Evening star., 1932-04-03


in history or in the esteem Of man than
the great ST. Bernards.
mer, endangering travellers, but on the whole
the rescue work has diminished to almost zero.
If it hadn't been for smugglers, the monks
and their dogs would hardly have had an alarm
since the
These smugglers provide the only grave prob
lem of the Great st. Bernard that has not been
solved yet. They come up to the Swiss towns
to buy cheap tobacco and then try to slip back
to Italy the next night under cover of darkness
The smugglers naturally stink past the outpost
at the foot of the slope on the Swiss side. II
all goes well. they can reach the monastery in
three hours. Ironically, the light in the hos
pice and the chapel bell pealing over the Alps
serve to guide the raScalS through the dark
ness. On the other side of the monastery they
slip around the italian frontier and customs
guards, and reach st. Remy with their
traband in four or five hours. It is a cruel.
unscrupulous imposition on the monks, for al
most every Winter a party of smugglers gets
caught in sudden storm Going out into
cyclone of snow, on pitch-dark night perhaps,
among slippery defileS and crevices is desper-
ate undertaking, but when the monks hear cries
they and their domestics and dogs start out at
once. In such experiences the dogs literally
take charge They lead the way, choose the
safest passage and clear path for their mas
ters to follow in If the party goes out of sight
of the hospice the animals find their way back
unerrlngly.
Among the hospice archives of the last several
centuries are scores Of reports about the role
played by the dogs, especially at night.
1--WE would lose ourselves without our
precious dogs" a monk wrote in 1852. Guided
by their wonderful instinct, they choose q safe
route through or feet of freshly fallen snow.
resting perhaps on a previous fall of 40 feet
When follow them always find solid
crust under our feet. Instead of leaping and
getting stuck, these intelligent beasts try to di-
vide the snow to make q space for us to walk
in. Sometimes we are almost blinded by the
cutting fakes our lanterns go out, and all we
can do is to hold to a dogs tail. They know
exactly what they are doing and where they
are going"
THE establishment of this refuge came about
very strangely, for it grew out of young
French noblemanS refusal to marry a beautiful
girl.
Bernard de Mention, for whom the pass and
the monastery are named, was the son of
powerful baron living near the Lake of Annecy.
The castle In which he was born still stands,
though 1t has been partly restored several times,
and today belongs to a descendant of Berna-d's
brother. Catholic historians declare there are
two possible dates Of his birth, 923 AID. and
1908 AID, though they regard the first as more
likely. According to the first theory he estab-
hshed the refuge about 970 and died in 1908. ~
a boy he was sent to Paris for his education.
During his absence his father arranged a mar
riage for his son with Marguerite de Miolans
daughter Of q nearby seigneur. Bernard re-
turned home with pious inclnations and o de-
sire to enter holy orders. The father was fu-
rious There was o bitter quarrel. Finally, the
night before the betrothal Bernard leaped from
his window, a distance Of 16 feet, and ran
away. He walked to Aosta, Italy, where he was
accepted o SubprieSt at the cathedral
At that time Europe was In great hlr-
modl Armies Of bandits were ravaging and
narauding everywhere The passes OF the Alps
Continued o. Nineteenth Psss