same level. Having passed some trifling crevasses, and rested twice, we were forced to come to a decision as to the exact course to be chosen for the ascent. The snowy precipice before us pre- sented an enormous fissure near its base, the usual separation of the icy part of the snow on the higher mountains, and the neve or Firn beneath. It was doubt- ful whether, on account of the limited length of the ladder, we could both cross the crevasse and ascend the steep face beyond. The section was this. The ladder was planted at h, and steps made in the very steep face above, which had a good consistence, allowing the feet to be well dug in, and sustaining them. Jaun went up and held one end of the cord as a sort of rail, another holding it 1 [I.e. the Kraiizberg.] of hroken low Allele 60' V;^^- 446 Excursions in the below, and so we proceeded one by one.^ I suppose that tlie lower part of the ascent was at an angle of above 60°, though only for a short way. Above, the snow being soft, it was easy to keep our footing, and we ascended to a sort of hollow where we could rest a moment. The snow here lay at an angle of 50°. Jacob Leuthold and some of the party had now advanced to a second crevasse more to the right, which threatened to become a gulf of separation between the fixed and the detached ice, so that the mass we had mounted since quitting the ladder might be considered as but half supported. Jacob and three others had crossed this crevasse, and I stood a little below it, when a distinct noise was heard beneath the ice. Jacob felt a sensible subsidence. It gave us an unpleasant sensation. We got all safely, however, across the crevasse, and mounting obliquely a soft stee^o snowy surface, which had been first carefully sounded with a staff, we arrived at two o'clock upon the col at the head of the Eoththal, a precipitous ravine on the northern face of the Jungfrau, communicating with the valley of Lauterbrunnen, and by which Hugi had vainly attempted to ascend. This col is marked a in the view, Plate X. ; we ascended by the hollow immediately to the right of it. Clouds had now collected from the west, and attached themselves to the mountain, so that we could not see at all into the Eoththal ; but the eastern view and the top of the mountain remained clear. Our height might be 12,800 or 12,900 English feet.^ There remained the final slope between a and the summit. Poor Wahren with his bad knee was already quite exhausted, and attained this col with difficulty — but no higher. "We drank some wine and advanced to the arduous ascent, keeping to the right hand as near the precipice overhanging the 1 111 the narrative of the subsequent ascent of the Jungfrau bj' M. G. Studer [Tojwgraphischc Mitthcihmgcn aus dem Alpengehinjc (Bern and St. Gallen, 1844), J)}). 126-128], we find a striking account of a descent into tliis terrific crevasse of one of the guides, Bannholzer by name, above referred to. M. Studer in descending had alk)\ved his cap to drop into the abyss — nothing would hinder young Bann- liolzcr from trying to recover it. Tied by a rope, 95 feet in lengtli, he descended amidst ice walls, and overlianging masses, and gigantic icicles everywhere menacing ditailiment, ami when he could get no lower by aid of tlie rope, he detached him- self, and perceiving the object of his search still below him, he ipiitted the rope and clainberc(l alone out of sight and hearing of his fellows into the dim and awful gulf, lie descended in all some 120 feet, then coolly returned with his prize ! The crevasse, however, there seemed as unfathomable as ever. •■i [The Roththalsattel is 12,655 feet.] Bernese Alps 447 ^Ww Aletsch Glacier as we could do without the risk of falling through the treacherous Lank of snow, which often overhangs precipices, apparently sound and level above, but projecting like the eave of a roof without any support below, as in the figure. Whilst we were marching patiently at what seemed a safe distance from the edge, Jacob made us almost tremble by piercing, with a few blows of his ,^ alpenstock, the frail covering within two or three feet of us, revealing -/, through the gap the vacuity through ':^^ which we might have dropped a stone :^^ upon the glacier beneath. The snow ' '^ helped us but a few paces. It was plain that the ascent was to be made over ice, and that our steps must be cut. Leuthold went first with a small axe, and with a rope round his waist, and was followed by Jaun, who improved the steps with the aid of his iron-shod staff, and held the rope attached to Jacob. Next to him the travellers, then three other guides — all of us with the rope twisted round our left arms. Since we ascended nearly straight up, as on a stair, this rope was a real security, which it could not have been to the same extent had we ascended obliquely, when the fall of one must, in all probability, have dragged the others after him. Here, if one made a false step, he would be supported by those behind, and at the same time, an alarm being given, the rope would have been tightened by all those in front. At different parts of the ascent I took the angle carefully, which in several places amounted to 43° and 45° on the real ice. The steps were more than a foot high, and we reckoned that in the course of our two hours' ascent about 700 steps were made. We estimated the height of this part of the mountain at 800 or 900 feet.-^ Be- fore we had advanced far, one of our guides turned back, not liking the ascent. Next to Leuthold and Johann Jaun, Bann- holzer, the young man who carried the ladder, was the most successful, spirited, and attentive, and by and by assisted Jacob in cutting the steps, having at his immediate risk jumped up the snowy ledge on the right, in order to change his place in the 1 [It is really 1014 feet] 448 Excursions in the row. The work proceeded but slowly, when we were enveloped in clouds, which had all the time filled the Eoththal in such a way that we scarcely saw into it — but at intervals we saw the top. Our position seemed rather frightful, hanging thus on a slope of unbroken slippery ice, steep as a cathedral roof, or those of the high pitched Dutch houses ; with precipices at the bottom of the slope, of an unknown and dizzy depth. We were sur- rounded with mist, so that we occasionally only saw our immediate position, suspended thus in the midst of the frozen mountain, from which it really appeared as if a gust of wind might have detached our whole party. Fortunately it was calm, otherwise we must have suffered greatly from the cold, long before we reached the top, owing to our slow progress, and our feet being perpetually forced into the steps. I felt my toes benumbed, and had some trouble to restore animation by shaking and striking them. This slow progress, on the other hand, took away any suffering from difhcult breathing. After we had gone on in the same way for nearly two hours, straight up the right- hand edge of the slope, we made to the left, gained a few rocks which lay loosely there, on a less slope than the rest, and saw the top immediately before us, covered with soft snow. The top remained separated from us by a ridge of snow about oO feet long, resembling an excessively steep house roof, an expansion of which, at the farther end, formed the snowy pinnacle on which we successively arrived, but could only remain one at a time.^ The annexed figures ^ (sketched soon after the ascent from recollection) will give an idea of the very peculiar form of this singular mountain top. The whole is an exceed- ingly narrow ridge directed nearly north and south, flanked on each side by terrific precipices. The summit B, which is snow covered, is the one first reached. The part A is but a few feet higlier, in form almost like a bee-hive, of snow piled up, and so 1 The party on the top consisted of MM. Agassiz, Dcsor, Duihatclier, myself, and four guides. * 2 [They will show the practical difficulties of erecting a permanent jilatform on the summit, to which access is to be gained by a " lilt" from the terminus of thr projected Juiigfrau railway. The highest jioint of the Jungfrau is 13,609 feet in height.] 1 [The guiilt's were LeuUiold, IJamiholzer, Abplaiialp, and Jaun of Meiriiigen. Wiiliren and M. de Pui-y wore li^ft on tlie Uotlithalsutlel, and the oUier Jann tnrned Iwick between tliat i)oint and the summit, while it does not appear what height Mr. Ueath and tlie Vallais man, wlio carried the ladder, attained.] Bernese Alps 44.9 small that even when smoothed over and trodden down, scarcely SKETCH OF THE TOP OF THE afforded footing for more than one person at a time. The access to it is along the ridge above mentioned, apparently of heaped snow lying at the natural angle of repose, terminating in precipices on each side. The snow was fresh but binding, and the guides made a series of footsteps with the toes inwards, on one slope of the ridge, by means of which we advanced sideways, securing ourselves by the alpenstock planted on the opposite slope, until we reached the apex. In this proceeding, how- ever, though awkward, there was no real danger. PLAN OF TOP. Here on snows, where never human foot Of common mortal trod, we . . . tread ; And this most steep fantastic pinnacle, 29 45 o Excursions in the The fretwork of some earthquake — wliere the clouds Pause to repose themselves in passing by.^ It WHS four o'clock when we reached the summit of the Juugfrau, and we stayed half an hour. The view to the east was generally clear — tlie Finsteraarhorn and Schreckhorn, the ( rlacier of Aletsch, the Monch and Eiger — and we got a glimpse of the bottom of the valley of Grindelwald. The view to the west was in one respect scarcely less remarkable, for there a magnificent cumulus-headed cloud stood in wonderful majesty, reaching apparently from the valley to at least 2000 feet above us. It was a glorious sight, a single cloud at least 10,000 feet high! The mists boil up amongst the glaciers ; clouds Rise curling fast beneath nie, ■white and sulphury, Like foam from the roused ocean of deep hell. The thermometer at the top was 25°"5. When the mist approached, the icy spiculse in it were distinctly visible. The sky to the east was clear and fine, but not of so intense a blue as we had observed it lower down, before the fog came on. On the top the polarisation by Savart's polariscope seemed quite normal and distinct, the tints brighter than I have often seen them from the Unteraar glacier. Its intensity diminishes as the sky is of a darker hue. I took specimens of the rock, which is a sort of gneiss by no means crystalline, and we began to think of descending. I felt no discomfort or uneasiness of any kind on the top, nor did any one else. We drank some wine which we had brought with us. The descent promised to be much more alarming than the 1 ascent, but by the excellent management of the guides, it was \ little worse. We were carefully connected by the rope ; the I guides were distributed amongst us, and Bannholzer was very ! useful in assisting me in placing my feet in the steps made during the ascent. We walked with our faces to the wall of ice, as in descending a ladder. During our descent I experi- enced a singular and painful deception. Looking accidentally into the abyss between my feet, I saw the basket and clothes we had left on the little snow plain above the ladder at the crevasse. Some of the party, who had not joined in the last ascent, had been there shortly before. I perceived something black begin to ' Mavfrcd, Act ii. Scene 3. Bernese Alps 45 i move near the spot, and descend with an accelerated pace, not unlike a man hurried along a snow incline with tremendous velocity. It was an eagle which had been examining the contents of our basket ! In one hour we reached the bottom of the slope of ice at the col of the Eoththal. From thence we descended the steep snow, much in the same manner, as far as the crevasse across which the ladder stood, which, when we had passed with light and thankful hearts, we ran down the snow with little further anxiety, for the track we had before taken guided us in safety across the crevasses. The snow had been softened since morning, so that in many places we sunk to the knee, which made the descent rather laborious. At length we reached the foot of the steep snow at 6 h. 45 m. p.m., or two and a quarter hours from the top. During the latter part of this descent our footsteps left distinct flesh-coloured marks by exposing the red snow beneath that freshly fallen. We walked gaily along the snow in the twilight for an hour or so, till the crevasses commenced, when the moon shone out, aifd all clouds cleared away. We connected ourselves by a cord, to avoid all danger, and proceeded by her light at a rapid pace down the glacier, with the occasional interruption of the immersion of one or both legs of a companion, through the treacherous fresh snow which covered the crevasses or pools of ice-cold water. We heard calls or cries of a man to the left, and thought liim in difficulty, and charitably (at Jacob's suggestion) crossed half the glacier to join him. It was a messenger from the chalets, who brought warm milk and other provisions. We then pursued our way unbound down the glacier with great elasticity, by a splendid moonlight brilliancy, reflected by the crystallised surface of the ice, and still more beautiful was its effect on the ice-cliffs and islands of the Lake of Aletsch when we arrived there. We took a short rest, and then had a disagreeable stumbling walk across the blocks between the glacier and the chalets of Miirjelen, where we arrived at half-past eleven, by no means over-fatigued, having been seventeen and a half hours on foot. None of our party complained of thirst, though we took no water for twelve hours at least, and part of the time the reflected heat was intense. We ate snow, however, pretty freely. 452 Excursions in the The diliiculties and dangers of the ascent of the Jungfrau may be fairly judged of by the preceding, certainly not exag- gerated, account. It must be remembered, however, that the forms of ice are at all times liable to alteration, and that the description of one season by no means invariably applies to another. Travellers have thus been very unwarrantably blamed for either over-, or under-stating the obstacles which they may have met with in particular positions. The only ascent which, so far as I know, has since taken place, was effected by Messrs. Gottlieb Studer and Biirki in 1842,^ and even then, only one year after us, they found the second glacier crevasse, on the ascent to the col of the Roththal, far more formidable than we had done. Another reflection suggests itself — that it was an uncalled-for exertion to cross the glaciers of Oberaar and Viesch one day, and to ascend the Jungfrau the next. The great uncertainty of the weather could alone have excused such a pro- ceeding, especially taken in conjunction with the formidable disadvantage of making a start from the chalets so late as 6 A.M., and performing a forced march in consequence throughout the day. We ought unquestionably to have spent the day at Marjelen, and have started the following morning before dawn. M. Studer, indeed, passed the night on a rock half-way up the glacier, from which his party (after a miserable night) started at 4 A.M.; having thus, on the whole, an advantage of four and a half hours over us, yet they returned to the chalets at night very little earlier than we had done, and remained but little longer on the top. The day following our ascent some of the party, including myself, proceeded from Marjelen to Brieg in the Vallais by the steep and tedious, though not difficult path, by the extensive Moril Alp," where are fed in summer large numbers of the cattle which form the wealth of the Vallaisan. But I shall take the opportunity of describing the more interesting and less easy ^ [See Plerr Studer's To])ograj)hischc MitUwiluiHjcn (cited above), pp. 99-144. The date of the ascent was August 14. Two of Forbes's guides — Bannholzer and Abplanalj) — were of the party, which inchided two others, J. von Weissenlkih and Kaspar Abplanalp. The next successful ascent did not take place till July 26, 1856. It was made by Mr. Robert Chapman with Ciiristian Aimer and Peter l.ohren. On August 8 of that year the future Bishop Lightfoot and Professor Hort achieved the ascent, which was made four times within a fortnight.] ^ [Apparently the Bettmeralp and the Riederalp of to-day. See the map at the end of Hugi's book.] Bernese Alps 453 route which I traversed three years later (1844), when I re- visited Aletsch for the purpose of examining the glacier more thoroughly. Having spent two nights at Marjelen, I returned to the Aletsch See, then nearly empty, its waters having passed out a fortnight before under the ice of the glacier, and occa- sioned an overflow of the torrent at its extremity, and proceeded to descend the glacier, sometimes on the ice, sometimes on the left bank. The structure of the ice, so far as I could observe it during various different excursions, possesses less of the well- marked ribboned character which is usual in glaciers of the first order, than I have anywhere else observed. Its appearance is more completely crystalline than perhaps that of any of the ice in Switzerland, presenting great plates at various angles, which reflect light in the beautiful manner above mentioned, as we saw it by moonshine.^ The blue bands, such as they are, generally tend from the side obliquely towards the centre ; but they are much contorted and confused. This may be explained on the principles which in my former work on the Alps I have applied to other glaciers, by observing the immense breadth of the glacier, and the remarkable uniformity of that breadth, the absence of great rocky promontories, and also of important tributary glaciers, all of which circumstances tend to produce (just as in the correspond- ing case of a river) a comparative uniformity of the motion from centre to side of the glacier, at least until within a short distance of either shore, and consequently an absence of that differential motion producing internal friction, by which the production of these blue bands has been explained. To this may be added the small inclination of the glacier of Aletsch, which in the part I principally examined does not exceed 4°, thus diminishing the effect of gravity on the plastic mass, and giving less decision to its movements. It is thus that great rivers, moving on extremely small declivities, have no absolutely regular gradation of velocity from side to centre ; but the current is diverted into numerous eddies, which are not luorhed out, as in a narrow stream, by the regular drag towards the faster moving mass of water in the middle. ^ The analogous structure of the Xorwegian glacier of ^Nygaard has been described in a previous part of this volume. ^ 1 [These chapters were originally published iu Forbes's book entitled Norway and its Glaciers visited in 1851 (1853).] 454 Excursions in the I filially quitted the ice nearly two hours' walk below the Lake of Alctsch, aud crossing over a projection of the hill, close to the chalets of Miiril/ descended by a very insignificant path into the deep valley, in the bottom of which the lower extremity of the glacier buries itself, having wound round the projection just mentioned. My wish was to follow the glacier as closely as possible to the termination of its vast career, but from the point where I quitted it, the declivity increases so rapidly that the ice is impassable, and the banks become sheer precipices. The descent by whicli my guide (a peasant I had brought from Moril) led me was nearly pathless, l)ut extremely romantic, the green slopes being often intermixed with cliffs, and the whole partially clothed with pines. We sometimes lost our way amongst the broken ground, but at length I was gratified by a very fine view over the excessively narrow ravine into which the glacier is finally squeezed. It contracts suddenly, and the surface is dirty, crevassed, and steep. The greater part of this singular valley is inaccessible by the side of the stream, and can only be reached by long circuits over the adjoining mountains, some of which are of considerable height, for example the Bel Alp, a summer pasturage on the west side of Aletsch. I was unable to gain a sight of the very lowest point of the glacier, which seems impenetrably concealed in a ravine, probably unapproachable by man. The rapidity of its fall, and its rapid attenuation to perhaps one- sixth or one -eighth of its breadth above, are very striking. It does not extend far below the point of confluence with the valley of the Ober Aletsch or Jiigi glacier, the ice of which does not extend so far as the main glacier. The Ober Aletsch glacier appears accessible, aud the pass from it into tlie valley of Lotsch is said not to be difficult. I was even assured by my guide that a man of Moril had walked by the Bel Alp, Jiigi glacier, and Lotsch to Lauterbrunnen in one day ! '^ 1 [Probably the Ricdei'al[) chalets, which belong to the village of Aloril in the Rhone valley. Forbes then describes the well-known gorge of i\Iassa, throngh which the Massa flows from the Aletsch Glacier to join the Rlionc a little above lirieg.J - [A long day indeed ! But some travellers in recent years have gone in one (lay from the Hotel Bel Alp to the Steinberg inn above Lauterbrminen, or to Miirren. The fn-.st pass is the Bcicltgrat (10,289 feet), an easy glacier i)ass (crossed by the 181 1 .hmgfran party), which leads from the Ober Aletsch Glacier to the Liitschenthal, whence the equally easy glacier i>ass of tlie Priivsijrat (10, .516 feet), (crossed by Hugi in 1829 and long before by natives), loads to the Lauterbnunicn valley.] Bernese Alps 455 The final descent into the bottom of the valley of Naters, traversed by the tremendous torrent of Massa, to which the drainage of Aletsch gives rise, is magnificent though laborious. The splendid range of the Mischabelhorner, between Saas and Zermatt, the Matterhorn and Weisshorn, all mountains of the first class, and which in scarcely any other point of view, can be distinctly seen at once and together, filled the background of the picture. Its nearer features were not less characteristically alpine, being a deep and richly wooded valley, in which the pines are inter- spersed with singular dome-shaped rocks, rising from the bottom near a spot called Auf der Platte [Flatten]. In the more immediate foreground was a solitary green meadow, c[uite uninhabited, but containing two or three barns, reached by a lofty and picturesque wooden bridge across the Massa, which foams and roars beneath in a terrific manner. A little lower, the torrent is crossed by a water conduit, which conveys a stream from the Bel Alp all the way to the meadows of Eied, near the chalets of Moril (which are destitute of water), the distance being several leagues. The conduit is said to be carried along the face of the precipices through the gorge of the Massa, with great boldness, at a dizzy elevation, and the peasants are accustomed to pass from one place to the other by means of the precarious footing which it affords. The way to Brieg from the meadow just mentioned offers no difficulty, but many picturesque sites, and everywhere may be seen the astonishing forms of the roches moutonnees, which have evidently been abraded under the anciently extended ice of Aletsch. CHAPTEE V NARRATIVE OF THE PASSAGE OF THE FENETRE DE SALEINAZ FROM THE VALLEY OF CHAMOUNI TO THAT OF FERRET IN 1850 Peculiarities of the cliain of Mont Blanc — Glacier of Le Tour little visited- — Leave the Col de Balme — Ascend tlie glacier — Its features — Attain the Ridge — Its unexpected elevation — Exceeds the Col du Geant — Proposed as an experimental station — Descent on the glacier of Saleinaz — Fine Protogine — Topography — Difficult route — Sudden fog — Extrication — Reach Orsieres in the Val Ferret. In a former work'"' I have described the greater ]>art of the chain or mountain group of Mont Blanc, particularly with reference to its glaciers. It is remarkable not less on account of its isolation, both geologically and topographically, from the rest of the Alps, than for its great elevation and inaccessibility. It is in fact merely linked on to the Alps of the Tarentaise on the one hand, and those of Mont V^lan on the other, by the secondary passes of the Cols 1 [The Aiguille de la Gliere is a point in the range north of Cliamonix. a is the I'ointe des Ecandies ; h, the double-iieaked Aiguille du Tour ; c, tlie Tete Blanclie ; d, the Petite P'ourclie ; c, the CJrande Fourclie ;• between c and /is the Fenetre du Tour (the direct and easy way, probably that aimed at by Forbes) between the Tour and Saleinaz Glaciers; /, the Aiguille Forbes (11,418 feet), so named in 1895 in liononr of Forbes ; ■ ^ Aiij. (V Anjintiere ^^ '€t^^ O Cl.dc Trienl ^^ Q '■ \1 y^ n.AN t. 107), in Switzerland 487 We shall now endeavour to give a fair estimate of the chief difficulties attending Alpine climbing : — Bad Weather. — This we believe to be l^y far the most serious danger of pedestrian enterprise. The power of violent wind, when accompanied by rain, not to say snow and piercing cold, in exhausting the physical powers is little appreciated, and would hardly be believed if certain evidence of it did not exist. The chilling effect of a current of air is familiarly known. Arctic travellers have no difficulty in bearing a cold of 30° or 40° below zero if the atmosphere be perfectly still, but the smallest wind, with a temperature even of zero, is almost in- supportable. Even in the temperate climate of Great Britain, and at very moderate elevations, not unfrequent cases of death by exposure have come to our knowledge which took place in the summer months. One remarkable instance occurred in August, 1847. Two Englishmen travelling on foot by a well-marked road from King's House to Fort-William in Scotland during a storm of wind and rain — violent, yet not excessively cold, and without a flake of snow — lay down and died on the path. Similar instances have happened of late years in Westmoreland. When there is any snow hardy natives sometime perish. Even in Devonshire this occurred not long since. If such be the case on hills under 2000 feet high, and even in summer, what must be the trial to the liuman frame of the war of elements above, or even near, the snow-line ? There snow may fall any month of the year — there the winds rage with an uncontrolled power, seeming to blow from all points of the compass at once, and, tearing the fallen snow from the ground, mix up its sharp spicule? in a turbulent compound, dazzling, blinding, wounding, and finally stiffening the traveller until, goaded by despair, he loses all idea of direction, and finally relinquishes the unequal con- test, and sinks into a painless and perpetual sleep.^ These upon the horrors of the passage of the rocks called "les Pouts," near Montanvert, we have a scale by which v/e may estimate the probable amount of the innocent exaggeration of the difficulties of Mont Blauc. * ' ' From hill to dale still more and more astray Impatient — through the drifted heaps Stung with the thoughts of home, the thoughts of home Burst on his nerves and call their vigour forth In many vain attempts — till down he sinks Beneath the shelter of the shapeless waste, Thinking o'er all the bitterness of death." Thomson's Winter. 4^8 Pedestrianism dreadful assaults of the elements, called Tovrmcntcs in the French Alps [i.e. in the Alps where French is spoken], and G^ixen in those of German[-speaking] Switzerland, are fortunately rare in summer, and may usually be avoided by common pru- dence, and attention to the opinion of the guides.^ From a neglect of this precaution two Englishmen perished on the Col du Bonhonmie in 1830 ;' and it is perhaps surprising that such accidents are not more frequent. They are, however, more often probably even than avalanches the cause of the loss of life still common at unfavourable seasons amongst the poorer class of travellers when crossing such passes as the Grimsel, the [Great] St. Bernard, and others still less formidable. At such awful moments the instincts of self-preservation are wrought up to the highest pitch. When the tonrmente prevails each man is in a little snow world of his own — he can scarcely see his nearest neighbour, and the struggle for dear life too often severs the tie of the nearest kindred. To pause is to die, and he who stops to render assistance, or to give encouragement, to one sinking under the fatal lethargy of cold, is liable in an instant later himself to succumb to the same fate.^ On great ascents the occurrence of such storms at a critical moment would be almost certain death to a whole party. "^ Con- sequently, when the traveller is to penetrate for many hours beyond the snow-line, a reasonable prospect of fine weather must be the primary condition of the journey, and decided symptoms of a change must be the signal of instant return.^ If a storm of wind and sleet were to occur on such a perilous passage as the Mur de la Cote on Mont Blanc, where it is impossible to move, except at a creeping pace, and with the toes dug into the ice-steps, congelation or " frost-bite " would be the consequence : and even on the levellest snow it would be impossible to trace ^ [They (;;ni be (trouhil \iy not starting, Imt they also often come on unawares in summer, and then cannot be avoided.] - [See above, p. 180.] •"' See an instance in Forbe.s's Travels throiujlt tJtc ylliisof Saroij, y\\. 