Page:1880. A Tramp Abroad.djvu/470



GUIDE book is a queer thing. The reader has just seen what a man who undertakes the great ascent from Zermatt to the Riffelberg hotel must experience. Yet Baedeker makes these strange statements concerning this matter:

1. Distance,—3 hours.

2. The road cannot be mistaken.

3. Guide unnecessary.

4. Distance from Riffelberg hotel to the Gorner Grat, one hour and a half.

5. Ascent simple and easy. Guide unnecessary

6. Elevation of Zermatt above sea level, 5,315 feet.

7. Elevation of Riffelberg hotel above sea level, 8,429 feet.

8. Elevation of the Gorner Grat above sea level, 10,289 feet.

I have pretty effectually throttled these errors by sending him the following demonstrated facts:

1. Distance from Zermatt to Riffelberg hotel, 7 days.

2. The road can be mistaken. If I am the first that did it, I want the credit of it, too.

3. Guides are necessary, for none but a native can read those finger-boards.

4. The estimate of the elevation of the several localities above sea level is pretty correct—for Baedeker. He only