110 On the Downn-ard Progress 



Gomel", in the midst of blocks of serpentine, gravels, earth, 

 and sand, fragments of lai'ge trunks of pines, which the gla- 

 cier had torn from the forest at the foot of the Riffelhorn, a 

 kilometre distant. 



It is, then, with the glacier of Gorner as with the preced- 

 ing"; it has been in a state of progression many ages. 



The glacier of Viesch, on advancing into the valley of the 

 same name, encounters a formidable obstacle of rocks in situ, 

 which form a promontory in the middle of the ice, and forces 

 it to diverge to the right and left. This promontory is covered 

 by a forest of pines a century old, but the ice-fields always 

 advance and destroy a great quantity of trees every year ; 

 between the forest and glacier, there was this year a zone 

 of pines intermingled with the debris of rocks forming part 

 of the lateral moraine. 



The guides of the place assured me, without mentioning 

 exactly the period, that a village, called Auf der Burg, for- 

 merly existed not far from the obstacle just spoken of. Of this 

 village not a trace remains ; the ice has overwhelmed all. 



According to M. Yenetz, the inhabitants of this valley 

 were accustomed to communicate, three centuries ago, with 

 those of the Grindelwald. There was a chapel on the upper 

 pass, the bell of which has not been lost, being preserved at 

 Grindelwald. This passage is now one of the most perilous 

 among the Alps, and great experience and skill in glaciers 

 are necessary to enable one to accomplish it. 



In regard to the glacier of the Aar, M. Agassiz concludes, 

 that an advancement of 800 metres has taken place in a 

 hundred years, according to documents obtained from a work 

 of Altmann in 1751.* Since M. Agassiz' departure, M. Doll- 

 fus and myself have attentively watched the progress of this 

 glacier, and have observed this year a fact very conclusive as 

 to its advancement. On the left bank, in a locality indicated 

 on M. Agassiz' map by the name Brandlamm, there exist on 

 the sides of the enclosing mountain a few rugged last summer 

 stumps of Pinus ci mbra ; one of these pines has been reached 

 by the glacier ; we have sawn the trunk and ascertained the 



* Agassiz, NoHvelhs Etudes sur let Glaciers, p. 542. 



