Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-10-09
SWITZERLAND.
A Characteristic swiss Festival.
BAsLE, SWITZERLAND, Aug. 2G, 1885,

time at least once Il year to doff its work
ing clothes, and in characteristic costume,
with the thunder of cannon and the brave
waving of flags, to prove to the world
that it has not forgotten its heroic dead.
Leaving our hotel, situated near the
old bridge across the Rhine and from
whose windows we have been watching
the rushing stream of the BLUSH. green
river as it sweeps around the bend and
rolls resistlessly northward, and have
been losing ourselves in imagination
among the deiiles of the hazy hills of
the distant Black Forest, we turn south
ward up the narrow and steep Rhein-
sprung past the venerable Munster with
its clOlSterS now echOing TO the shouts of
school boys, along quiet streets and shad-
ed promenades, where once stood the Ro-
man wall, we find ourselves at the end of
a fifteen. minute stroll before a striking
monumental group rising from PEDESTAL
at the juncture of two suburban roads
1t is the Monument Of St. Jacob" exc
cuted in 1872 10y f. Schloth, and repre-
sents in heroic dimensions the figure of
Helveta in armor, holding in one hand
victor's wreath and with the other
proclalning to all generations the pat
riotic selt-sacritice of the heroes she
crowns. At her feet, upon the pedestal,
are the figures of four fallen warriors
Upon the shaft is inscribed in German the
sentiment of the patriot from Neuchatel
who led ON to battle with the desperate
cry, "Unsere seelen Colt, unsere leiDen
den feindenn ~ (our souls to God, our
bodies to the enemyl
Following the pleasant road to the
left for a few minutes we come to the
battlefield. At our left, on "a wall en-
closing the ancient chapel of st. Jacob,
and within whose precinct was the mfr
mary in which the Swiss were smothered
and butchered, we find an inscription
stating that here, and about, 1900 Swiss
fell before the merciless "hayers' of
Count Armagnac of France. A little to
the east of us flows the Birs, and its deep
canal. 1t was here, just above where the
Birs flows into the Rhine from the south,
that the fatal mistake of the day was
made and these meadows were covered
with the slain and these waters dyed
crimson. About us lie the distant amphi-
theatre of the hills. To the south rise
peak on peak, the Jura ranges to the
east the Rhine comes pouring through the
mountain pass ; to the northeast are
spread the hills of the Black Forest with
Blauen's round head GROWING them all ;
to the north the Rhine, making Il wider
path, sweeps down into Germany, skirt
ing the eastern slopes of the Nosges, in
Alsace.
On that memorable Goth day of August,
14+4, the Dauphin, Lewis of France, was
seeking with an army OF 10000 "Armag-
macs" as they were called, who had been
long trained in most savage warfare, to
seize upon the city and territory of Basic
as his share of the spoil in the war in
which he was helping Austria and the in
dependent and hostile canton OF Zurich to
overwhelm the Swiss confederation. The
patriots were beslegng Il nelghborng for
tress occupied by an Austrian garrison,
when they heard rumOrs of the approach
of the French and the consequent peril of
Basic. Thirteen hundred men were de-
tached to hang upon the skirts of the enc
my and to ascertain his force, but with
strict orders not to cross the Birs until re
intorced. They were joined by 200 men
from the Basic canton Proceeding Il few
miles on their way, utterly unconscious of
the near presence of so formidable an enc
my, they fell upon his vanguard 5000
strong at the little hamlet of pratellu and
drove IL from its position at the first on
Slaught \ few miles further on, at Nut
tenn, the French made a stand but
when the Swiss approached they retired
in good order across the BirS, hoping to
draw on and eutrap the eager victors. On
reaching the l5irs the confcderates urged
their officers to lead them across against
the seemingly discouraged foe. The OPP
position OF the commanders was III vain
and sealing their rashness by putting tC
death protesting messenger from Basic
the sturdy mountaineers plunged across
the stream into the arms of the half con
cealed enemy Their attack against the
heavy-armed squadrons of French horse
was unavailing and they were driven
back. AS they could not recrOss the Birs
in their retreat the larger part sought
refuge i'll the infrmary OF the chapel OF
St. Jacob. After fierce cannonade this
building was fired by the French and the
whole body OF Swiss were either butcher
ed or smothered 1900 out Of the 1900 were
slain. The French lost much larger
number under the desperate attacks o
the confederates. The results of the bat
tie were that the Swiss cantons were sc
weakened that they were ready to agree
to a peace more favorable to the canton OF
Zurich the Dauphin was awe-strickeI
by the valor of the Swiss, and as the pru
dent warriors of Basic had held back t
defend the city which he was not pre-
pared TO beslege, he retired to Alsace witt
his large army much reduced in numbers
The peace that resulted at an early dat,
may be said to be the outcome of vic
tory which the heroes won in their death
1t has seemed fitting to give these few
facts which are 50 Characteristic Of an
Gent Swiss valor William Tell anC
Arnold Winckelreid are more or les
mythical characters, but here are mel
in the broad light of authentic history
whose deeds are OF as startling signiti
canoe and whose desperate struggle ri
walls the fight at ThermOpylR The an
cient Celtic or Helvetic blood flowing il
of the onslaught The SWISS resembles tn,
Yankee III that he does not know wheI
he Is defea.ed. Since that gallant strug
gle in l441, switzerland has experienced
many vlcissitudes, but she has not los
her traditions, nor has she stepped asid,
from the path of hereditary succession
To-day, as the procession passed by, ma
lestlc IN It's simplicity, there was to b'
seen the same sturdy independence anC
patriotism that has ever stamped the PEG
pie of this mountainous country. Tn,
morning opened bright and promising
AT IA. m, twenty-five volleys of cannon
announced that the whole Republic haC
its interest III the day. Business wen
quietly on as usual until noon. Tn,
streets along which the procession was t.
pass were made gay with flags. III,
crimson with the white cross predominant
ed. Among these national coiors were in
terspersed the black and white, with bish
ops stall aud HCur dc lis of the canton o
Basic. Passing house near the battle
field we took of our hats to two flag
bearing the stars and stripes. The grea
but youthful Republic across the Allan