I have been absent from this blog for two years, as my husband and I underwent several major life changes, which were my mother's death, my husband's retirement, our move to a new home after 36 years in our previous home, and the birth of my first grandbaby.   Now, for some stability and spare time, so that this blog about my great-grandfather Treuthardt does not go unfinished.    -- Annamarie

78. Jakob's family moved from Echandens, Vaud to Steffisburg, Bern, Switzerland

Jakob II moved his family from Echandens, Vaud Canton to Steffisburg, Bern Canton, Switzerland.   See post #1 for a picture postcard view of Steffisburg, from the early 1900's.   It is near Thun, in central Switzerland.   The year of the move and the reason for the move are unknown.   Possibly Jakob II no longer had a job after the powder mill in Echandens closed. 

As explained about Jakob II in post #76, he learned powder milling before he was powder miller at Steffisburg.   His two sons assisted at the same mill, and both became powder millers.   Even with extensive experience, there were complications and dangers every day and moment in milling black powder.        


Before continuing with Jakob's story, let me catch you up with a sparse version of Friedrich's early life.  

  

76. Jakob Treuthardt II / was he a powder miller at Echandens?

Although I cannot prove by documents that Jakob II ran a mill at Echandens, the history indicates it.   A black powder mill (maybe more than one) existed at Echandens.   When the family moved from Echandens to Steffisburg, Jakob II became powder miller at the mill of Steffisburg.  Milling was a family business.  His two sons became powder millers, indicating that Jakob II trained his sons in the techniques of milling.   Evidence could prove my theory right or wrong.   Until that happens, there is good reason to believe that Jakob II ran a black powder mill at Steffisburg.  

In previous posts I wrote,
"... Jakob II will be choosing an entirely new direction, beginning a new chapter, getting married, having a family, and frankly, he needs to think about what he is doing."  (#64)   
"Jakob II, the eldest son of Jakob I and Barbara Treuthardt, is going to take a different life-route from his father and he will set the tone for the rest of the Treuthardt family in Switzerland."  (#58)

Considering how little I know about Jakob II, I have written a lot of imaginative things (posts #45, 58, 59, 64, 69, 71, 72).   Now we will move on to Steffisburg, where the history is more certain.  

75. Introduction to Blasting and Explosives in Mines / National Mining Museum, Leadville, Colorado

And finally, this display appears in the National Mining Museum in Leadville.

"Introduction to Blasting and Explosives in Mines"

"Between the 1830's and the 1850's, explosives became a permanent fixture in mines;  it reduced the cost of mining and helped increase productivity.

"Black powder was first adopted in America mid-17th century with the opening of the first black powder mill in Massachusetts.  It was used by the settlers to help provide food, ignite fires and for protection.   During the same period, black powder was used extensively in German mines, and by the late 17th century, its use in the mining industry had spread as far as Cornwall, England.   Later, during the mass immigrations of the 19th century, the Cornish miners (also known as 'Cousin Jacks') brought this technology and their blasting techniques to America.  They also brought the miner's candlestick, lunch bucket, and the code of signals that enable the hoist man to communicate with the miners underground.   The sudden increase in popularity and blasting usage in the mines spread quickly and powder mills were established to meet demand.

"Black powder was the only explosive used in mines until the introduction of Nitro-glycerine, and then dynamite..."  

74. Black Powder / National Mining Museum, Leadville, Colorado

Another exhibit from the National Mining Museum at Leadville, Colorado, has a simple description and explanation of black powder.   In the early gold mining efforts in Colorado, black powder was used to blast into rock crevices, dislodging the material, allowing it to be removed and processed (from which gold, if it were present, would be extracted).   The words below are taken exactly as they are displayed in the museum.  

"Black Powder"

"The term black powder was first used in the late 19th century to help distinguish between the different types of powders, e.g., gunpowder, semi smokeless powder, etc.   It was used in mines by igniting it in drill holes and cracks in rocks.

