EXPLORATIONS AMONG THE SOUTHERN ALPS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1001, 14 June 1862, Page 2

EXPLORATIONS AMONG THE SOUTHERN ALPS.

BY JULIUS HAAST, ESQ., GOVERNMENT GEOLOGIST. The following extracts from private letters by J. Ilaast, Esq., are re-published, as they contain a connected account of a journey full of interest, which has occupied a spacc of several months: — Godley River, March 14. I have lately made a most interesting exploration of the main feeders of the Lake Tekapo. Although I was delighted with the wild grandeur of the mountain chain whence the different glacial streams issue, forming the Rangitata, I must confess that the sublimity of the scenery at the head of the main feeder of the lake far exceeded anything I have yet seen. The glaciers descending from the different snow-clad hills, which branch off from the central range, unite here in a mer de glace of more than a mile in breadth. I have never seen anything, either in the European Alps or in New Zealand, which can compare with it for grandeur for one moment. The stream, or rather river, issuing from it is equal in size to the Rangitata on the plains. I named this glacier the ' Great Godley Glacier,' and the river issuing from it the ' Godley River,' as a tribute to the memory of the founder of Canterbury. I here discovered a low snowy saddle, from 7000 to 8000 feet high, a true Alpine pass to the west coast. I ascended this glacier and travelled over it for several miles, to ascertain if it was available as a pass to the coast: A mountaineer, knowing how to use the Alpine stick, could here cross the central chain in a single summer's day, but the glacier is much crevassed, and I had to cut steps frequently on the sides of the crevasses, and walk over sharp ridges, with deep fissures on either side. The approach to the Godley glacier is difficult, and it took me two days to surmount it, as another glacier of nearly equal dimensions enters the valley from a lateral gorge, the terminal moraine of which comes within four or five chains of that of the Godley glacier, thus forming a wall of more than two miles in extent. I cannot hope to describe what I saw, as it is impossible for words to convey an adequate idea of the grandeur of this scene. The river could only be crossed from four to five miles below the point of issue, where the glacial stream comes from the second glacier, uniting above. Here we scrambled up the terminal face of the glacier, and had to go down on the other side, which was rather dangerous work, owing to the large blocks rolling down. On returning in the evening, we j found a passage in the stream before it unites with the Godley river; it was deep and rapid, as well as being full of large boulders. The weather throughout the journey, has been fine. On one occasion we were visited with a northwest thunderstorm, the effect of which was grand in the extreme, followed by a south-wester. Snowwas lying on the ground before the storm commenced, but disappeared in the morning; but, after the south-wester, the mountains were covered to their base for two days. The thermometer stood at 3° below freezing point (29° Earenheit), and some water holes near the tent were frozen oyer; rather sharp work for the 3rd March and a summer campaign ! As a specimen of the savage grandeur of the scenery, I may mention that the mountain chain near our camp is now covered with ice and snow to its base on one side, while the other is so perpendicular that not a particle will adhere to it, presenting to the view a nearly vertical wall 7000 feet high, on which you clearly discern the striped appearance of the alternating sandstone and slate formations. Head of Lake Ohou, May 8, 1862. Having reached the end of Lake Tekapo, I crossed the river issuing from it, and followed the shores of the Lake for six miles, where another river falls into it from the north-east. I explored this river (which I called the Cass, after our excellent Chief Surveyor) to its sources, coming from two glaciers, As near one of them a low saddle appeared, I ascended, thinking that it might possibly lead to the West Coast; but I found that it broughtus only to the head of oneof theglaciers, which belong to the Godley river system. Ascending the high mountain at the eastern side of this pass, I got a glimpse of the West Coast over the Godley pass. The view was extemely grand: snow-clad peak appearing above snow-clad peak, and glaciers and snow fields being all around us; my former conviction that there was no easy pass through the central chain was once more strongly confirmed. Having finished the survey of this beautiful valley, I wended my way round the chains between Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki towards the river which forms this latter lake. This valley is about two to three miles broad, and lies much lower than the Godley, the river meandering through it in innumerable branches. Here we got the first fair sight of Mount Cook, and I must confess, it quite delighted me. This giant is more conspicuous than its neighbours because it rises abruptly from the broad valley, and towards the west is only separated by a low neve saddle from the central chain. Its outlines are very bold and majestic; nothing in fact can be compared to the sublimity of the scenery, the sharp contours of the glittering snow-clad mountain standing out boldly against the deep azure sky. Although the river is, as I said before, divided into many branches, the crossing of it gave us some trouble, owing to its rapid flow and the great quantity of water, which may be compared with the Rakaia on the plains. Rounding a point, we came in sight of the main glacier, which terminates about ten miles south of the highest northern peak of Mount Cook, striking quite across the broad valley. It is the largest in the Alps, having, even at its terminal face, a breadth of one mile and three quarters. Here we camped, and I occupied myself during several days in studying the geological features of the bold "mountain chains around me. I travelled also for several miles over the glacier, which I called, in memory of the discoverer of New Zealand, the Great Tasman Glacier, and the river issuing from it the Tasman River. Here the same phenomenon as at the Godley glacier appears, another glacier of large dimensions coming from an adjacent valley four miles above the terminal face of the Tasman glacier, but without reaching it, the glacial stream issuing from it flowing along the eastern side of the Great Tasman glacier. The terminal face of the latter lies only about 2700 feet above the sea level. (I could not calculate my altitude exactly, not being in possession of the corresponding barometrical observations taken in Christchurch during my absence.) I shall not entertain you with the difficulties which I experienced in travelling over this enormous glacier, and it is impossible to describe in words the wild scenery with which I was surrounded; the huge mountain chain, in which the towering peaks were of the most fantastic shapes and forms; the tributary glaciers, broken in many thousand seracs on their steep sides, and the great glacier itself, covered with an enormous load of debris, crevassed and rent in all directions. Nothing in the European Alps can equal the scenery in magnificence. But as each beautiful picture has its reverse, so had this: a spell of bad weather kept us for about eight days confined to the tent. North-westers and southwesters alternately sweeping through the valley, bringing rain and snow in abundanco, enveloped us in clouds and mists, and only now and then one of the snowy giants appeared dimly, " half-cloud and half-ghost," through the mist around us. Our provisions began to run short, but as I had a gun with me, our larder, -when the weather cleared up for a moment, was filled with paradise ducks, green alpine parrots, and kakas, the two latter abounding on the wooded sides of Mt. Cook, near our camp. But do not think me such a barbarian as to have eaten such rare specimens of natural history as the large green alpine parrot without skinning them first. Woodhens and rats were also plentiful, but we despised them, having plenty of better game. At last the weather cleared up, and on the 12th of April, at daylight, we started to ascend Mt. Cook. It was a cold but sunny morning; and, with great expectations, we climbed through the Eagus forest, which for the first six or seven hundred feet, inter-

