chains, but as if divided into a number of large clumps of peaks, the further seen through the gaps between the nearer groups. Each group, especially in the evening, has its own peculiar hue and tone there are clusters of brown, grey, blue, purple, and white peaks, according to their different nature and distance. The village of Kumbels may be reached in less than an hour and a half from Ilanz, and might therefore easily be visited from the road up the valley of the Fore Rhine.

"The path from Kumbels continues long on the heights. It is only at a little distance from Ilanz that it leaves them, and descends into the valley of the Rhine. This river is crossed to its N. bank-the Croix Blanche, the best Inn at Ilanz (Rte. 77), lying on that side, close to the bridge. From St. Peter's Plaz to Ilanz is a walk of full 5 hrs."-R. E.

ROUTE 80c.

REICHENAU TO SPLÜGEN, BY THE SAVIEN THAL AND PASS OF THE LOCHLIBERG.

11 hours 35 Eng. m. a bridlepath the greater part of the way. Our road runs up the rt. bank of the Vorder-Rhein, as far as the German Protestant village Versam, where the fearful gulf of the Versamer Tobel is crossed by a very remarkable wooden bridge, with a span of 200 ft. (probably the widest wooden bridge on this principle existing), and 232 ft. above the torrent Savien. The builder was named La Nicca. Here a path turns S. up the wild valley of the Savien or Rabbiusa, a very remarkable ravine, "wilder than the Via Mala," of which the W. side only is cultivated and inhabited by a German Protestant population of about 1000 souls, who were settled here in the days of the Hohenstaufen Emperors. The almost uninhabited E. side is in places formed by precipices, the rocky escarpment of Mount Heinzenberg. The path is carried up the 1. or W. bank of the Rabbiusa, by the hamlets

of Tenna, Areza, Neukirch, Platz, where refreshments may be had at the Rathhaus Inn.

1. A deep path strikes off hence over the col called Stäge across a shoulder of the Piz Beveren to Thusis, 4 hours. The path continues over the meadows of the Camana Alp to Thalkirche, the oldest and highest church in the district. Now begins the ascent of the Löchliberg, 6570 ft. above the sea-level. A steep descent leads down to the village Splügen, in Route 87.

ROUTE 81.

THE PRETTIGAU-MAYENFELD TO
FIDERIS AND DAVOS.

Mayenfeld (Inn, Alte Post) is an ancient walled town of 1200 Inhab., on the rt. bank of the Rhine, but at a little distance from the river. It stands on the high road from Bregenz to Coire, about 12 m. N. of the latter place, opposite to Ragatz, with which it is connected by a ferry. It is the chief town of the League of the 10 Jurisdictions (Zehngerichten-Bund). There is a cross-road direct from Mayenfeld to Malans, but it is better to follow the high-road as far as the Zollbrücke, and there to turn off on the 1. to Malans, a village of 1054 Inhab., overlooked by several ruined castles, and situated near the mouth of the Prettigau (Pratigovia, i. e. valley of meadows; in Romansch, Val Partenz). The entrance of that valley is through a narrow gorge or defile, called Klus, a mile long, broken through by some geological phenomena, so as to give passage to the waters of the Landquart, a furious torrent. This pass was once commanded by the castle Fragstein, whose ruins are still visible; a wall, extending down to the Landquart, once closed the passage into the valley. The valley abounds in fine scenery, is shut in by high mountains and glaciers, is nowhere of any expanse, but rich in pasture-land, and famed for its large breed of cattle. It contains a population of about

10,000, who all speak German, though the names of places are all Romansch. The rt. or N. side of the valley is occupied by the Alpine chain of the Rhætikon, which separates it from the Vorarlberg and from the vale of Montafun. Its most remarkable summits are the Falkniss, overlooking the Rhine, the Scesa Plana, and the Fermund (Ferreus Mons), on the borders of the Engadine. It is crossed by several passes-one is called DruserThor.

