!^/Sil3AIN(l-3UV** '^OJ ITVJ- JO'^ %0d ITVDJO^ ^OfCAllF0% ^OFCAllFOftj^ «^^WE•UNIVER% ^lOSAKCElfj> -< %a9AiNnmv^ ^HIBRARYQ^ ^ o C3 *C -^ "^ ^asAiNn-suv*' ^;^UIBRARYQ^ %ojnv>30>' »,OFCAIIFO% ^^Aavnaii-^^ aweunivers/a >- ^lOSANCElfj> ;10SANGEI£^> '^/^aaAiNn^u'^ ^5M•llBRARYQr. ^;^1-IIBRARYQ^ . X ^ ^(yojiivj-jo"^ ^.yojiiVDJO^ .^WFUNIVER5■/A o .vlOSANCElfX;> '^^/smmi^ ^.OFfAllFOff^ ^.OFCAllF0ft(;i ^^Aavaaiiii^ ^tllBRARYQ^ ^lUBRARYd?/^ ^^OJIWDJO"^ '^(i/OdnVDJO-^ \WEUNIVER% ^vlOSANCElfj^ o ■^/^il3AINn JWV" ^OFCALIFOftj^ ^OFCAllF0«ii^ >&Aavaan-^^ ^^AavaaiH^ .5jt\EUNIVERS/A. v^lOSANCElfj;> O r^ OS AWEUNIVERJ/a I- -* < o v^lOSANCEl£x>. -j^jMUBRARYOr 5 ^UIBRARYO^ -3 fie %a3AiNa3\\v^ %om>i^^ '^.sojiivj-jo^ .^V^El)NIVERS•//, &Aavaaii# • C.tlDDAnVf%. .tCIIDDADV/^. 4UF.iiijr\/rDr/> w.im.&ur.Fiiri-. ANNALS OF A FORTRESS. MAP OF THE LAND OF OHET ANNALS OF A FORTRESS E. VIOLLET-LE-DUC. TRANSLATED BY BENJAMIN BUCKNALL, ARCHITECT. LONDON : SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, LOW, AND SEARLE, CROWN BUILDINGS, iS8, FLEET STREET. 1875. 09841 l.ONDOiN : R. CLAY, SONS, AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS, BREAD STREET HILL. TRANSLATOR'S NOTE. The Fortress whose transmutations during successive ages are so vividly described in the following pages is *V5 an ideal one ; its supposed situation is on the Cousin, an ■^^ affluent of the Saone. The practical genius of the autlior indicates the position which, in view of the new eastern frontier, should be fortified in order to command the Saone, ^ To his unrivalled talent as an architect, Monsieur ^ Viollet-le-Duc adds the highest qualifications of the J, military engineer. In this branch of applied science he is a recognised authority ; and it may not be out of place to notice here that he was frequently consulted by the late Emperor respecting the permanent defences of < ' the country. It is not too much to assert that if his (j:^ recommendations had been carried out the investment of Paris would have been rendered impossible, whilst the progress of the German invasion elsewhere would have been attended with greater difficulties. As colonel of engineers, no officer displayed greater energy, skill, or bravery, in the defence of the city ; and every operation planned and directed by him during the siege was suc- cessful. Within two or three days after the signing of CLranslator's ilotc. the armistice, the Germans had done their utmost to destroy all evidences of their works of investment. Nothing, however, had escaped the vigilant eye of M. Viollet-le-Duc. In that brief space of time he had surveyed and accurately noted all these works of invest- ment ; plans and descriptions of which are given in his interesting memoir of the siege. Upon the outbreak of the Commune, he was solicited by its chiefs to take the military command ; and had he not made a timely escape would probably have paid the penalty of his life for refusing that questionable honour. From his retreat at Pierrefonds he was recalled by General MacMahon, to assist the Versailles troops in re-entering Paris. It is deserving of mention that in his absence a devoted band of craftsmen thrice gallantl}' defended his house from being burnt and pillaged. In presenting the Histoirc cVune Fortcrcssc in an English form, the translator has considered it impossible to do justice to the original without adhering to its archaic style and manner ; and aware that a translation must lose something either in point of sense or style, his chief aim has been to give a faithful rendering of the sense. Benjamin Bucknall, ArcJiitcct. OVSTER.MOUTH, SWANSEA, February 1 1, 1875. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. 1'Ac;e THE FIRST RETRE.AT I CHAPTER H. THE OPPIDUM I I CHAPTER III. THE FIRST SIEGE 26 CHAPTER lY. THE COST OF DEFENDERS 65 CHAPTER V. THE SECOND SIEGE 69 CHAPTER XL THE PERMANENT CAMP — FOUNDA'IK )X OF A CITE .... go €ontmh. CHAPTER VII. 1>AGE THE FORTIFIED CITE 97 CHAPTER Vni. THE THIRD SIEGE I08 CHAPTER IX. THE FEUDAL CASTLE I57 CHAPTER X. THE FOURTH SIEGE 178 CHAPTER XL THE FIRST DEFENCES AGAINST FIRE ARTILLERY 226 CHAPTER XII. THE FIFTH SIEGE 239 CHAPTER XIII. THE CITE OF LA ROCHE-PONT IS FORTIFIED BY ERRARD DE BAR-LE-DUC, ENGINEER TO THE MOST CHRISTIAN KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE 275 CHAPTER XIV. THi: SIXTH SIEGE 282 €oninxtB. CHAPTER XV. PAGE THE TOWN OF LA ROCHE-PONT IS FORTIFIED BY M. DE VAUBAN 304 CHAPTER XVI. THE SEVENTH SIEGE 315 CHAPTER XVII. CONCLUSION 354 EXPLANATION OF SOME OF THE TECHNICAL TERMS USED IN THIS BOOK 385 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. n.;. I'V.!-". 1. MAP OF THK LAND OF OHET Frontispiece. THE SAPPER Vignette. 2. THE OPPIDUM 14 3. RAMPART OF THE OPPIDUM 1 5 4. GATES OF THE OPPIDUM 1 6 5. THE NEMEDE AND THE DRUIDS' DWELLINGS 16 FIRST SIEGE. — SIGILL) AND TOMAR 3? 6. „ „ \VO(JDEN TOWERS OF THE OPPIDUM ... 35 7. „ „ ADVANCED WORK OF THE OPPIDUM . . ". 46 8. „ „ ASSAULT ON THE OPPIDUM 55 9. THE TOWN AND CITE D'AVON (WAR OF THE GAULS) . . /O 10. SECOND SIEGE.— THE ROMAN ' AGGER ' AND ' VINE^ ' . . 79 11. „ „ A STIMULUS 80 12. ,, ., THE MOVALLE TOWER 82 13. „ „ ATTACK ON THK STRONGHOLD OF THE (M^PIDUM 86 14. THE ROMAN PERMANENT CAMP 91 15. (JATES OF THE CAMP 93 16. THE GALLO-ROMAN TOWN. CITV JULIANA . . {to face) 99 3rist of llliistriitioiis. FIG. 17- 1 8. 19- 20. 21. 22. 23- 24. 25- 26. 27. 28. 29. 30- 31- 32 34. 35- 36. PAGR SECTION OF THE RAMPART WALL I03 PLANS OF THE NORTH GATE IO4 VIEW OF THE NORTH GATE I05 GENERAL VIEW OF THE GREAT SOUTHERN TETE DE PONT I06 THIRD SIEGE. — THE AGGER I23 WORK BEFORE THE EAST GATE . . . . I24 THE 'vallum' 125 THE NORTHERN SALIENT I26 BURNING OF THE WOODEN BRIDGE . . . 1 28 THE ATTACK — THE MOVABLE BRIDGE IN- TENDED FOR CROSSING THE SMALL ARM OF THE RIVER ABONIA . . . . 131 THE AGGER 139 THE ONAGER BATTERY I4I THE MINE AND COUNTER MINE .... I42 THE BREACH MINK I45 DEFENCE OF THE BREACH I46 THE BREACH OCCUPIED BV THE ASSAILANTS I47 MINING BENEATH THE NORTH-WEST CORNER TOWER 151 „ ,. MINING BENEATH THE NORTHERN R .M- PART WALL 153 THE OLD CASTLE OF LA ROCHE- PONT 167 THE CASTLE ' OF LA ROCHE-PONT OF THE TWELFTH CENTURY {to face) 16 ^ist of Illustrations. xiii KIG. PAGE 37. bird's-eye view of the castle of la roche-pont . 172 38. breteche of the bridge 184 39. fourth siege. — THE BURGUNDIAN INTRENCHMENT OF CONTRA VALLATION 1 85 40. „ „ NIGHT SORTIE OF THE GARRISON OF THE CASTLE {to face) 187 41. „ „ THE BESIEGERS GET POSSESSION OF^ THE BARBICAN 191 42. „ „ THE CAT 193 43. „ ,, THE BOSSON {to face) 197 44. „ „ THE BREACH AND THE BURNING OF THE NORTH GATE 1 99 45. „ „ THE TAKING OF THE BAILEY {tO flCe) 2IO 46. „ „ THE SMALL BOSSON 212 47. „ „ THE MOVABLE TOWER . . . {tO face) 222 48. THE TOWN OF LA ROCHE-PONT IS FORTIFIED BY CHARLES THE BOLD . 228 49. BIRD'S-EYE view of the NORTHERN BOULEVARD AND FRONT 230 50. MASONRY TOWER FOR ARTILLERY 23 1 51. BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF BOULEVARD AND RAMPARTS . . . 233 52. TETE DE PONT AND CAVALIER 237 53. FIFTH SIEGE.— ATTACK ON THE NORTHERN BOULEVARD . 243 54. „ „ DEFENCE OF THE NORTHERN BOULEVARD 249 55. „ „ ASSAULT ON THE BOULEVARD 253 56. „ „ ATTACK OF THE OLD FRONT . {tO face) 255 xiv l^ist of |llustr:itions. 'IG- I'AGi; 57. FIFTH SIEGE. — THE OLD NORTH GATE BATTERED RV FIRE AR'ITLLERY 256 58. „ „ TAKING OF A:< ARTILLERY TOWER {to facc) 266 59. THE BASTIONS OF ERRARD DE LE BAR-LE-DUC .... 277 60. THE NORTH WORK 279 61. ONE OF THE BASTIONS 280 62. SIXTH SIEGE.— GALAS' WORKS OF APPROACH 289 63. „ „ THE ATTACK ON ONE OF THE BESIEGERS' PLACE d'armes {to face) 290 64. „ „ FORCIA'S PLAN OF SIEGE 298 65. VAUBAN'S DEFENCES 305 66. VAUBAN'S OUTWORK 307 67. SECTIONS OF THE (JUTWORK 309 68. TRACE OF THE OUTWORK 3II 69. REVLTEMENT OF THE BASTIONS 313 TO. SEVENTH SIEGE. — THE THEORETICAL ATTACK OF VAUBAN'S WORK {to face) 337 71. ., „ THE 'JHIRD PARALLEL AND THE CROWN- ING OF THE COUVERT WAV {to face) 338 72. „ „ CAPTAIN ALLAUO'S ADVANCED WORK . 341 -/l. „ „ SECTIONS AND INTERIOR VIEW OF THE WORK 347 74. „ „ CAPTAIN A I, laud's CREMAILLERE WORK 34 1 75. „ „ ATTACK ON 'THE WORKS OF COUNTER- APPROACH ... 347 ^ist of lllustvntions. xv KIG. PAGE 76. ILLUSTRATIONS ( )F THE PRINCIPLES OF ATTACK AND DEFENCE 358 ■]■]. DITTO 358 78. DITTO 359 79. APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLE : " WHAT DEFENDS SHOULD ITSELF BE DEFENDED " 361 80. ILLUSTRATION OF THE ALTERED CONDITIONS NECESSI- TATED PA' ARTILLERY OF LONG RANGE 362 81. PLAN OF FORTRESS SHOWING HOW THOSE CONDITIONS ARE MET 364 82. BLOCK PLAN OF THE DETACHED FORTS 365 83. THEORETICAL PLAN OF A MODERN FORTRESS 366 84. EMPLOYMENT OF THE POLYGONAL SYSTEM. DETACHED FORTS 372 85. DEFENSIYE SYSTEM OF (JREAT INTRENCHED CAMP . . . 375 ANNALS OF A FORTRESS. "Je scjais bien qu'il faut perdie, qu'il faut gaigiier, et n'y a lien crimpieiiable ; mais desirez cent mil fois plustost la mort i=i tons moyens ne vous deffaillent, que dire ce mechant et vilain mot : 'Je i.A REM)-;."" — Comment, de MoNTLT'C. CHAPTER I. THE FIRST RETREAT. Many winters, as we are told by the old men of the dis- trict, have passed since human beings first settled in the land of Ohet, a somewhat extensive valley of varying breadth, traversed by a winding stream running south- ward till it flows into a great river. The sides of the valley present a series of hills of moderate height, descending by gentle slopes where it widens, and more abruptly where it narrows. On the steeper hill-sides grey crags jut out, and the ground is strewn with fragments of rock. Ascending the stream for some three hours' walk from the point where it joins the great river, we fiind on the right another stream separat- ing into several small branches in a more elevated val- ley. In summer, some of these branches dry up, others form pools, whose banks are covered with reeds and water- lilies. The inhabitants of the vale dread this valley, which they believe to be haunted by evil spirits. It is dangerous B ^niuils of a ^t-'ortrcss. & to wander there, because of the number of bogs covered over with leaves and decaying branches in which the un- wary sink. The forest in this valley is so dense, the plants and bushes are so thickly interlaced with the trunks and branches of dead trees, that the rays of the sun hardly penetrate through it, and only illuminate pools of water covered with a mantle of green, A kind of promontory divides the two water-courses at this point (Frontispiece — Fig. i) ; — the river running from the north-west, and the smaller stream from the north-north-east. This ele- vated part of the country is covered with thick woods, and the inhabitants of the valley seldom go there except to hunt the wild ox, the boar, the wolf, and the deer. Beyond, the country seems a wilderness ; and strangers who occasionally visit the inhabitants of the vale to ex- change amber, copper, gold, salt, and coarse woollen or hempen fabrics for skins of beasts, never come except by the way where flows the great river. The occupants live in families, in the open spaces amid the woods and on the banks of the rivers, inhabiting conical huts, made with stakes set in the ground, joined at the top, and covered with branches, earth, and rushes. The father of the family occupies one of these huts with his wife and children, and as his sons grow up, they build another cabin and take a companion. The products of the chase and fishing, with the wild roots which they dry and crush between stones, are their only means of subsistence ; they do not till the soil, nor have they any flocks or herds. Our informants add that they never had to fight men like themselves, and that if any disputes arise between the families, they call together the oldest chiefs of the other families to arbi- trate between them. Those who are unwilling to submit to their judgment are banished from the valley, together ilIk .^i-'irst rirtrrat. with their families ; they descend the shores of the great river, and are no more heard of \Mien these old men are further asked whether there were other human beings before them settled in the valle}', they answer that there were ; but that they were small men — dwarfs — who ate earth, and had no bows and arrows to kill the wild beasts, nor hooks to catch fish, nor canoes to cross the river ; that at the approach of the present inhabitants, these dwarfs disappeared, and took refuge underground, whence they came out sometimes in the night to do mischief— to cut the fastenings of boats, or sink the boats themselves — to cause children at the breast to die, or to break the bows, or warn the animals of the forest of an intended chase, so that they might get out of the way. For some time a report has been current — brought by strangers who have found their way along the river into thevalley^ — that an alien race of great stature and strength, with fair hair, and mounted on horses, have already over- spread the neighbouring countries, driving away their in- habitants, or killing those who do not fly at their approach ; speaking an unknown tongue, and undertaking nothing without first deliberating in great numbers, and consulting the elders and women, sparing none but children, and employing these in labours of all kinds. This news has spread great consternation in the valle}' ; the chiefs of the families meet together, and determine to watch by turns at the mouth of the river ; young men posted at regular intervals are to give warning, by loud cries, of the arrival of the fair-haired people, so that all the inhabitants of the valley may be c^uickly warned, and take refuge with their families in the woods situated on the promon- tory which divides the river from the smaller stream at their confluence ; lasth', each is to furnish himself with 15 2 5limal3 of a i"'ortress. provisions such as will be sufficient for a hunting expedi- tion of several days ; and then they will consult as to what course shall be adopted. Meantime, the elders of the people take counsel. They decide that at the first cry of alarm, and while the invaders are entering the valley by one of the banks, all the inhabit- ants of that side shall cross in the boats to the opposite side shore, in order to unite with those who inhabit that side, and that all together they shall hasten to bring their cargoes to the point where the valley divides, so as to moor the boats below the promontory on the left bank above the mouth of the stream ; that the women, children, and old men shall take refuge on the promontory, so that the able- bodied, thus separated from the fair-haired men by the river and the rivulet, will be able to deliberate whether they should use their bows or fly to the forest above. Some days after, just when the sun is beginning to decline, the valley resounds v,"ith the cry of alarm, a hundred times repeated, announcing that the fair-haired people are ad- vancing and entering the valley on the western side. Immediately the whole country — silent but a few minutes before — begins to be filled with a continued hum ; most of the inhabitants of the right hasten in their boats to the left bank ; but some, either through negligence, or because they have been away from their dwellings, cannot follow the advice of the elders. In the meantime, the invaders advance with caution : first, a detachment mounted on horses are seen riding round the woods, assembling in the openings, and appear- ing to deliberate before going further. A body of them have captured some unhappy loiterers among the inhabit- ants of the valley, who, fastened with cords, are driven onwards by their captors, and closely interrogated, but they do not understand what is said to them. Cbe J^irst |lctrcat. In a little while, at every visible point in the direction of the river, the valley appears dotted with men on foot and on horseback, and with chariots ; and every now and then shouts arise. The sun sinks upon the horizon, but the shouting- continues to be heard, and the columns of smoke ascend from all sides ; night comes, the valley appears lit up with fires, and silence gradually supervenes. Assembled at the foot of the promontory, along the banks of the two streams, the men of the land of Ohet have concealed their boats among the bulrushes ; they have sent up the women, the children, and the aged to the plateau ; they dare not light any fires, lest they should at- tract the attention of the invaders. The night is spent in fruitless deliberation ; some bold young hunters propose to take advantage of the sleep of the fair-haired people to cross the river and fall upon them as they would upon wild beasts, and to kill them all with their stone hatchets ; but the chiefs of the families consider that they are too few in number for the execution of any such design ; they urge that this body of invaders is perhaps followed b}' others, that they have horses and can easily escape, that they ap- pear to be tall and strong; and, moreover, that they do not appear to have killed the inhabitants they met with, as the strangers had reported. At break of day the valley echoes with unusual sounds, such as the inhabitants of the land of Ohet had never heard before. It is not the shouting of men, nor the songs of women, nor the bellowing of wild bulls. These noises spread terror among the fugitives. They all abandon the boats and climb the promontory ; there, in the woods, they can see through the trees what is taking place in the valley. They soon perceive a numerous body of men on the opposite side, not far from the river. Some canoes which had been forgotten are being guided -Canals of a Jl^orircss. up the stream by the invaders. They go through the rushes, unfasten the boats, and draw them up with loud cries on the shore opposite the promontory. These cries are answered from other quarters, and the Avliole body rush to the shore. But at this juncture the chiefs seem to interfere ; they parley for some time, and appear to threaten those who are impatient to get into the boats, often pointing to the plateau above. The main body retire again from the shore, and a dozen men only get into two boats, which make for the opposite bank at the foot of the promontory. With them are two of the inhabitants of the land of Ohet, tied by the neck with leathern thongs. They land together, put the captives before them, and as- cend to the plateau. The twelve fair-haired men are armed with sticks, terminated by a long, bright, metal point. Some hold bows in their hands, with the arrows in place. They are dressed in short tunics of ornamented stuffs, their arms bare, and their legs up to the knee bound round with leathern thongs, to which are fastened covered sandals. About their loins is a belt of skin, to which is suspended a bag, also of skin, with the hair of the animal preserved, two knives — one long, the other very short — and a hatchet, the blade of which is of bronze ; their necks and wrists are adorned with strings of large glass beads, or with circlets of metal. Many have their hair fastened on the top of their heads, with large pins of bone or bronze ; others have their hair divided into long tresses. Their beards have been carefully removed, while their mou- staches reach down to their breasts. Their aspect is terrible, for they are tall ; their light blue eyes, inclosed by black lines, sparkle like diamonds beneath bushy brows dyed of a brillant red. Approaching to -within fifty paces of the brow of the promontory, where the ground is somewhat clear, they stop. dibe #irst Klctrfut. 