The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-08 00:00:00

ASCENT OF MONT BLANC-.

It has been already stated that two French gentle-
men, Messrs. Bravais and Martins, had made an
ascent to Mont Blanc. They have nciw made an offi-
cial statement to the Miuister oi Public Instruction.
It is as follows:

" We left Paris on the 16th of July, and arrived
at Geneva on the 19th. Our first project was to
choose tbr our meteorological station Mont Blanc
itself, that immense mountain upon which, since the
illustrious De Saussure, no traveller has had the op-
portunity, with sufficient means, of stud', ing physical
nature in those high regions. The base of the moun-
tain, too, offered a vast field of research in the
numerous glaciers with which it is surrounded,
and with which are connected a multitude of phe-
nomena of a curious character. Having left Geneva
on the 26th we arrived on the 28th at Chainouni,
situated at the northern foot of the mountain whieh
we proposed to ascend. Our instruments, our provi-
sion,, and our clothing, required no less than thirty-five
men to carry them to the summit. The load which each
loan had to carry was about 12 kilogrames (about 271b5.)
and it would have been imprudent to augment it, for
the ascent of Mont Llanc requires the use of all
the physical powers; sometimes they are insufficient,
and it is by no means rare to see the most robust
person stopped in his progress before reaching the
summit. We had with us three guides, cho.en among
the most capable of the valley—Jean Mugnier, Mi-
chael Coutel, and Gideon Baltnat. They were to indi-
cate the route, and clear us a passage through the snow.
We left on the 28th of July at half-past 7 o'clock in
the morning. The weather was favourable in ap-
pearance, the sky clear, the air calm ; but there was a
south-west wind in the upper regions. At 35 minutes
pist 3 o'clock we reached the rock of the Grand
Alulets, where we were to pass the night. It was a
beautiful one, but the clouts, which were passing
with extreme rapidity from the south-west to the
north-east, caused us strong apprehensions for the
fallowing day, which were soon realised. On the
29th, at ten o'clock, we had reached the Grand
Plateau, which forms the northern base of the pyramid
of Mont Blanc. This is a vast plain of snow in a
slight declivity from south-west to north-east. It
occupies the centre of a vast circus, which forms on
all sides, to the north excepted, the high neighbour-
ing summits of Mont Blanc, and it is dominated by
them to an angular height of from 20 to 30 degrees.
" Arrived on this spot, we found ourselves enve-
loped in mist ; the thermometer marked two degrees
(35 6 deg. Fahrenheit). A heavy fall of snow took
place; a difference of level of 880 metres still sepa-
rated us from the summit ; to attain it was evidently
impossible in the state of the atmosphere at that time.
We therefore resolved to fit up our tent on the Grand
Plateau itself, and to wait until the weather improved,
so as to allow us to attempt the ascent. Our com-
panions were sent to Chamouny, and we only retained
our three guides and two of our porters, who offered
spontaneously to partake the chances of our enterprise.
The bad weather continued the whole night, the
wind was extremely violent, and the snow fell with-
out interruption. At daylight (a quarter to four)
the centigrade thermometer marked 13 deg. (55.4 deg.
Fahrenheit). The weather was such that we could
make no observation, with the exception of some few
experiments with the barometer and thermometer. The
force of the wind was such that we were alarmed for
the safety of our tent, which we sometimes held with
our hands, and which we were obliged to strengthen
by every means in our power. We therefore re-
descended to Chamouny, leaving in order under the
tent the articles brought with us. During the descent
the weather improved. We saw the snow which fell
still upon the flank of the mountains, to the inferior
limit of 1,500 metres (5,000 feet), and we knew
that at Chamouny the temperature of the air had
fallen to 5 degrees ! (41 deg. Fahrenheit). On the
7th of August we attempted a new ascent. The cir-
cumstances appeared more favourable than the first
time, and the barometer was higher. We left at
25 minutes after seven with our guides or porters,
and we reached the Grand Plateau at half-past she
in the evening. 'We found it in good condition, but
,hortly afterwards the hail began to fall, and the storm
threatened around us. The lightning was very fre-
quent, but the claps of thunder were weak ; though
the interval between the lightning and the thunder
proved to us that we were in the centre of the storm,
and that objects were struck at less than a kilometer
distant. The temperature of the air was lower
than on the night from the Ist to the 2d of August,
and only six degrees towards 4 o'clock in the morning,
The storm which had lasted the whole of the night
still existed in the morning. The wind blew with
greater force. The snow began to fall in great
quantity. During this time the rain inundated
the valley of Chamouny, and several persons had
become very uneasy on our account. In short at
three o'clock in the afternoon our guides declared
that we should be exposed to great danger if we did
not regain the plain, in consequence of the avalanches
and the absolute impossibility of descending the next
morning, if the snow should fall as abundantly as
during the preceding night. Our chief guide, Jeaa
Mugnier, asserted that he could find our track in spite
of the mist and the wind, which had completely
effaced our route of the previous evening, and we
ceded to his solicitations and descended rapidly. At
half-past four o'clock the route of the Grand Mulets,
which we had to touch, rose suddenly to our view,
and we had to admire that instinctive knowledge of
the track of which our guide had just given us a
proof.

