The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-04-12
TRAVEL IN THE ALPS.
A Noted Explorers Experience
in Switzerland.
RevoluT,oNlzED sy RAILROADS
PeculIarfties Of Meuntsin Hotels-The
Great Array Of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Screaming Among the Glaciers.

LucxrE, April Especial Correspond
ence. lat this moment, when English
and Americans are making plans for their
summer outing, the following facts about
Switzerland may prove to be helpful as
well as interesting. So Tar. neither the
Tyroi nor Scandinavia nor any other
fashionable mountain district OF the Old
world has to any extent diverted the great
stream of travellers from the most beaufi-
full and most accessible Of all the mount
ain countries Of the world-Switzeriand.
Indeed, the number of tourists visiting
the Alpine districts of the Swiss confeder-
alton Is rapidly increasing every year.
Railways, steamboat lines, summer re-
sorts and magnificent hotels are springing
up all over the little republic with surpris-
ing rapidity, and the entire mode of trav-
cling has been revolutiouized within the
last ten years.
No country that can think of, and I
have seen good many Of them during
twenty years Of globe-trotting. can boast
of such astounding development in regard
to tourists life and the number of foreign
ers from all parts of the world, who come
to pay their homage to the snow-ciad
mountain kings of the -O6erIand." l
purposely say foreigners for the Swiss
themselves form very small portion of
the mountain tourists. know good
many people of the better class, inhab-
itants of Bcrne or Luzerne, who have
never been TO Interlaken. nor even up the
Rigi or Mt. Piiatus, although visit to
these places would be to them but an after
Moons excursion, whilst the peasants
rarely venture beyond the bound
airy line Of their canton. The
natives of the mountainous parts
of Switzerland have so far changed
very little indeed, and in many places they
have preserved their ancient manners and
costumes, notwithstanding the constant
intermingiing with fashionable foreigners
of all nations The latter, with wonderful
assiduity. have explored every mountain,
every hidden crevasse, assembled every
pass, trodden every snow field. visited
every hut up to the remotest sennhufse
near the line of perpetual snow. Nothing
has escaped this peaceable INVASION of the
foreigner. and there is probably not q
single square yard of Swiss ground that
has escaped the foot Of the plucky tourist.
In other countries the picturesque Pc
culiarites of the rural element have more
or less succeeded to ''town civilization"
but in Switzerland village life has re-
manned much the same as it used to be in
pre-touristic times. Surely. every traveller
to that country will recollect with pleasure
the pretty Swiss peasant girls in their
Overland costume; the black velvet bodice
covered with silver chains and silver
spangles, the spotless white shirt with
curiously pulled sleeves. and the large,
light straw hat adorned with Alpine aow-
ers. with "Aipenrose and Edelweiss.
They usually turn ont in full force at any
of the numerous singing, shooting or
wrestling matches. in which the Swiss in
dulge. or, in the forest cantons around the
lake of Lucernc at the annual meetings Of
the peasantry. to settle their state affairs
and attend to the elections.
At these festivitiesit will be noticed how
little this mere handful Of people has been
influenced by the contact with the foreign
er, who. during the summer months. fire.
quenfly even invades their huts and con-
siders their ''fatheriand" his own domain.
Last August on my trip through the most
wonderful of all valleys-the gorge of the
visp-to Zermatt. noticed some Italians
working on railroad line leading across
meadows and orchards of the natives, and
even right through their villages. At one
point saw Swiss peasant digging up
potatoes on his little patch of ground,
spared by the huge houlders that had fall
len from the enormous snow-clad noun
tain right overhead and Immediately be-
hind him. Literally on his heels the rail-
way constructors were digging deep cut
through this potato patch to accommodate
the railway track.
This railroad building is going on all
over the country, sparing no mountain. no
valley, and it is surprising to find that
Switzerland, the most difficult of all coun-
tries for railroad engineering. should pos
sess relatively more railways than the
New England states. In the latter there
is one kilometer Of railways to every seven
teen square kilometers of land; in Switzer-
land one to every thirteen square kilomet-
ers: in other words. the New England
states are four and one-half times larger
than Switzerland, and have but three times
more railways, although in Switzerland
one-half of the country is occupied by the
highest mountain ranges of Europe. The
receipts average in the New England states
about 5000 year per kilometer; in
Switzerland $500, which difference is
mainly due to summer travel.
Now, although Switzerland cannot BE-
considered as q rich country it builds at
least its own railways. 1t is by no means
foreign capital and foreign enterprise
which sends the iron horse up the noun
tain peaks, put steamers on the lakes, and
erects most magnificent hotels on the
most impossible places. The astonishing
touristic enterprises of the last score Of
years were undertaken by the good Swiss
themselves, who subscribed every penny
required. OF what other country, Eng
land excepted, can this be said?
These railways have naturally revolu-
tionized the entire mode and condition of
tourist life in Switzerland. There are
still thousands of old tourists who will
fecoltect with delight their former walks
or Swiss drives ON stages or mail carriages
through this heavenly land, at time
when railways were still unknown. In
later years thousands Of tourists were con-
tent with spending some weeks on the
Rigi or the Piia:us, at Interlaken, Geneva
or Lucerne, with pede.trian excursion
now and then TO some picturesoue
places in the vicinity. But to-
day this is not considered sufficient.
The entire Alpine region of Switzerland
can be visited within a week, and the
Americans were the FIRST to avail them
serves OF the increased opportunities of
travel. In q circular, requesting contri-
buttons towards the erection Of an Ameri-
can church at Lucerne, the number of
Americans visiting this place annually Is
given at from 1900 10 1900 II Is pos
sibly owing to the well-known desire Of
Americans To sstake in All inn IN sha sro-s