Black powder is a mixture of three components: 

1.  Potassium Nitrate:  other names include Salt Peter or Nitre
2.  Sulphur:  a bright yellow crystalline solid
3.  Charcoal:  a black substance made from burnt wood that has been deprived of oxygen and leaves an impure carbon residue

"Potassium Nitrate and Charcoal create a minor explosion, but when mixed with sulphur, the explosion is much stronger.

"Mixing all three components together form a group of gases:  carbon dioxide, nitrogen (both colorless and odorless) and potassium sulphide (a compound that reacts rapidly with water).

How it works

"When the three components are mixed together and ignited, the gases form a heat.   This heat forces the gases to expand causing an explosive force."

73. Stamp Mill / National Mining Museum, Leadville, Colorado

After walking through the excellent National Mining Museum in Leadville, Colorado, two weeks ago, and discovering an exhibit -- a diorama entitled, "Stamp Mills and Amalgamation" -- I wanted to incorporate the vignette of American gold mining into this blog in order to help us better understand the history of Swiss black powder milling as it pertains to the Treuthardt family (which will be described in forthcoming posts).  The display at the National Mining Museum was written exactly as follows:

"Stamp Mills and Amalgamation"

"As the mines went deeper and brought up larger quantities of ore, the arrastras* could no longer keep up.   Businessmen realized that stamp mills would be profitable ventures.   Stamp mills became the primary means of breaking and processing ore, and owing to the introduction of the amalgamation process, were a step forward in gold mining technology.

"At the top level of a stamp mill, larger metal grinders pound the ore into fist-sized chunks.   A step below, the chunks are smashed in water by half-ton stamps.   The resulting slurry passes through screens and drops into amalgamating pans.   How amalgamation works on a physical and chemical level is not clearly understood to this day, but it is known that if mercury is brought into contact with gold, the gold is 'drawn into' the mercury.   This results in an alloy of gold and mercury called amalgam.   After the mercury has gathered in the gold, the mercury can be removed by dissolving it in nitric acid or heating it to a vapor." 

*ARRASTRAS
Here (since we were wondering) is a description of arrastra, below, written by Kenneth Jessen.   For the rest of the interesting article, see this webpage.  

http://www.reporterherald.com/ci_21960868/arrastra-remains-near-buena-vista

"An arrastra, in its simplest terms is a grinder and dates back to the fifth century B.C.   The grinding surface is typically flat bedrock situated near a stream. A vertical pocket is drilled into the rock and a pole is placed in the pocket. Attached to the pole near its base is an arm and attached to the arm, usually by chains, are heavy drag stones. Farther up the pole is a long horizontal beam that is used to turn the center pole.  As the pole is rotated, the heavy drag stone do the grinding against the bedrock surface. Small arrastras could be human powered and draft animals were used to turn larger examples. The most common use in Colorado was to grind ore containing gold flakes. The ore was placed on the grinding surface and after hours the ore is pulverized into a fine powder. A small amount of mercury is added during the process to amalgamate the gold. The gold-mercury amalgam settles to the bedrock while the worthless rock is washed away using water from the nearby stream. The amalgam is then collected and strained through a cloth to remove most of the mercury leaving behind a gold button. The remaining mercury is driven off in a retort, condensed and reused. The gold requires further refining to remove the remaining impurities. Arrastras were used in the absence of large, efficient gold mills or in remote locations. They are very limited in the amount of material that could be processed.

"Arrastras in Colorado are rare. Many have been cut out of the bedrock and moved to museums. One example, still in its original location and relatively easy to reach, is north of Buena Vista on Fourmile Creek. It requires only a short walk from a four-wheel drive road."

"Kenneth Jessen has been a Loveland, Colorado, resident since 1965. He is an author of 18 books and more than 1,300 articles. He was an engineer for Hewlett-Packard for 33 years and now works as a full-time author, lecturer and guide."

(See also my related post #72.) 

72. Jakob II Treuthardt, powder miller at a stamp mill

Jakob II was (almost certainly!) a powder miller.    A powder miller produced charcoal, and he added sulfur and saltpeter to make "powder," another name for gunpowder.    Although this theory has not been proven, my conjecture is that Jakob II was possibly powder miller at Echandens, where a powder mill was in operation.  

