The log cabin Democrat. [volume] (Conway, Ark.) 1908-current, 1912-10-25
CLAUD NELSON
IN SWITZERLAND
AUTUMN SCENERY GRAND
Z o N W A Y'S REPRESENTATIVE
in OXFORD WRITES OF RE
CENT TRIP.
Oxford, England, Oct. u, 1912.

\. X,
Dear Faulkner County Friends:
Pefhaps you, who are so warm in
expressing your interest m nv exna-
llehces and welfare while abroad, will
be patient enough 10 bear with me =
re" minutes While | give a sketch of
my recent trip IN Switzerland
AN unesentful but pleasant journey
Drought me from Conway, which /
leiU september II, to Lucelne on Sen
tehDer a. 1 had, however, spent "a
houfa IN New York and Il few hours
III Paris. in Lucerne | met, bv an
polhtment, my friend, Mr.. Ietlle. of
Pembroke College, 'Ox1ord, Rhodes
scholar from aMinnesota. We spent
Some time in making necessary pur-
chases, chief OF which were a khan
sack and an iron-pointed cane. Our
hta'y baggage we sent To Geneva
"hefe We were to finish our tramp !:
our handbags We were able Ia. send
~ post 1t i low rate-l5 pounds
10 cent to points two or three days
dhead OF us. We were thus able 10
travel without m,-:I weight
Our actual walk, winch continued
elgnt days, bega.. at Meiringen, on the
hlNer Aale, went south to Zermatt.
then east to ChamoniX, but several
ION. or short distances were traversed
Ly boat or rail, that we might have
TINE for excursions on foot in the
most interesting regions.
W e-saW chiety, OF course. what ev-
elyone who goes TO Switzerland must
see-the towering ..-aks of the jung
IIau group, around lnterlaken; Monte
hoSa, the Matterhorn and the other
giants OF Zermalt; and Mont Blanc
lhe rushing torrents and slender. far
descending cascades of the Reichen-
bach; the blue waters and fr-fringed
shores of Lakes Lucerne, Brienz.
1huu, Geneva and Neuchate!; and the
valley of the Rhone, unrolIine like a
ribbon before US from Visp to Mar
tlgny. cOf all these, shall not bore
you by speaking in detail, for other
travellers have described their gran
deur too often and too well, to make
the attempt worth while for me-
But we had some advantages which
not every traveller has had, not even
everyone who has tramped For we
were there at the end of the tourist
Season--many of the mountain hotels
were ciosed-and were yet fortunate
enough to have excellent weather for
a week. Coming so late, we found the
hill slopes and valleys covered with a
rlcher display of autumn colors than
| had ever seen or even imagined.
Any thin more pleasing to the eve
than the valley of the Dala from
Gemmi Pass (wnere, 5000 feet above
the valley, we had our first view of
Vlf NT H.
station OF Leuk, | cannot think poss-
bic. The red, green, brown. gold, yell
low, of leaves and grass, blended in
every indescribable manner of pattern
and shade, was not enough for Ma
lures adornment of this walkers par
adlse; she must add the magnificent
cliffs of Gemmi Pass, which, in their
markings and colors, very much re-
semble pictures of the Grand CANYON,
The valley of the Dala has its own
canyon, gorge several hundred feet
deep, lined with these same colored
cliffs, and seven or eight miles in
length. We did this 10-mile walk late
in the afternoon, after we had already
done considerable climb and descent.
but though we We're tired, and though
we had seen the wonderful valley of
Grindelwald and Interlaken, and later
saw those of the Visp, of Mortigny
and of ChamoniX, this valley of the
Dala remains for me the most charm
ing part of our trip.
The valley of the Dala for beauty
and charm, but for impressiveness
and grandeur, | remember most of all
what we saw from the Faulhorn. We
had walked five or six hours in fog.
our second day-and reached the sum-
NIT of the Faulhorn, nearly nine
thousand feet above the sea. without
having had more than glimpse of
the Wetterhorn, one of the less i'm
pressive Of the great Jungfrau group.
We had begun to worry lest our whole
trip should be ruined by the rain,
About half an hour before sunset.
however, the clouds had settled down
in our neighborhood, and, wrapping
up well (for it was freezing and
windy, we went out for a look
around.
Below us, to the north the clouds
had settled down, angry-like waves.
and very much resembling them, like
huge gray and black lake. a thous
and feet beneath us. Here and there
rocks peeped above them. These were
Rigi, Pilaters, etc, which clouds had
hidden from US at Lucerne. Further
west were the outlines of the Jura
range, and there the sun was already
flattening out into an orange oval as
it neared our horizon.
To the south, first one then another
of the real giants of this country be-
came uncovered, as if merely taking
a peep at us. In the few minutes be-
fore it became dark, we had seen in
this tantalizing way nearly all of the
great peaks of the Bernese Alps.
Later, in the same feeting fashion,
singly and by twos and threes, we
saw them in the moonlight, and in the
bright morning that followed, the
whole panorama stood disclosed to our
l.. ....o.