250 CAUCASIAN GLACIERS AND FORESTS. 



US of those Alpine subjects with wliicli all who are 

 acquainted with Mr. Walton's drawings must be familiar. 

 Before attempting the doubtful descent we 'jodeled' 

 and fired off our revolvers, to attract the attention of the 

 shepherds, who halted for some minutes to watch us. Even 

 a common snow-slope — and this was by no means a common 

 one — looks remarkably like a wall when seen from any point 

 nearly opposite it ; I fancy, therefore, that our performance 

 during the next half-hour must have been fully as exciting 

 and gratifying to the spectators as those of Blondin and 

 Leotard are to a London crowd. Fortunately, the snow 

 was in perfect order, firm enough to hold without being too 

 hard to dig steps into with the foot, and with ordinary 

 care there was little risk in the descent on to the glacier, 

 notwithstanding the really formidable angle of the slope, 

 which was equal to that of the last piece of the Wetter- 

 horn, but about 2,000, instead of 700, feet in height. 

 rran9ois took exactly the right course, and by swerving 

 to the left, about halfway down, avoided an overhanging 

 mass of serac, which would have brought us to a sudden 

 check. Once on the level of the glacier, we had nothing to 

 do but to follow its course, which led us in a north-easterly 

 direction. The ice being covered with a tolerably thick 

 la,jer of dirty snow, and almost free from crevasses, our 

 progress was rapid, and we were enabled to make use 

 of the smooth surface to the point where the glacier 

 terminated, and the stream issuing from it struggled, with 

 only partial success, to free itself from the snow-beds 

 which still strove to bury it from the light of day. When 

 we had once got below the snow-limit, which is compara- 

 tively low in this rock-encircled and sunless glen, the 

 walking became very rough. Huge boulders, fallen 

 from the cliffs above, strewed the ground, and offered 

 under their sides lairs, evidently often made use of by 



