Bakewell’s Travels in the Tarentaise, &c. 
valley are the highest of any on the Old 
Continent, except the Hemmeleh in Asia, 
for on one side are the Joftiest summits 
in the southern range of the Alps, and 
on the other the loftiest summits of the 
northern range. They form two walls 
of rock, much shattered and iniersected, 
and varying in height, from nine. to 
twelve thousand feet above the valley. 
The central mass on each side is granitic, 
diyided into beds which are nearly ver- 
tical, and their general range is N. E. 
and S. W. or nearly in the direction of 
the valley. The bottom of these moun- 
tains in the valley are generally covered 
with secondary strata, except near its 
upper part, and also for a short space in 
its lower part near Martigny, where a 
deep section is made through the se- 
condary strata, and has laid bare the gra- 
nitic rocks. From each of the ranges on 
the right and left, numerous deep ravines, 
besides the lateral valleys, open into the 
great valley, and bring their tributary 
streams to the Rhéne. 
Vast eboulements are every year fal- 
ling from the enormous precipices that 
overhang the lower ground; many of 
these are recorded which have destroyed 
entire villages. Avalanches have also 
sometimes fallen of such vast size as to 
occasion dreadful inundations of the 
Rhone; and on the 18th of February, 
1720, the village of Obergestelen, with 
eighty-eight of its inhabitants, were 
overwhelmed by an avalanche. 
_ In‘sucl a situation as the Vallais, man 
seems to be placed amid the ruins of na- 
ture, in a state of warfare with the ele- 
ments, and he is compelled to. be inces- 
santly on his guard against the powers 
that threaten bis destruction. 
The air at the bottom of the valleys is 
often hot and suffocating, when the cold 
is severe upon the mountains. From 
various causes, but principally from the 
stagnation of air in the valleys, from the 
mineral impregnation of the water, and 
from want of cleanliness and wholesome 
diet, cretinism, in its most horrid forms, 
is more prevalent in this canton than in 
any other part of the Alps. The places 
most subject to cretinism are where the 
lateral valleys enter the valley of the 
Rhone, and the torrents are most charged 
with minute particles of mineral sub- 
stances, and also where the air is most 
stagnant. It is obseryed that in the vil- 
lages that are situated about 3800 feet 
above the level of {the sea, the inhabit- 
ants are not affected with this malady, 
Intermittent fevers are also frequent in 
the marshy parts of the yalley, and the 
603 
inhabitants are affected with cutaneous 
disorders, from living on cheese and 
salted meat:#indeed the general. appear- 
ance of the peasantry is indicative of po- 
verty and misery. 
Though nature appears to have dealt 
unkindly with the Vallaisiens, they suffer 
much less from natural than from moral 
evils, or rather the former are greatly in- 
creased by the latter. Superstition, ig- 
norance, and indolence, deprive them of 
the comforts and’security which an en- 
lightened industry might procure. For 
instance, the valley might be rendered far 
more healthy and productive by draining. 
Many parts are extremely fertile, and 
the warmth is sufficient to favour the 
growth of the vegetable productions of 
more southern latitudes. Round. Sion 
and Sierre, fig-trees, almond- trees, pome- 
granates, and mulberry-trees, flourish 
abundantly, and the grapes are rich in 
flavour. 
The vegetab!e productions of this can- 
ton comprise those which grow between 
the latitudes of Marseilles and of Green- 
land. On the rocks facing the south, 
the thermometer is said to be frequently 
at 48° Reaumar, or 140° Fahrenheit, 
while on the heights above are growing 
the lichens of the arctic circle. Its 
zoology is rich and varied, comprising 
seyeral animals seldom found in’ the 
other parts of the Swiss Alps. ‘The lynx 
infests the valleys of Conches, of Viege, 
of Bagnes, and of Herens. ‘Fhe lam- 
mergeyer has its nest in the inaccessible 
rocks above Conches, Brieg, and Viece. 
The deep intersections made in the 
central range of the Alps, by the gorges 
and lateral valleys, have disclosed a 
great variety of mineral substances, some 
of which are rare: but many of these 
valleys have never been explored by the 
naturalist or mineralogist. 
The Vallaisiens are ‘said to be ex- 
tremely superstitious, and to trust much 
to supernatural power for the remedy of 
evils, that require only prudence or in- 
dustry to avoid, It was customary to 
exorcise the maladies of the sick, or even 
a rock that was in danger of falling, or 
any natural calamity, by which they 
were menaced, 'They retain some fétes 
and processions of pagan origin, which 
the church does not approve. 
I have often reflected on the misery 
that exists in this canton, compared with 
the Oberland of Berne, which is only 
divided from it by the same range of 
mountains, and is less fertile. I am in- 
clined to attribute the misery of the 
Vallaisiens chiefly to the circumstance 
of 
