ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 67 



overhang the cliffs of the Rochers Rouges. The larger 

 of the two enormous glaciers which constitute the out- 

 lets of this vast sea of ne"ve is Glacier des Bossons, which 

 is separated from the other by a wedge-shaped crest of 

 rocks, terminating upward in the spires of Aiguille de 

 la Tour. Rising from the firn-field, in the direction 

 pointed out by this rocky crest, we see a series of senti- 

 nel-like pyramidal rocks standing in dreary isolation. 

 These are the " Grands Mulcts " or Big Mules. On the 

 l^wer one the guides of Chamonix have erected a couple 

 of cabins, which serve as inns, plain, and even rude; 

 but never was inn entered with fewer questions asked 

 than this, after a desperate scramble of six hours' dura- 

 tion. 



In gazing upon this panorama of glaciers, one cannot 

 fail to remark the immense moraines accumulated about 

 their lower reaches. The great elevations of these mo- 

 raines are due to the agency of a flood-time in the glacier 

 stream. Sixty-four years ago (1817) the valley of Bos- 

 sons was 300 feet fuller than at present, and the ice- 

 stream stretched a third of a mile farther down the val- 

 ley. It will be noticed that these moraines continue far 

 up the sides of the glacier. Let me ask the reader to 

 note what seems a vast notch in the northern margin of 

 Glacier des Bossons. A huge protuberance of rock deflects 

 the glacier to the south. Formerly the ice river flowed 

 over this obstacle. I have stood on the polished surface 

 which bears this testimony. A vast amount of moraine 

 material has been piled up at the foot of this huge preci- 

 pice, for huge it is, though at this distance appearing 

 somewhat insignificant. Farther up is another notch, of 

 smaller dimensions, produced by a similar cause. Tame 



