, 1873-12-13

Hoxcsl tin ha,,tl Of tho guido md inato tho 1aH-
sago. All lulving cgossud, wc lunchol OIL tho
| mountain ncar
TIE "ndAuyA1H PAS"
nnl thcn tlcacenlod to thu valley. Tl,is raaH In
lnther aorious 10 those who inyo not Btrong
nerves.. The path lcat;a along tho Sides Of worry
rcclpltous clsr, rising high above. MID ua been
inado by blasting = pathway III tho alto Of !,o
rnrks sufficient for passaso a chan hy whch
you hold OIL Ia Fastened into tho Bldn Of tho
racks; 30 yoA laayo narrow patt, III tho rocks,
with no protection oil tho lowov aido tho chain
close to tho rocka OH the other, au;l thon rocAs
riEng nbosc you as fur as YOU choose To look mp.
md below you. Some hunlredr, and ut places
uonlo thousands, OF foot. il Tho Elacor. Tho
Ss"s ye~s MS We n1 ndG tho - e'fSo Ecu VII M0 KEY vsTy
tho granite pea ss. Mont Dlanc, Tho ylaeier. nnd
! Tho sweet yalley beneath liz, wB l,Au, evcry fow
hundred feet, waterfalls rushing oyer tho rocks
| Into tho sea Of leo Which wo hal crossed. On
our way down. noticed ut ono tlmo view wncl,
| had na9or before seen:
Tttt: VALLEY or CifAal0uNtx
! was dssidul into twu hemisphores, tile Upper
tho valley, .constitutn; Tho sides. tho clear sly
overhead being tho roof, aud q stratum Of
clouds toatinE halfway dpwn The siloa Of tho
| mountains. and on d llo with us, was thu floor
or basis. Benonth tleao clouds VIC could look
down into the yaIloy, tho clouds forming urcl
from mountain side to mou1tain sdo;, and
beneath the arch was tho whole valley, with VII
age, church, moadowe. hay-maicrs, cottages;
u
Of bell could bo heard, rs il coming from
nnothor sphere. twas to 1ne scene ol'tifay
novel and very beautiful.
In Tho ovonng called At the houeo Of all old
guide. a Russian Professor l,ad lost hiB lifp
whilo exploring the .glaclor tho wook before. He
had becn Abandoned by hfa guidas aud loft to
dio alone on tho leo; aud every ono was Justly,
| as 1t seemod to me, conaamning. tho guides.
The old guild, whom was visiting (ShoBo nalno
cannot LEGALLY told inc
TIE srony OF 1rrg poo
fine, noble fellow Of tho St. Bernard breed,
| who 10y on tho floor at orr foot: ":rlat dog"
Haid he. 'scens to lovo to cxpioro tho ,ntssr-
sains. He knows whenever ,Iarty is going 10
ASCEND to Mont Blanc, and will always 80 a!ollg
il will lot him." 11o saia his Bagncty md i,l-
| tolligenee wore almost human. 1Io wonll
tuu to tho village for mid WHOM necessary, anL
Ind gone astray. Ono tiay io l,ad slippod Into il
loop croyasso. from which 1t was impossible fur
| him to escape. Az soon rs It was known tho
| guides gathered as quickly ~ possible to tho
place. and lowered ono Of tboir nuubor by IL
ropo to tho bottom, aud both guido aud dog wero
| drawn up III safety.
lie showed mo tho copy Of sad letter, writtcn
| by MI English gontleman to his vito, and found
alter his death III his coat-pockot. giving tho
history of tho circumstances preceding
| Ills DEATH UPON MONT nLASo.
