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THE ALPINE REGIONS 
 
 OF SWITZERLAND 
 
 AND THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES. 
 
PRINTED BY C. J. CLAY, M.A. 
 AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2007 with funding from 
 
 IVIicrosoft Corporation 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/alpineregionsofsOObonnrich 
 
n • 
 
 THE MATTERHORN FROM THE VAL TOURNANCHE. 
 
THE ALPINE EEGIONS 
 
 OF SWITZERLAND 
 AND THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES; 
 
 A PEDESTRIAN'S NOTES 
 
 ON THEIR PHYSICAL FEATURES, SCENERY, AND 
 NATURAL HISTORY. 
 
 BY 
 
 T. G. BONNEY, M.A., F.G.S., &c. 
 
 FELLOW OF ST JOHN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; 
 MEMBER OF THE ALPINE CLUB. 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY E, WHYMPER. 
 
 DEIGHTON, BELL, AND CO. 
 
 LONDON: BELL AND DALDY. 
 
 1868 
 

 ^th 
 
THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED 
 
 TO 
 
 WILLIAM MATHEWS, M.A., 
 JOHN CLARKE HAWKSHAW, M.A., 
 
 AND MY OTHEE TRAVELLING COMPANIONS, 
 
 IN REMEMBRANCE OF 
 
 OUR PLEASANT ALPINE WANDERINGS. 
 
 956804 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 So many works upon the Alps have appeared during 
 the last ten years, that an apology is almost required 
 for adding to their number. Still, the majority of 
 these are monographs, devoted, either to special topics 
 — as the books of Forbes and Tyndall, or to parti- 
 cular districts — such as Dauphine, the Oberland, and 
 the Bernina, rather than works attempting to give a 
 general view of the very diverse subjects of interest 
 connected with the Alpine Chain. I have therefore 
 in the present volume endeavoured to put together a 
 few notes, which may serve not only to give those 
 who cannot travel a general idea of the Alpine Regions, 
 but also, at the same time, be useful as a kind of 
 handy-book to those who are purposing to visit them. 
 
 I must not, however, be supposed to have at- 
 tempted anything of the nature of a formal guide- 
 book, scientific or topographical. Had I endeavoured 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 the one, it must have been a mere compilation; for 
 I cannot pretend to more than a general acquaintance 
 with such subjects; while the other has been made 
 needless by The Alpine Guide, — so admirably edited 
 by my friend Mr Ball, — and by many more, designed 
 rather for the ordinary tourist, such as the Guides of 
 Murray, Baedeker, &c., and (in French) the valuable 
 Itineraires of M. Joanne. 
 
 The two points, then, that I have kept before me 
 in writing this book are : — (1) That it should not be 
 confined to any single district or country, but should 
 endeavour to deal with the Alps as a whole ; re- 
 stricting myself only, where I could, to the properly 
 mountain regions ; (2) that it should as far as possible 
 touch upon all the principal points of interest connected 
 with them, and aim to be popular and general, rather 
 than exhaustive. 1 felt that I could the better attempt 
 the former, because I happen to have a tolerably 
 general acquaintance with the whole chain, having 
 in the course of ten journeys wandered, usually on 
 foot, over every Alpine district included between lines 
 drawn, one through Genoa westward, and the other 
 through Venice northward; during which I have 
 crossed about eighty mountain passes, explored a good 
 deal of rarely visited country, and had, I believe, 
 a fair view of every important peak in the Alps, 
 from the Viso to the Terglou. With regard to the 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 second purpose, I have endeavoured to be accurate, 
 but at the same time have avoided, as far as possible, 
 scientific nomenclature ; except where — as in the chap- 
 ters on natural history — it seemed better to give 
 the Latin appellations of a few animals and plants, 
 the trivial names being often so very uncertain and 
 variable. 
 
 In the hope of rendering the work more readable, 
 I have cast it as much as possible into a narrative 
 form ; this must excuse the rather frequent occurrence 
 of the first personal pronoun. If one has seen a thing, 
 it seems simpler to say ' I have seen,' than to use a 
 periphrasis which, to me at least, often seems to savour 
 of the 'pride that apes humility.' The same form 
 has been used even in statements which now may 
 be regarded as common matter, describing things as 
 I saw them ; although they may already have been 
 seen and described by many others, and I may, in 
 some cases, have used their accounts to refresh my 
 own memory. My endeavour has been to record, 
 to the best of my power, the various things which 
 strike and impress persons who, like myself, have 
 received an ordinary English education, feel a general 
 interest in scientific subjects, and have a sincere love 
 for the beauties of Nature. 
 
 The books to which I have chiefly referred are 
 The Alpine Guide, which I have generally followed 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 for nomenclature and the altitude of mountains ; 
 the delightful volumes of Forbes and Tyndall, for 
 the theories of Glacier Motion ; and Tschudi's Les 
 Alpes (the authorised translation of the original work 
 Thierlehen der Alpenwelt) for the natural history ; 
 aided occasionally in this last by the kind suggestions 
 of my more scientific friends, chief among whom I 
 may thank Professor Newton. Other works, which 
 have been more sparingly used, are noted from time 
 to time in the text. I did not see Mr Morell's 
 Scientijic Guide to Switzerland, which appears a very 
 careful and laborious compilation, until my own book 
 was written, and the greater part of it in print. I 
 have also to thank my friend, the Rev. G. F. Browne, 
 for some useful hints. 
 
 I cannot hope to have wholly escaped error ; 
 still I trust that no very serious mistakes or omissions 
 will be found ; and if this little volume help any tra- 
 vellers to enjoy their Alpine journey more, on the 
 principle involved in the old story, 'Eyes and No- 
 eyes,' the trouble which I have taken with it, and 
 that has really been considerable, will be amply 
 repaid. 
 
 T. G. B. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 General configuration of the Alps. — Signs of pressure and elevation. — 
 Effects of denudation; water, frost, and ice. — Example of the Col de la 
 Latize. — Beds and plains of gravel and detritus. — Cause of elevation of 
 mountains. — Scenery affected by the nature of rocks. — Eocks divided into 
 Crystallines and Coherents. — Compact crystallines. — Slaty crystallines. — 
 Cleavage and foliation. — Compact and slaty coherents. — Effects of weather 
 upon these rocks. — Scenery of compact crystallines ; their distribution, and 
 that of slaty crystallines. — Distribution of compact and slaty coherents. — 
 Mountain forms. — Effects of weather on cleavage, stratification, and joints. 
 — Formation of precipices. — Gneiss and Dolomite.— Pyramidal peaks.— 
 Forms of summits. — Sketch of the Alpine Districts.— Cottian Alps. — High 
 Alps of Dauphine. — Savoy Alps. — Graian Alps. — Pennine Kange.^Oberland. 
 — Lepontine Alps.— Ehastian Alps. — Lombard Alps. — Noric Alps. — Italian 
 Tyrol. — Carnic and Julian Alps 1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Formation of valleys. — Cracks. — Gorges of erosion. — Gorge of the Trient. 
 Cirques.— Valleys of outcrop. — Valleys of depression. — The Alpine Lakes. — 
 Lac de Bourget. — ^Lac d'Annecy. — Lac L^man. — The Lowland Lakes. — 
 Lake of Zurich. — Lake of Constance. — Lakes of Thun, Brienz, Lucerne, 
 
 and Wallenstadt Lakes of the Eastern Alps. — The Italian Lakes, Orta, 
 
 Maggiore, Lugano, Como, Iseo, and Garda. — Alpine Waterfalls . . 36 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Glaciers. — Expedition on the Gomer Glacier. — Terminal ice-cave.— 
 Moraine. — Crevasses; cause of their formation. — Surface of a glacier. — 
 Glacier tables. — Channels.— Moulins. — Veined structure in glacier ice. — 
 Halt at Auf der Platte. — Ascent towards the Lys-joch.— Seracs. — Formation 
 
xii CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 of a glacier.— Crevasses in n6v6. — Summit of the Pass. — A rapid descent. — 
 Cause of glacier motion.— Dilatation theory.— Viscous theory.— Dr Tyndall's 
 objections.— His explanation.— Marks of past glacier-action.— Moraines.— 
 Perched blocks.— Explanation of their presence.— The erratics of Monthey 
 and the Jura.— Bounded, polished, and scratched rocks.— Erosive power of 
 glaciers.— Epoch of their gi-eatest extension.— Oscillations of glaciers in 
 historic times . ^^ 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Glaci^res. — Expedition to some near Annecy.— How to get breakfast. — 
 Ascent to the Glaciere du Grand Anu. — Its entrance. — Description of 
 interior.— Prismatic structure of the ice.— Glaciere de I'Enfer. — A subglacial 
 reservoir. — Glaciere de Chappet-sur-Villaz. — Hidden tunnel in the ice. — 
 
 Ketum to Aviernoz.— Cause of Glacieres Caverns. — The Beaume des 
 
 Vaudois. — Wind-lochs. — Perforated rocks.— Legend of St Martin. — Springs. 
 — Salt Springs of Moutiers Tarentaise and Bex. — ^Baths.— The Springs of 
 Pfafers and gorge of the Tamina. — Mines 88 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Avalanches. — Ice avalanches. — The avalanches of the Jungfrau. — Fall of 
 the Bies Glacier. — Dubt avalanches. — Ground avalanches. — Accidents from 
 avalanches on higher peaks. — Accident of the Col du G6ant. — Slip on 
 the Piz Mortaratsch. — Avalanche on the Haut-de-Cry. — Other avalanches. 
 — Effect of noise. — Bergfalls. — Falls of the Diablerets. — FaU of the Eossberg. 
 —Destruction of Pleurs. — Fall of Monte Antelao. — Land-slip at Cortina. — 
 Floods. — Bursting of the lake formed by the Getroz Glacier. — Storms. — 
 Earthquakes. — Tourmentes. — Tourmente on the Grimsel. — Wind on Mont 
 Blanc. — The Fohn.— Thunder storms.— In a thunder cloud. — Colour of the 
 snow. — Luminous snow. — Bed snow. — Colours of the sky. — Sunset on Mont 
 Blanc. — Causes of the after-glow 113 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Alpine Mammalia. — The Brown Bear. — Varieties. — Its habits.— Fight 
 with a bear. — 'A pleasant vulgar tale.' — Bears of Berne.— The wolf, its 
 habits. — The chase. — Anecdote. — The fox, its habits. — The lynx. — The wild 
 cat. — The badger. — Other mammalia. — The beaver.— Babbits and hares. — 
 The marmot, its habits. — The chamois, its habits and agility. — Chamois' 
 horns. — Its food. — Bezoar. — Sense of hearing and smell.— An unexpected 
 meeting. — Adventure of a chamois hunter, ' vestigia nulla retrorsum.' — End 
 of a chamois hunter.— Poaching feuds.— The bouquetin, its horns.— Habits. 
 — Legends. — Other quadrupeds 160 
 
CONTENTS. xiii 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The Alpine Birds. — The lammergeier. — Its appetite. — Cases of carrying 
 oft children. — The golden eagle. — Other birds of prey. — The raven. — Its 
 thievish habits. — Choughs. — Nutcrackers. — Other birds. — Game birds.^- 
 Water birds. — Fish. — Eeptiles. — Frogs and toads. — Salamanders. — Lizards. 
 Snakes. — MoUusca. — Lepidoptera. — Beetles, &c. — Fleas. — Glacier fleas. 190 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Alpine Botany. — Deciduous trees. — Coniferous trees. — Larch, Spruce, 
 Silver, and Scotch fir, Arolla. — Brushwood. — Dwarf pine. — Junipers. — Eho- 
 dodendrons. — Fruit-bearing shrubs. — Alpine flowers. — Alpine ferns, mosses, 
 and lichens 208 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Agriculture.— Com.— Vegetables.— Hay, dangers of the wild-hay cutter. 
 —Vine.— Making wine.— Forests.— Wood-cutting.— Perils of that work.— 
 Slide of Alpnach.— Chalet life.— Bread.— The chalets.— The different kinds 
 of chalets. — A Bernese farmer's house.— Chalet villages.— Cow and sheep 
 chalets.— Nights in chalets.— Chalet des bergers de Provence.— The manage- 
 ment of the cows, and of the dairy. — Cheese making. — Kanz des vaches. — 
 Sheep and shepherds.— Bergamesque sheep.— Goats.— St Bernard dogs. 227 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Alpine Passes. — Mont Genevre. — Col du Lautaret. — Mont Cenis. 
 — Tunnel through the Alps.— Little St Bernard. — Simplon. — St Gothard. 
 —The Bernardino and Spliigen.— The Maloya.— The Julier.— The Albula.— 
 The Bemina Pass.— Eeschen-scheideck. — Toblach-plateau. — The Brenner. 
 —The Furka.— The Oberalp Joch.— The Stelvio.— The Anipezzo Pass.— 
 Convent of the Great St Bernard. — Mule and foot paths. — Glacier passes, — 
 The Col Durand and the Trift Joch 261 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Alpine legends. — Dragons.— Various species.— A winter in a dragon's 
 den. — The dragon stone of Lucerne. — Legend of the Clariden Alps. — The 
 Lost Valley.— Mont Pilatus.— Legend of Heiligenblut.— Witchcraft.— The 
 lunatics of Morzine.— Local customs. — Burials. — Crucifixes. — Amusements. 
 Abbaye des Vignerons. — Welcome to the sim. — Antiquities. — Celtic. — Lake 
 
xiv CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 settlements. — Architecture, Roman and mediaBval. — Fortresses. — Old castles. 
 — ' Holy Mountains.' — History. — Persecutions of the Vaudois. — La Eentr^e 
 glorieuse. — The story of Tell, and the war for freedom. — Growth of the 
 Swiss confederation. — The campaign of 1799. — Napoleon's passage of the 
 Great St Bernard. — Macdonald's passage of the Spliigen.— The Tyrolese 
 rising. — Hofer 285 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Season for travelling. — ^Alpine districts. — Companionship. — ^Baggage. — 
 Hints to walkers.— Alpine dangers.— Falling stones, ice, or snow.— Insecure 
 footing. — The Matterhom accident.— Use of the rope. — Conclusion , 320 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Plate I. 
 
 The Matterhorn from the Val Tournanche (south view). 
 
 (The route followed in the earlier attempted ascents lies for the most part along 
 
 the left-hand ridge ; the summit has now been reached from this side also.) 
 
 Plate II. 
 The Pointe des Ecrins and Crete du Pelvoux from the Col de la Lauze (Dauphine). 
 
 Plate III. 
 The Drei Zinnen from Landro (Ampezzo Pass). 
 
 Plate IV. 
 Entrance to the Glaciere du Grand Anu. 
 
 Plate V. 
 Interior of the Glaciere du Grand Anu. 
 
 Figure 1. (Page 5). 
 Diagram of broken and contorted Strata in a Cliff of the Oldenhom. 
 
 Figure 2. (Page 16). 
 Diagram of joints and stratification in Dolomite. 
 
 Figure 3. (Page 19). 
 Effects of weather on joints and stratification. Dolomite in decay. 
 
 Figure 4. (Page 21). 
 Diagram of Peaks formed of fragments of contorted strata. 
 
 Figure 5. (Page 57). 
 
 Terminal ice-cave of a glacier. 
 
 Figure 6. (Page 60). 
 
 Crevasses on a glacier. 
 
xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 . Figure 7. (Page 94). 
 Diagram of prismatic structure in ice. 
 
 Figure 8. (Page 109). 
 The Gorge of the Tamina, from near the springs. 
 
 Figure 9. (Page 176). 
 Chamois descending to feed. 
 
 Figure 10. (Page 187). 
 Bouquetin. 
 
 Figure 11. (Page 236). 
 Ch&let Village, with the Sasso di Pelmo, from above Caprile (Italian Tyrol). 
 
 Figure 12. (Page 243). 
 Swiss Chalet. 
 
 Figure 13. (Page 276). 
 Swiss Carts, &c. 
 
 Figure 14. (Page 321). 
 View in the Graians. The Grivola from the Col de Ch^cruit. 
 
 Figure 15. (Page 333). 
 Geological Section across the Chain of Mont Blanc, from the Br^vent to the 
 
 Mont Ch6tif . 
 
 Note. Plates I. — III. and Figures 2 — 4, 11, 14, are selected with a view of 
 illustrating some of the more characteristic mountain forms. Plates I., II., with ji 
 Figure 14, representing the slaty crystallines; Plate III., with Figures 2 — 4, 11, || 
 the harder coherents. All the woodcuts, except Plates IV., V., and Figures 7, 15, 
 are by Mr Whymper. For these two Plates, I have to thank the Publishers of 
 Good Words, who have kindly permitted me to use blocks originally engraved 
 for that periodical. All, except Figures 5, 6, 8 — 13, 15 are from my sketches ; 
 but it is only just that I should express my sense of how much some have gained 
 in artistic effect, without the slightest loss in accuracy, by passing through Mr 
 Whymper's hands. Figure 8 is from a photograph, one in a set of admirable 
 views of the Tamina Gorge, taken by Mr England, who has most courteously 
 allowed me to have it copied. 
 
THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 EERATA. 
 Page 5, in explanation of Figure insert E Dark limestone 
 24 line 24, for easternmost read westernmost 
 
 44 
 
 54 
 
 104 
 
 106 
 
 108 
 110 
 
 141 
 202 
 309 
 
 23, for Eighi read Rigi 
 
 12, for Chrysopkrase read Ckrysoprase 
 
 14, for glaciere read glacier 
 
 18, for Lantaret read Lautaret 
 
 27, «.i'.;i tecir^d /..«. Perhaps this estimate is too great 
 21, for latter read cliffs 
 
 last line, for right read left 
 
 28, for Z^a read lee 
 
 8, porthoptera; sic, in the passage cited, probably orf/jo^e^ra 
 7, for Fawsi read Fwrsi 
 
 with the Maritime Alps at the head oFthe Uuil oi liyilUa,r"TP""^""* 
 would be bounded on the -east? by a narrow land-locked strait, ^t^\x 
 now the valley of the Rhone and Saone. A still narrower 
 strait, through which the former river at present escapes from 
 the mountains, would cut it off from the long ridges of the 
 Jura ; and all along its northern face, protected here and there 
 by clusters of islets, and broken by fiords like the western coasts 
 of Scotland or of Norway, would roll the broad waters of the 
 German Ocean. Its eastern extremity would sink down into an 
 
 1 
 
 .^,i 
 
xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Figure 7. (Page 94). 
 Diagram of prismatic structure in ice. 
 
 Figure 8. (Page 109). 
 The Gorge of the Tamina, from near the springs. 
 
 Figure 9. (Page 176). 
 Chamois descending to feed. 
 
 Figure 10. (Page 187). 
 Bouquetin. 
 
 Figure 11. (Page_236k. 
 
 -T vmuij' peimiiibu mu lU llB ti bl6cks originally engraved 
 for that periodical. All, except Figures 5, 6, 8 — 13, 15 are from my sketches ; 
 but it is only just that I should express my sense of how much some have gained 
 in artistic effect, without the slightest loss in accuracy, by passing through Mr 
 Whymper's hands. Figure 8 is from a photograph, one in a set of admirable 
 views of the Tamina Gorge, taken by Mr England, who has most courteously 
 allowed me to have it copied. 
 
THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 If the whole surface of Europe were to be depressed verti- 
 cally about 500 yards, it would be changed from a continent into 
 several groups of mountainous islands. The loftiest and most 
 conspicuous among these would lie in a general direction from 
 E.N.E. to W.S.W., between the 43rd and 48th parallel of lati- 
 tude ; with the exception of one long narrow spur, which would 
 extend for many miles to the S.E. This group would be com- 
 posed of the mountain chains now classed together under the 
 general title ' The Alps ' ; the spur being the Apennines, which 
 at present form the backbone of central Italy and the southern 
 boundary of the great Lombardo-Yenetian plain, and are fused 
 with the Maritime Alps at the head of the Gulf of Genoa. It 
 would be bounded on the caa t^ by a narrow land-locked strait, ^ C'^^tx 
 now the valley of the Rhone and Saone. A still narrower 
 strait, through which the former river at present escapes from 
 the mountains, would cut it off from the long ridges of the 
 Jura ; and all along its northern face, protected here and there 
 by clusters of islets, and broken by fiords like the western coasts 
 of Scotland or of Norway, would roll the broad waters of the 
 German Ocean. Its eastern extremity would sink down into an 
 
 1 
 
2 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 inland sea like that of Marmora ; to which the narrower parts 
 of the present Danube valley would be a Dardanelles and a 
 Bosporus. This mass of mountains, the great highlands of 
 Central Europe, is therefore of the utmost physical and geo- 
 graphical importance. Eising in places to a height of more 
 than 15,000 feet above the sea, and covered for an extent of 
 many thousand square miles with perpetual snow, it is the chief 
 feeder of four of the principal rivers in Europe, the Po, the 
 Ehone, the Rhine, and the Danube. But for those barren fields 
 of ice high up among the silent crags, the seeming home of 
 winter and death, these great arteries of life would every summer 
 dwindle down to paltry streams, feebly wandering over stone 
 strewn beds. Stand, for example, on some mountain spur and 
 look down on the Lombard plain, all one rich carpet of wheat 
 and maize, of rice and vine; the life of those myriad threads 
 of green and gold is fed from these icy peaks which stand out 
 against the northern sky in such strange and solemn contrast. 
 As it is with the Po, so is it with the Rhine and the Rhone ; 
 both of which issue from the Alps as broad swelling streams ; 
 so too with the Danube, which although it does not rise in 
 them, yet receives from the Inn and the Drave almost all the 
 drainage of the Eastern districts. 
 
 Nor is this the only interest of these mountain chains. 
 Since they rise to a height, which compensates for difference 
 of latitude and gives them a temperature ranging from almost 
 tropical heat to arctic cold, plants, relics of an old world flora, 
 have retreated before the advancing wave of heat ; and isolated 
 families, clustering round the mountain summits in various parts 
 of Europe, shew how districts now far apart were once united, 
 when in the glacial epoch the climate of central Europe was 
 very different from what it is at present. Here also birds and 
 beasts elsewhere extinct have found a refuge, among the un- 
 trodden peaks, from the attacks of man ; who himself has often, 
 in like manner, sought in the same fastnesses protection against 
 
CONFIGURATION, 3 
 
 the assaults of a stronger brother. It is therefore to be ex^ 
 pected that the Alps, at once the barrier between and the 
 natural camp of refuge of northern and southern Europe, should 
 offer many subjects of interest to the traveller, the naturalist, 
 and the historian. To describe some of these will be the 
 endeavour of the present volume. 
 
 So far as the writer's experience has gone, until, at any rate, 
 very lately, there were few parts of the world about which 
 untravelled folk entertained vaguer notions than the Alps; 
 in fact he has often suspected some of his questioners of 
 believing that Switzerland was a generally 'lumpy' country, 
 with one great peak, Mont Blanc, in the middle of it. The 
 efforts of the Alpine Club and the increased facilities of travel- 
 ling have no doubt partly dispelled this error ; but a good many 
 maps, still in common use, depict the Alps as a single ridge 
 encircling Italy; or, when compelled by the largeness of their 
 scale into a little more detail, indulge in some suggestive 
 scratchings between the rivers, and pepper the surface with a 
 few names, often wrong, in which important and unimportant 
 are mingled together in most admired confusion. A brief 
 account of the general configuration of the Alpine region may 
 therefore not be useless, in the course of which the mostj 
 probable explanations of it will be sHghtly noticed. 
 
 A very slight examination of a good map, especially one 
 in which the rivers are picked out in a different colour, will 
 shew that over the greater part of the Alps the valleys may 
 be divided into two classes; the one containing those which 
 have a general direction from E.N.E. to W.S.W.; the other, 
 those whose course is at right angles to this line; and the 
 former will be found to be, as a rule, much more extensive 
 than the latter. This configuration prevails almost universally 
 throughout the Western and Central Alps'; in the Eastern 
 
 1 The above division though without geographical significance is convenient 
 for purposes of reference. The Western Alps include the mountains of France, 
 
 1—2 
 
4 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 the longer valleys run nearly east and west, the shorter nearly 
 north and south. However, it may be correctly stated that 
 as a general rale the valleys in the Alps are divided into 
 two classes at right angles to each other. This unity of plan 
 naturally suggests the idea that the upheaval of the Alps was 
 not produced by numerous isolated forces, acting indepen- 
 dently of each other as to time, place, and direction, but by 
 one or more systems, in obedience to some general law. A 
 closer examination confirms this supposition, though it shews 
 at the same time that there may have been oscillations and 
 variations in the actions of the upheaving forces, and that 
 they have rather operated with greatest intensity round a 
 number of separate centres, than, as at first sight would appear 
 most natural, along lines corresponding with the general di- 
 rection of the principal chains. Hence, if we drew a line 
 about each of these central districts we should find that, 
 roughly speaking, the map was covered by a number of ovals 
 of various sizes which were so arranged that their longer 
 diameters corresponded generally with the direction of the 
 principal chains. 
 
 Geologists are not yet agreed upon the causes which have 
 played the principal part in giving to the Alps their present 
 configuration. Most rocks, whatever their present condition may 
 be, were once soft mud at the bottom of the Ocean. Assuminof 
 then that its level has not greatly altered, and there is no 
 reason to suppose that this has been the case, many of the 
 Alpine cliffs must have been raised through a vertical height 
 of several thousand feet. It is also probable that these rocks 
 were originally deposited in tolerably horizontal beds. There- 
 fore where they are so no longer, they must have been tilted 
 during the process of upheaval. In the Alps we very commonly 
 
 Savoy, Piedmont and the main chain as far as Monte Eosa; the Central take 
 the west of Switzerland, and the adjoining parts of Lombardy and Tyrol ; while 
 the Eastern contain the remaining district. 
 
SIGNS OF UPHEAVAL. -^ 
 
 'find them thus tilted, often indeed only slightly, but occasionally 
 at a very considerable angle; in some places they are even 
 rolled and crumpled together, like the leaves of a pamphlet 
 when it is doubled up again and again, or those of a book when 
 it is crushed together at the two ends. Now, if instead of 
 flexible paper, we were squeezing sideways some more solid 
 
 (Fig. 1.) Rough Sketch of chfif in one of the northern spurs of the Oldeuhoru shewing 
 crumpled and broken sti-ata. From hills N.E. of Ormond dessus. 
 
 A. Limestone. C. Limestone. 
 
 B. Clayey shale, darker and banded in upper part. D. Banded shale. 
 S. Snow. X. Hill in foreground. x x. Glen. 
 
 substance, or pressing it upwards from below while its two 
 ends were confined, it would obviously crack and split in places, 
 and if we continued the pressure, the layers would often be forced 
 far apart. As these signs of pressure are very evident in the 
 Alpine rocks, this question naturally suggests itself, — Are the 
 valleys which furrow the country cracks where the rising strata 
 have yielded to the pressure below, or depressions produced by 
 inequalities in its exertion ; or are they to be explained, wholly 
 or partially, by some other cause? The answer first returned 
 was that they were in most cases cracks; in a few, folds in 
 the superficial strata; and little note was taken of any other 
 agency than pressure. There is no doubt that the general 
 direction of the valleys does, in a very remarkable degree, 
 coincide with what must have been the lines of greatest strain 
 upon the strata ; if we suppose, as the form of the crystalline 
 masses appears to justify us in doing, that the greatest up- 
 heaving forces were exerted over a series of oval areas with 9, 
 
6 THE ALPIFE REGIONS. 
 
 certain definite arrangement. Still, a careful examination will 
 sh ew that, though the general course of the valleys may be due 
 to pressure, resulting perhaps from subterranean heat, it is rather 
 by sub-aerial and sub-aqueous agencies that we must seek to 
 explain their form and consequently the contour of the moun- 
 tains. Denudation, that is, the action of air and water, has 
 been producing its effects both while the Alps were rising, and 
 since they came to rest : it is still at work ; the countless 
 streams which, fed by the snows and rains, ceaselessly leap 
 down each mountain side, furrow its cliffs with gorges and 
 its slopes with glens, saw deep notches in the rocky barriers 
 of lakes, and thus draining off their waters either leave the 
 smooth floor of ooze, the accumulation of centuries, to become 
 green meadows, or begin again to transfer it to some lower 
 level. No doubt when first the hills began to rise above the 
 sea, its waves wore each summit into cliffs and ridges, 
 like those which we may now see around any rock -bound 
 coast. Perhaps too some of the great rock amphitheatres 
 may have been thus formed, at the head of inland fiords. 
 The sea's marks are still, I think, plain upon many of our 
 western Welsh hills, but time's carking tooth has made it diffi- 
 cult in the case of the Alps to assign to salt and fresh water 
 their proper share in the work. The latter may be said to 
 have had the advantage of the last word ; and, like the finisher 
 of a statue, it has obliterated the traces of the pointer's chisel. 
 Some persons indeed dilate so largely upon the effects of erosion 
 as to apparently forget that, even upon their own shewing, 
 there must be a cliff before there can be a gorge, and a hill 
 before a glen. Before ever the stream began to carve, there 
 must have been some well-marked fold or crack; or else the 
 valleys would follow a far more uncertain and eccentric course 
 than they now do. It would be almost impossible that water 
 finding its way out of an irregularly upheaved mass of land 
 should have ploughed out over so great an extent of country 
 
DENUDATION. 7 
 
 systems of valleys -which, as has been already said, obey this 
 general law, that the shorter trenches lie from N.N.W. to 
 S.S.E. and the longer from E.N.E. to W.S.W. 
 
 Still, although we may refuse to allow water to be the sole 
 agent in the sculpture of the Alps, there can be no doubt that 
 it has been a very important one ; and that not only when 
 in a liquid state, but also in a solid. Nature often employs 
 the ice-wedge as well as the water-saw. Water in freezing 
 expands with tremendous force. Many of us have had too much 
 experience of this property from the burst pipes which make a 
 thaw such an ill-omened word to a town householder, so pain- 
 fully suggestive of slop and discomfort, followed by a long 
 plumber's bill. The rock, then, being traversed in several direc- 
 tions by cracks, about which we shall presently have more to 
 say, allows the water to permeate it ; this by freezing spHts off 
 great blocks and sends them thundering down the cliffs. The 
 snow also upon the higher summits descends towards the val- 
 leys in large masses of moving ice, called glaciers, which wear 
 away the rock beneath. Some persons, indeed, struck by the 
 force of these huge ice-ploughs, which were once far vaster 
 than they now are, have assigned to them a very important 
 share in scooping out the Alpine valleys and lakes. This 
 question xs too long a one for discussion here ; but my own 
 opinion, which has been formed after some study and a care- 
 ful examination of many parts of the Alps, is that the 
 erosive power of glaciers has been vastly over-estimated by 
 their advocates ; and that, though they may sometimes deepen 
 a hollow or widen a valley which already exists, they in general 
 do little more than wear away inequalities in the surface, and 
 are to the other agents very much what the emery-paper is to 
 the chisel. 
 
 We talk commonly of the eternal hills— they are as perish- 
 able as every other thing in this world. There is a spot, more 
 than eleven thousand feet above the sea, in the Alps of Dau- 
 
'8 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 phin^^ — it is only one instance among many — where there is 
 a small island of dark shale upon a great plateau of hard crys- 
 talline rock. Stand upon it, and you may see some four miles 
 to the north a long range of the same shale ; then turn round 
 to the south, and you may perhaps catch, through a battlement 
 of jagged peaks, a glimpse of a dark rolling line to the south 
 which marks the presence of the same deposit. This little 
 island and one or two similar to it give us every reason to 
 suppose that these shales once extended over all this inter- 
 vening space, some twenty-five miles across, which is now 
 occupied by the highest peaks of Dauphine: all that mass, 
 many hundred feet thick, has been removed by sea or by river 
 and spread over the plains of south-eastern France. Stand 
 by the Arve as it rushes through the valley of Chamouni ; its 
 waters are not that liquid crystal which poets couple with 
 mountain streams, but as turbid as if nature had been having 
 a heavy wash and was emptying away the suds. Take up a 
 glass-full, and let the contents settle ; the fluid will become 
 transparent, and a fine mud cover the bottom. Examine this 
 sediment under a microscope, or even with a pocket lens ; you 
 will find it consists of minute fragments of those minerals 
 which compose the rocks in the neighbouring mountains. Not 
 a year then passes without something being taken from the 
 mass of Mont Blanc and borne away by the Rhone, how far 
 we cannot say — perhaps to increase the ooze at the bottom of 
 the Gulf of Lyons. The plains of south-eastern France, North- 
 Italy and Bavaria, from which in many places the mountains 
 rise as from a sea, are overspread with vast layers of sand and 
 gravel, every pebble and every atom in which has been brought 
 down from the Alps; nay, more, the beds of many of the 
 larger valleys are level, often marshy, plains formed of similar 
 deposits. So rapidly indeed do the mountains rise from them, 
 
 ^ The Col de la Lauze, leading from La Grave to St Christophe. 
 
BEDS OF GRAVEL. . ^ 
 
 that in many places you may stand on turf, level as a bowling- 
 green, and place your hand against a precipice. These valleys 
 also seem to shew that there have been changes in the level 
 of the Alps. It is scarcely possible that such smooth plains of 
 gravel can have been deposited without that part of the country 
 being under water. In some cases this may have been done 
 when the Alpine lakes were more extensive than at present, 
 but this explanation can hardly be applied to all, for the val- 
 leys have often been filled up by a considerable thickness of 
 drift below the spots where barriers exist, which has again been 
 cut through to a depth of many feet by the existing stream. 
 Any one who mounts to some commanding spot on the side 
 of a gi-eat valley, such, for example, as the upper Rhone, or 
 Rhine, will see that almost without exception a sloping talus of 
 earth forms a kind of glacis in front of the entrance to every 
 lateral valley. Some would attribute this formation to the 
 overflowings of the torrent in times of flood; but, seeing that 
 its stream often passes through a ravine cut in the talus, the 
 explanation, though no doubt sometimes a true one, does not 
 appear sufficient. If, however, the main valley were under 
 water, the diminished velocity of the torrent on entering it 
 would cause the immediate deposit of a large quantity of 
 the material with which it is charged, and so a bank of this 
 kind would be formed. I am therefore inclined to think that 
 when the Alps had assumed a contour corresponding roughly 
 with the present, and were on the point of being finally 
 raised above the sea, they appeared for a while as an island 
 group pierced by long fiords, into whose calm, land-locked, re- 
 cesses the glacier streams poured their turbid waters. This 
 has probably happened, though on a smaller scale, in our 
 Welsh hills, and Switzerland then would not have been very 
 unlike the present condition of some parts of the north-west 
 coast of Norway. The last traces of marine deposits appear 
 (so far as I know) to be anterior to the epoch when the 
 
10 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 glaciers had their greatest extension*; and the occurrence of 
 freshwater gi-avels, sand, and even limestones, in some of the 
 lowlands abutting on the Alps, seems to shew that, since they 
 rose for the last time above the waves, considerable denudation 
 has taken place, during which probably the rivers were larger 
 and the lakes and marshes much more extensive and numer- 
 ous than now. 
 
 What the agent has been which has upraised these huge 
 masses, it is hard to say. Probably in many cases it was 
 the expansion of underlying beds which were being melted by 
 subterranean heat; how this was generated we are yet hardly 
 in a position to decide ; one thing however is pretty clear, that 
 large masses of rock have been, in familiar language, baked or 
 stewed while subjected to enormous pressure, or have been 
 fused in the vast crucible of nature till as great a change has 
 been wrought as when glass is produced from nitre and sand, 
 or porcelain from clay. It is however enough for our present 
 purpose to know that heat and pressure have been called into 
 play to raise on high the mountains which the atmospheric 
 forces are as constantly endeavouring to lay low. 
 
 It is therefore very clear that the scenery of any part of the 
 Alps will depend in a great measure upon the nature of the 
 prevailing rock and its power of resisting the action of air and 
 water. Now we may roughly, but sufficiently for our present 
 purpose, divide rocks into crystallines and coherents^ The 
 first of these divisions contains all rocks which either have once 
 been in a molten state or, if originally stratified, have been 
 subsequently much altered by heat and pressure. Of these the 
 former have been called 'compact crystallines:' a class which 
 includes the different varieties of granite, trap, and lava; the 
 latter, or slaty crystallines, were no doubt once sedimentary 
 
 1 See Chapter III. 
 
 2 Used by Mr Euskin in the fourth Yolmne of Modern Painters^ a book that 
 no lover of the Alps should be without. 
 
CLASSES OF ROCKS. 11 
 
 rocks, but the above causes have very often entirely effaced 
 their original structure, while bestowing upon them a new one, 
 which in some cases is called cleavage, in others foliation. A 
 rock is said to shew * cleavage ' when it can be cleft or split in 
 a direction different from that of the layers in which it was 
 originally deposited ; as is the case with "Welsh or Cumberland 
 roofing-slate, in which the 'bedding' can sometimes be seen 
 inclined at an angle to the surface planes. This structure 
 is generally supposed to be mainly due to great pressure, and 
 to take place along planes at right angles to the direction of 
 the pressure ; it may be observed in a large number of slates 
 of different mineral composition. A foliated rock is composed 
 of various minerals, which are so arranged as to resemble 
 tightly-pressed layers of leaves; sometimes the whole mass 
 consists of these leafy plates, at others bands of some hard 
 mineral are interposed ; the layers too are not generally level 
 for any great distance, as in the slaty 'rocks, but are waved 
 or crumpled, or run irregularly one into another. It must, 
 however, be remembered that, although in these cleaved or 
 foliated rocks the original stratification may have been entirely 
 obliterated, still the larger layers or beds may frequently be 
 plainly distinguished, owing to differences in their constituent 
 particles or mineral composition. The second division of rocks, 
 the coherents, contains those which have not been materially 
 altered since their deposition; they also may be divided into 
 compact and slaty ; the former including sandstones and lime- 
 stones, the latter shales and slates which have not the property 
 of cleavage. 
 
 Now of these four classes of rocks, the first — the compact 
 crystallines — though often extremely hard, is, partly from its 
 granular texture and still more from the minerals which it 
 contains, very much more liable to be affected by the weather 
 than one would at first sight suppose. Granite, though a pro- 
 verb for hardness, often may be found rotting and crumbling 
 
12 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 away after a comparatively short exposure. It is therefore 
 rather rare to find lofty precipices, and still more so bold peaks, 
 in any region where this rock abounds ; the fissures which 
 traverse it, and admit the air and water within it, cause the 
 masses exposed to break up into large boulders, which often 
 bestrew the ground and crown the ridge with no bad imitation 
 of Cyclopean fortifications. A granite district therefore is gene- 
 rally marked by massive but rather low mountains, with some- 
 what rounded outlines, and has a waste and desolate aspect, 
 which is produced by the frequent wildernesses of decaying 
 boulders — such, for example, as the upper part of the St 
 Gothard pass, or the hills above Baveno on the Lago Maggiore. 
 Where this is not the case, the granite will generally be found 
 to shew some traces of foliation, and it is remarkable how great 
 a difference the slightest tendency to this structure produces in 
 the durability of the rock. Thus, for example, the talcose 
 granites of Dauphin^ and of Mont Blanc rise into some of the 
 wildest forms to be seen in the whole of the Alps\ It is, 
 however, often very difficult to draw the line between the com- 
 pact and slaty crystallines, and to say where granite ends and 
 gneiss begins : most of the rock around the Pelvoux in Dau- 
 phine, which is now generally referred to gneiss, is quite undis- 
 tinguishable in small specimens from true granite ; and, though 
 it has been stated by the best authorities that granite does not 
 occur in the neighbourhood of Monte Rosa, I should certainly 
 be disposed to call by that name the rocks of Auf der Platte, 
 at the head of the Gorner Glacier. The Bernina group offers 
 on the whole the boldest granite scenery that I know ; elevated 
 plateaux, often with precipitous broken sides, rather than 
 peaks, are commonly characteristic of this formation. The same 
 remark applies to several of the more distinctly volcanic rocks, 
 which, however, are rare in the Alps, only appearing in any 
 
 1 Plate II. 
 
H 
 
DISTRIBUTION OF ROCKS. IS 
 
 quantity in the Italian Tyrol, and to the various porphyries. Of 
 this rock, also rather rare, there is one extensive bed in the 
 neighbourhood of Botzen forming an irregular strip running 
 from N. to S. some forty miles long by twelve wide, through 
 which the outlet of the Adige has been cut. Here the great 
 rounded walls of dull purplish-red rock, clothed in many 
 places with brushwood and supporting large upland plateaux 
 of the richest herbage, produce a scene of singular luxuriance 
 and beauty, especially when their tints are heightened by the 
 glow of the setting sun. Beautiful as they are at all times, 
 there is then something almost unearthly in their splendour; 
 and one who has not made an evening journey from Meran 
 to Botzen, or from the latter place by the gorge of the 
 Kuntersweg, hardly knows what treasures of colour the Alps 
 can afford. 
 
 The slaty crystallines almost without exception are found 
 to compose the highest Alpine districts, and form, as it were, 
 the backbone of the Alps. The comparatively narrow strip, 
 which makes its appearance below the imaltered sedimentary 
 deposits to the north of Nice and Ment6ne in the Maritime 
 Alps, rapidly widens out as this group turns northward, until, 
 to the west of Turin, it occupies a large part of the district 
 between the plain of Piedmont and the valleys of the Drac 
 and Isere\ This great mass of crystalline slates, broken here 
 and there by a narrow trough of sedimentary rock, curves 
 gradually round to the north-east, forming the loftier peaks of 
 Dauphin^ the Maurienne, and the Tarentaise — till it rises to 
 a height of more than 15,000 feet in the peak of Mont Blanc. 
 The mass, of which this is the summit, is a kind of island of 
 crystalline rock, girdled by a band of more or less altered sedi- 
 mentary deposits ; which are the continuation of a narrow trough 
 
 1 In certain parts, however, the rocks and shales, though considerably 
 altered by heat and pressure hardly deserve the name of crystalline, and 
 present features more characteristic of the coherents. 
 
U TEE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 that takes its beginning on the northern face of the Dauphin^ 
 Alps. The crystalline rocks appear again in the watershed of 
 the Pennine chain, and extend almost without interruption over 
 it and the Graians. For several miles they are not found upon 
 the right bank of the Rhone, but when, between Leuk and Visp, 
 the course of the river is deflected from its usual south-westerly 
 direction, they cross the valley and form the greater part of the 
 higher Oberland. Thence, with occasional slight breaks, they 
 occupy the whole Alpine district between the Italian Lakes, 
 the Yaltelline, and the Upper Rhine, and are extensively de- 
 veloped in the tangled knot of mountains in which rise the 
 streams supplying the Hinter Rhein and the Inn. In the 
 Tyrol they form the watershed between Germany and Italy; 
 the great central ridge, between the valley of the Inn on one 
 side and the valleys of the Rienz and Drave (the long trench 
 of the Puster-thal) on the other, being wholly composed of 
 them. 
 
 The compact coherents vary considerably in their power of 
 resisting the action of weather ; but as a rule, sandstones are 
 much more easily disintegrated than limestones. The former 
 however, though largely developed in the subalpine region 
 of Savoy and Switzerland, about the lakes of Annecy, Geneva, 
 Neuchatel, Zurich, and Constance, are very rare among the 
 higher Alps, and have then been so much altered by the action 
 of heat that they may rather be classed among the crystalline 
 rocks, their grains being often fused together so as to form a 
 compact mass. The limestones as a rule are tolerably hard, 
 and in many cases have so far been altered by heat as to be 
 more or less crystalline. They, interbedded with the slaty 
 coherents, abound over a large portion of the Alps. In the 
 western district they are almost wholly absent upon the eastern 
 slopes of the watershed, but are developed extensively around 
 the crystalline zone which extends, nearly without intermission, 
 from the Pelvoux group to Mont Blanc ; the Alps of southern 
 
DISTRIBUTION' OF MOCKS. 15 
 
 and western Dauphin^ and of Savoy, consisting almost wholly 
 of them. On the eastern face of this zone they form a com- 
 paratively narrow band, which crosses the watershed to the 
 south of Mont Blanc and, after skirting the south-eastern face 
 of that chain, recrosses between it and the Great St Bernard 
 to the northern side. For some 70 miles to the east of this 
 pass these deposits are almost wholly absent, appearing again 
 on the eastern shore of the Lago Maggiore. From this point a 
 broad band begins, which stretches away to the eastward, forming 
 the elevated but interrupted zone of mountains in which the 
 rivers of north Yenetia take their rise. In the central district, 
 the sedimentary deposits of Savoy are continued on the right 
 bank of the Rhone, and extend without interruption to the 
 E.N.E., forming several of the higher summits in the Oberland 
 and the beautiful country about the lakes of Thun, Brienz, and 
 (partly) Lucerne. Beyond the trench through which the Rhine 
 flows into the Lake of Constance they extend in the same 
 direction along the left bank of the Inn, and form the pictu- 
 resque mountain district of North Tyrol and Bavaria ^ 
 
 These then being the components of the mountains, and 
 this their general distribution, we may proceed to describe the 
 forms which they most generally assume under the erosive action 
 to which they are exposed. It has been already stated that in 
 all, a few compact crystallines excepted, there is more or less 
 tendency to split in certain directions. This is especially true 
 of the slaty rocks, whether crystalline or coherent; and the 
 compact coherents, though not fissile, generally occur in beds 
 of no great thickness, which are distinctly separated the one 
 from the other ^. Hence these rocks can all be split in a direc- 
 tion parallel to some fixed plane, which, if they be coherents, 
 will in most cases not be very steeply inclined to that of the 
 horizon. It is therefore obvious that water will most easily 
 make its way along these planes of separation, and, by acting 
 » See Appendix, Note I. 2 gee fig. 2. 
 
16 
 
 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 as a wedge or as a saw, will split off pieces from the main mass. 
 This, however, is not the only way by which the destroyer can 
 penetrate. If you look at the face of a cliff in any mountain 
 country, you will generally see that it is traversed by certain 
 fissures, which are often more conspicuous from a distance than 
 is the bedding or cleavage of the stone. These joints, as they 
 are called, will commonly be found to traverse the mass in. di- 
 rections inclined at a considerable angle one to another, and 
 often at right angles, roughly speaking, to the bedding or 
 cleavage planes. At times they are of considerable width ; at 
 others it would be impossible to introduce even a thin sheet of 
 paper into them ; still large or small, there they are; and there 
 are the weak points in the rock. Hence it is rather a collec- 
 tion of columns, like a group of irregular crystals (often four- 
 sided), than a solid mass; the columns too are not monoliths, 
 but piers of masonry ; so the water finding a way down the 
 joints breaks them up into their component stones or sends 
 large fragments of them toppling down. A very few minutes 
 
 (Pig. 2.) Effect of joints and stratification in Dolomite; from one of the crags of the 
 Drei Zinnen near Landro, Tyrol. 
 
 spent in examining the face of a cliff and the form of the. 
 fragments at its base will shew of what importance these joints 
 are in the disintegration of the mountains \ 
 
 1 See figs. 2 and 3. 
 
THE DREI ZINiNEN FROM LANDRO, 
 
MOUNTAIN form: 17 
 
 From this it is clear that the form of a mountain, so far 
 as it is due to erosion, will chiefly depend on three things ; the 
 direction of the planes of cleavage or bedding (or of both), 
 the form of the joints, and the durability of the materials. 
 When the strata (or cleavage planes) dip inwards it is clear 
 that a fragment of stone may be detached from the face of a 
 cliff and yet rest on a lower ledge. Hence the rate of rain in 
 a mountain so formed will be more gradual, and the precipices 
 generally bold and lofty. If on the contrary the dip is outwards, 
 every fragment as it is detached will roll down, and fresh sur- 
 faces being constantly exposed, the work of destruction will be 
 more rapid and the cliff be more sloping. It does not how- 
 ever follow that such a one is easier to climb; for, though the 
 inclination is less steep, the hold for hand and foot is not so 
 good, and the readiness with which stones fall is often a con- 
 siderable danger. This was remarkably exemplified in the 
 ascents of the Matterhorn. The cleavage planes there dip from 
 east to west. The earlier attempts, all unsuccessful, were by 
 the less steep south-western ridge ^ and were rendered very 
 dangerous by the uncertain hold and the frequent fall of stones. 
 Eemarking this Mr Whymper determined to attempt the un- 
 promisingly precipitous eastern face, and found that, notwith- 
 standing its steepness, there was comparatively little difficulty' 
 and no danger from showers of stones. 
 
 It will also be obvious that when the columnar structure 
 is well developed in rocks the scenery will generally be bolder ; 
 since it is favourable to the formation of precipices and crests. 
 When there are no joints for the air and water to penetrate, 
 the surface of course is removed uniformly, and the general 
 
 1 See Plate I. 
 
 2 The fearful accident during the return of the party did not happen upon 
 this side of the mountain, but upon a portion of the northern face to which they 
 were obliged to diverge near the summit ; the ascent, however, has since been 
 effected from the south-west. 
 
 2 
 
18 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 tendency — as a little observation of sandstone rocks will shew 
 — is to obliterate rather than to produce a clifif. Hence a 
 stream, which in some cases will but increase the slope of a 
 mountain, will in others carve its side into a precipice; and 
 of course the harder the material the steeper will be the cliffs 
 that are thus formed, although the time required for effecting 
 the work will be much gi-eater. 
 
 Crests cannot of course exist where the stone is soft or 
 liable to crumble away uniformly, and therefore, as I have 
 already stated, are rare in the true granitic districts ; they are 
 boldest and grandest where the stone is not only hard but well 
 jointed. Then the destroying agents which, owing to a variety 
 of causes, produce unequal effects upon these irregular columns, 
 soon carve the ridges into jagged pinnacles, often bristling with 
 spines like the back-fin of a fish. The precise outline of these 
 of course depends considerably upon the rock. Perhaps the 
 most singular forms occur almost at opposite ends of the Alpine 
 chain, in the talcose gneiss of Dauphine and in the dolomitic 
 limestone of the Italian Tyrol. The former weathers into 
 crystal-like blocks with smooth facets, whose edges are often as 
 sharp as knives ; the curving planes of foliation at times giving 
 a flame-like appearance to the outlines of the crests. The latter 
 rock, though extremely hard in hand specimens, has a consider- 
 able tendency to break up into small blocks, being stratified often 
 in not very thick and nearly horizontal layers; and being also 
 gashed by enormous vertical joints, it exhibits the grandest pre- 
 cipices and some of the wildest ridges that I have ever seen. 
 Still, wild as these may be, their forms can never be confounded 
 with those of the crystalline rocks ; for, however sharp their pin- 
 nacles may appear at the first glance, careful examination will 
 always shew that their outline is that of ruined masonry, and 
 that, if one may so express it, the stones can be counted which 
 still remain in every crumbling battlement and tottering turret. 
 
 True pyramidal or cone-shaped summits, whether of snoAv 
 
CRYSTALLINE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 19 
 
 (Fi?. 3.) Effects of weather on joints and stratification. Dolomite in decay. 'Last 
 scene of all in mountain history'; from near Cortina d'Ampezzo. 
 
 or rock, are rare. Perhaps the most striking examples, among 
 the great mountains, are Monte Viso in the Cottian Alps, the 
 Pointe des Ecrins in Dauphine, the Pourri in the Tarentaise, 
 the Grivola in the Graians, the Matterhorn and the Weisshorn 
 in the Pennines; and of these only three would upon more 
 careful examination be retained as presenting this structure ; 
 the summits of the Viso, the Grivola and the Matterhorn being 
 really short and nearly level ridges. These six are all of slaty 
 crystalline rock, which usually, as less liable to disintegration, 
 offers the boldest summit forms. Peaks which at the first 
 sight appear to be pyramidal are common enough, but a closer 
 scrutiny will almost invariably shew that they are either only 
 gable-ends, backed up from behind by a ridge whose slope is 
 but slight compared with that of the others — such as the Aile- 
 froide in Dauphine, the Levanna in the Maurienne, the Grandes 
 Jorasses in the Pennines, and the Shreckhorn in the Oberland, 
 
 2—2 
 
20 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 with many others — or else the culminating points of ridges 
 which, though steep enough when regarded edgewise, appear 
 from another point of view as rather obtuse-angled triangles. 
 Very commonly the upper part of a great mountain consists of 
 one or more broken and irregular ridges projecting from the 
 snows for a height of a few hundred feet, so that, as in the case 
 of Monte Rosa, there are two or three rival peaks ^ which do 
 not differ greatly in height. In almost every mountain, as 
 might be expected, there is one principal ridge, corresponding 
 with the watershed of the chain, whose slope, at any rate on 
 one side, is less than that of the others which coalesce near the 
 peak. Not uncommonly the summit is a rounded dome of 
 snow, such as that of Mont Blanc ; which of course implies that 
 the rocky mass beneath is tolerably level. In the limestone 
 districts the upper parts of a mountain are very often gently- 
 sloping plateaux of snow, through which perhaps a low ridge or 
 tower crops out to form the summit : a fragment, which from 
 some accidental cause has resisted the destroying agents better 
 than the rest of the bed of which it has formed a part. Such 
 mountains are common enough in the limestone district between 
 the chain of Mont Blanc and the crystalline massif of the 
 Oberland ; they seldom much exceed a height of 11,000 feet. 
 
 Though, except in the dolomitic region, the limestone peaks 
 do not generally equal the crystalline in the boldness of their 
 outlines, they often surpass them in the grandeur of their pre- 
 cipices. The cirque of the Fer a Cheval, near Sixt, of the 
 Creux de Champs, under the Diablerets, the southern face of 
 the Gemmi Pass, the northern cliff of the Wetterhorn and 
 Jungfrau, the Croda Malcora, with several of the other dolomitic 
 mountains, are almost, if not wholly, without rivals in the 
 crystalline districts. This superiority is mainly caused by the 
 
 1 In Monte Eosa there is the Hochste Spitze, 15,217 ft., the Nord End, 
 15,132 ft., the Zumstem Spitze, 15,004 ft., the Signal Kuppe, 14,964 ft.; besides 
 a tooth in the ridge of the first only a few feet lower than the summit. 
 
LIMESTONE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 21 
 
 structure of the limestone rocks, and by the fact that they are 
 often interbedded with strata of softer shales. If the latter 
 
 (Fig. 4) Mountain Form. Peaks formed of fragments of contorted strata which perhaps 
 on this account have resisted denudation. On the Sorapisse; seen in descending to Auronzo 
 from the Tre Croci Pass. 
 
 deposits are thick and dip inwards, the profile of the cliff pre- 
 sents the wall and bank outline so common in the limestone 
 regions ; if, however, they are thin, nearly horizontal, and more 
 developed in the lower than in the upper part of the mountain, 
 magnificent precipices will be produced. Hence, what has been 
 happily termed the 'writing-desk formation' is very common 
 in the limestone districts — the slope being the result of stratifi- 
 cation, the precipice of jointing. 
 
 Turning then to a map of the Alps and remembering what 
 has been said of the distribution of the various rocks, we will 
 attempt a brief sketch of the scenery in the principal Alpine 
 districts. Passing by the Maritimes as being little more than 
 a smaller edition of their neighbours, we come to the Cottians. 
 These consist of wild craggy ranges whose splintered crests are 
 usually between nine and ten thousand feet above the sea, 
 the only important peak being the Viso (12,643), the central 
 
22 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 poiut of the district ; from the immediate neighbourhood of 
 which several valleys radiate. The form of the district and 
 its southern position are unfavourable to the formation of 
 glaciers, so that though its streams are comparatively small, 
 their waters are beautifully pure and limpid. Chlorite slate 
 is common, and serpentine is not unfrequent, hence the colours 
 of the rocks are often very rich, deep greens and purples pre- 
 dominating. The vegetation is luxuriant, the scenery varied, 
 the sternness of the barren crags being frequently relieved by dis- 
 tant glimpses of the sunny Piedmontese plain ; and if only the 
 accommodation were better, few places would be more popular 
 with the lovers of Alpine beauty than the Viso valleys. 
 
 The High Alps of Dauphin^ a great mass of crystalline 
 rock almost isolated from the principal chain by the valleys 
 of the Roman che and the Durance, offer to the traveller some 
 of the grandest scenery in Europe. The loftiest summit, called 
 the Pointe des Ecrins, rises to a height of 13,462 feet ; but 
 there are twenty more which exceed 12,000 feet, and a con- 
 siderable number not much lower, which for the most part 
 are arranged on a horseshoe plan round about the river 
 Veneon, a tributary of the Romanche. The glaciers are 
 numerous, some being of considerable extent, and are often 
 remarkable for their extreme steepness. The distinguishing 
 features of the district are the bold outlines of the mountains, 
 which are certainly unequalled by any in Savoy or Switzerland, 
 and the abruptness with which they rise from the narrow 
 vaUeys — often mere gorges — which surround them. It is very 
 accessible, some of the finest scenery being within an easy day's 
 journey from Grenoble; but it is hardly ever visited, for un- 
 fortunately the accommodation is at present so bad as to repel 
 the majority of travellers ; some however of the most charac- 
 teristic views can be seen without moving from the excellent 
 carriage road which, starting from Grenoble, skirts the northern 
 face of the district, passing through the two most celebrated 
 
.S'^ VOY AND GRAIAN ALPS. 23 
 
 'combes' or gorges, and, after crossing the isthmus of the Col 
 du Lautaret, descends to Briangon. Along this sufficiently good 
 quarters may be found at two or three places, and from 
 Brian9on Turin may easily be reached by the Mont Gen^vre. 
 
 The Savoy Alps also principally consist of a great and 
 nearly isolated spur, between the valleys of the Isere and 
 the Arc, which is united to the main chain at the Col 
 d'Iseran and contains the highest summits of the district, the 
 Grand Casse (12,780) and the Pourri (12,491); but several 
 peaks which range between eleven and twelve thousand feet, 
 and one or two which even surpass the latter elevation, stand 
 upon the watershed between France and Italy, and upon the 
 ridge separating the valleys of the Arc and Romanche. The 
 rocks here consist of crystalline slates and more or less altered 
 sedimentary rocks. Snow-fields and glaciers are numerous, but 
 not extensive ; the scenery is very varied, and often on that 
 account not less attractive than in some of the grander regions. 
 As in Dauphine, the bad accommodation is a great drawback; 
 and unfortunately but little of the best scenery is visible from 
 the two high roads, those of the Cenis and Petit St Bernard, 
 that traverse parts of the district. 
 
 In the Graian Alps are usually included the great spur 
 which runs out eastward to form the south side of the Val 
 d'Aoste and the shorter spurs at the head of the valley of Lanzo. 
 On the latter, just east of the watershed, are a couple of fine 
 peaks, the Levanna and the Pointe de Sda, about twelve thou- 
 sand feet high; and the valleys of Lanzo and of the Oreo are 
 at once grand and exquisitely luxuriant. Nearly as rich in 
 colour and vegetation as the Viso valleys, they are perhaps even 
 more varied in their scenery, and are certainly formidable rivals 
 The greater peaks of the Graians are grouped on or near the 
 ridge of' the former spur. They are all of crystalline rock (-two, 
 the Grand Paradis and the Grivola, exceeding 13,000 feet), very 
 bold in outline, having on their northern flanks several con- 
 
24 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 siderable glaciers, and a number of beautiful valleys which 
 descend into the broad trough of the sunny Yal d'Aoste. The 
 accommodation for travellers, not long ago very bad, is now 
 improving; and before long one or two spots in the Graians, 
 Cogne above all others, will be favourite places of resort. 
 
 To the north of the Graians we come to the Pennine range, 
 which forms a part of what may be termed the backbone of 
 Europe, and includes the highest summits in the Alps; every 
 peak, save one, above 14,000 feet being in this district. Here 
 also the law, already mentioned as prevailing throughout the 
 Alps, of parallel troughs and ranges running from E.N.E. to 
 W.S.W., is more clearly indicated than in any of the regions 
 further south. Its limits are formed by the great valleys of 
 the Rhone and Doire on the north and south respectively, and 
 the shorter depressions of the Val de Montjoie and the Simplon 
 Pass on the west and east. Hence a general sinking of the 
 surface for about seven thousand feet would convert this dis- 
 trict into a long and narrow mountainous island deeply indented 
 by numerous fiords, from which in many parts the higher peaks 
 would rise very precipitously. A geological map shews it to 
 consist of five massifs of granitic rock, uplifting on their flanks 
 a quantity of sedimentary slates, most of which have been much 
 altered, so that the greater part of the district may be reckoned 
 among the 'slaty crystallines.' The two Wi^ernmost of these 
 massifs, those of Mont Blanc and of the Aiguilles Rouges (better 
 known in connexion with a minor summit, the Brevent), may 
 fairly be linked together, sinc6 they were probably upraised by 
 forces, which acted simultaneously, though not quite uniformly, 
 over the whole region between the Drac and the upper Rhone. 
 A glance at the map also shews that a broad band of granitic 
 rock extends over the whole of this region, the summits of which 
 lie in two lines running from N.E. to S.W.^ separated in places 
 by troughs of almost unaltered sedimentary rock of the Jurassic 
 age. Indeed, the northern extremity, which belongs, as has 
 
RANGE OF MONT BLANC. 25 
 
 just been said to the Pennine Alps, is entirely isolated by a 
 narrow zone of these deposits, which occupies the depression of 
 the Col de la Seigne, a pass leading from the valley of the Doire 
 to that of the Isbre, and is cut through by the valleys of the 
 Arve and the Trient; so that a section from N.W. to S.E. across 
 either of these valleys would show the compact and slaty co- 
 herents resting in a basin of the crystallines, which tower above 
 them on either hand, and are often exposed in the beds of the 
 torrents. The northern of these two ranges is a single ridge, 
 the summits of which range from about eight to ten thousand 
 feet; the southern contains the sharp peaks which are grouped 
 around the monarch Mont Blanc. The ground-plan of the latter 
 massif is one long ridge, which, except at the two extremities, 
 preserves a very uniform direction and throws out a series of 
 long spurs to the north-west. On this ridge — the watershed 
 between Savoy and Piedmont — is situated Mont Blanc itself, 
 with several other lofty peaks ; but many important mountains, 
 well known to English travellers as the Aiguilles of Chamouni, 
 lie upon the spurs. Chief of them is the Aiguille Verte, rising 
 to a height of 13,432 feet above the sea. Their distinguishing 
 name — the Needles — is derived from the sharp splintered forms 
 assumed by the rocks, talcose gneiss and mica slate, composing 
 their crests. The above-mentioned ground-plan of this district 
 renders its valley scenery at times rather monotonous, especially 
 near the two great places of resort, Courmayeur and Chamouni ; 
 at the former, the precipitous southern face of the main range, 
 though inexpressibly grand, is almost too wall-like for pic- 
 turesque effect ; while at the latter, the valley of the Arve is such 
 a complete trough that the peaks are obscured and dwarfed by 
 the uninteresting slopes of their shoulders, and even the gran- 
 deur of Mont Blanc is much diminished. To thoroughly ap- 
 preciate the beauty of this district one must either wander up 
 the glaciers which occupy the valleys between the northern 
 spurs, and while standing on the icy floor of some secluded 
 
26 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 amphitheatre take a near view of the surrounding crags ; or 
 better still, climb some well-situated peak, on the opposite side 
 of the bounding valleys, such as the Brevent or the Cramont, 
 whence only the grandeur of the whole chain and the wonderful 
 outlines of its several peaks can be justly estimated. Indeed I 
 am inclined to think that they are best appreciated when seen 
 rising above one or two intervening ranges, especially if these 
 are formed of a different rock; as for example when viewed 
 from some of the Savoy hills, between Sixt and the Lake of 
 Geneva. Certainly I never so fully realised the enormous size 
 of Mont Blanc itself as when I saw it for the first time, from 
 the slopes of Monte Rosa, some fifty miles away, towering 
 against the sky far above all its attendant aiguilles. 
 
 At the north-eastern extremity of the massif the summits 
 become rapidly lower, and the crystalline rock disappears be- 
 neath the shales of the Col de Ferrex, the lowest depression 
 in the whole Pennine chain between Mont Blanc and Monte 
 Rosa. This trough of deposits (belonging to the Jurassic age) 
 is however scarcely more than five miles in width, and the slaty 
 crystallines reappear in the neighbourhood of the Great St 
 Bernard Pass, where they rise to a height of above 12,000 feet 
 in the summit of the Velan, a mountain whose snowy dome 
 is well known to all who have followed that ancient route 
 from Martigny to Aosta. Somewhat to the east of this ap- 
 pears the third patch of granitic rock, breaking through the more 
 distinctly slaty beds and forming the axis of the main chain. 
 The tributary glens of one large valley, the Yal Pelline, conduct 
 its waters to the Doire, but on the north, five (including that 
 of the Visp, which forms the eastern boundary of the massif) de- 
 scend to the Rhone. The centre of this portion of the Pennines, 
 when viewed from any commanding point on the north or 
 the south, will be seen to consist for the most part of a lofty 
 glacier-covered mountain mass, most of the summits of which 
 do not rise very much above the general level. At the western 
 
THE PENNINE CHAIN. 27 
 
 extremity is one magnificent giant, the Grand Combin, which 
 reaches the height of 14,164 feet; and at the eastern are grouped 
 some of the most striking peaks in the whole range of the 
 Alps. These are the Dent Blanche, the Weisshorn, the Dent 
 d'H^rens, and the Matterhorn. The former two with several 
 fine, though to them subordinate, peaks lie upon a ridge which 
 forms the eastern boundary of what might be called the central 
 Pennine district, and look down into the valley of the Visp; 
 the latter are on a ridge, between the Yal Tournanche and 
 the Val Pelline, which forms a kind of outlier of the main 
 group. But few of these peaks can be seen with advantage 
 from the Rhone valley; or indeed, with the exception of the 
 Combin, from the valley of Aosta. Before they become visible, 
 one must generally ascend the opposite slopes for several 
 thousand feet; and it is only by exploring the various lateral 
 valleys that any idea can be gained of the magnificence of 
 this part of the Pennine chain. The inhabitants of several of 
 these were not so long ago almost a proverb for squalid miseiy. 
 Hence, though of course Mont Vdlan was familiar to the tourists 
 who streamed across the Great St Bernard, and Zermatt in 
 the Visp valley has for some years been a formidable rival to 
 Chamouni, all the rest of the region was a dozen years ago 
 almost as rarely visited as the Caucasus or the Himalayas. 
 Within this short period small inns have been built near 
 the heads of the other valleys, in several of which the traveller 
 can obtain all that is really needful — wholesome food and a 
 clean bed. The most important crystalline massif, that of 
 Monte Rosa, lies beyond the valley of the Visp, or, to speak 
 more correctly, of the Corner Visp; for the western branch 
 is of the more importance orographically ; seeing that it appears 
 to correspond with a rather wide and well-marked gap in 
 the line of the higher summits, connecting it with the Val 
 Tournanche. It is not easy to divide this group from another 
 massif of the same rock which lies on the east side of the 
 
 .*!! 
 
28 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Saas-Yisp and is continued beyond the depression occupied 
 by the Simplon road, which, as we have already said, is usually 
 considered to form the eastern boundary of the Pennines. The 
 mountains forming the southern slopes of this group exhibit 
 some peculiarities ; for they mainly consist of slate containing 
 a large proportion of hornblende, which is pierced by a long 
 spur of crystalline rock, forming a kind of outlier of the 
 Graian massif; and just where they sink into the plain of 
 Piedmont are broken by considerable outcrops of granite and 
 porphyry. The principal summits in the above group are 
 ranged either on the watershed or on two spurs to the north 
 of it : among the former is Monte Rosa, the second summit 
 of the Alps, which is not as Mont Blanc, a great snow 
 dome, but is a mountain mass crowned by a mural diadem 
 of peaks, the highest of which, but little overtopping its 
 neighbours, reaches 15,217 feet. On one spur also are the 
 twin peaks of the Dom and Taschhom, little under 15,000 
 feet ; and the crest of the loop of mountains about the Gorner 
 glacier, some twelve miles in length, scarcely ever sinks below 
 12,000 feet. The glaciers of this region, as may be supposed, 
 are very extensive, but the forms of the mountains are hardly 
 so striking as those of their neighbours in the last district. 
 
 To the north of the eastern half of the Pennines lies another 
 celebrated range, forming the opposite bank of the great valley 
 of the Rhone, and extending between that river and the Rhine. 
 On its northern face are the vast deposits of sedimentary rock, 
 shale and limestone, for the most part unaltered, which form 
 the mid- Alpine region of Switzerland, and rise around many of 
 the most beautiful lakes. The summits of the eastern and 
 western extremities of this chain are all composed of the same 
 rocks, which are also found upon some of the highest peaks on 
 the northern verge of the central mass. The northern face is 
 very precipitous, and the glaciers here are consequently much 
 shorter and steeper than on the other. A good general view of 
 
THE OBERLAND. 29 
 
 this group from either the north or south shews that the western 
 end consists of a row of table-shaped mountains — ^great blocks of 
 shale and limestone — without any conspicuous peaks, no one of 
 which quite attains a height of eleven thousand feet. These, 
 with the similar district on the other side of the gorge through 
 which the Rhone descends from Martigny to the Lake of Geneva, 
 form a connecting link between the Mont Blanc and Oberland 
 massifs, which are thus united by a kind of natural causeway. 
 This is composed of the Buet, Pic de Tenneverges, Dent du 
 Midi, and other less well known summits on the one side of the 
 Rhone, and by the Diablerets, Wildhom, and Wildstrubel on the 
 other. Although the glaciers here are small, and the mountains 
 rather blocks or ridges than peaks, this district affords in my 
 opinion some of the most beautiful scenery in the Alps. 
 The limestone precipices are often of extraordinary grandeur, 
 the tints of the rock are rich and varied, shades of pale fawn 
 colour predominating ; and the fertility of the soil causes its 
 green alps and immense fir woods to be almost without rivals. 
 There is hardly a valley in the north Savoy Alps or in the 
 Western Oberland which is not worth careful exploration; and 
 is not equal, if not superior in beauty, to its better known neigh- 
 bours in the central district. Still, upon the northern face of this, 
 as all who have visited Switzerland know well, some beautiful 
 limestone scenery is to be found, especially about the Lakes of 
 Thun and Brienz, and the well-known valleys of Lauterbrunnen 
 and Grindelwald. 
 
 In the Central Oberland the principal summits appear to be 
 arranged along two lines, that on the north forming the water- 
 shed, between which the great mass of the Finster Aarhorn, the 
 culminating peak of the whole district, makes a connecting link. 
 The spaces thus enclosed are occupied by vast fields of snow and 
 ice, and are divided by minor ridges into several glacier basins, 
 most of which find their outlets through gaps in the southern 
 line. Some of the higher peaks are composed of coherent rocks, 
 
30 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 which are here raised to a greater elevation than in any other 
 part of the Alps. The variety of scenery thus produced has 
 justly made the Oberland one of the most popular districts of 
 the Alps. The valley of the Aar is surrounded by crystalline 
 rocks, granite, gneiss, and mica slate, desolate yet wildly grand, 
 with bold peaks connected by splintered ridges. Those of 
 Grindelwald and Lauterbrunnen afford rich slopes of pasture 
 and pine wood, broken as we approach their heads by magnifi- 
 cent limestone cliffs and terminating under the enormous wall of 
 precipices, which is crowned by the craggy head of the Eiger 
 and the snowy summits of the Monch and Jungfrau. To the 
 east of the Aar is an intricate mountain mass, lying between it 
 and the valley of the Reuss, where, although the inner crystal- 
 line peaks do not reach so great an elevation as in the Oberland 
 proper, there are several outlying summits in the coherent region 
 to the north, which surpass ten thousand feet. East of the E-euss 
 valley the crystalline axis disappears before long under the un- 
 altered rocks, and the only important mountain mass, that of 
 the Todi, lies in the angle between the upper parts of the 
 Reuss, the Rhine, and the Linth. The greater part of this 
 district closely resembles the Western Oberland in structure 
 and geology, and is hardly inferior to it in beauty of scenery. 
 
 The next region to be noticed is that of the Lepontine Alps, 
 which may be considered as extending between the depressions 
 crossed by the Simplon and Spliigen passes in the one direc- 
 tion, and between the Lombard Plain, and the trough occupied 
 by the heads of the Rhone, Reuss, and Vorder Rhein, on 
 the other. The structure of this district is more intricate than 
 that of those hitherto described, and can hardly be explained 
 in the limits to which we must restrict ourselves. The moun- 
 tains consist chiefly of crystalline or highly altered coherent 
 rocks, and do not rise to so great an elevation as in the neigh- 
 bouring chains. There is therefore comparatively little snow, 
 and the main ridge when seen from a distance, appears rather 
 
rhjEtian alps. 31 
 
 monotonous and uninteresting ; still the long irregular valleys 
 which descend from it towards Italy afford some exquisitely 
 varied and beautiful scenery, not so well known as it deserves, 
 except in the immediate neighbourhood of the lakes of Mag- 
 giore, Lugano, and Como, 
 
 Proceeding further to the east we come next to the district 
 called the Rhsetian Alps, a name derived from the important 
 tribe which long contended with Rome for the possession of its 
 fastnesses. Here we must ask our readers to glance at some 
 map which represents the Eastern Alps on a tolerably large 
 scale. They will perceive that the plan of long valleys extend- 
 ing in a general direction from east to west, with shorter ones 
 nearly at right angles to them, is still preserved; and that there 
 are two principal parallel chains, including betw^een them a long 
 trough, called the Puster-thal, in the middle of which an upland 
 plateau forms a watershed, whence the Rienz flows westward to 
 seek the Adriatic by the channel of the Eisack and the Adige, 
 and the Drave eastward to mingle its waters with the Danube. 
 Moreover, just as the Rhone breaks through the Oberland ridge 
 at Martigny, so does the Eisack escape from the Puster-thal at 
 Botzen ; the line of which is prolonged up the Vintschgau (the 
 upper valley of the Adige) in a way that somewhat reminds 
 Vl° of the correspondence between the valleys of the Upper 
 Rhone and Arve. There is, however, one point of difference 
 between these two districts, namely, the clear definition of the 
 central chain — that forming the great watershed — by the huge 
 trough of the Inn. In fact a few visits to commanding peaks in 
 East Switzerland and the adjoining Tyrol and Lombard Alps will 
 shew that there are in this region three very distinctly-marked 
 troughs; the southernmost occupied by the Yal Telline and 
 Yal di Sole, the next by the Vintschgau and Puster-thal, and 
 the northernmost and most extensive by the Inn. The chains 
 between these troughs are intersected by nearly parallel de- 
 pressions, the first of which is the Val di Non, which conveys 
 
32 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 the waters of the Val di Sole to the Adige ; the next, the valley 
 between Nauders and Mais, in which is the scarcely-marked 
 watershed between the Inn and the Adige ; the third, the valley 
 of the Adige from Meran to Botzen ; and, lastly, the gap in the 
 main chain which is crossed by the Brenner Pass. It will be 
 also observed that most of the lateral valleys preserve a general 
 parallelism with these more important channels. The outbreak 
 of porphyry in the neighbourhood of Botzen has a little ob- 
 scured the relation of the valleys in that neighbourhood, and 
 I do not yet feel certain whether we ought to look for the 
 prolongation of the Val di Sole trough in the lower part of the 
 Fassa-thal, or in the gorge through which the Eisack escapes 
 from the Puster-thal to join the Adige at Botzen. 
 
 To return then to the Rhsetian Alps, which form the west- 
 ernmost district of this region. These consist of several masses 
 of crystalline rocks, with frequent patches of almost unaltered 
 coherents. The most important mountain districts are the long 
 ridge between the Rhine and upper valley of the Inn, contain- 
 ing a number of fine peaks, about eleven thousand feet high, 
 but without any extensive glaciers, and the Bernina massif, 
 consisting of several lofty snow-clad summits, the highest (from 
 which the district is named) being 13,294 feet above the sea. 
 Here, and in the southern outlier of the Monte della Disgrazia 
 (12,074 ft.), granite is extensively developed, and some of the 
 most varied and beautiful scenery in the whole Alpine chain 
 may be found. The best head-quarters for travellers are at Pon- 
 tresina, a little village situated on a tributary torrent of the Inn, 
 a few miles from the principal glaciers. Not many years ago 
 this place was almost unknown to English travellers ; it is now 
 a favourite place of resort, and bids fair to become a formidable 
 rival to Chamouni, Grindelwald, and Zermatt. It is unusually 
 accessible; for no less than four excellent carriage-roads descend 
 into the upper valley of the Inn, two coming from the Rhine 
 valley, and the other two from different parts of North Italy. 
 
THE TYROL. ZS 
 
 To the east of this rises the Orteler group, a series of short 
 but lofty spurs, several of whose peaks considerably overtop 
 the central point from which they radiate. The greater part 
 of this group consists of almost unaltered coherent rock, of 
 which the highest summit, the Orteler Spitze (12,814 ft.), is 
 composed. In the northern part of the Rhaetian Alps the co- 
 herent rocks are also extensively developed ; and the Voralberg 
 and adjoining Bavarian Alps may be regarded as a continua- 
 tion of the broad belt, which, as has been already said, runs 
 along the north-western and northern face of the great moun- 
 tain fortress encircling North Italy. 
 
 To the south of the Rhaetian Alps, and separated from them 
 by the trough of the Yal Telline and Val di Sole, is a consider- 
 able group, mainly consisting of sedimentary rocks, which is 
 commonly called the Lombard Alps. Its chief peculiarity is the 
 central massif of the Adamello, a huge glacier-covered island 
 of granite, the highest point of which, the Presanella, is 11,688 
 feet above the sea ; and is nearly equalled by two neighbouring 
 summits, the Adamello and the Care Alto. There are also 
 some fine dolomitic peaks in the eastern part of the group, the 
 chief of which is the Brenta Alta (10,771 ft.), and the scenery 
 generally is very luxuriant and beautiful. The great heat of 
 many of the vaUeys renders the early summer or late autumn 
 the best period for travelling here. This remark indeed applies 
 to the greater part of the Tyrol, Austrian as well as Lombard ; 
 the heat in July and August being often such as to interfere 
 much with the comfort and even health of the pedestrian. 
 
 We have next to describe the great Noric chain; and for 
 this purpose may for one moment imagine ourselves standing 
 upon one of the higher summits in the range which faces it on 
 the south. Before us lies the deep trench of the Puster-thal, 
 and far off on the left the valley of the Yintschgau is seen 
 stretching away towards the Inn. Above this latter rises an 
 extensive glacier-clad range^this is the Oetzthaler Alpen, the 
 westernmost of the groups which compose the Noric chain. Its 
 
 3 
 
9^ THE ALPIFE REGIONS. 
 
 highest peak, the Weisskogel, is 12,620 feet above the sea ; but 
 the general elevation of the whole mass causes it and the ad- 
 joining summits to appear lower than they really are. Next, 
 after a slight interval, rises another and somewhat similar group, 
 except that it is evidently inferior in extent and height ; these 
 are the Stubayer Alps, the peaks of which are some two thou- 
 sand feet below those of the Oetzthaler group. Then comes 
 a wide and deep gap ; through this the Brenner Pass gives easy 
 access by road and rail from the Puster-thal to Innsbruck. 
 Beyond this depression a dark ridge gradually rises up — these 
 are the Ziller-thaler Alps ; they are streaked with snow, but it is 
 deeper on their northern slopes. Beyond them towers a chain 
 of snowy peaks ; and still to the right of this a yet loftier ridge, 
 culminating in one sharp glittering cone, that instantly arrests 
 the eye — these are the Yenediger and Glockner massifs, which, 
 with the Ziller-thaler Alps, are often classed together under 
 the one name of the Tauern group. Their glaciers are of con- 
 siderable size, and many of the peaks of great beauty and 
 grandeur ; the culminating point being the Gross Glockner, 
 the Great Bell, the summit of which is 12,958 feet above the 
 sea. Beyond this the mountains sink down again, only here 
 and there rising much above the snow-line, the highest summit 
 east of the Glockner massif being the Ankogel (10,664 ft). 
 As can be readily seen from their outlines, the peaks of this 
 chain consist mainly of crystalline or highly-altered rock. 
 
 We must now turn to the group south of the Puster-thal, 
 on which we have supposed ourselves to be standing, which forms 
 what is commonly denominated the Italian Tyrol. Although 
 its peaks do not rise to any very great elevation, only one 
 exceeding eleven thousand feet, its scenery is of extrao/dinary 
 gi-andeur, owing to the presence of vast deposits of dolomite. 
 This, in the magnificence of its precipices and singularity of 
 its outlines, surpasses even Dauphin^ but is inferior to it in 
 the size of its glaciers, there being only one of any importance 
 in the whole district, Very beautiful too are the colours of 
 
 i 
 
THE DOLOMITE DISTRICT. 35 
 
 these limestone cliffs ; the prevailing tint is a rich fawn colour, 
 which is varied by shades of silvery or purplish grey, and some- 
 times streaked with deep red, as though streams of blood had 
 dripped down the rock. When these ruined towers of dolomite 
 stand out against a stormy sky or dimly loom through mist or 
 rain, their appearance, so lifeless, so ghastly barren in com- 
 parison with the rich pine-woods and green alps which in many 
 places clothe their feet, produces a strange sense of awe. 
 Another peculiarity of the district is the presence of extensive 
 beds of volcanic tuff and ash, which are almost, if not wholly, 
 wanting in other parts of the Alps, and of great masses of trap 
 and porphyry. In fact some of the valleys are supposed to have 
 originated in the craters of ancient volcanoes. Their direction 
 and forms are much more irregular here than further to the 
 west ; those on the southern slopes are considerably longer than 
 the others, and most of the principal peaks stand upon spurs 
 to the south of the watershed. The streams from nearly all 
 these valleys do not enter the Adige, but are conveyed by two 
 rivers, the Piave and the Tagliamento, to the Adriatic, Ano- 
 ther noteworthy peculiarity is that the majority of the great 
 peaks are grouped around a deep depression, through which 
 runs the important Ampezzo road, leading from the watershed 
 of the Puster-thal to Venice. To the east of this cluster the 
 range bears the name of the Carnic Alps, but very few of the 
 summits surpass nine thousand feet ; still the presence of dolo- 
 mite often renders the scenery quite as striking as in moun- 
 tains of a much greater elevation : while in the Julian Alps, still 
 further to the east, which in character and formation are very 
 similar, the general level of the ranges has sunk so much that 
 the Terglou massif, the highest point of w^hich is 9,370 feet 
 above the sea, stands out more grandly than many Swiss moun- 
 tains which surpass it in elevation by two or three thousand 
 feet. 
 
 3—2 
 
CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Having thus pointed out the general form of the Alpine 
 valleys, and their connexion with the various forces which 
 have determined the contours of the Alpine chains, it may be 
 well to describe rather more fully one or two of their distin- 
 guishing features. There are three ways in which a valley 
 may have had its origin, (1) as a crack in uplifted strata; (2) 
 as a fold or depression in strata which have been unequally 
 elevated ; (3) as a channel or inlet worn by the action of tides 
 or currents in shallow seas, in strata which have afterwards 
 been raised above highwater mark. It is however probable 
 that most of the larger valleys have had their beginning in 
 one of the two first-named ways. In the first of these it 
 is obvious that the strata exposed in the slopes on either 
 side will dip away from the centre of the valley, though of 
 course not necessarily to the same extent; and it is possible 
 that if the fracture has occurred near the junction of two 
 deposits of different strength, the beds on one side may 
 be elevated much more than on the other, and the valley 
 correspond with what is in geology termed a fault. In the 
 second case, the beds will dip towards the centre of the 
 valley; and in the third the valley will be excavated out 
 of them; so that they will be exposed as in the sides of a 
 railway cutting. In the Alps, however, there is no single 
 
VALLEYS. 37 
 
 valley which can be considered as an unaltered example of 
 any one of these types. All, however they may have been 
 originally formed, have been immensely modified by the action 
 of denudation. Perhaps both sea and streams have been 
 engaged on this work, but there can be little doubt, that, at 
 any rate for thousands of years, only the subaerial agencies 
 have operated. Every peak, every mountain slope, every glen, 
 bears distinct traces of the action of air and Water, of heat 
 and frost. The contour of a valley therefore very much de- 
 pends upon the materials of the hills through which it is cut. 
 If these are soft and yielding, it will be wide and open, with 
 gentle slopes on either side : if they are hard and tenacious, 
 it will be narrow and deep, between steep hills or precipices. 
 
 Instances of both kinds are of course common enough in 
 the Alps, and it would be an endless task to enumerate them. 
 Some of the finest examples of the latter occur in Dauphin^, 
 and in the Italian Tyrol. Wherever we find rocks which 
 unite hardness and durability, such as gneiss or crystalline 
 limestone, there we shall find the most magnificent precipices 
 and the narrowest valleys. The most striking are those in 
 which the original fissure appears to have been very narrow, 
 and the stream to have done little more than deepen this. 
 Such, for example, are the Combe de Queyras and the Combe 
 de Malaval in Dauphine, the gorge of the Reuss near the 
 Devil's Bridge, the Via Mala on the SplUgen Road, the Fin- 
 stermiinz on the Inn, and the Kuntersweg on the Eisack. 
 In each of these the bottom of the defile is almost always 
 the bed of the torrent, and the roads which traverse them 
 are among the greatest feats that engineers have accom- 
 plished. Besides these, there are in many parts of the Alps 
 smaller gorges, whose sides are as nearly as possible vertical, 
 and whose depth is often two or three hundred feet, while 
 their breadth is perhaps not generally more than from twenty 
 to thirty. To descend into them is of course almost always 
 
38 THE ALPINE EEGIONS. 
 
 impossible ; but by cautiously approaching some projecting 
 crag, or from the narrow arch which has often been thrown 
 across them to bear some Alpine road, a view may be ob- 
 tained of the torrent thundering below between walls of rock 
 dappled with lichen stains, and draped with delicate ferns or 
 sturdy tufts of mountain shiiibs. There are hundreds, I had 
 almost said thousands, of these in the Alps. For example, 
 I remember three near Zermatt ; and wherever the rock is 
 hard and the streams are strong, there they are sure to be 
 found. Generally a change in the strata from which a val- 
 ley has been excavated, is marked by a corresponding alteration 
 in its form. If, for instance, soft shales are resting on hard 
 slate, the upper part of the valley is a gentle slope, but when 
 the torrent has worked its way to the lower bed, the change 
 is instantaneous : instead of a trench it cuts a groove, so that 
 the cross section of the valley is like a Y. Not unfrequently 
 the stream appears to have cleared away all the softer shale 
 before it has had time to bury itself in the hard rock below. 
 There are some curious instances of this on each side of the 
 Romanche in Dauphin^. The grandest of these narrow gorges 
 in the Alps are those of the Tamina and the Trient. Of the 
 former we shall have to speak in describing some remarkable 
 mineral springs that are discharged into it; the latter — which 
 has only lately been rendered accessible — demands a brief 
 notice before leaving this subject. 
 
