ROUTE 35. PASS OF THE NUFENEN (NOVENA FROM OBERGESTELEN TO AIROLO. 9 stunden = 29 1/2 English miles. A footpath. It ascends the Vale of Eginen, as in Route 29, but before reaching the Gries Glacier turns to the left, and crossing the ridge of the Nüfanen, 7260 feet above the sea-level, descends into the Val Bedretto. On the s. slope of the pass one of the branches of the river Ticino takes its rise. The path descends along its 1. bank to the 6 Hospice all' Acqua, a house of refuge to accommodate travellers, 5000 feet above the sea. A path crosses the valley from this s. into the Val Formazza. The Val Bedretto, from its elevation, has but an inhospitable climate; long winters, and frosts not uncommonly in the height of summer, morning and evening. It is clothed with forests and pastures, from which its 612 inhabitants derive support in summer; while in winter the males migrate to Italy, to seek employment as servants. It is flanked on either side with glaciers and is dreadfully exposed to avalanches (S 18). The masses of fallen snow often remain unmelted on the margin of the Ticino till the end of September. At 1/2 Bedretto, the principal hamlet, the church-tower, which has been once swept away, along with the parsonage, is now protected by an angular buttress, directed toward the side from which the avalanches fall, so as to breek and turn them away. In the lower part of the valley a scanty crop of rye is grown. 2 1/2 Airolo, in Route 34, p. 139. ROUTE 38. PASS OF THE GEMMI, THUN, TO THE BATHS OF LEUK (LOECHE), AND TO LEUK IN THE VALLAIS. 55 English miles. The Gemmi (pronounced Ghemmi) is one of the most remarkable passes across the Alps. Its scenery is perhaps extraordinary rather than grand, and to be seen to advantage it ought to be approached from the Vallais. There is a good char road as far as Kandersteg, at the N. foot of the pass: the pass itself can only be surmounted on foot or on horseback. The char road recommences at the Baths of Leuk, connecting them with the Simplon road. There are good inns at Kandersteg, and at the Baths. The first part of the route lies along the beautiful shores of the lake of Thun. Near the tall tower of Strättlingen it crosses the Kander by a lofty bridge. That river originally avoided the lake altogether, and, flowing for some distance parallel to it, behind the hill of Strättlingen, joined the Aar below Thun. Owing to the quantity of mud and gravel which it brought with it, and the slight inclination of its channel in this part of its course, it converted the surrounding district into an unhealthy marsh, and gave rise to a project, which was executed in 1714 at the expense of the canton, of turning the river into the lake of Thun. This was effected by cutting a canal, 3000 ft. long and 272 ft. broad, into which the river was turned; and which, seen from the bridge in crossing, has much the appearance of a natural ravine. By this change of course the land on the banks of the Aar has been drained and made profitable, while the deposit of sand and stones brought down by the river into the lake has so accumulated as to form a delta around its mouth, extending already nearly a mile from the shore, and annually increasing. The road passes the mouth of the Simmenthal (Route 41), guarded on one side by the Stockhorn, and on the 1. by the Niesen, two noble mountains, between which the valley opens out, a scene of exceeding beauty, with the castle of Wimmis standing as it were in its jaws. On the margin of the lake rises another picturesque castle, that of Spietz. Skirting the base of the pyramidal Niesen we enter the valley of Frutigen, which is remarkable for its verdure and fertility, and may be said to exhibit Swiss pastoral scenery in perfection. Ascending by the side of the Kander we reach 43/4 Frutigen (Inns: Ober, and Unter-Landhaus), a village of 900 inhabitants: its houses are for the most part not older than 1826-7, at which time nearly the whole of the buildings were destroyed in two consecutive conflagrations. Behind it the valley divides into two branches: that on the W. leads to the Adelboden; that on the E. (down which flows the Kander) to the Gemmi. The road passes under the castle of Tellenburg, the resi-dence of the amtman, or bailiff, of the district, and, crossing the Kander, proceeds up its rt. bank to 2 1/2 Kandersteg (Inn: Cheval Blanc; good, clean, and reasonable; furnishes excellent trout). Chars may be had here to Frutigen-à ride of about 2 hours, for 7 1/2 fr.; also good mules to cross the mountain to the baths of Leuk, at about 8 fr. each. and 1 1/2 f. to the driver-a journey of 6 hours. Kandersteg is the last village in the valley: its scattered habitations contain about 700 individuals. It is beautifully situated 3280 ft. above the sea, at the N. base of the Gemmi. Those who have time to spare may be rewarded by walking about 5 miles into the remote valley of Oeschinen, running directly E. from Kandersteg, where, hemmed in by precipices and glaciers, they will find a beautiful clear lake, which mirrors on its smooth surface the snowy peaks of the Blumlis Alp, at whose base it lies. Above Kandersteg the char-road ceases, and in about 1 1/2 mile from the inn, the ascent of the Pass of the Gemmi conimences in earnest. The path lies at first through forests, soon passing the boundary-line of the Cantons Berne and Wallis, and then emerges upon a tract of open pasture land,. rendered desolate by the fall of an avalanche from the Rinder Horn, in 1782. The path winds, for a considerable distance, among the fragments of rocks brought down by it. Farther on stands the 3 Solitary inn of Schwarenbach, a mere chalet, affording no other refreshment than cheese, milk, and brandy; and containing 6 or 8 miserable beds-accommodations which, however humble, are doubtless often most acceptable in such a situation. A small toll is demanded here for the maintenance of the road. A circumstance which occured on this spot has furnished the German poet, Werner, with the plot of a tragedy, somewhat extravagant and improbable, called "The 24th of February." In the course of the 17th century, a triveller, having the appearance of a foreigner, in crossing the pass, asked for a night's lodging at this hovel. Its tenant was a peasant, whom misfortune had reduced to the depth of poverty and misery. His daughter had been accidentally killed by her brother, while they were both children, and the boy had in consequence disappeared. The man's cattle had died, his land had become barren, and, at the moment of the stranger's