One Begins Now Faintly To Understand How It Is That The Enormous Number
Of Torrents Dashing About Are Kept Supplied With Icy Life.
The vast
quantities of snow wedged into solid masses, which must have existed
since all time among these mighty mountains, would serve to feed rivers
innumerable, and the supply, as long as rivers and mountains exist,
would appear to be inexhaustible.
Our path, if path it could be called, was very bad in parts, and
so difficult for the coolies that we were fortunate in getting our
breakfast at two P.M., and, when we did get it, a snowstorm which
came down upon us rather hurried our procedings in discussing it.
The entire afternoon it continued snowing, and the mountain-tops
soon hid themselves and sulked away among the leaden mists. Our tent
was pitched among a low sort of scrub, the only apology for fire-wood
procurable, and here we soon had a fine carpet of fresh snow, which put
the unfortunate coolies, and the servants, and the three goats and the
four ducks, and, in fact, everybody but F. and myself, who now begin to
feel thoroughly AT HOME, to considerable discomfort and inconvenience.
About a hundred yards from us rises the central mountain of
consolidated old snow; while the monarchs of the place, whose
hospitality we have been enjoying, overtopped our diminutive little
worn canvas dwelling with proud and gloomy magnificence, or hid
themselves from us in their ermine mantles, with aristocratic
frigidity.[30] Before us, the path continues towards the clouds,
hemmed in, to all appearance, by a mighty glacier, which it would
seem impossible to avoid in our tomorrow's route.
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