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 now made an offi-
cial statement to the Minister of Vublic 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 for our meteorological station Mont Blanc
itself, that immense mountain upon which, since the
illustrious De Saus'ure, no traveller has had the op-
portunity, with sufficient means, of studying 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 Chamouni,
situated at the northern foot of the mountain which
we proposed to ascend. Our instruments, our provi-
sions, and our clothing, required no less than thirty-five
men to carry them to the summit. The load which each
man had to carry was about 12 kilogrames (about 271b5.)
and it would have been imprudent to augment it, for
the ascent of Mont Blanc 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, chosen among
the most capable of the valley—Jean Mugnier, Mi-
chael Coutel, and Gideon Balinat. 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
pest 3 o'clock we reached the rock of the Grand
Mulets, where we were to pass the night. It was a
beautiful one, but the clouds, which were passing
with extreme rapidity from the south-west to the
north-east, caused us strong apprehensions for the
following 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 six
in the evening. We found it in good condition, but
shortly 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 en the night from the Ist to the 24 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, Jean
Nlugnier, 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. IVith 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 return ; the
weather had improved, but it got worse again, and we
employed the 25th and the 26th of August in visit-
ing Sallanches, St. Gervais, and the mountain of La
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 Mon

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
nature, and which our inconvenient position at Mont
. .

Blanc prevented us from attempting there."
The report concludes by stating the principal re•
sults of the ascent, which were regular meteorologica
observations at Chamouny during many days, tend-
ing to make known the law of the diurnal variation of

the barometer in that narrow valley. It appears that
the average temperature at the Grand Plateau was
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.

SOUTH WALES TURNPIKE! ROAD COMMISSION
—The Commissioners, consisting of the Rietht Hon.
F. Frankland Lewis (chairman) and G. F. Richards,
Esq., togeth(--r with A. E. Somerset. Eiq , the Se-
cretary to the Commission, hell their sittings at the
Council Chamber of Swansea Town•hall, on Saturday
and Monday last, for the purpose of ascertaining the
amount of debts owing by the Swansea and Wvchtree
Turnpike Trusts, to compere them with the books of the
Trust, and to determine who were the parties actua►ly
entitled to the money. It appeared that the amount of
debts owing by the Swansea Trust was 11,500/., and by
th. Wyehtree Trust, 3,057/. The Commissioners ex-
pressed their satisfaction at the manner in which the ac-
counts of both Trusts had been kept, and their approval
of the general management of the business.— Cambrian.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.
(YESTERDAY.)

MANSION-HOUSE.

A young man, named Joseph Charles Paton, was
brought before Sir John Brie by James Roots (City
policeman 577), who apprehended him on Sunday
morning as he was stepping into one of the carriages
on the Blackwall Railway with two young women
for what is called a spree. Mr. Woolf, from Mr.
Flower's offices, attended for the prisoner.
John Taylor, warehouseman to Mr. Bevington, of
No. 67, King 1 Villiara-street, leather-seller, stated
that the prisoner, who was in the habit of calling at
the warehouse to order goods for his employer, Mr.
Sharman, of No. 37, Gracechurch-street, came at the
end of September last and ordered various articles,
and amongst them ten pairs of morocco legs for
hoots. Witness entered all the goods in a book which
the prisoner always brought with him when he called
to do business. A boy accompanied the prisoner, and
took away all the articles except the Morocco boot
legs, which the prisoner himself took away. Witness
debited Mr. Sharman with the whole, to the amount
of 201. 17s. 101. The value of the morocco leather
was 31. 15s. Witness never sold the prisoner goods on
his own account.

Sir J. PIRIE said he recollected having seen the
prisoner at the bar befure fur a very discreditable
transaction.

Mr. Goodman (the chief clerk) stated to the Alder-
man that the prisoner had been charged, about a
month ago, with having given a young woman who
was pregnant by him a violent blow with a stick in
the eye.
Mr. Frederick Sharman, bootmaker, of Grace-
church-street, stated that the prisoner was a clicker
in his service for about four months, and left him on
the 21st of September, in pursuance of a notice given
by witness. Witness dealt with Mr. Bevington for
boot fronts and other articles, and it was his custom
to send a book by the person employed to purchase
goods there, in which they were to be entered, and
which was then brought home to the shop to be
checked. It was impossible that the particular de-
scription of goods (the morocco legs) could have
been brought home without witness's knowledge.
The prisoner had unlimited authority from him to
purchase goods, and the morocco legs were obtained
without witness's knowledge or authority.
Richard Barton, an errand-boy in the service of
Mr. Sharman, stated that on Saturday three weeks
he went with the prisoner to Mr. Bevington's shop,v
and by his direction brought away to Mr. Sharman 's
house materials fore boots and shoes, and pieces of
leather, but did not bring away any morocco leg
fronts or backs. 'Witness delivered all that he had
brought away to his master's shopman.
Edward Askew, servant of Mr. Sharman, stated
that it was his duty to check the goods purchased for
the house. The goods described in the book as hav-
ing been purchased at Mr. Bevington's warehouse
were all received, with the exception of the morocco
legs.
- - -

