The Spell of Switzerland Part 23

Chamonix, which so short a time ago was almost a lost valley, is now the very centre of the mercenary traffic in Nature's most marvellous mysteries. One may reach dizzy heights now by the railway, and there are restaurants a mile above the sea.

My nephew happened to be personally acquainted with M. Fidele Eugster, whose fertile brain devised a scheme for building solid pylons over which should run an aerial line from Chamonix up to the Aiguille du Midi, three thousand eight hundred and forty-two meters--only a little less than nine hundred and sixty-five meters less than the monarch himself. He happened to be there himself and he invited Will and me to ride up as far as the construction-car went. Ruth contented herself with watching us and taking a walk about town. The car, seating twenty persons, starts from Chamonix and swings up two thousand meters over the twenty-seven of these immense pylons already constructed. They are from twenty-five to seventy-five meters apart. The power-station, where there are electric motors of seventy-five horse-power each, is near Pierre Pointue at a height of one thousand six hundred and seventy-nine meters. From there over twenty-four more pylons a cable one thousand four hundred meters long took us to the foot of the Aiguille. There we got into a smaller basket-car and were swung up to a protogen pinnacle directly opposite the Grands Mulets. From there we were taken to the first tension-pylon which breaks the enormous stretch to the Col du Midi, where the terminal station will be constructed. It is a tremendous swoop of between eight and nine hundred meters and the last stathmos will be nearly six hundred more.

The car glissades down the curves; then the cable pulls it up the incline. It is like a series of gigantic scallops but there is no shock, no jar; only a clicking as you pa.s.s the pylons.

Next to my flight in the hydro-aeroplane this was the greatest experience of my life. What can I say of that swoop through the air?

Words utterly fail. Below lay the valley with its thickly cl.u.s.tered hotels and houses and the ramifications of the rushing rivers and streams like veins in a dissected hand. Below us lay the glacier with its seracs diminished to etchings. All around rose the haughty Brotherhood scornfully watching the machinations of puny, mighty-minded man. They know that they can sometimes catch him napping, but only his body can they hurt. His soul is bigger and grander than their icy hearts. They can fling down avalanches and hurl enormous boulders or bullet-like stones at him, tearing themselves to pieces in their blind fury to do so, but here he is above them. They can't shake off the shackles which his genius and his power fasten to their gigantic frames. Atlas must bear the Earth on his shoulders and there is no Perseus to relieve him of the weight.

Compared to the cost of some of the other Swiss roads this aerial line is comparatively inexpensive. It has been estimated that twenty-four million francs will build it and equip it. Its success will doubtless cause other "inaccessible peaks" to be harnessed in the same way. All the difficulty and most of the danger--I suppose one might be struck by lightning or die of heart-failure on the way up--and a vast amount of time, will be eliminated.

While we were in the valley we had a most glorious sunset. I will not attempt to describe the indescribable; there are no terms to differentiate the tints that glowed on the clouds and the shades of lavender and violet and royal purple. There is nothing more impressive than to see the outburst of cloud ma.s.ses from a mountain-valley rising dark and stormy and then, as it were, putting on the panoply of their royal state--furnished them by their servant the sun. I recalled Moore's poem on Mont Blanc at sunset:--

"'Twas at this instant--while there glowed This last, intensest gleam of light-- Suddenly thro' the opening road The valley burst upon my sight!

That glorious valley with its lake And Alps on Alps in cl.u.s.ters swelling, Mighty and pure and fit to make The ramparts of a G.o.dhead's dwelling.

"I stood entranced--as rabbins say.

This whole a.s.sembled, gazing world Will stand upon that awful day When the ark's light aloft unfurled Among the opening clouds shall shine Divinity's own radiant sign!

"Mighty Mont Blanc, thou wert to me That minute, with thy brow in heaven, As sure a sign of deity As e'er to mortal gaze was given.

Nor ever, were I destined yet To live my life twice o'er again, Can I the deep-felt awe forget, The dream, the trance that rapt me then."

