The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1884-09-27
IoUIsIANA sAIuKDl = =


Sci ER
Of the glacier aid AROUND Il which t1e broks1
stream of snow aI,dI Hi presses iss swsiy
This point il fssdusntly visited 81 jpparsie
/ Who do liott purpose q go farther, whil,
many wlio III tiae summit never p,ssl
this cabin RefreahIne is are here supplies
At prices which would asfonish even tIl,
swell restaurafits its 81 Paris 81 New York. j
fs faf above the ti1ibef line and everything
used here must BE- llt oyer ffae eIaciel
on the backs OF nsn. Even the wood uses
for cooking Il estimated to cost d hall frisise
Of about fen cents ii our money PEI pound
Here we passed the nigh 81 rather Dor.
tion Of it, as at midnight We were awakened
.by tbs voice of our guide calling lis Ii
breakfast; and at i. N. guides and tourist
were again IasLed together and went osl
into the night, hoping To reach The top be-
fore the heat Of the sun should soften Tie
snow The moon had just appeared abovse
the horizon and its cold rays lighting rp
the vast snow fieids around us, with the
silvered summit tar above, aud tila dark
valley far below, gave i ghasliy beauty and
weird splendor to the scene which words
cannot describe. The silence was uubrcker,
save by the harsh crunch 81 the frozen
SNOW under our feet al ne strobe On ward,
or The dull thunder of some mighty sya
iallehe hurting itself from the dizzy heights
of The glacier into the depths below.
We made our way onward and upward ID
best we might, nov making long detours te
avoid open crevasses, now working along
steep slopes whose icy surface necessitafed
the cutting Of steps ID order to obtain o
foothold, until about 1000 feet above the
Grand Mulets an obstruction was found
which seemed to effectually bar all further
progress. A broad, deep creyaase had
opened across our route and examination
failed to reveal any way of getting around
it. At length spot was found where an
oyerhanging wall Of ice and snow hung far
out over the opposite side of the erevasse,
but rose high above our heads, and at one
point q narrow neck Of frozen snow iutted
ont nearly to this wall, Here our guide
stopped and In few moments had with
his axe cut out in the wall as high as. be
could reach Q space large enough to hold
his body. Then calling up the porter,
with the Injunction to us to stand very
strong, he went up over the porter's back
into the opening he had made aud from;
thence cut steps in the les and finally
reached the top. We then followed in the
same manner and by our united strength
drew up the porter and again pressed on
ward. AT ahout:4 o'clock VIC reached the
Grand Plateau and witnessed most
glorious sunrise. Tie stars had been
fading one by one and the LIGHT growing
stronger, until at the last the !. Lord Of.
Day = appeared above tlie eastern horizon
and HE mountains were lit up with bis.
etfuIgunt rsiys.
From the Grand Plateau for some dis
tance the ascent was up steep slopes which
required only patience and endurance to
surmount, but farther on we reached the
Bosses du Dromadaire, or Humps of the
Dromedary, q series of steep, sharp ridges,
along the edge of which we could only
make our way by cutting steps in the ice
and frozen snow, while ON either side the
smooth surface descended at an angle Of
perhaps seventy degrees to unknown prec-
ipices below, making the ascent not only
slow and toilsome, but exceedingly danger
GUS. But at last all difficulties were sur
mounted and at 8 o'clock, exactly seven
hours after leaving the Grand Mulets, we
stood proudly on the summit. Mont
Blanc! The monarch of the Alps and the
highest of European mountains-15. ISL
feet, almost three miles, above the level of
the sea. The triumph was worthy of even
a greater effort. y
Ths view spread out before US was.
most extensive and beautiful one. The
broad plains Of Italy on the south, Lake
Geneva in the far west, while on the north
and east were s'.1Alps piled upon Alps" in
majesty; with Monta Rosa
and half dozen lower peaks, none of them
less than two miles high, looking like puny
hills beside the giant on which we stand.
A heavy gale was blowing and the cold was
severe, in fact, that later on
one of our guides, as well as ourself, found
our feet badly frosbitten, and consequently
our stay at the top was not a protracted
one. - Ii 5
The return trip was accomplished much
easier than the ascent, although in some
places quite difficult, but when we viewed
by the broad light Of day some of the places
over which we. had passed by moonlight, it
would, to say the least, have caused
shudder had we been given to that mode of
expression. Wereached our hotel in safety,
however, and received the hearty congratu-5
Iations of crowd of tourists who had been
anxiously watching our progress with a
powerful, glass since early morning.
The next day being the Sabbath We
rested, and on Monday visited the Mer de
Glace, glacier whose surface for long
distance is nearly fiat and whose hillocks
and ridges have been likened to a stormy
sea suddenly frozen. Crossing this we
descend by the Mauyais Pas to the valley,
and ascend on the other side to the
Flegere, point from which is obtained
view of the Mont Blanc range,
with thirteen mountain peaks each over
two miles high and five great glaciers de-
to the valley. z
Well nleased with our visit to this