The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-12-15
Terbinen, n District I'm the Swiss Alps,
Practically Cut on from Communi-
cation with the World.
ALL SUFFICIENT FOR ITSELF
ANCIENT SIGN LANGUAGE EMPLOYED
IN PUBLIC DOCUMENTS.
a Primitive, Semi-Nomadic Life. Lived
Within n short Distance OF
High Civilization. u

Correspondence OF the Indianapolis Journal
BERNIE. Nov. 2O-''This is the end of civil
ization, said the depot master of Visp.
Saaserthal. Further south there is neither
railway nor road. hardly a mule path
So 1 hired a mule and set out. Six hours
of hard climbing brought me to Terbinen. a
district cut off from the world and it's
progress for five or six hundred years. long
enough to know nothing of the discovery OF
America, the reformation. thirty years
war the French revolution, Napoleon, the
events of the year 1S4s and constitutional
government, the Franco-P russian war, the
Boxer uprising. steam power. carriages and
wagons, electricity, telegraph, railways.
street cars or anything whatever in the
way of modern history, conveniences or ne
cessities.
The district never having been surveyed
and the inhabitants being ignorant Of all
geogra ply, it is difficult to give the exact
situation. Politically il belongs to the
Saaserthal. Wallis. The Simplon Hospice is
but five miles away. and the Bietschhorn.
Breithorn, Balmhorn, Wildhorn and neigh
boring heights tower high above its field
and "alps." The last of these pastures is
situated at an altitude of 1900 feet above
the level of the sea, but the village itself
lies only $500 feet higher than the very
wideawake town Of Visp. 1t takes eight
days by mule to traverse the limits OF the
district north and south. east and west.
While Terbinen itself is on the map the
twenty hamlets belonging to il are either
unknown to photographers wrongly
named-the inhabitants themselves could
not recognize them. When setting out to
discover this new world. the world of ante
Columbus and Luther days. L left the mule
TO find the way, in accordance with the in
structions of his master.
At first the path hedged I'm by vine
yards, growing southern grapes. while
mighty chestnut trees spent delicious shade
here and there. Higher up the wine planta-
tions made way for orchards. rich plum,
apple and pear trees. Cornfields came next
and trees were less frequent. / saw cher
ries grow at attitudes where apples OF pears
would not ripen; the trees were small, like
the fruit they bore, but the latter sweeter
than any ever came across
AN ISOLATED REGION.
After the cornfelds-meadows: after the
meadows a forest region, mighty larch
trees and frs. at the furthest end arves.
The latter do not grow thick or high, and
each tree needs a territory of some twen-
'short-grass alp" Offering pasture TO sew
eral thousand cattle, large and small. and
as we climbed still higher organic life
became poorer and poorer. At only for
sheep and goats. At last-naked rocks.
stony ground, with here and there sprink-
ling of moss. At the end of that begins
eternal snow and ice.
Nature, as seen, supply the people OF
Ter with all Of
addition to Injuries: Wine and fruit. &C.
reals and vegetables, milk. butter cheese
and meat. The inhabitants also grow
hemp for their clothes. leather for shoes.
trousers and jackets, and mine enough ore
to obtain material for the few primitive
tools they need. while all inhabitants have
wood in plenty and to spare. If they ex-
changed more of their products for money
than is needed to pay taxes what would
they do with it? Build a road to the
nearest points OF civilization, visp. as
proposed? Not they. They have no wag-
ons and don't want other peoples wagons
to disturb their solitude.
This strange land is inhabited by e21 peo-
pie. all counted, and there is probably not
a district within civilizations reach where
men and women so loyal to state and
church and so free from vice and yet so
profoundly ignorant. They know that
Wallis belongs TO Switzerland. but know
no more of that country or its institutions
than they do OF Tibet. They are good
Catholics and know that somewhere out
side the district their shepherd the bishop
lives They venerate the Pope as Gods
representative, but whether he resides in
heaven or on earth-of that they have not
the slightest notion.
A handful OF them learned 20 read and
write. but no one in Terbinen ever thinks
of putting such knowledge to practical use.
Paper would be entirely unknown were Il
not for the mass book. Letters are neither
sent nor received, and all public docu-
ments deeds, etc, are made out on wooden
tablets with brands" marks and signs
Even the registers OF marriages. births
and deaths are kept that way.
THEIR DAILY LIFE.
As was that OF savage man. the daily lie
of the Individual is entirely regulated by
the demands OF the season, the various
families moving forever up hill or down
hill. leading a semi-nomadic life. Here is
the schedule: January and February are
spent in the village. These two months
are called the hay time. on account Of the
nature Of the food given 10 cattle. During
the month OF March and the first half OF
April the village is deserted by all save a
few old men and women who cannot work.
the active peasants. men and women and
children. descending TO the valley where
they live I'm huts or barrack-like shanties
and attend TO the vineyards and water
ways They take the cattle along. OF
course. as the dung is needed. The boys.
girls and the younger married people are
kept busy bringing manure from the VIII
lage on their backs
From April Is until May the families and
their cattle live and work In somewhat
higher altitude. planting potatoes and vege-
tables. The latter part of May finds them
again in the village. working on the near
| by fields. The first two weeks OF June are
spent I'm the vineyard districts. the cattle
living on the so-called 'meager pasture"
and on the cuttings from the vines and
81 -. 49,