_ALP LIFE._
Do you know, my readers, what an alp is? Perhaps the question seems
trivial to you, and you feel inclined to reply indignantly, “Of
course!” Well, perhaps you are right; but still I am going to describe
an alp, for it is also very possible that you are wrong. As to what
an alp is not, I will begin by stating most emphatically that it is
not a mountain, that it is not snow-covered in summer, and that it has
nothing whatever to do with those incidents of nature spoken of in
guide-books as “the Alps.” An alp is written with a small _a_--this is
one distinction. It is a pasture tenanted in summer by cows, goats,
and huge black pigs, and young men and maidens to look after the
same, consequently it is not snow-covered except in winter, and as it
supplies the animals with beautiful and nourishing grass, it presents a
very different aspect to the rocky and ice-clad sides of the Alps (with
a large _A_).
During the long winter months, the cows, which are of such value to
the Swiss, are kept in hot, often stuffy, stables in the villages, and
only taken out every day for water. It is a familiar sight to winter
visitors in the Alps to meet these animals in the village street,
plunging and galloping about in the enjoyment of a few breaths of fresh
air on their way to drink at one of the many troughs with which even
the smallest of Alpine hamlets is so liberally supplied.
Towards the beginning of May, the cows are taken from their stables
and driven to the lower alps. These alps constitute a great source of
wealth to the country. Many owners of large herds of cattle have as
many as three, situated at different altitudes on the mountain-side.
It is to the lowest that the cows first go, and by the time its rich
pasturage has been fully enjoyed and considerably diminished, the snow
will have melted from the slopes above, and thither the herd pursues
its way. By the middle of June, or later, the highest alp is gained,
and there the animals remain till the early autumn approaches. Then
they descend, halting for a month or so at the intermediate stations,
till the end of October sees them once more established in the valley
for the winter.
The day on which the cows depart for the alps is fêted with great
rejoicings in most Swiss villages, and doubtless in olden days it must
have occurred earlier in the season than is now the case, for the 1st
March is still kept as a festival dedicated to the turning out of the
cows into the meadows, and if the valley was clear of snow by March
1st, the lower alps must surely have been habitable by April.
An interesting account, by Herr Bavier, of the 1st March rejoicings,
appeared in the _St. Moritz Post_ for March 10, 1888, and I think that
my readers will wish me to reprint some of it. Herr Bavier, under the
heading of “Chalanda Mars,” writes:--
“What is the Chalanda Mars? almost all my readers will ask. Here it
is the children’s greatest fête, and in every village, no matter how
small, the Chalanda Mars is celebrated with as much splendour as
possible. For hundreds of years it has been the custom for heads of
families to contribute a certain sum, which is put at the disposal of
the schoolmaster, and with it he procures a supply of cream, cakes,
sweets, and other things dear to the youthful palate. On March 1st
(Chalanda, viz., ‘beginning’), the principal scholars of the village
school go about the streets, ringing big cow-bells, cracking whips, and
singing--
‘Chalanda Mars, Chaland Avrigl,
Lasché las vaschas our d’nuigl,
Cha l’erva crescha
E la naiv svanescha,’
which means,
Beginning of March, beginning of April,
Bring forth the cows from their stables,
For the grass is growing,
And the snow is going.
“During their procession through the village, the youngsters collect
chestnuts, or any other dainty offered by the listeners to their music,
and on the Sunday following these treasures are placed on a gorgeous
sort of ‘buffet,’ and all the village children, even the babies, are
invited to help themselves. After supper, a dance helps to further
enliven matters, and to make the little folk look forward impatiently
to next year’s ‘Chalanda Mars.’”
The herd, consisting perhaps of animals belonging to twenty or more
different persons, on its departure for the mountains, is headed by
the largest and finest of the cows. She is decorated with the best and
deepest-toned bell, and at every march she never fails to place herself
in front of all her companions, and when, through old age or sickness,
she loses her superiority, and her bell is transferred to the neck
of another animal, she sometimes abandons herself to such lowness of
spirits as seriously to impair her health.
