The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1870-01-18
THE GREAT SAINT BEPNARD.

The Perils of Alpine TrnveI-Thc Pfout
Work Of the Monks Of St. Bernnrd-Ths
corpses OF the Lost Preserved.
From the London Telegraph
Three travellers, 1t is stated, have just los
their lives on the Great Bernard Mountain
They had been travelling from Martinny to-
ward the Italian frontier, with the intention o.
resting for the night in the famous HospicC
tbnt stands almost on the boundary line be-
tween Switzerland and Italy. BY o'cloci. IN
the evening they had reached little inn on
The way to the Monastery; they had still to
Journey for seven toilsome miles before reach
! ing the monksh place Of welcome; and, since
the night was dark and stormy, the innkeepcr
bcsought them to wait until the morning.
Being poor they refused. They belonged 10
that class of povcrty-strlcken pilgrims who are
constantly passing between Switzerland and
Illaly. and who carry all their worldly goods
In knapsack of untanncd dcer's hide. A few
minutes will suffice to take such travellers
from any part of the great Canton Valais to
Aosta. They shun inns with horror as places
OF inscriptions extorton, anu tnelr ann IS IS 10 10
break the Journey at the Hosp:ce, where they
get food and lodging for the night free OF
Charge, and In the morning are provided with
the necessaries oftravel on the same bcneyo-
lent terms. Hence, although the night was
pitchv dark, and the wind was coming down
with hurrcan a-like gusts from the great noun
tains that shut in the valley, the three travel
lcrs resolved that they would push on 10 the
Hosplce Soon after leaving they began to as
cend winding, rocky and Steep path, which
overhangs bowling torrent and leads to the
Monastery. The road is perhaps one of the
roughest in Europe. SO many rocks lut out,
! so sharp are the turns round the course of the
brook, and so steep are some OF the ascents,
that even mule might be pardoned for slip
ping. When the night is dark ana inc mlsis mist
come down, the path could hardly be kept,
even by man who had daily trayersed 1t for
wears; and the only safe guide would be
| the roaring of the torrent. The as
| cent Is so steep that after couple OF
! hours climbing, the traveller. finds himself
several thousand feet above the level Of the
sea: and at that elevation, even after the hot
test day In August the cold IS at nighllall oltcn
intense. On the night Of the fatal accident all
those perils were combined SO black was the
sky that the waytarers had slowly to grope
| along by means OF the precipice which hens
in the side of the path farthest from the tor
| rent. Had the moon been up. they might have
been guided by the poles which the monks
have planted In direct line from the Hosptcc
the path Is buried under the snow, and the tor
rent Is frozen. But in the pitchy darkness, the
friendly bcacons were obsclred. Hence the
travellers seem to have again and again been
brought to stand still, before reaching that
ford Of the brook at which the road dips, and
then goes up with one swift spring to the spot
where the great barrack-like HOspice guides
and cheers the benighted traveller ny lis pea
con-light The poor pilgrims were so near to
the blaze, that, lad they been able to exert
themselves for few minutes longer, they
would have been safe. But the toll and the
G. Id had so paralyzed their faculties, that they
could not proceed one step further; they were
overcome by that craving for sleep, for rest,
which ls the effect Of intense cold; and, within
sight of the friendly glcam that beckoned to
them overhead, ull three travellers laid down
and died.
On the Great st. Bernard the winter season
begins soon and ends late. Already it is win
ter beside the mountain dwelling: and during
the long months when the snow covers the
ground, or the cold makes travelling pcrouS,
il is the daily custom OF the good monks TO
der that they may lend assistance to any trav-
elcr who may have dropped by the way.
Clad in their long, black serge gowns and
broad-brimmcd hats, accompanied by attcn-
ants. who carry wine and provisions for the
restoration of the wcaried OF fainting travel
ers, and guided by the famous st. Bernard
dogs, which do the work of pointers, two or
three monks daily make the seven mixes jour
ney to the valley below. Until the occurrence
of the late accident, they had not for some
years found any traveller dead or beyond the
aid of restorallyes. Gradually, indeed, the
perils of the terrible pass have become
80 fully appreciated that even the poorest
traveller Shrinks from attempting the
ascent 10 the monastery alter nIshliull, il the
ground Is covered with snow, or If the great
Storm gusts blow down from the hills; the
three who have last fallen victims, however,
were less discreet, and next morning when
the searching party OF monks had proceeded
to a short distance from the HOsp!ce, they
found the bodies stiff and cold. They We're
taken to The little "morSne,' which Is situated
nj short distance from the principal building
OF the monastery, and in that naked masisO-
lenm the remains will abide With other relies
OF mortality, unless claimed by the kinSfolk Of
the lost. II Is grim resting place. u t. t..::.
small hut perched among the wintry mouu-
tains dwell the skeletons of the men and wo-
men and children who, in the course OF many
generations, have persisted In Tie fatal pass.
So Intense is the cold, that the uncmbalmed
bodies resist for long ycars the hand Of de-
cav. UncOilined, and dressed In the clothes
the snow, they stand pcrched against the
wall, and, while the visitor looks through
the iron grating Of their tomb, they peer grimly
forth Us If soliciting recognition and an ul-
desecrated place of rest. An old man leans
against the wall. his head bare. his staff in his
hand, and his attitude stlilened forever by the
death that smote him years ago. A woman
clutches In her arms the babe that pershed
with her In the snow. From the other grim
figures the clothes have rotted away by frag-
meuts, leaving bleached prolruding bones.
The floor of the dungeOn-like tomb is strewn
with the memorials Of the dead; and going
from the blazing fire of the monastery to the
"uorgue," the traveller can pass in a single
instant from the hum OF myrLhful conversation
or the joyous sound of music, to what might
tains NO more weird or gloomy night than that
prison house Of ciUlhed skeletons, perchcd in
the Alpine wilderness, and seen through the
misty and w!ntry gloom.
The elevated railway from the Battery to
seth street, New York, Will be in operation next