 On the well-known route of the T^te Noire from Chamouni 
 to Martigny, the stream of the Trient joins that of the Eau 
 Noire, which has descended what orographically appears to be 
 the main valley. Here both the valleys have become narrow 
 and steep ; still they are not impassable, and a rough track leads 
 from the T^te Noire inn to the rivers, and up to the village of 
 Finhaut on the left bank of the united streams. A little 
 further down, the Trient is lost to sight in a narrow gorge, from 
 which it does not emerge until it enters the valley of the Rhone. 
 
GORGE OF THE TRIENT. 39 
 
 A well-made mule-road on its left bank, passing through fine 
 scenery, and winding down by a leaping stream under the 
 shade of walnuts and Spanish chestnuts, brings the traveller 
 to the level bed of the Rhone valley, Avithin a few minutes' walk 
 of the mouth of the gorge. On either side are vertical walls of 
 rock, several hundred feet in height, separated by a narrow 
 fissure often not twenty feet in width. The torrent roars 
 below, and the precipices on either side would not afford 
 footing to a goat, but a framework of wood has been skilfully 
 secured by wire ropes to the cliffs, so as to form a slender but 
 perfectly safe road, about three quarters of a mile in length, 
 along the narrowest part. It is difficult to say whether this 
 most extraordinary gorge is to be regarded as formed mainly by 
 erosion, or by cracking of the rock. I examined it very care- 
 fully, but could not detect any clear traces of the action of water 
 above a height of 30 or 40 feet from the present stream. The 
 planes of foliation in the crystalline rock, a hard mica schist, 
 slope steeply inwards, and there are many small fissures trans- 
 verse to the main chasm. In one place there appears to have 
 been originally a barrier of rock or break in the level of the 
 torrent bed, which gave rise to a cascade ; but the stream has 
 long since cut clear through this. However, whether mainly 
 formed by fracture of the mountains during upheaval, or by 
 the slow sawing of the glacier torrent, it is the most 
 magnificent gorge in the crystalline rock which I have ever 
 seen ; perhaps one of the most remarkable that exists in 
 Europe. 
 
 There is yet another feature in the Alpine valleys which 
 deserves notice ; namely, the cirques. By this term, borrowed 
 from the Pyrenees (where they are much more common than 
 in the Alps) are denoted semicircular basins, at or near the 
 heads of valleys, surrounded by precipitous walls of rock. The 
 limestone districts appear the most favourable to formations 
 of this kind, but I only know of three really grand examples 
 
-*0 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 in the Alps; these are the Fer a*Cheval near Sixt, the Creux 
 de Champs under the Diablerets, and the cirque in the Croda 
 Malcora near the head of the Val Auronzo in the ItaUan Tyrol; 
 the first two run one another hard for the prize of beauty. The 
 Creux de Champs is, I believe, on the larger scale; but the 
 greater height of unbroken limestone cliff and the number of 
 small waterfalls, which descend from every cleft like threads of 
 silver or scarves of gauze, perhaps give the palm to the Fer a 
 Cheval. One of the most singular that I have ever seen is the 
 Croda di Lagazoi, to the north-west of Monte Tofana (Italian 
 Tyrol) ; which from the summit of that peak appears like an 
 ancient amphitheatre with a breach at one end; a small glen 
 being surrounded by an elongated oval or horse-shoe-shaped 
 wall of rock ; one of the most extraordinary among the strange 
 mountain forms which distinguish that region. 
 
 Several valleys form w^hat have been termed * valleys of 
 outcrop.' In this case the stream follows either the line of a 
 fault, or the outcrop of some stratum which yields more 
 readily to its action than the neighbouring beds. Its original 
 course must have been determined by a fissure or depression, 
 generally the former; and therefore it is really only a valley 
 of fracture or depression, modified by circumstances. This 
 kind is most commonly formed at the junction of crystalline 
 and sedimentary (or little altered) rocks ; and examples may 
 be found in several of the important Alpine valleys, such as 
 in the upper valley of the Romanche, in parts of the valley 
 of the Rhone above Martigny, and of the Inn between Landeck 
 and Innsbruck. 
 
 Valleys of depression do not very frequently occur on a 
 large scale. One of the best instances which I have seen is 
 the upper part of the Ampezzo Thai, where this structure is 
 very conspicuous. Smaller examples, however, of this forma- 
 tion are common enough in the limestone districts. To 
 mention two out of many, there is one near the Col de Pillon 
 
 I 
 
THE SAVOY LAKES. 41 
 
 between the Oldenhorn and the Diablerets, and another among 
 the mountains near Wesen on the left bank of the Linth. 
 
 In close connexion with the subject of Alpine valleys is 
 that of the lakes, which are more abundant in Switzerland 
 than in the neighbouring countries. Savoy has but two, the 
 Lac de Bourget, and the Lac d'Annecy ; these lie just at the 
 border of the limestone district, and extend into the softer 
 sandstones which fringe it on the west. The former lake 
 is about 12 miles long and 1^ broad ; the greatest depth 
 being 256 feet. Its waters traverse a marshy plain to join 
 the Rhone ; but no great increase of them would bring the 
 lake once more up to that river, making it a miniature Albert 
 Nyanza, and a slight further rise would cause them to overflow 
 the low barrier, if it can be so called, which separates them 
 from the Isere valley. The Lake of Annecy is 1450 feet above 
 the sea, and about 100 feet deep : it is 9f miles long, and from 
 1 to 2 wide. There is much picturesque and interesting 
 scenery around its banks. 
 
 Some 23 miles to the north of Annecy, and like it, partly 
 in the limestone, partly in the sandstone district, lies the 
 Lake of Geneva, which is also called Lac L^man, from its 
 Roman name Lacus Lemanus. In shape it is a crescent, with 
 the horns pointing S. and S.E Its height above the sea- 
 level is about 1230 feet, and the greatest depth is variously 
 stated from 984 to 1200 feet. The northern shore is 56 miles 
 long, the southern 44, and the greatest breadth of the lake is 
 about 8 miles. The Rhone, turbid with glacier mud, pours its 
 waters into the northern end. They soon deposit their burden 
 and leave the lake of the clearest and brightest blue. Their 
 purity, however, is not long maintained, for, about a mile 
 below Geneva, the muddy Arve comes sweeping down from 
 Mont Blanc. For a while the two streams run side by side with- 
 out mingling their waters, but the Rhone yields at last to the 
 contamination, and is not purified again till it is absorbed into 
 
42 T^E ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 the ocean. The sediment thrown down by the river as it 
 enters the lake is rapidly filling up the eastern end, and there 
 is evidence to shew that during the present era the marshy 
 plain of the Rhone valley has been advanced westward about 
 \\ miles. There can indeed be no doubt that the lake once 
 extended as far as the rocky barrier between Bex and St 
 Maurice, some 11 miles beyond its present margin ; the whole 
 intervening tract being now a level alluvial plain obviously 
 deposited by the river. The scenery of the lower end is 
 somewhat tame, the northern shore consisting for many miles 
 of gently sloping hills, which are covered with vines, and 
 thickly peopled. The limestone mountains of Savoy gradually 
 approach the southern shore, and the upper end of the lake 
 lies in a kind of defile between them and the first ranges of 
 the Oberland massif. In the severest winters ice forms round 
 the edge and at the lower end of the lake, but its whole 
 surface has never been known to be covered. Its waters are 
 occasionally subject to sudden oscillations called seiches or 
 leidhes; the greatest recorded being on the morning of the 
 16th September A.D. 1600, when they rose and fell four times 
 through a space of five feet\ These seiches generally occur 
 during unsettled weather, and are supposed to be caused by 
 unequal atmospheric pressure on the surface of this great 
 sheet of water. Sudden and violent squalls are not unfrequent, 
 rendering the navigation dangerous for small boats ; and as 
 they are often accompanied by driving rain and thick mist, 
 an accident may not be seen from the shore till help is un- 
 availing. Nor is an upset the only thing to be dreaded, for the 
 waves rise quickly, and run high enough to swamp a small 
 boat, if it be not skilfully directed. I remember that one 
 evening in the summer of 1856, the steamer was obliged to 
 remain for the night in the port of Ouchy; because the lake 
 was so rough that the passengers, many of whom were 
 
 ^ Conservateur Suisse, v. 21. 
 
THE SWI>SS LAKES, 43 
 
 miserably sick, could not have landed at any station above 
 that place. On another fine afternoon during the same summer 
 we started in our boat from Ouchy to pick up a party of 
 friends about a mile further down the lake. There was not 
 a breath of air to ruffie its glassy surface, and we rowed the 
 whole distance. Just as we embarked our passengers, a gentle 
 breeze sprung up, so we hoisted a couple of sails. It freshened 
 so much, that before long, we struck the mizen, and in a few 
 minutes more, not without difficulty, lowered the mainsail. The 
 waves were then running so high that we at once rowed back 
 towards the shore, which was less than a mile distant. The 
 squall however fell as rapidly as it had risen, and before we 
 reached land, the lake was again quite calm. 
 
 The Dranse, a river draining a large tract of the limestone 
 district of north Savoy, enters the lake about the middle of the 
 southern shore, near the pretty watering place of Evian, which, 
 with its neighbour Thonon, are the only towns on the left bank ; 
 and indeed the latter is hardly more than a village. On the 
 opposite shore the principal places are Lausanne, Yevay, and 
 Villeneuve, at the embouchure of the Rhone ; and between 
 the last two, amongst lovely scenery, are the villages of Cla- 
 rens, immortalised by Byron, and Montreux, the favourite 
 winter retreat of invalids, with the celebrated castle of Chillon. 
 
 The lakes of Neuchatel and Bienne, though belonging to 
 Switzerland, cannot be claimed for the Alps ; their left bank 
 being formed by the long ridges of the Jura, which descend to 
 the water's edge. On their right is a range of undulating hills, 
 the verge of the lowlands of central Switzerland, above which 
 rise the noble outlines of the Bernese mountains. The Lake 
 of Neuchatel (the Lacus Eburodunensis of the Romans), named 
 from the picturesque old town near its northern end, is about 24 
 miles long and from 4 to 6 broad. It is 1427 feet above the 
 level of the sea and 488 in greatest depth. Most of the streams 
 from the eastern face of the Jura are received by it, and all 
 
44 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 the water from the extensive northern slopes of the low hills, 
 which, insignificant as they seem, form part of the watershed 
 between the Rhine and the Ehone. In a small parallel valley 
 to the east is the little Lake of Morat. Unimportant in other 
 respects, its eastern shore is famous in history, as the scene of the 
 crushing defeat of the Burgundians by the Swiss in 1476, when 
 numbers of the fugitives perished in its waters. A marshy tract, 
 the favourite haunt of herons and wildfowl, separates the lake of 
 Neuchatel from that of Bienne or Biel, named from the little 
 town near the northern end. It is about 10 J miles long, 
 2 J wide, and 231 feet in greatest depth. Rather nearer to the 
 southern extremity is the wooded St Peter's Isle, which was 
 for some time the retreat of Rousseau in 1765 ; his room is still 
 shewn to visitors. An unusually high flood, such as that of 
 1816, can still convert these three lakes into a single sheet of 
 water. 
 
 In the same lowland district of middle tertiary sandstones 
 and conglomerates, but in lines, roughly speaking, at right angles 
 to the above lakes, lie (in a north-easterly direction) the Lakes 
 of Sempach, Zug, Zurich, and Constance. Sempach is only 
 interesting for the battle fought upon its shores between the 
 Swiss and Austrians in 1386. The Lake of Zug is much more 
 beautifully situated, and the views from its waters of the Righi 
 and other mountains of a hard conglomerate, called nagelflue, 
 are very picturesque. Its depth is remarkable, being about 
 1280 feet; nearly equal to its height above the sea, which is 
 1369 feet. Its waters flow into the Reuss. 
 
 The Lake of Zurich is little more than an extension" of the 
 valley of the Linth, or perhaps it would be more correct to say, 
 of an ancient channel of the Rhine \ Though rarely more than 
 2 miles broad, it is 26 miles in length; the greatest depth 
 being 640 feet, and the mean height above the sea 1341 feet. 
 The interesting old town of Zurich stands at the western end, 
 
 1 See page 48. 
 
THE SWISS LAKHS. 45 
 
 on the efflux of the Limmat. Its banks are undulating and 
 richly cultivated; and in clear weather noble views of the snow- 
 clad peaks of Glarus and Uri add greatly to its beauties. About 
 6 miles from the upper end a tongue of land extends from the 
 south shore, more than half way across the lake; and the waters 
 of the strait thus formed are so shallow that a bridge, supported 
 on wooden piles, has been constructed across it. No part of the 
 basin above this barrier is deep, hence it is not unfrequently 
 frozen over in winter, a rare occurrence with most of the larger 
 Swiss lakes. 
 
 The Lake of Constance or Boden See (the Lacus Brigantinus 
 or Acronius of the Romans; Bodamicus of the middle ages) 
 chiefly lies beyond the Alpine district, properly so called. It is 
 to the Bliine what the Lake of Geneva is to the Rhone, and 
 probably, like it, once extended much further up the valley. 
 In shape it is an irregular oval, about 41 miles long, and from 4J 
 to 9 J wide; the mean height above the sea being 1306 feet, and 
 the greatest known depth 1027. Above 13 miles from the 
 northern extremity the Rhine quits it at Constance, passing 
 through a narrow straight into a second irregular lake, called 
 the Unter See. The arm above Constance, which bears the 
 name of the Ueberlinger See, is seldom more than about 2 miles 
 wide. The scenery is generally tame compared with that of 
 the other Swiss lakes ; but is bolder towards the southern end, 
 where fine views of the Tyrolese and Appenzell mountains are 
 obtained. It forms the boundary of five countries, Switzerland, 
 Baden, Wurtemberg, Bavaria, and Austria; and besides Con- 
 stance there are other small but busy towns on its banks. Its 
 waters often rise 2 or 3 yards during the melting of the snow, 
 and seiches (here called ruhs), are observed as on the Lake of 
 Geneva. The gales from the E. and N.E. are dangerous, but 
 most of all the south wind (Fohn), which is said to raise waves 
 six yards high. The southern end is being rapidly filled up by 
 the sediment brought down by the Rhine. 
 
46 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 In the limestone region of Switzerland we have the Lakes 
 of Thun, Brienz, Lucerne, and Wallenstadt. The first two are 
 closely connected together, and form a portion of the valley of 
 the Aar. They are only separated by a low wide dam, which has 
 evidently been formed by the detritus from the waters of the 
 Liitschine and Lombach, and on which stands the fashionable 
 town of Interlaken. The Lake of Brienz is about 9 miles long 
 and 2 wide; its surface is 1946 feet above the sea, and its greatest 
 depth more than 2000 feet. The turbid waters of the Aar flow 
 into the lake, which has evidently once extended several miles 
 further up the valley, where there is now a marshy flat. In 
 consequence of the quantity of silt discharged into it by the 
 Aar and the Liitschine, the water is of a much gi'eener tinge 
 than that in the Lake of Thun. This is 11 miles long and 2 
 broad, its greatest depth is 768 feet, and its mean level is 23 feet 
 below that of the other lake. The Kander, soon after beinor 
 joined by the Simme, enters it near the western extremity; and 
 so makes it the receptacle of nearly all the drainage from the 
 north face of the western Oberland. Formerly this river flowed 
 through a depression parallel to the lake and joined the Aar 
 some little distance to the west. The present channel was 
 cut in 1714, and a considerable delta has already been formed 
 about its embouchure \ The scenery of these two lakes is 
 deservedly celebrated; the mountains rise steeply for some 
 five thousand feet or more above the water, wdth bold and 
 varied outlines. Their lower slopes are either richly culti- 
 vated or densely wooded; the upper, green pastures or pine 
 forests. The cliffs of pale yellowish-grey limestone are often 
 very striking, and the snowy forms of the Eiger, Monch, and 
 Jungfrau are well seen from several points. The view of the 
 
 1 A strange story is told by Fredegarius, Chronicon, § xviii. who states that 
 the waters of the Lake of Thun became so hot that the fishes were boiled : this 
 phenomenon is said to have happened a.d. 598-9. Some sulphureous and 
 bituminous springs on the side of the lake may perhaps help to explain as 
 much of the story as is true. 
 
THE LAKE OF LUCERNE, 47 
 
 last from Interlaken up the valley of the Liitschine is the 
 great — I had almost said the sole — attraction of that place. 
 Besides this there is the beautiful waterfall of the Giessbach 
 on the south shore of the lake of Brienz, and the picturesque 
 old town of Thun, at the western end of the other lake. 
 
 The Lake of Lucerne or Vierwaldstatter See (Four-Forest- 
 Canton-Lake) S one of the most irregular and beautiful in 
 Switzerland, does not lie entirely in the limestone district ; still, 
 except in the neighbourhood of the town of Lucerne its scenery- 
 is generally bold, and at the eastern end very grand. Its out- 
 line is very remarkable ; and as it has much bearing upon the 
 moot question of the origin of lakes in mountain districts, I 
 venture to quote the following extract from the Alpine Guide^ 
 as well expressing the opinions which I had independently 
 formed : " To the orographer it appears to lie in four different 
 valleys, all related to the conformation of the adjoining moun- 
 tains. The central portion of the lake lies in two parallel 
 valleys whose direction is from E. to W., the one lying N. the 
 other S. of the ridge of the Biirgenstein. These are connected 
 through a narrow strait scarcely ^ mile wide, between the two 
 rocky promontories called respectively the Untere and Obere 
 Nase. It is not unlikely that the southern of these two divi- 
 sions of the lake — called Buochser See — formerly extended 
 to the W. over the isthmus whereon stands the town of Stanz, 
 thus forming an island of the Biirgenstein. The W. end of 
 the main branch of the lake, whence a comparatively shallow 
 bay extends to the town of Lucerne, is intersected obliquely by 
 a deep trench whose S. W. end is occupied by the branch called 
 Alpnacher See, while the N. E. branch forms the long Bay of 
 KUssnacht or Kiissnachter See. It will not escape notice that 
 these both lie in the direct line of a valley that stretches with 
 scarcely a break parallel to the chain of the Bernese Alps from 
 
 1 Uri, Schwyz, TJnterwalden, and Lucerne. 
 
 2 Central Alps, § 26, Route A. 
 
48 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Interlaken to the Lake of Zug. At the E. end of the Buochser 
 See, where the containing walls of the lake- valley are directed 
 from E,N.E. to W.S.W., it is joined at an acute angle by 
 the bay of Uri, or Urner See, lying in the N. prolongation of 
 the deep cleft that gives a passage to the Keuss, between the 
 Bernese chain and the Alps of North Switzerland. The 
 breadth of these various sections of the lake is very variable, 
 but it is usually between one and two miles. Its mean height 
 above the sea is 1437 feet, and the greatest depth hitherto 
 measured 1140 feet." Of the former extension of the lake 
 to the S. of the Biirgenstein there can I think be no doubt. 
 The strait has been gradually silted up by the sediment from 
 the Engelberger Aa and other streams. The Alpnacher See 
 has also once extended further to the S. in the direction of 
 the little lake of Sarnen; and the fiat district to the S. of 
 the bay of Uri is only a delta of the Reuss. The story of Tell 
 and the tale of Anne of Geierstein give an additional interest to 
 the beautiful scenery of this lake and its picturesque old town; 
 and those who have read the former will not forget the dangers 
 of its waters when the Fohn is rao^ino^. 
 
 The Lake of Wallenstadt lies in a narrow valley between 
 steep limestone mountains; of which the northern range — . 
 the Churfirsten — rises from the water side in precipitous 
 terraces, crowned by bold craggy peaks. Beautiful in scenery, the 
 position of the lake also makes it peculiarly rich in sunrise and 
 sunset effects. The narrow, deep, and remarkable trench in which 
 it is situated opens a communication between the valley of the 
 Rhine at Sargans and the sandstone district of N. Switzerland ; 
 and appears to any one descending that river the natural pro- 
 longation of the valley, the opening on the right, by which the 
 stream escapes to the Lake of Constance, being far less con- 
 spicuous. I have little doubt that formerly either the Rhine, 
 or an arm of it, flowed along the channel now occupied by 
 the Lakes of Wallenstadt and Zurich and by the river Limmat. 
 These two lakes only differ in level by about 52 feet, and are 
 
THE ALPINE LAKES. 49 
 
 separated by a swampy plain, which is nothing more than a 
 delta, deposited chiefly by the turbid waters of the Linth, 
 the formation' of which in former days no doubt was accelerated 
 by the rocky breakwaters of the Buchberger, two steep mounds 
 which still rise conspicuously above the marshes. The whole 
 of this delta was formerly almost uninhabitable, but the cut- 
 ting of the Linth and Escher canals has done much to render 
 it salubrious. To the east of the Lake of Wallenstadt, the valley 
 is also very level, being a delta formed by the Scez and other 
 torrents; and the highest point in it (near to Sargans) is said to 
 be only 25 feet above the present level of the Rhine. The 
 barrier which finally diverted the stream of that river appears to 
 me to be a talus formed by the fall of some debris from a moun- 
 tain to the north, just at the narrowest part of the valley; the 
 immediate effect of this would be to lower slightly the level 
 of the two lakes and expose a considerable portion of the 
 deltas. 
 
 In the Austrian Tyrol are no lakes of any importance; and 
 it is not till we reach the almost subalpine region of the Saltz- 
 kammergut that we again meet with them. In the beautiful 
 valleys of this district there are several, the largest of which, the 
 Atter See, is about 12 miles long and 2 J wide. There are also 
 some small lakes in Carinthia, all narrow in proportion to their 
 length, the most considerable, the Wdrther See, being about 12 
 miles long. The Bavarian lakes can scarcely be said to belong 
 to the Alpine region. 
 
 Returning to the Alps, we find, nestling among the long 
 spurs which slope down to the plains of Piedmont and Lom- 
 bardy, a group of four lakes, Orta, Maggiore, Lugano, and Como. 
 Through two of these, Maggiore and Como, passes all the drain- 
 age which descends from the south side of the watershed of a 
 great mountain quadrant, of which Monte Rosa and the southern- 
 most peak of the Orteler group are the extreme points. The 
 Lago d'Orta, though very small, is a gem of beauty ; richly 
 
 4 
 
50 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 wooded mountains, becoming bolder towards tlie north, rise all 
 around it, and its glassy surface is broken by one picturesque 
 island. A low barrier of porphyry rock cuts it 'off from the 
 Italian plain, so its waters are discharged from the northern 
 end into the Lago Maggiore. This, the Lacus Yerbanus of the 
 Romans, occupies a part of the sinuous valley of the Ticino, 
 about 42 miles in length, advancing to the verge of the plain. 
 Its general width is from 2 to 3 miles, except where it receives 
 (on the west bank about 15 miles from the S. end) the important 
 affluent of the Tosa, up the valley of which it extends for about 
 2 miles, but the alluvial plains above it, here and at the em- 
 bouchure of the Ticino, shew that its waters once covered a 
 much larger space. The western coast-line appears to be con- 
 tinued across the above-named arm by a group of low rocky 
 islets called the Borromean Islands, from an illustrious Itahan 
 family whose property they are. On one of them, the Isola 
 Bella, is a large but unfinished palace, the summer residence of 
 its owners, overlooking the water; and the slate rock behind has 
 been converted at great expense into a series of terrace gardens, 
 in which flourish several shrubs and trees rarely seen so far to 
 the north of the equator. These render the place interesting ; 
 for the rest, what one may call the 'tea-garden style ' of orna- 
 mentation is so prevalent that most visitors are inclined to dis- 
 pute the propriety of the epithet Bella, and to prefer its more 
 unassuming neighbour, the Isola Mad re, where also are some 
 fine tropical plants. The lake is chiefly surrounded by crystal- 
 line rocks, but the southern part of its east bank is limestone. 
 There is granite near the embouchure of the Tosa, and a little 
 porphyry near the southern end. Like the neighbouring lakes 
 it is liable to periodic winds ; the h^amontana which blows from 
 midnight to morning from the north; and the inverna which 
 comes in the opposite direction from midday to evening. One 
 of the most remarkable things about it is that, while its surface 
 is only 646 feet above the sea level, its bed is generally far 
 
 I 
 
THE LAKES OF LUGANO AND COMO. 51 
 
 below; the depth of the water in some places being said to be 
 as much as 2615 feet. 
 
 The Lake of Lugano is something like a small model of the 
 Lake of Lucerne. Wilder than its neighbours on either side, it 
 is not seldom preferred to them; and the bold though not very 
 lofty mountains which surround its irregular bays, with the 
 occasional richness of its shores, will always make it a favourite. 
 It is 889 feet above the sea, and its depth, which is very variable, 
 is in some places greater than that measurement. 
 
 The lake of Como, the Lacus Larius of the Romans, in 
 form resembles an irregular A, and occupies a portion of the 
 valley of the Mera. Near its upper end the stream of the Adda 
 enters from the east, bearing down the drainage of the whole 
 Valtelline; and the sediment deposited by its waters has formed 
 a marshy plain, which has completely isolated the northern end 
 of the lake, so that it now forms a separate sheet of water under 
 the name of the Lago di Mezzola. Of the two southern arms, 
 the eastern, from which the Mera issues, is termed the Lago di 
 Lecco; the western, separated from the plain of Lombardy by 
 a low barrier of hills, is called the Lago di Como. 
 
 The upper part of the lake occupies a valley in the crystal- 
 line rocks, the two lower arms, with a small space to the north 
 of them, lie among the limestone strata. The length measured 
 along either arm is about 37 miles, and the breadth generally 
 varies from 1 to 2 miles; the greatest being 2 J miles. Its 
 height above the sea is 699 feet, and its depth, which is 
 always considerable, is in some places more than 1900 feet. The 
 mountains around it are varied and often bold, rising from five 
 to eight thousand feet above the level of the water ; not- 
 withstanding this, the foreground scenery is thoroughly Italian; 
 the vegetation is rich; the foliage, among which grey masses 
 of olive are often seen, is luxuriant; the houses are massive 
 and southern in character; villas with well-kept gardens in 
 many places on the Como arm almost fringe the lake ; and 
 
 4—2 
 
t2 . TBL' ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 though some complain that its comparative narrowness gives 
 it more the character of a river, this combination of wildness 
 and luxuriance causes it to be generally considered the most 
 beautiful of the Italian lakes. Sudden thunderstorms and 
 squalls are not uncommon, and are at times rather dangerous 
 to small boats. In settled weather there are periodic winds; 
 the hreva from the south, which, setting in a little before 
 noon, often blows with considerable force during the hotter 
 part of the afternoon and subsides in the evening; and the 
 tirano from the north, which blows softly during the night and 
 early morning. The shores of the Lecco arm are compara- 
 tively desolate, the mountains here rising precipitously from 
 the water, but the rest are thickly peopled by a busy and in- 
 dustrious race. 
 
 Nearly 30 miles further to the east, among sloping hills 
 which occasionally rise to a height of five or six thousand feet 
 above the water, is the rarely visited Lago d' Iseo, occupying 
 a sinuous valley that forms the channel of the river Oglio. 
 It is 627 feet above the sea, and about 700 feet deep. Its 
 length is about 17 miles and its general breadth about 2 miles; 
 except in the middle, where the distance of the opposite shore 
 is greater, but the surface here is broken by a large rocky 
 island. 
 
 The last and easternmost of the Italian lakes is the Lago 
 di Garda, the Lacus Benacus of the Romans, which occupies 
 a valley parallel to the great trench of the Adige, and is 
 separated from it by the ridge of Monte Baldo. The Mincio, 
 draining the eastern face of the Adamello, enters the lake at the 
 northern end and quits it at the southern, near the fortress of 
 Peschiera ; so well known of late years as one of the angles of the 
 Austrian quadrilateral. Its length is about 48 miles ; the upper 
 part occupies a straight and regular trench, about two miles 
 across, enclosed by bold mountains ; the lower widens out into a 
 number of rounded bays among the gentle slopes that fringe 
 
THE WATERFALLS. 53 
 
 the Lombard plain. The vineyards and gardens, the groves of 
 olives and citrons, varied by the white-walled and red-roofed 
 houses and by the campaniles of numerous villages, the sparkling 
 blue waters of the lake and the mountains beyond it, rising 
 through a haze almost as blue, with glimpses of far distant snows, 
 form a scene of luxuriant beauty that can never be forgotten. 
 Its shores are classic ground in history and literature. Virgil, 
 born near the reed-fringed Mincius, has celebrated the storms 
 which still lash its waters into a sea-like fury^ : and on the 
 narrow peninsula of Sermione, the ruins of the villa are even 
 now shewn where Catullus wrote many of his exquisite poems ; 
 the forces of Austria and France manoeuvred and contended 
 along its western shore in 1796, until the contest was closed 
 by the decisive battle of Medola, in which Napoleon I. dealt 
 a fatal blow to the Austrian supremacy in Lombardy and 
 Venetia; Peschiera was besieged and taken by the Pied- 
 montese in 1848, and it protected the Austrian right in the 
 struggles of Solferino and Custozza. 
 
 With one word on the Alpine waterfalls, this chapter 
 must be concluded. To give a list of them would be a for- 
 midable task, for there is hardly a valley in many districts, of 
 which we may not say 
 
 like a downward smoke, the slender stream 
 
 Along the cliff to fall and pause and fall did seem, 
 A land of streams ! some, like a downward smoke, 
 Slow-dropping veils of thinnest lawn, did go; 
 And some thro' wavering lights and shadows broke, 
 Kolling a slumbrous sheet of foam below ^. 
 
 Not only are they far more grand and beautiful than any — 
 however much belauded by local guide-books — which we possess 
 in our islands, but also most of them have this further advan- 
 tage, that the traveller can enjoy them in peace, without the 
 annoyance of mendicant brats, would-be ciceroni, and other 
 varieties of the vampire tribe, who infest the neighbourhood 
 
 ^ Georq. ii. 160. ^ Tennyson, The Lotos Eaters. 
 
54 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 of 'sights/ At a few indeed of the larger Alpine waterfalls, 
 some favourite 4ook-out' is within a gate to which a silver 
 key must be applied ; but usually there are hundreds of other 
 points of view, at which after you have sacrificed to the Penates 
 of the place, and been taken the orthodox round, you may lie 
 down and gaze undisturbed. As the number is so great, and a 
 waterfall even harder to depict with the pen than with the 
 pencil, I shall only name a few of the finest, and leave the 
 reader to find the others for himself in each Alpine valley 
 that he may visit. There is the Rhine fall near Schaffhausen, 
 where a whole river tumbles over a ledge of limestone rock, a 
 wall of 'shattered chrysophrase,' with a roar that shakes the 
 neighbouring crags ; the Staubbach, one column of pendulous 
 spray against three hundred yards of precipice ; the Giessbach, 
 leaping through the pine-woods from cliff to cliff to the Lake 
 of Brienz ; the Aar fall and Arlenbach, plunging with united 
 waters into a misty abyss in the rifted gneiss-rock; and the 
 Tosa sliding over granite domes in bell-like sheets of liquid 
 glass. Scarce inferior to these is the triple fall of the Reichen- 
 bach, and the Sallenche^ weaving an endless veil of foamy 
 threads ; with many another, named and unnamed, in the valleys 
 near Lenk and Sixt, Kandersteg and Lauterbrunnen. They 
 are also very abundant and beautiful in Dauphine : the finest 
 perhaps being the Torrent du Diable near St Christophe, and 
 the Saute de la Pucelle near La Grave ; and are by no means 
 wanting in the Graian and Savoy Alps. In the German Alps 
 are the magnificent cascades of the Kriml, but on the whole they 
 are less frequent in the Tyrol (especially the Italian district) 
 and in the Cottian Alps, owing no doubt to the comparative 
 smallness of the snowfields ; but even here a few very beautiful 
 instances may be found, at all events in the spring, before the 
 intense heat of summer has dried up the streams. 
 
 ^ Near Vemayaz on the left bank of the Khone Valley, bearing locally a far 
 less euphonious name. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 There was a time, how many centuries ago we know not, 
 when every mountain-chain of any importance in Central 
 Europe was covered with perpetual snow, and the head of 
 every valley was occupied with one of those masses of ice which 
 are called glaciers. Now, they have vanished from the Jura, 
 the Vosges, and the Cevennes; they linger indeed clustered 
 around a few of the highest Pyrenean peaks; but it is only in 
 the Alps that we can see them in real grandeur, unless we choose 
 to journey northwards toward the Scandinavian Mountains. A 
 glacier is, I believe, a thing at once most difficult to describe 
 to a person who has never seen it, and that which makes the 
 strongest impression upon every visitor to the Alps. Perhaps 
 the various subjects of interest connected with the ice region 
 will be most easily delineated by interweaving them with an 
 account of an expedition^ upon one of the most important 
 glaciers — the Corner — which descends from the western face of 
 Monte Rosa. 
 
 1 The expedition, for convenience, is described as taking place during a 
 single day. In reality it was performed in two journeys. It would be possible, 
 though fatiguing, to go as described in the text ; but it is usual to pass the night 
 at the Eiffel Hotel at a height of about 8000 feet, and gain from it the level part 
 of the glacier on the following morning. 
 
56 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Let us suppose ourselves at Zermatt, at the head of a 
 grand valley in the Pennine Alps. Before us rises a wall of 
 cliffs crowned with a smooth drapery of snow, from which, as 
 from a sea, the fatal Matterhorn towers up in a vast snow- 
 streaked pyramid four thousand feet in vertical height. Down 
 a ravine on the left descends a huge mass of ice, not smooth 
 and glittering like the snows above, but torn with innumer- 
 able rents, and dull with scattered debris. Like the giant 
 claw of some hidden monster it rests on the meadows and 
 the pine-covered slopes, a fitting sign of the Titanic force 
 which has played so large a part in the sculpture of the earth's 
 surface. 
 
 Let us make our way towards it along the rough mountain 
 path, through the meadows, purpling now with crocus flowers. 
 Large blocks are scattered here and there over the pastures; and 
 the out-cropping rocks are not as usual splintered and rough, 
 but smoothed into domes. How these blocks came hither, and 
 what was the force which has planed the slaty rock, we will 
 presently enquire. We draw near to the ice, and stand on the 
 brink of a ravine, down which the torrent rushes, and a cool 
 breeze ever plays even on the hottest day. Mounting a little 
 further by the side of the stream, we see the end of the glacier 
 burying itself under piles of broken stone ; before us is a cavern 
 in the ice, from which the torrent leaps forth to the light of 
 day; the dome-shaped vault closes down upon the water, its 
 pure blue colour deepening in intensity as it approaches to 
 contrast with the turbid stream. In this way are born many 
 of the Alpine rivers, which are not as in our own country 
 slowly gathered together from innumerable springs, but start 
 into life with almost full-grown vigour. The beauty of the 
 blue ice-vault tempts us to try to gain a footing on some 
 of the rocks which seem so invitingly placed as stepping-stones 
 beneath it ; but there is treachery in its siren loveliness. Ever 
 and anon, without the slightest warning, large masses detach 
 
THE GORNER GLACIER. 57 
 
 themselves from the roof, and fall crashing into the stream 
 below ; and more than one accident has been the consequence 
 of an incautious approach. 
 
 (Fig. 5.) Terminal ice-ca,ve of a Glacier. 
 
 Turning away then from it, let us walk along the face of the 
 ice, keeping a careful watch upon the stones poised upon the 
 verge of its cliffs, which every now and then come hopping 
 down with sufficient momentum to bring scientific observation, 
 and perhaps life, to a close. Against it are piled here and there 
 blocks of every size, from that of a cottage downwards; and 
 in places the surface is quite hid under a coating of pulverised 
 stone. This is called the terminal moraine, and these blocks 
 have been slowly brought down by the glacier from the moun- 
 tain peaks above. In some glaciers this moraine rises like a 
 miniature chain of hills ; here, however, it is comparatively 
 small, and we infer from this that the glacier is advancing. 
 A little further on, and this conjecture is proved, for, at the 
 very foot of the sloping cliff of ice, we come upon a meadow, 
 the green turf of which is crumpled up into a wall two or 
 
58 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 three feet in height, by the slow yet resistless onward pres- 
 sure of this giant ice-plough. In passing we may also notice 
 that here and there deep fissures run up into the ice. In this 
 glacier, however, they are not so large, or so remarkable as 
 in many others; as for example at Grindelwald or Rosenlaui, 
 where they extend for a considerable distance into the glacier. 
 In the latter the pure blue of its glassy walls has an almost 
 unearthly beauty. The cause of these fissures we will pre- 
 sently explain; let us now mount upon the ice, choosing a 
 place where the slope is as gentle as possible, and where 
 there are no nicely poised blocks above, threatening a sudden 
 fall. Cutting a step here and there with our axes, where the 
 slope is steepest or where an inconvenient fissure obliges us 
 to turn aside, we find ourselves in a few minutes on the sur- 
 face of the great ice-stream. Making our way as best we 
 can among these fissures, which for the future we will call 
 crevasses (their local name), we gain a convenient spot, from 
 which we can survey a good extent of the glacier ; and seating 
 ourselves on a fallen rock, let us look around. 
 
 Above, and on each side of us, is the ice, rent in all direc- 
 tions by crevasses, to thread whose intricate labyrinths will be 
 no easy task. Fantastic enough are the forms of the broken 
 ice cliffs ; towers and pinnacles, strange shapes like weather- 
 worn statues, here rise on high, there seem nodding to a fall; 
 here a knife-like ridge divides two chasms, there a blue arch 
 spans a yawning gulf; all around the blocks which are travelling 
 downward lie poised on the slippery slopes. Of those that start 
 on this journey comparatively few arrive at its end uninjured; 
 the rest fall into these abysses, and are crushed to powder 
 between the glacier and its rocky bed. What then is the cause 
 of these crevasses? The glacier, as we said, is not at rest, but 
 in constant motion. It is literally a great ice stream; though 
 not a fluid, like water, nor a viscous mass, like honey, which can 
 readily adapt itself to any inequality in its rocky bed. Hence 
 
FORMATION OF CREVASSES. 59 
 
 it is rent and riven asunder under the constant strains to which 
 it is subjected. Nor is this the only cause of fracture; though ice 
 is a solid, yet a glacier resembles a river in these respects — that 
 the top moves more quickly than the bottom, and the middle 
 than the sides. The latter of these inequalities in motion 
 causes one class of crevasses; for the sides being, as it were, 
 held back by friction against the rocks, a strain is produced in 
 the direction of a downward line crossing diagonally the direc- 
 tion of motion, by which the ice is rent asunder, and crevasses 
 are formed along the sides, which extend some distance into 
 the mass, and of course point upwards. Other crevasses are 
 formed by rocks projecting into the glacier, and by many other 
 causes. But does a crevasse thus formed always remain? a 
 little examination will shew that it does not. When by a 
 change in the level of the bed, or by a narrowing of the sides, 
 the icy masses are pressed one against another, they freeze 
 together, and the crevasse heals up. This is due to a property 
 of ice called regelation, in virtue of which the surfaces of two 
 blocks of ice, if wetted, freeze together when placed in contact. 
 The rocks which are scattered about us are themselves not 
 without interest ; for among them may be found specimens of 
 nearly every cliff in the great amphitheatre, from which the 
 Gorner glacier takes its rise. Here lie mingled together quartz 
 and felspar, mica and chlorite slate, mottled serpentines and 
 fibrous asbestus, with black tourmalines from Monte Rosa. 
 Hence the moraine of a glacier is often an excellent collecting 
 ground for the mineralogist. 
 
 Let us now thread the icy maze that cuts us off from the 
 upper plateau of the glacier. This will be a task of more 
 than one hour ; the axe will often come into play, and a steady 
 head and foot be needed, as often as a narrow ridge is crossed 
 with deep blue chasms on either hand. 
 
 At last we gain the comparatively level field of ice around 
 which rise the snow-clad Pennine giants. In front of us is the 
 
60 
 
 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 '^^t 
 
 (Fig. 
 
 Crevasses on tlie Glacier. 
 
 ^ 
 
 mass of Monte Rosa ; to the right the ridge of the Lyskamm, 
 with all the slaty beds that, like courses of masonry, build up 
 its precipitous face, beautifully defined by fine lines of snow ; 
 then the twin peaks of the J umeaux ; next the snow cap of 
 the Breithorn, with the hump of the little Mont Cervin ; and 
 in the back ground the Matterhorn itself, with many a lesser 
 peak. 
 
 For a considerable distance the bed of the glacier is com- 
 paratively smooth ; hence there are no more of those intricate 
 crevasses, through which we have just had to thread our way ; 
 but here and there a long narrow fissure extends for a con- 
 siderable distance across the ice. These however are generally 
 not too wide to jump, and so are no hindrances. The surface 
 of the ice is still rough and crisp from the night's frost, 
 
MORAINES AND GLACIER TABLES. 61 
 
 like a bed of coral, and affords an excellent footing. We can 
 now understand how the moraines are formed, for we see that 
 in this single glacier several ice streams are welded together^ 
 which descend from different parts of the enclosing wall of 
 mountains. From the crags that border each of these, frag- 
 ments, detached by the frost and the storm, fall down upon 
 the ice below. Hence when tw^o of these streams unite, their 
 stone-covered sides form a dyke or mound, which often rises 
 to a height of at least 30 feet above the level of the surround- 
 ing ice. It must not, however, be supposed that the elevation 
 of this bank is wholly due to the stones which compose it, 
 for they shelter the ice underneath them, and preserve it 
 from being melted by the sun. 
 
 From this same cause are formed glacier tables, some of 
 which can now be seen at no great distance. They consist of 
 a flattish stone, often 8 or 10 feet square \ supported upon a 
 comparatively small stalk of ice, so as to roughly resemble a 
 gigantic mushroom. Once, these stones were lying upon the 
 surface of the glacier ; by slow degrees the ice melted away all 
 round them ; now the slanting rays of the morning and evening 
 sun are gradually hollowing out their pedestal, till at last it 
 will fall from under them, and the process will begin anew. 
 The smaller fragments of stone however produce a contrary 
 effect; for, by becoming thoroughly warmed with the sun, they 
 melt away the ice in contact with them, and thus form small 
 pits in its surface. 
 
 Besides the crevasses, the glacier is also furrowed by 
 smaller and shallower channels, which are mainly excavated by 
 running water. No sooner do the first beams of the rising 
 sun glance upon the ice, than they begin to disintegrate the 
 crystalline structures, which the night frost has built up, and 
 to destroy the tiny mirrors on which they glitter so brightly. 
 
 1 M. De Charpentier, Essal sur les Glaciers, p. 63, gives the dimensions of one 
 as about 19 feet long, 14ft. wide, and 8^ ft. thick, with a stem of ice 7^ ft. high. 
 
62 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Thus streams are formed, which rush down the slope of the 
 glaciers, working out a channel for themselves, till at last they 
 are engulfed in a crevasse. From the depths of this, the plash of 
 falling water comes up with a pleasant and occasionally almost 
 musical note. At times, however, in the morning, when these 
 streams burst the bonds in which the night's frost has imprison- 
 ed them, they are apt to startle unaccustomed travellers. I 
 was walking one morning over a glacier in Dauphine, when I 
 heard a sharp crack close at hand ; this was followed by a 
 riving bursting sound, as though the glacier itself were going 
 to open under my feet : then came a louder crash, and then a 
 rush of falling water, which explained the mystery. The 
 channel of one of these streams had been frozen up during the 
 night in several places, and the noise was caused by the 
 accumulating waters forcing their way along their wonted 
 course. 
 
 As we walk up the glacier we shall probably get a sight of 
 one or two moulins. These are deep well-like cavities into 
 which a stream plunges with a loud roar. They are formed in 
 the following way : if, owing to some inequality in the bed of a 
 glacier, a small surface crack is opened, intercepting one of the 
 channels of drainage, the stream of course plunges into it, and 
 in falling scoops away the surrounding ice. The sides of the 
 crack, as the glacier advances, will be pressed together again, 
 and united by regelation; and the same motion forwards will 
 tend to neutralise the effect of this water saw, and retain the 
 moulin in nearly the same position on the glacier. One of the 
 best proofs which I have ever seen of the correctness of this 
 explanation was on the Roseg glacier near Pontresina. We 
 were walking along one of the surface streams, and came to 
 a place where its course was intersected by a long narrow 
 crevasse, which extended for a considerable distance across the 
 glacier, and engulfed all the water. At this point the chasm 
 had been widened by the friction of the falling stream, so that 
 
MOULINS. 63 
 
 its walls were about two feet apart. Here then was a moulin 
 which had not long been in action ; but about 8 feet in 
 advance was a second deep shaft, connected with the first 
 by a dry channel in the ice about two feet wide. This one 
 was oval in form, about six feet by four, the longer axis cor- 
 responding with the direction of the channel, and on each 
 side of it a crevasse parallel to the former, and nearly closed, 
 could be traced for a considerable distance. By dropping 
 stones into it, we estimated its depth to be about 60 feet. 
 It was therefore evident that some inequality in the rock either 
 beneath, or a little higher up than, the first crevasse, caused 
 the glacier to break as it passed over. The waters of the 
 stream were engulfed in the rent thus formed, and at once 
 began to wear away its sides. For a while, as the glacier 
 advanced, the crevasse moved down with it below the obstacle, 
 while the stream day by day worked its way slowly backwards, 
 enlarging the pit. At last the ice above could no longer bear 
 the tension to which it was submitted, and a new crevasse 
 opened in the old spot, by which the water was speedily cut 
 off; the channel and shaft in front were thus left dry, and the 
 walls of the crevasse on either side pressed together again*. 
 The blue walls of these wells, polished by the falling water, 
 are often very beautiful ; but a near approach to their slippery 
 brinks is sometimes hazardous, for a fall would be fatal, since 
 their depth is usually very great. 
 
 In our examination of the crevasses we shall have been 
 struck by a not unfrequent peculiarity in the appearance 
 of the ice, which looks as though it were bedded; layers of 
 blue and white ice succeeding one another with tolerable regu- 
 larity. We can see traces of the same structure on the surface 
 of the glacier, which is furrowed by the apparent lines of 
 strike produced by the outcrop of these beds. These are 
 
 * Dr Tyndall has found as many as six forsaken shafts in advance of an 
 active one. Glaciers of the Alps, p. 364. 
 
64 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 very conspicuous when any one stands on the rocks a few 
 hundred feet above the surface of the glacier, and looks down 
 upon it. 
 
 Come now to the edge of a crevasse, and examine the blue 
 and white bands. Take an axe, and cut away some of the icy 
 wall in order to get a clear and vertical surface. The structure 
 then becomes very distinct : the ice is evidently composed of 
 two varieties, arranged with considerable regularity in parallel 
 layers ; one of which is much bluer and more transparent 
 than the other. Now come a little further, and look at this 
 projecting corner of an ice cliff. Here is the bedding again, 
 only in this place it does not run vertically, but almost horizon- 
 tally, dipping slightly inwards. In passing over some in- 
 equalities in the rock below, this part has been by some means 
 twisted or wrenched from its original position. Examine the 
 face of the ice more carefully ; the top layer, a couple of inches 
 or more in thickness, is white ice, crumbling and disintegrated. 
 Take your alpenstock or ice axe, and you will find it breaks 
 easily into small irregular fragments, like crushed sugar-candy, 
 many of which are wet to the touch, and not much harder 
 than a well-moulded snowball. Below this is a layer of blue 
 ice, half an inch or so thick ; then another white vein rather 
 thicker ; then a blue, and so on, each plate varying from about 
 half an inch to an inch in thickness. Now stoop down, and 
 look closely along the edge of the cliff. You will see that all 
 the blue layers stick out beyond the white, just as the harder 
 strata do in the face of a cliff of banded shale. Put your finger 
 to one of the white bands ; the ice is soft and ' slushy', so as to 
 be easily scraped out for the depth of an inch or so. Being 
 less solid, and containing more air than the blue veins, it yields 
 more quickly to the sun's heat. Now you see how the little 
 furrows are formed, which, by collecting dust in their hollows, 
 render this structure visible from a distance. But we can 
 learn something more if we observe how the work of de- 
 
STRUCTURE OF GLACIER ICE. 65 
 
 struction is carried on. Press against one of the blue layers ; 
 it is firm, and will not yield to your finger, so you must 
 chop it out with an axe. Now hold up a fragment to the 
 light ; it is perfectly pure and transparent, but still not quite 
 solid, for small bubbles may here and there be seen within ; 
 and besides these, it is perforated by a number of fine tubes. 
 These bubbles contain air, which has been squeezed out of the 
 surrounding ice, and instead of escaping has by some accident 
 lodged here and there within the mass. If you place a 
 fragment containing some of these chambers in water, the 
 temperature of which is above the freezing point, you will see 
 little bubbles of air rise to the surface as the ice melts, or by 
 holding it in the sunlight and near your ear, may hear them 
 break through their prisons with a snapping noise, like bursting 
 gorse-seeds on a summer day. Now examine the tubes : they 
 are all arranged nearly or quite vertically, and their diameter 
 varies from the thickness of a horsehair to about one twelfth 
 of an inch. Some pierce quite through the plate, others only 
 extend a little distance into it. What then has formed them ? 
 It is the water which drains from the dissolving white ice 
 above. This trickles down through the crevices in the softer 
 bed, till it reaches, drop by drop, the harder layer below. Here 
 it collects in any chance depression, and then slowly eats its way 
 downward ; each drop that trickles from above aiding in enlarg- 
 ing and deepening the hole once begun. Thus the plate of solid 
 ice is honeycombed by these water drills, which will slowly 
 enlarge their bore-holes, till at last it too will crumble away. 
 Now return to where these beds crop out nearly vertically, and 
 you will see fine cracks running with tolerable regularity 
 along the surface of the glacier ; these are not crevasses which 
 are just beginning to open^ for they are parallel to the veinisd 
 
 * A crevasse of any size does not open suddenly in a glacier. Sometimes, 
 but very rarely, the ice may be heard and seen to crack ; but even then tha 
 chink formed is very narrow and enlarges slowly. Though I have been dozens 
 of times on glaciers, I have never yet witnessed this phenomenon. 
 
 5 
 
66 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 structure, and the crevasses generally cross it at a considerable 
 angle. At any rate that is the case here, where this structure 
 has only just been produced by the ice from the wide snowiield 
 above being squeezed through the narrow trough between the 
 Gorner Grat and the base of the Jumeaux. These cracks also, I 
 believe, are due to the unequal melting of the two kinds of ice ; 
 water collects in the miniature valley between the blue ridges, 
 and works its way down in a thin film at the junction of the 
 two layers, just as it does when a sand-bed rests on a clay. 
 Then, if there comes a night cold enough to reconvert it into 
 ice, by expanding in freezing it splits the layers asunder, and the 
 cracks thus formed are sometimes enlarged by water which 
 afterwards runs into them. But it may be asked, what proof 
 is there that this veined structure is the result of pressure, and 
 not of that bedding which we noticed up above? We are 
 mainly indebted to Dr Tyndall for the answer\ First of all, 
 he observed, that many substances under pressure do become 
 laminated, as for example, piecrust, after it has been well 
 rolled, or the surface of rails that have been in use for some 
 time on a railroad. A block of Wenham-lake ice after being 
 squeezed in a Bramah press exhibited a -number of streaky 
 layers at right angles to the direction of the force employed, 
 an experiment which shewed that ice was one of the substances 
 capable of lamination. He observed, that this veined structure 
 is first clearly seen when the glacier has been subjected to 
 considerable lateral pressure by being squeezed through some 
 rocky gorge or 'structure mill,' and that the planes are then 
 roughly parallel to the sides of this passage, that is, perpen- 
 dicular to the direction of greatest pressure ; that it does not 
 exist upon glaciers which are not so squeezed, the ice of which 
 is either wholly amorphous, or exhibits only the original 
 bedding. And finally, he discovered an instance where in a 
 kind of border land, at the entrance of one of these 'mills,' the 
 
 ^ Glaciers of the AlpSy p. 376. 
 
AUF DER PLATTE. 67 
 
 ice exhibited both structures. Examples of this are of course 
 very rare, for in such a position the glacier is generally 
 much broken up ; and the sides of the clefts cannot be narrowly 
 examined without great personal risk. I have looked for it 
 several times, but have not yet been fortunate enough to find 
 a good instance; others, however, have been more successful, 
 and two or three are recorded ; enough to confirm, if it were 
 needed, that described by Dr Tyndall. 
 
 Passing onwards toward Monte Rosa, we begin to notice a 
 thin coating of snow spread over the surface of the glacier. 
 This gradually thickens, till at last the hard ice can only be 
 seen in the walls of the crevasses. Caution is now needful ; for 
 sometimes the drifting snows freeze together, and form a 
 covering over the narrower crevasses which is often too weak 
 to bear a man's weight. Where the snow is whitest, there it is 
 most dangerous ; and when we see much of this around us, we 
 must tie ourselves together with the rope. We now have 
 completed the second stage of our journey, and arrived at the 
 foot of one of the tributary streams which unite in the great 
 basin which we have just crossed. 
 
 Let us here halt awhile on some rocks which are sit- 
 uated at the foot of Monte Rosa, and from their form are 
 called Auf der Platte. This is a favourite resting-place for 
 parties who are making the ascent of the mountain. The 
 smooth granite slabs furnish convenient seats, and though 
 snow and ice are all around, not a few flowers flourish on the 
 thin soil which here and there has been formed by the disinte- 
 gration of the rock. Here are patches of gentian so studded 
 with the dark blue stars of its flowers, that the leaves cannot be 
 seen ; here is the purple of the saxifrage ; there the pale pink 
 of the moss-like androsace, with the pale glacier ranunculus 
 opening its flowers on the very edge of the snow. The knap- 
 sacks are generally unpacked here, and full justice is doja,e 
 to their contents. Hard boiled eggs disappear rapidly; and 
 
 5—2 
 
G8 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 the mutton, though tough, and perhaps not distantly related to 
 goat, follows their example. A hole in the snow makes a cellar 
 for the wine, and iced water may generally be found at no great 
 distance. 
 
 From this point we have a good view of the tributary 
 glacier, which we purpose to ascend. It lies in what, were the 
 climate more tropical, would be a steep glen between the cliffs 
 of Monte Rosa and of the Lyskamm. The slope of this glacier 
 is far steeper than that of the main stream, which we have 
 hitherto followed ; consequently its surface is much more 
 fissured, and its crevasses are more irregular than those below. 
 Here and there are sudden breaks in the level, so that a wall of 
 ice runs almost across the glacier, and threatens to be no slight 
 obstacle to our upward progress. In many parts the surface of the 
 glacier is broken by a series of intersecting crevasses, like the 
 strands of a net, which divide the ice into blocks resembling 
 huge towers, often rudely quadrangular in plan. These broken 
 masses are strikingly different from the more irregular and 
 fantastic blocks in the ice-fall below. From their resemblance 
 to the cracked surface of a mass of curd they have received 
 the patois name of s^racs, which has now become universal. 
 We shall however describe them more minutely when we 
 are threading our way among them. 
 
 Quitting the rocks, we direct our steps towards the cliffs of 
 the Lyskamm. Here most of the crevasses are bridged over 
 with snow, and it is often needful to probe them with the 
 alpenstock, before we can trust ourselves to their uncertain 
 support. Often its point pierces the crust of snow, and reveals 
 the blue walls of the concealed chasm, sinking down to an 
 apparently unfathomable depth. There would be but little 
 chance of escape for the unlucky wight who might be engulfed 
 in it ; but by tying ourselves together with a strong rope, all 
 danger is avoided. On arriving near to the base of the Lys- 
 kamm, we emerge from this net-work of crevasses and commence 
 
ASCENT TO THE LYS-JOCH. 69 
 
 the ascent of a kind of channel in the glacier, up which walking 
 is comparatively easy. This, however, at last ends at the foot 
 of a pile of s^racs, which extend almost across the glacier. 
 Pausing for a few moments to hunt for the clue to this 
 labyrinth, we notice that the ice-fall appears most practicable 
 in the neighbourhood of the Lyskamm, and bear away to the 
 right of it. Our guide adroitly threads the maze, now hewing 
 steps along a frozen slope, with a deep chasm j^awning below; 
 now cutting his way down a wall of ice to reach a fallen block 
 or mass of snow that bridges some gulf otherwise impassable. 
 At last we find ourselves upon the edge of a wide trough that 
 for some distance runs like a canal across the glacier. Its steep 
 banks are of unequal height; the one upon which we stand 
 being perhaps 20 feet above its bed, while the other is nearly 
 double as much. It is no doubt a great crevasse, that has been 
 partly choked up by fallen ice and snow. We slide down the 
 one side, walk across and commence ascending the other, 
 which, though not actually vertical, is so steep that we can only 
 mount it by clambering with hands and fefet in the holes which 
 our guide punches out as he advances hand over hand. A few 
 feet below the top, the wall is rent by a narrow crevasse which 
 slopes down into the ice; but the entrance at the part where 
 we are climbing is masked with snow. My companions pass 
 this without difficulty, but the snow begins to break away under 
 the feet of the one who precedes me; consequently when I 
 tread upon the step, it yields at once and leaves me for a few 
 moments anchored by the hands, with my feet kicking about in 
 free space. Those above, however, seeing my plight, terminate 
 it by a haul at the rope, which brings me up like a bale of 
 goods, and lands me at their feet. We are now upon a sort of 
 terrace immediately under the Lyskamm, which is pleasant 
 walking enough; though the scattered blocks of ice and the 
 long furrows ploughed across the snow shew that our path is 
 sometimes raked by volleys from the cliffs above. While we 
 
70 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 have been mounting, a change for the worse has come over the 
 sky; a thick grey mist has settled down on the mountains 
 round; a cold blast comes in fitful puffs across the ice; and 
 falling snowflakes fill the air. Advance is for a time useless; 
 we seek the shelter of a gully in the ice, and console ourselves 
 with studying the fantastic forms of the wilderness of seracs be- 
 low. While thus detained, let us beguile the time by saying 
 something more about the nature and formation of a glacier. 
 
 From the snow, which is falling around in feathery clusters 
 of delicate spiculse or in fine six-petaled flowers^ of exquisite 
 beauty, have been built up the icy masses over which we were 
 climbing; as the coral reef is raised by the polyp's star-like skele- 
 ton. Rain seldom falls at this elevation ; for the vapours 
 which thus descend on the green fields in the valleys below are 
 here thrown down as snow or hail. 
 
 To explain more clearly the formation of a glacier, let us 
 carry our thoughts back to the time when these mountains first 
 reared their bare rocks on high beneath the heavens. We 
 need not now inquire how nearly their then configuration 
 resembled that which we at present behold; or what parts in 
 their sculpture have been played by the riving force of hidden 
 fires, or by the slow chiseling of water, air, and frost ; but let us 
 suppose them standing as yet unflecked by snow. As time 
 passes on, either by change of climate or by their rising still 
 higher, and so reaching a rarer and consequently colder atmo- 
 sphere, their tops are sprinkled with the winter's snow. The 
 summer's sun at first melts this away; but with the increasing 
 cold, it lingers longer each year, till at last it remains un- 
 melted in this sheltered glen between the two mountains. 
 Year by year the mass accumulates; each summer melting 
 
 1 These snow flowers or stars are not unfrequently seen falling in the higher 
 Alps, especially if the day be still. I have not often observed them in England. 
 I think only twice since the year 1860. Their forms under the microscope are 
 of gieat variety and beauty. --■ .- - 
 
FORMATION OF A GLACIER. 71 
 
 somewhat away, but each winter adding more largely to the 
 store. What then has transformed the powdery snow into 
 solid ice, and changed the opaquely white feathers of the one 
 into the transparent blue solid of the other ? If we consider to 
 what the whiteness of the snow is due, we shall see that this 
 change is mainly the result of two causes. Why then is the 
 snow opaque and ice transparent ? Because the former con- 
 tains more air than the latter. It is a law of nature that 
 light cannot pass out from a denser into a rarer medium, 
 unless it strike their common surface at a proper angle. If it 
 does not do this, it is reflected back within the denser medium. 
 Hence the light is often unable to pass through the many-faced 
 little crystals of ice of which snow is composed, and thus that, 
 which in the solid mass would be transparent, is in minute 
 fragments opaque. Take, for example, a piece of the purest 
 glass ; pound it, and it becomes a dull white powder: or take a 
 lump of clear rock salt ; crush it, and you have the white grains 
 ready for the table. The snow therefore has become trans- 
 parent by the expulsion of the air which was among its tiny 
 crystals. How then has this been done? Partly by alternate 
 thawing and freezing, and partly by pressure. As the surface 
 snow melts away under the rays of the sun, the water thus set 
 free trickles down into the mass below, dissolving many of the 
 finer particles of snow with which it comes in contact, until it is 
 reconverted into ice by some fall in the temperature. By this 
 means the mass of loose snow becomes a semi-solid cake. We 
 may see the same process going on during a thaw in England, 
 where heaps of snow have been piled up by the road side. As 
 they melt away, they assume more and more the appearance of 
 ice; and though rapidly diminishing in bulk become much more 
 solid. If we look at the sides of some of the tower-like masses 
 in the s^racs below us, we shall see distinct traces of bedding ; the 
 faces of white ice being crossed by thin grey lines, like courses, of 
 masonry. Between the deposition of each one of these bands 
 
72 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 an interval of time has elapsed, during which the surface of the 
 snow has become somewhat soiled by the dust blown upon it 
 from the neighbouring rocks. 
 
 This process however of freezing and thawing from the 
 changes of temperature is not so important an agent in the 
 conversion of snow into glacier-ice as is the remaining one, the 
 pressure exercised by the mass itself. Every school-boy knows 
 that the more he squeezes a snow-ball the harder it becomes; 
 and, were his muscles strong enough, he might render it solid 
 ice. By the help of a Bramah-press snow may be converted into 
 transparent ice; and anyone can perform the experiment for 
 himself with an ordinary screw-press, though probably with 
 only partial success. As the glacier descends towards the valley, 
 the weight of the upper part presses heavily on the lower; espe- 
 cially when it meets with any obstacles to its progress. Hence 
 the original bedding is gradually effaced, and is not unfrequently 
 replaced by the veined structure which we have already de- 
 scribed. 
 
 The storm having now blown over, we will proceed onwards; 
 though the mists still shroud the peaks of Monte Rosa and 
 hang low over the pass. The crevasses in the upper part of the 
 glacier, or nM as it is usually called, are very different in shape 
 from those lower down ; being rather great pits than chasms in 
 the ice. Let us turn slightly out of our course to visit one of 
 them : it is a huge gulf, 80 or 90 feet in length and in places 
 perhaps 30 across; the snow slopes gently away from beneath 
 our feet towards its mouth, curling over its precipitous walls in 
 a beautiful but treacherous cornice. This terminates in long 
 pendent icicles of delicate blue, reaching down towards the 
 bluer depth below. Near one end the gulf is bridged with a 
 mass of snow, which is fringed underneath with a forest of 
 icicles; some of which are almost as large as the stem of a fair 
 sized pine tree. The overhanging cornices often render it no 
 easy matter to approach near enough to obtain a good view 
 
 I 
 
A RAPID DESCENT. 73 
 
 of such crevasses ; but their beauty will well repay the cost of 
 some time and trouble. 
 
 A little longer walking through the fog brings us to the 
 top of the pass, from which we ought to obtain an extensive 
 view. No chance however is there of this to-day ; the cold 
 mist has long blotted out the distant mountains, and now not 
 even the neighbouring peaks of Monte Rosa can be seen. 
 Under these circumstances there is nothing left but to follow 
 the example of the king of France, and having marched up the 
 hill, to march down again. 
 
 When we come to the brink of the large crevasse, which 
 gave us some little trouble in mounting, the best plan appears 
 to descend by a glissade^ so that our speed may carry us over 
 the smaller crevasse in the side without breaking through. 
 We accordingly start, just as we are, roped together; our 
 guide first, my friend second, myself third. All goes well for a 
 little while, but when about twelve feet from the bottom, the 
 guide somehow loses his balance and falls. It does not seem 
 worth while to try to anchor the party, so I slide on. Quicker 
 than this has taken to tell, my friend is jerked off his legs ; 
 another moment, the rope tightens round me, and I feel myself 
 flying through the air. This is followed by a promiscuous 
 plunge into the soft snow beneath, whence we emerge looking 
 like millers, but none the worse. We easily mount the other 
 side, pick our way as best we can through the maze of crevasses 
 below, where we find that the snow bridges have not improved 
 in strength since the morning, and finally, after taking a 
 somewhat different path, regain the rocks of Auf der Platte. 
 While crossing over the level ice-field between these and the 
 ridge of the Gorner Grat, it may be well to say a few words 
 concerning the nature of that glacier motion to which allusion 
 has already been made. 
 
 1 This is done as follows ; each person slides with the feet level and pretty 
 close together, leaning back upon his alpenstock, and regulating his pace by 
 pressing its point more or less deeply into the snow. 
 
74 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Although several theories have been advanced to explain 
 the cause of glacier motion, three especially have attracted 
 attention. The first of these, in point of time, was advanced 
 by Scheuchzer in 1705, and developed by M. de Charpentier. 
 The idea is as follows : that the whole mass of the glacier is 
 traversed by a number of exceedingly minute fissures or veins ; 
 that these are filled from time to time with water, produced 
 by the ice thawing under the influence of heat or pressure, 
 which, owing to some change in the external circumstances, is 
 again frozen. Water, it is well known, expands when it is 
 converted into ice: hence the freezing of a quantity of water, 
 dispersed throughout the body of the glacier, would, if it were 
 unconstrained, cause expansion in all directions. In the case 
 however of a glacier on a mountain side, motion takes place in 
 the only unopposed direction, that is, downwards. To this 
 theory there are many grave objections: it does not satisfac- 
 torily explain several of the peculiarities of glacier motion, such 
 as its resemblance to that of a river, and the fact that it is 
 continued even during the coldest winters, and is not liable to 
 any marked change when there is a sudden alteration in the 
 temperature of the surrounding air. The advocates, moreover, 
 of this theory have failed to prove the existence of these fine 
 veins or capillaries, as they are commonly called. No doubt, 
 near the surface of a glacier, the ice is often ill compacted, and 
 readily breaks asunder, but this is only because, like river ice, 
 it has become 'rotten' through exposure to the air. In the 
 body of the glacier no such tendency to separation can be 
 detected. Dr TyndalP and Mr Huxley made a number of 
 experiments on the Mer de Glace and its tributaries, and were 
 unable to find any proof of their existence in sound un- 
 weathered ice. Holes were bored carefully in the ice, and filled 
 with coloured liquids, but these did not in any way diffuse 
 themselves in the surrounding ice. Dr Tyndall says ' I have 
 
 ^ Glaciers of the Alps, p. 338. 
 
THEORIES OF GLACIER MOTION. 15 
 
 myself seen the red liquid resting in an auger-hole, where it 
 had lain for an hour without diffusing itself in any sensible 
 degree. This cavity intersected both the white ice and the 
 blue veins of the glacier ; and Mr Huxley, in my presence, cut 
 away the ice until the walls of the cavity became extremely 
 thin, still no trace of liquid passed through them.' The above 
 explanation of glacier motion generally goes by the name of 
 Charpentier's or the Dilatation theory. 
 
 The next is called, from its eminent upholder, Forbes' or the 
 Viscous theory. Principal J. D. Forbes, whose high qualities 
 as a mountaineer, writer, and man of science, entitle him to 
 the name of the British De Saussure, after a number of ex- 
 periments on the motion of glaciers, and a close examination 
 of their phenomena, came to the following conclusion with 
 regard to them. * A glacier is an imperfect fluid, or a viscous 
 body, which is urged down slopes of a certain inclination by 
 the mutual pressure of its parts \" The consistency to which 
 reference is here made, is illustrated by the example of thick 
 mortar, tar, or mixtures of plaster and glue. This theory 
 undoubtedly accounts for most of the phenomena of glacier 
 motion ; it has however met with a strong opponent in Dr 
 Tyndall, who refuses to admit that ice has all the properties 
 which are essential to the idea of a viscous body. In order to 
 make clear the dispute between these two eminent men of 
 stience, it will be necessary to enumerate the results of some 
 of Dr Tyndall's experiments, which are described by him in 
 the 'Glaciers of the Alps.' After a number of observations he 
 came to the conclusion that a glacier could not stretch so 
 much as seven-tenths of an inch in five hours, or be bent 
 through an angle of 1" 50' without breaking into numerous 
 crevasses^. He also found that, although a mass of ice could be 
 pressed into almost any shape whatsoever, the change of form 
 was effected, not by its stretching, but by its shattering and 
 
 "^ Traveh through the At pi, ^.U^. ^ paggg 314^ 326. 
 
76 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 reuniting : and that in a word, although ice when subjected to 
 pressure presented analogies with a plastic body, it failed to 
 do so under tension. He also observed that when a sunbeam 
 was passed through a plate of ice, which had been formed 
 regularly, star-like flowers appeared within the ice, lying in 
 planes parallel to its surface ; shewing thus that the crystals 
 of which the mass was composed, the courses as it were of its 
 masonry, could be detected in taking it to pieces by a process 
 the reverse of that which had built it up. He applied the 
 same test to glacier ice, and found that in it no such definite 
 planes of freezing could be detected. Sometime before Dr 
 Tyndall commenced his experiments, Dr Faraday had shewn 
 that two pieces of ice, if placed in contact with their surfaces 
 moistened, would always freeze together. This property, then, 
 Dr Tyndall applies to explain the phenomena of glaciers; he 
 considers that glacier ice cannot in any sense be called a viscous 
 body or fluid ; because it has not been proved that it can be 
 stretched in even a slight degree without breaking. He 
 maintains therefore that a glacier descends a slope by reason 
 of its own weight, the pressure of the mass of snow above it, 
 and perhaps the gradual melting of that part of its surface 
 which is in contact with its bed ; that during its descent it 
 is continually being broken by tension, and being healed 
 by regelation, when that tension is removed or replaced by 
 pressure ; consequently that, although many of its phenomerfa 
 are suggestive of plasticity or viscosity, it cannot in strictness 
 be said to be endued with any such property. The question 
 at issue cannot perhaps as yet be regarded as wholly settled; 
 still Dr Tyndall has certainly proved that ice, if plastic at all, 
 is only so in a very slight degree, and that Professor Forbes 
 was unfortunate in making use of the term viscous, as being 
 very liable to misconception and standing in need of many 
 limitations. 
 
 So much then for the phenomena of glaciers ; and now as we 
 
 I 
 
ICE-MARKS ON ROCKS, 77 
 
 are close to the edge, let us choose a place where we can get 
 
 on to the moraine, and after a short scramble over the loose 
 
 stones gain the rough path which runs along to the cliffs of the 
 
 Gorner Grat, and gradually leads us to the Alpine pastures, 
 
 over which lies the way to the Riffel hotel, where we shall find 
 
 a good supper and a comfortable bed. 
 
 But as the red glow has not yet begun to light up the 
 
 snows of Monte Rosa, we may linger awhile about the base of 
 
 the Riffelhorn, a dark peak of serpentine, now too well known 
 
 as the closing scene of one most promising life\ We cannot 
 
 fail to remark that the rocks here are in many places very 
 
 smooth, and have a peculiar rounded contour ; and if we have 
 
 made good use of our eyes during the morning, we shall 
 
 have already noticed similar forms down below by the side 
 
 of the glacier. It is therefore evident that the ice once passed 
 
 over this place, and a little observation will shew us that the 
 
 glaciers in the Alps once extended far beyond their present 
 
 limits. There are several marks by which we can follow up 
 
 their trail, the principal of which, to use their customary titles, 
 
 are moraines, perched blocks, and rounded, polished, and 
 
 scratched rocks. You have already seen the great piles of 
 
 stone at the end, by the sides, and sometimes in the middle 
 
 of the glacier. Now it is evident that if the ice were to melt 
 
 away, these ,huge ridges would be left stranded upon the 
 
 bottom of the valley. This is exactly what has happened. 
 
 Often in walking among the Alps, you find in some valley, 
 
 miles below the glaciers, perhaps just at its mouth, one or more 
 
 of these great stone banks. A little examination shews that 
 
 they cannot have fallen from the cliffs above, supposing such 
 
 to exist ; their form and position render that impossible ; very 
 
 likely also they are composed of rocks which you know to be 
 
 1 Mr K. Wilson, Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, was found lying dead 
 beneath the crags of the EifEelhom. It is supposed that he had climbed to the 
 summit and missed his footing in descending. The accident happened in the 
 evening of July 18, 1865. 
 
78 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 only found near the head of the valley. Running water can- 
 not have transported these heavy blocks so far, nor piled 
 them up so nicely ; therefore you are convinced that they 
 must have been brought by a glacier, even though, as is not 
 unfrequently the case, you know that there is no longer one 
 in the valley. These piles of stones are generally terminal 
 moraines ; the lateral are less common, probably because, 
 owing to the steep slope of the mountain sides, they do not 
 preserve their form, but roll down as the glacier retreats, or 
 are carried down by the effects of atmospheric denudation, and 
 so cannot be distinguished from other debris. Still I have 
 occasionally seen very clear examples, where a great causeway, 
 now perhaps nearly covered with grass and alpine shrubs, ex- 
 tends along the hill-side for some distance. There is, how- 
 ever, hardly a valley among the crystalline districts, where 
 traces of terminal moraines may not be detected. Of course 
 their size depends partly on the nature of the rocks higher up, 
 and partly on the length of time during which the glacier has 
 remained nearly at the same limit. Sometimes the ice appears 
 to have made two or three rapid retreats, with long halts 
 intervening, so that the moraines are arranged one within the 
 other in curving lines a few dozen yards apart. One of the 
 best instances which I have seen of this is in the upper part 
 of the Roman che valley, above Yillard d'Arene, in Dauphin^, 
 where there are four or five of these moraines clearly defined 
 and separated by a short interval. Sometimes the glacier 
 appears to have retreated more leisurely, and the ground is 
 covered for a considerable distance with enormous irregular 
 piles of rubbish ; between these may be occasionally observed 
 little green plots, which have evidently once been pools of 
 muddy water, such as may still be seen by the side of many 
 large glaciers. There is a very fine instance of this at the 
 opening of the Val Viola near Bormio ; indeed I do not think 
 I ever saw a greater number of well-marked old moraines, than 
 
 I 
 
MORAINES AND ERRATICS, 79 
 
 during a walk from the Bernina to the Stelvio road, by the 
 Val di Campo and this valley; and yet there are now only 
 a few stray patches of snow on the pass which connects them. 
 Occasionally these old terminal moraines are of enormous size. 
 There is one in the Val Roseg, which can hardly be less than 
 five hundred feet high. It is now overgrown with trees, and 
 the torrent has cut its way through one end, making an ex- 
 cellent section of it ; but it appears to have once completely 
 barred the valley, and formed a lake in the green basin above 
 it. It is plainly visible from Pontresina, like a great causeway, 
 though it must be some four miles away. In most of these 
 cases the glacier appears to have retreated tolerably uniformly 
 and quickly from its last position of rest to pretty nearly its 
 present limits, and the nearest of the old moraines is generally 
 a considerable distance from the present end of the ice. 
 
 Perched or erratic blocks, that is boulders resting in posi- 
 tions to which they could not have rolled, are also tolerably 
 clear signs of former ice-action. If we find a block of granite, 
 several tons in weight, in a limestone district, or resting on the 
 top of a hill, we are sure that it cannot have rolled thither, and 
 know of no force which could transport it from its original site 
 without the aid of ice. Sometimes indeed these blocks may 
 be the relics of moraines, the smaller stones of which have 
 crumbled or been washed away; but I think that this is not 
 often the case. They are not sufficient to prove that a glacier 
 has once occupied the spot where they are found, because they 
 may have been transported by icebergs when the surrounding 
 country was under water. 
 
 For example, on the slopes near Monthey, a little village 
 on the left bank of the Rhone, at the opening of the Val 
 d' Illiez (some 11 miles from the head of the Lake of Geneva), 
 lie a number of blocks, chiefly of grey granite ^ which have 
 
 1 It would perhaps be more correct to say, 'used to lie'; for many I believe 
 have been broken up since I saw them, to make a road. 
 
80 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 evidently come from some part of the Pennine chain, probably 
 the eastern end of the Mont Blanc range. They are thickly 
 strewn over the slopes, a few minutes' walk above the village, 
 both among the vineyards, and especially upon a kind of slight 
 plateau or step on the hill-side, which is occupied by a wood 
 of Spanish chestnuts. Among the gnarled old trunks of these, 
 they lie — I had almost said in thousands, — great and small, 
 from the size of a pumpkin to that of a cottage. Though 
 generally they occur singly, in this wood they are occasionally 
 piled one on another. The zone which they occupy is according 
 to M. de Charpentier about three quarters of a league long, 
 and from 500 to 800 feet wide. He also gives the dimensions 
 of one of the largest, called the Pierre des Marmettes, as 63 feet 
 long, 82 wide and 30 high, and the content as 60,480 feet 
 cube\ Their height above the sea, roughly speaking, must be 
 about sixteen or seventeen hundred feet. 
 
 Again, on the slopes of the Jura, some few hundred feet 
 above Neuch^tel, lie more of these blocks, scattered over the 
 cornfields and among the woods. They too were once more 
 numerous than at present, for the road-makers have been at 
 work among them; but a considerable quantity may still be 
 found in the course of an hour's ramble. A few are of mica 
 slate, but the majority are of the same granite as those of 
 Month ey. The finest specimen (in a little wood of oak and 
 fir, at a height of about 2300 feet above the sea) is said to 
 be about 50 feet long, 20 wide, and 40 in greatest thickness; 
 and to contain about 40,000 cubic feet I It is called the 
 Pierre-a-bot ; from the curious resemblance which it bears to 
 a squatting toad. It either rests upon the limestone rock, or 
 is only separated by a thin soil. At a short distance are three 
 or four smaller blocks, and many others may be found lower 
 
 1 Probably these measurements are in French feet, 1000 French = 1065 
 English feet. Essai sur les Glaciers^ p. 126. 
 
 2 Perhaps too great. My estimate was about 12 yards long and 5 wide. 
 
ERRATICS, SI 
 
 down the hill. In one place I noticed four lying close together ; 
 and in another a little heap of boulders, but no signs of mo- 
 raine. They are chiefly scattered over a belt of ground, the 
 vertical range of which must be at least two -or three hundred 
 feet, and are not confined to this part of the Jura. 
 
 Their presence here is commonly explained by supposing 
 that in former ages the glacier of the Ehone, swelled by 
 tributary streams from Mont Blanc and the Savoy Alps, not 
 only occupied the bed of the Lake of Geneva, but also over- 
 flowed all the lowland basin between the Alps and Jura, and 
 that the former limits of this monstrous ice-sea are marked 
 by these stranded blocks. No doubt this is quite possible; 
 and if certain mounds in the plain of Piedmont have been 
 rightly identified with the terminal moraines of glaciers, which 
 once occupied the southern valleys of the Alps and the Italian 
 Lakes, the northern glaciers can hardly have had a less 
 extension. Still, if these erratics on the Jura, and those above 
 Monthey are the relics of moraines, either myriads of smaller 
 blocks must have been removed by the aid of air and water, 
 or else the moraine of the Rhone glacier must have differed 
 very remarkably from every other that I have ever examined. 
 The blocks at Monthey lie in a sort of bay under the lee of 
 the Dent du Midi, into which, if the country were under water, 
 icebergs would probably be often swept by the eddying current 
 of the Rhone, as it rushed out of the narrow gorge at St 
 Maurice, which was perhaps the limit of the glacier. There 
 running aground, they would slowly melt away, and deposit 
 their stony burdens. These blocks are certainly below those 
 upon the Jura, probably three or four hundred feet, and must 
 therefore have been stranded at a later period, when the glacier 
 had shrunk considerably, and there was no tributary from the 
 Val d'llliez ; they are however numerous enough to shew that 
 the level of the ice must have been nearly stationary for a 
 considerable period. What then has become of the enormous 
 
 6 
 
S2 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 piles of debris, which in this case we might fairly expect to find 
 still remaining along with them? There is nothing in the 
 configuration of the Val d'llliez to account for such a whole- 
 sale denudation : and as there is evidence in the drifts to the 
 north of the Lake of Geneva to shew that this district was 
 under water at a time when erratics (though of a smaller size) 
 were being transported, I cannot yet consider the hypothesis, 
 that these blocks were left on their present sites by the Rhone 
 glacier, as proved, although it may seem presumptuous to say 
 so when such weighty authority can be quoted in its favour. 
 
 The other great sign of the former presence of a glacier is 
 the peculiar shape and appearance of the rocks over which it 
 has passed. The blocks of stone which fall into the crevasses 
 are crushed into pieces between the ice and the rock below, 
 and the fragments becoming embedded in the glacier, convert 
 it into a huge file, which rasps the mountain-side as it slowly 
 slides along. Thus all inequalities are ground away, and a 
 smooth surface formed. There is however one peculiarity 
 which at once distinguishes rocks worn by a glacier from 
 those which have been exposed to the action of running water. 
 The stream, with its plunging currents and whirling eddies, 
 has a power of engraving, which the glacier does not possess ; 
 it can but rub and scrape. The one is the chisel, the other 
 the file of nature ; the one ploughs, the other grinds. The 
 bed of a stream therefore is full of concave hollows : that of a 
 glacier is marked by convex surfaces and swelling domes of 
 rock. These from their resemblance to the curving back of a 
 sheep are called roches moutonndes by the French geologists, 
 and the name is very commonly used by English writers. 
 They may be found in almost every Alpine valley, where the 
 rock is tolerably durable ; and, even where the surface is much 
 weathered, an experienced eye can often detect their contours 
 on the mountain-side. Granite, and most kinds of limestone, 
 do not retain these marks so well as the crystalline slates, 
 
STRIATED ROCKS. 83 
 
 among which sometimes, where the rock is hard and fine 
 grained, the surface has been brought by the ice rubber to a 
 high poHsh. Come for instance into this Httle glen, which runs 
 parallel to the Gorner glacier; in which every rock is rounded 
 like a rolling wave, and look carefully along the cliffs of chlorite- 
 slate at the side. It is perhaps thousands of years since 
 the glacier passed its icy burnisher over their surface, and 
 yet here and there are bits of rock, the polish of which is 
 brighter than the columns of many a building that has not 
 weathered the storms of ten centuries. There are, however, 
 generally signs that the emery powder used has been a 
 little too coarse ; for here and there are fine scratches on 
 the surface, all pointing in one direction down the valley. 
 Some fragment of quartz, fixed in the ice, has left its mark 
 here, like the glazier's diamond on a pane of glass. Some- 
 times when a larger piece than usual has been embedded, a 
 deep score or groove has been cut out; and these striations may 
 be detected on the domes of rock, when all trace of their 
 polished surface has weathered away. It is not easy to find 
 good specimens of this handwriting on the wall so far from 
 the glacier; generally if you want to see it, especially in the 
 limestone district, you must scramble down by the side of 
 the ice, and look for some spot over which it has passed at 
 no distant period. There, indeed, you may sometimes find 
 the stone chisel in the very act of engraving; and if you 
 waited long enough might estimate the rate at which its 
 work was done. Now and then, however, some lucky chance 
 has preserved one of these natural Ogham inscriptions. I have, 
 for instance, a fragment of smoothed and scratched black 
 limestone, which I broke off a rock by the side of the Stelvio 
 road near Bormio, now miles away from any glacier. It had 
 been covered up by a thin layer of soil, probably when the 
 ice retreated, which had remained until some chance altera- 
 tion in the road exposed it to view. 
 
 6—2 
 
84 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Some geologists, among whom are several very eminent 
 men of science, have attributed to glaciers a far gi-eater share 
 in the sculpture of the Alps than has been here indicated. 
 They have supposed that not only have they rounded the 
 surfaces of cliffs, and in some cases buried themselves more 
 deeply in their rocky channels, but also have ploughed out 
 many of the greater Alpine valleys, and of the depressions now 
 occupied by important lakes. To discuss this difficult subject 
 would be too long a task for a work like this ; I must therefore 
 be content with merely stating that, even admitting the great 
 extent claimed for the ancient glaciers of the Alps, admitting 
 also that all the Swiss and Italian lakes were once overflowed 
 by them, I do not think that there is evidence enough to allow 
 of our attributing to a glacier, however large, such powers of 
 erosion as would be required for the purpose. No doubt under 
 peculiar circumstances — as at the foot of steep descents — 
 shallow basins and tarns may have been hollowed out by the 
 ice, such as those on the upper part of the Bernina pass ; but 
 I think that generally the scooping power of a glacier is very 
 slight. The Gorner glacier (as stated above) in advancing across 
 a meadow, did but tear up a foot or two of the soil, which was 
 crumpled up in front so as to form a wall a yard or so in 
 height. Of course a glacier by sliding along a valley must 
 somewhat deepen the bed, and in certain cases the moraines 
 left by them act as dams to retain the waters ; still I cannot 
 but believe that the lake valleys, whatever may have formed 
 them, existed before the time when the glaciers passed along 
 them; and that the glacier was much more a consequence of the 
 valley than the valley of the glacier. I should often prefer 
 to account for a lake by supposing that some local upheaval has 
 formed a barrier (like that which closes the Rhone valley at St 
 Maurice), or that, in the case of some of the smaller lakes, a 
 moraine or bergfall — as at the Lago d' Alleghe in the Italian 
 Tyrol — has dammed up the waters of the river. 
 