The powder mill at Echandens, Switzerland, used a stamping process to crush the powder.   The mining term "stamp mill" refers most recently to gold mining, but it was an ancient process which was primarily used from the 1500's to the 1900's.    According to Webster's definition in 1913, a stamp was a "kind of heavy hammer, or pestle, raised by water or steam power, for beating ores to powder;  anything like a pestle used for pounding or beating."   The origin of this term is from 1740-50;  but the process was in use long before that.

From one website, this is a description of a stamp mill, as follows:
[http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Stamp_Mill]

"The machines were known for their heavy, cumbersome awkwardness and difficulty to maintain.    Each stamp could weigh as much as 2,000 lbs. (907 kg).   They were also incredibly noisy and produced vibrations close to the area of installment and operation.   Some likened the noise produced by a stamp mill to that of a 'stampede of horses galloping across the land.' "  

The mill at Echandens had to close because it was in the way of the railroad which was being built.  [For further research -- The years that the railroad was built at Echandens, would indicate approximately when the mill closed.]   Sometime after Friedrich's birth in 1834, the family left Echandens.   Possibly they moved when the Echandens mill closed.     

References:
http://onlinedictionary.datasegment.com/word/stamp+mill
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/stamp-mill
http://www.ritchiewiki.com/wiki/index.php/Stamp_Mill

71. Treuthardt, Jakob II and Margaritha Zumstein

Husband:  Jakob II Treuthardt
Wife:        Margaritha Zumstein

Jakob II and Margaritha were Friedrich's parents.
They are my great-great-grandparents.

Grandparents of Jakob II were the [Kirchmeyer] Bartolome and wife Katharina (Tritten) Treuthardt (see posts #35, 46).   Parents of Jakob II were [Carpenter and Musikant] Jakob I and Barbara Treuthardt (see posts #43, 44, 45).    Jakob II was born at Zweisimmen in 1801, and his parents moved to Thun.

The whole unknown story of why, when and how Jakob II moved to the Canton of Vaud has already been imagined and examined (see posts #58, 59, 69).  

In 1828, when Jakob II was 27 years old, and Margaritha was 22 years old, they were married at Lausanne, Vaud Canton.    Margaritha's parents were Andreas Zumstein and Anna Glauser.  I am guessing that Margaritha was a newcomer to the Canton of Vaud, as her family seems to have come from the area of Brienz, Switzerland (that is a subject for further research). 

Jakob II and Margaritha settled at Echandens, north of Lausanne, where three children were born to them, Louise, Charles, and Friedrich (the last child, who was born in 1834).


Note:  In previous research I had discovered the name "Zum Stein," written as two words.    However, this is incorrect, according to my Swiss resource, Ulrich Bretscher, and the Switzerland telephone directory.   Ulrich reported to me on September 25 that he "consulted the Swiss telephone register and found 972 Zumstein entries and zero Zum Steins."  

70. Blog status August 26, 2013

My Readers -- you may be interested to know that since the beginning, this [unadvertised] blog has gotten over 2440 "hits" (as of August 26) most of them coming from the U.S.   I enjoy writing to other countries as well.      

The Russian visits are 13% of the total.   Germany is next, and then Columbia, Switzerland, Pakistan and Romania.  Other countries that have checked in are France, Brazil, Canada, Lithuania, Ukraine, Greece, Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland, Morocco, Vietnam, South Korea, Japan, and China.   The newest visitors since July are Finland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Poland, Israel and Australia.   The post which has gotten the most hits is #40, the "White Book of Sarnen."   Most of those hits were received in one day.    Among the popular posts are the William Tell entries -- I am delighted that some people recognize his name!    The Gottfried Keller entries are also of interest which pleases me very much.   The middle posts have been read more than the earliest ones.   Welcome to newcomers to my blog!

69. Moving to the Canton of Vaud (circa 1820?)

It has been too long since we left our great-great-grandfather Treuthardt perched on a hill marveling at the grandeur of the Lake of Geneva in the Canton of Vaud.   Though we don't know when he made this journey, I picked the years around 1820.   From the Lake of Geneva, Jakob II continued on to his destination.   There he began his work -- perhaps first completing his apprenticeship before starting a job in which he was trained and skilled.   He married Margaretha and they eventually had three children.  That account is to come.

