Some Account of the Mer-de- Glace. 321 



western of which, the Montagne-Vert, we stood ; while the peaks of the 

 other, called most appropriately " Les Aiguilles," rise upon the opposite 

 side. At some distance above its termination, the glacier divides into two 

 branches, which descend from different faces of the mountain. 



Leaving the rest of the party to proceed with the guide along the bank 

 of the Mer towards the Jardin. I descended the side of the mountain to 

 obtain a nearer view of the glacier. This was speedily effected, for having 

 slid down a steep bank of ice, I found myself in a situation out of which it 

 seemed easier to advance than to retreat. I determined therefore to gain 

 the other side, thinking the feat to be a very simple one, and likely to give 

 a fine view of the glacier. 



After having proceeded about a furlong, slipping down occasional decli- 

 vities m the ice, I found myself fairly in the substance of the glacier, and 

 in no very enviable position. The ice lies, or rather stands, in large flakes 

 called 'glacom: which rest one upon another like a pack of cards and dip 

 nearly vertically up the valley. Between these ^/aco«5 are a number of 

 chasms, some of which are above a hundred feet deep, and half full of 

 water. My principal object was to keep upon the crest of the thickest 

 glacon I could get at ; and taking care not to fall into the fissure on the 

 left, or slide into that on my right, thus to scramble on all fours towards 

 the opposite side. This process was not very difficult, as the crest of the 

 glacon was rough, and at least a couple of feet thick; but it was every 

 now and then intersected by smaller fissures, across which it was necessary 

 to pass. This was performed by descending twelve or fourteen feet 

 on the back of the glacon, until the fissure became narrow enough to 

 be crossed, and so climbing up again on the other side. This was not 

 very hazardous, as I had a baton Suisse of about six feet long, well shod and 

 spiked with iron at one end, and armed with a Chamois horn at the other 

 by striking which well into the top of the glacon, a firm stay was ensured' 

 After more than an hour's scrambling, I arrived at the iMoraine a huL'e 

 ndge of stones, composed of blocks of many tons weight, piled up together 

 in utter confusion, and forming a ridge of five and twenty feet high which 

 extends along parallel to the glacier, on the edge of which it lies ' There 

 were two or three of these ridges, over which I passed, much preferring 

 them to the ice; and at last I fairly reached the mountain on the opposite 

 side; and here I paused to take breath and enjoy in safety the scene 

 around me, which was certainly grand in the extreme. 



The materials of the Moraine seem to be derived from the various 

 mountains passed by the glacier in its course : some of the blocks lying on 

 the ice Itself, others only reaching to its verge. The piles before me were 

 not I tinnk much above twenty feet in height ; but they arc said in this 

 very glacier to be in some places thirty or forty, which indeed is not at 

 ail improbable, as the same causes that produced act also to increase them 

 .-.s they descend. The blocks are said to be detached chiefly during the 