FORMER EXTENSION OF GLACIERS. S6 
 
 Such being the evidence in favour of a former extension of 
 the existing glaciers, the question naturally arises, is there 
 any to fix the period in the world's history at which this took 
 place? There can be little doubt that the epoch of greatest 
 extension corresponded with that which in geology bears the 
 name 'glacial;' one, in which the climate of Northern Europe 
 was arctic, when our coasts were often ice-bound, perhaps for 
 months, like those of Greenland at the present time; when the 
 mammoth, the rhinoceros, the urus, and the reindeer, with the 
 hyaena and cave-lion, roamed over the frosty fields. Then, when 
 the valleys of Wales and of the English Lakes were filled deep 
 with ice, the tributary glaciers from each Alpine glen united to 
 form those mighty streams which bore the erratics of Monthey 
 and Neuchatel, if not to their present sites, at least far away 
 from their parent rocks. To this period also we should of 
 course assign all the moraines found near or beyond the open- 
 ings of the great Alpine valleys. How long it may have lasted 
 we cannot tell, but at its close the retreat of the glaciers ap- 
 pears to have been tolerably uniform for a considerable space, 
 after which interval two or three halts occurred before the^^- 
 reached their present limits. It is not easy to fix exactly the 
 number of these, but I think there were not less than two dis- 
 tinct pauses ; one, during which those enormous masses of 
 moraine were deposited which are now often found, either at 
 the mouth of a lateral valley, or at any rate a few miles below 
 the present ends of the glaciers — such as, for example, that 
 in the Roman che valley about an hour's walk above Villar 
 d'Arene, those between Frutigen and Kandersteg, that in the 
 Val Roseg, those at the opening of the Val di Campo on 
 the Bernina road, and of the Val Viola near Bormio on the 
 Stelvio, with many more in similar situations. At these places 
 the glaciers must have shrunk very slowly, with frequent halts. 
 The other pause, if there was not more than one, is that to 
 which belons: the moraines now found within a mile or two 
 
86 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 of the ends, or a few hundred yards from the sides of the 
 present glaciers, as, for example, those near the Rhone glacier. 
 These, though very clearly defined, are generally smaller than 
 the above-named; and the terminal moraines are often arranged 
 concentrically, sometimes four or five in number, one near 
 another, thus shewing as many periods of comparatively brief 
 repose. 
 
 That the glaciers even now are not at rest is well known, 
 and considerable oscillations have been recorded in the last 
 fifty years. I have already mentioned one in the case of the 
 Gorner glacier ; a much more remarkable instance is that 
 of the Brenva glacier \ which in 1818 and the previous year 
 rose so far above its former level as to destroy the little chapel 
 by the path up to the Col de la Seigne, and since then has 
 sunk down to a depth of 300 feet below it. But there is also 
 some reason to think that a few centuries ago the glaciers were 
 considerably less extensive than they now are. The evidence 
 in favour of this has been collected with much care by M. 
 Venetz^, and it may be thus summed up: — (1) Traditions: in a 
 great number of the higher Alpine valleys there are stories 
 stating that passes, which now, from the extent of glacier to 
 be traversed, are closed to all but mountaineers, were formerly 
 comparatively easy. Now, although singly many of these tradi- 
 tions are of little value, and some obviously absurd, still, when 
 taken collectively, like a bundle of sticks, they have a certain 
 strength ; for it is difficult to see how such traditions, reaching 
 back to no very remote time, could exist in localities so widely 
 separated as Dauphin^ and the Tyrol without some basis in 
 fact. (2) Fragments of paved roads which have been partly 
 destroyed by the increase of snowfields and glaciers; such as 
 those on the Monte Moro, on the Saas Pass, and on the Susten 
 
 1 Forbes, Travels in the Alps of Savoy, p. 205. 
 
 2 Venetz, ' Sur les variations de la temperature dans les Alpes de la Suisse' 
 (Denkschriften der Allgemeinen SchweizeriscJien Gesellsclmft. Band i. Abtlieil. 2). 
 
CHANGES IN EXTENT OF GLACIERS, 87 
 
 Pass, &c. (3) Recorded instances of the formation of small 
 glaciers in the memory of persons living. (4) The remains of 
 trunks and roots of trees and shrubs considerably above the 
 height at which they now grow; and (5) Documents, imposing 
 taxes upon fruits which can no longer be ripened in the 
 places named, and regulating the rights of communes over 
 passes which now are practically closed. M. Venetz mentions 
 twenty-two instances belonging to one or other of these classes, 
 and states that he could add largely to them, " II nous auroit 
 ete facile d'en citer davantage. Si nous avions eu le temps de 
 faire les recherches necessaires, et si nous voulions adj outer foi 
 a des traditions populaires, nous citerions une infinite de cas 
 pareils." As I am aware of many that he has not mentioned, in 
 other parts of the Alps, I am inclined to think that there is 
 * something in it.' He believes the period when this reflux 
 of the glaciers began to have been early in the seventeenth 
 century. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Having thus spoken of glaciers, let a few words be* said of 
 glacieres or ice-caves. Modest, as beseemeth females, they lie 
 hid underground ; yet, though troglodyte in habits, are not 
 without a certain weird beauty. They occur in the Jura, and in 
 several parts of the mid-alpine district. In the former region are 
 several: among which are La GenoUi^re, near Ai-zier; S. George's, 
 Pr^ de S. Livres, Grace-dieu, near Besan^on ; and Monthezy in 
 the Val de Travers : in the latter, the Schaf-loch, near the lake 
 of Thun, Fondeurle, near Die (Dauphin^), and, in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Annecy, the Glacieres du Grand Anu, de Chappet- 
 sur-Villaz, and de I'Enfer. All these (except the last-named) 
 are described, together with several others, by my friend, the 
 Rev. G F. Browne, in a very interesting book^ and in his 
 company I had the pleasure, in the summer of 1865, of visiting 
 the three last-mentioned. 
 
 Having left Annecy by an early diligence, we were put down 
 by the road-side after a few miles' drive, and made our way by 
 
 ^ 'Ice-caves in France and Switzerland.' There is a fnrther description of the 
 last three in Good Words for November, 1866. 
 
HOW TO GET BREAKFAST? 89 
 
 a cross-country lane to Aviernoz. An amusing little adventure 
 befel us en route. We had left Annecy fasting, in the expecta- 
 tion of finding an auherge at Les Olliers, a small hamlet just 
 off the high road, through which our path lay. Much to our 
 disgust we discovered that the answers to our queries became 
 vaguer as we neared the supposed site of this very needful 
 accommodation ; and that the auherge, promised at one end of 
 the winding lane, which did duty for a street, resolved itself at 
 the other into a farm-house, where perhaps they would enter- 
 tain us. However, we were much too hungry to dream of going 
 further ; so walking up to the door, after running the usual 
 gauntlet of yelping curs, we accosted the owner, and explained 
 our wants in the neatest and most appropriate speech that we 
 could devise ; hinting, though of course so delicately as not to 
 offend his susceptibilities, that we were quite ready to pay for 
 what he gave us. His reception, however, was at first not 
 enthusiastic. As Browne remarked, " It was cold, — not to say 
 supercilious." He was vague on the possibility of breakfast, 
 until he had ascertained that we had nothing to sell in our 
 knapsacks, and that my friend's axe was not for cutting wood. 
 As, then, it became evident that we were neither colporteurs nor 
 charcoal-burners, the barometer of our respectability obviously 
 rose one degree ; and he invited us within. Bread, milk, and 
 cheese were produced ; and while the table was being spread, 
 another question or two was asked, which, seeing that he was 
 amusingly puzzled about our social position, I answered, so as 
 only to put him gradually on the right scent. There was 
 obviously a rise of another degree ; he severed a huge slice 
 from a flat loaf of brown bread, as large as a grindstone, and 
 bade us fall on. I took up this slice, and was going to cut 
 a piece from the inside. "Stop, stop," said he, "don't take 
 that, it will be hard, it will do for my little horse ; cut from the 
 loaf !" Another question or two was asked ; from the answers 
 to which he learned that we were not only travellers for our 
 
90 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 own pleasure, but also going to visit his distinguished friend 
 M. M^trail, ex-Maire of Aviernoz (the owner of two of the 
 glacieres). The mercury at once went up to set fair; and it 
 was remembered that there were eofocs in the house. Just 
 at this moment one of the farm labourers came in to get his 
 breakfast, and, walking up to the table, took hold of the loaf: 
 our host at once checked him, and bade him cut from the 
 inside of the slice, — shewing that he held the man perhaps 
 * something better than his dog,' but only a very ' little dearer 
 than his horse.' 
 
 So there are social distinctions even in Alpine Arcadias, and 
 a 'below the salt' in a Savoyard homestead. A little more 
 talk, and a laugh at his mistake about our professions, which 
 he frankly confessed, led to his volunteering to join us for the 
 day; during which he catechized us severely about England 
 and the English Church, shewing by his questions that the 
 popular notions of it among the Roman Catholics of the Alps 
 are, that its doctrines are on a par with those of Renan, and its 
 rites and ceremonies with those of the Quakers. 
 
 At Aviernoz we were enthusiastically welcomed by M. Md- 
 trail, and M. Rosset, the village schoolmaster. After a few 
 minutes spent in necessary preparations, we set off for the 
 glacieres : these are all situated in a range of limestone moun- 
 tains which rises steeply immediately behind the village to a 
 height of about 6000 feet above the sea, and separates the 
 basin of the Arve from the Lake of Annecy. Two belong, 
 together with a considerable quantity of corn-land near the 
 village and of rich pasturage on the mountains, to our friend, 
 who nevertheless lives in a small cottage, which, for absence 
 of furniture and presence of dirt, could not easily be matched 
 in England. As the cattle were cb la montagne, we had no need 
 to carry much provision : bread, however, was essential, as that 
 in the chalets only existed in the form of pain noir, which is as 
 hard and dry as a pumice-stone, and about as digestible to an 
 
ENTRANCE TO THE GLACIERE DU GRAND ANU 
 
ASCENT TO THE GLACIERES. 91 
 
 unaccustomed stomach. A large cake of white bread, about 
 eighteen inches in diameter, was accordingly fetched from the 
 household stores, spitted on a sharp stick, and placed on a small 
 boy's shoulder, our host's son-and-heir, who bore it manfully up 
 the steep zig-zag path. A pleasant walk through the woods, 
 with occasional fine views towards the lake of Geneva, brought 
 us in about an hour-and-a-half to the chalets, simultaneously 
 with a smart shower, so we went in to get some lunch. Here 
 was comparative luxury, for besides the usual varieties of 
 cheese, the larder contained a piece of ham. Seating ourselves 
 on the native one-legged stools, we made good use of our time. 
 My companions set to work at once on the ham ; but, notwith- 
 standing my Dauphin^ education, I cannot say that I prefer it 
 raw ; especiall}'' now with the fear of trichina before my eyes. 
 How to broil it without forks was rather a puzzle; a clasp- 
 knife might have served, but it is very hot work for the fingers. 
 Necessity, however, sharpens the invention. There were some 
 billets of pine-wood in a corner : from one of these I cut a long 
 splinter, pointed it, transfixed a slice of ham, and there was a 
 toasting-fork complete. My cooking done, I had an unctuous 
 feast : unmoved by the censure of Browne, who scorned me as 
 *Epicuri de grege porcus.' 
 
 By the time we had done ringing the changes upon goat- 
 cheese and cow-cheese, fresh and salted 'seracs', the rain had 
 nearly stopped ; so we set off over a wild district, partly pasture 
 and partly bare rock, for the Glaciere du Grand Anu. The lime- 
 stone hereabouts weathers into ridges, separated by narrow 
 fissures, like the mountain limestone in many parts of England, 
 the sides of which are richly clothed with holly-ferns and many 
 Alpine plants. 
 
 After about half-an-hour's walk we came to the mouth of 
 the glaciere, which is situated on a bleak, rocky plateau, with 
 here and there a few thin patches of larch or brushwood. It 
 was certainly a wild looking place. We were standing at the 
 
92 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 end of a deep and comparatively narrow chasm ^: at our feet 
 a steep slope of crag and debris led down to the base of the 
 opposite precipice ; on either hand the cliffs descended in a 
 series of walls of nearly vertical rock, with here and there a 
 ledge on which luxuriant ferns had formed a leafy cornice, and 
 pine-trees had fastened their roots and raised their green pinr 
 nacles. In front, in the face of the precipice, was a vast natural 
 gateway, some seventy feet in height, which opened into a dark 
 cavern, whose icy floor could barely be distinguished. Snow was 
 lying at the bottom of the descent and on the threshold of 
 the glaciere, just beyond which it rose up in a large conical 
 pile. After gazing for a little while on this singular scene, 
 the more striking to me from its being so entirely unexpected, 
 we descended into the chasm. The track was narrow, and in 
 one or two places steep enough to require a little caution ; the 
 rocks, however, terminated in a slope of broken fragments, and 
 these again in snow. When we reached the bottom, the effect 
 of the great natural doorway of rock, rising seventy feet above 
 us, was indescribably grand. We now saw the cause of the 
 snow-cone, which from above had seemed a little puzzling. 
 Immediately over it was a natural shaft or fissure in the rock, 
 forming a kind of sky-light to the vestibule of the cavern ; it is 
 therefore evident that the snow which falls from above down 
 the shaft raises this pile. As it is said to lie during the 
 winter twelve feet deep on the plateau above, the size of the 
 heap is not surprising. The cavern itself is circular in plan, 
 about sixty feet in diameter ; the floor is solid ice, and slopes 
 gradually down towards the further end. Owing to the size 
 of the doorway, a candle, though useful at times, is not abso- 
 lutely necessary. The walls are covered with sheets of ice, 
 transparent as the finest glass, which invest like a drapery each 
 prominence of rock. The effect was as if a number of cas- 
 
 1 Plaie IV. 
 

 INTERIOR OF THE GLACIERE DU GRAND ANU, 
 
QLACIERE DU GRAND ANU. 93 
 
 cades had been instantly arrested on their downward course, 
 and changed into ice. It reminded me most of a scene in the 
 great cutting through the Lias rock on the London and North- 
 Western Kailway, during the severe frost at the close of 1860. 
 The soft shales there, parted by bands of limestone, are satu- 
 rated with water, which keeps constantly dripping down the 
 sides of the cutting; the frost had gathered together these 
 myriad drops into a series of frozen cascades, and fringed each 
 ledge with streamers and stalactites of ice. So was it in the 
 cave, except that in many parts the ice was so pure and so evenly 
 distributed, that every crack in the rock below was visible. 
 The most striking object was an icy buttress, on the left of the 
 entrance ; — rflying buttress, it might almost be called, for it was 
 partly separated from the wall of the cave, — whose glassy cover- 
 ing fell down to the floor in the most perfect and graceful 
 curves \ 
 
 Facing the entrance, at the further end of the cave, was 
 a dark pit in the ice, about eight feet across. My companion 
 had measured this the year before, and found it to be not less 
 than fifty-one feet deep. On the right-hand side, close to the 
 rock, was another pit, about five feet wide, just like a well. 
 We had intended, if possible, to descend this, and had brought 
 with us a strong rope and pulley for the purpose. After 
 cautiously sounding the edges of the pit to try their strength 
 (the walls are slightly hollowed out near the top), we crept on 
 hands and knees to the mouth, and looked down. On lowering 
 a lamp for a short distance, we saw, not without regret, that 
 the walls were lined with huge icicles, and that the edges of 
 the pit were in rather an unsafe condition. Hence it would 
 have been difficult to fix the pulley and so arrange the rope, 
 as to avoid chafing, and almost impossible to have kept it from 
 striking against the pendent masses of ice, and bringing them 
 
 1 Plate V. 
 
94 
 
 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 down on the adventurer's head as he swung to and fro below. 
 The risk therefore appeared too great to be justifiable, so we 
 reluctantly abandoned the project. Fastening strips of mag- 
 nesium wire to a pole, we burnt them over the mouth, and 
 dropped blazing pieces of paper to illuminate the icy walls of 
 the shaft ; we next lowered our lamp by a long string into the 
 abyss ; it descended seventy feet vertically, and then reached 
 a slope of ice, down which it slid until it disappeared beneath 
 our feet. This may perhaps be the entrance to another cavern ; 
 it is at any rate, in all probability, the shaft by which, during 
 the spring thaws, a stream of water is conveyed into the earth, 
 so that for part of the year these shafts are real moulins. 
 
 These observations finished, we again illuminated the cave 
 with magnesium wire, shedding an unearthly brilliancy over 
 the glassy walls. I noticed that the surface of the ice on both 
 walls and floor was slightly wet ; and on the latter were a few 
 small pools of water, the temperature of which was about 82^'' 
 (Fahrenheit), the temperature of the air being 34'2". The ice on 
 the walls well exhibited the peculiar prismatic structure which 
 had been previously noticed by my companion. The sides of 
 
 (Fig. 7.) Prismatic structure in ice ; about half natural size. 
 
 these prisms, rendered visible by reflected light, traversed the 
 mass perpendicularly to its surface, like the calcareous network 
 
GLACIERE DE VENFER, 95 
 
 in septaria-stones. A few blows with an ice-axe detached a 
 piece, five or six inches square, which I then with little difficulty 
 broke up into its component prisms : these resembled in shape 
 miniature basaltic columns. The majority of them appeared to 
 be hexagonal, but in some cases they were imperfectly formed. 
 This done, we scrambled back up the steep slope, and, after 
 completing a sketch of the entrance, set off to examine another 
 of these caverns, the Glaciere de I'Enfer, which had not hitherto 
 been visited by foreigners. 
 
 The year before Browne, under the guidance of our friends, 
 had failed in hitting off its inconspicuous entrance ; this time 
 in spite of the mists we found it without trouble; but it was 
 in every way much less impressive than the one which we 
 had just left. A steep slope of broken rock led down, to a 
 natural door-way in the face of a low cliff, composed of hori- 
 zontal strata of limestone, in the chinks of which a few 
 stunted fir-trees were growing. This portal opened immedi- 
 ately into a roughly circular hall about seventy-five feet in 
 diameter and ten to twelve in height. The roof of both was 
 formed by the flat surface of one of the beds of rock; the 
 floor was a nearly level mass of ice, but the side nearest the 
 entrance was covered with rubbish from the talus outside. 
 The walls stained with damp, the absence of the ice-curtains, 
 and the dirt-sprinkled floor, gave a dismal and dreary look 
 to the cave. On the right-hand side of it we found a fis- 
 sure, by means of which we climbed down between the ice 
 and the rock. It led gradually under the icy mass towards the 
 centre of the cave, and by dint of much pushing and struggling, 
 gaining a plentiful coat of mud in the process, we managed to 
 force our way along it for two or three yards, until it became too 
 narrow to admit us further. Just at this point, a good sized 
 stone, several of which were frozen into the icy roof, came down 
 with a crash close to me ; so not caring to run the risk of being 
 preserved for future ages like a Siberian mammoth, I took the 
 
96 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 hint, and, passing the word to my companion, backed out again 
 as fast as possible. 
 
 Continuing our examination of the cave, we found that 
 opposite to the entrance there was a chink two or three feet 
 wide between the rock and the ice. Taking the precaution to 
 fasten a rope round my waist, I scrambled down for about 
 twelve feet, and then found that I was close to the mouth of a 
 hole, which sloped inwards and downwards through the solid 
 ice, at an angle of about 30". It was some two feet in diameter, 
 and the further end was lost in the darkness. Scrambling back, 
 I reported what I had seen, and Brow^ne descended in his turn. 
 He made many attempts to lower a lamp down the slope, but 
 was unable to see how it ended, partly because the instrument, 
 which he had imprudently purchased from a well-known trades- 
 man in Cambridge, was literally a dark lantern, and partly be- 
 cause the tunnel curved slightly to one side\ Failing therefore 
 to make discoveries with his eyes, he tried what could be accom- 
 plished by his ears, and threw down a large log of wood, which 
 happened to be lying close at hand. Directly after this had slid 
 out of sight, a loud crash was heard, followed by the splash of 
 water. When the murmur of this died away, there commenced 
 a strange gulping noise, almost as regular as the beats of a pulse, 
 which was continued little altered, except that it was repeated 
 at rather shorter intervals, until we left the cavern, at least a 
 quarter of an hour after. It had an eerie unearthly sound, 
 and gave one the idea of some monster watching for his prey 
 below that treacherous slope of ice, at the bottom of the un- 
 guarded fissure. The tunnel obviously led to a subglacial re- 
 servoir, and this was probably covered by a thin crust of ice; the 
 log in falling had broken this and disturbed the water below, 
 which then commenced bubbling up and down through the 
 
 ^ Measurement with a string gave the length of the tunnel to this point as 
 about 23 feet. Hence the icy floor of the cavern must have been at least 24 feet 
 thick. 
 
 I 
 
GLACIERS DE CHAPPET-SUR-VILLAZ. 97 
 
 hole, and making a gulping noise, just as it sometimes does 
 when oscillating up and down in a pipe. 
 
 After quitting this cavern we walked along the crest of the 
 range for some distance, and then turned to the north, to visit 
 the Glaciere de Chappet-sur-Villaz, which is situated in the 
 rocky face of a shoulder of Mont Parmelan, at the head of a 
 glen descending to the west of Aviernoz. Although the day 
 vv^as still dull, we saw enough during this walk to shew that the 
 views of the Lake of Annecy on the one side, and towards 
 Geneva on the other, must in fine weather be very beautiful. 
 A steep scramble up a narrow gully in the rock brought us to 
 the glaciere, which differed greatly from the other two. The 
 entrance was a mere hole, a few feet wide, in the face of the 
 cliff, giving access to a narrow fissure, the slope of which de- 
 scended rather steeper than that of the gully outside ; down 
 this we scrambled in almost total darkness ; for our lamp had 
 now nearly abandoned its function of giving light and confined 
 itself to greasing our fingers. To make the matter pleasanter 
 we came occasionally upon masses of snow, wedged into the 
 fissure and partly blocking it up ; and the uncertainty of whether 
 they were strong enough to bear us, or might not let us down 
 for four or five feet with a run, gave a zest to the proceedings. 
 
 We first came to a small chamber into which some beams of 
 light struggled from a little opening far above ; it was floored 
 with ice, and had some fine sheet ice on the walls. A rough 
 descent then led us down to a place where the cavern branched 
 out into two chambers : one of these, that on the left, was a 
 lofty fissure, four or five feet wide ; its floor was covered for a 
 depth of two or three feet with the clearest water, beyond which 
 the rocky walls faded away into the darkness. The other 
 chamber was floored with ice, which descended from one corner 
 like a frozen cascade, its graceful outlines and transparent purity 
 being most beautiful. We were, however, obliged to mar it; 
 for we knew that behind that flowing curtain was concealed the 
 
 * 7 
 
98 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 entrance of a tunnel, which we were anxious to explore. With 
 some labour we hewed away a mass of ice about fifteen inches 
 thick, and made an aperture just wide enough to admit a man's 
 body. This led into a narrow tunnel, apparently running 
 through the solid ice, which sloped gently downwards until it 
 was lost in the darkness. Browne said that it had been much 
 larger the year before, now it was barely two feet in diameter. 
 We fastened a piece of magnesium wire to the end of a pole, 
 and thrust it when lighted into the tunnel. Though it lit up 
 beautifully the glassy walls and transparent curtain of ice, it 
 did not enable us to see where the tunnel ended. Browne then 
 determined to try whether he could force his way along it. 
 Fastening the rope about his waist, he crept feet foremost 
 through the hole, and so wriggled along for a yard or two : 
 finding, however, that the narrowness of the passage prevented 
 him from turning, or indeed from using his arms or legs to any 
 purpose, he called to us to haul him back, and was accordingly 
 drawn out like a cork from a bottle. One would not have 
 thought that any living creature could have inhabited this sub- 
 glacial cavern, but when he emerged from it, several flies about 
 half an inch long were on his coat, and on looking into the hole 
 we saw others running actively about the walls of their icy 
 prison \ This increase of the ice was provoking, for the pre- 
 vious year the want of a rope alone had prevented my com- 
 panion from following up the passage. 
 
 This done, we scrambled back to the light of day, and then 
 descended to Aviernoz; arriving there just in time to escape 
 a violent thunder-storm, which, had it come a few minutes 
 earlier, would have speedily drenched us. During our absence 
 the ex-lady-mayoress had concentrated her energies upon a 
 dinner, to which we speedily were summoned. To those ac- 
 customed to civic hospitalities our carte may seem meagre ; for 
 
 ^ Since determined to be Stenophylax {Hieroglyphicus ?), Stephens, S. (testa- 
 ceus.^), Pictet, and a Paniscus, species unknown. 
 
 i 
 
CAUSE OF GLACIERE^. 99 
 
 the feast mainly consisted of soup, omelette, fried beans, pud- 
 ding, and cheese. We, however, were too hungry to quarrel 
 with it ; still less with the excellent cider which was served 
 at table. The rain ceased during dinner ; so after compensating 
 our friends for their time and trouble, we walked in the twilight 
 down to Thorens, a somewhat larger village, boasting of an inn. 
 Here is a guest-chamber, containing two bedsteads, one wooden, 
 the other iron. We tossed for choice ; I won, and, to Browne's 
 surprise, chose the apparently less comfortable iron one. The 
 event justified the selection, for I slept undisturbed through the 
 night ; except once, when I wakened to a dim consciousness of 
 his humbly apologizing for keeping the candle alight, and plain- 
 tively complaining that his bed was alive with bugs : soon after 
 which the enemy, by concentrating their forces, compelled him 
 to evacuate the position ; and he encamped for the remainder 
 of the night upon three chairs. 
 
 A few words may be said in conclusion on the probable 
 cause of these glaci^res. Several theories have been proposed 
 to account for their existence ; most of which do not seem to 
 me very satisfactory. I believe them to be simply caves, in 
 which a quantity of snow has accumulated, and has been 
 converted into ice ; the principal agent in the change being 
 probably water, which finds its way down through the crevices 
 and partings of the rock; in a word, they are ice-houses, filled 
 and replenished annually by nature instead of by man. The 
 snows of each winter supply the summer's waste, and the very 
 water, as it trickles down, is converted into ice. Probably 
 the thermometer falls below the freezing-point every night, 
 for in those which we visited the mercury only stood from 1* 
 to 2" above it, when the outer air was about 48°. There is 
 then no reason why glacieres should not be found in any 
 part of the world, where the rock has a tendency to form 
 pit-holes or caverns, provided these are in direct communica- 
 tion with the surface, and a sufficient quantity of snow falls 
 
 7—2 
 
100 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 during the winter to counterbalance the summer's loss. In the 
 neighbourhood of the first glaciere I noticed several deep, 
 natural pits and chasms, considerably smaller than it, at the 
 bottom of which snow was lying. My companion had always 
 considered the glaciere of Chappet-sur-Villaz an insuperable 
 objection to this theory; because, on his first visit, the pas- 
 sage leading down into it was entirely free from snow, and 
 the shape of it and the entrance, seemed to render it very 
 improbable that snow could get in from the outside. We, 
 however, as I have said, found a great quantity of snow in the 
 passage, so that this difficulty was effectually removed. At what 
 period these glacieres were first formed, I cannot pretend to 
 say; it may be that some of them are relics of the glacial epoch, 
 the last fragments of the mighty ice-field which once covered 
 so large a portion of the high lands of Europe ; as, however, 
 there have probably been oscillations in temperature since this 
 time, it is more likely that they do not go back to such a remote 
 antiquity. Be this as it may, they are well worth a visit ; and, 
 so far as I know them, will fully repay the small amount of 
 trouble and discomfort which a journey to them at present 
 entails. 
 
 Besides these caverns, occupied by masses of ice, there are 
 many others in the Alps, as in every mountain region. They 
 are more numerous in the limestone districts than in the 
 harder crystalline rocks, but none are of sufficient magnitude 
 to attract many visitors. Some of the best known, such as the 
 Grotte aux Fees near Vallorbe, the Temple des Fees in the Val 
 Travers, the source of the Lionne, and the Chaudiere d'Enfer 
 in the Valine du Lac du Joux, are in the Jura ; but there is 
 no lack of them in the Alps ; for instance, the Tannes de Cor- 
 geon near Chateaux d'CEx, the cave near the Nant d'Arpenaz 
 (valley of the Arve), the Mondloch on Mount Pilatus, and many 
 others. 
 
 In some of these have been found coins, Roman and medi- 
 
 I 
 
CAVERNS. 101 
 
 aeval, bones, fragments of pottery, pebbles of foreign rocks, 
 weapons of stone and metal, shewing that they have in past 
 time frequently served as a lair for wild beasts or a retreat for 
 man. Not unfrequently the smaller grottoes are still occupied 
 by the shepherds when tending their flocks on the higher 
 pastures ; and some, like the Faulberg by the Aletsch Glacier, 
 often afford shelter to the mountain climber. These commonly 
 go by the name Balm in German, and Beaume in French ; and 
 not unfrequently some legend is connected with them ; this 
 one was the abode of some holy hermit, that a place of refuge 
 during a persecution or an invasion. In Appenzell, 4924 feet 
 above the sea, are two caverns in the face of a cliff. One has 
 for two hundred years been fitted up as a chapel in honour of 
 St Michael ; and here, every year on the day of the great arch- 
 angel, mass is said, and the incense ascends from this natural 
 high place ; of the same kind is Notre Dame de Sex above 
 St Maurice (Valais), near to which is a cavern called the 
 Grotte aux F^es, containing fine stalactites. In the steep cliffs 
 overhanging the Yal Sapeni^re, at the base of the Pelvoux, is 
 a cavern called the Beaume des Vaudois ; this, according to 
 history, was the scene of one of the most monstrous of those 
 acts of cruelty which, under the show of a zeal for religion, have 
 too often brought disgrace upon the cause of Christianity. In 
 the fifteenth century the inhabitants of the Yal Louise (of which 
 the Val Sapeniere is a tributary glen) were all disciples of 
 Waldo. This crying sin was brought to the notice of Pope 
 Innocent VIII.; and he issued a bull, authorising a crusade to 
 be preached, in order "to root up and extirpate such a de- 
 testable set, and the foresaid execrable errors." Accordingly 
 a considerable force, headed by the Pope's commissioner, Albert 
 Cataneo and a certain captain named Palud, invaded the valley 
 during the summer of 1488. The Waldenses, seeing that re- 
 sistance was unavailing, abandoned their houses and retreated 
 to this cavern, taking with them their wives and children, their 
 
*10^ 'T&E ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 flocks and herds, and provisioos for two years. The narrow 
 path leading to its mouth was blocked up with rocks, and they 
 too hastily deemed themselves secure. La Palud, seeing that 
 an attack from below was almost hopeless, led round a troop 
 by a circuitous route over the rocks and upper pastures of the 
 Pelvoux, and reached the brow of the clifiP above the cave. 
 Thence he let down a number of men by ropes to the entrance. 
 A panic seems to have seized upon the Waldenses at this un- 
 expected appearance of their persecutors; some threw them- 
 selves over the cliffs ; a few were cut down on the spot, and 
 the rest fled into the recesses of the cavern. La Palud feared 
 to let bis men follow them ; so he piled up all the wood^ that 
 he could collect before the entrance, lighted it, and awaited the 
 result. A few miserable wretches charged desperately through 
 the flames, only to die by the weapons of their merciless foes ; 
 the rest remained within, and before long everything was quite 
 quiet. It is said that when the smoke cleared away and the 
 soldiers entered, they found the corpses of four hundred infants, 
 and that altogether more than three thousand persons were 
 massacred. Probably the numbers may be somewhat exagge- 
 rated, but I fear that there is no doubt that the details are 
 substantially correct ; and that this was the mode in which the 
 Church of Rome of the flfbeenth century interpreted her Master's 
 injunction — *' Anew commandment I give unto you, that ye love 
 one another I" 
 
 Cold draughts of air, of course, generally issue from these 
 caverns in warm weather, and if the opening be small, the force 
 of the current is often considerable. To these 'blow-holes' the 
 name of windloch is given. The cause of their existence is ob- 
 viously the difference of temperature between the air within 
 
 ^ It was probably juniper ; for this is the only shrub that now grows there, 
 the smoke of which is peculiarly pungent and suffocating, as I know from expe- 
 rience in this very neighbourhood, 
 
 2 S. John xiii. 34. 
 
 I 
 
LEGENDS OF ST MARTIN. 103 
 
 and without ; and in accordance with this it is observed, that in 
 winter the direction of the blast is often reversed. Examples 
 may be found near Seelisberg, on the Emmeten-alp, in the 
 Isen and Schachen thals, in the Canton of Unterwalden, on 
 Mount Pilatus, near Quarten on the Lake of Wallenstadt, in the 
 Klonthal, &c/ 
 
 Sometimes also singular perforations maybe observed in the 
 face of a cliff, shewing the sky as through a window. These 
 have generally been made by a stream which, in following up 
 some chance fissure, has drilled the rock, and now perhaps, 
 owing to a change of level or climate, has either sought another 
 channel or ceased to flow. Good instances of these are in a 
 buttress of the Geiselstein, visible from the Ampezzo road ; on 
 the Fedaia Pass, above Caprile ; the Martinsloch, near the Segnes 
 Pass, through which the sun shines for four days in the year on 
 the village church of Elm ; and the Heiterloch on the flank of 
 the Eiger. The last two are accounted for in a far more satis- 
 factory manner than by the prosaic reason given above. Each is 
 connected with the history of the holy giant, St Martin. The 
 former hole was made by the Devil when escaping from the Saint, 
 or vice versa. I really forget which the legend asserts. The 
 other was certainly made by the Saint, and in the following 
 manner. The Unter Grindelwald glacier issues from a gorge 
 between the Eiger and the Mettenberg. In former days this 
 opening was much narrower than it now is ; and consequently 
 sometimes became choked up with ice. The streams were by 
 this means dammed back, and glacial lakes formed, which in 
 due course burst, and did much mischief. So the peasants 
 summoned the Saint to help them. Should he blast the rocks ? 
 Unfortunately gunpowder was not then invented. Should he 
 follow Hannibal's example, and dissolve them with vinegar? 
 Vin ordinaire, an excellent substitute, was no doubt abundant^ 
 
 ^ Tschildi, Les Alpes, p. 36. 
 
104 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 but the process would have been slow. Solvitur, not exactly 
 amhulando. The Saint stands on the glacier, puts his alpen- 
 stock against the Eiger, and his back against the Mettenberg, 
 and gives one mighty shove. The mountains yield a freer pas- 
 sage to the ice, and the hole on the one mountain and a depres- 
 sion made by the Saint's back on the other, attest to this day 
 the truth of the legend ! 
 
 Somewhat akin to these apertures are the outlets of subter- 
 ranean springs, not uncommon in the limestone districts, where 
 the rock is often greatly fissured. One of the best known is the 
 so-called Sieben Brunnen (Seven Fountains) at the head of the 
 Simmen-thal, some two hours' walk from the village of An-der- 
 Lenk. Just at the foot of a great cliff of the Wildstrubel, on 
 which rests the Kazli glaciere, is a slope of shale and debris, 
 supported by a terrace wall of rock, some dozen feet in height. 
 The streams (no doubt supplied from the glacier above) break out 
 from the bottom of this slope, and at once form a pretty little 
 cascade. When I saw them in 1865 the definite title Seven 
 was wholly inappropriate ; for they formed an almost continuous 
 sheet of water some six or seven yards across, with one or two 
 smaller jets, which issued along the same line a short distance 
 on the left. From inaccessible apertures in the face of a great 
 precipice of stratified rock and shale on the left bank of the 
 Trafoi glacier, between the Orteler Spitze and the Stelvio Pass, 
 three streams issue near to each other, two of which are of con- 
 siderable size, and form grand waterfalls. They also are no 
 doubt supplied from the glacier above, as the strata dip from it 
 towards the openings. In the Badia-thal (Tyrol) a number of 
 clear streams break out through the mossy turf and limestone 
 blocks at the foot of a mass of moraine or debris, and in a few 
 minutes form a brook, some four yards across and a foot deep. 
 Other instances might without difficulty be found ; all these I 
 have myself seen. 
 
 Mineral springs abound in all parts of the Alps. Chief in 
 
SALT SPRINGS. 105 
 
 commercial value are the salt springs of Moutiers Tarentaise, and 
 of Bex. In the former place the brine is very weak, only con- 
 taining about 1*8 per cent, of saline matter. Hence, if evapo- 
 rated in the ordinary way, the result would not repay the ex- 
 pense of the works. The process adopted is exceedingl}'- simple 
 and ingenious, and the cost very slight. Upright frames are 
 filled with faggots of blackthorn, piled loosely one above the 
 other so as to give free passage to the air : the brine is then 
 allowed to flow along many small channels, from which it drips 
 through a multitude of tiny holes upon the faggots ; through 
 these it trickles down, dropping from twig to twig, and losing a 
 quantity of water by evaporation in its descent. On arriving at 
 the bottom, it is collected in pans, whence it is pumped up 
 again to the channels, and the process is repeated. The brine 
 is treated in this way in two or three houses, until finally the 
 amount of salt in solution is increased to about 22 per cent., 
 160 measures being reduced to about 11, when it is boiled in 
 the usual manner^ Fine cords, stretched vertically on frames, 
 are also employed with great success, instead of faggots, in the 
 later processes, but the unconcentrated brine quickly causes 
 them to rot. The springs, it should be mentioned, are tepid, 
 having a temperature of about 98" (Fht.) ; they are supposed to 
 issue from the point of junction of sedimentary and crystalline 
 rock (limestone and dark schist). The mines of Bex furnish 
 both brine (which however has of late years much decreased in 
 quantity) and rock salt ; a fine vein of the latter, of immense 
 extent, was discovered in 1823. The excavations, consisting of 
 extensive galleries with some large pits and chambers, are 
 curious ; but being wholly artificial have no beauties to recom- 
 mend them to a visitor, and I am afraid my own impression 
 was that *le jeu ne valait pas la chandelle.' 
 
 It would be no easy task to enumerate all the Alpine 
 
 1 See Bakewell, Travels in the Tarentaise, Vol. i. Ch. vi. for further details. 
 
lOG THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 springs which possess medicinal virtues — for there is hardly a 
 valley of any importance which does not boast of at least one. 
 Switzerland alone is said to haye two hundred and forty-six 
 bathing establishments ; many indeed only of local, but others 
 of European reputation. Among them are hot springs and cold 
 springs, with waters saline, sulphureous, alkaline and chaly- 
 beate ; some nauseous and others very pleasant. Among the 
 most noted in the Dauphin^ Alps are those of Allevard, situated 
 in the midst of very charming and varied scenery, and built on 
 the banks of a rapid stream, called the Br^da, just where it 
 issues from a narrow defile. The waters closely resemble those 
 of Eaux-Bonnes in the Pyrenees ; being charged with sulphy- 
 dric acid and carbonic acid gases, and containing a considerable 
 quantity of chloride of sodium. They are beneficial in disorders 
 of the skin, stomach, and lungs, and in cases of rheumatism. 
 The patients drink them as well as bathe in them, and also in- 
 hale the gas which is given off at the source. The Baths of 
 Monetier at the foot of the descent from the Col du Lantaret 
 are less fashionable, but have been in use since at any rate very 
 early in the middle ages. There are two springs ; that on the 
 north of the village is surrounded by a circular stone basin, 
 from the bottom of which thin cloud-like streams of a milky 
 hue, with frequent bubbles of gas, keep constantly rising to the 
 surface of the water. This is tepid and slightly saline in taste, 
 and the conduits through which it runs off are stained 
 ochrous-red. The warm springs, at which is the primitive bath- 
 ing establishment, are on the other side of the village. The 
 hottest of them has a temperature of 107'6 Fahrenheit. These 
 are considered very beneficial in gastric and paralytic disorders, 
 also for bruises and fractures. The well-known springs of 
 Uriage in the valley of the Isere are also tepid (temperature 
 81*1 Fht.), and are sulphureous. From the ruins which have 
 been discovered in the neighbourhood, it is evident that they 
 were frequented in the Roman times. All these springs issue 
 
 * 
 
MINERAL SPRINGS. 107 
 
 from near the junction of crystalline and sedimentary rock, in 
 accordance with a law (pointed out by Principal Forbes), which 
 will be found to hold very generally not only in the Alpine but 
 also in other districts of Europe. 
 
 There are besides, celebrated tepid springs at Brides-les- 
 Bains in the Tarentaise, and at Aix-les-Bains near the Lac de 
 Bourget. The former were rediscovered in 1819, after having 
 been buried for many years by an inundation of the river; the 
 latter were known to the Romans. The springs of Brides, which 
 vary in temperature from 93*^ to 97° (Fht.), contain sulphates of 
 magnesia and lime, and muriate of soda; they are good for 
 scurvy, rheumatism, and nervous debility; those of Aix are 
 partly sulphureous, and have a temperature of about 113" (Fht.). 
 They are much frequented by patients suffering from disorders 
 of the skin and of the digestive organs. 
 
 In the Graian Alps are the springs of Courmayeur, saline and 
 chalybeate ; La Saxe, warm and sulphureous ; Pre St Didier, 
 warm and very slightly saline ; St Vincent, similar to the first 
 named ; all very beautifully situated and much frequented ; 
 and on the southern side of the chain those of Ceresole, effer- 
 vescent, tonic, and very delicious, but at present not much 
 visited. 
 
 In Switzerland, perhaps the most remarkable are those of 
 Leuk, Stachelberg, Pfafers, and St Moritz. The first are 
 situated near the foot of the magnificent limestone precipices 
 down which winds the track from the Gemmi Pass, and about 
 eight miles from the little town of the same name in the Rhone 
 valley. The waters, which have a temperature of about 120" 
 (Fht.) are saline, and are much esteemed in scorbutic and cuta- 
 neous disorders. The patients lead a kind of amphibious life, 
 passing sometimes as much as eight hours in the bath. To 
 prevent time hanging heavy on their hands, floating tables 
 enable them to take refreshments, read books, and play games ; 
 and, as a complete costume is worn, both sexes assemble in the 
 
108 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 same piscine, while friends lounge in the surrounding galleries. 
 The Stachelberg springs are so strongly impregnated with 
 sulphur that the water is quite yellow. The coffin-like troughs, 
 used as baths, have or had a kind of lid, furnished with a hole, 
 through which the patient's head and shoulders project, in 
 order to save his nose as far as possible from the fumes, which, 
 when I bathed there, were strong enough to discolour a gold 
 ring in very short time, and make me smell like a walking box 
 of brimstone matches for some hours after. 
 
 The most romantically situated springs are those of Pfafers, 
 which issue from the rock in a narrow gorge of the Tamina. 
 Halting at the Ragatz station on the Sargans and Coire Rail- 
 way, a hot and dusty road leads through this fashionable water- 
 ing place — a Swiss Cheltenham — to the mouth of a narrow glen 
 in the mountain range that rises immediately above it. Steep 
 wooded slopes on the right, and steeper precipices of grey rock 
 fringed with pines on the left, descend to the very brink of the 
 rushing torrent, and a road, broad and easy now, but driven with 
 no little labour, runs along the former side. After about half 
 an hour's walking the walls of the glen approach still nearer, 
 and at last appear to close together. Here, on the last spot 
 that enjoys a brief daily visit from the sunbeams, is the bath- 
 house, an irregular pile of buildings, containing spacious cor- 
 ridors and saloons, with numerous steamy cells for bathers. 
 Passing through this, a foot-path leads into the gorge, a deep 
 and narrow cleft in the rocks, which rise on either hand in 
 nearly vertical walls, some seven hundred feet above the murky 
 waters of the torrent. The pathway, a frame of planks, either 
 notched in the rock or supported by iron bars, is about a dozen 
 yards above the stream, and though often wet with the dripping 
 of springs, is made quite safe by a stout hand-rail. Here and 
 there the rocks appear to close over head, and you grope your 
 way in a twilight gloom; then they part again and shew a 
 glimpse of fringing trees and blades of grass glittering in the 
 
aORGK OF PFAFERS. 109 
 
 sunlight ; while perhaps one stray beam struggles through the 
 shade and for a moment gleams upon the gloomy torrent. 
 
 (Fig. 8.) The Gorge of Pfiifers. 
 
 Presently a dense mist is seen rising from the waters ; it is the 
 reek of the hot springs, wildly beautiful when lit up by the 
 sunbeams. The spring-heads are protected by a vault of ma- 
 sonry, and approached by two short tunnels. Most of the water 
 is conveyed in pipes to the bath-house below, and to those at 
 Ragatz ; the rest is discharged into the Tamina. The tempera- 
 ture is not quite the same in all the springs; that of the prin- 
 cipal one is about 99" (Fht.). The waters are limpid and almost 
 
110 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 tasteless; containing hardly any minerals, except a very small 
 quantity of soda and magnesia. They are valuable in various 
 disorders of the stomach and bowels, and in certain rheumatic 
 and nervous affections. These springs were known in the 
 eleventh century, but the danger of access caused them to 
 become unused and forgotten. More than a hundred years 
 later, in 1240, a hunter, while scrambling about the rocks above, 
 saw the steam rising from the chasm and spread the news of 
 his discovery. For a long time the unfortunate patients could 
 only approach them by being lowered wdth cords to the little 
 ledge of rock close by the springs. Here they are said to have 
 been left, with a supply of food, until they had gone through 
 the appointed course ; and it certainly speaks well for either 
 their constitutions or the virtues of the waters that any of them 
 escaped with life from such a dismal abyss. The gallery stops 
 at the springs, and the rest of the gorge is inaccessible ; but 
 from a bridge hard by there is a fine view up it. At the first 
 glance one would suppose that it was literally a rift in the rock, 
 but a careful examination of its course and walls cannot fail to 
 convince that it has been sawn out by the torrent, pot-holes 
 and other water-marks being distinctly visible on the latter up 
 to the very top. A little bridge gives access to a very fine ex- 
 ample of the former, its mouth being about fifteen yards across. 
 The closed parts, which seem to make so strongly for the rift 
 theory, prove to be only places where the gorge has been choked 
 by debris rolling into it from above ; and the stream must have 
 cut its way slowly down through the rock, along the planes of 
 joints, from the floor of the valley above to the present level 
 of the torrent-bed. 
 
 The Baths of St Moritz in the Engadine, among the beau- 
 tiful scenery of the Bernina region, are now becoming very 
 fashionable. The bath-house, a huge building, stands nearly 
 6000 feet above the sea, on a level and rather marshy meadow, 
 near a little lake, on the right bank of which is the village 
 
MINES. Ill 
 
 of St Moritz, occuj)ying a slightly higher and far better situa- 
 tion. The water of the springs contains iron, alkaline salt, and 
 carbonic acid gas, is beautifully pure, and very refreshing. Its 
 effects are tonic, and it is prescribed in cases of scrofula and 
 general debility. In the Alps further east may be mentioned 
 the Baths of Le Prese (sulphur), Bormio (warm and alkaline), 
 Sta Catharina (chalybeate). Bad Gastein (slightly alkaline), and 
 Brags (alkaline ?), with many others. The last-named, in a glen 
 descending from the south to the Puster-thal, are not generally 
 known, but enjoy an extraordinary local reputation for cures of 
 rheumatic complaints. 
 
 A glance at the more solid mineral wealth of the Alps must 
 suffice. Gold is found in several places in small quantities; 
 chiefly in the neighbourhood of Monte Bosa. The principal 
 mines are at Pestarena in the Val Anzasca, where they have 
 been in operation ever since the days of the Romans, if not 
 longer. The lodes occur in a compact gneiss rock ; and the ore 
 is generally contained in yellowish pyrites of iron, mixed with 
 white quartz ; and in none of the specimens which I have 
 seen could it be discerned by the eye. The matrix is ground 
 to a coarse sand, then mixed with quicklime, after which some 
 mercury is added, and the whole is churned in water. By this 
 means the gold is separated from the pyrites, quartz, and other 
 impurities. The mines are described at length by De Saussure^ 
 and Mr King^ Silver also is found in several places, often 
 mixed with lead. The mines of La Grave in Dauphin^ are tole- 
 rably productive ; and that near Auronzo (Italian Tyrol) is also 
 valuable. Formerly those of Primiero, in the latter district, 
 were very celebrated, but they have now been abandoned for 
 many years. Remarkably rich deposits of nickel are worked 
 at La Balma in the Val Sesia and at Migiandone near the 
 Simplon road. Lead mines are not unfrequent ; copper is ob- 
 tained in the Val Pelline, Val d'Aoste, Val Sesia, and in many 
 
 1 Voyages, § 2132. 2 xhe Italian Valleys of the Alps, p. 455. 
 
112 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 other places, as well as iron ; — perhaps the most noted mines of 
 the latter mineral are at Cogne in the Graians. The ore is of a 
 dark greenish-purple colour, and so exceedingly heavy that a 
 specimen might be picked out in the dark from a heap of 
 other stones. Anthracite is found occasionally ; an important 
 bed being worked near La Mure in Dauphin^. As for building- 
 stones, granites, serpentines, and marbles, there is of course 
 almost any quantity, but many valuable beds of these are very 
 little worked, owing to difficulties of access and transport. 
 
 The granite quarries of Fariolo on the Lago Maggiore are 
 much used, and supply a large part of northern Italy. The 
 great columns of the new basilica of S. Paolo at Kome were 
 hewn here. The felspar in it is a pale red, of a slight rosy tint 
 that blends beautifully with the grey quartz and dark mica- 
 spots ; very good separate crystals of this felspar are sometimes 
 obtained. In the same neighbourhood at Ornavasso is a quarry 
 of fine white crystalline marble, little inferior to that of Carrara; 
 from this came the stone used in building Milan cathedral. A 
 very pretty mottled claret and buff marble is worked near 
 Guilestre (Dauphin^), and good black marble in the Rhone 
 valley near Aigle. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Few perils are more dreaded by the inhabitant of the Alps 
 than those of the avalanches\ The summer traveller who only- 
 sees them in the far distance, plunging like a foaming cascade 
 down some barren mountain-cliff, and listens for the distant 
 roar which announces their fall as a pleasant interlude in his 
 day's journey, has little idea of what that white streak of foam 
 is composed, or how terrible is the danger when the snows lie 
 deep on every mountain-side. For him, the falling mass only 
 breaks the silence of the higher peaks, and its shattered frag- 
 ments are strewed harmlessly over some glacier waste, or buried 
 in some barren ravine; but there are times when it hurries 
 down into the valleys, sweeping before it pine-tree and chalet, 
 and burying often whole families in a snowy grave. 
 
 Avalanches may be divided into three classes ; the first of 
 which is the ice-avalanche, that most famiUar to the tourist, 
 caused in the following way. The glaciers in many parts of the 
 Alps, especially those smaller glaciers which cling to the upper 
 
 ^ Lawine, German — Laue or Lauine, Swiss Patois — Lahne, Tyrol Patois — • 
 Lavigna, Komanscli. 
 
 8 
 
114 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 slopes of most of the higher mountains, frequently terminate 
 abruptly on the brow of some tremendous precipice. Over this 
 the icy mass, ever moving slowly downwards, is gradually pro- 
 truded, till at last the heat of the sun and its own weight cause 
 large fragments to break off; these, as they bound down the 
 cliffs, are dashed into innumerable pieces, which leap from crag 
 to crag high into the air; now the falling mass, like some 
 swollen torrent, dashes with sullen roar through a gully ; now 
 emerging, crashes over a precipice, or spreads itself out like a 
 fan, as it hisses down a snow slope. These avalanches, as I 
 have already said, spend their force in the higher parts of the 
 mountains, and are harmless, unless anyone is unfortunate 
 enough to be crossing their track when a fall takes place. 
 
 Accidents of this kind, however, are very rare; for the 
 danger can almost always be avoided, either by making a slight 
 detour, or by taking care to pass before the sun has heated the 
 air. Often and often as I have seen them fall, and have had to 
 cross their paths, I have only once known a fragment to fall 
 anywhere near me. At a distance they resemble a waterfall of 
 the purest foam ; if approached, they are found to be composed 
 of fragments of ice of every size, from one or two cubic yards 
 downwards. Of all that I have ever seen, the grandest were, 
 one from the precipices of the Lyskamm above the Gorner glacier, 
 and one down the flank of the Aiguille du Midi, which faces the 
 Grands Mulets. On no place, however, are they more frequent 
 than on that tremendous wall of precipices which rises on the 
 other side of the Triimmletenthal, opposite to the Wengern 
 Alp. Here daily, during the summer, groups of travellers 
 gather on the greensward, to watch their fall from a distance of 
 about a mile. With this distant view everyone was satisfied, 
 till in 1862 Mr F. Galton discovered a way whereby the actual 
 channel, down which the majority of these avalanches slide, 
 could be approached in perfect safety. His description of the 
 scene is so interesting, that I cannot resist making a short 
 
 i 
 
WATCHING AN AVALANCHE. 115 
 
 extract \ *'I stood at one time so near to it, that, had I been 
 equipped as a fisherman, I could have thrown a fly over the 
 avalanche. I waited for the third and finest avalanche under 
 one of the overhanging slabs of rock I have already mentioned ; 
 but though I had persuaded myself of the absolute safety of my 
 position, I freely acknowledge that the advent of the avalanche 
 alarmed me. It gave notice of its coming by a prodigious roar, 
 and the appearance of an exceedingly menacing cloud of snow- 
 dust, that was shot out far above my head. I knew not what 
 was coming, and I ran away as fast as I could, till I was re- 
 assured that all was right by the appearance of the ice-cataract 
 in its wonted channel ; when I hurried back again to its side, 
 to rejoice in the storm and uproar.... The hurtling of the ice- 
 balls in the depths of the ravine, and the crash of the huge 
 hail-storm that issued at its foot, were almost frightful. The 
 storm was remarkable for the irregularities of its outbursts. 
 Frequently these were accompanied by vast gushes of water, 
 due, I suppose, to some sub-glacial reservoir, whose foremost 
 wall had toppled away and partly supplied the avalanche. 
 Wind, in moderate blasts of cold air, accompanied each out- 
 burst. I was surprised there was not more of it, after the tales 
 one is accustomed to hear about such things." 
 
 Occasionally, however, this phenomenon is produced on a 
 larger scale, with fearful results. Instances have been known 
 of a considerable portion of a glacier descending en masse, and 
 dealing destruction in the valley below. Every traveller to 
 Zermatt by the Visp Thai will remember the little village of 
 Kanda, which stands about 250 feet above the stream on a 
 grassy slope at the feet of the Mischabel-horner. On the other 
 side rises a grand wall of ice-worn clifis, forming a buttress of 
 the Weisshorn, above which may be seen the steep and cre- 
 vassed ice-fields of the Bies glacier. In 1686 a large part of 
 
 1 Alpine Journal^ Vol. i. p. 184. 
 
 8-2 
 
116 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 this came thundering down into the valley, and almost wholly- 
 destroyed the village, killing thirty-six persons. Again, on the 
 27th of December, 1818, a mass of ice broke away from the 
 glacier, and, falling into the valley below, produced the most 
 disastrous effects. The following extract, translated and occa- 
 sionally abridged from an official letter of M. Venetz to the 
 Conseil d'Etat of the Canton \ will give the best idea of the 
 destruction caused by the blast, which was produced by the 
 avalanche. "The village was not struck by the fall of the 
 glacier, but the force of the wind was so intense that a mill-stone 
 was carried a considerable distance up the mountain, together 
 with large larches, torn up by their roots. Blocks of ice, 4 feet 
 cube, were hurled half a league from the village up the slopes ; 
 the point of the steeple was carried away ; houses were levelled 
 with the ground ; and the beams of which they had been built 
 flung to a great distance in the forest. Eight goats, carried 
 away together with their shed, were found a hundred yards 
 from Randa; only one still lived ... 9 houses are wholly de- 
 stroyed, 13 more or less damaged, besides outhouses of various 
 kinds, 114 in all : those which are not destroyed are so injured 
 as to be of no further use : no food is left for man or beast. Of 
 12 persons buried in the ruins, 10 have been taken out alive, 
 one was dead, another cannot be found. The debris of ice, 
 snow, and stone, forming a mass of 860,000,000 cubic feet, has 
 covered all the cultivated land below the village for a space of 
 about 2400 feet long and 1000 wide." He concludes by citing 
 previous instances of a like disaster, and advising that the 
 village should on that account be abandoned, a recommenda- 
 tion which does not seem to have found favour, since it has 
 been rebuilt on the same site. 
 
 The other two kinds of avalanche, called respectively the 
 dust and the ground-avalanche, are composed of snow. The 
 dust-avalanche (staub-lawine) falls usually in the winter-time, 
 
 1 Gonservateur Suisse, No. xxxix. p. 205 (VoL x.). 
 
BU&T AVALANCHES. 117 
 
 when, after long-continued storms, the mountains are covered 
 deep with freshly fallen snow. The ill-composed mass rests 
 unstably upon the icy slopes, hangs in festoons and curtains 
 over the peaks, and lies thick on the smooth banks of pasture- 
 land, till a gust of wind or some other accident breaks the spell, 
 and the whole slides down into the valley below. These falls 
 are accompanied by fearful blasts of wind, which destroy houses 
 and bridges as effectually as the explosion of a powder-maga- 
 zine. According to Berlepsch, almost the whole of the village 
 of Leukerbad was destroyed by one of these, on the 14th of 
 January, 1719, and 55 of its inhabitants perished. In 1749 
 more than 100 persons were killed in the village of Ruaras 
 (Grisons), which during the night was overwhelmed by an 
 avalanche. So silently were some of the houses buried, that 
 the inhabitants, on waking in the morning, could not conceive 
 why the day did not dawn. It is said, too, that in the time of 
 the Suabian war, A.D. 1498, one of these avalanches swept 400 
 soldiers over a cliff: strange to say, they all escaped without 
 serious injury. The army of General Macdonald, in his cele- 
 brated passage of the Splugen in the month of December, 1800, 
 suffered severely from avalanches of this kind. One cut com- 
 pletely through a troop of horse, while on its march from 
 the village of SplUgen to the top of the pass, and precipitated 
 30 dragoons into a gulf below the road, where they all perished. 
 Again, some days afterwards, in the descent through the gorge 
 of the Cardinel, the columns were repeatedly severed by ava- 
 lanches, and more than 100 soldiers, with a number of horses 
 and mules, were lost. It is said, that on one of these occasions 
 the drummer of a regiment was among those carried away; who 
 for some time was heard beating his drum in the gorge below, 
 to summon his comrades to rescue him. Help, however, could 
 not be given, the sounds became fainter and fainter, till at last 
 the frost destroyed what the avalanche had spared. 
 
 The ground -avalanches {grund-lawine) differ considerably 
 
118 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 from those last described; since they consist of dense and 
 almost solid masses of snow, which for a considerable period 
 has lain exposed to the elements. These avalanches as may be 
 supposed, fall only in the spring, when the increasing warmth 
 pf the sun and the hot fohn cause large fields of snow to 
 slip down the flanks of a mountain ; just as it does off a house 
 roof during a thaw in an English winter. Being much heavier 
 than the dust avalanches, they are proportionately more de- 
 structive, and great pains have often to be taken to protect 
 life and property in those places which by the configuration 
 of the sun'ounding country are exposed to them. The forests, 
 which clothe the lower slopes of the mountains, are kept 
 sacred from the woodman's axe in order to check their fall, 
 and not unfrequently massive triangular dykes are built on 
 the hill-side behind the village, in order to stem the descending 
 mass and cleave it asunder as a river is parted by the pier of 
 a bridge. In some parts of Switzerland, for many years after 
 the French war, the inhabitants suffered terribly from these 
 avalanches; owing to the havoc which the invaders had made 
 among the forests. 
 
 The roads are often blocked up and communication im- 
 peded by both these kinds of avalanches. Mr T. Kennedy\ in 
 his description of a winter visit to Zermatt, mentions one, over 
 which he walked, that was 200 feet thick. In fact the remains 
 of them may often be found at a comparatively low elevation 
 till quite late in the summer. If indeed the season be an 
 inclement one, or the place little exposed to the sun's rays, 
 they will sometimes remain unmelted throughout the year. 
 I recollect seeing the remains of an avalanche, between Bourg 
 d'Oisans and Y^nosc, during the month of August 1860, at 
 a height of certainly not more than 3000 feet above the sea ; 
 and in July 1864 the torrent in the upper part of the Val 
 Grisanche was completely bridged over by large masses of 
 
 ^ Alpine Journal, Vol. i. p. 77. 
 
 I 
 
AVALANCHES ON MONT BLANC. 119 
 
 old snow. The stained and dirty surface of these relics renders 
 them anything but picturesque additions to the landscape. 
 The summer traveller of course is never in danger of the 
 ground-avalanche, but those who climb the higher peaks are 
 sometimes, especially after recent snowstorms, exposed to 
 considerable risk from the other. For instance, the most direct 
 route (called the 'Ancien Passage') from Chamouni to the 
 summit of Mont Blanc is often rendered very dangerous by 
 these avalanches. In 1820 a large party, consisting of 3 travellers 
 and several guides, was swept away by one, was carried down 
 a distance of 1200 feet, and three of the guides were entombed 
 under a mass of snow in a deep crevasse. In 1863 some remains 
 of them were found at the surface of the Glacier des Boissons, 
 after having descended over a distance of not less than 5J 
 miles. Soon after that accident a more circuitous, but 
 perfectly safe route to the summit was discovered, and the 
 *Ancien Passage' was practically abandoned, being only used 
 now and then by experienced travellers in very fine weather. 
 Greater familiarity with the Alps and the lapse of time seemed 
 to have partly effaced the remembrance of its dangers; and 
 the calamity of October 13, 1866, was the consequence, when 
 Captain Arkwright and three guides perished. It is impossible 
 to stigmatize severely enough the conduct of the guides on 
 this occasion. They must have been aware, if they knew 
 anything of their business, that to attempt the Ancien Passage 
 in the month of October, after an unusually wet summer, was 
 little short of madness ; and it was their duty, however much 
 their employer might have wished it, positively to refuse to 
 conduct him by that route. They would have risked little 
 or nothing by this resistance, for all experienced mountaineers 
 would have praised instead of blaming them\ 
 
 1 Three years before one of my friends was ascending Mont Blanc, and was 
 strongly urged to go by the ' ancien passage ' by one of his guides, who said he 
 would "warrant it safe." Another, however, strongly opposed him, and the 
 
120 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 In the summer of 1865 a porter was killed by an avalanche, 
 and the rest of the party had a nan'ow escape, on the higher 
 slopes of Monte Rosa. The sad accident on the Col du Geant 
 may be considered as partly due to a slip of the snow. There 
 three guides were conducting the same number of weary 
 travellers down the steep ridge, or buttress, which leads from 
 the summit of the pass towards Courmayeur. Usually this 
 part of the journey is all rock-climbing of a very simple and 
 easy kind, but on this occasion, owing to the inclement season 
 (August, 1860), a quantity of snow still remained, forming at 
 one place, a steeply inclined slope of considerable length, which 
 terminated in a rocky descent, abrupt though not absolutely 
 precipitous. The guides, according to their own account, 
 wishing to save the travellers as much fatigue as possible, 
 deserted the rocky arete for the smooth snow slope; the party 
 were tied together, but the first and last guide held the rope 
 in their hands instead of having it fastened round their waists. 
 Very soon one of the travellers slipt upon the snow and 
 overthrew the others; their fall started a small avalanche, and 
 they all slid down together with it. The first and last guide, 
 being hampered by the rope which they held, were unable to 
 arrest the fall of the party, as, if both hands had been free, 
 they in all probability could have easily done, and at last were 
 obliged to let it go, in order to save their own lives. The 
 three travellers, and Victor Tairraz, the guide who was at- 
 tached to them, were dashed down the steep rocks at the 
 bottom of the slope and were all killed. Of course usually an 
 accident of this kind would in this place be quite impossible. 
 Commonly the ascent or descent of the south side of the pass 
 is only a scramble along the edge of a buttress of bare rock, 
 which from a distance looks rather formidably steep, but in 
 
 more prudent course was adopted. They had not gone very far when they saw 
 the 'ancien passage' so completely swept by an avalanche that escape would 
 have been impossible. 
 
THE PIZ MORTARATSCH. 121 
 
 reality can be traversed by any lady who is a tolerable walker. 
 When however I crossed the pass, in July 1864, I was able to 
 understand how the accident had occurred; for there was then 
 an unusual amount of snow; and though, by keeping to the 
 ar^te and occasionally proceeding with a little caution, there 
 was not the slightest danger, it was obvious that the slope 
 below was sufficiently steep to render a slip perilous to fatigued 
 or inexperienced travellers. In the same way, in 1864 Dr 
 Tyndall with two friends, and Jenni (the well-known Pon- 
 tresina guide) and another, had a narrow escape in descending 
 the Piz Mortaratsch, one of the peaks of the Bernina group. 
 One of them, by slipping, set in motion some snow that was 
 lying on an ice slope, and the whole party slid away with it. 
 After descending for more than 1000 feet they fortunately 
 came to rest within a short distance of some fearful precipices, 
 a happy result in great measure due to the skill and strength of 
 Jenni. Dr Tyndall has given an interesting description of 
 the accident in a letter which he addressed to the Times news- 
 paper^ In 1867 I descended by the same slope, at a time when 
 the snow was not in a good condition. It is exceedingly steep, 
 looking from below almost impracticable; and though the 
 greater part of it is so perfectly safe, that we simply sat one 
 behind another on the snow and slid down several hundred 
 feet as a living sledge, the upper portion, where one crosses 
 from the foot of the actual peak to the top of this 'slide/ 
 requires great caution. On this the slope itself is very steep, 
 and is broken here and there by a projecting crag; below are 
 ice cliffs or crevasses; and, to make matters worse, there are 
 some overhanging seracs above, which evidently sweep it occa- 
 sionally from top to bottom. We crossed this part, fortunately 
 not more than one or two hundred yards wide, very carefully; 
 each step being cut through the loose upper coating of snow 
 into the hard ice below, and every precaution taken to avoid 
 1 Eeprinted, Alpine Journal, Vol. i. p. 437. 
 
122 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 the slightest slip. The detached fragments started small ava- 
 lanches, which flowed down the slope and spread themselves 
 like waterfalls over the rocks, with a stealthy serpent-like 
 hiss that was peculiarly unpleasant to the nerves. A very 
 melancholy accident also took place, Feb. 28, 1864, on the 
 Haut-de-Cry, in which a Russian gentleman and J. J. 
 Bennen, one of the best Swiss guides, lost their lives. The 
 following account is abridged from a description written by 
 Mr Gossett ^ one of the survivors : — The Haut-de-Cry is a 
 mountain rising to a height of 9698 feet on the west side of the 
 Lizerne, a torrent which enters the Rhone valley near to Sion. 
 The travellers started from this town, ascended the valley, 
 and, after working their way through a pine forest, in which 
 they were much impeded by deep soft snow, gained a ch41et 
 at the height of about 7000 feet above the sea. The next 
 three hours only took them up another 1000 feet; for the 
 snow beyond the pine wood, though frozen at the top, was not 
 generally strong enough to bear their weight. After ascending 
 the N.E. arete of the mountain for a while, they determined to 
 cross over to the eastern one. In order to gain this, they had 
 to mount a steep snow-field about 800 feet high ; it was a sort 
 of couloir on a large scale, about 150 feet broad at the top 
 and 400 or 500 at the bottom. When they were nearly on 
 the other side of this the snow gave way under them, and 
 Bennen expressed his apprehension of an avalanche, but was 
 overruled by the local guides. They accordingly advanced a 
 few steps further, when the snow-field suddenly split across, 
 about 14 or 15 feet above them, with a deep cutting sound. 'An 
 awful silence ensued; it lasted but a few seconds, and then it 
 was broken by Bennen's voice, Wir sind Alle verloren^.... 
 They were his last words,... the ground on which we stood 
 began to move slowly, and I felt the utter uselessness of an 
 
 1 Alpine Joiimal, Vol. i. p. 288. 
 3 " We aire all lost." 
 
FATAL AVALANCHE ON THE HAUT-DE-CRY. 123 
 
 alpenstock. I soon sank up to my shoulders, and began de- 
 scending backwards. With a good deal of trouble I succeeded 
 in turning round." Mr Gossett goes on to say that he was 
 then overwhelmed by the snow and was on the point of being 
 suffocated, when he was providentially thrown up again to 
 the surface. He now saw the avalanche before him as he de- 
 scended; the head alone was preceded by a thick cloud of 
 snow dust, the rest of the avalanche was clear. All around 
 him he heard the horrid hissing of the snow, and far before 
 the thundering of the foremost part of the avalanche. To 
 prevent himself sinking again, he made use of his arms, as 
 though he were swimming : soon after this he saw the snow 
 in front of him come gradually to rest, and heard a sound 
 similar to the creaking noise produced by a heavy cart passing 
 over frozen snow in winter. The pressure of the snow behind, 
 before it came to rest, nearly crushed him ; he was again 
 covered up, but fortunately he had previously thrown up his 
 hands in order to protect his head. The avalanche froze as soon 
 as it ceased to move, and he was almost stifled; but at length 
 with much difficulty he succeeded in clearing away enough 
 snow to allow him to breathe, and then one of the guides, who 
 had escaped from being buried, came to his assistance. Two 
 of the other guides were also able to disengage themselves 
 easily, and after some time they set Mr Gossett free; but the 
 snow had to be cut away with the axe down to his feet before 
 he could be taken out. They then partly uncovered the body 
 of his Russian friend, but he was quite dead. Bennen also 
 was buried so deep that help could not be given, for by this 
 time their feet were all severely frost-bitten. The freezing of 
 an avalanche, as soon as it stops, is caused by the pres- 
 sure of the hinder part, which is still in motion, upon that 
 which has been brought to rest. Of course this greatly in- 
 creases the danger, because the person overwhelmed may be 
 suffocated before help can reach him. 
 
124 THE ALPINE REGION'S, 
 
 M. Joanne, in the Introduction to his vakiable Itineraire de 
 la Suisse (p. Ixxviii), gives a list of twelve of the most destruc- 
 tive avalanches that have fallen in Switzerland, from which I 
 select a few, in addition to one or two already noticed, to shew 
 how terrible a scourge the Lawine can be in many villages 
 which to the summer traveller often seem so calm and peaceful, 
 — fit sites for an ideal arcadia of pastoral life. 
 
 In the year 1500 a caravan of 600 persons were swept away 
 in crossing the Great St Bernard. In 1624, SOO were buried 
 under an avalanche which fell from Monte Cassedra (Ticino). 
 On the 18th February, 1720, one at Obergestelen (in the Rhone 
 valley, about two leagues from the foot of that glacier) destroyed 
 120 cottages, 400 head of cattle, and 88 persons. The corpses were 
 collected and buried in a large pit in the village cemetery, on the 
 wall of which was engraved the following brief but pathetic 
 inscription, "O God, what sorrow! eighty-eight in a single grave!" 
 (Gott, welche trauer ! acht und achtzig in einem grab !) \ About 
 the same time 40 persons perished at Brieg, lower down the 
 valley, and 23 on the Great St Bernard. The neighbourhood of 
 Obergestelen was again ravaged in 1827, during the night of 
 January, 16-17, when 46 houses in the villages of Selkingen 
 and Biel were destroyed, with 51 of their inhabitants. 
 
 There are many strange stories of the instinctive prescience 
 which animals have shewn when danger from this source is 
 impending. Dogs and horses are said to be especially sensitive ; 
 Berlepsch tells a story of a pack-hoi'se on the Scale tta pass, 
 which, though at ordinary times most tractable, became restive 
 when an avalanche was likely to fall. This made him very 
 valuable to his owners, who in bad weather relied almost en- 
 tirely upon his instinct One day, however, he was conveying 
 some travellers in a sledge over the pass, and when near the 
 summit suddenly stopped. They foolishly insisted on proceed- 
 
 1 Conservateur Suisse, xlvi. p. 478 (Vol, xii.) 
 
AVALANCHES. 125 
 
 iDg ; the horse after resisting for a time started off at full speed, 
 as if to try and escape the danger ; but the effort was vain ; in a 
 few seconds the avalanche descended and buried all beneath it. 
 
 Among other places, the Grimsel Hospice (now an inn) is 
 often endangered by avalanches. This building stands at the 
 bottom of a steep caldron of rock, down the sides of which 
 they often rush with terrific force. The wall chiefly exposed to 
 them is immensely thick, and the windows are protected by 
 strong iron bars. Yet in 1858 I saw one of these which two 
 years before had been bent by an avalanche, which had burst in 
 the shutters and filled the room with snow. At the same time 
 I heard the following strange story, which was said to have 
 happened some thirty years before. The servant who remained 
 there during the winter was in one of the rooms on a stormy 
 evening, when he thought he heard a voice calling him, in 
 another part of the building. Believing that his ears must 
 have deceived him, he at first did not obey the summons ; still, 
 being rather startled, he continued listening attentively. Pre- 
 sently the cry was repeated, and he at once, though very much 
 alarmed, — for he knew that he was alone in the house, and that 
 no traveller would be out at such a season, — went in the direction 
 of the sound. Directly after, an immense avalanche descended 
 upon the house, crushing in the roof of the room in which he 
 had been sitting and filling it with snow and debris. 
 
 It is a popular notion, that the slightest cause, such as the 
 sound of the voice, the crack of a whip, or the report of a gun, is 
 often sufficient to set the balanced masses of snow in motion and 
 create an avalanche. Accordingly, we often read in the earlier 
 accounts of mountain ascents, how in certain places the guides 
 solemnly enforced silence on the party. No doubt, when great 
 masses of snow are collected on the mountain crests or on steep 
 slopes, the poise is so nice that a very slight cause may destroy 
 equilibrium ; it is perhaps hardly too much to say that, early in 
 the year, places might be found where a snowball could origin 
 
126 TEE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 nate an avalanche. This however is not the case in summer, 
 at any rate in weather fit for mountain ascents; and the caution 
 was only one act of the solemn farce which used to be played 
 by the Chamouni guides during an ascent of Mont Blanc, with 
 a view of overawing the victimised traveller, and of maintain- 
 ing a tariff which, — ^now happily in a great measure a thing of 
 the past, — was one of the most impudent codes of swindling and 
 extortion ever framed. The following amusing extract from an 
 account written by Mr Leslie Stephen of the ascent to a dan- 
 gerous pass in the Bernese Alps, between the Eiger and the 
 Monch, shews the opinion of one of the most skilful Oberland 
 guides on this point. The party, led by three guides, two of 
 whom were from Chamouni, the other from Grindelwald, was 
 threading some dangerous s^racs hi the upper part of the 
 glacier, when, as Mr Stephen says, "the Chamouni guides 
 warned us not to speak, for fear of bringing some of the nicely- 
 poised ice masses down on our heads. On my translating this 
 well-meant piece of advice to Lauener (the Oberland guide), he 
 immediately selected the most dangerous looking pinnacle in 
 sight, and mounting to the top of it sent forth a series of 
 screams, loud enough, I should have thought, to bring down 
 the top of the Monch — they failed, however, to dislodge any 
 s^racs\" 
 
 A yet more awful calamity than the avalanche sometimes, 
 though happily not often, befalls the dwellers in the Alps ; this 
 is the fall of huge masses of earth and stone. Not a breeze 
 sweeps over the crags of the ' everlasting hills ' but it brushes 
 away the dust which has crumbled on their surface; scarce a 
 drop of rain trickles down them, but it bears to a lower level 
 some flake of mica or grain of sand ; and in addition to this 
 there are very few, down which stones, singly or in volleys, do 
 not come thundering at intervals all day long, if not by night as 
 well. Some mountains, however, spread ruin abroad on a much 
 
 1 Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers. Second Series, Vol. ii. p. 18. 
 
 I 
 
BERGFALLS. 127 
 
 vaster scale, when thousands , of tons of rock and soil come 
 crashing down at once, sweeping away and overwhelming every- 
 thing in their course. Among the most noted of these berg- 
 falls or ^boulements, as they are called, are those from the 
 Diablerets and the Rossberg. The former mountain is one of 
 the westernmost of the Oberland chain. It is a long flattish 
 ridge, garnished with several small peaks, which overhang very 
 steep walls of rock on either side. These are built up with a 
 kind of masonry of beds of limestone and shale, dipping 
 roughly southwards, that is, towards the head of a small valley 
 which runs up from the Rhone and terminates at the foot of 
 one of these precipitous walls. Hence it is evident that if any- 
 thing weakens one of these shale beds, — the mortar, so to say, 
 which binds the courses of stone together, —there is always 
 danger of a landslip. 
 
 This has actually taken place on two occasions. The first 
 of these happened in the afternoon of September 25th, 1714. 
 For two whole days previously loud groanings had been heard to 
 issue from the mountain, as though some imprisoned spirit were 
 struggling to release himself, like Typhoeus from under Etna ; 
 then a vast fragment of the upper part of the mountain 
 broke suddenly away and thundered down the precipices into 
 the valley beneath. In a few minutes 55 chalets, with 16 men 
 and many head of cattle, were buried for ever under the ruins. 
 One remarkable escape has indeed been recorded, perhaps the 
 most marvellous ever known. A solitary herdsman from the 
 village of Avent occupied one of the chalets which were buried 
 under the fallen mass. Not a trace of it remained ; his friends 
 in the valley below returned from their unsuccessful search, and 
 mourned him as dead. He was, however, still among the living; 
 a huge rock had fallen in such a manner as to protect the roof 
 of his chalet, which, as is often the case, rested against a cliff. 
 Above this stones and earth had accumulated, and the man was 
 buried alive. Death would have soon released him from his 
 
128 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 imprisonment, had not a little rill of water forced its way 
 through the debris and trickled into the chdlet. Supported by 
 this and by his store of cheese, he lived three months, labouring 
 all the while incessantly to escape. Shortly before Christmas 
 he succeeded, after almost incredible toil, in once more looking 
 on the light of day, which his dazzled eyes, so long accustomed 
 to the murky darkness below, for awhile could scarcely support. 
 He hastened down to his home in Avent, and knocked at his 
 own door ; pale and haggard, he scarcely seemed a being of this 
 world. His relations would not believe that one so long lost 
 could yet be alive, and the door was shut in his face. He 
 turned to a friend's house ; no better welcome awaited him ; 
 terror seized upon the village; the priest was summoned to 
 exorcise the supposed demon ; and it was not till he came that 
 the unfortunate man could persuade them that he was no 
 spectre, but flesh and blood. 
 
 A second fall took place in 1749, before which the subter* 
 ranean groans were again heard ; but this time the herdsmen 
 took the alarm and fled at once with their cattle. Five Bernese, 
 however, who were at work in a saw-mill down the valley, at a 
 distance of six miles from the mountain, paid no attention to 
 the warnings. The ^boulement took place, and they and their 
 mill were buried beneath the ruins. On this occasion forty 
 chalets were destroyed, more than a square league of forest or 
 pasture land was covered with ruins, the waters of the river 
 were dammed up and formed the lonely tarns now called the 
 Lakes of Derborence. 
 
 The valley is still one of the wildest scenes of desolation 
 that can be imagined : for two hours one walks along a path 
 winding in and out among the enormous masses of stone of 
 every shape and size with which the bed of the valley is com- 
 pletely filled. The savageness of the lower part is now indeed 
 somewhat softened by the firs and Alpine shrubs which have 
 found root among the debris, but at the upper end the scene of 
 
 fl 
 
FALL OF THE BOSSBERG. 129 
 
 ruin still remains in all its dreariness, while the steep cliffs and 
 stone-strewn slopes of the Diablerets, which rise full in front 
 during the whole walk, seem to shew that another catastrophe 
 is by no means impossible. One feels a certain sense of relief 
 in passing beyond the range of these terrible engines of de- 
 struction. 
 
 The second mountain, the Rossberg, of equally evil repu- 
 tation, and perhaps more celebrity, rises near the lake of Zug. 
 Its upper part consists of sloping strata of Nagelfluh^, underlaid 
 by beds of clay. This rock, though very hard, splits rather 
 easily under the influence of the weather, so that in rainy 
 seasons the water penetrates readily through it to the clay 
 below. This then, becoming soft, gives way under the weight 
 of the rock above, and a landslip is caused. The worst of these 
 happened on the 27th of September, 1806, and the following 
 account of it is condensed from a description published by Dr 
 Zay, of Arth, a neighbouring village. The summer had been a 
 very wet one, and on the first and second of September the rain 
 fell incessantly. New cracks appeared on the flank of the 
 Rossberg, from which deep groaning sounds were heard to 
 issue ; stones started from the earth, and rocks rolled down the 
 slopes. At two o'clock in the afternoon a large rock fell down 
 into the valley and raised a cloud of black dust. At the base 
 of the mountain the ground seemed pressed down violently 
 from above, and sticks thrust into it moved of themselves. 
 Soon a large chasm was seen to open out on the side of the 
 Rossberg ; the streams ceased to flow, and the birds flew away 
 terrified : then, about five o'clock, the surface of the mountain 
 glided down into the valley, slowly enough, however, to allow 
 some persons to save themselves by flight. The part which fell 
 was about three miles long, 350 yards wide, and 33 thick. In 
 
 ^ Nailrock : it is a kind of pudding-stone or solidified gravel, the pebbles in 
 which are so fiimly cemented together that they are often split through more 
 easily than torn from their beds. 
 
130 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 five minutes one of the most fertile valleys in Switzerland was 
 changed into a stony desert : three whole villages and part of a 
 fourth, six churches, 120 houses, 200 stables or chalets, 225 
 head of cattle (many of those out at pasture had saved them- 
 selves by a timely flight), and 111 arpents of land^ were buried 
 under the ruins of the Rossberg. Among the dead, 484 in 
 number, were seven visitors, who were members of some of the 
 noblest families in Bern. A party of eleven were on their way 
 from Arth to Goldau, one of the villages destroyed ; these 
 seven were a little in advance, and were just entering the 
 village ; the others, who were about a furlong behind, attracted 
 by something strange in the appearance of the Rossberg, halt- 
 ed, and took out their telescopes to see what w^as the matter. 
 Suddenly a volley of stones hurtled over their heads, a cloud of 
 dust filled the valley, and a fearful crash was heard. They fled 
 for their lives. When tranquillity was somewhat restored, they 
 returned to seek their friends ; but they and Goldau were 
 buried beneath a hundred feet of debris. Of that village, no- 
 thing but the church-bell was ever found. 
 
 From this calamity too were some remarkable escapes : one 
 woman, with her child in her arms, ran out of her cottage just 
 in time to see it swept away into the valley below; a child, the 
 sole survivor of a family, was found sleeping on a mattress upon 
 the top of a mass of mud and stones ; while another child and 
 a servant girl were dug out from under the ruins with compara- 
 tively slight injuries, after being buried for fourteen hours. 
 
 ■In the seventh volume of the Conservateur Suisse (p. 184) a 
 list is given of fifteen of the most disastrous ^boulements that 
 have occurred in Switzerland, among which are the three jiist 
 mentioned. The earliest recorded happened in 563, and is thus 
 described by a contemporary, Marius, Bishop of Lausanne, from 
 whose chronicle the following account is translated. "In the 
 
 1 An arpent is 40,000 square feet (French). 
 
 I 
 
DESTRUCTION OF PLEURS. 131 
 
 consulate of Basil... the great mountain of Tauretunum, in the 
 territory of the Valais, fell so suddenly that it covered a castle 
 in its neighbourhood, and some villages, with their inhabitants ; 
 it so agitated the lake for 60 miles in length and 20 in breadth, 
 that it overflowed both its banks ; it destroyed very ancient vil- 
 lages, with men and cattle ; it entombed several holy places, with 
 the religious belonging to them. It swept away with fury the 
 Bridge of Geneva, the mills and the men ; and, flowing into the 
 city of Geneva, caused the loss of several lives." 
 
