A Glacier Hunt. 



75 



given in Agassiz's work, already referred to, while 

 many interesting incidents are culled from a sojourn 

 on the glacier by his fellow-student, Desor. 



In the summer of 1841 Agassiz visited the glacier 

 again, now with new additions to his staff — Forbes 

 of Edinburgh, Heath, of Cambridge, De la Linth, 

 and Burkhardt, the artist. This season the plan was 

 to penetrate to the very heart of the glacier, and to 

 this end a boring apparatus was brought up with 

 which the glacier was punctured at various places. 



Agassiz finally determined to descend into the 

 heart of the glacier itself, and against the advice 

 of his companions he was lowered by ropes into a 

 glacial well, nearly ending his career by his temerity. 

 The so-called wells were deep well-shaped crevices, 

 descending into the very heart of the glacier, and 

 the fact that the mass was moving at a rate of forty 

 feet per day suggested that the well-hole might 

 disappear at any time. This did not deter the ad- 

 venturous scientist. A stream of water was flowing 

 into the well, and having diverted this into another 

 channel a tripod was erected over the opening, and 

 from this Agassiz was lowered, seated upon a board 

 in turn attached to the rope. His object was to 

 determine how deeply the laminated structure which 

 he had observed penetrated. 



Having arranged with his friends that they were 

 to lower until he shouted to them to stop, word was 

 given and the explorer sank out of sight on one of 

 the most adventurous expeditions on record. No 

 one before had entered the heart of a glacier ; no 

 one had gazed at the so-called blue bands in the 



