and among these, were an English gentleman and his guide, who saved themselves, with the loss of their carriage and horses. But for the devoted heroism of the engineer and his band, each of whom merits a statue, the destruction must have been sweeping and conclusive, and the town of Martigny as if it had never been. As it is, the damage seemed almost irreparable; and the actual loss of property during the two hours of inundation, is stated to have been upwards of 1,000,000 Swiss livres -an enormous sum in this country.

Among the tragic incidents connected with this disastrous night on the Dranse, is the fate of a young betrothed pair, natives of Lavey, and much esteemed by their comrades. On the fatal morning, the lover left his mistress, to make some arrangements at Martigny, previously to their marriage, which was to be solemnised on his return; but his return was for ever cut off by the inundation in which he perished. The shock was fatal to the reason of the unhappy survivor. The catastrophe has imparted to the little hamlet of Lavey a sympathetic interest among travellers of every class, which no degree of prosperity could have conferred.

NARRATIVE OF THE DEE, A MISSING WHALER. THE Dee sailed from Aberdeen on its northern expedition, on the 2d of April 1836, having on board a crew of thirty-three persons, including officers, and commanded by Captain Gamblin. The ship was freighted with the usual quantity of provisions, and possessed a most attentive surgeon in Mr Littlejohn. Having sailed northward, sixteen additional hands were taken on board at Stromness, in Orkney, and thence proceeding to Davis Straits, ice was reached on the 15th of May.

Being thus arrived near the fishing-ground, preparations were made for capturing any whales which might

make their appearance. The hopes of the crew, however, were in this respect baffled. For two or three weeks the weather was rather unsteady, and the progress of the vessel was considerably obstructed by loose ice and icebergs. On attaining latitude 66°, the icebergs were so numerous and dangerous, that serious fears were entertained for the safety of the vessel. After some delays, North-East Bay was gained, and the vessel was allowed to proceed as far as Frow Islands. An attempt was then made to move forward in a westerly direction, but the difficulties in this quarter proved so formidable, that the course was changed to about east-north-east, and, after several days' sailing, the Dee was fortunate enough to reach the north water in safety, accompanied by the Swan of Hull, and ten other vessels. Captain Gamblin now steered for Pond's Bay-on the west coast of Baffin's Bay-where he arrived on the 12th of August, without having encountered any material obstruction, one heavy patch of ice excepted. On the 13th, the first whale was seen, and the weather being fine, it was easily struck and secured. The fish were found to be plentiful in Pond's Bay, and, during the remainder of the month, other three were killed, and three dead ones picked up. The Dee then moved a little to the south, but was necessitated to return, having met with very heavy ice, and seen no fish. A number of vessels were at this time in Pond's Bay, one of which, the Friendship of Dundee, had been fortunate in killing fifteen whales. Finding the fish to be getting scarce, and the season being well advanced, Captain Gamblin thought it prudent to return homeward. He had gone but a short way, when he fell in with the Grenville Bay, the captain of which stated that he had tried a passage to the east, and had found it impracticable from the ice. It was now the 13th of September, and the crew of the Dee, beginning to entertain serious fears, went on short allowance. The captain then resolved to try the north passage, and succeeded in getting as far as 75°, in company with the Grenville Bay and the Norfolk. Cape Melville-on the north-east

coast of Baffin's Bay-was now in sight; but the bay ice was 'making too strong' to admit of further progress, and, after a consultation, the three vessels, on the 20th of September, bore away to the south. On the 23d, they were in latitude 71°, with heavy bay ice around them. Here they fell in with the Thomas and the Advice, of Dundee, which had also made an unsuccessful attempt to find a passage along the north-east coast, and had discovered that eight other vessels at least must have done the same, from the marks of as many ice-anchors seen on an iceberg. On the night of the 23d, the five ships had to be fastened, for greater security, to blocks of ice, called sconce-pieces. The three following days were spent in fruitless endeavours to find an opening to the south.