IIo had beon Quo Ut party OF oloeon-fonr
| travellers and soyen guidoB-wlo woto all lost i'll
| 1860. They bud mauo the aacent roachod tho
summit, mud wero returning, whom they wero
ovortalon by terrific snow-Htorm, aud lost their
! way. Thoy found shelter at first in o sort Of
eHye H. tho roe1s but, the storm @ continuing,
resented that the first day tho party wore hopo-
] fut; they Ind some provisions and spirits. and
| with considerable effort kept themselves from
freezing. The storm increasing in fury, their
| provisions exhausted, utterly 6owilttorod III to
their position, they becamo lesa mud leBs hope
fnl. Tho loltcr Is in tile shape Of journal, md
| records tho various efforts u,ado to iud thoir
| Lost PATH aud tho continued increase in the
| violence OF tho storm. Thoy dug with their
llachotB hole in tho ice sheltered by tue rocks,
| and for moro than twonty-four hours hoped for
| rescue by the guides from tho valley; but, none
coming, thoy gradually aunlt into despair. aud.
when hope deserted tlom rapidly ono after a
| waEing." The writer seems to llayo bepn tho
last survivor: He mentions in his letter the
| names OF his companions. AZ ono after anothor
| yielded to the torpor which prccedas death; he
| then adds: "N My feet arc already frozeu my
hand is nearly frozen eau scarcely guido tho
| petcil." Ho sends affectionate messages to Ills
children, commenGB h'B soul to God, and adds
| II die i'll tho Aopo Of being snyed by Christ"
afterwards the bodies were found near eacll
other, audi in the pocket Of Ills coat was found tho
| lotter.
Tho striking picture OF Napoleon climbing the
Alps by tho Great st. Bernard is familiar to all.
! In 1900 he determined to construct o gGeat mill
tary road over the mountains into Italy, aud em-
ployed andor tho most Bkillful ongncors, 80, 900
| men for six years, and tho result IL
| THE gIMPLoN.
| Considering the obstacles overcome. 1t ia tile
finest road il tho world, aud we'll worthy Of tho
magnificent triumphal arch which at Milan conf
memoratos ita completion.
| On Thursday morning, Oct. 5, left Briog,
starting with my family In light carriage will
raining all day on Wednesday, aud, although
clear On Thursday, tho ground q Little way up
tue mountaiu-sido waB white with BROW. As we
climbed higher, the SNOW was everywhere, and
aRcendod !; hut, ~ tue weather was not very
| cold VIC were glad Of an opportunity Of seeing
| the Alps entirely covered with SNOW. It WIZ d
constant climb for six or eight s,-up-up,-
! one zgzag after another; mud as we rose higher,
peak after poak, all around US, made their up
pearanco, all covered with SNOW or else tho
clear, clean granite was too steep for Bnow to 10y
upon until We were surrounded on every side
by tile hgh Alps. This rldo gavo us clearer
idea Of tho wild, storm, gloomy character Of the
| higher Alps than auy tllng We had boforo soen.
The eyergrccns-tAo pins. the hr, tho larch-ex-
tend far up the sides Of the mountains; the
Of deep, e,,. orange, .a!I -, and eontraatea
both with tho wlite snow, which
10y in MASSES upon the branches The grass
be seen, We Ind tile most beautiful contrasts
Flowers. too. wcro to be seen under the over
hanging rocks and in sheltered places, and We
lad the rare good fortune Of seoing
srRISo, AUTUMN, AND WINTER
in the same landscape. lilo road was as perfect
us tho best skill Of tho onginoor and the most
complete execution could mako it.-eyerYwhero
Of perfect, grade, hard, smooth, and thoroughly
drained. 1t waa often made by blasting out q
bed fist iu tho solid rock, the lower sido hus-
tained by solid walls Of masonry, 80, 100, 900
feet high; everywhere tho best cuvortg, bridges,
aud agnsducts to pass over, or carry over OF
under the road the n,ountan-torIents that camo
roaring down tho sides Of the rocks. Along all
dangerous places solid rroteotion.was wero
built on tho lower gtlo of tho road, to proyont
the possibility OF accident; and oyerywnoro, Mt
equll distances, low granite pillars were got
along its boundary, It il grand work, aud 4
noble monument to tho mon,ory OF Napoleon. As
you approach tho summit. the gorgca are deeper
and more gloomy. the sidos Of the mountains
more precipltous and tho danger from ava.
lunches, especially in spring, creator. norc Al 9
sericH of stone houses Of great atrangtll, often
built under tho sladow OF ovcrhangng rocks,
! 1oA u 1ofnr IN rui,;a