7 and one of the captives speaks thus: "The fair-haired people have captured several of us ; they have done us no harm ; they have not burned our huts, nor killed the women and children. They wish to live in peace with us always, on the same ground. They will not hinder us from hunting or fishing, or from remaining with our wives and children. They say that the land is good, and can support a much greater number of inhabitants than it does now. They bring an abundance of things useful to man. They teach youths to ride, and to use arms against evil men. They say in fine that we have nothing to fear, and that you may return to your dwellings. "I am told all this by one of their people who speaks as we do, and who once lived in our valley, from which he was banished. They also say that if you will not return to your homes and live in peace with them, they will kill us all like wild beasts, for they are both numerous and strong. They will await your answer here until the sun reaches the middle of its daily course. This is all we have to say." Several of the elders of the valley then came out of the wood and advanced towards the captives ; but the party of fair-haired men made signs to them to come no farther, and fitted their arrows to the strings of their bows. The captive who had already spoken, again addressed them : " Do not come any nearer ; deliberate among yourselves, and give an answer quickly. This is all we have to say." The old men thereupon assembled, and having cut some branches of trees on which they seated themselves, one of them spoke thus : " These fair-haired people with painted faces are more numerous than we ; they have murderous weapons, and horses, and are brave ; we are not able to drive them out of the valley ; if they desire to live with us in peace, as they say they do, why not ^nnnls of a c^ortress. consider them as friends ? Is it to their advantage to kill us ? No. They possess many things which we have not, and are provided with what they need. Have you not observed the flocks and herds, the loaded waggons, and the women and children that accompany them .•* They are not empty-handed robbers. Let us accept the conditions they offer us." One of the hunters, among the bravest in the valley, then rose and spoke in his turn : " Why do these people with painted faces come into our va;lley .'* It is to take possession of it and drive us away. They are strangers to us, and we have never done them any harm. Why do they not remain where they were born .'' Will there be fish enough in the river and enough wild animals in the forest to feed them and us ? They will take all and leave us nothing. Fighting against them is impossible, it is true — but we can fly. There are other valleys and other rivers not far off. Let us take our wives and children with us ; I know the woods as far as three days' journey. Let us leave our huts, and our boats, and go and settle far away from these strangers." After the utterance of these contrary opinions a hundred voices were raised ; some supporting the advice of the old man, others that of the hunter. A few young men even wished to fall upon the little troop of strangers and massacre them. Some of the most venerated of the inhabitants of the Val d'Ohet tried more than once to impose silence and make themselves heard, but the tumult continuing to in- crease, the assembly was broken up into groups, and the women began to cry out and lament and the children to weep. Meanwhile the little party of fair-haired men had begun to cut some bushes and briars and to make a rampart with them. f ^e Jfirst Ketrtat. Not long afterwards twelve boats crossed the river, and sixty of the strangers came and joined the first twelve. These were bearing twelve oval shields of wicker-work covered with skin. They set up these shields by means of stakes driven in the ground, and placed themselves behind them ; only their heads painted red and blue and their sparkling eyes remained visible. They were laugh- ing together loudly. Midday was at hand, and confusion continued to pre- vail among the fugitives. Then were heard again those strange sounds which had so much alarmed the unhappy inhabitants of Ohet at dawn ; and the shore opposite to the promontory was covered with a multitude of fair- haired men in several detachments, all armed. They began to cross the river, and to seat themselves in a line on the shore beneath the plateau. Then the captive who had already spoken advanced alone toward the forest, and when he was within hearing, said : " My friends, my brethren, you are going to be attacked : and we are to be killed before your eyes. Have pity on yourselves — have pity on us ; come down to the fair-haired men; they will do you no sort of harm ; they have respected your houses and the women that have fallen into their hands. Do not hope to defend yourselves, for they will kill you with their keen weapons ! " At this last appeal the fugitives became silent, and one of the inhabitants of the valley, who had remained since the morning without speaking a word, rose up. He was a short, robust man, of dark complexion and crisp hair ; he was well known as a skilful carpenter, and the best boats were his handywork. " There is no more time for discussion," said he. " Let those who wish to stay in the valley come out from the wood, and let the rest hide themselves as quickly as possible in the forest. Thc)- will be able to fly with their iclnii:i(s of ir Jfortrfss. families ; for the strangers do not know how many we are. As for myself, t remain where I was born." A great number assembled round the carpenter with accla- mations, accompanied by their wives and children ; and all together without a moment's delay showed themselves to the troop of strangers. " We will return to our dwell- ings," was all the carpenter said to the captive interpreter, and then they advanced towards the little camp. Many had bows and stone hatchets. " Throw down your arms," said the captive ; " throw down your arms, you have no need of them." The invaders who had taken up their position on the shore, dividing into two bodies, were rapidly climbing the sides of the promontory, to the right and left ; so that in a few minutes the car- penter and his companions were surrounded by an innu- merable crowd, which penetrating the mass of the fugitives, separated them into small parties and took possession of the few weapons which had been retained by some of their number. The strangers laughed, skipped, and leaned their brows on the breasts of the inhabitants of the valley in token of good will. Thus some hundreds of the natives went down towards the river surrounded by their new guests. They were compelled to get into the boats, and they went back to their houses, which had been completely pillaged. Many of the huts remained vacant, and the new-comers took possession of them, without troubling themselves much respecting the inhabitants and what had become of them. CHAPTER 11. THE orriDUM. Two centuries later, the land of Ohet had assumed a new aspect, and its name was changed. It was then called the Valley of Avon. Beautiful fields, affording pasture to flocks and herds, carpeted the slopes of the bordering hill ; while in the vale below ripened harvests of barley and rye. The uplands were still covered with forest, and on all sides wooden houses peeped out from the meadows, with their inclosures of palisades painted in lively colours. The marshes of the rivulet were drained, and at the summit of the promontory was to be seen cutting the sky the talus of an Oppidwn which commanded the valley and the two streams. Its origin was as follows : — Not long after the invasion of the fair-haired people, the inhabitants of the valley who had fled into the woods had re-appeared, accompanied by a great multitude of men of the same race, and at dawn had fallen with great violence and loud cries upon the strangers. The latter, not expecting an attack, defended them- selves as best they could ; but the younger and more active among them assembled on the promontory, where they waited until night. Then they descended noiselessly, crossed the stream, and fell in their turn upon the men of the ancient race, who thought to repossess themselves of the vallc}'. The greater number were asleep ; many ^nnals of w J^ortress. liad dispersed in search of food and plunder. The young fair-haired men massacred a vast number of them, malcing no distinction between the old inhabitants who had re- mained in their homes and those who presented them- selves as enemies ; the women and children alone were spared. After a council of the elders, and after having consulted the women, it was decided that in order to prevent fresh surprises, and to protect the inhabitants of the valley, they should form a vast camp on the promontory, where in case of alarm the people of the valley of Avon could take refuge with their families, their flocks and herds, provisions and arms, defy every attack, and resume the offensive at the opportune moment. The summit of the promontory was therefore cleared ; every able-bodied man was required to give one day's work in four till the camp was finished ; and those of the old inhabitants who had escaped the massacre, as well as the children and women, had to labour without ceasing at the circumvallations. The women prepared food for the workmen, and the children carried earth in baskets or brought branches of trees which were mingled with the earth. Following exactly the verge of the plateau, the chiefs of the eight tribes settled in the valley marked out the boundary of the camp, its entrances, its defences, the retreat of the elders, the place for the cattle, that of the huts for the families, and lastly the site proper for the erection of the Nemede — the sacred inclosure — the sanc- tuary of Belen and the dwellings of the Druids. First, with the aid of strong levers of wood hardened by fire, the stones which obtruded above the level of the plateau were forced out and arranged on the peri- meter described ; then upon this layer, behind which was (The (Oppibum. 13 heaped coarse gravel mixed with earth, were placed trunks of trees, crosswise, four feet apart. The width of the base was twenty feet. The interval between the trunks was filled with stones, earth, and branches. Then another layer of stones mingled with earth, then three rows of trunks of trees, laid this time lengthwise, bound together with strong bands of green withy, always with gravel between. On this a third layer of stones, more trunks of trees across, overlapping the others, and a topping of gravel, of turf and soil, forming the rampart walk. Stakes were placed upright, five feet apart, and firmly driven three feet down into the rampart on the outer edge, serving to fix, by means of osier bands, wattled hurdles five feet six inches high, so as to form a continuous para- pet pierced with loop-holes. The rampart rose to a height of five feet. The in- closure completed, the Druids marked out the area allotted to the eight tribes. To each of them was given a circular space of two hundred feet in diameter ; the huts were disposed in two rings around the perimeter ; in the middle was the paddock for the animals and the hut of the chief The general view of the camp is given in Fig. 2, with the rampart, the two entrances, the sunk approaches, defended on the other side by a mound raised with the earth excavated to form these approaches, and the eight circles allotted to the tribes ; at A, the Nemede and the dwelling of the Druids and Druidesses, surrounded by the sacred inclosure. Wells were sunk in each of the circles of the tribes, and in the inclosure of the Nemede. Fig. 3 gives the section of the rampart with its terrace- walk, A, for the defenders, and, at intervals, the inclines, i;, affording an easy means for ascending to the terrace- walk. The entrances were masked by a mound forming I"io. i. — Thk Oi'i'iur.M. a be (Opplbum. 15 an advanced work, and leaving two ways out along the ramparts. Fig. 4 shows how these entrances were dis- posed. The two extremities of the rampart were ' \ -^\\\\\\\\\\^\C~;^^^^?> Fir.. 3. strengthened by a wider embankment, H, affording space for a numerous assemblage of defenders. Here is shown the screen thrown up outside the cutting, and at K the sunken road with its mound, L. i6 Annals of a i-'ovtrcss. Fig. Fig. 5 represents the Nemede, with its inclosure and the dwelHno-s of the Druids. Fig. 5. The camp finished — except the habitations of the tribes, whose site was only marked by circles of stones — a certain number of young- men were put to live there, who C^« @p|jibum. 17 replaced each other every clay. Arriving there at sunset, they remained in the camp until the beginning of the next night. Those of the former inhabitants of the valley who still lived were forbidden to enter the camp' on pain of death. The tribes prospered, enriching themselves with the pro- duce of the earth and with their cattle. Some, having dis- covered copper ore in the neighbourhood, manufactured arms and utensils. There were also potters who wrought skilfully in clay. At certain periods of the year, merchants brought to the valley stuffs, salt, spices, and even wine in leathern bottles. They took in exchange articles of bronze, skins, cheese, and corn. The tribes, not having had any fresh attacks to resist during a lengthened period, left off guarding the camp, which was rarely visited except on occasion of certain solemnities and of assemblies convoked by the Druids. The latter lived by themselves, surrounded by their college, within the vast inclosure which they cultivated, and where their sheep and cattle grazed. The ramparts, whose timber work had decayed, had sunk, and presented only a slight elevation. They were overgrown with vegetation in several places. But in the peaceful state in which the tribes were living, no one thought of repairing these defences. The inhabitants of the valley had been frequently em- broiled with the neighbouring tribes, and had often come to blows with them ; but peace was soon restored, for none of these groups of tribes cherished the intention of sub- jugating its neighbours and seizing their territory. Nevertheless repose was irksome to them, and their youths would often quit the valley in quest of adven- tures, and to see the world. About 389 B.C., a great number of men, attracted b}' the C 5limuls of a Ji^ortrcss. seductive eloquence of a Brenn — a chief elected by certain tribes to command distant expeditions — had quitted their hearths in the hope of amassing wealthy spoils in the southern lands beyond the mountains. Two years having passed away, a small number made their appearance again in the valley ; they brought with them gold and costly fabrics, and marvellous were the tales they told of the countries they had traversed, and in which they had been incessantly fighting. They had seen cities environed by strong stone walls, and filled with magnificent public buildings and sumptuous mansions — richly fertile regions, where the vine and luscious fruits of every kind were cultivated. Among other results of adventure, it was observed that those who returned from these distant expeditions had lost the habit of peaceful industry ; and although more than half their comrades had perished by the way, their dreams were still of battles, and plunder, and adventures. They were idle, insolent, and irascible, and even aspired to a kind of lordship over the peaceable families that lived by industry. The latter had at first joyfully welcomed the unhoped-for return of these warriors ; and had listened with admiration to the stories of their prowess and adventures recited around the family hearth ; but their imperious bear- ing, their idleness and boasting, were beginning to become intolerable. Every day saw new quarrels arise, which generally ended in blood. The wives of these heroes were still more insolent than the warriors themselves, and pre- sumed to treat their dependents as slaves, such as were those of the ladies in the countries so gloriously traversed by their husbands. Things being in this state, the tribes of the valley had been summoned to a meeting in the old camp, according to custom, to deliberate on their common interests, and to oTbc Oppibuin. 19 endeavour to put an end to feuds. The men always repaired to these assemblies armed ; the women used to come bringing food and drink ; for these meetings were usually terminated by festivities lasting the whole night. On the morning of the day appointed, the sound of trumpets re-echoed through the valley, and from every quarter the inhabitants might be seen flocking towards the hill. A wooden bridge had long since been built over the river near the mouth of the rivulet. When the chiefs of the tribes, accompanied by the mass of the people, pre- sented themselves at the bridge, they found it occupied by the warriors, whose ranks had been increased by a large number of young men of the valley, and even other war- riors, strangers to the tribes. " It is at the camp and not here that the people meet," said one of the chiefs ; " let us pass over." " You shall not pass," replied one of the warriors, "without listening to the conditions we propose." "We have neither conditions to submit to nor conditions to impose," rejoined the first; "the men of this country are free, and the land is theirs, in the valley and on the mountain; let us pass on!" " It will be by force then," replied the warrior, half un- sheathing his sword. A long-continued cry of indignation followed this defiance, and arms began to glitter in the sun among the crowd like flashes of lightning. The chiefs, however, imposed silence, and held the crowd in check. Then advancing in concert to the entrance of the bridge, one of them spoke thus : — '* What do you want .