281-283 [above, pp. 278-280 ; this accident took i)lace in 1841 on the Col de Collon. The statements as to tourmcutcs in the text above are nnucli exaggerated. The |irescnt editor lia.s often been in .such blizzards at very great licights in the Alps, but no member of the jtarty ever tliought of aliandoning his comrades.] * [Perhajis, but by no means always, if the party is a strong one.] •'' [Retreat is not o/irai/s possible in such a case, for it may be easier to cross a pass or a [nnk than in such a storm to letr.ui' tiic lonte taken on the ascent.] in Switzerland 489 any path, to recognise any landmarks, or to preserve any constant direction/ A far less alarming, yet not insignificant, danger arises from fogs. Few pedestrians have not met with a fog in some critical position, and felt its bewildering inflnence on unfrequented ground. None but- steady and experienced guides deserve much confidence on such occasions. The difficulty is greatest where wide and fiat-topped mountain ranges have to be crossed. These occur but rarely in. the Alps, occasionally in the Eastern Pyrenees, but perpetually in Norway. The chance of being lost is there most inmiinent if the guide be not perfectly at home on tlie track. Again, in difficult and untracked passes in the Alps, a deviation of a few yards to the right or the left in a fog may lead the traveller into inextricable difficulties. Difficulty of Breathing — Hill Sickness. — A more direct ob- stacle, however, to very lofty ascents is difficulty of breathing, when it occurs, and the giddiness, exhaustion, or sickness which are yet more common. Because it not unfrequently happens that parties arrive on the highest Alpine summits without experiencing all or any of these sensations, it has sometimes been absurdly supposed by travellers that they have been the result of the imaginative fears of their more timid predecessors. The fact is, that this singular, yet very real, affection, varies as much in different persons as sea-sickness does — a malady with which it seems to have a strong analogy. It happens, indeed, that the extreme elevation of the Alps reaches a point where these physiological effects only begin to be developed in many indi- viduals, yet observations in tropical countries, and at still greater heights, show that they are amongst the most certain penalties of venturing into imperfectly crated regions, and that there is, no doubt, a limit even on the earth's surface unattainable by man, unless he be passively moved as in a balloon. As early as the sixteenth century the learned Jesuit Acosta described correctly the effects of rarefied air which he witnessed in Peru : and he accounted for them on true grounds. Bouguer, a century and a half later, experienced them in his own person, but errone- 1 [Forbes here almost prophesied the fate of the eleven men (three travellers and eight Chamonix men) who perished in September, 1870, in such a storm just above the Mur de la Cote. ' Forbes did not know the Mur de la Cote by his own experience.] 490 Pedestrianism ously attributed them rather to excessive fatigue than to the rarity of the air, an opinion which De Saussure [^ 2021] justly controverts, by remarking — ( 1 ) That as the ascent of the Andes is mainly accomplished on horseback, the mere fatigue of mounting a few thousand feet could not be so extreme as to occasion such effects. (2) That he, himself, has, like most pedestrians, been fatigued to the limits of his muscular power without feeling the smallest nausea or shortness of breath. This accurate traveller has recorded nearly all the facts yet known regarding this singular malady. On the occasion of his ascent of Mont Blanc some of the most robust peasants of Chamouni were the first to leave the summit in order to recover themselves in a denser air [^ 2021]. Besides insupportable lassitude, which renders the smallest effort a severe toil, palpitation of the heart, vomit- ing, faintness, and febrile pulse are four of the commonest results of excessive elevation. De Saussure marks [§ 2021] 1900 toises (about 12,000 English feet) as his own healthy limit, and that of most of the natives of the Alps ; some persons, however, begin to suffer much lower. Whilst he remained perfectly still, he suffered nothing on the top of Mont Blanc, but the effort of even reading off thermometers and other instruments, and of recording his observations, was such that he barely accomplished in four and a half hours what three hours sufficed for at the level of the sea [^ 2021].^ He very justly adds that the fatigue of such sedentary occupations arises in part from the involuntary holding of the breath when the attention is deeply engaged. It is not unlikely that the reason why we hear less nowadays of these inconveniences is because both travellers and guides have usually been for a considerable time " in training " before the ascent of a high mountain. In De Saussure's time few persons " had any occasion to ascend to the heights of even the Montanvert and the Col de Balme. The regular guides are now doing so every summer, and many travellers are but little less seasoned.^ Still it must be owned that there are great 1 [Most, probably all, of tiicsc iiicoiivonieiices felt by Saussure and his i>arty were sim])ly due to not being accustomed to niount to such heights.] - [We must always except tlie shepiicrds and herdsmen, wlio are often overlooked by scientilic in(piirers.] 3 [As the Montenvers is but 0267 feet, and tliat i>f tlie Col de Balme is but 7221 feet, and tliere are now inns on liotii, tiiis remark of Forbes in 1857 raises a smile in 1900.] in Switzerland 491 anomcalies. One of a party, equally robust and equally well trained, falls suddenly sick, and becomes decidedly pale at an elevation of only 10,000 or 11,000 feet, while all the rest are buoyant and healthy. M. Hugi relates [p. 218] that his. guide Wahren, "certainly the most powerful man in the whole Ober- land," was taken unwell on the formidable sunnnit of the Einsteraarhorn [in 1829]. We have seen a hardy peasant seized with sickness at a height inferior to that of the Col du G^ant, where no one else of the party suffered in the smallest degree. It is said that at some periods the effects are earlier fallen in with than at others even on the same mountain. It is also believed that some districts are more liable to produce the effect than others. Mr. Wills considers [p. l72] that the rare- faction of the air is less felt about Monte Eosa than near Mont Blanc, But this seems doubtful, for, though he himself did not suffer on the occasion referred to, he records [p. 147] having " felt the rarity of the air sensibly," and being a good deal ex- hausted the year previously.^ The experienced Professor Ulrich [pp. 68 and 75 of his book] suffered considerably on Monte Eosa at about the same elevation, although not at all at the same spot the following year.^ In South America some localities are supposed to be more favourable than others to attacks of " the Puna," as this malady is locally called, from one of the districts in which it prevails.^ It has been believed that difficult breathing is sooner felt upon snow than upon rock, and M. Boussingault, in his account of the ascent of Chimborazo,'* attributes this to the sensible deficiency of oxygen contained in the pores of the snow, which is exhaled when it melts. The fact that the air absorbed by snow is impure was ascertained by l)e Saussure [§ 578], and has been confirmed by Boussingault's experiments. The inconvenience is common to the various races of men and to the lower animals. Baron Humboldt was deserted by all 1 [The Ibnner occasion was the passage of the Adler Pass, 12,461 feet, and the hatter that of the Allalin Tass, 11,713 feet.] - [The "spot" was somewhat below the Silbersattel, between tlie Nord End and the Hiichste Spitze of Monte Rosa, and the dates 1848-49.] ^ See the curious essay on "Hill Sickness" by Dr. Meyer- Alirens, cited at the head of this article. ^ [He did not, however, reach the saniniit, which was first attained by Mr. ■Wliyniper in 1880.] 492 Pedestrianism his Indians at an elevation about 1000 feet greater than that of Mont Blanc. Mules begin to suffer at 11,000 feet, and it is said, on the authority of Tschudi, that cats cannot live above 13,000 feet, a height at which villages occur in the Andes and Himalaya/ In the latter range Dr. [now Sir Joseph] Hooker states that horses may be ridden to a height of over 19,000 feet. Habit appears to be the only remedy. The upper part of the town of Potosi is stated l)y Humboldt to be only 2000 feet below the summit of Mont Blanc, and in India those who live habitually at great elevations experience no inconvenience from the rarity of the air. Dr. Hooker recommends a stay for two or three days at a height of 16,000 feet as preparatory to ascending to 20,000. Yet Thibetans, who live at 15,000 feet, always have headaches on walking over passes of 18,000, which they attribute to a poisonous vapour issuing from the mountains. Dr. Hooker asserts that " bleeding at the nose and ears has never been experienced by any practised traveller in health, and is unknown among the natives." We believe alarming hicmor- rhage to be really unheard of on such occasions ; but unquestion- ably slight bleedings from the nose, gums, and lips are not unfrequent. Such are recorded by De Saussure, Humboldt, and Boussingault. The latter hints at more serious results in the case of an Indian who had used his voice too strongly in these elevated regions, and recommends, with good reason, that con- versation be carried on in an under-tone in order to avoid exhaustion. The physiology of these various effects is as yet imperfectly understood.'^ The preternatural lassitude which is more commonly ' [F. von Tscluidi, Z)«.s Thirr/eboi dcr Alpriucdt, 2ii(l edition, 1S.")4, p. 49S : the statement is limited to the luf,di towns in tlie Andes, and dogs are said to live tliere comfortably, though cats cannot do so.] - [This is still true, and many dirt'erent opinions have been expressed on the subject. See a good essay on "Mountain Sickness," by Dr. Egli-Sinclair, in vol. xxvii. of the Juhrhuch of the Swiss Alpine Club. As facts are worth more in this matter than theories, I venture to give my own experience in the High Alps. During thirty-three seasons spent in climbing the highest summits of the Alps, and having been nearly one thousand times above a heiglit of 10,000 feet, I have ncirr experienced any of the symptoms of mountain sickness, save on one occasion. That was near the summit of the Ober Oabelhorn (i:j,.'iGl feet), near Zermatt, in 1878. I had then been climbing high peaks for six weeks continuously. On the descent from the summit both I and my leading guide, old Christian Aimer (not the younger second man), were taken with sliglit feeling of nausea. Tliis disappeared as soon as we ate a biscuit and drank a mouthful of wine, and was, I feel sure, duo to tlie intense cold, and to the fact tliat, for that reason, in Switzerland 493 experienced near the top of Mont Blanc than any other symptom — a lassitude which, in many cases, takes away every sense of pleasure from success — has been ingeniously attributed by the brothers Weber to the deficiency of atmospheric pressure loosening the compactness of articulation at the knee and hip-joints, thus preventing the limbs from working steadily in their sockets. But this is at least a partial view of the subject. Slopes of Turf. — Turning now to the more external obstacles to success in the ascent of mountains, we shall first mention one which would scarcely seem alarming at first sight to most pedes- trians ; this is the slopes of short dry turf which so frequently occur on the calcareous mountains of the secondary chains of the Alps, and which, frequently ending in tremendous precipices, constitute a danger, all the more real because it is unimposing. A pedestrian once losing footing on such a slope is almost certain to be carried helplessly to the bottom of it, however it may terminate. No break or irregularity gives him a chance of holding on. The spike of his aliienstock is not long enough to take hold on its velvet-like surface. The nails in his shoes are equally inefficacious. In this respect the slope of turf is more dangerous than that of frozen snow, unless it be of the hardest kind. The following example, from Mr. Wills,^ is applicable to those numerous we had not been able to halt to eat or drink for many hours. Neither of us had ever before experienced any similar inconvenience. Yet in 1869 we had, owing to very soft snow, taken 12| hours from the Grands Mulets to the summit of Mont Blanc by the Bosses ridge ; but though it was our very first ascent of the season, we felt nothing on the top but sheer fatigue, and slept there comfortably for some time, as also in 1870, when we again reached the same summit from the BreuA'a Glacier, after a tremendous struggle of nearly 15 hours from our bivouac. I am therefore strongly of the belief that (given fine weather) all the painful symptoms mentioned by Forbes are, as a rule, due to want of training, or to sheer physical weakness, and not to the rarefaction of the air. There are exceptions, however. I knew one person who could not get up the last rocks of Monte Rosa, despite several attempts, by reason of mountain sickness ; and yet we had been on Mont Blanc together, in a most violent wind, and the individual in question had not sufiercd in the least. For many years I travelled with a dog, named Tschingel, in the high mountains. The dog made a great number of high ascents, including Mont Blanc, Monte Rosa, the Fiusteraarhoru, the Aletschhorn, the Jungfrau, etc., yet it never suffered any inconvenience from the high air. Indeed, on Mont Blanc it ran ahead of us to the summit, barking loudly, and then came running back to us ; yet it was then ten years old, but had been born and bred in the mountains. I think it all depends on the strength of the individual, and on the fact whether or no he is accustomed to mount to great heights.] 1 [Mr. Wills alludes to the Harder (5801 feet). Many fatal accidents have since then taken place there and on other similar slopes, especially to ladies without nails in their shoes. There is a mule - path to the summit of the Harder ; but many tourists leave it to pick flowers on the dangerously steep grass slopes on citlier side.] ^94- Pedestrianism En<'-lish men and women who frequent the familiar environs of Interlaken, little recking of danger : — Soon afterwards one of the party slipped, and was unable to stop himself. With great presence of mind, he threw himself over by a sudden effort on to his face, and spreading out his arms and legs, and digging his fingers into the ground, succeetled in checking his descent. Nobody could have helped him, and had he not stopped himself, he would, in all probability, have slipped with increasing velocity for some hundreds of feet, and shot over a precipice which happened to be below, between us and the belt of wood. His finger- nails were all broken in the effort to save himself. . . . Seen from below, the slope appetu-3 so gentle that this description would scarcely be credited, but it is strictly accurate. A melancholy accident which occurred in 1850, on the other "side, where the descent is of the same character, but more rapid still, attests its truth. An English lady staying at Interlaken, one day took the path, and wandered on till she came to the summit. She never returned, and next day her mangled remains were found, some thousands of feet below, on the other side of the mountain. Her foot had slipped, and she had begun to roll : she had seized a young sapling, hoping to arrest her progress, but the impetus was too great ; it snapped, and Avas found in her grasp when the body was discovered. ... I have twice ascended, and once descended these grassy steeps, and have seldom performed a more dangerous task — easy as it looks. The peasants who mow the grass on the sides of the mountain wear crampons, otherwise even they would hardly get up and down with safety. — JJ'ander- ings, etc., pp. 242-244. It was among such treacherous slopes near the Col de Balme that at least one tourist perished in attempting to reach a point called the " Croix de Fer." It is also probable that poor Jacques Balmat, the conqueror of Mont Blanc, ignobly fell a victim in the same way amongst the calcareous mountains intermediate between the Col de Balme and the Dent du Midi.^ BocJcs and Precipices. — Above the limits of vegetation the surface of a mountain is, of course, either rock or ice and snow. In some districts the former abounds more than the latter, or the reverse, and the skill of the natives in overcoming the difficulties of either depends on their greater experience and opportunities. The peasants of Chamouni are more at home on the glaciers, those of Monte liosa on rocks. The best guides of the Oberland are, 1 [The Croix de Fer is 2691 feet, and is a peak of crumbling rock, a slip on which cost the life of Herr Escher of Ziirich in 1791. Janiues Balmat made the fust ascent of Alont Blanc, with Dr. Paccard, in 1786, and disappeared in 183-1 in the limestone precipices of the Sixt valley, at the foot of the Mont Kuan. In neither case apparently did the accident occur on grass slopes, like that on the Harder in 1850. .TaciuoH BiUmat was the great-uncle of Auguste Balmat, the guide of Forbes and of Wills, and Mr. Wills dedicates his book to Auguste, "my tried and faithful companion in many dilliiultics and some dangers."] in Switzerland 495 perhaps, pretty equally confident in either exercise. More skill is requisite for eluding the difficulties of the ice, more nerve in overcoming those of cliffs ; consequently v^^e find that amateurs, after a certain amount of experience, are more at ease among snow than among really dangerous precipices. It is indeed only on the latter that experienced and zealous amateurs have suffered them- selves to be left behind by their guides. It requires education of the eye and foot from childhood, unless in special cases, to venture with confidence to scale cliffs nearly perpendicular, and still more to descend them.^ Almost every kind of rock is subject to form precipices. None, for instance, are more tremendous than those formed of granite in the Combe de Malaval among the Alps of Dauphine. The slaty rocks, however, do not stand second in this respect, though they oftener leave distinct footholds. The schistose cliffs of the Jungfrau, as seen from Lauterbrunnen, are familiarly known to all tourists in Switzerland, and the ascent of a portion of them by Hugi, in the Eoththal, on the western side of the mountain, forms one of his most ticklish adventures. The comparatively modern slaty rocks of the Mont Cervin exhibit in that astonishing pinnacle the most inaccessible of all European mountains.^ Towards the north it forms an almost continuous precipice between 7000 and 8000 feet in height.^ Calcareous rocks are celebrated for their vertical cliffs. 1 [Forbes's remarks as to the superiority of amateurs over guides on snow are no longer true, if tliey ever were. It is on rocks that amateur guideless climbers have most distinguished themselves. One of the best of modern rock climbers, the late Mr. Norman Neruda, writes thus : "To the leader of a guideless party the technical difficulties of a snow mountain are most evident, and he will require the greatest skill and experience ere he can aspire to cope with them. ... In short, he will need an amount of skill and experience which cannot be learned in one or two seasons' climbing, as is the case of rock-climbing." " The highest branch of mountaineeruig is beyond all doubt snowcraft, and it requires a longer training for the mountaineer to become proficient as an ice-man than as a rock-climber. " — The Climbs of Norman Neruda, pp. 329-331.] - [The Matterhorn was not conquered, indeed, till 1865 ; but far lower points have offered much greater difficulties to mountain climbers.] 3 We preserve this passage as we ^\^■ote it, not having then seen Mr. Ruskin's elaborate chapter on " Precipices," in his beautifully illustrated and often able volume On Mountain Beauty, which contains many true and original things drawn from a long and ardent study of the Alps. There is an apparent discrepancy between the statement in the text and Mr. Ruskin's assertion that the steepest part of the .Matterhorn or ]Mont Cervin, over which a plumb-line might be hung without striking, is only about from 600 to 800 feet (Ruskin, p. 242), and he appears to consider that as nearly unexampled in Switzerland. Of this we have douljts, but so technical a definition of a precipice is neither usual nor appropriate. All the majesty of truly 496 Pedestrianism The chasms of the Dent du Midi and Dent de Morcles can be forgotten by no traveller who has passed between Bex and Martigny ; and such rocks have this additional danger, that lime- stone is the most slippery and treacherous of any, since strongly- nailed shoes, which in other situations are a defence, become here accomplices to destruction. The rocks of Gosau, in the Eastern Alps, celebrated by Professor Sedgwick and Sir Roderick Murchi- son, which rise towards heaven in apparently inaccessible spires, are the geological equivalents of the tame scenery of our English greensand.^ A "good head" is as much a natural endowment as any other. It may, however, be greatly improved by practice ; and the tonic effect of mountain air, as well as the comparative insensibiUty which experience induces to the really stupendous scale of Alpine scenery, render feats of climbing easier than would be the case under other circumstances. Many men who would hesitate to cross a well-fastened plank of a mason's scaftblding at home will pass erect across the " Fonts " at ]\Iontanvert, or traverse the Mer de Glace without a moment's misgiving. Except in the effort to attain a given summit, the climber is not very commonly driven to straits upon rocks, for nature commonly provides a considerable choice of ways in traversing a country."-' It is rarely that we are shut up to a single prescribed course. But where a direct ascent is our aim, we are never certain till the last moment of attaining our object. Far more ])recipitous scenery is sutiiciently given by rocks cloven at an angle approaddiig the vertical, even if they do not overhang, which is almost a tour-de-forcc of nature, l)eing in standing contradiction to the ordinary effects of gravity. Still less does a series of narrow steps, uniting vertical precipices, interfere essentially with their majesty — nay, such breaks may even add to it as viewed in dizzy perspective from above, and (as in the case of the Brevent as described, we have no doubt most accurately, by ]Mr. Ruskin) yet may effectually prevent the full descent of the plumb- line. Mr. Ruskin himself virtually admits as much a few pages farther on in his work (p. 248), wheic, speaking of the limestone cliffs of the Roehers des Fys, not far from Chamouni, he says, " the wall is not less than 2500 feet high— not vertical, Init steep enough to seem so to the imagination." [Those who have been on the north-east face of the Matterhorn, over which the ordinary route from Zermatt more or less passes, will agree with ^Ir. Ruskin rather than with Forbes. There are, too, many more overhanging preciitices in the Aljis tlian Forbes dreamed of.] ' [Hence nowadays climbers among tlie Dolomites wear rope-soled climbing shoes instead of nailed shoes. The (iosau precipices and pinnacles have long ago been scaled.] - [Tliis is not always true of the Dolomites, which Forbes had seen in 1837, thougli no doubt h*- considered them (luite impossible.] in Switzerland 497 than in the case of snow and ice we are subject to be " brought up " by an impassable obstacle. This occurs even in mountains of second and third-rate size. The Riffelhorn, near Zermatt, which is now so well known, was deemed inaccessible until within a few years, although nothing was easier than to approach withui a few fathoms of the summit. At length some boys tending goats found a passage by first descending upon a rather sloping ledge of rocks.^ A similar difficulty attends the access to the highest of the Cuchullin hills in Skye, which was first overcome not many years since by a gentleman of Edinburgh, attended by a native guide. These hills, though only about 3000 feet high, may be reckoned as amongst the most difficult of their class, and decidedly the least accessible in Great Britain. Yet the excellent footing of the rugged hypersthene rock of which they are composed prevents any real danger. On the other hand, few ; rocks, not consisting of sheer precipices, can be pronounced in- accessible until after trial. A mountain face down which we have just descended will often appear, on looking back, absolutely impracticable to human foot. The pass of the Gemmi, which may be traversed on a mule, is a familiar instance of this." The northern face of the Cramont, on the Italian side of Mont Blanc, is another. The combination of rock precipices with snow or ice is pro- bably the most baffling combination of any. The summit of the Finsteraarhorn in the Bernese Oberland, and that of Monte Eosa, are striking examples. In the former instance the intrepid Hugi [see pp. 207-209 of his work] left it to his robust guides, Leut- hold and Wiihren, to ascend alone the last precipice, the base of which he had more than once attained with extreme toil.^ A similar result attended the ascent of the experienced Professor Ulrich to the highest of the summits of Monte Eosa, in 1848, from the side of Zermatt."* Whilst only snow and ice opposed ^ [In liis Savoy (p. 314 above) Forbes attributes the conquest of the Ritfelhoni (vainly tried by him in 1841) to son\e students from Hofwyl in 1842.] ^ [Few persons would care to mount on mule-back from Leukerbad to the summit of the Gemmi, while since a French lady was thrown off her mule and killed in 1861 the descent of the wall on mule-back is forbidden by law.] 2 [Hugi's guides went up in 1829, their route being the now usual one by the north-west arete, which offers no difficulties to a climber of any experience.] ■* [See pp. 69-71 of Ulrich's pamphlet. His guides, so far from reaching the summit of Monte Rosa, only attained the Grenzgipfel, the point at which the spur on which rises the highest summit of Monte Rosa joins the frontier ridge. See 32 498 Pedestrianism his advance all went well, but the precipitous rocky cap, about , 300 feet high, was attempted by his guides alone — ]\Iadutz and zum Taugwald — who found not only precipices which offered little hold for the feet, but the crevices in the rock were filled and glazed over with slippery ice. The re-descent was so terrific, that one of the guides [z. Taugwald] owed his safety to the nerve of the other, who held him on by a rope. The Messrs. Schlagintweit, who with their guides made the ascent of this precipice in 1851, were also incommoded by the ice, and they had recourse to driving chisels into the rock where they could not by other means obtain a footing.^ Many of our readers will recollect the ability with which Sir Walter Scott has given in the second chapter of Anne of Geier- stein a thrilling account of the younger Philipson's adventure among the precipices of Mont Pilate." This account is the more remarkable because the writer had but a slight personal acquaint- ance with Swiss scenery, and it may be reasonably doubted whether he ever found himself in such a predicament as that which he so graphically describes.. A real adventure of a similar kind was depicted in 1829 in glowing colours by a writer in Blackwood's Magazine. The article is now in all probability remembered by few, but the style and the initials (E. S.) point it out as the production of the late Bishop Stanley, to whom it was ascribed at the time. It is entitled " The IMauvais Pas," and describes the ascent of the valley of Bagnes by the author, soon after the catastrophe of 1818, by which all the ordinary means of communication were swept away. We can only select some isolated passages, but the whole paper is worth perusing as a vivid and powerful piece of description : — the Alpine Joimial, vol. xv. pp. 493-495. From the Grenzgipfel to the true summit there is no real difficulty according to modern standards, and the expedi- tion has been made several times of late.] 1 [See pp. 77, 78 of their 1854 book: the 1851 party reached the same point ( as the guides in 1848. In 1887 the present editor went in \\ hour from the Silbersattel (where Ulrich halted in 1848) up to the gap a very few feet below the Grenzgipfel, though there was so nmch snow on the rocks that we iloundered rather than climbed, hardly ever seeing the rock, yet encountering no (lifhculty. From the gap we went in forty, minutes more by an easy cliinb across tiie Ostspitze to the highest summit of Monte Rosa. We were not the fii-st ]iarty which had taken this route, but I mention my own experience to show tlie difference in standards between tin; older climbers and their successors.] ■■^ [I'ilatus, near Lucerne, is 6998 feet in height. In 1887-88 a cog-wheel rail- way was constructed nearly to the top.] in Switzerland 499 For a foreground (if that could be called a foreground, separated as it was by a gulf of some fathoms wide) an unsightly facing of unbroken pre- cipitous rock bearded me on the spot from whence I was to make my departure, jutting out sufficiently to conceal whatever might be the state of aifairs on the other side, round which it was necessary to pass by a narrow ledge like a manteljjiece, on which the tirst guide had now placed his foot. The dis- tance, however, was inconsiderable, at most a few yards ; after which I fondly conjectured we might rejoin a pathway similar to that we Avere now (quitting, and that, in fact, this short but fearful trajet constituted the sub- stance and sum-total of what so richly deserved the title of the Mauvais Pas. " Be firm ; hold fast, and keep your eyes on the rock," said the guide, as I, with my heart in my mouth, stepped out. " Is my foot steadily fixed ? " " It is," was the answer ; and with my eyes fixed on the rock, as if it would have opened under my gaze, and my hands hooked like claws on the slight protuberances Avithin reach, I stole silently and slowly towards the projec- tion, almost without drawing a breath. Having turned this point, I still found myself proceeding, but to what degree, and whether for better or worse, I could not exactly ascertain, as I most pertinaciously continued to look upon the rock, mechanically moving foot after foot with a sort of dogged perseverance, leaving to the leading guide the pleasing task, which I most anxiously expected every moment, of assuring me that the deed was done, and congratulating me on having passed the Mauvais Pas. But he was silent as the grave — not a word escaj^ed his lips ; and on, and on, and on did we tread, slowly, cautiously, and hesitatingly for about ten minutes, when I became impatient to learn the extent of our progress, and inquired whether we had nearly reached the other end. " Pas encore." " Are we half way ? " " A pen pres," were the replies. Gathering up my whole stock of presence of mind, I requested that we might pause awhile ; and then, as I deliberately turned my head, the whole of this extraordinary and frightful scenery revealed itself at a glance. Conceive an amphitheatre of rock forming throughout a bare, barren, perpendicular precipice, of I know not how many hundred feet in height, the two extremities diminishing in altitude as they approached the Drance, which formed the chord of this arc ; that on our left constituting the barrier which had impeded our progress, and which we had just ascended. From the point where we had stepped upon the ledge, quitting the forest and underwood, this circular face of precipice commenced, continuing without intermission till it united itself with its corresponding headland on the right, the only communication between the two being along a ledge in the face of the precipice, varying in width from about a foot to a few inches ; the surface of the said ledge, more- over, assuming the form of an inclined plane, owing to an accumulation of small particles of rock, which had, from time immemorial, scaled from the heights above and lodged on this slightly-projecting shelf The distance, from the time taken to pass it, I guessed to be not far short of