The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-15


pasture. on July l the herdswoman
moves to the high alp for two months.
while the men. boys and girls Of the family
divide that space or time between the vii
lage. the vineyard and the fields. spending
a week here. a fortnight there and few
days at other places. sleeping and keep
ing house wherever their presence is
needed.
In the middle OF September the cattle are
driven back to the lower alp. and a boy is
sent 10 assist the mother or sister with
milking. cheese making. etc. The other
members OF the family meanwhile gather
in the potatoes and attend to the winter
crop. At the end Of the month the cattle
return to the village. and sent to the
meadows. On Oct. p there is another gen
eraI exodus from the village. all hands
moving 10 the vineyard region for two
weeks Prom Oct Is 10 the beginning Of
November the alp is revisited, and when
grass becomes scarce there the lower re-
gions are sought, where the cattle are kept
In the open as long as anything green re-
mains. The pastures exhausted. the har-
vest OF hay gathered In the summer and
fall is laid under contribution. but the fam
lilies and cattle do not return home until
the last straw is consumed.
A NOMADIC EXISTENCE.
On all their wanderings these twentieth
century nomads take their entire movable
household goods-bedding, cooking utensils
agricultural implements, provisions and
clothes. while the houses, temporarily de-
serted. are protected against wind and
weather. but against biped intruders no
more than Zulu's hut or Tartar's cave.
those attached TO the many hundred-year-
old "truhes" Qarge stationary chests) are
simple CROUCH to yield to a nail.
The oldest house in the village is the
chapIafn's cottage. that. according to an
inscription over the door, was erected A.
ID. I'LL there are many places like it, but
their age not being proclaimed from the
housetops, so to speak. must remain a sub
Ject OF speculation. A very interesting and
well-preserved inscription is that OF the
house called "Auf der Egga," standing
nearest the public wall. 1t is in Roman
letters, curiousiy drawn and adorned. The
pastor. Rev p. NJ. Venetz. explained it's
meaning to me. namely. April 3, 1921 There
are also several buildings called heather
houses" supposed remnants of the old
Roman colony that once fiourished in these
windows. one in the front. the other in the
rear, size 30x6O centimeters.
Only the church. the priests house and
the peoples meeting house are of stone,
the rest including the newest building in
the village, put up some three hundred
years ago. are constructed entirely of wood,
principally blocks of larch wood. the front
trimmed with boards of the same material.
Of he il ere1
as follows: On one side of the entrance is
the kitchen, one the other two large
closets for agricultural implements and
tools. In the rear opposite the front door
is the large living room, serving also as
dining and bedroom for the whole family.
Below is. first. a place called ''saal'' Chall
or parlor), used for storing butter, cheese,
clothes. wool. etc. then the cellar. con-
tasning stores of dried meat, bacon, pota-
toes, etc.
If two or more families live under the
same roof, as is often the case, each is
entitled to the same amount of room in
the various floors occupied. Sometimes
storerooms are kept in common. divided by
chalk line. There is no fear of theft and
no occasion. as everybody's wants are fully
supplied.
The people say larch wood lasts forever.
that it e1dures for thousand years. That
the chaplain's house bears witness to it's
power of resistance is demonstrated by
the Egga house and another inscribed 1904
that L saw in one OF the hamlets. The
houses are a deep black on the outside
and the wood is black through and through,
as digging with a gimlet showed
wOMEN'S RIGHTS IN OLD DAYS.
A curious contribution to the woman's
rights question is offered in the fact that
many carved inscriptions in the houses
and out mention the name OF the wife as
well as the husband as builders and pro-
prietOrs. My note book is full of such
legends as this copied I'm Terbinen: This
house was erected by Anthoni So-and-So
and Margaret So-and-So his 'husfrow,' In
1897" Even in the new houses the win
dows are so small that It is impossible to
put ones head through. Monsters OF evil
can't fly through tiny holes" runs one OF
the native proverbs.
The furniture as already remarked, is
stationary built into the house. like the
stoves, the latter OF rocky substance
known as "giltfue." The dining table.
with rude benches at three sides, stands
under the window. On the opposite wall
are two high bedsteads reached by lad
ders. and under these a number OF chill
drens cribs on rollers that may be drawn
out when needed. Before the main bed
stands the "truhe." chest or strong box
sometimes richly carved and with rusty
iron trimmings. Tie sole article OF dec
Grafton Is a large wooden receptacle for
cups and plates, let into the wall. Every
householder takes pride in his collection
OF beautiful stone cups with lead or iron
covers, tin and copper plates. but for that
very reason seldom uses them. wooden
tankard or bowl sufficing for ordinary use
Strange to say, the houses are crowded
together like those OF a city street where
each foot OF ground is worth a fortune and
every house has a sign or brand" which,
like an escutcheon Of nobility. is attached
TO everything the householder claims as
his own-barns, fences. tools. implements,
clothes, cattle, frontier stones. etc. There
are at present 10 families. each having a
different mark for designating property by
branding. The iron. by the way, is al
ways left to the youngest son. irrespective
OF the general distribution OF the property
The brand also figures i'm all adminislra-
tive registers. in the tax rolls and deeds
II Joseph Studer. for instance. sells an
acre to his neighbor. the mark designat-
ing the property on the neighbours slate