-' Do you not belong to our tribes .-' Have you not flocks, and wives, and children born in the valley .'' What conditions do you aim to impose upon us — us who are your equals .-* Speak ! What can you ask for more than you already possess .'' W^hat wrongs have been done you .'' WHiy bring with you C 2 ^niuils of iX Jorlrcss. men who are strangers to the country, whom we do not know, and who have no claim to an interest among us ?" "Answer him, answer him, Sigild," said all the warriors with one voice. Sigild advanced. He was a handsome young man, a native of the valle}^ tall and slight, with a mild look, and a beard just appearing ; his breast covered with a small bronze cuirass which glittered in the sun : his white arms were bare, and adorned with bracelets of gold. He disdained a helmet, and his blond hair, fastened at the top of his head with a long golden pin, fell down over his back ; chases ^ wrought in bright colours covered his legs ; his waist was girt with a kind of scarf, which was gracefully thrown back over the shoulder and left arm. A narrow buckler and a sword hung at his side. He smiled, made a sign with his hand as if requesting silence, and said : — " Friends and brethren, we are all free — all of the same blood ; we ought to remain united to conquer those who desire to plunder or to enslave us. Consider, however, that you have among you the elite of the warriors who have conquered powerful nations, and have spread the renown of the Gallic name beyond the mountains. Many have died in battle ; but do not those who have returned to you after so many trials, bringing with them a rich booty and having acquired skill in arms, deserve some consideration from you } Inured to war and always ready to shed their blood, are they not more fitted to defend your hearths than men who have done nothing but tend cattle and till the soil .'' They do not, however, ask you to keep them in idleness, or to consider them as chiefs or masters ; their only wish is to defend you. They know to what extent you are encompassed by rapacious and envious men, who, jealous of the prosperity of your 1 Chases -a kind of trousers divided down the legs and fastened with bandelets. m^t ftDppibuin. valley, are cherishing the most sinister designs against you. They know this because they have seen many peoples of whose existence you do not dream, though they are close to your borders. Lulled by a prolonged security, you are not in a condition to resist a serious attack. Now these warriors — your relations, your brothers, your friends, of the same blood as yourselves — have been considering with pain- ful anxiety this state of repose in which you are living. They have, therefore, formed the intention — they, as men of war, to occupy the camp, to fortify it effectually, to make it a reliable place of refuge in case of invasion, and to defend themselves in it to the death. Is there any wrong in this .'' As to these warriors, whom you regard as stran- gers, they are brethren in arms who have fought side by side with us beyond the mountains, but who no longer finding their abodes on returning to their valleys de- vastated by marauders, ask an asylum with us. Besides, if they do not belong to your tribes, are they not Gauls like ourselves } " We have wished to say this to you here, and not in the place of rendezvous itself, in the fear lest our intentions should be misunderstood amid so great a concourse. If our proposals, conceived with a view to the common interest, appear to you just, and if you still persist in holding the assembly on the height above, we will go before you to the camp, and will remain there when you return to your habitations. " As for us, devoting ourselves to those new functions which we are competent to discharge, we will make of this camp a stronghold impregnable to any enemy that might dare to attack us." A long murmur followed this discourse and the chiefs of the tribes looked wistfully at each other. The most venerable of them, advancing in his turn, replied thus : " Sigild, your words are fair ; but the act pclnnals of u Jortrcss. to which you and your companions are committing your- selves at this moment is insulting, and aims a blow at the liberty of the inhabitants of the valley. You parade before us imaginary dangers, with a view to remaining on that height under the pretext of defending our families, but really in order to separate yourselves from us and act according to your good pleasure. Tell us who will support you and take care of your cattle while you are remaining on the height under arms, waiting for an enemy who perhaps will never make his appearance ? Sole masters of the bridge and the two streams, you will be able, if you choose, to debar the inhabitants of the valley from hunting in the woods that extend behind the camp, and from fishing in the waters of the upper stream which furnish the best supply. We shall thus be at your dis- cretion. If the assembly thinks it desirable to strengthen the fortifications of the camp, every inhabitant of the valley will take his share in the work — yourselves with the rest. If it shall be necessary to defend the inclo- sure, all who are in a condition to bear arms must enp-aee in the defence ; for all are equally interested in protecting their families, in repelling an enemy, and not exposing themselves to insult. Come, then, with us to the camp ; we will deliberate on all that concerns the interests of the tribes, and you will only have to submit, like ourselves, to the result of our deliberation. As to the new-comers, if they ask for an asylum, you know that it will not be refused them ; but they must fulfil the conditions imposed upon foreigners wishing to live among us. Moreover, we shall have to consult the Ovates." Thrusting back Sigild, who was preparing to give an answer, the first warrior, who had spoken so insolently, advanced to the edge of the bridge in front of the chiefs of the tribes, and putting aside their arms, he said, " No one Sr^f ^pibum. 21 shall pass ; all this parleying is useless ; go back to your houses ; we will hold the camp." At these words a thousand voices arose, and, in spite of the endeavours of the chiefs to restrain them, the crowd of the men of the valley rushed forward like a torrent. Swords were drawn on both sides, and the clash of arirs was mingled with the cries of the two parties. The im- precations of the women dispersed along the shore, and who were urging the men towards the bridge, were heard above the clamour of the multitude. The party that was endeavouring to obstruct the passages recoiled for the moment, with a view to concentrate themselves on the narrowest point ; and, as the warriors had crowded to- gether on the bridge to hear what was being said on both sides, and many had even mounted the wooden parapets, this movement from front to rear threw confusion into the closely-packed mass, and several fell into the river. At sight of this a shout, follow^ed by an immense burst of laughter, issued from the groups assembled on the shore ; and the defenders of the bridge, and those who were ad- vancing to meet them, having no conception of the cause of this laughter, stopped and looked behind them on either side. But the warriors who had fallen from the bridge into the water, embarrassed by their clothes and shackled by their armour, although able to swim, were being swept down by the current, with a rapidity increased by the swollen state of the river. They were all but engulfed in the rapid torrent. Two boats were fastened to the bank on the valley side ; in a moment some of the spectators pushed off in them, and rowing with might and main, and with the help of poles, had soon rescued the half-drowned warriors and brought them to the shore. Three had lost consciousness ; every assistance was 24 ^nnals of a J^ortrfss. afforded them, and the women especially lavished upon them the most assiduous attention. The result of this episode was the intermingling of the parties ; the defenders of the bridge had advanced on the shore as far as the middle of the passage, and were sur- rounding the handsome Sigild, who, with a smile upon his lips, was answering all the questions addressed to him by reassuring words. He might be seen slightly shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head in graceful fashion. An armed struggle was no longer possible, and the war-cry had been exchanged for laughter. A more compact group, however, consisting of members of the two parties, were keeping up a lively discussion along one of the parapets of the bridge, when one of the inhabitants of the valley, to whom the attention of those surrounding him seemed to be directed, mounted the hand-iail with agility, and, fastening his buckler to his shoulder, plunged into the river. He soon re-appeared, and swimming with vigour and address, gained a footing on the bank at the base of the promontory. The hurraing on the opposite shore recommenced ; in an instant the two boats were filled by men of the valley, and others crossed sv/imming, partly aided by the boats, which soon reached the other side. Some vessels towed across conveyed considerable numbers — so many, indeed, that the holders of the bridge saw themselves placed between two hostile bodies, should they persist in their resolution. The laughter was kept up on both sides, and was communicated even to the warriors posted on the passage. The knot of defenders became less and less dense, and if they did not retreat en masse — which would have called forth a fresh burst of hilarity — they were gradually retiring. Soon the platform of the bridge was deserted by all but the surly Srbe (L)jjpibum. 25 instigator of the strife, whose insolent words had almost occasioned a sanguinary struggle. He indeed was not laughing; when he saw himself abandoned he threw his sword into the river, and making himself a passage through the crowd, he bent his steps towards the valley. The handsome Sigild, surrounded by the greater part of the warriors, was on his way upwards towards the camp, and the whole multitude was followincr him. CHAPTER III. THE FIRST SIEGE. Thirty years after the event just related, the valley of Avon still preserved its smiling aspect and was covered with rustic habitations ; there might be seen, however, in front of and behind the bridge just mentioned, two groups of houses in pretty close proximity : the first in the direction of the valley, the second on the lower slopes of the plateau. A considerable number of boats were moored on the two banks below the bridge, and were receiving or discharging packages covered with wrappers made of rushes. On the top of the promontory was seen the outline of a rampart made of stone, wood, and earth, but with square towers composed in great part of timber and wattle-work, about a hundred paces apart. Outside the inclosure rose palisades of no great height, in front of a ditch six feet wide by three or four feet deep. The entrances to the Oppidum, which still occupied the place previously indicated, were amply environed outside by stakes connected by branches of trees. At the lower end of the two sunk roads were raised besides two towers of timber and wattle-work. Grave events had been the cause of these chang-es. The meeting announced in the preceding chapter had taken place on the plateau. The uproar and confusion that prevailed threatened a sanguinary conclusion. The warriors insisted on adhering to the programme sketched C^e Jirst .^icgc. 27 by the handsome Sigild, and on reserving to themselves the privilege of guarding the camp. The chiefs of the tribes would not agree to this. The Ovates, the wisest among the Druids, had been consulted. But their responses, of a somewhat ambiguous character, did not satisfy the multitude. The latter (the Ovates) declared in the first place, that the Nemede could not be touched without drawing down the gravest calamities upon the tribes ; that the flocks belonging to the college must be allowed to graze undis- turbed on the plateau ; and that if any peril threatened the inhabitants of the valley, they, the Druids, would be able to give timely warning to the defenders. During this deliverance the handsome Sigild wore his accustomed smile and suavely shook his head in his usual manner, but said not a word. The Druidesses, seated along the inclosure of the Nemede, their hands on their knees in a musing attitude, appeared to take no part in the dis- cussion. The men were divided into groups, and it seemed as if no decision would be arrived at before sunset. Hunger and thirst began to be "keenly felt, and the women were spreading on the turf the provisions they had brought. At this juncture one of the Druidesses, at the solicitation of her companions, advanced into the midst of the assembly. She was young, tall, and dressed in a long white robe — a kind of dalmatic without a girdle ; and her bare arms were adorned with bracelets of black glass. On seeing her every voice was hushed, and surrounded by her companions, who had followed her, she spoke thus : — " You who are assembled here, who live in peace, think- ing you have no enemy to fear, are unable calmly to deliberate and adopt a wise resolution. How will it be when the enemy is upon you .' And I warn you that 28 "^Innals of n i^ortrcss. such an enemy is near ; he is preparing his arms and reckoning his spoils in the pillage of your flocks and the plunder of your houses ; indeed he is already rejoicing in a victory which he deems certain because he knows you are not in a condition to act in concert to resist him. " Abandon this place, which you are incapable of de- fending, since you. know not how to fortify it; return to your houses, and await in careless ease the hour of peril." Around the young woman, pale with emotion, and who spoke without a gesture or a movement, as if the words she was slowly pronouncing had issued from a statue, the multitude had assembled in a compact mass. A tremu- lous agitation ran through the crowd like the breeze through the corn. Then, by one of those instinctive movements which sway the multitude, all eyes were turned towards Sigild. The latter, standing in front of the Druidess, who had remained rigid as a statue on the stone that served her as a tribune, had his eyes fixed on the ground contrary to his usual custom, as if he could not endure the fire of all these glances directed towards him. Through the murmurs of the crowd the name of Sigild could be vaguely distinguished. " Let Sigild be our Brenn ! " said a voice. Immediately thousands of voices repeated, " Let Sigild be our Brenn ! " It seemed then as if all those who a few minutes before were of opinions widely contrary had but a single thought, a single soul, a single voice. Sigild was therefore proclaimed Brenn, and the night passed in jo3^ous festivities. Whether the young Druidess had been inform'ed of the projects formed against the happy inhabitants of the valley of Avon, or whether inspiration or chance had led to the coincidence, only a few months had passed since Clje dirst Sicqc. 29 the meeting in question, when they observed certain strangers roaming about the hills, who speedily dis- appeared -when the inhabitants began to question them ; and subsequently a larger number of merchants than was customary, arrived in the valley. They were insolent, en- deavoured to embroil themselves with the inhabitants, and uttered menaces when their assumptions were met by reason ; and several of them who were expelled from the country threatened to return and avenge themselves. One day, in fact, the heights that surrounded the valley appeared occupied one after the other by troops of armed men. Meanwhile Sigild, elected Brenn, had lost no time. He had first assembled around him all his old companions in arms ; and many young men who preferred a life of war to the peaceful pursuits of the shepherd or the hus- bandman had also j-oined him. The new Brenn had gold, and on occasions would pay men to work at the Oppidum. Full of respect and de- ference for the Druids, he had embellished the Nemede ; and seemed to engage in no undertaking till he had con- sulted the Ovates. He gave them the produce of his hunting expeditions, and had caused a decree to be made that the fishery above the bridge should be reserved for the college. The camp was assuming day by day a more formidable aspect, but the Brenn and his men, with the college of the Druids, were the- only persons entitled to sojourn there. As on former occasions, every man of the valley was obliged to devote one day in four to the work of fortification ; moreover, the inhabitants of the Val d'Avon supplied the warriors with provisions. They were, how- ever, beginning to murmur, and to complain of the exac- tions of the latter ; and things would probably have not 3© Annuls of a ^ifortress. long continued on this footing, when the threatened enemy appeared. The sound of trumpets was immediately heard in the camp : it was the signal agreed upon ; and the unfortunate families of the valley might be seen rushing in disorder towards the bridge, driving their cattle before them, and carrying with them on their backs or in waggons their most valued property, with provisions, clothes, and even furniture. The bridge not being wide enough for the passage of the distracted multitude who were thronging towards it, boats were heavily laden with people, and many foundered. The armed bands that had appeared on the hills, whether as a matter of prudence or because they were waiting- for the command to advance, made no haste to descend into the valley, and night came without a single enemy having quitted his post of observation. This night was a painful one for the inhabitants of the valley. It was autumn, and the cold was already begin- ning to be felt. They were arriving breathless in the camp, covered with sweat ; the sharp air of the night was freezing their limbs. They were calling to or search- ing for each other in the crowd, and although space was not wanting, it seemed as if this multitude would never succeed in housing itself on the plateau. Fires were being lighted, and the warriors, Sigild's companions, were hastening to and fro on horseback among the distracted crowd, endeavouring to make themselves heard and to introduce a little order into this confusion ; for each tribe had had its quarter traced out for it by the wise foresight of the Brenn. But those who had arrived first at any spot were loath to quit it and take up their baggage again to carry it elsewhere. The animals were lowing or bleat- ing, the children were crying, and the women lamenting. €^t ^ixsi ^hge. 31 The valley presented a quite different spectacle ; ani- mated the night before, lighted up by the household fires that sparkled through the trees, and filled with the sounds of evening, it was now silent and deserted ; not a light nor the least appearance of life could be distin- guished. A pale fog was diffused over the meadows. At nightfall Sigild ordered the barriers of the camp to be closed, prohibiting, on pain of death, their being opened to any person whatever. Thus many belated families had to await the return of day below the ramparts. With smiling countenance the Brenn was leisurely traversing on horseback the various quarters of the camp : he was addressing all he met, and his gentle, penetrating voice seemed to restore order and silence wherever it was heard. His words and counsels, and the fatigue that was taking possession of the crowd, had soon caused an appearance of calm to succeed the confusion that prevailed at first. Then the Brenn re-entered the hut he had caused to be constructed for himself on the projecting summit of the promontory, in front of the Nemede, and summoned Tomar into his presence. Tomar v;as one of the stranger warriors whom Sigild had kept near him after the meeting above mentioned. Had these foreign warriors been forced to quit their native regions in consequence of the devastation of their estates and the ruin of their families, as the Brenn had affirmed ; or had they been banished by their country- men for certain misdeeds ? We cannot say. Certain it is that they were devoted body and soul to Sigild, who on his part was in a position liberally to reward their dev. tion. Tomar was of medium height, and his large head, on a short neck bristling with harsh, thick hair, seemed to move with difficulty. His face also preserved a kind of immobility ; and but for his grey eyes, which. 