a quarter of a mile. At my foot, literally speaking (for it required but a semiquaver of the body, or the loosening of my hold, to throw the centre of gravitation over the abyss), was spread the valley of the Drance, through which I could perceive the river meandering like a silver thread ; but from the height at which I looked down its rapidity was invisible, and its hoarse brawling unheard. The silence was absolute and solemn ; for, fortunately, not a zephyr 500 Pedestrianism fanned the air to interfere witli my precarious equilibrium. . . . Every sense seemed absorbed in getting to the end, and yet in the midst of this unenviable position a trilling incident occurred which actually, for the time, gave rise to something of a pleasurable sensation. About midway I esiiied, in a chink of the ledge, the beautiful and dazzling little blossom of the Gentiana nivalis, and stopping the guides whiLst I gathered it, I expressed great satisfaction in meeting with this lovely little flower in such a lonely spot. And I could scarcely help smiling at the simj^licity of these honest people, who from that moment, whenever the difficulties increased, endeavoured to divert my attention by pointing out or looking for another specimen. "We had pro- ceeded good part of the way, when to my dismay the ledge, narrow as it was, became perceptibly narrower, and, at the distance of a yard or two in advance, I observed a point where it seemed to run to nothing, interrupted by a protuberant rock. I said nothing, waiting the result in silence. The guide before me, when he reached the point, threw one foot round the pro- jection till it was firmly placed, and, holding on to the rock, then brought up the other. What was I to do 1 Like Arthur Philipson's guide, Antonio, I could only say, " I was no chamois hunter, and had no wings to transport me from cliff to cliff like a raven." " I cannot perform that feat," said I to the guide ; " I shall miss the invisible footing on the other side, and — then ! " They were prepared for the case ; one of them happened to have a short staff ; this was handed forward, and formed a slight rail, while the other, stooping down, seized my foot, and placing it in his hand, answered, " Tread without apprehension ; it will support you firmly as the rock itself. Be steady — go on." I did so, and regained the ledge once more in safety. . . . By keeping my head obliquely turned inwards I had in great measuie avoided more visual communication than I wished with the bird's-eye 2)rospect below, but there was no j^ossibility of excluding tlie smooth, liare frontage of rock right ahead. There it reared itself from the clouds beneath to the clouds above, without outward or visible sign of fret or fissure, as far as I could judge, on which even a chamois could rest his tiny hoof ; for the width of whatever ledge it might have was diminished by the perspective view we had of it to Euclid's true definition of a mathematical line — namely, length without breadth. At tliis distance of time I haxe no very clear recollection of the mode of our exit, and cannot speak jjositively as to whether we skirted any part of this perilous wall of the Titans, or crept up through the corner of the curve by some fissure leading to the summit. I have, however, a very clear and agreeable recollection of the moment when I came into contact with a tough bough, which I welcomed and grasped as T would have welcomed and gi-asped the dearest friend I had upon earth, and by the help of which I, in a very few more seconds, scrambled ujiwards, and set my feet once more, without fear of slips or sliding, on a rough heathery surface forming the bed of a ravine which soon led us to an u])land plateau, on which I stood as in the garden of jiaradise. ^ Descriptions like these afford, of course, but a relative measure of the difficulty and risk of auy such task, which ceases to be ' [This glowing description seems to relate to the side ol ;i mountain valley, and not to any real mountain ascent.] in Switzerland 501 agreeable when it passes the limits of what Dr. Johnson happily characterises as " a kind of turbulent pleasure between fright and admiration." Slo;pes of Snow and Ice. — We now turn to the peculiar difti- culties and risks connected with the passage of slopes of snow and ice. Formidable as these often are they offer more resource to skill and perseverance than precipices of rock, where art can assist little and where everything depends on nerve. Snow of course never exists in absolute precipices, and even those of ice are more limited in extent than may be generally siipposed, — always excepting the walls of crevasses underneath the level of a glacier, and with such the less a traveller has to do the better. Extensive steep inclines of snow and ice are among the most serious obstacles which the pilgrim of the higher Alps can en- counter,^ and there are few considerable ascents in the course of which they are not met with. A slope of imperfectly frozen snow, the result of spring avalanches, and lying in highly inclined ravines called couloirs, are often more difficult to cross than if they were of the hardest and most slippery ice. Snow has some- times that treacherous degree of consistence which allows a partial consolidation by the foot-tread, but which suffers the ball or clot thus formed under the sole of the foot to slide like an unctuous substance over the less perfectly compressed snow be- neath. In this way the footstep of a traveller may give way after two or three persons have already planted their feet in safety on the same spot. To cross a snow couloir of great height and inclination under such circumstances appears to us to be one of the most real dangers of the Alps. But such places can always be crossed safely in the morning when the snow is hard. A surface of ice, covered by some inches of snow, is formidable for the same reason. A slope of pure ice, at an inclination exceeding -40 or even 30 degrees, has a sufficiently terrific appearance, especially if it terminate below in a precipice of rock or a crevasse of a glacier. Yet the traveller has here in some degree his safety in his own hands. Footsteps may be made so as to give a firm hold to the pedestrian's nailed shoes, if sufficient time be allowed for that purpose. In some rare cases hand-holds as well as foot-holds 1 [Modern pilgrims to the Alps make a pilgrimage in scardt. of such " obstacles," now become rather the '• chief objects " of an Aljnne journey.] 502 Pedestrianism inust be made in the ice face; but only small spaces are ever crossed in this way. Mr. Auldjo has represented an instance of this kind in the tenth illustration of his ascent of Mont Blanc/ and M. Hugi has described [p. 207] a similar case in the last ascent of the Finsteraarhorn [in 1829] by his guides, in which he alleges, with what accuracy we know not, that at each step the men had to pause and let their shoes be slightly frozen to the surface to which they choir/. In ascending steep slopes of ice it is often advisable to take them right in front instead of going in zig-zag, as one is naturally inclined to do ; for though more laborious, travellers and guides may thus effectually assist one another, and in case of a rope being used to tie them together, or for all to hold by, the risk of accident to the whole party is materially diminished.- For it is evident that if a file of men ascend a ladder and one of them slips, he is sustained by those inmiediately beneath him, and his weight is partly thrown by means of the rope on those directly in advance ; but if one of a file in an oblique ascent lose his footing, he comes into contact with no man, and the strain falls, by means of the rope, on the , two persons alone between whom he is placed. By the obliquity 1 of the strain it is also, by a well-known principle in mechanics, rendered more intense, and if either of his immediate supporters lose their footing the whole party must inevitably go down. The 3fnr cle la Cote, on the final ascent of Mont Blanc, is one of 1 The i)leasing illustrations of Mr. Auldjo's work unqiiestionably present exag- gerated views of several scenes. This is probably one. The breakfast party on the snow brid-v crrtainly is. If snch a mass of snow eoidd hang for a moment in the circnmstauccs there represented, no sane man would stand upon it for a moment longer than neccss^ny. We may remark that such scenes are rarely carefully drawn at the moment, but are usually executed afterwards under a vivid recollection of the dangers run. Nor are autliors always to blame for pictorial exaggeration. It is one of the vices of the day that artists of all kinds find it their interest to astonish, by "cooking" the sketches placed in their hands up to the stimulant tone required by the appetite of book-l)uycvs. IMr. Bi'owne's sketches of the ascent of ]\l()nt Blanc, though evidently done for the most part from recollection, are ].robably the best that have been published of this kind of scenery. [Forl)Cs's severe remarks as to the accuracy of Mr. Auldjo's illustrations are fully warranted. But it need hardly be said tliat none of these sketches of terrible bits were done on the S2)0t. Nowadays such bits can be taken at once by jihoto- graphy. Tlie title of Mr. J. Auldjo's book is Kaii-atirc of an Jscoil. lo the SuvimU of Munt Blanc on the Sth and Uth of Avcjust, 1S27. London, 1827. Forbes refers to "the 1830 8vo edition, which alone has the two illustrations mentioned, Nos. 10 and VI. The title of Mr. .1. D. H. Browne's work is Ten Srnics in the Last Jsccnt of Mont Blanc London, 1 853.] - [It is "right enough to cut straight up a steep ice-slope, but the party must ahraynhc tied together liy the rope on such occasions.] in Switzerland 503 the best known and most frequently described ice-slopes of the kind. But even the Mur de la Cote is a much less serious obstacle of its kind than many other ice-slopes which occur in the Alps. One certain proof of this is, that hardly any climber of Mont Blanc, not even Mr. Albert Smith, dwells on the difti- culty of the descent, which is really by far the most formidable affair when the incline is severe. On such occasions it is neces- sary to descend as on a ladder with the face towards the hill, in order to insert the toes in the steps previously made. It is extremely difficult to hew out ice-steps in descending ; hence in crossing elevated cols the frozen side should be preferred for the ascent.^ Messrs. Schlagintweit, in their ascent of Monte Eosa in 1851, returning by a different way, fell in with difficulties so serious, that even with their experience they were almost over- taken by evening on the heights of the mountain before they had a prospect of extrication ; and at last were compelled to descend a couloir of hard ice, having an inclination of from 60° to 62° (which viewed from above appears almost vertical), perhaps the steepest which has ever been approached in that manner."' Occasionally the ice of mountain-tops presents a double incline, like the ridge of a house -roof, only usually far steeper, so that a man may easily sit astride of it. This is, of course, a formidable trial to the nerves, especially if it l3e of hard ice in which steps must be cut. It is to be traversed lengthways by making good footsteps on one side of the incline parallel to the ridge, and planting the ice-pole firmly into the opposite slope. The extreme summit of the Jungfrau is of this description.^ The approach from the south to the highest part of Monte Eosa is similar to it. There is one peculiarity of the higher regions of snow and ice which deserves a passing notice, on account of its singularity and of the caution which it suggests. There is no elevation in the Alps at which fusion of the snow does not occasionally take place by the force of the sun's rays ; but as it rapidly freezes, ^ [But what it', as often happens, hoth sides are frozen ?] - [See the 1854 book of tlie Schlagintweits, pp. 78, 79. As pointed out above, this party reached the Grenzgipfel only, and not the summit of Monte Rosa. The couloir is stated to have been of snow, which was only here and there turned into ice.] •■' [See Forbes's sketch in Nonmu, p. 321 : it is given above, p. 449.] 504 Pedestrianism the tendency is to form a hard crust of ice upon the softer snow beneath. In consequence of this and of the drifting of the snow in the eddies which always occur at the top of a precipice on the lee-side of an exposed slope, a hardened crust of projecting ice [or snow] is apt to be formed in such situations, which may be compared to the eave of a roof. Now a traveller groping his way on the difficult slopes of the higher ice, while he leaves, as he thinks, from two to three feet of solid ground between him and the abyss, may in fact be resting his weight on the treacher- ous and baseless projection of ice [or snow] which we have described.-^ In his account of the ascent of the Jungfrau with M. Agassiz, Professor Forbes gives in a few words an idea of this serious danger: — Whilst we were marching j^atiently at what seemed a safe distance from the edge, Jacob [the guide] made us almost tremble by piercing, with a few lilows of his alpenstock, the frail covering, within t-\vo or three feet of us, levealing through the gap the vacuity througli wliich we might have dropped a stone upon the glacier beneath.- Professor Hugi of Soleure was nearly the victim of a similar incident in one of his attempts to reach the summit of the rinsteraarhorn, which he has described in graphic terms [pp. 193, 194]. The scene of the adventure was laid 13,000 feet above the sea, on the sharp [N.W.] ridge of that savage mountain, which terminated on one side in a precipice of terrific height, on the other in a steep incline of ice hardly less formidable. One of the guides. Dandier [Tannler] by name, was in front of the Professor, holding in his hands a long pole, perhaps intended as for a flagstaff to commemorate their exploit. Suddenly the guide slipped on the face of ice, and would have glided instantaneously to the bottom had not M. Hugi leaping forward seized the other end of the spar. The instant he did so the ice ^ gave way beneath his feet : he had unawares thrown his weight on the treacherous crust of frozen snow of which we have spoken, which in this instance projected five or six feet over the edge of the rock on tlie precipitous side of the ridge. There he liung tjuite loosely ' [Tliis projectinn, generally of snow, rarely of ice, is technically called a " corniche," or an " Uoberhang."] - [See Forbes s Norway, ]i. 319. The passage is reprinted above at ]\ 447. Tlie .spot was some way above the Roththalsattel, the corniche overhanging the nt've of tiie (!reat Aletscli Glacier. A diagram is given in both cases.] ■' ['I'he original text says Firn, i.e. neve, or hard snow, ')iot ice.] in Switzerland 505 in the hole which he had made, and through which he could deliberately view beneath his feet the surface of the Finsteraar Glacier 4000 feet vertically beneath him. His sole security was the counterpoise of the guide who had lost his footing on the opposite incline of ice, but who fortunately retained his hold upon the spar. From this unpleasant game of see-saiu both parties were with some difficulty rescued by the assistance of their companions. The Glaciers — Crevasses. — Trilling, indeed, compared to the dangers of such ascents as the preceding, yet not unworthy of notice, are those of the lower and more accessible glaciers, which, as every one knows, are traversed by fissures which constitute one of the great objects of interest to the curious traveller. These fissures or crevasses (for the English word crevice is wholly inapplicable to their usually stupendous dimensions) may be found of all degrees of magnitude, and they present to the traveller obstacles more or less formidable. Many glaciers whose slope is inconsiderable exhibit for a great space fissures so trifling in extent compared to the solid parts of the icy river as to offer no difficulty whatever in their passage ; and to walk over such level ice is less fatiguing than over rock or even over turf, the feet being kept pleasantly cool and the nerves reinforced by the perpetually fresh atmosphere which prevails over the glacier even in the warmest weather. The glacier on the Col of Mont Cervin,^ although 11,000 feet above the sea, is frequently crossed by loaded mules ; as is, we believe, the glacier of the Gries be- tween the upper valley of the Ehone and Domo d'Ossola.^ The Unteraar Glacier might probably be traversed without difficulty on horseback for several miles.^ But the contrary case is the more common, and perhaps no glacier is devoid of difficult chasms in some part of its extent. At their lower extremities in particular they are often altogether impracticable. The steepness of the slope on which they sometimes terminate breaks up the texture of the semi-solid ice by crossing fissures or hatching, while the great summer heat of the valleys into which they thrust their icy snouts acuminates the parallelograms into which they are 1 [The St. Theodule Pass, 10,899 feet.] - [The Gries Pass, 8098 feet, from Ulricheu in the Upper Rhone valley to the Val Formazza and so to Domo.] ^ [The chief difficulty nowadays would be to .surmount the vast moraines at tlie snout of tliis glacier.] 5o6 Pedestrianism thus broken up, and occasions those exquisite pyramidal struc- tures of peUucid ice ^ which all travellers admire in the Glaciers of Bossons and Eosenlaui. In their higher portions again, near tlie limits of perpetual snow, where the ice-river becomes indistinguishable from the vast reservoirs whence it takes its origin and its supply, the fissures have a somewhat different character. The ice in motion is imperfectly consolidated, and has less resistance to fracture than elsewhere. It is consequently broken short across, as it is forced by gravity over even slight inequalities ; but where the descent is rapid, fissures of the most enormous size occur, seaming the glacier entirely from side to side,^ and hindering a passage save by some snow bridge which has survived the thaws of spring and summer. The upper part of the Glacier des Bossons presents such obstacles to the ascender of INIont Blanc from Chamouni as that of the Geant opposes, by a perhaps more serious barrier, the passage of the col of the same name. Such difficulties, common to most extensive glaciers, are the more perplexing that they usually occur in defiles or ravines through which the icy masses uneasily struggle, and which very commonly, in proportion that their channels (Germ. Thalweg) are more inclined, have their walls also more precipitous, so that footing is alike denied on ice or rock to the explorer of the upper Alpine world. To pass among such crevasses requires, as has been already said, a rational acquaintance with the principles according to which the accidents of the ice are affected by the fixed obstacles opposed to its motion. In some cases we may take a glacier right in front, in otliers we must first gain its surface at 1000 feet or more of elevation; in some instances we must eschew the centre, in others the sides. Every promontory has its influence on the state of the ice above and lielow it, whicli may be shrewdly guessed at by a skilled person traversing the glacier even for the first time.^ Most tourists know nowadays something of the complex path which leads across the Mer de Glace of Cliamouni to the Tacul and the Jardin, of which • [These are called "si'raes," from a stage in the luoecss of making whej'.] - [These are called "ice falls."] •' Mr. "Wills repeatedly mentions tlie advantage which his Chamouni guide, Auguste Halmat, had even over natives in finding the best route across glaciers quite unknown to lum, in consequence of his accurate knowledge with, the circumstances which regulate the state of the ice. [Such skill is only possessed by a few liist-class guides. J in Switzerland 507 the curiously monotonous irregularities are faithfully reiterated year by year, notwithstanding the perpetual flow of the ice. This traverse is indeed the 2Jons asinorum of amateurs, the Scylla and Charybdis of " aspirant " guides. Take a single wrong turn to the left (we speak of descending the glacier) and you are thrown upon knife edges of ice, with vertical sides thinning out as you approach the moraine ; escaping that, and turning to the right, you are gradually but inevitably drawn into the vortex of confusion which exists towards the centre of the glacier, whence escape is physically impossible, except by retracing every step to the point where the error was made.^ The respectable Bourrit's remark - on this singular passage (opposite the point called V Angle) is as true now as ever : " I never once succeeded," he says, " in finding an exit by the same block of ice on which I had entered ; but, on the contrary, often wandered about for three quarters of an hour, the guides mean- while having recourse to witchcraft to explain this effect of the multiplicity of similar objects which long habit does not enable us to distinguish." Of course the lesson is at last learnt — the practised guide threads his way like an Indian on his trail ; the less experienced are content to place little piles of stones to guide themselves day by day. The dangers of the lower and middle glaciers are at least open and undisguised. No one ought on any consideration to traverse them to any extent without a companion, though not necessarily a guide in all cases. The consequences of an irretrievable slip beyond the reach of help are too awful to be lightly risked. But it is only in solitude that there is any real danger. The cases of men lost or nearly lost in glacier crevasses have, in every instance that we can recollect, been of those who were unaccompanied.^ A clergyman named Mouron * is probably the only amateur who has died in consequence. Bohren, a peasant of Grindelwald, slipped once alone into the upper glacier of that valley, and after three hours of sufferings, such as we may imagine in that horrible 1 [Tlie[difliculties of the Mer de Glace and the degree of skill required to over- come them are far less according to modern standards than in the days of Forbes.] - {Description des Gladercs, etc., 1785 edition, vol. iii. pp. 106, 107.] ^ [This statement was not exact even in Forbes's day ; since then many persons, even accompanied, have been so lost, as they were not tied together by a rope.] * [A young Swiss pasteur, who fell into a crevasse in 1821 on the Eismeer, or upper part of the Lower Grindelwald Glacier.] 5o8 Pedestrianism dungeon, regained the upper world.^ Michel Devouassoud, of Chamouni, fell into a crevasse on tlie Glacier of Talefre, a feeder of the Mer de Glace, on the 29th of July, 1836, and after a severe struggle extricated himself, leaving his knapsack below. This identical knapsack reappeared in July, 1846, at a spot on the glacier surface Jf.300 fed from the place where it was lost, as ascertained by Professor Forbes, who himself collected the frag- ments, thus indicating the rate of the flow of the icy river in the intervening ten years." The more plastic forms of the snowy matter of the highest glaciers and its greater fragility produce, as has been observed, more stupendous, if less profound and definitely bounded chasms. These terrific rents sometimes stretch almost from side to side of the glacier, and require much address in evading them. Some- times the traveller must perform a succession of ascents and descents on nearly vertical walls of ice, and at others must pass under menacing pinnacles which a few instants may detach and cover his difficult pathway with their ruins. Still higher up the rents frequently become grottos covered with snowy roofs, beautiful but treacherous, which, yielding beneath the foot of the unwary pedestrian, would in all probability introduce him to a nearer acquaintance than he desires with the palaces of enchantment lieneath, were he not brought up by a sudden tug at the good rope well fastened to his waist, and that of his firmly footed companions in the rear, who are ever on the watch for the disappearance of a friend through pitfalls as invisible as those on the frail bridge of Mirza's vision. Yet it is usually a sign of inaccurate pilotage if such an incident occurs. The " sounding " of superficial snows Ijy the pike or alpenstock of the foremost guide is as necessary as the heaving of the lead in a fog in Yarmouth Eoads ; and rarely does that good implement Ijelie the trust reposed in it. His ' [Christian Boliren's adventure took place in 1787 on tlie Upper (irindehvald Glacier.] ^ [For details sec tlie Life uml Letters ol' Korl>e.s, ].p. 318, 319. Perhaps the most remarkable finds of this kind are those made of recent years, near the snout of the BosHons Glacier, of relics of Dr. Hamel's and Captain Arkwriglit's jiarties, who perished respectively in 1820 and 1866 on the highest sloi)es of Mont Blanc in tlie " Ancien Passage," in both cases by reason of an avalanche. In 1SS6 the i>resent editor discovered on a glacier at the head of the Val de Rhemes (a tributary of the valley of Aosta) the bones, fragments of clothing, etc., of a man. He was told at the village below that similar discoveries had been made previously, in one case a coin of the sevcnteentli century having been found with the remains of some ]ioor shejiliird or cliaiiidis hunter, wlio IkuI met his death alone by falling into a crevasse.] in Switzerland 509 alpenstock is the first security of the traveller over snow and ice, a rope the second, and a hatchet the third. The loss of any one of these implements may endanger a man or a party. A geological hammer, with an axe-like termination, habitually worn by means of a strap round the waist, is a sure help in many unforeseen accidents.^ Avalanches. — This is the greatest and the most resistless catastrophe which can overtake the Alpine pedestrian. Very few indeed are the casualties which it has occasioned amongst amateur frequenters of the mountains," because they go thither at a season when the " dread lauine " is comparatively rare ; but of all the thousand crosses which mark the slopes of those Alpine thorough- fares which the humble traveller is driven to pass at untimely seasons, or by which the hardy peasant seeks his home in the upper valleys, the vast majority are memorials of this unforeseen and most appalling messenger. The very commotion in the air occasioned by the impetuous rush of millions of cubic feet of consolidated snow have been sufficient in some instances to uproot trees, and to unroof cottages, or even to remove them bodily to a distance.^ The avalanches of summer and autumn are, of course, far more local and far less tremendous.^ But they do occur, and tact in discriminating localities affected by passing avalanches (not only of snow, but of stones from the surface of lofty glaciers'* niched in the recesses of the higher mountains), and in estimating the general condition with reference to consolidation of the snow which may recently have fallen, are important articles of mountain craft. Almost the only instance*' of a climbing party being over- taken by an avalanche in summer is the well-known one of Dr. Hamel and his companions in their attempt to ascend Mont Blanc ^ [Alpenstocks, hatchets, aud axe-like geological hammers are now quite super- seded in the High Alps by the ice-axe, an instrument scarcely known in 1857.] - [Unfortunately many amateurs have perished since 1857 by reason of avalanches. The spring avalanches, to which Forbes alludes, are but one of the many varieties of avalanches ; and the most dangerous falls take place in summer, as those in the spring are mainly of "dust snow," but in summer of ice.] ^ [Forbes thinks only of large snow . avalanches in winter or spring, but many smaller ones occur at all seasons.] * [The present editor resides all the year round in the High Alps, so that he permits himself to express his entire disagreement with this dictum of Forbes. At the two seasons named the size of the avalanches may be less than in Avinter or spring, but they are even more dangerous.] ^ [Every climber now knows that stones come down from rocks as well as from glaciers and from ice or snow slopes, above the traveller. ] ^ [Alas ! the list has been much enlarged since 1857.] 5 I o Pedestrianism in 1820. An interesting narrative of the accident, by which three guides perished/ was printed by one of the party, Mr. Durnford [really Dornford], in the New Monthly Magazine [for 1821], and has since been transferred to the pages of Mr. Albert Smith's little work [pp. 110-127]. It does not appear that by any amount of foresight the catastrophe could have been certainly foreseen, although the immediately preceding bad weather, which detained the travellers for a whole day at the Grands Mulcts, most probably helped to occasion the treacherous state of the snow. Having thus drawn some outlines of the difficulties of the higher Alps, we may add that, with few exceptions, they are real dangers chiefly to the timid or the foolhardy. The former want the determination to conquer, which is often the talisman of success ; the latter, seeking dangers unprepared, may really fall a sacrifice to them when they least expect it ; and, looking to the tone of some of our recent young English tourists, we cannot but fear that some grave accident may ere long occur as a warning to the rash and inexperienced. Alpine adventure has a great analogy to that of our Arctic expeditions. In both the average freedom from casualty has been surprising. This is to be attributed to the caution inspired by an adequate conviction of the risks to be encountered. We all know that in daily life accidents usually occur when we least think of them. People seem to take a pleasure in breaking their legs when they are doing nothing heroic. Circumnavigators are drowned in pleasure boats, and Crimean heroes come home safe and sound to blow ofl' a hand in following grouse or red deer. In the case of Arctic adventure, the public feels that one great calamity obliterates the lustre of many partial yet fruitless successes, and we rather think that our roaming countrymen in Switzerland will do well not to intermit the precautions which hitherto have been so successful in averting accidents, even though j\Iont Blanc should be scaled one time the less, or the suljjects of the King of Sardinia at its foot sliould pocket a few more needless English sovereigns. And now let us be excused for saying a few words on the subject of guides, prominently brought before us by the narrative of Messrs. Hudson and Kennedy. It appears that though these •«* ^ [This accident occurred iu the " Ancien Passage," a route rarely taken since. Tlie three guides lost were Pierre Carrier, Pierre Balmat, and Auguste Tairraz. As to the recent discovery of relics of this party, see above, \^. 