The Forest Cantons of Switzerland, etc

Introduction

THIS volume is by no means intended to serve the office of a guide-book in the ordinary sense — this want is amply supplied already — neither is it intended to contain descriptions of scenery, though such may occur ; but there are various points about which information is sometimes desired on which the ordinary guide-book touches but slightly, if at all. The tourist sometimes may desire to know something more about the inhabitants of the district in which he is sojourning, their history, manners and customs, social and economical conditions, language, &c. He may desire to know something about the men whose valour established of old the liberties of Switzerland ; about those who afterwards maintained that liberty and enlarged the fame and extent of the Confederation ; about other natives of the cantons who have distinguished themselves in art, literature, or science.

It is hoped that in this volume the tourist may find some information on these points with respect to the inhabitants of the four Forest Cantons. In the compilation of the volume the following works have been consulted : English. — The History of the Swiss Confederation, with Appendices on Tell and Winkelried. Rev. W. A. B. Coolidge. The Republic of Gersau. Rev. W. A. B. Coolidge. German. — Works descriptive of the four Cantons : Lucerne (2 vols. 1858), Dr. Casimir Pfyffer; Uri (1 vol. 1834), Dr. Introduction. Carl Franz Lusser; Schwyz (i vol. 1835), Professor G. Meyer von Kronau; Unterwalden (1 vol. 1836), Aloys Businger. History of Switzerland (1 vol. 1889), Dr. Carl Dandliker. The Swiss Allmend (1 vol. 1879) Dr. August Miaskowski. Europaische Wanderbilder — No. 1, Arth-Rigi Railway; No. 5, Einsiedeln; No. 16, Lucerne; No. 36, Vitznau-Rigi Railway; Nos. 30-32, St. Gotthard Railway; Nos. 51, 52, Burgenstock ; Nos. 75, 76, Lake of Lucerne; Nos. 131, 132, Brunig Rail way; Nos. 153, 154, Pilatus Railway.

Schweizer Kunde (1 vol. 1875), H. A. Berlepsch. The Waldstatte (1861), Dr. A. Huber. Old Lucerne (1 vol. 1881), Dr. Theod. von Liebenau. Forty-Five Years of Official Life in Lucerne (1 vol. 1887), Dr. Ph. A. Segesser. Constitutions of the Four Cantons (1867-1890), Legends, Customs, &c. (1 vol. 1862), A. Liitolf. Life of Bruder Klaus (1 vol. 1875), E. L. Rochholz. The '■'Visitors' Books" on the Rigi- Kulm (1883), W. H. Vormann. fahrbuch (Swiss Alpine Club, vol. vii.). Flora of Switzerland (1889), A. Gremli. French. — Les Origines de la Confederatioti Suisse (1869), A. Rilliet. Etudes Historiques (1889), Prof. Eugene Rambert. A few words may here be added about the different money standards used in the Forest Cantons and the variation in value subsequent to the fifteenth century. The right of coining was an imperial privilege which was conferred on all the four cantons at different times.

This privilege was granted to Lucerne, in 1418 a.d., by the Emperor Sigismund ; and shortly afterwards, in 1426, the Confederate cantons, then eight in number, agreed to leave the coining of money in the hands of Lucerne and Zurich. Their proceedings, however, frequently excited discontent, especially when the smaller coins were reduced in size. The separate cantons then sometimes exercised this right themselves. Thus in Introduction. V 1654 Canton Schwyz coined "schillings," and was in conse quence admonished by Zurich. The right was very seldom, however, exercised by any of the Forest Cantons except Lucerne. In this canton a small amount of gold was found in the sand of the river Emme, in Entlebuch, and in the Luther, in the north-west of the canton, and some ducats were coined by Lucerne from the gold of its own rivers.

Gold was found on the Diethelm, in the Waggithal, in Canton Schwyz, and also in Canton Unterwalden, and especially in the Ami Loch, which has the reputation of having produced great treasures. But only one gold coin (rather a medal) known to have been coined by Canton Schwyz is extant ; this dates from the fourteenth century, weighs fifteen ounces, and bears the inscription, " moneta nova SUITENSIS. SALVE CRUX SANCTA ET BENEDICTA." This is sometimes found as a great rarity in collections. Unterwalden coined some ducats (value five to six gulden) with the likeness of Bruder Klaus, but on the whole they used the money coined at Lucerne or Zurich. The old Lucerne reckoning was by "pounds," each divided into twenty " schillings," and each schilling into twelve "pfennings." Later the "pound" was divided into fifteen coins, called " plapparts," each of which contained sixteen "pfennings."

