414 A TERRIBLE VALLEY. 



been disused. The people in Ealum endeavoured to dissuade 

 me. They told me it was three long days' journey over 

 glaciers and snow-peaks, that no one then alive had traversed 

 it, that the difficulties were insuperable, &c., &c. Natives are 

 very much inclined to talk in this way when they don't want 

 you to go to some place you wish to see, so I was determined 

 to go. However, in this instance I found they spoke the 

 truth. The first day's journey lay mostly over glaciers, but 

 there was no great difficulty, except that at the end of the 

 day's journey I had to pitch my tent in the middle of a large 

 glacier, on a great stone, at an elevation of 15,000 feet. 



" Our next day's journey lay for about three hours over 

 this glacier to the foot of the range we had to cross. The top 

 of the range was concealed in a thick black cloud, and it was 

 several hours before we discovered the cairn which had been 

 built on the top of the pass ages ago. The top of the pass 

 was nearly 19,000 feet above the sea. We descended the 

 other side about 3000 feet, when we were brought up by a 

 deep broad valley which descended from the snowy mountains 

 on our left. Long before we reached the edge of this valley, 

 our attention had been attracted to constant loud reports like 

 cannon, which we soon discovered the cause of. The valley 

 was about half a mile broad, and the sides and bottom of it 

 were worn and polished quite smooth by constant avalanches 

 of rocks and stones which have been falling for years and 

 years from the mountains above. Night was coming on, and 

 it was absolutely necessary for us to cross this somehow. 

 Behind us was nothing but snow and glacier, in front of us 

 this terrible valley, and rocks and stones falling in every 

 direction while we were holding a consultation on the edge of 

 it. To retreat would have been death from cold and starvation 

 to some of my men ; so we determined to run the gauntlet. 



" There was a large overhanging rock in the centre of the 

 valley, which looked as if it would afford shelter to two or 

 three people, not more, from falling stones ; so I despatched 



