Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-11-02

| Is Tue ui9nesL OF these perks, some seven
thousand feet, almost perpendicular from
| Inc valley. We had heard great
deal of talk about the view from there,
during those days of soiourn around the
| parlor fire, SO when another clear DAY
dawned after the day OF our excursion OIL
the glacier, l prepared TO start of for the
summit With mule and guide. TIL J
decision lay between going alone, or not
| going at all, so | went. Kind Mon sieur
| Couttet gave me for my encouragement
and protection the biggest guide in the
bureau des guides, aud the most mule
that could be laid hold OF In Que piece.
| They told me he had more years than l
had, which | was ready TO believe, and
! he was rich in all the qualities which
/ tradition has assigned to the mule. In
the first place he refused to go. and stuck
| his four legs resolutely IN the ground
| when we reached the turn that led up
| hill. The guide turned him around and
! led him up to the corner five or six times
with the same uuvarying result. That
mule evidently did not approve of my
going up the Brevent without Il chaper-
one, and ] began to feel uneasy about il
myself. especially rs the stir occasioned
10y the mule brought heads tito the PEN
sion windows. But the mule was finally
coaxed around the turn by small bog
and piece of bread, and after all 1t
seemed very proper thing to ascend Il
mountain alone with so much guiae and
SO much muls. 1t was i'll u moment of
weakness that my mule accepted the
bread, and nll the next hour he sought q
place of repentance, with tears, brayIng
long aud bitterly.
knew nothing about the Brevent ex-
cept that it WIS the highest point opposite
Mont Blanc and the finest view point in
the valley OF Chamonix. If had known
more i should never have wanted TO 90
alone; no, not even with all that guide
aud mule. Not counting the necessary
halts 1t is four hours steep and steady
ascent. After the first hour in The woods,
for two hours We followed u little ZigZag
path, narrow rs would possibly do AMI
built up with loose stones from the
PERCEPTIONS mountain side, worn smooth
by land-slips. So short were
the ZigZags that we were per-
petually turning corners, and so short
were the corners that it was all my big
mule cOul do TO get himself around
without scratching me off on the sharp
rocks. / saw nothing but my mules
ears and these rocks for those two hours
on the other side 10 see what ample OPP
portunity there was for rolling down
three or four thousand feet into Chm
monk. At length, "Bel Achat, - said
the guide. ] looked straight up over my
head. and then laughed. II was one OF
the drollest sights l ever saw. Forty
two mule ears, ard twentv-one mule
heads were locking seriously down at me
from over O wooden railing, apparently
in the mir. 1t WIS an absurd burlesque
TN winged cherub heads. Soon my mule
aud five or six more who came behind
me were also looking over the railing,
for behind the railing, on little plateau
just big enough for the house and the
mules, was the chalet of Bel Achat,
where We were supposed TO stop for
lunch. But had learned that refresh
men's in such places are not only bad
and dear, but while you are waiting for
il the clouds are apt to come down and
your view is obsrured. So l had taken
some rolls with me from the break fast
tnUle, and now at the Bel Achat sat out
side looking at Mount Blanc till the
mule and the guide were ready TO go on.
Ii Is not till one gets up somewhere near
the level of the snow line one 5 self that
one can possibly realize the immensely
and ma1nihcence of q snow mountain.
As for Mount Blanc, one gets no idea of
the comparative height of the central
peak above the others around II from
ChamOnix, but from Bel Achat or the
Breveut, Noun; Blanc is grandly SYM
metrical, his white head towering above
his white shoulders. From this height
the mountain seems so near-terrlfirally
superbly near. The valley of Chamonix
looks but n narrow slit between you, and
the frightful grandeur of these snow
wastes, yet you know that those little
yellow patches so far, far below mean
fields of grain, and that il must be d
mile between the foot of the Breveut
and the foot OF Mount Blanc. From this
height, too, more of those fine pinnacles
of rock to the side of Mount Blanc are
disclosed; magnificent spires, themselves
fringed with smaller spires, busted with
SNOW where snow can stick, but mostly
rising into perpendicular points of bare,
dull red or cream colored rock. / have
wondered If the idea of the Milan Ca
thed-al was not conceived in ChRmonlx.
The guide said the path was better be-
yond Bel Acbat. Perhaps it is natural
that a Mount Blanc guide should have
rather contOrted ideals of good path.
But / thought l could see the summit
above me, so l did not mind. We ]
reached that point had my eyes on ,ati<4'i
then the guide said ,''Vaile le summt!'
ana he pointed to a great cone of rock
two or three miles Off-on the top of
which some black specks were moving
around. There was where we were go
ing! How any mortal mule could take
me up there didn't see. but l did not
propose TO walk. so l grasped the railing
OF my saddle (these sidesaddles have a
high railing around them like a baby's
high chair), and thought Of the lady be-
hind be, u stout, motherly American
matrou, who had been rolling around
frightfully in her saddle coming up to
Bel Achat. We were now III the most
utterly desolate region had ever seen.
The green valley was cut off from view;
we could not see even the shining white
ness of Mount Blanc; Nil the ground
was covered with loose stones, shattered
by the storms from cliffs above, scarcely
leaving room for few blades of faded
grass; patches of snow lay around;
there was black pool of wafer, and off |
TO the left We looked GU TO new scene |
d wilderness of rocky peaks, without
tree or q green thing in sight. Clouds |
were beg inning 10 settle on Mount Blame |
and how the wind bleEi AT times IL |