mixed with alpine shrubs, covers the sides of the range. After leaving the forest we came to alpine vegetation, about 1800 feet above the valley amongst the rocks, where we climbed along to the crest of the mountain leading towards Mt. Cook. But although the ridge, as seen from the valley, seemed quite smooth, it consisted of huge rocks, broken up into very sharp prismatic fragments lying loosely upon each other, often with deep precipices on both sides, where one false step would have cost life or limb. Soon, patches of snow appeared, which were remaining from the last storms, over which we worked our way higher and higher. The view at every moment became grander; and, having reached an altitude of 6,500 feet, I established my first station. Although the sun shone brilliantly from a cloudless sky, it was extremely chilly in the shade amongst the rocks where we went to shelter us from the icy blowing winds. The thermometer at 11 o'clock stood below freezing point Again, on our road the rocks became still more and more broken: hitherto they had consisted of sandstones, but now slates made their appearance, and about 7,500 above the sea we came upon a precipice of about 10 feet wide and perhaps 30 feet deep—the vertical stratum of clay slates having been here decomposed: as it was impossible to round it, and we had not a ladder with us to throw across, we were obliged to retreat. The view from this point is admirable in the extreme. The bold forms of Mt. Cook proper occupied the foreground, surrounded by many peaks of every different shape. Deep below us the great Tasman glacier carried slowly but steadily its heavy detritus load down to its terminal faces; whilst, towards the south, the large watershed of Lake Pukaki, surrounded by well-shaped hills appeared in the horizon. As I observed before, west of Mt. Cook a low snow saddle (about 8,000 feet) leads to the West coast, and then the central chain again assumes its natural grandeur. I did myself the pleasure to name it the Moorhouse Range, after our Superintendent, and called its highest summit Mt. Sefton. Here two glaciers come down, one from the south the other from the north, uniting their outlets with the Tasman river. A great deal of new snow had been collected on this majestic range which rose so beautifully before us, and we enjoyed the fine spectacle of witnessing during our ascent five avalanches fall from Mt. Sefton, the thunder occasioned by them being reverberated by the echoes in the mountains around us. Oh! that I were a poet, to sing the beauty of the southern Alps: the time will surely come when pilgrims from all parts of the southern hemisphere will hasten to visit these mountains, and then the good folks of Canterbury will be inundated with poetical effusions, and " My rambles in the Southern Alps," or " Impressions of a Journey to Mount Cook," with splendid engravings, will be on the drawingroom tables of future generations. Descending by the right bank of the Tasman, I very soon found that the bad reputation this river has, is not altogether without foundation. Eor about eight miles from its mouth quicksands and swamps follow each other in unpleasant succession, and, as the bounding hills were too steep and too scrubby for the horses, we had to work our way through this labyrinth. It cost us two days before we had worked through, besides nearly losing two of my horses and getting various duckings ; we camped at last at the margin of Lake Pukaki. We were awakened in the morning by the bleating of sheep, which I welcomed as a sign of approaching civilization ; one of my more prosaic companions as that of fresh mutton. The view from the outlet of Lake Pukaki towards the Southern Alps, with Mt. Cook in the centre and the wooded islet in the foreground, is sublime in the extreme, and when we imagine numerous villas and parks around its shores, the Lago di Como or Lago Maggiore would not bear comparison with it. No auriferous rocks are met with here, but the same paloeozoic sandstones and slates in huge foldings forming the eastern sides of the Alps. But I may here mention that the shores of the three lakes which I visited are formed by the remnants of huge glaciers, which in (geologically speaking) recent- times, descended so far towards the sea. I followed the old lateral moraine of Tasman to the end of Lake Pukaki, where it appears as a terminal moraine. These moraines rest upon drift formation, proving thus that they are of more recent formation. What enormous changes must have taken place in the southern hemisphere, in comparatively recent periods! When I see before me these clear signs of those changes, I can easily imagine what a splendid sight a glacier of such dimensions, about 40 miles long and 5 miles broad, would have presented to human beings, had they existed in those days. That these moraines lie on drift formation explains many features of the Alps which in the Rangitata rather puzzled me. Conceive New Zealand so far submerged that only the principal mountain ranges, appear above the sea, covered -with perpetual snow and glaciers, reaching into the ocean. The terminal faces of the latter, as they advanced into the water, were continually washed away or broken off, and, as huge icebergs, carried away by the tides and currents, scattering their heavy detritus loads as they melted down or stranded on the shallower places over the bottom of the ocean, just as we now "witness in the dreary regions of the polar zones. The country rose again ; the climate in consequence got warmer, and the glaciers no longer reached the sea. Now, these moraines which surround the lakes of the Mount Cook country show exactly the spot where the terminal face of the glaciers rested first upon the dry land, and then, melting away in the usual manner, formed terminal moraines. I should not have entered into these details did I not know that it interested you; but I shall explain this much more fully in my future report, where I shall treat about all those phenomena, which are able to throw light not only on the physical geography of New Zealand, but also of that of the whole southern hemisphere.

