The history of Switzerland : for the Swiss people

Front matter

C|e pistorj of Stoit^rian^

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THE

Contents

CHAPTER. FAS*

I. How it was in the beginning. 1

II. The first exploits of the ancient Helvetians, and how the

Chapter I. How It Was In The Beginning

The wonderful deeds of the heroes, our fathers, their good and evil fortunes, have been frequently told and as frequently recorded ; but I wish to freshen those ancient traditions in the minds of the whole nation ; and I relate them to the free men of the mountains and of the valleys, that their hearts may be inflamed with new love for their noble fatherland.

Attend, therefore, to my tale, old 'men and young. The history of past ages is a tree of the knowledge of good and

of evil.

Where the Rhone, which rises from under the glaciers of Valais, at last rushes into the Mediterranean, begins a chain of lowly mountains. As they stretch further to the east, they raise their summits higher in. the air, and, approaching Italy, lift them still higher, veiling their rocky tops in clouds and everlasting snows. They are three hundred leagues in length from their beginning until they reach Hungary. There the mountains sink by degrees and become hills. These mountains are the Alps,* and

* Alp means an elevated pasture : hence the name of the mountains on which such pastures exist.

A

CHARACTER OF THE COUNTRY.

Helvetia was the ancient name of the country where their snowy summits, their bared cliffs and inaccessible peaks rise highest, far above the fields of men and above the clouds of heaven.

Beyond the high Alps, furrowed by narrow gorges and covered with glaciers, the sources of innumerable rivers, the country extends to the north, in progressively enlarging valleys, as far as the calcareous mountains of the Jura. These curve in the form of an immense half-moon, from lake Leman (lake of Geneva) to the lake of Constance (Boden-see). And from Schaffhausen to Bale, the Bhine rolls its waves along the base of the Jura, as in a moat at the base of a rampart. Thus has God begirt our fatherland, like an immense citadel, with steep mountains and deep waters. But a citadel is strong only when men are in it.

In ages of which no man knows, all this country was an ocean. The water stood fifteen hundred fathoms above the fields and meadows which we now cultivate. At that period, the summits of the mountains were separate islands. The high rocks still bear the marks of the mighty flood. Plants and shell-fish, which once lived at the bottom of the sea, now lie petrified in the mud which has become rock. The finger of God has written in the veins of the mountains, and the voice of Nature cries to us from the depths of their caverns, that this earth, before being the abode of man, underwent more than one overwhelming convulsion.

After the waters had subsided, and the dried bottom of the sea had become covered by moss, grass, shrubs and forests, ages passed ere a human voice resounded through the silence of this wilderness. No one knows who first wandered with his herd along the woody shores of our lakes and rivers. The earliest families must have established themselves in the broad and temperate valleys ; long afterwards, they ascended into the wilder regions, and, at last, discovered the solitudes enclosed among the high Alps.

Six hundred years before the birth of Christ, the valleys above which the Bhine has its source were still unin-

THE RHETIANS.

habited. Then, according to tradition, some fugitives from Italy first peopled them. The Gauls, a warlike and powerful nation, had penetrated into Italy, and, conquering the inhabitants, had slain them, or driven them from the abodes of their fathers. Trembling before the sword of their enemy, many fled from the maritime country of the Rasennes, where now flourish the cities of Genoa and Florence. With .their wives, their children and their household gods, they found an asylum in the recesses and wildernesses of the high Alps. There they fixed their abodes in secluded valleys, among dense forests and lofty mountains, safe from the fury of the Gauls. They were called Rhetians, from the name of their god or hero, Rhetus. Hence the country about the sources of the Rhine and of the Inn, the strong home of the free Grisons, is, even in our day, called Rhetia.

Chapter II

THE FIRST EXPLOITS OF THE ANCIENT HELVETIANS, AND HOW THE CYMBRI CAME TO THEM.

[One hundred years before the birth of Christ.]

For several centuries, the people increased slowly in the valleys between the Alps and the Jura, between lake Leman and the lake of Constance. Surrounded by rocks, woods and rivers, they lived on the products of the chase, of the soil, of their herds, unknown to the world, in savage freedom. They formed as many independent communities as there were separate valleys. Their valiant young men pursued the game through gloomy forests, fought with serpents in caverns and morasses, with wild beasts in the mountains, or, from time to time, made predatory excursions into the neighborhood. Skins formed their clothing; lances, clubs, bows and arrows were their arms. For offence and defence, several communes united into a Gau (district or province). That of the Tigurins, upon the banks

4 DEFEAT OF THE ROMANS. [fi. 0.

of the Khine and Thor, was the first of which the name is known (Thurgau).

Then it happened that a terrible people, coming from distant countries, crossed the forests of Germany. They were three hundred thousand warlike men, called Cymbri, that is : Confederates from various nations. Many of them are said to have come from Friesland and Sweden, and from Norway, where the inhabited world lies chilled in snow and ice. The tradition is that they had been driven out by hunger, when the sluices of heaven were opened upon their homes, and valleys and heights became lakes and swamps. Now they came, fighting and conquering, to the Rhine, and over the Rhine, to the cities of the Gauls, in the country which is now France. There they obtained an enormous booty.

