The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-08-21

over the mountains OF 0G. 0all COuo tuo
streaks of. the morning light" Now
beam kisses thesilvered top of the moun.
tain far to the South. Another and
another icy crest is lighted up, the golden
orb begins to appear above the horizon,
the raysdescend TO theyalleys below.apd
on the memory of all is stamped. never
to be effaced, the beautiful picture OF a
sunrise on the Rigi.
We descend the railway, which, by the
way. is a cog wheel affair, similar to the
Mount Washington line, having in some
places a grade of one in four, and at
Vitznau again take the steamer for Alp
mach, where carriages are in waiting for
the Journey over the Brunig Pass to
Brienz. The road over the Brunig IS
marvel of engineering skill and many
times the rocks seem to e6ectually bar all
further progress; !; but by winding about
the mountains, along the edge of precl-
pices and beneath overhanging rocks,
amid wild and lovely scenery, with con-
stantly changing views as we ascend and
descend the pass. Lake Brienz is at last
reached and We transfer once more to
steamer, and cross the lake to Giessbach,
where We stop q few hours to see .the
waterfall of the same name. The little
stream which forms the Giessbach Falls,
makes total descent of nearly 1900 feet
to the lake; but the "fall" is simply
series of cascades; varying in sheight-from
ten to one hundred feet. at night the
principal cascades are illuminated with
different colored Bengal lig hts, and the
ILLUMINATION of the Giessbach" ls the
principal attraction of the mammoth
hotel located there. Our opinion of
Swiss waterfalls was not improving, how
aver. and we took the next boat orthe foot
offhe lake. from which ride of ten min
utes by rail brought US to Interlaken.
AS the name implies, Interlaken is
5et,oesn the lakes of Brienz and Thun;
and. as il is not only delightful spot
itself: but also convenient rendezvous
for excursions into the 'Bernese Oberland,
it is a very popular place for tourists.
About. twelve miles distant and easily
reached By carriage, is Grindelwald, near
which place are the iGripdelwald gla.
ciers, flowing down from the Bernese
Alps. We visited the upper glacier
and were much interested in it. The
vast frozen food, crowded down the
ip,oorrrne in the mountain by the immense
Weight of ice and snow above, crumbles
and melts as it reaches the valley and
dropsits burden of rocks and Other deorls
into the terminal "moraine:" From the
base flows a small stream, almost as
white as milk, which; after winding
about among the mountains hnaliy
reaches lake Brienz. At one point
arotto has been cut directly into the face
of. the glacier, and one may enter tor
neatly 1900 feet this vast ice house OF
nature. The ice, which, in small frag-
ments appears as clear as crystal, here,
owing TO its great thickness, is 8 most
lovely blue and the Zig ght transmitted
it throws ghastly pallor which
is i almost alarming over the faces OF visit
ors. On either side of the glacier, facing
outward, rises a mighty wall OF rock,
thousands of feet iiu height, reminding
one Of the lofty cliffs of Yosemite; but
on the other side of the valley the noun
tain slopes gently back, covered with
small farms and dotted with hundreds OF
cottages. On our return from Grindel-
wald. we made detour of few miles |
to Lanterbrunnen, to see the tar famed
waterfall. The opportunities
for waterfall at this point are certainly
ample; the cliff being nearly 1000 feet
in height; but the supply of moisture Is
80 extremely small that we at once sug'
eested the advisability ofisending man
to the top with bucket of water with
strict orders to throw il. all over at once.
It was hardly satisfactory, but amid the
GRIND and majestic scenery by which we
were surrounded, it was impossible to 1
criticise. severely and with the feeling
that it had been day spent we'll, we re-
turned to InterlaEen.
- A short ride by rail to lake IhuD,
steamer down the lake and rail again tor
10 miles brought .us at an early hour the
iext day Ito .Berne, the capital of the |
Swiss confederacy. 1t has a population
of about 45,0O0, but possesses little Of
interest to the tourist. The bear; the
heraldic emblem of the city, seen
everywhere, carved in wood, cast in iron
and even stamped on the pats of butter
at the hotels. The tower clock, which
rivals in the ingenuity of its figures the
clock, has bears tor puppets,
and small den of live bears is kept at
the public expense. Fountains are nu,
merous throughout the city, tas IN TACT
IN nliearlyEall the; Swiss cities, and many
ofsthead designs are both quaint and Gu