The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-12-21

be found. On Swiss farm of from ter to twenty acres, the blows are cumber some wooden affairs, mounted upon large wheels, and drawn by two, four or six cows. On the mountains, where the peasants cultivate a patch here and there, the method is even more crude; in these cases it is not uncommon to see woman dragging blow, which is really a simple form of cultivator. The man holds the handles, constantly. rais- ing and lowering it with sufficient pres sure to break up the rocky soil. The women carry upon their backs long wooden buckets filled with the fertilizer so essential for those prized garden spots-a subject not pleasing in retro. spect, and far worse in reality. The hay forks are of wood; the hoes have prongs like pitchforks, and an Anieri. can woodsman would scorn Iae so- called ax. a straight handle placed in a sharp, heavy iron wedge.
 These bits of stony ground are select ed, if possible. with a southern expos. ure, but no promising spot is left un- cultivated, and generally repays the united labor of the industrious family. This seizure of all available land re suits in this. that while on one side of the mountain the inhabitants are sow ing, upon the other side they are reap ing. The tiny fields of growing grain are proofs of the persevering industry of the toilers under discouraging cir. cumstances.
 It is only to certain altitude that wheat will reach maturity, but barley is successfully cultivated to the height of nine thousand feet. AS the raising of cattle is the most profitable indus try pasture lands are always in de mand. Fortuntely, much of the pas ture and forest lands are held in com. mon, so that the industrious poor are assured of pasturage for the herd and firewood for winter provided they climb high enough. The whole secret of their ability to exist can be summed up in the one word, economy. Their slow and imperfect methods cannot overbalance the thrift which utilizes every blade of grass and twig of wood, and makes the most unpromising land productive.
 The women always do much of the out-of-door work, and when the men are in the army it all devolves upon them. It is no wonder that they are prematurely old. with faces Drowned by exposure and scanned by the lines of care, and wearing a discouraged ex- pression, s if life held no comfort in the present nor hope for the future. As the result of hard work, the hands of the women are coarse and often misshapen, and yet thase same rough hands fash ion the lovely. laces and dainty embroi- deries on sale in the shops of the Swiss cities.
 At Murren, wood carving and lace making occupy the attention of the en- tire community. At six years of age the boy takes the knife in hand and be- gins to carve under his fathers instruc- tions. and the girl has her first lesson in making bobbin lace. It was not an uncommon sight to find three, four and even five girls from one family, each with her pillow upon a small stand, sit ting around the door Of their humble home, or by the wayside, throwing sfiftly the bobbins. while on the alert to attract the attention of tue stranger, in the hope of making a sale of some lace. Some of hem raise their own flax; others cannot do that and are too poor to buy the linen thread, and must use cotton for an inferior production, which requires the same amount of la. Dor, but yields smaller returns. The evenings of the long winter are devoted to these two industries, the products being sent to the cities for sale. The leisure of summer is given to the same work, which they try to sell to tourists. They are often importunate in their en- deavors to sell, but their personal com fort depends upon their sales.
 Educational opportunities in these remote hamlets are limited, but there is no excuse for entire ignorance; at the present time the constitution provides that all children under twelve years of age may obtain gratuitous primary schooling. The population is about equally divided between the Protestant and Catholics, the latter having the most adherents among the peasantry, who are faithful to their religious du- ties as they understand them, particu- larly in their regular attendancs upon the services of the church and small contributions toward it's support. Tn outward observances they are attentive and reverent, as the toughest noun taineer never passes the symbol of their faith on mountain or in valley save with uncovered head and a muttered prayer.
 There is pathos in the.sight of q toll worn woman, on her upward climb with a heavy load, stopping for moment. and literally laying her burden at the foot of the cross as she kneels at the wayside shrine her uplifted eyes fixed upon the rude representation of the crucified Christ.
 One can but admire the spirit that ac- tuates these poor people, as shown in their lives of honest, uncomplaining toil their patient perseverance, their strong convictions regarding right and wrong, and their simple trust in Provi- dence. In many ways their lives are a standing rebuke to the spirit of unrest and strife so apparent in our own land, where, with a higher pile of wages, there are advantages for education, op- portunities for amusement and pros poets for advancement almost unlinli- ted when contrasted with the condition among the Swiss peasantry.