ficuatcc! al tbc bottom of a high mountain, compofed of granite, and covered with
oxtcnfu'e banks of phofphorus marble. On the top of it is built Upper Stein, which,
from that emincncc, extends apparently to the foot of the Glacier, although there is
nearly tlic diffcrcnce of a mile and a half} for diftances iiK a mountainous country deceive
One coniiderably. Owing to the rarefaction of the air, Oppofite to us was a ftcep
motmtain, compofed of a reddifli porphyry, fpottcd with black and yellow, of which
the ftrata were perfedly difcernible to be in a parallel direftion. Wc now began to find
a fcarcity of vegetation, there iieing only a few yew-trees fcattered here and there,
©wing to our -elevated fituatibh, and the intenfc cold occafioned by the vaft heaps of
ice witJi which We Were furroundcd. This fpot is, without doubt, the moft wild and
barren of any I have ever feen in. the Alps. After great fatigue we reached the foot of
the Glacier, where the torrent Pflerfch flows rapidly from beneath a cavern of ice,
forming nearly half an clliptical figure; the entrance being nineteen feet wide, and the
lieight thirty. The pyramids of ice, which furrounded the cave, were upwards of fifty
feet high, rifing majcftically, one behind the other, in the form of an amphitheatre,
extending Co the top of the Glacier, which is two hundred and fifty feet above the
foiirce of the torfent. My guide informed me that, in the midft of fummer, the
cavern is more extenfivc, prefenting a moft awful and magnificent icene.
HAVING fatisfied my curiofity at the foot of the' Glacier, and taken its elevation,
w h i c h I found to be 4692 feet above the level of the fca: I propofed to ^ y guide to
fix on a fpot from which we might difcern more of its furface. He immediately pointed
out a large rock of granite, faying, that from thence we ihould have an extenfive view;
k i t that its acceis was particularly difficult. Accuftomed, however, as wc both were
to exploring, not only mountains but Glaciers, we determined to procecd. After fome
labour and fatigue we reachcd a grafs-plot remarkably fmooth and ilippery (it being a
kind of grafs peculiar to elevated fituations). From thencc we foon got on the fnow,
upon which we were obliged to wal k upwards of an hour, with much difficulty; for, in
fevcral places, it was more than half thawed; and in others fo extremely dangerous, that,
had our feet given way, we muft inevitably have fallen into a dreadful precipice, formed
b y the torrent Pflclfcher, and muft have been cut to pieccs before we had reachcd the
bottom. Fortunately our cramp irons prefervcd our lives, and aflifted us in efcaping
that misfortune.
THE place we had chofcn, and with fuch difficulty attained, was 300 feet above the
fource of the torrent, and 4992 above the level of the fea. Our trouble was, hovi'cver,
f u l l y repaid by the noble and extenfive view we had of the Glacier, whofe diredion
appeared to be from north-eaft to fouth-wcft; but it was impofliblc to determine to a
ccrtainty its precifc extent. The guide, who had been there frequently, and had feen the
grcatcft
T H E RHIETIAN ALPS. 5 7
greateft part of it, afiiired me, that it was nearly fifteen miles from eaft to wef t . A chain
o f rugged mountains compofed of granite, of which fome were partly covered with a
kind of phofphorous calcareous ftone, fccmed to erofs the middle of the Glacier front
north to fouth.
THE furface of the Glacier was extremely uneven, and parted in many placcs, forming
large gaps, or crevices, of upwards of fix feet. Immcnfe heaps of ice alfo prefented
themfelves to the eye, in various fliapes, of beautiful pyramids, of a confiderablc height,
w h i c h , refiefting the beams of the fun, appeared of a fine azure blue, forming a pleafing
contraft with the aridity of the rocks which furrounded them.
WE were obliged to quit this fpot fooner than I wiihed; for the mountains, which
ferved as condudors to the clouds, attrading them imperceptibly, would in a fiiort
time liave covered not only the valley of ice, which was below, but the whole of our
way back, and have rendered our return both difiicxilt and dangerous.
THE cold was excefiive for that time of the year, althougli we were 432 feet lefs
elevated than the Glaciers des Bois, near the valley of Chamouni; but I attributed it to
t h e vaft quantities of ice, which abound more in the Rhstian Alps, than in the
Pennine Alps ; for, in the vicinity of thefe Glaciers, there is not the leaft appearance of
vegetation. In about three quarters of an hour we quitted this folitary fpot, which is
really a pidurc of defolation and horror. I could neither difcover plants, Ihrubs, or
animals, or infeds, except two butterflies, at too great a diftance for me to judge of
their fpecies.
THE Rhododendron Hirfutum was the firft ihrub we met with in our way back; but
I faw feveral fpecies of curious mofs. At two miles from thence we entered a foreft of
firs, which extended to the torrent Kor , the banks of which led us to Pflerfch, where we
arrived fatigued, although perfeftly fatisfied with our excurfion. The environs of that
village appeared as cheerful and agreeable, as the country we had left was arid and
folitary.
AFTER refting a fhort time w e mounted oUr mules (which w c had left tlicre as we went),
and continued our courfe towards the village of Goflenfafs, and got into tlic liigh road,
leaving, unfeen, the mines that are in the valley of Pflerfcher, intending to flecp at
Stcinach, eighteen miles from thcnce, as it was too late to admit of that delay. My
guide accompanicd me to Brenner, a fmall village, fituated near the fummit of the
mount, where I met my horfc, whicli liad been fent from Sterzing.
THE afcent of the Brenner from tlie laft-mentioned town is cxcefiively difficult, and tlie
road fo contraded, by tlie high and tremendous rocks on each fide, that it has been
found ncccfllxry to conftrud fevcral bridges on the Eifach, in order frequently to crofs
tliat river,
P TH E R E
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