Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1878-11-28

ouO IL. ABOVE the level OIL the sea. Inc |
ascent of this mountain is made solely |
for the fine view it affords Of the i'm
mense sea of ice which fill all the
higher gorges of the Alps, and partic-
ularly the Mt. Blanc range. If the
reader can imagine section OF vast
river from 10 to Is miles in length
and from one and halt to four and
half miles wide aud of unknown
depth, tossed up into waves and then
instantly frozen be can get some idea
of this great glacier. For ages it has
ground its wav along this gorge,
pushing the debris farther down into
the valley until it looks IS If a COM
pany of giants had been at work car
rying the dirt and rocks down from
the mountains. At the lower end of
the glaciers, the edges for several
hundred feet from the shore are so
covered with dirt and rocks that it is
often difficult to tell with any certainty
where the edge of the chasm u.s. AS
it advances slowly over the irregular
tiles of the. bottom of the gorge the
glacier is broken up by crevasses
which generally extend across it.
Many OF these are shallow, while 9TH
ers are hundreds Of feet deep, and a
stone dropped down one of them
crashes from side to side until it seems
to be lost in the vast depth and the
sound of the fall is no longer heard.
On the top the glacier looks like snow
ice and is honey-combed by the &C
ton OF the sun, but little way down
it is solid and very blue. Higher up,
the glacier seems whittier and more
firm, and still higher it is of daz-
cling brilliancy, while there are many
considerable sized hills Of ice where
two glacier streams join. With a
guide there is very little danger in
crossing the glacier, as steps are cut
in the worst places and the iron point
ed Alpine stack prevents one from
slipping. Only few days before our
visit a German professor from Berlin,
slipped into an opening and was fa-
tally injured. Crossing we Chamber
over many rods of ground up rock,
which formed the edge of the glacier
when it was larger aud filed up more
of the gorge, and up the side of the
mountain on the opposite side. We
follow this down toward the valley at
a considerable height above the gla-
cier, and have constantly changing
views of the frozen pillows and icy
walled chasms below us. In half an
hour we come to what used to be the
terrible Manvais Pas, path cut in
the almost perpendicular side of the
mountain, but now SO well protected
by iron ratings that there is not the
least danger unless one is dizzy when
at great heights Most of the way
the outer edge of the path is unpro
tected and it gives one far from
| pleasant feeling to look over the jag
ged edge, and see the certain death
on the sharp rocks hundreds of feet
below which awaits the poor unfortu-
nate who makes only one misstep. A
little farther on we come to the Cha
/ peau, small nvuco hidden behind
projecting rocks so as to be out of the
way of danger from avalanches which
sweep down the mountain side in
winter and early in spring. This is
situated upon a preciptous cliff, and
from it is obtained fine view up the
glacier and at right angles to this the
whole valley of Chamouny seems to
be SINK deep down between the noun
tains, while the impetuous stream, the
Arve, for little way seems to forget
its haste, and winds lovingly through
| the green meadows Of the winding
valley. Almost at a glance we have
the lofty snow covered mountain tops
the great frozen river with its slug.
gish but powerful current, and nearly
| 1000 feet below us the loveliest oil
green valleys, which looks like q
mighty picture by some giant artist
set in frame of great mountains.
The view from the Chapeau is one o.
those which only the Alps can give
and which viii linger forever in the
} memory.
Descending steep path through
the wooded hillside we soon come t
a little hut from which short excur
sion can be made to the end of th,
glacier and the ice grotto from which
the stream under it flows. This ha
; been enlarged by the guides so tina
, it can be assembled some two hundred
feet, and here one is within the very
, glacier ITSELF As we had been 10 tn,
grotto of the Grindenwald sglacier or
our former trip we had no curiosit,
E to again enter one of Natures vas
, ice houses.
Coming down to the level of tn,
valley we cross it and begin to follow
, the winding path which leads up thu
face of the steep mountain on the op
poslte side. After three hours of hare
{ climbing we reach the little hotel Oh
Mt. Flegere, which is also six thous
and feet above the sea, from which i
J we are favored with clear day W,
( can see the entire Mt Blanc range
} and Mt. Blanc itself with its vas
, snow fields from base to summit. AL
. the morning the greater part of thu
] mountain tops had been covered will
| ClOuuey nut ny tuc tiihc VIC icocuC'
the hotel on Mt Flegere late in thu
) afternoon the clouds had broken ava,
! and we had an unobstructed view o
! 1.-the lofty snow white dome of Mt
J Blanc glittering in the full rays of thu
! setting SUM- Before us was view
which the widest flights of our mag
ination had never conceived. Within
: sight were literally "Alps piled upol
! Alps" for we could see at once thir
/ teen mountain peaks, the lowest o
which is two miles high, and in tn
r midst, reaching up into the heaven
/ until we can hardly distinguish
J from the clouds towers Mt. Blanc, tn
{ monarch of European mountains, thre
!. miles high. These mountains ar
mostly of granite, and several of tn
: peaks run up almost as pointed a
/ cathedral spires, SO much so that the
!. are called needles.
t We could almost look down upo
u the Mer de Glace opposite US, and i
t sight we counted nine great gla
l. oiors which raached down into tn