32 ^nnals of a i^ortrfss. under his bushy eyebrows, seemed to penetrate in every direction, the man might have been taken for a rough- hewn image of wood. With curved back, long arms, always falling down by the side of his body, and legs heavy and bent, Tomar could nevertheless perform a SlGlLD AND TdMAK. march of twelve hours in succession without turning his head. Yet at the end of the journey this automaton- like being had seen all that was visible through the whole route, and could give an account of what he had observed with the most minute exactness and in the most perfect (The ^'ixnt ^iccic. 33 sequence. He could speak many Gallic dialects, but no one — not even Sigild — knew his past history. Tomar rarely laughed. A travelling merchant had brought an ape into the valley ; and witnessing the grimaces of this specimen of the quadrumana, Tomar burst into a fit of laughter. It was almost the only time that he had per- mitted himself such an ebullition, and if any one wanted to provoke anything like a smile upon his rigid counte- nance, he must mention the ape. As his ^manner was, Tomar entered the Brenn's hut as noiselessly as a cat, and placing himself before Sigild said, " Here I am ! " " Tomar, I rely upon thy aid." "Yes." "Thou wilt go out of the camp without a single person — mind, a single person — suspecting thy departure." "Yes." "Thou wilt go to the border of the Sequani ; thou understandest .-* Thou wilt speak to Ditovix ; thou understandest ? " " Yes." " Thou wilt ask him for five hun- dred warriors who have nothing to lose." " Yes." " Thou wilt tell him that these warriors will find here lands and wealth." " Yes." " Thou wilt conduct them through the forests, getting all the information thou canst." " Yes." " Thou wilt require three days to go ; one day to arrange matters with Ditovix ; to assemble the five hundred warriors, six days ; to bring them here, four days ; altogether fourteen days. The evening of the four- teenth, dating from to-morrow morning, thou and the five hundred warriors will be at a distance of three miles from the camp, towards the north, in the woods. At sunset thou wilt place a pole at the top of one of the highest trees ; when the first quarter of the night has expired thou will hoist a lighted faggot on the summit of the pole. Thy warriors will be under arms, and you will immediately rush upon the enemies between us and you. We shall make a sally at the same time, and fall D 34 ^nnals of a ijortrcss. upon them." "The enemies will be there?" "The enemies are sure to be there, because if they wish to besiege the camp they cannot take up any other position. They are sure to be there." " Very well, I set out." " Listen ! if you meet any parties of the enemy, say that you have been wronged by us, and that you are seeking vengeance, knowing that we are on the point of yielding to them. They will either accept or refuse your co-operation. If they accept it, the warriors of Ditovix will occupy a part of the enemy's camp, and at the signal agreed on will spread confusion on all sides, while we make a sortie from the ramparts, and fall upon them ; if they refuse it, you will pretend to be greatly irritated, but will affect to retire, and at the close of the day you will return to the place mentioned." " But if the enemy occupy that spot .'' " " They will not occupy it, because we shall compel them to concentrate their forces around us. Stop, here is gold, and a ring well known to Ditovix. Listen further. During the attack, as it will be at mid- night, the warriors thou bringest and our men, not being acquainted with each other, might engage in mutual slaughter. Before the battle let each of thy men put on a necklace of grass, and set fire to everything that can burn. That will be easy ; the enemy will make himself a shelter with branches : we shall wear necklaces like yours, and will light fires on our side. Next, when making the attack, let all thy men shout ' Sigild ! ' Ours will answer with the same cry. To ensure the lighting of the fires, take burning embers in earthen vessels ; let there be at least one of these to every five men. If the enemy accept your aid, keep as much as possible in separate quarters, so that it will not be difficult for you to make your grass necklaces, and you will have your lighted fires to use, while you will also avail yourselves of the fire jf J;irst ^iegt. 35 made by the enemy. But if through distrust they sepa- rate you into small parties, arrange beforehand your signals of attack, and instead of grass necklaces, have the right leg bare. . . . Fourteen days ! " " I under- stand." Sigild had surrounded the camp with a number of wooden towers placed on the old rampart, which had been strengthened. These towers, whose appearance is shown in Fig. 6, were made of trunks of trees piled one upon another, and framed at their extremities. They projected from the rampart. At their summit was con- structed a wooden floor surrounded by a parapet of wat- tling ; and this floor was reached by means of a ladder placed inside the tower. The under story gave shelter to the men charged with the defence of the towers, and who watched from the top. If they perceived any sus- picious movement without, it was their duty to give the alarm by blowing a horn. Sigild had fixed the number of men for each tower at twenty. Two of these twenty men remained day and night on the platform, the day D 2 36 ^nunls of u Jfortress. and the night being each divided into four parts ; there were eight men on duty during the day and eight during the night. Of the four remaining, the first was consti- tuted chief of the tower ; the second was intrusted with the stores, and the distribution of food and munitions; the third was to be at the disposal of the chief of the tower, to carry messages and seek for help in case of need ; and the business of the fourth was to repair the injuries caused to the defences in the event of an attack. As the circumvallation measured four thousand five hundred paces, and the towers were one hundred paces apart, there were forty-five towers, including the stronger and loftier ones placed on the two sides of the entrances. Nine hundred men sufficed to guard them. Sigild had taken the precaution of having a store of timber and branches brought within the inclosure of the Oppidum. By his care the wells had been deepened, and a trench dug outside the ramparts, towards the north. In addition to the flocks that habitually grazed within the camp, a great number of cattle had been brought by the fugitives to the plateau. But it would not have been possible to feed all these animals if stores of fodder had not been laid in beforehand. Accordingly, great stacks of grass had been placed along beside the rampart, thatched with reeds. Between the towers the guarding of the ramparts was intrusted to a thousand men, put under the order of fifty- three chiefs ; the two entrances were under the command of warriors of tried courage, and well known to Sigild. This garrison, consisting of about two thousand men, had long been settled in the camp, and had partly executed the work of its fortification. As to the fugi- tives, they might have amounted to twelve thousand ; and out of this number two thousand at least were able f ^e dirst ^itge. - 37 to fight, were provided with arms, and had been habitu- ated to endurance. In place of the original huts, which had fallen to decay, Sigild had formed a kind of Jialles, or vast sheds. There were eight of these sheds ; one for every tribe. In front of each were disposed, at regular distances, circular fire-places, formed with flat stones, and intended for •cooking. As soon as the sun appeared above the hori- zon a confused sound of voices succeeded to the silence which had gradually fallen upon the plateau. But Sigild had not lost time during the night. Orders had been given to his trusty followers; eight mounted chiefs, fol- lowed by armed men, went among the multitude of fugitives, and pointed out to each tribe the locality that had been assigned it. Whether through lassitude, or from a sense of danger, the multitude obeyed, and towards the middle of the day the camp had ceased to present the appearance of disorder it exhibited the evening before.' Around the sheds, which were insufficient for such a number of families, might be seen men making huts with branches. The larger animals were fastened to stakes, and browsed on the grass which had not been too much trodden ; the sheep were folded, and the women were preparing the day's repast ; in every quarter the children were running about, and seemed to enjoy this new life. As to the warriors, they silently kept watch on the ram- parts and the towers. In the morning the valley was filled with a thick mist, and the hills were visible on either side above it ; upon their ridges was no sign of the enemy, and from the white vapour which hid the valley, not a sound issued. Had the enemy withdrawn } Was it a false alarm .'' From the camp the course of the river was scarcely distinfjuishable beneath the thick cloud of mist which 9841 38 §innals oi a Jforlress. covered it. Towards the end of the first quarter of the day Sigild sent out a detachment of a hundred men, with orders to explore the bridge and the banks of the river and rivulet. If no enemy appeared they were to follow the course of the latter and to reconnoitre towards the north ; they were to avoid engaging with the enemy. Ten men were to remain upon the bridge to collect brushwood, and set fire to it the moment they saw the enemy in the valley. Gradually the fog dispersed, and at noon the sun shone out in all its splendour through the whole extent of the valley. Nothing broke the silence, the air was still, and in the distance, cattle that had been for- gotten were seen quietly grazing. Many of the fugitives wished to leave the camp and return to their houses, with a view to remaining there, or to fetch articles which they had been unable to bring away. Sigild doubled the posts at the gates, with orders not to let any one go out. He went from one to another, trying to make the people understand that the enemy, far from withdrawing, was only waiting an occasion to seize the unwary who attempted to return to their homes. " They are in ambush," he urged ; "they hope that you will relapse into security and will become their prey without a struggle ; for though they covet your goods, they are still more anxious to get posesssion of your persons : they will carry you off to sell you, your wives and your children, as slaves among the nations beyond the mountains." Despite this warning, however, a great number were crowding towards the points of exit, and the armed men had hard work to keep the multitude back, when there arrived at the eastern entrance fifty of the warriors sent by Sigild to reconnoitre. They were covered with mud and sweat. When interrogated by the Brenn, they said that about three thousand paces from the camp, towards £^£ <|irst ^bge. 39 the north, among the woods, and although they were proceeding cautiously, they saw themselves all at once surrounded by the enemy : that many of them had been killed or captured ; that they owed their escape only to their knowledge of the neighbourhood, and that they effected it by rushing into a narrow ravine filled with underwood and decayed trunks of trees, and leading down to the rivulet, not far from the camp. " Your chief is killed?" said the Brenn. " We do not know." " You left him behind you ! " " We had orders to avoid any engage- ment." " You have not abandoned your arms .'' " " We have our arms." " Go and take rest." In an instant the entrances were clear, and the crowd returned in silence to its camping grounds. Sigild then went to the northern end of the camp ; he looked long through the depths of the forest ; then he summoned to this front five hundred armed men from the tribes, besides those who were at their post ; he stationed them behind the parapet, and ordered them to keep silence. He went into each of the towers raised on that side, and spoke in a low voice to each of the chiefs. Then all at once a shout arose from the southern side of the plateau. The Brenn mounted his horse and rode off hastily in that direction ; but on his way he was told that the bridge was on fire, and that the ten warriors stationed there were coming in by the western gate. " You have seen the enemy ? " said Sigild, when the ten warriors made their appearance. " We have seen them : they were advancing in a strong body towards the bridge, endeavouring to screen themselves behind the reeds and willows." Then Sigild selected a hundred men from among his best warriors, and posted them on the slopes of the plateau outside the western gate, ordering them to pile up underwood and trunks of trees in the sunken road, to 40 Slnnnls of a ifortrtss. keep behind on the banks, and not use their bows and slings till they saw the enemy near the barricade ; and if they attempted an assault on this point in a considerable body, to retire within and occupy the ramparts, helping those intrusted with their defence. In reality, however, the Brenn did not anticipate any serious attack on that side, which was difficult of approach. He thought the enemy would not attempt an assault with a river at their back, even should they succeed in crossing it. His attention was once more directed to the north. On this side, in fact, the camp is separated only by a slight hollow from the adjacent plateau, which widens and affords space for the gathering of a large number of troops, and a secure retreat in case of failure. He had also ascertained that the enemy already occupied the wide, forest-covered plateau. Sigild again rode through the whole length of the camp at a walking pace, uttering here and there words of en- couragement whenever he encountered looks of alarm. His calmness, his frank and agreeable expression, reassured the most timid. Night fell by the time he reached the ramparts on the northern side. Silence still reigned in the woods. When it was quite dark, some boys were let down by his orders over the parapet, loaded with bundles of straw and dry grass ; their instructions were to untie these bundles in the ditch sunk at this point at the foot of the escarpment. Then with the help of poles held down to them the children climbed back again. Sigild allowed only a few small fires to be lighted, screened by the height of the rampart, and all awaited the issue. The Brenn walked about conversing in a low voice with some of his trusty men, and the warriors standing around the smouldering fires, which threw a red glare upon them, exchanged only a few low and hurried words. Now and then a laugh escaped, but it was immediately stifled. The guard of the rampart had orders to keep a good look out, and if they perceived the enemy, to raise no cry. They were to give the alarm only by throwing clods of turf on the fires. They were not to show their heads above the wattle parapet. The night was clear, but there was no moon. At the middle of the first quarter of the night one of the chiefs came down from the rampart walk and ap- proached the Brenn. "The enemy are coming," said he, "What proof hast thou.?" " I heard the cracking of dead branches." Sigild ascended the rampart surrounded by several warriors. " To your posts ! " he said, in a low voice. That very moment some clods of earth fell upon the fires, scattering a shower of sparks. Sigild and the watchmen had observed certain forms of a whitish appearance that seemed to be creeping to- wards the counterscarp. Some of them let themselves down into the ditch, and pushing one another up scaled the escarpment ; they succeeded in reaching the wattling. Hearing no sound inside, they turned round and helped up others. When about fifty were at the top of the escarpment, poles were handed to them furnished with hooks, which they fixed into the wattling : then those who had remained on the counterscarp pulled the poles with all their force. The wattling gave way, and the assailants rushed on to the rampart walk. Thrust back by the swords of the defenders, the