I took a few weeks off from writing posts in this blog because of two major "good-bye" events in my life;   the death and funeral of my mother;  and my husband's retirement from his 43-year career as an engineer.   We traveled to south Texas for the funeral, and to Philadelphia, PA for the retirement banquet.    

It is somewhat convenient that this unintentional break-off occurred when I was getting ready to describe the early career of Jakob II.   Before this point in the history, almost everything is conjecture.  Other than those remote dates and names and places which are based on parish records,   the rest has been "me" trying to provide a cultural background and weave a reasonable and believable record of the personages, humble and sketchy though the report is.   Hopefully you, the reader, have ascertained accurately the things I "know" and the things I am guessing at.    

Beyond this time when Jakob II moved to the Canton of Vaud, the Treuthardt account becomes more definite and I can describe the history more confidently, thanks to the guidance and knowledge given to me by some Swiss people in 2008 and after.   Still, there are places where I will insert some conjectures because they could be important to some future researcher.    Yet to come is the most exciting part of the history, and I am looking forward to sharing it with you. 

My Mother

My Mother died on July 6.   I am taking a break from my blog temporarily.   Thank you for your thoughts and prayers for our family.   My Mother was 98 years, 10 months, and 17 days old.  

God bless you today!   

68. Ulrich, April 2008

Ulrich was capable of informing me by his experience as a Swiss citizen and an elected judge in his community, by his knowledge of history and his command of languages,  by his interest in and expertise at the chemistry of Swiss black powder, and by his championship status in muzzle-loading.   He introduced me to Switzerland.   He was willing to practice English reading, writing and comprehension, in corresponding with me.   Not the least, and maybe the greatest, he gave me his time.   He made -- I don't know how many -- telephone calls.   We exchanged numerous e-mails.  

He located, bought and mailed me two significant books on powder milling, books crucial to my study, that directly related to Friedrich's two powder mills (one book in German, the other in French).   In an effort to educate me about the Swiss language, which is a separate language from German, he found a CD of a children's story, sung in the Bernese Swiss which he said the Treuthardts and Kriegs would have spoken, and which my father, uncles and aunt in Texas would have understood.**

As he thought of an idea that might provide a clue for me, he would accomplish it, until he had worked up a Swiss "team" on my behalf.   Each provided information in his own specialty.   All this took place over several weeks.   Months and years later, I am still internalizing it.  
 

**Bernese Swiss is the Swiss spoken by people living in and around the environs of Bern, the capital of Switzerland, and Bern Canton which is generally the plateau region.  By comparison Züricher Swiss is the Swiss spoken by people living in and around the environs of Zürich.     

67. Beginning the questioning in Switzerland, with Swiss Black Powder

With years having gone by, I felt strongly that lots of information was waiting to be discovered in the country of Friedrich's origin, Switzerland.   How could I ever reach the archives that were embedded there?

As I have related, I decided to give up finding anything personal about Friedrich, but to attempt to find out something about his profession in the manufacturing of Swiss Black Powder, that mysterious substance that appeals to all men (but not so much to women).   Naturally, I knew absolutely nothing about it.    And here, with that not-so-inert substance, began popping the final phase of discoveries. 

It was as if God Himself were figuratively sweeping me along across the Atlantic Ocean deep into Europe, and flinging wide open the door to Switzerland, where He selected the only person in the world, an expert who was capable of helping me think through and process the discovery of facts in Switzerland.  

Well, I don't mean I had any visions, because of course, I did the practical thing, checked the Internet (which by now was quite developed).  There I found the excellent website of Ulrich Bretscher.   He declared in his home page, that if anybody had questions, that person should write to him.   Accepting his invitation, I wrote an email to him, and he wrote back.   I sent him easy questions at first, but as he could answer them quickly and easily, I began to think of harder questions for him.   There were no challenges too difficult for Herr Bretscher.    He was determined to answer each question, and he did.  If he didn't know for certain, he would give me his opinions and Swiss sensibilities about the subject, being my Swiss mentor from then on.  

