St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-09-21
On Mount Rigi.


native Vermonter, is travelling in Eu
rope this summer, and is writing very
interesting letters home to his paper.
We copy portion of late one:
This Arth-Rigi Railroad is on the
same plan as its predecessor, the Mount
Washington railroad of New Hampshire.
1t passes through the valley of Arth by
the remains of the Goldan landslip to
the western slope of the mountains at
the foot of Rigi-Scheideck, then rises
gradually to the right declivity of the
AsbachTObel over the precipices of
Nagelfiuh, and passing KlOsterli attains
the top of the Kigi-Staffel, from which
it ascends to the summit of the Rigi
Kuhn, distance of between six and
seven miles. The line all the way is
girted 10y green fields, wood and pasture
lands. Grass and shrubbery grow in
abundance even at the top, though the
height is about the same as Mount
Washington, on the top of which no
species of vegetation thrives. The
track passes along very high embank
ments, deep cuts, through tunnels, and
along galleries hewn from the living
rock. The scenes revealed to the tour
list as he rides leisurely up the noun
tain-the not far off snow capped Alps,
the placid lakes beneath the cavernous
gorge and dizzy precipice farm fields,
pine forests, and rushing mountain
stream the rushing of waters, the tink
ling of sweet bells worn by cattle, sheep
and goats the sight of the rude herd
ers hut the queer little chalets patch
es of dark green and light; beetling
crags and snugly Nesting valley-why,
your eyes are crammed with these all
the way, and you are really glad to
find your hotel at last and sit you down
very close to your delicious beefsteakes
and potatoes.
1t had been raining several weeks
they said when we were coming up,
and pilgrims had been waiting and
watching day after day just for sun
set OF a sunrise at the Rigi Kuhn. We
had both. The sunset was glorious.
That is all know about it; can't find
words to tell you how it appeared to
mellow the sun sinking beneath the
lofty snow capped ranges, tipped them
off with red and gold, and backed the
opposite peaks in that peculiarly pur-
pie tinge nowhere seen in fuller per-
fection; how floating bits of fieecy
clouds were caught and colored most
gorgeously; how the purpled ravines
deepened into thick darkness, and the
golden tipped peaks far away softened
back again into silver, and then to pur
pie night how the long strips of clouds
bordering the western horizon became
broad ribbons of richly burning red
with edges of flaming gold-nO, indeed
| II l., hnunnH tn foil nf the rIna-
ness, the richness, the fullness of the
glory of this gorgeous sunset scene
the sunset of all sunsets-the bright,
brilliant sunset of the Alps, seen from
the Rgi-Kulm.
And the sunrise. The sun rises at
half past four. This is the grand spec
tacle. In hopes of Il sight of it, hungry
pilgrims had hustled up the mountain
in hundreds from the cities of the lakes.
NV party was sad to think of broken
morning slumbers, but were bound to
see one sunrise in their lives to see how
it might seem. Half past three there
was IL bright belt of gold along the
eastern Alpine range, knew it, because
il wrong headed Swiss boy devoted to
herding goats, passed my window utter
ing most unearthly yells. They called
it the yodlin, or something of that sort !;
but whether it is or what it is for, or
what lunatic invented it, or how fine it
may seem away up in the distant noun
tain crags spilled down upon the ears
of far down audience, don't yet
know, but coming from the cracked
voice of fifteen year old goatherd, at
three o'clock in the morning, under my
hotel window, mingled with goat bells,
and the grating of Alpine stocks on the
stOne-I don't care for it-nOt as rule.
But l got up and. dressed. While
that performance was hastily going on,
another Swiss vagrant standing on the
fifth floor of this hotel, and near my
door sent forth such blast from his
Alpine horn as would have served to
raise the dead Imagine it. That same
old wooden Swiss horn, blown in the
mountains, could be heard for miles
away, and the sound gain favor by dis
tance. But right herewith hundreds
sleeping about, its coarse, reedy trill
was something maddening. But he
kept up his concert, repeating it on ev-
cry floor, until sleep fled from the house
frightened away. A mere glance from
: the windows, revealed the certain prom
, ise of a glorious sunrise. Two hundred
and fifty women and quite as many men
bounced out of bed to dress for the oc-
t casion Dress They had never done
t it that way befOre-not to appear in
company. Towzled hair, skirts and
wraps of shawl, bed blanket and water
: proof; not a fiOunce nor a trail, mol
> ragging out of any sort; but as rosy 6
lot of holy flights as you ever saw were
| those same women and girls, after they
had raced and struggled up to the tiI
j. top of the Rigi Kuhn, to see an Alpine
=. sunrise.
There was no mistake about it; il
2 was grand-a sunset reversed. The
| same tipping, glinting, flushing up tt
y the peculiar landscape-a vision of en-
: thusiasm. Below us-even at our fee
r two thousand feet down and tive
e thousand feet above the little lake hung
e in mOtiOnless suspense, a broad mas
: of the thickest of pearly clouds. 1t wal
1 sight to behOld-sO near, so pure, 81
e perfect. No body takes thought abOu
t looking up into the clouds. There i
i no novelty in that. But to have then
|, quite beneath your feet, and to be look
e ing down through their drifts into the
- pure blue waters of the lake yet far
: ther down, is a sensation not to be for
e gotten. And even now as l write,
look forth upon that immense field o
If cloud far beneath me, stretching its in
# terror "silver lining" that we read abou
IS miles away over lake and valley
d vast field of f1eecy snow. All abov
= and around us is clear, bright, blue sky
: motionless and yet beyond it
| fah eli 1f ,r,6