508.] in Switzerland 511 gentlemen and their companions claim to have ascended Mont Blanc " without guides," they took the chasseurs of St. Gervais over all the ground which was, properly speaking, new, and availed themselves of their directions in recovering and following the beaten track from Chamouni, with every incident and particular of which they had made themselves familiar by previous inspection of the mountain and of models, and by obtaining, as far as it could be had gratis, the local information possessed by the guides of I'hamouni. In executing the ascent they had indeed to rely on their own courage and presence of mind, and in this they ably succeeded. But their circumstances were peculiar. The powers of endurance of every one of the party were thoroughly known, and had been tried by previous experience, accompanied by guides, in equally or more dangerous places. Fortunately all went well with them. They did not meet a single obstacle or inconvenience on which they had not counted. Had any one been taken ill, or had bad weather even to a moderate extent supervened, the conclusion might have been less happy. As it was, on their return they had the difficulty in crossing the Glacier of Bossons ^ by daylight, and they admit that it might have happened to them to " pass the night on the ice without any shelter," and to " keep themselves warm by exercise until the sun rose " [p. 77]. When we recollect that the whole of the provisions and the wine had been disposed of the previous forenoon, save an " atom of mutton and an equally insignificant piece of bread" [p. 67]," the chances are that that night would have been the last for one or two of the party ; and had it begun to blow or snow, the whole of them must have perished. Fortune indeed favours the brave, as these our young countrymen undoubtedly are, but it is possible that they have not yet known what it is to be put to shifts by bad weather.^ In such cases a tried mountaineer, one who passes his lointers^ as well as his summers among the High Alps, has an unquestion- 1 [Properly speaking, the "junction" of the Bossons and Taconnaz Glaciers.] - [Forbes did not think that in later years many parties would be benighted on the ice, without much food or drink, and yet would suffer only temporary incon- venience.] ^ [But a few days previous to their success the same party had been defeated, very high up, by bad weather, in an attempt on Mont Blanc from the Col du Geant. See p. 16 of their book.] ^ [Forbes did not imagine that in later years amateurs, as well as guides, would pass their painters among the High Alps, as has been the case in several instances.] 512 Pedestrianism able advantage over less experienced, however zealous, and courageous climbers. As to the rates charged for the ascent of ]\Iont Blanc, and the rules which prevent the selection of guides at Chamouni, we think them provoking enough. But it is fair to recollect that they are the result of that elaborate bureaucratic system which prevails in most continental states, and which the mere actors in it are utterly incompetent to redress. The code of laws of the Society of Guides, far from being the result of local association, is concocted and enforced at Bonneville and Chambery, and the smallest change in them ^ requires as many protocols as to alter the frontier of the Danubian Principalities. Consequently the harshness of the step announced in the following passage is only equalled by its absurdity : " There has been lately," say the Mont Blanc tourists," " a destructive fire at Chamouni. A member of our party left a cheque for the sufferers, on condition that it should remain untouched until an English traveller should be at liberty to choose his own guide, and to determine for himself the number he required." In truth we fear that neither the conduct of our self-guided friends, nor that of a majority of candidates for the reputation of having ascended Mont Blanc, will tend to raise the character of our countrymen with the keen-witted peasants of Chamouni. These last unite a discrimination of character such as we do not recollect to have met with in any other persons of their rank of life with truly diplomatic power of turning it to account, and of accommodating their behaviour to the temper of the persons with whom they have to deal. Hence they cannot but feel the thoughtless hrusquerie and affectation of superiority with which it is to be feared they are too often treated. It is easy to scoff" at the guides of Chamouni as in " great part competent only to escort the- dilettante tourist to the giddy heights of the ]\Iontan- vert, or to carry a lady's shawl to the dangerous pinnacle of the rieg^re." "' But in this, as in other callings, life is not all spent in heroic actions. The less excited observer will rather find reasons for high commendation in observing how the bravest and 1 [At the end of 1892 the Society of Guides at Chamouni was dissolved as an oflicial corporation, and the rules (more or less amended since 1857) abolished ; but tlie new roluntarij Society of Guides since formed has adopted pretty nearly all the worst features of the old rules.] - [Hudson ami Kennedy, p. 4. J ^ [^Ibid, p. 3.] in Switzerland 513 most intelligent natives of Chamouni fulfil, not only with faith- fulness hut with alacrity, the daily routine of their business/ and adapt themselves with a skill and good humour which has often excited our admiration to answer the silly questions with which they are pestered, and to keep on good terms with the young hot-bloods, who are apt enough to fancy that they can give them a lesson in their own calling." Indeed, to appreciate the advantages (without calling in question the disadvantages, which are not denied) of the Chamouni system, one ought to be acquainted with the intolerable incon- veniences to which the traveller is perpetually subjected in nearly every other part of the Alps.^ The guides of Courmayeur are, as descrilied in the work before us,"* ignorant and impracticable ; those of Martigny, in general, stupid and sulky. The Oberland guides are, many of them, excellent ; but the German constitution, though enduring in a high degree, is often unimpressible and disagreeably phlegmatic, not rarely obstinate and imperious.^ Beyond the places which we have named, the traveller is often at his wit's end to find competent guides. He may induce a chamois-hunter now and then to give him a day's service, which stands him in good stead ; but to engage such guides for pro- longed journeys is usually impossible, the safety of their precarious harvest far outweighing such remuneration as a tourist can offer." In the Eastern Alps and in part of Piedmont drunkenness is the rule and sobriety the exception." The guides of Chamouni are, in short, nearly the only men who can be counted on at all ^ [Forbes here allows himself to be carried away by his natural partiality for the Chamouniards, unless these have greatly altered since 1857.] ^ [Forbes evidently here is thinking of his own favourite guide, Auguste Balmat, an exceptional man in many ways.] ^ [In reading the following remarks of Forbes, one should bear two points in mind : — (a) Tliat the Chamouni guides were the first to be organised, and so long enjoyed a monopoly, which has now passed away, in great part owing to the annoying rules already mentioned. (6) That since 1855 the guides of other districts have been organised, and avoiding the errors of the Chamouni system, have completely beaten the Chamouni men out of the field, the Oberland guides being now at the top of the tree.] * [Hudson and Kennedy, pp. 4, 5.] " [The present editor has had Grindelwald guides continuously for thirty-one summers and winters, so that he cannot resist repelling with indignation these unfounded accusations of Forbes.] " [Naturally men only take up the 2rrofession of guiding when there is a con- siderable and constant demand in their district for guides.] ' [Things are now greatly improved in both districts.] 33 514 Pedestrianism seasons for engagements of any kind and of any length, whose sobriety, honesty, and courage are even still almost without a blot.^ Something must be paid for these advantages, and though the dangers of Mont Blanc may not be very great, a series of successive ascents of such a mountain undoubtedly take a great deal out of a man even when he is in the highest prime of life, and on that account require higher compensation. It is all very well to ascend Mont Blanc for once — nay, even once a year ; - but if it becomes regular taskwork it deserves to be well paid for.^ It is indeed strange that a feat to which so little that is heroic can now be attached should still excite such earnest longing on the part of Englishmen.* There are other fields of adventure not hemmed in by the rules of the Guides' Society [of Chamouni]. Why do our aspirants for mountain honours not attempt the almost untrodden snows of Monte Viso, and Mont Pelvoux, of the Aletschhorn and Fletschhorn, of the Todi and the Bernina ? ^ Even at Chamouni, if they want a difficult feat, not on the tariff of the guides, did they ever try the highest part of the Aiguilles Kouges ? Who has mounted the Aiguille du ]\Iidi since Mr. Eomilly nearly forty years ago ? '^ And is it 1 [Things are greatly altered for the worse at Chamouni, and local men are rarely taken now to other districts, as in the olden days.] ^ The only tourist who has been more than once on the summit of Mont Blanc is M. Ordinaire, a medical man, we believe, of Besanyon, who ascended twice wUhin a week in the summer of 1843 ; and in the interval, if we recollect rightly, performed several other fatiguing excursions. His object was merely amusement or "distraction." [Of course many other travellers have since Forbes wrote climbed Mont Blanc several times, ilr. C. E. JNIathews (one of the founders of the Alpine Club) having performed this feat twelve times, and M. Vallot (director of the :Mont Blanc Observatory) no fewer than twenty-five times. M. Ordinaire is remembered in Alpine history as having, with his brother professor at Besancon, M. Puiseux — in 1848 the first to reach the highest summit of the Pelvoux, in the Dauphiue Alps — been the first to attempt, in 1847, Monte Rosa from the Zermatt side, though his party did not get beyond the Silbersattel, less than 500 feet below the highest summit.] ^ [On the contrary, thinks the present editor. Experience has shown that the ascent of Mont Blanc by the ordinary route (and Cliamouni guides nowadays •lo little else in tlie matter of high ascents) is very easy in every respect, while it has also been shown that tlic least capable guides in any district are those who go on climbing their own mouut:uns, and tlie best tliose wlio also travel to other regions of the Alps.] ■* [Why not? It is the liigliest summit in the Alps.] ■' [Of the six peaks named but two were still virgin in 1857, when Forbes WTote — the Aletschhorn (first climbed in 1859) and Monte Viso (conquered in 1861). The Todi was attained in 1824, the two summits of the Pelvoux in 1830 and 184S, the Piz Bernina in 1850, and the two summits of the Fletschhorn in 1854 and 1856.] *' [As to this alleged ascent, see above, p. 'J3L'.] in Switzerland 515 on record that the summit of the Aiguille Verte — next but one in height to Mont Blanc in that group — has even been attempted ? ^ The ascent of Mont Blanc has been degraded into an affair of waste and absurdity ; of excess in eating and drinking ; of salvos of artillery and syndic's extortions.^ The Chamouni guides, seeing that no honour nor much credit is now to be got out of it, make it an affair partly of lucre and partly of jollity ; ^ and it is to the credit of the peasantry that worse scenes than have taken place cannot be quoted, and that the voice of detraction has never been able to record of them a momentary dereliction of responsibility or even a brutal word.'* The question cannot fail to be asked and answered, how far these pedestrian feats have fulfilled expectation, and are worthy of being encouraged and repeated ? It has been customary to consider them as perilous adventures, to be justified only by their contributing important information in physical science to the common stock. This is the tone taken by the author ^ of that part of Murray's Handbook relating to Savoy, in which much is said of the cruelty of risking the lives of the guides for the gratification of mere curiosity. Serjeant Talfourd, in his pleasant Rambles, criticises this statement as not justified by the risk incurred, which he holds to be trifling, and also as placing a mere acquisition of scientific fads so immeasurably beyond the influence of such unparalleled scenery in enlarging our ideas and fascinating the human mind. In this we think that Talfourd is perfectly correct.'^' Even were the experiments which can be made upon mountain tops of very material importance, they could not confer alone the privilege of embarking on such expeditions. But this becomes a more irresistible conclusion by 1 [The Verte is surpassed in heiglit by the Grandes Jorasses, and several of the satellites of Mont Blanc itself, see above, pp. 90, 115. It was not climbed till 1865 by Mr. Whymper.] 2 [Even in 1857 this was only true of ascents from Chamouni by the ordinary route, and since that date many new routes up have been discovered.] 3 [Naturally, in order to beguile the almost intolerable tedium of always making the same ascent.] ^ [Thino-s have since 1857 changed much for the worse at Chamouni.] ■' [Probably Mr. W. Brockedon.] [Forbes here rises above his usual level, and goes against several of his own statements in the earlier part of this article. Climbing is an amusement as much as hunting or yachting, and scientific observations are not required from votaries of these two "sports," which are, too, far more dangerous than climbing.] 5i6 Pedestrianism far when it is clearly perceived, what we unhesitatingly affirm to be the fact, that in scarcely one instance have the results of such hasty ascents to Alpine pinnacles been of real service to any of the physical sciences. Some of the observations made by De Saussure on the top of Mont Blanc were of interest at the time [1787], when the condition of the atmosphere at such heights could only be inductively guessed at. But one or two repetitions were more than sufficient to register these broad and incontrovertible facts. The laius deducible from them, and which alone are important, cannot be obtained from a few hours of difficult and embarrassed observation. De Saussure did more infinitely more — for science by residing for seventeen days [July 3-19, 1788] at the more moderate elevation [11,060 feet] of the Col du Geant, than he did by his ascent of Mont Blanc, or than has been done by all the ascents [of Mont Blanc] which have occurred since his time. ]\I. Agassiz in like manner benefited science materially Ijy his prolonged sojourn [in 1840-44] on the accessible Unteraar Glacier, but he added nothing to it by his adventurous ascent of the Jungfrau.^ Baron Humboldt complained that he was wearied with questions about the ascent of Chimborazo ^ by persons who imagined that he was to reap there in a few hours a harvest of information about physical geography which was in reality due to his long and patient study of more accessible regions. In truth so incon- siderable was the result that the account of the expedition is to be sought among the fugitive pieces of tlie great naturalist.^ So it is with every other ascent to a mountain top which could be named. As we get beyond in succession the woods, the pastures, the animal and vegetable life of medium elevations, the scope of observation is restricted ; we leave the very glaciers below us, the rocks are fewer and less varied, and all organic and inorganic nature, so far as it can be studied with minute attention, is commonly reduced to a small foothold of un- 1 blemished snow. Thus, then, the scientific argument is reduced I to a very narrow compass. The lessons are to be gathered on the road, and not at the goal. The lover of scenery and the more general student may be 1 [With Forbes in 1841. See pages 443-451 above] '^ [or course he did not ascend Chimboiazo, but only tried the ascent.] •* Klcincrc Schrifkn. luster Band. in Switzerland 517 allowed a wider range of motives ; and to such the attainment of an exalted elevation is a pleasure, peculiar, exquisite, and impossible accurately to define. The completeness of the con- quest over obstacles, the perfect comprehension of all the parts of a mighty whole, the immeasurable grandeur of a wide horizon suddenly presented to the eye, are sources of pleasure which must have been experienced to be understood. Of these we believe that the entire apprehension of the topographical and other details of an extensive hilly country, previously estimated only by a partial insight into its component elements, is to an intelligent mind the most pleasing and permanent.^ The thorough comprehension of every detail of a majestic Alpine group, ramified into mutually dependent chains and pinnacles, diversified 1)y valleys and ravines, broken up by glaciers, snow-beds, and precipices, the whole arising out of undulating lines of wood and cultivation, and of which the mutual relations are comprised in a single glance ; such a revelation may be compared to that which the mathematician enjoys when he arrives at a knowledge of a widely general theorem which embraces in one compact ex- pression a volume of previously scattered knowledge, or to that which a naturalist may feel when he masters some compre- hensive principle in the structure of the animal or vegetable world, and sees how it accounts for and co-ordinates a thousand minute particulars before scarcely understood. Another, and perhaps a still more universal source of pleasure in a mountain view arises from the novelty as well as the com- pleteness of the point of view. A bird's-view, if not, properly speaking, picturesque, and the impossibility of rendering it pictorially pleasing is a proof that it is not so, presents familiar objects in new and surprising combinations and aspects. To see under our feet pinnacles on which we have always hitherto gazed upwards with admiration and awe ; to trace the ice-stream from its very birthplace in the mountain-cleft to its point of dissolution among the warm verdure of the valleys ; to have eternally sterile rocks and unchanging snows for our foreground, while shelter and cultivation and all the works of man are removed to a distance which feds unapproachable though clearly discerned ; to see at a glance, all round the most stupendous 1 [The present editor ventures to applaud this opinion, on the ground of his extended experience of such scenes.] 5 1 8 Pedestrianism barriers of nature, and be present, as it were, at the same moment in two different valleys, leagues apart, which belong to different kingdoms, where diff'erent languages are spoken, and whose waters flow into different seas, such novelty of combina- tion among familiar elements excites the imagination, and gives rise to that feeling of admiring surprise which persons possessing the smallest share of the poetic temperament have usually felt in such situations. To these pleasurable and ennobling sensations we must add the physical exhilaration which commonly attends all ascents not pushed to the extreme limit which occurs in the mountains of Europe. At all elevations of from 6000 to 11,000 feet, and not unfrequently for even 2000 feet more, the pedestrian enjoys a pleasurable sensation imparted by the consciousness of existence, similar to that which is described as so fascinating by those who have become familiar with the desert life of the East. The body seems lighter, the nervous power greater, the appetite is increased, and fatigue, though felt for a time, is removed by the shortest repose. Some travellers have described the sensation by the impression that they do not actually press the ground, but that the blade of a knife could be inserted between the sole of the feet and the mountain top. Such, then, appear to us to be the elements of the enjoyment attending the ascent of mountains made under propitious cir- cumstances. There is, first, the thorough comprehension of a complex idea previously partially received; then there is the charm of novelty in the unwonted combination of objects more or less familiar ; and lastly, there is consciousness of ph}'sical exhilaration. As one or other of these elements predominates, the resulting emotion will affect the analytical, the poetical, or the sensuous faculties ; and we cease to feel surprise that persons of the most varied temperament discover alike in such scenes a peculiar charm, described by some one as " beyond and without a name," and which is more or less intensely felt as one or more of these sensibilities are called forth. Fortunately these rewards of toil and perseverance are not peculiar to the accomplishment of the highest and the most admired feats of pedestrian achievement. We imagine that even the most successful Alpine travellers will, if disposed to be candid, admit tliat the hai)piest, if not the proudest, moments of in Switzerland 519 their experience have been spent on some of the more majestic passes of the Alps, or on some summits not of the highest class.^ In such situations a favourable concurrence of circumstances is less improbable ; there has been no exhaustion from previous preparation and anxiety, the atmosphere is often serene and delightful, the earlier hour at vi^hich the station may be attained " increases the chance of a noble prospect, and even the prospect is itself more noble if every snowy peak has not been already sunk beneath the feet of the spectator ; if the view, in short, combine the range and precision of the eagle's outlook with the contemplation of the still higher summits, which preserve the grandeur of an ascending perspective with the detail of rough- hewn masses of granite and sparkling diadems of snow brought into illusory proximity by the transparency of the upper air.^ On the whole, without dissuading our energetic travellers from attempting even the most difficidt feats of pedestrian attain- ment if occasion invites, and a natural taste deliberately prompts to them, we advise that they be made rare, not essential parts of Alpine journeys ; especially they ought not to be the em- ployment of a first or second tour. Habits of observation should be formed in the more accessible parts of Switzerland, for it is only after a time that the majesty of the upper world can be fully understood. The most trodden passes of the Alps, and their most frequented stations are, in their way, as admirable as any other. He who is insensible to the greatness of the scenery of the Montanvert, the Wengern Alp, and the Cramont, need scarcely go in quest of the sublime to the Jardin, the Col du Geant, or the Stelvio ; still less need he brave the difficulties of Mont Blanc or Monte Eosa. A tour composed of great ascents would be like a dinner consisting entirely of stimulants.* The well known but never obsolete tours, of which Mr. Murray's 1 [By all means, says the present editor, for the finest views are generally to be gained from the moderatdy high snow peaks or passes.] 2 [Not always, as for very high peaks the start is usually made from a lofty bivouac or club hut, while for a moderately high peak the starting-point is often a village.] ^ [A view which fully answers all these requirements is that from the Mont Velan (12,353 feet), as compared with that from its lofty neighbour, the Grand Combin (14,164 feet), though the latter is the highest peak in the Alps outside the immediate neighbourhood of Mont Blanc and Monte Rosa.] ■* [What would Forbes have said to the summer journeys of modern climbers, made up wholly of the highest and most difficult ascents, and the Matterhorn taken in the first season ?] 520 Pedestrianism in Switzerland work contains a judicious selection, must be the solid fare upon which the aspirant should be content to satisfy the ordinary demands of a healthful appetite for scenery. > A common fault with our young tourists is to attempt too much in one season. A limited district well explored yields pleasanter recollections afterwards than a surfeit of marvels crammed into the compass of a summer excursion.^ And it would add much to the enjoy- ment and utility of such tours if a somewhat greater acquaintance were attained in the rudiments of physical geography than is usually to be found even among our more highly educated classes. ' [By all means, but what if the unlucky tourist nevei' expects to have the cliance of making more than one visit to the Aljis ?] Scanning Date S^rannt PART IV TOPOGEAPHY OF THE CHAIN OF MONT BLANC TIIE ( ILMN OI MONT BLANC ivV^ZT^ ^^i„iv5.ora 1740, and died 1799.] 524 Topography of the cross as many dangerous cols and ascend as many aiguilles in one week as the sedate Genevese (more frugal in his excitement) thought of undertaking in a twelvemonth.^ We say nothing of the spirit of feminine adventure, of bivouacs at the Tacul, and of picnics at the Jardin ; these are every-day matters. It is refreshing to think that while fashion and civilisation have altered so much, Nature in her stupendous constancy remains unchanged. A new road or bridge " may make a scar here or there, but the trace is lost amidst the gigantic scenery around ; cultivation may be pressed a little higher than formerly, but the eternal hills and the inexhaustible ice-Hoods keep their own without challenge. The voice of gay or of discordant music, the rattle of equipages, and the many-tongued voice of the crowd, fissembled out of every nation under heaven, are altogether but as an inaudible whisper in the bovmdlessness of that mountain space, whose echoes can resound only to the crash of thunder, the ill-boding fitful noise of distant cataracts, and the roar of the icy avalanche. Happily, we say, there are some things which human art cannot utterly spoil. Of these Chamouni (by which we mean the Alpine district of which it is the capital) is one. To return for a few moments to Windham and Pococke. Their visit to Chamouni and Moutanvert took place in June, 1741. It was related with much simplicity and absence of exaggeration in a letter ^ from Mr. Windham to his friend, M. Arlaud, a landscape-painter * at Geneva, which was published later (1743), [really 1744] as a small quarto pamphlet, in English, which appears to be rare, as but a single copy has ever fallen under the notice of the present writer. It is quite true, in a general sense, that Windham and 1 [As a matter of fact, Saussure never ascended any of the Chainouni aiguilles, not even the Aiguille du Gonter.] - [Now the new railway from Geneva, to bo opened soon right up to Chamouni.] ■* [This letter (as well as that of JMartel, describing his own visit in 1742) was originally written in French and circulated in MS. in (Jeneva, etc. The French text of both letters was first printed, with notes by U. Theophile Dufour in the Echo dcs Alpcs (Geneva) for 1879, pp. 85-99 (Windham) and 180-190, 247- 263 (Martel). The English translation, 1741, of both letters has recently been re- ])roduced in facsimile by Mr. C. E. Mathews at the end of his Annals of Mont. Jllanc (1898), and it is to this reproduction that the references are given below. The two versions ])resent differences, es])ecially in the case of the second letter.] ' [.I. A. Arlaud, born 16GS, died 1743, a celebrated Genevese /w<;'«(7.painter.] Chain of Mont Blanc 525 Pococke were the discoverers of Chamoimi.-^ Unquestionably a Priory had existed there for several centuries previously. It had been visited by bishops and other dignified clergy in the course of their ecclesiastical journej^s ; the valley was inhabited and cultivated, had an annual fair, and traded with the neigh- bouring town of Sallanches in agricultural produce."^ But all this did not bring it within the ken of the general outer world, or even of some of the more curious prying travellers and naturalists,^ the Simlers, the Merians, the Fatios, the Wagners, and the Scheuchzers, not to mention foreigners, such as Burnet and Addison.'* 1 [Bat AVindham himself says (p. 4), that other travellers had been to Chamouni — though not to the Montenvers and the Mer de Glace — before his party. Indeed there is still extant a letter, written at Chamouni in 1669, from a high financial official, named Le Pays, which describes the horrors of the journey to Chamouni. See the Echo des Alpcs, 1879, pp. 19, 20. But Windham's is the e-drlieat published notice of a visit to the Montenvers and Mer de Glace.] 2 [Forbes is here relying on Captain Markham Sherwill's Historical Sketch of the Valley of Chamouni. Paris, 1832. But in 1879 and 1883 a great collection, entitled Le Frieure de Chamonix : documents relatifs au Frieuri et a la Vallee de Chamonix, 2 vols., of mediaeval documents relating to the valley was published by MM. Bonnefoy and A. Perrin at Chambery, while in 1887 M. A. Perrin put forth, also at Chambery, a history of the valley and Priory, — Histoire de la Vallee et du Frieitre de Chamonix du lOeme au IStme sitcle. These volumes throw a Hood of new light on the early history of Chamouni, of which a brief summary will be found in the new edition (1898), prepared by the present editor, of Mr. John Ball's Western Alps, pp. 337-339. The valley is first heard of in 1091, when it was gi-anted by the Count of the Genevois to the Benedictine Abbey of S. Michel de la Cluse, near Turin. ' It seems to have been colonised in the course of the twelfth century, and in the early thirteenth century the Priory (a daughter of that of S. Michel de la Cluse) came into existence, and gi-adually absorbed all rights in the valley. In 1519 the Priory was annexed to the collegiate church of Sallanches, the buildings l)urnt in 1758, the feudal rights sold in 1786, and also the landed property of the Priory in 1793, in both cases to the inhabitants of the valley. In 1399 some Priory men went from Chamouni to Geneva and back, as shown by the Priory accounts, though no doubt this was not uncommon : in 1411, 1443, 1471, 1481, 1517, and 1606 the valley was visited by its diocesan, the Bishop of Geneva : in 1530 the Count of the Genevois granted the inhabitants the privilege of holding two fairs a year, and in 1533 of having a weekly market. Civil officials came also (as in 1700) to the valley to collect taxes.] '^ [Simler (Josias) — Vallesiae Descriptio et de Alpihus Comvientarius : Ziirich, 1574. Merian (M.) and Zeiller (M.) — Topographia Helvetiae, Rhactiae, et Valesiae : Frankfort, 1642. "Wagner (J. J.) — Historia Naturalis Helvetiae Curiosa : Zurich, 1680. Scheuchzer (J. J.) — Itinera per Helvetiae Alpinas Regiones facta annis 1702-11 ; collected edition, Leyden, 1723. Burnet (Gilbert) — Some Letters containing an account of what seemed most remarkable in Switzerland, Italy, etc. : London, 1686. Addison (J.) — Rema.rks on several parts of Italy aiul Switzer- land: London, 1705. Fatio de Duillier (J. C.) — Rcmarques faites sur V Histoire Katurelle des Environs du Lac de Geneve, published in vol. ii. j)p. 449-470 of Spon's Histoire de Geneve, 1730 edition.] * Chamouni knew more of the outer world than the outer world knew of Chamouni. The natives, with what appears to be the instinct of the Savoyard 526 Topography of the It appears to be uuquestioiialjle, however surprising, that the cultivated men of Geneva had never yet thought of penetrating to the foot of that noble snowy range, which forms one of the chief glories of their landscape ; ^ nay, they believed that the mass of the glaciers lay to the north, instead of to the south of Chamouni; that is to say, between Chamouni and Sixt. J. C. Fatio de Duillier,^ a Genevese of some reputation, and a member of the Eoyal Society of London (where, however, his brother Nicolas was better known), although he estimated with considerable accuracy the height of Mont Blanc from trigonometrical measures taken at a distance, propagated these errors, and manifested the same incredible absence of curiosity. This was in the first quarter of the eighteenth century. Chamoimi and the district of Mont Blanc were to all intents and purposes (save ecclesiastical) unknown to the outer world until Windham's journey ; and its subsequent notoriety is directly traceable to that alone. So that our modern Guide- books (such as Mr. Murray's and Mr. Ball's) have gone somewhat towards the opposite extreme from the older ones of Ebel and Kichard, when they represent Chamouni to have been well known to strangers at the period to which we refer.