The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-12-14
A WALK OVER
THE ALPS.
Some Of the Wonderful Sights Of
the Simplon Pass.
Tho Duke Of savoy's Apartments in the
Prison Of Chillon-An Ancient swiss
vllags-Tke Rhone Valley.

Dent du Midi. We had seen in the distance
the gray towers of the prison of Chillon. An
electric street railway of the overwire sys-
tenn runs from Territet TO Chillon. We
crossed to the prison entrance over the mar
row and rather shaky wooden bridge, which
a vendor of photographs and cheap wood
carvings had plenteously decorated with his
wares, and finding the iron gates open en-
tered the small outer court of the chateau.
Several other visitors were there, and
within few minutes mere arrived, so that
when bright-eyed young woman appeared
from within with a string of huge
keys on her arm she had flock
OF fifteen or eighteen representatives of
Germany, France, England and America
to follow her. We were shown first the
public dining-hall of the Duke of Savoy,
where, in the huge fireplace. observed the
thrifty people who now succeed the duke as
residents of the place were performing the
rites OF the smoking house on several
healthy hams. The party rambled through
the dukes apartments, sat down on the old
carved benches in the big court room and by
questions inspired our guide to all sorts Of
Nights OF imagination In the torture-rooms,
the last bedroom OF the condemned, ana the
dungeons. In the large underground hail,
where Downward was imprisoned, the after
noon sun cut pathways through the narrow
Sits up near the ceiling and threw an
accommodating and irradiating halo around
the rost to which Byron's hero was so much
attached. To some of our party, who
thought they owed it to posterity to scratch
their names beside those of Byron, Shelley
and Victor Hugo ON the pillars of the
prison chamber, our guide suggested that
upstairs in the little chapel of the Duke Of
Savoy they would find a record-book in
which they could subscribe their names.
occupations, deTiyations, destinations and
affiliations and such other peregrnations as
future historians would hunger for.
A THREE HOURS RIDE
On The cars through the Rhone Valley
brought US to Sion at o'clock in the even
ing, where we passed the night. One does
not tire readily of these quaint little Swiss
towns, with their curious streets and his
tOrical ruins. Three castles and the walls of
once stately. church cover two rocky
mountain side thousand feet above the
roofs Of this little village. We found there
the nice, clean hotel, with its table flowing
with milk and honey that ono finds every
where in Switzerland. In the morning we
reached the end of the railroad at Brigue at
10 o'clock, after an hours ride. At the
diligence office We went through the long
formula of arranging to have our baggage
expressed over the Italian line to Domo
d'Oss0la. We then started on foot to cross
the Simplon route.
The dust was thick on the village streets
and the day was hot when We set out We
were soon on the hard diligence route
mounting the gradual ascent. Not FIR from
the first refuge, four miles from Brigue, we
chose a shady and slightly place beside a
lunch. Soon after this we turned curve
around the mountain side and left behind us
the view we had had of Brigue, with its
basking CT snow mountains and the Rhone
Valley, and continued the ascent on a road
cut out of the rock of the nearly perpendicu-
lar side of the mountain. thousand feet
below US ran the stream that contributed
most to the Rhone River. We found the
second refuge, a fairly decent two-stoly
house. perched on the mountain side. We
reached the END of the long gorge and the
place where the river had its origin in roar
ing streams from the snow-t0ps Of the
mountains about o'clock and crossed the
end of the gorge on bridge suspended at
dizzy height. Making long curve on the
other side of the gorge on the face of
'mountain that we had seen from Brigue and
had had our eyes admiringly on for the last
two hours of our walk, we came to Berisal,
the third refuge of the Simplon Pass. 1t
had begun to rain in spite of the fair prom
ises of the morning, and we made arrange
ments to pass the night at the comfortable
hotel, the propretress OF which, who was
also the PostmiStresS and chief manager of
the settlement of eight or nine houses,
spoke English and French as well as she did
Italian and German and
THE DIALECT OF THE CANTON.
Though tilted on the mountains side up
near the snow level and accessible only by
the road on which we reached it, the hotel
at Berisal and its dependencies had enough
guests to supply the long dining-room with
cheerful company, principally of American
and English travellers. When the diiigences
and their little procession Of cabriolets ar
rived, which occurred to the damage of our
repOSe several times during the night horses
were changed at the refuge and the pas
sengers alighted to stretch themselves and to
take drink or a bite at the hotel restaurant.
When we arose vapory masses concealed the
snow peaks of the mountains that closed
us in. We continued our journey on foot.
The fifth refuge, plastered stone-house in
habited by family. three acrobatc
goats and two razor-back hogs. with legs
like antelopes and shouts like Christ
mas cornucopias. brought us within
view OF the Kaltwasser glacier and the
long stone galleries built to keep away the
avalanches and dislodged rocks from the
Lofty lofty heights; Here, at an altitude Of 1000
Bernese Alps and the now distant valley of
the Rhone. All about us snow-peaks were
visible, the Altschorn, the Schreckhorn and
the beautiful peak OF the Fletschhorn among
them: We passed Napoleon's huge hosplce,
and lunched on the side of the mountain
known as the ancient hospice, sur
rounded by well-cultivated, level fields.
The only evidence of human life
that We saw about this place was
an old woman carrying huge bunch of
faggots who, followed to the door of the
hosplce by group of hungry, razor-back
hogs and goats, entered the present home
of the bergers.
1t was o'clock when we reached Simplon
village. Two hours later we were speeding
10 fr.I vr,,t 4, -
roaring stream from the Rossboden glacier,
through which the road completes its course
to Italy. The numbering three-compart-
mented diligence, drawn by five horses, was
filed before its arrival at Smplon. and we
had place in the first of
THE CABRIoLETs,
A four horse vehicle similar to the diligence,
but lacking the buggy-topped seat behind.
On this trip made my first acquaintance
with diligence conductor of the good old
fashioned stock. His bearing and uniform
and gray mqstache gave him the air of a
man in the second cabriolet in
vited this august parsonage and his
three drivers to take drink Mt the first
stop we made after oimplon. At every sue
ceeding stop the conductors anxiety for
fear the second cabriolet should not arrive
in time was something terrible. When the
cabriolet Jagged behind-its driver probably
having an eye out for himself to the ex-
clusion of the three other hard drinkers
tie old fellow used all the four languages to
vent his indignation. We entered Domo
d'Ossola at o'clock with a fusilade OF
swapping whips. When we alighted from
the diligence the closely built Italian town
seemed as devoid Of air worth breathing as
the unsheltered thoroughfares of New York
after hot July day. The people were all in
the streets.
In the morning we continued our journey
to Milan by route slightly d6viating from
that Of the orthodox tourists, but which we
found very pleasant. An hours ride by
cars and two entertaining hours in dill
gence brought us to Stresa, on Lake Mag
glore. From here we took lovely ride
down the lake to Aroma and theme. by cars