2 m. farther, among masses of rocks, is the hamlet of Le Dauphin, with a small inn. From this place, until the summit of the Col de Lautaret is passed, every gap in the mountains shows a glittering glacier or a soaring peak. About 3½ m. farther up, near the hamlet of Les Freaux, a tributary of the Romanche pours its torrent over a precipice of granite, forming a beautiful cascade. 45 m. from Grenoble and 24 m. from Briançon is
[La Grave], 5000 ft.; Inn: H. Juge; pop. 1500. Built on a slope rising from the road, with, behind, almost inaccessible cliffs containing copper mines, and opposite, on the other side of the river, the great glacier which streams from the summit of the Meije, 13,080 ft. To the E. of the Meije is the Bec de l’Homme, 11,372 ft., with a smaller glacier. The ridge called La Meije runs from E.S.E. to W.N.W., and is crowned by numerous aiguilles of tolerably equal elevation. The two highest are towards the eastern and western ends of the ridge, and are rather more than a mile apart. Any attempts to ascend the highest or western aiguille must be made from the northern side. The view of this mountain from the village of La Grave can hardly be praised too highly; it is one of the very finest road views in the Alps, and one cannot speak in exaggerated terms of its jagged ridges, torrential glaciers, and tremendous precipices. The perpendicular cliff, extending from the Glacier des Etançons to the summit of the Meije, is about 3200 ft. From La Grave the road leads through a bleak region and several tunnels to Villard d’Arene, 4½ m. from La Grave and 32 from Briançon, a miserable hamlet, considerably under the high road, at the foot of the Bec de l’Homme.
Col de Lautaret. Le Casset.
51¾ m. E. from Grenoble and 17¼ m. W. from Briançon is the [Hospice of the Col de Lautaret], a very fair inn on the summit of Pass, 6791 ft., where refreshments are taken and the horses changed. The two diligences pass it daily. An iron plate on the house indicates that it is 11 kilomètres (6⅘ m.) from La Grave and 13 kilomètres (8 m.) from Le Monètier. The pass commands a grand view down the gorge of Malaval and towards the lofty towering Meije or Aiguille du Midi, 13,081 ft. above the sea. From one side of the pass the Romanche descends to Grenoble, and from the other the Guisanne to Briançon. From the Hospice the road traverses several galleries, and passes by a mine of anthracite coal not far from the village of Lauzet.
The discovery of this mine has been a great boon to the inhabitants of this region, where wood is so scarce and where the winter is so long and inclement. 2½ m. from Lauzet and considerably below the road is the hamlet of [Le Casset], at the foot of Mt. Vallon, 10,136 ft., at the entrance to the ravine of the Torrent Tabue, descending from the great glaciers which spread themselves over the eastern slopes of Mont Pelvoux. When the snow is melted the effect of the sun upon them is splendid. 60 m. from Grenoble and 9 from Briançon is
Le Monètier. Briançon.
[Le Monètier de Briançon], 4898 ft. above the sea, surrounded with barley-fields, pop. 2600, on the Guisanne, near the foot of St. Marguerite, 8328 ft., which, like Mont Vallon, belongs to the Pelvoux group. Horses changed here. Inn: Alliey; mineral bath establishment, with hot sulphurous springs. Mines of anthracite. The road then passes the villages of Les Guibertes, 4689 ft.; La Salle, with cloth and night-cap manufactories; and St. Chaffrey, 3¼ m. from Briançon and 4299 ft. above the sea. 69 m. E. from Grenoble is
[Briançon], 4335 ft., pop. 6000. Inn: H. de la Paix. Temple Protestant. The Brigantium of the Romans, and now a fortified town of the first class, with eight strong fortresses, which guard this important entrance into France from Italy. The town stands on the steep sides of an eminence rising vertically from the Durance, here a roaring mountain torrent hemmed in between the cliffs of the Mont Infernet, with strong forts on all the salient points up to the very summit, 7810 ft. above the sea. At this part the Durance is spanned by a bridge of one arch, 120 ft. wide and 108 ft. above the river, erected in 1734, in the reign of Louis XV. On the right side of the river, above the town, is the Fort du Château, and opposite, on the left side of the river, are the Trois Têtes, the largest of the forts. The views from them are very extensive, especially from the fort Pointe du Jour. Carriage up to it, 30 frs. Permission to visit the forts must be procured from the commandant. The large building down the Durance seen from the bridge, in the suburb called St. Catherine, is a manufactory where the waste of silk on cocoons is carded and prepared for spinning. About 800 people are employed. The women earn 14d. per day, working from 5 in the morning to 6 P.M., 1½ hr. allowed for meals. The longitudinal streets of Briançon are narrow and steep, little better than staircases, down the centre of each of which runs a stream of water in a marble gutter, with such an impulse that all manner of garbage thrown into it quickly disappears. At the foot of Briançon is the fertile valley formed by the union of the Guisanne with the Durance, surrounded by carefully-cultivated mountains studded with villages. All the Briançon coaches start from the Place du Temple, in front of the church. “The neighbourhood of Briançon abounds in rare plants. Amongst them may be mentioned Astragalus austriacus and A. vesicarius, Oxytropus Halleri, Prunus brigantiaca, Telephium Imperati, Brassica repanda, Berardia subacaulis, Rhaponticum heleniifolium, Crepis pygmæa, Androsace septentrionalis, and Bulbocodium vernum.” —Ball’s Western Alps.
Val Louise. Grand Pelvoux.
[The great excursion from Briançon] is the ascent of the Pelvoux group, whose highest peak is 12,975 ft. It can only be effected, however, in favourable weather and with experienced guides. A wheel-road extends by the village of La Bessée to Val Louise, 3780 ft., whence a path ascends by the hamlets of Claux and Aléfroide. The [Ville de Val Louise] lies near the union of the Valley des Entraigues with the principal branch of the Val Louise, called the Aléfroide, stretching up to the foot of the monarch of the group, the [Grand Pelvoux] itself, which, although at no great distance, cannot be seen from the village on account of the hill which rises immediately behind. (See [p. 345], and [map p. 304].)