In Switzerland from 1516 to 1525 - James Aitken Wylie

was named Ulric.
The man was greatly respected by his
neighbors for his upright character as well as for
his office. He was a shepherd, and his summers
were passed on the mountains, in company with his
sons, who aided him in tending his flocks. When
the green of spring brightened the vales, the herds
were brought forth and driven to pasture. Day by
day, as the verdure mounted higher on the
mountain's side, the shepherds with their flocks
continued to ascend. Midsummer found them at
their highest elevation, their herds browsing on the
skirts of the eternal snows, where the melting ice
and the vigorous sun of July nourished a luxuriant
herbage. When the lengthening nights and the
fading pasturage told them that summer had begun
to decline, they descended by the same stages as
they had mounted, arriving at their dwellings in the
valley about the time of the autumnal equinox. In
Switzerland so long as winter holds its reign on the
mountain-tops, and darkens the valleys with mists
and tempests, no labor can be done out of doors,
especially in high-lying localities like the
46