move, and he loudly cried out Halte ! He
had scarcely spoken, when many thousand
tons of stone fell across the road into the
plain, but not one of his men was hurt.
Soon after leaving Sierre, we saw the
town of Leuli, or Loesh, upon the north side
of the Rhone, at the entrance of one of the
most terrific gorges in the whole valley.
Near the farther end of this gorge the baths
of Leuk are situated, and the wooden
houses for the reception of company. There
are no less than twelve springs of hot water,
varying from 116° to 142° Fahrenheit. The
mineral substances hitherto found in them
are chiefly the sulphat and carbonate of
lime, with carbonate of iron, of which
there are nine grains in a pound o f water,
and one grain of muriate of soda, and one
grain of carbonate of magnesia. The
gazeous products are but small ; they consist
of carbonic acid gas and hydrogen gas.
The water is without flavour or odour.
There are three baths for the company, and
one for the poor ; each bath is covered, and
has seats and chairs within it, capable of
accommodating twenty persons. Both
sexes bathe together, and remain seated
in the bath from one to eight hours, with
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tables before them, to play at chess or other
games. The baths of Leuk are chiefly
used in cases of rheumatism, or cutaneous
disorders, and also for gun-shot wounds,
which have not been thoroughly healed,
which these waters cause to re-open. The
season for bathing begins at the end
of June, and closes early in September.
These baths are much resorted to by invalids,
from different parts of Furope.
At Turtemagne, which is a short stage
from Sierre, there is a tolerably good inn,
la Podc, at which we slept on our return.
About four miles beyond Turtemagne, we
passed the village or town of Visp, at the
end of the valley of that name. The upper
part of the valley is called Saassen-thal, or
Saas : it extends to the foot of Mount Rosa.
From Visp there is a view up the valley, of
that magniflcent mountain. No where on
the Semplon route, or in the valley of the
Rhone, can Mount Rosa be seen to advantage,
but from Visp. We ascended to the
church-yard, thinking to have a more extended
view of the lower part of the mountain
: though its distance from Visp is about
eighteen or twenty miles, it towered over
all intervening objects, rearing its snowy
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