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MOUNT PILATUS is a mountain near Lucerne in Switzerland, which derives its name from a tradition that Pontius Pilate died there, by throwing himself from one of its peaks.
The following is a description of the plan by which timber was obtained from that mountain.
1. FOR many centuries the rugged fanks and deep gorges of Mount Pilatus were covered with impenetrable forests. Lofty precipices encircled them on all sides. Even the daring hunters were scarcely able to reach them and the inhabitants of the valley had never conceived the idea of disturbing them with the ax. These immense forests were, therefore, permitted to grow and to perish without being of the least utility to man, till a foreigner, conducted into their wild recesses in the pursuit of the chamois, was struck with wonder at the sight, and directed the attention of several Swiss gentlemen to the extent and superiority of the timber. The most intelligent and skillful individuals, however, considered it quite impracticable to avail themselves of such inaccessible stores.
2. It was not till November, 1816, that Mr. Rupp and three Swiss gentlemen, entertaining more sanguine hopes, drew up a plan of a slide, founded on trigonometrical measurements. Having purchased a certain extent of the forests from the commune of Alpnach for six thousand crowns, they began the construction of the slide, and completed it in the spring of 1818. The slide of Alpnach is formedentirely of about twenty-five thousand large pine trees, deprived of their bark, and united together in a very ingenious manner, without the aid of iron. It occupied about one hundred and sixty workmen during eighteen months, and cost nearly one hundred thousand francs, or about twenty thousand dollars. It is about three leagues, or forty-four thousand English feet long, and terminates in the Lake of Lucerne. It has the form of a trough, about six feet broad, and from three to six feet deep. Its bottom is formed of three trees, the middle one of which has a groove cut out in the direction of its length, for receiving small rills of water, which are conducted into it from various places, for the purpose of diminishing the friction. The whole of the slide is sustained by about two thousand supports and in many places it is attached, in a very ingenious manner, to the rugged precipices of granite.
Mount Pilatus in Switzerland
3. It is often carried along the sides of hills and the fanks of precipitous rocks, and sometimes passes over their summits. Occasionally it goes under ground, and at other times it is conducted over the deep gorges by scaffoldings one hundred and twenty feet in hight. The boldness which characterizes this work, the sagacity displayed in all its arrangements, and the skill of the engineer, have excited the wonder of every person who has seen it.
4. Mr. Rupp was himself obliged, more than once, to be suspended by cords, in order to descend precipices many hundred feet high and in the first months of the undertaking, he was attacked with a violent fever, which deprived him of the power of superintending his workmen. Nothing, however, could diminish his invincible perseverance. He was carried every day to the mountain in a barrow, to direct the labors of the workmen, which was absolutely necessary, as he had scarcely two good carpenters among them all the rest having been hired by accident, without any knowledge which such an undertaking required. Mr. Rupp had also to contend against the prejudices of the peasantry. He was supposed to have communion with the devil. All these diffculties, however, were surmounted, and he had at last the satisfaction of observing the trees descend from the mountain with the rapidity of lightning. The larger pines, which were about a hundred feet long, and ten inches thick at their smaller extremity, ran through the space of three leagues, or nearly nine miles, in two minutes and a half, and during their descent they appeared to be only a few feet in length.
5. The arrangements for this part of the operation were extremely simple. From the lower end of the slide to the upper end, where the trees were introduced, workmen were posted at regular distances, and as soon as every thing was ready, the workman at the lower end of the slide cried out to the one above him, "Let go.”The cry was repeated from one to another, and reached the top in three minutes. The workman at the top of the slide then cried out to the one below him, "It comes," and the tree was launched down the slide, preceded by the cry, which was repeated from post to post. As soon as the tree had reached the bottom, and plunged into the lake, the cry was repeated as before, and a new tree launched in a similar manner. By these means a tree descended every fve or six minutes, provided no accident happened to the slide, which sometimes took place, but which was instantly repaired when it did.
6. In order to show the enormous force which the trees acquired from the great velocity of their descent, Mr. Rupp made arrangements for causing some of the trees to spring from the slide. They penetrated by their thickest extremities no less than from eighteen to twenty-four feet in the earth, and one of the trees having by accident struck against the other, it instantly cleft it through its whole length, as if it had been struck by lightning. After the trees had descended the slide, they were collected into rafts upon the lake, and conducted to Lucerne. From thence they descended the river Reuss, then the Aar, to near Brugg, afterward to Waldshut by the Rhine, then to Basle, and even to the sea, when it was necessary.