Tschudi relates that on one occasion, when the herds were preparing for
the descent from the upper alp of Bilters, he noticed a furious combat
between two cows, and on his inquiring the reason, the herdsmen told
him that one of the cows had borne the great bell during the ascent,
but that it had been transferred from her neck to that of a still finer
animal during their sojourn on the alp. The first cow, having heard
the tones of her old bell, had come from a great distance, and on her
arrival had immediately shown fight, in revenge for the loss of her
former privilege.
After the leader of the troop follow those of next importance, and it
is said that every time the purchase of a new animal adds to the herd,
the last arrival engages each of the cows in turn in battle, and the
result of the fights determines her position amongst her companions.
The bells carried by the cows are sometimes so large as to measure a
foot in diameter, and cost in some instances as much as eighty or a
hundred francs.
The cows are accompanied to their summer quarters either by a girl, who
is known as a _Sennerin_, or by a cowherd, or _Senner_. It is often
imagined that these peasants enjoy a life of romantic idleness, lying
on the emerald-green turf, surrounded by snow-clad glittering peaks,
and making the cliffs re-echo to their jodels or the “Ranz des Vaches.”
I may here add, that, according to Dr. Forbes, the name of the “Ranz
des Vaches” is derived from the “rang” or range in which the cows stand
to be milked, the “Ranz des Vaches” being usually sung by the peasants
on their departure for the alps. However, in a work by H. Szadrowsky
entitled “Music and the Musical Instruments of the Dwellers in the
Alps” (1868), the derivation of _Ranz_ is said to be from _ranner_,
to shout (Swiss-Romansch), and the “Ranz des Vaches” from _Reihen_ or
_Reigen_, a song. In truth, the existence of the peasants who inhabit
these alps is by no means a lazy one. Up before break of day--I have
often seen them astir by 3 A.M.--they must let their cows out of the
shelter in which they have passed the night. If any of the animals are
ill, they must be attended to. Twice daily they must be milked, and
cheese-making is an important and arduous portion of the day’s routine.
In the Engadine, and, in general, all over the Grisons, the alp huts
are built of wood or solid stone, and are comfortable and commodious,
and good shelter is provided for the cattle. In many parts of Valais,
on the contrary, the rough stone huts of the cowherds, so low that
an upright position cannot, in some cases, be maintained, are but
miserable, hastily-built hovels, the walls consisting of stones piled
one on another, regardless of intervening gaps, and a roof of rocky
slabs covering the wretched structure. The cows are entirely unprovided
with shelter on many such alps, and often when passing through mountain
pastures at night, I have been startled by suddenly stumbling over a
warm mass slumbering in the long dewy grass.
The highest pastures are usually to be found at about 7500 feet, but
at the Riffel above Zermatt, cows are to be seen grazing above 8000
feet, and on the south slopes of the Italian side of the Alps they go
still higher. In several parts of Switzerland, the cows, in order to
gain their summer quarters, must cross the ice of the glaciers, and
at Montanvert, above Chamonix, they may be seen in June and October
traversing the Mer de Glace.
Two distinct kinds of cattle are found in Switzerland. The one is to
be seen in the districts between the Lake of Constance and the east
boundary of Valais, while the west is occupied by a different sort. The
former is easily distinguishable, being of a uniform brown, sometimes
dark in shade, sometimes light, while the other is white with black
or yellow patches, sometimes being entirely red or black, with only
a white mark on the forehead. The first of these two varieties, it
has been noticed, is heavier or lighter, according as it inhabits the
lowlands or the higher valleys.
The heaviest and finest of these animals are to be found in the Canton
of Schweiz, and attain a weight of twenty to twenty-five quintaux. Of
the latter sort, the best specimens inhabit Bulle, Romont, and Eastern
Switzerland in general. These animals are the heaviest of all.
For further information on “Alp Life,” I refer my readers to Tschudi’s
“Monde des Alpes.”