The New Orleans crescent. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1866-1869, 1868-11-06

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The following circular from the consul general
OF the swiss Republic, at Warrington. has been
transmitted 70 us. II tells it, own story. New
Orleans, not unmindful Of the generous aid which
she has received from strangers in the hour Of her
adversity, will not be slow to heed this appeal
APrEAL TO TEE SWISS AND TO rHs FRIENDS OF
SWITZERLAND IN The UNITED STATES.
calamity has befallen the csntons of ressin,
vaais. Grisons, 81. Gall and Uri. which. Ia its i'm
me1sity, stands unequalied 10 the annals of wit.
zerland. On the 9Th of September ram CON.
menceo 10 fall In torrents along the northern and
southern slopes Of the Alps and continued 20 des-
cend, with but little intermission. for eight days
punne oil THIS time . powerful south wind ragged
iuricusIy amidst the masses of snow and ice
which had lain indisturbed for centuries In their
inaccessible Alpine strongholds.
Every mountain rivulet sseled into rushing
stream. every stream into torrent, carrying
appalling destruction In its course The rivers OF
Iess.n, the Rhone, the Reuss, the Rhine, and the
Inn, IN their relentless power, obliter sted many
OF the choicest beauties Of nature impoverished
thousands OF families, and hurried hundreds to
watery grave. -
Heartrending and vain was the struggle Of
human hands against the overpowering force OF
the watery element. On ii came, in the dead Of
the night terrible in its might scattering destruc.
non far and vide, and piing up in the meadows
me mountain debris Of ages. Rocks weighing
II
places, and in their course Joined the revelry Of
Destruction. Whole forests, vineyards, and
meadows stacked with grain, have disappeared.
and, IN many places. not vestige Of roads.
bridges, and feuces are left; houses mills and
factories are 1. IN from their fouudstons, and
even cemeteries and charnal houses have been
INVADED, and their contents scattered along the
course Of the devastation. Thousands of cattle
lie choked In mud, and Thousands of our fellow
beings are reduced to abject poverty
Along the Rhine. village uDo0 will lfoa hall
buried IN mud and debris, and every article Of
bedding and wearing apparel has either been
swept away or rendered uselees in houses where
comfort, ard even plenty reigned; while their
verdant meadows, productive orchards, and bean.
uini gardens, are one mass Of gre yish mud.
sixty millions Of francs will fall far short of the
loss sustained. On such extraordinary occasions
II is meet that unusual measures be adopted to
alleviate, st least In part, the sufferings Of our
brethren. The federal government Of Switzsr.
land, prompted by feeling which it knew would
meet with hearty response from it's people, at
once dispatched its president to the suffering
localities, and ordered to the scene of devastation
me various corps OF sappers and miners to render
all possible assistance.
Ere this, one million of francs will have been
appropriated BY the federal government, snd a
like sum will, no doubt, have bean contributed
by the several cantons. Already q convention of
delegates rom all cantons have assembled in
Berne, and relief associations have sprung M in
every section OF the land whose offerings will be
distributed by the Central Relief Associslion. i
organized under the auspices of the federal gov.
eminent Many individuals have given most liber-
ally, and the people Of adjacent countries are
also busy. heart and hand, in the noble work of
want. Among others, the king and |
queen Of Wurtemberg made at once a remittance
and organized relief society, over which they |
will preside.
And we, fellow -countrymen and brethren. shall |
We stand aloof! Shall We leave UNDECIDED the |
Try OF distress. the pleading eye cast over from
beloved Switzerland! No, no, must be the ready |
response OF every heart. The painful tidnes |
rom our sorely visited brethren will find an echo
here 10 bountifully blessed America. A mite from
'very feeling heart, gift from every generous
land. and this visitation of Almighty God will
lnord another proof of the truthfulness of our /
'ountry's motto, Zone for all and all for one.u
The unusual exigencies of this national caam-
" make an appeal to the philanthropy of his
ounhymen and his country's friends on the part
4 the undersigned virtually obligatory.
Fellow-countrymen In the United States, IN.
hen, and be doing In the noble work of relieving |
or suffering brethren Organize, and let rs
lbor promptly, unitedly and earnestly. /
donations can be sent, by mail or express. TO |
be undersigned, or intrusted to the Swiss consu |
ne at New York, Philadelphia, Charleston. New
rleans, Galveston, Cincinnati, Chicago. st.
outs, or San Francisco, by whom they will be
anemitted to the undersigned, for remittance 10
le Central Relief Association in Switzerland.
God bless the giver
JOHN HITz, |
Official Agent and Consul General of Syitzer-
land, Washington CITY. d. c..