The log cabin Democrat., 1911-03-22

| N NITZERLAND never grows old vA O. rale. It never wearies it's <A lovers anG admirers. It is al l B 2 ways beautiful Surely it's peo-
 rla have found the fountain of l perpetHa, youth. for nothing stales it's infinite variety. It is the country of eeasonal and perennial attractions, 1 posse essing that rare thing that even sandal men cannot destroy
 The peasants love their home and in many instances preserve the delight fully quaint customs which so greatly charm the tourist One would be mis-
 taken to judge these people as igno-
 rant: the constitution of the country enables them to obtain an insight into general state affairs and great care
 is taken in the education of the young to broaden their knowledge in every direction Their intelligence, therefore, strikes the visitor as re- markable
 During the summer one is not troubled with snow until one reaches about eight thousand feet altitude. In [ the winter snow is, however. as low as 2,D00 or even l 900 feet. The white line thus moves high or low according to the season.
 The pageantry of the season indeed Is nowhere else so crowded with de- lightful surprises in which the people move in sympathy The peasants are true to the nature that has mothered I,, tho villages gre agog and abustle. holding picturesque old-time festivals, preceding the start of the herds to the mountain pastures. The matrons of the herds are provided
 with melodious bells, glObular in form.
 but thin and light and differing in size from twelve to two inches in dl- ameter They are as varied in pitch
 as in size and their tones mellow into a gentle. harmonious effect without
 harshnesS.
 The herders and the dairy maids meet on the village green to enjoy a day of song and dance. Preparations are made for the summers round Of activity in the mountains, where, in spite of hard work. an almost idylllc experience is lived by the light-heart- ed peasants The verdant and aro- matic pastures, amid these wonderful scenic settings, provide vistas opening on wide horizons of jagged peaks and profound gorges clothed with the rar- est verdure The mountain herdsmen and their comedy companions of the churn are hardy and blooming, and
 song and yodeiing continually ease and relieve the labors of the summer when duties are arduous and results imperative.
 It Is unique and inspiring sight to witness the annual spring parade or procession starting for the mountain pastures The usual cooking and dairy
 utensils have to be transported, for these migrants from the wales must remain with their charges in the
 mountains until the time of return in the fall of the year. They occupy their
 mountain huts, which are fitted suit ably for themselves as we'll as for the
 necessary dairying. As soon as the
 snow begins to disappear from the lower pastures the herder marshals his herd and starts out. In the fes- tive procession the bull leads. On his horns are placed milk stool. and on his head a chaplet of flowers. He
 bears. hanging from his neck, the deep-toned bell. These melodious b Ills are made of alloyed silver. From their tones have originated the imlta. tive yodeling or warbling of the herd era sudden changing from the fal- setto to the chest voice, and vice versa. Following the monarch of the herd comes the queen of the kline, gayly decorated and wearing the best bell of the cows. Every COW has her
 nell and so accustomed are they to them that losing them is disaster. even causing loss of the "cud The | kine know their places. At the start the strongest and best assert their precedence. They will battle among | themselves for the right of way,
 which, once settled, all is peace. The bell-cow leads in the search for pas lures new and she brooks no interfer- ence.
 The mountaineer's response to the sound of the herder's joyous yodel is the "alpenhorn," long horn, the eff | feet of which must be heard in the l Alps to be appreciated, The noun tains echo it with infinite sweetness, | and the effect is tender and thrilling. The farther the distance from which it's tones are heard the more flute-like seems it's answer-powerful. mellow. 1 Strong and sweet, it fills the valley.
 while the echoes are flung weirdly and strangely from the mountain ram parts. In the former times. when the sturdy Schweitzer often had to leave his herds and repel an intruding force, the alpenhorn 8as the means of sum-