greater number rolled down to the bottom, of the fosse. Then, in accordance with the orders of the Brenn, flaming brands were thrown among the straw placed at the bottom of the ditch ; it took fire, and, 42 ^mials of a Jortuss. spreading a bright light, brought into view a broad front of enemies. From the summits of the towers the slings and bows discharged a shower of stones and arrows upon them. Many of the defenders were preparing to cross the debris of the wattling and get down the escarpment to throw themselves upon the enemy, but the Brenn stopped them, threatening with death any who should quit the rampart. The surprise had failed, and the ranks of the enemy wavered and retired out of range of the missiles. The Brenn, however, caused the wattling to be repaired as far as circumstances allowed, and doubled the ranks of the defenders on the rampart, as well to present a firm front to the assailants as to hold back the men of the foremost rank whom the enemy should seek to pull down into the ditch. Besides this, he formed between each tower small bodies of twenty men, who were to hasten to the weak points and to hurl down any of the assail- ants who should gain a footing on the rampart. Then he sent some of his trusty men on horseback to the eastern and western fronts, to convey intelligence, or to give warning in the event of attacks being made on several points at once. Scarcely were these measures taken when the enemy were seen returning in considerable strength to the ditch ; with loud cries they rushed up the escarpment. They were warmly received, and the ditch was being filled with the dead and wounded, facilitating the passage of those who followed, especially as many bore fascines. After two attempts the assailants gained a footing on one of the ramparts ; but the reserve bodies attacked them in front, while the men from the towers issuing right and left took them in flank. Whether the lighted straw had not been quite ex- tinguished, or the besieged had thrown more burning ®^£ Jiirst §icge. 43 brands into the ditch, some fascines took fire, burning the wounded, who uttered the most dreadful cries. The attack languished, and at length the leaders of the besieging host gave the signal for retreat. A certain number of the assailants had remained alive in the power of the besieged, and Sigild gave orders that they should be guarded and not put to death. As to the wounded lying within the ramparts, they were killed. Towards the middle of the night fires were seen to be lighted in the woods, about a thousand paces from the camp. The besieged had lost a iew men only, but the ditch was filled with the enemy's dead and wounded. The groans of the latter were the only interruption to the quiet of the night. Sigild slept not ; he kept half the warriors on vigorous guard during the third quarter of the night, and the other half during the last quarter. Those who were not on guard slept around the fires. The Brcnn, when the assault was over, had sent messengers to the chiefs of the eight tribes to acquaint them with the happy result of this first engagement. At break of day the Brenn had the prisoners brought before him. Two or three of them spoke the language of the valley, but with a foreign accent. Clothed in drawers laced around, and a tunic of undyed wool, with a broad strap which served them for a girdle, they looked not unlike some of those merchants who occa- sionally came into the valley to barter yellow amber and bronze for corn, cheese, tanned hides, and wool. *' Why do you come to attack us .''" said Sigild. " We have been driven from the lands we have inhabited from the most ancient times, by hordes from the north. These men have killed many of us, taken away our wives, and mur- dered our children : the stronger among us have combined 44 Slniuils of ;i ;!i^ortrrss. together, and crossing a wide river on rafts, we have tra- velled onwards towards the setting sun, seeking a home. Two days' journey from this spot we were told that this country is good and can afford sustenance to many ; so we have come hither. " When our chiefs saw that you shut yourselves up in this place, regarding us as enemies, they told us we must first make ourselves masters of the camp. We obeyed. We are only doing to you what has been done to us." " Why not have sent some of your number to ask of us what you required.''" "I do not know." "You have come as ene- mies, and as enemies we have received you. How many are you ? " " A great many." " Go seek your chiefs and tell them that if by nightfall their entire host have not quitted the land of Avon, the captives we have made here shall suffer." " I will not go." " Why ? " " Because our chiefs will not leave this land. Put us to death ; for if any of your party have fallen into the hands of our men, they are doomed to death to avenge our comrades killed this night." " Good." Sigild ordered that the captives should be fettered till he had decided on their fate. The Brenn was very anxious that the enemy should take up a position towards the north, opposite to the weak point of the Oppidum. Accordingly he was continually reconnoitring on the eastern and western fronts as far as the river and the other side of the rivulet, to prevent the besiegers from establishing themselves in either quarter. Upon the steep sides of the plateau, opposite the burnt bridge, Sigild had placed a small camp guarded by two hundred men. The reconnoitring parties, which he sent out in large numbers, had orders to bring back into the camp all the fodder and strayed cattle they could find, engaging the enemy only when they encountered them in small bodies. But the invaders did not seem to be contemplating another assault. They took up their quarters in the woods to the north and on the slopes of the hills, right and left, leaving between them and the camp the river and the rivulet ; marauding parties might also be seen in the valley, foraging, and pillaging the deserted dwellings. On the other side of the destroyed bridge they formed a wide palisading strengthened by barricading of timber ; and two days afterwards they had constructed a floating bridge on the river, formed with trunks of trees fastened together and kept in place by a kind of dam made with piles of timber fixed in the bed of the river and inclined up the stream. It was evident that the besiegers were in no hurry ; that they were living upon the provisions left in the valley ; and that it was their intention to reduce the besieged by famine. In fact the inhabitants of the Val d'Avon had been able to carry with them only a small quantity of provisions. They had their cattle, but these being badly fed and crowded together were dying in great numbers ; the cows ceased to give milk, and the store of forage was rapidly diminishing. On the sixth day of the investment, the chiefs of the tribes proposed to the Brenn to cut their way through the enemy's lines while their men still preserved their strength entire, and not to wait till the utter failure of provisions should place them at the mercy of the invaders. Of course the Brenn opposed this proposition, declaring that the day of deliverance would come, and that they must have patience. Nevertheless it was of great consequence to him that the enemy should concentrate his forces on the northern side. Accordingly, one evening at nightfall, he collected two bodies of men, one at the eastern, the other 46 .■Slnnals of u ^fortress. at the western gate. He had observed that the enemy- used to prepare their morning meal just before noon, and that of the evening at sunset. After the evening repast they were heard singing and shouting. When the opportune moment arrived he divided each of his bodies into two. The first two halves were to march along the ramparts parallel to one another till they reached the woods ; there they were to rush on the two flanks of the besiegers' outposts ; they were not to prolong the attack, but to fall back with all speed to the northern salient of the Oppidum. An issue would be open at this point. In the meantime, the two other halves would unite, provided with stakes, before this salient, where, with the aid of palisading, they would make an advanced work (Fig. 7). and then fall back one hundred paces to the right and left. Fig. 7. The men who guarded the north front had orders to cut an opening in the rampart twenty paces wide, and to throw fascines and clods of turf into the ditch, and have wattles ready to close the opening instantly. €l]t Jfirst gicijc. 47 The first two detachments, therefore, set out in silence ; that on the western side left a little before the one on the east, so as to arrive at the same time on the enemy's flank. The two other detachments preceded them, and stationing themselves at the northern extremity of the Oppidum, drove in their stakes according to the instructions given, and then fell back to right and left. A fine autumnal rain was falling, and the ground was slippery. Some time elapsed before the two detachments found them- selves in sight of the enemy's camp. The besiegers had no outposts ; but their army encamped in front of the Oppidum, and at a distance of about six hundred paces from it, was intrenched behind barricades of timber ; the intrenchment presented an extended front. Their men might be seen around the fires, talking loudly, singing, and drinking cider and mead, of which they had found abundance in the houses of the valley. An attack on this front was not to be thought of; they must get round it. So the two detachments separated farther and farther from each other, and advanced with the greatest difficulty along the bogs and under the woods in mo- mentary fear of being seen by the enemy. At length the one which was manoeuvring on the right reached the end of the front, got under cover, and awaited the signal, which was to be given by the one on the left by the blow- ing of a horn ; for the Brenn had calculated that the former would reach the extremity of the front before the latter. The time, however, was getting on, and Sigild, who had advanced with several warriors on horseback along the verge of the wood, still heard nothing. He sent two of his warriors to ascertain where the two detachments were ; they had great difficulty in making their way through the wood, while the enemy's fires, which they 48 ^lutals of :t fortress. saw in the distance through the trees, only added to their difficulties, by preventing them from seeing the ground they were riding over. The right front of the enemy towards the river formed a lengthened curve, and the left detachment kept advamcing parallel with the front without finding a point of attack. Midnight had passed when this detachment found itself at last before an opening left in the barricade, but this opening formed an interior angle, which rendered the attack very hazardous. The detachment waited until all was silent in the camp. The fires, fed only at irregular intervals, cast here and there a fluctuating light, and fewer shadows were passing before the braziers. One of the warriors sent by Sigild was approaching ; he considered that the attack on this point should not be deferred, and that the enemy must be surprised during his first sleep. One of the men gave the signal agreed upon, and the troops rushed through the opening, slaying all before them with terrific shouts, scattering the fires and forming in triangle, so as to prevent the enemy from getting round them. They did not proceed very far, for at the cries of the assailants and of the wounded, men were seen to rise up on every side and hasten towards the point of attack. The little troop then closed, and ceasing to ad- vance, turned and fled back towards the Oppidum, follow- ing the verge of the wood along the steep banks of the river. A long-continued shout was then heard on the enemy's left ; the attack had begun on that side also. Whether the enemy, which had started in pursuit of the left detachment, had succeeded in getting round it, or whether the detachment itself lost its way in the darkness, it was unable to regain the plateau in time, and continued to follow the course of the river. SIk (l^irst i'ifcic. 49 As to the troop detached on the right, being less distant from the Oppidum, directly it found itself pressed by a numerous body of the enemy, it retired in good order, and went direct to the angle of the intrenchments, as had been arranged, hotly pursued by the crowd of be- siegers. At the same time most of the enemy's forces that had started in pursuit of the left detachment were coming on the ground. The Brenn had anticipated the contingency of the attack which he had arranged not succeeding in every point. Despite the darkness, he saw that his people were not in advance, as they ought to have been, of the hostile warriors who were making their appearance on his left ; he therefore quickly retired within the outwork of stakes which had been formed by his orders, and commanded the straw fires to be lighted. The two detachments in ambuscade to the right and left outside the rampart had orders to refrain from attack till a signal agreed upon had been given. At the barrier of stakes, then, there arrived at the same time the right detachment in flight, that portion of the enemy who were in close pursuit of them, and those who were looking for the errant left detachment. A great number entered pell-mell into the triangular space formed by the stakes. It became the scene of an in- describable melee ; those who were defending the wattling which closed the breach dared not make any openings for their brethren-in-arms whom they saw engaged with the enemy. The Brenn struck into the midst of the crowd trying to rally his men. He succeeded in cutting his way up to the wattling, against which he leaned his back ; and the warriors of the right detachment being encouraged by his example, presented a head to the enemy, whose numbers, however, continually augmented. A few minutes E 5° plurals of n cifortrcss. more and they would have been swept down by the mul- titude of the assailants ; the last comers were urging on those in front of them, and the wattling and the warriors who defended it would have been borne down by the tide. The Brenn, with his long sword, was making a circle of dead and wounded around him. Then shouting over the parapet to give the signal, the sound of trumpets arose above the yells of the combatants. The enemy seemed to hesitate for a moment; then, closing into a compact body, they rushed upon the barricade, which gave way as if swept by a torrent. At the same instant loud shouts were heard on each of the enemy's flanks ; the two troops in ambuscade attacked the confused column outside the rampart. . . . The combat did not cease until daybreak. Those of the enemies who had succeeded in penetrating into the Oppidum were killed or captured. The triangle of broken stakes was strewn in every direction with the dead. The enemy, disconcerted by the two simultaneous flank attacks, and finding himself cut in two, was no longer able in the darkness to concert an assault, and retired. Nevertheless, those who had been taken in the outwork and at the gap of the Oppidum fought obsti- nately to the last, and the captives who were driven before the Brenn were all more less severely wounded. Sigild was covered with blood and dirt ; his great black horse had been killed in the last 7neUe, and he himself had been trampled on. He ascended the nearest tower, and saw that the enemy remained not far ofl" ; they were forming a contravallation of barricading three hundred paces from the Oppidum. Their attitude was threatening, and it was to be feared that they meditated another attack. The Brenn, there- fore, had the gap immediately repaired and the parapet strengthened with strong stakes about two feet apart. Besides this, he sunk a second ditch with intrenchment in a concave line, within the northern salient of the Oppi- dum. This intrenchment could not be seen from without. He contrived an egress at either end against a tower. The object was attained ; the enemy was concentrating himself in front of the weak salient of the Oppidum, and was drawing nearer. The defenders, however, ignorant of the motives which had induced the Brenn to attempt the hazardous sortie of the previous night, shook their heads and appeared anxious. If two or three hundred of the enemy had been killed, they had lost nearly as many. The women whose husbands were dead were filling the camp with their lamentations. Yet it was essential that Sigild should possess the confidence of his brethren in arms till the deii02\i)ient he had prepared should arrive. He called together the chiefs of the tribes. " You see plainly," said he, " that we cannot break through the lines w^iich inclose the camp. The enemy are very numerous and daring, and not to be disconcerted. Besides, can we think of leaving here the aged, the women, and the children to become their prey ! It is very certain that even if a troop of brave warriors could cut their way through such a host of enemies, the women, the aged, and the children could not follow them. " My object in the sortie of last night was to force the enemy to concentrate all his forces towards the north ; which he will be all the more disposed to do, as it is the weakest point of the Oppidum. When we have thus drawn him to that side, obliging him to withdraw from the hill-sides, we will go down on a dark night into the valley, cross the river by a bridge which I shall have in readiness and which fifty men will be able to put in place, and fly towards the river. When we find that we have no E 2 52 ;:^nirals of u Ji-'ovlrcss. more provisions left than we are able to take with us, friends with whom I am in communication will guide us to some neighbouring tribes of our race, and who will give us a hearty welcome, because they want help in cultivating the broad lands they possess. You may therefore bid the tribes and the warriors take courage : every contingency is provided for. But if the plan is to succeed, we must not allow the enemy a moment's peace while we remain here." Having nothing better to suggest, the chiefs of the tribes appeared to put faith in Sigild's words. His confident air, his good looks, the energy he displayed, and the care he took to make himself acquainted with everything, con- tinued to secure for him the sympathy of the unfortunate refugees. In the little camp above the burnt bridge he had, in accordance with the plan stated, some light rafts made which could be readily fastened together. He went frequently to see the work, and appeared to attach great importance to it. He ordered that the captives who were badly wounded should be killed ; the others taken in the last engagement were supplied with food in abundance. Confined in a sort of pit surrounded by stakes, they could not observe what was going on in the camp. Well guarded in the daytime, they were by Sigild's orders scarcely watched during the night, on the supposition that some would contrive to escape and would make the enemy believe that there was no scarcity of provisions, which was exactly what happened. One night, three of the stoutest captives succeeded in getting out of the pit, and gliding along the ramparts, regained the besieger's camp. Then Sigild had the others killed. Of the warriors not engaged in guarding the ramparts, the Brenn had formed four corps of three to five hundred ibc ^i;irst Sicgr. 