 Perhaps the most fatal to human life of all these catastrophes 
 was that which overwhelmed Pleurs. This was a town near 
 Chiavenna, which enjoyed great prosperity, being a convenient 
 dep6t for German and Italian merchandise. The inhabitants 
 therefore were rich and luxurious; the situation of the town 
 was smiling and beautiful; still, above the vines and forests 
 that clothed the suiTounding hills, rose the drear and furrowed 
 head of the Monte Conto. Its ill-omened scars, and the warn- 
 ings of some peasants who fed their flocks on it, appear to 
 have been alike forgotten, and the inhabitants to have lived, till 
 August 30, 1618, without a thought of danger. Then, after 
 several days of heavy rain, a fragment of the Conto suddenly 
 fell upon the neighbouring village of Schillano, and buried 
 beneath it 78 houses with their inmates. Terrified at this 
 awful catastrophe, the people of Pleurs crowded to the principal 
 church at the ho ur of vespers ; but, while they were at prayers, 
 the greater part of the mountain " gave way, with a crash that 
 shook all the country round, sweeping along forests, rocks, and 
 fields, and buried the whole town for ever under the ruins." 
 Scarcely any escaped alive ; in all, about 1500 persons perished. 
 Five churches (including those belonging to convents), two 
 hospitals, and five bridges, with many handsome houses, were 
 buried under a mass of debris some hundred feet deep. The 
 course of the river Maira was obstructed, and the inhabitants 
 lower down the valley, fearing a flood, escaped to the moun- 
 
 9—2 
 
132 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 tarns. Most fortunately the river speedily forced its way 
 through the barrier, so this further disaster was avoided. Many 
 attempts were made to excavate in the ruins ; first, in the hope 
 of saving any who might be buried alive ; then, of recovering 
 some portion of the valuables which the town had contained ; 
 but all in vain. A few mangled corpses, and a church-bell, 
 were all that could be reached \ 
 
 It must not, however, be supposed that Switzerland is pecu- 
 liarly exposed to calamities of this kind ; few of the Alpine 
 districts are without their tale of sorrow. Several eboulements 
 are recorded to have happened in Dauphind ; one of which will 
 be described presently. The crystalline districts, however, are 
 less liable than those where shales or conglomerates abound. 
 One of the most fearful scenes of ruin that I have ever seen is 
 on the Ampezzo road, in the Italian Tyrol. Just on the east of 
 this rises Monte Antelao, a fine pyramidal peak of grey rock 
 and shale, capped with slopes of snow and ice. From one of 
 its buttresses an enormous mass fell in 1814, overwhelming two 
 or three villages and their inhabitants. Several square miles 
 of country, covered with broken rocks and white dusty rubbish, 
 which is only just beginning here and there to nourish a scanty 
 verdure, shew the extent of the devastation. One very remark- 
 able escape was related to me. Two persons, a father and his 
 little son, were walking towards one of the villages that were 
 overwhelmed, when they were startled by a loud crash, and by 
 several stones whizzing past them. Close at hand a mass of 
 rock rose by the road-side, and they instinctively rushed under 
 its shelter. The next moment the fields and houses m front" 
 disappeared under a black cloud of dust, and the road on either 
 side was covered with fragments of stone. The younger of the 
 two was alive in 1866, and told this story to my companion, as 
 he drove him past the spot. 
 
 The thriving little town of Cortina, in the same neighbour- 
 
 ^ Cbmn-vntenr Suisse, i. 181 ; vii. 200. 
 
LAND-SLIP AT CORTINA. 133 
 
 hood, has not always been free from anxiety of this kind. The 
 cliffs of an outlier of the Sorapisse, a grand mountain S. E. of 
 the town, consist of dolomitic limestone resting on shale, and 
 consequently often fall. These cliffs, indeed, are too far away to 
 be likely to do any damage of themselves, but their dt'bris has 
 choked up the mouth of a slight hollow just at their feet, and 
 converted it into a tarn. After some very heavy rain in 1842, 
 this became unusually full, and the dam began to yield. As the 
 quantity of water was happily not great enough to cause a 
 flood, it converted the soil and debris into a stream of mud, 
 which advanced at a much more gradual rate. As the evening 
 approached, it came near Cortina, following the course of a 
 torrent which descends through the pastures just on the south 
 of the town. So far all was well ; but the danger was that it 
 might overflow the low banks of this ravine, and spreading itself 
 out over the sloping pastures, roll down upon the town ; when, 
 in all probability, most of the houses would have been seriously 
 injured, if not swept away. It was an awful night; the churches 
 had been stripped of their furniture, the houses were deserted, 
 the people, carrying away what could be removed, had most of 
 them taken refuge in the neighbouring villages ; the rest were 
 praying, or watching the advance of the sti'eam of mud and 
 rolling boulders. It rose higher and higher in the ravine, w^hich, 
 just outside the town, was spanned by a handsome stone bridge. 
 It reached the crown of the arch ; this stemmed the current for 
 a moment ; then yielded, as if blown up by gunpowder, and 
 disappeared. The stream rose up to the brink of the ravine, 
 but fortunately did not overflow its banks ; and so the com- 
 mune escaped with the loss of their bridge, and a good many 
 acres of valuable land, which were utterly ruined. It appeared 
 to me that, though the danger may recur at any time after an 
 unusually wet season, a few ' navigators ' might, in a week or 
 two, cut a trench that would drain the tarn, and make Cortina 
 as safe as Venice. These mud-avalanches, though less dan- 
 
134 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 gerous to life, on account of their slower motion, are quite as 
 destructive to property ; and many hundreds of acres of arable 
 and pasture land, besides houses and chalets have been utterly 
 destroyed by them. The scene of one of these is well known to 
 all who have travelled along the Rhone Valley, above the Lake 
 of Geneva, for both the rail and the carriage roads cut through 
 its remains. It was caused by a large mass of rock and shale 
 which fell from the Dent du Midi, sweeping along with it a 
 quantity of snow, ice, and moraine, and was converted by the 
 swollen mountain torrents into a slimy mud, which descended 
 to the Rhone just like a stream of lava. 
 
 The floods which, as we have seen, are sometimes caused 
 by these berg-falls, are often even more widely destructive. One 
 of the most fatal, to which I have already alluded, happened in 
 the valley of the Romanche. Some 30 miles above Grenoble 
 the mountains around this river, owing to the influx of the 
 Veneon and the Olle within a short distance of each other, 
 retire so as to form a sort of amphitheatre around a rich allu- 
 vial plain. They, however, soon close in again upon the narrow 
 defile of the Combe de Gavet, the northern portal to which is a 
 mountain called the Voudene. A landslip from this in the 
 twelfth century dammed up the narrow gorge and converted 
 the plain into a lake, in some places 30 feet deep. This re- 
 mained for many years, till, on the night of September 14, 1219, 
 the dam suddenly burst, and the accumulated waters rushed 
 down the valley sweeping everything before them. Many 
 villages were destroyed with their inhabitants ; and at Grenoble 
 itself numbers were carried ofl" by the flood. A similar lake 
 was formed in 1512 in the Yal de Blegno, which was 12,000 
 paces round, and so deep that only the tops of the church 
 steeples stood above the water. This lasted for two years, and 
 then burst, spreading ruin over the whole valley between it 
 and the Lago Maggiore, and bringing death to more than 600 
 persons. 
 
 A 
 
FLOOD IN THE DR4NSE VALLEY. 135 
 
 The inundation in the valley of the Dranse in 1818 is also 
 well known. This, however, was not caused by a berg-fall, but 
 by the advance of the glacier of Gdtroz, which dammed up the 
 river and formed a lake about 10,000 feet long, 400 wide, and 
 200 deep ; containing, it was estimated, about 800,000,000 
 cubic feet of water. It was well known what the result of this 
 would be, for in 1595 a similar barrier had been formed, which 
 had at last given way and devastated the valley for miles below. 
 The only chance therefore was to * tap ' the lake, desperate as 
 the remedy might seem. This was done under the superinten- 
 dence of M. Yenetz, an eminent Swiss engineer. A brave band 
 of labourers, working day and night, cut a tunnel* 600 feet long 
 through the glacier, which was completed just as the waters of 
 the lake reached the level of its opening. The current quickly 
 deepened and enlarged this, and between the 13th and 16th of 
 June, about two- fifths of the water was drawn off. The cutting, 
 however, thus formed, so much weakened the barrier, that on 
 the latter day, at half-past four in the afternoon, it suddenly 
 gave way and the remaining contents of the lake swept down 
 the valley. In two hours the flood reached Martigny, and 
 poured into the Rhone ; by which it rushed down to the Lake 
 of Geneva, reaching this at eleven ; thus passing over about 18 
 leagues in six-and-a-half hours. It is said to have issued from 
 the defile of Lourtier (a few miles below the glacier), like a 
 moving wall or mound, a hundred yards high, the head of the 
 column of water being entirely masked by the confused mass 
 of mud, stones, beams, and trunks of trees which it swept along, 
 and overhung by a dense cloud of dust\ The people in the 
 valley had been warned of their danger, nevertheless 50 lives 
 were lost. Besides this, 500 houses and cottages, with several 
 bridges, were destroyed ; and a great quantity of land rendered 
 useless, at any rate for many years. 
 
 The violent storms which break upon the mountain districts 
 
 * Conservateur Suisse, No. xxxvii. (Vol. ix.) p. 365. 
 
136 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 often cause floods, which, though less disastrous than these, 
 would, if they occurred in England, be as noted as the bursting 
 of the Holmfirth reservoir. Hardly a year passes without con- 
 siderable damage being done ; bridges are swept away, roads 
 are buried under torrents of mud, and fields overwhelmed with 
 d^ris. I well remember the storm of August, 1860, which 
 among other mischief, seriously damaged the magnificent 
 3plngen road. I was then at Zermatt, where it began with a 
 thunder-storm and rained for about thirty-six hours ; after 
 which, as may be supposed, the torrents were swollen far 
 beyond their usual size. Lower down in the valleys much 
 harm was done, but there one bridge only was swept away. 
 It was, however, an awful sight to see the Visp roaring under 
 one of the bridges that remained, and to hear the groans and 
 heavy thuds of the boulders that were being hurried on and 
 dashed against one another by the torrent. The traces of this 
 storm were visible when I crossed the Splugen the following- 
 year; and I had a few weeks before seen broken bridges and 
 large tracts of stone-strewn land in the valley of the Romanche, 
 ■which marked the course taken by a flood in 1856. 
 
 A letter, written by an eye-witness, relates how the pleasant 
 town of Vevay^ on the Lake of Geneva was once inundated. 
 The torrent, which here descends from the mountains and passes 
 through the town, overflowed its bank, rising in some streets to a 
 height of nine feet, filling many houses and cellars with mud, 
 and drowning several persons. Locarno, in the Canton Ticino, 
 appears, on the 2nd September, 1556, to have been the scene of 
 a yet more destructive storm and flood. The day began by 
 several shocks of an earthquake, followed, about five o'clock, by 
 a terrific gale from the south. Part of the old castle was blown 
 down ; the doors of St Victor's church were burst open by a 
 blast while the priest was at the altar, and everything within 
 
 ^ On July 5, 1726. Conservateur Suisse, No. xxxvi, (Vol. ix.) p. 214. 
 
EARTHQUAKES. 137 
 
 was overturned. Towards midday thick clouds covered the sky, 
 so that it was almost as dark as night ; then came a violent 
 thunder-storm, followed by torrents of rain, which lasted from 
 two to six o'clock in the evening. Every rivulet was changed 
 into a torrent ; the stream which flowed through the town was 
 so choked by uprooted trees and rocks, that its waters poured 
 over their banks and inundated the streets, almost burying 
 them under mud and gravel. Many lives were lost, and an 
 immense quantity of property destroyed. In fact this calamity, 
 following immediately upon the expulsion of some 300 of its 
 inhabitants, who had adopted the Reformed faith, dealt a blow 
 to the prosperity of Locarno from which it has never recovered ; 
 and it now numbers less than a third of the inhabitants that it 
 did in the 14th century \ 
 
 As may have been observed from the above notices, earth- 
 quakes are not very uncommon in the Alps, and are sometimes 
 productive of considerable damage. In the year 1356 the town 
 of Bale was almost overthrown by one, and some 300 persons 
 perished in its ruins. The last shock of any importance was in 
 1856. It was especially severe in the Yisp-thal. At Visp an 
 eye-witness^ describes the Hotel du Soleil as "shaken from top 
 to bottom, every wall split, mortar and stones brought tumbling 
 to the floors... the two churches suffered grievously; the whole 
 interior of the roof of one had fallen, crushing everything in its 
 way ; railings, seats, organ-loft, and altar-steps, all had been de- 
 stroyed and the main walls cracked from top to bottom "...At 
 St Nicholas also, about 12 miles up the valley, the houses were 
 much injured and the church-tower so seriously shaken that it 
 had to be rebuilt. A smart, but harmless, shock was felt at 
 Zermatt ; and what is more curious, the little village of Stalden, 
 about half-way between the two places injured, escaped almost 
 without damage. 
 
 1 Conservateur Suisse, No. xlvi. (Vol. xii.) p. 431. 
 
 2 Hinchliff, Summer Months among the Alps, p. 84. 
 
138 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 One of the greatest dangers which the traveller has to dread 
 on the Alpine passes, during unsettled weather late in the year, 
 is the Tourmente. This is a sudden storm of snow, accompanied 
 by violent gusts of wind, which fill the air with drifted flakes ; 
 so that, becoming bewildered, he loses his way, and at last sinks 
 down benumbed with cold and dies. There is hardly a fre- 
 quented pass which has not witnessed more than one death 
 from this cause. In 1830 two Englishmen perished on the Col 
 du Bon-Homme in one of these storms. Exhausted with fatigue 
 and overcome with cold, they sank down by the wayside ; and 
 their guides, after having in vain endeavoured to urge them on, 
 were compelled to leave them to their fate and press forward to 
 save their own lives. 
 
 I had once a slight experience of a tourmente, and am not 
 anxious to repeat the trial. It was on the well-known path 
 which leads from the Grimsel Hospice to Obergestelen in the 
 Rhone valley. One cold and rainy evening in the month of 
 August 1858 I arrived, with a friend, at the former place, where 
 we slept. On looking out next morning we found to our 
 surprise that the ground was covered several inches deep with 
 snow. Being however anxious to proceed on our journey and 
 not supposing there would be any particular difficulty in 
 crossing so comparatively low a pass, we shouldered our knap- 
 sacks and started directly after breakfast. On reaching the 
 top of the rocky wall above the Grimsel Hospice, where the 
 paths to the Rhone glacier and to Obergestelen divide, we at 
 once saw that there was harder work before us than we had an- 
 ticipated. All traces of the track were obliterated, a thick mist 
 concealed everything beyond the distance of a few yards, and 
 a cold wind swept in violent gusts over the plateau, driving 
 the snow before it. Two or three fir trunks, forming a rude 
 bridge across a stream, served to start us in the right direction; 
 and a little while after we came in sight of an upright pole. 
 This shewed us that for some distance at any rate the road was 
 
A TOURMENTE. 139 
 
 marked, and so we pushed on from pole to pole; for we could 
 rarely see further than from the one to the other. Occasionally 
 one was missing, and then we had to wait for a lull in the storm 
 in order to catch sight of the one beyond it. 
 
 All this time the weather was getting worse and worse, the 
 wind blew furiously, cold as ice, and raised such clouds of 
 drifted snow and sharp frozen sleet that it was often impos- 
 sible to see more than twenty or thirty feet ahead. Our hair 
 was covered with this frosty dust, it even hung on our eye- 
 lashes ; and had we been inclined to laugh, our appearance must 
 have been sufficiently droll. The drifts too became deeper and 
 deeper every step; we often plunged in above the middle in 
 trying to cross them, and were obliged to make circuits to avoid 
 those which we could not venture to pass. At last, thinking 
 matters were looking serious, I suggested to my companion that 
 perhaps we had better return. His reply was not encouraging, 
 ^' I do not think we should ever get back, for it would be im- 
 possible to face this wind." Accordingly we pushed forward 
 as before, halting now and then to raise a pole which had fallen, 
 in case we were after all forced to attempt a return, and once or 
 twice to drink a mouthful of brandy from our flasks. At last 
 after descending a little we suddenly came to the end of the 
 poles. This was by no means pleasant, for there was not a trace 
 of the road ; nothing but rock and drifted snow, with the mist as 
 thick and the tempest as violent as ever. Return being now 
 out of the question, we pushed on, always taking care to work 
 downwards as much as possible, in order to avoid entangling our- 
 selves in the hollows so frequent in the upper parts of mountains, 
 and determining, in case there seemed no hope of finding a path, 
 to follow the first running water which we could find. This 
 would of course have been, in this place, the simplest way of get- 
 ting out of our difficulties ; but we did not know what was be- 
 low us, and in an unknown country there is always a risk that 
 taking a stream for a guide may bring you to a precipice, down 
 
140 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 which you can only go as it does; a mode of descent which, 
 though speedy, would be the reverse of satisfactory, since the 
 atoms of the human body do not reunite so readily as the drops 
 of water. We therefore kept on following the line which seemed 
 the most probable one for the path to take ; driving our poles 
 into the snow to sound for it, occasionally scraping the drift 
 away if we fancied we saw any traces, and searching with 
 special care along the edges of streams. At last we hit upon 
 it and followed it for some distance, when it suddenly dis- 
 appeared ; the cold however was now less intense, the wind less 
 violent, and the snow not so deep ; so after some little difficulty 
 we again found the path, and pressed rapidly on. At length 
 a tree appeared through the mist, and a few minutes after this 
 welcome sight we got clear of the snow and reached the verge 
 of the pine-woods, through which we hurried in a drizzling 
 rain till we reached the bottom of the valley at Obergestelen : 
 thus terminating an adventure which might veiy easily have 
 produced serious consequences. We afterwards learnt that 
 another party, which later in the day had attempted to cross 
 with a guide, was driven back, and all the guests at the 
 Grimsel were weather-bound for the day; the guides pro- 
 nouncing the pass to be impracticable. This account of 
 what happened in summer on a pass hardly more than 
 7000 feet above the sea, may serve to give some idea of the 
 danger of a tourmente later in the year, and at a higher 
 elevation. 
 
 The wind often blows with great force on the tops of the 
 highest mountains even in the finest weather: in fact, the 
 north wind, generally the mountaineer's best friend, is sometimes 
 in this respect his enemy. Not unfrequently an expedition has 
 had to be abandoned when success was all but attained, because 
 the gale rendered the passage of some exposed slope or ridge 
 too dangerous, or because the intense cold produced frostbites. 
 In the summer of 1864 I was buffeted by one of these gales in 
 
STORMS ON THE HIGHER SUMMITS. 141 
 
 the Corridor^ of Mont Blanc. The cold was something horrible; 
 the wind seemed to blow not round but through me, freezing 
 my very marrow, and making my teeth chatter like castanets; 
 and if I stopped for a moment I shook as if in an ague fit. 
 It whisked up the small spiculse of frozen snow and dashed 
 them against my face with such violence that it was hardly 
 possible to look to windward. Thin sheets of ice as large as 
 my hand, were whirled along the surface of the glacier like 
 paper. During the whole ascent we were in the shade, but 
 at the head of the Corridor the sun's rays were shining with 
 full force upon the snow. Therefore I kept consoling myself 
 with the hope that when once we arrived there the cold would 
 be much less intense ; but to my astonishment when I stepped 
 out of the shade into the sun I was not conscious of any 
 difference. A short time afterwards one of our party became 
 exhausted and was frostbitten; whereupon by our guide's 
 advice we abandoned the expedition and returned as fast as 
 possible to a more genial climate. On several other occasions 
 the cold has been so great that I have only been able to stay 
 a few minutes on the exposed side of a lofty peak; once 
 too I was caught by a gale in descending the narrow ridge 
 along which is the way to the highest peak of Monte Rosa. 
 This is not exactly a pleasant place for an adventure of this 
 kind; for it is in many places only a few inches wide, with the 
 slope on one side very steep, and on the other almost a preci- 
 pice. We advanced as fast as we could during the lulls ; then, 
 when a blast came, anyone who was luckily near a projecting 
 rock made a dash for it and sheltered under its lea; and the 
 others either dropped on one knee or on all fours and anchored 
 themselves as firmly as possible with their alpenstocks. When 
 these gales are raging the drifted snow is blown far to leeward 
 
 1 A sort of wide gully or glen on the north side leading up to the watershed 
 between France and Italy, at the foot of the Calotte or actual peak of Mont Bl^nc. 
 It is about 14,000 feet above the sea. 
 
142 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 of the peaks in long streamers like delicate cirrus clouds; and 
 on such occasions the mountain is said by the guides fumer sa 
 pipe (to smoke his pipe) ; this Mont Blanc was doing to some 
 purpose the day that we were iipon him. 
 
 Not the least curious part of these gales is the way in which 
 they are often confined to the crests of the mountains. A raging 
 north-wind may be seen whisking the snow off the peaks while 
 there is comparative calm on the slopes a few hundred feet 
 lower down. On the occasion mentioned above there was but 
 an occasional breath on the Grand Plateau of Mont Blanc while 
 the storm was raging about 1000 feet above. Its violence 
 apparently did not depend upon the absolute height of the 
 mountain; for it seemed eqvially furious upon the upper part of 
 all the peaks in that neighbourhood. Some of my friends at the 
 same time were attempting the ascent of an Aiguille a few miles 
 off, which was about 13,000 feet high ; and they told me that the 
 storm burst upon them also with comparative suddenness when 
 about 2000 feet below the summit. They too were compelled 
 to turn back when only a few hundred feet from their goal. 
 In the same way the clouds in the upper regions of the sky 
 may be seen scudding along impelled by a brisk gale, while 
 lower down they are resting quietly among the peaks. Not un- 
 frequently the configuration of the country affects the direction 
 of the storms and causes them to break with peculiar fury 
 upon certain spots. Such is the case with many of the squalls 
 so dangerous on the lakes, which come rushing down the valleys 
 from the mountains and burst suddenly on the waters. The 
 form of a valley of course often modifies the direction of a 
 wind, and causes it to apparently blow from a quarter quite 
 different from its true course; and even on the calmest and 
 hottest days a cool current of air may always be found rushing 
 along above any large glacier stream. 
 
 A few words may also be said here on some of the pre- 
 vailing Alpine winds. The chief of these is the Fohn, the best 
 
THE FOHN. 143 
 
 known and most efficacious of all the winds. It is a hot 
 blast from the south, as some think from the African deserts. 
 On its approach the air becomes close and stifling ; the sky, at 
 first of unusual clearness, gradually thickens to a muddy and 
 murky hue : animals, both wild and domestic, become restless 
 and disquieted by the unnatural dryness of the hot blast which 
 now comes sweeping over the hills. It is said that in some 
 villages all the fires are extinguished when this wind begins 
 to blow, for fear lest some chance spark should fall on the dry 
 wooden roofs and set the whole place in a blaze. The precaution 
 is not a needless one; for the town of Glarus has been more 
 than once greatly injured by fire during one of these storms. 
 On the last occasion. May lOth, 1861, almost the whole town 
 was consumed. Still, dangerous as the Fohn sometimes is, it 
 is a welcome visitant in spring ; for under its warm touch the 
 winter snows melt away as if by magic. Tschudi says that in 
 the valley of Grindelwald this wind causes a snow-bed two feet 
 thick to disappear in about a couple of hours, and that it 
 produces a greater effect in 24 hours than the sun does in 
 15 days. Indeed there is a Swiss proverb which rather pro- 
 fanely says, " If the Fohn does not blow, the golden sun and the 
 good God can do nothing with the snow." The south wind, 
 however, is never welcome to the mountaineer in summer time : 
 for the vapours which it bears with it from the Italian plains 
 are condensed by the snows of the Alps and stream down in 
 torrents of rain. Tschudi also mentions a singular phenomenon 
 partly due to the Fohn ; which, during the early part of the year, 
 often prevails for a considerable time at and above a height of 
 some 6000 feet, while the air below is either calm or gently 
 moved by the north wind; hence the snow is melted off the 
 upper parts of the forests and the higher pastures, while it lies 
 thick on all the lower slopes and on the bed of the valley. 
 There is also a wind of a very opposite character called the 
 Bise ; this is a cutting blast from the north-east, which is held 
 
144 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 in much the same estimation by the Swiss as an east wind is 
 
 by us. 
 
 A thunder-storm is always a grand spectacle, but nowhere 
 
 is it so magnificent as among the mountains, where also it is 
 
 much more frequent than on the plains. It cannot be better 
 
 described than in Byron's well-known lines : 
 
 "Far along, 
 From peak to peak, the rattling crags among. 
 Leaps the live thunder! not from one lone cloud, 
 But every mountain now hath found a tongue. 
 And Jura answers, through her misty shroud. 
 Back to the joyous Alps, who call to her aloud M" 
 
 Often, during a summer which I spent at Lausanne, used 
 I to admire the truth of the description of which these are 
 the opening lines ; for almost all the storms that approached 
 the lake, either took their stand in the valley of the Rhone 
 or settled down upon the long ridges of the Jura. Less awful 
 than these, though more beautiful, were the distant storms 
 which we used to see raging in the direction of Mont Blanc, 
 while the lake itself was calm and the sky immediately 
 above it almost unclouded. One in particular, I remember, the 
 most beautiful that I have ever seen. The night was still 
 and dark ; a storm was evidently gathering, and so we waited 
 watching for it to break. Suddenly a flash or rather sheet 
 of unutterable brilliancy lit up the sky, and the whole chain of 
 the Savoy Alps on the opposite shore rose clear before us ; 
 while a ghostly pale blue light glimmered over the surface of 
 the lake and played upon the vine-clad slopes that stretched 
 down from our terrace to the water side. Again and again the 
 magic sheen returned, revealing for a moment this vision of 
 beauty, and then letting the pall of night close over it again. 
 Brilliant as was the lightning, the storm was so distant that 
 only the faint rumble of the thunder could be heard. 
 
 1 Childe Harold, c. iii. 92. 
 
ALPINE STORMS. U6 
 
 No words, however, can adequately express the awful gran- 
 deur of these tempests when they burst among the moun- 
 tains. I have often been out in them, in fact, far more frequently 
 than was pleasant, but perhaps the grandest of all was one that 
 welcomed me for the first time to Chamouni. As we entered 
 the valley and caught sight of the white pinnacles of the glacier 
 des Bossons, a dark cloud came rolling up rapidly from the 
 west. Beneath it, just where two tall peaks towered up, the 
 sky glowed like a sheet of red-hot copper, and a lurid mist 
 spread over the neighbouring hills, wrapping them, as it seem- 
 ed, in a robe of flame. Onward rolled the cloud ; the lightning 
 began to play ; down the valley rushed a squall of wind driving 
 the dust high in air before it and followed by a torrent of rain. 
 Flash succeeded flash almost incessantly; now darting from 
 cloud to cloud ; now dividing itself into a number of separate 
 streaks of fire and dancing all over the sky ; now streaming 
 down upon the crags, and at times even leaping up from some 
 lofty peak into the air. The colours were often most beautiful, 
 and bright beyond description. 
 
 It has happened sometimes that travellers have been actually 
 enveloped by the thunder-cloud, and placed in situations of nO 
 little peril. One thus describes his sensations^: "A loud peal of 
 thunder was heard, and shortly after I observed that a strange 
 singing sound like that of a kettle was issuing from my alpen- 
 stock. We halted, and finding that all the axes and stocks 
 emitted the same sound, stuck them into the snow. The guide 
 from the hotel now pulled off his cap, shouting that his head 
 burned, and his hair was seen to have a similar appearance to 
 that which it would have presented had he been on an insulated 
 stool under a powerful electrical machine. We all of us ex- 
 perienced the sensation of pricking and burning in some part of 
 the body, more especially in the head and face, my hair also 
 
 1 Mr Watson in Alpine Journal, Vol. i. page 143. See also Forbes, Travels 
 in the Alps, p. 323. 
 
 10 
 
146 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 standing on end in an uncomfortable but very amusing manner. 
 The snow gave out a hissing sound, as though a heavy shower 
 of hail were falling ; the veil on the wide-awake of one of the 
 party stood upright in the air ; and on waving our hands, the 
 singing sound issued loudly from the fingers. Whenever a peal 
 of thunder was heard the phenomenon ceased, to be resumed 
 before its echoes had died away. At these times we felt shocks, 
 more or less violent, in those portions of the body which were 
 most affected. By one of these shocks my right arm was para- 
 lyzed so completely that I could neither use nor raise it for 
 several minutes, nor indeed until it had been severely rubbed, 
 and I suffered much pain in it at the shoulder-joint for some 
 hours." 
 
 The colours of the snow and sky in the higher Alps have 
 already been incidentally noticed, but it may be well to add a 
 few words on what is one of the traveller's greatest delights. 
 The appreciation of pure colour no doubt varies greatly in 
 different persons, but it is certainly quickened and rendered 
 more delicate by observant travel in the Alps, for in no other 
 parts of Europe are the hues more varied, more changeful, or 
 more brilliant. I believe also that there is no faculty which is 
 better worth cultivation, or which is more conducive to a pure 
 and healthful state of mind ; and yet thousands are from mere 
 negligence practically almost colour-blind, and miss the rich 
 visions of glory, which are so often before their eyes. To live 
 among mountains and beautiful scenery cannot be the lot of 
 all, but the sky is ever above us, and almost daily glows in the 
 east before the rising sun, and flushes in the west with its 
 departing rays. To return, however, to the Alps. The snow 
 when seen from near is of course a dazzling white, so bright as 
 to scorch the skin and inflame the eyes of those who walk over 
 it without due protection. The cause of this is that the tiny 
 facets of the ice crystals scatter around the beams of light 
 which fall upon them ; and thus not only is the traveller ex- 
 
 i 
 
THE COLOUR OF THE SNOW. 147 
 
 posed to the direct rays of the sun, but thousands of little 
 mirrors, as though guided by mischievous schoolboys, dart their 
 reflected flashes upon him. A brief experience also shews him, 
 that a foggy clouded day is comparatively little protection. 
 Even though he has never once so much as seen the sun, — a 
 pale globe through a dark mist, — ^his face will burn and his eyes 
 smart that night unless he has taken all the usual precautions ; 
 for strange as it may seem, a very large portion of the light, 
 which reaches us, does not come directly from the sun, but is 
 reflected to us by the vapours of the atmosphere. An increase 
 of vapour, that is, an increase in the reflecting power of the 
 atmosphere, may therefore in some respects compensate for the 
 loss which it produces by the obstruction of the direct sun-rays ; 
 and so the light reflected from the snow and made by its crystal 
 mirrors to converge on any one spot on a cloudy day may not 
 be so very much less than on a clear one. Principal Forbes^ 
 mentions some ver}'^ interesting experiments which tend to 
 establish this fact, and to shew that the burnt faces from which 
 we Alpine travellers suffer, are not so much due to the greater 
 nearness of the sun or to the thinner veil of atmosphere, afford- 
 ing less protection from its heat, as to the mirrors of the snow 
 crystals, which collect the light usually absorbed by the soil or 
 herbage and throw it back upon us. 
 
 In the chinks and holes of the snow, as we have already 
 said, in speaking of the glaciers, the light appears a delicate 
 blue, often with a slight tinge of green ; its intensity depending 
 upon the purity of the snow. The ice crystals deprive the light 
 which passes through them of its red rays, and so change it to 
 blue or bluish-green. Water in a pure state, whether liquid or 
 crystallized, has an affinity for these red rays of the spectrum, 
 and absorbs them during their passage ; hence the depths of the 
 lake of Geneva and of the glacier crevasses appear equally 
 blue, and the predominance of a green tint appears to depend 
 
 * Travels in the Alps, p. 416. 
 
 10—2 
 
148 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 mainly upon the greater or less amount of fine detritus in the 
 one case and of minute air-bubbles in the other. At times the 
 effect of the transmitted light in deep, fresh snow is almost 
 magical ; it is thus admirably described by Dr TyndalP : 
 "This morning as I ascended Monte Rosa, I often examined 
 the holes made in the snow by our batons, but the light which 
 issued from them was scarcely perceptibly blue. Now, how- 
 ever, a deep layer of fresh snow overspread the mountain, and 
 the effect was magnificent. Along the kamm (the last ridge) 
 I was continually surprised and delighted by the blue gleams 
 which issued from the broken or perforated stratum of new 
 snow ; each hole made by the staff was filled with a light as 
 pure, and nearly as deep as that of the unclouded firmament. 
 When we reached the bottom of the kamm, Lauener came to 
 the front and tramped before me. As his feet rose out of the 
 snow and shook the latter off in fragments, sudden and wonder- 
 ful gleams of blue light flashed from them." On this occasion, 
 he adds, the sky was clouded and the air misty. The same 
 flashes of blue light may be seen in the waters of a clear lake, 
 Avhen they are dashed up by the paddles of a steamer. The 
 reason why the blue light was only conspicuous among the fresh 
 snow is doubtless that the consolidated old snow not only 
 deprived the light of its red rays, but absolutely forbade it 
 to pass. According to the well-known law in optics, light can 
 only emerge from a denser to a thinner medium, by striking 
 the surface of the former in certain particular directions. 
 Hence, in a tightly packed mass of snow prisms, the greater 
 part of each pencil of rays fails during some part of its journey 
 to fulfil these conditions, and is sent to wander hopelessly and 
 perish by dashing itself against the walls of its icy prison. The 
 feathery fresh snow and the transparent ice, wherein all these 
 prisms are welded together, are alike more easily traversed ; 
 hence the greater beauty of their recesses, 
 
 ^ Glaciers of the Alps, p. 132. 
 
LUMINOUS AND RED SNOW. 149 
 
 A singular phosphorescence is also occasionally visible on the 
 snow-fields during the night. Mr Tuckett^ who observed it 
 during an ascent of the Aletsch-horn, describes it as a "soft 
 lambent glow" over all the snow-fields round, "something like 
 that produced by the flame of naphtha ;" besides this, at every 
 step, he goes on to say, " an illuminated circle or nimbus about 
 two inches in breadth surrounded our feet, and we seemed to be 
 ploughing our way through fields of light and raising clods of it, 
 if I may be allowed the expression, in our progress." Another 
 observer, Mr Holland ^ speaks of the snowy particles falling 
 from their shoes in a " little luminous shower. Except that the 
 sparks were of a pale phosphorescent yellow colour, the effect 
 was much the same as that of the sparks seen at night when a 
 horse strikes his shoe against a stone." On the latter occasion 
 neither moon nor stars were visible. 
 
 Ked snow, so often mentioned in accounts of Arctic voyages, 
 is not very uncommon in the Alps. My first acquaintance with 
 it was on a snow-field near the Viso ; and so far as I know it is 
 rather more frequently found here, and in the neighbouring 
 district of Dauphine, than in any other Alpine region. There 
 was a reddish-brown tinge upon the snow, which at first I took 
 for dust blown from some rocks which were at no great dis- 
 tance ; but when we walked over it, our foot-marks were dis- 
 tinctly of a dull crimson-red colour, as if we had first stepped 
 upon some wet gravel — such as is common in the red sandstone 
 districts of our midland counties. On taking up a little of this 
 staining matter, I at once saw that it was not dust from any rock, 
 and a closer examination shewed its real character. Under the 
 microscope it appears as a minute crimson boss, something like a 
 full-blown rose. Its true nature has been much disputed ; 
 originally it was supposed to belong to the vegetable world, and 
 classed among the lowest botanical orders, under the name of 
 
 1 Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers. Second Series. Vol. ii. p. 52. 
 
 2 Alpine Journal, Vol. i. p: 143. 
 
150 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 protococcus nivalis. Recent researches have, however, esta- 
 blished the fact that under this title several kinds have been 
 confounded, most of which are infusoria of the genus discercea, 
 having a silicious carapace and two trumpet-shaped appendages, 
 which form their organs of motion. Some state that the 
 colouring matter is developed on the pollen grains of the Pinus 
 pumilio, which serve as a nidus \ If this be the case, it is not 
 confined to the pollen of this species, for I have seen red snow 
 most abundant in districts where this shrub is wholly wanting. 
 A yellowish dust, which may also be observed upon the snow, 
 appears to be entirely inorganic. 
 
 In the far distance the snow assumes a delicate primrose 
 hue or pale cream colour. The same change of tint may often 
 be noticed on massy cumulus clouds, and it is due, I suppose, to 
 the invisible vapours with which the atmosphere is always more 
 or less charged. The blue also of the sky varies considerably 
 in intensity, and becomes deeper as we ascend higher. Occa- 
 sionally, though only in the clearest weather, it appears a 
 dark gentian blue, reminding us of Shelley's description : 
 
 The sun's unclouded orb 
 KoUed through the black concave. 
 
 It was thus, the first time that I ascended Monte Rosa. The 
 day was perfectly clear, except for the sea of mist that as usual 
 lay far below us shrouding the plains of Italy; and the colour of 
 the vaulted firmament above, as we stood on the peak, was as 
 deep as, though far more brilliant than, the richest hues of the 
 bell-gentian ^ The blackness noticed above, as well as this 
 increase in the depth of the blue in the sky, are due doubtless to 
 the thinner shell of atmosphere, capable of reflecting and dis- 
 
 * Alpine Journal, Vol. i. p. 162. 
 
 * Gentiana acaulu — the only one often grown in English gardens, and a very 
 common flower in the higher Alpine regions. 
 
 I 
 I 
 
COLOURS OF THE SKY. 151 
 
 persing light, which interposes between the observer and the 
 vast dark space of unilluminated ether. On the southern slopes 
 of the Alps the blues of the sky are generally very different 
 from those on the northern ; owing, I am inclined to think, to 
 the greater quantity of vapour which is in solution in the air. 
 Though not less beautiful, indeed by many they are preferred 
 to the colder northern tints, they are not quite so deep in tone> 
 are softer, sunnier, and yet — if one may be allowed the expres- 
 sion — more solid, resembling the turquoise rather than the sap- 
 phire. From the same cause probably proceed the exquisite blue 
 tints of the distant landscape, which are always one of the great- 
 est charms of the Italian valleys. The neighbouring Ligurian 
 and Adriatic seas, and the marshy plains of the Po, must often 
 reek under the summer sun like steaming caldrons, and fill the 
 air with suspended vapour, which is only rendered visible when 
 it drifts against the Alpine snows. Hence doubtless come those 
 baffling sheets of mist just mentioned, which, lying at a height 
 of about eight or nine thousand feet, almost invariably cut off 
 all view of the Italian lowlands from the summits of the Pen- 
 nine Alps ; though they are often, I believe, so thin as to form 
 a diaphanous canopy, which against the bright sky is almost 
 invisible to those beneath. 
 
 But it is at the hours of sunrise and sunset that the sky 
 and Alps assume their greatest glory and are wrapped in royal 
 robes of crimson and gold, their Father's * coat of many colours.* 
 The hues on these two occasions are very different, but of course 
 the distinction consists in minute graduations of tone which it 
 is almost impossible to describe. As a broad division it may 
 be enough to say that in the sunrise the tints generally incline 
 rather to gold or orange, in the sunset to crimson or violet -pink. 
 Travellers should never omit to see some sunrises as well as 
 sunsets. The fact alone that the horizontal light falls upon the 
 mountains from the east instead of the west, makes a marvel- 
 lous difference in their appearance ; and beautiful as it may be 
 
152 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 to watch the rosy flush lingering on the peaks, it is yet more 
 delightful to see the golden gleam striking upon their summits, 
 and kindHng a hundred altar fires to the approaching day. 
 Besides this the mind, perhaps half-uncon scion sly, rejoices in the 
 triumph of light over darkness, and sighs in sympathy when 
 night, the emblem of death, again prevails in the alternate 
 round. So, Alpine traveller, 'shake off dull sloth, and early 
 rise,' and in fine weather your heart must be cold indeed if, 
 when the sun glances upon the mountains rising above the 
 silent valleys or a level sea of clouds, it does not 'pay its 
 morning sacrifice.' ' 
 
 Usually one is too much occupied in drinking in the beau- 
 ties of the scene and in watching the changeful glories of the 
 sky and mountain to think of noting down, watch in hand, each 
 variation of tint ; the delight is so intense that one abandons 
 oneself to simple enjoyment and silent adoration. A very 
 careful description, however, of a sunset on the Lake of Geneva, 
 has been drawn up by M. Necker^, and though it is rather long, 
 I am tempted to translate it, if only to shew some of my 
 readers how full of beauty are those sunset scenes, at which 
 perhaps they scarce cast a glance. 
 
 " The sun, from the instant of the contact of its lower edge 
 with the ridge of the Jura, to that of the total disappearance of 
 its upper, takes at Geneva (as a mean) 3 minutes to set, the 
 greatest time being 3™. 30", the least 3™. 
 
 "As soon as it has disappeared, the eastern sky, if clear, con- 
 tinues to gleam with a brilliant white light, or is only slightly 
 tinged with a yellowish hue. If there are any scattered clouds, 
 their edges, which are still illuminated, assume a vivid golden- 
 yellow, or orange, or red hue. But the sky itself in the in- 
 tervals between them does not as yet share in these brilliant 
 colours ; and remains white, without undergoing any noticeable 
 change, save a diminution in the intensity of its illumination, 
 ^~ Annales de Chimie et de Physique (Feb. and March, 1839). 
 
SUNSET ON MONT BLANC. 153 
 
 until all the phenomena which take place in the eastern quarter 
 of the horizon have completely ceased. 
 
 *' Let us now turn our eyes towards the east ; the plain is 
 in shadow, and the mountains, brilliantly illuminated, are con- 
 spicuous for the intensity, and as painters term it, the warmth 
 of their tints. It is, in fact, the contrast between the lights 
 and shades which gives this intensity and effect to the colour- 
 ing, and it is the tinge of red or orange in it which produces 
 this warmth. This tint is especially conspicuous upon the lime- 
 stone rocks (yellowish-white) of the nearer mountains, and 
 above all upon the eternal snows of the central chain of Mont 
 Blanc. On the intervening chain the sombre hue of the woods, 
 meadows, and rocks, and the greater thickness of the inter- 
 posing stratum of air, give to this tint a purpler hue. 
 
 " However, the shadow steals rapidly up the nearer chains 
 of the Saleves and Yoirons, and simultaneously, the effect and 
 warmth of the tints, as well as the illumination, fade away on 
 those parts which it has occupied. A sombre shade, uniform 
 and dull, replaces them ; and it is by this rapid change from 
 one condition to another so different, that one can estimate 
 with certainty for each place the exact moment when its illu- 
 mination ceases \ 
 
 " In from 9 to 12 minutes, the shadow has passed over the 
 first ramps of the Sal^ve ; and in 17 minutes, it reaches at the 
 same time both the Piton, which is its culminating point, 
 about 2,999 feet above the plain, and the summit of the 
 Voirons, which is 3,281 feet, and is about 3 J leagues further to 
 the east than the Piton. In 20 minutes it has reached the 
 summits of the Mole and of the Brezon, distant nearly 5 leagues, 
 and about 6,014 feet in absolute height. One minute later it 
 has crept up to the ridges of the Vergis, which — more than 
 
 ^ On more distant mountains the change is not always so rapid. I have 
 sometimes observed a sensible diminution in the brightness of the light, as 
 though there were a zone of penumbra. T. G. B. 
 
154 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 8,314 feet in elevation and 7J leagues distant — are conspicuous 
 bj the brilliant hues, reflected from their limestone rocks. 
 
 " This progressive extension of the region of shadow, as well 
 as the monotony and obscurity which accompany it, and the 
 continual diminution of the parts still illuminated, are ac- 
 companied by a circumstance which was observable, though 
 less distinctly, on the nearer mountains; namely an apparent 
 increase in the brightness, intensity, and colour of the parts 
 still illuminated, produced by contrast with the cold, sombre, 
 dully iinifoim bluish -grey tint of those which are so no longer. 
 Then the snows of the distant illuminated mountains, are 
 tinged with a bright orange-yellow, and their rocks with a 
 ruddier orange. When the first chains of the Alps, those 
 which do not rise into the regions of eternal snow, are wholly 
 in the shade, the rocks and especially the snows of the central 
 chain assume a tint which constantly becomes redder and more 
 intense. On the snows it is first a bright orange, then a ruddy 
 glow. On the rocks the tint is similar, but is a little mixed with 
 grey. Bathed as they all are, snow and rocks, in the same orange- 
 red light, their contrast is not too harsh, too striking; but their 
 various hues harmonize together in the most pleasing manner. 
 The part of the sky against which these mountains stand out, 
 which rises to a height of three to four degrees above the 
 horizon, already assumes a slightly red hue which now con- 
 tinues constantly increasing in intensity and ruddiness. 
 
 "By about 23 or 24 minutes after sunset, the shadow has 
 reached the lowest snow-peak of the central chain, the snow 
 dome of the Buet, which is elevated about 10,089 feet above the 
 sea, and distant 12i leagues from Geneva. Three minutes 
 later, or 27 minutes after sunset, it reaches the summit of the 
 Aiguille Verte, 13,389 feet in absolute height. It is then that 
 Mont Blanc, which remains alone illuminated now that the 
 whole surface of the land lies in deep shadow, seems to glow 
 with the most intense orange-red light, and under certain cir- 
 
SUNSET ON MONT BLANC. 155 
 
 cumstances, with a fiery red, like a glowing coal. One would 
 hardly think it a thing of this world. One minute later, the 
 D6me du GoMer (a part of it) is in the shadow; and at last the 
 sun, about 29 minutes after it has set upon the plain, disappears 
 from the summit of Mont Blanc, which is 15,784 feet above the 
 sea and 15 leagues distant from us. 
 
 "From the instant that the shadow steals over the snowy 
 summits, beginning with the Buet, a striking change takes 
 place in the appearance of each of them, just as it is ob- 
 scured. These colours, so warm and bright, this so harmonious 
 effect of illumination and colour, which confounds the snows 
 and the rocks in the same glowing hue, of which they do but 
 seem different shades, all vanish and are replaced by an appear- 
 ance, which may be termed truly corpse-like; since nothing 
 can more resemble the contrast between life and death on the 
 face of man than this change from the light of day to the 
 shadow of night on these high snowy mountains. The snows 
 have become a wan and livid white, the ridges and peaks of 
 rock which furrow or pierce them are in harsh contrast with 
 the white drapery of their snows. Every effect is at an end, 
 all relief has disappeared; there is no more contrast of light 
 and shade, no more rounded contours ; the mountain is flat- 
 tened, and like a vertical wall. The general tone of the colour 
 is now become as cold and as dull as it before was warm and 
 brilliant. 
 
 "It is this sudden transition, this startling metamorphosis, 
 which has now for a long time rendered the sunset on the 
 immense snowy mass of Mont Blanc, a spectacle so interesting; 
 and that not only to strangers, but also to those of the country; 
 who, though born at the foot of this mountain, and long accus- 
 tomed to the sight, do not for all that cease to admire it. But 
 a third condition of light succeeds, which still further adds to 
 the interest of this spectacle. 
 
 " The part of the sky near these mountains, against which 
 
156 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 they are projected, which we have already observed to wear 
 a ruddy tint, has been assuming, since the peaks became 
 dull and overshadowed, a constantly increasing brilliancy and 
 ruddier colour. If we continue to observe it attentively, we 
 shall see that one or two minutes after the light has disappear- 
 ed from the summit of Mont Blanc, there appears, in the lower 
 part of this red sky, a horizontal band, dark and blue; which is 
 at first very narrow, but which rapidly increases in height, and 
 seems, as it were, to drive in front of it the red vapours which 
 it supplants. This band is the shadow which falls upon the 
 higher regions of the atmosphere of countries at a distance 
 behind Mont Blanc. These regions of the air, though elevated, 
 appear nearer to the horizon because they are at a greater 
 distance from us ; these were at first reflecting for us the red 
 colour. When the shadow reaches them, they become ob- 
 scured, and only appear as a sombre horizontal band of the 
 ordinary blue colour of the sky near the horizon \ Regions, 
 equally elevated but nearer to us, have as it were inherited the 
 red colour which the former were lately reflecting. Thus the 
 light, or the red vapour, has appeared to mount up and rise above 
 the horizon. But soon the horizontal dark band, or the shadow, 
 has also reached these last ; this band has also gained in height, 
 and the red vapours are still more elevated, 
 
 "When the horizontal blue band has reached an elevation, 
 the angular magnitude of which I cannot exactly determine ; 
 but when it has risen considerably above the summit of Mont 
 Blanc, or, when it has advanced on an average during five 
 minutes, reckoned from the obscuration of that summit, or 33|^ 
 minutes from the sunset for the plain, then we see Mont Blanc 
 and the other snowy summits again tinted, again recovering a 
 
 1 It would perhaps be more correct to say that, being now in the shadow of 
 the earth, they are deprived of all direct and of very much reflected light, their 
 tint is therefore deeper than the ordinary blue of the sky, when the atmosphere 
 is illuminated, and may be seen to deepen into the dark violet hue of night, 
 as the reflected light diminishes. T. G. B. 
 
SUNSET ON MONT BLANC. 157 
 
 kind of life. The mountain again appears in relief, of a warmer 
 tone,— a yellow, more or less inclining to orange, — though far 
 more feeble than it was before sunset. Again we see the 
 contrasts between the rocks and snows disappear; the former 
 assume a warmer and yellower hue, and are again in harmony 
 with the snow. Little by little the same effect is produced 
 upon the nearer mountains, in proportion as the zone of red 
 vapours rises ; and with the latter rises also, increasing in size, the 
 horizontal dark band on which it reposes. Then, in the moun- 
 tains fringing the Alps, — the Mole, the Voirons, &c., only the 
 woods and meadows still retain the cold grey or bluish tint, 
 which previously had spread over everything except the snow ; 
 and up to nightfall all the mountains resume and retain the 
 same proportions of colour, of tints of light and shade, the same 
 general effect that they had before their discoloration and 
 obscurement. 
 
 "The red vapours steadily continue to rise eastward till 
 about 42 minutes after the sun has set on the plain. Then, 
 under ordinary circumstances, they wholly disappear in that 
 region of the sky ; the dark band, or the shadow, occupying at 
 that time all the eastern region up to the zenith. The ordinary 
 evening phenomena are at an end for that part of the sky, and 
 are commencing for the western half." 
 
 The after-glow, described above by M. Necker, is no doubt 
 caused by the reflexion of the red rays from the surfaces of 
 sheets of vapour in the neighbourhood and to the west of the 
 zenith. Although these may often be so fine and transparent 
 as to be invisible to the eye, they are quite capable of reflecting 
 light. Were it not indeed for the watery veil which envelopes 
 our world, we should be ever alternating between insupportable 
 glare or thick darkness. This statement may be illustrated by 
 a simple experiment. Go into a room by night, take a piece of 
 magnesium wire, place it in a dark lantern, or a closed box, with 
 an aperture in one side only, and light it. One part of the 
 
158 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 room is brilliantly illuminated, the rest is impenetrably dark. 
 The light is not brighter than the sun at noon-day, and yet the 
 shadows thrown by it are far blacker. The reason is that the 
 layer of air between the flame and the illuminated objects in the 
 room is not thick enough to disperse the light over the whole 
 room ; — therefore when we want a general and well-diffused 
 light, we place over the gas-jet or the flame of the lamp a globe 
 of ground glass, which performs for the room the function of the 
 atmosphere for the earth, moderating the intensity of the direct 
 light, and scattering it over every corner and in every direc- 
 tion from the facets of the tiny prisms by which itg surface is 
 roughened. Thus each wave of light that rolls through space 
 from the sun is broken on the oolitic shell of atmosphere that 
 envelopes our globe, so that, while the main tide still sweeps on 
 and floods each encountering surface, tiny ripples eddy in every 
 recess and soften the darkness of every shadow. If it encoun- 
 ter any denser layer in the vaporous mass, part of the stream 
 is at once turned aside, and illuminates some object, which 
 it could not otherwise have reached. While the sun is setting, 
 the temperature of the air above us is falling ; therefore its sus- 
 pended vapours are condensing, and so reflecting surfaces are 
 being formed. Every one must have noticed how commonly 
 filmy clouds make their appearance just after sunset; and careful 
 watching of the sky will shew that, even on the finest and 
 clearest days, it becomes perceptibly more misty as the sun 
 sinks below the horizon ; as though the vault above us, begin- 
 ning from its eastern verge, were changed from transparent 
 glass into translucent porcelain. 
 
 It may therefore readily be inferred that some of the grand- 
 est effects of colour are seen in stormy weather, when rolling 
 clouds form vaporous screens, on parts of which the illumina- 
 tions are displayed, while others lie in deep shadow, which is 
 no longer grey, as in the noontide hours, but a purple, the tone 
 of which depends upon the hue of the contrasted light. The 
 
 4 
 
SUNSET COLOVRS. 159 
 
 more orange that is, the more blue the shadow will appear ; so 
 that while the glowing light changes in tone from yellow to red, 
 the shadow is modulated in responsive harmony. I recollect 
 that, during a glorious sunset which I watched from the Grands 
 Mulets, when the first zone of colour came creeping up to us 
 over the basin of the Glacier des Bossons, and flooding its pure 
 snows with a delicate yellowish-orange light, every shadow 
 upon them became an exquisite blue, the exact complement of 
 the illuminated surfaces. Indeed, the same eifect, though not 
 so perfectly, may often be seen on a fine winter afternoon in 
 England when the sun is approaching the horizon, and the 
 ground is covered with snow\ 
 
 Not the least interesting peculiarity of an Alpine sunset is 
 the frequency with which its most beautiful effects are revealed 
 quite unexpectedly. Often at the close of a rainy afternoon, 
 the clouds, just before the sun goes down, break, roll up, some- 
 times disperse, as if by magic, in the glory of those crimson 
 rays that come darting upon them, and piercing every rift. 
 Many a time have I watched the vapours around a mountain- 
 peak curling lightly upwards and melting away into the sky, till 
 at last the unclouded summit glowed with flushes of orange or 
 rose, ere it grew pale and dead in its shroud of fresh-fallen 
 snow. 
 
 ^ Dr Tyndall records, Glaciers of the Alps, p. 37, an instance where, the red 
 glow being very marked, the shadows on the snow were green, and I have myself 
 seen an approach to the same colour. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Though some of the larger wild quadrupeds have disap- 
 peared from the Alps during the period of history, and others 
 are rapidly being exterminated by the assaults of the hunter 
 and the advance of cultivation, yet several still linger among 
 them which can no longer be found in the neighbouring more 
 level parts of Europe. Chief among these in size is the Brown 
 Bear (Ursus Arctos), which is still occasionally found in the 
 Alps. It is, however, exceedingly rare, except in the Grisons 
 and in the districts of Tyrol and Italy bordering on that Canton, 
 where it is still a terror to the shepherd. Some also believe 
 that it even lingers among certain rocky fastnesses in the Jura. 
 According to Tschudi, Bruin's head-quarters lie in the triangle 
 of mountains between the Inn valley and the upper part of the 
 Etschthal, and especially in the forests which clothe the sides 
 of the Ofenthal. He says that when he visited this district in 
 September 1853, he came upon their traces almost every day, 
 and a week never passed without his seeing one or more in 
 some lonely glen. The mountains here are densely covered 
 with the creeping pine (P. pumilio), whose snaky branches form 
 a barrier to the hunter or the shepherd almost as impassable 
 as an Indian jungle. 
 
 I 
 
THE BROWN BEAR, ' 161 
 
 Tliere is, properly, only one species of bear in the Alps ; 
 but according to Tschudi the hunters commonly speak of three 
 — the great black, the great grey, and the small brown. The 
 second is, of course, merely an accidental variety of the first, 
 but between that and the third the distinction appears to be 
 more strongly marked, though not sufficient to constitute a 
 distinct species. They assert that the black bear is not only 
 considerably larger than the brown, but is also different in its 
 habits. It is less ferocious, and prefers a vegetable diet, feeding 
 on herbs, corn, and vegetables, with the roots and branches of 
 trees. Instinct, standing in the place of science, points out the 
 fattening properties of saccharine substances, and makes the 
 l)ear a gluttonous plunderer of the beehives ; and as a correc- 
 tive to over-much sugar it harries ants' nests, formic acid 
 being, one may suppose, the ursine vinegar. It delights in 
 strawberries and all kinds of fruits, to obtain which it often 
 makes long nocturnal expeditions, plundering the orchards, 
 and at times even descending to the vineyards of the Valtelline, 
 from which, however, it always retreats before dawn. Unless 
 irritated or ravenous with hunger, it does not attack either 
 cattle or man. The brow^n bear, however, is a much more 
 dreaded foe, prowling by night about the sheepfolds, lying in 
 ambush and rushing upon the flocks, and causing them in 
 fright to fall down the precipices. Favoured by mist or brush- 
 wood, it springs upon a stray cow from behind, clinging to its 
 victim's head and tearing at the neck, till the animal falls from 
 loss of blood. Its attacks are usually made by stealth ; if the 
 herd perceive their enemy, they surround him, bellowing and 
 making hostile demonstrations ; upon which he in general 
 retires. Horses are rarely molested, since they shew their heels 
 to the aggressor in more senses than one. Goats, when they 
 scent their foe by night, leap bleating on the chdlet-roofs and 
 arouse the shepherds; so that when Bruin rears himself against 
 the wall, to snuffle at the door or window, he not unfrequently 
 
 11 
 
162 • THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 receives a bullet from within by way of a welcome. So long as bears 
 existed in the neighbourhood of Chamouni they were in the 
 winter time frequently shot in this manner. When a track in the 
 snow shewed who had been prowling round a chalet during the 
 night, the hunter fastened a piece of raw meat to the outer 
 wall, and ensconced himself within in a convenient watching 
 place. The bear came, reared himself up to snatch the prey, 
 and at the same moment received a rifle-ball, that generally 
 put an end to his thieving. Sometimes, however, the chase 
 takes place by day; and as the bear is by no means easily dis- 
 abled, the hunter occasionally gets the worst of it, and there 
 are many stories on record of fierce wrestles for life between 
 man and beast. I will quote one as a sample of many. It 
 happened among the mountains on the north side of the Rhine 
 valley, near Dissentis, in the year 1838. One evening a hun- 
 ter named Riedi, after tracking a bear for a whole day, 
 arrived at the edge of a precipitous wall of rocks. Here the 
 trail disappeared, but the lair of the beast was evidently in 
 the gorge below ; probably, as he conjectured, behind a pro- 
 jecting crag at no great distance, which was approached by a 
 narrow path. Not caring to risk a duel a Voutrance with 
 an ambushed enemy, in a situation whence flight was impos- 
 sible, the hunter tried to entice him forth by yelling and 
 other offensive demonstrations. Bruin, however, was not thus 
 to be moved; so at length Riedi cautiously descended the narrow 
 ledge leading to the supposed lurking-place, and arrived at the 
 mouth of a cave in the shade of the crags. Advancing cau- 
 tiously towards this, he saw two eyes glittering in the darkness, 
 and an enormous paw projecting from the hole, so close to him 
 that he could have touched it with his hand. He raised his 
 gun and pulled the trigger ; it missed fire ; but the eyes 
 neither moved nor twinkled. Again he pulled ; again it 
 missed ; yet still the eyes continued to glare at him. The 
 third time the gun exploded, and an awful howl echoed 
 
 i 
 
A BEAR FIGHT. 163 
 
 through the gorge. The hunter retreated as fast as possible, 
 expecting every instant to feel the claws of the beast tearing 
 him down. He, however, regained the open ground unmolested, 
 and reloaded his gun. The howling had now ceased, so he stole 
 cautiously back to the den. All was dark ; he listened ; only a 
 rasping noise, as of claws scratching the rock, broke the silence ; 
 but thinking discretion the better part of valour he again re- 
 treated in haste and returned home. Next morning Riedi re- 
 traced his steps with three companions; and two of them, feeling 
 persuaded from what had happened that the wound was mortal, 
 foolishly went unarmed. The other, by name Biscuolm, tying a 
 handkerchief over the lock of his gun and slinging it behind him, 
 climbed down the trunk of a fir-tree which grew close to the 
 mouth of the cavern. Scarcely had he reached the ground, when 
 with two bounds a huge bear sprang out, seized him in its paws, 
 and threw him to the ground. Shouting for his companions, he 
 wrestled with the beast, and at last by a tremendous effort 
 thrust it off, leaped up, and unslung his gun. Before, how- 
 ever, he could free the lock, the bear again charged, so he 
 thrust the butt end into its open mouth. At the same moment 
 Riedi aiTiv^ed on the ground, and discharged his piece into its 
 side. The bear loosed his hold and retreated a few paces, to 
 make a rush at this new assailant, but the diversion gave 
 Biscuolm time to fire, and his ball was fatal. On examining 
 the body, they found that Riedi's first shot had fractured the 
 jaw, a result which probably saved Biscuolm's life ; he had also 
 had an almost miraculous escape from falling over the precipice 
 together with his assailant, when they were rolling on the 
 ledge in their wrestle. 
 
 The bear passes the winter in a torpid state, rarely quitting 
 its den, and eating little or nothing; further north, indeed, the 
 animal appears to abstain wholly from food for four or five 
 months, and the stomach becomes blocked with a substance 
 called tappen, chiefly consisting of the pinnules of fir. Its den 
 
 11—2 
 
164 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 is carefully prepared for winter quarters with moss, leaves, pine 
 branches, &c., so that the cold may not disturb its repose. Bears 
 appear to hybernate separately, and in January the female 
 brings forth her young. The cubs, from one to four in number, 
 are at first blind. They do not issue forth till the spring has 
 set well in, and remain with the mother up to the following 
 winter. It is said that the male does not diminish much in 
 weight during his long fast ; and even the female, after nourishing 
 her young for two months or so, is very little out of condition 
 when she quits her den. If, however, the Happen' is cast too 
 soon, the animal rapidly becomes thin : the usual weight is 
 from five to six hundred pounds. The bear is far more active 
 than its unwieldy shape seems to promise, climbing well, 
 digging quickly with its long claws, and running faster than 
 most men. 
 
 Concerning their sleep there is a certain 'pleasant vulgar 
 tale,' according to Gesner\ which appears to have originated in 
 Switzerland. ''There was a certain cowherd in the mountains 
 of Helvetia, which, coming down hill with a great caldron on his 
 back, he saw a bear eating of a root which he had pulled up 
 with his feet; the cowherd stood still till the bear was gone, 
 and afterward came to the place where the beast had eaten the 
 same, and finding more of the same root, did likewise eat it ; he 
 had no sooner tasted thereof, but he had such a desire to sleep 
 that he could not contain himself, but he must needs lie down 
 in the way, and there fell asleep, having covered his head with 
 the caldron to keep himself from the vehemency of the cold, 
 and there slept all the winter time without harm, and never 
 rose again till the spring time." 
 
 A bear is the coat of arms of Canton Berne, and the chief 
 city might be denominated (literally, of course, not figuratively) 
 a bear-garden. Two giant bears guard the western gate, a 
 
 ^ History of Fourfooted Beasts and Serpents collected from the WorJis of 
 Gesner, by E. Topsel, p. 30 (London, 1658). 
 
THE BEAR AND THE WOLF. 165 
 
 pigmy troop marches in procession round a throned figure in 
 front of the clock tower, at the stroke of noon ; Bruin also pre- 
 sides over the corn-hall, sits above the fountains armed cap-a-pie, 
 looks on approvingly at the ogre swallowing children^, stands 
 by the side of Duke Berthold, watches at the feet of Von 
 Erlach, and, finally, is maintained in propria persona in a con- 
 venient den close to the bridge over the Aar, where he forms, if 
 we maybe allowed the expression, one of the principal lions of 
 Berne; being a legatee of property to the amount of nearly 
 thirty pounds per annum, and protected by laws, which forbid 
 the populace to offer anything to their favourite except bread 
 and fruit, lest his health should suffer. Wooden bears look 
 at you from every toy-shop window : bears smoking, bears 
 carousing, bears carrying burdens, keeping a school and incul- 
 cating bearish morality, nay even, forgive the bad pun, licking 
 an unbearable cub into shape, in a way that shews the 
 schoolmaster to be at home in his profession. In a word, the 
 motto of the good old city seems to be 'Bear and For-bear.' 
 
 The wolf [Canis lupus) is rapidly becoming rare in Switzer- 
 land, though it still lingers in several lonely parts of the Pennine 
 and Oberland chain, and is most common in the districts about 
 the Engadine and in the Jura. It also is, or was very lately, 
 found in the French Alps, and is not rare in parts of the Tyrol. 
 In summer it roams in the loneliest solitudes among the moun- 
 tains, skulking among the forests and rocks, and it is only in 
 the winter time, when hard pressed by hunger, that it ap- 
 proaches the haunts of man. Then it wanders far in search of 
 prey, and descends in bands even into the lowlands of Switzer- 
 land or to the verge of the Italian plains. It is said to be by 
 no means particular in its food — foxes, hares, rats, mice, birds, 
 
 1 The Kindlifresser-Brunnen ; a noted statue crowning a fountain, which repre- 
 sents an ogre swallowing a child, while several others are stuffed into his pockets 
 ready to be devoured in their turn. Below is a troop gf armed bears. The two 
 next mentioned statues are near the cathedral. 
 
166 THE ALFJNE REGIONS, 
 
 lizards, frogs, and toads ; all is fish that comes to the net ; the 
 larger cattle and man are only attacked when it is desperate 
 with hunger or handed with several others. Sheep and goats 
 are at once a favourite and an easy prey; and the track of a 
 wolf in the snow puts a w^hole village in a ferment. A hunt is 
 at once organized, a chief chosen, men armed with firearms are 
 posted in convenient spots, and the rest of the chasseurs beat 
 the woods. At Yallorbes, in the Jura, there is a wolf-club, 
 with an elaborate code of laws, of which no one can become a 
 member until he has taken part in three successful hunts. 
 Tschudi states that the death of the wolf is proclaimed by a 
 flourish of six trumpets, and celebrated by a feast at the inn, 
 whereat, among other 'high jinks,' all convicted of disobedience 
 to the captain during the chase are put in straw fetters and 
 condemned to drink nothing but water. 
 
 The same author tells a story of a Grison in the Yal Misocco, 
 who, one winter day, after a warm altercation with his wife, 
 walked into the snow to cool himself. A few yards from his 
 house a famished and ferocious wolf sprang upon him. This 
 Grison Samson apparently considered a wild beast a much 
 easier creature to manage than a woman, and saluted his new 
 assailant with a blow of the fist, which killed it at once ; then, 
 taking the carcase by the tail, he opened the door, and flung it 
 at his wife's feet. We are not told how this gentle hint or 
 delicate compliment was received. 
 
 The young are brought forth in April, under ground, gene- 
 rally in the enlarged burrow of a fox or badger ; they are bhnd 
 for some days, are covered with soft woolly fur of a ruddy 
 colour, and lie at the further end of the den packed together as 
 closely as possible. To give the wolf his due, he is an affec- 
 tionate parent, by no means of a Saturnine temperament; and 
 the sire and dam alternate, like Darby and Joan on the weather 
 indicators, one going abroad to forage while the other stays at 
 home to guard the nurslings ; a necessary precaution, since their 
 
THE FOX. 167 
 
 relations are apt to prove 'a little more than kin and less 
 than kind/ and terminate a morning call upon the interesting 
 * little strangers/ not with the orthodox cake and caudle, but 
 by eating up the babies. 
 
 The fox ((7. vulpes) is very common in many parts of the 
 Alps, though like his English relation, he is not often seen by 
 chance travellers. There is only one species, though the 
 hunters speak of two varieties ; one, haunting the forests and 
 lower valleys ; the other keeping always on the higher parts of 
 the mountains, ranging over the stony wastes above the upper 
 pastures, and only descending into the cultivated regions when 
 driven down by heavy falls of snow in the early part of the year. 
 The fox is, like the wolf, monogamous ; the young, from five to 
 nine in number, are born in the spring, generally early in May, 
 and at first are blind. ■ The burrow, their birthplace, is in- 
 habited during the whole year, and it is said that Master 
 Reynard quite holds to the truth of the proverb that 'fools 
 build houses for wise men to live in,' and often contrives to 
 take possession of a badger's hole, serving a writ of ejection 
 upon the owner by various cunning devices. As Tschudi 
 quaintly observes, ''he has far too much imagination and poetic 
 sentiment to like so monotonous and laborious an occupation as 
 burrowing." The cubs, when a few weeks old, accompany their 
 dam outside, and at first feed upon small birds, lizards, frogs, 
 and worms, which are caught for them by her ; but when they 
 are about three months old they begin to forage for themselves, 
 and during the autumn quit the domestic earth. The first 
 winter is spent en gargon, and they pair in the spring. The 
 mountain fox eats whatever he can catch, — reptiles and birds, 
 hedgehogs, marmots, hares, kids and lambs, and even snaps up 
 such unconsidered trifles as beetles, flies, and bees. Sometimes, 
 though very rarely, he contrives to surprise a young chamois; 
 generally these animals are too cunning and fleet for him. The 
 bodies of sheep or goats that have died on the mountains, or 
 
168 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 been killed by falls from the rocks, are a rich feast; sometimes, 
 too, the corpse of s,ome unhappy person who has perished in an 
 avalanche becomes his prey; and it is said that the wounded of 
 his own species are torn in pieces and devoured. Tschudi tells 
 a story of a peasant in AppeDzell who used to amuse himself in 
 the winter by placing a bait in a wooden box, and fastening it 
 against a rock so that only a morsel could be torn away at a 
 time. The hungry foxes came by night, sometimes eight or 
 ten together, and held a sort of witch sabbath round it, leaping 
 up like mad creatures, seizing the wood in their teeth, trying to 
 tear it away or pull the box down, and practising every art to 
 get at the flesh within. Frequently he shot some of them, and, 
 though this made the survivors more cautious for a while, they 
 still returned. If the shot was not fatal, the wounded fox was 
 at once followed by the others, who rushed in a body upon it 
 and tore it to pieces. 
 
 The fox of the valleys lives more luxuriously than his 
 mountain brother. He devours game and plunders the hen- 
 roosts, as in England, upsets the hives for their honey, and is a 
 terrible robber of orchards. As were his forbears in Judea in 
 the days of the Wise King, and in Sicily in the time of Theo- 
 critus, so is he a great pest among the vineyards, and from the 
 mode of training the vines is not often in danger of finding the 
 grapes sour. When rendered bold by hunger in winter time, he 
 skulks near the hen-coops, and as soon as the fowls are let out, 
 pounces upon a straggler and makes off with it at full speed. 
 He is caught by the hunters in traps ; but it is diamond cut 
 diamond, and no little skill is needed in deceiving a 'vieux 
 Reynard.' Sometimes he is hunted by dogs, and when he 
 takes to earth is worried out again by terriers. Of course, as 
 the object is to kill the beast, guns and weapons of all kinds are 
 used, as in Scotland ; and an Alpine foxhunt must closely 
 resemble the scene so vividly described by Sir Walter Scott in 
 Guy Mannering. 
 
THE LYNX. 169 
 
 The lynx {Felis lynx) is still occasionally found in the 
 Alps; but the only place where it is anything but very rare is 
 in the mountain district about the upper part of the Inn. 
 Next to this appear to be the less frequented valleys of the 
 Pennine Alps, to the south of the Rhone, between Martigny and 
 Visp. It is fortunate for the shepherds that they are not 
 common, since the ravages committed by them on the flocks are 
 very serious. One lynx, which w^as killed in Canton Schwytz 
 during the early part of 1843, had destroyed, during the few 
 weeks previously, 40 goats and sheep ; and, some thirty years 
 earlier, three or four of these animals are recorded to have 
 killed not less than 160 of the same during a single summer. 
 In winter it will even burrow under the chalet walls to get at 
 its prey. Besides these, it devours almost all kinds of birds and 
 smaller animals, being by no means particular. It rarely hunts, 
 but prefers to lie in ambush and spring on its victim as it passes; 
 seizing it by the neck, and killing it almost instantaneously by 
 biting through the spine or carotid artery. It generally passes 
 the da}^ couched upon the branch of a tree; apparently half 
 asleep, but wakeful enough if any prey approaches. It shuns 
 the face of man, only fighting when wounded : then the strength 
 of its claws and jaws makes it a formidable opponent. A dog 
 has no chance with it ; if, however, the hunter conies suddenly 
 upon a lynx, it does not endeavour to escape, but remains 
 stretched on its bough staring at him until he fires. It is said 
 that if he have not his gun at hand, it is enough to hang some 
 parts of his dress on a stick, and the animal will continue to 
 stare at the 'mawkin' until he returns. The young, two or three 
 in number, are born about April, in some sec^ret crevice in the 
 rock or in the deserted burrow of a fox or badger. They are blind 
 at first. The full-grown animal is about 3J feet long, and 
 weighs about 50 pounds. The flesh is eaten in the Grisons, and 
 is said to be good. 
 
 The wild cat {F, coins) still lingers iii the . most unfre- 
 
170 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 quented parts of Switzerland, being commonest in the Alps of 
 Glarus and the forests of Canton Bale. Its flesh is sometimes 
 eaten; the fur is valuable, and used as a protection by persons 
 with rheumatic affections. The colour is ruddy, or yellowish 
 grey, with an irregular black band down the back, from which 
 rib-Hke streaks branch off along the flanks ; the tail is ringed 
 and tipped with black ; and there is a pale spot under the throat. 
 It passes the day stretched out upon a branch, ready *to pounce 
 on whatever prey may come within reach of its spring. It can 
 beat a dog in a fair fight, but does not attack men unless pro- 
 voked. When wounded it flies at the hunter's face; spitting, 
 scratching, and biting, until it is killed; and the wounds from 
 its claws, like those from the domestic cat's, are often difiicult 
 to heaL 
 
 The badger {Meles taxus) is far from uncommon in the 
 Alps, but from its nocturnal habits is rarely seen. It ranges 
 from the border of the cultivated land to a height of several 
 thousand feet above the sea ; being found at a greater elevation 
 in the Eastern Alps than in any other district. Its burrow is 
 carefully excavated in slopes with a southern aspect, is provided 
 with from four to eight outlets, and is lined with soft moss and 
 dead leaves. The long curved claws and strong muscles of the 
 fore feet enable the badger to work at a great rate ; it loosens 
 the earth with its sharp muzzle, scrapes it away with the fore- 
 paws, and flings it still further back with the hind. The young 
 are born in January, are from three to five in number, and are 
 blind for some days ; the female occupies a separate burrow. 
 During the day the badger coils itself up at the end, and only 
 comes forth occasionally to bask in the sun. The skin is 
 valuable for its tenacity ; the flesh, after being steeped in run- 
 ning water, is good, resembling pork in flavour; it is in the best 
 condition towards the end of autumn. The fat is used as an 
 ointment for sprains ; from 5 to 10 pounds are taken from a 
 single animal. The badger feeds on roots, vegetables, acorns, 
 
 i 
 
BADGERS. 171 
 
 nuts, and fruits of various kinds. It is a sad robber of vine- 
 yards, biting off the branches to obtain the clusters which are 
 out of reach. The maize-fields also suffer greatly from its 
 depredations. Towards the end of autumn it collects together 
 a quantity of moss at the end of its burrow, and passes a con- 
 siderable part of the winter in sleep. Owing to its nocturnal 
 habits it is not often shot. The hunter's only chance being to 
 watch its hole in the evening or early morning. It is also very 
 cunning in avoiding traps, so that it is generally either dug out, 
 drawn by dogs, or pulled out by a pole with nippers or a hook 
 at the end. In Canton Glarus, according to Tschudi, they adopt 
 a very barbarous method of capturing it. "The hunters in- 
 troduce into the burrow a long pole, having at the end a kind 
 of double corkscrew; this is twisted round and round till the 
 unfortunate beast is transfixed, when it is drawn like a cork 
 from a bottle and killed by a rap on the muzzle." The same 
 author says, " Of all its enemies the badger hates the fox most 
 cordially, since the cunning rascal often disturbs its repose by 
 depositing stinking ordure in the mouth of its den. The 
 badger carries to excess its love of cleanliness, and even prefers 
 to desert a warm and comfortable dwelling to having its nose 
 offended by the arts of this infamous master Reynard. So 
 it comes growling out of its burrow and sets to work to dig an- 
 other — meanwhile the fox and its family take up their quarters 
 in the old one, while it is still warm." 
 
 Of the less ferocious quadrupeds the otter {Lutra vulgaris) is 
 common along the borders of the rivers and lakes ; the beech 
 marten {Mustela foina) and pine marten {M. martes) — supposing 
 them to be distinct species, a very doubtful matter — are not 
 uncommon in the forests; while the polecat (M. putorius), the 
 weasel [M. vulgaris), and the stoat {M. erminea) are often more 
 abundant than is agreeable to the keepers of poultry. The last 
 turns white in the winter, as it often does in the mountain 
 districts of Great Britain. The squirrel (Sciurus europceus) is 
 
172 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 common enough in the forests, and I have often watched them 
 leaping from branch to branch. They vary greatly in colour; 
 some being a very dark brown approaching black upon the back. 
 Of ' rats and mice, and such small deer,' there is no lack. 
 
 Whether the beaver [Castor fiber) also still lingers by some 
 lonely stream in the Alps, I am unable to say positively. It is 
 mentioned in a list of Swiss mammals, published in 1817\ as 
 found, though rarely, in the most lonely spots on the banks of 
 the Sill, Reuss, Aar, and Sarine, the lakes of Brienz and of the 
 Klonthal, and the streams of Mont Pilatus. It also used to 
 frequent the Rhone, and I have seen specimens of it from that 
 Tiver in the Museum at Grenoble, but I much doubt whether it 
 can now be found in any Alpine district. 
 
 The rabbit (Lepus cuniculus) is far from common in the 
 Alps. Not so the hare, of which there are two species — the 
 brown hare {L. timidus), which appears to be seldom found 
 beyond a line of from four to five thousand feet above the sea 
 (I have seen it near Bormio at about the former elevation) ; and 
 the blue or variable hare [L. variabilis), which I have met with in 
 various districts up to a height of about nine thousand feet ; an 
 instance indeed is recorded of its having been observed on the 
 Wetterhorn, in the Bernese Oberland, at a height of eleven 
 thousand feet. In summer its fur is of a dull bluish-grey, and 
 it frequents the stony and desolate tracts bordering on the snow 
 regions ; in winter it becomes perfectly white, and is forced to 
 descend into the forests, whence, however, it retreats as soon as 
 possible. 
 
 The marmot [Arctomys marmota), called marmotte by the 
 French, marmotta by the Savoyards, murmelthier by the Ger- 
 mans, and montanetta by the Romansch, is common in all the 
 higher Alpine districts. Often, when the traveller is breasting 
 some slope of coarse turf far above the highest chalets, or cross- 
 ing the stone-strewn floor of a lonely glen, he is startled by a 
 
 1 Conservateur Suisse, Vol. viii. p. 271. 
 
THE MARMOT. 173 
 
 long shrill whistle which breaks the silence of the mountain 
 solitudes, and is unpleasantly suggestive of a bandit's signal. 
 This, however, is nothing more than a sentinel marmot warning 
 its companions that an intruder is approaching. The cry is 
 perhaps repeated twice or thrice, -and then a quick eye may 
 detect the little creatures loping off towards their burrows, but 
 it is no easy matter to distinguish them from the grey rocks, 
 among which they are making their way. Occasionally, how- 
 ever, I have approached them unperceived and been able to 
 watch them for a few minutes ; but they soon scent danger, 
 utter the signal, and disappear. They generally take up their 
 position on some flat piece of rock, exposed to the sun, where 
 they bask and play, scratching and combing themselves, now 
 and then sitting up on their sterns with their fore-paws hang- 
 ing down in a very droll kangaroo-like fashion. The fur is a 
 yellowish or brownish grey, with black on the head and face, 
 and a little white on the muzzle ; the tail is short, bushy, and 
 tipped with black. The fat is believed to have medicinal virtues, 
 and the flesh is not at all bad eating ; in taste it is not unlike 
 rabbit. Marmots are caught in traps, and sometimes hunted 
 down by trained dogs ; more frequently, however, they are shot ; 
 but the watchfulness and caution of the little animal make it 
 no easy matter for the hunter to get within range. The best 
 plan generally is to lie concealed behind a stone to leeward, at 
 a convenient distance from the mouth of a burrow, and wait for 
 the occupant's coming out. 
 
 Usually the marmot does not inhabit the same hole all the 
 year round. The summer burro.w is excavated somewhere in 
 the zone of rough pasture, which intervenes between the snows 
 and the upper limit of the tree region. The entrance, according 
 to Ladoucette \ always looks to the south or the east ; it is 
 sometimes, like a rabbit-hole, in the face of a slope, but more 
 frequently under some fallen block, which at once affords con- 
 
 ^ L<'.s Houtes Alpes, p. 413, 
 
174 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 cealment and protection. So far, in fact, as my experience goes, 
 the marmots always prefer the most stone-strewn ground for 
 their haunts. Towards the end of autumn they descend to the 
 pastures which the herdsmen have just abandoned, and there 
 excavate their winter dwellings. These are much larger tlian 
 their summer burrows. The entrance gallery is from ten to 
 twenty-five feet long, but only just large enough to let the 
 owners pass, and leads up to an oven-shaped chamber, which is 
 from three to six feet in diameter, and is well lined with dry 
 leaves and hay, which have been collected before the snows 
 begin to fall ; the contents being often a heavy load for a man. 
 The burrows are generally, like those of rabbits, provided with 
 a bolt-hole. 
 
 About the middle of October, when the cold weather sets 
 in, the marmots retreat into winter quarters ; not as in sum- 
 mer going in pairs, but in companies of ten or twelve, and 
 sometimes fifteen in number. The passage is plugged, a few 
 feet from the entrance, with a mass of earth, stones, and hay ; 
 and the marmots rolling themselves up in balls, nose on tail, 
 snuggle together, and go to sleep for six months or more. 
 During this long period of torpor the: vital functions are 
 almost suspended ; digestion ceases, the stomach being abso- 
 lutely empty ; the blood becomes thin and diminishes in 
 quantity ; the action of the heart and lungs slow. It respires, 
 it has been calculated, about as many times during its six 
 months' slumber as it does in tw^o days when awake ; and 
 consumes in the former case only 1*82 times as much oxygen 
 as it does in the latter. The, temperature also of the body is 
 of course, during this period, greatly lowered, not being higher 
 than about 49^ (Fahrenheit). In fact, its life seems then in 
 many respects to approximate to that of a cold-blooded animal, 
 especially in what may be called its tenacity ; for it has been 
 observed that, in the case of an animal killed when dormant, 
 the head did not become perfectly motionless for half an hour, 
 
THE MARMOT AND THE CHAMOIS. 175 
 
 and the heart continued to beat for three hours after death. 
 The hunters do not let them alone, even while they are hyber- 
 nating, but sometimes succeed in digging down to their cave 
 and extracting the sleepers, — generally more than seven in 
 number. So sound is their repose that, according to De Saus- 
 sure, they may often be taken out, placed in the game-bag, 
 and carried home without being roused. They wake up again 
 about April, not so much the worse for this long fast as might 
 be expected ; and the young, three or four in number, are 
 born in June. Being not difficult to tame, they sometimes 
 make their appearance in London streets with a poor Savoyard 
 lad as keeper ; and are also one of the numerous devices for 
 getting pence from the traveller and training up children in the 
 way they should not go — that of covert mendicancy — w^hich 
 has found so much favour at Chamouni and in the Oberland. 
 
 The chamois {Capella rupicapra), the gems of the German 
 districts and camoscio of the Italian, seems to be the animal 
 which, beyond all others, is identified wdth the High Alps. 
 In the wood-carvers' shops, chamois, great and small, singly 
 and in groups, are perched on every shelf; finding favour in 
 the eyes of visitors, even beyond the bears, and almost to the 
 exclusion of every other animal. Who ever forgets the time 
 when he first, perhaps after many disappointments, caught a 
 glimpse of a chamois ; and however commonly he may after- 
 wards come across them, ' where I saw those chamois' will be 
 generally found to be in his mouth as a mark to identify some 
 stage in an excursion. The chase appears to exercise a fascina- 
 tion over its votaries that no hardship or danger can overcome, 
 and even the most phlegmatic of Teutonic guides become ex- 
 cited when once the word gems is pronounced. 
 
 This animal, the sole modern representative of the antelope 
 family in Western Europe, is found in almost every part of the 
 Alps, as w^ell as in the Pyrenees, Carpathians, and Caucasus. 
 Owing, however, to the persecution which it has undergone of 
 
176 
 
 THE ALPINE REG J OX S. 
 
 late years, it is now much rarer in the Alps than it used to be, 
 and has almost disappeared from some of the more frequented 
 districts. Even in the days of De Saussure, chamois were 
 becoming scarce in the neighbourhood of Chamouni, and now 
 they are probably quite extinct. In such unfrequented dis- 
 
 (Fig. 5».) Chamois. 
 
 r^* 
 
 tricts as Dauphin^ the Tarentaise, and the Graians, and in par 
 •of the Swiss, Tyrolese, and Bavarian Alps, they are still far 
 from uncommon; and the traveller who deserts the beaten 
 tracks will not unfrequently fall in with them. Sometimes 
 they are seen singly ; generally, however, three or four are 
 together. The largest number that I ever observed at once was 
 seventeen : these were in a secluded amphitheatre of rock 
 and snow in the heart of the Dauphin^ Alps, into which pro- 
 bably no traveller had ever before penetrated ; and I saw a herd 
 of fifteen on the slopes high above the east side of the Val 
 Roseg in 1807. 
 
THE CHAMOIS. \11 
 
 The chamois stands at the shoulder about two feet from 
 the ground. The hind legs are longer than the fore, rendering 
 its gait awkward on level ground, and not very clever on a steep 
 descent, but exactly fitting it for mountain climbing. The 
 muscles, especially of the former, are exceedingly powerful, en- 
 abling 11 to check itself almost instantaneously when at full 
 speed, and to spring with extraordinary agility. The hoof 
 cloven, long and pointed, with sharp edges, is not well adapted 
 for traversing the ice ; the chamois therefore, if possible, al- 
 ways avoids the glaciers, and is obviously often ill at ease on 
 them. On the snow, provided this be tolerably hard, it spreads 
 its cleft hoof as wide as possible, and so gets on better, 
 but it is only thoroughly at home on the rocks. It is very 
 shy of venturing on the upper part of a glacier, having a great 
 fear of the concealed crevasses ; and the track which it leaves 
 on the snow in these places often shews, by its windings and 
 abrupt turnings, that the animal has found it no easy mat- 
 ter to escape from among so many hidden pitfalls. Travel- 
 lers net unfrequently find this a useful clue to indicate the safest 
 way of threading the maze. So I found it once in Dauphind 
 when ascending to a pass called the Col de Sais. We had taken 
 a guide from La Bdrarde, and the man, as is common in those 
 parts, was almost useless; and when we came to some masked 
 crevasses in the upper part of the glacier, declined to proceed 
 further. We determined not to go back without an attempt ; 
 and espjdng from a distance the track of a chamois in the most 
 broken part, made for it, and by following this, reached the 
 smooth snow-fields above the icefall without much difficulty. 
 
