Switzerland has two heroes of her war for independence.
William Tell is a wholly mythical character, for the story of a skillful
marksman who succeeds in striking off some small object placed on a child's
head is found in England, Norway, Denmark, and other countries. The Swiss have
localized it in Uri. Another popular hero has a better claim to historical
existence. It is said that at a critical moment in the battle of Sempach, when
the Swiss with their short weapons failed to break the Austrian ranks, Arnold
von Winkelried, a man of Unterwalden, came to the rescue. Rushing single-handed
upon the enemy, he seized all the spears within reach and turned them into his
own body. He thus opened a gap in the line, through which the Swiss pressed on
to victory. Winkelried's deed might well have been performed, though the
evidence for it is very scanty.
THE SWISS CONFEDERATION
Little Switzerland, lying in the heart of the Alps and
surrounded by powerful neighbors, is one of the most interesting states in
Europe. The twenty-two communities, or cantons, which make up the Swiss
Confederation, differ among themselves in language, religion (Roman Catholic or
Protestant), and customs, according to their nearness to Germany, France, or
Italy. Nevertheless the Swiss form a patriotic and united nation. It is remarkable
that a people whose chief bond of union was common hostility to the Austrian
Hapsburgs, should have established a federal government so strong and enduring.