53 men each ; and at certain times of the day and night he sent them down by one or other of the gates to harass the enemy on one side of his camp, or at both sides at once. Neither party suffered much loss in these skirmishes, whose only result was to keep the besiegers in constant suspense, to weary them and oblige them to concentrate their forces. It was also evident that the enemy were preparing for a general assault. They were seen accumulating faggots, cutting long poles, and making wicker screens. On the morning of the fourteenth day of the siege only a iew scattered parties were seen on the surrounding hills, while in the valley the palisading formed opposite to the ruined bridge and the raft bridge were alone still occupied by a considerable number of troops. " It is certain," said Sigild, to the chiefs of the tribes, " that the enemy is preparing to attack us. We must resist this assault with vigour, and then v/e will take advantage of his exhaus- tion and disorder to carry out our plan of flight." The besieger's preparations appeared formidable, and the camp opposite the northern salient of the Oppidum presented a busy scene. Sigild on his part neglected no means of resistance, though he calculated on the arrival of the troops summoned to their relief in the evening. He had the towers well supplied with stones and darts : on the ram parts he strengthened the wattle parapet, and increased the number of inclines for reaching it easily. Both sides were preparing for a decisive conflict. The intrenchment made behind the salient was well manned, and the Brenn trained his men to pass out in a body through the two egresses formed at the extrtmitics of the intrenchment, so as to take the assailants in flank. That day, however, passed without fighting. At sunset the Brenn ascended one of the towers, and attentively examined the horizon. His attendants thou"iit he wss 54 ^nitals of a Jfortrrss. watching the movements of the enemy ; he was, in fact, waiting for Tomar's signal. The night passed, and no signal appeared. Repressing all signs of the serious anxiety that had oppressed him through this tedious night, the sun had no sooner arisen than the Brenn disposed his men at the points he thought likely to be attacked. The enemy had formed in two large bodies three hundred paces from the Oppidum ; they had accumu- lated in front of them an immense quantity of faggots, beams, and wattles. The sun was already high above the horizon when they began to move. First came a line of warriors under cover of wicker shields, which protected them from darts and stones. In this way they reached the counterscarp of the ditch, despite of missiles from the towers. There they fixed the wicker .shields, and behind these a great number of the enemy bearing faggots gradually posted themselves. Then over this screen they threw a great quantity of these faggots into the ditch. When they judged that there were enough of them, they threw flaming brands upon them. The besieged had no means of counteracting this kind of attack. They showered darts and stones in abundance upon the assailants, but only wounded a few of them ; nor did they seem to mind these missiles. The wind blew from the north-west. The faggots were soon kindled, and the smoke and sparks blinded the defenders Three of the towers took fire, as well as the wattling of the ramparts. Sigild, calm and unmoved, had withdrawn his men behind the second intrenchment. " The enemy," said he, " will not be able to pass till all is consumed ; that will take time ; let him mount the rampart and cry victory. Sr^e J^irst §icgr. 55 Then will be our time for action." In fact, the green wood burned badly, and produced much smoke; the besieged threw bushes and chips on the red-hot faggots to feed the fire, and it continued burning. The enemy were becoming impatient ; the besieged looked on cheer- fully. About the middle of the afternoon, however, the fire went out at some points ; the besiegers threw earth and trunks of trees into the ditch, and, perceiving no de- fenders, thought that the ramparts being intenable were abandoned. With shouts they rushed on to the slopes, leaped the half-consumed wattling, and meeting with no resistance, descended in a close body into the camp (Fig. 8). There they were greeted by a sudden shower of darts and stones; but they unhesitatingly rushed upon the intrench- ment, which presented only a slight elevation and a shallow ditch, thinking to carry it easily. But the intrenchment was strong, and furnished with thick pointed stakes. The assailants, urging forward and aiding each other, gained its ridge ; they were received 56 ^nnnls of a J^odrcss. with swords and pikes, and fell back dying upon their comrades ; others filled their places. The bodies of the wounded, which in some places gradually filled up the ditch, afforded them a passage. Many of the enemy had succeeded in throwing themselves into the midst of the defenders, and in opening deep passages among them which were instantly occupied by the most daring. The deep front which the Brenn had formed behind the in- trenchment was broken. Then it was that he unmasked the two egresses at the extremities, sending out from both the troops of chosen warriors, who, keeping close along the deserted rampart, fell upon the dense stream of assailants. So compact was the crowd, and so great the pressure against the intrenchment, that; they had scarcely room to move. The two detachments above mentioned were mow- ing away before them to enable them to advance. But the enemy kept pouring in, and the space regained was imme- diately filled with fresh assailants, who, disregarding the attacks on their flanks, pushed furiously on to the centre. The bodies of the slain and the faggots had filled the ditch for the length of a hundred paces, and the loosened stakes formed but a slight protection to the defenders. The npise of the attack brought a great number of women hurrying to the spot. They might be seen with bare arms, raising stones above their heads, and hurling them with shrill cries against the breasts of the assailants, or de- spatching the wounded that had fallen inside the intrench- ment with the culinary wooden pestles used for pounding herbs and flesh in hollow stones. A shout was raised, the crowd of assailants opened, and a hundred men were seen steadily advancing, bearing on their shoulders an enormous trunk of a tree, and surrounded by warriors armed with axes. This column overthrowing all in its passage, whether friend or foe, made a wide lane in the intrench- fbc #irst ,§tc9f, 57 ment, strewn with dead and wounded. The beam was already more than half way through on the inside of the defences when the women ran in, and rushing like she- wolves on the flanks of the column, passed between the warriors, and clung to the legs of the bearers. The enor- mous beam swayed, toppled over, and bore down in its fall both assailants and defenders by its vast weight. Sigild profiting by the confusion, then dashed into the breach, followed by a troop of warriors which he had not without difficulty kept in reserve. In his return he cut himself a passage through the crowd of assailants. Seeing this movement, the warriors who had issued from the two ends of the inner intrenchment redoubled their efforts. Others rushed on to the rampart-walk by the side issues of the intrenchment, and fell upon the enemies within or without the rampart. The latter, cramped within this narrow space, and with their centre broken through, were unable to use their arms. Some fell and were suffocated. Those who were on the projecting part of the rampart began to turn and fly into the midst of their advancing comrades, who not seeing what was taking place behind the rampart, were for compelling them to return to the battle. The crowd fell into confusion, and disregarding the voice of the chiefs, accumulated in such masses in the ditch, the escarpments and the rampart-walk, that it could act only by its weight, and offered itself to attack without power of defence. Most threw down their bucklers which hampered their movements. Sigild kept advancing, and all the warriors not engaged in defending the intrenchment formed behind him in a column which became denser each moment. As soon as they were outside the intrenchment, these warriors turned about and threw themselves on the bulk of the assailants, who were separated into two masses. Caught as in a pair 58 §imrals of a Jfortrcss. of pincers by Sigild's band, and by those coming from the terminal egresses of the intrenchment, they were slaugh- tered without resistance. In vain did the chiefs of the enemy sound a retreat. The bulk of assailants, who were massed between the rampart and the intrenchment, could neither advance nor recede. Very few succeeded in rejoining their companions. Fatigue alone stayed the defenders ; it was no longer a combat but a massacre. Although the warriors of the Val d'Avon had suffered considerable loss, the success of the defence had intoxi- cated them, and they were eager to take advantage of the disorder of the enemy to sally forth from the Oppidum and fall upon them. Sigild was obliged to swear to them by the most terrible of oaths, that their vengeance would be more effective by delay. He told them, moreover, that the enemy were very numerous, and that the losses they had suffered had not weakened them to such a degree as to render them con- temptible ; that they were burning for revenge, and that to attack them in their camp was to give them the very opportunity they desired. The authority of the chiefs of the tribes of the Druids had, however, to be appealed to, to keep the warriors within the Oppidum. Night fell on the narrow battle-field covered with the dead and wounded. The Brenn took re-possession of the ramparts, had the wattle parapet hastily repaired, the enemy's wounded put to death, and his own carried into the middle of the camp, where they were consigned to the care of the women ; then he ascended one of the unburnt towers of that front, hoping to perceive Tomar's signal. But the night was hazy, and the fires of the enemy three or four hundred paces distant were scarcely visible. It was evident that Tomar could not have lighted his ilje Jirst ^icge. 59 fire, or if he had hghted it, it was impossible to see it through the haze. The warriors after the laborious day, chilled by the autumn fog, were sleeping around their fires. The cries of victory had been exchanged for a death-like silence, broken only by the groans of some of the wounded who had been forgotten. The Brenn was considering whether it would not be wise to follow the plan which he had indicated to the chiefs of the tribes — to leave the camp before daybreak by crossing the river on a line of rafts, before the enemy had time to effect a fresh assault. Provisions would cer- tainly fail them soon. But how move this multitude ! The warriors needed rest. " One more day," he said to himself ; " and if I have no news of Tomar, I still must consider it." Then he went out and ordered to the point attacked a body of warriors some hundreds strong, who, having guarded the unbroken part of the ramparts during the assault, and having taken no part in the conflict, were fresh and vigorous. Some women even mounted the towers. He enjoined all of them to give the alarm vigor- ously if they saw the enemy approaching the ramparts, so as to rouse the sleeping warriors. He despatched several of his trusty friends to the other fronts of the camp, with injunctions to watch the approaches, and to send out scouts through the gates to ascertain any move- ments outside, and to light fires a little way from the ramparts, so as to illuminate the immediate vicinity. He proceeded towards the southern extremity of the Oppi- dum, and saw that the little camp above the bridge that had been destroyed was guarded ; but also perceived through the mist the fires of the enemy in the valley opposite this point. It was midnight, and Sigild, exhausted by fatigue, 6o ^ititnb of n Jfovlrrss. returned to the northern side and retired to rest beneath one of the towers. Some of his friends kept watch out- side around a large fire. The Brenn was sleeping, when a hand placed on his shoulder awaked him. By the light of a resin torch he saw Tomar standing by him. " Is it really thou, Tomar ? " said he, thinking he was dreaming. " It is I." " Alone ? " " Alone here ; the warriors are down there ; the fog ren- dered the signal useless : I am come." " Hast thou been seen } " " Thy warriors sleep, no one has recognized me ; a woman told me thou wert here." " Why a day late .'' " " Ditovix has assembled a thousand warriors." " Ah ! Ditovix is with them." A cloud passed over the brow of the Brenn. " He is a noble fellow," said he, after a pause, "Thou knowest that we were attacked yesterday.''" "I know it ; I saw the field of the slain. The enemy are numerous ; they cannot turn back, to-morrow they will make another attack — they are resolved to succeed." " And then ? " " Then Ditovix is to fall upon them before midday, when he knows the conflict is begun." "Well .'' " "If I do not go back to Ditovix, or if he hears nothing from you, he will make the attack." "Remain with us, then ; thou art sure that we shall be assailed in the morn- ing } " " I passed along the enemy's camp — they are pre- paring for a fresh assault ; and there are warriors following the course of the river to attack the west side also." There was not a moment to lose. Sigild called his friends together, and informed them that a final effort must be made — that the enemy, harassed on their rear by neighbouring tribes, .must either get possession of the Oppidum that very day or perish. Tomar was repre- sented as having passed the previous day in the besiegers' camp, and become acquainted with the position of affairs. iTbc Jflrsl Stcqc. 6i No one doubted the veracity of Tomar, who, so far from exaggerating, never told a quarter of what he knew. Sigild scarcely had at his disposal, after the various assaults that had taken place, three thousand men in a condition to fight, deducting the troop stationed opposite the burnt bridge. He divided his forces into three bodies, one of about twelve hundred men to defend the northern ramparts, the second of eight hundred posted on the western rampart, and the third of a thousand men which he kept in the centre of the Oppidum under his own direct command. At the other posts around the Oppidum he placed men unaccustomed to fight and unprovided with arms, but who were yet able to offer some resistance if the enemy should present themselves. Women were posted in the towers away from the points of expected attack. Their only duty was to hurl stones at the assailants. The day broke slowly owing to the thick vapours ob- scuring the sky ; nevertheless the warriors, encouraged by the words of the Brenn and by their success the day before, awaited the enemy full of ardour. The Druids, informed by Sigild of the arrival of help, traversed the camp an- nouncing that the hour of deliverance had come, and that the souls of those who should fall were secure of the most glorious future. The Druidesses, with dishevelled hair, fastened sacred boughs to the wattling of the ramparts. A body of the enemy about two thousand strong now became distinctly visible opposite the western front of the Oppidum, with the river at its back. Towards the end of the first quarter of the day, this troop climbed the escarp- ment and stopped an arrow's flight off. It then divided itself into eight parties, each of which, provided with fag- gots, proceeded towards one of the towers. The assailants 62 ^mtats of n fortress. were received with a shower of arrows and stones. They advanced nevertheless without wavering, and heaped up the faggots at the foot of the towers, not without considerable loss on their side ; for the besieged hurled on them over the parapets large pebbles and trunks of trees. The assailants tried several times to set fire to the faggots, but the wood was damp, and the defenders threw baskets of wet earth on the incipient flames. The assault on the western side had continued for some time, when a vast number of the enemy threw them- selves on the northern salient, whose towers were partly destroyed. As on the previous day, they rushed in such a compact mass upon the salient, that they were not long in effecting a breach. Sigild then sent out five hundred men by the western gate to take the assaulting column in flank, whilst he pro- ceeded with the five hundred of the reserve body straight to the salient. By the time he had reached this point the enemy was already within the rampart, and his forces were sheltered behind the intrenchment. On seeing the heaps of the slain with which this quarter was strewed, the fury of the enemy appeared to be re- doubled, and they swept along like a flood through a wide breach. Thinking themselves at last masters of the Oppi- dum, they fell in disorder upon the troops led by Sigild. This body, disposed crescent-wise, formed as it were a second intrenchment, which the assailants vainly endea- voured to break through. The five hundred men who had gone out by the eastern gate had reached the left flank of the throng of besiegers, when a tremendous shout arose from the enemy's camp. Horsemen came galloping at the top of their speed STbe 4,ixst Siege. 