My journey to Lake Ohou was without incident; and although this lake is not so large as its two neighbours, it can boast at least of beautiful clear water, the two others being always rendered opaque by finely-suspended matter. Here and there bush appears, which renders its shores more picturesque than those of the two others, which are entirely devoid of timber. I ascended the two rivers which form this lake, both of which come from the Moorhouse range, the principal one from the south-eastern slopes of Mount Sefton. Although much smaller in size than the glaciers before alluded to, the principal glacier is very beautiful, not being soiled by detritus. It brought vividly before my mind the Rosenlaui glacier. The mountains on both sides of these two valleys are densely covered with Fagus forest (black birch of the settlers) above which Alpine vegetation appears, which gives way in turn to magnificent rocks, from which small but pretty falls rush down. The contrast of the colours of the dark green vegetation and the silvery bands being of especial beauty. Here also we met with very bad weather, which detained me much longer than I anticipated," so that our provisions began to fail, and as a few farewell snowstorms began to throw a white garment over the whole country, and I could not wait, we finished the surveys during them. The weather was kind enough to give us such a view of the Southern Alps that I know now how they look in winter, although I must confess it was often very wet and cold work. The south-west winds were followed by north-westers with heavy rains, but wo managed to como down the swollen river to the head of the lake, lightened both of provisions and gunpowder, the last charge bein<* expended on some paradise ducks, which gave us a welcome meal. During tlio time I am writing, these gales are blowing with a vehemonco of which (notwithstanding it blows sometimes pretty hard in Christchurch) you can form 110 idea; but as soon as it clears up, I shall begin to retrace my steps towards the metropolis. Let me add that the two last winters must have been of an unusually severo character, seeing the great amount of damage done by the avalanches. There are whole mountain sides entirely laid bare, the entire forest being uprooted or broken as if the largo trees were as many feeble reeds. On the whole it has been a very interesting journey, although wo had occasionally hard times of it. I was very glad to have such a well-selected party with

I» II WIMW,, me. Not one of ray men ever grumbled, and every one of them bore the fatigues and privations, till wet and cold in such a way that I cannot praise them enough for it. My letter is rather long, but as I know that you like to hear of my doings, I cannot make better use of the rainy weather than to write to you. My herbarium is well filled, although there is a great sameness in the vegetation • notwithstanding, I collected not a few interesting and undescribed plants. I shall relate to you verbally about the quadrupeds in the rivers forming Lake Ohou, the large Kiwi and other remarkable birds. The night closes in and a slush lamp is not such a pleasant light as to tempt me to proceed.