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LX. Account of a Journey to tlie Summit of Mont Perdu: 

 read in the French National Institute by C. Ramond*. 



X several times attempted to ascend Mont Perdu, but was 

 always stopped at a little distance from its summit by pre- 

 cipices and an accumulation of ice, which it was impossible 

 for me to pass. I was, however, anxious to reach it, either 

 to verify, by the help of my barometer, the elevation of 

 this mountain, which appears to be the highest of the Py- 

 renees; or to ascertain the nature and disposition of the 

 banks of which the summits are formed: and thus to place 

 beyond all doubt one of the most singular geological phe- 

 nomena ever observed. 



Of all the faces of Mont Perdu there was only the eastern 

 declivity which afforded me any chance of success. On 

 that side there is a very high defile, which the intrepid 

 mountaineers sometimes pass in order to proceed directly 

 from the valley of Beousse to that of Fanlo : this is what is 

 called the Col deNiscle. I was persuaded that by proceeding 

 from this defile it would not be difficult to ascend the peak 

 itself, if the interval by which I was separated from it did 

 not conceal from me some obstacle which it was impos- 

 sible to surmount. I therefore sent two of my best guides 

 to explore the way, and followed them myself four days 

 after. I now found that I was not deceived in my opinion, 

 and that I had conjectured the real route to Mont Perdu. 



I took my first station at the Port de Pinede. In the Py- 

 renees the name of port or gate is given to those defiles 

 which serve as passages of communication between one 

 •valley and another. The latter is in the Spanish boun- 

 daries, and is at a considerable elevation. According to a 

 barometrical observation, it is 2516 metres, or 1291 toises; 

 being 98 metres higher than that of the Col du Grand 

 Saint Bernard. The Port de Pinede, however, is far from 

 being the most elevated passage of this part of the Pyrenees. 



Here the Col de Nii-cle is seen opposite; but the spectator 

 is separated from it by the valley of Beousse We there- 

 fore descended, proceeding in an oblique direction towards 

 those enormous walls which sustain the lake of Mont Per- 

 du and its terrace ; and we arrived at the point where the 

 torrent, issuing from this lake, falls down in a most awful 



* From Annates du Museum Rationale dEistolre Naturelle, No. 13. 



cataract 