66. Finishing the first phases of research in Texas

The beginning of my search was at the tombstone of Friedrich, my great-grandfather, who was lying in a grave at my feet.   That day I learned his name, birth and death dates.  

In 2008, the first two phases of the Treuthardt family research had been accomplished in Texas.  First, among the Kriegs, by 1997, all the information had been gathered from my extended Krieg family.   Interest in family history was percolating;  but mostly they were questions.   The second phase happened after 1997, among the Treuthardts and the Truehardts.   Those three families are all the descendants of Friedrich and his three children who immigrated to Texas.   The job of finding people to visit with about the Swiss history of the Treuthardts was reasonably complete.  

One of my near-cousins, Sue, was meanwhile occasionally doing research on Friedrich's Switzerland family at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, locating some valuable records and sharing them with me.   Besides the memories and continuing support of my cousin Margaret;  another cousin of my father's, Marguerite, lived to be past 100 years old, and she recounted to me a few of her remembrances of her grandmother, Friedrich's wife, and her own trips to Switzerland.   Their input contributed factually and emotionally, as well as affectionately, to my perception.   What lovely people we have in our family!  
 
The pursuit in Texas for Friedrich was concluded.   The rest of the story to be revealed to me came from Switzerland, where Friedrich's history began. 

65. Powder

In Texas our branch of the Krieg family knew that Great-grandfather Treuthardt manufactured powder in Switzerland.   His grandchildren (my father's generation) thought it was gunpowder.

Not until 1998, when I met Margaret, who was a Treuthardt, did evidence surface.   Margaret in 1985 had personally visited the powder mill where Friedrich worked.    Margaret shared her pictures with me, that she and her two sisters had taken at the mill.   She recounted their adventure visiting the mill that day.   Here was the wood storage, here was the furnace house, here was where the mixing was done, this was the mortar tester which proved the finished product.     

Here was the gate that warned, "Entrance forbidden."   That's how my searches had gone all these years.   Now I learned that people had recently entered the realm of the unknown Friedrich.  Not only Margaret, but her sisters, and her cousins, and their children, during numerous visits from the Texas Treuthardts to Switzerland's "French" powder mill.  The known facts:  a Swiss black powder manufacturing plant, a mill, at Aubonne, Canton of Vaud.     

Still needed, though, was help to comprehend black powder production of the 19th century.   The Internet was hit-and-miss on a lot of subjects, Swiss black powder being one of them.   For a few years, I found some references, but they were not productive.   I didn't pursue the idea endlessly but meanwhile the Internet developed. 

In April, 2008, searching for "Swiss black powder," I found a website.   It was a thorough description of black powder, done by a man in Switzerland, who was a chemist and made his own black powder.  He shot muskets, was a muzzle loader and had won championships the world over.   He had (and still does) a premier website, in English, which explained "everything" about black powder, its history, its composition, its features.    He invited his readers to ask him questions.  

I wrote him an email and explained I was looking for my great-grandfather Friedrich Treuthardt who had worked at La Poudrérie Fédérale, Aubonne, and that if anybody could help me, it would be the man I was writing.   The next day, by return email, I had a response from him saying modestly, "We should be able to find something."   It was an understatement.

 

64. A new question for an Internet search

All these years I knew that I could not do this task alone.   While the Internet was in its infancy, so to speak, it was not of much use to me, because of the limitations of the new industry.   After all, my objective was esoteric.   But technology was a promising pathway for asking a new question I had not thought of before and indeed it wasn't possible to ask before the days of the Internet.   Though it would be difficult through the Internet to find out anything personal about my great-grandfather Friedrich, now there existed an imaginative course of discovery, using this fairly convenient electronic thoroughfare to Switzerland -- if it were successful.

This is what I decided to attempt to do.   I would try to ascertain facts about Friedrich's career through websites.   Maybe I could figure out how to describe his occupation.   Maybe in the process I could learn something about Swiss history.   Perhaps that goal was attainable in the relatively short time I have left to work, and maybe I should be content with the knowledge of this about Friedrich, a little information about his career.        