The Prettigau may be approached by the traveller coming from Coire by a cut branching off from the main road a little below Zizers, without going round by Mayenfeld or Malans. A tolerable carriage-road has been made up the valley as far as Kubis, above Fideris. Diligence from Coire thither runs from June to Sept. 15. Above Kubis it is practicable for chars as far as Klosters and Davos.

The road ascends on the rt, bank of the Landquart by Grüsch. Thence the path runs by Schiersch to Rütinen; above which it crosses the stream and scales the heights to

Fideris. About 2 miles S. of the village, in a wild and romantic nook of the mountains, stand the Baths of Fideris, considered efficacious in cases of intermittent fevers, supplied by several alkaline acidulous springs, the strongest of their class in Switzerland, and strongly resembling Seltzer water. Visitors are accommodated in two Bath-houses, capable of lodging more than 200 persons. The visitors are almost exclusively Swiss.

"There is a decent-looking inn at the village of Fideris, but you are surer of accommodation at the Baths, where the table-d'hôte is well supplied, and the scene is always amusing."-J. F.

Above, and to the rt. of the village of Fideris, rises the ruined castle of Strahleck; and, on the rt. bank of the Landquart, opposite, that of Castels, which was stormed and taken, in 1622, by the peasants, armed with sticks alone, from the soldiers of the Emperor Ferdinand, who at that period wanted to make himself master of the

passes of the Grisons, to extinguish the Protestant religion in this country, and to seize and banish its ministers. A path leads S. in 34 hrs., over the mountains, into the Schalfikthal.

About 13 miles above Fideris, on the rt, bank of the Landquart, lies Klosters (Inn: Hirsch, a low and poor house near the bridge), a village named after a convent suppressed 1528.

A path perfectly practicable in a char, but said to be neither very easy nor much frequented, goes hence S. over the Stutz into the Davos-thal. Another path runs E. over the Selvretta into the Engadine, up the valley of Vareina, and down the valley of Süss. Süss is 9 stunden from Klosters.

Davos (pronounced by the people Davaas, identical with Plaz of Keller's map, and a grotesque and curious old town) is the chief place in the valley. The Rathhaus was formerly decorated with more than 30 wolves' heads slain in the neighbourhood-proof of the prevalence of these animals. A wolfnet (wolf-garne) is still hung up here, but the animals have diminished greatly in number.

"The building is at present used as an Inn, and in its primitive style these mountains perhaps do not afford a better. The Davos-thal, below Plaz, retains its pastoral character as far as Glaris. Farther down it is much contracted, and at Schmelzboden is the seat of extensive iron-works."J, F.

"At Alveneu you find yourself again in a more peopled and cultivated region: on the 1. appears Filisur (p. 227), at the debouchure of the Albula, and the Davos Thal ends at the junction of the streams."-J. F.

ROUTE 81A.

COIRE TO DAVOS PLAZ, BY THE PASS OF

THE STRELA (9 hrs.).

"The Schalfik Thal (before the mouth of which Coire is built, on the banks of the Plessur, which issues from it) leads up to this pass. The path

runs along the heights on the rt. of the river; and after a continuous ascent of nearly an hour from Coire, reaches Maladers, the first village of the valley. The Col of the Strela is visible from this point, but 7 hrs. more will be required to surmount it. On the mountains to the W., beyond the river, the road to the Julier pass, having climbed the heights like the Strela rte., is seen making its way along them towards the S., and will remain in sight for a considerable time. Coire and the valley of the Rhine, that has been visible during the ascent to Maladers, now pass out of view, as the traveller advances up the Schalfik Thal. "This is a very extraordinary valley. There are no villages in its bed: all are on the mountains, at a vast elevation above the Plessur, and having apparently no communication with one another across its stream, which flows at the bottom of a broad and profound gulf, sunk between precipices relieved with woods. From Maladers to Langwiesen, a distance of nearly 5 leagues, the path can scarcely ever be less than 1000 feet above the river. It passes, on its way, through several villages, occupying tracts of ground on the tops of spurs or promontories projecting from the northern mountains, and divided from one another by lateral ravines, which have to be dipped into and doubled round. Upon the streams in the depths of these ravines, mills are frequently discovered. The circuitous course, and the ups and downs on ground of this nature, render the way longer than it might seem by the map. To the S. of the river, and also on the W., where the Julier road runs, the character of the country is of a similar kind. The valley and chain formation of the Alps is not perceptible here. As in the Lugnetzer Thal, the mountains are collected into clusters behind the high inhabited plains, knolls, and strips of land, which are often varied themselves with green hills and eminences. The promontories on one side of the river run out towards the hollows between those on the other, and help to destroy the

