DUBS, The Chancellor of the Confederation Schiefs to George Harrington, April 15, 1868

The High Federal Council to Mr. Harrington.

The federal council is finally able to reply to the note which the minister resident of the United States of America near the Swiss Confederation has addressed it, dated September 23, 1867, in which he communicates the complaint of Mr. William F. Nisbet and other American citizens on the subject of the bad treatment which they had experienced from the guides Jean Rouiller, and Etienne Pierroz, on the route from Martigny to Chamouny, passing by the Tête Noire.

With an apology for the delay in communicating the result of the investigation commenced upon this complaint, the government of the canton of Valais transmits, under date of the 11th instant, to the federal council the report of the prefect of Martigny, a copy of which is subjoined, and the order of march.

It appears from these two documents that the commissary of guides had been applied to by a group of travelers for two guides and three horses, as is seen by the order of march, on which the figure two has been erased. By virtue of the sixteenth article of the rules, which says, “the traveler who engages a guide and then dismisses him is bound to pay him half the fee,” the guide Rouiller had a right to demand the twelve francs for himself and his horse. But Mr. Nisbet wished to dismiss the guide and keep the horse. Rouiller proposed to refer the dispute to the commissary of guides, which Mr. Nisbet refused to do. The latter then spoke to the hotel-keeper, who took the responsibility of erasing the figure two from the order of march. With the order thus modified, Mr. Nisbet persisted in wishing to send away the guide and keep his horse, while Rouiller on his side refused to let his horse go without himself; on which Mr. Nisbet struck him twice with his cane. The dispute becoming more exciting, the traveler, in order to get rid of Rouiller, left him his horse and paid him twelve francs. As may be seen, there were wrongs on both sides in this dispute.

Meanwhile, as Rouiller was the first to do wrong, he will be punished by the privation of one of his regular trips at the commencement of next season, according to article twenty-six of the rules.

As to the fall of Mr. Brooks with his horse, the witness heard state that Rouiller did not touch Mr. Brooks’s horse, and that he himself, by a false movement, brought about the fall.

The commissary of guides acted somewhat inconsiderately in advising the guide Rouiller to take back his horse, but he did not infringe the rules, considering that this does not impose upon the guides, when they are once under way, any. obligation to abandon their horses to the hands of strangers.

The federal council does not doubt that Mr. Harrington will also be convinced by the process impartially drawn up by the prefect of Martigny, that the whole dispute should be principally attributed to the improper conduct of Mr. Nisbet, and that in the main the guide Rouiller was in the right. Hoping that monsieur the minister of the United States of America will see the matter in the same light, the federal council has the honor to renew to him the assurance of its high consideration.

In the name of the federal council, the president of the confederation.