In Post #59 we left Jakob II gazing out at the Lake of Geneva around the range of years 1813-1820 (I chose 1820 to make an even number).   He should be permitted this period of rest and relaxation, for he will be choosing an entirely new direction, beginning a new chapter, getting married, having a family, and frankly, he needs to think about what he is doing.   

If I know Jakob II, and I don't, I think he is probably not resting at all but making his way as quickly as he can to his new abode in the Canton of Vaud.    So I have to hurry and tell you about what happened to me, before Jakob II arrives in (say) 1820.   I am hoping that he doesn't rush over there, because I have a lot to tell before I'm ready to continue with Jakob II.   

63. The Internet, genealogy sites start up

During the days when, in order to make written inquiries to other countries, people typed letters, addressed, stamped and mailed envelopes, then waited for weeks to get a response, I had already picked up valuable data for my various family lines, by inquiring in Switzerland when there was a lead.   This was the old-fashioned way to get records.    The results were effective but always sparse.  

Computer technology brought efficiency, speed and promise to research.   The Internet began developing, and as it did, the genealogy sites started up.   In time, they became useful, especially the various extensive databases, which provide many leads.   Checking some of the Internet genealogy sites over the early years, however, none of the general ones were helpful for my research.    One must have a foundation for his study and use good judgement to assess the accuracy of new data.    Data can be wrong, and information gets picked up, is spread and the errors go with it.     One cannot be too cautious when it comes to giving out or gathering data.  

62. I got impatient.

I went along for some three decades, from 1977 to 2008, learning what I could about family history, being patient and trying to collect and analyze and put together seemingly trivial humble facts, being content with discoveries that certainly did build upon each other but didn't make a complete whole.    Every new little fact or idea was gratifying, and I was thrilled with all of them, as I tried to put the puzzle together in the early stages, being amazed at every new thing, especially with regard to the social side of the venture.  

Although I like the genealogy side of this pastime, more than that I love the adventures that accompany the discovery of family history, which is different from genealogy.   While genealogy is the science, family history is the art.   

All of a sudden, after about thirty years of this, I got impatient.   For ~31 years I had been working and still had not discovered what I was looking for.  Not that I knew what I was looking for, but I hadn't found it.    Most family historians have this problem.

Perhaps significantly, my age advanced a digit.   I turned 60 years of age.   There is something about 60 that gets your attention, as if one realizes he/she must accelerate his/her activities and wrap up those ambitious life goals pretty quick, while acknowledging rather acutely that ambition, not to mention the minutes allotted to one's life, is fleeting, as are energy and enthusiasm.    Genealogists know this better than most people, though in my opinion most genealogists wait too long in their lives to do their jobs.   When I looked back at my 31 years, I knew that I had begun working not one minute too soon, in 1977, with the interview of Aunt Anna, and for years before that, questioning my father and mother.

One year, not long before her death, my dear cousin Marjorie had asked me, "Well, WHEN are we going to see the results of what you have been doing all these years?"   It was a very good question and I was asking it myself.

The fact was, the study was not yet RIPE.   It was that ripeness and maturity I was seeking.   The simple reality of it was that it was too soon to wrap it up.  And I was clearly running out of time to do it.

What did I still expect to find?   I wanted to get some sense of the person, the people, who had died long before I was born.   I wanted to know, where did they live?   What were their environments?    What did they know?   What did they think about?   What did they do all day long?  How did they live?    Besides simply knowing their occupations, I wanted to know how did their occupations impact the family?   You may think, that's ridiculous and impossible, and you would be right.  On a scale of 1 to 10, the impossibility factor was greater than 11.

Especially Friedrich Treuthardt had been frustrating me with his shyness and avoidance of me, and his stubbornness to be not found by me.   I mean his essence, the invisible, intangible being (as opposed to spirit, which is totally different), which I felt so certain was waiting there to be discovered, though he had been dead since 1907.   After 100 years, the evidence gets skimpier and harder to find.   Maybe it was the 100 year mark that challenged me.    The harder I tried to find it, the more it eluded me.