^ Windham and Pococke were both remarkable nu-n ; and we and the dwellers in the Piedmontese valleys, even at that early period, went abroad in the prime of life to learn trades and make money in loreign countries, but o-enerally returned to settle and to die in their native glens. Let us here say, once for all, that we adhere to the good old-fashioned spelling of Chamouni, sanctioned liy De Saussure, in preference to the modern oiiicial corruption of Chamonix. The ileiivation of the name is ascribed by Captain Sherwill, with great probability, to the Latin words campus munitus, by which it is designated in an early monastic charter [that of 1091 — the name probably refers to the position of the valley fenceil in and fortified by a great mountain barrier]. And it is interesting to find in Sclieuchzer's map of Switzerland [1723], antecedent to AVindhani, that the spelling is given "Chammuny," approaching still nearer to the Latin. [The lirst appear- ance of the name on a map seems to be " Chamonis " on Hondt's map of Savoy in Mercator's Atlas, 1595.] 1 [But it was so dreaded at Ceneva that it was tliero called the " :Montagno Mauditc."] - [He lived from 1656 to 1720. Tlie name of his work is given above. Ho fortified Geneva in 1692. M. Durier (J/o/u! Bhnn; p. 23) says— the statement is also found in the English version only of Cartel's letter, p. 28— that Fatio estimated tlio height of Mont Blanc as at least 2000 toises (3218 metres) above the level ol' tlie Lake of Geneva ; as this level is about 372 metres, the heiglit of Mont Blanc is thus made 3590 m. as against the true heiglit of 4810 m., so that Forbes's descrip- tion of "considerable accuracy" is itself inaccurate.] 3 [But Murray (10th edition, 1863, pp. 385, 386) and Ball's Western Alps (1863, p. 185) simply give the facts as to the Priory, etc., mentioned in a previous note. Ebel's book— see above p. 482 — is the JIuiutcl die Chain of Mont Blanc 527 think it not without interest for our readers to note a few particulars respecting .the society of Englishmen who thus in- vaded the peaceful valley which has since become so celebrated. Pococke/ the best known of the group, had just returned from his travels in the East, which had lasted from 1737 to 1741, when, happening to pass through Geneva, he became associated with a party of his countrymen, who for several winters had made that city their home. This intelligent and cultivated ^ society consisted of William Windham of Felbrigg in Norfolk,! father of the statesman who was the contemporary and colleague of Pitt ; his tutor, Benjamin Stillingfleet, the naturalist ; Lord Haddington and his brother Mr. Baillie, with their tutor, Mr. Williamson, an eminent but somewhat eccentric scholar ; Mr. Aldborough [Aid worth] Neville, an ancestor of the present Lord Braybrooke ; ^ Eobert Price, a man of great worth and accom- plishment, father of Uvedale Price ; Mr. Chetwynd ; and last of all Pococke, as already mentioned, who joined but did not originate the expedition. All these above named, except Mr. Williamson (whose health did not allow it), took part in the expedition to Chamouni. But Windham was the leader, for which post his alert, muscular, and ardent temperament well fitted him. Hs is described as having been tall, thin, and narrow-chested, yet eminently handsome, and so fond of athletic sport as to have been known in London as " boxing Windham." He rather affected the air of a gay man of fashion, impatient of restraint, yet he was an excellent linguist, and was acquainted besides with the sciences and fine arts to an extent of which few believed him capable. Had he lived a hundred years later, lie must inevitably have been first President of the Alpine Club.^ He was exemplary in private life, and several of his friends have recorded the affection which he inspired ; especially his tutor Stillingfleet, both in prose and verse. Windham and Price both Foyagcur en Suisse (Forbes generally quotes the 1810-11, second French, edition), and Richard's the Guide du Voyageuren Suisse (many editions from 1824 onwards).] 1 [Richard Pococke, born 1704, died Sept., 1765 ; was Bishop of Ossory in 1756, and Bishop of Meath in July, 1765.] ^ [The gentleman in question was Mr. Richard Aldworth, born 1717, and died in 1793. In 1762 only he took the additional surname of "Neville," and it was his son, another Richard (who took yet a third surname, that of "Griffin "), who succeeded his third cousin in 1798 as second Lord Braybrooke, and was the ancestor of the present bearer of that title.] 3 [But fortunately that office has always been tilled by men quite dillerent from Windham as above described.] 528 Topography of the died in 1761 ; Pococke in 1765, having become previously an Irish bishop [of Meath].^ Next to Windham, Price and Stillingfleet - seem to have taken most interest in the expedition to Chamouui ; the former acted as draughtsman, the latter as naturalist. It is stated in a Swiss publication [the Journal HelvMque, May, 1743, in an article by Leonard Boulacre] that Pococke amazed the population of Sallanches by appearing in the dress of an Arabian emir, an account which seems scarcely probable.^ The journey was undertaken in June, 1741, and occupied seven days.'* The first they slept at Bonneville ; the second at Servoz ; the third they proceeded to Chamouni, visited Montanvert, descended on the glacier, and returned to Chamouni to sleep. The fourth day they slept at Sallanches, and the fifth at Bonneville.^ There is no exaggeration to be found in the narrative." Considering the unfrequented ^ nature of the country, and the size and character of the j)arty, it was natural for them to take their own servants, horses, provisions, and a tent. That they carried firearms was conformable to the habits of travellers of the period even in Britain. A¥indham's party was too short a time (half an hour) on the glacier to make more than passing observations. That it resembled the seas of Greenland, or a lake ^ put in agitation by a strong wind and frozen all at once, were the apt comparisons by which they described it. The maoiiificent slab on the moraine near Montanvert, which has ^ See Literary Life of Beiijmnin Still imjjkct, 3 vols., ISll. From tliis interesting work we have extracted these particulars of Windham. Had it not appeared too great a digression, some account of the other members of this remarkable group of men might have been added. ^ [According to W. Coxc, the biographer of Stillingfleet, the account of the trip was mainly written by Windham and Price, assisted by Stillinglleet.] 2 [This incident is, however, narrated at length in the original I'"rench version of the journey, Enho des Allies, 1879, p. 89.] * [They left Geneva on June 19 and returned on .luiio 24, stojiping a day to ascend the Mule, and sleeping at Annecy.] ^ [Something is wrong here in the original, for both versions of the narrative state that the visit to the Montenvers Avas made on June 22, the day of their arrival at Chamouni, while they state that next day they slept at Sallanches, yet on the 23r,'/>' nx/s J 'oi/,i;/,s d.>Hs /,s J/prg dn Fnucdjinj. Maes- tricht, 1776. Pictet (J. L.) \isitrd Cliainnuni in Kf.O witli Saussure, and in 1808 published at Geneva a Koitvcl J/hif'nnn d,s ndUis itiitoitr dii Mont lUane. Bordier (A. C.) — Voywje FiUoresque au.c Glacierca dc iiavoyc. Fait en 177 ii. Geneva, 1773. Bourrit (M. T.) — Description des Glacieres, Glaciers, ct Amas de Glace du Duche de Savoyc. Geneva, 1773. 15ourrit had first visited Chamouni by 1769 at latest.] , 1 1 '' [1" t''° l'i''-'^'^"t edition this skctcli mai> has been replaced by a far more Chain of Mont Blanc 531 outline of the topography of Mont Blanc ; next trace the steps by which our present knowledge of it has been obtained ; and then illustrate some of its more striking features in a little more detail. Mont Blanc, as every one knows, is the highest mountain in Europe,^ and, indeed, in the old world, with the exception of the Himalayas. It lies in the chain of the Alps, yet peculiarly situated with regard to these, being on a sort of angle or elbow where the Alps - turn from a south and north direction (starting from the Mediterranean) to a direction more nearly, though not accurately, west and east, which they may be said to follow throughout the remainder of their course till they terminate in Styria. But the chain is not continuous, like the vertebrae of a serpent, as it used to be represented in the older maps. On the contrary, it is being much broken up into groups having more or less definite boundaries. One of the most distinct of such groups or mountainous centres is that of Mont Blanc. It may be described as a rude parallelogram, whose longer diagonal extends from south-west to north-east, and which is enclosed by four valleys. These are : — 1. On the i^.W., the [upper] valley of the Arve; chief place, Chamouni. 2. On the S.E., the valley of the Doire [Dora Baltea] ; chief place, Courmayeur. 0. On the W., the valley of Montjoie ; chief place, Les Contamines. 4. On the E., the [Swiss] valley of Ferret ; ^ chief place, Orsieres. accurate one. Hence the following paragraph, " A glance . . . copy from nature," of Forbes relating to his map is now omitted. Forbes's map is really an early and not quite perfect copy of Mr. Reilly's.] 1 [Always excepting the Caucasian jieaks, the highest of which, Elbruz, 18,470 feet, rises on a spur on the north or European side of the main chain, and so is completely in Europe.] ^ [In this sentence Forbes uses "Alps" as equivalent to "the main chain of the Alps.] ^ [Forbes omits altogether the Italian Val Ferret, or perhaps counts it (as it is propei-ly) as a part of the Dora valley.] 532 Topography of the Of these valleys, the two first are by much the longest ; and the parallelogram has its two acute extremities at the Col du Bonhomme on the south-west, and the Catogne on the north-east, the distance of these two points Leing twenty-nine English miles. Mont Blanc is situated, not in the centre of the parallelogram, but much nearer to its western end. Throughout its extent, the mountain ridge of which Mont Blanc is the culmination is single and continuous,^ so far resembling the serpentine vertebrae to which, as we said, the Alps cannot as a whole be likened. The southern slopes in general are much steeper than the northern slopes. The summit of Mont Blanc is considerably nearer to the valley of Courmayeur than to the valley of Cha- mouni ; in consequence, it is utterly inaccessible from tliat side." But it is also the more imposing object as seen from thence. The stupendous walls of the range rising from the valley of Cour- mayeur form a spectacle perhaps unequalled in the Alps,^ especi- ally when enhanced by the pxquisite scenery and Italian vege- tation of the valley of the Doire. Courmayeur is only 4200 English feet [really 4016 feet] above the sea; and as Mont Blanc has a height of 15,780 feet [really 15,782 feet], the relative elevation is in the highest degree impressive. The relative eleva- tion is 11,580 feet [really 1 1,766 feet], an amount barely exceeded in the case of even the highest mountains of the globe, which rise from valleys or from table-lands already of great height. The valley of Chamouni is 3425 feet [really 3416 feet] above the sea at the Frieurd or village. As it is well known that the magnitude of glaciers depends principally on the area of the mountain-basins in which they take their origin, and by whose snows their waste is continually 1 [Mr. Ball, p. 328 of the new edition, 1898, of liis Western Alps, writes how- ever : "It is questionable whether the Mont Blanc range may most properly he described as a single ridge, throwing out on the north side massive buttresses, which are ci'owned by towers and i)innacles that rival in height those of the central ridge, or as two parallel ridges, linked together by connecting walls of rock, and witli this peculiarity, that the north ridge is broken through by numerous gaj)s, through which the vast accumulations of ice formed in the central basins are drained by tlie glaciers descending into the valley of Ciianionix. " ] \ - [True in 1857, but no longer so, as at least five routes have been forced uji \Mont Blanc direct from Courmayeur, besides the route from the Col du Geant by the /Mont Blanc du Tacul.] ■' [No one can really ap])reciate Mont Blanc who has not seen it from the south or .south-west, say from one of the peaks in the Graian or the Dauphine Alps. Then ) only can its supremacy in the Alps be lully grasped and recognised.] Chain of Mont Blanc 533 supplied, it follows that the glaciers are least important when the slopes are most precipitous. With one notable exception [S. Miage Glacier] the glaciers of the Chamouni side of Mont Blanc are by far the most important of the chain, as well as the best known.^ As the glaciers form the key to the topography of the district, we will here enumerate the larger ones according to their position on the four sides of the chain, commencing from the north-east angle, distinguishing by small capitals those most remarkable by their size : — N.W. Slope. (Chamouni). W. Slope. (Val Moiitjole). N.B. Slope. (Conrmayem). E. Slope. (Swi.s.s Val Ferret). Trient. Tour. ARGENTlfcRE. Bois (Merde Glace). Bossons. Taconnaz. Bionnassay. Miage (N.). TR^LATftTE. Gl. des Glaciers. Alice Blanche. Miage (S.). Brenva. Jorasses.- Triolet. Mondolent.'' La Neuvaz. Saleinaz. Arpette.-* The position of these glaciers (which are all shown upon the map) is important, as indicating the natural drainage of the district ; and we shall find that an extraordinary diversity of opinion has obtained at different periods as to their distribution and arrangement. Early in the last century, as we have seen, the chief glaciers were supposed to lie to the north, instead of to the south of Chamouni. This, of course, was rectified by the visit of Windham and Pococke ; but their idea of the extent and course of the ice-streams of Mont Blanc was extremely limited and inaccurate.'^ Windham In 1857, and to a certain extent even in 1900.] "Formed by the Planpansiere and Pra Sec glaciers.] Now called Pre de Bar.] * [Forbes has confounded the Arpette glen (no glacier) with that of Orny (where there is a glacier). In general Forbes's distinction between greater and smaller glaciers need revision in the light of oiir present knowledge, r.y., the Brenva is immense and the Saleinaz is very great. Several smaller glaciers are omitted, e.g., Frasse, Frebouzie, Montdolent (that now so called), and Grands. ^ [Would modern tourists wlio, like Windham, spend half a day at Cliamouni have any clearer ideas than he had ?] 534 Topography of the says [p. 8 of Mr. Mathews' reprint] : " The GlacUres consist of three large valleys, that form a kind of Y ; the tail reaches into the Val d'Aoste, and the two horns into the valley of Chamoigny." ^ We might at first sight imagine that the Y represents the Mer de Glace and its branches — the Glaciers of Geant and Lechaud. There is no doubt, however, that this is not the case, and that the branches he refers to are the Glaciers of Bois and Bossons, the only two of those in the valley of Chamouni which he distinctly saw, and that the " tail " reaching into the A^al d'Aoste was symbolical of the Glacier of Brenva, or possibly of the Col du Geant, which he mentions [p. 10] as traditionally spoken of as a pass or col in the chain. This interpretation of Windham's meaning is rendered more clear by the words which follow [p. 8] : " the place where we ascended was between them {i.e. the horns), from whence we saw plainly the valley, which forms one of these horns." As the " place " he speaks of was the Moutan- vert, the " horns " could only be, as already said, the glaciers of Bois and Bossons, the only ones which actually obtrude them- selves on the notice of the visitor to Chamouni by the route of Servoz. Pierre Martel in his expedition of 1743 [really 1742] made a considerable step [forward]. For in the quaint map which accompanies his pamphlet, we find all the chief icy outlets of the N.E. slope indicated after a fashion, beginning with Trient, and ending with Bossons and Taconnaz considered as one. This map, of whicli we here introduce a lithographic facsimile,- represents very curiously the idea which seems strongly to possess the minds of the dwellers near great glacier-bearing chains, that the glaciers are but the overflows of one great central reservoir or accumula- tion of snow and ice. In some parts of the Alps singular traditions prevail of such unvisited central valleys,^ imagined to ' [111 tlic original Frciicli MS. of Wiiidliaiirs acctniiil — not an autograph one — printed by M. Dulour, there is the following note on the margin ojiposite this passage : " Ceci n'est pas exact : la grande hraiichc de cct Y doit etre celle (pii vii au Mont Blanc, ct la branclie (]ui descend dans la vallec de Chamoigny doit etrc plus conitc (UK- eellc i|ui va ;i la \'al p. xix., XX.) he speaks highly of its accuracy, and calls upon his readers to mark what a vast improvement it was on Borgonio's. Forbes credits SauSsure with far too nmch detailed tojiographical knowledge. He was but a pioneer, and topo- grajihical science is always moving on.] '■2 [Forbes is jn-obably thinking of J. B. Raymond's Cartr physique et minera- foqique du Mont mam; published at Geneva in 1797-99. Perhai-s he knew of a later edition, as he writes below— p. 546— of the map as 60 years old in 1865.] ^ [This map was issued with Forbes's Savo7j in 1843, and in a revised shape with tlie 2nd edition, 1845, of the .same book. It is given also with the present volume, but has not been retouched.] chain of Mont Blanc 537 BLanc. It was acquired by and is still exhibited ^ in his native town. Though immense patience was bestowed on this interest- ing work, the author of it had two defects which seriously marred its accuracy. In the first place, he was no surveyor, and used no divided instruments ; and secondly, he eschewed glaciers and mountain peaks, and contented himself with peering into the re- cesses of the chain from the most commanding points which he could find on its outskirts. Hence, wherever the chain becomes intricate, or its central parts are removed from ordinary observa- tion, this otherwise fine model is valueless. The only parts of the range of Mont Blanc, which, down to 1850, could be said to be well understood, were those which were opened up by three well-known expeditions — the route to the Jardin, the passage of the Col du Geant, and the ascent of Mont Blanc. The extreme eastern and western parts of the chain were as yet untraversed.^ In 1850 the present writer succeeded in traversing the main chain ^ from the Col de Balme, but the time was too short to unravel the intricate mountain group which intervened between this route and the Jardin. The fact was, however, established of the undiminished height of the main chain, even so near its eastern extremity. At the head of the Glacier du Tour it was found to be 11,300 English feet [really 11,267 feet], or somewhat higher [207 feet] than the Col du Geant in the immediate vicinity of Mont Blanc. All the exist- ing maps — mainly feeble copies from one another — throw very little light on this part ; and M. Sene's model was especially in fault. Not less ambiguous was the course of the chain be- tween Mont Blanc and the Col du Bonhomme to the w^estward, which includes three or four magnificent summits, such as the Aiguilles of Bionnassay, Miage, and Trelatete, and several noble glaciers. In 1858,^ if we recollect rightly, the Alpine Club was founded 1 [It is now in the "Jardin Anglais."] - [That is by travellers, for both the Col de Miage and Forbes's ronte of 1850 had been made previously by natives. See pp. 213, 457, 462, 464 above.] ^ [By the Col Blanc, 11,162 feet, and the Fenetre de KSaleinaz, 10,709 feet. See chap. v. of Part II. above, pp. 462, 463.] •» [The preliminary meeting was held on December 22, 1857, the draft rules a]iproved on January 19, 1858, the first dinner held on February 2, 1858, and Mr. John Ball elected the first president on March 31, 1858. For the early history of the club see Mr. W. Longman's paper (chap. iv. of Modem Mountaineering, printed as an appendix to vol. viii. of the Alpine Joiinial).] 538 Topography of the in London/ . 21 :i.] •' [In his 1857 article Forbes has liimself pointed out tlie absuidity of such an attack. Sec p. 515.] ' [Written from the point of view of one wlio, liicc Forbes, had often been on the TaliM're (Jlacier, and had wondered what was beliind that ridge. But, properly speaking, tlie Argentiere (ilaeier docs not flow from behind that ridge, but direct from tlie main ridge of tlie Aljis.] chain of Mont Blanc 539 col of the immense height of 12,500 feet [really hut 11,53G feet], without, however, descending on the opposite side — a passage first effected in 1861 hy Mr. [Stephen] Winkworth, wdio reached the [Swiss] Val Ferret by the Glacier de la Neuvaz.^ Mr. Tuckett, however, made a sketch of this knot of mountains — not unworthily called the Gordian knot — for its extrication was not reached without further time and labour. In 1861 he con- tributed a careful eye-sketch of the country between the summit of Mont Blanc and the Col du Bonhomme, which was a great advance upon anything which had then appeared ; but the meagre engraving from it in [vol. i. p. 189 of] the second series (1862) of Peal's, Passes, and Glaciers wsls very far from doing it justice. In Mr. Tuckett's drawing something like the mutual relations of the Glaciers of Trelatete, Miage [both glaciers], and Bionnassay appears for the first time, although the proportions of the ground plan were far from exact — the S.AV. extremity of the chain being carried out to an angle far too acute. It was in 1861 that the much desired Sheet XXII. [scale 1/100,000] of the Swiss Federal Map was issued by General Uufour. It contained so much of the chain of Mont Blanc as is included within Swiss territory, that is the eastern slope between the Col de Balme and the Col Ferret. Unfortu- nately this was not a very important part of the chain, but at least it furnished one boundary of the " Gordian knot " already referred to, which lay between the Glacier of Talefre, already surveyed [by Forbes], and the Glacier of Saleinaz, which is wholly Swiss. The chain of Mont Blanc was, however, laid down in outline throughout a considerable part of its extent, but the Swiss surveyors w^ere only responsible for its accuracy up to their own boundary. The remaining features were taken, it is believed, from Piedmontese documents ; but it required only a slight inspection to show that the data on the two sides of the frontier were not reconcilable, and the result proved the truth of the proverb, that old work patched with new makes the rent worse. The relative position of the Glaciers of Argentiere, Tour, and Saleinaz was, if possible, more unintelligible than it had ever been. In 1862, Mr. A. Adams-Eeilly, a gentleman of liberal edu- cation and an accurate draughtsman, directed his attention to 1 [^Pr,(tls, Passes, and Glaciers, 2nd series, vol. i. p}). 231-240.] 540 Topography of the the " Gordian knot " in question. He crossed the Col d'Argen- ti^re, discovered by Mr. Tuckett, and made panoramic drawings of the chain in various directions.-' But it was found impossible to reconcile these with the position of the summits and glaciers as indicated on the Swiss map, and Mr. Eeilly decided '" on directing his journey of 1863 expressly to clear up such ambiguities. For this purpose he provided himself with an excellent theodolite, and arranged to extend the triangulation [by Forbes] which formed the basis of the survey of the Mer de Glace of 1842 up the valley of the Arve to the Col de Balme, and thence again to the very origin of the Glacier of Tour. The present writer was fortunately able to place at Mr. Eeilly 's disposal^ the unpublished additions which he had made in 1846 and 1850 to his original survey, extending it from the south to the north bank of the Arve near Chamouni. In particular, lie had determined with considerable accuracy the interval in English feet between the Pavilion de la Fltigere and the summit of the Brevent. The distance between these is nearly three English miles, and it forms an admirable base for extending the triangulation in any direction. Mr. Eeilly dexterously availed himself of it, and after a survey of much labour, owing to the exceeding roughness of the country, finally connected the survey of the Mer de Glace and Chamouni district (including Mont Blanc) with the Swiss survey, which terminated at the Col de Balme and the east boundary of the Glacier du Tour. The annexed wood-cut shows on a larger scale than our sketch-map of the chain the relations of the three glaciers of Saleinaz, Tour, and Argentiere, at their contact, as determined, it may he said entirely, by the labours of Mr. Eeilly.* It would require the reader to have before him the Swiss map of 1861, or some equivalent authority, to understand the 1 [Much, though not all, of the following notice of Mr. Reilly's survey is taken from his article, " A Rough Survey of the Chain of Mont Blanc," published in tlie Jl2>"i« Journal for March, 1864 (vol. i. pp. 257-274).] '^ [Mr. Reilly has gratefully recorded the kindness and help received from For))es in drawing up his plan of operations. Alpine Journal, vol. i. ]i. 2.58.] •' [Mr. Reilly and Forbes were close personal friends, and the former wrote the account of Forbes's Alpine career in the Life and Letters published in 1873. Mr. R('illy died in 188.5 ; see the obituary notice in the Alpine Journal, vol. xii. pp. 256-2.''.9.] * [This wood-cut is taken from the Alpine Journal, vol. i. p. 274, so that it is not given here, liut the exact topograjjhy of these three glaciers is shown in out- line in the diagram facing p. 4r)'J of Tart II. chap. v. of tlie present volume.] chain of Mont Blanc 541 geographical emendatiou thus effected. To state its chief result in a single sentence, two mountains, each 13,000 feet high, and standing on the map a mile and a half apart, were pulled together and made one ; while a snow-field of some four square miles in extent was anniliilated. It will be seen in the diagram that the Glacier of Tour takes its origin from a mountain spur leading north-eastwards from the Aiguille du Chardonnet. Behind that spur the Glacier of Saleinaz extends itself southwards up to the foot of the Tour Noir,^ and is separated from the Glacier of Argentiere solely by the ridge extending from that summit to the Aiguille du Chardonnet. Now previously things had been very differently represented. The Glacier of Tour was imagined to extend southwards far beyond the Aiguille du Chardonnet, and far beyond even that of Argentiere, and to be bounded on the south-east by the Glacier of la Neuvaz, which in reality it does not approach within two miles, which are occupied by the upper basin of the Glacier of Saleinaz. If this description be followed, it will be understood that the Swiss surveyors, when mapping the upper basin of the Glacier of Saleinaz, had right in front of them the great rocky boundary of the Glacier of Argen- tiere, including the two vast peaks of Argentiere and Chardonnet. But, misled by the Piedmontese survey, they believed that they were still divided from it by a parallel ridge, to the culminating point of (a magnificent frosted cone as seen from the east) they gave the name of Pointe des Plines^ a peak which proved the very bugbear of geographers ; and no wonder, for the Pointe des Plines, as such, had no existence — it was and is neither more nor less than the long familiarly known Aiguille d' Argentiere.^ 1 [strictly speaking to the foot of the Aiguille de la Neuvaz.] - [This name is now given to a summit, 10,017 feet north-east of the Aiguille (I'Argentiere, and on the ojiposite side of the Saleinaz glacier.] •> [Without wishing to take away from the merits of ]\Ir. Reilly's discovery, and while most fully recognising his very great services to the cause of Alpine carto- graphy, the present editor feels it but right to make two remarks : — (re) Mr. Reilly made his discovery quite independently and in consequence of his own prolonged and patient observations. But the identity of the Argentiere with the Pointe des Plines had been already proved (though not published) by the French ma]) survej'ors in their preliminary survey, some years before. Mr. Reilly himself frankly tells the story {Alpine Journal, vol. i. p. 266). {b) Similar discoveries are made in every mountain district, when it is being oxjilored and mapped accurately, and made, as in the above case, by private individuals. So in 1859-60 two members of the Alpine Club, Messrs. A\'. Mathews and J. J. Cowell, disproved the very existence of the lofty Mont Iseran, 13,271 feet, in tha Western Graians, though it was figured on the Piedmontese 542 Topography of the The results of his painstaking survey of tlie Ghicier of Tour Mr. Eeilly laid down on a map to the scale of 1/40,000, or about an inch and half to the mile, and nothing can be more satis- factory than the clear and beautiful draught which now lies before us, in which even the secondary clusters of peaks are defined with admirable exactness by readings of the theodolite. It is a work which leaves nothing to be desired, and would do credit to the most expert professional surveyor. Ikit Mr. Eeilly, having theoretically disentangled the Gordian knot, confirmed his extrication of it by actually ivalkiny throur/h it. Ascending the Glacier of Argentiere to the gap [now called the Col du Chardonnet] separating the Aiguille du Chardonnet from that of Argentiere, he ascended [to] that gap. A glance from the summit, of course, showed how the land lay. When he descended upon the eastern side of the ridge he found him- self on the Glacier of Saleinaz, not on the Glacier of Tour. Had the Federal map been correct, he would have been still in Savoy ; as it was he found himself in Switzerland. This col he dis- tinguished by the name of the Col du Chardonnet. Not long before,^ two members of the Alpine Club, Messrs. George and Macdonald, having been led astray in seeking for the Col d' Argentiere of Mr. Tuckett (which lies to the south of the Tour Xoir) had already effected a passage from [the Glacier of] Argen- tiere to the Glacier of Saleinaz across the ridge intermediate between these two passes. But it is so highly dangerous and impracticable that it will probably be never tried again.