The Press. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1904. MOUNTAIN TRAVELLING IN SWITZERLAND.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 12014, 15 October 1904, Page 6

The Press. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1904. MOUNTAIN TRAVELLING IN SWITZERLAND.

Tho news in a recent cable message that the Simplon tunnel is now near completion, only 244 metres remaining to be pierced,

•will be read with mingled feelings by those j who hare" made Switzerland the;Jr happy holiday ground Ifc is gratifying from one point of view to know that a great ongineering feat is approaching a triumphant end. The Simplon will be the longest tunnel in the world— miles as against 9± -oaks of St. Gotthard and, 7* mik» 0/ Mont Cenis. As was explained in the telegram, extraordinary difficulties hare been experienced in the course of the work, and the fact that these hare been overcome speaks volumea for the skill, the resourcefulness and the indomitable spirit of modern contractors and engineers. But to the lovers of the picturesque a journey of I2i miles through the bowels of the hills will be but a dismal exchange froths glorious driro or the exhilarating trudge on foot through the magnificent defiles of the Simplon Pass. It was the" good fortune of the present writer to make the journey in the early Swiss summer of the present year. The Italian lakes were kffe with regret, in the- full flush of their spring beauty. The wistarias of Lugano, and the azaleas at Isola Bella were a .1 Mam of loveliness. The coach which convoys the traveller from Italy,into Switzerland, starts from Domodossola and takes a full day to make the journey to Brigue, the present terminus of the Swiss railway in the Rhone Valley. The Swiss diligence, as many of our readers are aware, is divided into Iwo parts—the coupe or first class compartment in front; the "interieur" or second class at the back. On this occasion, fortunately, it was full, and the Now Zealand party found/ an open carriage a very pleasant substitute. Nothing could be more delightful in such fine weather than the drive to Mont Simplon, the half-way house, or dinner station of the ■diligence. The roadside wae spangled with wild flowers, and on the higher altitudes the mountain sides were so thickly covered with white crocures that it was difficult to cay where these ended and the snow began. The grim rock-built "shelters" at stated intervals along the rood gave a hint that erasing the pass was fraught with perils during tho winter, and as it happened the visitors on this occasion were destined to pee something of the rougher side of Alpine travelling. At the Hotel de la. Poste et dv Simplon, they were told that the neaeon was later than usual, of whioh they had already eeen some evidence in the fact that the Httle cavalcade had passed through a enow tunnel perhaps a hundred yards long, driven through an avalanche which blocked up the road. On leaving the hotel the coach and carriages were, exchanged for pledges, and for some three hours the journey was continued in theen, over soft snow. ■ It was an adventurous and exciting journey, but cannot conscientiously be recommended for persons of frail constitution or delicate nerves. At frequent intervale the horses fell into holes, and the eledgee, following with a terrific thump, the luckless passengers were bruised and ehatken almost to a jelly, if they were not actually overturnbd into the enow, as happened more than onoe. In places the road led through [ "gallarias" or -rock tunnels, built as a protection against the avalanches which sweep the snow-exposed elopes of the mountains. These tunnels were paved with emooth ice, and icicles from a few

inches to a yard long hung from the -oof. The honsee were taken through at a hand gallop, and how they managed to keep their footing on such slippery ground is •to this clay a mystery. - Wild and desolntelooking woe the scene when the Hospico was reached. The whole countryeide> was enveloped in snow, which was piled :p against the walls of the building. It was then possible to appreciate to the full the of the devoted monks of St. Bernard, who, both here and at the Hoepice of the great St. Bernard, on the pas* from Martigny to Aosta, keep a watchful outlook and an open door for travellers overtaken by fatiguo and cold. The famous St. Bernard dog is no longer used in thi# henevofent work; the genuine breed in extinct, and • Newfoundlaud dogs are used indeed. Nocdlees to .say, the privation nnd exposure are most severe on the monk.?, who break down after a few years of the. work, and liavo to take refuge in a more temperate climate. A sad and, indeed, humiliating evidence of the ingratitude of traveller* is afforded by tho figures as to the voluntary gifts received by , the monks. They nek nothing for their hospitality, but one would expect that their goests would at least give onleaving the amount tltoy would have liai to pay at an ordinary hotel. So far from thra bang the ca**, it is stated that whereas twenty to twenty-five thousand persons have been annually entertained, tho sum they have contributed barely amounts to what would be ,1 moderate hotel for a thousand guests! Hut to resunio our narrative of the jcunwy. When the party left tho Hospico snow m;w falling, adding to the- discomfort of the undertaking. A little furtlier on there was a narrow ercape from a serious disaster. Tta track led across a dangerous-looking snow slope, with a precipice faJling away to the U-ft. On pasjing this dangerous pinch the* driver of the last sledge was seen to ea*<b a hurried, anxious glance at the overhanging aiow, and immediately he whipped up his hors<?.s. Almost simultaneously, a wrcnchii.g, grinding sound was beard, and a roam of snow and rock came sweeping across the path. Had it fallen two seconds earlier tho party could hardly have escaped destruction Pleasant was it'to get into the carriages onco more; pleasant to drive down the winding road to Brigue, with tlie sx-ttitig run throwing. bars of gold across the larches and the pines. Pleaeanter still was.it to turn to rest in a comfortable bed an the excellent inn. There are some wh« may think that a ride through a. railway tunnel in a comfortable firet-class carriage has distinct advantage.*, compared with a journey such as that described. Of course it was undertaken too early in the year; later the snow would have disappeared, and the sledges would not have

been required. Still it wae an experience, one would not have missed. Tlie recollection of the discomforts {©omreakens and disappears. The wild flower*, the ru»'»-; ing streanrs, the OTggy dofike, the «»w: clad mountains, the .good monks, are memories that abide. _