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Show A PERILOUS PASTIME. From the Chicago Chronicle. Mme. Brassard, a French woman who keeps a small corner shop at Lyons, lays claim to being the most noted Alpinist Al-pinist of the fair sex in Europe. This poor woman, who gains her living by following the French Alpine troops during dur-ing their maneuvers in the Alps in order to sell her cocoa, has accomplished during dur-ing these marches some remarkable Alpine Al-pine feats. This year she Joined the Ninety-ninth battalion, and marched with them into Savoy, after which she exchanged to the Ninety-seventh, which she followed in all its marches. In a space of a few days this extraordinary woman climbed the Mont Jovet (2500 meters), crossed the Col de la Vanolse, which was covered cov-ered with two feet of snow at the time, ascended Mont Froid (2800 meters), one of the most dangerous mountains in the French Alps; accompanied the soldiers to the summit of Mont Cenis (2200 meters), me-ters), and finally reached the top of the Frejus (2700 meters), where she quitted the Ninety-seventh regiment to Join the grand maneuvers in Savoy. During her travels Mme. Brassard constantly carried car-ried a basket containing nearly thirty pounds of cocoa and her provisions, wore ordinary shoes without nails, and was armed with an ordinary walking stick. Many soldiers "fell out" with fatigue fa-tigue during these difficult marches; not so Mme. Brassard, who finished up by walking among the soldiers another hour or two in order to sell her cocoa. A paltry 150 francs represented the profit at the end of the maneuvers. |