" Under all the circumstances we thought it better
to make a third attempt. We thought that the month
of August could not pass without affording us the op-
portunity of realising our hopes. With this expecta-
tion we left Chamouny on the 10th of August, on
our route to Cormayeur by the Great St. Bernard,
and returned to the point of departure by the moun-
tains of Seigne and Bonhomme. During this excur-
sion abundant falls of snow had taken place on the
mountains on the nights of the 14th, 15th, and 16th
of August. On the 19th we were on our Morn ; the
weather had improved, but it got worse ag.i 1, and we
employed the 25th and the 26th of August in visit-
ing Sallanches, St. Gervais, and the mountain of Ls
Jorelas, which leads to the latter town. On the
27th the weather had decidedly changed ; the ba-
rometer had ascended considerably, and the wind in
the upper regions was at the north-west. There
were flying clouds. Our departure took place on the
28th, at midnight. At daybreak we were at the
entrance of the glacier of the Bossons, accompanied
by seven persons of the valley. Although the snow
was soft and difficult, at eleven o'clock we had reached
the Grand Plateau, and at mid-day we commenced
a regular series of meteorological observations, day
and night, till the Ist of September. On the 29th of
August, during a serene night, we set out with the
intention of reaching the highest summit of Mont
Blanc, which we reached at forty-five minutes past
one. That is the most dangerous point of the ascent,
and many travellers, exhausted with fatigue, or
frightened with the impetuous wind, have given up
the task. To these obstacles may be added the phy-
siological defects arising from the passage of
the dense air of the valleys to the rarer air
of the mountain ; these are somnolency, diffi-
culty of respiration, and nausea. Although the
cold was at 7 degrees (44.6 deg. Fahrenheit),
and there was a fierce wind from the north-
north-west, we were so fortunate as only to ex-
perience these effects in a slight degree. We had
hoped to remain at the summit till ten o'clock at
night, but the sudden fall of temperature, and the
violence of the wind, made the cold almost intolerable;
and we afterwards learned that Mont Blanc could not
be perceived from Lyons during the whole of the 29th,
in consequence of the mist which covered the horizon,
These considerations determined us to descend at ten
minutes before six o'clock in the evening; and at a
quarter to seven we had all rallied again under our
tent in the Grand Plateau. We did not abandon this
latter station till the Ist of September at midnght, after
a stay of twenty-four hours. At half-past four o'clock
we definitively left Mont Blanc, without any unpleasant
accident having arisen during the various departures
and returns occasioned by our different attempts. We
left Chamouny on the 6th of September, and returned
to Geneva on the Bth. We are about to quit the latter
city, and to pass twelve days at Faulhorn, to make in
that new station a few observations of a snore delicate
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sults of the ascent, which were regular meteorological
observations at Chamouny during many days, tend-
ing to make known the law of the diurnal variation of
the barometer in that narrow valley. lt appears that
the average temperature at the C; rand Plateau WEL%
from 4 deg. to 5 deg. (39.2 and 41 deg. Fahrenheit) ;
from ten o'clock in the morning till four in the after-
noon the barometer was stationary. It rose from four
to ten in the afternoon, and fell again from ten at.
night till four in the morning.

'The Archbishop of York has presented the Rev.
Francis Orpen Morris, 8.A., of Worcester College, Ox-
ford, and Chaplain to his Grace the Duke of Cleveland.
to the vicarage of Nafferton, 'Yorkshire.
EarLosios or GAS.—On Sunda the neighbour.
hood of Bow-lane, Cheapside, was thrown into a state
of great excitement in consequence of an explosion of
gas taking place in the excavation made in that thorough-
fare for forming a new sewer. It seems that shortly be-
-1 fore two o'clock the inhabitants were aroused by hearing
loud cries of fire raised. Upon throwing open their
windows they perceived that a space of ground was send-
ing forth large sheets of fire. At first sight it appeared
as if the basement of their houses were in flames. The
alarm thus created may be more easily imagined than.
described, Mr. Braidwood, the superintendent of the.
brigade, with a powerful body of his men, promptly
attended with three engines. From the nature of the fir*
it was found useless in putting the engines to work ;
the firemen, therefot e, threw large quantities of mould
upon the gas-pipes, but they were unable to get the fir*
out until the servants of the Gas Company came sad ah ia
off the further supply of gas.