A boot-closer proved that last week the prisoner
employed him to close a pair of red morocco boots for
him. The prisoner called for the boots when they
were finished, paid for them, and took them away.
The prisoner was remanded.
It was stated to Sir John Pirie that the prisoner
had occasioned the most poignant distress in two very
decent families, by marrying two young women
within a very short period.
Sir JOHN having been inf omed that the two wives
were present, but that one of them was in such a con-
dition as not to be able to give evidence, directed that
all the witnesses should be in attendance this day.
Two gipsy horse-dealers, named Chileoch and
Weston, and a young Welshman, named Evan Jones,
were brought before Mr. Alderman Hooper, charged
under the following circumstances :
A policeman stated that as he was passing along
/litigate he saw the three prisoners quarrelling over a
oony, which one of them charged the other two with
having stolen. 'Witness interposed to prevent any
breach of the -peace, and then retired, but upon re-
turning soon afterwards, he found them at it again,
and then he took them all to the station- house, where
the Welshman charged the gipsies with having done
him out of a pony, and about half done him out of
another.

Alderman Hoopem immediately determined, after
having asked a few questions, to take the evidence of
the Welshman as to the alleged robbery.
From the story of Evan Jones, it appeared that he
was a Welsh drover, and had been employed by his
master to sell two ponies. He accordingly drove the
ponies into Essex, where he met Chilcock, whom
he took for a respectable body, and sold him one of
the ponies for 31. 17s. 6d. receiving 21. in hand, and
the promise of 11. 17s. 6d. next day. Next day came,
and the drover had his master's second pony for sale,
and Chilcock took a fancy to that animal too, and
agreed to pay 41. 17s. 6d. for it. The offer was a very
agreeable one, as the drover considered it to be doing
business in earnest, without trouble or humbug, and
as the 1/. 17s. 6d. due from the other transaction was
to be paid at the same time, it was accepted with as
little hesitation as it was proposed. The two ponies
having been thus disposed of, the drover waited for
the cash, while the purchaser went to put up the
ponies, accompanied by Weston, who seemed to take
a friendly interest in the bargain on account of both.
Some time elapsed, during which a great variety of
surmises were made by the drover as to the cause of
the delay. At last it occurred to him, to use his own
language, that " it was a regular do," and, upon
making particular inquiry, he found that he was en-
tirely " done" out of one, and nearly " half-done "
out of the other pony, and that the conspirators had
wholly disappeared from that part of the country.
In this dilemma, and as his master determined to make
him responsible for the amount, the drover had no
alternative but to visit the most convenient mart, and
up to London he came in quest of Chilcock and the
ponies. He was particularly lucky in making the
journey, for upon walking into Aldgate he saw the
pony which had been "entirely lost" trotted up and
down before a bidder, and Chilcock and Weston
pointing out the animal's perfections. He instantly
took hold of his property and claimed it, and the two
confederates, who thought that a poor drover would
be nothing in their hands, violently resented his in-
terference with the sale, and it was durin; the scuffle
that the policeman interfered.
Alderman Hoorsa (to the gipsies)—Well, my
honest fellows, why don t you pay this man for the
ponies? Chilcock—Why, you see, your Lord—.
Weston—Please your Lordship, he's my brother,
and he has got a hesitation in his speech. I'll answer
for him.

Alderman HoorEs—Then the best way to answer
it is to pay the cash.
my Lord, if I get
hl. Theel ;pso.
nd6yrdo.lvue
seized.pr—o t drover—l'll
the b satisfied,
Alderman loopia—Prisoners, where is the first
; otherll put
pony.o
n p with the loss of the
Ipony ? Weston--I assure you, my Lord, it cut
away soon after my brother bought it. He intended
to pay the 1/. 17s. 61 upon the sale of the other pony,
which he was just going to get well oft' our hands,
when he came up and spoiled us. His money would
have been all right.
Alderman HOOPER—You must send to the livery-
stable for the pony he found with you, and you must
pay the 1/. 17s. 6d., or you shall be immediately in-
dicted for a conspiracy to defraud this poor fellow.
Chilcock—l am willing to give up the pony I have
in my possession, but I have no money, and the other
pony has wandered away, the Lord knows where.

---
Alderman HooPEß—:Then you shall certainly be
prosecuted for conspiring to rob this poor IVelshman.
The tone in, which this threat was uttered had an
instantaneous effect upon an old gipsy who was
standing aloof, and who, without uttering a word, threw
down the IL 17s. 61, to the great delight of the
drover and his master, who most gratefully acknow-
ledged the kind and judicious interference of the Al-
derman.