The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1891-08-21

7nf1n1nnuuDGnGuuu -
wind blowing through the trees a
night, 1t WAS the patter, and the
the dash and then the steady pour G
rain. 1t was the singing of birds il
the sunlight. II was the changing Q
the alarm bells. 1t was the wall @
lost souls. 1t was the benedictiol
that follows after prayer.
~.
This is the mig ut of my last day il
Switzerland, and as my next lette
must deal with another country ant
other people, perhaps it would b,
best to set down here some genera
observations, supplemental to tn,
more detailed report already giver
of the things seen during.the past tel
days. And they will have to be sci
down as they occur to my mind with
out any thought of logical connection
A friend who had travelled through
Switzerland once said to me, "Surely
so beautiful a country was never i'm.
habited by so sordId and uninterest-
ing people," He was more than
half right. There is no scenery in
our own country, L believe, that can
compare with the beauty of the Swiss
mountains. And the difference all
lies in the matter of grass. Our
mountains, our western mountains at
least, while covered with trees to tim
Der line, are almost totally destitute
of grass, while here grass grows ever
y where, under the thickest forest,
over the highest peaks, except of
course those that are covered with
snow. In Colorado nobody would
think Of farming mountain side.
Here 1 have seen grain and vegetables
growing hundreds OF feet above the
valley and on slopes so steep that it
seemed impossible for man to keep
his foot hold. 1 am positive that I
saw today on the Rigi a patch of pota-
toes growing OH slope that did not
lack ten degrees of being perpendicu-
lar. The man who digs those potatoes
will have to anchor himself to the
trees above and hunt for his potatoes
a thousand feet below his farm.
All kinds of grain, vegetables and
fruits that are grown in Kansas are
grown here, except corn. The soil
seems to be very thin, q mere skin
over the rocks, but vegetation is rank
and everything plan ted seems TO yield
well. Plums, peaches, and cherries
are especially fine. The cherry trees
grow to be at least three times az
large as any ever saw at home, and
the fruit is large and sweet. The
wheat harvest has not yet begun.
The Swiss farm houses are "com-
posite", the lower story being used
for the stock in winter, the second for
the family and the third for the sup
ply of food for both. They are built
Of logs usually, and as nails are scarce
the shingles are held OH by stones.
They are picturesque, however, and
seem to fit in well with the surround
ings. 1t is a rare thing to see horse
about any farm, and the work is all
lone by hand. In some of the larger
valleys L have seen men ploughing
with horses, but it took one man to
irive and another to hold the pillow.
Fully as many women are seen i'm the
ields as men and they seem to be
quite as able bodied.
The splendid roads that traverse
he country i'm every direction, have
been built mainly by private corpora
ions who charge toll for the use of
hem.
The banks of all the streams where
hey pass through arabic land, are
by solid walls of masonry.
The soil is too precious to be washed
nto river.
The art of wood carving is probably
arried to greater perfection among
he Swiss peasantry than among any
ther people OH earth. And it is GER
ainly marvel that people so rude
md with no artistic training what |
yer, should be able to do such exqui- |
lite work. In drawing. i'm form, in
perspective, it is simply perfect. And
he variety of the designs is no less
marvellous than the perfection of the
xecution, for they make every thing
hat can well be imagined, from Il del
cate brooch to a life-sized deer or bear.
'hese articles are exposed for sale,
and are IAN endless temp
alton to the tourist. The Swiss wom-
II are very expert at lace making al
,, and it is one of the sights of the
ountry to see them sitting i'm their
or by the road side weaving
18th swift motions their intricate pat
erns.
While, as the foregoing would in
icate, the Swiss people are industri-
is, and in some things ingenius, they
re as my friend said, sordid and I'M
lteresting. At least those with
HON the average tourist comes in
intact are 80. One is besieged every
here by man women and children,
Id begged to buy something or to
We something. Every two or three
lies along the carriage roads for ex- {
nple, stands some able bodied loafer 8
it'll long Alpine horn on which as