BERNARD, beenard, Great Saint, a cele brated pass of the Pennine Alps, Switzerland, in the canton Valais, on the mountain-road leading from Montigay to Aosta in Piedmont. On the east side of the pass is Mount Velan, and on the west side the Point de Dronaz; there is no mountain known by the name of Saint Bernard. Almost on the very crest of the pass is the famous hospice, among the high est permanently inhabited spots of Europe, 8,700 feet above the level of the sea. There is a massive stone building capable of accommo dating 70 or 80 travelers with beds and of sheltering 300. As many as 500 or 600 have received assistance in one day. It is situated on the highest point of the pass, exposed to tremendous storms from the northeast and southwest, and is tenanted by a prior .and 15 brethren of the order of Saint Augustine, who have devoted themselves by vow to the aid of travelers crossing the mountains. The climate of this high region is extremely rigorous. There is a lake on the summit, at a short dis tance from the hospice, on which ice has fre quently remained throughout the whole year. From the difficulty of respiration in so elevated a locality, and the severity.of the climate, few of the monks survive the tame of their vow, 15 years from the age of 18, when they are de voted to this service. The famous breed of dogs kept at Saint Bernard to assist the breth ren in their humane labors have died out, and their place is now talcen by Newfoundland dogs. In the midst of tempests and snowstorms the monks, accompanied by some of the dogs, set out. for the purpose of tracking those who
have lost their way. If they.find the body of a traveler who has perished they carry it into the vault of the dead, where it is wrapped in linen and remains lying on a table till another victim occupies the place. It is then set up against the wall among other dead bodies, which, on account of the cold, decay so slowly that they are often recognized by their friends after the lapse of years. Adjoining this vault is a kind of burying-ground, where the bones are de posited when they accumulate too much in the vault. It is impossible to bury them, because there is nothing around the hospice but naked rocks. The institution is supported partly by its own revenues, partly by subscriptions and donations. The pass appears to have been known at a very early period; and a Roman road led down the Piedmontese side of the mountains. The remains of a massive pavement are still visible; and the cabinet of the hospice contains votive tablets, bronze figures and other antiques found in the vicinity. The hospice was founded in 962 by Saint Bernard of Men thon, an Italian ecclesiastic, for the benefit of those who performed pilgrimages to Rome. In May 1800 Napoleon led an army of 30,000 men, with its artillery and cavalry, into Italy by this pass. A carriage road has been built to its summit; but the importance of the pass has diminished with railroads.