Presently the "pound" fell out of use, and three new coins were introduced — "gulden," "angster," and "heller" — this last being equal to the " pfenning," and the relation between them was : i gulden = 2 pounds = 40 schillings = 240 angster = 480 heller. i pound =20 ,, =120 „ =240 „ 1 schilling = 6 ,, = 12 ,, This mode of reckoning continued until the period of the French Revolution, when it was changed for francs, batzen, and rappen — 1 franc = 10 batzen =100 rappen (centimes). VI Lntroduction. The gulden was then worth i^ francs. Since the middle of the fifteenth century the value of gold has depreciated at least six times, and the debasement of the lower values {e.g., by coining more " schillings " from the same quantity of silver) in the Confederation made a great reduction in the value of money.

It may be considered that the gulden in 1500 was worth twenty-five times as much as at present. The relation of the value of the gulden to gold remained practically unchanged, since in the earlier times twelve gulden were equal to the louis d'or of twenty-four francs ; and at the present day the English sovereign = twenty-five francs, about twelve gulden. When we read, therefore, that the men of Gersau redeemed themselves from the overlordship of the family von Moos for 690 pounds of pfennings (in this case twenty plapparts went to the pound), this sum was equal to 690 x 20 plapparts, and this at 30 plapparts to the gulden made 460 gulden ; and the present value of this sum would be 460x25 gulden = 11,500 gulden, about ,£960 of our money. When the inhabitants of Hergiswyl redeemed themselves, in 1378, for 708 gulden, this sum at the present day would be represented by 17,700 gulden, and would be about of our money.

The depreciation here assumed may perhaps be excessive. Until the beginning of this century the inhabitants of Canton Uri used some peculiar coins, as " philippen " (philip d'or), each worth two and a half gulden, and "kronen" (crowns), each worth two gulden. CONTENTS PAGE

INTRODUCTION.

. . . ... iii

Chapter I. Topography And Characteristics

THE Waldstatte, comprising the Three Lands, Schwyz, Uri, and Unterwalden, together with Lucerne, or, as they are more commonly called, the four Forest Cantons, which form the subject of the present volume, are clustered around the Lake of Lucerne. The Canton of Lucerne lies on the north west of the lake, Schwyz on the north-east, Uri on the south, and Unterwalden on the south-west. The whole region is drained by the lake and the Reuss, which passes through it, with the exception of about half of the Canton of Schwyz, which drains into the Sihl, and thence into the Limmat, near Zurich, and a portion of Canton Lucerne on the borders of Aargau, which sends its waters to the Aar. The four cantons are, as it were, enveloped by the valley of the Aar, that of the Rhine from the Oberalp Pass to Sargans, and a line drawn along the Lakes of Wallenstadt and Zurich.

Their surface may, roughly speaking, be regarded as an inclined plane, sloping from south-east to north-west, whilst the mountain summits and passes along the border decrease in height in the same direction. The four cantons attained their present shape about the beginning of this century. The boundaries which divide them from each other and from the other Swiss cantons are sufficiently indicated on the annexed map. The surface of Canton Lucerne is divided almost equally into an undulating hill region and a mountain region. The latter consists of the vale of Entlebuch, containing the villages B of Escholzmatt, Schupheim, Entlebuch, and Wohlhausen. The valley occupies the whole breadth of the canton in the south, between Bern and Unterwalden, as far as the Naps. Here a ridge called the Menzberg, with its continuations, divides the Entlebuch from the rest of the canton.

The stream of the^ Kleine Emme, which drains the Entlebuch, enters the Reuss at the Emmenbriicke, half an hour below Lucerne. North and west of the Entlebuch, are a number of villages divided by ranges of low hills mostly running in a northerly direction. To the west is the valley drained by the Wigger, passing by Willisau and leaving the canton near Zofingen ; then the valley of the Sempacher See, drained by the Suhr or Suren ; the valley of Munster (or Beromiinster) drained by the Wina, entering the Aar near Aarau, and lastly, the vale of Hitzkirch, drained by the Aa, which passes through the Lakes of Baldegg and Hallwyl. The latter lake is, however, almost entirely outside of the canton. The Lakes of Sempach and Baldegg are the only lakes of any size in the canton after the Lake of Lucerne.