appearances of a regular valley, which the course of the river might otherwise make. One of the finest views of the Schalfik Thal is from Calfreisen, a village with an ancient tower crowned with trees. The snowy mountains of the Kalfeuser Thal are seen through the opening of the valley. The large village of Ischiertschen is a prominent object on the southern pile of Alps; and that of Malix, upon the Julier road, on those to the W.

"The houses in the Schalfik Thal are well built. At St. Peter's and Langwiesen, the parsonages are marked by inscriptions, and the school-house at Peist has, besides, a few verses on its front.

66

'Langwiesen is reached in 5 hours from Coire; in 2 more the col is gained, the last half-hour being stift work in zigzags. The height of the pass, a slight round depression between two craggy summits, is nearly 7700 ft. above the sea. Looking back from its crest, the whole course of the Schalfik Thal may be traced among its mountains; beyond the valley of the Rhine is the Galanda; and still more distant, the Alps of the Kalfeuser Thal, and the snowy group at its head, on the confines of Glarus and the Grisons. The view in the other direction is best seen after a short descent. It then comprises all the summits of the chain towards the Engadin, from the valley of the Albula to the Tyrolese frontier. The blunt black pyramid of the Schwarzhorn is in the middle, just opposite the Strela; and the head of the Piz Linard (11,200 ft.), the highest of the range, rises over the central line of peaks from the side of the Engadin, on the left of the Schwarzhorn.

"The valley of Davos is soon overlooked on the descent. At its head reposes the Gross See, set in grass and woods. Just above it is the pass of Stuz, more than 2000 feet beneath the Strela, and leading into the Prättigau. The bold craggy chain of the Rhätikon, seen over this low pass, bounds the hollow of that valley to the north.

"A steep descent of an hour from the Strela brings one to Davos Plaz, a secluded village, whose houses are scattered over part of an extensive sheet of grass, forming an open reach of the valley, about half-a-mile broad and three in length, the sides of the enclosing mountains being covered with fine forests to a good height. The church of Davos has a lofty, tapering spire. The inn, where good pedestrian's accommodation may be had, is the next house to the church; it is called the Rathhaus, but has no external signs of being a house of entertainment. Though strangers seldom come here, it is much frequented by the inhabitants of the canton, and is a good place for the study of Grison character."-R. E.

ROUTE 81B.

DAVOS PLAZ TO THE BATHS OF TARASP, IN THE ENGADIN, BY THE FLUELA PASS

(11 or 12 hrs.).

"The lateral valley leading up to this pass opens into the Davos Thal about a mile above Plaz. The path runs on the rt. bank of its stream nearly the whole way, crossing to the other side only for a very short time, when about half the length of the valley has been traversed. The ascent is easy throughout, and the path distinctly marked. There is little remarkable in the scenery, which is of a wild and dreary nature. The desolation increases with the height, and the path eventually arrives in a gloomy basin, where a number of little rills unite to form the main stream of the valley. In this basin rock and mossy grass are mingled in about equal proportions; patches of snow hang on the steeps around; over all is the sombre peak of the Schwarzhorn, with its glaciers beneath. Leaving behind this unattractive but characteristic scene, the traveller finds himself at once on the summit of the Flüela (7900 ft.). It is a small plain occupied by two pools, and within 4 hours' walk from

Davos.

