72 SPARKS FROM A GEOLOGIST'S HAMMER. 



our path into a dark chasm awful to stand over. On the 

 sunny slope of this mountain Alpine flowers flourish in 

 equal beauty and abundance. I gathered here twenty- 

 three species, among them, the white gentian. In an 

 hour we have reached the station called Pierre a 1'fichelle. 

 This is a block of granite twenty feet high, over which 

 hangs the Aiguille du Midi. The guides call to the rocks 

 on the opposite side of the glacier, and Aiguille de la 

 Tour echoes back a distinct response. Vegetation con- 

 tinues beautifully developed. Rhododendrons, or Alpine 

 roses, are plentiful. 



A little beyond this spot we take leave of the solid 

 land, to grapple with the difficulties of ice and snow. As 

 in all cases, the boundary line of the glacier is a belt of 

 disputed territory. Ice, rocks, gravel and earth promis- 

 cuously mixed, form an obstacle requiring strength and 

 agility to pass it. Even at the outset, real dangers threaten 

 us, for avalanches of ice and stones are almost perpetu- 

 ally precipitated from the heights of the crest running 

 from the Aiguille du Midi to Mont Maudit. 



These dangers and difficulties passed, it is customary 

 to attach the whole party together by means of a com- 

 mon cord. Thus, an individual so unfortunate as to slip 

 on a dangerous slope, or to drop into a concealed crevasse, 

 will be held up by his companions. At the same time, 

 the rope is liable to convert the accident of one into the 

 disaster of the whole party. But the good chances out- 

 weigh the bad; and, as any individual may be the one to 

 meet with an accident, all are willing to take the risk of 

 being made the sharer of some other's misfortune, a 

 sort of life insurance on the mutual plan. 



The mass of ice is cleft by crevasses running in every 



