BLANC, MONT. 



Observa- 

 tions on its 

 summit. 



Blanc. schcerl and lapis Cornells ; and some of them, about 

 ^-y J 150 yards below the summit, have the appearance of 



having been shive-ed with lightning. 

 Height. Mont Blanc is unquestionably the highest moun- 



tain in Europe ; and there is no reason to think, that 

 it is surpassed by any in Africa or Asia. According 

 to the calculations of De Luc, its height above the 

 level of the sea is 2391 f French toises, or 15,304 

 English feet ; according to Sir George Shuck- 

 burgh, 15,662 feet ;.and according to other observa- 

 tions, 15,080 feet, or nearly three English miles above 

 the level of the sea. 



At the elevation of 1 1,392 feet above the sea, M. 

 De Saussure observed the silcne acaulis, or moss 

 campion in flower ; still higher, on the most elevated 

 rocks, he found the lichen sulphurem and lichen 

 rupestris of Hoffman ; and, on the summit, he noti- 

 ced two butterflies on the wing, which he supposed 

 to have been driven thither by the wind. On the top 

 of Mont Blanc, on the third day of August, Reau- 

 mur's thermometer stood, in the shade, at 2i below 

 the freezing point, or 27 of Fahrenheit ; while, at the 

 same time, at Geneva, it was found at 22.6 or 82 of 

 Fahrenheit, which gives a difference ot nearly 25 de- 

 grees of Reaumur, or 45 of Fahrenheit, between the 

 temperature of the atmosphere at both places. De 

 Luc's barometer fell to i6.0$$$$, while it stood at 

 Geneva at 27.2||4, a difference of 11.2, with a 

 small fraction. By experiments with the hygrometer, 

 the air was found to contain six times less humidity 

 than that of Geneva; and to this extreme dryness of 

 the atmosphere, the burning thirst, which Saussure 

 and his companions experienced in the extraordinary 

 elevation, is supposed to have been owing. While 15 

 or 16 minutes are sufficient to boil water at Geneva, 

 and 14 or 15 at the sea side, it requires half an hour 

 on the top of this mountain. By experiments with 

 the electrometer, the electricity of the air was found 

 to be positive, and the balls diverged only three lines ; 

 and by experiments with lime water, and the caustic 

 alkali, atmospheric acid, or fixed air, was detected in 

 the atmosphere. Owing to the extreme rarefaction 

 of the air, sounds were remarkably feeble, and the re- 

 port of a pistol discharged on the summit, did not ex- 

 ceed that of a small Chinese cracker in a room. From 

 the same cause, respiration becomes exceedingly diffi- 

 cult at so immense an altitude ; and it was found, that 

 the pulses of three persons, which beat atChamouni,in 

 a state of repose, 49, 60, and 72, were increased, on 

 the summit of Mont Blanc, to 98, 112, and 100. 

 Attempts The ascent of this lofty mountain is particularly 



a ? "' hazardous and toilsome; and in consequence of re- 

 tummit. , r *i i c \ , i 



peated failures on the part ot those who made the at- 

 tempt, was for a long time deemed utterly impracti- 

 cable. A short sketch of these adventurous excur- 

 sions may not be uninteresting to our readers ; and may 

 enable them (better than any description can do) to 

 form a livelier conception of the amazing height and 

 wintry horrors of Mont Blanc. The first attempt 

 was made by M. Couteran, and three guides of Cha- 

 mouni, Michael Paccard, Victor Tissay, and Marie 

 Coutet. They set out from the priory about eleven 

 o'clock in the evening, on the 13th of July 1776; 

 and after spending 1 4 hours in surmounting many dan- 



m 



515 



gerous ascents, crossing vallies of ice, and traversing 

 plains of snow, they reached the top next to Mont 

 Blanc, about 13,000 feet above the Mediterranean. 

 They at first imagined themselves to be within a league 

 of its summit ; but soon perceived, that it would re- 

 quire other four hours to reach it ; and as the day 

 was far advanced, and the vapours gathering into 

 clouds, they were obliged, with regret, to relinquish 

 their enterprize ; and, after a journey of 22 hours, ar- 

 rived at Chamouni about eight o'clock in the evening. 

 The indefatigable Bourrit next excited a spirit of en- 

 terprise among the inhabitants of Chamouni ; and af- 

 ter repeated unsuccessful attempts, he departed from 

 Bionasay on the 11th of September 1784, accompa- 

 nied by six guides, and was scaling, as he expressed 

 it, the rampart of Mont Blanc, when he was so ex- 

 tremely affected by the intensity of the cold, as to be 

 unable to proceed. But two of his guides, Marie 

 Coutet, and Francis Guidet, having gone before their 

 company, ascended to the dome of Goute ; passed 

 the middle dome, and walked along the ridge between 

 that and the summit, as far as some high rocks, which 

 appear from the vale of Chamouni like small points in 

 the snow ; but the approach of night compelled them 

 to return. On the 4th of September 1785, Marie 

 Coutet, and James Balma, reached a place under a 

 rock at a considerable elevation, where they passed 

 the night; and setting out before sun-rise, passed the 

 dome of Goute, and were proceeding towards the 

 summit, when a violent storm of hail obliged them to 

 desist. On the 13th of September, Messieurs de 

 Saussure and Bourrit, with twelve guides, left Biona- 

 say, passed the night at a hut, which they had order- 

 ed to be constructed, about 7808 feet above the level 

 of the sea, and reached the dome of Goute next morn- 

 ing without much difficulty ; but a fresh fall of snow 

 rendered farther progress impracticable. In July 

 1786, six guides of Chamouni failed in another at- 

 tempt ; but James Balma, one of their number, hav- 

 ing been separated from his companions, passed the 

 night in a spot above the dome of Goute, more than 

 12,000 feet above the level of the sea; and, having 

 reconnoitred the situation next morning, observed a 

 place of more easy access than any that had hitherto 

 been attempted. On his return to Chamouni, he 

 communicated his observation to Dr Paccard, a phy- 

 sician of the place, who attended him during a severe 

 indisposition, the effect of the cold and fatigue to 

 which he had been exposed ; and in gratitude for that 

 gentleman's attendance, engaged to conduct him to 

 the summit of the mountain. They set out from Cha- 

 mouni on the 7th of August, spent the night on the 

 mountain of La Cute ; at three in the morning pur- 

 sued their route to the dome of Goute ; passed under 

 the middle dome towards the east, along the ridge 

 which is seen from Geneva, and which lies on the left 

 of the summit. Here Dr Paccard was almost de- 

 terred by the cold and fatigue from pursuing the en- 

 terprise ; but encouraged by Balma to proceed, and 

 frequently walking sideways to shelter their faces 

 from the piercing wind, they at length, about six 

 o'clock in the afternoon, and after an ascent of 15 

 hours, attained the summit of Mont Blanc. They 

 remained about half an hour on a spot, which no one 



Blanc. 