63 towards the Oppidum. The attacking host wavered. Assailed on their flank they made scarcely any resist- ance, and a movement of disorderly retreat became more and more clearly manifest. Those Avho had gained a footing within the rampart, seeing themselves no longer supported, or rather forced on by new-comers, turned and fled with all haste towards the wood. Sigild perceived that Ditovix was making his attack ; then, collecting his warriors and summoning all the men from the various parts of the defences, he formed a dense column, and overthrowing the assailants who were betwixt him and the rampart, passed it and rejoined the warriors already outside : " Now," cried he, " forward ! the enemy is ours ; let not one escape." The wretched besiegers, hemmed in between the war- riors of Ditovix and those led by Sigild, although twice as numerous as the forces of their opponents united, became utterly disorganized, no longer thought of de- fending themselves, and rushing now to one side, now to the other, met death everywhere. Many attempted to fly towards the river or the rivulet ; but at an intimation from Sigild, Tomar, who had re- mained in the Oppidum, sent the warriors posted on the ramparts in pursuit of them. The assailants on the western front, seeing the dis- order into which their party had been thrown on the plateau, had got down towards the banks. On that side the warriors poured forth by the western gate, broke the bridge of rafts, and fell upon the enemy hemmed in by the river. Those of the besiegers who did not meet their death that day, perished of cold or hunger in the endeavour to escape pursuit. A thousand, however, were taken ; 64 S^unals of a J^ortuss. among others those who guarded the palisade in the valley. They were slain in the Nemede in presence of the Druids and Druidesses. Most of the bodies were thrown into the river, and for several days the dwellers on the banks of the river found corpses entangled among the reeds. CHAPTER IV. THE COST OF DEFENDERS. DiTOViX and his warriors had done their duty bravely ; the tribes of the Val d'Avon regarded them as saviours, and when the unfortunate besieged went back to their devastated homes, they cheerfully divided the little that remained to them with the new-comers. In the enemy's camp were found provisions, the fruits of pillage, and upon the bodies of the slain a little gold, and arms ; and all this was equally distributed. But winter was approaching, the fodder that had been col- lected was dispersed, the animals lost or consumed, the stores of grain destroyed. The means of subsistence had to be procured from the merchants, and the allies to be fed. Scarcity prevailed in this valley, so prosperous a month before. Its saviours were exacting, and began to ask where was that wealth and plenty which had been promised them. Quartered in the Oppidum with the warriors of Sigild, the followers of Ditovix assumed a domineering air on the strength of the service rendered to the inhabitants of the Val d'Avon, and whose importance they were mcessantly magnifying. Quarrels arose continually, and it needed all the influence which Sigild had acquired among his people to moderate their angry feelings. Ditovix abstained from interference in these disputes. When assistance had been asked — -he would say to Sigild, F 66 ^ivirals of n jFovtrfss. — his men had been promised wealth of all kinds ; how could he remonstrate with them if they were left to die of \yant ? Ditovix had brought a thousand warriors to aid the inhabitants of the Val d'Avon ; and, in spite of the losses suffered during the action, a month after the dispersion of the enemy's army the number of these auxiliaries was found to have unaccountably increased. The Druids then interfered ; they represented to Ditovix that though he and his v/arriors had saved the families of the valley from total destruction, they were reduced to poverty ; that if they died of hunger the same fate would befal his men, since there was nothing left to give them ; and that in the common interest it was necessary to come to some understanding. Then Ditovix adopted a different attitude. " I should be willing to take my warriors back," said he, " but 1 cannot. They would refuse to follow me, and would give themselves up to excesses of all kinds, I can scarcely prevent their proceeding from murmurs to violence. I had to promise much to induce them to come, and they must be satisfied. Fighting has been their constant occupation — for the most part in the countries beyond the mountains. lliey are not fitted for tilling the soil or tending cattle. What do you pro- pose .'' "— " What do you ask ? " said the Druids. " I will call together the leading men among them, and explain the state of things ; and will let you know what they want." Ditovix and Sigild consulted together, for both saw the necessity of securing the same advantages for the warriors of the valley and the auxiliaries, if they would avoid a collision. The two chiefs called in some of the principal merchants who frequented the valley, to induce ®|je dosl of Btfcnbers. 67 them to furnish supplies in consideration of certain guarantees very advantageous to them. Matters being thus concluded between Sigild and Ditovix, they called their adherents together, and had no difficulty in getting them to accept the conditions on which they themselves had agreed. These conditions were as follows : — The Oppidum was to be placed under the guard of the warriors of the vale and the followers of Ditovix exclusively of all others. Their number amounted to nearly three thousand. The inhabitants of the valley were to give them one day in four to help them in executing the works necessary for defence or for building their dwellings. A fourth part of their crops and of their cattle was to be contributed by every family of the vale for the maintenance of the three thousand warriors. As Sigild and Ditovix took upon themselves to supply the wants of the people during the scarcity, all the merchandise was to be deposited beneath the promontory near the bridge ; and the in- habitants were to receive and exchange it there, being forbidden under the severest penalties to treat directly with the merchants. Harsh as these fiscal arrangements were, they were obliged to accept them. Ditovix, loaded with valuable presents, quitted the Oppidum, leaving his followers, who accepted Sigild for their Brenn. The bridge was quickly restored, and there arose at either end dwellings and storehouses for the merchants and their merchandise. The chiefs of the warriors levied a toll on all the ex- changes ; they had the monopoly of the market, as they bought up all the produce that was exchanged. Notwithstanding the pressure of fiscal burdens, nay, even as a result of it, the inhabitants of the Val d'Avon secured a larger return from their land than formerly, F 2 68 Annals of a ;!forfrcss. and they had a greater number of cattle. Their com- merce became more extensive, and the population in- creased. Many merchants came to live in the town built at the two extremities of the bridge. Thirty years therefore after the siege we have just described, the valley had become highly prosperous ; though the inhabitants smarted under the domination of the warrior caste, and considered a quarter of their substance and of their labour a great deal too much to give to men who lived in idleness, and whose chiefs dis- played an ostentatious luxury. Often, it is true, these warriors would undertake some expedition, from which all did not return to the valley ; but those who came back safe and sound took care to enforce the payment of past dues, and would then spend days in eating and drinking, and were more exacting than ever. They recruited from among the youth of the valley, and even from among foreigners, for it was of importance to them that their numbers should not diminish. Gradually the remembrance of the events which had led to this state of things faded from the minds of the population. The grandchildren of the followers of Sigild and Ditovix regarded the privileges accorded to their ancestors as a birthright ; while the tillers of the soil, and the shepherds and craftsmen of the vale, became accustomed to submission, and finally adopted the convic- tion that they had come into the world to serve and support the men who inhabited the Oppidum. CHAPTER V. THE SECOND SIEGE. Two centuries and a half had elapsed, and the Val d'Avon had become the centre of a numerous and wealthy district of the Lingones. At the base of the Oppidum, extending on both sides of the river, was a town — a mercantile depot of some importance ; for as the river is navigable below the promontory, many boats coming from the Sequani ascended thus far, laden with merchandise brought from the south, and returned freighted with horses, tanned hides, ironwork, smoked and salted meat, timber, grains, cheese, &c. &c. The Oppidum was then partly covered with habitations and gardens belonging to the descendants of Sigild and Ditovix's warriors. Its ramparts, oftentimes repaired, were in imperfect condition ; earthworks were to be seen there, with a few towers of dry stone walling — principally on the north side. The part of the town on the right bank was uninclosed, but that which stood on the southern slopes of the promontory was surrounded by dry stone walls which reached the ramparts of the Oppidum. A tete de pout, built of the same materials, appeared on the right bank nearly contiguous to the houses of the part of the town built on that side (Fig. 9). It must not be supposed that this town presented the aspect of our modern cities. It consisted of a series of inclosures of wood or dry stone walls, surrounding Fig. g— The To\Vi\ a.m> Cite d'A\on (War (if the Galls). a be ^rconb ^iccir. 7^ gardens, in the middle of which were built the houses — wooden buildings thatched with straw or reeds. On the southern point of the Oppidum, however — behind the Nemede and commanding the valley — there rose a structure of wood and stone, which was conspicuous above the rampart (at A). It was the dwelling of the chief of the warriors and his Ambactes,^ who were numerous. His name was Catognatus : rich by inheritance, he also farmed the tolls and taxes over a wide district of the Lingones, having thus greatly increased his wealth. By his liberality he had gained numerous partisans, and was always surrounded by a troop of cavaliers equipped and fed at his expense. By family alliances he had acquired considerable influence, extending even among the yEdui, and took part in the wars which that people were waging against the Arverni. He was able to muster five or six thousand warriors among his own adherents and those of his Ambactes. When Ceesar set out in pursuit of the Helvetian emi- grants who persisted in passing through the Roman province to spread themselves in Gaul, the yEdui had promised to supply his troops with corn. The Helvetians, and close upon their track the Romans, had already passed the Avar,^ and the promised grain had not arrived. The fact was, that certain persons of in- fluence among the /Edui were opposed to the Romans, and, fearing that if once they got a footing in Gaul they would aim at subjugating it, were using every eflbrt to prevent the fulfilment of the promises made by the magistrates of the principal city of the /Edui. Catognatus was one of the chiefs most actively opposed to the Romans, and had friends among Caesar's auxiliaries who informed him of all that was going on in the Roman ^ FiiMi's-- w:\vr\ors devutcil to llie chief. ' The Saone. 72 ^unuls of a Jfortrrss. camp. On his side he communicated to the Helvetii whatever information he received respecting the move- ments or position of the Roman army. Caesar having become acquainted with these manoeuvres through Liscus, took his measures accordingly ; and after having in great part annihilated the emigrant horde of the Helvetii, when the scattered remnant sought refuge among the Lingones, he first sent couriers to prohibit the latter from aiding or sheltering the fugitives : then, after allowing his troops three days to recruit themselves, he pushed on again in pursuit of the Helvetii. These cjuickly submitted ; but Caesar had not forgotten the share which Catognatus had had in the matter of supplies promised by the yEdui, and while he was treating with the latter with a view to relieve part of Gaul from the tyranny of Ariovistus, he despatched a legion and some auxiliary troops to assure himself of the disposition of the Lingones, to seize Catognatus and the Helvetii whom he had harboured, and, if necessary, to chastise the inhabit- ants of the Val d'Avon — i.e., if they persisted in holding to their chief Catognatus, who had his informants in Caesar's army, was soon warned of the danger that threatened him. He had, in fact, given an asylum to some Helvetian fugitives, thereby raising the number of his men to nearly six thousand, supposing the warriors of the Val d'Avon willing to make a stand against the Roman troops. As- sembling his Ambactes, therefore, and their principal re- tainers, he urged on their consideration the inconsiderable size of the Roman army ; the fact that it was already distant from the frontiers of the province, and had been weakened by preceding conflicts ; that though it had defeated the Helvetii in the open field, the issue would have been different if the enemy had been posted behind ®bc Sctoni) ^icgr. 73 intienchments ; that they ought not to suffer the Romans to busy themselves with their affairs or differences, since they, the Gauls, did not interfere with the affairs of the provinces ; that the Romans might justly prohibit the Helvetii from passing through Roman territory, but that they infringed the independence of their neighbours and allies when they presumed to keep order among them without being formally requested to do so ; that he knew, moreover, that the ^dui, devoted though they seemed to the Romans, were only waiting for an opportunity to chastise their presumption ; that Caesar was going to divide his forces, and that if the men of the Val d'Avon resisted the troops sent against them, this would be the signal for a general rising which would be fatal to the Roman armies. He told them also that they ought to remember that their ancestors made the Romans tremble even in Rome, and that it was disgraceful to submit to the dictation of those whom they had formerly con- quered. Catognatus also adopted the stratagem of sending emissaries to the houses of the people under the guise of travellers. They professed to have seen Caesar's troops, and to have found them half-starved and utterly destitute ; they affirmed that the best of them had been obliged frequently to retreat before the Helvetii ; that they were reduced by three-fourths, and that the remainder of their army was composed of raw recruits and of auxiliaries, who were only waiting for an opportunity to return home. These reports, spread through the valley, were still more efficacious than Catognatus's discourse ; for the Gauls have always been inclined to lend a willing ear to representa- tions that flatter their desires, without inquiring whether they are true or false. If any of the older men shook their heads and said that it would be as well to know 74 Annuls of a Jt-'ovticss. what was asked of them before assuming a hostile attitude, they were treated with contempt. Catognatus, seeing all the people inclined to resist, had trunks of trees mingled with earth and pebbles heaped up before the weaker points of the Oppidum. They re-dug the di':ch before the walls of the left bank and surrounded with palisades the part of the city that had remained unprotected on the right bank. In addition to this, Catognatus had a cutting dug at a hundred paces from the Oppidum between its northern salient and the plateau. These works, hastily undertaken, were still un- finished when the arrival of the Roman troops was an- nounced. The infantry were advancing in good order in the valley on the left bank, while the cavalry followed the hills on the same side. Not a man quitted the ranks to go and pillage the houses, and neither songs nor shouts were heard. The helmets of polished bronze worn by the legionaries were shining in the sun, and, seen from a dis- tance, the troop resembled a long fiery serpent uncoiling in the meadows. From the elevated tower occupied by Catognatus the slightest movements of the Romans were visible. They soon deployed along the rivulet, their left being against the river and their right protected by the cavalry on the hills. The lieutenant, Titurius, then sent an envoy into the city. He was commissioned to announce to the magistrates that the Romans appeared as friends, but that since Catognatus had given an asylum to some of the Helvetii, and had notoriously exercised his power to prevent the ^dui from furnishing the supplies promised to the army commanded by Caesar, and which had come into Gaul with the sole purpose of hindering the Helvetii from devastating, — that is, strictly in the character of allies, — they must deliver up the said Catognatus and the Cl)£ Snonb Sifgf. 75 Helvetian refugees to the lieutenant Titurius without delay : that if this was done the Romans would only demand provisions for ten days, — a reasonable require- ment, as between allies ; after which they would return to the /Edui. Catognatus, surrounded by his principal Ambactes, was present in the assembly of the magistrates when the envoy delivered his commission. Seeing them hesitating, he replied to the summons as follows : " Here is the object of your search. I am Catognatus ; I have afforded an asylum to certain of the Helvetii, who are my friends, and whose hospitality I myself have shared ; I am allied with the Helvetii as I am allied with the Romans. If the Romans had been beaten by the Helvetii, and any of them escaped from massacre had taken refuge here, would they consider it honourable for me to give them up to their enemies^ had they come here in arras to demand them ? If such was the usual conduct of the Romans, I should blush to be their ally. To the vague accusa- tion respecting the influence I am alleged to have exercised over the policy of the /Edui, I have nothing to reply. The ^dui act according to their own good pleasure, and it is not for me to interfere with them. The Romans should demand satisfaction of the yEdui if they have not fulfilled their engagements. As to myself, the Romans have asked nothing of me, and I have pro- mised them nothing : what business have they here ? If they had a message to send me, was it necessary that the bearer should be escorted by a legion ? Is this how allies should treat each other .