The Lake of Sempach was much diminished by draining in 1806, whereby a large amount of land was made available for cultivation, though some land and houses near Neuenkirch subsided into the water. Similar operations between Sursee and Dagmarsellen have reclaimed a great deal of land in the course of the small lakes Mauensee and Wauwylersee. The course of the Reuss in Canton Lucerne is very short. Leaving the lake at Lucerne, it runs west and north-west to the Emmenbriicke. Here it turns abruptly to the north-east, and so continues until it leaves the canton near Gislikon, after a course of little more than ten miles. The part of the canton (Entlebuch excepted) which drains to the Reuss is separated from the rest by a line of low hills, and similar lines of hills bound the valleys which trend northward to Canton Aargau.

The part of the Lake of Lucerne contained in the canton includes the greater part of the " Kreuztrichter," or cruciform Topography and Characteristics. 3 portion of the lake, formed of the Bays of Lucerne and Kussnacht and the greater portion of the Bays of Weggis and Hergiswyl. No part of the canton is plain land. Some of the lower lying valleys as they trend towards Aargau may, at the outside, have a breadth of five or six miles, as in the valley of the Wigger at Dagmarsellen on the border of Aargau, where the canton slopes to its lowest point. The northern half of the canton, roughly speaking, varies between 1,400 and 2,000 feet above the sea, the hills of course rising to a higher level. The southern portion or mountain region seldom falls below 2,000 feet, and the floor of the valley, which at Wohl hausen is 1,873 feet:> r'ses t0 nearly 3,000 feet at Escholzmatt.

The mountain chain which bounds the valley attains in the Naps a height of 4,619 feet, in the Tannhorn (the most southern point of the canton), 7,290 feet, in the Brienzer Rothhorn, 7,713, and in the Pilatus 6,998 feet. The northern half of the canton is well -cultivated land, smiling farms with orchards, walnut and chestnut trees, in terspersed here and there with a dark pinewood. The vale of Entlebuch is, on the other hand, almost entirely pastoral. The mountains, with the exception of a few rocky summits, form excellent pastures, and are everywhere accessible to cattle. Some gorges are no doubt practically useless, as the ravines which descend from the Naps towards Entlebuch, which are yearly ravaged by the wild streams of the Gross and Klein Fontannen, but even here the upper slopes are always occupied, and supply abundant pasture.

A small portion of the surface in the Entlebuch is arable land ; the rest is divided between woods and pastures. The extent of the woods in the whole canton being 70,000 acres, by far the larger portion of which is in the Entlebuch. The greatest length of the canton from north to south is about 35 miles, between the Tannhorn on the borders of Canton Bern and Schongau, east of the Hallwyler See on the border of Aargau, and from east to west between the Vitznauerstock on the border of Canton Schwyz and St. Urban, on the border of Canton Bern, about 36 miles. Its area is 579 square miles, thus ranking the ninth in size amongst the Swiss Cantons. In 1888 the population was 135,360, Lucerne, the chief town, having 20,314. The surface of Canton Schwyz is very irrregular, and less limited by natural boundaries than any of the other three cantons.

It falls in about equal parts to the Lake of Lucerne, and to the Sihl, whilst a very small portion on the north-west drains to the Lake of Zug. This last includes the greater part of the Rigi (the summit of which is in the canton), part of the Lake of Zug, with the villages of Arth and Goldau. On the north side of the Bay of Buochs, enclosed by the Vitznauerstock, the Rigi Scheideck, and the Hoch Fluh, lies the well-sheltered and fertile basin of Gersau, which for many years was an independent state, and was only incorporated in the canton of Schwyz in 1803. The two larger portions of the canton are divided by a line of heights whose summits run from north-west to south-east, whilst their ridges run south-west to north-east. The northern half, in which are the town and convent of Einsiedeln, is a plateau drained by the Sihl and its affluents into the Limmat.

To the north-east, on the border of Glarus, the Aa flows through the Waggithal, into the Lake of Zurich. The southern half (the original Land Schwyz) is drained by the Muotta, which, rising in the rugged plateau north of the Klausen Pass, flows north and north-west through the Bisithal, past the village of Muotta, until near the town of Schwyz. Here it is joined by the Seewen stream from the Lake of Lowerz, and turning to the south-west, enters the lake not far from Brunnen. Formerly much wood from the Bisithal was floated down the Muotta. In the narrow gorge the logs occasionally got jammed, and a vast mass of wood accumulated. Men were let down by ropes into the gulf to clear away the obstruction with hooks and axes, and in this dangerous work lives were not unfrequently Topography and Characteristics. 5 lost.