We went through the paces demanded of visitors to the valley. We made excursions to the Glacier des Bossons especially to see the little lake which so exquisitely mirrors Mont Blanc--so detestible the artificial ruins which insult its beauty!--we even paid our franc to penetrate the artificial grotto in the ice--and we went as far as the Cascade du Dard. We went also to Flegere for the sake of its extraordinary panoramic view; but I thought best of all was the Brevent which faces so closely the whole range.

We reluctantly left the wonderful valley and returned to Lausanne by the way of Cluses, where we had our watches set, thence across to Bonneville, down to Geneva and along the lake. We were warmly welcomed by the three children who, however, had been well looked after by the trustworthy French bonne.

CHAPTER XXI

HANNIBAL IN SWITZERLAND

A few days later Will and I got to talking about the ancient pa.s.sages of the Alps. Hannibal's was the first. We got out a copy of Polybius and read the simple narrative of that almost incredible expedition.

Polybius, who was present at the destruction of Carthage, had probably a fairly accurate knowledge of his subject; but to this day it has not been absolutely decided where the great Carthaginian crossed the Alps.

One man believes he went by the Little Mont Cenis; a Frenchman argued that he descended into Italy by the Col de la Seigne; but the most convincing argument, that put forward by William John Law, fixes the route as from Roquemaure, where he crossed the Rhone, up to Vienne by Bourgoin, the Mont du Chat, Constans, Bourg Saint-Maurice, thence over the Little Saint-Bernard to Aoste into Italy.

We read some of the pa.s.sages describing the difficulties of the route, attempted so late in the season. This is what Polybius says:--

"Hannibal, having arrived upon the Rhone, straightway set about affecting the pa.s.sage where the river ran in a single stream, being encamped at a distance of nearly four days' journey from the sea....

"By this time a crowd of the barbarians was collected on the opposite sh.o.r.e for the purpose of preventing the pa.s.sage of the Carthaginians.

Looking well at these, and considering from existent circ.u.mstances that it would neither be possible to force a pa.s.sage in the face of so numerous an enemy nor to keep his position without expecting the enemy upon him from all sides, Hannibal, as the third night was coming on, sent off a division of the army under command of Hanno, son of the King Bomilcar, joining to them natives of the country as guides.

"After marching up the river for a distance of two hundred stadia and coming to a place where it is divided into two branches around an island, they halted there; and, having got timber from a neighboring forest, they soon fitted out a number of rafts, sufficient for their purpose, partly by framing the timbers together, partly by tying them.

On these they were safely ferried over....

"As the fifth night came on, the division which had already crossed the river pushed forward about the morning watch, against the barbarians, who were opposite to the Carthaginian army. Hannibal now, having his soldiers all ready, was intent on the work of crossing, having filled the barges with the light-shielded cavalry; and the canoes with the lightest of the infantry....

"The barbarians, seeing the purpose of their enemies, rushed out from their entrenchments in a disorderly and confused manner, persuaded that they could readily prevent the landing of the Carthaginians. But Hannibal, as soon as he perceived that his own troops were already coming down on the farther side, for they gave signal of their approach by smoke, as had been agreed upon, at once ordered all to embark, and for the managers of the ferry-boats to make all possible headway against the current.

"This being speedily done, and the men in the boats working with keen rivalry and shouting and striving against the force of the current, ... the barbarians in front raised their war-song and their challenges. The scene was one of terror and of incitement to the conflict.

"At this moment the Carthaginians, who had first crossed to that side of the river, suddenly and unexpectedly appeared among the tents of the barbarians, which had been left vacant. Some set fire to the encampment; while the majority rushed upon those that were guarding the pa.s.sage of the river. In view of an event so utterly unexpected the barbarians ran, some to protect their tents, others to resist the a.s.sailants, and fought with them. Hannibal, now that everything had succeeded in accordance with his plan, straightway drew up those that had first got across, encouraged them, and engaged in battle with the barbarians. The Gauls, from their lack of order and the strangeness of all that had taken place, soon turned and betook themselves to headlong flight.

"The Carthaginian general having conquered both the pa.s.sage and his enemies, immediately attended to the transport of those that still remained on the other sh.o.r.e....

