The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-04-02
BITS OF SWISS LIFE
VESTlGES OFTHE ROMAN EN-
PRE- IN THE RHONE VALLEY
Trailing of the vine-Tbe Home and Ways
Or the Mountain Peasant-The Go,ter and
Its Causes-Over an Alpine Psss-Mount
Blanc

CHAMONIX, Switzerland, l5.-Spe.
eial espondence.-Nearly everybody VIII,
visits Southern Switzerland spends at leas
one day in Martigny; not that it Is an OBJ.
5ective potnt-far from it-but 1t is necessar,
to stop there in order to 60 somewhere else
It is a station on the railway leading soutl
from Berne, and the beginning Of the road
going over the Tete-N pass into Cha.
monk. cannot explain why it IT, but Z
Martigny l always have a At of the blues, an
occurrence so rare that I'm almost inclined tc
thing to do with it. Also, about the time
one reaches this little place, there has beer
D long interval without letters from home
and possibly that intensiRes the malady
Then, too, had had the added misfortune o.
losing one piece of registered luggage. ant
that alone did not help to mend matters
Still, in spite OF all tendencies to repulson
1t is only just that Martigny be given fail
& showing.
OF course, it has a past; no town over
here ds worth mentioning that hasn't past,
and the farther back 1t goes the more notable
the town. You may start out with extreme
dislike toward all things old and musty; you
may boldly aver that tradition cannot in
fluenco nor legend affect; but, insensibly, you
change.
The Antiquarian Passion.
You look twice at church or an arch
merely because 1t erected thousand
.. years ago, and you gaze reverentially at relics
that should have been handed over to the
ragman some two hundred years back. Be-
fore the summer is over the traveller is an
antiquarian, and, not content with the Chris
tian era, demands that everything should
date back at least to the Roman empire. Tc
crafty this desire and accommodate their
patrons, the good people of Martigny have
obligingly made excavations, in convenient
spots, occupied by neither house nor vine
yard, and now point with pride to their old
Roman ruins. Nothing very great one might
say, when compared to the simon-pure article
IN Rome or Pompeii, and yet of interest be-
cause they furnish a clew to the method and
scope of Roman jurisdiction. In the trans
Alpine countries which came under control of
dhe Caesars we find the Roman town in each
= fertile valley, and the Roman tower on the
near commanding eminence. Every province
OF the great empire was thus kept in touch
with the capital. and SO speedily reduced to
submission II refractory or accorded privi-
leges If loyal. Martigny has both it's ruins and
its tower, the former consisting of shallow
excavations partitioned off by low walls, with
here and there portions of the Enclosure still
standing. The tower is in tolerably fair con-
dition, and for a gulden one can 60 from
dungeon to parapet. The Roman name Of
the town was Octudurum, and its estimated
population, $4,000, in these later days shrunk
to 1000. The village, as we saw 1t, consists
of narrow streets and small, plain houses.
The air is hot, the roads dusty, the market
place cramped and dirty. No one but born
resident could be contented in Martigny.
Our home for the nonce was hotel we'll
remembered by all travellers who ever have
y had occasion to stop here; everything clean
and neat, but prices on sliding SCALE and
usually kept near the top notch. AS one
Swiss hotel-keeper remarked: 1T is neces-
sary to charge big prices during the three
summer months to live during the other
nine"
AGood Hostess.
1t is supposed that in addition to the land
Ecapes and galleries, the intelligent tourist
gives some attention to the people with whom
he comes in contact. He Identifies some traits
OF character as national, others as individ-
Mal; the old dame who manages this hosiery
|, combines the two series nest strikingly.
Again, it is the custom in this part of Switz-
erland to have hyphenated name, composed
of the surnames of both man and wife; espe-
cially is this true Of those engaged in bust
ness, and the name which comes last and is
supposed to be of the most Importance, is
that of the one who carries on the business,
be it the man or wife In this instance the
woman's name was given the preference. AS
the head waiter remarked, the husband had
the money, but the wife had the good head
No matter how great the number of tourists
to bear down upon her, she Is equal to the
emergency, and the maids and the scullions
lily around lively at her bidding. Suave and
y"
q Medusa If crossed or found fault with. A
queer one is this old French Swiss woman,
and upon her good or bad humor depends the
comfort of hundreds Of tourists on theil
way to Chamonix In these small towns there
Is no choice. Take what is offered or fare
worse. We are such notional creatures, and,
aside from pictures, statuary, and scenery, SO
much of our happiness depends on appettz-
Ing food and comfortable beds that Is worth
while to remember certain lodging places tC
l., p,,%,, 90 he
avoided.
In this Rhone valley the road passes through
one struggling village into another. Herr
the people are huddled together in narrow
space, the barn and cottage in close proxim-
1 tty. The burdens of life weigh heavily upor
these poor people; their forms are bent, ant
children look old beyond their years. Al
daybreak the men 20 to the field or work.
shop, and often the women go, with them
leaving the grandmother at home to stir the
potage and mind the baby. We did see some
women sitting on the doorsteps, knitting;
others chaffering before the little shops, anG
usually group around the village washtub
which was a long stone basin with a clear
mountain stream running into 1t, and at the
4 opposite end an overflow. The clothes were
- soused into the water. laid upon board
rubbed with soap, then pounded vigorously
1epeaLeO OlpplnRS completed the cleansing
process. NO place, certainly. Tor delicate lac
Or fancy fabrics.
Victims Of Golfer.
This valley Of the Rhone has been quit
noted for its goiter victims, although an
happy to say that, through the increase
watchfulness of the authorities, there nov
is, an abatement Of the disease. Many DIFF
ferent causes are assigned to the terribl
af1iction-this enlargement OF the glands Q
the throat-goiter. or big mech" as 1t IL some
times ca1led-and even the best informe
are far from being unanimous as to its origi
or prevention. The peasants themselves ga
1t is brought on by the habitual use Of sno'
and glacial water; the water is 80 cold 1t act
as counter-irritant, and so inflames th
throat; but this explanation hardly holds, q
the inhabitants Of the upper regions are no
SO often afflicted as are the people In the lowe
valleys. The use Of chemically impure water
especially hard water. is given as a camse
I'ne experiment mas Deen MADE wnere tn
water Of certain wells was used to the ex
clusion Of all other water; within short tim
goiter symptoms began to manifest them
selves where none had been before. Some
times this disease Is epidemic; an instanc
was noted where in g. garrison one out. {
every twenty men became afflicted. Infant
II are seldom born with goiter, but afteri 1t ono
takes hold the progress Of the disease is yer
|, rapid believe that it is rarely fatal, but be
cause Of this enlargement Of the glands, an
the consequent Disagreement OF the throat,
is most repulsive; and yet the natives al
4 so accustomed to seeing 1t that they do NJ