2d HIGHWAYS AND HORSES. 



and eventually caused them to vacate the valley alto- 

 gether. The old bridge was eventually blown up on 

 September 24th. The Russians, under Suwarrow, 

 crossed the St. Gothard, and drove the F"rench before 

 them. Consequently it will be seen, that not only 

 does the bridge form a striking feature of this re- 

 markable road, but it was also the scene of two events 

 in the history of French warfare. 



One of the avalanche galleries at the end of the 

 Schollinen ravine is 180 feet long; it is called the 

 Winerloch tunnel. Before this was bored no wheeled 

 traffic could pass this mountain; travellers had to creep 

 round the rocky projecting face of the cliff on wooden 

 planks suspended by chains from the face of the 

 precipice. The descent of the road over the St, 

 Gothard into Italy is contrived by twenty-eight 

 zigzags. 



The Pass of the Great St. Bernard is 8200 feet. 

 This pass is remarkable for its hospice, monks, and 

 dogs, although there are dogs nearly, if not quite 

 as good, to be found on the other passes. At St. 

 Pierre, a wretched village one hour up from the 

 French side, is a military column to the younger 

 Constantine, dated the eleventh century, showing 

 that the Romans were familiar with these passes. 

 Napoleon made his celebrated passage over the Great 

 St. Bernard in 1800, and experienced great difficulty in 

 transporting his artillery, as I have already explained. 



The hospice stands at an elevation of 82CO feet; in 

 fact, it is at the summit of the pass. As many as 

 2000 travellers cross this mountain in the months 

 of February and March. In 1844, 19,000 travellers 

 crossed over this mountain. 



The Mont Cenis Pass is 6825 feet; this, too, was 