arrival, his creditors had threatened to seize all he possessed and eject him. Urged by the sight of the wealth which the stranger carried, by the presence of want, and the prospect of escaping detection in such a remote solitude, the peasant conceived and executed the murder of his guest-plunging his knife into his bosom while he slept. The dying man ere he breathed his last, had just time to reveal to the assassin that he was his long-lost child, returned after an absence of 20 years, virtuous, and wealthy enough to have raised his father above all future distress. He had delayed discovering himself until he could gain his father's affections. The murderer of his child, it appears, had also slain his own father, and the curse of his dying parent had alighted on himself, pursued him through life, and blighted his existence. The moment at which the murder of the stranger was com mitted was midnight, on the 24th of February, the anniversary of the paternal malediction. The guilty wretch, over whelmed with remorse, gave himself up, of his own accord, to justice, and suffered by the hangman. About 2 miles above this, the path reaches and winds along the E. margin of a small lake, called Dauben See, supplied by snow, not by springs, which often swell it so as to cover the path for 8 months of the year it is frozen. Nothing can exceed the dreary aspect of the seared and naked limestone rocks which form the summit of the pass: they seem too barren for even the hardiest lichens. The culminating point tra→ versed by the road is 7160 ft. above the sea-level. From a rocky eminence on the 1. of the path a superb view is obtained of the Monte Rosa, and the chain of Alps, beyond the Rhone, separating the Vallais from Piedmont, the Weisshorn (Cervin), and the Arc de Zan. It is one of the most striking views in Switzerland. Near the verge of the descent stands a small shed, capable of affording only partial shelter in a storm. A little lower down the traveller finds himself on the brink of a precipice, from which a plumb-line might be thrown into the valley be low, nearly 1600 ft., almost without touching the rock, so vertical are its sides. It is along the face of this vast wall, that one of the most extraordinary of all the alpine roads, constructed in 1736-41, by a party of Tyrolese, has been carried. Its zigzags have been very ingeniously contrived, for in many places the rocks overhang the path, and an upper terrace projects farther out than the one immediately below it. It varies in width from 3 ft. to 5 ft., is bordered at the side by a dry wall, and is practicable for mules. There is no danger in it, but its proximity to the abyss must be a trial for some nerves. The wonders of this pass are increased to those who approach it from the side of Leuk. "The upper end of the valley, as you look towards the Gemmi, has all the appearance of a cul-de-sac, shut in by a mountain wall. Up to the very last moment, and until you reach the foot of the precipice, it is scarcely possible to discover the way out, or to tell whither the road goes, or how it can be carried up a vertical surface of rock. It is a mere shelf-in some parts a mere groove cut in the face of the huge cliff, just wide enough for a mule to pass, and at the turns of the zigzags you constantly overhang a depth of nearly 500 ft. We were recommended to dismount in several places, but I believe that the foot of an alpine mule is seldom less sure than that of the biped he carries. It is yet down this difficult road that invalids are carried to the bath: it is the only way of approaching them from the N., unless you were to make a slight detour of 200 miles by Berne, Friburg, Vevey, and Martigny. Persons who are very infirni are borne on men's shoulders, in a sort of litter, and it is said, often have their eyes bandaged to prevent the shock which might be given to weak nerves by the terrors of the pathway. "While at Leuk I copied the following clause, relative to the transport of invalids, from the printed regulations issued by the director of the baths:-'Pour une personne au-dessus de 10 ans il faudra 4 porteurs; si elle est d'un poids au-dessus du commun, 6 porteurs; si cependant elle est d'un poids extraordinaire, et que le commissaire le juge nécessaire, il pourra ajouter 2 porteurs, et jamais plus.' I was amused by this provision for excessive corpulence. The ascent from the baths to the summit takes up nearly 2 hours." 23/4 Baths of Leuk (Leukerbad, Fr. — Loèche). Inns : Maison Blanche; the best, and good; - Croix d'Or; several pensions. The accommodation is as good as can be expected, considering that the houses (except the first) are of wood, not very well built, shut up and abandoned from October to May. The fare is tolerable, everything but milk and cheese being brought from the valley below. The baths consist of 5 or 6 lodging-houses, attached to a hamlet of about 300 inhabitants, situated more than 4500 ft. above the level of the sea, i.e. higher than the highest mountain in Great Britain. Its hot springs annually attract a number of visitors, chiefly Swiss and French, during the season, viz., in the months of July and August, though the inns are open from May to October. From the dreariness of the situation, the coldness of the climate, and the defects of the lodgings, few English would desire to prolong their stay here, after satisfying their curiosity by a sight of the place. The baths and adjacent buildings have been three times swept away by avalanches since their establishment in the 16th century; and, to guard against a recurrence of the calamity, a very strong dyke is now built behind the village to ward off the snow. Such danger, however, is passed before the bathing season begins. One of the first patrons of the baths was the celebrated Cardinal, and Archbishop of Sion, Matthew Schinner. The springs, to the number of 10 or 12, rise in and around the village, and mine-tenths of them run off into the Dala torrent without being used. The chief spring of St Lawrence bursts forth out of the ground between the inn and the bath-house; a rivulet in volume at its source, with a temperature of 124° Far. It is used for the baths after being slightly cooled. The other springs vary somewhat in temperature, but little in contents. They contain only a small portion of saline matter, and seem to owe their beneficial effects less to their mineral qualities than to their temperature and the mode of using them. The patient begins with a bath of an hour's duration, but goes on increasing it daily, |