Though the weather had all along been rather easy, it appeared now but too plain to the unfortunate seamen, that the ice surrounded them on all sides. They submitted to a further reduction of allowance-three pounds of bread a week, with a proportionably small quantity of other provisions, being their mess. Again the five captains, after due deliberation, bore away to the north. On the 1st of October, the weather had become bad, with east-north-east winds, and snow, strong ice, and a heavy swell. Signals were once more hoisted for a consultation, but the Dundee vessels, though at this time in sight, did not observe the call. The determination come to by the other vessels was, to move as far south as possible for a wintering station. The failing of the wind, however, kept them nearly in the same place; and on the Sth, the whole five vessels were fast locked in ice, within sight of each other, in latitude 73° 12', at the mouth of Baffin's Bay. On the 10th, it was found that the drift had carried them two and a half miles to the south, the wind being from the north and north-east. At this time the ice was so strong, that the men could pass between the ships, but in the immediate locality of the Dee, the swell caused frequent and dangerous disruptions.

From this date, the peculiar sufferings of the crew of the Dee may be said to have commenced. Their allow

ance remained the same, but from the scarcity of fuel, their beds became wretchedly damp. At first, to preserve the health of the men, and to keep their shivering bodies in heat, the most praiseworthy precautions were taken. A variety of exercise was allotted to them, such as the unbending of the sails, unshipping the rudder, and other toils, of no utility now, unhappily, to the ship. But the crew of the Dee had not long to resort to unprofitable labours to maintain the vital warmth of their frames. Notwithstanding the increasing hardness of the frost, the ice still remained in a loose state, and a fatal crush on the ship became the subject of continual alarm. On the 16th, the latitude was 72° 50', wind strong, and large icebergs floating past. The ice began to press hard, and on the night of the 16th, the vessel was crushed up till it hung by the quarter, the ice squeezing all along as high as the guard-boards. At daylight, all hands were called up to get out the provisions. At 8 P.M., the wind fell off, but the ship still hung by the quarter. The ice, however, was at rest till 11 P.M., when there was another dreadful crush, which passed off with less harm than could have been anticipated. On the 18th, the ice gave way in several places, and opened up so far, that a warp had to be got out to secure the Dee. The other vessels, meanwhile, lay comparatively undisturbed. On the 20th, the ice closed again, with some severe squeezes, around the Dee. To strengthen the ship, its casks were placed in a peculiar way, and ten strong beams put in aft. This was done most seasonably, for, shortly after, two successive shocks took place, within half an hour of each other, of such tremendous severity, that the crew fled to the ice with their bags, chests, and everything that could be lifted, under the impression that all was over with the timbers of the Dee. The sufferings of the night that followed were awful. Without fire, or shelter from the biting elements, the crew lay on the ice, gazing on their reeling and groaning vessel, while around them were extended vast fields of ice, studded with icebergs towering to the clouds, and threatening destruction to all that came in

the way of their motions.

Miserable as their position was, the crew could not go on board for two days, during which time the ship experienced crushes still more severe than formerly. On the 22d, the men went on board to take out the remaining provisions, but had again to fly for their lives. The ice, however, fell quiet on the same night, and they again took back their provisions to the ship. On the 23d, a good many lanes opened up in the water-a most discouraging prospect, for this was always the time of greatest peril. Once more the crew took to the ice, and by cutting the nearest parts into small pieces, cleared the vessel a few feet. The men then went for a few hours to rest, but were roused by another crush-the signal that their labours had been in vain. On the 24th, the ice broke up to a considerable extent, and the crew managed to heave the Dee backwards for 100 yards, to a point where the ice seemed to be thinner. Great difficulties were experienced in conveying the chests and other articles left in the ship, but at length everything was again on board.

Warned by late dangers, and fearful of the wind, which blew from the most unpromising quarter, the north-east, Captain Gamblin resolved to cut a dock for the Dee. This was effected by the crew, aided by several men from the Grenville Bay, by means of heavy ice-saws, driven through the ice, as piles are sunk into the earth, and afterwards moved up and down by the men. In working the ice-saws, the crew suffered terribly from the frosting of their feet, consequent upon their standing in water. The Dee, when stationed in the cut dock, seemed to be in comparative safety. From the 26th till the 29th, the crew were chiefly employed in dragging ice in boats from the nearest bergs, to dissolve into water -the ice of the bergs being fresh. As the nearest berg was three miles distant, the severity of this labour may be imagined. A bear had been seen on the 26th, and on the 30th, other three were seen and fired at, but without effect. Indeed, two of the men had a narrow escape from the animals.