皮拉图斯山坐落于靠近瑞士卢塞恩的山脉中。传说彼拉多在这里逝世，并从其中一座山峰坠陨，此山由此而得名。
下面的故事讲的是一个从这座山获取木材的计划。
1. 几个世纪以来，皮拉图斯崎岖的山路和幽深的峡谷被茂密的森林所覆盖，使人类无法穿越。其四周环绕着高耸的悬崖，即使最勇敢的猎人也很少能够到达那里。山谷里的居民从来没有想过要用斧头来搅扰森林，因此，这大片的森林才得以自然地生长消亡，而没有为人所用。直到有一天，一个外国人，在猎取羚羊皮时，被引到了这个野生自然区来。看到这里的景象，他被惊得目瞪口呆。他把这里广袤的地域和优质的木材指给几个瑞士人看，但是，这些智慧卓越且经验丰富的人认为，在这遥不可及的地方花大力气是不切实际的。
2. 直到一八一六年十一月，睿普先生和其他三位瑞士绅士，抱着更加乐观的希望草拟了一个“滑梯”计划，创建了三角学测量法。在阿尔卑纳赫花三万先令买下一片森林后，他们开始着手建造滑梯，并于一八一八年春天完工。阿尔卑纳赫滑梯完全是用两万五千棵大松树搭造而成的，采用了一种精巧绝伦的方法，并没有动用铁器。八个月里，这项工程动用了大约一百六十名工人，花费了约计两万美金。滑梯大约有三里格长，约四万四千英尺高，停靠在卢塞恩湖面上。它的形状像水槽，大约六英尺宽，三到六英尺深。滑梯底部由三棵树组成，中间一棵纵向削出一个水槽来，以便在遇到水的地方能使细小的水流通过，来减小摩擦力。滑梯上的洞是由两千个支架支撑起来的，许多地方都是以一种非常精巧别致的方式与陡峭的花岗岩悬崖连在一起的。
3. 滑梯通常在山坡或陡峭的岩壁一侧行进，有时也穿越顶峰，偶尔还会行走于地下，或是在深深的峡谷上方借助一百二十英尺高的脚手架来向前延伸。完成这项工作所需要的勇气、其体现出的精准性，以及工程师的技术，令所有看到的人都叹为观止。
4. 睿普先生就不止一次地把自己用绳索吊起来，下到几百英尺深的悬崖下边。开工的第一个月里，他突然发起了高烧，不能监工，但是，没有什么能使他屈服，他每天坐着手推车来到山上指导工人工作。这是非常必要的，因为在这些工人中，好木工基本上不足两个，其余的人都是临时雇用的，不具备完成这项工程的技术。睿普先生还必须抛弃对农民的偏见，他还应该学会了如何与恶人交流。然而，所有困难都被克服了，他最终看到了树木以闪电般的速度从山上滑下，并因此心满意足。大一点的松树，约有一百英尺长，末端稍细一点的地方也有十英寸厚，通过那三里格——将近九英里的滑梯用两秒半的时间就滑下了山，那些树木在下滑的过程中看上去似乎只有几英尺长。
5. 这一步的操作十分简单，从滑梯的底端到放入树木的顶端，每隔一定距离就安排一班工人，一切准备就绪后，滑梯底端的工人就对在他上面的人喊：“走！”这样的吆喝声一个传一个，三分钟之内到达最顶端。然后，在滑梯最顶端的工人对在他下面的人喊：“来了！”随着吆喝声，树木冲下滑梯。如此程序一班传一班，很快树木会到达底端，落入湖中。吆喝声在继续，又一棵树以同样的方式滑了下来。运用这种方法，假如在下滑过程中不出意外的话，每隔五六分钟就可以将一棵树运下山。有时也发生一些意外，不过马上就会修好。
6. 为了证明树木在急速下滑的过程中会获得巨大的力量，睿普先生设法让树木在下滑的过程中在滑梯中跳起，结果植根于地下、直径最粗的末端约八到二十四英尺的树木都能被穿透，而有一棵树碰巧撞到了另外一棵树上，导致整棵树立即纵向劈为两段，就像是遭到了雷击一般。树木从滑梯上滑下后，人们会把树木从湖中搜集到木筏上，运到卢塞恩，然后游下罗伊斯河，经过阿勒河，到达布鲁格附近，之后经由莱茵河到达瓦尔茨胡特，再到巴塞尔。如果需要的话，甚至也会运往大海。