"After a gradual descent for a time

towards the S., a wild barren valley is overlooked, running down from W. to E. Its head seems to lie a considerable distance to the rt., behind the Schwarzhorn, and among the glaciers. The path, turning to the 1., is conducted along the mountain side above this valley, into which it descends by degrees. It then follows the 1. bank of the stream for a long while, only crossing to the rt, a little distance above Süs, where it joins the road of the Engadin. Süs is a good 24 hours' walk from the top of the Flüela.

"N.B. The traveller going by this pass from Süs must remember to cross the river to the 1. or N. bank at the first bridge. He might otherwise easily overshoot the stream falling into the valley from the Flüela, and be led away past it up the valley, where there is a track on the rt, bank of the river to mislead him. This caution is the more necessary, as the country between Davos and Süs is very inaccurately laid down in Keller's map, where, among other errors, the pass of the Flüela is made to lie at the head of the valley, up which the path runs from Süs.

"It is a walk of 5 hours down the Engadin from Süs to the baths of Tarasp. The path branches off from the main road on the heights near Ardetz, passes through that village, descends into the gorge of the Inn to a hidden bridge, crosses it, and ascends to the heights on the S. of the river. The position of Tarasp is marked by its old castle, perched on a conical hill in the elevated plain where the village stands. From here there is a splendid view of the Engadin and its mountains, both up and down the valley. Some very grand rocky peaks rise directly at the back of the plateau of Tarasp; the high village of Fettan is conspicuous on the other side of the Inn; and the Schwarzhorn closes the view to the W. The inns attached to the baths are not at Tarasp, but a mile or two farther on, at the village called by Keller Vulpera. Here, at the Albergo Conzetti, very good accommodation is to be had (see Rte. 84). The mineral spring isan

hour's walk above the hotels, at the foot of a cliff by the side of the river Inn."-R. E.

ROUTE 82.

PASS OF THE JULIER, FROM COIRE UP

THE BATHS OF ST. MORITZ, IN THE ENGADINE AND SAMADAN.

=

52 Eng. m.

It

171 leagues A carriage-road finished 1839. is traversed daily in summer except Sunday, by a diligence as far as Samadan, in 15 hrs.

On quitting Coire, the traveller leaves on the 1. the entrance to the Schalfik-thal, and passes through the villages of Malix,

2 Churwalden, and Parpan; then, over a barren heath, to

Lenz.-(Inn: Krone; a tolerable dining-place.) Here the road divides; one branch, a path, runs to the Albula (Rte. 83); the other is the carriageroad to the Julier. Beyond Lenz, the Romansch tongue (p. 192) is almost exclusively spoken; even German is rarely understood, except in the inns.

Taller, and recrossing it to the next village of Saur and Marmels, brings you at length to

Bivio or Stalla, at the foot of the Pitz d'Emet, (the Capuchin who acts as parish priest would possibly accommodate a traveller.) This very poor and inhospitable-looking village lies at the branching of two passes, the Julier and Septimer. The Septimer leads into the Val Bregaglia (Rte. 89); it takes 2 hrs. from Bivio to reach the summit. The S. slope is very steep Bivio is placed in a secluded basin, shut in by high mountains, in a climate so severe that all vegetation is stunted. Not a tree can grow in the neighbourhood, and the people are reduced to burn sheep-dung for fuel. Potatoes rarely ripen at this height5630 ft. above the sea.

It takes about 2 hrs. to ascend from

6830 ft. above the sea level. The ascent is not difficult, and the pass is remarkably safe from avalanches. Its scenery is not particularly grand, the outline of the mountains being round. On the top, the road passes between two rudely hewn pillars or milestones of granite (derived from the neighbouring mountains), believed to be Roman, called Julius's Columns. They are about 4 ft. high, destitute of inscription, but may have been set up as mile-stones in the time of Augustus, who caused a Roman highway to be carried from Chiavenna over the passes of the Malöja and Julier. A carriage-road was formed across this pass to St. Moritz, in 1823; but as no attempt was made, till very lately, to improve the approach to it through the Oberhalbstein, little advantage was gained by it. Flocks of Bergamesque sheep are often found on the highest pastures, near the summit of the pass, in summer. A still more