128 Historical Notes on the 



ascent of Mem Knob, the remarkable roclie moutonnee lying between 

 the two glaciers. The glacier itself is near its terminal face, 150 feet 

 high, entirely covered with debris. Its principal ontlet flows from an 

 ice cavern close to the mountain side. Large stones were continually 

 falling down from the summit of the ice into the foaming waters 

 below. 



My next object being to try if I could not pass along the southern 

 base of the glacier, we led our horses along the present bed of the 

 river, consisting often of very large blocks of rock, in search of a ford, 

 but had to return nearly a mile before I could find a spot where the 

 horses were able to plunge through the swift and muddy water rushing 

 over the large rocks, which offered very bad footing. Arrived at the 

 southern terminal face of the glacier, I observed here also several 

 minor streams issuing from below the ice, which rose in a nearly 

 perpendicular wall, washed by another glacier torrent of considerable 

 size. This latter was confined, on the other side, by the rocky walls of 

 Mein Knob, forming a narrow gorge. I tried in vain to pass along, 

 but, partly owing to the slippery nature of the ice against which the 

 turbulent waters were flowing, partly to the huge blocks of rock falling 

 from the top of the glacier, and the almost continuous shower of 

 smaller debris, I had to give up the attempt to reach the upper part 

 of the valley by skirting this, which I have named the Eamsay glacier. 

 Two barometric observations taken at its ter m i n al face give its altitude, 

 above the sea level, 3354 feet. This glacier is, therefore, next to those 

 at the head of the PukaM system, the lowest on the eastern side of 

 the central range of this Province. 



The magnificent weather continued to favour us, and when I started 

 next day, March the 18th, to reach, if possible, the upper part of the 

 valley by ascending and crossing Mein "Knob, no cloud was visible on 

 the deep azure sky, and the atmosphere was so clear that every detail 

 on the slopes of the snow covered giants around was distinctly visible. 

 Fording the river not without some trouble, we reached the foot of 

 Mein's Knob, on the opposite side of the valley and ascended its 

 northern slopes, opposite the terminal face of the Eamsay glacier, 

 and which consist in their lower portion of a great talus of loose debris, 

 near the summit of steep, rocky cliffs, over which we climbed. 

 Approaching the summit, the rocks disappear under a densely gro^n 

 grass-like carpet of alpine vegetation, studded with flowers, but in 

 many places of a very treacherous nature. The approaches to the 



