The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-11-03
THE SWISS MOUNTAINEER SOLDIER

ists in an ordinary winter, would have been acclaimed as a tour de force. Like many others, however, it now passed unnoticed.
 Danger from avalanche has been constantly present for these ski-rUn- ming detach1nents, and more than one lonely patrol has found a snowy grave, while many more have enjoyed mar row escapes. One young officer in charge of q scouting detachment on skis was particularly fortunate in his escape. On a steep mountain slope, he was suddenly swept away by a sliding mass of snow, and to his hor- TOT found himself buried and in an apparently hopeless situation. For tunately, he was still in an upright position, and with great presence of mind he began slowly and cautiously to excavate a hole in the snow above his head with his sski-stick so that more air might penetrate to his nar- row prison. After 9 time which ap- peared interninab ab1eS< by holding his stick at arms length above his head, he at length pierced a hole in the upper surface of the snow some six or seven feet above. Presently he heard a shout, his comrades, who had been searching for him with little hope of success in that vast snowy waste, having perceived the end of the ski-stick protruding from the snow still required, however, before his re- lease could be effected, the skis still attached to his feet being held down by the tremendous weight of snow, and holding him as in a wise. Finally, frozen, stiff, he was released and transported down to the valley on an ! ambulance hastily and ihgeni ously contrived from a pair of skis The. soldiers in the wonderful rock fortr esses of the Gothard and other l for from human habitations, many thousand feet above the sea-1exe1,> in a region buried deep under snow. Even though the stone barracks are continually heated, there have been many nights when the indoor temper ature has been below freezing point, and when the soldiers have had to get up and stamp about in order to warm their frozen limbs. Even worse has been the plight of mountain troops quartered for the night in primitive mountain hutS, used in sum- nner for~the cattle, during. the course of cross-1nountain march, Not only has the temperature been several de- grees below freezing point but the still colder wind has penetrated searchingly through the crevices and crannies in the walls, rendering sleep impossible. It is only the sturdy ] frame and iron constitution of the Swiss Raountaineer which can, bear such ;priVatiOns without i'll effects privations which would kill the aver age town dwe1ler.
 One of the principal reasons of the success of the Swiss mountain troops in accomplishing great marches over rough, stony mountain sides is the attention paid to pace. The pace most suited to long, sustained marches in mountainous regions has been found by 1aIoorious experiment, and is regulated with. extreme exactitude by the watch. It is an interesting fact that the sturdy mules which are us- ua11y employed as pack animals in he mountains are sometimes placed in front of a marching column when ascending steep slopes to regulate the pace, on account.of tFefr steady un- changing gait.aesssa- -ss3 $ 4ts.4 s
 When peace shall at length pre- vail, the tourist in the high Alps will see many of these men-bronzed guides with their axe and rope-coiI, peasants cu1tivating their stony patch on the mountain-side, herdsmen tend ing their cattle-a1l going quietly about their business not deeming that they have done anything extraorci- nary in their country service. But their country will not forget.
 THOMAS B. DONOVAN,
 Interlaken.