 Its agility is something extraordinary ; it can spring across 
 chasms six or seven yards wide, and "with a sudden bound leap 
 up against the face of a perpendicular rock, and merely touching 
 it with its hoofs, rebound again in an opposite direction to some 
 higher crag, and thus escape from a spot where, without wings, 
 egress seemed impossible. When reaching upwards on its; 
 
 1^ 
 
178 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 hind legs, the fore hoofs resting on some higher spot, it is 
 able to stretch to a considerable distance, and with a quick 
 spring will bring up its hind quarters to a level with the rest 
 of the body, and with all four hoofs close together, stand 
 poised on a point of rock not broader than your hand\" Mr 
 Cowell ^ mentions an instance where a mortally wounded buck 
 in four bounds cleared a space of more than forty yards. 
 The gambols of a herd of chamois are most diverting; they 
 leap up, springing like skipjacks from their long hind legs, run 
 round and round, up and down, and even sideways, with 
 great nimbleness, reminding one with their tricks and * buck- 
 jumps' not a little of the antics of a party of lambs. If 
 disturbed, they gaze fixedly towards the spot whence the 
 noise comes, till they have discovered what is wrong; then, 
 unless danger is imminent, with a shrill Phew ! move up 
 leisurely towards their rocky fastnesses, halting now and then 
 to look back, and again uttering the cry as they renew their 
 march. 
 
 A full-grown chamois, in good condition, weighs about sixty 
 pounds. Mr Bonar mentions instances where they have reached 
 from seventy to more than eighty pounds ; these are generally 
 old bucks. The hair is thick, and changes colour with the 
 season, being a red yellowish brown in summer, and almost 
 black in winter. That about the nose, forehead, lower jaw, 
 under the belly, inside the legs, and overhanging the hoofs, is 
 of a yellowish brown, and does not alter ; and the dark stripe, 
 partly enclosing each eye and reaching from it to the adjacent 
 corner of the mouth, is permanent. The outer hairs are rather 
 coarse ; on brushing them back, the thin wool below is seen to 
 incline to a mouse-grey tint ; and those along the ridge of the 
 spine are in winter longer than the rest, and tipped with white ; 
 
 1 Bonar, Chamois Hunting in Bavaria, P- 97 ; a fascinating work, written by 
 a thorougli lover of nature and Alpine beauty. 
 = Vacation Tourists, 1860. p. 260. 
 
CHAMOIS HOMNS. 179 
 
 from these is made the gems hart, — a tuft of hair, which forms 
 a favourite ornament in the hat of a Tyrolean peasant. 
 
 The horns, which are pot-hook shaped, rise from the head 
 above and between the eyes to a height which rarely exceeds 
 seven inches ; an average pair will be barely six inches high, 
 and about eight and a half in length, measured along the outer 
 curve. Their section at the base is very nearly circular, the 
 curve being sometimes slightly flattened at the sides. This 
 flattening becomes much more marked towards the upper part 
 of the horn, but is again diminished in the immediate neigh- 
 bourhood of the point, which is sharp and polished. The horn 
 is plainly marked by transverse horizontal rings of growth for 
 about the lower half, and is finely striated longitudinally to 
 within an inch or two of the tip, both rings and strise being 
 gradually obliterated as they go upwards. When the kid is 
 about three months old the horns make their appearance, and 
 at first are not nearly so hook-shaped as they afterwards be- 
 come ; a pair in my possession, about three inches long, are 
 very nearly semicrescent, and in general form resemble a minia- 
 ture cow-horn. Mr Bonar^ thus describes those of the full- 
 grown animal. "They do not stand up perpendicularly, but 
 slant forwards at a right angle with the forehead ; their points, 
 which are very sharp, being bent back and downwards. This 
 feature is not peculiar to the buck alone ; there is, however, 
 considerable difference between the horns of the male and 
 female, which often assists the sportsman in distinguishing the 
 two. The horns of the male chamois are thicker and altogether 
 stronger-looking than those of the female ; and, instead of di- 
 verging from each other in so straight a line as hers generally 
 do, their outline describes a slight curve as they rise upwards 
 and apart from each other. But a still more striking charac- 
 teristic of the buck is, that the points of his horns are bent 
 much more inwards than those of the doe ; hers form a semi- 
 
 1 Chamois Hunting in Bavaria, p^89. 
 
 12—2 
 
180 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 circular curvature towards the back, while his, turning over 
 abruptly, form rather a hook." 
 
 The chamois feed on various mountain herbs, and on the 
 buds and sprouts of the rhododendron and latschen {Pinus 
 pumilio). During the night they couch among the broken 
 rocks high upon the mountains, descending at day-break to 
 pasture, and retreating, as the heat increases, towards their 
 fastnesses. They are very fond of salt, and greedily lick any 
 saline efflorescence from the rocks. In the winter season they 
 are forced down to the higher forests, where they pick up a 
 scanty subsistence from moss, dead leaves, and the fibrous 
 lichen, which hangs in long yellowish -gi-ey tufts from the firs, 
 and bears the name of * chamois-beard.' While browsing on 
 this, they sometimes get their horns hooked on a bough, and 
 so, being unable to disentangle themselves, perish with 
 hunger. I have indeed heard of an instance of the dead body 
 of a chamois being found suspended by the horns from a pro- 
 jecting ledge of rock, with its feet just touching the ground, 
 which apparently had perished in the same way. I have also 
 been told, on the authority of a chasseur in the Yal d' Aoste, 
 that sometimes, when they have retreated during a snow-storm 
 under a fir-tree for shelter or for food, the branches, bending 
 down under the weight of snow, enclose them on all sides ; and 
 being imprisoned in this snowy wigwam, they are starved to 
 death, instinct not teaching them how to escape When spring 
 returns, their bodies are found, sometimes three or four to- 
 gether, at the foot of the tree. Owing probably to the resin 
 contained in so much of their food, and its fibrous character, 
 a hard, dark-coloured ball, from the size of a walnut to that of 
 an eggy of a bitter taste, but pleasant odour, is often found in 
 their stomachs. This is called Bezoar, and it was anciently 
 supposed to cure all evils, and be a protection even against 
 musket-shots. A sceptical age has, I fear, expelled it from the 
 pharmacopoeia. 
 
MEETING A CHAMOIS. 181 
 
 The senses of hearing, smell, and sight are exceedingly acute, 
 so that the hunter must exercise all his craft to approach the 
 chamois. The general plan is to stalk them, by making a circuit 
 out of sight, and creeping within shot up the wind, under cover 
 either of rocks or of brushwood. Now and then, however, they 
 may be taken off their guard. One day I was with a friend 
 and two guides at the top of a pass called the Col de Cristillan, 
 which crosses, at the height of about 9700 feet, a lonely range 
 on the right side of the valley of the Ubaye. As a rather keen 
 wind was blowing from the north, we sat down to rest and dine, 
 just under the cover of a few projecting rocks which were 
 close to the narrow opening forming the pass. We had risen up 
 to continue our journey, and were still standing a few feet 
 below the ridge, when I heard a clatter over the loose stones on 
 the other side, and, turning round, saw a chamois leap up into 
 the gap. For a moment it stood staring at us, apparently 
 horror-stricken at finding itself face to face with its most 
 dreaded foes; then, with a series of desperate bounds, leapt away 
 down the rocks to the left, while our guides yelled and hurled 
 stones after it. Generally, however, the chamois-hunter must 
 endure hardship and fatigue, risk his life by scrambling up 
 crumbling cliffs and along dangerous ledges of rock, happy if, 
 after a day or two's labour, and perhaps a night spent in the open 
 air, he return home with a chamois slung on his back. Often, 
 when, after long watching and much toil, he is almost within 
 range, the wary animal takes the alarm before he can fire, and 
 retreats to rocky fastnesses where pursuit is hopeless. Pages 
 might be filled with the hair-breadth escapes and fearful acci- 
 dents which have befallen hunters. This following story, though 
 it has been often told before, will perhaps serve better than any 
 others as an example. Two chasseurs of the Sernfthal, Manuel 
 Walcher and Rudolf Blasi, were one day out hunting, when 
 they perceived a chamois at some distance from them. In 
 order to prevent its escaping, they determined to separate, and 
 
182 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 approach it from opposite directions. Blasi, in the excitement 
 of the chase, leapt across a chasm on to a narrow ledge on the 
 face of a cliff ; once there, he found that it was impossible to 
 proceed further, and to his horror discovered that, as the side 
 on which he stood was lower than the other, and the footing 
 not good, it was impossible to spring back again. He was in 
 a trap, and, to make matters worse, the ledge was so narrow 
 that he could neither sit nor lie; therefore he was obliged to 
 stand against the cliff, leaning on his rifle, and shouting for 
 help, with the yawning gulf below, into which, when once his 
 strength failed, he must inevitably fall. Tears, prayers, cries, 
 seemed all in vain ; slowly the sun crept towards the horizon, 
 but no help came ; evening darkened into night ; a storm drifted 
 up, and broke upon the mountains, increasing the horror of his 
 fearsome vigil; but at last the dawn brightened in the east. 
 Then the sun rose, and hope revived ; his companion would 
 surely come in search of him ; but still the hours wore on ; he 
 grew sick and faint from hunger and fatigue ; his head began 
 to swim ; and in a few minutes all would have been over ; 
 when a shout from above recalled him to life, and he saw 
 Manuel looking down upon him. A rope was soon lowered to 
 Blasi, who with trembling hands secured the noose about his 
 body, and was hauled up to a place of safety. He was sound 
 in limb, but the horror of that one night had done the work of 
 years, and blanched his hair. 
 
 Though horns, flesh, and skin are all worth money, yet it 
 is rare that a chamois-hunter finds his occupation profitable. 
 Tschudi, indeed, tells of one instance where a considerable sum 
 was amassed by the produce of the chase. This was by a noted 
 hunter, named David Zwicky, of Mollis near Glarus, who was said 
 to have scraped together by the sale of this and various other 
 game, combined with strict economy, a sum of £560, besides 
 other property ; having received from his father a patrimony of 
 only £12. He, however, was said to have killed in his lifetime 
 
THE END OF A CHAMOIS HUNTER. 183 
 
 more than 1300 chamois and an immense quantity of mar- 
 mots, hares, grouse, partridges, and other game ; and so perfectly 
 did he know the haunts of the first animal, and so skilful was he 
 in his craft, that it was a rare thing for him to miss securing his 
 prey when once he had started in pursuit. At last one Saturday 
 evening, when he was seventy-five years old, he failed to re- 
 turn home as usual. Fearing something was amiss, his friends 
 searched for him, but in vain : for nine months nothing more was 
 heard or seen of him ; then one day a skeleton was found in a 
 lonely part of the mountains, which was recognised as his by the 
 gun, watch, and fragments of clothes that lay around it. No 
 bones were broken, but one foot was tied up in a handkerchief, 
 and the corpse was resting on one arm as if asleep. Probably he 
 had been lamed by a sprain or a severe bruise, and, becoming 
 exhausted, had sat down where he was found and died from cold 
 or hunger. "Numbers of other hunters have been killed, but all 
 seem to be animated with the spirit of the young peasant of 
 Sixt, who said to De Saussure \ " My grandfather met his 
 death while out on the hunt, my father did the same, and I am 
 so persuaded that I too shall die in this pursuit, that I call this 
 bag which you see. Sir, and which I carry with me on the hunt, 
 my winding-sheet ; because I am sure that I shall never have 
 any other ; and yet if you were to offer to make my fortune on 
 condition that I would abandon chamois-hunting, 1 would not 
 accept your proposal." Two years after, says De Saussure, his 
 presentiments were fulfilled, and he was found dead at the foot 
 of a precipice. 
 
 In many cases the dangers of the chase are greatly increased 
 by the feuds between the hunters of neighbouring cantons or 
 states. Formerly, a trespasser was often shot without the slight- 
 est compunction by the native hunters, and so might think him- 
 self very lucky if he escaped with the loss of his rifle and being 
 beaten within an inch of his life ; nor did it go much better 
 
 ^ Voyages dans les Alpes, § 7-30. 
 
184 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 with the rightful owners, if the intruders were the stronger 
 party or caught them unawares. De Saussure, in the passage 
 to which I have just referred, tells a story which he heard 
 from a chasseur of Sixt, who had been the chief actor in 
 it. This man was following up a chamois, which he had already 
 wounded mortally, when two intruders from the Valais also saw 
 it and gave it the coup de grace. Still, according to all the 
 laws of the chase, it belonged to the Savoyard, who came up 
 just at the moment, took it on his shoulders, and walked away. 
 The others, owing to the nature of the ground, could not come 
 straight towards him ; they however shouted to him to put it 
 down, and sent a ball whistling about his ears by way of en- 
 forcing their orders. Without heeding this, he was pressing on ; 
 when another ball whizzed close by him; whereupon as he could 
 not get on quickly, owing to the roughness of the ground, and 
 had no ammunition left with which to fight for his prize, he 
 thought it wiser to obey their orders. Yowing vengeance, he 
 went away to a hiding-place, whence he could watch their 
 movements ; feeling sure that the day was too far advanced for 
 his spoilers to return to their own country. Things fell out as 
 he expected; and he marked them down in a deserted chalet 
 on the upper pastures ; then he went in all haste home, two 
 leagues away, got powder and ball, loaded his double-barrelled 
 gun, and cautiously stole up to the chdlet. Peering through 
 the chinks in its timber walls, he soon saw his enemies seated 
 by the fire ; inserted the muzzle of his gun in such a way that 
 he could fire right and left ; aimed at one, and was on the point 
 of pulling the trigger, when it suddenly occurred to him that 
 these men, not having confessed since they had fired at him, 
 would die in mortal sin and therefore be lost eternally. On 
 consideration, this appeared to be a punishment so out of pro- 
 portion to the offence, that he abandoned his project ; and 
 entering abruptly into the chalet told them of the danger 
 which they had run. They, thanking him for their lives. 
 
KEEPERS AND POACHERS. 185 
 
 owned that they had been in the wrong, and gave him half the 
 chamois ! 
 
 Even more deadly was the hatred between the keepers and 
 the poachers in the Bavarian highlands. The former shot the 
 latter with little compunction, whenever they could not easily 
 take them prisoners ; and if, as w«,s often the case, the in- 
 truders were from the Tyrol, they were treated with no more 
 ceremony than a vulture. Nor were the latter slow to retaliate 
 when they got a chance. Several instances of this have a place 
 among the Alpine scenes in the well-known novel ' Quits ;' and 
 Mr Bonar s book contains still more. I shall venture to make 
 an extract from the latter as a sample^ : the incident happened 
 near Braunenburg, a village just within the Bavarian frontier. 
 
 " One of the keepers, while out on the mountain, saw three 
 Tyrolese cross the Inn. He at once suspected what was their 
 intention, and instantly set off for a pass among the rocks, 
 where, if he was right in his conjecture, he knew they would 
 surely come. For an hour or more he waited, without hearing 
 or seeing anything of them. At length however he espied the 
 poachers advancing up the mountain, and, keeping close to 
 avoid being seen, let them approach. The place where he stood 
 was a narrow path, with rocks rising on one side and on the 
 other a precipice. When the men were at a short distance from 
 him, he stood forth and called to them to lay down their rifles. 
 As they did not obey, he shouted that, cowards as they were, 
 he would lay down his, and challenged them, if they dared, to do 
 the same and come all three of them armed only with their 
 poles. They did so, and the three advanced upon him. Calm 
 and collected, he watched his opportunity, and, as they ap- 
 proached, thrust his iron-shod pole two inches deep into the 
 breast of the foremost man, and sent him toppling down into the 
 abyss. The others, terror-stricken, sprang back to seize their 
 
 ^ Chamois Hunting in Bavaria, p. 419. 
 
186 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 rifles, but the keeper was too quick for them ; he had already- 
 grasped his own, and levelling it threatened to send a bullet 
 through the first who should dare to raise his weapon. There 
 was nothing left them now but to retreat ; and as they did so 
 the keeper fired at one, sending a charge of coarse shot into his 
 back and wounding him badly." 
 
 The bouquetin or steinbock [Capra ibex) was once abundant 
 in the greater part of the Alps, but is, I believe, now restricted 
 to the Graian chain in the neighbourhood of the Grivola and 
 Grand Paradis, where they are most strictly preserved by the 
 king of Italy. They disappeared from the Tyrol about a cen- 
 tury ago; in Switzerland, the last in Canton Glarus was shot in 
 1550 ; they were becoming rare in the Engadine and neighbour- 
 ing districts in 1612, when it was forbidden to hunt them under 
 a penalty of fifty crowns ; one was shot on the St Gothard in 
 the middle of the last century ; and they lingered still longer in 
 the Pennine chain. De Saussure observes that in his time they 
 had ceased to be found near Chamouni ; but Mr Hinchliff says 
 that one was shot on the south side of the Grandes Jorasses in 
 1856 ^ The Dent des Bouquetins, between the heads of the 
 Yal Pelline and the Val d' Anniviers, takes its name from them, 
 and Tschudi states'^ that a few years since they were met with 
 in the neighbourhood of Monte Rosa. This, however, Mr King', 
 who devotes several interesting pages to their history, denies. 
 In the district already named they are not very rare. I have 
 never, although I have been several times among their haunts, 
 had the luck to see more than the track of a bouquetin, but 
 some of my friends have been more fortunate, and two among 
 them have even found their skeletons. The laws concerning 
 them are very strict. It is even forbidden to possess any part 
 of them; and twenty-four pounds fine and nine years at the 
 
 ^ Summer months among the Alj^s, p. 207. 
 
 ' Les Alpes, p. 645. 
 
 3 Italian Valleys of the Alps, p. 338. 
 
THE BOUQUETIN. 
 
 187 
 
 galleys is the penalty for killing one. Mr King, however, 
 managed to purchase a pair of horns, but he had some trouble 
 and several amusing adventures in smuggling them out of the 
 country. The horns of a full-grown buck are at least two feet 
 long, and curve very gracefully backwards as they rise from the 
 head, spreading slightly outwards. Along the flattened front of 
 each horn is a row of knobs or horizontal ridges, culminating on 
 the well-defined line between it and the inner side ; these are 
 the rings of annual growth. Mr King states that on his pair, 
 which are two feet long, there are eight of these marks ; on a 
 smaller pair now before me, which are fifteen inches long, there 
 are six ; these I purchased at Aosta three or four years ago. 
 The horns of the female are much smaller in proportion, less 
 curved, and less prominently ringed than those of the male ; 
 those of a specimen belonging to Mr King, whereon are fourteen 
 rings, are only seven inches long. 
 
 5^^^*^:^ 
 
 (Fig. 10.) Bouquetin. 
 
 Of course a weight like this on the head requires a cor- 
 responding frame to carry it; and the bouquetin is consequently 
 
188 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 far more muscular than the chamois. Its whole build is re- 
 markably strong, giving it a sturdy self-reliant look, differing 
 greatly from the slender and rather fragile appearance of the 
 chamois: still it is not less, perhaps is even more, agile than 
 that animal ; for a young one has been known to take a stand- 
 ing leap as high as a man's head ; and its sureness of foot 
 is equally surprising. The bouquetins are, however, calmer 
 and less restless in their habits than the chamois, and all who 
 have come across them have noticed their stately and almost 
 disdainful gait. Their time of feeding is also different ; they 
 descend towards the pastures in the evening, browse during the 
 night, and retire very early in the morning to the higher peaks, 
 where they pass the day among the rocks. They are generally 
 found in small troops ; but the bucks lead a solitary life during 
 the early part of the year. They pair in January, at which 
 time the males fight furiously; they will also couple with the 
 common goat, and the hybrid offspring are fruitful. The kid is 
 born in June, and may be tamed ; it does not, however, seem to 
 be healthy in captivity, and is liable to diseases of the feet and 
 nostrils. A closely allied species, C. pi/re7iaica, exists on the 
 Pyrenees, differing slightly in the form of the horns, which is 
 probably identical with the (7. hispanica of the Sierra Nevada. 
 Another species, G. caucasia, is found in the Caucasus, and a 
 foui-th, C. bedens, in Crete, in some of the islands of the Archi- 
 pelago, and on Mount Olympus. 
 
 The bouquetin, like every other rare animal, has had a 
 plentiful halo of legend thrown around him. The blood was sup- 
 posed to be a medicine of marvellous virtue in cases of stone ; 
 the horns were imagined to act as buffers when the animal pre- 
 cipitated itself from a crag; an aged buck^ when conscious of 
 the approach of death, climbed to the summit of some lofty 
 mountain, and there hooking itself on to a rock with one of its 
 
 1 Histonj of Fourfooted Beasts and Serpents: collected from the works of C. 
 Gesner by E. Topsel, p. 349 (London, 1658). 
 
THE BOUQUETIN. 189 
 
 horns, twirled round and round, like a dancing Dervish, until the 
 tip was worn away, whereupon it expired. As a bathos of equal 
 absurdity, and more unpardonable ignorance, take the following 
 extract from an ' Own Correspondent's ' letter in the Times of 
 Aug. 16, 1861 (p. 8), describing the exploits of the present king 
 of Italy when chasing the bouquetin. "The horn is wound, 
 the hunt is up, and away he rides as fast as the nimblest moun- 
 tain nag can carry him, and then takes to his legs, and the 
 race is between him and the swiftest quadrupeds, over crags 
 and along gullies common men shudder only to look at. He 
 came back to Turin a few days ago in great glee, telling his 
 friends he had given chase to a bouquetin for two whole days, 
 had parted company with his aides-de-camp, his guides, his 
 huntsman, every man in his suite; he had followed the coy 
 mountain goat, he had pressed closer and closer, he had driven 
 it higher and higher and higher up; he had knocked it up, 
 blown all the wind out of its panting body, and had at last 
 brought it back triumphant, the prize of that untamed strength 
 which has no match in these regions." It is really delightful 
 to find such a refreshing oasis of viridity in the dry desert of a 
 sceptical age ; the author of the above must have been a very 
 prince among gobemouches I 
 
 The roe (Capreolus caprcea), the fallow deer {Dama vul- 
 garis), and the red deer {Cervus elaphus) have, it is said, quite 
 disappeared from the French and Swiss Alps. All of them 
 still occur in the Bavarian and Austrian highlands. They 
 belong, however, rather to the sub-alpine region, being found 
 among the forests which clothe the lower slopes,, and do not 
 often wander into the more rocky districts. The first, I believe, 
 has rather the highest range. The wild boar {Sus scrofa), also, 
 only now and then makes its appearance across the Rhine, 
 although it is common in the sub-alpine forests further east; 
 its habits, however, hardly qualify it for admission into the 
 list of Alpine quadrupeds. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Chief among the birds of the Alps is the bearded vulture 
 {Gypaetus harbatus), the lammergeier of the Germans. Once 
 common, it is now gradually disappearing before the hunter's 
 bullets, and only here and there holds its own in some lonely 
 mountain fastness. It does not seem to be confined to any 
 particular district, but occurs occasionally in the wilder parts of 
 the Alps. Although its neck is feathered, and it is said 
 to prefer living prey to carrion, still in many important 
 characteristics it is closely allied to the true vulture. The 
 upper part of the body is a greyish-brown hue, the under white, 
 tinged with reddish-brown. The neck is of a still lighter colour, 
 the top of the head white, the beak and part round the eye 
 black, and the tail feathers are an ashy-brown. From the 
 lower mandible projects a bristly tuft, whence its specific name. 
 The nest, built in some inaccessible ledge on a dizzy cliff, consists 
 of a substratum of straw and fern, resting on sticks placed cross- 
 wise, on which is placed a kind of wreath of branches lined with 
 
 I 
 
THE LAMMERQEIER. 191 
 
 moss and down*. It contains two or, at most, three orange- 
 brown eggs, clouded with a darker brown tint. 
 
 It is but now and then that the traveller, by approaching 
 it unperceived, obtains a near view of this monarch of the Al- 
 pine birds. Owing to the great size of its wings, which are some- 
 times as much as nine feet in span, it does not rise very 
 readily, but when once off, its flight is very stately. Its voracity 
 is only surpassed by its digestive powers, which are something 
 extraordinary. According to Tschudi^, the stomach of one 1am- 
 mergeier was found to contain five fragments of a cow's ribs, two 
 inches wide and from six to nine long, a mass of matted wool 
 and hair, and the leg of a kid perfect from the knee downwards. 
 Another had bolted a fox's rib fifteen inches long, as well as the 
 brush, besides a number of bones and other indigestible parts of 
 smaller animals. These were being eaten away, layer after layer, 
 by the gastric juice, which was dissolving all the gelatinous parts 
 and leaving behind only the brittle calcareous fabric. The bird's 
 usual food consists of almost any of the smaller quadrupeds and 
 birds. One clutch of those claws, and the victim is secured; one 
 blow from that ponderous bill, and its skull is crushed; one gape 
 of those hungry jaws, and it is swallowed whole. Lambs, kids, 
 and young chamois meet with the same fate, or, if not devoured 
 upon the spot, are carried off to its eyrie and there consumed. 
 Sheep, goats, and full-grown chamois, are not generally attacked 
 at once with beak and claws, but the bird, watching a favourable 
 opportunity, dashes against them, and endeavours by the shock 
 and the violent buffets dealt with its long wings to precipitate 
 them down the cliffe. This done, it swoops down upon the 
 mangled prey and tears it to pieces ; then, when gorged, it floats 
 lazily up to some inaccessible crag, and perches itself with an air 
 of tranquil indifference, to wait till the gnawings of the gastric 
 juice compel it to seek another meal. It is said to be some- 
 
 1 Bree, Birds of Europe, Vol. i. p. 18. 
 ^ Les Alpes, p. 409. 
 
192 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 times bold enough to attack a man, when it finds him asleep, 
 or climbing in any dangerous place; but if the first swoop is 
 unsuccessful it rarely repeats the attack. 
 
 Cases, however, have been recorded in which it has succeeded 
 in canying off young children. Tschudi^ has collected several 
 instances which he states, are unquestionably true ; the most 
 remarkable of which happened in the Bernese Oberland. Two 
 peasants, named Zurbuchen, were at w^ork making hay upon 
 the Alpine pastures, and had taken with them their daughter 
 Anna, a child about three years old. They laid her on the turf 
 near the hay chalet, where she quickly fell asleep ; so the father, 
 after covering her face with his broad brimmed hat, went on 
 with his labour at some little distance. On returning with a load 
 of hay he found that the child was gone ; and it needed but a 
 brief search to prove that she was nowhere in the neighbour- 
 hood. It happened just at this time that a peasant, of 
 Unterseen, named Heinrich Michel, was walking along a rough 
 path in a glen, at no great distance from the alp, when he was 
 startled by the cry of a child. Advancing at once towards the 
 place whence it came, he saw a lammergeier rise from a neighbour- 
 ing summit and hover for some time over a precipice. Thither 
 he climbed in all haste and found the child Anna lying on the 
 very brink. She was but little injured ; some scratches on her 
 hands and on the left arm, by which she had been seized, and 
 the loss of her shoes and cap, being the only ill consequences of 
 her flight of more than three-quarters of a mile through the air. 
 She lived to a good old age, and was always called Geier-Anni 
 (Vulture's Annie) in memory of her escape. The particulars of it 
 are inscribed in the registers of the parish of Habkeren. 
 
 The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetus) is also not very un- 
 common in most parts of the Alps, although the traveller can- 
 not often obtain a near view of it. I have many times noticed 
 it wheeling about in the air high over a valley, but have 
 
 ^ Les Alpes^ p. 414. 
 
BIRDS OF PREY. 193 
 
 only once been near enough to one to see it distinctly. Its food 
 resembles that of the lammergeier ; and it is said to have a 
 special liking for hares, which it chases and captures with great 
 address. As in Great Britain, it is accused of having carried 
 ofif children ; but I am not aware that there is any case 
 in which the crime is to be positively attributed to it ; gene- 
 rally its larger brother, the lammergeier, is reputed to be the 
 robber. 
 
 The kite {Milvus regalis), with more than one species of 
 buzzard and falcon, are occasionally seen. Several species of 
 hawks also occur ; the commonest of which is the kestrel 
 (Falco tinnunculus) . There are at least ten species of owls, 
 among which is the magnificent eagle-owl (Bubo maximus), 
 marked as found in Switzerland ; but from their nocturnal 
 habits they are rarely seen, and I do not think that they ascend 
 very high. The Alpine birds of prey correspond very closely 
 with the British. 
 
 The hoarse, bell-like croak of the YSiven{Corvus cora^) is often 
 heard in the lonelier glens, and the bird itself may be seen wheel- 
 ing about the crags, or be disturbed from an unclean meal of dead 
 lamb on the mountain side. It is not unfrequently tamed, and is 
 an arrant thief, with an amount of shameless impudence that is 
 very amusing. One day we were suffering from that most doleful 
 of afflictions in mountain travel, a thoroughly wet day,. in a not 
 too comfortable auberge, at San Chiaffreddo, near .the head of 
 the Vallon di Po. Whatever may be said about the pleasures of a 
 day of rest, I certainly prefer it to be a fine one ; and always find 
 that the combined effect of unexpected delay and uncomfortable 
 quarters is to incapacitate one, in spite of the most virtuous 
 resolutions, from devoting the whole day to writing journal and 
 letters, finishing drawings, and other indoor work. Accordingly 
 we, with two or three Piedmontese gentlemen from Turin in 
 the same plight, were glad enough to amuse ourselves with the 
 tame raven of the establishment, which soon fraternised with 
 
 13 
 
194 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 us, and ate gressinP from our hands. It greedily bolted bits of 
 these two or three inches long, until its throat was full ; then, 
 when no more could be stowed away, it flew off to dispose of its 
 load, returning after a short interval for a fresh supply. At last 
 one of the Turinese presented his pocket-knife to the bird 
 instead of the expected morsel. Very much to the disgust of 
 the owner it made a sudden snap at it, twitched it out of his 
 hand, and flew away, disappearing over the brow of a cliff just 
 below the terrace on which we were standing. We followed, 
 hoping to mark the thief down, but were too late. Before long 
 it came flying back, and perched between us with its usual air 
 of demure self-complacency ; whereupon the owner of the knife, 
 perhaps wishing to be even with it, held out a box of matches. 
 Another snap and this too was gone. This time I managed to 
 keep the rogue in view, but when I came up, the box was 
 already torn open, the matches were scattered about, and master 
 raven was biting off the heads one by one, and to all appearance 
 swallowing the brimstone pills with an appetite. The cunning 
 bird, however, had stowed the knife away in some hiding-place, 
 which we failed to discover. 
 
 Two other members of the same family are not uncommon 
 in the High Alps. These are the chough {Fyrrhocorax gracu- 
 his), now becoming so rare in England, and the Alpine chough 
 (P. alpinus). These birds may be seen flying about the higher 
 peaks; and. are only distinguished by the former having a red 
 bill, the latter (a slightly smaller bird) a yellow ; botlv^Kave^rM 
 legs. They ascend to great heights; I have seen a pair, — of 
 which species I could not be sure, but I think the latter — at 
 th^ top of the Piz Languard (10,715), and another pair flying 
 about the Hochste Spitze of Monte Rosa, the highest bare 
 
 ^ A sort of bread or biscuit eaten commonly instead of bread in the Pied- 
 montese valleys. It is made in long stems which look not unlike a bundle of 
 unbaked ' churchwarden ' pipes without the bowls. I wonder it has not been 
 introduced into England, for it is far more wholesome than bread. 
 
BIRDS. 195 
 
 rock in the Alps. The jackdaw {Corvus fhonedula) is also 
 common. 
 
 It is not my purpose to attempt a complete list of the Alpine 
 birds, since in these limits it could be little more than a bare 
 catalogue of names, uninteresting to most readers, and would 
 include a great number of species which would never be seen 
 by ordinary travellers. In fact, one is often struck by the com- 
 paratively small number of birds that, even in a long day's walk, 
 are seen in the Alps. The most remarkable of these are the 
 nutcracker {Xucifraga caryocatactes), which haunts the Alpine 
 forests, feeding on the pine cones, especially those of the arolla 
 (P. cembra), from the recesses of which his note ^ crack,' and at 
 certain seasons ' curr,' is constantly heard resounding. It is a 
 shy bird, and difficult to approach, so that it is not easily ex- 
 amined. It is only of late years that the nidification of the nut- 
 cracker has been observed \ The reason of this is that the 
 bird builds veiy early in the year (March), before the snow has 
 melted off the ground in the pine forests ; and during this time 
 changes its habits, being very silent and stealthy in its movements 
 instead of rather noisy. The jay's [Garrulus glandarius) harsh 
 cry breaks now and then the stillness of the woods ; the white- 
 breasted swift {Cypselus alpinus) plys its untiring wing high 
 in the air, and the dipper (Cinclus alhicollis), yet more con- 
 spicuous, with throat and breast of white, sits perched on a 
 boulder by the torrent, or darts arrow-like up the stream. The 
 Alpine accentor (A. alpinus), its throat white, with crescent 
 spots of black ; the wheatear (Sylvia oenanthe), and the common 
 and black redstart (8. phoenicurus and S. tithys), enliven the 
 stony tracts above the Alpine pastures ; the beautiful wall- 
 creeper {Tichodroma muraria), with its ash -coloured back and 
 breast, crimson and black wings, and black tail tipped with 
 white, maybe seen ranging to above 10,000 feet; the snow-finch 
 
 1 See a paper by Professor Newton, Proceedings of the Zoological Society, 
 1867, pp. 162—4. 
 
 13—2 
 
196 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 {F. nivalis), as its name implies, mounts to the borders of the 
 snows, and is commonly mistaken by observers for the snow 
 hunting {Emheriza nivalis), which there is no reason to believe 
 inhabits the Alps ; and by rare good fortune the beautiful rose- 
 coloured pastor {Pastor roseus) may be noticed. I believe that 
 I saw a specimen of the last on the precipices of the Grand 
 Som, above the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse. The com- 
 mon starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is very much more frequent. 
 
 Of the game-birds, the capercailze {Tetrao urog alius), the 
 black grouse (T. tetrix), and the hazel grouse or gelinotte 
 (jT. honasia)j are not uncommon in many of the forests which 
 usually clothe the lower parts of the Alps, especially on the 
 southern slopes; and ranging far above them is found the 
 ptarmigan {Lagopus vulgaris), which, like the variable hare, 
 haunts the waste stony tracts on the borders of perpetual snow. 
 These birds seem to delight in the cold and solitude of the 
 mountains, playing on the snow-beds, and feeding on the scanty 
 vegetation which here and there takes root among the rocks. 
 They are generally seen in flocks, varying in number up to 
 about fifteen. They fly rather low and straight, with a whirring 
 noise, more quickly than the black grouse, and they rise to the 
 wing much less noisily. In the winter they turn white, with 
 the exception of a patch about the eye and the outer tail 
 feathers, which are black ; and even in the summer, when the 
 prevailing colour is a greyish-brown, a good deal of white 
 remains. 
 
 The pheasant {Phasianus colchicus) is, I believe, not found 
 in the Alps ; the quail {Perdix coturnix), the grey partridge 
 (P. cinerea)f and the red-leg or French partridge (P. rufa), which 
 are abundant in many parts of the lowlands, can hardly be said 
 to be Alpine birds ; although they may be sometimes found on 
 the level plains which form the beds of valleys, surrounded by 
 lofty mountains, along which many species of birds and animals 
 penetrate into the Alpine region, without actually ascending 
 
BIRDS. 197 
 
 the mountains themselves. There is, however, one species of 
 partridge which may be called an Alpine bird ; this is the Greek 
 (Perdix grceca) or bartavelle, which closely resembles the red- 
 leg, but may be distinguished by its larger size, and the absence 
 of the mottled plumage below the black mark on the neck. 
 It is by many naturalists identified with the P. chukar of 
 Asia, which ranges from Armenia to China ; but of late some 
 eminent authorities have considered them distinct \ If the 
 former hypothesis be true, the range of P. grceca is very ex- 
 tensive, for it is found in most of the mountain districts in 
 the countries bordering on the Mediterranean, as far west as 
 the Pyrenees. It runs quickly, and is flushed with difficulty; 
 once risen, its flight is strong, but not prolonged. The flesh is 
 said to be very good. 
 
 The various water-birds and gulls are by no means common in 
 the High Alps, so far at least as my experience goes. To see them 
 it is necessary to descend to the lowland country, where storks, 
 herons, and many birds of these families are far from rare. It 
 may be worth remarking that the course of the migratory 
 birds over the Alps has given rise to considerable discussion ; 
 some asserting that they seek for the marked depressions in 
 the mountain chains, crossing in fact like man by the easiest 
 passes ; others that they simply go over in the direct line of 
 their course, without turning aside to seek for a gap in the 
 intervening barrier. The subject can hardly yet be regarded 
 as finally settled. 
 
 The lower orders of vertebrata do not call for many very 
 special remarks. A great number of the mountain streams and 
 tarns contain excellent trout ; and most of the larger lakes are 
 well stocked with fish ; chief among these are the lotte (Lota 
 vulgaris) ; the perch (Perca fluviatilis) ; the ambre of Auvergne 
 {Thymallus vexillifer), which mounts up in some parts to a height 
 
 1 H. B. Tristram, in Ihis, 1868, pp. 213, 214. 
 
198 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 of more than 4000 feet above the sea ; the pike {Esox lucius) 
 which, according to Tschudi, is found at a height of about 3400 
 feet, and frequently weighs from 12 to 15 pounds ; the salmon- 
 trout {Salmo trutta), which lives as far up the mountains as the 
 village of Spliigen (4757 feet), where specimens have been cap- 
 tured weighing a dozen pounds; and the eel [Anguilla latirostris), 
 of which I have seen a very fine example caught in the Lago 
 d'Alleghe near Caprile (3000 ? feet). Some of the trout of the 
 Swiss and Italian lakes attain to a very great size. In the former 
 an excellent fish, called the fera {Coregonus /era) , is not rare, and 
 the Lombard lakes furnish the delicate little agone {Cyprinus 
 lariensis). In the Conservdteur Suisse, Vol. xii. p. 310, a list is 
 given of the fishes of the lake of Geneva, twenty-one in number, 
 and probably many of the others are equally well provided. Small 
 perch are so common therein, that near Ouchy they may be 
 taken in the following manner: a line having at the end an 
 ordinary unbaited pike gorge-hook is lowered into the water, 
 and jerked smartly up and down ; the flash of the metal weight 
 attracts the perch, so that they come swimming about it and are 
 speared by the hook. In the paper mentioned above, a curious 
 document is quoted, which fixes the value of several species of 
 fish. From this it appears that in 1376 the price of trout was, 
 during Lent, six deniers ; from Easter to All Saints' day three 
 deniers, and for the rest of the year five deniers ; the prices of 
 the perch during the same seasons being respectively four, two, 
 and three deniers. The price of pike, fera, and other fishes is 
 also contained in the tariff. 
 
 With a few exceptions, reptiles do not appear to be very 
 common in the higher Alps. The common frog {Rana tempo- 
 raria) is said to range up to an elevation of 10,000 feet. It 
 literally swarms in some parts of the Rhone valley. One hot 
 day I happened to be travelling alone to Zermatt, and set off to 
 walk from Leuk to Visp, an expedition which I cannot recom- 
 mend to any of my readers, unless they desire to be nearly 
 
 i 
 
REPTILES. 199 
 
 suffocated with heat, choked with dust, and to risk a subsequent 
 fever from the miasma of the frequent marshes. A strip of 
 grass divides the road in many places from a stagnant ditch ; 
 and along this I walked, whenever it was possible, in order to 
 cool my feet. Every step that I took flushed the frogs in twos 
 and threes, like pheasants in a warm corner of a cover ; up they 
 got, little and big, baby squeakers and patriarchal croakers, 
 taking a hop and a header into the stinking water. Another 
 species [R. alpina), with a brown back and bright orange belly, 
 frequents the mountain tarns. It is found abundantly in the 
 Todtensee (7090 feet), on the Grimsel Pass, and in the Oberalpsee 
 (6663 feet), and is said to be even more delicate in flavour than 
 the next species. The green or edible frog (E. esculenta) is 
 also not uncommon, at any rate in Switzerland ; but I believe 
 it does not range so high as the last-named species ; while the 
 beautiful little tree frog [Hyla arhorea) is rarely seen beyond 
 the lower slopes. I have found it in the bushes on the verge of 
 the Lake of Geneva. 
 
 According to Tschudi there are three species of toads, be- 
 sides the one common to England {Bufo vulgaris). Only the 
 last-named, or a variety (which some have made a separate 
 species under the name of B. alpinus), ascends to any great 
 height : this has been found up to about 6000 feet. 
 
 A flat-headed slimy black lizard may sometimes be seen 
 sluggishly crawling about, especially in damp places on the 
 mountains, which is evidently very different to the newts and 
 lizards familiar to most English. This is the salamander (8ala- 
 mandra), first cousin to the peculiarly ugly creature from Japan, 
 which was, if it is not still, to be seen in one of the reptile-cases 
 in the Zoological Gardens (London). There appear to be two 
 varieties in the Alps. One {S. maculosa) marked with orange 
 spots on the flank and belly ; the other {8. atra), which is all 
 black ; and the latter is said to have a much higher range than 
 the former. I have seen it in most parts of the Alps ; the 
 
200 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 highest station being near the little lakes forming the sources 
 of the Po, about 7700 feet above the sea. These reptiles are very- 
 abundant near Cortina d' Ampezzo. On a damp evening I used 
 to see dozens of them crawling about a low wall by the road-side 
 just outside the town — into the crevices of which they scrambled, 
 if disturbed, with a slow, wriggling, awkward gait. They were 
 generally from four to six inches in length, but occasionally 
 specimens may be found a couple of inches longer. Tschudi 
 says that they are considered to be weather-indicators, and that 
 when they are seen abroad in considerable numbers in the morn- 
 ing during dry weather, rain may be expected before sunset. 
 In Dauphine, where it is called Talabrene, it is believed to be 
 blind ; in some parts of France it is also thought to be deaf, and 
 called lesourd; the common people suppose it, most unjustly, to 
 be very venomous. There are, according to Schinz^, seven species 
 of newts {Triton) in Switzerland, some of which range high. 
 
 Of the true lizards {Lacertidce) , Schinz mentions five species 
 as belonging to Switzerland ; one of which, Lacerta pyrrho- 
 gastra, ranges up to a height of at least 8000 feet. It is five 
 or six inches long, with a brownish back, marked with black 
 striae and dots, and a bluish throat. In the male the belly is a 
 greenish-blue, dotted with black, in the female it is a bright 
 orange. Lacerta muralis is very common, though I believe it is 
 not found at so great a height above the sea ; and the beautiful 
 green lizard, Lacerta viridis, which is often more than a foot 
 long, occurs in some of the warmer regions. Some of these 
 species have the power of throwing off their tails with the 
 greatest ease, and afterwards reproducing the lost member. I 
 have often seen them running about the walls with the stumps 
 in various stages of growth. One day as I was walking in a 
 lane, near Lausanne, by the side of a garden-wall, on which a 
 number of little lizards, probably L. muralis, were disporting 
 themselves, I caught hold of the tail of one, which the owner 
 1 ISleue Denkschriften der Allg. Schweitz. Gesellsch., Vol. i. (1837). 
 
REPTILES, 201 
 
 had incautiously left sticking out of a crevice. I neither 
 jerked nor pulled it hard, but to my surprise it was instantly 
 cast off without apparently the slightest effort. It twisted 
 violently to and fro, and after I had thrown it down, continued 
 for some time wriggling in the dust. I have known an in- 
 stance in which the muscles of the tail contracted on being 
 pricked with a needle, at least six hours after it had been 
 separated from the body. 
 
 The blind-worm [Anguis fragilis), so common on many of 
 our English heaths, is not rare in the Alps. They are said to 
 hybernate, twenty or more together, in subterranean bun'ows, 
 the apertures of which are closed by moss and grass. There are 
 also five species of snakes (Coluber), among which is our Eng- 
 lish ringed-snake ((7. natrix, or Natrix torquata), and two of 
 adders ; the English species, Pelias berus, being one, and P. redii, 
 the other. They are, however, as a rule not often seen; although 
 the common adder is found up to a height of more than 7000 
 feet, and some of the snakes also appear to ascend to a con- 
 siderable distance. I do not suppose that I have fallen in with 
 a dozen of these animals in all my walks ; and of these half 
 have been lying dead by the road-side. Ladoucette* says that 
 near Mon^tier (Dauphind) certain persons " summon the adders 
 by means of a shrill whistle, and then seizing them in their 
 gloved hands cast them into a bag to sell them to the apothe- 
 caries of Genoa and Turin." It is perhaps hardly necessary to 
 state that the adders are the only venomous reptiles found in 
 the Alps : all the rest, salamanders, newts, frogs, toads, lizards, 
 and snakes are perfectly harmless, though they are often doomed 
 to destruction on this charge by the ignorant peasants. 
 
 It is of course impossible in a work of this kind to attempt 
 a detailed account of the invertebrata of the Alps, even if I 
 possessed the requisite knowledge and had access to the need- 
 ful materials. To give an idea of the magnitude of such a task 
 1 Les Hautes Alpes, p. 417. 
 
202 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 it may be enough to quote a statement from Tschudi to the 
 effect that in the Canton of Glarus alone there had been de- 
 scribed, in addition to 213 species of vertebrate animals, 5000 
 articulata, 50 worms, 100 molluscs, and 200 zoophytes. Of 
 these articulata, 300 species belonged to the arachnidse (spiders), 
 and about 50 to the Crustacea. There were 1500 coleoptera, 
 1000 diptera, 800 lepidoptera, and as many hymenoptera, 100 
 neuroptera, 100 porthoptera and 300 hemiptera. 
 
 Of the mollusca several species ascend to a considerable 
 height — amoni^ which are Vitrina diaphana (7,500 feet). Helix 
 arbustorum alpicola (7000 feet), and Bulimus montanus, about 
 6000 feet. The gi-eat edible snail (H. pomatia) is very abund- 
 ant in the lower Alpine regions, and occurs up to at least 4000 
 feet. In Italy it is cooked, and is considered a dainty, of which 
 however our countrymen seem generally rather shy. 
 
 The lepidoptera are very abundant, the number of species in 
 Switzerland alone being at least double of that in England. 
 Meyer-Dur^ gives a list of 162, which includes almost all those 
 found in Great Britain, and the excess is chiefly supplied by 
 additional species, not by new genera. Many of those which 
 are rare, or very local in England, are common among the Alps ; 
 and it is with no small delight that the entomologist sees in- 
 sects on the wing in numbers, which at home are, a,nd probably 
 always would be, only known to him from cabinet specimens. 
 The beautiful Swallow-tail {Papilio machaon) is common, but 
 does not ascend very high ; and still more restricted in its range 
 is its more delicate brother (P. podalirius), whose claims to a 
 place in our British fauna are by many naturalists somewhat 
 peremptorily rejected. It is most abundant in the sunny valleys 
 on the Italian slopes. The handsome Apollo (Parnassius apoUo), 
 with his downy plumage and lazy, yet regal flight, is common 
 between 2500 feet and 5300 feet ; and his smaller kinsman 
 (P. delius) is said to range from 4000 feet to 7000 feet; indeed, 
 
 ^ Neue Denkschriften der Allg. ScJuveiz. Gesellsch. Vol. ii. N. S. (1862). 
 
LEPIDOPTERA. 203 
 
 I believe that I have seen it still higher. The difference in size 
 is very marked, so that the species are easily distinguished. 
 Colias paleno, or a closely allied species, abounds on the upper 
 pastures up to above 7000 feet. It much resembles G. hyale, 
 the Pale clouded-yellow, which is also found, but in much lower 
 stations. Fontia rapce, the Small-white, is found np to 7000 
 feet ; the more delicate Daplidice, our rare Bath-white, does not 
 go so high, but I have found it in the Visp-thal, at between 
 three and four thousand feet. A species of Anthocaris (A. Bella) 
 mounts up to 7000 feet, leaving our Orange-tip [A. cardamines) 
 below. Some of the Coppers ascend to even the highest pas- 
 tures, chief among them being Lyccena chryseis ; and the Blues 
 are also very common ; of these Polyommatus adonis is said to 
 reach 4000 feet, P. corydon, the Chalk-hill Blue, the same, and 
 P. acis, now extinct in England, 3000 feet. I believe that I 
 have seen the second of these at still higher stations. Another 
 species closely resembling P. alexis, abounds in the upper pas- 
 tures. It appears to like water, and I have often seen numbers 
 of this and a species of Copper by some damp spot in the path- 
 way, apparently so stupified, that they could hardly be induced 
 to take wing; in fact, they seemed to be drunk. So far, how- 
 ever, as my observation goes, the butterflies in the Alps are 
 much tamer than in England. I have often stood over them as 
 they were feeding or fluttering from flower to flower, without 
 their taking the slightest notice of me. Hence it is generally 
 easy to examine them, without subjecting them to even a tem- 
 porary captivity. Last summer a Bee-hawk moth {Sesia fuci- 
 formis) worked through a whole flower-bed in a garden near 
 Innsbruck while I stood over it. The Painted Lady {Cynthia 
 cardui) wanders up to nearly 9000 feet, and some of the Vanessce 
 range high. The beautiful V. antiopa, however, does not go 
 above 2500 feet, at which height I have myself seen it. The 
 Ringlets are very abundant, and of numerous species. The 
 Scotch Argus [Erehia hlandina) and the Small-ringlet {E. cas- 
 
204 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 slope), being, with some allied species, not easy to distinguish 
 without careful examination, very abundant on the mountains. 
 The latter insect is said to range from 5600 feet to 8500 
 feet ; sometimes indeed it descends lower ; but I have never 
 seen it in districts where the peaks do not rise above 5000 
 feet. The former species occupies similar but rather lower 
 zones, and may consequently be found in districts where the 
 above condition is not fulfilled. The Fritillaries are numerous ; 
 the larger species, as in England, fluttering over the brush- 
 wood. Common among them are the, to us rare, Queen of 
 Spain {Argynnis lathonia), and the noted Melitcea dia, or 
 Weaver's fritillary, the claims of which to English citizenship 
 are more than disputed by many entomologists. They both 
 have a very extensive range, and the latter is abundant in 
 some parts of the Alps. Stragglers indeed often ascend far 
 above the limits here mentioned. E. hlandina and E, cassiope, 
 as well as two Fritillaries, probably the last named, flew by me 
 over the top of the Strahleck Pass (10,994 feet) ; and when I was 
 on the top of the Grivola (13,028 feet) a Small-tortoiseshell 
 ( V. urticce) and a blue-bottle fly were sporting merrily about crags, 
 on which the sole signs of vegetation were a few lichen spots. 
 
 Of the Sphyngidse, the Burnet-moths are exceedingly abun- 
 dant, and ascend to the higher pastures, being found at a height 
 of certainly not less than 6000 feet above the sea. Among 
 them I have observed the Five and the Six-spot Burnets 
 {Anthrocera trifolii and A. filipendulce), and the more deli- 
 cate A. minos, which in our own isles is chiefly confined to the 
 west of Ireland. I have also noticed one of the Foresters 
 (Procris), With the exception of the Humming-bird {Macro- 
 glossa stellatarum), which is exceedingly abundant in the lower 
 and warmer parts of the Alps, I have not observed many of 
 the Hawk-moths, and think they are generally confined to the 
 vine regions, among which I have seen the Death's-head 
 {Acherontia atropos) and the Oleander {Ghcerocampa nerii). 
 
INSECTS. 205 
 
 Once, however, I saw a good many caterpillars of Deilephila 
 euphorbice on the ascent to the Great Scheidegg above Grin- 
 delwald ; and found a fine specimen of Sphinx convolvuli dead 
 on a snowfield at the head of the Yal Pellice, near the Viso, at 
 a height of about 9000 feet above the sea. As for the re- 
 maining lepidoptera, diurnal and nocturnal, I cannot attempt 
 to describe them ; and will therefore only mention one of the 
 most striking, which ranges up to at least 4000 feet, namely, 
 the beautiful Jersey tiger-moth (Callimorpha hero). 
 
 Beetles are of course abundant enough, but I dare not 
 attempt to particularise; and so are grasshoppers of various 
 kinds up to the higher pastures. Two species are very con- 
 spicuous : the great green grasshopper {Acrida viridissima), and 
 a stouter and more portly species, which I have seen in the 
 Italian Alps, over 4000 feet above the sea. The noise made 
 by some of these insects is very great, being a shrill whirring 
 whistle ; and their habit of biting whatever they come across 
 is often very destructive to ladies' dresses. I have seen the 
 firefly at a height of 4544 feet, near Crissolo in the Val di 
 Po ; and the glow-worm is common in most of the Alpine valleys. 
 In the lower parts of some of those on the Italian slopes the 
 scorpion (Scorpio europceus) may occasionally be found. I saw 
 one in 1861 at Baveno; it was sitting upon a bed in a room 
 occupied by one of the ladies in our party ; she at first mistook 
 it for a specimen out of her herbarium, and took hold of it by 
 the tail. Finding that it moved, she dropped it, fortunately 
 before it had time to sting, and summoned me to look at her 
 strange visitor. After a little management I slipped it into a 
 a bottle of spirit, in which it is still preserved. 
 
 The ants make their mounds almost everywhere in the 
 forests and on the meadows — those constructed by a large brown 
 species (Formica fusca) being often five or six feet in diameter 
 and two or three high — up to a height of some six thousand 
 feet at the least. 
 
206 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 F. rufa establishes its nest under stones. The solitary large 
 F. herculanea is said to range above 8000 feet. Of spiders, 
 Opilio glacialis has been found on the summit of Piz Linard 
 (10,516 feet). The excellence of Alpine honey is proverbial, 
 and bees thrive well up to about 4000 feet. Humble-bees, 
 wasps, flies, and gnats are abundant ; the last ranging very 
 high. The common cray-fish (Astacus fluviatilis) is found in 
 the streams up to at least 4000 feet. The brick-red mite 
 {Rhyncholophus nivalis) is said to have been found at a height 
 of 10,000 feet in the Orisons. 
 
 The ubiquitous flea must not be forgotten. This pest 
 of the tired traveller haunts almost every chalet and far too 
 many inns, and is even found, with an appetite whetted by 
 frequent abstinence, in the hut on the Orands Mulets, 10,000 
 feet above the sea. One naturally asks Do they winter there ? 
 I am inclined to answer the question in the negative, and to 
 suppose that a fresh supply is brought up annually in the 
 skin knapsacks, not to say on the persons, of the porters. It 
 happened that in the summer of 1864 I was one of the first 
 party that spent a night there. The hard boards and stuffy 
 air, combined with a knapsack pillow that seemed to be all 
 edges and, lie as I would, to be bent on decapitating me, 
 effectually banished sleep ; but though, remembering the evil 
 reputation of the place, I waited long in uneasy anticipation, 
 not a flea came to the banquet ; and I am sure that, had there 
 been one in the hut, it would have found me out. 
 
 There is yet another little insect, which is able to support 
 a still greater degree of cold, living in a temperature which can 
 never rise much above the freezing-point. This is the glacier 
 flea, which, though bearing some slight general resemblance to 
 its agile namesake, is in reality no relation, and may be 
 watched without fear of after consequences. The scientific 
 name of this minute insect — not half the size of a common 
 flea — is Desoria glacialis, but according to M. Nicolet, who 
 
GLACIER FLEAS. 207 
 
 has carefully examined them, there is more than one species ^ 
 This one, when magnified, appears as a long thin earwig-shaped 
 creature, with two rather thick and short antennae pointing 
 forward and somewhat outwards from an oval head, in the 
 upper part of which are two eyes. The first joint of the 
 thorax bears a pair of short stout legs, and is so small, that 
 they appear to start from between the head and the second 
 joint of the thorax ; this is shield-shaped, with the point up- 
 wards, and is about as large as the head. Another pair of 
 legs is attached to it. The third plate is smaller than the 
 last-named, and is oblong in form ; it bears the third pair of 
 legs. The abdomen appears to consist of four plates, from a 
 knob at the end of the last of which spring two caudal ap- 
 pendages, like a pair of shears. These insects may be found in 
 great numbers in the shallow pools of water which form under 
 the isolated stones lying on the surface of glaciers ; and one 
 generally has not to turn over very many before coming upon 
 a society, the members of which instantly begin to leap and 
 kick about, and generally scurry together at the bottom of the 
 pool, where they form an animated patch of wriggling black 
 dots. De Saussure^ was, I believe, the first to describe these 
 little insects, which he referred to the genus Podura. I doubt, 
 however, whether those which he observed belonged to the 
 same species, seeing that he speaks of them as having long 
 and curved antennae, and describes them as running and leaping 
 among the grains of snow. He found them on the summit 
 of the Petit Mont Cervin, a minor peak of the Breithorn 
 (Valais), at a height of 12,749 feet above the sea. Mr King^ 
 also observed them, together with some aphides, in the same 
 neighbourhood, on the Col of the Th^odule pass (10,899 feet), 
 where they were on the snow and under the slaty schist. 
 
 ^ NeiLe Denkschriften der Allg. Schweiz. Gesellsch., Vol. v. (1841). 
 
 « Voyages, § 2249. 
 
 ^ Italian Valleys of the Alps, p. 212. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Our glance at the botany of the Alps must necessarily 
 be even more brief than at the zoology. The subject may 
 conveniently, though not scientifically, be treated under the 
 ^ve following heads: — (1) deciduous trees; (2) coniferous 
 trees ; — these two forming pretty nearly the leaf-wood and 
 needle-wood of the Germans ; (3) brushwood ; (4) flowers ; (5) 
 ferns, mosses, and lichens. The statistics contained in this 
 section are in great part taken from Tschudi, but I am able 
 to confirm almost all of them from personal observation. It 
 is of course only possible to speak in general terms when 
 attempting to fix either the upper or lower limit of any plant, 
 for so much depends upon local circumstances. The aspect of 
 the site, its position with reference to prevailing winds, the 
 nature of the soil, the height of the neighbouring mountains, 
 and numbers of like causes may enable a particular plant to 
 flourish at a level in one neighbourhood many hundred feet 
 above what it can reach in another. 
 
 The majority of the deciduous trees can hardly be said to 
 belong to the Alpine region, though of course they clothe 
 
VINES AND CHESTNUTS, 209 
 
 the lower slopes of the mountains ; and in some cases pene- 
 trate deep into their recesses up the comparatively level beds 
 of the larger valleys. Thus the vine flourishes freely in the 
 Val d'Aoste between the great ice-capped walls of the Graian 
 and Pennine Alps, and, to the north of the latter chain, 
 clothes the lower slopes on either side of the Rhone valley, 
 even penetrating the Yisp-thal as far as Stalden (2,736 feet). 
 In the neighbourhood of this village is probably its highest 
 station in Switzerland. On the southern slopes of the Alps, 
 and in the Italian Tyrol, it may rise a little above this level ; 
 but it can rarely be said to thrive above 2,500 feet, and in 
 many places fails to reach it by several hundred feet. 
 
 The Spanish chestnut, in the same way, grows to nearly 
 3000 feet on the Italian slopes, under favourable circumstances; 
 and the walnut occupies about the same zone, perhaps rising 
 slightly above it. The apple and pear are confined to much 
 the same limits; but the cherry, especially a small black variety, 
 flourishes much higher. I have eaten it from trees in the vil- 
 lage of Claux, in the Yal Louise (Dauphine), at a height of 
 about 4000 feet. The oak is confined to much the same limits 
 as the chestnut; the lime advances rather beyond it. There is 
 a very fine old tree in the village of Macugnaga, in the Val 
 Anzasca, at a height of 4369 feet. The maple cannot grow 
 above 5000 feet, but the aspen advances some 200 feet above 
 it as a tree, and even higher than this as a shrub; while the 
 birch flourishes up to 6000 feet, and thrives as a shrub in some 
 places almost up to the snow line. 
 
 The following interesting extract from Tschudi^ gives the 
 limits of several trees in different localities (the heights are 
 in French feet; 1000 = 1066 English feet nearly: the tem- 
 peratures are reduced to the Fahrenheit scale) : 
 
 ^ Les Alpes, p. 43. Some interesting details about the age and history of 
 several Swiss trees will be found in an article in the Conservateur Suisse, Vol. x. 
 p. 333. 
 
 14 
 
210 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 **The walnut rises in the northern part of the Swiss Alps to a 
 mean level of 2500 feet, and a maximum of 2900 feet; the mean 
 temperature being 45" ; in the Central Alps, where the mean tem- 
 perature is the same, it reaches 2700 feet, and as a maximum 
 3600 feet ; lastly, in the Southern Alps (Mont Blanc and Monte 
 Rosa), where the mean temperature is 44", it rises to 8600 feet. 
 The cherry-tree reaches a mean of 3500 feet in North Switzer- 
 land, though some isolated plants grow even at 4580 feet; in the 
 Bernese Alps this limit mounts up to 3900 feet ; in the Orisons 
 it attains a maximum of 4500 feet; in the Yalais of 4164 feet; 
 in the Val de Saint Nicholas, the last cherry-trees occur above 
 Herbrigen at 3965 feet. The beech grows in North Switzerland 
 at a mean altitude of 4200 feet; the mean annual temperature 
 being 39'4<', and in certain aspects it even rises up to 4800 feet. 
 In the Bernese Alps the limit is from 3700 feet to 3900 feet; 
 in Canton Tessin it is 4666 feet. In the Valais and the Grisons, 
 where the soil is formed of crystalline schists, beeches are very 
 rare; on Monte Rosa they reach 4500 feet." 
 
 Of the coniferous trees, we may place first the larch [Abies 
 lartx), which is also deciduous; it is very common in nearly 
 every part of the Alps ; large forests being almost wholly com- 
 posed of it. It is particularly abundant in the Tarentaise and 
 the Engadine ; but in the former place has suffered much of 
 late years from a kind of blight. In 1864 I saw hundreds of 
 acres of forest, the trees of which were brown and apparently 
 dying. It grows freely up to about 6000 feet, and in some 
 localities, such as the Engadine, as far as 6700 feet. Speaking 
 generally, the zone of larch forests extends from 4000 to 
 7000 feet. Like all the coniferous trees, it disappears rather 
 suddenly at the upper limit, without any considerable fringe of 
 stunted growth. The traveller not un frequently falls in with 
 magnificent specimens in the woods, giants rising to a height 
 of from 100 to 120 feet above the ground, with a diameter, 
 measured about a yard from the soil, of four or five feet. 
 
THE SPRUCE FIR. 211 
 
 The common spruce {Pinus abies) is also abundant in the 
 Alps ; sometimes mingled, but more frequently alternating 
 with the larch, which generally ranges a little above it. Per- 
 haps is it nowhere more beautiful than in the limestone zone 
 which extends along the northern face of the Alps from Savoy 
 to the Tyrol, where the vast sweeps of purple forests, broken 
 here and there with exquisitely green Alps, and surmounted by 
 grand crags, offer some of the most beautiful combinations of 
 wild and pastoral scenery that can be conceived. 
 
 Travellers not unfrequently complain that the pinewood 
 scenery is monotonous, and perhaps on level ground the re- 
 mark is just. I have, however, never yet found it so in the 
 mountain districts; the exquisite curving outlines of the 
 wooded slopes, the beauty of which is enhanced by the fact 
 that no one of them is a continuous line, but is composed of 
 an almost infinite number of slightly varying angles, — is the 
 edge of a sylvan frill, — the delicate play of colour and tone 
 produced by each one of the myriad leafy spires being partly in 
 light and partly in strongly marked shadow, the change through 
 almost every tint of dark green and purple as the sun passes 
 across the sky from its rising to its setting, together with the 
 indescribable harmony between the trees themselves and the 
 surrounding scenery, have always seemed to me inexhaustible 
 sources of pleasure. Let me quote the testimony of one, who 
 has not only the power of appreciating mountain beauty, but 
 also the far rarer gift of expressing his feelings in the most ap- 
 propriate words ^ 
 
 " Other trees show their trunks and twisting boughs : but 
 the pine, growing in either luxuriant mass or in happy isolation, 
 allows no branch to be seen. Summit behind summit rises in 
 pyramidal ranges, or down to the very grass sweep the circlets 
 of its boughs ; so that there is nothing but green cone and green 
 carpet. Nor is it only softer, but in one sense more cheerful 
 
 ^ Euskin, Modern Painters, v, 84. 
 
 14—2 
 
212 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 than other foliage ; for it casts only a pyramidal shadow. 
 Lowland forest arches overhead, and chequers the ground with 
 darkness; but the pine, growing in scattered groups, leaves the 
 glades between emerald-bright. Its gloom is all its own ; nar- 
 rowing into the sky, it lets the sunshine strike down to the 
 dew. And if ever a superstitious feeling comes over me among 
 the pine-glades, it is never tainted with the old German forest 
 fear; but is only a more solemn tone of the fairy enchantment 
 that haunts our English meadows." 
 
 In the Dolomite region of the Tyrol and in Carinthia the 
 lateral branches of the pine are smaller and altogether scantier 
 than in the more western examples. Each tree being thus ren- 
 dered more 'spiky' in form, the distant woods in these districts 
 have a markedly 'horrent' appearance, which certainly does not 
 add to their beauty. Messrs Gilbert and Churchill* state that this 
 mode of growth is produced by the practice of cropping the side 
 branches to obtain winter fodder for the cattle, — a custom almost 
 as prejudicial to a landscape as the English one of pollarding 
 trees. I have, however, examined pines high up on the moun- 
 tains, which were certainly much more slender in growth than 
 those that I had been accustomed to see further west, on which 
 I could not detect any traces of the axe, so that I do not feel 
 persuaded that this explanation wholly accounts for the pecu- 
 liarity. Occasionally also their branches droop, or as we often 
 call it, 'weep'; and the effect of one or two of these weeping 
 pines in a cluster of other trees is very picturesque. The 
 branches bend round rather sharply a few inches from the bole, 
 and slope down almost parallel with it, curving slightly upwards 
 near the extremity. I passed through a wood of such trees on the 
 eastern side of the Tre Croci pass (Val Auronzo), some of which 
 were veritable giants ; lower down they assumed their usual 
 growth. I also noticed that the larches in this neighbourhood 
 appeared to have their side branches comparatively small. 
 
 ^ The Dolomite Mountains, p. 28. 
 
FIRS. 213 
 
 The silver fir or weisstanne (P. picea) is more sparingly dis- 
 tributed than the last named. It i§ common in the Jura, and 
 in parts of the Engadine and Southern Tyrol, but I do not re- 
 member to have very often noticed it in the Swiss or other dis- 
 tricts of the Western Alps. In general appearance it resembles 
 the spruce fir, but the silvery tint of its bark and of the under 
 side of its leaf renders it easy to be distinguished. In the Jura 
 it reaches a height of 5000 feet on the Dole, but in the En- 
 gadine it has rather a lower range. It has, however, been 
 observed in the Pennine chain up to about 6200 feet. 
 
 Sporadic also in its distribution, but occasionally very 
 abundant, is the Scotch fir (P. silvestris), which grows up to 
 about 6000 feet. It is rare in the French, Piedmontese, and 
 Swiss Alps, where it seems to be generally confined to the 
 alluvial land. It is, however, occasionally found in the moun- 
 tains, but does not generally form extensive forests. In the 
 Southern Tyrol it is more abundant, and extends to a con- 
 siderable height above the sea, perhaps not less than 5000 feet. 
 
 Last comes the arolla or arve (P. cemhra), one of the most 
 beautiful of all, with its glossy dark-green brushes and dense 
 clustered foliage. Though in many districts very abundant, 
 it is decidedly a local tree. Tschudi mentions, as among the 
 most celebrated habitats, the Frela above Li vino, the north side 
 of the Munster Thai, the neighbourhood of the Bernina, and 
 the Stelvio. I can answer for the abundance of it in the last 
 two localities ; for it is one of the gTeat charms of the mountains 
 about Pontresina and Trafoi (on the eastern side of the Stelvio 
 pass), where it grows as far up as 8000 feet above the sea. 
 I have also seen it near Zermatt, especially in the Zmutt-thal, 
 in Dauphin^ on the south side of the Dent Parassed in the 
 Maurienne, about the Ampezzo Pass, and indeed generally 
 throughout the Dolomite districts. Tschudi states that it occurs 
 sparingly in the mountains about the west of the Diablerets, 
 (where I have also seen it), in the Gentel-thal and Engstelen- 
 
214 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 thai, near the Grimsel, and in two or three spots in the Central 
 Oberland. A well-grown arolla is from 50 to 80 feet high; the 
 circumference of the trunk a little above the ground being a 
 dozen feet or so. The cone contains some 20 or 30 little nuts 
 with a white kernel, which has a pleasant taste, resembling that 
 of an almond, but slightly resinous. The wood is said to be 
 very durable; in the Grodner-thal it is worked up into toys 
 and ornaments. 
 
 Among the brushwood may be named a species of dwarf 
 alder [Alnus viridis), which is exceedingly abundant, clothing 
 the mountain sides up to a height of at least 6000 feet, and not 
 restricted to any particular district. It has, indeed, been ob- 
 served in the Pennine chain at about 7200 feet. A cotoneaster 
 ((7. vulgaris) may also be observed, especially on limestone. 
 A kind of ash-tree also rises up to a limit of about 5000 feet ; 
 and, as has been already said, birch scrub is very abundant in 
 some neighbourhoods up to a height exceeding both of these. 
 
 In the Engadine and Eastern Alps the dwarf-pine or 
 mughus (P. pumilio), the Tcnie-holz or latschen of the German, is 
 exceedingly common. Its growth is peculiar ; for a consider- 
 able distance it trails along the ground (down-hill if on a slope), 
 then it rises in a bold sweeping curve, throwing out branches, 
 which all point sharply upwards, till their extremities are 
 nearly vertical. This part might at first sight be easily 
 mistaken for a young arolla. The long snake-like trailing trunk, 
 of a reddish-brown colour, does not throw off any important 
 branches ; it is frequently 10 or 15 feet long, and sometimes 
 even attains to 30 feet ; near the root it is often from 4 to 5 
 inches thick. The upper part forms a bushy shrub from 5 to 15 
 feet high. Thus the whole length of the stem may be as much as 
 45 feet ; but I should say that from 20 to 30 might be taken as 
 a fair average ; hence a dwarf-pine scrub generally a little 
 overtops a man's head. Its colour is dark green, and the cones, 
 which are small (about IJ inch long), are chiefly produced on 
 
DWARF-PINE AND JUNIPER, 215 
 
 the upper part of the tree. The peculiar habit of growth makes 
 the descent through a forest of it a comparatively easy task ; 
 except that its smooth round stems are very slippery, and if 
 trodden upon, are apt to prove excellent ' shoots ' and bring the 
 incautious walker into a sitting posture with remarkable cele- 
 rity, producing sensations suggestive of early efforts on the ice; 
 but to force one's way up through them is a most heartbreaking 
 business. I shall not quickly forget the time when, in my in- 
 nocence of its habits, I started for a quiet stroll, as I fancied, 
 up a steep hillside covered with latschen. The bottle-brush tops 
 proved to be a natural chevaux-de-frise, and after about an 
 hour's scrambling, pushing, and hauling, varied with an 
 occasional slip on a stem and consequent sprawl, I formed a 
 very clear opinion that 'it was not worth going through so much 
 to get so little,' and succumbed. 
 
 Common in almost every district of the Alps, so far as I re- 
 member, is the dwarf mountain juniper (Juniperus nana), which 
 occurs sparingly in parts of our British highlands, and is a little 
 brother of the well-known shrub, from the berries of which schie- 
 dam is made. It grows on stony tracts, twisting and interlacing 
 its snaky branches among the boulders till it has almost covered 
 them with a dense matted coat of scrubby brushwood, rising 
 from one to two feet above the ground. Its favourite haunt is 
 the zone of coarse pasture land, which succeeds to the region of 
 forest and alp. Gnarled, stunted, prickly, its bleached boughs 
 bent hither and thither, in hard and obstinate angles of growth, 
 interrupted here and resumed there, its whole aspect bears 
 witness to the struggle between the stubborn life within and 
 the deathfal cold without. It forces its way almost to the verge 
 of the snows. I have seen it growing by the side of the Glacier 
 Blanc in Dauphin^, more than 8000 feet above the sea. Hence 
 it is regarded with a friendly eye by the mountaineer, whose 
 bivouac fire often depends upon it alone for a supply of fuel ; to 
 him juniper on the Alps means a cheerful evening by the 
 
216 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 crackling blaze, a cup of hot wine at night and of warm soup in 
 the morning, after some hours passed in comfortable slumber in- 
 stead of in shivering wakefulness. Still we must own there is a 
 drawback in it. Nature, in kindly constructing holes in the rocks 
 as refuges for houseless vagabonds, has forgotten to provide 
 chimneys ; it is therefore needless to observe that the bedroom 
 fire smokes ; whose would not if you built up the flue, shut the 
 window, and took the door off its hinges ? Now the smoke of 
 juniper is peculiarly pungent, and the effect of putting on more 
 wood, especially if it be green, gives one some little idea of what 
 Pelissier's Arab friends must have felt, when he let them taste 
 the blessings of civilisation. 
 
 Another species of juniper (J", sahina) is more local in its 
 growth, but still by no means rare. It is, I remember, abun- 
 dant among other places, in the Yal Savaranche (Graians), the 
 Nicolai-thal and in part of the Valle di Livinallungo (on the 
 eastern side above Caprile). I was the more struck with it in 
 the last case, because I had not remarked it in the adjoining 
 valley near Cortina ; there the other species was not uncommon, 
 but the scrub consisted mainly of latschen, which was here 
 wanting and was replaced by the sabine. It appears to 
 occupy a rather lower zone than its kinsman, and is a much 
 richer and more graceful plant, covering the slopes with its long 
 curving boughs ; not hard and rough, as with purpose obstinate 
 though often baffled, but lissom and undulating as though life 
 went easily, with but difficulties to overcome enough to prevent 
 it being monotonous. The leafage too is not bristly, coarse, 
 grey, and dull in colour; but full, rich, and green, more like that 
 of a procumbent cypress. The long tapering curves with which 
 the branches end are especially beautiful, just such as the 
 pencil of Turner never wearied in rendering. 
 
 Growing along with the sabine among the forests, and reach- 
 ing far above it to almost the limit of the other juniper, come 
 the dwarf rhododendrons, the roses of the Alps as they are often 
 
RHODODENDRONS. 217 
 
 called — rather unfairly, seeing there is a true Alpine rose {R. 
 alpina), far from rare, with a fiower about the size of the ordi- 
 nary English dog-rose, and of a deep crimson, surpassing in 
 colour any that we can shew. These sturdy little shrubs strike 
 their roots into the most sterile soil, among the boulders and 
 crumbling splinters of fallen rock, and are to the Alps what the 
 heather is to the hills of Britain. There are two species ; one is 
 Rhododendron ferrugineum, which is rarely seen below 3000 feet, 
 and may be said to flourish from 4500 feet to 7500 feet. This 
 is readily recognised by the rust-coloured under side of its leaf; 
 which, combined with the darker hue of its flower, gives it a 
 more sombre appearance than the other species; indeed a reddish- 
 brown hue so much predominates in this rhododendron that, at 
 a little distance, whole patches of it in the higher Alps might 
 easily be supposed to be withered. The other species {R. hirsu- 
 tum) descends a thousand feet lower, and is chiefly found in a 
 zone between 3500 feet and 6500 feet, rarely occurring above 
 7000 feet. Its leaves are covered with a multitude of fine hairs, 
 whence its name ; and its flowers are of a more delicate pink ; 
 so that on the whole it is the more beautiful shrub. It is much 
 more abundant in the Tyrol than in Switzerland. I have seldom 
 seen it grow more freely than on the Sponda-lunga slope, on 
 the western side of the Stelvio road. Words are inadequate 
 to describe the beauty of these rhododendron flowers when they 
 clothe whole acres of the mountain slopes with a robe of dappled 
 crimson, rivalling in hue the flush which is kindled in the upper 
 sky by the last rays of the setting sun. It blossoms in the latter 
 part of June and in July. August travellers can form but little 
 idea of its richness. The red-berried Hippophae rhamnoides is a 
 striking shrub in many valleys, growing on the stony plains 
 overflowed at times by the mountain torrents; the 'screes' 
 in Dauphine up to about 4000 feet, are in many places almost 
 masked by the s^'^et-scented tufts of lavender ; and, in the 
 Bernina; the mountain air is perfumed by the blossoms of 
 
218 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Daphne striata, which flourishes considerably above 7000 feet. 
 Another species, D. alpina, is less conspicuous. 
 
 Nor must we forget the fruit-bearing shrubs, delights of 
 the mountaineer. Who does not remember pleasant pasture 
 among gardens of Alpine raspberries ; daintier, though smaller, 
 than those at home. These we find almost everywhere, up to a 
 height of some 6000 feet. The finest plantation that I ever saw 
 was on the southern side of 'the Gidta, a mountain that rises 
 near to Sixt (Savoy). Wandering down one summer's after- 
 noon from its summit towards the gloomy Lac de Gers, we 
 found that the hill-side was literally clothed with raspberry 
 plants, — a garden of fruits apparently never visited save by the 
 birds and insects. We must not pass by its dwarf congener, the 
 slender Ruhus saxatilis, with its little red berries, called in 
 the French-speaking district griffes de chat (cat's-claws), doubt- 
 less from their flavour. Acid though they be, they are plea- 
 sant to the thirsty wanderer ; and to many are quite irresistible. 
 Nor must the bilberry ( Vaccmium myrtillus) be forgotten, which 
 is abundant in many districts. How refreshing is its black, lip- 
 defiling juice when the mouth is parched by toiling up a steep 
 slope, and how often have its fruits proved apples of Atalanta 
 to the youth whose motto ought to be ' Excelsior,* and seduced 
 him — not to 'stay and rest his weary head upon maiden's 
 breast,' but to sprawl among the pliant tufts and browse upon 
 their purple berries. This friend or foe, as you like to take it, 
 of the Alpine climber is very hardy, and ascends up to a height 
 of more than 7000 feet. Strange to say, the peasants make 
 very little use of its fruits, though they may often be gathered 
 in gallons within a few minutes' walk of the upper villages. 
 More sparingly distributed, but still common, is the little 
 Alpine strawberry, which may be here mentioned for conve- 
 nience, and in virtue of its being a member, though a lowly 
 one, of the family of the rosaceae ; its fruit, however, cannot 
 complain of neglect, for it is a great source of revenue to the 
 
ALPINE FRUITS AND FLOWERS. 219 
 
 village children, and so well are strawberries hunted, that it 
 is no easy matter to find any in the neighbourhood of tourist- 
 haunted spots. Like nearly all other fruit, it should be eaten 
 from the plant to be tasted in perfection. After it has been 
 gathered awhile, the slightly resinous aroma becomes a little too 
 pronounced. Occasionally also one finds wild gooseberries, 
 bearing a hairy yellow fruit, much smaller than that of the 
 corresponding English garden plant, but of an excellent flavour. 
 Among other localities for it may be mentioned the Val dAn- 
 niviers and the Val Louise (in Dauphin^); in the latter place 
 it grows some 4500 feet above the sea. Let me here say a word 
 for the astringent sloe, which ranges rather higher, especially 
 on the southern side of the Alps. The traveller, when any 
 part of his walk lies through one of the hot Italian valleys, 
 will do well not to despise this berry. If eaten, it will of course 
 make his palate and teeth like a file ; but if simply held in 
 the mouth, it promotes saliva, as does a pebble, and at last by 
 melting away almost imperceptibly, produces a slight acid taste 
 which is very refreshing. Useful for the same purpose are the 
 brilliant scarlet and orange clusters of the barberry, whose 
 thorny shrubs are very abundant in the sub-alpine regions, 
 and range in many places up to nearly 6000 feet. 
 
 To write of Alpine flowers, even of the commoner species, 
 would be little more than to give a catalogue of names which 
 would be dry enough to all but botanists. A few words, how- 
 ever, must be said about them, for it is impossible for any one 
 to walk many hours in the higher Alps during the months of 
 June and July without being struck with their extraordinary 
 profusion, variety, and beauty. To see them at their best, it is 
 necessary to leave England earlier than is possible to most tra- 
 vellers ; still, even in the beginning of July, when the stream 
 of outward-bound holiday-makers begins to flow from our 
 shores, though the flowers are fast disappearing from the lower 
 meadows, the Alpine pastures are decked with their tapestry 
 
220 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 of many colours. Who cannot recall many a happy hour spent 
 in rambling from cluster to cluster on the side of some great 
 alp ; the scent of sweet herbage or of sweeter daphne perfuming 
 the invigorating air; the melody of the cattle-bells borne up 
 from some far off pasture ; while the great blue vault of heaven 
 above seems reflected in the gentian clusters at his feet. The 
 love of flowers seems natural to almost every human being, 
 however forlorn his life may have been, however far it may 
 have missed its appointed mark. It may well be so ; they at 
 least are fresh and unstained from their Maker's hand ; the cry 
 of * Nature red in tooth and claw' scarce breaks their calm 
 repose ; side by side they flourish without strife, none 'letteth 
 or hindereth another'; yet so tender and delicate, doomed to 
 fade all too soon, a touch of sadness is ever present to give a 
 deeper pathos to our love. 
 
 Those then who in Britain feel each year a new delight when 
 they see the great lent-lilies nodding heavy-headed above the 
 springing grass, the cowslip's cluster and the ranunculus' cup, 
 broidering the meadows as with beads of gold, the pale primrose 
 stars and the wood-anemone snow-flakes spangling every glade, 
 the bells of countless hyacinths purpling the woods, the corn- 
 fields scarlet with the poppy flowers, and the moorlands blushing 
 with ling or crimsoning with heather, will find still greater 
 treasures awaiting them in the Alps. There the pale lilac crocus 
 studs the meadows; the pink dianthus and the purple aster, 
 orange-eyed, spangle the banks ; the stone-crop of many kinds, 
 yellow, white, and crimson, clings to the rocks, thriving where all 
 other plants would wither. There are golden-ball flowers by the 
 marshy spots; pink persicara in the fields; poppies, larkspur, 
 and corncockle among the gi-ain crops; blue chicory by the 
 road-side, with harebells even richer in colour and more varied 
 in species than in England. Nor must the gentians be for- 
 gotten. One, a great herb with flower of purple or of saffron, 
 and huge leaves, from which the Eau-de-gentian is distilled ; 
 
ALPINE FLOWERS. 221 
 
 another, dwarf-like, with spike of lilac flowers ; a third with 
 long trumpet bells of richest blue, and many other varieties, of 
 which more anon. Nor must we forget to look for the martigan 
 lily, or the pale yellow foxglove, which replaces our sturdier 
 friend, or, if we are near the Eastern Alps, the matted tufts of 
 the Saponaria ocymoides. Several of these have a considerable 
 vertical range, in some districts up to full 6000 feet. You 
 would, I believe, gather them all within a short walk of 
 Pontresina (5,915 feet). 
 
 One of the pleasantest regions for a botanizing ramble in 
 the Alps lies at a height of between about 6000 and 8000 feet, 
 on the zone of pasture-land immediately above the forests. In 
 that grow great anemones, white and sulphur-coloured; gentians 
 of deepest blue ; campanulas, geums, alpine soldanellas and 
 forget-me-nots, asters, ox-eyed daisies, pale pink primulas, and 
 purple heartsease, which make the Alps like a great flower 
 garden. Among the spots peculiarly noted for their botanical 
 treasures are the pastures of Dauphin^ and the Viso, and the 
 Yal del Fain in the Engadine. Beyond this region the flower- 
 ing plants begin to disappear from the coarse turf; but still two 
 species at least of gentians (G. verna and G. nivalis) hold their 
 own; the mossy saxifrage and androsace {8. oppositifolia and 
 A. pennina) have their home; the turquoise clusters of the 
 Eritrichium nanum gem the rocks, and the beautiful Ranunculus 
 glacialis flourishes in damp places. Besides these, we find the 
 yellow poppy, also the Alpine toad-flax {Linaria alpina), purple 
 with yellow eye ; and, in the Eastern Alps, the silver-leaved, 
 pink-flowered Potentilla nitida, and Thlaspi rotundifolium, a 
 favourite food of the chamois. The mountaineer, when about 
 to dine, should not forget to look for the Alpine cress, Passerage 
 des Alpes, or Cresson in patois (Lepidium alpinum), which 
 grows up to at least 8000 feet on damp banks and moraines. 
 The edelweiss {Gnaphalium leontopodium) must not be forgotten, 
 a plant so often associated in poetry with the mountains. It 
 
222 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 may be found up to about 8000 feet ; but is rather local. It is 
 abundant in several parts of the Pennine Alps, especially near 
 Zermatt : also in the Italian Tyrol, and in the mountains near 
 the Bavarian frontier. The handsome monkshood [Aconitum 
 napellus) is very common, and grows up to nearly the same 
 height. I remember a particularly fine bed of it on the Gemmi 
 Pass at about 7300 feet. 
 
 Many of these grow up to the level of the snow. As a rule, 
 however, flowers become rare in any part of the Alps after a 
 height of about 9000 feet, but still I have often gathered them 
 on spots far above this ; for example, I found two or three flower- 
 ing plants, among which was Pedicularis (verticillata?, I have 
 unfortunately mislaid the specimen), on the Col de Sea (10,154). 
 Not far below the summit was Eritrichium nanum, which I 
 have noticed in other places not much below 10,000 feet. We 
 gathered Saxifraga hryoides and Androsace glacialis on Mont 
 Emilius at about 11,670 feet, and on the Ruitor at 11,480 feet, 
 and Campanula cenisia on the Grivola at about 12,000 feet, the 
 highest locality in which I have seen a phanerogamous plant. 
 