- The Government map, and described in detail in Joanne's Savoie : the hill wliich now bears the name is but 10,634 I'eet, and the pass near it 9085 feet (see the whole story told in vol. i. pp. 229-231 of tlie new edition, 1898, of Mr. Ball's ll'rs/rni. Alps). Another case is the neighbourliood of the Meije and Grande Ruine in the Dauphine Alps. The French Government map (surveyed about 1853, and published in 1806) was shown to contain the most serious errors by a young Frenchman, M. Duhamel, who publislicd the fast accurate map of this jiart of the Alpine chain — based on his own observations— in 1879 in vol. ix. of the Alpiiir Journal (revised edition in 1881 in vol. x. of the same periodical), while further accuracy is attained in the same observer's beautiful maps of the snowy region of the Dauphine Alps originally issued in 1889, and in a rovise('l edition in 1892. These are but two of the many instances that might hi' cited U< show that Mr. Reilly's discovery does not stand alone.'] 1 [Reilly crossed the Col du Chardonnet on August 24, 1803, and the other party the Col du Tour Noir on July 22 of the same year.] - [It was crossed a second time and in the reverse direction in 1890 by .MM. Fordluun and Jaccottet {Echo dcs Alpcs, 1891, pp. 1-16). There is no doubt whatever that this was the pass of 1864, so that the note in Al2n7ic Journal, vol. XV. pj). 497, 198 is based on a mistake.] chain of Mont Blanc 543 relative position of the three routes across the cliain are shown [on the diagram opposite p. 459]. Most amateurs would have considered it a fair summer's work to explore and map an intricate and desolate country, which had for years been the despair of topographers. But Mr. Eeilly was of a different opinion, and having surveyed the chain upwards from Chamouni as far as its eastern declivities, he pro- ceeded with his theodolite in a westerly direction, and proceeded to make a reconnaissance of the far larger remaining portion of the chain of Mont Blanc. Taking suitable and prominent stations, especially the Mont Joly and [Mont] Piosaletta (in the Val Montjoie), he turned the Col du Bonhomme, and continuing his observations on the Col de la Seigne, managed to connect his observations on the north side with those on the south side of Mont Blanc, and to complete a topographical draught of the entire group by means of a chain of twenty stations, extending to the Col Ferret, where, entering Switzerland, the Federal map supplied all needful information. This reconnaissance, as we have called it, was performed, though with the utmost care, yet in a far less elaborate style than that which we have described as belonging to his survey eastward. Considering the short time in which it w^as done,^ and absence of extraneous materials, it is one of the most admir- able instances which have come across our notice of what is commonly called a " tour de force." Aided no doubt he w\as by two or three fundamental positions which he obtained '^ from an engineer to whom they had been communicated by the Depot de la Guerre. But with this trilling exception, and the base line from wiiich he first started, all was his own. The map of the chain of Mont Blanc, founded on these observations, and dis- played at a meeting of the Alpine Club in London on the 3rd May, 1864,^ is in all respects a triumph of sagacity and of art. Mr. Eeilly in a short paper explanatory of that map has stated the principles on which it was constructed : — "All the points I have determined," he says, "abont 200 in number, lie 1 [Six or seven weeks in the sunmier of 1863.] - \)\.v. Reilly himself allows that he obtained more information than Forbes stated from the "engineer," who was Captain Mieulet, then engaged in surveying the chain for the French Government, his map being published in the same year as Reilly's, 1865 {Alpine Journal, voL i. pp. 269, 270).] ^ [When Mr. Reilly read the paper already referred to several times.] 544 Topography of the where my observations placed tliem, and I have not changed the position of one of them in deference to any map, however much I might differ from it. I was careful to do this, for I thought that a series of original observations would be far more useful — useful in its very errors — than any compilation of exislin" ones, for in dealing with these it is impossible to say whether any change one makes increases or diminishes the error. . . . This dei)arture I from the system usually employed I found to be of inestimable value, and had it been more generally pursued, nearly all the mistakes with which mountain maps abound would have been avoided. — Aljnne Journal, June, ! 1864, vol. i. pp. 269, 270." After this very clear statement, uo oue can doubt that Mr. Keilly's results, whatever they may be, are original to him ; and we cannot but admire the union of boldness and sagacity, amount- in o- to genius, with which our amateur, undertaking work of the kind for the first time, proceeded to execute a plan, so self- denying, yet so wise. We are prepared to allow that the structure of Mr. Keilly's chain of triangles was not what an officer of the Ordnance Survey would have chosen. We may perhaps admit with him that " the hair of an engineer would rise up on his head at the unprofessional way in which [in some certain cases] my results were arrived at" [p. 269 of his article] ; but we also know how much may be done by a thorough insight into the matter in hand, even with irregular materials. Had ]\Ir. Eeilly been able to spend twice as long as he did in fixing his stations and connecting them, he would no doubt have saved himself a world of anxious labour in the protraction of his results, and in the final draught of his map. We are satisfied, however, that the result would have been little different from what it proved to be ; in fact, that as far as the map is to be useful to the tourist or to the geologist, the deviations in it from the proportions of nature are inappreciable and of no positive importance. The result, however, is owing to the admirable manner in which, on his return home, Mr. Eeilly made use of the observations which he had accumulated. The rapidity of the survey was to be compensated for by the patience of the reductions. And one is at a loss whether most to admire the truly masculine vigour with which observations of a very fatigu- ing and elaborate kind, extending over a crooked line of fifty miles in the most rugged country in Europe, were obtained and recorded in the course of a very few weeks, or the indomitable perseverance with whicli he spent the whole succeeding winter Chain of Mont Blanc 545 and spring at his desk, evolving point by point the exquisite convolutions of that chain, and the details of its wonderful structure. With certain trifling exceptions, Mr. Eeilly states that he " has not indicated the smallest feature for which he had not the authority of a photograph, or of a series of rough sketches which he had taken from nearly all his stations, and on which his theodolite observations are noted" [p. 270 of his article]. The remarkable panoramas,^ which he thus slightly mentions, form no insignificant part of Mr. Eeilly 's contributions to the topography of the district. They extended, we believe, to the length of some 160 feet, and embraced views of the chain in almost every conceivable direction. They have been largely in- creased in number by his excursions during the past summer (1864),^ and experience has enabled the author to combine in making them a rapidity of execution with an accuracy of pro- portion and detail which might well seem to be irreconcilable.^ We have already said that 200 points of the chain were fixed by the actual intersection of theodolite angles. This is sufficient to trace out the main skeleton of the whole range. The intervals were filled up by the aid of eye-sketches, and of the panoramas just mentioned. The map, on a scale of 1/40,000, beautifully shaded and coloured, having been presented by the author to the Alpine Club, the first consideration, of course, was how it might be most fitly rendered available to travellers and men of science. In deference to the author's wishes, its publication was delayed until he should have revisited the ground in the course of the succeed- ing summer (1864), and thus again tested the general accuracy of the whole. In the meantime, a reduced photographic copy was made at the expense of some members of the Alpine Club. The small sketch-map'' accompanying the present article shows in an unpretending style the broad topographical features of the chain of Mont Blanc, as they have become known to us mainly ^ [Unfortunately not one of them has been published, we believe.] - [These excursions are described in a paper in the Alpine Journal, vol. ii, pp. 97-114.] 3 [One is reminded of the 710 panoramas, etc., di'awn between 1823 and 1881 by Gottlieb Studer during his long Alpine career (Jahrbuch of the Swiss Alpine Club, vol. xxvi. p. 318).] * [This map — a copy of Mr. Reilly's first draft — is in the present edition replaced by one based on later authorities, with which it is insti'uctive to compare the 1859 and Raymond's maps.] 35 546 Topography of the through Mr. Eeilly's labours. The value and extent of these may be, to a slight degree, judged of by comparing the sketch- map in question with that compiled in 1859 under the eye of the Alpine Club, and published in the first series of Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers [p. 1]. With the exception of the district adjoin- ing the Mer de Glace and its tributaries, taken from a previous survey, we find the mountains and valleys of the eastern and western regions of the chain weakly and conventionally indicated rather than expressed.^ Just as in the sixty-year-old map of Raymond, the guiding ridge of the mountain range is ambiguous, and destitute of the sinuosities which give it all its character, the glaciers taper at both extremities like leeches crawling down the valleys, instead of being each connected with a suitable mountain reservoir, such as is essential to its formation and maintenance.- All this can, no doubt, be but feebly traced in the index map ^ which alone we can pretend to furnish to the readers of this article. We would not for the world — even if we could — anticipate the pleasure which all who love the Alps will enjoy when Mr. Eeilly's map, on a moderately large scale, and executed in artistic style (as we hope and trust it will be), shall be given to the public. Yet even our little index map shows how art- fully (if we may use the phrase) the ^:>acA;Mi^ of these glaciers is accomplished, and how the irregularities of the ridges, and the sinuous course of the main chain, combine to subdivide the whole of this rugged district into a number of cavities and valleys, unequalled perhaps in the variety of their contours and the steepness of their walls."* 1 [The editor of the 1859 vohime (IMr. Ball) makes in the preface (pp. xiv.-xv.) the following statements as to the Mont Blanc map: "The map of the Mont Blanc range may be considered altogether new, as large portions, qnite incorrectly laid down in all preceding maps, have been drawn afresh, with the great advantage of the accurate local knowledge of the well-known and respected Auguste Balmat, of Chamouni, now on a visit to this country. Though sliglit errors may still be detected, the present map is confidently offered as very superior to any hitlierto given to the public."] ^ [It should be remembered as regards this 1859 map that the exploration of the chain of Mont Blanc had then scarcely begun (apart from the highest ]ieak and tlie Mer de Glace), while it was far more advanced in 1863 ; and next that the 1859 map is on a very small scale (it barely fills an 8vo page), wliile IMr. Keilly's draft is on a scale of 1/40,000.] 3 [Omitted in the present edition.] * [The ]ieaks, glaciers, and ridges in the Dauphine Alps are far more closely " packed " together than those of the chain of Jlont Blanc, Avhile the walls enclosing the valleys and glens in that region are far steeper than in tlie Jlont Blanc range.] Chain of Mont Blanc 547 The routes indicated in red ^ show the principal traverses of the chain of Mont Blanc, which, chiefly of late years, have been effected. They have, we believe, been all crossed by Mr. Eeilly himself in one or other of the last few summers, and it is evident to simple inspection how full an insight these expeditions must give into the deepest recesses of the chain, and that to one so emi- nently qualified to use the advantages of his position, no consider- able peculiarity of structure or arrangement could have remained undetected by his eye or unrecorded by his unwearied pencil. But, in point of fact, the routes in question by no means exhaust our topographer's explorations. The ordinary pathways round about the entire chain, which are printed in black, have of course been all, once or oftener, trod by him ; but further, to avoid confusion, we have, with the exception of the tracks to and from Mont Blanc, indicated in red only " through routes " leading from one face of the chain to the other. Numberless ascents and deviations in different directions have been made by him besides. During last summer, 1864, besides the now usual feat of mounting Mont Blanc — the ordinary summer recreation ^ of an Alpine Club man — Mr. Eeilly had the good fortune to ascend [in company of Mr. Whymper], for the first time, three virgin peaks of the chain all among the highest of the second order of summits.^ There was first the Aiguille d'Argentiere (12,800 feet) [really 12,819 feet], whence he could survey at a glance the " Gordian knot," and testify to the non-existence of a dis- tinct * " Pointe des Plines." Then there was the Mont Dolent (12,566 feet) [really 12,543 feet], which he reached from the Col Ferret, and which, though lying on the very outskirts of the chain in a south-easterly direction, commands, as Mr. Eeilly records in his notes, " the very perfection of a view." ^ Mont Blanc is thence seen from an uncommon direction, supported on the left by the vast summits of the towering [Grandes] Jorasses seen in profile, and on the right by the aspiring, and till lately all but unknown. Aiguille de Triolet. The views towards the Combin 1 [These red markings are not given on the map in tliis edition ; but tlie list of passes appears below in the text.] ^ [Now so no longer.] •5 [See Mr. Reilly's second paper in the Alpine Jounud, vol. ii. pp. 97-114.] ^ [Forbes means, of course, as a rival of the Argentiere, making no allusion to the very real peak now bearing the name of Pointe des Plines.] ^ [Neither Forbes nor Mr. Reilly seemed to be aware that the Mont Dolent is the meeting point of the French, Italian, and Swiss political frontiers.] 54^ Topography of the and tlie Alps of Cogne are uusurpassed. The third and loftiest summit of the three new ascents was the Aiguille de Trelatete (12,851 feet) [really 12,832 feet], in a very different (the south- western) quarter of the chain, commanding the whole of that region, — so lately almost a terra incognita, — and an unparalleled panorama of the western and steepest slopes of Mont Blanc. To return, however, for a few moments — for we must draw to a conclusion — to the " through routes " of the chain indicated in red, we must recall the fact that imtil little more than a dozen years since {i.e. c. 1850), only a single pass^ was recognised in the whole extent of twenty-eight miles intervening between the Col du Bonhomme and the col or valley of Champex, where our sketch-map terminates on the north-east. This was the Col du Geant,^ celebrated — in the days when Alpine Clubs were un- known—for its height and difficulty ; more justly celebrated, however, for the truly remarkable sojourn there in 1788, for seventeen days, of the great De Saussure, for the purpose of scientific experiment. But now our map shows by its red lines eight other passes (or nine in all) by which the chain has been crossed. Beginning at the south-west end, we find two of no special difficulty, the Col du Mont Tondu [9498 feet], and the Col d'Enclave^ [8813 feet] (numbered with the figures 2 and 3), which must afford a grateful variety to the traveller bound from the Val Montjoie to the Allee Blanche, who has already crossed the somewhat wearisome pass of the Bonhomme. Next we have the Col de Miage (numbered 6),'* connecting the northern and southern glaciers of that name, which probably yields in interest to no other in the chain. Its height is 11,100 feet [really 11,077 feet], and it is one of the steepest and narrowest of the practicable barriers of the Alps. It was first traversed in 1858 by Mr. Coleman,'' thus abridging immensely in point of distance, 1 [Forbes forgets that the Col de Miage was crossed in the eighteenth ceutury, that in 1838 liis guide of 1850, Michel Charlet, had passed from the Tour to the Saleiuaz Glaciers by the Col Blanc and the Fenetre de Saleiuaz, and that before 1846 Jean Munier had crossed the Col de la Grande Luis. See above, pp. 213, 457, 462, 464. Nowadays there are about thirty snow passes known across the chain.] •■^ Seep. 212. ^ [The Enclave is not a snow pass. The Col des Fours (like the Enclave, a short-cut on the Bonhomme) is Forbes's No. 1.] •* [Forbes's No. 4 is the Pavilion de Trelatete, and his No. 5 tlie Aiguille de Beranger. As to the Col de Miage, see above, p. 213.] » [He was only tlie first traveller over this pass. Since March, 1865, much steeper and narrower passes than the Miage have been efl'ccted in the Alps.] Chain of Mont Blanc 549 though not so much in time, the long circuit from Chamouni to Courmayeur ; while the perfect insight which it gives into the unsurpassed magnificence of the great glacier of the South Miage, with its views of the western precipices of Mont Blanc, place it in the very first rank in point of scenery.^ The Col de Miage will long be remembered for a singular accident which happened there in 1861 to a young Englishman, who slipped down a face of snow and ice through a vertical height of more than 1700 feet, and barely escaped with his life."-^ Intimately connected with this col is the fifth in order (numbered 8 on the map) ^ which we have called the Col de Bionnassay. It was traversed last summer (1864) for the first time by Mr. Eeilly, who calls it the Col du Dome du Gouter.^ It undoubtedly forms a most remarkable pass, as by it Cour- mayeur may be reached from Chamouni by the route of the Grands Mulcts and the Dome du Goiiter. Mr. Eeilly's point of departure was the Col de Miage, from whence he reached diagonally the ridge which extends from the Aiguille de Bion- nassay eastwards to the " Dome " ; and it is still uncertain whether this ridge can in all circumstances be reached directly from the level of the S. Glacier de Miage.^ Having attained the summit of the Dome du Gouter by this novel route, Mr. Eeilly, with his accustomed intrepidity, proceeded to cut down the N.E. face of the Dome right upon the Grands Mulcts, instead of going round by the Grand Plateau.*^ It is interesting to know that he was accompanied on this occasion by Mr. Birkbeck, the victim 1 [Certainly, says the present editor, who crossed it in 1870.] 2 A detailed account of the accident will be found in Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers, second series, vol. i. pp. 208-224. [The diagram at p. 211 shows that Mr. Birkbeck slipped down nearly the entire final wall on the north side of the pass.] ^ [Forbes's No. 7 is the Mont Vorassay.] < [The name "Col de Bionnassay" is now given to the lowest point in the ridge between the Dome du Gouter and the Aiguille de Bionnassay. The name " Col du Dome du Gouter " is not now recognised, as the expedition in question was the traverse of a i^caA; and not of a pass. See Mr. Reilly's narrative, published, six months after Forbes's article, in the Alpine Journal, vol. ii. pp. 110-113.] ■' [There is no great difficulty in doing so, and this route is now a favourite one from Courmayeur. It was not till 1898 that a party (Mr. J. P. Farrar's) went in the day from the Col de Miage over the Aiguille de Bionnassay and the Dome du Gouter to the summit of Mont Blanc, always keeping to the ridge, which sometimes was very sharp.] 6 [Mr. Reilly made a virtue of necessity, for he only reached the Dome at 4.35 or 5 P.M. (he gives both times, Alpine Journal, vol. i. p. 375 and vol. ii. p. 113), and wished to take the shortest route to the Grands ilulets, which he reached with " no difficulty" at GA'j r.M.] 550 Topography of the of the accident of 1861 aljove referred to, whose Alpine ardour appears to have suffered no diminution in consequence of that tre- mendous somersault. The expedition which it had interrupted was directed towards the very passage thus effected three years later. It will be seen by the map that the neighbourhood of the Dome du Gouter is intersected by several routes. Two of these lead to the summit of Mont Blanc. One is the usual route by the Grands Mulets and the Eochers Eouges.^ Another is that originally tried by De Saussure, and repeatedly attempted since hj the [French] Glacier de Bionnassay and the Aiguille du Gouter. This last route offered no advantages while it was necessary to redescend from the level of the Dome to the Grand Plateau and take the old course to the top;^ but in 1859 the Eev. C. Pludson ^ [with Messrs. Joad and Hodgkinson] eifected the direct passage from the Dome to Mont Blanc by the N.W. ridge of the latter, which overhangs the awful precipices of the S. Miage, traversing the intermediate knoll, known from an early period under the name of the Bosse du Dromadaire. It does not appear that any special difficulty occurs on this, the most natural mode of access of any to the highest mountain of Europe [really of the Alps only] ; and it is inexplicable why, though repeatedly "prospected," it has for generations been regarded as impracticable."' Mont Blanc was ascended in 1863 from one other direction 1 [But tliis route has nothing to do with the Dome, at the loot of whicli it passes, while even in 1865 the "Corridor," and not the " Rochers Rouges," was the usual route up from the Grand Plateau. . The Dome can be reached from below from three directions, the Grands Mulets, the Aiguille du Gouter, and the Aiguille de Bionnassay, whilst thence the Bosses ridges mounts towards the summit of Mont Blanc] - [This was the route made for the first time by the guideless party of INIessrs. Hudson and Kennedy in 1855.] ^ So stated in J\Ir. Ball's Western Alps [p. 212 of the 1S63 edition]. AVo cannot recollect to have met witli the original account. [Unluckilj'' no detailed account has ever been published.] ^ [To sum ui) the history of tlie St. Gervais route. Two hunters of St. Gervais about 1784 attained from that side both the Aiguille and the Dome du Gouter, but returned by the same route. In 1855 Air. Hudson's party followed this way to the Dome, descended to the Grand Plateau, and attained Mont Blanc by the Corridor. In 1859 Mr. Hudson's party mounted from the CJrand Mulets to the Dome, and then for tlie Hrst time traversed the whole ridge of the Bosses to Mont Blanc. Finally in 1861 Messrs. Leslie Stephen and Tuckett went in one day from St. Gervais to the shelter hut on the Aiguille du Gouter, and next day followed the ridge over the Dome and the Bosses to the summit of Jlont Blanc, thus lompleting the route lirst trieil in 1784. There is no real ditliculty in it. Tlie jiresent editor in 1876 went i'rom the Pavilion Bcllevue, above the Col de Voxa, in eight hours over tlie Aiguille du Gouter and Dome du Gouter to near Chain of Mont Blanc 551 by Messrs. Maqueliu and Briquet [of Geneva]. By crossing tin? Col du Geant from Courmayeur, and bivouacking at the south foot of the Aiguille du Midi, they gained the summit by [the Mont Blanc du Tacul] the Mont Maudit and the Corridor. This route presents some points of interest, but it is absurd ^ and illogical to consider it as a route from Courmayeur to the summit of Mont Blanc. It is essentially a route by Montanvert and the Glacier du Geant, entirely situated on the northern slopes.^ Of the next pass in order, the Col du Geant (11,200 feet) [really 11,060 feet), numbered 27 ^ on the map, we need say no more here. The following one, the Col de Triolet, achieved by Mr. Eeilly [with Mr. Whymper] in 1864, has a newer interest, and is likely, we should think, to become popular amongst members of the Alpine Club.^ This is the only outlet yet discovered from the Glacier of Talefre,^ and it leads into the Italian Val Ferret near the col of that name, by the Glacier de Triolet. It is close to [the south-west foot of] the Aiguille de Triolet. Mr. Eeilly, starting from the Montanvert, slept under a shelter-stone on the Couvercle. From the notes ^ which he has kindly fur- nished us, we find that, leaving his bivouac at 4.30 a.m., passing the Bosses, whence a very high wind compelled a hasty descent to the Grands Mulets. Nowadays the Bosses ridge from the Grands Mulets is the usual one from Chamouni ; there is a hut near the Bosses (of which there are two), and an ohserva- tory close to the summit of Mont Blanc. The Bosses ridge was formerly much dreaded by reason of wind. Hence it was first ascended only in 1859 by Mr. Hudson's party, while it was not first descended till 1869 by the present editor.] 1 [<'^)uite true. Neither the Tacul. nor the Mont Maudit are actually climbed.] '^ [For the routes from Courmayeur direct, eff'ected since Forbes's article was published in March, 1865, see the new edition of Mr. Ball's JVestern Alps, jjp. 357, 358. They are five in number — by the Brenva Glacier (1865), by the Dome Glacier (1868), by the Mont Blanc Glacier (1872), by the Fresnay Glacier and the ridge leading up to Mont Blanc de Courmayeur (1877), and by the Italian Bionnassay Glacier to the ridge between the Aiguille de Bionnassay and the Dome du Gouter, and thence over the Dome and the Bosses (1889). As yet all attempts to scale the precipices above the Brouillard Glacier have failed.] ^ [Forbes's numbering passes along the north side of the chain to the Pointe d'Orny, and then returns along the south side. This explains the leap from No. 8 to No. 27.] * [This has not, however, been the case. The pass offers no considerable diffi- culties, but lands the traveller in the upper bit of the Italian Val Ferret, a long way from either Courmayeur or Orsieres, though the Triolet Club hut now aflTords a resting-place.] ° [Now there are at least three other outlets, not to speak of " traverses " across peaks. ] '' [See for further details the short note in Alpine Journal, vol. i. p. 374, and for a full account Alpine Journal, vol. ii. pp. 98-101, the latter article having been published in September, 1865, six months after that by Forbes.] 552 Topography of the the Jardin, and asceuding the Taletre Glacier to its south-east angle he, with his companion Mr. Whyiaper [and three guides or porters], attained [by the steep Courtes Glacier] the Col de Triolet at 8.10 a.m. [the printed accounts say 8.5 and 8.30], an early hour considering the great height, which is 12,160 feet [really 12,110 feet]. The view must partake much of the nature of that from the Mont Dolent, already referred to, which is but a little way farther east, and only 400 feet [really 433 feet] higher. The descent from the col to the Glacier of Triolet is steep and difficult.^ The more level part of the neve of the glacier was only reached at 10.50, and the moraine an hour later. The glacier is a long one, and in order to escape the torrent at its foot, the next higher glacier, that of Mont Dolent,^ had to be used as a bridge. Finally the chalets of Pre de Bar were reached at 4, Ijeiug 11^ hours from the Couvercle. To descend the valley to Courmayeur would take three hours more. The remaining cols of the chain are those of Argentiere, No. 19 [11,536 feet], from Chamouni to the La Fouly huts in the Swiss Val Ferret; of Chardonnet, No. 18 [10,909 feet], from Chamouni to Orsieres ; and that of the Fenetre de Saleinaz, No. 21 [10,709 feet], in the same direction. Of these we have already said enough.^ Not one of all these passes, excepting the two nearest the Col du Bonhomme, are under 11,000 English feet in height."* And here we must take leave, for the present, of Mr. Eeilly and his map. He has generously made over all right of property in ' [In 1874 tlie present editor mounted from tlie Talefre Glacier to the Col de Triolet, but owing to an inaccurate description of the descent by Jlr. Reilly in Mr. Ball's Western Alps, 1866 edition, p. 217 (no mention being made of the rocks above the ice slope) was unable to proceed farther. In 1876, starting from a bivouac on the .laixiin (after a long expedition on the previous day), the present editor reached the col at 6.25 A.M. (2| hours from the Ijivouac). A (piarter of an hour over steei) rocks was followed by stee]) snow and glacier slopes, the level Glacier de Triolet being attained in 1 hour 5 minutes from the pass. In 1 hour 10 minutes more a spring nearly in the level of the Italian Val Ferret was gained, and hence a steep traverse made to the left in order to gain the Petit Ferret pass, | hour, l^ hour more being required to that pass, and Martigny reached the same evening i)ast Orsieres.] 2 [Now called Pre de Bar Glacier, the name in the text being transferred to the first glacier on the other side of the Col Ferret. The Tiiolet club hut is above the left bank of the glacier, to the left of the route (when dcsmuUng from the pass), and tliencc the Val Ferret can be gained in fifty minutes direct, there being no need to cross the tail of the Pre de Bar Glacier.] ^ [Forbes oddly omits the easiest of all the snow passes in the chain, the Col du Tour, 10,762 feet, though it was crossed in ISf^S by his frinid .Mr. (now Mr. Justice) Wills.] ■' [But see the heights given under each, abovi-.] Chain of Mont Blanc 553 the latter to the Alpine Club, and the Club, by accepting the trust, have engaged that the public shall receive the benefit of Mr. Keilly's labours. The author having undertaken to reduce and redraw the map on a scale of 1/80,000 of nature, and to correct it throughout from his latest observations, this finished drawing — which is a masterpiece of its kind — has, we under- stand, been placed in the hands of a competent artist in litho- graphy, and will be published in the course of two or three months.