being carried over the mountain peaks on the aerial railway:

"There are ten inclined planes; five ascending and five
descending; the carriages are dragged up the former, and let
slowly down the latter, by means of stationary engines; the
comparatively level spaces between being traversed, sometimes by
horse, and sometimes by engine power, as the case demands.
Occasionally the rails are laid upon the extreme verge of a giddy
precipice; and looking from the carriage window, the traveler
gazes sheer down, without a stone or scrap of fence between, into
the mountain depths below. The journey is very carefully made,
however; only two carriages traveling together; and while proper
precautions are taken, is not to be dreaded for its dangers.

"It was very pretty traveling thus, at a rapid pace along the
heights of the mountain in a keen wind, to look down into a
valley full of light and softness; catching glimpses, through the
tree-tops, of scattered cabins; children running to the doors;
dogs bursting out to bark, whom we could see without hearing;
terrified pigs scampering homewards; families sitting out in
their rude gardens; cows gazing upward with a stupid
indifference; men in their shirt-sleeves looking on at their
unfinished houses, planning out tomorrow's work; and we riding
onward, high abode them, like a whirl-wind. It was amusing, too,
when we had dined, and rattled down a steep pass, having no other
motive power than the weight of the carriages themselves, to see
the engine released, long after us, come buzzing down alone, like
a great insect, its back of green and gold so shining in the sun,
that if it had spread a pair of wings and soared away, no one
would have had occasion, as I fancied, for the least surprise.