 Among the above-named, few plants are more beautiful than 
 the gentians, the two most conspicuous members of which 
 family are G. verna and G. acaulis. The former is a star-shaped 
 flower, about half an inch across, of the richest dark blue, on a 
 stem from one to three inches long. So intense is its colour, 
 and so profuse are its flowers, that I have seen a patch as large 
 as a saucer, in which the green of the leaves could not be 
 distinguished. The other is the common garden species in 
 England ; in the upper pastures of the Alps it is almost as 
 abundant as are daisies in our meadows. This also is a very free 
 flowerer ; I have counted as many as twenty-seven bells on a 
 single plant. 
 
 Turning now to the last division, the apparently flowerless 
 or cryptogamic plants, I will venture on a few notes upon the 
 ferns, which, as in all mountain districts, are abundant in the 
 
FERNS. 223 
 
 Alps. The majority of them are identical with those of Great 
 Britain, but the collector will find species growing in profusion 
 here, which, at home, are either very rare or, at best, confined 
 to one or two localities. 
 
 Of the polypodies, the beech-fern (P. phegopteris) and oak- 
 fern (P. dryopteris) are generally common ; and so is the 
 limestone polypody (P. calcareum) in districts where that rock 
 prevails. Another species, P. alpestre, which at first sight 
 might easily be mistaken for the lady-fern, grows plentifully 
 in many places. I have gathered it in profusion — generally 
 at a height of from 5000 to 6000 feet, near the Col des Sept 
 Laux in Dauphine, in the tributary glens of the Yal d'Orco 
 (Graians), near the Col de la Croix (Val des Ormonds), and 
 in several other places. Allosorus crispus, the parsley fern, 
 is common, especially on the crystalline rocks, and ascends 
 to above 7000 feet. Polystichum lonchitis, the holly fern, is 
 perhaps above all others the one most characteristic of the 
 higher Alps. It is abundant in almost every district from 
 the Viso to the Tyrol, ranging from about 5000 to nearly 
 8000 feet; but, so far as my experience goes, is not found 
 unless the general level of the surrounding peaks considerably 
 surpasses 6000 feet. At about that elevation it seems to flou- 
 rish in perfection. It thrives in both the crystalline and lime- 
 stone districts ; but on the whole the finest fronds are to be 
 seen in the latter; especially in places where the rock, as is 
 so often the case, weathers into channels, two or three feet 
 deep, with parallel walls only a few inches apart. Nestling 
 down in these, it shoots out great fronds, often more than 
 eighteen inches in length, which are giants compared with 
 the stunted specimens on the rock-work in our own gardens. 
 Some of the finest that I have ever gathered, grew on the 
 limestone plateaux between the Faulhorn and the Lake of 
 Brienz. The various members of the families Lastrcea and 
 Athyrium do not as a rule ascend very high up the mountains. 
 
224 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Of the spleenworts, Asplenium septentrionale is exceedingly 
 common in most of the crystalline districts, but I do not think 
 it flourishes much on the limestones. I particularly remember 
 that, in the Badia-thal (S. Tyrol), I did not see a plant of it 
 during a walk of some hours over the dolomite limestone, but 
 found it abundantly as soon as I came upon the mica slate. 
 Its near relative, A. alternifolium, is much rarer; I have found 
 it near the chalets of Ailefroide in the Val Louise (Dauphin^), 
 near Salvent in the Yal de Trient, near Chiavenna, and on the 
 Col di Colma; rather plentifully in the last two localities. The 
 wall-rue {A, ruta-muraria) is generally plentiful on buildings 
 and rocks; and the common maiden-hair {A. trichomanes) is 
 abundant, though it does not ascend high, being succeeded by 
 the delicate A. viride, which ranges as far above the sea as the 
 holly fern. A. fontanum is local; I have found it abundantly 
 in the Combe de Malaval (Dauphine), between St Laurent du 
 Pont and the Grande Chartreuse, at Les Etroits du Ciel (above 
 Moutiers in the Isere Valley), and near Sepey in the Val des 
 Ormonds. A. lanceolatum is also local, and so is the black 
 maiden-hair, A. adiantum- nigrum. The hart's-tongue {Scolo- 
 pendriitm vulgar e) is hardly to be called a mountain fern, and 
 the scaly Grammitis ceterach is not common except in the 
 lower districts. Bleclium horeale may be also found in places. 
 The common brake (Fteris aquih'na) is confined to the lower 
 slopes, and so is the beautiful Adiantum capillus-veneris, which 
 I have only seen in the Italian Alps; Cistopteris fragilis and 
 dentata are common, and ascend well above 5000 feet, and the 
 more delicate C. alpina is not very rare. I have gathered it 
 above the Dauben See (on the Gemmi Pass) at about 7400 feet. 
 G. montana, which may easily be mistaken for a variety of 
 P. calcareum, is common in certain localities, as for example 
 near Rosenlaui, about the Diablerets, and near Landro and 
 Cortina. I have gathered it at a height of considerably above 
 5000 feet in the last two places. The woodsias are difficult to 
 
FERNS AND CLUB MOSSES. 225 
 
 find, owing to their manner of growth. I have never seen the 
 Hymenophylla in the Alps, and the kingly Osmunda regalis 
 keeps to the warmer valleys. The moon wort {Botrychium lunaria) 
 abounds in the upper pastures. I have seen them tawny with 
 its fronds at about 6800 feet. The adder's tongue {Ophio- 
 glossum vulgatum) I have never found. Besides these there are 
 several species which do not occur in Great Britain; such as 
 Struthiopferis germanica in the lower valleys ; Polypodium rhceti- 
 cum and Botrychium matricarioides in the Rhsetic Alps ; Woodsia 
 glabella, Asplenium halleri, and A. scelosii in the Eastern Alps. 
 
 The club mosses {Lycopodium) which are found in Great 
 Britain are common in most parts of the Alps, especially the 
 sturdy L. selago, which grows up almost to the verge of the 
 snows. Lower down is the delicate L. helveticum, which creeps 
 among the damp mosses under the shade of the forests. The 
 long chamois-beard lichen, which drapes the aged firs with a ves- 
 ture of pendulous threads, has already been noticed, and many 
 of the smaller species stain with spots of crimson, orange, and 
 purple, the rocks among the snow-fields and glaciers, and gem the 
 summits of peaks more than 13,000 feet above the sea, reaching 
 even to the highest rocks in the Alpine chain. Of their beauty 
 and effect upon the scenery I feel sure that I cannot do better 
 than again quote Mr. Ruskin's words\ 
 
 "We have found beauty in the tree yielding fruit and in 
 the herb yielding seed. How of the herb yielding no seed, 
 the fruitless, flowerless lichen of the rock ? 
 
 "Lichen, and mosses (though these last in their luxuriance 
 are deep and rich as herbage, yet both for the most part 
 humblest of the green things that live), — how of these? Meek 
 creatures! the first mercy of the earth, veiling with hushed 
 softness its dintless rocks ; creatures full of pity, covering with 
 strange and tender honour the scarred disgrace of ruin, — laying 
 quiet finger on the trembling stones, to teach them rest. No 
 ^ Modern Painters, Part vi. Chap. x. (Vol. v. p. 102). 
 
 15 
 
22Q THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 words, that I know of, will say what these mosses are. None 
 are delicate enough, none perfect enough, none rich enough. 
 How is one to tell of the rounded bosses of furred and beaming 
 green, — the starred divisions of rubied bloom, fine-filmed, as if 
 the Rock Spirits could spin porphyry as we do glass, — the 
 traceries of intricate silver, and fringes of amber, lustrous, 
 arborescent, burnished through every fibre into fitful brightness 
 and glossy traverses of silken change, yet all subdued and pen- 
 sive, and framed for simplest, sweetest offices of grace. They 
 will not be gathered, like the flowers, for chaplet or love token ; 
 but of these the wild bird will make its nest, and the wearied 
 child his pillow. 
 
 "And, as the earth's first mercy, so they are its last gift to 
 us. When all other service is vain, from plant and tree, the soft 
 mosses and grey lichen take up their watch by the head-stone. 
 The woods, the blossoms, the gift-bearing grasses, have done 
 their parts for a time, but these do service for ever. Trees for 
 the builder's yard, flowers for the bride's chamber, corn for the 
 granary, moss for the grave. 
 
 " Yet as in one sense the humblest, in another they are the 
 most honoured of the earth-children. Unfading as motionless, 
 the worm frets them not, and the autumn wastes not. Strong 
 in lowliness, they neither blanch in heat nor pine in frost. To 
 them, slow-fingered, constant-hearted, is entrusted the weaving 
 of the dark, eternal tapestries of the hills ; to them, slow- 
 pencilled, iris-dyed, the tender framing of their endless imagery. 
 Sharing the stillness of the unimpassioned rock, they share also 
 its endurance ; and while the winds of departing spring scatter 
 the white hawthorn blossom like drifted snow, and summer 
 dims on the parched meadow the drooping of its cowslip-gold, — 
 far above, among the mountains, the silver lichen-spots rest, 
 star-like, on the stone ; and the gathering orange-stain upon 
 the edge of yonder western peak reflects the sunsets of a 
 thousand years." 
 
 I 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 The following statistics taken from the work of MM. 
 
 Legoyt and Vogt {La Suisse, 2me Partie), may be interesting, 
 
 although they include of course more than the mountain district. 
 
 To them I have added some particulars concerning the other 
 
 parts of the Alps, derived from personal knowledge and from 
 
 various sources. In Switzerland the surface is divided according 
 
 to the following table : 
 
 hectares. 
 
 Arable land 581,400 
 
 Meadow land 636,610 
 
 Vineyards 27,720 
 
 Forest 712,800 
 
 Pasture land 792,000 
 
 Waste land, water, roads, and ground built upon 1,240,230 
 
 3,990,760 
 
 With regard to the crops raised upon the arable land ; it is 
 estimated that 39,501 hectares are devoted to wheat ; 23,626 
 to barley; 106,205 to oats; 159,768 to rye; and 71,995 to 
 potatoes. 
 
 15—2 
 
228 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 The wheat grown is the horned variety ; the limit up to 
 which it may be cultivated with success varies from about 4,000 
 to 5,000 feet according to the districts. In Switzerland it 
 rarely passes, and often falls below^, the inferior number ; but in 
 many places towards the south and the east it rises above the 
 superior. In Dauphin^ it is chiefly cultivated on slopes with a 
 southern aspect, w^hich, owing to the burning heat of summer, 
 are often too parched to be of any use as pasture land. Thus 
 the 'effect looking down a valley which runs east and west is 
 very remarkable ; one side being all yellow, the other all green. 
 The Tyrol is distinctly more of a corn-growing country than 
 Switzerland ; and it is not easy to imagine a richer scene than is 
 presented towards the end of July, by the Pusterthal near 
 Brunecken, — a wide undulating valley, with the green Alpine 
 slopes and snow-streaked crags above keeping ward around this 
 field of the cloth of gold. At Cortina d'Ampezzo considerable 
 quantities of wheat are grown, at a height of at least 4800 feet. 
 In Switzerland, if it could be got to grow at all at that level, it 
 would be stunted and poverty-stricken. Oats and barley are 
 both able to flourish at a higher level than wheat, and may be 
 seen, though not very luxuriant, above 5,000 feet ; and in a few 
 places towards the Eastern Alps, up to 5,500 feet. Rye also 
 grows up to about the same level, and the potato will ripen at 
 about 5,000 feet. I have seen it growing a little above that 
 altitude in Dauphin^. Cabbages, carrots, spinach, lettuces, and 
 other garden vegetables, thrive pretty well in stations about the 
 same height ; and they are often cultivated with success in some 
 spots a little above 6,000 feet. I remember seeing gardens in 
 which were growing spinach, lettuces, &c., at Bonneval in the 
 Arc valley, a village just on that line. At Pontresina in the 
 Engadine, vegetables are plentiful, and Tschudi^ states that in 
 that district lettuces, celery, spinach, salsify, radishes, carrots, 
 and flax, flourish in gardens between 5,300 and 5,600 feet, and 
 
 ^ Les Alpes, p. 324. 
 
HARVEST. 229 
 
 that lettuces and carrots mount up to nearly 7,000 feet. Hemp 
 is also cultivated in considerable quantities, especially in the 
 Italian valleys ; it does not however flourish in stations above 
 about 4,000 feet, though it may often be seen higher. The 
 smell of the stagnant ponds, in which it is left to steep, is 
 most offensive ; and the traveller will do well not to linger near 
 them. After being sufficiently soaked, it is hackled with a rude 
 wooden instrument, something like a pair of nutcrackers. The 
 women may be often seen employed with it as they walk. Flax 
 is generally spun with the old-fashioned distaff and spindle; and 
 the sound of the loom may not unfrequently be heard. In some 
 of the Viso valleys, where the harvest is necessarily late, great 
 racks are constructed on which the corn is hung out to dry ; 
 somewhat similar racks are used in the South T3rrol for harvesting 
 beans, which are largely cultivated in that district. In the 
 Tyrol also, sticks some four feet high, with two or three sets of 
 cross pegs at right angles, are commonly stuck into the ground, 
 on which corn, hay, and especially clover, are piled in a tall 
 ' cock ' to dry. 
 
 In the Alpine meadows, and indeed in the more level flats in 
 the valleys, the hay harvest is not, as with us, almost wholly con- 
 fined to the month of June, with a possible aftermath in the 
 autumn ; but the grass is mown whenever it is about four or five 
 inches high, so that the haymaker is at work all the summer. 
 The crop, when dried, — a process which does not take long, — is 
 generally bundled up in a piece of sacking and carried on the 
 head to a store chalet, whence it is sent down to the valley 
 below on sledges. In many cases this is not done at once, but a 
 load is fetched from time to time during the winter when 
 required ; the ease with which the traineau descends the smooth 
 slope compensating for the increased labour and danger of the 
 ascent. 
 
 The mower's task is pleasant enough on the sweet alps, 
 with the morning mists curling up from the valley below, the 
 
230 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 snowy peaks softly gleaming through the illuminated haze, and 
 the rich scent rising from each swathe of his scythe ; not so that 
 of the wild'hay cutter. In the early morning he is off with his 
 scythe or sickle to the mountains; passing by the pleasant 
 swards he comes to the great cliffs, along whose ledges he creeps 
 and clambers, by paths more fit for the chamois than for man, in 
 order to gain the grassy cornices and shelving banks, which 
 break here and there the face of the precipice. On these, — often 
 steep slippery slopes, to which he can only cling by crampons, — 
 grow mountain-grasses, full of Alpine flowers ; these produce 
 a hay, coarse enough in appearance, yet toothsome to the cattle, 
 and best food of all for the milch cows, seeing that from it comes 
 the richest butter. His task done, he gathers his store into 
 a cloth and binds it firmly together. If the cliff below be sheer, 
 bare, and not too high, he simply casts his bundle over its edge 
 to await him below ; if, however, projecting rocks or trees would 
 arrest its fall, or, by tearing it open, scatter its contents to the 
 winds, he poises it upon his head, and betakes himself to the yet 
 more dangerous task of retracing his steps. If it was difficult 
 before to pass along some narrow ledge, with a wall of rock 
 rising up on the one hand and a dizzy depth below on the 
 other, or to turn a projecting crag, clinging to some knob or 
 crevice, and feeling with one foot for the unseen stepping-place, 
 how much worse is it now with a heavy burden balanced upon 
 the head ; how sure must be the hand and foot, and how nice 
 the poise, to escape the overbalancing which must inevitably 
 lead to a fatal fall. Hence the occupation of the wild-hay 
 cutter is one that, like the chamois hunter's, too often proves 
 fatal. One day a stone yields, or a limb fails ; a despairing cry 
 and a heavy fall break the mountain silence ; and something 
 that was a man is lying upon the rocks a thousand feet below. 
 In certain districts the mower's task is dangerous, even upon 
 the larger alps ; where the mountains are formed of huge terrace 
 walls of rock separated by steep slopes of turf. These, in the 
 
THE VINE. 231 
 
 heat of summer, become almost as slippery as ice, and the 
 workman, neglecting to wear his crampons, or stepping incau- 
 tiously across some steeper spot, loses his footing, and slides 
 downwards, vainly clutching at the short dry herbage, till he 
 reaches the verge of the cliff and takes the fatal plunge. 
 
 The vine, as may be supposed, is only cultivated with 
 success on the lower slopes of the mountains ; still, in a few 
 places, it ascends the open valleys for a considerable distance 
 into the heart of the Alps. On the northern side it is generally 
 trained in the German manner, on a short pole ; so that, colour 
 excepted, a vineyard appears not unlike a garden full of 
 raspberry plants. On the southern side a more picturesque plan 
 prevails. Upright posts of wood, or, very commonly, of rough- 
 hewn mica-slate, are fixed into the ground, placed in two rows, 
 a dozen or fifteen feet apart, and upon them a rough framework 
 of poles is arranged, forming a kind of skeleton roof over which 
 the vines are trained. These pleached walks, cool and shady, 
 with pendent clusters of purple grapes, often rising terrace above 
 terrace up the slopes, are very picturesque, especially at vintage 
 time ; when the people turn out en masse to gather the fruit in 
 deep baskets (Jiottes) carried upon the back. These, when full, 
 are emptied into tubs, and the grapes are crushed with a kind 
 of fork made by lopping near the stem the side branches of a 
 stout bough or sapling. The juice is then collected in skins or 
 barrels and taken down to the houses, where it is emptied into 
 pans, and stirred every day, until fermentation takes place. Few 
 of the wines are of any value ; but a very fair red vin ordinaire 
 is made in the neighbourhood of Montmelian in the Isere valley; 
 and a rather pleasant and strong white wine, with a flavour of 
 the muscat grape, is obtained from the vineyards at the entrance 
 of the Vispthal. The Vin du Glacier of the Rhone valley, near 
 Bex, is also good, and deserves notice because of the peculiar pro- 
 cess in its manufacture from which its name is derived. " The 
 casks of wine are taken up, before the winter, to safe hiding- 
 
232 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 places among the rocks in the neighbourhood of a glacier ; here 
 they are left till the following spring ; and during the severe 
 frosts all the inferior parts of the wine freeze to the sides of the 
 casks, the purest parts remaining unfrozen in the middle. With 
 the help of an axe the ice is broken, and the choicest wine 
 obtained^" In this neighbourhood the grapes are crushed in 
 presses, and the process has been described as follows^ : '' The 
 wine-press is made entirely of wood, and consists of two strong 
 upright posts, the one I saw being about twelve feet high and 
 ten apart, fixed in the ground, supporting a cross beam with a 
 screw in the middle. Between the posts is a square trough on 
 four legs, and in this a perforated moveable frame, for the 
 reception of the grapes, is placed, and then boards, whose 
 dimensions allow of their being pressed into the frame, are 
 piled on the fruit till nearly on a level with the screw, which is 
 worked by two or more men, according to the pressure required. 
 Each lot of grapes is stirred up and pressed three times ; the 
 j nice, passing into the trough, runs thence through a hole into a 
 large tub, which is again emptied into the barrels, where it is 
 allowed to ferment for ten days or a fortnight before it is closed, 
 and in six weeks they consider it fit to drink. The white 
 grapes are pressed as they are brought from the vineyards, but 
 the black, of which comparatively very few are grown in the 
 Vaud, are allowed to lie and ferment for several days previous 
 to the pressing, in order to improve the colour of the wine. 
 From the residuum a common sort of brandy is distilled called 
 eau-de-vie- de-marc, from the name given to the pressed grapes, 
 and if kept some years, — a rare occurrence in this country as 
 regards both wine and brandy, — it has the flavour of good 
 cognac." 
 
 While on this subject one may mention that several 
 kinds of liqueur are distilled from the mountain herbs ; four 
 
 ^ Peaks, Passes, and Glaciers, 1st Series, p. 343. 
 2 Village Life in Sicitzerland, p. 96. 
 
THE FORESTS. 233 
 
 being manufactured at the monastery of the Grande Chartreuse; 
 two of these, the liqueur verte and the liqueur jaune, are very 
 good ; and a petit verre is an excellent restorative for the tired 
 traveller. A very common spirit is that distilled from cherries, 
 by crushing them when fresh, stones and all ; it is called 
 kirchtvasser, but I cannot recommend it. The Swiss beer is not 
 worth much, but in the Tyrol a light and pleasant kind may be 
 often obtained. I have also occasionally been served with very 
 fair cider, especially in Savoy. 
 
 The forests still form no inconsiderable portion of the wealth 
 of the inhabitants of the Alps, although they have in some 
 places been much diminished by over-cutting. This has espe- 
 cially happened in the neighbourhood of mines, and in conse- 
 quence the people of the unfrequented communes have become 
 so alive to this, that some jealousy is felt of strangers wander- 
 ing about the mountains, lest they should discover metals and 
 cause the destruction of the woods. Mr Wills relates^ that this 
 apprehension gave him some trouble when he was treating for 
 the purchase of the site of his lovely Alpine home, the Eagle's 
 Nest (near Sixt); and I remember in a remote Dauphine village 
 being straitly q\iestioned by the mair'e as to whether my 
 rambles had anything to do with mines. Their fears are not 
 unreasonable, for the forests, besides producing some effect 
 upon the rainfall, form natural defences against the rush of the 
 spring avalanches ; and it is recorded that after the war of 1799, 
 in which many of those near the St Gothard pass were destroyed, 
 the neighbouring villages suffered terribly from this scourge. 
 Hence the laws do not allow of timber being cut in certain 
 forests called Bannwalde, and in most places the right of felling 
 trees is strictly regulated, and the woods are under the in- 
 spection of officials, communal or cantonal. In spots high 
 upon the mountains, to which the only access is by difficult 
 winding paths, the timber is at once converted into charcoal, 
 
 1 The Eagles Nest, Ch. ii. 
 
234 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 which is then brought down in sacks by horses and mules. The 
 men engaged in this occupation are a grimy rough-looking lot, 
 but I never heard any harm of them. Besides this, however, a 
 vast quantity of timber is felled for building and other work- 
 ing purposes; in 1853 Switzerland alone exported 659,220^ 
 metrical quintals ; and the huge waggons loaded with planks or 
 vast boles, fit for an argosy's mast, may be seen daily toiling 
 over the Ampezzo Pass on their way to Venice and the north of 
 Italy. The French Alps are on the whole not so well wooded 
 as the districts further north. 
 
 Timber is generally conveyed down from the forests in one 
 of two ways ; either it is cut up into logs some five feet long, 
 and thrown into a neighbouring torrent, which bears it down 
 cliff and gorge to the valley below ; or else trough- like slides are 
 constructed along the mountain sides, down which the trunks 
 themselves are launched. The passenger by the steamer on 
 the Lake of Brienz may often notice a perfect shoal of logs 
 floating on the water at the foot of the Giessbach falls ; these 
 have been sent down the cascade from the upper forests, and 
 will presently be conveyed away in boats or rafts to the depots 
 at Interlachen or Thun. 
 
 The woodman's life also is not without its dangers. His 
 work is generally begun in the winter ; so there is always risk 
 from the avalanche, as he wades through the snow, often waist 
 deep, to 'blaze' the trees. These, when felled, must be conveyed 
 to the border of a torrent, either by. rolling them down the 
 slopes or by the aid of a slide, called in the patois of the French- 
 speaking districts a rize. This is a long channel constructed of 
 pine-trunks, placed side by side and supported upon strong 
 posts. Down this the logs thunder like arrows from a bow. 
 Suppose them to have reached the brink of the torrent, the 
 worst part of the work then begins. If its stream is not strong 
 
 1 La Suisse, Legoyt et Vogt, p. 44. 
 
TIMBER SLIDES. 235 
 
 enough to transport them, a dam is constructed somewhere 
 above, and when this is suddenly opened, the rush of the 
 accumulated waters sweeps all before it. But the greatest 
 danger is when the torrent is full and strong. Here and there 
 it rushes through deep narrow gorges, thundering among great 
 masses of fallen rock ; among these a trunk may easily become 
 wedged, and the barrier once formed rapidly increases. Into 
 these gorges the woodsman must descend, armed with his 
 grespil (a long pole terminated by two iron spikes, one in the 
 same line, the other at right angles to it); then, supported if 
 possible by the cord by which he has been lowered, or if not, 
 standing on some slippery rock above the roaring stream, he 
 disengages the entangled trunks. Woe to him if his foot slip or 
 he lose his balance, while making an incautious wrench! Once 
 in the torrent his fate is almost sealed. The strongest swimmer 
 could not breast that rush of water, and in a few minutes his 
 body, battered and bruised, is flung among the logs below as 
 lifeless as they. 
 
 The slides, mentioned above, are often very long, and evi- 
 dence no small engineering skill. The most celebrated was 
 that of Alpnach, by which timber was conveyed from Mont 
 Pilatus to the Lake of Lucerne. It was constructed by M. 
 Ruepp, and was nearly eight miles long, passing over some 
 most difficult ground. A large tree would traverse its whole 
 length in two-and-a-half minutes. Professor Playfair^ thus 
 describes its descent. "We stood close to the edge of the 
 trough, not being more interested about anything than to ex- 
 perience the impression which the near view of so singular an 
 object must make on a spectator. The noise, the rapidity of 
 the motion, the magnitude of the moving body, and the force 
 with which it seemed to shake the trough as it passed, were 
 altogether very formidable, and conveyed an idea of danger 
 much greater than the reality. Our guide refused to partake 
 
 1 Quoted by Beattie, Switzerland, Vol. ii. p. 119. 
 
236 
 
 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 of our amusement ; he retreated behind a tree at some distance, 
 where he had the consolation to be assured by M. Ruepp that 
 he was no safer than we were, as a tree, when it happened to 
 bolt from the trough, would often cut the standing trees clean 
 over. During the whole of the time the slide has existed, 
 there have been three or four fatal accidents ; and one in- 
 stance was the consequence of excessive temerity." This slide 
 was destroyed in 1819, and has not since been repaired. At 
 the first convenient spot a saw-mill is erected, worked by a 
 water-wheel, and all the trunks, which are not intended to be 
 sold whole, are sawn up into planks or logs, and sent thence to 
 the depot in the village below. 
 
 (Fig. 11.) Chalet Village with the Sasso di Pehiio, from near Caprile. 
 
 The pasturages and cattle of the Alps can hardly be sepa- 
 rated from the villages, and particularly from the chalet-life, so 
 important a feature in the eyes of the mountain peasant. And 
 here be it observed that an alp is not a lofty peak, as its 
 
CHALET LIFE. 237 
 
 English use would seem to imply, but an upland pasture above 
 the forests, one of those great banks of sward which extend for 
 miles like a green riband between the party-coloured fringe of 
 cliff and pine below and of crag and glacier above. In winter 
 they lie buried deep in snow, and in early spring, down those 
 long slopes where one was wont to bask dreamily in the sum- 
 mer sun, secure among the harebells and the daphne, the 
 avalanche rushes thundering down, bearing destruction to all 
 that may cross its path. A few weeks later, when, — though the 
 snow yet lies deep among the peaks and even dapples here and 
 there the upper pastures, — the lower slopes are green with 
 growing grass and already beginning to shew the first blooms 
 of spring flowers, it is time to be off to the alps. The weary 
 winter is over, with its long dark nights; not indeed wholly 
 cheerless around the fireside, while the pinewood crackled on 
 the hearth, and outshone the dull light of the primitive oil- 
 lamp; but still at times dreary, when the tempest whirled the 
 snow-wreaths high above the eaves, and the roar of the ava- 
 lanche woke many a remembrance of devastated fields and lost 
 friends. It is a hard life in winter in a mountain village; every 
 peasant, much as he may love his home, will tell you that; 
 ' Tin mauvais pays, un pays des montagnes,' is the common com- 
 plaint uttered sadly and apologetically, yet with a touch of 
 affection in the tone, while your host places his scanty fare 
 before you. And no wonder that it is hard: wages are low; the 
 simplest luxuries dear, or unattainable, for they must be brought 
 up miles of rough mule-paths. Rye ripens tolerably well when 
 the summer is fine; wheat imperfectly; so the peasant's bread 
 must be made of the former. Baking too is a serious business ; 
 and fuel, likely enough, is too dear to allow of the oven being 
 often heated. Bread therefore is made only once or twice 
 a year, Toussaint being a favourite season. It is baked in 
 large cakes, half a yard or so in diameter, like gigantic buns, 
 which are stored on shelves in an airy loft in the same way as 
 
238 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 cheeses. They are a dark brown colour, and they soon become 
 dry, remaining perfectly sweet and wholesome for six or even 
 twelve months. In fact, I believe that the former period is 
 generally the shortest for which a batch is made; and I can see 
 no reason why the bread should not remain good for years. It 
 is very hard, as formidable to weak teeth as sea-biscuit, and to 
 tr}^ to slice it with an ordinary knife is lost labour : a hatchet 
 may be used with advantage, but the correct instrument is a 
 sort of cutter, which terminates in a hook fitting into a ring on 
 a piece of board, so as to give a leverage. An enterprising 
 member of the Alpine Club thus records his experience of one 
 of these loaves\ ''Oyace yielded but one small rancid sausage, 
 two bottles of wine, and a loaf of black bread. The last may be 
 excluded from the list. We tried to chop it with an ice axe, 
 and it hopped about the chalet like a marble : we boiled it for 
 four long hours, while we glared greedily at the pot, and at the 
 end a quarter of an inch of the outside was turned into gluey 
 slime, and within it was as hard as ever. No fragment of that 
 loaf was ever mastered by guides or travellers." 
 
 This bread then, or in the Italian Alps, polenta, — a sort 
 of porridge made of maize meal, — with a little goat's milk or a 
 scrap of cheese, is the staple of the Alpine peasant's food. Now 
 and then it is varied by a slice of dry sausage or of raw bacon, 
 or by a bit of smoked mutton, a perquisite from one of the 
 flock that has been accidentally killed, or sometimes, if report 
 say true, has died a natural death. Fresh meat he seldom 
 tastes, except on some rare festival, such as a wedding, or a 
 baptism, or the great day of Mi-Aout^. Times are often hard 
 enough to the English labourer, but I am inclined to think that 
 an Alpine peasant is still more poorly fed and housed. I am, 
 
 ^ Alpine Journal, Vol. i. p. 222, 
 
 2 August 15th, the Assumption of the Virgin Mary ; a general holiday in 
 Koman Catholic countries, and kept with double honour in the French Alps, 
 since it is also the Emperor's Ute day. 
 
COTTAGES OF THE ALPS. 239 
 
 of course, now speaking of the higher villages, in those remote 
 districts where travellers rarely come to spend money, and where 
 shops are almost unknown. Near the great roads and favourite 
 places of resort, life appears to go more easily; visitors and 
 their wants furnish plenty of work for the steady and able- 
 bodied men in summer, and a fair heap of francs may be laid 
 up against the winter. But in such places as the lonely glens 
 in the French and parts of the Italian Alps it is a different 
 story. In these also fuel is often scarce, the soil and climate 
 being unsuited for forests; so that in winter the people herd 
 together with the cattle, occupying a room partly underground. 
 This is the case to my knowledge in the upper valley of the 
 Arc and in the mountain villages near the Val d'Aosfce, and is 
 probably a practice far from uncommon. 
 
 And then the cottage itself, built in many parts of the Alps 
 of rough stones, stuck together with coarse mortar, sometimes 
 not even plastered within ; its fireplace without a grate, pos- 
 sibly without a chimney*. For furniture, one or two common 
 tables, half a dozen chairs, or perhaps only a bench and a few 
 stools, a shelf with some odds and ends of crockery; and a crochet 
 fastened to the wall above the fire, to hold the marmite or big 
 pot in which everything is cooked ; — ^there is an Alpine home. 
 What wonder then if the people are as afraid of fresh water as 
 a dog with the hydrophobia, and walk about protected from the 
 cold by a permanent coat of dirt? I really doubt whether many 
 of the villagers take off their clothes from week's end to week's 
 end ; in the chalets they certainly do not. Slovenly fashions 
 spread naturally, like all bad habits ; thus I have been in cot- 
 tages — owned by men of the yeoman class, who possessed 
 several acres of corn land, a large number of cows, sheep and 
 goats, with extensive rights in pasture and forest, — to which 
 
 ^ This latter is a common fashion in the Val Auronzo (Italian Tyrol), quite 
 respectable houses being without this, as we should think, necessary accom- 
 modation. 
 
240 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 that of an ordinary English farm labourer would be a palace. 
 For instance, the house of the principal peasant in La B^rarde 
 — a village some 5,700 feet above the sea in Dauphin^ — is just 
 such a place as I have described. It has only one room for 
 living and sleeping, and in the wall is a kind of recess, fitted up 
 with what look like closets with the doors off. These are the 
 beds. The resemblance is increased by large drawers below, 
 which I at first supposed were solely devoted to the fete-day 
 raiment ; a subsequent visit, however, disclosed their true use ; 
 for, happening to go in at daybreak, I found that the son and 
 heir, a boy about eight years old, was asleep in one of them. 
 Wishing to ascertain one or two toilet mysteries, I watched him 
 dress (with the maternal aid). The process was simple ; he put 
 on his trousers, waistcoat, jacket, and shoes, all equally tattered 
 and too large for him, clapped a scarecrow cap on his head, took 
 his stick, and went off after his goats. 
 
 In many parts of Switzerland, especially in the Oberland, 
 the smaller houses are built entirely of wood, with the exception 
 of the chimney, and are much more picturesque than those in 
 the French and Piedmont ese Alps, where stone is more com- 
 monly employed. Th« latter is also much used in the Southern 
 Tyrol, but there the larger dwellings have often wooden gables, 
 so that the loft or garret is of this material ; as are the barn and 
 stalls, which are usually under the same roof, and form the rear 
 half of the house. There also not unfrequently the inner walls 
 are faced with planks instead of plaster ; and where the folk are 
 cleanly, as in good Frau Ortler's inn at Trafoi on the Stelvio, it 
 has a very comfortable look; though sometimes one seems to 
 be living in a big box, and has a vague notion that the proper 
 w^ay to get out is to lift up the lid. To see the cottages of the 
 Alps in picturesque perfection we must go to the neighbour- 
 hood of the Bernese Oberland. There a wealthy peasant's 
 house is quite a gem. The walls of the ground-floor are usually 
 built of stone, plastered and whitewashed. In this are the 
 
HOUSES IN THE OBERLAND. 241 
 
 kitchens and offices. Above this level all, with the exception of 
 the chimneys, is of wood. On the first-floor are the parlours, 
 the best bed-rooms, and often, towards the back, some chambers 
 for grain and other stores. Besides the staircase from the 
 entrance below, access is commonly obtained to the house by an 
 external flight of steps which leads from the front to a railed 
 gallery running all along the side, into which a door opens from 
 the first floor. Very commonly there is a gallery of this kind 
 on both sides of the house, each with its door ; one giving more 
 direct access to the living-rooms, the other to the store-chambers. 
 The windows, glazed with small panes in wooden casements 
 and provided with jalousied shutters, often painted green, are 
 placed close together along the front of the house. The second 
 floor is partially in the roof, which is low in pitch and is covered 
 with wooden shingles, — the eaves projecting for at least four 
 feet; and under their shelter another railed gallery runs along 
 the front and sides of the house; on this stage also, the windows, 
 as far as possible, are made to look front. Above this floor 
 there are generally two or three garret-rooms in the apex of the 
 roof, used for bed-rooms or for stores. In many houses the 
 beams are richly carved, the walls panelled, and ornamented with 
 sculptured or painted devices, the balustrades of the balconies 
 carefully worked, and even the ends of the shingles on the roof 
 are cut shield-shape. , Owing to the force of the wind, it is often 
 found necessary to secure these last by long beams or heavy 
 stones arranged in rows and lashed firmly down. Often on the 
 beams and panels the builders' names are inscribed, together 
 with appropriate texts of scripture ; such as, " Except the Lord 
 build the house, their labour is but lost that build it;" or 
 couplets like the following : 
 
 In Gottes Hand stehet dieses Haus; 
 
 Gliick komme herein und Ungluck herans^ 
 
 1 Nearly this : 
 
 This house in God's hand standeth stout ; 
 Bide weal within, and woe without ! 
 
 16 
 
242 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 The corner posts and brackets also which support the roof are 
 frequently very richly carved, particularly in the Val des Or- 
 monds. The stables, cart-house, barn, &c., are in a separate 
 building, after a similar but plainer pattern ; but in a poorer 
 house all are under one roof; the horses, &c. being on the 
 ground-floor, and the hay stored at the back. This arrange- 
 ment is very common in every part of the Alps, — the ground- 
 floor in the old-fashioned inns both in Dauphin^ and in the 
 Tyrol being generally devoted to the horses and carriages, and 
 perhaps to the kitchen, and the living rooms above. In the 
 Italian Tyrol I noticed that usually the rooms on each floor 
 were arranged to open into a tolerably wide gallery, which ran 
 from back to front of the house, with the staircase at one end 
 and a glass door, opening into a little balcony overlooking the 
 street, at the other. This gallery was used as a kind of house- 
 place, a table being placed at the upper end, on which your 
 meals were served. 
 
 Every district of course has its local peculiarities, but the 
 domestic Alpine architecture may be epitomized with tolerable 
 correctness as follows : In the French and Vaudois Alps, stone 
 is used much more than wood, and the houses are mean and 
 unpicturesque. In the Pennine chain both are employed, but 
 the latter rather for small chalets, barns, and outbuildings. 
 In the Oberland (using the term in a wide sense) wood is the 
 favourite material, and nearly every cottage is a study of 
 quaint picturesqueness. In the Grisons and the adjoining 
 Tyrol the houses are usually large and plain, without beauty, 
 but comfortable looking, built of stone, plastered and white- 
 washed; wood being chiefly used for internal decorations. Fur- 
 ther east, in the Tyrol, more use is made of the latter material, 
 the houses being often about half and half ; and in some of the 
 larger villages or towns, such as Sterzing on the Brenner Pass, 
 the numerous quaint oriels and bay-windows produce an ex- 
 cellent effect. Speaking generally, the use of wood denotes 
 
CHALETS. 243 
 
 German, and that of stone Italian, influence in the population. 
 In the former case the larch, the red spruce, and in some 
 districts the arolla are the usual materials ; the last named 
 assumes with age a peculiarly rich ruddy-brown hue. 
 
 (Fig. 12.) Swiss Ciuilot. 
 
 Such being the villages, let us return to the chalets, which 
 form the summer quarters of a numerous class among the 
 people. They are dotted about on the mountain pastures, 
 sometimes singly, sometimes in little clusters ; the number of 
 course depending upon the extent of the surrounding pasturages. 
 They may at once be divided into two classes ; those whereat 
 cows are kept, and those where they are not — a very important 
 distinction, as is well known to all mountaineers. ' It is a cow- 
 chalet,' is as significant an expression to them as ' he keeps his 
 carriage' would be in England. It means that you can get 
 a roof to shelter you, hay, or perhaps a bed — if you don't 
 mind fleas — to sleep upon; perchance even white bread and 
 
 16—2 
 
244 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 ham, certainly cheese and plenty of milk, possibly even spoons 
 to eat it with. In the sheep or goat chalet you may find 
 nothing but black bread or polenta, it may be not even a roof 
 over your head, but only a sort of kennel just large enough for 
 one man, under the lee of a huge boulder. The men also at the 
 cow-chalet, are generally much brighter and more intelligent 
 than those at the others ; not unfrequently their wives and 
 children are with them a la montagne, and right healthy do 
 the little ones look from the glorious mountain air, in spite of 
 dirt and poor fare. The chalets, built of rude beams, or rough 
 stones without mortar, are generally small and low, consisting 
 often of only one room, lighted by a minute window, the glass 
 of which is never cleaned. Hence perpetual twilight reigns 
 within. In one corner is the fireplace, but the chimney is often 
 omitted as a needless luxury ; for there are so many chinks in 
 the walls and roof that the smoke escapes readily enough. 
 Here hangs the huge copper caldron in which the milk is 
 boiled to make the cheese. In another corner is a low plat- 
 form of boards, covered with hay and a dirty rug or two ; this 
 is the bed; — don't lie on it if you can find any dry hay. A 
 bench, rough table, and stool, with a hanging shelf for the 
 crockery, complete the furniture, and the chinks between the 
 beams or stones in the wall form extemporary cupboards for 
 spoons, knives, and oddments. The dairy is either an inner 
 room or a separate chalet, which, if possible, is built against 
 a rock for the sake of coolness. In other hovels near, the cows 
 and goats are folded, and the hay is stored. Here some of the 
 chalet folk often sleep ; and the traveller will do well to decline 
 if he can the use of the bed which his hosts, in kindly meant 
 courtesy, too frequently insist upon vacating for him. 
 
 ' Necessity makes strange bed-fellows' is a proverb often true 
 in the Alps. One night our chalet was shared by a couple of 
 our hostess' children, who slumbered peacefully on an adjoining 
 heap of leaves, while I lay awake envying them and making 
 
CHALET COMPANIONS. 245 
 
 ineffectual- pounces in the dark at my agile tormentors ; another 
 time I woke up at daybreak early enough to see two bouncing 
 lasses roll out of the hay at the other end of the room and perform 
 their toilet for the day — it only consisted of a shake or two ; 
 another, we occupied one corner of a large loft, in a second of 
 which slept our guides, in a third two shepherd lads, and in the 
 fourth a big dog ; another night was spent with an invalid goat, 
 and yet another, with three remarkably healthy ones, each of 
 which had a bell of a different note and kept it ringing during 
 the best part of the night. Another evening, on arriving at a 
 sheep chalet in Dauphin^, we found that our party, which was 
 seven strong, in addition to the three shepherds already there, 
 would more than fill it. We travellers, not being of the order 
 pachydermata, accordingly determined to bivouac outside. My 
 companions skilfully constructed a couch in a stack of brush- 
 wood, to which they kindly invited me ; but as the sharp ends 
 of the sticks appeared quite certain to wriggle upwards, so 
 that one would probably dream all night of being tossed upon 
 pikes, I gratefully declined, and spread my cape on the softest 
 bit of ground that I could find. Covering myself with a plaid, 
 a guide tucked me up by arranging a fringe of heavy stones 
 near its edge, and I soon slept the sleep of the unfleabitten. 
 This went on till past midnight, when plash came something 
 cold on my nose, about the only feature exposed, and I woke 
 up in a thunder-shower. Any thing, even a legion of fleas, is 
 less formidable than sitting in wet clothes, so gathering up my 
 traps I softly opened the chalet door, and saw that, though the 
 sleepers lay on the floor like herrings in a barrel, there was 
 just room for one more in the windiest place. Coming in after 
 supper-time, my foes were less alert^ and before long I was fast 
 asleep. 
 
 One cannot, however, always reckon upon finding even this 
 much accommodation at a chalet des hergers, as the following 
 extract from my diary will shew. It relates the story of two 
 
246 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 nights and a day which we spent in a certain den on the upper 
 pastures of the Pelvoux. The ascent of this mountain had never 
 before been attempted by English travellers ; and all that w^e 
 could learn at the principal village below was, that we must sleep 
 at a certain Gahane des hergers de Provence some two hours 
 above the valley. Supposing from this name that we should 
 have to pass the night in a hay chalet, we packed up a few 
 necessaries in one knapsack and left the rest of our things in 
 our landlord's charge — a great mistake as it afterwards proved ; 
 we also got as large a store of bread, meat, and wine, as we 
 could, and a porter to carry it. 
 
 "A stiff climb now commenced up some very steep rocks, 
 on which both skill and care were occasionally requisite; we how- 
 ever made rapid progress, till at the end of about an hour and 
 a half we camiC to the end of the rocks and emerged upon a slope 
 of turf, thickly spread with huge blocks, to one of the largest 
 of which the guide pointed, saying ' Voila le cabane! I confess 
 to having felt disgusted. I had not hoped for much, still I 
 had expected a hut and a truss of hay for a bed. Nothing of the 
 kind was here. Only a huge mass of rock, that in former times 
 had fallen down from the cliffs above, and had rested' so as to 
 Ibrm a shelter under one of its sides. This had been still further 
 enclosed with a rough wall of loose stones ; and thus a sort of 
 kennel was made, about nine or ten feet by five or six, and 
 about four feet high at the entrance, whence it sloped gradually 
 down to about two feet at the other end. Our thoughts turned 
 regretfully to some extra wraps left down below, but there was 
 no help for it, and ' what can't be cured, must be endured ' is 
 excellent philosophy for the Alps. Accordingly we put the best 
 face on it, and set to work to make all comfortable for the 
 night. Dead juniper boughs were collected for a fire, and the 
 guides began to clean out the cave, which, being frequented by 
 the sheep as well as by the shepherds, was in a sufficiently filthy 
 condition. The first who entered quickly emerged again, hold- 
 
A CABANE DES BERGERS. 247 
 
 ing at arm's length the mortal remains of a defunct mutton in a 
 very lively condition, which he lost no time in sending over the 
 precipice for the ravens to sup on, if they had any fancy for it. 
 The floor was then swept and strewed with fern and dock leaves, 
 and a fire lighted to sweeten the place. Evening drew on, and 
 one by one my companions retired into the cave; but not fancy- 
 ing the look of our night quarters, I stopped outside as long as 
 possible. It was a strange wild scene : overhead hung the 
 crags of the Pelvoux, splintered in flame-like points; and 
 from their base sloped down vast banks of fallen blocks, over- 
 grown with serpent-like branches of old junipers, and broken 
 here and there with slopes of turf; a few feet in front of me steep 
 precipices, overhanging the fatal ' BaumeV led down into the 
 valley below, beyond which rose another mass of rocks and pine- 
 covered slopes, surmounted with a ridge of cliffs somewhat 
 overtopping us. A fine pyramid of snow-streaked rock, from 
 which a large glacier descended, closed the valley. 
 
 "Night however came on, the sky grew wild and stormy, 
 and it became too cold to remain out longer ; so, mustering up 
 my resolution, I crawled into the cave, and almost instantly 
 retreated much faster, more than half-choked. A fire is a very 
 comfortable thing on a cold night, but has its drawbacks when 
 the house is without a chimney, and the smoke has to escape 
 by the door. If, in addition to this, the house be about four feet 
 high, and the fire of damp juniper wood, matters are still worse. 
 However, human nature can adapt itself to a good deal, and so 
 by lying down, and thus avoiding the thickest part of the 
 smoke, I contrived to endure it after a time. Supper over, we 
 prepared for the night. My attire was simple, but certainly not 
 ornamental : a travelling cap, with the flaps tied over my ears, 
 a huge woollen ' comforter ' about my neck, and a spare flannel 
 shirt over my usual costume; my boots were taken off and 
 placed in a safe corner, a second pair of socks drawn on, and 
 
 ^ See page 101. 
 
248 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 my slippers worn during the night; then spreading my gaiters 
 on the ground I lay down on them, having picked the softest 
 stone that I could find for a pillow. My companions did the 
 same ; and despite the blasts of the storm, which howled round 
 our cabane, we did not suffer from cold. It was a strange sight, 
 when stiff and cramped by my hard bed, I woke from time to 
 time during the night. The flame, flickering with the wind, lit up 
 the faces of the sleepers and the rocky walls of the cavern with 
 a weird unearthly light. Croz (our Chamouni guide) alone was 
 generally on the alert, smoking his pipe and feeding the fire. 
 Now and then he would step outside to examine the state of the 
 night, and return with a hearty curse on the bad weather. So 
 passed the night, wearily and drearily, to give birth to a 
 drearier day. The dawn did but reveal thick banks of clouds 
 and mist, above, below, around, pouring down a steady, hopeless 
 rain. One by one we roused up with a true British growl 
 at our ill-luck. Then we held a council of war ; the expedition 
 was for that day evidently impossible; what then was to be 
 done ; should we give it up altogether, or await better weather ? 
 Angry at a recent disappointment, we unanimously resolved 
 that we should wait at least one day before retreating. This, 
 however, would require a fresh stock of provisions. Accordingly, 
 we sent the two local guides down to Ville de Val Louise to 
 bring up what they could get, and composed ourselves to watch 
 out the weary day. Sleep was tried again, but not much was 
 done that way. Breakfast was spun out as far as possible, but 
 that cannot be carried on long when the fare is bad. Happily 
 I discovered that the lining of my coat had been much torn in 
 climbing over the rocks, and that I had a needle and thread 
 with me ; so I spent an hour in tailoring. Presently the rain 
 began to find its way through various cracks in the rock, and 
 obliged us to set out the cups of our flasks to catch it. 
 
 " About mid-day snow fell at intervals, and the rain became 
 less heavy. Our French friend, who had a liking for botany, 
 
J 
 
 A CABANE DES BERGERS. 249 
 
 sallied forth occasionally for a few minutes and returned with a 
 handful of weeds (I cannot dignify them with the name of 
 flowers). Then would commence a botanical argument between 
 him and M. After diligently turning over two paper-covered 
 volumes he would declare a plant to be so and so. This 
 assertion was generally controverted by M., whereupon after 
 the manner of opposing ' savants ' they recklessly pelted one 
 another with long names ; till M., who was a good botanist, in 
 most cases forced his antagonist to confess himself vanquished. 
 These discussions helped to pass away the time till dinner. 
 During the rneal H. suddenly remembered that it was his 
 birthday ; we accordingly drank his health, and sincerely wished 
 that he might never again spend so dull a day. Late in the 
 afternoon it ceased raining, and we strolled about the broken 
 rocks near our cave, hunting for plants and minerals, with very 
 little success. However, we collected a good store of dead 
 juniper boughs for fuel during the night, which I placed near 
 the fire to dry, not caring to be choked with the smoke of wet 
 wood. Soon after our return to the cave the guides came in 
 with the provisions. Night at last brought the day to an end, 
 and we prepared for bed. This time we had to vary our proceed- 
 ings, for the earth was too wet to lie upon ; we therefore placed 
 smooth stones upon the floor and sat or reclined upon them. 
 In consequence of this, we were more uncomfortable than on 
 the previous night ; we were crowded closer together ; our legs, 
 which all pointed to the fire, frequently getting into a hopeless 
 tangle. I woke up once so stiffened with the pressure of my 
 stony seat that for some time I could not identify my osvn legs. 
 However all things come to an end, and so did this night ; 
 morning dawned again ; not indeed exactly ' smiling morn,' but 
 still giving us some hopes ; so about four we bid adieu to the 
 * Hotel du Mont Pelvoux ', which we agreed had but one recom- 
 mendation, that of having no bill to pay when we left it." After 
 all, the mists gathered again, and we did not reach the summit. 
 
250 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 To return, however, to the general question of chdlet-life, 
 from which we have rambled in indulging these reminiscences. 
 The first move in taking the cattle to the mountains from the 
 byres in the village, where they have been stall-fed all through 
 the winter, is generally made towards the end of May ; and it 
 becomes the occasion of a kind of fete. The senner (cowherds) 
 are drest in their best clothes, with nosegays in their hats ; the 
 household goods, conspicuous among which is the great cheese- 
 caldron, are heaped upon a mule or pack-horse ; the cows are 
 carefully groomed, all their coats are sleek and shining, large 
 bells are suspended by embroidered collars round the necks 
 of the three finest in the herd, and a procession is formed, the 
 progress of which is thus spiritedly described by Berlepsch^ : 
 "A concourse of people takes place in the villages through 
 which the procession passes, for old and young wish to pass in 
 review Korde-Urche-Biibli's (Conrad Ulrich's) or Frauz-An- 
 thony-Lismet-Seppeli's beautiful cows, and examine their shape 
 and g'schlachtheit (breed) with the air of connoisseurs. The 
 mountain-peasant has his cows' aesthetics, which distinguishes 
 the finest shades of colour, position of feet and horns, and 
 other peculiarities with close discrimination. Jumping and 
 springing as if they knew that they were going up to the rich 
 nourishing Alpine pastures, the whole herd of cows, goats, 
 lambs, follow in long procession. Roaring and grumbling, in 
 the midst goes the Sultan of the Seraglio, the 'Muni! to-day 
 the scape-goat for universal amusement ; for it has been the 
 popular custom from of old to bind the milkirfg-stool, adorned 
 with flowers, between his horns. The ' gaumer' or herd, and 
 the hand-bub go with the procession in linen shirts and rough 
 cloth hose, supporting the * zusenn ' with cries and 'jodels ' (the 
 peculiar mountain-shout). The pack-liorse, with the cheese 
 implements brings up the rear, with the possessor of the herd, 
 unmistakably conscious of the triumph that is being celebrated." 
 
 ^ The Alps, p. 310 (Stephen's translation). 
 
THE COW CHALETS. 251 
 
 The following interesting extracts from the same book give 
 an excellent account of the different duties of the herdsmen : 
 " In all the moderate sized Alps of Switzerland there are gene- 
 rally three men and a boy ; women look after them, as we have 
 already said, only in the Eastern and Austrian Alps ^ ; and in 
 some valleys of the Valais. The Senn is major-domo, either as 
 himself possessor of the herd, or as appointed by a society ; he 
 is commander of the regiment, takes care of the cheese and the 
 magazine, and is at the same time book-keeper of the concern." 
 (The herd is often composed of cows belonging to several 
 owners, among whom the produce is divided at the end of the 
 year in proportion to the number of their animals) . " Memo- 
 randum-book, day-book, list of current prices, and ledger-books, 
 generally are either united in a calendar of the quarter, inter- 
 leaved with paper, and stuck behind a flat board nailed to the 
 wall, or some kind of small pocket-book contains the hiero- 
 glyphics of the whole management of the business. His help 
 and supporter is the * Senn-bub, hand-bub, schorr-bub, junger,' 
 or, in the Yalais, the ' pato,' who,, like the Senn, spends the 
 greatest part of his time in the chalets ; he has to clean the 
 vessels (which, in contrast with the ordinary habits of the 
 chalets, are kept perfectly clean, because the goodness of the 
 cheeses, &c. depends upon it), and to help the Senn, but is not 
 always a lad (bub) of fourteen or fifteen, but often a tough 
 fellow of thirty or more. The mediator between valley and 
 mountain, the cheese-mercury and telegraph to home, is the 
 ' Zusenn,' who has to carry down all the productions of the alps, 
 and to bring back wood and victuals. In the Valaisan patois 
 he is generally called ' Lamieiy ' [rami). Where things are well 
 ordered, he has a pack-horse to help him. Finally, the proper 
 herd is the * Chiiener, gaumer, Kuhbub,' or ' Ilinderer,' or in the 
 
 1 I have also often seen women at chalets in tlie Savoy, Daupliin^, and 
 Viso Alps. T. G. B. 
 
252 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Valais, 'Yigly' (vigilantia ?) . His exclusive duty is to drive 
 out and look after the cows." 
 
 According to Tschudi^ there are four kinds of cattle in the 
 Swiss Alps : (1) The Simmen-thal breed, distinguished for their 
 size and their excellence as milkers. The head is short and 
 sturdy, the colour red or bright black, marked with white ; these 
 prevail in the western Oberland and north-west Switzerland. 
 Professor Rutimeyer^ remarks that this breed does not appear 
 to be indigenous ; for it is only found in one or two of the most 
 recent Lake settlements; (2) the Grindelwald breed, varieties 
 of which are met with in most parts of the Oberland and in the 
 Yalais ; (3) the Entilbuch breed, large, colour usually brown, 
 with a yellowish stripe down 'the back ; (4) the Zug and 
 Schwytz breed, also large and fattening well ; (5) the brown 
 cow, small, with short horns and legs, dispersed over most parts 
 of Switzerland, not above named, and of the neighbouring Alps. 
 This breed appears to have been established during a very long 
 time in the country ; for its remains have been found exten- 
 sively in the Lake dwellings. According to Legoyt and Vogt', 
 Switzerland possessed a few years ago 919,524 head of cattle; 
 this being at the rate of 36'28 per hundred inhabitants. 
 
 The cattle, on arriving at the chalets, graze at will on the 
 pastures : during the night they are generally housed in the 
 neighbouring hovels ; but occasionally they are only collected 
 for milking in the evening, and remain out of doors. They are 
 milked twice a day — at about ten in the morning and late in 
 the afternoon. In many places the herdsmen use a droll, but 
 convenient stool, consisting of a wooden circular seat, about 
 eight inches in diameter, supported by a single leg. A broad 
 leather strap is fastened on each side of the seat and then 
 buckled round the milker's loins. Thus he has no need to pick 
 
 1 Les Alpes, p. 666. 
 
 '^ Keller, Lake Dwellings, p. 358 (Lee's translation). 
 
 •' La Suisse, p. 41. 
 
CHEESE MAKING. 253 
 
 up his stool. He sits down, and the peg, with his legs, form a 
 tripod ; he gets up and walks away, with the peg sticking out 
 behind, and wagging to and fro, exactly like a stump}^ tail, 
 producing the most ludicrous effect. Novices, however, when 
 seated in this way, find overmuch laughter dangerous, for a 
 momentary Joss of balance is sure to be followed by a roll on 
 the dirty floor. 
 
 Cheese is made always once and sometimes twice a day. The 
 milk is warmed in the great caldron before the rennet is put in, 
 and then stirred for half-an-hour. The curds, after draining a 
 little, are at once put under the press. The cheeses are turned 
 daily, and salt is said to be rubbed into them with a stiff 
 brush. There are generally three qualities, the rich (gras), the 
 demi-gras, and the maigy^e. The first is made of new milk, or 
 new milk with cream added ; the second of equal parts of new and 
 skim milk ; and the third with skim milk alone. When the curds 
 have been removed (which is done by the hands or by a strainer) 
 some more rennet is added to the w^hey, and from the curds thus 
 obtained a kiad of cheese is made, called serret or serac, which 
 in taste resembles the poorest English cream-cheeses. This 
 forms one of the herdsmen's perquisites ; it is sometimes eaten 
 fresh, sometimes salted for keeping ; the latter being to my taste 
 the more palatable. The milk, when first cracked, is called 
 niedl, brousse or fleurette, and is a noted mountain luxury. 
 It is well however not to yield too freely to its seductions, as it 
 is apt to cause remorse on the morrow. 
 
 The most celebrated cheeses are the Gruyere, made in Canton 
 Fribourg, and the Schabzieger of Canton Glarus, which is 
 coloured greenish-blue with melilote flowers. There are also 
 several other varieties of local fame. I particularly remember 
 one, in taste rather resembling Stilton, which was served to us 
 at Chateau Queyras, in Dauphin^ ; but the common cheese is 
 poor, like an inferior Gruyere, with a slightly sour taste. 
 
 Due subordination is maintained among the herds by the 
 
2o4 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 chief bell-cow, who alvyays heads the string on going to or 
 returning from pasture. Should another attempt to take prece- 
 dence of her, a battle-royal would begin at once ; and when a 
 new cow is introduced to the herd she has to fight for a place 
 among the others, just like a boy at school. If the leader were 
 deprived of her usual bell, she would pine and become ill ; this 
 bell, however, is not the one carried on the fete days ; for these 
 are too heavy for general wear, and are therefore reserved for 
 such occasions. As much as a hundred or a hundred and fifty 
 francs is sometimes given for the set of three. 
 
 One must not forget the Ranz des vaches or Kuhreihen (cow 
 rows), pastoral tunes, at the sound of which the cows fall into 
 their ranks or rows after the bell-cows to return from the 
 pasture. There are many forms of these airs, according to 
 the different localities ; but the general title is associated 
 with Switzerland as much as "God save the Queen" is 
 with England. They are most in use in the northern part of the 
 country which skirts the Oberland, and are properly played upon 
 the long Alpine horn. The general characteristic of these airs is 
 *a great simplicity, accompanied by a slow and melancholy 
 measure^'; their effect in producing home-sickness, as it is well 
 known, was so great on the Swiss soldiers formerly in the French 
 service, that it was forbidden to play them. There is an in- 
 teresting account of these tunes in the Conservateur Suisse, with 
 a specimen of one and its accompanying song, in an almost 
 unintelligible patois. It consists of a number of couplets, 
 followed by a chorus, which relate how the cattle bound for 
 the mountains come to a dangerous part of the path ; where- 
 upon one of the herdsmen is at once sent back to beg the priest's 
 prayers, which are promised after a little rather comic bargain- 
 ing. This done, the cattle proceed on their way, and, on 
 arriving at the chalet, yield an abundant supply of milk. 
 
 ^ Con.servateiir Suisse, Vol. i. p. d'io. 
 
PASTORAL SONGS. 255 
 
 Here is the first couplet and the chorus, as a sample of the 
 patois : 
 
 (Couplet) L^ zarmailli dei Colombett^ 
 
 De bon matin sd san l^ha. 
 [Chorus) Ha ah ! ha ah ! 
 
 Liauba ! Liauba ! por aria ! 
 Vinidd totd, 
 Bllantz' et uaire, 
 Eodz' et motail^, 
 Dzjoaven' et otro, 
 D^zo on tseh^no 
 lo vo z'ario, 
 D^zo on treinbllo 
 lo ie treintzo. 
 Liauba! liauba! por aria! (bis) ^. 
 
 Above the richer pasturages devoted to the cows lie those 
 frequented by the sheep and goats. These can find abundant food 
 among the coarse herbage which extends up to the limits of the 
 snow, and springs up here and there over many an acre thickly 
 strewn with fallen rocks ; they too can reach ledges and banks 
 unapproachable by larger cattle. There is hardly any spot so 
 lonely but that in summer you will find a few sheep or goats in 
 possession of it. If the surrounding precipices prevent them 
 from straying, they are often left entirely to themselves for two 
 or three months ; but usually some unfortunate lad is condemned 
 to a sort of solitary confinement with them ; a hole under a 
 
 1 Translation: 
 
 The herdsmen of Colombettes 
 At early morn have risen. 
 Ha ah ! Ha ah ! 
 
 Cows ! Cows ! to milking ! 
 Come ye all, 
 White and black, 
 Ked and mottled, 
 Young and others, 
 Beneath an oak 
 Where I milk you, 
 Beneath an aspen 
 Where I drain it, (fee. 
 
256 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 stone, such as that on the Pelvoux, which I have described, being 
 his sole shelter from the storm, and a shout from some distant 
 hunter or shepherd his only intercourse for days together with 
 his fellow-men. A little dry cheese and drier bread (or polenta) 
 is his food, his clothes hardly hang together, and a few francs at 
 the end of the year are his wages. The flock which he guards is 
 often a joint-stock affair belonging to several villagers not so very 
 much richer than himself. Sometimes the access to one of these 
 Alpine oases is so difficult that the animals have all to be 
 carried singly over a glacier upon men's backs, or be hauled by a 
 rope up a cliff. There is such a place above the western side of the 
 Mer de Glace (Chamouni). Hither when the snows have melted 
 some thirty sheep are carried, and left to spend the summer. 
 When their owners return for them, though two or three are 
 generally missing, having fallen down the rocks, the rest are so 
 fat that the loss is more than compensated. Were it not for 
 their stupidity and pig-headedness, which often prevents them 
 from finding their way back, wdien they have wandered too far, 
 they could take pretty good care of themselves. The agility of 
 a goat is proverbial, but that of a mountain sheep is scarcely 
 inferior. I remember that one day as we were descending from 
 the Grandes Rousses (Dauphine), we met a flock on a narrow 
 track along the face of a cliff, which fell down some forty feet or 
 more. It was not absolutely a precipice, but a very steep slope of 
 gneiss rock, which had apparently been smoothed at some former 
 time by glacial action, and it now seemed impossible that either 
 they or we could maintain a footing on it for a moment. The 
 path too was only a few inches wide, so it was distinctly a case 
 of " suppose you come, we go." We advanced, and they for a 
 moment stood still ; then, scorning to turn tail, broke and 
 ' skedaddled ' down the rock at a run, as easily as if it had been 
 a gentle slope of turf; stopping themselves once or twice by 
 some almost imperceptible crack or knob, and turning round to 
 w^atch us. Both sheep and goats on the mountains seem to be 
 
SHEEP. 257 
 
 almost without fear of man, and come running up to the 
 stranger to see what he has got for them. The shepherds, when 
 they visit them, generally bring some salt ; thus the sheep run 
 up to all comers, snuffing about them in hopes of getting a pinch of 
 their favourite dainty, and will often follow one for a long way. 
 This amiable tendency is sometimes rather a nuisance ; for they 
 have a habit of keeping along a slope, parallel to, and a few 
 yards above the path, and thus not unfrequently detach stones 
 which are apt to be dangerous. 
 
 Besides the small native sheep, which are not unlike our 
 Welsh breed, there are also some of the Suabian, Flemish, and 
 Merino breeds, the latter being rare. The most interesting in 
 many respects, and the finest looking, are the Bergamesque 
 sheep, which are annually driven up from the lower valleys and 
 plains of Lombardy to summer in the Engadine. The wool of 
 this breed is soft, abundant, and white; a kind of fringe ex- 
 tends from the chin to the breast ; the nose is blunt, the ears 
 droop, and the head is carried high; they are much larger and 
 less lively in their movements than are the common sheep, and 
 utter a deeper sounding bleat. When the snow melts, these 
 sheep come streaming up the various Alpine highways in im- 
 mense flocks. Their shepherds, men chiefly from the neigh- 
 bourhood of Brescia, form quite a separate class; generally tall, 
 well-made, and swarthy, often very handsome; they are rather 
 silent and reserved in manners, but have a kind of native 
 dignity that becomes them well. They wear a rough suit of 
 dark woollen stuff, short breeches, hats with high pointed 
 crowns and broad brims, carry a large mantle or sheepskin for a 
 wrapper, and generally shew just one bit of bright colour about 
 their necks. At the head of each company is a chief called the 
 pastore, who goes in advance to engage the sheep-walks, keeps 
 the accounts (the flocks, it must be remembered, belong to 
 several owners), and arranges all the business. When a flock is 
 on the march, one shepherd leads it ; the others, helped by their 
 
 17 
 
258 TEE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 large dogs, and accompanied by some stout donkeys, bearing 
 their chattels, bring up the rear. On arriving at the moun- 
 tains, the flock is separated into four divisions, to each of which 
 is assigned a separate district; these are, the ewes with lambs, 
 the rams and young ewes, the milch ewes and wethers, and 
 the sheep for the slaughter. The mutton of the Bergamesque 
 is inferior in flavour to that of the native sheep; but the 
 wool is valuable, and there are tw^o shearings annually. The 
 milk — though very small in quantity, a ewe, according to 
 Tschudi^ only yielding five or six table-spoonfuls a day, and 
 troublesome to obtain, since the beast will not stand to be 
 milked, but must be held a prisoner — is esteemed; for, when 
 mixed with three times the quantity of goats' or cows' milk, 
 it makes a cheese, the flavour of which is much admired. 
 Although this breed is most abundant in, it is not confined 
 to, the district above named ; but may be seen in many of 
 the valleys w^hich descend towards the north of Italy. The 
 Cottian Alps are supplied largely with sheep from the plains 
 of Piedmont, and great numbers also visit the Dauphine 
 mountains from Provence; large flocks annually deserting the 
 hot, stony, mirage-covered plains of the Crau, near Aries, for 
 the cool, rich Alpine pastures. They are conducted by their 
 shepherds in much the same way as the Bergamesque sheep; 
 and here too the keeper of the flock walks in front after the 
 Eastern fashion. 
 
 Goats, of course, are to be found almost everywhere in the 
 Alps ; in Switzerland alone there were, a few years ago, not less 
 than 368,000. They make themselves as much at home as 
 pigs in an Irish cabin, and pervade every place. Far more 
 intelligent, lively, and sociable than the sheep, they would be 
 general favourites with travellers, w^ere it not for their disagree- 
 able odour. The natives, however, do not seem to mind it; and 
 certainly after a time it does become less offensive. The goats 
 
 ^ Les Alpes, p. 704. 
 
GOATS, 259 
 
 may be separated into three classes : those which are kept up 
 in the villages; those which are daily driven to the mountains; 
 and those which pass the whole summer at the chalets. The 
 last are smaller, but much more lissome and active than the 
 stay-at-homes; their colour is generally ruddy-grey or brownish- 
 black, pure white or black are rare. The horns are often very 
 fine. Tschudi^ mentions a pair which measured 2|- feet along 
 the curve. I have certainly seen them not less than two feet, 
 the finest examples being in a flock at the head of the Guil 
 valley, near the Viso. Occasionally the goat is four-horned, 
 one pair growing in the usual way, the other more like those 
 of a sheep. Very early in the morning the goatherd, generally 
 a ragged lad, about ten or twelve years old, drives his charges to 
 the mountains, returning at night-fall to the village ; and a 
 pretty sight it is to see them trotting along the narrow paths 
 in single file, their bells tinkling pleasantly, and gathering 
 around their stable for milking: snuffing and poking their noses 
 into every corner in their usual restless, inquisitive manner. 
 Many are fed on the rough ground just outside the villages, 
 browsing on the coarse grass, wild flowers, and brushwood 
 which clothe the space between the meadows and the alps. 
 These, in order to prevent their straying into the crops, are 
 either tethered, or more frequently tended by an old man 
 or woman, or by one or two little children, who are not yet 
 strong enough to be employed as regular goat-boys. The she- 
 goat yields a good pint or so of milk in the evening; if drunk 
 while still warm it is nearly free from the musky taste which 
 renders it so unpleasant to many; its medicinal properties are 
 well known, but where there is no demand on it for this pur- 
 pose it is chiefly used for cheeses, in which the flavour is un- 
 mistakable. The flesh is frequently eaten, but, apart from 
 the inevitable smack, is in every way inferior to mutton ; 
 it however figures to the profit of the innkeeper on the table 
 
 1 Les Alpes, p. 684, 
 
 17—2 
 
260 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 of the 'regular tourist' hotels, under the name of chamois; and 
 therefore finds a pretty ready sale. 
 
 The only other domestic animal that calls for any remark is 
 the St Bernard dog. These magnificent animals, as large as a 
 full-sized mastiff, are generally classed along with the spaniels, 
 but the origin of the breed is uncertain. Some think them 
 sprung from a cross between a Spanish pointer and an English 
 mastiff; others from one between a Danish dog and a Ber- 
 gamesque sheep-dog. As the name implies, they are especially 
 connected with the celebrated monastery in the Pennine Alps, 
 but they may also be seen at some of the other hospices on the 
 summits of the Alpine passes: in these however the breed 
 generally has not been kept quite pure. About a dozen years 
 ago there was great danger that the pure blood would be 
 altogether lost, owing to a murrain which reduced the stock to 
 a single pair. I believe, however, that they have since con- 
 siderably multiplied. In stormy winter weather these dogs 
 accompany the servants of the company — called Marroniers — 
 and one or more of the monks along the road leading from the 
 last chalets to the convent. The dogs, guided by their scent, 
 track with wonderful skill the unfortunate travellers who have 
 wandered from the way, and have even been known to discover 
 them when overwhelmed in the snow-drifts. This done, their 
 barking soon draws the men to the spot, whose timely aid often 
 recalls the benumbed sleeper to life. One of the most famous 
 of these dogs, called Barry, whose skin is now in the museum 
 at Berne, is said to have once discovered a child asleep in the 
 cold, to have succeeded in waking him, and at last induced him 
 to mount upon its neck, whereupon it bore him off in triumph 
 to the convent. Be this anecdote true or not, there is no 
 doubt that the sagacity and courage of these noble animals 
 have from time to time saved many lives. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 In the first chapter the main Alpine ranges were spoken of 
 as constituting a number of closely connected groups rather 
 than a single chain. In fact, nature, by way of facilitating 
 communication, has breached in several places the great fortress- 
 waU with which she has girdled Italy. These gaps are com- 
 monly about 6000 feet above the sea ; the lowest of all, which 
 lead out of the basin of the Po, being the Col des Echelles de 
 Planpinet (5873 feet). This pass indeed is lower than any other 
 over the main chains, except the Reschen-scheideck and the 
 Brenner, which unite the basin of the Adige with that of the 
 Inn. A carriage-road has not as yet been carried over it ; per- 
 haps because a small portion of the descent on the Italian side 
 is rather precipitous and the route is a little less direct than 
 that by the Mont Genevre. This last is the southernmost car- 
 riage-road leading over the Alps from Italy to France, unless we 
 include the Col di Tenda. It was in use in the Roman times, 
 and is said to have been crossed by Julius Caesar ; but the pre- 
 sent carriage-road was only commenced in 1802, and was com- 
 pleted in 1807. From one side of the tolerably level plain 
 forming the summit (6102 feet) the Dora Riparia starts in its 
 
262 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 course towards the Adriatic ; from the other the Durance to the 
 Mediterranean. The approach from Piedmont, and the descent 
 towards the fortresses of Brian9on, by which France protects 
 herself from Italy, are picturesque, but on the whole the Mont 
 Genevre is not a very interesting pass. On arriving in the 
 valley of the Durance the traveller, bound for Central France, 
 finds the massif of the Dauphin^ Alps interposed between 
 him and his destination. Fortunately this barrier can be 
 readily crossed at the narrow and comparatively low isthmus 
 which unites it to the main Alpine chain. Accordingly a 
 carriage-road starts from Brian^on, and before long commences 
 the ascent to the Col du Lautaret (6740 feet) ; whence it de- 
 scends through the magnificent glacier scenery of La Grave and 
 the grand gorges of the Combe de Malaval and the Combe de 
 Gavet to the fortresses of Grenoble. This road was commenced 
 by the first Napoleon; but was not quite completed till 1861. 
 Its importance to France is obvious ; for in case of war with 
 Italy it would greatly facilitate the concentration of troops 
 from both the central and southern provinces at the foot of the 
 Genevre. 
 
 The next pass, going northward, is the Mont Cenis (about 
 6772 feet), which, starting like the Genevre from Susa, leads into 
 the valley of the Arc, a tributary of the Is^re. The carriage-road 
 was constructed by orders of Napoleon I. in 1803-10 ; and 
 during the year 1867 rails were laid down upon a part of the 
 road-way, so that it is now crossed by trains, the locomotives 
 being constructed after a pattern invented by Mr Fell. As 
 regards scenery, it is one of the least interesting among the 
 Alpine passes. 
 
 In connexion with this pass may be noticed the 'tunnel 
 under the Mont Cenis,' as it is popularly, but incorrectly named. 
 In reality, its northern opening is fifteen miles below the spot 
 where the zigzags begin, by which the slopes of the Mont Cenis 
 Pass are scaled; and its southern opening is in a valley, which 
 
TUNNEL THROUGH THE ALPS. 263 
 
 does not join the one followed by the carriage-road till it reaches 
 the town of Susa. Of course the usual mode of excavating at 
 several points along the line of work by a series of vertical 
 shafts was, in this case, absolutely impossible ; and the galleries 
 have to be driven straight on from each end till they meet in the 
 heart of the mountain. The northern opening is near Modane, 
 at the height of 8904 feet above the sea level ; the southern 
 near Bardonneche^ at 4344 feet. Between these points the 
 tunnel rises from the former end by a gradient of 2 in 91, to a 
 height of 4377 feet above the sea, whence it descends again by 
 gra^dient of 1 in 2000 ; its total length being 13,031 yards, 
 nearly 7J^ miles. The main purpose of this peculiar form is to 
 facilitate drainage and ventilation. The tunnel, which is lined 
 throughout with masonry, is in section very nearly a semicircle ; 
 the greatest width, a short distance from the ground, being 
 nearly 26J feet, and the height about 25 feet. Beneath the 
 roadway an arched culvert is constructed for drainage; and 
 the upper part of the curve will be cut off with a brattice, to 
 form a ventilating shaft. 
 
 Had the mines for blasting the rock been made by hand in 
 the usual way, the tunnel would have taken at least thirty-six 
 years ; but some very ingenious machines have been constructed, 
 by which the work is performed much more quickly. The 
 principle of these is simple, though the apparatus could not be 
 explained without elaborate drawings. Immense condensing 
 engines outside the tunnel, worked by water-power (of which 
 there is of course no lack), drive compressed air into a long tube, 
 which is connected with the drills placed against the rock at 
 the end of the excavation ; these are worked — just as by steam 
 — by the elastic force of the confined air, which, when liberated, 
 ventilates the tunnel, and by creating a draught removes the 
 powder-smoke. The drills are fitted with a number of 'jump- 
 ers ' or chisels, which revolve as they strike ; and these, by 
 
 1 The design is due to the late M. Medail, a native of this place. 
 
264 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 means of adjustments, can be applied to any place on the face 
 of the rock. When 1 visited the works in 1863, they had 
 advanced 1244 yards from the northern and 1640 yards from 
 the southern entrance. The following extract^ describes the 
 condition of the works at that time. 
 
 "We come to the end of the vaulting, and before long find 
 the water nearly ankle deep in every part ; we make our way 
 as best we can, now clinging to the rocky side of the tunnel, as 
 we step from knob to knob ; now balancing ourselves on a rail, 
 or climbing over an empty train of ballast-waggons, — long low 
 cradles, like magnified horse-troughs, — gathering dirt plenti- 
 fully on hands and clothes ; and now and then slipping with a 
 splash into the muddy pools. The excavation contracts, the air 
 becomes closer and ladened with the fumes of gunpowder, lights 
 gleam fitfully ahead through the fog, and a hissing and a tap- 
 ping are more and more distinctly heard. Soon we pass a strong 
 door, the shield to protect the workmen and the machine from 
 the explosion of the mines ; figures are seen moving through 
 the smoke, the rocky roof of the vault seems almost to touch 
 our heads, and we reach the drill, a long carriage all wheels and 
 bars ; with the attendant sprites crouched beside and below, 
 more like dusky gnomes than human beings. Crawling cau- 
 tiously by the side, we peer forward and catch a sight of the 
 chisels pertinaciously stabbing the hard, black slate, streaked 
 here and there with white veins of quartz, The heat and noise 
 do not tempt us to prolong our stay, and we are not sorry to 
 struggle back to a purer atmosphere." At that time the daily 
 advance was about a yard at each end ; since then further im- 
 provements have been made in the machinery, and it is hoped 
 that the tunnel will be ready for use in 1871. 
 
 The carriage-road leading from the Yal d'Aoste over the 
 Little St Bernard (7123 feet) into the Isere valley is still not 
 quite finished, Italy apparently being in no hurry to complete 
 
 1 From a paper by the Author in Once a Week, Oct. 1, 1864. 
 
PASS OF THE SniPLOK 265 
 
 her part of the work, now that her good friend and ally is on the 
 other side of the crest. Many think that this was the scene of 
 Hannibal's celebrated passage, but the topographical difficulties 
 cannot in my opinion, be reconciled with Polybius' account ; and 
 the Little Mont Cenis, a pass corresponding in part with the 
 one just mentioned, appears to have much stronger claims. The 
 scenery of the Little St Bernard is pleasing, and on the whole 
 rather superior to the Mont Cenis. 
 
 Further to the north, the Pennine Alps oppose a barrier 
 which has not as yet been surmounted by a carriage-road ; 
 and it is not until we come to their eastern extremity that 
 a convenient depression is found. Over this, 6628 feet above 
 the sea, — a pass frequented from very early times, — the great 
 highway of the Simplon was planned by Napoleon L who, 
 after his troublesome passage of the Great St Bernard, and 
 narrow escape from being wholly foiled by the resistance at 
 Fort Bard in the gorge of the Yal d'Aoste, had no wish to run 
 so great a risk a second time. The works were commenced in 
 1802, and completed in about five years. The engineering 
 difficulties on both sides were considerable : there are 613 
 brido^es between Sesto Calende, at the south end 6i the Lagfo 
 Maggiore, and Brieg, where the bed of the Rhone valley is 
 reached ; but although the torrents and avalanche paths on the 
 northern slopes have necessitated some very long detours and 
 more than one extensive gallery, the greatest difficulties were 
 found in the narrow gorge through which the road ascends from 
 the Val d'Ossola. Here a mountain torrent rushes between vast 
 walls of compact gneiss, seamed with waterfalls, which leap from 
 the towering peaks above. Sometimes the slope of the rock 
 is sufficiently gentle to allow the road to run for a while along 
 a kind of excavated terrace ; then some projecting crag inter- 
 poses, descending sheer for hundreds of feet, through which a 
 gallery has had to be driven. The grandeur of this gorge, the 
 views of the glaciers of the Fletschhorn, the wonderful contrast 
 
266 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 of these with the smiling slopes of the Val d'Ossola, within so 
 short a distance, and the fine prospect of the Bernese mountains 
 from the Swiss side, make this pass deservedly celebrated. 
 
 The next in order, proceeding eastward, over the main chain 
 is the St Gothard. This pass appears to have been known from 
 very early times, but the carriage-road over it was not completed 
 till 1832. It is the most direct communication between the 
 lakes of Lucerne and Maggiore, and consequently between many 
 parts of Central Europe and Milan. The gorge of the Reuss, in 
 which is the well-known Devil's Bridge, on the Swiss side, and 
 the Val Leventina on the Italian, offer some fine scenery, but 
 the actual passage of the mountains is rather dull and dreary. 
 This remark indeed applies to nearly all the Alpine highways ; 
 because their upper part generally lies over an upland plateau 
 surrounded by higher mountains, so as to form a kind of trough 
 or channel, the sides of which exclude all view of the grander 
 peaks and glaciers, while its elevation above the sea, generally 
 from 6000 to 7000, — at once too high for the pine woods and 
 too low for perpetual snow, — brings us to the region of coarse 
 grass and stunted scrub. No doubt among these there are 
 often many beautiful flowering plants ; but the passing traveller 
 who cannot search for them, finds this part of the Alps, unless 
 it wear its winter dress of snow, the least pleasing of his whole 
 journey. 
 
 The parallel passes of the Bernardino (6769 feet) and 
 Splugen (6945 feet) lead from Italy into the valley of the 
 Rhine, a little above Coire ; the one from the head of the Lago 
 Maggiore by the Val Misocco, the other from the Lago di Como 
 by the Val di S. Giacomo. The grand feature of these two roads 
 is the wonderful gorge of the Via Mala, which is on the part 
 common to both, below the village of Spliigen. Here the 
 torrent of the Hinter-Rhein forces its way through a narrow and 
 deep gorge, high up on the sides of which the road is carried 
 along the face of awful precipices, passing through several 
 
THE SPLUGEN AND MALOYA PASSES. 267 
 
 tunnels, and crossing and recrossing by lofty bridges, from three 
 to four hundred feet above the water. At one of these, called the 
 Verlornes-loch, the gorge is so narrow that the torrent beneath 
 is almost hidden. On the whole I think this, though several 
 run it hard, the grandest ravine in the Alps. The Bernardino 
 was known to the Romans, who avoided by a circuitous route 
 most of the Via Mala; and the present carriage-road was com- 
 menced by the Swiss in 1819 to facilitate commerce with Pied- 
 mont. The Austrians, fearing that it would interfere with the 
 advantages which they derived from the much frequented path 
 over the Splugen, endeavoured by threats and bribery to 
 prevent its being carried out. They prevailed with the 
 authorities of Canton Tessin, but were deservedly snubbed by 
 those of the Grisons, and at last were obliged to make the whole 
 of the Splugen route at their own expense. The difficulties on 
 the southern side of this, especially in the avalanche- swept 
 gorge of the Cardinel, were very great. 
 
 Besides the Spliigen, two other great roads, the Maloya and 
 the Stelvio, take their departure from near the head of the Lago 
 di Como ; the former, one of the easiest and most ancient in the 
 Alps, branches off from the Splugen route at Chiavenna, and 
 after crossing the watershed between the Mera and the Inn, at 
 a height of about 5942 feet, descends very gradually into the 
 latter valley. The most remarkable feature on it is the long 
 trough, leading by a very gradual and slight descent from the 
 summit of the pass to St Moritz, in which are situated the 
 lakes of Sils and Silvaplana. The former of these, some three 
 miles long by one wide, is the largest in the Alps which lies so 
 high (5887 feet) above the sea. They obviously once formed a 
 sheet of water more than nine miles long. The Stelvio ascends 
 the valley of the Adda, the principal affluent of the Lago di 
 Como ; as, however, it descends into a valley, the waters of 
 which also flow to the Adriatic, I pass it by for the present. 
 
 The Inn it will be remembered drains into the Danube : 
 
268 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 hence in this part of the Alps is the junction-point of three 
 great watersheds, those separating the affluents of the Adriatic, 
 the North, and the Black Sea\ The passes over two of these, 
 between the first and second and the first and third, have 
 already been described : it remains to mention those between 
 the second and third. These are two in number, the Julier and 
 the Albula, both starting from Coire in the Rhein-thal, and 
 descending into different parts of the Inn valley. Owing to 
 the somewhat confused arrangement of the valleys in this 
 district, it has been found most convenient to strike the upper 
 part of one of the affluents of the Rhine, by crossing a low range 
 immediately to the south of Coire. The level of this stream, 
 the Oberhalbstein-Rhein, is reached at Tiefenkasten, where the 
 roads divide; the Julier following a direction a little east of 
 south, while the Albula turns off much more towards the east. 
 Opinions differ as to the relative merits of the two passes, but 
 though leading through a good deal of interesting scenery, they 
 are both inferior in beauty and grandeur to several of those 
 which have been already mentioned. The Julier, though 7503 
 feet above the sea, is an unusually easy and safe pass at all 
 seasons, being very free from avalanches, and the snow melting 
 early. On this account it has been used from very ancient 
 times. The Romans carried a military road from Chiavenna 
 to Coire over the Maloya and Julier in preference to the more 
 direct route by the Septimer ; and on the summit of the latter 
 are two rough-hewn stone columns, to which some assign a 
 Roman, others a Celtic origin. The present carriage-road was 
 
 1 The Julier, Maloya, and Septimer Passes (the last a very ancient horse- 
 track well known to the Komans) form a triangle uniting the heads of the valleys 
 draining into the North Sea, Black Sea, and Adriatic. The little mountain mass 
 therein included is therefore a knot-point in the water system of Em-ope. One 
 of its peaks, the Pizzo Lunghino (9121 feet) supplies water to three seas. Only 
 one other mountain in the Alps does the same ; this is the Pizzo Pesciora, south 
 of the Upper Khone Valley, which gives birth to streams running respectively to 
 the North Sea, Mediten-anean, and Adriatic. 
 
