and earth, very little of its surface being visible, and the
dirty black colour of its terminating cliff showing how
much soil had been mixed up with it in its progress.
The elevation of my tent was about 14,500 feet, and the
termination of the glacier may have been 250 feet higher.
All around the mountains were very lofty, their tops
covered with snow, which nowhere came within 2000
feet at least of the valley, even on northern exposures.
Granite was everywhere the prevailing rock, but on the
higher mountain slopes, which were often precipitous,
it was much intermixed with a dark rock, probably clay-
slate.
During the day I had scarcely seen any vegetation,
except when close to the edge of the stream. Among
the boulders and on the bare stony ground there was
frequently not a vestige of herbage. Near one of
the ravines I found the white shrubby Potentilla, along
with an exceedingly pretty prostrate plant, with bright
rose-coloured flowers, belonging to the order of Composite
: it was a species of the genus Allardia, described
by M. Decaisne from the collections of Jacquemont, by
whom it was found in Piti. One of the very few alpine
plants which I saw during the day was a little gentian,
common among the turf close to my tent. Round camp
a species of nettle was plentiful, seemingly, like others
of the genus, attracted by the nitrogenous nature of the
soil of an encamping ground much frequented by shepherds
with their flocks. The sting of this nettle, though
rather faint, was quite perceptible. It was decidedly an
alpine plant, which is rather uncommon, not only in the
genus, but the order to which it belongs.
The journey of the 12th of August commenced by a
steep ascent into a lateral valley descending from the
eastward. The hill-side up which I climbed (apparently
the bluff termination of an ancient moraine) was very
stony and dry. When a sufficient elevation above my
encampment had been gained, I obtained a commanding
view of the glacier which occupied the continuation of
the main valley. It was nearly straight, and, as I believe,
at least five or six mfles long; distances, however, are so
difficult to estimate on snow, that this must be regarded
as a mere guess. The inclination of its surface was considerable
; but, while the distance remained doubtful, no
just estimate of the height of the ridge from which it
descended could be made. On each side, two or three
lateral glaciers, descending from the mountains by which
it was enclosed, contributed to increase its size, all loaded
with heaps of stones, which had at the lower end of the
central glacier so accumulated as completely to cover its
whole surface.
After 800 or 1000 feet of ascent I found that I had
attained the level of the lateral valley, along which the
road ran, and that the remainder of the way was much
more gentle, but exceedingly fatiguing, from its excessive
roughness, and from the great elevation, which made the
slightest exertion difficult. On both sides were high
ranges of mountains, which had much snow on their
summits, and in one or two ravines there was a small
snow-bed or incipient glacier, but the distance from the
crest of the ridge not being great, no glacier of any
length was formed. On the left hand, the mountains
were steeper and higher than those on the right, and