By now, I had learned that many miracles happen in this venture of family history.   Nothing was too impossible.  Besides, in my childhood, remember, I had watched and read "Heidi" and had gotten something exalted from that, which encouraged me now and provided me another angle.   What I would do is to ask, seek and knock -- in Switzerland.       

61. Flooding in Europe, June 10, 2013

Recent unusually heavy rains have caused historic flooding of rivers in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Switzerland.     Besides the extreme flooding there have been rockslides, mudslides and land subsidence, creating the need to close highways and rail traffic in some places.  

 
"The same storm that hit parts of Switzerland struck several countries in Eastern and Central Europe, leading to the evacuation of 8,000 people in Prague, and claiming the lives of 11 people across the region.  In neighbouring Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged 100 million euros ($130 million) in flood aid on Tuesday while touring hard-hit southern areas of the country.  In Hungary, a state of emergency was declared along some areas of the Danube River, where water continues to rise."

from The Local, an English language newspaper in Switzerland, June 10, 2013. 

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come

Our shelter from the stormy blast and our eternal home;

Under the shadow of Thy throne Thy saints have dwelt secure; 

Sufficient is Thine arm alone, and our defense is sure. 

Time, like an ever-rolling stream, soon bears us all away,

We fly forgotten as a dream dies as the op'ning day. 

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come,

Be Thou our guard while troubles last and our eternal home!

Isaac Watts (1674-1748) 

from Lutheran Service Book, #733

60. Charles Dickens, on his approach to Lausanne and the Lake of Geneva

Charles Dickens recorded in his book, The Uncommercial Traveler, a journey he took.   He arrived at the capital of the Canton of Vaud, Lausanne, having approached it from Strasbourg, which is on the French side of Switzerland.  Dickens described similar climates, vistas and spectacles as our ancestor Jakob II Treuthardt would have encountered on his journey coming from the opposite direction.

"...[I] went up a thousand rugged ways, and looked down at a thousand woods of fir and pine..."

"[The mule] brought me safely, in his own wise way, among the passes of the Alps, and here I enjoyed a dozen climates a day, being now in the region of wind, now in the region of fire, now in the region of unmelting ice and snow.  Here, I passed over trembling domes of ice, beneath which the cataract was roaring; and here was received under arches of icicles, of unspeakable beauty; and here the sweet air was so bracing and so light, that at halting-times I rolled in the snow when I saw my mule do it, thinking that he must know best.   At this part of the journey we would come, at mid-day, into half an hour's thaw; when the rough mountain inn would be found on an island of deep mud in a sea of snow...

"I slept at religious houses, and bleak refuges of many kinds, on this journey, and by the stove at night heard stories of travelers who had perished within call, in wreaths and drifts of snow.

"Commend me to the beautiful waters among these mountains!   Though I was not of their mind:  they, being inveterately bent on getting down into the level country, and I ardently desiring to linger where I was.   What desperate leaps they took, what dark abysses they plunged into, what rocks they wore away, what echoes they invoked!  In one part where I went, they were pressed into the service carrying wood down, to be burnt next winter, as costly fuel, in Italy.   But, their fierce savage nature was not to be easily constrained, and they fought with every limb of the wood; whirling it round and round, stripping its bark away, dashing it against pointed corners, driving it out of the course, and roaring and flying at the peasants who steered it back again from the bank with long stout poles.

"Alas, concurrent streams of time and water carried me down fast, and I came, on an exquisitely clear day, to the Lausanne shore of the Lake of Geneva, where I stood looking at the bright blue water, the flushed white mountains opposite, and the boats at my feet with their furled Mediterranean sails, showing like enormous magnifications of this goose-quill pen that is now in my hand."

--This excerpt is taken from Charles Dickens'  The Uncommercial Traveler. Chapter VII, "Traveling Abroad."    This collection of Dickens' stories was first published in 1875, after his death.
In America, this is copyright-free, as the copyright has expired.   I copied this from the Kindle book.