THE BERNINA AND OTHER PASSES. 269 
 
 constructed in 1823; that over the Albula pass was only com- 
 pleted about two years ago. 
 
 The Bernina Pass (7658 feet), one of the highest and also one 
 of the most beautiful among the Alpine roads, leads from the 
 head of the Inn valley to that of the Adda. The former stream 
 is left at Samaden, and the road ascends gently up a lateral 
 glen to Pontresina, whence is a fine view of the glaciers at the 
 head of the Val Roseg. About three miles beyond, it zigzags 
 up a steep slope commanding magnificent views of the Piz 
 Bernina, the culminating point of the chain, and its attendant 
 peaks, from which the Mortaratsch glacier descends to within 
 three or four hundred yards of the road. Beyond this is the 
 usual rather barren upland scenery until the bleak tarns near 
 the summit of the pass are reached, when the Cambrena and 
 Palii glaciers come well into view. The descent is at first rapid; 
 before long, signs of a more genial climate appear; and the road 
 passes through scenery at once rich and grand till the Val 
 Telline is reached at Tirano on the Stelvio route. 
 
 Three more passes remain, connecting great water systems ; 
 these are the Reschen-scheideck, the Toblach-plateau, and the 
 Brenner. The first and second of these lead over comparatively 
 level plateaux, destitute of the ordinary features of a mountain 
 pass ; the one from the valley of the Inn to the Vintschgau, the 
 other from the head of the Puster-thal to that of the Drave. 
 They are in fact little more than interruptions in the bed of a 
 trough, owing their origin to some cause quite independent of 
 those which have produced the general configuration of the 
 district. The third pass, the Brenner, crosses at the lowest 
 point of a deep and strongly-marked depression in the Noric 
 chain, its summit being only 4700 feet above the sea. In 
 scenery it is the least interesting among the Alpine roads; from 
 where it quits the Puster-thal to where it gains sight of the 
 broad meadows by the Inn, there is only one striking view, that 
 of the Stubayer Ferner, from near Sterzing. The rest of the 
 
270 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 road, though it would be considered fine in Wales or Cumber- 
 land, is surpassed by almost every other part of the main Alpine 
 chains. Still, the causes which have made it poor in scenery 
 have made it rich in historical associations. The lowest de- 
 pression in the whole Alpine girdle of Italy, it has been from 
 the most remote antiquity the great highway of nations, the 
 natural portal between the north and the south. Through it 
 the Roman legions marched to plant their eagles in Germany. 
 Through it, when the days of retribution came, the barbarian 
 hordes poured down upon the Italian plains : in quick succession 
 swept on AUemanni and Goths, Attila with his Huns, Odoacer 
 with his Heruli, Theodoric with his Ostrogoths. Following them, 
 army after army, too many to enumerate, passed and repassed 
 in the varying contests of the Middle Ages. It became again 
 memorable in the desperate struggles of the war of Independ- 
 ence, when the Tyrolese peasantry, undisciplined but undaunted 
 and unerring marksmen, made Sterzing, Mittewald, and Mount 
 Isel, ill-omened names to the armies of France and Bavaria. 
 
 This pass is also remarkable as being the first over which a 
 distinct railway has been carried. On the 1 5th August, 1867, 
 the line from Innsbruck to Botzen was formally opened : the 
 last link of the iron chain which unites the peninsulas of Jut- 
 land and Italy. Though the engineering difficulties have of 
 course been very considerable, there has been no tour de force 
 necessary, like that of the so-called Cenis tunnel, so that it is 
 needless to give a detailed description of the works. 
 
 Among the high-roads over the lateral ranges there are, be- 
 sides the Col du Lautaret already mentioned, the Furka and the 
 Oberalp Joch. The former of these runs close to the magnifi- 
 cent glacier of the Rhone, and after crossing a ridge (7992 feet 
 above the sea), commanding a splendid view of the Finster 
 Aarhorn and some of the neighbouring snowy peaks of the 
 Oberland, descends into the head of the Reuss valley at the 
 foot of the ascent to the St Gothard Pass. The latter, the 
 
THE ST ELY 10 PASS. 271 
 
 Oberalp Joch (6732 feet), mounts from this point of junction, 
 and after crossing a rather dreary Alpine plateau, descends into 
 the head of the Vorder-Rhein-thal. Well-known bridle-paths for 
 centuries, they have only been converted into carriage-roads 
 during the last few years; and if ever a war should again arise 
 in Europe, resembling the great contest at the end of last cen- 
 tury, they may be found to possess considerable military value ; 
 since they connect by roads, passable by artillery, the valleys of 
 the Upper Rhine and Rhone, and link each of these, through 
 the glen of the Reuss, with the Lake of Lucerne and Northern 
 Switzerland. Armies can now march, parallel to the main 
 chain, through the whole mountain barrier between Austria 
 and France. 
 
 We come next to the Stelvio, the most wonderful among the 
 Alpine highways, and the most elevated carriage-road in 
 Europe. Essentially a military road, it was constructed by the 
 Austrian government to establish a direct communication be- 
 tween Milan, the capital of their (former) Lombard possessions, 
 and the heart of the empire. On first entering the mountains, 
 it is carried along the eastern margin of the Lake of Como, whose 
 precipitous shores were often the cause of great trouble and 
 expense ; then up the broad and malarious Val Telline to Tirano, 
 where now it is joined by the Bernina route already described. 
 Hence the Stelvio road continues to mount the valley of the 
 Adda, through scenery which rapidly becomes wilder, until it 
 reaches Bormio, where the great ascent may be said to com- 
 mence. A little above this place, near the well-known hot 
 springs, the Adda, formed by the confluence of two torrents, 
 rushes forth from a deep ravine, the precipices of which seem to 
 forbid all access to the mountain solitudes beyond. High on 
 the left bank of this, and up the easternmost of these torrents, 
 runs the road, burrowing here and there through projecting 
 crags. Presently the valley opens out a little, but the cliffs 
 still rise, high, brown, and bare on either hand, varied here and 
 
272 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 there with dreary slopes of debris. Long galleries protect the 
 road from the rush of avalanches or swollen torrents. A rocky 
 wall, down which the main torrent leaps from step to step, now 
 breaks the level of the valley. Up this, called the Sponda- 
 lunga, the road climbs painfully by long zigzags till it gains an 
 upland grassy basin surrounded by stony slopes. Here is a 
 pause in the toilsome ascent, and an almost level reach leads to 
 a large mass of buildings, — inn, custom-house, and barrack, 
 standing on a hummocky plateau, which is surrounded by low 
 rocky ridges, capped in many places with glittering sheets of 
 snow. Being 8153 feet above the sea, it is the highest per- 
 manently inhabited house in Europe. Walk a few hundred 
 yards to the north, and you look down upon the green slopes of 
 the Munster-thal, which stretches away from beneath your feet 
 towards the uppermost parts of the Vintschgau. This opening 
 is the Wormserjoch, once a route of considerable commercial 
 importance, and the course which Austria naturally would have 
 preferred for her road. Unfortunately for her, a small portion 
 of the upper Munster-thal belongs to the Grisons ; and the 
 sturdy Swiss absolutely refused either to sell this corner of their 
 territory or to concede a right of way over it, so that their im- 
 perial neighbour, after vain negotiations, was forced to turn 
 aside towards the less promising gap which leads into the 
 Trafoi-thal. 
 
 Towards this the road slowly ascends, over an undulating 
 plateau, a barren tract of scattered stones and patches of snow, 
 with smooth slopes of imperfectly formed glacier on the right, 
 and a rocky ridge on the left. Before long the road, which has 
 for a while been hugging the latter, bears rapidly round it to 
 the left, and a mass of snowy peaks rises suddenly in front. A 
 few hasty steps, and you stand, by the opening of an avalanche 
 gallery, above a slope falling almost precipitously down to a deep 
 glen, across which — some four miles away — rises the Orteler- 
 Spitze, a mighty roof of snow and ice, curving up to a glittering 
 
THE , STELVIO. 273 
 
 point full twelve hundred yards above you, and croAvning a 
 craggy wall of dark limestone-rock. Deep buried in the gorge 
 beneath this wall are seen the upper slopes of a glacier, round 
 the head of which a peaked ice-covered ridge circles round till 
 it slopes down to your very feet. No Alpine road, perhaps no 
 track of equal elevation, commands a view at once so startling 
 and so magnificent, the effect of which is vastly enhanced by 
 approaching it as above described. Then comes the most 
 astounding part of the road itself. One steep unbroken stony 
 slope forms the northern side of the glen which descends from 
 the summit of the pass towards the pine-woods of Trafoi, 
 already visible far below ; down this, in zigzag after zigzag, the 
 road descends ; protected in many places by galleries from the 
 avalanches, which must at certain seasons sweep the slope from 
 top to bottom. Two thousand feet lower down is a small alp, 
 occupied by the ruined post station of Franzenhohe, which 
 causes a short break in the almost incessant zigzags ; but these 
 soon recommence, and lead down through scrab and pine-wood, 
 till the bed of the valley is approached ; when a more gradual 
 descent through a forest of magnificent pines brings us to the 
 green meado>^s around the village of Trafoi. 
 
 Between this and the summit, a distance of about 4100 feet 
 in vertical height, there are no less than forty-eight zigzags. 
 Still, startling as the descent appears to the traveller, as he 
 winds down these, or hurries from angle to angle down the 
 slope itself, I think the audacity of the undertaking can only 
 be fully appreciated by gaining some point high up on the 
 opposite side of the valley, and by a single glance compre- 
 hending every twist of the road from Trafoi to the Col. As 
 I stood one evening at the door of a chalet on the sides of the 
 Orteler, and saw the pass with its avalanche-gallery standing 
 out above that enormous slope^ cold and grey in the fading 
 light, I marvelled more than ever at the daring genius which 
 had projected and executed the design of making that deso- 
 
 18 
 
274 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 late and apparently almost inaccessible gap a highway for 
 carriages \ 
 
 One road only remains which can fairly be reckoned among 
 the Alpine Passes ; that which, turning off from the plateau in 
 the Puster-thal near the watershed between the Adige and the 
 Danube, ascends gently through the magnificent limestone 
 scenery of the HoUenstein-thal ; and then, after crossing a 
 scarcely marked col, surrounded on all sides by great precipices, 
 descends by two or three zigzags into the trough of the Am- 
 pezzo valley, and follows the stream of the Piave to the Vene- 
 tian plains. The pass, considering the general height of the 
 surrounding mountains, is a low one (about 5064 feet), and the 
 construction of the road does not appear to have presented 
 many of the usual difficulties ; but it is remarkable as leading 
 through the very heart of the Dolomite district. Generally the 
 line of a carriage-road is about the worst that can be chosen 
 by anyone wishing to gain a good idea of the physical features 
 of a mountain region; here, on the contrary, almost all the 
 grandest and most characteristic peaks rise on either side of 
 the road and are well seen from it. 
 
 There are several other roads in the sub-alpine regions, 
 which pass through very beautiful scenery ; but those above 
 described are all that have as yet been constructed in the 
 strictly mountain districts. Others will no doubt from time to 
 time be completed ; some have already been a good while con^ 
 templated ; among which are a carriage- road to connect the 
 valley of the Khone and the Val d'Apste by the Col de 
 Menouve, and a railway over the Luckmanier Pass to link 
 the Rhin6 region to Northern Italy. 
 
 ^ Now that Austria has lost her Lomhard dominions, the Stelvio has ceased 
 to be of value to her, and to repay the great cost of keeping it up. She there- 
 fore takes no pains to repair the road on the eastern side of the pass, and 
 several parts of it are already much injured; in fact when I crossed it in 1867, 
 one or two places looked rather unsafe for carriages. It is to be hoped that she 
 will not suffer this great triumph of engineering skill to fall wholly into ruins. 
 
THE GREAT ST BERNARD. 27 o 
 
 Perhaps here may best be mentioned the hospices or re- 
 ligious houses which have been established, many of them from 
 very early times, near the summit of frequented passes, for the 
 succour of travellers belated or overtaken by storms. The 
 most celebrated of these is that on the Great St Bernard, a 
 pass which has formed the highroad between Western Swit- 
 zerland and North Italy from the most remote antiquity ; for 
 we know that the Celtic Veragri worshipped their mountain 
 god Pen at a spot near its summit, where afterwards was 
 erected the shrine of Jupiter Penninus. A hospice appears 
 to have been built near this at a very early period, but the 
 present foundation dates from the year A.D. 962, when it was 
 established by the pious care of Bernard de Menthon, Arch- 
 deacon of Aosta, the Apostle of the Alps. The convent is a 
 huge quadrangular building of rough stone, without any archi- 
 tectural feature^-', with a smaller and more irregular appendage 
 on the opposite side of the road. To the north rises the snowy 
 ridge of the Velan ; a few yards from the convent on the south 
 is a half-frozen tarn ; around are bleak, bare, snow-streaked 
 rocks. When the mists are driving over these, and the dark 
 water, troubled by the wind, laps against the boulders, it is 
 indeed a dreary scene. On the hill-side behind the convent 
 is a small cell, wherein are placed, exposed to the air, the 
 bodies of those who have sunk down to die upon the road and 
 have never been claimed by their friends. The keen wind 
 dries them up, and the flesh, shrivelled and withered like 
 shrunken leather, is a more ghastly spectacle than any skeleton. 
 
 The convent is mainly supported by voluntary contribu- 
 tions ; and the brethren who inhabit it are of the Augustinian 
 order. Although the opening of other passes has somewhat 
 diverted the stream of* travellers that once flowed across this 
 one, there is still work for them and their trusty dogs, and 
 nearly twenty thousand persons annually come to the convent ; 
 many of whom would perish in stormy weather were it not for 
 
 18—2 
 
276 
 
 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 its shelter and relief. Whatever opinions we may hold upon 
 the merits of convents in general, and I for one am no friend 
 to them, we must all agree in reverencing the self-denial and 
 Christian charity of these men ; for the severity of the climate 
 ^nd the other necessary privations of the life are such, that 
 every one who becomes an inmate of the St Bernard Hospice 
 knows that he is dooming himself to a premature death or a 
 crippled and painful old age. 
 
 Besides the roads constructed for carriages and generally 
 traversed by regular services of lumbering diligences ^ a sort' of 
 amalgamation of coach, omnibus and waggon, there are hun- 
 dreds, perhaps thousands of b3^-ways, some of which are just 
 passable by rough country carts, others only bridle-paths. 
 
 (Vig. 13.) 
 
 These traverse the Alps in every direction, except where snow- 
 fields and glaciers interpose, or the rocks are unusually pre- 
 cipitous. Their altitude of course varies considerably, but 
 as a rule the crest of a great chain — one in which the peaks 
 rise much over eight thousand feet . above the sea — rarely 
 sinks below six thousand feet ; and very few horse-paths 
 
 1 Iii the winter months sledges are used upon the upper parts of most of 
 those that remain open; 
 
GLACIER PASSES. 211 
 
 will be found to surpass nine thousand. Foot-tracks, which 
 do not involve the passage- of large snow-fields or glaciers, 
 or anything that may be called scrambling, will be found 
 in many places up to a. thousand feet higher; but beyond 
 this the mountain chains can rarely be crossed by the ordi^ 
 nary pedestrian. Hence in many cases the only direct com- 
 munication between places, but a few miles apart on the map, 
 is over trackless glaciers and rocky ridges. Not many years 
 since, these barriers were supposed to be generally impassable ; 
 now there are comparatively few notches remaining in them 
 which have ilot been crossed. Some of these expeditions in- 
 volve little more than several hours of rather laborious walking. 
 Of such a kind is the Col de St Thdodule in the Pennine Alps 
 (10,899 feet), which, though the track lies for two or three hours 
 over a vast snow-field, is sometimes crossed by cattle ; others 
 are exceedingly difficult, and can only be \mdertaken by prac- 
 tised mountaineers with skilled guides. In order to give some 
 idea of the general character of these, I will extract from my 
 note-book an account of a two-days' journey in the Pennine 
 Alps, over passes which, without being particularly dangerous, 
 presented most of the usual difficulties. 
 
 ''A glance at a good map of Switzerland will shew that the 
 Rhone valley and the highest part of the Pennine chain from 
 the St Bernard to the Matterhorn are almost parallel, and that 
 several valleys run from the former nearly at right angles to it, 
 becoming shorter as they approach the east. Around the gra- 
 nitic mass that has upheaved Monte Rosa, the mountains ex- 
 tend in different directions, thrusting forward three large chains 
 towards the Rhone valley, between which the two branches of 
 the Visp-thal are squeezed. Zermatt is in the western of these, 
 and consequently the heads of some of the smaller valleys men- 
 tioned above can be reached from it. The nearest is called the 
 Val d'Anniviers, and this we determined to visit. Just beyond 
 Zermatt, the valley, on arriving at the foot of the Matterhorn, 
 
278 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 breaks into two ravines running right and left ; in the former is 
 the Zmutt glacier, in the latter the Gorner\ Therefore the 
 chain of mountains on the right-hand side of the valley turns 
 abruptly round, and runs (towards the Dent Blanche) at right 
 angles to its former course ; enclosed within the angle thus 
 formed is the Glacier de Zinal and the head of the Val d'An- 
 niviers. There are then two routes from Zermatt to Zinal, one 
 on either side of the Gabelhorn, a mountain forming the apex 
 of the angle ; we determined to go by one and return next day 
 by the other. Enough for topography — now for our journey. 
 We had with us our trusty attendant, Michel Croz, of Cha- 
 mouni, and had engaged a local guide, Johann Kronig, and we 
 determined to start as soon after four as possible. Good inten- 
 tions, however, in the matter of early rising are sometimes hard 
 to carry into effect ; especially when you have been up between 
 two and three the previous morning ; so from one cause or 
 another we did not get off till 5*30 A.M. The sun had long 
 lit up the obelisk of the Matterhorn and had even begun to 
 creep down by the dark crags of the Hornli into the valley 
 before we started ; so when once off we lost no time, and hasten- 
 ing through the meadows, fresh with dew and gay with the 
 lilac flowers of the autumn crocus, crossed the torrent and 
 entered the pine-forest on the left side of the Zmutt valley. 
 
 "Let no visitor to Zermatt forget this walk. Here he may 
 saunter along at his ease, shaded by the dark arollas, and peer 
 over now and then into the ravine at his feet, glancing down 
 the crags half-hid with feathery ferns and rhododendron bushes, 
 red with flowers, till he sees the torrent tumbling among the 
 green blocks of serpentine two hundred feet below. Or, if he 
 like it better, he can lie on the mossy turf, and watch the nut- 
 crackers at work on the pine-cones, or admire the peak of the 
 Matterhorn towering above him, and the glaciers and pinnacles 
 around the Dent Blanche. We, however, have no time for this 
 
 ^ Described in Chapter iii. 
 
 i 
 
THE COL DURAND. 279 
 
 now, * vorwdrts ' is the word, and Kronig's caution of * langsam, 
 langsam,' as he perspires after us is little heeded. We emerge 
 from the wood, and are in the pastures just above the Zmutt 
 glacier. Our work is before us ; just across the valley, from a 
 point of the range between the Dent Blanche and the Gabel- 
 horn, comes a steep crevassed glacier, called the Hochwang, 
 above which lies our pass. 
 
 "We run down to the Zmutt glacier, and are soon upon the 
 extremity of the great ice-stream. Fancy a river a mile or so 
 wide, frozen hard, ploughed up here and there with crevasses, 
 and then covered with stones of every size from a cricket-ball 
 to a cottage. Macadamisation on a small scale is all very well 
 on a road, but I disapprove of it when carried to an excess on a 
 glacier. You go slowly, — it becomes intolerably tedious, and 
 the opposite bank will not get any nearer, — you try to go faster 
 by jumping from stone to stone; you leap on one, it slips; on 
 another, it totters ; on a third, it rolls over ; you twist your feet 
 and ankles ; till at last you lose your footing and your temper 
 together, and come down ignominiously on all fours, ' barking ' 
 your shins in the process. 
 
 " However, we get across in about half-an-hour, and toil up 
 the steep bank on the other side. A long pull now begins up 
 turf slopes varied by patches of rock ; uncommonly hot work, 
 but we comfort ourselves with the thought that we are rapidly 
 rising in the world. In about three-quarters-of-an-hour we begin 
 to be conscious that we breakfasted more than four hours since; 
 so we sit down and make what would be a dejeHner ob la four- 
 chette, if only we had any forks. We lose no time about this, 
 but press on ; now the lower part of the Hochwang glacier is 
 well beneath us, but it is too much crevassed to tempt us on it. 
 We climb rocks steeper than before, or scramble clattering up 
 banks of loose stones, till we reach a few patches of snow, and 
 see that we are above the ice-fall and just under the edge of 
 the snow-field which feeds it. Here we rest a few minutes and 
 
280 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 feast our eyes on the glorious view before us ; — far below us lies 
 the Zmutt glacier, the dazzling whiteness of its upper fields in 
 strong contrast with the foulness of its lower end, a sad parable 
 of many a life. To the extreme right are the Col d'H(^rens, the 
 Tete Blanche, and the Col de la Valpelline. Opposite, across 
 the Zmutt glacier, rises the tremendous tower of the Matter- 
 horn, a steep white slope of snow leading from the right-hand 
 side to a small glacier, that girdles the mountain with an out- 
 work of icy crags, from which now and then an avalanche is 
 fired like a warning gun. The Matterhorn from this point of 
 view loses its spire-like shape, and appears as a corner-tower, 
 terminating a long line of ruined wall. Beyond this is the wide 
 field of glacier stretching to the Th^odule pass, above which 
 rises the head of the Petit Cervin and the snow-cap of the 
 Breithorn ; next are the TavIus, vested in robes of purest snow ; 
 beyond, the ridge of the Lyskamm ; then the broken masses of 
 the Lys glacier, among which we had been wandering the day 
 before^; and rising above it, the rock-tipped petals of Monte 
 Kosa. This is the place for seeing the Queen of the Alps in her 
 true beauty ; the subordinate ridges of the Corner and Hoch- 
 thaligrat are reduced to their proper position as mere buttresses 
 of the chain, and her coronet of peaks is better seen from here 
 than from the usual points of view. Next comes the hump of the 
 Cima di Jazi, the cone of the Strahlhorn, the jagged wedge of 
 the Rympfischhorn, the little peak of the Allaleinhorn, and then 
 the flat top of the Alphubel closes the view on the extreme left. 
 "We stand for some time unable to tear ourselves away from 
 the scene, tracing out the paths of many pleasant excursions 
 and planning new expeditions. Time, however, is passing, so 
 we turn to the snow ; a few minutes' scrambling and we look on 
 a wide basin of n^v^. The Dent Blanche rears its unpromising 
 triangular head to the left and the cliffs of the Gabelhorn are 
 on the right; in the ridge connecting them are two distinct 
 
 1 Bee Chapter m. 
 
THE COL DURAND. 281 
 
 depressions, apparently a few hundred yards apart. We desire 
 to try the one to the left, being evidently the lower ; Kronig 
 asserts that the one to the right is that usually passed, so we 
 follow him. We plunge through the soft snow, toil up the 
 slopes, and at 11.50 are on the Col Durand (11,398 feet). Here 
 we rest on a little patch of rock (chloritic slate), which protrudes 
 through the snow, and luxuriate for a while. 
 
 " The view behind us is much less extensive than it was from 
 below, but we look down now on to the basin of the Zinal 
 glacier and along the Val d'Anniviers, till in the purple distance 
 our view is closed by a snow mountain on the other side of the 
 Rhone valley. Rested, we commence our descent, — at first we 
 run merrily down a snow slope, this however gets rapidly 
 steeper, and we go more cautiously ;. suddenly there is a cry 
 of ' halt,' and we find it a case of ' no road this way.' A few 
 steps below us the slope terminates abruptly, and a cliff of 
 ice, at least sixty feet high, cuts us off from the glacier below. 
 We glance to the right, the precipice rises higher there, so we 
 turn to the left ; We walk cautiously for a hundred yards or so 
 along the edge, looking out for a means of escape ; and at last 
 discover a promising spot, where the cliif is not quite vertical, 
 and a steep bank of snow, like a buttress, joins it to the glacier 
 below. Croz sets to work and hews steps out of the ice ; we 
 follow. The position is unpleasant, for the cliff is so nearly 
 vertical that we grasp at its icy wall with our hands, in order to 
 secure our footing; the snow slope beneath looks steep and 
 hard, and below it a lot of crevasses grin open-mouthed at us. 
 Step by step we advance very cautiously, and now only about 
 half-a-dozen notches remain to be cut, when ' crack, whirr,' and 
 off flies the head of Croz's ice-axe, and scuds down the snow 
 slope towards the crevasses. We all look rather blank as he 
 holds up the broken handle, but fortunately are not defenceless. 
 We are both armed with good stout alpenstocks, not the flimsy 
 things that the unwary tourist is deluded into buying at the 
 
282 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Rigi or Chamouni, but stout poles, of English ash, with a four- 
 inch spike of tempered steel at the end, the heaviest of which 
 is h'lnded to our guide, — he pecks out a few steps, yet more 
 diminutive than before, and after a minute or two we are safe 
 on the glacier. Fortunately the broken head of the ice-axe has 
 escaped the crevasses, and is soon recovered. 
 
 " We hasten on, making for a snow-capped patch of rock in 
 the middle of the glacier, sinking deep in the soft snow, and 
 sometimes grumbling at it more than a little, for floundering 
 above the knees in loose snow under a hot sun does try the 
 temper. In course of time, however, it becomes thinner, and the 
 hard ice appears ; we hurry down the glacier, get on to the 
 pastures, and after an hour's walk reach Zinal about 5 P.M. 
 While coming down the glacier we saw that we should have 
 descended more easily had we taken the lower gap." 
 
 We had expected to find only a chalet at Zinal, but were 
 ushered into a newly-built little inn with two rooms. Every- 
 thing was scrupulously clean, and an excellent dinner was served 
 up to us, with capital muscat wine from near Stalden in the 
 Visp-thal. 
 
 We started at 3.45 A.M. next morning, and, after retracing 
 our steps till we got some distance on the glacier, turned sharp 
 to the left, and took to that bank to avoid an ice-fall ; we then 
 struck across the tributary glacier that descends from between 
 the Rothhorh and Gabelhorn. "Before us is a steep jagged wall 
 of rocks, perhaps a thousand feet high, in which is a deep cleft, 
 looking as if some Paladin of old had hewn it out with two 
 blows of a magic axe. This is the Trift- Joch. 
 
 "The sky was lowering, so we press on quickly, and before 
 long reach the steep snow slopes that form the glacis of the 
 wall; up these we go as fast as we can. ' II faut depecher,' says 
 Croz, and there is no need to impress the warning on us, 
 for the slopes and the glacier below are spotted with stones 
 of every size. We are within range of the cliffs of the Rothhorn, 
 
THE TRIFT-JOCH. 283 
 
 and if it fires a volley while we are on the slope, skill and 
 courage may avail but little. We reach the foot of the wall, and 
 as we grasp the rough crags breathe more freely, for we are out 
 of range now. The next hour-and-a-half is spent in contempla- 
 ting the boots of the man in front, and trying into how many 
 contortions it is possible to twist the human frame. Here we 
 make spread-eagles of ourselves ; there we wriggle up a 
 chimney ; here crawl under a projecting ledge ; there climb on 
 all fours up a smooth sloping bit of rock ; now we require 
 a friendly shove in the rear ; now a haul from an alpenstock 
 in front. At last we come to the top of a steep couloir of snow, 
 terminating in free space two or three hundred feet below, which 
 has to be crossed ; this however causes no difficulty, as some 
 thoughtful guide has fastened a chain to the rocks on each 
 side, and so saved his successors from the trouble of using a 
 rope. A few more scrambling steps upwards, we turn a corner, 
 and look down towards Zermatt. 
 
 " The view is not so extensive as from our pass of yesterday, 
 but is very fine, and includes the Mischabel range. The clouds, 
 however, are gathering ; and though the most difficult part of 
 our work is done, we see that we must not waste time if we wish 
 to return unwetted to Zermatt. The Col (11,614 feet) is a 
 mere notch in the rocks, you can almost sit across it ; and the 
 cliffs by which we have ascended from the Zinal glacier look 
 awfully steep from where we stand. The rock is a very pretty 
 green-grey gneiss with pale pink lumps of felspar. 
 
 "A steep slope of snow connects us with the Trift glacier ; 
 down this we descend cautiously for a time, till at last we see 
 that we may venture on a glissade. Some rocks jutting out of 
 the snow threaten to break the continuity of our slide, so we 
 make a flank movement to get beyond them; the snow is hard, 
 and I expect every moment to commence my voyage ' promiscu- 
 ously.' I object strongly to this ; sliding along, sprawling on 
 the back or face, is, to say the least, undignified, and may be 
 
284/ THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 detrimental ; so I place my feet together, put the rudder on 
 hard with my alpenstock against the snow, and sweep round 
 the corner in first-rate style. This done we imite our forces 
 again, and trudge over the glacier, till we come to a very large 
 crevasse with one side rather higher than the other. Croz 
 jumps at it, forgetful of the old proverb 'Look before you leap;' 
 he alights upon the snow, which breaks under him, and he is 
 engulfed up to his middle. In an instant he throws himself 
 forwards, and supports himself on the edge of the crevasse ; in 
 another moment he springs up again and is in safety. It was a 
 narrow escape ; had he jumped a few inches shorter and gone 
 down, we could not have helped him, for he was carrying the 
 rope. He knocks the treacherous snow away with his pole to 
 shew where the ice is strong, and a good spring puts us by his 
 side. Some more tramping through the snow, succeeded by 
 another glissade or two, lands us on the lower part of the 
 glacier; a short walk over it brings us to a place where we 
 quit it for the pastures, and after racing down these we arrive 
 at Zermatt just in time to escape a tremendous thunder-storm." 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Alpine regions, like most other mountainous countries, 
 have their fair share of legends. The Avild huntsman's yell is 
 still heard in many places by the shuddering peasant as his 
 phantom-train sweeps by the chalet. There is also the wild 
 goatherd, a wicked lad who crucified an old he-goat and drove 
 his flock to w^orship it : lightning consumed him, and now he 
 wanders for ever over the Alps, miserably w^ailing. When the 
 glacier of Getroz burst, the arch-fiend himself was seen swim- 
 ming down the Rhone, with a drawn sword in one hand and 
 a golden ball in the other ; when opposite to Martigny he 
 halted, and at his bidding the waters rose and swept away part 
 of thetown\. A vast multitude of imps was seen about the 
 same time on a mountain in the Val de Bagnes by two mendi- 
 cant friars from Sion, who hearing of this unlawful assembly, 
 had gone out as detectives to learn what mischief was hatching. 
 Many places also have their spectral animals ; the Valais, accord- 
 ing to Tschudi, being the head-quarters of these legends. There 
 are also pygmies to be seen in the lonely mountains like the 
 
 ^ Quarterly Review, Vol. xxii. p. 862. 
 
286 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 Norwegian Trolls ; and Brownies who make or mar in the house, 
 according as the goodwife is neat or a slattern. Of the Stieren- 
 bach (on the Surenen Pass) a wonderful story is told by 
 Scheuchzer\ setting, forth how an impious shepherd baptized 
 one of his sheep, whereupon it was changed into a horrible spec- 
 tre which proceeded to devastate all the neighbouring pastures. 
 The unhappy owner sought counsel of a wise man, who told them 
 to feed a calf for nine years on milk ; during the first year from 
 one cow ; during the next from two, and so on. This done, the 
 animal was to be led to the haunted alp by a virgin, and there 
 left. This being duly effected, a terrible battle ensued, in 
 which the spectre was vanquished ; but the victor died from 
 quenching its thirst too freely, in the waters of the Stierenbach. 
 Nor among the traditional marvels of the Alps must dragons 
 be forgotten. In former days the dark woods and pathless gorges 
 of Switzerland, at least, appear to have been favourite haunts of 
 these monsters ; and happily the old Zurich Doctor of Medicine, 
 John James Seheuchzer, to whom we have already referred, 
 has preserved ample records of them in his four quarto tomes, 
 which were published at Leyden, under the patronage of our 
 Royal Society, in the year 1723. More than this the effigies of 
 several of these monsters are done after the life; wherein we see 
 one dragon, serpent-like, with a head half human, half feline, 
 contemplative and sardonic in aspect ; another, four-footed, 
 bearing, except for a nodding crest, a considerable likeness to 
 the restorations of the iguanodon ; a third, with feeble ru- 
 dimentary legs, ill able to support its long snake-like body; a 
 fourth, footless, but winged and fire-breathing, (this, I am able 
 to state, on the . authority of a fresco upon a church at Surava 
 (Grisons), is the species slain by St George) ; a fifth, a yet more 
 grisly monster, with a sketchy head and a number of rudimen- 
 tary suckers in the place of its right fore-leg; a sixth, two- 
 legged, with forked tongue, confronting a terrified peasant, and 
 
 ^ Itinera Alpina, Vol. i. p. 13. 
 
ALPINE LEGENDS. 287 
 
 standing up on his coiled tail in an attitude that * means 
 wenom,' as unmistakably as a rattle-snake, when it makes 
 itself like * a corkscrew with the handle off a sittin' on its 
 bottom ring.' 
 
 Besides these are three or four portraits pf other dragons, 
 each with their specific characteristics ; and last and best of all 
 is a quadrupedal dragon, with cocked-up tail and arched neck, 
 supporting a catlike head, which is advancing on its hind legs, 
 smiling pleasantly, to salute a terror-stricken traveller. In 
 several pages, interspersed with quotations from classic and other 
 authors, Scheuchzer tells us how one John Tinner, armed with 
 a sling and aided by his brother Thomas, did slay on the Frum- 
 senberg the first-named monster; and how the fourth dragon 
 was seen in the year 1649 to fly by night from Mount Pilatus 
 across the clear sky. Lucerne, Berne, and Glarus also contribute 
 their tales of wonder ; and from the Grisons comes a story au- 
 thenticated by the Reverend Petrus de Juvaltis, pastor of Stul, 
 near Bergiin, in a letter written Oct. 29, 1702, telling how one 
 Bartholomeo Allegro of Ponte, near Plurs, did by the aid of sling 
 and stone slay a certain hairy, four-clawed, and fork-tailed 
 dragon, about two ells long, which he discovered at the bottom of 
 a pit, near the summit of a high hill, being brought to bay and 
 rendered courageous through desperation, after having vainly 
 endeavoured to escape from the monster by running away. On 
 returning to the spot three days after, he found the carcase 
 already putrid and black with flies. More marvellous than all 
 perhaps is the story connected with dragon number five ; which 
 tells how a certain Vietor, a cooper of Lucerne, while out wood- 
 cutting in a forest, lost his way ; and being benighted, fell into 
 a deep pit; the bottom of which was fortunately covered with 
 soft mud, so that though sorely frighted and much besmirched, 
 he sustained no present damage from the tumble. Still he was 
 in an evil plight, for the walls of his prison were too steep to be 
 scaled. Upon examining them he discovered sundry fissures 
 
2^<^< THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 in the rock, into which entering in search of shelter, he found 
 himself to his ' horror face to face with a pair of dragons. In 
 answer to his earnest prayers to heaven, these grisly beasts 
 were not suffered to hurt him, but in this fearful companionship 
 he passed six \Yhole months, from Nov. 6th to April 10th, 
 nourished only by a certain brackish liquid which exuded from 
 the rocks, to which, following the example of the dragons, he 
 applied his tongue. On the last-named day the dragons issued 
 forth from the cave, and one of them flew up to the world above 
 to seek a more generous diet ; before the other could follow it 
 Vietor grasped its tail, and was thus borne up from the pit and 
 landed on the ground above. Thence he contrived to find his 
 way home, and in order to record his escape had the portraits 
 of the dragons and of himself embroidered on a chasuble, which 
 he presented to the church of St Leodegarius, in Lucerne. 
 Two months afterwards he died from the effects of his prison 
 diet, the • subterranean ' skilly ' having ruined his digestive 
 organs. Scheuchzer says, with a touch of the critical spirit, 
 which novf and then crops up drolly, while he is discussing the 
 truth of these stories, " I Imve seen the two dragons, but not 
 Vietor himself, and have made a drawing of one of them. But, 
 if I may be allowed to express an opinion, the chasuble or 
 planeta, at Lucerne, appears to be Chinese embroidery, and the 
 figure of the dragon, that which is on the flags of that nation, 
 especially those belonging to the Emperor." The date of this 
 remarkable captivity, he goes on to say, has unfortunately been 
 lost ; but it is supposed to have happened in the year 1420\ 
 
 But there is yet, according to Scheuchzer, a further confu- 
 tation for the sceptical : the Museum of Lucerne possesses among 
 
 ^ It. Alp. III. p. 387. The story of a dragon, killed about a. d. 1250 by a 
 certain Struth von Winkelried, may be found in the Conservateur Suisse, Vol. vi. 
 p. 440, and there is another story bearing upon the same subject in Vol. iv. 
 p. 414. A monument in Klagenfurt (Carinthia) records the death of a dragon 
 which in the middle ages infested that neighbonrhood. Dolomite Monntaina, p. 337. 
 
 i 
 
ALPINE LEGENDS. 289 
 
 its treasures a genuine dragon-stone. This marvel is divided 
 into three zones of colour, the two outside being brownish- 
 black, like clotted blood, the inner one yellowish-white, with 
 'wonderful spots.' It can heal the plague, if applied to the 
 boil, as well as diarrhoea, dysentery, and other malignant de- 
 fluxions; and a long list of attested cures is given, shewing that 
 its discoverer must have been no less a benefactor to his species 
 than Dr Morrison or Professor Holloway. The history too of 
 its invention is recorded; videlicet, the affidavit of an honest 
 fellow, one Rodolph Stempflin, who, on the Monday after St 
 Martin's Day, 1509, did depose that he had heard from his 
 parents, how his grandfather, when a mowing in a certain 
 meadow, beheld a dragon wing its way past him from Mont 
 Pilatus, at which awful sight he fell terror-stricken upon his 
 face. Reviving after a while, he beheld near him a clot of ex- 
 creted blood, in the midst of which lay the aforesaid stone ^ ! 
 
 Many Alpine stories have reference to the sudden destruction 
 of pastures by the fall of rocks or ice. Hear, for example, 
 the legend of the Clariden Alps. Once upon a time these were 
 fertile pastures, on which dwelt a 'senn.' He grew rich, so that 
 none could match him in wealth; but at the same time he grew 
 proud and haughty, and spurned both the laws of nature and 
 the commandments of God. He was so foolishly fond of his 
 mistress, that he paved the path from the chdlet to the byre 
 with cheeses, lest she should soil her feet ; and cared so little 
 for his mother that, when she lay at his door fainting with 
 hunger, he offered her only milk to drink in which he had 
 thrown the foulest refuse. Righteously indignant, she turned 
 away, calling upon heaven to punish such an insult. Before 
 she reached her home, the rocks and ice had descended, crush- 
 ing beneath them her wicked son, his mistress, and possessions. 
 A very similar legend is told of the Blumlis Alp, where the 
 proud 'senn' built himself a staircase of cheeses, and insulted 
 1 See also Conservateur Suisse, Vol. xiii. p. 290. 
 
 19 
 
290 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 the parents of a damsel whom he had wronged. A fearful 
 storm arose during the night, and in the morning the glaciers 
 had overwhelmed the whole alp. 
 
 In the neighbourhood of Monte Rosa there is a tradition 
 that a valley exists in the heart of that mountain, the entrance 
 to which has been sealed up by impassable glaciers, though the 
 floor of the 'cirque' within is still a rich pasturage. I heard of 
 it in the Yal Macugnaga, where they point out a spring, which 
 bursts from the ground, as the outlet of the torrent by which 
 it is watered. Once, said they, a chasseur found the bed of this 
 stream dry, and creeping up its subterranean channel, arrived 
 on the floor of the valley. It was a huntsman's paradise ; cha- 
 mois were there in plenty, bears also, and even bouquetins 
 wandering over the richest pastures. He retraced his steps to 
 ainnounce the good news; but when he returned again, the 
 waters had resumed their course, and the place has ever since 
 remained inaccessible. De Saussure^ mentions the existence of 
 the same tradition at Gressoney in the Yal de Lys, where the 
 valley is said to have belonged to Canton Yalais, and goes by 
 the name of the Hohenlaub. Six years before his visit, that is 
 in 1783, seven youths from Gressoney, after a toilsome journey, 
 had gained on the second day a ridge from which they looked 
 down on a fertile but deserted valley, surrounded by steep pre- 
 cipices, which they at once assumed to be the long-sought spot. 
 On a second occasion they endeavoured to descend into it, but 
 without success. De Saussure examined into the story, and 
 found that there was reason to doubt their assertion that the 
 valley was uninhabited. He conjectures that they may have 
 seen some part of the Yal Anzasca ; Mr King^ thinks that it 
 was probably the head of the Yisp-thal, a situation which 
 agrees better with the description. 
 
 Of what may be called the historical legends, there is that 
 of Mont Pilatus, near the summit of which is a tarn, in whose 
 1 Voyages, § 2156. ^ Italian Valleys of the Alps, p. 437. 
 
 I 
 
HISTORICAL LEGENDS. 291 
 
 waters Pontius Pilate is said to have committed suicide. His 
 imquiet spirit continues to haunt its shores, and is supposed to 
 be infuriated by any intrusion upon their solitudes, manifesting 
 his wrath by storms. So firmly was this believed in the four- 
 teenth century, that severe penalties were inflicted on any one 
 who set foot on the mountain, and the neighbouring herdsmen 
 were bound by an oath not to guide any stranger thither. 
 Even in the sixteenth century permission had to be obtained 
 from the head of the police of Lucerne, before any one could 
 undertake the expedition. The celebrated stone, which had 
 such power over the heart of Charlemagne, and ultimately led to 
 the foundation of Aix-la-Chapelle, was given to him at Zurich 
 by a serpent, as a thank-offering for his destroying a huge toad 
 that had robbed its nest. At St Maurice the soldiers of the 
 Theban legion are said to have been martyred by the Emperor 
 Maximinian. The giant St Martin, as has been already men- 
 tioned, is the hero of various legends, which commemorate his 
 prowess and his conflicts with the Evil One ; and the pretty 
 story of Heiligenblut in Carinthia must not be forgotten. Thus 
 it runs : a Dane, named Briccius, had so won the favour of the 
 Emperor Leo at Constantinople, that on his returning home to 
 preach Christianity to his own people, he bore away as a part- 
 ing present a few drops from the store of the Holy Blood pre- 
 served in the church of Sta Sophia. On his way towards the 
 Noric Alps, he was overtaken near Heiligenblut by a tour- 
 mente, and perished. Before long three ears of corn were seen 
 growing out of the snow, on the spot where his body was con- 
 cealed. This led to its discovery; the villagers placed it in a 
 cart drawn by oxen ; these, on reaching the spot where the 
 church now stands, suddenly refused to go further ; so the grave 
 was dug there. In a little while the foot of the corpse was 
 seen projecting from the earth; and on being examined, a small 
 bottle containing a little dark fluid was found concealed in a 
 bandage. This was taken away, and wheii enquiries were made, 
 
 19-2 
 
292 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 the value of the treasure was known, and the sanctity of the 
 spot established. The reader must form his own opinion as to 
 . the genuineness of the relic, but the main outlines of the story 
 of Briccius may be true. 
 
 A belief in witchcraft probably still lingers in many parts of 
 the Alps. Ladoucette, in his history of the Hautes Alps, gives 
 several instances of it. Among others, he says that the exhala- 
 tions visible during the summer nights in the cemeteries of Puy 
 St Pierre and BrianQon are taken for vampires or ghosts, and 
 the dancing lights, which we call jack-o'lantems, are supposed 
 to be magicians on their way to a 'sabbath.' One of the 
 strangest outbursts of superstition or epidemic insanity, which 
 has been known in modern times, took place some ten years ago 
 at Morzine, a little village among the Savoy Alps. It lies, 
 a few hours' walk south of the Lake of Geneva, up the valley of 
 the Dranse, about 3000 feet above the sea, in a pastoral dis- 
 trict, among bold scenery well worth a visit. This region was in 
 former days the head-quarters of sorcerers, but for a century and 
 a half things had gone smoothly. However, in the spring of 
 1857 a girl, previously known for her unusual intelligence and 
 religious earnestness, was seized with a kind of cataleptic fit. 
 The attacks recurred, and presently a young companion be- 
 gan to suffer in the same way. The symptoms then altered, 
 and the children appeared to hold communion with invisible 
 beings; after this they became convulsed, screamed, blasphemed, 
 and predicted events, which in due course came to pass. Other 
 children then became possessed, and in eight months' time 
 twenty-eight persons, some of them adults, were under the in- 
 fluence of this strange epidemic. Many persons also, who were 
 not attacked to so great an extent, appear to have suffered from 
 hallucinations and unusual mental excitement, so manifestly 
 exaggerated are many of the stories which describe the actions 
 of those affected. Pilgrimages and exorcisms were tried with 
 small avail, and the Sardinian government was at this time too 
 
THE LUNATICS OF MORZINE. 293 
 
 busy with its own concerns to look after the matter. The 
 country then passed into the hands of France ; and when, in 
 April, 1861, Dr Coustans, inspector-general of lunatics, visited 
 Morzine, he found a hundred and twenty cases of persons pos- 
 sessed ; their insensibility to pain and apparent invulnerability, 
 as recorded by him, are something marvellous ; and, though 
 various means were tried, his success in mitigating the violence 
 of the symptoms was only temporary. In 1864 the disease broke 
 out more tembly than ever, and the scene in church at a con- 
 firmation held by the Bishop of Annecy is described as follows 
 by an eye-witness : "The church became a perfect hell. No- 
 thing was heard but cries, blows, oaths, and blasphemies. . .the 
 victims of the disease, about a hundred in number, seemed to fall 
 into simultaneous convulsions without any previous warning... 
 the greater number were young girls and women from fifteen to 
 thirty years old." The government now determined to try 
 stronger measures. A troop of sixty soldiers was sent there ; 
 all the sick were removed, and distributed among distant hos- 
 pitals ; and thus the disease appears to have been successfully 
 'stamped out^'. 
 
 A few of the peculiar local customs may be cited as exam- 
 ples of many ; whether they all still exist, I am unable to say, 
 but the authors in which they are mentioned are all of the 
 present century. In Dauphin^, if a maiden wishes to signify to 
 a swain that his visits are welcome, she sprinkles his soup thick 
 with rasped cheese ; if the contrary, she slips a handful of oats into 
 his pocket. Should he still persevere, she turns the dead ends 
 
 1 These details are taken from an interesting article in the Cornliill Maga- 
 zine, Vol. XI. p. 468. The French government appears to have rather hushed up 
 the matter. "When I passed through Morzine in 1864, 1 was quite unaware of 
 the existence of the malady, and supposed that the soldiers were there looking 
 after some frontier questions. The disease was probably one of the varied forms 
 of hysteria ; and I well remember, many years ago, seeing a very similar case in 
 England. The patient then was a youth of about 17, and several of the symptoms 
 exactly resembled those of the Morzine ' demoniacs.' 
 
294 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 of the firebrands towards him. Tn many parts of Switzerland 
 and the Tyrol, courtship is carried on at night {kiltgang) ; the 
 maiden receiving her lover in her chamber, into which he makes 
 his way by the window; often sitting there till the small hours. 
 If he be a stranger, the lads of the village often resist his at- 
 tempts; sometimes they endeavour to carry off the bride and 
 demand a ransom for her, so that not unfrequently sharp fac- 
 tion-fights break oi>t. The wedding is generally a day of high 
 festival; each place has its local usages, but shouting, feasting, 
 and firing guns and pistols are pretty universal characteristics. 
 
 There are also some curious customs belonging to funerals. 
 At La Grave (Dauphin^) the ground is too hard frozen in 
 winter to allow of a grave being dug ; so the corpse is slung up 
 in the bam till the spring returns. In other places the funeral 
 ends with a revel ; and at Argentiere (in the same province) 
 tables were set in the cemetery ; that at which the priest and 
 relatives were seated being placed above the grave. After 
 dinner the next of kin proposed the toast d la sant4 du pauvre 
 mort (the health of the poor departed). The churchyards of 
 Canton Zug are noted for the gilt and ornamented crosses 
 erected instead of head-stones ; and in several Cantons the prac- 
 tice prevails of exhuming the skeletons after a certain number 
 of years, and placing them in an ossuary ; the skulls being ranged 
 apart on shelves, and ticketed with the names of their former 
 owners. In Roman Catholic districts road-side crosses and 
 crucifixes are of course frequent; but the general fashion of 
 these varies considerably. In Piedmont the cross is generally 
 without the figure, though it bears the various instruments of 
 the Passion. In the Vintschgau the figure is commonly life- 
 size and painted in colours ; the wounds, streaming with blood, 
 being depicted with an attention to detail that is simply dis- 
 gusting; often also the knees, in order to enhance the effect, are 
 represented as raw and bleeding. Sometimes the effigies of the 
 Virgin Mother and the Beloved Disciple are placed on either 
 
AMUSEMENTS. 295 
 
 side. In the Puster-tlial the figures are much smaller ; and by 
 the side of the Ampezzo road they are not more than about a 
 quarter life-size. A sort of roof resting on the head and arms 
 of the cross protects the Christ from the weather. 
 
 The favourite amusements, especially in Switzerland and 
 the Tyrol, are shooting and wrestling matches. The former are 
 the great attractions on Sundays and fete days^ scarce a village 
 of any size being without its rifle-ground : the practice is gene- 
 rally good, but the ranges are, as a rule, much shorter than 
 those in England. The latter amusements, called schwing-feste, 
 though less frequent, are very popular ; those of the Hasli-thal 
 are especially noted. Skittles and bowls, any part of the street, 
 however rough, serving for the alley or green, are among 
 the commonest diversions ; and in the Italian Tyrol, pallone, — a 
 game played with a leathern ball about the size of an English 
 foot-ball, struck with the hand instead of the foot. Drunken- 
 ness is comparatively rare (Canton Yaud has the worst repu- 
 tation for this evil), and an Alpine fete is in many ways a 
 pleasanter sight to witness than an English fair. I am never 
 so much ashamed of my own country as when I contrast these 
 two scenes. Whence it comes, it is hard to say ; but there is 
 very commonly something of the gentleman about the moun- 
 taineer. He may be ignorant — though he can generally read 
 and write a little, — he may be rather sharp at a bargain, he 
 may be grossly superstitious and piggishly dirty, but for all 
 that you find yourself instinctively treating him as if he were 
 your equal. A genuine 'senn' has something of the sheikh 
 about him. I have often had of the herdsman's best — not much 
 it is true, but still his best, and found that payment had to be 
 almost forced upon him, nay sometimes was absolutely refused. 
 The traveller who goes prepared to be pleased and expecting 
 to be treated with kindness, will rarely be disappointed ; that 
 is in the unfrequented districts ; where many tourists come, 
 especially English or American, the people are spoiled, and 
 
296 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 then the proverb, 'Worst is a spoilt best,' certainly holds. 
 Nothing can be more disgusting than the systematized men- 
 dicity and chicanery of Chamouni and the Oberland. I am 
 glad to see that in several parts of Switzerland the people are 
 becoming fully sensible of what is already a national disgrace. 
 
 To return, however; the great vintage festival of Vevay, 
 called the Abbaye des Vignerons, should not be unmentioned. 
 It is held once in four years; the principal feature being a 
 masked procession in which are represented the various per- 
 sonages, mythical and historical, connected with agriculture and 
 the cultivation of the vine. Bacchus and Silenus, with Fauns, 
 Satyrs, and Bacchantes ; Vulcan and his Cyclops, Ceres, Noah 
 and his children, the spies with the cluster of Eshcol, and the 
 like. Nor must one forget the celebrated Mystery Play per- 
 formed once in ten years at Ammergau in the Bavarian High- 
 lands, whereat all the scenes of the Passion are acted ; — almost 
 the only relic of a practice once common in Christendom, 
 though the memory of it still lingers amongst us, in Punch's 
 puppets, and the Morris Dancers. There existed a few 
 years ago, in a remote corner of the French Alps, a custom 
 which went back even to pagan times. The village of Ande- 
 rieux (in Yal Godemar) is so enclosed by steep mountains that 
 for one hundred days in the year the sun cannot shine there. 
 On the 12th February, the day of its return, the head of each 
 family prepares an omelette, which, at ten in the morning, he 
 takes to the village ' place.' When they are assembled, a depu- 
 tation summons the oldest man, entitled the 'venerable', to 
 direct the fete, and on his arrival all dance round him omelette 
 in hand. This done, headed by him and accompanied by rustic 
 music, they go in procession to the village-bridge, on the parapet 
 of which the omelettes are placed. A dance in a neighbouring 
 meadow occupies them till the hour when the sun's rays begin 
 to glitter above the mountain crest. The ' venerable,' bareheaded, 
 then elevates each omelette towards the light, and when the 
 
ALPINE ANTIQUITIES. 297 
 
 whole orb is visible, the procession is formed again; and all 
 return to their homes to pass the rest of the day in feasting, 
 the omelette being one of the dishes. 
 
 Our sketch would be incomplete without a few brief notes 
 on the antiquities of the Alps. The testimony of etymology, 
 archaeology, and history informs us that at a very early period 
 they were inhabited by tribes of Celtic origin. I am not indeed 
 aware that traces of this people have been observed among the 
 mountain districts so frequently as in many parts of our own 
 hill countries ; perhaps in those days they found room enough 
 in the fertile sub-alpine regions, and but rarely sought the 
 fastnesses near to the cold wastes of snow and ice ; though on 
 the borders of the former, as Professor Keller has told me, 
 earthworks are found resembling those common in Britain — 
 obviously cities of refuge against marauding bands. There is, 
 however, on the summit of the Little St Bernard Pass, a circle 
 (about twenty yards in diameter) of unhewn stones some four feet 
 long by two wide, and near it a rude column which also is gene- 
 rally supposed to be earlier than the Roman epoch. There are, 
 besides, two columns on the Julier Pass, and one or two mega- 
 liths in other parts of Switzerland. But the most remarkable 
 discoveries concerning the Pre-E,oman, and indeed Pre-Historic, 
 population of the Alps have been made in some of the Lakes, 
 which, although occurring almost entirely in localities distinctly 
 beyond the mountain region, as in Neuchatel and Bienne, 
 Zurich and Constance, the western extremity of Geneva, and 
 the southern parts of the Italian Lakes, must not be wholly 
 passed over without mention. In the shallows of these, and in 
 certain other sheets of water (some of which are now morasses), 
 remains have been discovered during the last fourteen years* 
 which shew that the former inhabitants of their shores dwelt in vil- 
 lages, the log-huts of which were buiJt on platforms of beams, which 
 
 1 The first discovery — at any rate the first that was really used — ^was at Ober 
 Meilen on the Lake of Zurich in the winter of 1854. - 
 
298 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 were raised above the water and supported by posts driven into 
 the muddy bed of the lake. The immense number of remains 
 which have been dredged up from beneath the water and dug 
 up in peat moors enables us to form a tolerably clear idea of 
 the habits of this bygone race. Its earliest members were ig- 
 norant of the use of metal; their weapons, tools, and ornaments, 
 were all of stone, wood, horn, or bone. These, however, were 
 often finished with much skill, the stone axes being carefully 
 smoothed or polished. After which they were fitted into 
 sockets of horn, and inserted into a wooden club ; as is still the 
 fashion with many savage nations. The not unfrequent use of 
 flint and perhaps of nephrite, and the occurrence of amber and 
 coral, shew a certain amount of commerce with other countries. 
 They made cordage for nets, and wove tissues for covering; 
 their pottery, of a very coarse paste, was rude in form, and orna- 
 mented only with a few knobs or hatched lines. After a while — 
 how long we cannot say — ^bronze became known; some have 
 thought it was introduced by an invading race, but the idea 
 does not meet with general favour. Spear-heads, knives, dag- 
 gers, swords, hair-pins, armlets, and many other bronze articles, 
 useful and ornamental, often very skilfully wrought, became 
 common, the pottery finer and more highly-finished ; the settle- 
 ments too were larger and built further from the shore ; in a 
 word, with the knowledge of metallurgy civilisation evidently 
 increased. For some reason, which we cannot discover, the use 
 of metal does not appear to have obtained so extensively in the 
 pile-buildings of Eastern Switzerland as in those of Western. 
 Most of the settlements appear to have been abandoned before 
 the use of iron became general; still there is reason to think 
 that some were inhabited up to and perhaps after the Roman 
 invasion^ It is interesting to observe that during the 'stone 
 
 1 There is no reason to suppose that the inhabitants of the pile-buildings 
 were a different race to those who occupied the mainland and the hill forts, or 
 that the two modes of life did not go on simultaneously. 
 
THE LAKE SETTLEMENTS. 299 
 
 period' the urus, bison, hos longifrons, elk, and bouquetin still 
 inhabited Switzerland ; and that the pile-folk possessed flocks 
 and herds, the remains of sheep and goats, of three breeds of oxen 
 and two of pigs, having been discovered. They also cultivated 
 wheat, rye, and flax, living not only by hunting and fishing, but 
 also by the produce of their fields and cattle. The remains 
 of wild animals used as food preponderate in the earlier settle- 
 ments of the stone age over those of the domestic animals, but 
 the proportions undergo a change in the bronze age ; during 
 which the two great wild oxen disappear, and the domestic 
 races came upon the scene \ Kesearches into the archaeology 
 of Switzerland are being carried on with great activity, and the 
 next few years wall probably largely increase our knowledge of 
 the races who appear to have occupied so large a part of 
 Europe in the ages when Troy was still standing, and Rome 
 had not begun to struggle into existence as a petty Italian 
 state. 
 
 In mountain countries, where the roads are bad and money 
 is scarce, many examples of elaborate architecture cannot be 
 expected ; still here and there, in some remote village, one 
 comes upon a fine old church or ruined castle; and more than 
 one town, situated in the large valleys which extend into the 
 heart of the Alpine chain, is rich in remains both Roman and 
 medieval. Dauphin^ has not preserved many relics of the 
 former epoch, the only one of any importance that I have seen 
 being an arch by an ancient road high up on the pastures of 
 Mont de Lans, above the ravine of the Combe de Malaval ; but 
 many of its village churches are of considerable interest. These 
 generally follow one rather peculiar type, and may, I think, be 
 referred to about the latter half of the twelfth century. The 
 
 1 Keller, Lake Dwellings, p. 346 (Lee's Translation). The subject has also 
 been treated by Troyon, Habitations Lacustres ; Desor, Les Palafittes du Lac de 
 Neuchatel ; Jjuhhodk, Prehistoric Times, and several others. Collections may 
 be seen at Zurich, Lausanne, Bale, Neuchatel, &c. 
 
300 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 body of the church, with a square east-end, has often been much 
 modernised ; but the steeple is usually in its original state. The 
 tower, rather high and slender, is divided into several stories, 
 each lighted with round-headed windows, and resembles gene- 
 rally those so common in Lombardy : from it rises a rather 
 short octagonal spire, occasionally crocketed, perhaps too, in 
 some cases of later date, with dwarf pinnacles at the corners. 
 These are peculiar: they may be defined as triangular pyramids, 
 three of the sides of which are right-angled triangles (nearly 
 isosceles), placed so that an edge is in the same line with one of 
 the edges of the tower. In eastern Dauphine an Italian influ- 
 ence is sometimes distinctly visible in the heavy porches sup- 
 ported by slender columns ; as for example at Guilestre and 
 Ville de Yal Louise. 
 
 The great fortresses which defend the Alpine Passes in this 
 country also claim a passing notice, as being more picturesqiie 
 than is usual with buildings adapted to modern warfare ; such 
 are Chateau Queyras, Mont Dauphin, and Brian9on. There is 
 not much good ecclesiastical work of a later date than early in 
 the thirteenth century ; indeed this remark, so far as my expe- 
 rience goes, applies not only to Dauphine, but also to the whole 
 of the Alps, the best churches being Romanesque or at latest 
 Transition. All the fine ^Pointed' churches that I remember 
 to have seen are in the sub-alpine districts. In most of the 
 larger mountain valleys, in all parts, ruined castles are tolerably 
 abundant. I was especially struck with the number of them in 
 the Tyrol, particularly in the Yintschgau ; few, however, of 
 them are extensive, or can be called more than picturesque. 
 Roman remains are not numerous in the Swiss Alps ; but two 
 towers^ and some fragments at Coire are of this age. The 
 cathedral of this town, which stands within the Roman 
 castrum, is most interesting. The crypt, and four figures stand- 
 
 1 Still called Marsoel and Spinoel, said to be from ' Mars in oculis' and 
 ' spina in oculis' respectively, names signifying their effect upon the natives. 
 
 I 
 
ARCHITECTURE. 301 
 
 ing on griffins, now placed at the western gate, are very 
 early, probably about the ninth century, when the first 
 cathedral was built. The greater part of the present build- 
 ing is Romanesque, rich but rather stiff, perhaps early 
 twelfth century ; but a strong classic influence is percepti- 
 ble in it, some of the ornamentation being almost pure 
 Roman, and one or two bits even reminding me of Byzantine 
 work. Within are some fragments of stone, carved with the 
 interlacing knotwork so common on British crosses ; these have 
 here unusual interest, when we remember that the cathedral is 
 dedicated to Lucius, a British saint. It is quite a museum of 
 shrines, monstrances, and other ornaments. The modern eccle- 
 siastical architecture in the Swiss Alps is generally very poor, 
 the churches being mostly ugly copies of the worst Italian Re- 
 naissance. The towers are often crowned with a bulbous cu- 
 pola, which is frequently, especially in the western and central 
 districts, covered with polished tin plates. In the Tyrol the 
 tower commonly terminates in four gables, whence rises an 
 attenuated wooden octagonal spire, usually painted dull red. 
 With the exception perhaps of Sion, whose castle-crowned hills 
 are more picturesque at a distance than from near, and St 
 Maurice, w^here there is a fine abbey church, Coire is almost 
 the only town in the Swiss Alps of architectural interest. 
 Lovers of this study must confine themselves to the sub-alpine 
 region, to Lausanne, Lucerne, Berne, and Zurich ; and to those 
 delightfully quaint old towns which lie on or near the Rhine 
 from Bale to Constance. 
 
 South of the Alps traces of the Roman domination be- 
 come more frequent. The Val d'Aoste is unusually rich in 
 remains of this people. There is a fragment of an aqueduct in 
 the Val Tournanche, a bridge in the Val de Cogne, and in the 
 principal town, Aosta, which in its plan and name still pre- 
 serves a record of its origin (Augusta praetoria), there is a gate- 
 way and a triumphal arch, a bridge, portions of a theatre (?) 
 
302 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 and an amphitheatre, a considerable part of the city walls, and 
 several minor relics, which entitle it to rank very high among 
 the Roman provincial towns. The church of St Ours, built, in 
 great part with Roman materials, in the twelfth century, is also 
 well worth a visit, the steeple and cloister being particularly 
 fine. Some of the village churches in the hill-country about 
 the Italian lakes aro^ said to be interesting, as incorporating 
 pagan or very early Christian buildings, but I have not seen 
 any of them. The campaniles, however, in the Lombard and 
 adjoining Piedmontese Alps, cannot fail to attract the notice of 
 every traveller. In many districts nearly every village has its 
 grey old tower, which adds much to the picturesqueness of the 
 view, although the rudeness of the architectural details perhaps 
 a little disappoints on a closer examination. The custom of 
 supporting the street front of the houses on an arched portico 
 through which the footway is carried, of constructing loggias or 
 corridors on each floor with open arches, like a cloister, the 
 general use of whitewash and colour, and of red pantiles for 
 roofing, make the little mountain towns on this side of the Alps 
 far more pleasing to the artist than those on the northern slopes. 
 Some of the streets also in the Central Tyrol towns are rendered 
 very picturesque by the frequent use of small bay-windows ex- 
 tending up the whole house front. 
 
 The fondness for colour which is characteristic of South 
 European races, shews itself on the Italian slopes, sometimes 
 offensively in imitated architectural ornament or statuary on 
 blank walls, sometimes pleasingly in the greater delicacy and 
 beauty of the frescoes so common on every church and wayside 
 shrine. In several places, especially in the neighbourhood of the | 
 Yal Sesia, these exhibit considerable artistic power. This 
 region indeed has been the seat of a small school of painters, 
 chief of whom is the celebrated Gaudenzio Ferrari \ whose name 
 
 ^ Born at Valduggia in the Lower Val Sesia, a.d. 1484. A good account of 
 bim and his works will be found in King's Italian Valleys of the Alps, Ch. xx. 
 
 4 
 
THE MONTE SACRO, VARALLO. 303 
 
 reminds us of the Monte Sacro at Yarallo, in the adornment of 
 which he aided considerably. This singular place is situated on 
 a conical hill some 300 feet above the town, and is supposed to 
 represent Jerusalem and the various events of the Saviour's 
 Passion. These are portrayed by groups of terra-cotta figures 
 about life size, clothed and coloured, which are arranged in 
 small chapels open on one side to the air, the walls being 
 adorned with frescoes. This singular conception is due to 
 Bernardino Caimo, a Milanese, who visited Palestine to obtain 
 drawings of the Holy Places ; it was commenced A.D. 1491, and 
 the various chapels and their contents were constructed during 
 the following century. The resemblance of this New Jerusalem 
 to the Old is at best very superficial ; and in spite of the 
 occasional excellence of both the frescoes and the statues, the 
 place has rather a peep-show aspect ; but the quaintness of the 
 design and the beautiful views over the valley make it well 
 worth a visit. There are two or three other Holy Mountains 
 among the lower slopes of the Italian Alps ; the most important 
 being the Monte Sacro at Orta, where scenes from the life of S. 
 Francesco d'Assisi are depicted ; and in all the Roman Catholic 
 districts it is very common to see a convent church on the sum- 
 mit of a hill with a via sacra leading up to it, along which are 
 little ' station ' chapels or shrines, each with its commemorative 
 picture. 
 
 It would be of course impossible in a work of this size to 
 attempt anything like a detailed account of the nations in- 
 habiting the various districts of the Alps, or of the historical 
 events of which they have been the scene. Still the follow- 
 ing brief notes may be of some use and interest, as recalling 
 a few of the more important of these events, and giving in a 
 connected form those which have already been glanced at in 
 the preceding pages. 
 
 Most interesting, among those connected with the French 
 and Italian Alps, are the struggles of the Vaudois or Waldenses 
 
304 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 for liberty of conscience. The tributary valleys of the Upper 
 Durance, especially the Val Freissinieres, the Yal Louise, and 
 the glens of the Guil appear to have been the head quarters 
 of these sufferers on the western side of the Alps. The earliest 
 persecution of them on record is between 1238 and 1243, after 
 which date there are frequent entries on the roll of martjrrs. 
 On the 22nd May, 13f^3, two hundred and thirty victims are 
 said to have been burnt alive at Embrun ^ ; the brutal outrage 
 in the Val Louise has already been described^. In the latter 
 part of the sixteenth century the Waldenses, under the guidance 
 of Lesdiguieres, took up arms in their own defence, captured 
 Embrun, Guilestre, and Chateau Queyras ; and after some hard 
 fighting, in which, exasperated at previous cruelties, they were 
 unfortunately guilty of taking severe vengeance on their ene- 
 mies, they succeeded in establishing themselves in comparative 
 peace. This lasted until the revocation of the edict of Nantes, 
 when many of them were obliged to take refuge in Piedmont, 
 and those that remained gathered themselves in secret places 
 among the mountains for the worship of God. Descendants of 
 these suiferers, whose piety, courage, and adventures remind us 
 much of the better sort of English Puritans and Scotch Cove- 
 nanters, still are to be found in parts of the above valleys, and 
 the name of the saintly Felix Neff, of Dormillouse, a dreary 
 hamlet in the Val Freissinieres, will not soon be forgotten. 
 
 The Vaudois of Piedmont chiefly inhabited the valleys 
 which are drained by the Pellice and its afiluents ; the settle- 
 ments in the upper part of the Val di Po being unable to resist 
 the attacks of their enemies. The persecutions first recorded 
 took place early in the fourteenth century, when the Vaudois ' 
 in the Val Angrogna appear to have successfully resisted by 
 force of arms the encroachments of their enemies. Conflicts 
 again took place in the same valley and in the Val di Pragelas 
 
 ^ The Israel of the Alps, p. 15. 
 2 Page 101. 
 
PERSECUTIONS OF THE VAUDOIS. 305 
 
 in the year 1487, under Alberto Cataneo, whose troops were 
 defeated with great loss ; one of their leaders being shot down 
 on the heights of San Giovanni in a manner that reminds us 
 of the death of Lord Brooke during the siege of Lichfield. 
 The Vaudois, when the attacking party advanced, raised a cry 
 to Heaven for help. " The enemy, who from a distance beheld 
 their suppliant attitude, sent forth a contemptuous shout of 
 laughter, and hastened their march. ' You shall be saved with 
 a vengeance,' cried one of their chiefs, named from his black 
 complexion, II Nero de Mondovi, and as he spoke he raised his 
 visor in scorn of the poor folk, whom he thought he could in- 
 sult with impunity ; but at the very instant an arrow, shot by 
 a young man of Angrogna, called Peter Revelli, pierced the 
 forehead of this modern Goliath between the eyes, and laid him 
 dead on the spot^" After this the Vaudois appear for a while 
 to have enjoyed comparative rest, although we read of isolated 
 acts of cruelty, which are enough to make the blood run cold ; 
 but about the year 1556, another general persecution was 
 commenced. The Vaudois as before took up arms, and after 
 a valiant and protracted resistance, the most desperate strug- 
 gles taking place at the ravine of Pra-del-Tor in the Val 
 Angrogna, they succeeded in obtaining comparatively favour- 
 able terms of peace from the Duke of Savoy, though of course 
 their best lands had been devastated, their property and cattle 
 pillaged, many of their people slain or maimed, and the rest 
 almost ruined. The next outbreak of the spirit of persecution 
 was in 1655, when the atrocities perpetrated — if the descrip- 
 tions be true — are so horrible that the tortures of North Ameri- 
 can savages would be tender mercies compared with the doings 
 of those who called themselves the soldiers of Christ. It was 
 in consequence of these cruelties that Cromwell intervened ; 
 and his letters, as well as the speech of Sir S. Morland, his 
 ambassador, and the noble ode of Milton, his secretary, are 
 
 1 The Israel of the Alps, p. 11. 
 
306 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 protests of which England may well be proud. The Vaudois 
 performed prodigies of valour, and repeatedly defeated their 
 adversaries with great slaughter — the heights of Roccamanante 
 and La Vacchera being the scenes of the fiercest struggles, and 
 the defiles of the Val Angrogna proving more than once another, 
 but more., prosperous, Thermopylae. The varying successes, the 
 protracted negociations with foreign states, and the abominable 
 duplicity of the persecutors, may be read at length in the 
 histories of the Vaudois, but would be too long to relate here ; 
 suffice it to say that at last, when the greater part of the in- 
 habitants of the valleys had been killed, hanged, or massacred, 
 often after the most horrible tortures and outrages, the miser- 
 able remnant obtained from Victor Amadous of Savoy per- 
 mission to emigrate from their native land to any country 
 which they might select, to receive back those who were im- 
 prisoned, and to be maintained to the frontier at the charge 
 of the state. The population of the Vaudois valleys, no long 
 time before, was reckoned at about 15,000 ; of these 2656 
 reached Geneva early in the year 1687, where they were most 
 hospitably entertained, and near to which place the majority 
 remained ; though some were distributed among the other 
 protestant states of Switzerland, and others were conveyed to 
 Brandenburg, Wurtemburg, Holland, and even America. 
 
 And now I must briefly chronicle one of the most remarkable 
 Alpine journeys ever made. The exiles, finding themselves ill- 
 received in some of the above-named countries, and in conse- 
 quence becoming a heavy burden upon their brethren in Switzer- 
 land, determined to attempt to reestablish themselves in their 
 native valleys. Their leader was one Henri Arnaud, who was 
 animated with much of the spirit of a Hebrew leader, and, in 
 his own words, had girt on * the sword of the Lord and of Gideon.' 
 The enterprise had to be organized with the greatest secrecy, 
 it being discouraged by the Swiss authorities, who naturally 
 feared giving offence to their more powerful neighbours. At 
 
 I 
 
LA RENTEEE GLORIEUSE. 30T 
 
 last a band of eight hundred exiles, after meeting at a secret 
 rendezvous in the woods of Nyon, succeeded in crossing the 
 Lake of Geneva and landing near Ivoire, on the opposite shore, 
 during the night of Friday, August 16, 1689. 
 
 The following day they advanced southward through Savoy, 
 with but little resistance, as far as St Jeoire, a town on one of 
 the present roads from Geneva to Sixt, a short distance beyond 
 which they rested for the night. The next morning (Sunday), 
 they advanced into the valley of the Arve. The inhabitants of 
 Cluses, who at first threatened resistance, were overawed, and 
 were compelled to sell them food and furnish hostages. Thus 
 the narrow defile beyond was traversed in safety ; and the town 
 of Sallenche, after much negociation and several attempts at 
 treachery, was also frightened into letting them pass unmolested. 
 The night was spent at a small village called Cablau. The next 
 day was occupied in crossing an unfrequented pass, called the 
 Portetta^ the difficulties of which were increased by bad weather 
 and treacherous guides, so that eventually they had to halt for 
 the night in some miserable chalets. On the next day (Tuesday) 
 they crossed into the valley of the Isere by the Col du Bon- 
 Homme, and slept at Scez. Next morning they continued their 
 march upwards along this picturesque valley: meeting, as on 
 the day before, with occasional difficulty from the hostility of 
 the people, but without finding it necessary to fight ; and 
 before evening reached Laval. The next day they climbed 
 the long dull ascent which leads to the Mont Is^ran Pass* 
 (9175 feet). Descending thence into the valley of the Arc, 
 after a little trouble at Bessans, they passed the night in 
 
 ^ The contemporary narrative calls this the Col de la Haute Luce, which 
 according to Brockedon is a misnomer. 
 
 2 Since celebrated for the neighbouring mountain, supposed to be 13271 feet 
 high and streaming with glaciers, a creation of , the Piedmontese surveyors. This 
 impostor was efifaced from the map by some members of the English Alpine 
 Club, who after in vain trying to obtain a view of it, went to the place to look, 
 and found that the highest point near did not exceed 11322 feet ; this is moreover 
 an unusually insignificant looking mountain. 
 
 20^2 
 
308 THE ALPINE REGIONS, 
 
 one of the villages, and next day ascended the Mont Cenis. 
 On the pass they captured, as a measure of precaution, the 
 horses at the post station, and seized the baggage of Cardinal 
 Angelo Ranuzzi, which, as it happened, was being carried over. 
 This they afterwards restored, though some of his private 
 papers were lost in the confusion. They descended from the 
 Cenis plateau by the Col de Clairee, and were benighted on 
 their way down. The next morning they met with their first 
 serious opposition, and after losing several men in a skirmish in 
 the ravine of the Jaillon, w^ere obliged to retreat. Still undaunt- 
 ed, they pushed over the Col de Touille towards Salabertrand, 
 where an unsuccessful attempt was made to draw them into 
 a trap, on the failure of which a fight took place at nightfall 
 with some 2500 French troops at the bridge over the Dora, in 
 the narrowest part of a defile. The Waldenses, finding them- 
 selves between two fires, made a desperate charge, and utterly 
 routed the enemy. After about two hours the ground was 
 covered with their slaughtered foes, and the rest, with their 
 wounded commander, were flying headlong over the Gen^vre. 
 The Waldenses, who had only lost about twenty-eight killed 
 and wounded, obtained a quantity of plunder and military 
 stores, and then pushed on towards a pass leading into the 
 valley of Pragelas. Fatigue obliged them to halt before reach- 
 ing the top, but the next morning (Sunday) they beheld once 
 more their native mountains, and offered up their heart- 
 felt thanks to God. 
 
 The succeeding days were spent in harassing expeditions 
 and skirmishes in different parts of the valleys of Pragelas, St 
 Martin, and Angrogna ; but it would take too long to describe 
 them in detail. Truth compels me to add that they were 
 frequently stained by the slaughter of prisoners, a measure 
 which, however it may be excused by policy or provocation, 
 cannot be defended. The winter was passed in frequent skir- 
 mishes, and among the severest privations, but the spring 
 
WILLIAM TELL. 309 
 
 brought them unexpected repose, Victor Amadeus and Louis 
 XIV. having quarrelled ; and so each prince sought to win over 
 the Vaudois to his side by shewing them kindness. 
 
 The Swiss Alps can hardly be separated from the story of 
 Tell, the Brutus of Helvetia, who, as is often the case, is a more 
 popular hero than the three real founders of Swiss liberty — 
 Werner Staufifacher of Schwytz, Walter Faust of Uri, and 
 Arnold von Melchthal of Unterwalden. The Emperor Albert of 
 Austria, hoping apparently to obtain an excuse for depriving 
 the inhabitants of the Forest Cantons of their liberty by goad- 
 ing them to insurrection, or to compel them to barter it for 
 present relief, had set over them as bailiffs two men of tyran- 
 nical character, Hermann Gessler of Brunnecken and Beringar 
 of Landenberg. The former established himself at Altdorf, and 
 the latter at Sarnen ; who both, together with their creatures, 
 grievously oppressed the people. The story of how Gessler, as a 
 last insult, set up his cap on a pole in the market-place of 
 Altdorf and bade the people doff their hats to it, how Tell the 
 archer refused, and was condemned to shoot an arrow off his 
 son's head as the price of pardon, how he hid a second arrow, 
 and on its discovery avowed what its butt would have been, is 
 too well-known to require recounting. Nor need I do more 
 than mention the storm which arose in the Bay of Uri as Ges- 
 sler was hurrying Tell to the castle of Kussnacht, and released 
 him from his chains to take the helm of the boat ; or the 
 address with which he guided it to the narrow shelf on the 
 Axenberg, and then sprang on shore and escaped ; or the 
 moment of vengeance, when in the hollow roadway near Kuss- 
 nacht an arrow from his unerring hand went straight to Gess- 
 ler's hearts 
 
 1 The story of Tell has been questioned in modern times owing to a close 
 correspondence with a Danish legend of the tenth century. Although some of 
 its details may possibly be mythical, the evidence for its truth seems too strong 
 to be resisted ; and the similarity of the story is after all not a very weighty argu- 
 
310 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 This assassination — justifiable, if ever one was — which took 
 place towards the end of 1307, seriously embarrassed the three 
 confederates, Stauffacher, Furst, and Melchthal, who in their 
 midnight meetings on the little alp of Riitli had for some time 
 past been planning a general rising ; for their preparations were 
 not yet completed, and they disapproved of bloodshed, save in 
 self-defence. However in November they met again at the usual 
 place; and then, raising their hands towards heaven, in the 
 attitude which every Swiss village painter has helped to immor- 
 talise, they swore " to live and die for the rights of their oppressed 
 countrymen; no longer to suffer injustice, and on their part to 
 commit none ; to respect the rights of the house of Hapsburg, 
 and, without offering violence to the imperial governors, to put 
 an end to the arbitrary acts of their tyranny." The rising was 
 fixed for the first of January, 1308 ; on that day the castle of 
 Sarnen was seized by stratagem, and in a very short time the 
 oppressors were turned out of the country without bloodshed. 
 
 Albert of Austria now made preparations for invading the 
 Forest Cantons, but while on his way, and separated from his 
 suite, at Konigsfelden, a ferry over the Reuss, he was murdered 
 by some conspirators, the leader of whom was his own nephew, 
 John of Suabia, whose inheritance he had refused to restore ; 
 and thus he received the ' reward of injustice.' It will be re- 
 membered how his amiable wife, after ' bathing in the dews of 
 May' by slaughtering about a thousand persons, apparently 
 with very similar motives to those of King Herod — on the chance 
 that some might be guilty — founded a convent at the scene of 
 her husband's murder, and died there in the odour of sanctity. 
 
 The Swiss made good use of the breathing time thus given, 
 and when at last they were attacked they defended themselves 
 successfully. Beneath the heights of Morgarten, by the shore 
 of the Egeri See, they scattered the troops of Leopold. After 
 
 ment. Historj^ has a way of repeating itself, and similia similihus curantur is 
 true in more senses than the medical one. 
 
STRUGGLES FOR LIBERTY. 311 
 
 which they defeated their foes several times, not the least impor- 
 tant being at Laupen near Berne and at Nafels in the Linth- 
 thal. Other cantons joined the original three, till in 1352 the 
 confederacy consisted of eight, distinguished long afterwards as 
 the * Old Cantons,' — Schwytz, Uri, Unterwalden, Lucerne, Zu- 
 rich, Glarus, Zug, and Berne. The struggle was concluded by a 
 battle on the sloping shores of the Lake of Sempach, where 
 6400 well equipped Austrian troops met 1300 badly armed 
 burgers. These at first made little impression on the serried 
 ranks of the enemy, till Arnold von Winkelried, clasping in his 
 arms as many spears as he could embrace, pressed to his heart 
 the harvest of death, and * opened a way for the confederates.' 
 The ranks once broken, the long swords and heavy halberts of 
 the Swiss did their work, and Duke Leopold, with nearly a 
 third of his army, including 676 members of the first families of 
 Germany and Aargau, remained upon the field. After this the 
 land had rest. 
 
 Appenzell obtained its liberty from the bishop of St Gall, 
 after a struggle terminated by the battle of Am-Stoss, where 
 Rudolph of Austria, his champion, was defeated with great 
 slaughter ; the women of Appenzell contributing to the rout by 
 appearing in force on a hill which commanded the enemies' 
 retreat. The Valais revolted from the Duke of Savoy and the 
 Bishop of Sion about the same time ; and a few j^ears later the 
 Grisons (Graubunden, or Grey league, so called from the dress 
 of the inhabitants), shook off the yoke of the petty tyrants who 
 lived in the castles of the Rhein-thals; and about the same time 
 the Engadine obtained its freedom. The three leagues — that 
 of the Caddea (Casa dei), formed in 1396 under Hartmann, 
 Bishop of Coire, and including nearly all the district drained by 
 the Hinter-Rhein, together with the Engadine, that of the Grau- 
 bunden, or Vorder-Rhein country, and the League of the Ten 
 Jurisdictions, consisting of places to the east and north-east of 
 Coire, on the borders of the Tyrol — formed a solemn alliance in 
 
312 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 1471, but did not join the Swiss confederation till 26 years 
 later. 
 
 Perhaps however the most remarkable military exploits of 
 which the Alps have been the scene occurred in the end of 
 last century, when the armies of France, Austria, and Russia 
 counter-marched and fought among passes trodden before only 
 by the hunter and the shepherd. 
 
 The French Republicans had in the year 1798 admirably 
 enacted the fable of the wolf and the lamb ; and had afforded 
 to the world the edifying spectacle, which they have repeated 
 in the present century, of the friends of liberty doing their best 
 to extinguish it in another nation. The Forest Cantons had 
 resisted bravely, and Morgarten and Nafels had revived their 
 ancient glories ; but the power of France was irresistible, and 
 she did her best to secure peace by making the country a 
 desert. The Grisons however, relying on the aid of Austria, 
 still refused to join the new 'Helvetic Republic'; and when 
 war broke out in March 1799, between the Emperor and the 
 Directory, the French troops invaded that district, and at first 
 succeeded in driving out the Austrian force which had wintered 
 there. Then the battles of Stockach and Feldkirch obliged them 
 to retreat. After nearly tliree months' desperate fighting, in 
 which the Forest Cantons did all that was in their power, the 
 Austrians, headed by Archduke Charles, forced their way to 
 Zurich, captured it, drove the French headlong down the St 
 Gothard Pass, and occupied the heads of the valleys of the Reuss 
 and Rhone. Having thus gained a decided advantage, they 
 waited for the coming of the Russians, under Korsakoff, who was 
 advancing from the east, and under Suwarroff, who was marching 
 towards the St Gothard, intending to make a combined attack 
 on the French army in September ; this plan however was 
 thwarted by the vigour of Massena, who took the initiative, 
 and by the meddling of the Austrian Council, who in spite of 
 the most earnest remonstrances of Archduke Charles, weakened 
 
THE CAMPAIGN Oi^ 1799. 313 
 
 his right by ordering a large number of his troops to the Middle 
 Rhine. Massena on the 14th August drove the Austrians back 
 on Zurich; Lecourbe, aided by a corps descending from the 
 Suienen Pass, established himself at Altdorf ; Loison crossed 
 the Susten Pass and seized Wasen, thus dividing the troops that 
 occupied the Reuss valley, and forcing those who had defended 
 Altdorf to retreat by the Maderanerthal and Kreuzli Pass into 
 the head of the Yorder-Rhein-thal ; Thurreau attacked Prince 
 Rohan, who was stationed at Brieg in the Valais, and drove him 
 over the Simplon Pass ; and this disaster having obliged Strauch, 
 who was guarding the passes of the Grimsel and Furka, to weaken 
 his forces by going to the aid of the Imperialists in the Upper 
 Valais, General Gudin pushed up the Haslithal, and, availing 
 himself of the guidance of a peasant of Guttanen, descended 
 by a difficult route upon the summit of the Grimsel \ The 
 Austrians were engaged agaiust the rest of Gudin's troops, 
 who had diverted their attention by an attack up the Haslithal, 
 and so, being completely taken by surprise, retreated as fast 
 as possible into the Valais. Strauch, being thus menaced on 
 both flanks, was obliged to retire on to the south side of the 
 Alps by the Nufenen Pass : Lecourbe then pushed on up the 
 St Gothard to the Devil's Bridge, this the Austrians broke by 
 blowing up one of the side arches, and made a desperate stand. 
 The French, however, threw planks during the night over the 
 chasm, and the Austrians, being now menaced by Gudin who 
 was descending from the Furka into the basin of Hospenthal, 
 retreated towards the Oberalp Pass. Here they made another 
 stand, but the next day were driven by the combined forces of 
 Lecourbe and Gudin some way down the Vorder-Rhein-thal. 
 To effect this brilliant success Massena had been oblio^ed to 
 
 1 Wandering one evening up the line of this route we picked up two bullets on 
 a grassy shelf beneath a rock : they were very slightly flattened, and were thus 
 not improbably part of a volley fired at the Austrians, when they first made their 
 appearance among the broken ground high above the pass. 
 