-* Go and tell the legate that we are at home here ; that if he comes as a friend we shall treat him as a friend ; but that if he presumes to dictate to us and treat us as children, we shall answer him as men who know how to act for themselves." " He is 76 ^imals of a fortress. right! he is right!" was the unanimous exclamation of the Ambactes ; and overwhelming the envoy with insults, they thrust him out. Catognatus had to interpose to prevent the crowd from tearing him to pieces. Titurius was instructed to show the greatest possible consideration for the inhabitants, that the neighbouring peoples might not be irritated ; and to adhere scrupu- lously to the terms of the demand transmitted by the envoy- -simply to require the surrender of the Helvetii and Catognatus. On the other hand, his orders were to accomplish the expedition with all possible despatch, as Csesar had but a few legions with him. The legate, therefore, refrained from investing the city and the Oppidum, and, as he had no reason to fear the immediate arrival of help to the enemy, he judged it best to direct all his efforts to the plateau, hoping to take the fortress by a vigorous effort. It wa.s, however, to be feared that if the Oppidum was taken by assault, Catognatus and a part of the Helvetii might succeed in escaping. At night, therefore, the legate was devising a plan by which, with the eight thousand men or thereabouts of which his force consisted, he might at the same time prevent all means of escape from within, and make a vigorous attack upon the Oppidum, when a centurion came to tell him that some of the inhabitants requested a private interview with him. The inhabitants in question were magistrates of the lower town Falling at Titurius's feet, they told him with tears that it was with no good will they submitted to the dominion of Catognatus and his warriors ; that the de- mands presented that day to the assembly by the envoy were nothing but reasonable, since the Helvetii had entered Gaul only as marauders, and that Catognatus had used his iin ,§cconLi ^icgc. 77 influence to embarrass the march of the Romans their alHes, who had come to destroy the Helvetii ; that they the magistrates had no authority over the warriors, and very httle over the populace, enthralled as they were, and de- ceived by the agents of Catognatus ; that this chief and his men had taken refuge in the Oppidum, and the part of the town situated at the extremity of the promontory, abandoning the part built on the right bank ; that, in fact, they entreated the legate to occupy that part of the city with his troops, who would be well received, and who, they hoped, would not give themselves up to any excesses, since they were treated as friends. Titurius raised them, and, speaking kindly to them, pro- mised to do what they asked ; but, fearing treachery, stated that he must keep them as hostages. The magistrates surrendered themselves to his disposal, declaring that his troops would find the gates open, the posts unoccupied, and the inhabitants in great excitement, but by no means hostile, if they were well treated. On their arrival, the Romans had instituted a ferry on the river below the town. A reconnoitring party de- spatched immediately reported that the egresses were in fact free, and that no one appeared behind the walls. Titurius therefore invested all the egresses, and towards midnight a thousand men selected from among the auxiliaries were in possession of the lower town, without any sound of disturbance or sign of disorder. In the morning the Gallic warriors posted at the head of the bridge saw the Romans before them, and were vehement in their abuse of the inhabitants, threatening to burn the town as soon as they had driven away the Roman troops. Meantime, the Romans demolished several houses adjoining the head of the bridge, and made use of the debvis to form a semi-circular intrenchment of contravallation. endin"; 78 ^luvals of u /ovtrcss. against the river at its two extremities. Titurius estab- lished some posts along the rivulet ; and on the larger stream above the city he constructed a bridge of boats guarded by two posts at either end. This accomplished, he removed with the bulk of his troops to the northern part of the plateau. Next day he examined the position, after having filled up a part of the intrenchment ; but Catognatus had done away with the egresses of the northern front, and completed the rampart at this point. The assault was vigorously repulsed. This success emboldened the besieged, and they began to overwhelm the legate with sarcasms. Seeing that he could not take the Oppidum by storm, in presence of a determined and numerous body of men, he resolved upon a regular siege. Although the cutting dug by the defenders between the Oppidum and the plateau was only a bowshot from the rampart, in a few hours it was almost entirely filled up, consolidated, and levelled. Then Titurius had a great number of trees felled in the woods extending along the northern plateau, and brought in front of the camp. This wood being duly prepared, an agger was com- menced fifteen paces from the ramparts, in spite of the darts and stones hurled by the besieged. This agger consisted of a terrace about a hundred paces long, ten feet high and twenty deep, with a gap in the middle twelve paces wide. From the two sides of this interval extended at right angles two galleries {vinece), solidly constructed with trunks of trees and covered in ; these galleries were about a hundred paces long. The agger was made of trunks of trees piled up, mingled with earth, with inclines for reaching the summit. This was a work of some days ; and as during that time the Romans made no attack, and thought only of protecting those (Tbc SctouD .^icgc. /v engaged in it from the missiles thrown from the ram- parts, the besieged did not cease to ridicule them (for they were within hearing), asking them if they were in- tending to build a city and pass the winter there. But one morning the warriors of the Oppidum saw a wooden tower rising at the extremity of the two galleries. This tower, the woodwork of which had been prepared So Annuls of a jFortrcss. beforehand, was set up within the day ; its summit rose more than ten feet above the top of the towers of the rampart (Fig. lo). The Gauls contemplated this structure with uneasiness, although they did not comprehend its importance ; so Catognatus resolved to set fire to the works during the night. With this view he had placed on the ramparts, behind the wattling, barrels filled with pitch, grease, and dry sticks ; then he placed two bodies in readiness to go out by the eastern and western gates, provided with vessels full of resin, tow, and grease. These troops were to make their way along the outside of the defences, and simultaneously attack the flanks of the besiegers, while the men posted on the ramparts Vv^ere to remove a por- tion of the wattling, and to roll the barrels, after setting them on fire, against the agge}' whose front was raised on the counter- scarp of the ditch. The Romans had been able to see these pre- parations from the sum- mit of the tower ; m.ore- over, they stationed a strong guard on the flanks of the plateau every evening. The le- gate at nightfall had these points protected by stakes, and had a quantity of stinuUi (Fig. ii) driven into the ground outside. About the third hour of the night the besieged issued noiselessly from the two gates and came within half a bowshot of the Roman pests. At a signal given from the interior, the two bodies rushed at once on the besiegers' flanks. But even before they y^ljc ^ctonb .^icgf. 8i could reach the pahsades, many of them, wounded by the sthnuli, fell uttering cries of pain. Those who reached the besiegers' posts, thinned by the darts showered upon them, and hesitating on seeing so many of their party fall, were more inclined to fly than to continue the attack when they saw themselves in their turn taken in flank and rear by the besiegers. The defenders on the ram- parts, whom the darkness of the night prevented from seeing clearly what was taking place, and not knowing whether the confusion arose from the flight of the Romans or of their own men, dared not discharge stones and arrows. Meanwhile the lighted barrels were being rolled in front of the galleries, which had already begun to take fire. By the glare of the flames they could see the Roman soldiers mount on the terrace carrying baskets full of wet earth, which they threw on the barrels ; and the defenders killed or wounded many of them. At this moment some of the fugitives who had taken part in the two sorties, re-entered the camp calling out that they were pursued by the Romans. Catognatus had barely time to send troops to defend the two egresses and to protect the retreat of his men. He himself took up a position in the centre of the Oppi- dum with a chosen band, that he might be able to assist the quarter that should be most closely pressed. Aided by this diversion the Romans, less harassed by darts from the rampart, were able to extinguish the fire. They took advantage of the last hours of the night to advance the tower along the galleries by means of rollers, as far as the edge of the agger, and in the morning the warriors of the Val d'Avon were not a little surprised to see this ponderous wooden structure commanding the whole ram- part and the towers of the defences. G §innnls of u ifortrcss. At dawn, showers of stones and arrows hurled from the top of the besiegers' tower prevented them from approach- ing the defences, and two catapults swept the part of the Oppidum in front of it with enormous missiles, which, hissing through the air, killed or shattered to fragments all they encountered. Two onagri overwhelmed with stones the scaffolding set up by the defenders on their front to attack the agger, and smashed it in pieces. A bridge was soon let down on the rampart from the face of the tower, and the Romans, advancing in good order, took possession of the defences (Fig. 12). Catognatus and his retainers, to the number of five or six hundred, had not expected this turn of events, and Sri^e Sftoub S^rccir. 83 had taken refuge in the stronghold built beyond the Nem^de, at the southern part of the Oppidum. When the besiegers, whom no one thought any longer of resisting, were drawn up in force on the rampart, and had occupied the towers — killing those who occupied them rather as refugees than as defenders — they separated into three large bodies : the two wings marched along the inner side of the rampart, taking one after another the towers upon it, and entered the enclosures and houses, killing those who endeavoured to resist. The centre troop, drawn up in the form of a wedge, marched right on and swept the plateau. The unfortunate defenders fled, and crowded together along the side of the Nemede. Many endeavoured to gain the stronghold, but the entrances were closed and the bridge destroyed. Catognatus was thus abandoning the greater part of his followers and leaving them to the mercy of the enemy. The warriors of the Val d'Avon threw away their arms, and with out- stretched hands implored quarter of the Romans. Titurius then stayed the slaughter, and told the defenders that if they gave up Catognatus and the Helvetii who had taken refuge among them, their lives should be spared. Pointing to the lofty fort beyond the Nemede, the be- sieged replied that it was not in their power to surrender Catognatus, who had taken refuge there with a small number of his followers, but that they would immediately deliver up the Helvetii still among them. The . legate wishing to act with mildness, according to Caesar's instruc- tions, contented himself with this assurance. The Helvetii were immediately delivered up, and the people of Avon, disarmed and stripped of their warlike accoutrements, were sent back to the valley, with the exception of a hundred hostages. The few chiefs, however, who had remained among them, having been put in fetters, were G 2 84 'Annals of n Jfovtrcss- to be kept, with a view to being placed at Caesar's dis- posal. As to the Helvetii, who numbered five or six hundred, Titurius kept some as hostages ; the rest, having been disarmed, were ordered to return to their country by the most direct route : provisions for the journey were distributed among them. The buildings of the Nemede and its grove prevented Catognatus from seeing what was going on beneath its walls, but as he no longer heard war-cries nor the clash of arms, he concluded that his men had surrendered. As for himself and his retainers, knowing that they had no mercy to hope for, they prepared themselves for defence, and resolved to sell their lives as dearly as possible. A deep ditch partly cut in the rock separated the stronghold from the Nemede. The defences consisted of an enclosure, made in Gallic fashion, of trunks of trees alternating with layers of stone surmounted by wattling. A large quadrangular tower, constructed in the same way, enclosing four stories, and terminated by a roof of reeds covering a crenelation, served as a place of retreat. Within the enclosure were wooden huts for the garrison ; as the tower, which was only twenty paces wide by twenty deep, and whose walls were thick (about three paces), could barely contain a hundred men. Titurius reconnoitred the approaches. The ditch in- terrupted all communication with the Oppidum, and ended against its ramparts. Towards the south, the stronghold rose immediately over the escarpment, which on this side was so steep that no ditch had been required. But a palisade on the outside, fixed in a mound, prevented ap- proach to the base of the stronghold. As stated before, the walls of the upper town occupying the southern slopes extended to the rampart of the Oppidum. But these a Ik ^etonb S'tcgc. 85 walls had been abandoned by the warriors of Catognatus who had taken refuge in the stronghold. On quitting the upper town they had set fire to the bridge, seeing which, the Romans posted opposite the head of the bridge had passed this latter without meeting any resistance, and had succeeded in extinguishing the flames. The bridge was promptly repaired. The legate, therefore, effected a communication with his troops in the northern quarter, who were then occupying the upper town, and completely invested the stronghold. Time pressed, and as he had already lost twelve days before the Oppidum, haste was necessary. In the first place, he sent one of the Gallic prisoners to hold a parley with the defenders of the stronghold. He promised to spare their lives if they would give up their chief, and the Helvetii that might be among them. If, on the other hand, the attack was once commenced, they must expect to be all put to the sword. The messenger was received by a shower of stones, and returned bleeding to the legate, who could no longer hesitate. The order was given to fill up the ditch, and to speed the work ; the centurions, employing threats and blows at need, compelled a good many of the vanquished to carry faggots and earth. Protecting themselves with mantelets, the Romans suffered only trifling loss, for the besieged had but few missiles. Besides, Titurius had brought up the engines of war, demolished those parts of the wall of the Nemede which might embarrass the opera- tions, and posted the best slingers and archers on the flanks, so that the rampart of the stronghold, riddled with projectiles, was scarcely tenable. At night the filling-in of the fosse was consolidated by timberwork, on which were spread brushwood and turf. At the first hour of the day a cohort advanced in slow 86 ^nnals of a J'ortrcss. march on the ground thus made, forming the testudo (Fig- 13)- Some of the defenders endeavoured to resist ; but they were few in number, and exposed to the projectiles which the auxiliary troops of slingers and archers incessantly discharged upon them in an oblique direction. The ram- part was soon taken ; but darts, stones, and flaming balls Fig. 13. of pitch and tow were hurled upon the assailants from the tower, and if they attempted to approach it, planks and pots filled with gravel. It was necessary, therefore, to set up screens on the rampart even ; for to abandon that would have revived the courage of the defenders. Here the Romans lost several men, and many were wounded. To set fire to the tov;er was scarcely possible; for constructions of timber mingled with stone do not readily take fire. Srije itctonb Sicgr. 87 Titurius, however, placed one of his catapults so that the projectiles thrown by it should reach the roof of the tower; and when satisfied that this object was attained (it was towards sunset), kept up a continuous discharge of burn- ing missiles — consisting of darts wrapped in tow saturated with oil and tar — on the roof, which soon caught fire. The legate made sure that as the floors of the tower were of timber, the roof when it fell in would communicate the fire to the ground story ; and in fact, the roof had not long fallen in when a dense column of smoke, accompanied by sparks which appeared as if issuing from a vast chimney, shot forth from the summit of the tower. Catognatus, and those of his followers who had crowded into the stronghold, despairing of maintaining it, then opened a concealed aperture, which gave egress on the sides of the upper town ; and without bucklers, a sword in one hand, a flaming brand in the other, rushed with terrible cries on the Romans, who were keeping guard outside the palisading on that side, and who, surprised by this column of warriors, opposed but a feeble resistance, and made an attempt to rally and fall upon the flanks of the fugitives. It was night, and the slopes were steep, occupied here and there by houses and palisading en- closing gardens. The Romans were ill-acquainted with the ground, and often got into places whence there was no exit. Catognatus and his followers, reduced to about two hundred men, rapidly descended the paths with which they were familiar ; and in passing threw their brands upon the thatched roofs, or into the barns filled with hay and straw. The inhabitants rushed out in bewilderment, not knowing whence the attack came. Seeing parties of Romans passing by seeking egress, entering the gardens and the houses, and breaking through the gates and