38 FRANK DA WSON ADAMS 



not sufficient time to make a study of the relations of the 

 intrusion, the party being obliged to press on to Bareges. 



The valley of the Bastan, in which Bareges is situated, is an 

 excellent example of a valley half filled with morainic material, 

 which is now deeply trenched and for the most part removed 

 by the present stream. Patches of the moraine still remain 

 adhering to the sides of the valley high above the present 

 stream level. Great spaces swept bare by avalanches, here so 

 destructive, can be seen at intervals, and high up on the steep 

 slopes the terraces built by the French forestry department and 

 by them planted with trees to prevent the snow from moving 

 on certain of the more dangerous of the upper slopes, and in 

 this way to avoid a repetition of the disastrous avalanches of 

 former years. 



At Bareges the excursion was brought to a close. The 

 majority of those taking part in it, having on the following 

 morning inspected the mineral springs for which the locality is 

 renowned, left for Paris on the afternoon of August 15th, while a 

 few members extended it by still another day and made a visit 

 to the Cirque of Gavarnie, at the head of the Gave de Pau on 

 the Spanish boundary, which is certainly one of the grandest 

 spectacles in Europe, suggesting somewhat the great cliffs of 

 the Yosemite valley (see Fig. 4). 



The excursion was planned with the greatest care, and all 

 the arrangements were personally supervised by Professor 

 Lacroix, to whom the sincere thanks of the excursionists are 

 due. Sleeping, as the party was obliged to do almost every 

 night, in some remote mountain village, which was usually taxed 

 to its utmost capacity to accommodate such an unusual influx 

 of visitors, it was very difficult to make satisfactory arrange- 

 ments in every case. Whatever comfort was to be had, how- 

 ever, the party enjoyed, and the excellent weather contributed 

 greatly to the success of the excursion. 



In entering upon a critical discussion of the phenomena 

 observed, the writer feels that great care must be exercised in 

 forming a judgment from what was of necessity a rapid and 



