Related article: at different times in the summer
at various places ; for example,
at Pass Griesen in the Leogang
Mountains, and on the Brand'
statt in the vicinity of Gastein;
but none of them are of much
more than local importance, and
they are much less attended by
the Pinzgau lovers of sport than
are the two first mentioned, on
the Hundstein and the Schmit-
tenhoehe.
No meeting has the celebrity of
that last named. Not only do
Pinzgauers from far and near
take part in this Wrestlers* Derby,
but the most renowned from other
parts of Salzburg Land, and many
parts of Tyrol, go thither to
measure themselves against the
champions. On the great day
there is a veritable pilgrimage to
the place of meeting, for all the
inhabitants and great numbers of
strangers take the deepest interest
in the contests. For weeks before
the event the chances of the
various wrestlers have been the
one absorbing topic of conversa-
tion among their friends and Generic Amoxicillin / Clavulanate
acquaintances ; they bet freely on
their favourites, considerable sums
being sometimes at stake. Old
and young, men, women, boys
and girls have for the time no
thought, no interejst in life but the
great event. The son or brother
on whose prowess the village
depends to maintain the reputa-
tion won by his forbears will not
fail for lack of advice and ad-
monition. Strangers who happen
to be in the neighbourhood do not
miss the opportunity of witnessing
the ancient games on the Schmit-
tenhoehe. Thus it happens that,
on the third Sunday in August,
crowds of folk may be seen labori-
ously climbing the mountain, up
which, despite the glorious view
obtainable from its summit, 6,455
feet above the sea, there is yet no
railway. The ascent takes three
or four hours.
2a
BAILY S MAGAZINE*
[July
At the top there is an elongated
plateau which is the time-honoured
wrestling place, and none more
magnificent can be conceived. It
is no exaggeration to say that all
the world produces no more superb
stage for such an ancient meeting
of a primitive folk than this. An
incomparable panorama meets our
gaze on all sides. In the South
we see the snow-clad Buy Amoxicillin / Clavulanate Online tops of the
Hohen Tauern, the whole chain
lying clearly outlined before us,
for on the Schmittenhoehe we
stand just opposite the Glockner
Group, the centre of the range.
To the North and East we per-
ceive all the jagged length of the
Steinernes Meer, while beyond
the green declivities of the Ursch-
lauer Valley proudly rises the
Hochkoenig amid never-melting
snow. More to the North we
see the gigantic summits of the
Dachstein, and finally in the West
the rocky Leogang and Loferer
Mountains. At our feet lies the
Zeller See, a gem among mountain
lakes . Surely such splendour,
such loveliness as may be seen
here justify its name, ** the Pearl
of Pinzgau."
But a movement among the
peasants draws our attention to the
human element around us. Some
elderly men, once the great
wrestlers of their several villages,
go aside to take counsel and decide
the order and other arrangements
of the matches. The principal
duties of one of these men who
officiate as stewards and umpires
is to select the pairs of wrestlers,
brothers, near relatives and inti-
mate friends never being allowed
to oppose each other for fear of
begetting enmity. While the
wrestling is in progress the elders
keep the sharpest look-out lest
anybody should offend against the Buy Cheap Amoxicillin / Clavulanate
traditional rules. And woe to
him who transgresses ! His pun-
ishment is as summary as that
inflicted by the old Vehmgericht,
He is excluded, not only from all
further participation that day, but
is never again permitted to take
part in a match ; nay, so sweeping
is the sentence that the culprit
becomes an outlawed wrestler,
with whom none of his honest
fellows will ever again deign to
measure his strength even in
private. So great is the fear of
this drastic penalty that the most
passionate exercises self-control,
even when engaged in a desperate
struggle against a man with whom
he has been at bitter feud for
years. Amoxicillin / Clavulanate Online
Usually the judges allot a speci-
fied time for each match, and if
before that period elapses neither
has succeeded in placing his oppo-
nent, with both his shoulders, on
the ground, it is declared a draw.
He who has been defeated once
does not take part again that day ;
but each victor has to match
himself against some other victor,
and the process is continued till
only one remains unvanquished.
Naturally he becomes the hero of
the day, while amid deafening
cheers Buy Amoxicillin / Clavulanate the umpires declare him
the ** Hagmeier," that is. Master
of Field and Forest. As an out-
ward token of his office they hand
him a large white cock's feather,
with which he at once proudly
adorns his hat. This he is per-
mitted to wear till the next meet-
ing at that same spot on the same
day in the following year. If, as
often is the case, money prizes
are offered, the ** Hagmeier " re-
ceives the first, besides the cham-
pion's feather. Of course he is
immensely respected among the
young men, especially if he suc-
ceed in retaining his position
again the next year. Should he
be defeated then, or refrain from
taking part in the contests, he
loses both title and feather. But
it not infrequently happens that
L.HaidlHgtr,plul,>.\
Id.— A Decisivf
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I900.]
WRESTLING IN THE SALZBURG MOUNTAINS.
23
one young fellow retains the
championship for four or five
years in succession.
Sometimes the wrestlers of one
valley or village challenge those
of another. Then each side puts
four, six or more of its best men
into the field, and that side is
considered victorious which suffers
the fewest defeats. Such matches
are common between the Pinz-
gauers or Salzburgers on the one
side and the Kitzbuechlers, or