^ The result, even after making some allowance for the lithography falling short of the original, will, we trust, justify the encomiums we have pronounced on Mr. Eeilly's labours.^ It will be a real boon to the tourist, the geographer, and the geologist. It will be by far the proudest trophy which the Alpine Club can show of the enterprise and devotion of its members. The junior but rival clubs of Switzerland, Vienna, and Turin ^ will find that the coronet of Alpine exploration has been secured for Britain.* It is certainly a remarkable fact that a mountain range so limited in extent as that of Mont Blanc, so remarkable by its elevation [and] so attractive by its scenery should have remained unsurveyed till the second half of the nineteenth century. It is still more remarkable that the three important States — France, Italy, and Switzerland — which share among them this strong- hold of nature, should have been unable to agree to make a map of it on a common scheme,^ and that it should have been left to a British amateur '^ to supply so glaring a deficiency. 1 [The maj) was lithographed by Messrs. Kell Brotliers, and was published in June, 1865. The original MS. was presented to the Alpine Club in 1887 by Mr. C. E. Mathews {Alpine Journal, vol. xiii. p. 292).] 2 [It is indeed a beautiful map, and takes in the whole chain of Mont Blanc, but gives no heights whatsoever. In 1865 Captain Mieulet's map was also published ; this does not take in the whole chain, but gives many heights. For a discriminating comparison of the two maps by the late Mr. R. C. Nichols — himself an experienced map maker — see Aljnne Journal, vol. ii. p. 246. Viollet le Due's map (1876, 1/40,000) is inconveniently large, but beautifully reproduced, though it is mainly based on earlier maps, and so contains many erroi's.] 3 [The Viennese (Austrian) Club was founded in 1862, and those of Italy and Switzerland in the next year.] * [But since 1865 the three clubs named have published far more and far finer majis than those issued by the English Alpine Club.] ^ [This is still the case ; some of the later Government maps of these States are on the same scale, though executed in different fashions, and especially without any agreement as to the names of peaks and passes on the frontier ridge. It is a disgraceful state of things.] " [Forbes would have been still more astonished had he known tliat till 1896 no complete and perfect map of the entire chain would be given to tlie world, and 554 Topography of Mont Blanc As to Mr. Eeilly himself, we cau only express the hope that his perseverance, skill, and taste, having found a fit field for their exercise, will continue to be further employed for the promotion of geography and the benefit of mountaineers.^ that when this took place it would be due to the combined efforts of an enterprising Swiss amateur (M. Kurz), of a skilled Swiss engineer (Herr Inifeld), and of a wealthy S\nss tradesman (M. Barliey). The map is called "La Chaine du Mont Blanc," is on a scale of 1/50,000, and costs ten francs unmounted, or twelve francs mounted on linen. It is most beautiful to look at, while it was engraved by the late Herr Leuzinger, who is responsible for many sheets of the wonderful Siegfried or Government Map of Switzerland, now in course of publication.] 1 [Very probably these words of Forbes encouraged ilr. Reilly to continue his cartogi-aphical labours. At any rate he undertook a survey of a new district in 1865-66, and published the results in 1869 under the title of The ValpdUnc, the Valtournanchc, and the Soxithern Valleys of Monte Rosa (scale 1/100,000), another gi-eat success for the modest amateur, whom the present editor had the pleasure of meeting in the Valpelline on July 28, 1866, while the survey was in progress.] INDEX "A," Madame, 271-27-3, 286 ; station, 107, 112, 116, 123-125, 130-134, 137, 141, 145-147; summit (1. i.e. Aig. de Triolet), 93, 248, 464 (2. i.e. Tour Noir), 464 Abcauzit, M., 530 Abbiihl, Arnold von, 432 Abplanalp, J., 434, 448, 452 ; Kaspar, 452 Abricolla, Dent d', 303 ; huts, 292-296 Abries, x, 10 Accidents, 278, 280, 282, 319, 429, 437, 487, 507-510, 549, 550 Acosta, 489 Actinometer, 98, 209, 227 Action and speculation, 13, 14 Addison, 525 Adie, 254 Adler Pass, 491 Aeggischhorn, 433 Agassiz, M., xii, xx, 24, 27-29, 31, 33, 37, 43, 53, 77, 121, 127, 164, 168, 189, 311, 312, 358, 359, 363, 379, 380, 387, 427-429, 434, 435, 443, 448, 513 Agneaux, Montague des, 411, 420, 426 Aiguille, Plan del', 109, 175, 176 Aiguilles of Chamouni, 57, 64, 108, 110, 230, 523, 529 Ailefroide and valley, 404, 410, 411, 418 Air, rarefied, 489-493 Air J', Mr., 98 Aix en Provence, 392 Alagna, 331, 341, 342 Alani, 288 Aletsch Glacier : Great, xv, 42, 146, 267, 294, 432-34, 437, 440-444, 450, 451, 453, 454, 504 ; Mittel, 432 ; Ober, 432-434, 454 Aletschhorn, 432, 434, 493, 514 Aletscli lake. See Mdrjelensee Allalin glacier and pass, 22, 45, 63, 265, 351-354, 491 AlleeBlancheandglaciers, 172, 182, 183, 193, 202, 207, 208, 222, 239, 240, 533 Allemont and Eivier d', 398-400, 418 Allevard, 396-398 Almagell, 354 Aimer, Christian, 452, 491:! Alpe, Col de r, 401, 402 "Alpenpost, Neue," 434 "Alpes, Hautes," Department of the, 392 Alplniliel, 354 Alpine Clubs : English, xvi, six, 483, 514, 527, 537, 538, 543, 553 ; foreign in general, 91, 194, 200, 208, 553 ; Swiss, 42, 250, 260, 278, 394, 437, 460, 465, 483, 492, 524, 525, 528, 530, 537, 542, 545, 546 "Journal," 6, 212, 250, 334, 336, 498. 522, 537, 540, 542-545, 549, 551, 553 Passes, 10 Pastures, 261-264, 282, 292-294, 325, 418, 420, 423 Travel, 11-14, 471-477, 519-520 Alps in general, 3, 478-480, 482, 531 Altdorf, 10 Altmanu, 535 Amateur climbers, 495, 510-511 American tourist, 79, 80 Amianthus, 189 Amydaloid, 414 "Ancien Passage," 508-510 Andes, 11, 12, 18, 478, 490-492, 516 "Anglais, Pierre aux," 529 "Angle, L',"73, 75, 107, 112, 116, 123- 125, 130-134, 145, 164, 507 " Annals of Philosophy," 232 " Annales de Chimie, 18 ; "des Mines," xx. 46, 394 ; " des Sciences Geologiques." 31, 362, 365, 387 Annecy, xv, 523, 528 Anniviers, Val d', 283, 286, 287, 288 Annual rings, 160, 379 Antrona pass and valley, 350, 354 Anza glacier, 349 Anzasca, Val, 329-331, 333, 342-349 Aosta and valley, 10, 202, 221, 258, 268, 272, 274, 321, 534 Apennines, 478 Arabian emir, 528 Arago, M., 69, 228, 365, 414 Arc valley, 221, 393, 398. 422, 424, 425 Arcines, Pointe des, 418 Arctic regions, 485, 487, 510 Arene, Villard d', 410, 411, 420, 421, 426 556 Travels through the Alps Argentu-re : Aiguille d", 114, (Veite) 247, 460, 541, 547 ; Col d', 538. 540, 542, 552 ; Col (le 1", 10 ; glacier, xiv, 77, 93, 109, 244-248, 251, 334, 457, 464, 533, 535, 536, 541, 542 ; village, 249 Ark Wright, Capt., 508 Ai-laiul," the painter, 524, 529 Arno.1, P. A., 187, 212, 266, 267, 272, 274 Arolla chalets and glacier, xiii., 266, 277, 278, 280-282, 287, 302, 315 ; Pigne d', 281, 301; tree, 281 Arpette glacier, glen, and pass, 242, 533 Arp pass and peak, 209 Arsiue, Col d', 426 Arud, Bourg d', 402 Arvan glen, 424 Arve river and valley, 58, 61, 62, 99, 176, 178, 281, 531 ; tree, 281 Arves, Aiguilles d', and St. Jean d', 394, 398, 422, 424 Arveyron, Source de 1', 59, 85, 112, 113, 116, 388 Arvieux, xii Arziuol, Col d', 257 Ashes, 405 Ashmolean Society, 379 Aspens, 404 Association, British, 427 Assumption, festival of the, 254, 255, 269 " Athenffium," 379 Augstbord Pass, 290 Auldjo, Mr., XX, 502 Austrian engineers, 419 Avalanches, 145, 189, 310, 347, 501, 509, 510 Avignon, 392 Avril, Mont, 266 Ayas valley, 322, 324, 325 "B" station. 85, 102-104 106-107 115, 129, 166 ; "B1,""B2 ," and " B3" stations. 130, 131, 133 , 134 , 137-140, 144, 147, 360 Baden Baden, 472 Bagnes, Val de, xi li, 43, 44 252 268, 316, 498-500 ' ' Baignoires, ' 26 Baillie, Mr., 5 27 Baily, 223 Bakewell, Mr , XX, 122 Ball, Mr. and his ' Guide,' XX, 278, 331, 346, 394 r.r.o 525, 526, 537 542 546, 550, Balloons, 485 489 Balniat, Auguste, viii, xvi. ax, 15, 16, 67, 79, 80, 85-87, 100, 104, 124, 129, 132, 144, 145, 147, 360, 361 457, 462, 463 , 465, 494, 506, 513, 546; Jacques (1)> 71. (2), 494 ; Pierre- 511 Balme, Col de, 213, 231, 239, 244, 457, 461, 462, 490, 494 ; La, 179, 180 Bands, Glacier, 27-29, 152, 169, 170, 196, 197. Se& Veined Structure Bannholzer, Melchior, 445-448, 450, 452 Bans glen, 415 Bar, Pre de, glacier, 93, 240, 241, 248, 533, 552 Barbey, M., 554 Barcelonnette, x, 10, 425 Baretti, Dr., 185 Barma hut, 257 Barthclemy, St., ton-ent, 310 Baruffi, Signer, xx, 267 Base line measured, 98-101, 111 Baumaun, Peter, 441, 442 Bavaria, 337 Beaufort glen, 181 Beaufoy, Col., xvii, 232 Beaumont, M. Elie de, 28, 31, 53, 54, 204, 224, 359, 365, 371, 387, 392, 394, 395, 404, 409, 411. 417. 419, 420, 423, 425 Beauvoisin glen, 417 Beche, De la, 122, 395 Beichgrat, 454 Belalp, 454 Bellaza, Col, 276 Belledouue, 398-401 Bellevue pass and pavilion, 178, 179, 550 Bellinzoua, 10 Benites, Fontaines, 403 Beranger : Aiguille de, 548 ; hut and stone, 92, 94, 131, 360 Berarde, La, xi, 391, 39.% 397, 403-411, 425 Berchtold, Canon, 296, 301, 313 Bergschrunds, 298, 305, 306, 334, 445, 446 ; colour of, 152, 153 Bernard, Great St., 10, 142, 239, 241, 242, 251. 252, 269, 293, 488 ; Little St., xi, 10, 181, 202, 207, 208, 221, 427 Bernarda, Croix de la, xiii, 205 Berne, town of, 123, 432, 433 Bernese, chamois hunter, 88 ; Oberland, 427-455, 480, 494. See iiuides Bcrnina, Piz, 514 Berrier, Notre Dame de, 184, 198-201 Besan(;on, 514 Betta huts, 337 Bettmer Alp, 452 Bex, XV, 50, 51, 123 Bianco, Pizzo, 317, 343, 348, 349 Bibliothiqne Universelle, 111, 260, 385 "Bieguo," 18, 19, 289 Biella, 342 Bieune, 54, 437 Bies glacier, 145, 311 Bietschhorn, 355 Bionaz : man, 272, 274-280, 282, 286, 287, 296, 297, 306 ; valley .and village, 266, 272, 274, 276 Ind ex 557 Bionnassay : Aiguille de, 537, 549-551 ; Col de, 549 ; glacier, 179, 533, 536, 539 Bionnay, 178 Birches, 404 Birkbeck, Mr. , 549, 550 Bischoff, Prof., 365 Biselx, M., 252, 253, 271 Bivouacs, 85, 86, 336, 473, 511 Blackwood's Magazine, xviii, 232, 498-500 Blair's hut, 70 Blaitiere : Aiguille de, 92, 110, 230, 235 ; Aig. derriere de, 237 ; glacier, 176 Blauc, Col, xvi, xx, 389, 460, 463, 537, 548 Monsieur, 99 Mout : chain and peak, xvi-xix, 6, 12, 32, 47, 92, 108, 109, 173, 174, 176, 178, 182, 188, 194, 205-212, 214, 216, 222, 227, 230-232, 239, 241, 301, 313, 332, 334, 336, 389, 404, 405, 456, 457, 462, 478-480, 482, 483, 485- 490, 493, 494, 502, 503, 506, 508-512, 514-516, 519, 523-554 ; glacier, 190, 551 ; height of, 115, 526, 529 ; maps of, 526, 529, 534-554 ; observatory on, 514, 551 ; passes in chain of, 547- 552 ; position of, 117 ; routes up, 493, 532, 550, 551 ; tour of, 172-184, 239- 244 Mont, de Courmayeur, 90, 551 ; du Tacul, 90, 109, 110, 231, 532, 551 Nant, and glacier, 66, 86 Pic, 93, 248, 464 Blanche, AiguUle, 460, 464 ; de Peteret, 183, 206, 222 Dent, 293, 298, 300-303, 313, 315, 316, 336, 535 ; TGte, (1) 301, (2) 456, 458, 460 Blanches, Cimes, 322 Blaustein, 352 Bleeding, 492 Blind paths, 155 "Blocs perches," 177, 253, 254 Blocks on Macugnaga glacier, 349, 352 Blue colour : of ice, 152, 153 ; of sky, 228, 450, 476 ; of snow, 69, 153, 361 ; of water, 69, 84 Blumlisalp, 435 Bochard, Aiguille ii, 59, 65, 204 Boden glacier, 320 Bodies found on a glacier, 278-280, 282, 508 Bohren, Christian, 507, 508 ; Peter, 452 Bois glacier, 20 , 43, 55, 59, 60, 65, 112, 113, 122, 245, 533-535 ; moraine on, 60-64 Hameau des, 59 "Bollettino" of the Italian Alpine Club, 91, 194, 200 Bonaparte, 288 Bonhomme, Col and Croix du, 10, 180, 181, 211, 213, 316, 457. 488, 532, 543, 548 Bonn, .\iv Bon Naut, 177-180 Bonnefov, M., 525 Bonnet, St., 414 Bonneval les Bains, 181 Bonneville, 528 Bonne y. Prof., 411 Bordier, A. C, 33, 530 Borgne river, 289, 291 Borgouio's map, 535, 536 Bormio, 10 Bortis, J., 432, 441 Bosses ridge, xvii, 493, 551 Bossons glacier, 110, 159, 173-176, 231, 382, 506, 508, 511, 523, 533-536 Bot, Pierre a, 41, 48, 253 Botany, 104, 225, 242, 407, 420, 500 Botzen, 10, 309 Bones, Trumma des, 266 Bouguer, 489 Boulacre, 528 Bouquetins, animals, pass, and peak, 278, 292, 293, 301, 530 Bourcet's map, 394, 411, 413, 415, 420 Bourg d'Arud, 402 ; d'Oisans, xi, 392, 395, 396, 399, 400, 420, 422, 425 ; St. Maurice, 181, 221, 310 Bourrit, M., x.x, 6, 9, 71, 74, 75, 83, 85, 88, 212, 267, 287, 486, 507, 529, 530 Boussingault, 491, 492 Bracken, Mr., 180, 488 Brantschen, 346 Bravais, M., 362 Bread, leavened, 148 Breathing at great heights, 219, 238, 336, 445-448, 485, 489-493 Breda valley, 396-398 Breithorn, xvii, 312, 313, 333, 334 Breuey glacier, 264 Brenner, 10 Brenva glacier, xiii, xv, 46, 109, 159, 183, 184, 194-201, 204-206, 231, 243, 258, 265, 353, 354, 380, 493, 533-535, 551 Breuil, 323, 324 Brevent, 173, 208, 479, 496, 536, 540 Brewster, Sir David, ix, 29 Briancou, 10, 392, 394, 401, 414, 419-421 Bricolia, Dent de, 303 ; huts, 292-296 Brieg, 10, 455 Briquet, M., 551 Britain, Great, 471, 478, 487, 497, 553 Brockedou, Mr., xvii, xviii, xx, 515 Broglia, Monte, 191 Brooks, Vincent, 522 Bronillard glacier, 551 Brown, Mr. Yeats, 442 Brown, Mr. J. D. H., xx, 502 Bruck an der Mur, 10 Brugiere, 332, 410 Brussou, 325, 326 Buch, Herr von, 253 558 Travels through the Alps Mrs. 165, 131, 360 197, 208-210 ; Pic, Euclie, Col de la, 77 Buet, 85, 229, 245, 461, 486 Buffe ravine, 423 Buissous glacier, 173. See Bossons Bunteii, 98, 111, 222, 461 Burki, Herr, 452 Burnet, Bishop, 481, 525 Busserailles, GoulVre des, 324 B>Ton, Lord, 87, 118, t49, 450 "C" station (Pierre Plate), 89, 91, 108, 112, 113, 115, 128-130, 133, 134, 136, 137, 140, 141, 145, 162, 360 "CI" station, 129, 131 ; 7, 108 Cachat le G«^-ant, .\i.\-, 71 Cade, Mr., xvii Calcaires, P>Taniides, 183 Callander, Mr., xvii Calvin, 268 Campaigns, military, 473 Campbell, Mr. Augustus, 180, 448 ; and Miss, xvii Canal-shaped glaciers, 153, 154, 156 373, 376 Candolle, M. de, 110, 112, 115, 179 Canzio, Siguor, 266 Capillary fissures, 167-169, 358 Capucin, Le, 231 ; du Tacul, 10 Carlini, 332, 419 Carpathians, 478 Carrel, Clianoiue, xiii 221 Carrier, Joseph, 485 ; Pierre, 511 Cart ruts, 152 Casse, Grande, 181 Casteldelfiuo, 10 Castell, 337, 338 Catogne, 211, 242, 253, 532 Cats, 492 Caucasus, 431 Cavale, Pas de la, 417 Cavales, Col du Clot des, 410, 411 Celts, 288 Cenis, Mout, xi, 10, 393 Cercles, J'lan des, 244 Cervin, Petit Mont, 313, 315, 333, 334. See Matterhorn and St. TModule Pass Chable, 10, 253, 255, 260 Chaillol range, 413 Chain, 98-100 Chalauches mines, 399 Chalcedony, 373 Chalets, 261, 262, 282, 292-294 Challant, Val, 324, 325 (_:hambtry, 396 Chambre, La, 398 Chamois and hunters, 85, 87, 88, 186, 188, 189, 213, 234, 280, 298, 337, 342, 356, 403, 409, 412, 416, 419, 436, 500, 508, 513, 530 flhamois, village, 325 Chainouni, 10, 34, 44, 89, 116, 121, 123, 252, 405, 472, 481, 484, 512 ; early history, 523-529 ; glaciers, 526, 533- 535 ; height, 116, 532 ; inus, 100, 523, 529 ; position, 117 ; spelling of name, 57, 58, 526 ; valley, 58, 61, 62, 99 Champex, 242, 548 Champhoreut, 404 Champoleon, 413, 414, 417 Champorcher, 221, 326 Champsec, 256 Chanrion, 262, 267 Chapeau, 59, 60, 64, 65, 102, 103, 112, 116 Chapelle, La, en Valgaudemar, 412, 413 Chapieux, 10, 179, 181 Chapman, Mr., xii, 452 Charbonel, Pointe de, 221 Chardou, Col du, 407, 409 Chardonnet : Aiguille du, 247, 456, 459, 460, 464, 541 ; Col du, 247, 464, 542, 552 Chavlet," Michel, 213, 457, 462, 463, 466, 548 Charmoz : Aiguille des, 58, 69, 74-77, 103, 110, 114, 115, 152, 230, 235 ; glacier, 76, 77 ; Petits, 77. 109 ; ridg^ 69, 80, 102, 109, 110, 154, 157, 176, 237, 294 Charpentier, M. de, xv, xx. 24, 28, 31, 33- 36 43, 45, 50, 54, 76, 119, 120, 122, 12'., 168, 174, 189, 242, 252, 253, 352, 358, 376, 428 ; his glacier theory, 34-36, 120, 142, 358-363, 376 Chartreuse, Grande, 404 Chatillon, 10 Chaumont, 50 Chazelet, Le, 453 Chazettes, Les, 244 Checouri, Col de, xiii, 206, 208 Chermontane, glacier, and pass, 265, 266, 268, 281 Chetif, Mont, 184, 194, 205-208, 216, 222 Chetwynd, Mr., 527 Chevalier, E., 529 Cheville, Col de, xv Chiaifredo, San, pass, xi Chiavenna, 10 Chimborazo, 12, 478, 491, 516 Chisone vallev, xi. Christophe, St., 395, 397, 400, 403-406, 421, 426 ; Clapier de, 403 Ciamarella, 221 Clapier de St. Christophe, 403 Cleavage Planes of ice, 27 sqq. Climbing. See Mountainceriny Clot Chatel glen, 409 ; Clot des Cavales, Col du, 410, 411 ; Le, in Valgaudemar, 411, 412, 414, 417 Clothing, 98 Cloud, 450 Cogne, xi, 221, 328, 548 Coire, 10 Cold, 31, 35, 36, 44, 53, 227, 228 Index 559 Coleman, Mr., xx, 213, 522, 538, 548 Colinton Banks, xvi Collon: Col de, xiii, xx, 10, 266, 272, 275-281, 488 ; Mont, 277, 278, 280, 281, 299, 301 Coloured liquors in ice, 98, 118. 168, 169 Colours of bergschrunds, 152, 153 Colporteurs, 344, 406 Combal : Aiguille de, 188 ; lake, 63, 183, 185-87, 206 "Combes," 393 Combeynot, Pics de, xii, 420, 421, 426 Coinbin, Grand, 239, 265, 268, 301, 519, 547 "Comptes Rendus," 69 Concorde, Place de la, 432, 441, 444 Condamina glacier, 409 Cones, sand, 25, 26, 347 Contact of ice and rock, 73, 74, 197, 198 Contamines, 179, 531 Conte Faviel glen, 409 Conway, Sir Martin, 336, 346 Coolidge, Mr., 42, 304, 344, 412, 415, 484, 488, 492, 493, 498, 508, 509, 513, 514, 517, 519, 525, 541, 542, 549- 552, 554 ; Pic, 410 Copper, 269, 274, 422 Coraboeuf, 332, 419 " Corniclies, " 504 Cornier, Grand, 302, 303 Corps, 414 "Corridor, Le," 194, 550, 551 Cortlis chalet, 338 Coste Rouge, Col de la, 406, 411 Cote : Montagne de la, 176 ; Mur de la, 488, 489, 502, 503 Couloirs, 501 Courmayeur, xiii, 10, 64, 172, 179, 184, 185, 341, 513, 531, 532 ; environs, I 202-210, 215, 222, 223, 225; Mont' Blanc de, 90, 551 ! Courtes, Les, 81, 83, 114, 115, 189, 552 ; | Tour des, 93, 248 Courtil, Le, 93 Couteran, 485 Couttet : David, 71, 219, 360, 361 ; J. M., (1) 213-216, 219, 222, 230, 231,1 233-235, 238 : (2) 334, 485 ; the, 82- 84, 91, 93 Couvercle, Le, 88, 91, 92, 104, 129, 131, 135, 235, 551 Co well, Mr., 541 Cows, 66, 67, 264, 452. See Pastures , Coxe, Archdeacon W., 528 ' Cramont, xiii, 207-210, 214, 216, 218, 222, 24], 497, 519 Crampons, 98, 494 ; Craters of elevation, 394 I Crau, La, 405 | Cret, Col du, 257, 290 Crete Seche, glacier and pass, 261, 266, 267 I Cretinism, 269, 425 Crevasses, xxvi, 20, 32, 66-68, 74, 77, 82, 151, 152, 163-167, 192, 231-235, 298, 299, 322, 383, 429, 436-439, 444-446, 451, 452, 459, 464, 465, 505-509 Croix : Col de la, xi., 10 ; de Fer, peak, 494, pass, 398 ; Haute, Col de la, 392 Croix, Sommite des, 176 Croll, Mr., 33 Crystalline rocks, 317 Crystals and hunters, 83, 84, 236, 245, 343, 348, 422 Ciichullin hills, 497 Cula, Col de la, x. Cuneo, 10 Currant bushes, 291 Custom-houses, 323, 324, 423 "D" station, 108, 112, 117, 127, 148, 158 "D 1" station, 128; "D 2," 112, 128, 132-134, 136-138, 140-142, 144-145, 147, 148 ; "D 3," 128, 132-134, 137, 140, 141, 143, 147, 148; "D 4," "D 5," and "D 6," 130, 132-134, 137, 148 ; "D 7," 72, 144, 145 Damatter, 295, 314, 321-323, 346, 351 Dauphinc, xi, xii. xvii, 204, 222, 309 389, 391-427', 495, 514, 532, 541 546 Dausse, M., 393, 422 Davy, Sir H., 69 Debacle of the Gietroz glacier, 256, 259, 260 Deluc, M., 530 Depth to which a glacier can freeze, 31, 35, 36, 227, 228 Desor, M., xii, xx, 429, 430, 434, 435, 440, 448 Desportes, M., 71 Devonshire, 487 Dcvouassoud, Michel, 508 Diable glen and torreut, 403, 421 Didier, Pre St., 202, 203, 207, 208, 222 Dilatation glacier theory, 34, 36, 120, 142, 358-363, 376 Dip, frontal, of glaciers, 29, 154, 156, 157, 159, 174, 196, 373, 376, 378, 379, 382 Dirt Bands, xxvi, 155-161, 164, 169, 170, 174, 175, 281, 282, 294, 378, 379, 386 "Discovery Rock," 336, 535 Dislocation of moraine, 81, 139 Distances on a glacier, 56 Distel, 351, 352 Dogs, 492, 493 Doire, 172, 186, 187, 195, 198, 199, 203, 531, 532 Dolent, Mont, and pass, 93, 248, 547, 552 ; glacier, 241, 248, 533, 552 Dollfus-Ausset, M., 334 Dollone, 206, 209 Dolomites, x, 316, 496 560 Travels through the Alps Dom, 300, 313, 315, 351, 353, 354 ; jocli, 351 Dome glacier, 190, 551 Domo d'Ossola, 10, 505 Dora Baltea. See Doire Dorues, Aigiiilles, 460 Dornford, Mr., 510 Douaniers, 323, 324, 423 Dove, Herr, 199 Drac river, 394, 396, 400, 409, 413, 417 Dranse river, 242, 255-265, 500 Urinkwater, Miss, 435 Droites, Les, 93 Dni, Aiguille du, 60, 64, 66, 71, 78, 114, 115, 237 ; second peak, 113-115 Dubuat, 367, 370-372, 374, 375, 387 Duchatelier, M., 434, 448 Dufour : map, 296, 539, 541-543 ; Spitze, 327, 332, and see Hochste Spitze of M. Rosa ; ThuophUe, M., 524 Duhamel, M., 394, 542 Dumas, Alexandre, 271 Durance river, 46, 221, 392-394, 413, 419, 420 Durand, Mont, glacier, 265 ; Captain, 419 Durant, Feuetre de, 267 Durier, M., 212, 334, 485, 486, 526 Dyer, the poet, 17 "E" station, 90, 104-107, 113, 115, 131, 140, 161, 360 "El" and "E 2," 131, 133, 134, 137 Eagle, 451 Earth pillars, 309 Earthy beds, 174, 175 Ebel's Guide, xx, 9, 71, 121, 245, 287, 482, 526 Ebnefluh, 433 Eboulements, Montagne des, 90, 109, 161, 240 Ecandies, Col des, 456 Echelets, Les, 66, 103, 159, 164, 191 Echo des Alpes, 260, 278, 524, 525, 52 530, 542 Echoes, 278 Eclipse of the sun, 129, 213, 216, 217, 221 Ecoulaies glacier, 257 Ecrins : Col des, 404 ; Pointedes, 222, 389, 394, 395, 404, 410, 418, 419, 426 Ecuador, 478 Edinburgh Encyclopcedia, 29 ; New Philo- sojMcal Jour7ial, 69 ; Philosophical Journal, 170, 379, 385 ; Revieto, 17, 18, 35, 54, 121, 385; Transactionn, 226, 229, 254, 260, 427 Egli-Sinclair, Dr., 492 Eglise, Chanoine L', 252 Egralets, Les, 92 Eiger, 429, 432, 443, 450 Eisenerz, 10 Elbruz, 531 Electricity, 228, 322, 323 Elevations, 110-116 Embrun, 394 Enclave, Col d', 548 Engelhardt, Herr C. M., xxi, 15, 288, 301, 303, 311; 316, 346, 349, 350, 352, 354 " Entdeckungsfels," 336, 535 Entraigues, 416, 417, 426 Entreves and glacier, 216, 217, 240 Epicouu, Bee d', 266 Erratic blocks, 39-45, 47-52, 54, 57, 63, 64, 78, 178-180, 218, 242-244, 251, 253, 254, 260, 324, 328, 338, 439 Escher, Herr, 494 ; von der Linth, 33, 146, 318 Escophier, Pont, 401 Estellette glacier, 183 Etablons, Col des, 255 Etages, Les, 404 Etala, Passage de 1', 77 Etan9ons torrent, 391 Euler, 226 Eveque, L', 302 Evionnaz, 310 Evole glacier, 460, 465 Evolena, xiii, 10, 284, 285, 287-290, 301, 316 Ewigschneefeld, 432, 444 ; horn, xii, xx. 429, 430, 435 Exchaquet, M., 212 Exmoor, 472 Eytelwein, Herr, 387 "F" station, 91, 103, 106, 107, 116, 157 Fallerhorn, 341 Farrar, Mr. J. P., 549 Fatio de Duillier, M. J. C, 525, 526, 529 Faudery range, 268 Faulhorn, xv, 442 Fauna, 225. See Bouquetins and C/mmois Faviel, Conte, glen, 409 Favre, M., 461, 536 Fayet, Le, 179 Fee, xii, 354, 355 ; peaks, 300, 313, 315. 354 Fellenberg, Herr von, 314 Felley, 256, 264, 268 Felspar, gi-een, 307, 409, 417 Feuetre, Col de (1) xiii, xx, 10, 253, 256, 266-268 ; (2) 241 Fer, Croix de, 494 ; Col de la, 398 Ferachc chalets, 241, Ferpi'cle chalets, 287, 291, 293, 301. 303, 316 Ferret, Col, xii, 10, 183, 202, 205, 213, 239-242, 427, 457, 543, 552 ; valley, 44, 183, 202, 204-206, 216, 222, 239- 244, 253, 466, 467, 531, 539, 551 Ferricre, La, 397-399 Filiaz, La, 68 Findelen glacier, 311, 313-315, 318, 320 351 Index 561 Finsteraarhoni, 302, 437, 450, 486, 491, 493, 497, 502, 504 ; jocli, 430 Fiouuay, 255, 256 Firmiu, St., 414 "Firn," 31, 436, 438, 439, See Neve Fissures, 167-169, 395, 396, 401, 421 Fiz. See Fys Flags, 98, 103, 441, 442 Flambeaux, Les, 109, 231 "Fliitliig," 289 Flegere, xxvi, 62, 108, 114, 512, 514, 540 ; Col de la, 457, 458 Fletsclilioru, 514 Flora, 225, 242,;,344, 420, 475, 500 Fluor-spar, red, 83, 245 Flysch, 317 Foam, 164 Fog, 73, 74, 448, 465, 466, 489 Forbes, James D. ; Aiguille, xvi, 456 ; early journeys, 10, 11, 56, 94, 117, 181, 252 ; jouruey of 1842, 16, 57 : glacier theory, 135-141, 365-387; observes glacier bands, xii, 27 ; portrait, 33 Forbes, Sir John, 313 Forclaz, Col de la, (1) xiii, 177, 178 ; (2) 242, 457 Fordham, Mr., 542 Forel, Prof., 33 Formazza, Val, 505 Fort, Praz de, 466, 467 Fortifications, 182, 187, 321 Fouilly toiTBut, 63 Fourclie, Grande and Petite, 243, 456, 458 460, 462 ; Col des, 458, 460, 461, 463 Fourier's theory, 365 Fours, pass and peak, 181, 18-3, 548 Fragility of ice, 27, 167 Francois de Sales, St., 523 Frasers Magazine, xviii Frasse glacier, 179, 533 Freaux, Les, 423, 426 Frebouzie glacier, 240, 533 Freissinieres valley, 413 French army, 288 ; engineers, 394, 418, 419, 541, 542 Freshfield, Mr. Douglas, 6 Fresuay glacier, 194, 551 Frety, Mont, 86, 205-207, 216-218; glacier, 240 Frey, Herr, 481 Friction of ice and rock, 73, 74, 197, 198 Friedlander, Herr, 481 Frobel, Herr Julius, xxi, 15, 257, 283, 288, 289, 295, 301, 303, 309 Frontal dip. See Dip, Frontal Frudiere, Bee de, 326 , Fuel, 424 Fullonniers, 296 Furgg glacier, 320 Fys, Rochers des, 316, 496 "G" station, 78, 82, 103, 106, 107, 166 "G*" station, 80, 81, 108, 115, 161, 237 Gabbro, 280, 307, 310, 316, 352, 353 Gabelhorn, 301, 303, 307, 313, 492 Gaelic, 289 Gailland springs, 173 Galibier, Col du, 392, 422 Gap, 392, 394, 414 Gard, M., 255 Gardette, La, mines, 399 Garnets, 318, 328 Garroux, 415 Gaspards, 406 Gasteiu, 10 Gaudemar, Val, xi, 406, 408, 409, 411, 412, 413-417, 426 Gauli glacier and pass, xii, xx, 429, 437 Geant : Aiguille du, 91, 109, 114, 115, 208, 230, 231, 236, 240 ; Col du, xiii, xvii, xix-xx, xxvi, 6, 10, 58, 82, 83, 85, 86, 96, 109, 113, 115, 164, 206, 207, 210-239, 295, 299, 302, 389 ; height and position of the Col, 111, 117, 220, 223, 238, 457, 461, 462 ; glacier, xxvi, 57, 68, 81, 85, 92, 108, 109, 133-135, 138, 140, 144, ^ 159, 160, 162, 195, 230, 236, 237, 380, 506, 511, 516, 519, 523, 532, 534 537, 548 Gelc, Mont, 266, 268, 301 Gemmi pass, xv, 497 Geneva: lake, 111, 472, 526, 528; town, 123, 523-526 Genevois, Count of the, 525 Genevre, Mont, xi, 10, 392 Gentian, 500 Geographical positions : Chamouni, and Col Geant, 117 ; Great St. Bernard, 252 ; Mont Blanc, 117 Geology, 7-10, 28, 38-54, 83, 119, 120 203-207, 218, 225, 245, 273, 307, 315-318, 328, 348, 392-396, 409, 411, 413-414, 417, 422-425, 450, and see Gneiss, Granite, Limestone, Minerals, and Protogine ; Geological Society of France, 28, 393 George, Mr. H. B., 542 German -speaking colonies in Italy, 326, 327, 329-332, 341-344, 350 Gervais, St., 10, 177, 179, 309, 511 Gietroz glacier, 43, 256-261, 265, 266 Gioberney glen, 412 Girod, M., 529 Glaciers: Aiguille and Glacier des, 182, 183, 533 ; Hameau des, 181 Glaciers, 8, 9, 15, 17-37, 347, 453, 529 ; dangers of, 501-509 ; former, 23, 39- 44, 47-51, 53, 61, 62, 206, 387, 397 ; geological agency of, 38-54 ; inoscula- tion, 191 ; names of, 18, 19 ; new,' 77 ; parasitic, 195, 196 ; remanies, 259 ; of second order, 76, 77, 237, 247, 562 Travels through the Alps 365, 373, 374, 375, 465 ; slope of, 112, 113; snow line on, 30; structure, 150-171, 379, 380, 383 ; tables, 25, 57, 89. See Motion, Theonj, and Veined Structure Glandon, Col du, 398 Glarnisch, 435 Glasgow, 427 Glaus, H., 251, 252, 276, 283, 286, 289, 320 Gletscherboden, 45 Gletscherhorn, 433 Glit-re, Aiguille de la, xvi, 456, 457 Glue, 377, 381 Gneiss, 265, 273, 280. 316, 317, 321, 338, 339, 343, 348, 355, 394, 395, 400, 403, 411-413, 420, 421, 425, 426, 450, 467 Gnifetti : cure, xiv, 341, 342 ; Punta, 333, 334, 341, 342, 347, 348 Godelfroy, M., xxi, 28, 267, 277 Goethe, 38, 43, 70 Goitres, 269, 425 Gold mines, 335, 338-340, 342, 399 Goldau, 326 Gordon, Lewis, 366 Gorge, Notre Dame de la, 179 Gorner glacier, 77, 311, 312, 314, 333, 347, 351, 535 ; grat, 312, 313 Gosau, 496 Gottliard, St., pass, 10 (ioiiter. Aiguille and Dome du, 90, 92, 523, 549, 550 Graiau Alps, 181, 221, 419, 532, 541. See Cogne and Iseran, Mont Grandes Dents, 292 Grands glacier, 533 Granite, 203-207, 217, 218, 241-243, 253, 265, 270, 273, 280, 315, 316, 328, 393-396, 401. 402, 409, 413-415, 417-419, 420-423, 464, 466, 495 Granitello, 189 Grass slopes, 493, 494 Grave, La, 397, 403, 410, 421-426^ Gravitation glacier theory, 33-36, 76, 119, 120, 125, 363-365, 376 Gray, the poet, 481 Green colour. 32, 153, 307, 316-318, 328, 352, 397, 409, 417 Greenland, 528 Grenoble, 222, 392-394, 396-401, 404, 421 Grenon, Rocher du Moulin, 195 Grenzgipfel, 334, 347, 348, 497, 498, 503 Grepon, Aiguille de, 92, 110, 230, 236 ; stream, 63 Gressoney, 187 326, 329-331, 333, 336 342, 344 ; St. Jean de, 326, 337, 342 La Trinito, 337 Gries glacier, xviii, 28, 150, 505 Grim.sel, xii, 397, 427, 430, 433, 434, 437 440 Grindelwald and its glaciers, xv, 34, 42, 121, 405, 429, 430, 433, 441, 442, 450, 472, 507 ; guides, 513 Grivola, 221 - Griineck rocks, 441 Gruner, G. S., xxi, 4, 34, 363, 535 Griinhorn glacier, 432 ; liicke, 432, 433, 437, 438, 444 Guerison, Notre Dame de la, 184, 198-201 Gueymard, M., 393 Guffer, 22 Guideless climbers, 495, 507, 508, 511 Guides, 74, 75, 235, 299, 322, 473, 475, 488-491, 497-500, 502, 508, 510-515 ; Chamouni, 82-84, 224, 245, 251-253, 306, 320, 334, 483. 485, 486, 494, 495, 508, 511-515 ; Courmayeur, 513 ; Dauphine, 406-409, 412, 414, 416, 417 ; Evolena, 282, 283, 286, 287, 289-291, 296, 306 ; Gervais, St., 213, 511 ; Gressoney, 340 ; Obcrland, 434-452, 491, 492, 494-495, 497, 504, 505, 513 ; Tyiolese, 513 ; Vallais, 256, 264, 268, 454, 498-500 ; Val- pelline, see Bionaz ; Zermatt, 295, 314, 321, 322, 323, 346, 351, 494, 497, 498. See also Names of special guides Guil river, 46 Guisaue river, 419 Guttannen, 251 •'Guxen,"|180, 488 Guyot, M., 28, 150 "H" station, 82, 104, 106, 107, 115, 166 "Habit Rouge, L'," 272, 274-280, 282, 286, 287, 296, 297, 306. See Bionaz Haddington, Lord, 527 Hall, Capt. Basil, xxi, 121, 184, 199, 260, 384, 385 Hamel accident, 508-510 Hammers, geological, 215, 235. 291, 406, 436, 509 Haudeck falls, 397 Harder, 493, 494 Hasli, 44, 251, 434, 448 Hatchets. 67, 23.5, 335, 434 Haud^-res, 283, 290, 291 Haute du Grand Glacier, Pointe, 401 ; Col de la Croix, 392 ; Col de la Pisse, 417 Haut Martin, Col'du, 417 Hawkins, Mr. Vaughan, 538 Heat of the earth, its effect on glaciers, 34 364 Heath, Mr., 222, 239, 309, 319, 393, 397, 414, 424, 427, 429, 434, 448 Heights, tables of, 110-116 Heim, Prof., 17, 33, 366 " Helvctique, Journal," 528 Henians. Mrs.. 211 Herdsmen, 261-263. 