The Wichita daily eagle., 1891-10-07
AMONG ALPINE HILLS.
ONE TRAVELLER THINKS WE HAVE
BETTER GLACIERS HERE.

AtO AOA
GIaciers-A Description OF Swiss Seem
cry by an American.
restrict my use of the word Alps to the
mountains of Switzerland, leaving out Of
account the Tyrolese Alps, which I have
not visited Our first view of an Alpine
glacier was at Grindelwald. This is a very
popular place of resort on account of its
ease of access. 1t is approached most di-
rectly from Berne through Lake Thun to
Interlachen, thence by q rack and pinion
railroad through most romantic valley
to the village taking the name Of the
glaciers, which here come down to the
head of the valley.
Our first sight of the Grindelwald gla-
ciers (for there are two of them) was at the
close of the day sTo one whose first i'm
pressions of living glaciers were received
from the magnificent examples in Alaska,
these two spindling apologies for glaciers
of Grindelwald seemed disappointing
enough, but it was as good as we should
have expected, for the glaciers, like the
monarchies of Europe, have abundant
reasons for being effete
The elevation of Grindelwald above the
sea is a little over 1000 feet, so that the
glaciers there are at lower level than
most of those in the Alps. Taking into
account their ease of access and the mar
velous beauty of the valley, l do not won
der at their popularity. The mountain
scenery is grand and beautiful enough to
make the place popular to begin with, and
the glaciers are thrown in.
1t is from Grindelwald that one gets his
best view of the Jungfrau, one of the high
est of the peaks of the Bernese Alps. Its
total elevation above the sea is little less
than 1900 feet. and it lifts its ynmetri-
cal wedge shaped pinnacle, mantled in the
purest snow, fully $500 feet above the vii
lage. Numerous other peaks, varying with
the Jungfrau in beauty and grandeur, also
greet the eye of the tourist in noble semi
circle stretching around toward the south,
and extending from west to east.
ASCENDING GRINDELwALD.
A nearer approach to the Grindelwald
glaciers, and a tramp upon them, increases
the respect even of an Alaskan traveller.
The lower of the two especially has for a
snow field noble amphitheater surround
ed by the loftiest peaks of this portion Of
the Alps. Over these peaks the snow is
blown by the winds. forming great snow
drifts near their submits, from which
they descend in frequent avalanches to
augment the quantity which naturally
falls into the amphitheater.
The large amount of snow thus accumu-
lated, coupled with the great elevation
and the protection from the sun afforded
by the shade of the peaks themselves, read
lily explains the low level to which the
glacier descends, which projects in tongue
like course a distance of three miles beyond
the basin in which the snow has collected.
Generally, it may be said that the length
of the true glacier corresponds with both
the size and the elevation of the collecting
basin. The tonguelike projection of ice
which constitutes the true glacier is sub
ject to many variations in appearance. It
adjusts itself most perfectly to the shape
and turns of the gorge or valley through
which it slowly flows. 2-aDsf
When the down grade is slight the sur
face of the glacier is smooth; but as soon
as the grade increases, cracks or crevices
begin to form, and where the descent is
very steep these become yawning chasms.
into which it would be death for the trav-
eler to fall. Then, also, the motion of the
ice is more rapid. In short, glacier, like
a river, has its period of peaceful flow, al
ternating with its rapids and cataracts.
THE ALETsCH GLACIER.
We have been on the Aletsch glacier, the
largest of all in Switzerland. This lies in
the valley of the Rhone, on the opposite
side OF the Jungfrau from the Grindelwald,
and separated from the glaciers of Monte
Rosa and of Mont Blanc by the upper val
ley of the Rhone This glacier is thirteen
= o. l. -
fields of the central portion of the Bernese
Alps, lying between the Finster-Aar Horn,
the Jungfrau and the Aletsch Horn, each
of them nearly 1900 feet high. But from
this point the Jungfrau presents its side
and not its edge to the view of the beholder.
This, coupled with the high elevation from
which it is viewed, makes it much less i'm
pressive than from the other side.
We spent an hour or two on the compar-
atively smooth surface of the upper por-
tion of the great Aletsch glacier. We were
between 1000 and 5000 feet above the sea,
and the slope up the glacier across the
SHOWS of the foot and on the fianks of the
Jungfrau were so gradual that we were
some time in realizing where we were. The
glacier here was about mile wide, and ex-
tended as far as we could see both up and
down the narrow, mountain girt valley.
The pass through the side valley leading
from the Aletsch TO the Fieseh glacier is
lower than the surface of the Aletsch gla-
cier opposite it, so that the natural outlet
of the damned up water is over it into the
valley of the Fiesch and thus into the
Rhone several miles above the lower end
of the Aletsch. Into this little glacial lake
small icebergs are from time to time fall |
ing from the great glacier as 1t slowly but
malestically moves past il. We saw many
floating around in the clear blue water Of
the lake, but were not so fortunate as TO
see any fall into the water, but to Us 1t
was not of so much account 10 miss this
spectacle, since it was altogether but a
miniature of what we had seen on the |
grandeSt scale in Alaska Still, this pre-
sentS spectacle of no mean order, and we
do not blame tourists for going into rap
lures over it.-G. Frederick Wright in |
Cleveland Leader