8 i ;U I
ti l l
may also admit that the schist of the lias,
may assume the' character of clav-slate, or
grey-wacke-slate. The old prejudice about
the transition strata of the Alps, still sticks
so close to many geologists, that they are
determined to find them somewhere, otherwise
schist containing ammonites, would
not be classed with them. The bituminous
schist of Thuringia, containing the vertebral
remains of fish, has the character of
clay-slate, but I feel fully assured that it
belongs to the same formation as the
bituminous schist of Whitby; and, like it,
this schist rests on red marie, and sandstone,
whose geological position is the
same as oiir own red marie. I believe,
farther, that all the slate-rocks which contain
the remains of vertebrated animals,
will be found, when their position is fully
and fairly examined, to belong to the lias
formation, or the strata above it, and not
to any of the transition series. I f this be
admitted, it would remove much of tbe
perplexity in which the comparative geo-
logy of different countries is involved.
Some of the schist in the Alps, may be
classed with our coal shales, and perhaps a
comparatively small portion with the gi’cy-’
:UiiJ
wacke, and clay-slate of the transition
series.
From Servos to Pont Pelissier, a distance
of about two miles, we proceeded
along the valley of the A rv e : the bridge
called Pont Pelissier, crosses this river
a little below the spot where it issues
from one of the most striking chasms or
gorges in the Alps. On the eastern side
are slate rocks of amazing height, nearly
perpendicular, their summits and feet ornamented
with pine-trees ; and, on the western
side, there is a granitic mountain over
which, the road is carried. The river Arve,
a large and impetuous torrent, rushes between
these two ranges of rocks, and towering
over the whole, the snows of Mont
Blanc are seen in dazzling whiteness,
which, contrasted with the dark blue of the
sky, almost overpowers the sight. Only
a part of Mont Blanc is visible from Pont
Pelissier, yet no where in the approach to
Chamouny, does it present a view comparable
in beauty or sublimity to this.
The rise or Montee (as it is called) from
Pont Pelissier is very steep, and is generally
ascended on foot. Boys with long
mountain horns, stand by the way to awaken