When the young men in the district of the Tigurins heard of this, they were desirous to share in the glory and booty of the Cymbri. All who could bear arms went and joined those powerful conquerors. Much plunder was taken, much blood was shed. The people of Gaul uttered cries of terror, and implored help from Rome.

Rome immediately sent a strong army. It marched over the snowy Alps towards lake Leman. This frightened the Tigurins who were with the Cymbri ; they thought that their homes in the mountains were threatened. They at once hastened against the Romans near lake Leman. A young hero, named Divikon, was their leader. As soon as he saw the enemy’s camp, he drew the sword. A frightful carnage ensued ; the bodies of the Romans covered the field ; at last, they asked for quarter. Then Divikon raised two posts, over which he placed a beam. Beneath this gallows-yoke he compelled the disarmed enemies to crawl, to the eternal glory of his own people, and to the shame of Rome. Then he sent them home over the mountains.

Elated by this victory, Divikon rejoined the Cymbri, his companions in arms, and with them ravaged Gaul. Afterwards, they crossed the high Alps, entered Italy,- and threatened Rome. Then the Romans rose in their strength, aud many bloody battles were fought. But fortune deserted the Cymbri. Most of them fell by the edge of the

ANCIENT TRADITIONS.

sword. Those who escaped sought safety -with Divikon in the security of the Helvetian mountains.

Thus, men driven from the cold North by flood and famine, came to establish themselves in Helvetia. They fixed their abode on the shores of the lake of the Waldstatten,* at the foot of the Haken and the Mythen, near to Bruch-land, which means marshy land, and cleared the forests. Hence they were called Bruchen-buren (peasants of the marsh). Schwyz is thought to have been founded by the brothers Switer and Swen. Family names, common in Sweden, are even now heard in those valleys.

► Thence the people, as they became numerous, spread into the uninhabited woody valleys on the lake, into the country about Kernwald, over the black mountain Brunig, and thence through Hasli in Weissland, at the foot of the white ice mountains, from valley to valley, as far as Frutigen, Obersibnen, Sanen, Afflentsch, and Jaun.

So £ay the most ancient, uncertain traditions.

Chapter III. All The Country Becomes Roman

[Fifty years before the birth of Christ.]

For a long while after the exploits of Divikon and the Cymbri, tales were told of the fat pastures and rich country which had been seen in Gaul. There, was a more temperate sky, under which flourished the olive and the vine, and the snows of winter were seldom known. These tales excited the longings of the people in rugged Helvetia, especially when they heard them confirmed by travellers, or by their neighbors beyond the Rhine, with whom a friendly intercourse was maintained.

* Lake of the forest-cantons; usually called Yier Waldstatter See, Lake of the four forest-cantons, because enclosed by the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, Unterwalden and Lucerne.

A*

ORGETORIX.

At this time, there lived in the country a man of note, named Hordrich. (The Romans called him Orgetorix, and he is now known only by this altered name.) Ten thousand men and women servants cultivated his fields and herded his cattle ; he enjoyed much consideration among the neighboring Gauls, and associated with their small princes. This man aspired to great things. He spoke first to the chief persons of his own district, then to those of the others, and, lastly, to the people in the communes. “ Why should we exhaust our strength on a rough and rocky soil, to obtain a bare subsistence for ourselves and our animals ? We must migrate into Gaul, here are plenty of fruitful ■ fields open to a valiant people.” These speeches inflamed all minds, and, soon, every one thought of going. The communes assembled and unanimously decided to prepare for a general emigration. During three years they were to cultivate their fields and make provision for the long journey ; while, in the interval, they engaged allies and assistants, and did whatever was necessary to give security to their hazardous enterprise.

Orgetorix, delighted with the success of his appeal, exerted himself to ensure a prosperous result. He displayed great activity, constantly traversed the different districts, passed the Rhine to communicate with the bordering people and their chiefs; he asked a free passage for his nation, made great promises, talked more and louder than was prudent. He even gave his daughter in marriage to one of the neighboring princes, and acted as if he were himself already lord and king of the Helvetians.

This made his fellow-countrymen suspicious, and they began to think that he intended to betray the people and to destroy their ancient liberties, in order to become absolute master. But there was a law in the Helvetian districts that whoever attempted to*infringe the rights and liberties of the people should be burnt to death ; and Orgetorix was summoned to appear and reply to his accusers. He refused, and tried to arm his servants in his defence. Then the communes rose against him. Seeing that all was lost, he killed himself.

When the three years of preparation had elapsed, the

GENERAL EMIGRATION.

people in the four districts began their emigration. The men bearing arms opened the march. Old Divikon, who had defeated the Romans at lake Leman fifty years before, was their leader. Then followed the women and children, the wagons and carts laden with provisions and articles of value. They burned all their dwellings behind them, twelve cities and four hundred villages, that no one might long to return to his old home. Many thousands of allies came from lake Constance, and the Rauraques from the Rhine country, which now constitutes the Frickthal and the territory of Bale. All joined the Helvetians.

