Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-02
A TEXAS GIRL ABROAD.
Variable" Weather in Chamonix-Ad =
ventures in Ascending the Breyent.
Coming Down a "Chimney'-Visiting the
Glacier That Seemed So Nenr-Mt.
Blanc.NnI Not BE Photographed.
Special Correspondence TO the Gazette.

| Special Correspondence 10 the Gazette.
CHAMoNIx Sept. 1--we had a very
mistaken notion that We could come &c
Chamonix and see Mount Blanc anytime.
Now there is where the guile books and
maps lead one all astray. We came ex-
pecting TO spend three days in absorbing
the glory and the beauty of the monster
mountain; We staid three days and saw
not sign OF mountain. II I had
written then, should have described
Chamonix as d few hotels and pensions
lost in the mist on the way from
Geneva TO Martignv; and why these
hotels ana pensions should have stopped
just here where it raned harder Than
anywhere else, and why they should not
have gone on to where there was some
thing to see we did not understand. But
rs all history, all precedent, was in
favor OF the fact that thers was some
thing to be seen from Chamonix, we
yielded our private judgment aud settled
ourselves at the Hotel Beau-Site TO await
further Developments. And there were
further Developments; more rain. more
wind. more cold; but the time passed
pleasantly enough.
There was fire in the little saloon
here. We assembled Mount Blanc a
dozen times in certain large red book;
with Jacque Balmar. with De SGussure;
We were lost in awful crevuSs5s and
buried i'll avalanches; then We gathered
around Monster Couttit, our proprietor,
who is II famous old guide, and has seen
the top of Mount Blanc thirty-four
times, and we listened with freezing
ears TO more ghastly tales. And every
morning We would rush TO the
barometer, always to find the
mercury at variable, and would
inquire of Nj. Couttet Gs to
the probabilities, to which he always re-
sponded with a shrug, zone can say
nothing.' But he knew, as well a. that
wretch of n barometer, that ''variuble'
meant invariahle pour. Our only COM
fort was that all Switzerland was being
delugrd in the same way.
But one morning, oh the glory of It!
the sun shone from clear, rich blue sky
down on dazzling snow fields and deep
green valley. From studying the photo
graphs We had made up our minds
10 be disappointed in Mt. Blanc.
In the pictures 1t looked neither
shapely nor magnificent, and we felt
rather absurd, for Mount Blanc ought to
he the climax OF our Swiss travel, and
we thought il n shame if the biggest
mountain in Europe could not make
more show. But it seems hardly neces-
sary TO say that we,were not disappointed
in the reality. Mount Blanc cannot be
photographed. He is not picturesque;
he does not condescend to group
his mighty white head, and
shoulders, into Proper form for
Il 81 canvas, or contract himself in
order to fit into Photographic
camera. He is what he Is,
and he is not going to come
TO you IN any pretty photograph
or painting, you must come to him. In
the first place he is absolutely white.
You look up into miles and miles of eter-
nal snow; in some places smooth as mar
BILE, in others banked up in piles two or
three hundred feet deep. From the
heart of this snow the glacier des Blossoms
comes squirming down way into the val
ley like huge serpent of ice. There are
four other glaciers extending down into
the valley from the Mount Blanc range,
but none so large nor so white as this
one. AS general thing glaciers have
disreputable dirty. l should think the
Swiss people would have more pride
about their glaciers and wash them up ut
least once q year. But they don't; they
point out the smutty, rough aud tumble
old things as if they were to be admired.
do not see how any glacier, even q
clean one, can be called beautiful, ex-
cept in respect TO the deep blue color of
the crew sses; they are queer, and they
are Interesting, and one comes TO have a
certain regard for them as for the rough
features that sharpen the individuality of
n fine mountain. We went up on the
glacier des Blossoms this fine day of which
/ was speaking. 1t looked like q nice
little stroll; they said it was an hour and
q half. but we could not believe that,
for didn't the end of the glacier come
right down between the trees into the
valley, and didn't we see il right close
before us-the white pyramids of ice
iutting up, and the blue color of the ifs
sures? Well. we went for miles and still
the white pyramids jutted up close before
us, and We were no nearer. Finally we
reached the foot of u spur of the noun
tain, and saw that the end of the glacier
which We thought curne down into the
valley was fur above us; then after all
hours steep climb (perhaps not more
than half that time for people who don't
get LOST We reached a little wooden
house with the French tricolor flying
from il, right on the edge of the NOR
raIne from whence we looked onto that
fretted sea nf ice. The near view of u
great glacier - rather n terrific sight.
A glacier is q frozen unrest, a petriied
tempest and storm that cannot be
soothed. In walking here our ideas
of distance had been annIhilated by the |
of the mountains around US;
SO, though We thought this was q large |
glacier. We had no idea OF its sizs till |
we stood here where we could see moth |
Ing else. We drew coarse socks, made |
for the purpose, over our shoes; we took |
4 lpen-stock and d guide and set forth 10 |
cross the glacier. Ii Is only twenty |
minutes walk at this narrow end and not |
In interestingly dangerous, except perhaps |
Oh the flight of ice-steps By which one |
Iirst ascrnds from the morraine. After |
that it was quite level and smooth just |
where we crossed. Every now AMI then |
d tiny little brook would come purllng |
ilong across our path-so pure an clear |
aud sparkling in its bed of snow white! |
had always thought that glacier ice
was clear like that which comes out OF |
he Ice wagon and Is put IN the refrigera-
or, but II is not. II is solid white like