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again sunk, although the lake is only from twenty to thirty fathoms deep near Zug , whileit is two hundred fathoms in some places, it being the deepest lake in Switzerland afterConstance.
Zug , one of the smaller cantons of the Swiss confederation, is situated nearly in thecentre of Switzerland, and is hounded on the north by the canton of Zurich , on the eastand south by Schwitz, and on the west by Lucerne and Aargau . It lies in the basin of theriver Rcuss, an affluent of the Rhine , and its waters flow in a northern direction. Thenorthern part of the lake of Zug occupies the centre of the canton ; the southern part isin the territory of Schwitz. The lake is a fine piece of water, about eight miles long andbetween one or two miles wide, surrounded by a delightful country.
The little town of Zug boasts its remote antiquity, being one of the twelve destroyedby the Ilelvetii, when they attempted to emigrate into the Roman provinces in Caesar’stime, having been rebuilt on their return. Strabo mentions it, and Bochat the anti-quarian says that its name means, in the Celtic language, “ near deep waters.”
Schwitz is one of the cantons of the Swiss confederation which has given its name toall ^Switzerland. It lies on the west side of the high Alps of Glarus , of which theGliirnisch, 9,000 feet high, is the loftiest summit. It consists of several long valleysbetween lower offsets of the Alps , the summits of which are from 4,000 to 6,000 feet high,and of a plateau or table-land in the centre of the canton. The waters of the northernpart of the canton of Schwitz run in a north direction into the lake of Zurich ; those ofthe central part flow north-west by the river Sihl into the Leinmat; and those of thesouthern part run southwards into the lake of Lucerne . Besides bordering on thoselakes, the canton embraces within its territory the southern part of the lake of Zug , andit also entirely encloses the small lake of Lowerz , which is about two miles long and onemile wide. The small island of Schwanau , on which are the ruins of a feudal castle, risesin the middle of the lake. North-west of the lake of Lowerz , and between it and thelake of Zug, is the valley of Goldau , between Mount Righi and the Rossbcrg.
The capital of the canton is situated at the junction of the valley of Muota with twoother valleys, one of which runs southwards to Brunnen on the shore of the lake ofLucerne, and the other westward towards the little lake of Lowerz . The conically-'shaped mountain called My the, nearly 6,000 feet high, rises immediately north-east ofthe town, and seems to threaten to overwhelm it by its fall. The country aroundSchwitz is beautiful and very fertile, and the scenery is splendid. It is an open town,having good streets, a large square, a very handsome church, and various publicbuildings.
The town of Einsiedeln , situated about ten miles north of Schwitz, is a thriving place.Its prosperity is owing to its celebrated sanctuary in the church of the abbey, whichattracts, it is said, annually, 150,000 pilgrims. It was founded in the tenth century,and is very rich.