Thus the long, interminable train of warlike emigrants crossed mountains and valleys. The Helvetians were 260,000 in all. They directed their march towards Geneva, then a city of the Allobroges, a small but courageous people, and allied to Rome.

At this time, about sixty years before the advent of Jesus Christ, Rome was the most powerful city in the whole world. She had 'become such through the liberty, the heroism and the wisdom of her citizens. Her arms and laws ruled over Italy and from Gaul to Judea. The greatest of her generals, Julius Cesar, was at Geneva to protect the Allobroges.

When Cesar heard of the approach of the Helvetians, and of their intention to cross the Rhone at Geneva, he immediately built, along the stream, in front of the city, a wall 9000 paces long and 16 feet high, with numerous towers, and opposed the passage of the emigrants. But they turned towards the gorge of the Jura, through which the Rhone precipitates its waters into Gaul. They clambered along steep rocks, by narrow footpaths. Beneath them were abysses and the roaring flood.

They were hardly across the mountains, on the plains of Gaul, when Cesar was there also. He attacked the rearguard of Tigurins. Grey-haired Divikon approached Cesar and said : “ What have I to do with thee and thy Romans ? Let me go on my way in peace, or remember the conflict of lake Leman, and beware lest I make this place, also, celebrated by a Roman defeat!” Cesar answered: “The Gods formerly granted good fortune to thee by lake Leman,

JULIUS CESAR.

in order that thy present bad fortune might be doubly bitter. Nevertheless, I will let thee go thy way, provided thou respect my allies, restore to them what thy soldiers have plundered on their passage, and give me hostages for thy truth.” “Not so, Roman,” replied Divikon, “we have learnt from our ancestors to take, instead of giving hostages.”

Thereat, the Helvetians journeyed on, slowly and with difficulty, followed closely, during fourteen days, by the Roman host. Suddenly the Helvetians turned, full of anger and in arms. A general battle took place in the fields of the Gallic city of Bibracte (Autun) ; it lasted from morning until sunset. Yaliantly, but without skill, fought the Helvetians ; not less valiantly, but with more experience in war, the Romans. This gave the victory to the latter. The Helvetians fled in disorder to the hill where their wives, children and property were enclosed by a rampart of wagons. The enemy followed and broke through the wagons; old men and warriors, women and children, fell by the swords of the victors ; many by their own, that they might not survive freedom and honor ; others fled shrieking, wandered in every direction, and were given up by the Gauls to Cesar. He said to the vanquished, prostrate at his feet and imploring his mercy : “ Lay down your arms ; return home whence you came ; rebuild your huts; live as before, contented in your mountains, under your own laws. Every country is good for man, when man is good for the country. You shall not be the slaves of Rome, but shall share her alliance and protection.”

Full of shame and sorrow, numbering hardly 110,000, they returned to the valleys whence they had come, and rebuilt their huts upon the ashes. But Cesar erected, near Geneva, on the lake, a new fortress, called Noviodunum, now Nyon. This he did to watch the Helvetians. Other garrisons were also placed here and there in the land.

Roman troops were also stationed at Octodurum (perhaps Martigny), at the foot of the Alps, in what is now Lower Valais, to guard the road over the mountains into Italy. The inhabitants of this broad valley, through which the

EXTINCTION OF LIBERTY.

Rhone finds its way to the lake, then lived a free and savage life ; they had no connection with either the Helvetians or the Romans ; they enforced a toll on all merchandise that crossed their Alps, and committed depradations upon it. When they saw foreign soldiers thus established and entrenched on their territory, they became furious. Rushing from their mountains and their valleys, they attacked the Roman garrisons in their entrenchments, and harassed them until they drove them from the country. But the Romans soon returned into the valley with such increased forces as made all resistance vain. Nearly ten thousand of the inhabitants, fighting for the freedom of their homes, were slain, and, on every side, villages sank in flames. From this time, Yalais, also, was Roman.

The Rhetians alone, behind their ice-mountains and their lakes, deemed themselves invincible. Along the Inn, in the valleys of what is now Tyrol, and in the Yindelecian plains (now Suabia), were their allies and confederates, as advanced guards. They lived a wild life, pillaged travellers, or, suddenly issuing in numerous hordes from the gorges of their mountains, surprised and plundered the neighboring Italian cities. From among their prisoners they sacrificed victims on the altars of their Gods.

Irritated by this, the emperor Augustus, in whose reign the Savior of the world was born, sent two armies at once to penetrate that fearful and elevated region. One passed the Alps and descended towards the Inn; the other crossed the Yindelecian lake (lake of Constance) ; and the whole country was subj ugated after bloody conflicts. It is related that the wives of the Rhetians rushed into the ranks of the combatants, and dashed their nursing infants upon the faces of the enemy, as if in their mountains all life must become extinct with liberty.

1*

THE EMPEROR AUGUSTUS.