"The transport of the elephants was effected in the following manner:--Having constructed a number of rafts, they strongly joined together two of these, so as to fit closely one with the other, and planted both firmly in the sh.o.r.e at the place of embarcation, the two together being about fifty feet wide. Then, joining other rafts together in the same way, they attached these to the former at the outer end, carrying the fabric of the bridge forward in the line of pa.s.sage; and, that the whole structure might not be carried down the river, the side that was against the stream they secured by cables from the land, fastened to some trees which grew on the brink. When they had thrown out this bridge to the length of two plethra [sixty meters] altogether, they added at the end two rafts constructed more perfectly than the others and the largest of all. These were bound with great strength to each other; but to the rest in such a way that the fastenings could be easily severed. To these they fixed a number of towing-lines with which the barges were to prevent their being carried down the river, and hold them by force against the stream, to take over the elephants upon them and land them upon the other side.

"After this, they dug up and brought a quant.i.ty of earth to all the rafts, and spread it till it was level with, and looked just like, the road that led over the dry land to the crossing-place. The elephants were used always to obey the Indians as far as the edge of the water, but never as yet had ventured to go into the water. They brought them, therefore, along this bank of earth, putting two females first; and the beasts obeyed them. As soon as they had got them on to the farthest rafts, they cut away the fastenings by which these were fitted to the rest, and, pulling on the two lines with the barges, they soon carried away the beasts and the rafts which bore them from the earthy pier. At this the animals, quite confounded, turned about and rushed in every direction; but, surrounded on every side by the stream, they shrank from it, and were compelled to stay where they were; and, in this way, the two rafts being brought back repeatedly, most of the elephants were brought over upon them. But some, through fright, leaped into the river half-way across; and it happened that all the Indians belonging to these were lost, but the elephants were saved, for, with the power and size of their probosces, raising them out of the water and breathing through them and spouting up all that got into them, they held out, making their way for the most part erect below the water...."

Polybius goes on to tell how Hannibal, having got his forces across, marched up into the mountains by the valley of the Rhone and then began the ascent of the Alps. The Allobroges seized the heights.

Polybius says:--

"The Carthaginian general, aware that the barbarians had preoccupied the posts of vantage, encamped his army in front of the heights and waited there; then he sent forward some of the Gauls who were acting as guides, in order that they might spy into the designs of the enemy and their whole plan.

"When these men had executed all that was arranged, the general, learning that the enemy steadily kept to their post and watched the pa.s.ses through the day, but that they went to their repose at night in a neighboring town; acting conformably to that state of things, contrived this scheme:--he put his force in motion and led them forward openly and, when he had come near to the difficult places, he pitched his camp not far from the enemy; but, when night came on, he ordered fires to be kindled, and left the greater part of his troops, and, having lightly armed the most efficient men, he made his way through the defiles in the night and took possession of the positions previously held by the enemy; the barbarians having retired to the town as they were in the habit of doing.

"This had all been done before day came on, and, when the barbarians saw what had happened, they at first abstained from any attack; but later, when they observed the crowd of beasts of burden and the cavalry winding out from the defile with much difficulty and in a long-drawn column, they were encouraged to close in upon the line of march. As the barbarians made their attacks in many places, a great loss ensued to the Carthaginians, chiefly among the horses and beasts of burden, yet not so much from the enemy as from the nature of the ground; for, as the pa.s.s was not only narrow and rugged, but also precipitous, at every moment and at every shock numbers of the pack-animals fell with their loads over the cliffs. The shock was caused chiefly by the wounded horses, for some of them, in the panic made by their wounds, dashed against the baggage-animals, others with a rush forward knocked over everything that came in their way in this difficult pa.s.sage, and completed the immense confusion.

"Hannibal, observing this, and reflecting that, even though the troops should escape, the loss of their baggage would certainly be attended with the ruin of the army, advanced to their aid with the detachment that had occupied the heights during the night. As he made his a.s.sault from higher ground, he destroyed many of the enemy; but not without suffering equally in return, for the disorder of the march was much increased by the conflict and clamor of these fresh troops. But, when the greater part of the Allobroges had perished in the conflict, and the rest had been compelled to flee for shelter to their homes, then, only, did the remainder of the beasts of burden and the cavalry succeed with great toil and difficulty in emerging from the pa.s.s."

