APPEARANCES OF GLACIEUS AND SNOW-FIELDS. 173 



anches deposits itself as a sort of talus, or sloping delta- 

 bhaped heap at about that part of the terrace which must 

 have been the shore of the ancient fiord. All these aval- 

 anche tracks are smoothed by the falling snow, and ice, 

 and stones ; they are probably scratched and grooved like- 

 wise, but this I cannot positively affirm, as they were on 

 the opposite side of the river.' 



In writing of his journey in still higher lying" lands, 

 whence flow the rivers terminating in the Romsdal fiord, 

 and the Sogne fiord, and several others in the district 

 called collectively the ' Nord fiord/ although there is no 

 individual fiord bearing that name, he says, 'The ascent of 

 the valley towards the snowy wilderness of the Nord fiord 

 and Jostedals Braaen is by an abominable path, over the 

 wreck of glacier moraines, and through thickets of low 

 beech trees, or rather bushes ; the elastic arms of which, 

 entangled with each other, continually bar the way, and 

 springing back as they are bent aside, pick off one's hat, 

 flog one's face, and take most tantalising liberties with the 

 knapsack behind. 



' The vegetation soon ceased, and I came upon a waste 

 of loose stones, with sloppy snow between, and every ves- 

 tige of the track obliterated by the thawing/ The diffi- 

 culties and adventures in which he was thus involved are 

 graphically told. He found himself at the head of a 

 valley terminating in three peaks, the centre one being 

 just in the direction he ought to take, but that was 

 impossible. He musl follow one or other of the hollows 

 between ; but which I It was evident that these courses 

 led to very different places ; to valleys branching off in 

 yery different directions. They all led upwards to the 

 great snow deserts of the Jostedal and Nord fiord, or to 

 the dreary Sogne ijeld, and downwards again to rocky 

 solitudes filled with the ruins that the recently receded 

 glaciers had left behind. 



He ascended one of the peaks in hopes of making a 

 survey that would aid him ; but found that the apparent 

 summit was surmounted by another far above and far 



