ASCENT OF MONT BLANC. 97 



The nationalities of the ascensionists are noteworthy. 

 From 1819 to 1834 they were all English, except two 

 Americans. From 1847 to 1858, inclusive, all were En- 

 glish and Americans, except eight. The total number of 

 English ascensionists has been 457; of Americans, 82. 

 The French have had 75 representatives; Savoy and 

 Switzerland, 42. The total number of ascensions has been 

 775. Of every nine ascensionists, five have been English 

 and one American. English-speaking people have consti- 

 tuted two-thirds of the whole. The total number of lady 

 ascensionists has been 30; of whom 4 ascended in 1874. 

 One was a Spanish lady, who only succeeded on the third 

 attempt. Chamonix gave her an ovation for her bravery. 

 The first lady ascensionist was Mademoiselle Paradis, of 

 Chamonix, in 1809; the second, Mademoiselle H. d'Ange- 

 ville, of France, in 1838. The third was an English lady, 

 Mrs. T. Hamilton. The first American lady to make the 

 ascent was Miss Brevoort, of New York, in 1865. The 

 first Americans were Howard and Rensselaer, in 1819. 

 There have been six fatal accidents attending ascensions 

 from Chamonix. Six tourists have been lost, including 

 one lady, only one in 129 persons. No accidents have 

 occurred on the Chamonix side since 1870. In 1874, 

 however, there occurred a catastrophe on the Courmayer 

 side, in an attempt to ascend by the Glacier de Miage. 

 Night overtook the party while in the upper region of 

 the glacier. They were compelled to keep in motion 

 to avoid being frozen. They proceeded with caution, 

 cutting steps in the ice; but the voyageur missed his 

 footing, slipped, and drew with him his two guides into 

 a profound crevasse. One guide only escaped, and the 