314 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 weaken his left, and the Archduke Charles, now reinforced by 
 Korsakoff, attempted to cross the Reuss and crush it. This 
 attempt, admirably planned, failed through the neglect of the 
 engineers, who had not taken proper precautions to bridge that 
 river, and thus, as AHson observes^ "the want of a few grap- 
 pling irons defeated a project on which perhaps the fate of the 
 world depended." Shortly after this, the Archduke was obliged 
 to march for the Middle Rhine, and Massena advancing again 
 drove back the Austrians to a defensive line, extending from 
 the Lake of Zurich along by the Wallenstadt valley to Sargans 
 in the Rhein-thal. 
 
 More defeats followed, during the month of September, in a 
 series of battles near the Lake of Zurich, when the French, headed 
 by Massena and Souit, and aided by the conceit of Korsakoff, 
 captured that town, severed the combined Russian and Austrian 
 armies, driving the former back to Schaffhausen and the latter 
 over the Rhine, with immense loss in men, artillery and stores. 
 
 A few days before, on the twenty-first of the month, Su- 
 warroff had arrived at the foot of the St Gothard, with twelve 
 thousand veterans, having detached six thousand under Rosen- 
 berg to force their way into the Vorder- Rhein-thal, by the Val 
 Blegno and Luckmanier Pass, and sent his artillery and bag- 
 gage to the Grisons, by the Lake of Como and Chiavenna. 
 The old marshal, after desperate fighting, succeeded in driving 
 the French under Gudin over the St Gothard, into the Urseren- 
 thaP. Rosenberg was equally successful, and on arriving in the 
 head of the Rhein-thal, divided his forces, beating back the 
 French troops from the summit of the Oberalp Pass into the 
 Urseren-thal with one detachment, and sending another over 
 
 1 Historij of Europe, ch. xxxviii. § 37. 
 
 2 The words ' Suwarroff Victor' carved uj)on a granite rock near the top of a 
 pass still commemorate this exploit. At one time the resistance of the French 
 was so obstinate that the attack seemed likelj'^ to fail, and the marshal ordered a 
 grave to be dug, vowing that he would be buried where * his children' had been 
 repulsed. 
 
THE CAMPAIGN OF 1799. 315 
 
 the Kreuzli Pass to Amsteg to cut off their retreat. These 
 successes obliged Lecourbe to evacuate the upper part of the 
 Reuss valley. After throwing his artillery into the river, he 
 retreated, filling up the Urner loch with rocks \ and breaking 
 down the roadway at the Devil's Bridge ; while Gudin, crossing 
 the Furka by moonlight, again "posted himself on the Grimsel 
 plateau. The next day the Russian troops arrived on the 
 bridge, where a yawning gulf arrested their advance ; a des- 
 perate struggle took place here in the narrow defile, numbers 
 of the Russians fell into the torrent wounded by the enemies' 
 shots, or even thrust down by the pressure of their friends 
 behind, who were hastening to the attack. At last SuwarrofF 
 succeeded in turning the post, by despatching some troops 
 above the wall of rock which forms the left bank of the torrent, 
 and a hastily constructed bridge having been thrown across the 
 chasm, he forced the French back, effected a junction at Am- 
 steg with the remaining detachment of his army, and then 
 drove the enemy beyond Altdorf. 
 
 Unfortunately this brilliant success was a few days too late ; 
 and the old lion found that his valour had but brought him into 
 the toils. One division indeed of the Austrian army attempted 
 to effect a junction with him by advancing along the Lake of 
 Wallenstadt, and another, crossing from the Vorder-Rliein-thal 
 into the Sernf-thal descended towards Glarus; but both were 
 compelled to retreat, and Suwarroff, unable to obtain boats to 
 navigate the Lake of Lucerne, formed the desperate resolution of 
 crossing the steep ridge of the Kinzig Kulm (6791 feet) into the 
 upper part of the Muotta-thal. Thence he fought his way over 
 the Pragel Pass and established himself in the Linth-thal. From 
 this, after vainly endeavouring to drive the French, who had 
 entrenched themselves at Nafels, out of the lower part of that 
 valley, he retreated by the Sernf-thal over the Panixer Pass 
 
 ^ A tunnel through which the road passes a short distance above the Devil's 
 Bridge, 
 
316 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 (7967 feet) ; and after great difficulty and suffering, increased 
 by a recent heavy fall of snow, succeeded in gaining the Rhine 
 valley at Ilanz, on the tenth of October. One third of his 
 army is said to have perished during the five days occupied 
 in this exploit. 
 
 Two other passages of the "Alps, which occurred about the 
 same time, must not be passed over in silence ; that of the 
 Great St Beruard by Napoleon I., and of the Splligen by Mac- 
 donald. In the spring of 1800, the Austrians, under Melas, 
 had succeeded after hard fighting in driving one body of the 
 French troops under Suchet across the Var, and in blockading 
 the other under Massena in Genoa, which eventually was com- 
 pelled by famine to surrender. Napoleon, in the hope of raising 
 the siege of this place, and of recovering Piedmont and Lom- 
 bardy, determined to make a descent upon the Imperialists 
 from the north. Concealing his plans with great success, he 
 sent the left wing of his army, 16,000 strong, over the St 
 Gothard, the right wing of 4000 over the Cenis, and determined 
 to lead the centre down the Val d'Aoste. Of this, he conducted 
 the main body, 40,000 in number, towards the Great St Ber- 
 nard, and ordered the rest, a force of 5,000, to cross the Little 
 St Bernard, and join him in the valley. Thus, as a glance at 
 the map will shew, 65,000 men would converge on Turin ; 
 threatening the flank and rear of the Imperialists, severing 
 them from their base of operations, and compelling them to 
 fight in a position where defeat was hopeless ruin. 
 
 Large supplies of provisions were prepared; the cannon S 
 were dismounted and placed on sledges, extemporised from the 
 trunks of firs ; their carriages were taken in pieces and placed 
 on the backs of mules, and on May 16th the army began the 
 ascent. The passage, though of course difficult, was made with- 
 out any serious loss, the most troublesome part being, as usual, 
 the commencement of the descent ; where much of the winter 
 snow still lay unmelted. Each regiment occupied three days 
 
NAPOLEON'S PASSAGE OF THE GREA T ST BERNARD. 317 
 
 in the passage ; the first night being spent at St Pierre, the 
 second at St Remy or Etroubles, and the third bringing them 
 to Aosta. Napoleon crossed on the 20th \ Fort Bard, a castle 
 on a projecting pyramidal rock, that almost closes the Val 
 d'Aoste, offered an unexpected resistance ; and, had he not suc- 
 ceeded in passing it by stratagem, would have compelled him 
 to retrace his steps. The victory of Marengo, on June 14th, 
 was the reward of this difficult enterprise. 
 
 By this victory the Austrian forces were driven out of Pied- 
 mont and compelled to take up a defensive position within the 
 Lombard frontier, resting in the rear upon the famous quadri- 
 lateral. On the cessation of the armistice of Alessandria, Na- 
 poleon determined to strike home at Austria, by marching from 
 north-eastern Italy to Vienna, and dealing a death-blow at her 
 heart, with the combined armies of himself and Moreau, who 
 had already advanced through Bavaria to the Austrian frontier. 
 The intense loyalty of the Tyrol and the strength of its defences 
 made the task of forcing a way through it difficult and dan- 
 gerous. Napoleon therefore determined to compel the Austrian 
 troops by flank manoeuvres and threatening the line of their 
 retreat to evacuate 'without a combat the immense fortress of 
 the Tyrol' Macdonald, who was in command of the army in 
 the Orisons, was accordingly ordered, though it was the depth of 
 winter, to cross the Spliigen and to proceed by way of the Lago 
 dTseo, to threaten Trent and form the left wing of the army 
 of Italy. The general concentrated his forces at Thusis, dis- 
 mounted his artillery and placed it on sledges drawn by oxen, 
 packed his ammunition on the backs of mules, and commenced 
 the ascent. The leading companies arrived at the village of 
 Splugen, where the road quits the Hinter-Rhein, on November 
 
 1 He rode upon a steady mule, not, as a well-known picture ludicrously 
 represents, on a prancing charger. Had he attempted anything of that kind, 
 the battle of Marengo would probably not have been fought. The httle inn at 
 St Pierre still bears the sign Au dejeuner de NapoMon. 
 
318 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 26th. Thence they mounted with immense difficulty, a com- 
 pany of pioneers, followed by a troop of dragoons, going in 
 front to form a track through the deep snow. For a while 
 they advanced without accident; then a tourmente^ arose, and an 
 avalanche fell, severing the column and sweeping thirty of the 
 dragoons into a gulf, where they perished. Those behind were 
 terror-stricken, and returned to Splugen. The tourmente raged 
 for three days, blocking up the road ; but when it subsided 
 Macdonald, undaunted, recommenced the ascent ; and after 
 immense labour more than half the army, favoured by line 
 weather, succeeded in crossing on the first three days of De- 
 cember. The remainder, about 7000 in number, led by Mac- 
 donald himself, commenced ascending from Splugen on the 5th. 
 Fresh snow had, however, fallen during the previous night ; 
 the track was effaced and had to be made anew ; and worse 
 than all the tourmente again rose. Two days the passage 
 lasted, the wind often blowing a hurricane, and the frequent 
 avalanches sweeping all before them. The descent through the 
 gorge of the Cardinel was even more fatal than the ascent, 
 and altogether about a hundred men perished. His efforts a 
 few days later, to force a way by the Monte Tonale (6483 feet) 
 to the Etschthal above Trent, was unsuccessful ; owing to the 
 vigorous resistance of the Austrian force which had occupied 
 that important passage. 
 
 The western parts of the Tyrol, and the highlands of Saltz- 
 burg and Carinthia, had more than once been the theatre of 
 battle during the operations above described ; but the different 
 character of the country made the warfare less exclusively 
 Alpine. So, too, in the celebrated Tyrolese rising, the Brenner 
 Pass was almost the only one where scenes resembling the Swiss 
 mountain struggles were enacted. The desperate valour of 
 these contests by untrained peasants, rendered all the more 
 
 ^ See ch. v. p. 138. 
 
THE TYROLESE INSURRECTION, 319 
 
 remarkable from the very fact that several of them were not 
 waged among the mountain defiles, but in broad and open 
 valleys like that of the Inn, and their ultimate failure, owing 
 to the inability of Austria to cope with the combined forces 
 of France and Bavaria, with Switzerland no longer neutral 
 ground, and the quadrilateral gone, are too well known to need 
 a detailed description. Of the three gallant leaders of the in- 
 surrection, Hofer, after being in vain solicited to take refuge 
 in Austria, sheltered himself in a chalet on the upper portions 
 of the Passeyerthal, alone among the winter's snow, till a friend 
 betrayed him, sixteen hundred soldiers succeeded in arresting 
 him, and Napoleon the Great had him shot at Mantua. Spech- 
 bacher, after lying hid through the winter in a cavern on the 
 Eisgletscher, without daring to light a fire lest the smoke should 
 discover him, had the ill -fortune to be swept down by an ava- 
 lanche in the spring and dislocate his thigh. Compelled then 
 to drag himself to a village, he gained, after marvellous escapes 
 from being taken, the Austrian frontier, and reached Vienna ; 
 whither the remaining hero, Haspinger the Capuchin friar, had 
 already arrived by a circuitous route through Switzerland. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The first questions to be asked, before starting on an 
 Alpine excursion, supposing a reasonable allowance of time and 
 money, are when and whither to go. The season for pedestrian 
 travel begins with June and ends with September. In the 
 early part of the former month, there may be at times difficulty 
 or even danger on the higher passes from the remains of the 
 winter snows ; at the end of the latter from the shortness of the 
 days and the coldness of the nights. August is, from motives of 
 convenience, the month usually chosen ; but it is open to 
 objections, one of which is the long spell of bad weather so 
 frequent about the middle of it. In considering the second 
 question, the Alps may not inconveniently be divided into 
 districts, one or more of which may be chosen according to time, 
 funds, and inclination. 
 
 These are, beginning on the south-west, the Viso district, in 
 which are included the Vaudois valleys, and those of the Guil 
 and the Ubaye, together with the northern part of the Maritime 
 Alps; the Alps of Dauphine, meaning more especially the 
 massif between the Romanche and the Durance ; the Tarentaise 
 and Maurienne, that is, the region drained by the Arc and the 
 
 n 
 
ALPINE TRAVEL, 
 
 321 
 
 Isere ; the Graians ; the Pennine Chain, which may be sub- 
 divided into the Chamouni and Zermatt districts ; the Oberland, 
 with the Alps of Uri and Glarus ; the Grisons and the Enga- 
 dine ; the West Tyrol Alps ; the Dolomites, centering on the 
 Marmolata ; and the East Tyrol and Carinthian Alps, the most 
 important peak of which is the Gross Glockner. 
 
 (FijK. 14.) View in the Graians. The Giuvola from the (\A de Checrnit. 
 
 We come now to the best mode of making a tour. Imprimis, 
 get a companion ; and more than that, a friend. Many an ex- 
 cursion has had almost all its pleasure marred by an unsuitable 
 companion, so, if you are wise, do not commit yourself to one 
 whom you do not thoroughly know. To be alone for days with 
 a morose man, to rough it with a constant grumbler, or to be 
 among the beauties of nature with one who^ though he considers 
 it 'the thing' to 'do the Alps,' has no more appreciation of 
 them than a gorilla, is a sore trial to temper and spirits. Soli- 
 tude is better than such companionship ; but solitude, especially 
 
 21 
 
322 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 in unfrequented districts, has obvious inconveniences and 
 occasional dangers ; therefore get a trusty friend to go with you. 
 Parties of three or four have advantages in tours through 
 regions where travellers are few ; but as in these the supply of 
 accommodation is generally proportionate to the ordinary 
 demand, they have often to undergo considerable incon- 
 vei^iences. 
 
 Having settled whither to go, look carefully to your kit. 
 This should consist of a small portmanteau, to be forwarded 
 from town to town, and a water-proof knapsack. The portman- 
 teau is by many deemed an unnecessary luxury ; it certainly is 
 a slight additional expense, say of from sixpence to a shilling a 
 day, but it is well worth this. It is not pleasant to be stinted 
 in linen or clothing, to be unable to carry back occasional 
 souvenirs of the places visited, to hurry post-haste through 
 towns, or else to walk through churches, picture-galleries, and 
 boulevards in tattered, weather-stained garments and hob-nailed 
 boots ; which latter are positively dangerous on the slippery 
 floors and staircases of foreign hotels. Also carefully consider 
 what will be wanted. Here is my idea of a pedestrian's 
 necessary outfit. Two flannel-shirts, two pairs of woollen socks, 
 one pair of cotton socks, a few pocket handkerchiefs and collars, 
 a suit of tweed or of flannel (the coat having plenty of 
 pockets), one pair of thin trowsers, for a change when wet 
 through, a pair of walking boots, a pair of slippers, a 
 mackintosh coat or cape, a flask, a leather cup, a compass, 
 WTiting materials and note-books according to requirements, 
 with a few simple medicines (these should never be forgotten), 
 are about enough for, the pedestrian, and will not make the 
 knapsack too heavy. The woollen socks should be very thick 
 and soft ; the boots, of strong leather, with tips, should be made 
 with low heels and double soles, both of w^hich should project 
 all round well beyond the upper leather. This is a very 
 important point, because the foot is thus protected from being 
 
HINTS TO WALKERS. 323 
 
 bruised on projecting rocks, and all unequal wearing down and 
 twisting is prevented. They should be well garnished with 
 hob-nails. If you purpose to ascend high mountains or sleep 
 much in chalets and caves, a warm woollen comforter, night-cap, 
 and gloves, are necessary. A semicircular mackintosh cape is 
 then better than a coat, because when spread on the ground it 
 ensures a dry bed ; a small Scotch plaid is also a great comfort. 
 For the alpenstock, take a strong ash-pole about five feet long, 
 tipped with a ferule-shaped point of tempered steel ; but if you 
 intend to wander much on the glaciers without guides, or to 
 undertake very difficult excursions, Si piolet^ is preferable. 
 
 We have next to consider what is to be avoided. First and 
 foremost, over-fatigue. Alpine walking, like all other exercises 
 which call for considerable exertion, requires some preparation 
 and training. The pleasure of a whole excursion may be 
 marred through too long a walk on the first day, either by 
 blisters and abrasions of the skin, or by illness, the result of 
 over- exertion. My own custom is to approach the region of the 
 high peaks by some by-way, and to take two or three days' 
 quiet walking in the charming sub-Alpine, or rather mid- Alpine 
 districts, where, among summits ranging from six to eight 
 thousand feet in height, there are exquisite combinations of 
 cliff, pasture, and pine wood, with occasional glimpses of the 
 distant snows, forming pictures of unsurpassed beauty. Let me 
 venture to add a few hints, the result of experience ; which, 
 though obvious enough, are too often forgotten. After a day of 
 severe exertion, take an easy day. An average of seven or 
 eight hours per diem, for the six days of the week, is as much as 
 is good for most men. Do not walk too fast, especially up hill, 
 * Plus doucement on monte, plus vite on arrive au sommet ' is a 
 
 1 A sort of stout walking-stick tomahawk. N.B. Beginners cannot be too 
 earnestly warned against rambling much on glaciers ; but a little experience 
 with good guides will teach them where they may go and where they may not. 
 As a rule, however, it is always better to have a companion on a glacier. 
 
 21—2 
 
S24 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 very good proverb. Do not eat much meat or drink much wine 
 after a day of severe exertion, especially on the snow. Very 
 weak tea lukewarm assuages thirst better than anything else, 
 being a slight febrifuge and sudorific. Do not drink much 
 water while on the march ; it is far better to wash the lips and 
 mouth often, than to swallow. Bed wine and water, or very 
 weak brandy-and- water, are the best beverages ; beer, with most 
 men, only aggravates thirst. Do not smoke when walking up 
 hill. Look well after the commissariat, you can't have a good 
 fire without good coals. Avoid sleeping in chalets as much as 
 you can ; there, as a rule, the fleas and yourself are equally 
 wakeful. Some of these may seem small matters; but the 
 effects of over-exertion or of insufficient or improper food are 
 often very bad ; for they result either in fever at the time or in 
 obstinate neuralgia or derangement of the digestion afterwards, 
 and, it may even be, in serious injury to some of the vital 
 organs. 
 
 The dangers incurred during excursions in the High Alps, 
 which have been so painfully forced upon our notice during the 
 last few years, have now to be considered. The most prominent 
 of them may be thus classified : (1) from falling stones, ice, or 
 snow, (2) from an insecure footing. There has not been, to my 
 knowledge, any accident of late years from either falling stones 
 or ice, though narrow escapes have not been unfrequent ; the 
 former is always possible in the vicinity of a precipice, but 
 some mountains are more than others addicted to the bad habit 
 of pelting visitors. When glaciers terminate above steep rocks, 
 large masses frequently break off and tumble down in huge 
 cascades of icy fragments. Such are the well-known avalanches 
 of the Jungfrau, already described, and indeed most of those 
 witnessed by the tourist ; very grand spectacles when he is out 
 of the line of fire, far worse than a discharge of grape when he 
 is in it ; they are most to be feared during the hot period of 
 the day, but in many cases they can be entirely avoided by 
 
 
ALPINE DANGERS. 325 
 
 caution and previous study of the mountain. Snow avalanches, 
 as I have said, are rare, but they are occasionally to be dread- 
 ed early in the season or after long-continued bad weather. 
 Some of the accidents caused by them have been mentioned in 
 a former chapter \ 
 
 The dangers from an insecure footing are chiefly confined to 
 the region of snow and ice, though sometimes the foot or the hand 
 fails in its hold on rocks, especially in descending. On ice, if the 
 steps are carefully hewn, and the traveller advance cautiously, 
 the risk of slipping is very small. An ice-slope is often a great 
 difficulty, but rarely a danger ; except when it is covered with 
 snow, of which more hereafter. When, however, the face of a 
 sloping crag is glazed over with a thin layer of ice, which is not 
 deep enough to allow of good steps being hewn, and the rocky 
 projections are not sufficient to give sure hold to hand or foot, 
 there is the utmost peril. It was a combination of this kind 
 which caused the fearful accident on the Matterhorn on the 
 14th of July, 1865. The travellers had accomplished the ascent 
 from the spot where they had passed the night (at a height of 
 11,000 feet), after about eight hours' actual walking. They had 
 first mounted by the north side of the eastern face overhanging 
 the Furgen glacier ; they had then climbed, for some distance, 
 along the arete which descends towards the Hornli — this was to 
 scale the wall of the house-like summit ; and had accomplished 
 the last part of the ascent by the shelving roof which terminates 
 above the fearful precipices overhanging the Matterhorn 
 glacier. On descending the steepest part of this slope, which 
 was, as may often be seen from below, thinly covered with ice 
 and snow, one of the party slipped and knocked over the leading 
 guide ; the jerk of the rope successively overthrew the next two, 
 but the last three, Mr Whymper and the two Zermatt guides, 
 stood firm in their steps. The rope snapped under the strain, 
 and the result is too well known. 
 
 ^ Chapter v. 
 
326 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 But more lives have been lost by treacherous snow than by 
 any other means. The upper fields of the glacier look smooth 
 and inviting. Surely, thinks the inexperienced traveller, no 
 harm can lurk under those gently undulating plains of spotless 
 purity! he treads heedlessly; suddenly he staggers and is gone; 
 a crash of falling icicles followed by a dull thud comes up through 
 the round hole that now marks the level surface, and very often 
 help cannot be given till it is too late. 
 
 This danger, however, can always be obviated by tying the 
 party together with a strong rope as soon as the snows are 
 reached. An accident is then, I believe, impossible ; and the 
 travellers, whatever the guides may say, should always insist on 
 this precaution ; for, owing to their very skill, the best guides 
 are often more inclined to neglect it than those that are in- 
 ferior. I have seen three or four narrow escapes from the 
 results of this carelessness. 
 
 Worst of all is fresh snow when it overlies inclines of ice. 
 After continued fine weather the surface of the snow slopes, 
 through melting by day and freezing by night, becomes ice, and 
 the new deposit does not readily bind with the old. Hence the 
 travellers' weight may be enough to disturb the nicely poised 
 mass, the snow slips from their tread, and they slide down, 
 riding, as it were, on a small avalanche. Accidents from this 
 cause have already been noticed \ This is undoubtedly the 
 greatest danger in Alpine climbing ; no experience can entirely 
 avoid it, and no skill avert it. 
 
 Such are the main sources of peril in Alpine travel ; it re- 
 mains to say one word on the use of the rope, a question which 
 has been much mooted since the Matterhorn accident. On 
 glaciers, especially on the upper snow-fields, it is always an 
 advantage : on rocks, it is sometimes rather an impediment, 
 but unquestionably a security. In a word, its great value is 
 that it prevents serious consequences resulting from a slight 
 
 1 Chapter v. pp. 120, 121. 
 
USE OF THE ROPE. 327 
 
 slip. On steep snow slopes, if the steps are well hewn, it has 
 the same advantage ; but it should always be kept as nearly 
 taut as possible. There are, however, occasionally places where 
 a slip on the part of one endangers the whole party ; in that 
 case every man should go singly ; or better still, the expedition 
 should be abandoned. If life is to be deliberately exposed to 
 considerable risk, there are many nobler causes in which it may 
 be hazarded. I think that not more than four men should be 
 fastened together ; three ought to be able to hold up one, and 
 if they could not, the momentum acquired by so many falling 
 bodies would, in most cases, pull down the others. If some 
 must perish, better few than many. Lastly, never undertake a 
 difficult excursion with untried companions. 
 
 These precautions taken, I maintain that there is no more 
 danger in Alpine climbing than in most other manly exercises. 
 The mischief is that difficult excursions are often undertaken 
 without proper preparation. The perils of crags and glaciers 
 were formerly exaggerated ; they are now perhaps underrated. 
 There is an art in Alpine climbing, just as in all other exercises, 
 which can only be learnt by practice ; and the neophant must 
 be content to serve an apprenticeship. But it may be asked, 
 Granting the risk is small, what is the good of it ? I reply that 
 it is an exercise wholesome alike for mind and body. The little 
 hardships inseparable from it — simple fare, hard beds, endu- 
 rance of cold and heat, in a word, 'roughing it' — are no bad 
 discipline for those who live in an over-luxurious age : while 
 the nature of the work calls into play coolness and self-com- 
 mand in danger, prompt decision in action, perseverance under 
 difficulties, and many other valuable qualities. The same stea- 
 diness of nerve which enables a man to glance calmly down a 
 steep ice-slope, or to cling to the projections of a precipitous 
 arete, accustoms him to distinguish between real and apparent 
 dangers in the affairs of life, and trains him to estimate at their 
 true value the ' bugbears ' which will from time to time beset 
 
328 THE ALPINE REGIONS. 
 
 him in his daily walk. Anyone, who, like myself, has lived 
 much among men of studious and retired habits, knows from 
 experience how close the connexion is between some kinds of 
 physical and moral courage, and how often the want of the 
 former impedes the usefulness of such men, and even tempts 
 them to pass by without protest, or acquiesce in, conduct of 
 which their consciences secretly disapprove. But, besides this, 
 the undulating wastes of lifeless snow, the frozen cataracts 
 of the glaciers, the dark crags and splintered pinnacles of the 
 higher mountains, speak to the soul in a language ill under- 
 stood by those who view them afar off from the luxurious valley. 
 They give rest to the fevered brain, peace to the weary heart, 
 and life to the languid frame ; but better still than this, few, 
 I think, can return from wandering among their solitudes with- 
 out a deeper sense of the infinite wisdom and lovingkindness of 
 our Almighty Creator. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 In the text of this work I have preferred to use general rather 
 than special scientific terms ; therefore the following notes, founded 
 principally upon an article by M. Desor, in the Introduction to the 
 Alpine Guide, may be of use to the geologist. 
 
 The metamorphic rocks in the Alps consist of gneiss, various 
 kinds of mica, chlorite, talc, and hornblende slates, quartzite, crystal- 
 line limestones, serpentine, and grey and black slates, often with 
 considerable quartz veins. These, as stated in the text, form the 
 backbone of almost every important chain, and compose the highest 
 peaks. In very many cases it has not yet been found possible to 
 determine with certainty their geological epoch; in others they have 
 been referred either to the carboniferous, triassic, or Jurassic, age. 
 Deposits older than the first of these have not yet been identified in 
 any of the higher Alpine regions. 
 
 Carboniferous Formation. 
 
 The mountain limestone has only been identified in some parts of 
 the Eastern Alps. The coal measures are largely represented — 
 though generally so metamorphosed as not to be easily recognised — 
 in the Central and Western Alps. They occur in Switzerland, 
 Savoy, the Graians, Tarentaise, and Dauphine ; but are perhaps more 
 extensively developed in the Maurienne, about the valley of the Arc, 
 
330 APPENDIX. 
 
 than in any other district. Though beds of anthracite occur occa- 
 sionally, they are not nearly so productive as the English coal mea- 
 sures. Fossils are found in places. One of the richest localities for 
 fossil plants is in the valley of the Dioza, near the chalets of Moed, 
 described by Mr Wills. {The Eagle's Nest, Ch. vii.) 
 
 Permian Formation. 
 
 Not yet identified with certainty. Possibly occurring in the 
 Rhaetian Alps. 
 
 Trias Formation. 
 
 Largely developed in the whole Al[)ine chain. To this age most of 
 the vast masses of dolomite, the marls, and the sandstones, so abundant 
 in the Eastern Alps, are referred, with the beds of stratified volcanic 
 ash about the Fassa-thal. Some of these are rich in fossils, one of 
 the most noted localities being St Cassian in the Gader-thal. This 
 formation also occupies a large portion of the chain north of the Inn, 
 composing the highlands of Tyrol and Bavaria. There is another great 
 mass of it in the Lombard Alps between the Lago di Garda and the 
 Lago di Como. It is also developed extensively in the Rhsetian Alps, 
 is wanting in the Oberland and Swiss Pennines, but reappears in the 
 neighbourhood of Mont Blanc, and has recently been identified over 
 a considerable portion of the Savoy Alps and in some places in Dau- 
 pliine. 
 
 Lias Formation. 
 
 The vast beds of pale fawn-coloured dolomite, named after the 
 Dachstein, and so largely developed in the neighbourhood of the 
 Ampezzo Pass, are by some referred to the lowest part of this forma- 
 tion, by others grouped with the Permian. Beds which have been 
 identified with the lias also occur in other parts of the Eastern Alps, 
 and occasionally in the Lombard Alps, the Oberland, the neighbour- 
 hood of Mont Blanc, and in parts of Savoy and Dauphine. 
 
 Jurassic For^nation 
 
 Occurs occasionally in the southern district of the Eastern Alps; 
 more abundantly in the northern, especially in the Bavarian and 
 Tyrol highlands mentioned above. There are patches of it in the 
 upper part of the Inn valley and the Bhaetian Alps. It fringes the 
 
APPENDIX. 331 
 
 Lombard Alps as far as the eastern shore of the Lago Maggiore, 
 skirts the south side of the Upper Rhone, and is largely developed 
 along the northern face of the Oberland. Here it rises to above 
 12,000 feet in the outer peak of the Wetterhorn and the Blumlis Alp; 
 the deposits composing these mountains, as well as the Titlis, Altels, 
 and Wildstrubel, being referred to an epoch contemporaneous with 
 our Middle Oolite. In Savoy it occupies a large part of the district 
 between the Rhone and Arve, and fringes on each side the cursdng 
 chain of crystalline massifs which extends from Mont Blanc to the 
 Pelvoux group. South of this it occupies a considerable portion of 
 the mountain country west of the watershed of the Maritime Alps, 
 doven to the sea at Nice and Monaco. 
 
 Cretaceous Formation 
 
 Is not much developed in the Eastern or the major part of the Central 
 Alps, but in the latter there is one considerable zone, which, com- 
 mencing near Immenstadt in Bavaria, extends to the Rhine, and 
 crossing it runs to the Rhone between Martigny and the Lake of 
 Geneva. On the south of this sheet of water it occurs less frequently, 
 but is found at intervals in Savoy, being most extensively developed 
 on the right bank of the Isere, about the lakes of Annecy and Bourget. 
 The majority of the rocks are referred to the Neocomian age, sup- 
 posed to be contemporaneous with the Lower Greensand of England. 
 It is perhaps needless to add that the traveller must not expect to 
 find much similarity in appearance between the deposits here and 
 their English equivalents. 
 
 Eocene Formation. 
 
 Rare in the higher Eastern Alps ; in fact, generally found in con- 
 junction with the formation just described. A mass of it commences 
 just north of the Arc, widens out between that river and the Ro- 
 manche, rising to a height of nearly 11,500 feet in the summit of the 
 Aiguilles d'Arve, which then, after fringing the eastern side of the 
 Pelvoux group, occupies a large portion of the mountain district to 
 the south-east of it. To this age belong the remarkable grey shales 
 called Flysch, largely developed along the northern face of the Ober- 
 land; a bed in which, near Glarus, is celebrated for its fossil fish. 
 The above-named deposit of Dauphine, as well as that which forms 
 
332 APPENDIX. 
 
 the inner zone in the Oberland, and rises occasionally to a height of 
 over 10,000 feet, forming the summits of the Dent du Midi, Dent 
 de Morcles, Grand Moeveran, Diablerets, &c. belong chiefly to the 
 lower part of the Eocene, or Nummulitic series, which was formerly 
 referred by some to the preceding group. 
 
 Miocene Formation. 
 
 Found only in the Sub-alpine districts; forming the lowlands of 
 Venetia, West Bavaria, Switzerland, and Savoy, consisting chiefly 
 of beds of conglomerate {nagelflue) and grey sandstones {molasse) ; 
 partly of marine, partly of freshwater origin. Between this and the 
 preceding formation a long interval must have intervened, during 
 which the first great rising of the Alps took place. 
 
 After this epoch the Alps appear to have remained continuously 
 above the sea, but vast masses of drift have accumulated in their 
 valleys, which have in j)laces been again cut through by streams. 
 These may be seen to great advantage in the mouth of the Kander-thal 
 and in parts of the Puster-thal. I have already stated my oj^inion 
 in the text that much of this drift must have been deposited 
 under water. In some cases it may have been done just before 
 the sea retired ; in others the lakes may have been much more 
 numerous and extensive than they now are j local alterations of 
 level, and the sawing through of barriers by existing streams, would 
 account for their present diminished area. Geologists distinguish 
 these deposits into at least two groups, the A7icient Alluvium and the 
 Terrain glaciaire. Some consider that the Alps were formerly much 
 loftier than they now are ; I confess I do not think the arguments 
 in favour of this theory very strong, since I believe that very much of 
 the work of denudation was performed as they were rising from 
 the sea. 
 
 One other peculiarity in the Alps deserves notice ; this is the 
 fan-structure. In approaching many of the principal chains the 
 usual geological order of the strata appears to be reversed ; and the 
 more recent and unaltered beds appear to be overlaid by the more 
 ancient and metamorphic rocks. On crossing the chain the same 
 structure is found repeated ; so that a section through it would 
 exhibit the beds arranged like an open fan, all dipping inwards ; the 
 oldest and most highly-inclined occupying the centre of the mass. A 
 
 I 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 333 
 
 glance at the following section' from the Brevent to the Mont Chetif, 
 across the chain of Mont Blanc, will explain this better than any 
 amount of description. 
 
 (Fig. 15.) Section through the range of Mont Blanc, 
 
 Explanation. 1, Br6vent; 2, Valley of Arve ; 3, Aiguille du Midi; 4, Mont Blanc; 5, Mont 
 Frety; 6, Val Veni; 7, Mont Chetif. The dotted parts are crystalline rock, shewing in Mont 
 Blanc stratification and fan structure; dark shading, nearly vertical, crystalline schists 
 (perhaps of triassic and carboniferous age); dark shading, horizontal, dObris and alluvium. 
 The wide lines represent folded beds of Jurassic age; the dotted curved lines h, h, denoting 
 the upper face of the top bed, and being supposed to have once formed a continuous hori- 
 zontal line. The stratum a is a bed of carnegule on the north side, believed to be identical 
 with a bed of dolomite on the south side, of Mont Blanc. The dotted lines denote the parts 
 of the fold removed by denudation. The dark schists c, c represent identical beds ; and 
 probably correspond, though differing somewhat in mineral character, with the Br6vent 
 schists ^ The beds of the Mont Ch6tif (7) are intermediate in character between these and 
 the protogine of Mont Blanc, and probably contain representatives of both. 
 
 The same section will also give the explanation of this apparent 
 anomaly, by shewing that it is really produced by the strata being 
 rolled up in a series of folds, after which the exposure of underlying 
 beds by fracture of the upper, and the removal of large portions of 
 the STirface by denudation, have obliterated the original structure, 
 It will also be observed that the cause of upheaval appears to have 
 been lateral rather than vertical pressure — a squeezing out rather than 
 a forcing up ; — and such has no doubt often been the case ; some would 
 consider this the principal agent in the elevation of mountain-chains, 
 and attribute it to causes not immediately connected with the melting 
 of subjacent beds ; it miist not, however, be forgotten that upheaval 
 in one part would often produce lateral thrusts in others; and the 
 question must be regarded as still suh judice. 
 
 ^ Keduced from a plate in M. Favre's work, Recherches GeoJogiques davs 
 les parties do la Savoie du Piemont et de la Suisse voisines du Mont Blanc, one of 
 the most valuable contributions to Alpine Geology that has as yet appeared. 
 
334 APPENDIX. 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Strictly speaking, many valleys, such as those shewn in the wood- 
 cut above, are in a certain sense valleys of depression ; but I speak 
 in the text only of those which, even though considerably modified 
 by denudation, at once strike the eye as owing their origin to this 
 cause. It is only by careful examination that the origin of the 
 valleys on each side of Mont Blanc can be detected. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 I have omitted to mention one phenomenon not unfrequently ob- 
 served in glaciers, namely what are called the 'hyperbolic dirtbands'; 
 because I do not remember to have noticed them on the Corner 
 glacier, These are successive 'wrinkles' on the glacier, which are 
 rendered visible from a distance by the dust accumulating on them. 
 Dr Tyndall considers them to mark the site of fractures, made when 
 the glacier passes over a place which breaks it up into a 'cascade.' 
 The ' hyperbolic' form is due to the swifter motion of the centre of the 
 glacier, which gradually changes the straight transverse furrow into a 
 curve with its vertex pointing downwards. They are particularly 
 conspicuous on that portion of the Mer de Glace (Chamouni) which 
 descends from the ice-fall of the Geant Glacier. Dr Tyndall also 
 calls attention, Glaciers of the Alps (p. 413), to certain large seams of 
 white ice, which are often conspicuous in a glacier. These he consi- 
 ders to be formed by the filling up of the channels of glacier streams 
 by winter-snow, and the subsequent conversion of this into ice by 
 pressure, due to the motion of the glacier. 
 
 The reader will find the various phenomena of glacier motion 
 fully discussed in the above-named work of Dr Tyndall, and in 
 Principal Forbes' Travels in the Alps of Savoy^ and Occasional Papers 
 on the Theory of Glaciers. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. p. 94. 
 
 I have once seen this prismatic structure in England, on the ice 
 of a pond in the Fellows' Garden, Christ's College, Cambridge, Jan. 
 26, 1867. The following is an extract from a Note read before the 
 Cambridge Philosophical Society: "A fragment from near the edge 
 was about ^ inch thick, and was a mass of prisms with their axes 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
APPENDIX, 
 
 335 
 
 perpendicular to the surface. The ends of these in one part were 
 very irregular polygons; and the lines joining opposite angles, speak- 
 ing roughly, were on an average about one inch in length ; but in 
 another part the forms appeared rather more regular — hexagons 
 being common — the diameters of which were about \ inch. Another 
 fragment was then obtained rather further from the edge ; this was a 
 little more than one inch thick, and consisted of prisms whose ends 
 were about the same size as those just described. Though the 
 number of sides in their polygonal ends was not constant, six was 
 certainly a common number, and this appeared to be rarely exceeded; 
 the angular points of the polygons were a little blunted, so that the 
 sides were slightly curved. The angles were thus difficult to estimate, 
 and I had no instrument, but I do not think that they were constant. 
 The ice broke very easily along the sides of these prisms, and never 
 through or athwart one of them. The ice contained a few air-bubbles 
 and a chance bit of weed or bark here and there, but was in no other 
 way remarkable. We carried a large piece of this last described to 
 my rooms ; and after hastily improvising a freezing bath of snow 
 and salt, subjected some fragments of it to a temperature of about 
 — 5" Cent, (for a short time the thermometer sank 2>^ or 4° lower, but 
 this was the general temperature). After leaving it here for some time 
 we examined it carefully ; the prismatic structure was entirely obli- 
 terated, the only traces of it being the slight surface depressions here 
 and there which marked the edges of the prisms, and certain vertical 
 chains of small air-bubbles which had formed in the interstices at 
 their angles. The ice was very hard, and, when broken, exhibited 
 the usual conchoidal fracture. I was anxious to see whether the 
 prismatic structure would return as the ice thawed again, but un- 
 fortunately the fragment laid aside for this purpose got in contact 
 with some of the melted salt and snow of the bath, and was dissolved 
 too rapidly." 
 
 The following table shews the temperature in the neighbourhood 
 during the days of thaw preceding Jan. 26. 
 
 
 Jan. 22. 
 
 Jan. 23. 
 
 Jan. 24. 
 
 Jan. 25. 
 
 Jan. 26. 
 
 At 9 A. M. 
 
 28-2 
 
 44-5 
 
 15-0 
 
 46 
 
 40 
 
 During past 24 h. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 maximum .... 
 
 30 
 
 44 
 
 53 
 
 55 
 
 50 
 
 minimum 
 
 26 
 
 22 
 
 43-5 
 
 42 
 
 34 
 
336 APPENDIX. 
 
 • CHAPTEE, Y. p. 157. 
 
 Perhaps I should here have added something about the effects of 
 the rarefaction of the air — but after some consideration I omitted it 
 from the text. The reason is that I am inclined to consider these 
 effects generally due far more to fatigue than to any change in the 
 air. It is true I have never been on the summit of Mont Blanc, 
 which appears to be most favourable to these symptoms — difficulty 
 in breathing, excessive exhaustion, bleeding at the nose, vomiting, 
 &c. — for I was driven back from the Mur de la Cote by a gale, but 
 I have twice reached the summit of Monte Posa, and been many 
 times on other high peaks and passes, without being conscious of any 
 inconvenience on them. I could eat, drink, walk, talk, smoke, and 
 even sleep, as comfortably as down below. I have only twice felt the 
 symptoms usually assigned to 'rarefaction of the air;' each time at an 
 elevation of from eight to nine thousand feet. On one of these I had 
 been living on insufficient food for nine days before, and for five of 
 the nights had lain on hay or on the ground — so that I was suffering 
 from a disordered liver and diarrhoea. On the other I was walking 
 on a warm close morning, just after breakfast, up the slopes above the 
 Riffel Hotel, and entered a cloud. The immediate effect was to make 
 me gasp for breath, as usually described, and my two companions 
 were affected in the same way. At the same time I have occasionally 
 seen persons singularly affected on high mountains, and as the baro- 
 meter stands at about 16 inches on Mont Blanc and 30 at the sea 
 level, one would expect this great difference to be felt. Still I do 
 not think it very easy to separate the inconveniences due to atmos- 
 phere from those caused by unwonted fatigue, and am inclined to 
 attribute most of them to the latter. Inexperienced travellers often 
 do not consider that it is a severe labour to lift the weight of their 
 bodies through seven or eight thousand feet vertical — and walk too 
 fast at first ; or eat and drink too much — and so get easily ' blown.' 
 
 One kind of mountain sickness is peculiar and common; though 
 I have rarely seen it noticed; but this always attacks people going 
 down a mountain. The symptoms are, severe headache and sense of 
 tension in the forehead, followed by pain in the stomach, and con- 
 cluded by violent sickness. It generally comes on after a rapid 
 descent from a high peak to the upper part of a glacier on a hot 
 afternoon, and I think is chiefiy due to the sudden change of tempe- 
 
 I 
 
APPENDIX. ZZr 
 
 rature, and the glare of the sun reflected from the snow-tields. When 
 once the sufferer has reached the more shady parts, the attack passes 
 away, leaving no more ill effects than a short fit of sea-sickness ; and 
 after an hour or two's walk in the cool of the evening, he arrives at 
 his journey's end as well as ever. 
 
 CHAPTERS VI. AND YII. 
 
 In Mr Morel I's Scientific Guide to Switzerland^ the number of the 
 mammals of that country is given at 5^, including domestic animals. 
 The birds at 311. Many of these, however, belong to the lowlands, 
 or only occur very rarely. The reptiles are given at 34 : among 
 which is included the curious Proteus anguinus^ found in the lime- 
 stone caverns of the Eastern Alps at Adelsberg, &c. The fishes at 
 42. To these also the same remark applies. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The divisions which I have adopted, have caused me to mention 
 some coniferous trees (as the P. 2>umilio), under the head of brush- 
 wood, instead of in their proper place. 
 
 It is difficult to find a complete work on the Alpine flora. The 
 chief authority for the Swiss and the Eastern Alps is Koch's Synopsis 
 Florce Germanice et Helvetice. There is also for the Italian Alps, Ber- 
 toloni's Flora Italica. I do not know any special book on the French 
 Alps. Wood's Tourist's Flora, is too concise to be of use to any but 
 skilled botanists. A very pretty, and useful book to the non-scientific 
 tourist — I do not feel qualified to say more — is Weber's Die Alpen 
 Pflanzen Deutschlands und der Schweiz. 3 vols. (Munich). 
 
 One interesting point connected with the distribution of plants in 
 the Alps may be noticed, namely, the occurrence, in exceptionally 
 warm localities on the northern side of the Alps, of plants which are 
 usually found at a much lower level, a.nd that on the southern side. 
 This is especially the case on the hot slopes of the Rhone valley, and 
 again in the neighbourhood of Zermatt. These isolated colonies 
 remind us of the occurrence of tropical and semi-tropical birds and 
 plants in the Jordan valley and the basin of the Dead Sea, as well as 
 of the boreal forms clustering around the summits of Hermon and 
 Lebanon. Tristram, The Land of Israel. Ch. xxv. I believe that 
 
 2^ 
 
338 APPENDIX. 
 
 the more the Alps are studied, the more they will be found to shew 
 that continuity of change, not catastrophe, has been the law which 
 has governed the earth. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 (P. 239). I might have added that the scarcity of fuel in some 
 parts of the Alps compels the peasants to use dried cow-dung for fuel. 
 It is done especially in the villages on the treeless slopes above La 
 Grave (Dauj^hine). The Bedawin use dry camels' dung for the same 
 purpose. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Brockedon's work. Illustrations of the Passes of the Alps, contains 
 much information about the Alpine Passes; but the numerous en- 
 gravings are far from satisfactory. 
 
 (P. 265). The latest works on the subject are : — For the Little 
 St Bernard, The Alps of Hannibal^ by W. J. Law ; for the Little 
 Mont Cenis, A Treatise on HannibaVs Passage of the Alps, by R. 
 Ellis, and On the Ancient Routes between Italy and Gaul, by the 
 same author. 
 
 In the Alpine Guide, Western Alps, § 7, Route C, will be found 
 a summary (drawn up by myself) of Mr Ellis's arguments in favour of 
 the latter pass. No doubt there are some difficulties in his theory, 
 but none of them, I think, are insuperable ; whereas, if we put any 
 confidence in the topographical knowledge of Polybius, — and both 
 disputants appear to agree in appealing to him, — ^there are two diffi- 
 culties in the Little St Bernard theory which seem to me, after 
 examining the ground, fatal to it. These are : the absence of a place 
 from which Hannibal could point out any view, which would encour- 
 age his faltering soldiers. From the upper part of the Little St Ber- 
 nard you see in front the crags and glaciers of the Mont Blanc range, 
 apparently blocking the way ; and behind, the comparatively smiling 
 Isire valley. Everything suggests the idea of 'back' instead of 'for- 
 ward.' The other difficulty is that of finding the locality of the dan- 
 gerous slope described by Polybius. The gorge of La Thuile, where 
 Mr Law places it, is not only rather too far down, but there also, 
 unless we suppose the climate much altered, snow could not have 
 remained a whole summer high up on the steep sides. The arguments 
 
 d 
 
APPENDIX. 339 
 
 advanced only prove that it might have lain at the bottom of the 
 gorge; where it would have helped Hannibal instead of hindering 
 him. I uphold the Little Mont Cenis theory, not because I think 
 it unquestionable, but because it seems much less open to objec- 
 tion than any other. The conclusion, which I came to after exam- 
 ining the Little St Bernard very carefully, was, that by whatever 
 pass Hannibal might have gone, he could not have crossed this one; 
 if at least any faith is to be put in Polybius. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 (P. 303). The authorities which I have followed are: — The 
 Israel of the Alps, translated from the French of Dr Alexis Muston. 
 Narrative of an Excursion to the Mountains of Piedmont, by Dr W. S. 
 Gilly. The Waldenses, by Dr Beattie. 
 
 It may be interesting to mention that the five volumes from the 
 collection of Waldensian MSS., presented by Sir S. Morland to the 
 University of Cambridge, which were for a long time missing, 
 and were supposed to have been stolen from the Library shelves, 
 were found in 1862 by H. Bradshaw, Esq. M.A., — at the present 
 time Librarian — during a minute investigation of the manuscripts 
 belonging to the University. The books had been misplaced, and 
 then wrongly described in a catalogue, made at a time when their 
 value was not appreciated. One of the most interesting results 
 of this discovery is that the date of the Nohla Leygon is not, as 
 it has been generally represented, the eleventh century, but the 
 fifteenth (probably the early part); copyists not having observed an 
 erased figure 4 in the text. See a paper by Mr Bradshaw in the 
 Report of the Cambridge Antiquarian Society, Vol. ii. p. 203. 
 
 (P. 309). The account of the struggle with Austria is founded 
 on The History of Switzerland, by A. Vieusseux (Library of Useful 
 Knowledge). 
 
 (P. 312). The remainder of the Chapter is mainly on the author- 
 ity of The History of Europe, by Sir A. Alison. I have, however, 
 endeavoured to correct his topography where it is vague : the reader 
 of his work must also commonly substitute the words * frozen snow ' 
 or ' ice ' for * glacier,' since he uses this term very loosely. 
 
 22—2 
 
340 APPENDIX, 
 
 The following Table of the Altitudes of the Passes, mentioned in 
 the text as crossed by the contending forces, may be interesting : — 
 
 Surenen 7578 feet. 
 
 Susten 7440 „ 
 
 Kreuzli 7710 „ 
 
 Simplon 6628 „ 
 
 Grimsel 7108 „ 
 
 Furka 7992 „ 
 
 Nufenen 8009 „ 
 
 Luckmanier 6289 „ 
 
 St Gothard 6936 „ 
 
 Oberalp 6732 „ 
 
 Kinzig Kulm 6791 „ 
 
 Pragel 5203 „ 
 
 , Panixer 7967 „ 
 
 I 
 
INDEX. 
 
 A. 
 
 Aak, R., effects of, on LakeBrienz, 46; 
 
 geological features of the Valley of, 
 30; the fall of, 54 
 Ahhaye des Vignerons, the vintage festi- 
 val of, 296 
 Acronius Lacus, v. Constance, Lake of 
 Adamello, the, position of, 33 
 Aigle, marble quarry near, 112 
 Aiguille Verte, height and position of, 25 
 Ailefroide, the, shape of the peak of, 19 
 Air, rarefaction of, effects of, 336 
 Aix-les-Bains, the tepid springs at, 107 
 Albula pass, 268 
 Alder, the dwarf, 214 
 Allevard, the mineral springs of, 106 
 Alp, an, meaning of, 236 
 Alpenstock, the best kind of, 323 
 Alpine Regions, the : their physical and 
 geographical importance, 2 ; general 
 configuration of, 3; signs of upheaval 
 in, 4; effects of denudation in, 6; 
 action of glaciers upon, 7 ; sketch of 
 the scenery in the principal districts 
 of, 21 ; the waterfalls in, 53 ; the gla- 
 cilires or ice-caves, 85; caverns, 100; 
 subterranean and salt springs, 104 ; 
 mines, 111 ; quarries, 112 ; avalanches, 
 113 ; berg- falls or eboulements, 126 ; 
 
 floods, 134 ; storms, 135 ; earth- 
 quakes, 137 ; the tourmente, 138 ; the 
 winds Fohn and Bise, 142 ; colours of 
 the snow, 146, and sky, 150 ; the 
 quadrupeds remaining in, 160 ; birds, 
 190; fish, 197; reptiles, 198; num- 
 bers of the vertebrate and invertebrate 
 animals, 201 ; the moUusca, 202 ; le- 
 pidoptera, ib. ; sphyngidae, 204 ; the 
 insects, 205 ; botany of, 208 ; the 
 trees, 209 ; brushwood, 214 ; flowers, 
 219 ; cryptogamia, 222 ; cereals and 
 vegetables, 228 ; the harvest, 229 5 
 cultivation of the vine, 231; manu- 
 facture of wines, ib. ; the forests, 
 233 ; the bread, 237 ; cottages, houses, 
 and domestic architecture, 239 — 242; 
 cattle and cowherds, 250 ; cheese- 
 making, 253 ; pastoral songs, 254 ; 
 sheep and shepherds, 255; goats, 258; 
 the various passes, 261 ; by-ways and 
 bridle-paths, 277; numerous legends of, 
 285 ; historical legends, 288 ; belief in 
 witchcraft in, 292 ; peculiar local cus- 
 toms of, 293 ; favourite amusements, 
 295 ; pre-historic antiquities and lake 
 settlements, 297 ; Roman and medi- 
 aeval architecture, 299 ; the principal 
 historical events of, 303 ; hints to 
 tourists in, 320 ; the chief dangers of 
 travelling in, 324; precautions to be 
 
342 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 taken, 326 ; good derived from Alpine 
 climbing, 327 ; notes on the geology of, 
 329 ; works on the flora of, 337 
 
 Alps, the, vague notions regarding, 3 ; 
 the three divisions of, ih. ; scenery of 
 the various ranges of, 21 ; convenient 
 divisions of, for tourists, 320 
 
 Altdorf, the scene of the story of Tell, 
 309 
 
 Ammergau, the mystery play at, 296 
 
 Amusements, favourite, in the Alpine 
 regions, 295 
 
 Anderieux, ancient custom at, 296 
 
 Ankogel, the, position and height of, 34 
 
 Annecy, lake of, 41 
 
 Antelao, Monte, landslip from, 132 
 
 Antiquities of the Alps, 297 
 
 Aosta, Eoman remains at, 301 
 
 Appenzell, caverns at, 101 
 
 Architecture, domestic, of the Alpine re- 
 gions, 242 ; Koman and Mediaeval, 
 299—302 
 
 Argentiere, curious funeral custom at, 
 294 
 
 Arlenbach and Aar, the, fall of, 54 
 
 Amaud, Henri, leader of the Vaudois, 
 306 
 
 AroUa, or Arve fir, 213 
 
 Arve, E., earthy matter in, 8 ; its effect 
 on the Lake of Geneva, 41 
 
 Atter See, the, 49 
 
 Auf der Platte, granitic rocks of, 12 ; 
 situation of, 67 
 
 Auronzo, silver mine at. 111 
 
 Avalanche, the three classes of, 113 ; 
 causes of, and accidents from, ice 
 avalanches, 114 ; dust avalanches, 
 116 ; gi'ound avalanches, 117 ; records 
 of those most destructive, 124 ; farce 
 of their being caused by talking, &c., 
 125 
 
 Bad Gastein, baths of. 111 
 
 Badger, the, 170 
 
 Bale, earthquake at, 137 
 
 Bear, the, of the Alps, rarity of, 160 ; its 
 habits, 161 ; fierce encounter with, 
 162 ; its torpidity in winter, 163 ; nu- 
 merous representations of, in Berne, 
 164 
 
 Beaume des Vaudois, the, 101 
 
 Beaver, the, rarity of, in the Alpine re- 
 gions, 172 
 
 Bell-cow, the, use of, 253 
 
 Benacus Lacus, v. Gardo 
 
 Berg-falls, accounts of, 126 ; examples of, 
 127 
 
 Bernardino Caimo, originator of the 
 Monte Sacro, 303 
 
 Bernardino Pass, 266 
 
 Berne, curious representations of the 
 bear in, 164 
 
 Bernina, the, position and highest sum- 
 mit of, 32 ; the pass of 269 
 
 Bex, the salt mines and springs of, 105 
 
 Bezoar found in the Chamois, 180 
 
 Bienne or Biel, Lake of, 44 
 
 Birds of prey, Alpine, 190 ; various 
 others, 195 ; game-birds, 196 ; water- 
 birds and gulls, 197 
 
 Bise, the, an Alpine wind, 142 
 
 Blow-holes, V. Windlochs 
 
 Blumlis Alp, the, legend of, 299 
 
 Boar, the wild, 189 
 
 Bodamicus Lacus, v. Constance 
 
 Boden See, v. Constance 
 
 Bormio, baths of. 111 
 
 Botany of the Alps, 208 ; best regions for 
 studying it, 221 
 
 Botzen, porphyry bed in the neighbour- 
 hood of, 13, 32 
 
 Bouquetin, the, strict preservation of, 
 186 ; its appearance and habits, 187 ; 
 legendary ideas of, 189 
 
 Bourget, Lake of, 41 
 
 Brags, baths of, 111 
 
 Bread in the mountain-villages, 237 
 
 Brenner Pass, the, 269 ; struggle of the 
 Tyrolese at, 318 
 
 Brenta Alta, the, 33 
 
 Brides-les-Bains, tepid springs at, 107 
 
INDEX. 
 
 343 
 
 Brienz, lake of, 46 
 Brigantinus lacus, v. Constance 
 Brushwood of the Alps, 214, 337 
 Buet, the, position of, 29 
 Buzzard, the, 193 
 
 C. 
 
 Cabane des Bergers, two nights and day 
 in a, 246 
 
 Campaign, the, of 1799, in Switzerland, 
 312—316 
 
 Campaniles, the, of Lombardy, 302 
 
 Care Alto, the, 33 
 
 Carnic Alps, the, 35 
 
 Carts of Switzerland, 276 
 
 Cat, the wild, 169 
 
 Cattle, procession of, to the mountains, 
 250 ; various kinds of, in the Alps, 
 252 ; management of, at the chalets, 
 ih. ; use of the bell-cow, 254 
 
 Caverns in the Alpine regions, 100 
 
 Celtic Antiquities of the Alps, 297 
 
 Cereals, Alpine, 228 
 
 Ceresole, mineral springs of, 107 
 
 Chalet, the, two kinds of, 243 ; interior 
 of, described, 244 ; strange bedfellows 
 met with at, 245 ; cowherds' life at, 
 250 ; management of cows at, 252 ; to 
 be avoided by the tourist, 324 
 
 Chamois, the, the animal most identi- 
 j&ed with the Alps, 175 ; its gradual 
 disappearance, 176 ; appearance and 
 habits of, 177; the horns, 179; food, 
 180 ; difficulty of approaching it, 181 ; 
 dangers and toils of the hunters of, 
 181 
 
 Chamouni, storm in the Valley of, 145 
 
 Chappet-sur-Villaz, glacifere de, descrip- 
 tion of, 97 
 
 Charcoal, manufacture of, 233 
 
 Charlemagne, the serpent stone given 
 him at Zurich, 291 
 
 Charpentier's theory of glacier motion, 
 74 
 
 ChaudiSre d'Enfer, the, 100 
 
 Cheese, process of making, and various 
 kinds of, 253 
 
 Children, instances of their being car- 
 ried off by vultures, 192 
 
 Chough, the, two varieties of, 194 
 
 Cirques, the, in Alpine valleys, 39 
 
 Clariden Alps, the, legend of, 289 
 
 Cogne, iron mines at, 112 
 
 Coire, the cathedral of, 300 
 
 Col des Echelles de Planpinet, 261 
 
 Col de St Th^odule, 277 
 
 Col du G6ant, the accident on, 120 
 
 Combe de Gavet, the, disastrous flood in, 
 134 
 
 Como, lake of, 49, 51 
 
 Companion, choice of a, for an Alpine 
 tour, 321 
 
 Coniferous trees, 210, 337 
 
 Constance, lake of, 45 
 
 Cortina, landslip at, 133 
 
 Cotoneaster, the, 214 
 
 Cottages of the Alps, 239 ; their pictu- 
 resqueness in the Oberland, 240 
 
 Cottian Alps, the, scenery of, 21 ; the 
 waterfalls of, 54 
 
 Courmayeur, mineral springs at, 107 
 
 Courtship, curious customs of, 293 
 
 Cowherds, their life and duties at the 
 chalets, 250 
 
 Creux de Champs, the cirque of, an ex- 
 ample of a limestone precipice, 20 
 
 Crevasses, the formation of, 58 ; differ- 
 ence of, in the upper part of a glacier, 
 72 
 
 Croda Malcora, the, limestone precipice 
 of, 20 
 
 Crosses and crucifixes, road- side, in Eo- 
 man Catholic districts, 294 
 
 Cryptogamic plants, Alpine, 222 
 
 Customs, local, of the Alpine regions, 
 293 
 
 D. 
 
 Dangers of Alpine travelling, 324 ; pre- 
 cautions against, 326 
 
34 i 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Danube, the, fed from the Alps, 2 
 Dauphin6, singular forms of the gneiss 
 rocks of, 18 ; scenery of the high Alps 
 of, 22; description of the valleys of, 
 37 ; the waterfalls, 54 ; mineral springs 
 in, 106; curious customs in, 293, 294; 
 Eoman and mediasval architecture in, 
 299 
 Deer, red and fallow, 189 
 Dent Blanche, the, 27 
 Dent d'Herens, the, 27 
 Dent du Midi, the, 29; berg-fall from, 
 
 134 
 Denudation, effects of, 6; its action in 
 
 the Alpine valleys, 37 
 Derborence, lakes of, their origin from a 
 
 berg-fall, 128 
 Diablerets, the, 29 ; destruction caused 
 
 by berg-falls from, 127 
 Diet, for the tourist, 324 
 Dilatation theory of glacier motion, 74 
 Dogs, sensitive of an impending ava- 
 lanche, 124 ; the breed of St Bernard, 
 260 
 Dolomite, effects of weather on, 18; 
 grandeur of scenery caused by depo- 
 sits of, 34 
 Dom, the, height and position of, 28 
 Dragons in the Alps, legends of, 286 
 Dragon-stone, the, at Lucerne, 289 
 Dranse Valley, the, inundation of, 134 
 Drunkenness, rarity of, in the Alps, 295 
 Dust avalanches, accounts of, 116 
 
 E. 
 
 Eagle, the Golden, 192 
 Earthquakes in the Alpine regions, 137 
 Eboulement, v. Berg-fall 
 Eburodunensis lacus, v. Neuchatel 
 Ecclesiastical architecture in Dauphin§, 
 
 &c., 299 
 Eiger, the, 30 
 Enfer, glacifere de V, description of, 95 
 
 Epidemic insanity at Morzine, 292 
 Erratic blocks, signs of ice action, 79; 
 
 examples of, near Monthey, 79 ; on 
 
 the slopes of the Jura, 80 
 
 Falcon, the, 193 
 
 Fariolo, granite quarries of, 112 
 
 Faulberg grotto, the. 101 
 
 Faust, Walter, the Swiss patriot, 309, 310 
 
 Fedaia pass, the, perforation in the cliff 
 
 of, 103 
 Fees, Grotte aux, 100, 101 ; Temple des, 
 
 100 
 Fer a Cheval, the cirque of, example of a 
 
 limestone precipice, 20 
 Ferns in the Alpine regions, 223 
 Feuds of the Chamois hunters, 183 ; of 
 
 the keepers and poachers, 185 
 Finster Aarhorn, the, 29 
 Firs, the spruce, 211 ; silver, 213; Scotch, 
 
 ih. ; arolla or arve, il). 
 Fish in the Alpine regions, 197 ; price 
 
 of, in the fourteenth century, 198 
 Fleas and glacier fleas, 206 
 Floods, accounts of, 134 
 Flowers of the Alps, beauty and profu- 
 sion of, 219 ; various kinds of, 220 ; 
 
 highest levels at which they flourish, 
 
 222 ; works on the, 337 
 Fohn, the, effects of, 142 
 Forbes' theory of glacier motion, 75 
 Forests, Alpine, use and value of, 233 ; 
 
 laws respecting, ib. 
 Fortresses defending the Alpine passes, 
 
 300 
 Fox, the, 167 
 
 Frescoes in the Italian Alps, 302 
 Frogs and toads, 198 
 Fruit-bearing shrubs, 218 
 Fuel, scarcity of, 338 
 Funerals, curious customs at, 294 
 Furka pass, 270 
 Furniture of an Alpine cottage, 239 
 
INDEX. 
 
 345 
 
 G. 
 
 Garda, Lago di, 52 
 
 Gaudenzio Ferrari, the artist, 302 
 
 Geiselstein, the, perforation in the cliff 
 of, 103 
 
 Gemmi pass, the south face of, a hme- 
 stone precipice, 20 
 
 Geneva, lake of, 41 
 
 Gentians of the Alps, 222 
 
 Geology of the Alps, 329 
 
 Gessler, Hermann, his connexion with 
 the story of Tell, 309 
 
 Giessbach waterfall, the, 54 
 
 Glaciferes or ice-caves, 88 ; visit to the 
 Grand Anu, 91 ; to L'Enfer, 95 ; to 
 Chappet-sur-Villaz, 97 ; probable cause 
 of them, 99 
 
 Glaciers, their erosive power over-esti- 
 mated, 7 ; nature and formation of, 70 ; 
 structure of the ice of, 63 ; theories 
 regarding their motion, 74 ; their pre- 
 vious extension marked by moraines, 
 77 ; by erratic blocks, 79; by rounded 
 and striated rocks, 81 ; theories of 
 their action in the formation of valleys 
 and lakes, 84; epoch of their greatest 
 extension, 85 ; modern changes in 
 their extent, 86; the hyperbolic dirt- 
 bands and white-ice seams in, 334 
 
 Glacier fleas, 206 
 
 Glacier tables, cause of their formation, 
 61 
 
 Glacier, the Gomer, account of an expe- 
 dition to, 55 
 
 GUssade, descent by a, 73 
 
 Goats, numbers of, in Switzerland, 258 ; 
 the three classes of, 259 
 
 Gorner glacier, the, account of an expe- 
 dition to, 55 
 
 Graian Alps, the, scenery of, 23 ; the 
 mineral springs in, 107 
 
 Grand Anu, a visit to the ice-cave of, 91 
 
 Grand Paradis, the, height of, 23 
 
 Grande Casse, the, height of, 23 
 
 Grande Combin, the, height, &c. of, 27 
 Grande Jorasses, the, shape of the peak 
 of, 19 
 
 Granite, distribution of, 11 ; its influence 
 on scenery, 12 ; form of summits com- 
 posed of, 18 ; the quarries of, at Fariolo, 
 112 
 
 Gravel, beds of, washed down from the 
 Alps, 8 
 
 Gressoney, tradition at, 290 
 
 Grimsel Hospice, avalanches at, 125 
 
 Grindelwald, scenery of the valley of, 
 30 
 
 Grivola, the, shape of summit of, 19 ; the 
 height of, 23 
 
 Gross Glockner, the position and height 
 of, 34 
 
 Grotte aux Fees, 100, 101 
 
 Ground avalanches, accounts of, 117 
 
 Guilestre (Dauphine), marble quarry 
 near, 112 
 
 Hannibal's passage, supposed scenes of, 
 
 265 ; various theories of, 338 
 Hare, the, two species of, 172 
 Harvest in the Alpine regions, 229 
 Haut-de-Cry, fatal avalanche on, 122 
 Hawk, the, 193 
 Heiligenblut, the story of, 291 
 Heiterloch, the, 103 
 Herdsmen, their duties at the chalets, 
 
 251 
 Hills, action of water upon, 7 
 Hints for the Alpine tourist, 321 
 Historical events, the principal, in the 
 
 Alpine regions, 303 
 Historical legends of the Alps, 290 
 Hofer, the fate of, 319 
 Hollenstein-thal, the pass through, 274 
 Holly-fern, abundance of, in the higher 
 
 Alps, 223 
 Horns, the, of the chamois, 179 ; of the 
 
 bouquetin, 187 
 
346 
 
 INDEX, 
 
 Horses, sensitive of an approaching ava- 
 lanche, 124 
 
 Houses, construction and appearance of, 
 in the northern Alpine regions, 241; 
 on the southern slopes, 302 
 
 I. 
 
 Ice, its agency in the sculpture of the 
 Alps, 7 ; structure of, in glaciers, 63 ; 
 marks of, on rocks, 77, 82 ; prismatic 
 structure of, 94, 334 
 
 Ice avalanches, accounts of, 114 
 
 Ice caverns at the termination of glaciers, 
 56 
 
 Ice caves, v. Glaciferes 
 
 Insects of the Alpine regions, 205 
 
 Invertebrata in the Alpine regions, num- 
 bers of, 201 
 
 Iseo, lago d', 52 
 
 Italian Tyrol, the, scenery of, 34 
 
 Julian Alps, the, 35 
 
 Julier pass, the, 268; pre-historic co- 
 lumns on, 297 
 
 Jungfrau, the : the north cliff a Hme- 
 stone precipice, 20 ; the position of, 30 
 
 Junipers of the Alps, 215 
 
 Jura, the, erratic blocks on the slopes of, 
 80; explanation of this, 81; the gla- 
 ciferes in, 88 ; caverns in, 100 
 
 K. 
 
 Keepers and poachers in the Bavarian 
 
 Alps, hatred between, 185 
 Kestrel, the, 193 
 Kite, the, 193 
 Knapsack, the, requisite contents of, 322 
 
 L. 
 
 La Balma, deposits of nickel at, 111 
 
 La Grave, silver mines at, 111; curious 
 funeral custom at, 294 
 
 Lakes in the Alpine regions, 41 ; theories 
 of their formation by glacier action, 84 
 
 Lake settlements, description of, 297 
 
 Lammergeier, the, v. Vulture 
 
 Larch, the, 210 
 
 Larius lacus, v. Como 
 
 La Saxe, mineral springs at, 107 
 
 Lauterbrunnen, scenery of the valley of, 
 30 
 
 Lecco, lago di, 51 
 
 Legends current in the Alpine regions, 
 285 
 
 L^man, lac, v. Geneva 
 
 Lepidoptera, the, of the Alps, 202 
 
 Lepontine Alps, scenery of, 30 
 
 Le Prese, baths of. 111 
 
 Leuk, mineral springs of, 107 
 
 Leukerbad, destruction at, from an ava- 
 lanche, 117 
 
 Levanna, the, peak of, 19 
 
 Lichens of the Alps, 225 _ 
 
 Limestone, distribution of, 14; form of I 
 peaks of, 20; grandeur of precipices ' 
 of, ih. 
 
 Lizards of the Alpine regions, 199 
 
 Locarno, storm and flood at, 136 
 
 Lombard Alps, scenery of, 33 ; the cam- 
 paniles of the district, 302 
 
 Lucerne, lake of, 47; the dragon-stone 
 in the museum of, 288 
 
 Lugano, lake of, 51 
 
 Lunatics, the, of Morzine, 293 
 
 Lynx, the, of the Alps, 169 
 
 Lys-joch, the, ascent of, 69 
 
 Lyskamm cliffs, the, 68 
 
 M. 
 
 Macdonald, General, sufferings of his 
 
INDEX. 
 
 347 
 
 army from avalanches, 117, 318 ; his 
 passage of the Spliigen, 317 
 
 Maggiore, lago, 49, 50 
 
 Maloya pass, 267 
 
 Matterhom, the, shape of summit, 19; 
 position of, 27; cause of the fearful 
 accident on, 325 
 
 Marmot, the, habits of, 172; its hyber- 
 nation, 174 
 
 Martens, beech and pine, 171 
 
 Martinsloch, the, 103 
 
 Melchthal, Arnold von, the Swiss patriot, 
 309, 310 
 
 Mezzola, lago di, 51 
 
 Migiandone, deposits of nickel at, 111 
 
 Mines in the Alpine regions. 111 ; their 
 effect on the forests near, 233 
 
 Mollusca, the, of the Alps, 202 
 
 Monch, the, position of, 30 
 
 Mondloch, the, 100 
 
 Mon^tier, the baths of, 106 
 
 Mout Blanc, geological formation of, 13 ; 
 form of summit, 20; scenery of the 
 range of, 25 ; avalanches on, 119; storm 
 in the corridor of, 141 ; thunderstorms 
 on, 144; sunset on, described by M. 
 Necker, 152 
 
 Mont Cenis, pass and tunnel of, 262 
 
 Mont de Lans, Roman arch at, 299 
 
 Mont Iseran, deception respecting, 307 
 
 Mont Velan, height and position of, 26 
 
 Monte della Disgrazia, position and height 
 of, 32 
 
 Monte Eosa, peaks of, 20 ; position and 
 height of, 27, 28 ; tradition regarding, 
 290 
 
 Monte Sacro, the, at Varallo and Orta, 
 303 
 
 Monte Viso, shape of summit of, 19 ; 
 height of peak, 21 
 
 Monthey, erratic blocks near, 79 ; expla- 
 nation of this, 81 
 
 Moraines, the formation of, 57, 61; signs 
 of the former presence of glaciers, 77 ; 
 examples of, 78 
 
 Morat, lake of, 44 
 
 Morzine, epidemic insanity at, 292 
 Mosses of the Alps, 225 
 Moulins, manner of their formation, 62 
 Mountaineer, the, character of, 295 
 Mountains, causes affecting the forms of, 
 
 17; crystalline, 18; limestone, 20 
 Mountain sickness, 336 
 Moutiers Tarentaise, salt-springs at, 105 
 Mower, the, of the Alps, 229 
 Mystery play, the, of Ammergau, 296 
 
 N. 
 
 Napoleon I., his passage of the St Bernard, 
 
 316 ; his execution of Hofer, 319 
 Necker, M., his description of sunset on 
 
 Mont Blanc, 152 
 Neff Felix, the pastor of the Vaudois, 
 
 304 
 Neuchatel, lake of, 43 
 Noric chain, the, 33 
 Notre Dame de Sex," chapel of, in a 
 
 cavern, 101 
 Nutcracker, the, 195 
 
 Oberalp Joch, the, 271 
 
 Oberland, the, scenery of, 28; pictu- 
 
 resqueness of cottages in, 240 
 Oetzthaler Alps, the, 33 
 Ornavasso, marble quarry at, 112 
 Orta, lago d', 49 ; the Monte Sacro at, 
 
 303 
 Orteler group, the, scenery of, 33 
 Ossuaries, the, of Switzerland, 294 
 Otter, the, 171 
 Owls, various species of, 193 
 
 Partridge, the Greek, or bartavelle, wide 
 
 range of, 197 
 Passes in the Alpine regions, 261 ; table 
 
 of the altitudes of, 340 
 
348 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Peasants of the Alps, their hard life and 
 food, 237 
 
 Pedestrian's outfit for Alpine travelling, 
 322 
 
 Pennine Alps, the, scenery of, 24; ac- 
 count of a two days' journey in, 
 277—284 
 
 Perched blocks, signs of ice-action, 79; 
 examples near Monthey, 79 ; on the 
 Jura, 80 
 
 Perforations in the face of cliffs, in- 
 stances of, 103 ; legends of St Mai-tin 
 connected with these, ih. 
 
 Pestarena, gold mines at, 111 
 
 Pfafers, mineral springs and gorge of, 108 
 
 Phosphorescence of the snow, 149 
 
 Pic de Tenneverges, the, 29 
 
 Piedmont, the way-side crosses of, 294 ; 
 the Campaniles of, 302 
 
 Pilatus, mont, legend of, 290 
 
 Pile buildings, the, of the lakes, 297 
 
 Pine, the dwarf, 214 
 
 Pinewood scenery in mountain districts, 
 211 
 
 Piz Mortaratsch, the, avalanches on, 121 
 
 Plants, note on the distribution of, in 
 the Alpine regions, 337 
 
 Pleurs, destruction of, by a landshp, 131 
 
 Po, its source derived from the Alps, 2 
 
 Poachers and keepers in the Bavarian 
 Alps, hatred between, 185 
 
 Pointe des Ecrins, the, shape of summit 
 of, 19; height of, 22 
 
 Population, pre-historic, the, of the Alps, 
 discoveries concerning, 297 
 
 Porphyry, bed of, in neighbourhood of 
 Botzen, 13, 32 
 
 Portmanteau, its use in Alpine travel- 
 ling, 322 
 
 Pourri, the, shape of summit of, 19; 
 height of, 23 
 
 Precipices, grandeur of, in limestone dis- 
 tricts, 20 
 
 Pr6 St Didier, mineral springs at, 107 
 
 Presanella, the, height and position of. 
 
 Primiero, silver mines at, 111 
 Ptarmigan, the, 195; its preference for 
 
 cold and soHtude, ih. 
 Puster-thal, the, road-side crosses, in, 
 
 294 
 
 Q. 
 
 Quadrupeds, Alpine, 160 
 E. 
 
 Babbit, the, rare in the Alps, 172 
 
 Randa, village of, fearful damage to, from 
 avalanches, 115 
 
 Eanz des vaches, or pastoral tunes, 254 
 
 Earefaction of air, effects of, 336 
 
 Eaven, the, 193 ; anecdote of a tame one, 
 ih. 
 
 Eeichenbach, the, fall of, 54 
 
 Eeptiles, Alpine, 198 
 
 Eeschen-scheideck pass, 269 
 
 Ehaetian Alps, scenery of, 31 
 
 Ehine, the, source of, in the Alps, 2 ; its 
 effect on the lake of Constance, 45; 
 falls of, 54 
 
 Ehododendrons of the Alps, 216; exqui- 
 site beauty of, 217 
 
 Ehone, the, source of, in the Alps, 2; its 
 course in the lake of Geneva, 41 
 
 Eiffelhorn, the, 77 
 
 Elvers fed from the Alpine regions, 2; 
 their origin in glaciers, 56 
 
 Eoads, bridle-paths and byways, 277 
 
 Eoches moutonnees, occasioned by gla- 
 ciers, 82 
 
 Eocks, classification of, 10 ; their distri- 
 bution, 12; effects of erosive action 
 on, 15 ; ice-marks on, 77, 82 ; striated, 
 caused by glaciers, 82; singular perfo- 
 rations in, attributed to St Martin, 103 
 
 Eoe, the, 189 
 
 Eoman antiquities in the Alpine regions, 
 299, 301 
 
 Eossberg, the, fatal landslip from, 129 
 
 Euaras, destruction at,from an avalanche, 
 117 
 
 Euskin, Mr, on pinewood scenery, 211; 
 on mosses and Hchens, 225 
 
INDEX. 
 
 349 
 
 S. 
 
 vSt Bernard, Great, the dogs of, 260; the 
 
 convent of, 275; Napoleon's passage 
 
 of, 316 
 St Bernard, Little, the carriage-road 
 
 over, 264 ; pre-Eoman antiquities on, 
 
 297 
 St Gothard pass, 266 
 St Martin, the giant, legends of, con- 
 nected with the perforation of rocks, 
 
 &c., 103, 291 
 St Maurice, historical legend of, 291 ; 
 
 abbey church of, 301 
 St Michael, chapel of, in the cavern at 
 
 Appenzell, 101 
 St Moritz, the baths of, 110 
 St Ours, the church of, 302 
 St Theodule, pass of, 277 
 St Vincent, mineral springs of, 107 
 Sta Catherina, baths of, 111 
 Sallenche, the, waterfall of, 54 
 Sandstones, distribution of, 14 
 Savoy Alps, the, scenery of, 23 ; lakes 
 
 of, 41 
 Schaffhausen, the Ehine-faU near, 54 
 Scorpion, the, in the Italian Alps, 205 
 Season, the, for Alpine travelling, 320 
 Sempach, lake of, 44 
 Septimer pass, 268 
 S6racs, description of, 68 
 Sheep, Alpine, management of, 256 ; 
 
 different varieties of, 257 
 Shepherds on the Alps, Hfe of, 255, 257 
 Shreckhom, the, shape of peak of, 19 
 Sickness in going down mountains, 336 
 Sieben Brunnen, the, 104 
 Simplon, the, pass of, 265 
 Skeletons, the practice of exhuming in 
 
 Switzerland, 294 
 Sky, glorious colouring of, in the Alpine 
 
 regions, 150 
 Slaty crystallines, distribution of, 13; 
 effect of erosive action on, 15 ; the 
 forms of crests of, 18 
 
 Snakes, Alpine, 201 
 
 Snow, its influence on the skin and eyes, 
 146 ; varied colours of, 147 ; its phos- 
 phorescence, 149 ; red snow and its 
 cause, ib. ; danger of, in Alpine travel, 
 326 
 
 Songs, pastoral, of the Alps, 254 
 
 Sphyngidae, Alpine, 204 
 
 Spliigen Pass, the, 266; General Mac- 
 donald's passage of, 317 
 
 Springs, subterranean and salt, 104 
 
 Spruce fir, the, 211 
 
 Squirrel, the, 177 
 
 Stachelberg, mineral springs of, 108 
 
 Staubbach, the, waterfall, 54 
 
 Stauffacher, Werner, the Swiss patriot, 
 309, 310 
 
 Steinbock, v. Bouquetin 
 
 Stelvio Pass, 267, 271 
 
 Stoat, the, 171 
 
 Storms in the Alps, notices of, 135 
 
 Stubayer Alps, the, 34 
 
 Subterranean springs, 104 
 
 Sunset on Mont Blanc, 152 
 
 Suwarroff, his exploits in the campaign 
 of 1799, 314—318 
 
 Swiss Alps, the, mineral springs in, 107 
 
 Switzerland, lakes of, 41 ; statistics of, 
 227 ; curious local customs of, 294 ; 
 pre-historic antiquities of, 297 ; strug- 
 gles for liberty in, 309—812 
 
 T. 
 
 Tannes de Corgeon, the, 100 
 Taschhom, the, height and position of, 
 
 28 
 Tauern Group, the, scenery of, 34 
 Taurentunum, fall of the mountain of, 
 
 131 
 Tell, the story of, 309 
 Temple des F6es, the, 100 
 Terglou jnassif, the, its position and 
 
 height, 35 
 
Theban legion, the, site of the martyr* 
 dom of, 291 
 
 Thunderstorms among the mountains, 
 144 
 
 Thun, lake of, 46 
 
 Timber, laws respecting, 233 ; trade and 
 statistics of, 234 ; modes of its convey- 
 ance, ib. ; construction of slides for, 235 
 
 Toblach-plateau pass, 269 
 
 Todi, the, position of, 30 
 
 Tosa, the, waterfall, 54 
 
 Tourists, Alpine, various hints to, 321 
 
 Tourmente, the, description of, 138 
 
 Trees in the Alpine regions, 209; heights 
 and temperatures at which they flour- 
 ish, 210 
 
 Trient, gorge of the, 38 
 
 Tyndall, Dr, on the veined structure of 
 glacial ice, 66 ; results of his experi- 
 ments on ice, 74, 75 ; on the colour of 
 snow, 148, 159 ; on the hyperbolic dirt- 
 bands, &c. of glaciers, 334 
 
 Tyrol, the, (Austrian), mountains of, de- 
 void of lakes, 49 ; (Italian) singular 
 forms of the dolomitic rocks, 18 ; gran- 
 deur of the scenery of the dolomite 
 districts, 34; scenery in the vaUeys 
 of, 37 ; the waterfalls in, 54 ; curious 
 courtship customs of, 294; ruined 
 castles in, 300 ; picturesque streets in, 
 302 ; the insurrection of, under Hofer, 
 318 
 
 U. 
 
 Upheaval, signs of, in the Alpine regions, 
 
 4 ; probable cause of this, 10 
 Uriage, mineral springs at, 106 
 Uri, the bay of, its connexion with the 
 story of TeU, 309 
 
 Val d'Aoste, its richness in Eoman re- 
 mains, 301 
 / Val de Blegno, the inundation of, 134 
 
 Valleys, Alpine, classification of, 3 ; 
 
 questions as to their formation, 5 ; 
 
 distinguishing features of, 36 : valleys 
 ■ of depression -and outcrop, 40, 334 ; 
 
 theories of their formation by glacier 
 
 action, 84 
 Varallo, the Monte Sacro at, 303 
 Vaudois, Beaume des, massacre of the 
 
 Waldenses in, 101, v. Waldenses 
 Vegetables, Alpine, 228 
 Verbanus lacus. v. Maggiore 
 Vertebrate animals in the Alpine regions, 
 
 numbers of, 201, 337 
 Vevay, inundation at, 136 ; the vintage 
 
 festival of, 296 
 Vine, the, on the Alps, highest level of, 
 
 209 ; cultivation of, 231 
 Vintschgau, the, road-side crosses in, 
 
 294 ; ruined castles in, 300 
 Viscous theory of glacier motion, 75 
 Visp-thal, the, earthquake in, 137 
 Vulture, the bearded, or lammergeier, 
 
 190 ; its habits, 191 ; instances of its 
 
 carrying off children, 192 
 
 W. 
 
 Waldenses, or Vaudois, the, massacre of, 
 in the Beaume des Vaudois, 101 ; the 
 persecutions of, and their struggles 
 for liberty, 303—306; their remark- 
 able Alpine journey under Henri Ar- 
 naud, 306—309; MSS. relating to, in 
 Cambridge University Library, 339 
 
 Walking, Alpine, advice upon, 323 
 
 Wallenstadt, lake of, 48 
 
 Water, denudation caused by the action 
 of, 6 
 
 Waterfalls, Alpine, 53 
 
 Weisshorn, the, shape of the summit of, 
 19 ; position of, 27 
 
 Weisskogel, the, position and height of, 
 34 
 
 Wetterhom, the, north cliff of, a lime- 
 stone precipice, 20 
 
 Wild cat, the, 169 
 
INDEX. 
 
 361 
 
 Wildhom, the, 29 
 
 Wildstrubel, the, 29 
 
 Windlochs or Blow-holes, the cause and 
 
 examples of, 102 
 Wines, manufacture of, 231 
 Witchcraft, belief in, among the Alps, 
 
 222 
 Wolf, the, in the Alps, habits of, 165 
 Wood, the use of, in the construction of 
 
 houses, 240 
 Woodman, dangers of his occupation, 
 
 234 
 
 Worther See, the, 49 
 
 Z. 
 
 Ziller-thaler Alps, the, 34 
 
 Zmutt glacier, the, difficulties in cross- 
 ing, 279 
 
 Zug, Canton, the churchyard crosses of, 
 294 
 
 Zug, lake of, 44 
 
 Zurich, lake of, 44 
 
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