The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1871-06-08
For the Telegraph.
THE MONKS OF ST. BERNARD.
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN BY MEL
LIE FRENCH.

From Switzerland there is a great many
different ways to go to Italy for instance
to so over ST. Bernard At the foot of
these chains Of mountains the landscape
is very pleasant. Springs, brooks and
rivers water the earth everywhere there
are orchards, gardens, vineyards and fruit
trees so that it is q pleasure to live there
"A little higher up there are forests, still
higher they find excellent meadows, to
which in summer the cattle find magnlf-
cent pastures. A little higher farther up
the rocks commence, but even there the
bushes and trees grow. Chamois and wild
goats stand ali around and when the hun
ter wants to shoot them, they are so wild
that they run away from him. Up a Et
tie farther it is ali bare and like desert,
aud on the summit there is always snow.
In violent heat IN he summer all ot it
don't melt
From Martini on the Rho9e you can
travel up the road that leads to ST. Bern
ard. The first part of the distance you
can go little ways in a wagon, but the
highest peak of the mountain only foot
travellers and beasts of burden can pass
over.
In early times you could not ride at
all i; there were only foot paths. Some
times these paths were 50 narrow and the
prccipices SO high that you could not go
up without giddiness and without the
lgreatest danger Of falling into an immeas-
urable abyss below But it is dangerous
to travel in the snow region The cold
is asionishingly severe, and by reason of
unpleasant weather you cannot see the
way, and You are in danger Of sinking IN
to the deep snow, or falling suddenly
more than one hundred yards -nto some
deep chasm. Goods and tools are mostly
carried by mules over the mountain, as
these are learnt SO that they will not fall.
At the present time twenty thousand pee
pie ride over the A ps in year, and there
don't go by badly season that people
donr p rish
IN olden times there came a humane,
benevolent, noble clergyman, by the Ger
man name of Bernhard from Mention, to
visit this mountain. Here he built a
cloister in a narrow valley between high
lrocks on the beach of little lake to ac
commodate the monks, to supply the
wants of Travellers to wait a. on them and
even to 90 ont and show them he true
way. They also were ready togo out and
hunt up all those that were lost, who were
found alive, and also to find the dead
ones and bring them to the cloistcr. This
cloi>ter is built large that manager
and twelve or fifteen monks can live in
it, and as long as it stands there will not
any men miss the way. These monks
take an oath that they Will give them
selves up to God. 1t is very hard for
them You must think what hard life
they have there. A great part Of their
life they are on the high mountains, where
you cannot see any plants, nor flowers,
only the sky and the snow. Our winter
appears eight weeks long; but the people
hup there have almost an everlasting win
ter, where the sun don't warm them.
There is no Spring nor Summer to rejoice
them. Their dwellings are seven thous-
and and five hundred feet above the seas
They are the highest buildings in Europe
and they are full the whole year. All
that they need, they must provide for
from great distance. Often with great
care they go out with large sticks and
hunt for those that are lost and perishing.
And they also have dogs that have learnt
to go out and hunt up those that are lost
and suffering, and return back for a guide
These dogs go alone, or else the monks
take them along with them When they
have found person perishing then they
run back to their master AS swift as an ar
row and inform him by barking, by wag-
lying their tails, and they will keep run
ming around their master until he discoy.
lers what they want. Then they go ahead
and keep turning around to see if any.
body is following them, and show their
master the way where the persisted one
: lies. Many times their masters carry a
bottle of strong liquor and basket of
bread around their necks, and to bring