At this same spot the Russians under Suwarow were stopped, in October, 1799. The only level part of the canton is the plain of Schwyz, between the base of the Mythen and the Bay of Brunnen. Here there is a certain amount of cultivation, but the greater part of the canton is either meadow, pasture, or woodland. Of this last, the canton possesses more than any other canton in proportion to its size, especially in the southern half (the old Land Schwyz), where it is said to be one third of the entire area. This has, however, much decreased in the last halfcentury; as is, indeed, plainly to be seen when a view of any part taken now is compared with one taken fifty years ago, e.g., of the convent and town of Einsiedeln as seen from the chapel on the Katzenstrick, the path which traverses the ridge west of Einsiedeln, and leads to Altmatt in the valley of the Biber.

In the former view (an old lithograph, date 1840), the low hills behind Einsiedeln, the Freiherrenberg, &c, are thickly covered with wood. In the latter (a photograph of 1890), a great part of the wood is seen to be either entirely removed, or replaced by young plantations. The heights further back, which intervene between Einsiedeln and the higher summits near the Glarnisch, which are wooded in the one view, are seen to be bare in the other. In man's works the changes are also great. The convent, indeed, remains the same, but the town is quite transformed. Instead of a number of separate houses irregularly placed, you see a regular town — railway station, new schools, large business establishments, new streets, new roads in the valley, and new walks all over the hills — not less is the contrast between the national costumes in one drawing and the modern fashions in the other.

The greater part of the mountain region of Schwyz, with the exception of some rugged summits such as the Mythen, is everywhere pasture. Only in the east and north-east, towards the cantons of Glarus and Uri, do we find summits which rise to the level of perpetual snow. The highest mountain in the canton is the Bose Faulen (9,200 feet), to the south of the Glarnisch, at the head of the Ratschthal, a branch of the Bisithal. The wild region between the Pragel and Klausen Passes is a desolate nigged plateau where we often meet with large areas of bare limestone rock (locally called Schratten) seamed by the action of water with a thousand cracks like the crevasses of a glacier. The greatest extent of the canton from east to west, between Morlischachen on the Bay of Kussnacht, and Richisau on the Pragel Pass, is about twenty-seven miles ; from north to south, between the embouchure of the Linth into the Lake of Zurich, and the Glatt Alp near the Klausen Pass, about twenty-four miles.

The area is about 350 square miles. In 1888, the population was 50,307. The only towns of any importance are Einsiedeln with a population of 8,506, and Schwyz (the capital) with 6,616. The occupation of the inhabitants (except in Einsiedeln) is almost entirely pastoral, and the breed of cattle is highly esteemed.* Canton Unterwalden is surrounded by a semicircle of hills, whose ends are at Treib and Stanstad, both on the Lake of Lucerne. This line falls nowhere below 4,000 feet above the sea, except at the Brunig Pass and at the point where the boundary between Unterwalden and Uri crosses the Valley of Engelberg, near the chalets of Herrenriiti. The upper part of the valley of Engelberg, from the fall of the Tatschbach to the Surenen Eck, which would seem naturally to belong to Unter walden, forms part of Canton Uri.

After a long series of disputes about boundaries between the men of Uri and the Abbey of Engelberg, similar to those between Schwyz and the Convent of Einsiedeln, this district was assigned to Uri by a decree of Ludwig IV., in 13 16. The same decree gave them the possession of the Urnerboden (also called March), east of the Klausen Pass, which seems more properly to be part of * See chapter vi. Topography and Characteristics. 7 Glarus. A similar anomaly appears in the fact that a small portion of the south shore of the lake, namely the small pas ture of Matt at the foot of the Burgenstock, belongs to Lucerne. Unterwalden has been divided into the two half-cantons of Ob-dem-Wald and Nid-dem-Wald since the twelfth century, with separate general assemblies and constitutions. The half canton of Ob-dem-Wald is drained by the stream of the Sarner Aa, which, rising near the Brunig Pass, flows through the Lakes of Lungern and Sarnen, and falls into the Lake of Alpnach.

It receives on the left bank the streams of the Lauibach and of the Gross and Klein Schlieren, which often threaten to destroy the village of Alpnach, and on the right bank the Melch Aa, which has been diverted into the Lake of Sarnen. The outlying district of Engelberg, which would more naturally be attached to Nid-dem-Wald, was incorporated with Ob-dem-Wald in 1S15. This district includes the upper basin of the Engelberger Aa, and is entirely separated from Ob-dem-Wald by a narrow strip of Nid-dem-Wald, only two to three miles in width, and extending south as far as the Titlis. The northern portion of Nid-dem-Wald consists of the lower basin of the Engelberger Aa, which, passing by Stans, falls into the lake near Buochs, and of two small valleys descending from the Hoch Brisen, and the Oberbauen to the Lake of Lucerne at Beckenried and Emmetten.

