St. Gall and Appenzell

St. Gall, capital of the canton of the same name, which entirely

surrounds that of Appenzell, is noted for the famous abbey founded

in 614 by St. Gallus, an Irish monk. He had come into this unsettled

region to preach the gospel, and when his disciple Hiltiboldus urged

that they would be exposed to the attacks of the bears, wolves, and

boars, quietly answered, “If God is with us, who can be against us?”

The snakes which had infested that region departed for good and all at

the saint’s command, and his disciple soon discovered that even the

wild beasts of the forest stood in awe of so holy a man. One evening,

while Gallus was praying at the foot of a rustic cross, a bear came

down the mountain to devour his provisions. St. Gallus, perceiving the

theft, quietly bade the bear earn the food he had eaten, by bringing

wood to keep up his fire. The crestfallen Bruin humbly fulfilled this

penance, and when the saint told him henceforth to remain on the

heights, never ventured down into the valley again.

One day Gallus’s disciple discovered an apple-tree far up the mountain,

and climbing up shook down some fruit to carry home to his master. But

when he slid to the ground again, he was dismayed to find a huge bear

on the other side of the tree greedily munching the fallen apples. The

disciple’s first impulse was to flee, but remembering that his master

was fond of fruit, he determined to secure some for him. Taking his

staff, therefore, he scratched deep marks at right angles with the

tree, and then gravely informed the bear that while he was welcome to

the apples on his side of the line, those which fell on the other were

reserved for St. Gallus. Strange to relate, the bear understood this

speech, and as long as the apples lasted never ventured to touch one on

the saint’s side of the line, although he devoured all those on his own!

The cell and cross of St. Gallus were the nucleus of a monastery and

school, which for several centuries had no rival in Europe. Kings and

emperors were wont to visit it, and the abbey, enriched by their gifts

and concessions, daily increased in importance and wealth.

Within the walls of this edifice dwelt men noted for their learning,

and countless scribes spent their lives there, patiently copying

and illuminating manuscripts which, but for their efforts, might

have been lost to mankind. Some of these manuscripts still remain in

the abbey library; among others, a thirteenth century copy of the

Niebelungenlied, Germany’s famous epic. Innumerable scholars visited

the school and abbey at St. Gall, which is said to have been the scene

of a comical encounter between the abbot and Charlemagne, almost an

exact counterpart of the story of King John and the Archbishop of

Canterbury.[15]

[15] See the author’s “Legends of the Rhine.”

The old monastery life so ably depicted in “Ekkehard,” by Von Scheffel,

with its descriptions of the herdsmen and hermit on the Sentis, have

surrounded that region with a halo of romance for all who have enjoyed

the perusal of the book.

* * * * *

THE Sentis, with its cap of snow, is the highest mountain in Appenzell,

and the goal for travellers who wish to make a whey cure or to

enjoy an excursion to its summit. From the top of this mountain the

view embraces the Lake of Constance, southern Germany, the Tyrolean

Mountains, and the Alps in Glarus and Bern. All the way up are various

pastures with their low châlets, where butter and cheese are constantly

made and carried down the steep paths for consumption in the valleys.

The Sentis, like all other mountains where cattle go to pasture, is

supposed to be haunted by mountain-folk, who, when well treated, always

helpful to mortals.

The Devil, too, plays his part in the Sentis legends, for one of them

claims that a lazy herdsman once called upon him to take his cattle, so

that he need no longer run after them when they strayed into dangerous

places. The words were no sooner uttered than a hurricane swept down

the mountain, and the terrified peasant saw Satan, riding on the wind,

drive his cows over the edge of the abyss. In sudden repentance he made

a sign of the cross, fell on his knees, and cried that he had sinned

grievously. At those words the wind ceased, the Devil vanished; but

ever since then the pasture, which had been known as the Glücksalp, or

Lucky Alp, has been called Im Fehlen, or In Sin.

* * * * *

ANOTHER legend claims that the Devil once came striding across northern

Switzerland with a huge bag slung over his shoulder. In this sack

he had packed away a large number of houses, together with their

inhabitants, and was carrying them away with the intention of removing

them for ever from Swiss soil. While taking a leap over the Sentis,

however, he burst a hole in his bag, and the houses all tumbled down

in Appenzell, where they still stand in irregular groups, just as they

fell.

* * * * *

THE same story which is told of the Alphorn at Meiringen is also

told of the heights near the much frequented baths of Ragatz, in the

southern part of the canton of St. Gall. Not very far from this resort,

and on the same wild stream, the Tamina, are the no less noted baths of

Pfäfers, and farther up the gorge an ancient abbey of the same name, to

which legend ascribes the following origin:--

In the beginning of the eighth century St. Pirminius and his disciple

Adalbert preached the gospel in the eastern part of Switzerland. Their

efforts were rewarded with such success that they determined to build a

chapel and monastery in this part of the country. Wishing to secure the

Pope’s consent and blessing for this undertaking, Pirminius set out for

Rome, bidding Adalbert in the meantime select a suitable site and begin

clearing ground.

After much search Adalbert decided upon a lovely sheltered valley,

where the sun shone brightly, where grass and fruit-trees were

abundant, and where limpid waters flowed gently through meadows and

forests. He and his converts now began felling trees, but while doing

so Adalbert’s axe suddenly slipped, inflicting a deep wound in his

sandalled foot. The blood gushed forth, staining the chips around, and

while all were trying to check its flow, a white dove suddenly alighted

near them, and catching up a gory chip, flew off to a neighbouring

tree. At the same moment Adalbert’s blood stopped running, the wound

closed, and in a moment he felt no more pain.

This miraculous cure seemed to all connected in some way with the dove;

so when the bird flew slowly away with the chip, Adalbert determined to

follow it. Flitting from tree to tree and from rock to rock, the dove

entered the cold and dark Tamina gorge, and penetrating ever farther,

finally perched on a sombre pine, and dropped the bloody chip at its

foot. Returning to his companions, Adalbert now told them he must await

Pirminius’ return, and relate these marvels to him so that he might

interpret them if he could.

When the saint came back from Rome and learned what had happened, he

immediately cried that Providence had sent them a sign, wishing them

to build a church and abbey on the spot where the dove had dropped

the bloody chip. He added that such a wild, desolate region was more

fitted to encourage a life of constant penance, labour, and prayer than

the valley flowing with milk and honey first chosen by Adalbert. By his

orders the Abbey of Pfäfers was begun, and to this day its seal bears a

white dove carrying a bloody chip in its beak, in memory of the miracle

to which it owes its location.