On the 2d of September, 1806, and at five o'clock in the evening, the summit of Mount Rosenberg, generally called the Knippenouhl rock, separated from the adjoining parts, and fell to the base, which was situated in the valley that di vides the lake of Zug from Lauwertz. One fragment rushed into the lake of the last named place, and caused a vast wave, which, flowing impetuously on the oppo site shore, washed down a considerable number of houses, places of worship, and mills. Besides the loss thus occasioned by the lake, the earth and rocks levelled the villages of Golden, Rothen, Busingen, and containing in the whole above three hundred habitations. Upon inquiry it was found that 1000 persons had lost their lives by this suddden disrup tion of the mountain, which might have been less calamitous in its consequences, had the prediction of General Pfiffer been attended to, who, havingmade a model of the Alps, was well acquainted with the part under notice, and foresaw that it must be detached from its situation at no very distant period. It is generally sup. posed that the rock fell into a gulfrh, nude by-a large body of water which descend ed beneath it, and gradually undermined its support, and, turning by its super-in cumbent weight, scattered into tions, by striking on the projections in its progress, till reaching the plain, it is now said to cover a space of very great extent, and above 100 feet in height.
Mr. Coxe endeavoured to ascertain the component part of the Alps, and, to ac complish his purpose, wished to penetrate towards the chains of granite, through avenues of tremendous rocks, but found that the approach to it was equally diffi cult and dangerous, caused by the inter position of hi..;b secondary mountains, whtcb conceal the primitive bed of gra nite, particularly in the vale of Lanter brunnm, bounded to the extremity by calcareous the first masses of granite he discovered were at Sichellanen, forming the base of the rocks just men proceeding, he observed a rock of steatite, containing veins of lead, which have been worked at Hohalp ; at a great er ascent is the true chain of granite, with scattered calcareous peaks ; the ap proach was its difficult at Wengenalp, the last of several calcareous and schis tous mountains, which join the Jung frau, appearing to have summits of gra nite. Calcareous stone and argillaceous schistus form the vale of Grindenwald ; and the surfaces of the Eger, the Met tenburg, and of the Wetterhorn, are chiefly calcareous, and cover the granite. The chains opposite, forming the north side of the valley of Grindenwald, consist of an argillaceous base, interspered with cornea ammones, and is covered by cal careous rocks.
In the further pursuit of his survey, Mr. Coxe considered the Jungfrau, or virgin, the centre of the primitive chain, which is one of the moat grand and highest mountains in the canton of Berne ; the lowest part of this elevated mass is ge nerally covered with staldenfluh, or rocks of calcareous stone, but the granite Both not appear for a considerable dis tance up the sides ; at Sichellaninen, he observed a red stratum, composed of an argillaceous slate spotted with green and brown, and of a fine grained iron-ore con taining anomites, which appeared to form the separation between the calcareous substance and the granite,a similar stratum was discoverable in other places, but at in accessible heights ; the same cause pre vented the investigation in the chain ex tending to the right, and several peaks furnish no other means of judging of their structure, than fragments afford which have fallen from them ; limestone occurs at a great elevation, and white and grey marble, serving as the matrix of a red hematite, abounding with small octagon crystals of iron, which may be attracted by the magnet. The glaciers of Breit. laninen and Breithorn support fragments of several species of granite, of iron-stone, of saxum fornacum or stelstein, and of ar gillaceous and micaceous schistus. " The
ridge of the glacier of Gamchi is of a black calcareous stone, which, in many places, is of a fine texture, and splits into lamina of a rhomboidal form ; in other parts it is coarsely granulated, containing white and black spar." Black slate forms the sides of the Blumlis Alp which fronts the glacier; this substance contains ba lemnites, and corona immonis, and the broken pieces of granite lying upon the glacier, fallen probably from the summit, resembles that before mentioned contain ing lead. The chain of granite extending to the right by the Alpschelenliorn and the Altits are lost in Mount Gernmi, where slate and calcareous stone alone are found. On the other side of the Jungfrau are two vast pyramids, called the interior and exterior Egers; on those, calcareous stone is visible to a great height, and Mr. Coxe was convinced that their substance is granite, though cover ed by calcareous stone, lying on slate of a reddish colour, forming in many places a species of brescia, with an argillaceous base, strewed with calcareous fragments; stones which have fallen from a ridge be hind the exterior Eger on the inferior glacier of Grindenwald, prove that the summit is of granite, in blocks, veined granite, and other lamellated rocks, which frequently contain green steatites, amianthus, and crystals of quartz. The Schreckhorn, or peak of terror, has piked summits rising to an amazing height, which appear to be pure granite, and other primitive stones ; the Wetterhorn, or stormy peak, is of calcareous stone for a great height, but the summits are certain ly primitive rocks. Mr. C. observed the red stratum which he had noticed before on the Egea, and at the base of the Jung frau. Behind the Wetterhorn is a large rock, the stones detached from which are frequently found to be veined granite and lainellated rock, enclosing pieces of the corneous spathosus, interspersed with steatites, pyrites and quartz. A quarry of beautiful white marble, veined with green, red, and yellow, was formerly worked at the foot of the Wetter:.orn, but it has since been covered by the in ferior glacier. The Sclteidek consists entirely of black slate, which continues to compose the chain that divides Grin delwald from the plains of Hash and the lake of Brientz. Mr. Coxe concludes his interesting observations in the following words. "As I descended the Scheidek, I observed on my right hand, the chain that joins the Wetterhorn, and runs to wards the Grimsel. As I have not par titularly examined this chain, I shall only reir»t, in general, that from an inves tigation of the stones and fragments which strew the vallies and sides of the hills, it appears to contain the same spe cies of marble which I found on the su perior glacier of Grindelwald, also red slate, argillaceous brescia, and various granites. But thus much is certain, that the front of these mountains is entirely concealed by secondary substances ; and that the true region of granite was not apparent, until I had passed Myringen, and ascended the Grimsel, during the greater part of which ascent, I only no ticed lamellated rocks and granite. This is the true region of granite, and other primitive rocks, the heart of the central chain, and the great observatory of the naturalist." It is vain to think of entering into an examination of the various peculiarities of the stupendous mountains, which ex tend in every direction throughout the explored surface of our globe ; we shall therefore confine ourselves to one other chain, from which, and what has pre viously been said, a tolerable conception may be formed of those grand and sub. lime objects, the admiration of each ge neration, from the hour of creation to the present moment.