The Waid* spoken of in the names of the half-cantons is the great wood near Kerns, which divided the upper from the lower half of the canton, without respect to Engelberg. In Unterwalden there is no plain land except in the neighbourhood of Stans and Buochs. The mountains which enclose the valley of Engelberg rise in many cases above the level of perpetual snow. The Titlis (10,827 ft.) is the highest. But the greater part of the hill districts are everywhere accessible to cattle. The extent of the canton from east to west, between the Feuerstein and the Seelisberger * Whether Waid in Nid-Wald, Vier-Waldstalter See, &c, is the Ger man word Waid (wood), or is derived from the Latin vallis, is uncertain. Kulm, is about thirty miles; and from north to south, from the Erz Egg near the Melch See, to the Burgenstock, about twenty miles.

The area is about 195 square miles, of which a fifth is woodland. The population in 1888 was 27,581. In 1835 it was 23,600. The two principal towns are Sarnen, in Obwald, with 3,906, and Stans in Nidwald, with 2,458 inhabitants. The occupation of the inhabitants is almost exclusively pastoral, and Canton Unterwalden may be called a perfect specimen of a pastoral country. No more beautiful views can be found than from the neighbourhood of Stans or Sarnen, over the smiling low lands, backed by the green slopes and the summits of the Stanzerhorn or the Pilatus. The chain of summits which surrounds Canton Uri is elsewhere described.* This canton is drained entirely by the Reuss. This stream, rising near the Fibbia, in Canton Tessin, west of the St. Gotthard Pass, runs nearly north to the Lake of Lucerne at Fliielen.

On the left bank, near Hospen thal, it receives the stream of the Urserenthal from the Furca Pass ; at Goschenen the stream from the great glaciers of the Dammastock and Winterhorn ; at Wasen the stream from the Meienthal ; below Amsteg, at Erstfeld, the stream from the Erstfeldthal. On the right bank it receives at Andermatt the stream from the Ober and Unter-Alpthal from either side of the Piz Baduz ; at Amsteg the Maderaner-Reuss, with its branch, the Etzlibach ; and at Altdorf the stream of the Schachenthal, coming from the Klausen Pass. The stream from the north side ofthe Uri Rothstock flows down the Isen thal into the Bay of Uri, near Fliielen. In this canton we find a different aspect from the smiling and gentle slopes of the others. The sombre and grand scenery of the southern bay of the lake prepares the traveller for the change.

For a short distance from Fliielen to Altdorf and Amsteg the inclination is gentle. Walnut and chestnut trees enliven the landscape, though right and left there are frowning cliffs. But after * See chapter Topograpliy and Characteristics. 9 passing Amsteg the ascent begins to the St. Gotthard Pass, and the scene rapidly changes. No more, or very little, cultivated ground ; the pastures often rough with stones ; wild gorges, traversed by foaming torrents. In the lateral valleys many fine alps are to be found, where the herds pasture in summer ; but the higher summits rise far above these. As we pass the entrances of the Maderanerthal, or the Goschenenthal, we see in the back-ground dark rocky summits, mingled with gleaming snowy points, with vast masses of glacier. The greatest extent of Canton Uri from north to south, between Sisikon, on the Bay of Uri, to the St. Gotthard Pass, is about thirty-six miles ; and from east to west, from the boundary west of the Surenen Pass, to the March alp on the border of Glarus, about twenty-five miles.

The area is 415 square miles, of which a large portion is woodland. The highest summit is the Dammastock (11,910 feet) at the head of the Goschenenthal. The population in 1888 was 17,249, and that of Altdorf, the chief town, 2553. In 1811 these numbers were 11,710 and 1,623. Altdorf has no trade, and the occupations in the canton are entirely pastoral. The four cantons thus briefly described had for centuries no other easy means of communication with each other than by the Lake of Lucerne, which they enclosed. There were, certainly, narrow and difficult footpaths along its shore, or over mountain passes. Towards the west they communicated with the outer world through Lucerne; to the south (but at a much later period) by the pass of St. Gotthard. Only within the present century — indeed within the last generation — have the communications been rendered more easy by the construction of roads from Lucerne to Alpnach, round the base of the Lopperberg ; from Weggis to Vitznau, Gersau, and Brunnen ; and lastly, the Axenstrasse from Brunnen to Fliielen, to be succeeded only ten years ago by the railway.

