La Junta tribune., 1908-09-05
FROM FOREIGN CLiMEs
BY R. W. PATTERSON
ova sssesaL EUROPEAN csesessousEnr
BRUSSELS, August l6. 1908.

Ahi INV sh
far passed through Italy. Switzer-
land and Germany. travelling proba-
bly, about 1400 miles. Tomorrow
night will sleep in Paris. | have
travelled so fast that have not had
time to write you for ten days or 80.
Switzerland is the most beautiful
country have ever beheld. 1t has
much surpassed my dreams of its
charms and loveliness. for who has
not dreamed Of Switzerland? Its
simple mountaineers. with their
small herds of cattle. small fiocks of
sheep, bunch of goats and swine
or two. living in the midst of the
Dgreat Alps. in their little log cabins
not log cabins as we saw them in
the early days of Illinois and Mis-
souri,. but sawed and interlocked.
like house of weatherboards- s-with
their old lichen-covered tile roofs
the plain, simple mountaineers are a
noble. generous, industrious, intelli-
gent and patriotic people. They
make but little money, but they
need but little. living from their
milk and butter, and their cattle.
sheep and goats. met an old man.
over eighty years old. who was born
in the nearby chalet-c cabin. and had
lived there on the top of Simplon
pass all his life. He had held many
offices and had been a member of the
Swiss congress. He is still hale and
hearty and was on his way to the
little hay field. He praised America
and was glad to meet an American.
He said if he were younger he
would go to America. He said the
winters on the pass were long and
cold and that the snow was three
meters about ten feet-deep.
We went from Lucerne to Munich.
Germany, passing through Zurich,
the most important city of Switzer-
land. We drove about the city and
saw some of its great buildings and
few of its most important streets.
A military funeral procession was
= lbarading the streets. soldiers in
uniform and citizens following the
remains of a Swiss officer who had
been killed by his horse falling a
couple of days previous. We rode in
a boat over Lake Constance. the
largest lake of Switzerland.a "a beauti-
full ride over a beautiful lake. but
without the charming mountain
scenery of the other Swiss lakes.
We landed at Landau on German
soil and thus left beloved Switzer-
land. Here we passed through the
custom house again. We had no
trouble, as an officer came along
where we had our trunks piled up
and our grips ranged on the counters
and made chalk mark on each. not
even requiring a single piece to be
opened.
The country from Landau to
Munich is. for the first few miles,
rough and chiefly wooded, although
farms are everywhere, but further
on, the landscape is beautiful, set
with the ripe grainfelds. patches of
meadow and green pasture. small
forests of pine relieving the great
fields sweeping across low valleys
and gentle slopes and stretching
Away off like work of art, with a
Arm house here and there. and its
glistening red tile roof. set on this
landscape like jewels. while again
ever and anon, village or town
arrests the eye and completes the
picture. as nature and man have
painted it on the surface Of the
earth.
Men and women were cutting the
ripe grain with scythes, cradle and
hook and raking up the grain by
hand rakes, while others were haul
ing loads Of grain with cows and
oxen. rarely horses. l saw two men
moving with COW and a horse
hitched to q mower. The one was
using whip and the other was at
the machine. The machine choked
down, in spite Of their heroic efforts
to keep up the speed Of the awkward
team, by yelling and whipping.
Munich is . city Of 900. 600 people.
modern city with good streets.