After passing the .Glacier de Boissons,
we saw a little beyond it the marks of a
great inundation, which, descending from
the Aguille de Midi under Mont Blanc,
had covered several acres of cultivated
ground with stones : it took place in the
night, about a fortnight before we were at
Chamouny. The inundation was so rapid,
that in a few seconds it reached to the
upper windows of the houses in the valley.
A poor woman was in bed with her
two children, she caught them up, but before
she could make her escape, a log
of wood was driven through the roof of
the house with such violence, that the
youngest child was forced from her arms
and was drowned. The torrent had rushed
through a forest of pines in its way,
and had laid the trees prostrate. It had
taken a meandering course through the
fields, and had left patches of oats and
barley surrounded by heaps of stones of
such a depth, that the ground was irrecoverably
lost. After accidents of this
kind, the peasants all contribute by their
labour to assist their unfortunate neighbours
in repairing the damages they have
sustained ; and as such accidents frequently
take place, and every one may be liable to
them, they feel a community of interest in
aiding each other to the utmost of their
means. By common sympathy, an insurance
office is formed, the capital of which is,
industrious charity.
Before we arrived at the priory of Chamouny,
our guide desired the voiturier to
drive on as fast as possible, as some heavy
clouds were gathering at the other end of
the valley. A tremendous thunder-storm
with hail began just as we alighted at our
inn, the thunder rolled in reverberated peals
among the mountains, and, though very
loud, the sound seemed to come from a
great height in the atmosphere.
The next morning we visited the source
of the Arveiron, a considerable stream
which issues from a large cavern in the ice,
near the foot of the Glacier de Bois. This
glacier is a continuation of the one which
in the mountain valley above, is called le
Mer de Glace. The mouth of the ice
cavern seems small at a distance, but on
approaching it, I found it was full sixty
feet in height, and more than that in
breadth. The river which issues from the
cavern, carries off a great part of the lower
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