Lands so shut in and secluded from the outer world m'ght well be expected to preserve their main characteristics unaltered, and such to a great extent is the case since they became known to history. The general appearance of the inhabitants of the four cantons is in the main the same, varying only with the con ditions of their existence. In Canton Lucerne, in the agricultural portions, i.e., in the north-west where the most flat land is, the men are strong and broad-shouldered, but more squat than slender. In the Entlebuch, where cattle-breeding is the chief occupation, the men are taller and handsomer, and yet strong. Finer and better-looking in the present day than formerly, the old armour is generally found too small now to fit a man of any size and height ; the improvement, no doubt, to be ascribed to better feeding, and more healthy conditions of life.

The weakest, the worst made, and least healthy, are those engaged in indoor occupations ; like the weavers in the valleys of the Wigger and the Suren, and about Lucerne, easily to be recognized by their thin and pale faces. In the country these disadvantages are often redeemed by out-door occupations for a portion of the year. Good-looking girls and young women are not uncommon, but they soon lose their good looks from the constant hard work both in and out of doors. The men of the Entlebuch are the handsomest and strongest in the canton. The disposition of the inhabitants is generally cheerful, and they enjoy the festivals which come in their way, and in Lucerne itself this is more especially the case. It has been said of Lucerne, that whilst in wealth and commercial activity it was far behind several of its neighbours, in the genial good humour of its inhabitants it was second to none.

Not that work and the interests of commerce were neglected, but the citizen of Lucerne was satisfied if he had worked enough to satisfy his needs, and agreed with the proverb about all work and no play. In Canton Schwyz the men are strongly-built, but seldom above the middle size. Tall men are seldom found except in the Muottathal, and in the north-east of the canton in the Topography attd Characteristics. 11 Waggithal. They are characterised by a broad, open brow, a clear blue or grey eye, and a good-humoured look. The women generally are also short, seldom handsome, but bright-looking with healthy complexions, which they are said to retain long, unlike the inhabitants of Canton Lucerne. In Canton Unterwalden, the people of Obwald are distin guished from those of Nidwald in much the same way as the men of Entlebuch are from those of Canton Lucerne.

The men of Obwald are taller and stronger, and good wrestlers, like the men of Entlebuch. The shape of the face is oblong, the features fine, and the countenance full of dignity. It is not uncommon amongst the elder men to find those of the type of Nicholas von der Flue, who cannot be regarded without reverence. The young women and girls are often beautiful. In Nidwald the men are not so tall, and the shape of the face is round rather than oval. Here, too, the women are often good-looking, especially in the neighbourhood of Stans. In both divisions of the canton the skin is fair, the complexion healthy, and the constitution good. Lame, blind, deaf and dumb persons or cretins are of very rare occurrence. In Canton Uri likewise the men are strongly built and of middle size, the shape of the face round, and the features generally regular, the feet often short and broad.

The men in the Schachenthal are generally taller, with fairer skin and lighter hair than in the Reussthal. In the Meienthal they are often found with fair hair and blue eyes. In the neighbourhood of Seelisberg they are more like the people of Nidwald ; and at Sisikon and in the Riemenstaldenthal more like those of Schwyz. The people of Urseren are a kind of cross between those of Uri, Val Leventina, and Granbiinden. In Uri, as elsewhere, the men of the mountains are taller and stronger than those of the valleys. The women have fairer com plexions and finer colour. In the differences here described (except in Urseren) there is no evidence of a difference of race. If several types occur they have existed together or in separate groups since the occupation of the country. The differences in size and strength are a consequence of different modes and conditions of life.

The Waldstatte are still the centre of the Swiss Confedera tion ; the Three Lands are still one of the fairest regions of a beautiful land. The inhabitants are still what they were of old — conservative, holding fast by old traditions of which they have proved the value; bold, true, valiant, yet simple, lovers of freedom, devoted body and soul to the Fatherland. They have no longer the importance which they once had, when Schwyz was the forefront of the alliance, bravely supported by Uri, Unterwalden, and Lucerne. These for four centuries upheld gallantly the banner of freedom, and repelled every attack on their mountain fortress. Now six centuries have passed away, and the sixth centenary of the Eternal League has been celebrated. The Forest Cantons, which laid the founda tion of Swiss freedom, are far surpassed in importance by other cantons which did less service to the Confederation, and can show fewer laurels in their crown of fame.