Hannibal seized the town and procured a vast quant.i.ty of horses and beasts of burden and captives, as well as corn and cattle, sufficient to maintain his army for several days, and he inspired great fear in all the neighbouring tribes.

When the army began to advance again, the tribesmen came to meet him with green branches and wreaths, as a sign of amity, and they brought with them a plentiful supply of sheep and goats for food. Hannibal, though inclined to be suspicious, still took them for guides and followed them into a still more difficult region. He had good reason for his suspicions, for, as they were pa.s.sing through a narrow defile where there was very bad footing and steep precipices, they made a sudden attack upon his troops. The pack-animals and the cavalry were in the van; heavy-armed troops guarded the rear, and attack from that quarter was easily resisted; but the natives, as usual, climbed up the precipices above them and rolled down boulders and flung stones which made fearful havoc.

Hannibal was compelled by this action of the enemy to spend the night near what Polybius calls to _leukopetron_, The White Rock. Now, not far from Bourg-Saint-Maurice, where we had pa.s.sed so recently, stands a high rock of gypsum, and it is called to this day La Roche Blanche.

Here, in all probability, Hannibal kept guard while during the night the horses and pack-animals with enormous difficulty filed out of the valley. Polybius says:--

"On the following day, the enemy having retired, Hannibal joined forces with the cavalry and led forward to the summit of the Alpine pa.s.s, no longer meeting with any organized body of the barbarians, but here and there more or less hara.s.sed by them, losing a few pack-animals from the rear or from the van when the natives seized an opportunity to dash at them. The elephants rendered Hannibal the greatest service, for, in whatever part of the line they appeared, the enemy dared not approach, being astounded at the strange look of the beasts."

By this time it was late in the season and the snow was deep on the mountains; and the soldiers, worn out by their terrible toils and the hardships to which they were subjected, were completely disheartened.

Like Napoleon and all the great leaders of men, however, Hannibal knew how to play on their emotions and he cheered them by telling them that just below lay Italy and just beyond lay Rome, their ancient enemy.

But the descent was even more difficult than the way up. The snow had fallen and rendered the path over the neve extremely slippery; it was impossible to proceed. So they had to encamp on the mountain ridge, and, in order to widen the road, he engaged his whole force in building up the precipice.

"Thus," says the historian, "in one day he completed a pa.s.sage suitable for horses and baggage-animals, so that, carrying these through at once, and pitching his camp about parts which had as yet escaped the snow, he forwarded the army to the pastures. He brought out the Numidians in successive squads to help in building the road, and it took three days of great difficulty and suffering to get the elephants through. They had come to be in a wretched state by reason of hunger, for the higher points of the Alps, and the parts which reach up to the heights, are utterly without trees and bare, because of the snow remaining constantly summer and winter; but, as the parts along the middle of the mountain-side produced both trees and bushes, they are quite habitable."

[Ill.u.s.tration: "THE SNOW WAS DEEP ON THE MOUNTAINS."]

At last, however, after about two weeks in the mountains, they reached the plain of the Po. Livy tells us that Hannibal himself confessed to having lost, from the time he crossed the Rhone, thirty-six thousand men and innumerable horses and other cattle. How many he brought with him into Italy is not known. An exaggerated estimate makes it a hundred thousand infantry and twenty-five thousand cavalry; but it was, perhaps, a third of that number.

The Roman poet, Silius Italicus, who lived in Vergil's house, but not in his immortality, died just a hundred years after Christ. His verse-history, "Punica," has come down to us complete. He too gives a description of Hannibal's wonderful journey:--

"Lone Winter dwells upon those summits drear And guards his mansion round the endless year.

Mustering from far around his grisly form Black rains and hailstone-showers and clouds of storm.

Here in their wrathful kingdom whirlwinds roam And fierce blasts struggle in their Alpine home.

The upward sight a swimming darkness shrouds And the high crags recede into the clouds....

O'er jagged heights and icy fragments rude Thus climb they mid the mountain solitude; And from the rocky summits, haggard, show Their half-wild visage, clotted thick with snow.

Continual drizzlings of the drifting air Scar their rough cheeks and stiffen in their hair.