282, 292-294, 490 Index 563 Heremence, Val d', 257, 266, 287 Kerens, Col d', xiii, xx, 42, 277, 278, 283, 290, 295-308, 313, 316, 320, 346; early history of, 42, 295, 296 : named, 301, 302 ; Dent d', 220, 299, 301- 304, 307, 324 ; Val d', 251, 266, 272, 383, 284, 287-290, 309 Herschel, Sir J., xvii, 209, 364 Hill, Mr., xvii, 212 Hill-sickness. See Mmi.ntain Sickness Himalaya, 11, 12, 18, 478-480, 492, 531 Hirli, 316, 320. See H&niU Hirzel-Escher, Herr, xxi, 331, 346 Hochste Spitze of Monte Rosa, 300, 313, 315, 327, 332-334, 336, 348 Hodgkinson, Mr., 550 Hofwyl, 314, 497 Hohe Licht, 340 Hohwiinghorn, 303 Holes in ice, 27, 84 Hollenplatte, 52 Hondt's map, 526 Honey, 376 Hooker, Sir J., 479-480, 492 Hopkins, Mr., xxvii, 364, 379 Horace, 321 Horner, Francis, 480 Hiirnli, 316, 320 Horses, 322, 492 Hort, Prof., 452 Houches, Les, 63, 87, 173, 178 Hovenghorn, 293, 303, 313, 315 Hud.son, Mr. Charles, xxi, 224, 470, 510- 513, 538, 550, 551 Hudson's Bay, 227, 228 Hngi, Prof., xx, 8, 28, 33, 37, 121, 122, 168, 430, 436, 437, 440, 442, 444, 446, 452, 454, 491, 495, 497, 498, 502, 504, 505 Humboldt, Baron von, 69, 480, 491, 492, 516 Huns, 288 Hunting, 515 Hypsometry, 110-116, 228 "I" station, 102-104, 106, 107 Ice, blue colour of, 152, 153 Icefalls, 232-235, 380, 464, 46.5, 506 "Icemen," 66, 495 Imbibition, 143, 153 Imfeld, Herr, 554 India, 492. See Himalaya Indren, 340 Infeniet, Col de 1', xii, 394, 422-425 " Infrauchissable, Col dit," 189 Ink, lithographic, 98, 168 Innsbruck, 10 Inosculation of glaciers, 191 Interlakeu, 436, 493 Instruments, scientific, 95-98, 123, 124, 209, 210, 253, 254, 304, 335, 407, 436, 450, 484, 490, .537, 538, 540, 543 544 Iron, 315, 318, 397 Isella, 343 Iserau, Mont and pass, xi, 221, 419, 541, 542 Isere : Department, 392 ; river and valley, 181, 221, 393, 394, 396, 398 Issime, 331 Italy, Queen of, 338 Ivrea, 202 .Jaccottet, M., 542 Jiigi glacier, 432, 434, 454 •'Jahrbuch," of the Swiss Alpine Club, 42, 250, 492, 524, 537 Jameson, Prof., 130, 387 .Jardin, x, xi, xx, 58, 74, 79, 81, 85, 91, 93, 94, 108, 114, 115, 161, 162, 189, 235, 237, 506, 519, 551 Jaun, J. ; of Im Grand, 434, 448 ; of Meiringen, 434, 444, 445, 447, 448 Jazzi, Cima di, 302 (Dom), 313, 333, 345, 346 Jean : d'Arves, St., 398, 424 ; de Maurienne, 398, 401, 423, 424 Jesuits, 274, 489 Joad, Mr., 550 Joanne's "Savoie," 542 Johnson, Dr., 501 Johnston, Messrs., 116, 457 " Jorasse, le Grand," 485 Jorasses : Graudes, 58, 75, 82, 90, 114, 115, 182, 203, 207, 208, 240, 241, 360, 515, 536, 547 ; glacier, 240, 533 ; Petites, 90, 114, 115, 240 Jouflfrey, Val, 401, 402, 414, 417 "Journal Helvetique," 528 Joux, Col de, 326 "Jumper," 124 Jung Pass, 290 Jungfrau, xii, xiii, xx, 32, 219, 389, 428- 430, 432-435, 437, 440-452, 454, 493, 495, 503. 504, 516 Jura, 47, 49, 52, 54, 242, 243, 244, 253, 3S7 "K" station, 108, 159, 237 "K 1 " and "K 2," stations, 132 Kaltwasser glacier, xv "Kamm," 333 Kashmir, 31 "Kiiss," 18, 19 Kastenhorn, 433, 436 Kater's compass, etc., 96-98, 107, 314 "Kees," 18, 19 Kell Brothers, 553 Keller's map, 288, 293, 302, 340, 342, 437 Kennedy, Mr. E. S., xxi, 224, 470, 510- 513, 538, 550-551 King's House, 487 Kingsley, Canon, xvii 564 Travels through the Alps Kuapsack, tindiug ol uu old, fiOb Knox, Mr., 116 Kraraerthal, 330 Kranzberg, 444, 445 Kiirz's map, M., 95, li:M16, 244, 248, 554 "L" station, 102, 104, 106, 107, 116, 157 "L*" station, 109 Lac, Plan du, 403 Lachat, Mont, 178 Ladders, 82-84, 144, 233, 440, 444, 445, 448, 451, 502 Lakes, 62, 63, 82-84, 183, 187, 233, 259- 261, 267, 268, 320, 325, 351, 352, 397, 398, 400, 401, 403, 479. See Miirjelensce and Tacul lahe Lakes, English, 471, 480 Lancliatra, hamlet, 403 Lanslebonrg, 10, 221 Lanvers, M., xiii, 15 Larch, 210, 355 Latent heat of water, 35 Latrobe, xxi. Laubers, the, 308, 319 Lanrichard, Pyramide du, 420 Lautaret, Col du, xi, 392, 410, 419, 420, 422 ; stream, 420 Lauteraar glacier and pass, 430 Lauterbrunnen, 429, 430, 442, 454 Lauvitel, 401 Lauze, Col de la, 403, 421 Lava, 60, 385 Lavancher, 55, 62, 65 Lead mines, 189, 399, 422 Lendarey glacier, 266, 287 Lenta river, 46 Leonhard's Journal, 380 Leschaux : Aiguille de, 90, 93, 109, 113- 115 ; glacier, 58, 68, 81, 83, 84, 88- 90, 94, 104, 105, 109, 113, 133-135, 137-141, 159-162, 191, 236, 238, 359, 360, 380, 534 Leuthold, J., 429, 434-436, 438, 440, 442- 443, 444, 446-448, 451, 497 Leuzinger, Herr, 554 Levanna, 221, 393 Level of the Mer de Glace, 146-148, 386 Leyden jar, 486 Liddes, 242, 251 Lightfoot, Bishop, 452 Lightning, 86, 87, 323 Lime : carbonate of, 189 ; tree, 344 Limestone, 47, 61, 64, 176-178, 182, 183, 197-199, 203-206, 209, 217, 241, 253. 256, 274, 275, 316, 325, 394-397, 400- 402, 413-415. 418-421, 423-426, 437; 494, 496 Link, 70 Lisboli, Pierre de, 62 Lognan glacier, and huts, 248-249 Longman, Mr. William, 537 Lcitschen pass and valley, 432, 441, 444, 454 Louise, Val, 404, 406, 411, 415, 417, 418, 420, 426 '■ Loup du Val Gaudeniar. Col du, 417 Lourtier, 43, 256 Louvie, Col de, 257 Lucan, 233 Luc, St., 287 Ludwigshobe, 334, 342 Luis, Col de la Grande, 460, 464, 548 Luscoz, 326, 327 Lyell, Mr., 53, 260 Lys : chalets, 243, 244 ; glacier, xiv, 187, 328, 333, 337-340, 343, 349 ; joch, 336, 535 ; valley, 326-328, 331, 337, 535 Lyskamm, 312-313, 333, 336 " M " station, 106, 107, 112 ; Aiguille de 1'. 77 Macdonald, Mr., 542 Mackintosh, Mr. John, 427 Macugnaga : glacier, 30, 344-349 ; valley and village, xiv, 10, 313, 317, 331. 333, 343, 344, 348, 350, 535 Madutz, H., 498 Maggiore, Lago, 340 Magnetism, 229, 315 Maistre, Count, 69 Malaval, Combe de, 395, 400, 419-421, 423, 365 ; 424, 495, Malkin, Mr., xviii, 296 Mallet : Mont, 76, 91. 109, 114, 115, 236, 365 ; Mr., 34 Mallnitzer Tauern, 10 Maps, 7, 14, 15, 220, 257, 264, 276, 288,- 29.3, 296, 301, 302, 303, 314, 316-318, 332, 333, 335, 340, 342, 351, 352, 354, 394, 396, 401, 411, 413, 415, 418-420, 437, 439, 457, 462. 526, 529-531, 534-554 ; bv Forbes, 56, 86, 95. 97, 116, 117, 536, 546 ; by M. Kurz, 95, 113-116, 244, 248, 554 : scale of, 116. Maqueliii, M., 551 Marbroes, Aiguilles, 230 Marengo, Signor, 194 Marguerite, La, spring, 203 Miirjelensee, xii, xv, 267, 432, 433, 438-440, 443, 451, 453 Marmots, 87, 92, 530 Marseilles, 392, 407 Martel, P., xxii, 212, 524, 526, 529, 530, 534. 535 Martigny, 10, 242, 244, 251, 513, 552 Martin : E., 529 ; Col du Haut, 417 Martins, M., 146, 362 Massa gorge, xv, 434, 435, 454 Mastallone, Val, 331 Mathews: Mr. C. E., 4, 514, 524, 534, 553 ; Mr. W., 541 Index 565 Matrei, Windisch, 10 Matterliorn (Mont Cerviu), 210, 220, 298, 299, 301-304, 306, 311, 313, 316, 317, 320, 324, 325, 443, 444, 455, 495, 496, 519 Mattmarkand lake, 63, 351, 352 Matzewski, Count, 232 Maiidit, Mont, 90, 93, 109, 195, 231 " Maudite, Moutagne," 526, 551 Maupas, Le, 398 Maurice: Bourg St., 181, 221, 310; gorge of St., 50 Maurienne, xviii, 398, 422, 425 ; St. Jeau de, 398, 401, 423, 424 ; St. Michel de, 392, 422 Maiivais Pas (1), 65, 6_7 ; (2), 499, 500 Mauvoisin, Pout de, 258 Maynard, M., 334 Meande, Col de la,. 413 Measurement of a base line, 98-101, 111 I Meath, Bishop of, 527 Mediterranean, 389, 419 Meije, 410, 411, 418, 420, 423, 424, 426, 542 Meina, Col de la, 257 Meiringen, 44, 251, 434, 448 Memorandum book, 5 Mercator's Atlas, 526 Mer de Glace, x, xi, xiii-xv, xxvi, 15, 23, 46, 54-94, 235, 293, 312, 319, 359-361, 363, 367, 370, 376, 379, 496, 506, 507, 524, 525, 528, 529, 534 ; length of, 112, 113 ; level of, 146-148, 386 ; map by Forbes, 56, 86, 95, 97, 116, 117, 536, 546 ; slope of, 112, 113 ; structure of, 151-171 ; survey of, 95- 117, 122-149 Merian, M., 525 Meteorology, 225, 226. See Weather, Bad Meunier, 485 Meyer family, xxi, xxii, 432, 441, 442 ; Ahrens, Dr., xxi, 470, 491 Miage : Col and Dome de, 212, 213, 537, 538, 548, 549 ; N. glacier of, 179, 212, 539, 549 ; S. glacier of, xiii, 44, 45, 63, 179, 182, 183, 185-194, 212, 258, 380, 384, 533, 536-39, 549- 550 ; Jardin du, 193 Michel de la Cluse, St., 525 ; de Maurienue, 392, 422 Midi, Aiguille du, 58,' 92, 110, 115, 173, 223, 230-232, 514, 551 ; de la Grave. see il/eye ; Col du, 110 ; Dent du, 244, 310, 433, 496 Mieulet, Capt., 543, 553 Milan, Pierre a, 51 Milk, 262, 290, 297, 451 Mills, Glacier, 21, 81, 82. See Moidins jMine, Mont, glacier, 293 Minerals, 83, 85, 236, 245, 269, 274. 307, 315-318, 320, 343, 344, 396, 409, 410, 417, 422, 529. See Gold and Silver mines Minto, Lord, xvii Mischabelhorner, 300. 313, 315, 351, 353, 354, 455, 535 Mittaghorn, 300, 313 Mittelgrat, xvii ; horn, xviii Mittersill, 10 Models of the Alps and glaciers, 244, 245, 377, 378, 380-383, 462, 511, 536, 537 Moine, Aiguille du, xv, 79, 91, 92, 104, 114, 115, 235, 237 Mole, the, 528, 529 Molines, 309 Mollard, 213 Morning Rothhorn, 303, 313, 315 Monch, 429, 432, 433, 441, 443, 444, 450 ; joch, 42, 440 Mondelant glacier. See Dolenf, Mont, glacier Mondini, Signor, 266 Monutier, 410, 414, 419, 420 Money, love of, 288, 289 Montanvert (Montenvers), 15, 63, 64, 70, 71 97, 106, 112, 123, 124, 238, 270, 271, 472, 481, 490, 512, 519, 524, 525, 528, 530, 534 ; height of, 110- 112, 116 Mont de Lans glacier, 401, 421 Moutets, Col des, 251 Montets, Grands, pass and peak, 248, 451 Monthey, blocks of, 50, 51,^ 242, 243-244 "Monthly Magazine, New," 510 Montjoie, Vallee de, 177, 531, 533, 543 Montmelian, 393 Moonlight, 215-17, 293-294, 440, 451, 453 Moraines, 21-25, 56, 57, 81, 236, 265, 307, 466 ; medial, 24, 83, 92, 94, 193, 312, 381, 382, 439 ; new, 307 ; old, 43, 44, 59-64, 69, 78, 81, 178, 187, 192, 193, 251, 324, 338, 345 Moreles, Dent de, 51, 496 Moril ; alp, 452, 454, 455 ; chalets, 432 ; lake, 438, 440. See Marjelensee Morgex, 202 Morion range, 268 "Morning Post," 480 Moro, Monte, xiv, 10, 42, 328, 330, 331, 349-351 Mortar, 170, 366, 385 Motion of glaciers, 32-37, 54, 84, 95, 96, 118-151, 169, 170, 295, 383 ; laws of, according to Forbes, 135-141 ; measure of motion before Forbes, 37, 121, 385, 430 ; peasants' ideas as to motion, 34, 37 43-44, 143, 292, 535 ; resembles that of a river, 384, 385, 387, 388 ; winter motion, 21, 34-35, 144, 145, 292, 362 Motte, La, 396 Mottets, Les, 179, 182 1 Mouilles, Les, hamlet, 63 566 Travels through the Alp$ Moulin, Pierre a, or Roclier dii M. Grunoii. 195 " Mouliiis," 21, 81, 82, 84, 90, 236, 360, 361 I^Iouutaiueering, 472-474, 482-487 ; dangers of, 487-510 ; pleasures of, 474-7, 515- 519 Mountain - scenery, 480, 481 ; sickness, 489-493. See Raihmys Mouron, M., 507 Mofitier.s Tarentaise, 10 " Moutonnecs, Roclies," 52, 70, 78, 177, 328, 355, 455 Mules, 67, 289. 322, 345, 349, 350, 396. 397, 403, 405, 409, 424, 492. 497, 505 Mulets, Grands, 115, 173, 176, 493, 510, 549-51 Miinchenbuchsee, 314 Munich map. 437 Munier, 213, 464, 548 Miinster, Sebastian, 272 Murchison, Sir Roderick, 496 Mure, La, 396, 414 Muret, Roche de, 65, 67 Murith, M., 242 "Murray's Handbook," xxi, 309, 470, 491, 482-484, 515. 519, 520, 526 Miirreu, 454 Muveran, Grand, 51 Muzelle, Col de la, 402 "N" station, 99, 106, 107 Nadelhorn, 354 Niigelisgratli, 433 Nails iu shoes. 98 Nant: Bon, 177-80; borrant, 180 Nantillons glacier, 77, 176 Nase, Die, 338 Nativity of Notre Dame, festival of, 355 Natvml Historij Societij of Paris, Memoirs of, 395 Naturel, Pont, 403 Navettes glen, xi, 413, 414 Necker, M., xxi, 8, 204 Neff, Felix, xii. Nendaz glen, 257 Neri, Mont, 326, 328 Neruda, Mr. Norman, 495 Neubriicke, 309 Neuchatel : lake of, 47 ; section of, 460, 465 ; town of, xii, 123, 480 Neuchatelois, Hotel des, xii, 427, 428 Neuvaz, La ; Aiguille and glacier, 248. 460, 464, 533, 539, 541 Neve, 30, 31, 90, 432, 436, 438, 439 Neville, Mr., 527 New Monthly Morjardnc, 510 Newton, 69, 119 Nichols, Mr., 553 Nights high up, 85, 86, 336, 473, 511 Noir : Glacier, 419 ; Tour, 464 ; Col du Tour, 464, 541, 542 Noire. La, 81, 83. 84, 109, 113, 160, 232- 236 ; moraine from. 81. 139, 160, 236, 380 Noire, Tete, 244, 251 Nona, Becca di, 221 Nord End, 313, 327, 332, 334. 346-348 Norway, 389, 400, 402, 453, 478, 489 Notre Dame : de la Gorge, 179 ; de la Guerison, 184, 198-201 Nouva, Col della, xi, xx. 221 Noversch, 327, 328. 337 Nygaard glacier, 453 "0" station, 99, 106, 107 Oberaar glacier .and pass, xii, xx. 428- 430, 433-439 Observations, record of, 5 Oisans : Bourg d", xi. 392, 395, 396, 399, 400, 420, 422, 425 ; group, 394, 395, 397, 401, 402, 419 Olen, Col d', xiv, 327, 333, 335, 337, 340, 341 Olle valley, 398-400 Ollomont, 268, 269, 272 Orcieres and pass, 394, 413 Ordinaire, M., 514 Oren, glacier and pass, 276 Ori.ani, 332 Orny : glacier, 461, 463, 466, 533 ; Pointe d', 243, 244, 253, 551 Orsera, Col d', 257 Orsieres, 241, 252, 253, 356, 467, 531, 552 Ossola, Domo d'. 10, 505 Ossory, Bishop of, 527 Otemma : glacier. 262, 265, 266, 268. 276, 281 ; Pointe d', 266 Ostspitze, 498 Ouches. Les. See Ilotiches, Les Oulx, 392 Ourcette glen, 413 Oursine, Montague d', 404. 409-411. 426 Out-of-door mind, 471 Oval glaciers, 153, 154, 156. 165, 373 Ovid, 55 Oxford, 472, 484 Oyace, 273 Paccard : Dr., 494 ; F. and M., 485 Pancratius, St., 252 Panoramas, 517-519, 545 Para, La, chalet, 175 Paradis, Grand, 221, 419 Parasol, 485, 486 Parrotspitze. 334, 342 Passes of the Alps crossed by Forbes, 10 Passon, Col du, 245 Pastures, mountain, 66, 67, 79, 261-263, 282, 290, 292-294, 325, 354, 418, 420, 42.3, 490 Pays, M. Le, 524. 525 Peak, The, 472 Peaks, Passes, and (Ih'ciers, 538, 539, 546, 549 Index 567 Peccoz, M. cle, 337, 338 Pecetto, 344 Pedlars, 330, 331,^334^^ Pt;4erins glacier, 175, 176 Pt'lissier, Pont, 176, 177 Pellice, Torre, 10 Pelvoux, Mont : (1, i.e. true Pelvoux), 394, 408, 411, 418, 419, 426, 514 ; (2, i.e. Ecrins), 222, 389, 394, 395; 3, i.e. Ailefroide), 404, 406, 409-411, 418, 419 Pendant glacier, 248 Pennine Alps, 14 "Perdue, Vallee," 336, 535 Periades, Les, 91, 109 ; glacier, 236 Perraudin, J. P., 43, 44 Perren, Jos., 295 Perrin, M. A., 525 Perroc, Dent, 292 Pertud, 200 Pertuis, 392 Peru, 489, 492 Pestarena, 342 Peteret, Aiguilles de, 183, 206, 222, 241 Petersgrat, 454 Petrarch, 46 Petriolo, 349, 535 Philipson, Arthur, 498. 500 Philoscmhical Magazine. 117, 122, 367 Tra7isactions, 110, 114, 203, 209, 227 394, 395 Physiology, 229. See Breathing Plana, La, 343 Pictet, M., 228, 245, 530, 536 Piece glacier, 281 Pied (Ui Col, 420, 421 Piedmontese map, 15, 220, 351, 535, 539, 541. See GvAdes Piget, Cote du, 60-62, 108 "Pigno," 289 Pilatte glen, 409 Pilatus, 498 Pinsot, 397, 398 Pinus cenibra, 281 Pirade glen, 409 Pissa, Cima della, 333, 348 Pisse, Col de la Haute, 417 Pissevache, 51 Pitch, Stockholm, 367 Pitt, 527 Plan de I'Aiguille, 109, 175, 176 ; Aiguille du, 110, 230, 235 Plana, M., 327, 337, 341, 419 Planaz, hamlet, 63 Plane tree, 291 Planpansiere glacier, 240, 533 Plantamour, M., Ill, 461 Plaster of Paris, 366, 377, 381 Plasticity of glaciers, 367, 368 Plat, Aiguille du, 401 Plate, Pierre. See " 0" station Plateau, Grand, 173, 175, 485, 550 Platten, 455 Playfair, 40, 41 Pleureur, Mont, 257, 258 Plines : Pointe des, 541, 547 ; range, 460, 464 Plossl, 98 Po river, 46, 182, 202 Pococke, Dr. R., 481, 523-529 "Poetische Reise," 435 Police, 414 Polished rocks, 44-46, 50, 78, 176, 1//, 198, 249, 251, 257, 283, 291, 311, 312. 324, 338, 343, 355, 397, 437, 439, 440 Pontcharra, 396, 398 Fonts, Les, 50, 51, 57, 72, 73, 487, 496 Poplars, 405 Portalet, Le, 253 Portola, Col de, xiv, 325, 326 Post, Morning, 480 Pot-stone, 316 Potosi, 492 Pourri, Mont, 181, 221 Praborgne, 311 Pralong, 282, 283, 286, 287, 289-291, 304- 306 Prarayc' huts, 274, 275, 285 Prayers on the Alps, 294 Praz : Les, 59, 99, 111, 116 ; de Fort, 466- 467 Prebichl, 10 Precipices, 78-80, 494-500 Pre de Bar glacier, 93, 240, 241, 248, 533, 552 Price, R., 527, 528, 530 Proment, Antoine, 186, 200, 201, 209, 210, 213, 214, 216, 230, 238 Protogine, 47, 463, 464, 467 Provence, 46 ; shepherds of, 405, 409 Prunieres, 392 Pudding-stone, 251 Puiseux, M., 419, 514 Puna, La, 491 Pury, M. de, 434, 448 Pyrenees, x, 18, 203, 395, 463, 478, 489 Quarazza, Val, 343 Quart, 258 Qimrterly Revieiv, 232, 470-520 Quartz, smoked, 83, 236, 245 Radiation, Solar. 98, 209, 227 Railways, mountain, 309, 312, 313, 392, 396, 399, 448, 480, 484, 498, 524 Randa : glacier, 145 ; village, 310, 311 Ranz des Vaches, 264 Ranzola, Col della, xiv, 326 Rarity of air, 489-493 Rateau, 401 Raymond's map, 536, 545, 546 Red snow, 438, 451 Regnault, M., 168 68 Travels through the Alps Reilly, Mr. Adams, xvi, xix, 522, 531, 539-554 Rendu, Bishop, xv, xxi, 28, 33, 121, 122, lt)7, 368, 384, 387 Rennie, Mr., 369 Requin, Dent du, 110, 237 Reuse, 19 Rhemes, Val de, 508 Rhine, 20, 260, 369 Rhone : glacier, xii, xv, 29, 43, 52, 54, 150, 153, 154. 159, 163, 193, 196, 197, 243, 353, 386, 436 ; river, 50, 84, 182 ; | valley, 242, 244, 310. 427-429, 505 Ribboned structure of glaciers, 151, 152, 379. See Veined structure Ribel, 212 Richard : family, 407 ; Guidebook by, 526, 527 Riddes, 255 Riederalp, 452, 454, 455 Riffel : 312-315, 317, 351 ; inns on, 312 ; horn, xiv, 314, 497 Rima, 331 Rimella, 331 Rimpfischhorn, 351 Riva Valdobbia, 341 Rivers, 374, 453 ; glaciers like, 384, 385, 387, 388. See Streams Rivi«-e, 31, 362, 365, 387 Robinson, Mr., 96 Rochcfort glacier, 240 Rochetaillee-Allemont station, 399 Rocks, 494-501. See Geology Rodier family, 406-417 Roguon : (1) Petit, 232, 233, 237 ; (2) 456, 459 Romanche valley, 39.5, 399-402, 411, 412, 420-424 Romilly, M., 232, 514 Ronde, Tour, and pass, 194, 231 Rope, 67, 230, 235, 291, 305, 322, 444, 447, 450, 451, 464, 498, 502, 507-509 Rosa, Monte, 19, 210, 220, 299, 300, 302- 304, 312, 313, 315, 317, 320, 326, 327, 340, 342, 344, 345, 347, 349, 350, 443, 486, 491, 493, 494, 497, 498, 503, 514, 519, 554 ; topography of, 332-337. See names of its various summits Rosaletta, M., 543 Itose, Alpine, 104 Rosenlaui glacier, 174, 506 Rothhorn : Oberaar, 433 ; Zinal, 303, 313, 315 Roththal and Sattel, 430, 440-443, 446, 448, 451, 495, .504 Rotta, Motta, 293, 298 Rouge, Col de la Coste, 406, 411 liowje, L'llahil. See JlaUt, L' and Bionar. Rouges : Aiguilles, (1) xvi, 62, 64, 85, 205, 316, 456, 514 ; (2) 188 ; Les, 93 ; Monts, 241 ; Roehers, 508-510, 550 Kousses, Grandes, 222, 393, 396, 422 Roze, M., 529 Ru, Mont, 241 Ruan, Mont, 49.4 Ruine, Grande, 542 liuise, 18 Rumford, Count, 26 Ruskin, Mr., xxi, 470. 472, 495, 496 Russian furnace, 254, 304 Rutor, 221, 268 Rye bread, 339 Saas, 10, 22, 34, 45, 63. 265, 289, 316, 350, 351, 354-356; grat, 309, 313, 315, 351-353 Sabine, Colonel, 28 Sables, Les, 399 Sacro Monte at Varallo, 346, 350 Saguette, Col delle, xi Salay huts, 291 Saleinaz : Club hut, 460, 465 ; Fenetre de, xvi, XX, 213, 247, 251, 389, 460, 461, 463, 537, 538, 548, 552 ; glacier, 243, 247, 457, 458, 466, 467, 533, 539- 541, 543 Salisbury Crags, 205 Sallanche stream, 51 Sallanches, 51, 523, 525, 528 Saluzzo, 10 Salvador, St., Hermitage of, 60 Salvan, xiii, 52, 244 Sand cones, 25, 26, 347 Sap, Riou du, 413 Sapphires, 76 Saracens, 288 Sardinia, 89, 337, 342, 423, 483, 510; engineers, 15, 220, 351, 535, 539, 541 Sassa. Col de, 276 Sassiere, Aiguille de la, 221 Satarma huts, 283 Saussure, M. H. B. de, xiii, xviii. xix, xxi, 3-9, 24, 28, 53, 61, 63. 72, 76, 77, 85, 88, 93, 95, 119-121, 124, 145, 173, 176, 177, 183, 188, 189, 195, 198, 200, 203,204, 217-231, 241, 242, 245. 267, 287, 301, 316, 317, 321, 329, 330, 332-336, 344, 346-349, 358, 376, 437, 462, 470, 481, 483, 485, 486, 490, 492, 523, 526, 529, 530, 535, 536, 550 ; on Col du Geant, xix, 6, 82, 83, 207, 212, 213, 219, 223- 230, 516, 548 ; Glacier Theory of, 33- 36, 76, 119, 120. 125, 363-365, 376 ; ladder left by, 82-84, 144, 233 ; up the Cramont, 208, 209 ; up Mont Blanc, xix, 6, 176, 230, 4_90, 516; spelling ofproper names by, 57, 58,526 Savart, 450 " Savoy," 423 Saxe, Baths of la, 184, 203, 205-207, 216, 222 ; Mont de la, 205, 206, 216 Savs. Col du. xi, xx. 40G, 407, 409-412, 420. 425 Index 569 Scale of maps, 116 Scent-bottle, 485, 480 Scheidegg, Great, xv Scheuchzer, J. J., xxi, 4, 33, 34, lti8, 330, 363, 525, 526 "Schistes verts," 316 Schlagintweits, the, xxi, 480, 498, 503 Schott, Herr A., xxi; 330, 331, 346, 350 Schreckhoru, 430, 433, 435, 450 Schwarzberg : glacier, 45, 352 ; see, 320 ; Weissthor, 346 Schwarzhorn, 354 ; lake, 320 " Schweizer Alpen-Zeituug, " 251, 304 "Schweiz, im 19teu Jalirliundert, Die," 33, 34, 41, 427 "Scientific men," 482, 483, 490 ; "obser- vations," 484, 515, 516 Scotland, xviii, 205, 297, 471, 487, 497 Scott, Sir Walter, 498 Sealing wax, 367 Sec, Pra, glacier, 207, 240, 241, 533 Seche, Crete, glacier and pass, 261, 266, 267 Second order, glaciers of the, 76, 77, 237, 247, 365, 373, 374, 375, 465 Sedgwick, Prof., 496 Sections of a glacier, 156-158, 373-375, 379 See-saw, game of, 505 Seewiuen glacier, 352 Seigne, Col de la, 182, 183, 213, 241, 457, 543 Seiler, Herr A., and his wife, 304, 308 Seilon, Col de, 266, 290 Sellar, Col du, xi, xix, 413-418 Selle glen, 417 Sembrancher, 242, 244, 252, 254, 255 Sene, M., model by, 462, 536, 537 Senebier, M., 6, 530 Sept Laux, xi, 397. 398 "Seracs," 506, 523 Serena, Col, 202 Sermenza, Val, 331 "Serneille," 18 Serpentine, 189, 312, 316, 338 Servoz, 176, 177, 528 Sesia, Val, 329-331, 333, 341, 343 Sestrieres, Col de, xi Severaisse torrent, 413 Shakespeare, 297, 319, 475 Sheep and Shepherds, 78, 194, 247, 293, 339, 342-343, 346, 405, 490, 508 Shells, 53 Sherwill, Capt. M., xxi, 83, 122, 525, 526 Shoes, 98, 496 Shuckburgh, Sir G., 110 Sicily, 5 Sickness, Mountain, 489-493. See Breathing Sidelhorn, Gross, xii, 437 Siegfried Atlas, 437, 554 Signalkuppe, 333, 334, 341, 342, . 347, 348 Silbersattel, 491, 498, 514 Silver mines, 189, 399 Simler, Josias, xxi, 4, 525 Simond, L., xxi, 287 ; P., 485 Simplon Pass, xv, 10, 351, 364, 432, 433 Sion : bishop of, 288, 331 ; town of, 42, 285, 295, 301, 356 Sirac, 415 Sismonda, Signor Augelo, 207, 273 Sisteron, 392 Sixt, 88, 494, 526 Skinoball, J., 340 Sky, blue colour of the, 228, 450, 476 Skye, 497 Slade, Mr., 442 Slaty rocks, 306, 316, 317 Slope of the Mer de Glace, 112, 113 Smaragdite, 352 Smith: Mr. Albert, xxi, 470, 486, 487, 503, 510, 529 ; Mr. James, 53 Smugglers, 277, 278, 323 Snow : blue colour of, 69, 153, 361 ; dangers of, 501-505 ; line, 12, 18, 30, 478, 479, 484 ; red, 438, 451 ; temperature of, 227, 228. See Storms Sognefiord, 508 "Sounding," 231, 322, 508 Spanish, 289, 478 Speer, Mr., xviii. Spelling of proper names, 57, 58, 526 Spltigen Pass, 10 Spokes, 98 Spon's " History of Geneva," 525 Springs, 173, 177, 202, 203, 208, 289, 394- 397, 400, 403 Staffel Alp, 307, 308 Stalden, 309, 310 Stanley, Bishop, 498-500 Starling, Punta, 341 Stations on the Mer de Glace, 101 sqq. ; height of, 106, 107; see "A" "B' "C" etc., separately Stavel, 337, 340 Steinberg, 454 Stelvio Pass, 10, 422, 519 Stephen, Mr. Leslie, 481, 550 Stevenson, 254 Stillingfleet, 527, 528 Stock : glacier, 306 ; huts, 439 ; horn, xiv XX, 299, 300, 303, 304, 307, 315, 316 ; je, 306, 307, 316 Stones, falling, 233, 234, 509 Storms, 359-361, 487, 488 Strahleck, xvii, 294, 430 Strahlhorn, 313, 345, 351, 444 Stratification, 347, 379 Straw, 224 Streams, 369-372, 382, 387. See Tm-rents Striations, 23, 44-46, 52, 73, 198, 256, 257, 283, 311, 312, 343, 354, 355 Structure of glaciers, 27-29, 190. SeeFeiwerf Structure 570 Travels through the Alps Studer : Prof. Beruard, xii-xiv, xxiii, xxvii, 33, 123, 250-258, 2(50, 261, 265-286, 290, 304, 315-328, 348, 364 ; Herr (4ottlieb, xxi, 442, 446, 452, 470, 545 ; Prof. Theophil, 33 Stuffen, 354 Styria, 531 Sue, Mont, 188 Sucre, Pain de, 184, 216 Sulger, Herr, 432 Sulzer, Peter, 251 Sun, 167, 209, 216, 217, 227 ; eclipse of, 129, 213, 216, 217, 221. See Itadia- Hon, Solar Survey of the Mer de Glace by Forbes, 95- 117 Swamps, 276, 399, 400 "Swiss," 483 ■Swiss Alpine Club, 42, 250, 260, 278, 394, 437, 460, 465, 483, 492, 524, 525, 528, 530, 537, 542, 545, 546 "Switzerland," 89 Switzerland, travel in, 11-13 Syenites, 270, 273, 339, 343 Tables, Glacier, 25, 57, 89 Tacounaz glacier, 176, 511, 533 Tacul: Aiguille du, 90, 91, 114, 115; Capucin du, 105, 131, 360 ; glacier, 57, 83 - 85, 212, 230, 236, 237 ; lake, 84-86, 104, 115, 224 ; Mout Blanc du, 90, 109. 110, 231, 532, 551 ; promontory, 81, 83-86, 103, 112, 113, 129, 214, 235, 361, 363, 506, 524 Tagliaferro, 341 Tairraz : (1) Auguste, 510 ; (2) Victor, xiii, 250, 286, 296, 297, 306, 320, 322, 344, 347, 348 ; (3) 71 ; (4) 529 Talefre : Aiguille de, 90, 92, 109, 113-115, 161 ; glacier, 58, 81, 83, 85, 88, 91- 94, 108, 109, 115, 139, 161-163, 165, 189, 191, 236, 237, 245, 248, 375, 380, 381, 508, 536, 538, 539, 551, 552 Talfourd, Serjeant, 484, 515 Tiinnler, 504, 505 "Tannenburg, Rosa von," 356 Tar, 366, 376 Tareutaise, x, xviii, 10, 180, 181, 221, 250, 456 Tasch, village, 42, 311 Taschhorn, 351 Tauern passes, 10 Taugwald, M. zuni, 498 Tempier ravine, 413 Temple, Col de la, 406, 411 Thabor, Mont. 221 Thiilliboden glacier, 352 "Thalweg," 506 Theatricals, peasant, 356 Theudia glacier, 77 Thcodule, St., pass, xii, xiv, xvii, xviii, xx, 10, 309, 313, 319-323, 331, 333, 334, 428, 437, 505 Theory, Glacier: Dilatation, 34-36, 120, 142, 358-363, 376 : Forbes, 365-387 ; Gravitation, 33-36, 76. 119, 120, 125, 363-365, 376 Thibet, 31, 492 Thierberg, 430 Thomson, the poet, 486, 487 Thuille, La, 207, 208 Thuu, 442 Thunderstorms, 86, 87, 323, 341 "Thiirle, das," 342 Tignes, 221 Tiler chalets, 439 Tines, Les, 59, 99, 111, 116 Tissai : V., 485 Titer chalets, 439 Tddi, 514 Toiidn, Col du Mout, 548 ToiTembey chalets, 261-263 Torrent, Val de, 287, 302 Torrents, 19-21, 310, 311, 369-372, 382, 399-403, 475 Toule glacier, 217 Tour : Aiguille de la, 175 ; du, 244, 457, 458 : Col du, 213, 460, 552 ; Fenetre du, 456, 463 ; glacier, xv, xvi, 243, 245-247, 251, 457-459, 461-464, 467, 533, 535-537, 539, 541, 543 "Tourists," 287, 482-484 " Tourmeutes," 180. 280, 488 Touruanche, Val, 274, 286, 324, 330, 554 Tournier, J. M., 59 Tourtemague. See Turtmann lYavel in the Alps, 2, 3, 9-14, 57 "Travellers," 287, 482-484 Traversette, Col de la, xi, 10 Treacle, 376 Trees, 51, 66, 69, 99, 184, 194, 207, 210, 216, 249, 269, 281, 283, 291, 308, 324, 325, 344, 355, 399, 404, 405, 418, 454, 455, 475 Trelaporte, 77-80, 103, 110, 114. 115, 135, 159, 164 Trelatete : Aiguille de, 537, 548 ; glacier, 179, 180, 183,533, 536, 539; Pavilion de, 548 Triangulatiou of the Mer de Glace, 96, 97, 101-110 Trient, glacier and plateau, xiv, 242-244, 461-463, 533, 534, 536 ; valley, 52 Triftenhorn, 303, 307, 315 Triolet : Aiguille de, 93, 248. 464, 547, 551, 552; Club hut, 551, 552; Col de, 551, 552 ; fall from, 91, 240 ; glacier, 90, 109, 240, 248 Troughton and Simms, 97, 99, 100 Trumina des Boucs, 266 Trout, 401 Trugberg, 444 Index 571 Tscliiugel, the dog, 493 Tscbiidi, Herr F. von, 492 Tuckett, Mr. F. F., xvi, xix, 394, 404, 411, 419, 434, 538-540, 542, 550 Tulley, 97, 210 Turf slopes, 493, 494 Turin, 10 Tiirlo pass and peak, xiv, 341-343 Turtmannthal, 287, 290 Twilight, 216-217, 228 Twins, the, 313, 333 Tyndall, Prof., 33 Tyrol, X, 18, 19, 281, 309, 496, 513 Ulrich, Prof, xxi, 470, 491, 497, 498 Ulrichen, 505 Umbrella, 322, 323 Union, Hotel de 1', 100 Universities, English, 472, 484 Unteraar glacier, xii, xiii, xv, 27, 29, 37, 121, 122, 150, 152-154, 168, 379, 427, 428, 430, 435, 436, 450, 505, 516 Urbachthal, xii, 429 Uriage, 396 Ursus, St., at Aosta, 274 Useigne earth pillars, 309 Vaccarone, Signor, 91, 187, 212, 267 Vaisevay huts, 244 Valcournera, Col de, 274 Valdobbia, Col de, 326, 328, 342 Valestrete, Col de, 413 Vallais, 42, 242, 285, 288, 295, 296, 321, 330 Vallaute, Col de, xi, 10 "Vallee Perdue," 336, 535 Valloire, 392 Vallorcine, 53, 251, 315 Vallot, M., 514 Vallouise, 404, 406, 411, 415, 417, 418, 420, 426 Valpelline : Col de, 275, 278 ; valley, xiii, 10, 221, 255, 266, 267, 269, 272, 301, 302, 315, 554 Valsenestre, 401, 402 Valtelline, 433 Vanoise : Aiguille de la, 181, 221 ; Col de la, 181 Vauzone, 344 Varaita stream, 46 Varallo, 346, 350 Varens, Aiguille de, 178 Variation, magnetic, 117 Variolites, 409, 412 Vaucluse, 46 Vaudaine, 400 Vaux, 269 "Vedretta," 18, 19 Veined structure of glaciers, xii, 27-29, 31, 57, 150-163, 169-171, 174, 175, 187, 188, 190, 193, 196, 197, 237, 243, ' 248, 265, 281, 282, 294, 307, 311, 312, 338, 347, 353, 354, 371-383, 386, 453 Veisivi, Dents de, 292, 293 Velau, Mont, 239, 242, 301, 456, 519 Velber Tauern, 10 Vellach, Ober, 10 Velocity of motion of glaciers. See Motion Veneon stream, xi, 395, 400-406, 422 Venetz, M., xxi, 33, 41-43, 242, 259, 295, 350, 428 Veni, Val, 183, 240 Vrnosc, 401, 402, 404, 406, 407, 418, 421 Verges, Pointe des, 410, 411 Vernayaz, xii. Vernon, Admiral, 529 Veran, St., x Verra, G., 344, 346 Verres, 326 Verte, Aiguille, 93, 114, 115, 237, 247, 515 Vesuvius, 60 Veynes, 392 Victoire, La, spring, 203 Viesch, village, 432, 440 Viescher: glacier, 45, 430, 432-434, 437- 440 ; horn, 432, 435, 444 Views from mountain tops, 517-519, 545 Vigna, Signor, 266 Vigne, 31 Vigneaux, Les, 419 Villard d'An'ue, 410, 411, 420, 421, 426 Villars, Dominique, 407 Ville Vallouise, 418 Vincent, 336 ; Pyramide, 334, 335, 342 Vingthuit chalets, 264 Viollet le Due's map, M., 553 Virgilio, Signor, 194, 200 Visaille chalets. La, 179, 183, 186 Viscidity or Viscosity, of glaciers, 169, 170, 366-383 ; models of, 377, 378, 380-383 Viso, Monte, xi, 46, 221, 321, 393, 419, 514 ; Col dei, xi. Visp : town of, 309, 316, 350, 356 ; torrent, 309, 311 Vogogna, 350 Voir, Pierre a, 255 Volcanic regions, 427 Volker, Alois, 432, 441 Vorassay, Mont, 549 Voza, Col de, 178, 179, 550 Vuibez glacier, 281 Wiiber, Herr, 9, 42 Wagner, J. J., 525 Wiihren, J., 434, 435, 446, 448, 491, 497 Waldensians, 267, 321 Wales, 471 Walnut trees, 418 Wandfluhjoch, 304, 305 Wasenhorn, xv, xviii, xx, 432, 433 Water, 26, 46, 59, 169, 222, 235, 257, 572 Travels through the Alps 260, 304, 352, 361, 366, 382 ; blue colour of, 69, 84 ; conduit, 207, 455 Waterfalls, 402, 403, 412, 421, 423, 475, 477 Watermarks on rocks, 257 Weather, bad, 487-489, 511 Weber, the brothers, 493 Weiss, map by, 288 Weissenfiuh, J. von, 452 Weisshorii, 287, 290, 301-303, 310, 311, 313, 315, 320, 336, 356, 444, 455 Weissthor, 313, 345, 346 Welden, Baron L. von, xxii, 15, 300, 303, 313, 331-336, 346, 348, 351, 419 Wengern Alp, 430, 472, 519 Westmoreland, 487 Wetterhorii, xviii, 429, 432 \V>e\vell, Dr., 382 Whymper, Mr., 491, 515, 547, 551, 552 Wigram, Mr., 538 William, Fort-, 487 Williamson, Mr., 527 Wills, Mr. (Sir Alfred), xvi, xix, xxiii, 121, 224, 470, 484, 491, 493, 494, 506, 538, 552 Wilson, Dr., 227 Windermere, 480 Windham, Mr. W., xxii, 212, 481, 523- 529, 533, 534 Windisch Matrei, 10 Winds, 341, 342, 487 Winkworth, Mr., 539 Winter. 21, 34, 35, 37, 59, 82. 125, 143- 145, 169, 227, 292, 314, 362, 372, 386, 406, 485, 511 Wordsworth, the poet, 480, 481 Worl's map, 257, 264, 276, 288, 302, 351, 437, 439 Wrinkles, 160, 170 "X., Berg," 300 Yachting, 515 Yarmouth Roads, 508 Yverdon, 44 Za, Aiguille de la, 292, 293 Zach, Baron de, 410 Za de Zan glacier, 275, 278 Zadelano, 303 Zeiller, M., 525 Zermatt, 10, 34, 220, 304, 308, 336, 535 ; environs of, 309-318, 351 ; inns at, 308, 319 Zessetta glacier, 264 Zinal, 287 ; Rothhorn, 303, 313, 315 " Zirbelnusskiefer, " 281 Z'Miitt: glacier, 44, 275, 300-307, 311. 313, 317, 320. 351 : torrent, 320 ; village, 308 Zschokke, Herr, xxii Zuber, 341 Zumsteiu : Herr, xiv, 317, 327, 328, 332, 334-340, 348 ; spitze, 327, 332-334, 336, 347, 348 Zurbriicken, M., 354 THE END Printed by R. & R. Clakk, Limiteu, Edinbut^h. \ Snanned l^'sh' : Jlont Bl'tnr ti Col ihi OeaJit (7l(77>hTunt &oti L a G r a n '^ .1 o i- a s s c Ai:S3mi^^m^. 2foiit Blan,^ ti Col (hi (reont (Ihiinoviu troll La Or a a d e .1 o I- a s s c ■^:^^,i^ il '; // 2 lout Blaitr ti CoJ (In. irt'OUt La G r a a d e .1 ,) L- a t, h <■ M . ,S8iWijfi^C:-:;i.«ii -#ite%i^' PS*.^: ^^ n' ^u "^fi, ■^■J*- m^ ^% '^4' % ''\ msi % / :. / 1 MAP OJAjVJDIJjNJ An. I of ihcAdjoiaiii'^- M. BV PROrcSSOR rORBES /• T'f^'j^ i^-'-^'-c UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LIBRARY BERKELEY Return to desk from which borrowed. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below. 5Nov'52DH RECO LD JUL 26 1363 LD 21-95m-ll.'50 (2877s 10)176 9 J1878 ^<^ ?23 n THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA UBRARY