Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume I Part 2.djvu/302

 HELVETII. side of the rirer, at the base of the mountain named Credo, is now Fori VEchue^ or Fort la CUue, as it is sometimes written. On the south side is the range of high land, which is a continuation of the Jura ; fuid here the wall ended. As the Rhone cannot be forded below this point, and is indeed hardly fordable ttboTe, if Caesar kept the HeWetii from crossing be- tween Geneva and Fort CEchtse^ his enemies must go some other way. The length of Caesars wall, measured from a point a little abo^'e Geneva along the Rhone to a point opposite to Fort VEclvsej agrees with Caesar's length; and we may suppose that the text is right as to the numbers, which has only been doubted by those editors who have supposed that his wall was made from the lak£ on the nwth Bide of the Rhone to the Jura, which would be a manifest absurdity, and is contrary to Caesars nar* rativeb Appian {GalL Excerpt, xiii.) found the same length of wall, either in Caesar s text or elsewhere ; for he makes it 150 stadia, which, at 8 stadia to a Boman mile, b 18| Jd.P. Another objection to Caesar^s narrative is, that the Rhone below the junc- tion of the Arve is not fordable now; it is rapid, and sunk in a deep bed between rocks, which circum- stances would render the passage of the river either by bridges of boats, rafts, or wading impossible. Bat it has been maintained, even in modem times, that such a passage over the Rhone would not be impossible. Caesar says that in his time it was done ; and it is certain that some change must have taken place in the bed of such a river, through which a rapid stream has been running for 2000 years. There now only renuiined the other way for the Helvetii, which they could not take if the Sequani opposed them {B. G. i. 9) — the narrow pass between the Jura and the Rhone. Dumnorix managed this for the Helvetii, and the two peoples gave hostages to one another; the Helvetii promising to do no mischief, and the Sequani undertaking not to molest them. Now the objectors say there were many other roods that the Helvetii could have taken, and par- ticularly the road from Orbe in the Pajft de Vaud to Pontarlier on the Doubi : and General Wamery, a great authority in this matter, for he places Caesar's wall on the wrong side of the river, really believes they did go this way ; to which the answer is, that Caesar says they did not The road to Pontarlier^ says Wamery, is the moet open, easy, and practi- •cable of all the roods through the Jura. The general should have proved that it was so in Caesar's time, and the best road for waegons early in spring ; but, even if he had done that, he would not have confuted the author of the CommentariL Caesar was told that the Helvetii intended to pass through the territory of the Sequani and the Aeiiui, and that their purpose was to reach the country of the San« tones on the north side of the Lower Garonne. The xonte by Pontarlier was quite out of their way. They wanted to cross the Rhone, and pass through the territory of the Allobroges ; and if they could not do this, their best road, their only road, was past Fort FEclute, Besides, if the Sequani were 'willing to let the Helvetii pass through their country, they would let them pass along the southern border rather than through the middle of their lands ; and, as the Allobroges had some lands north of the Rhone below Fort tEdMse^ which lands the Hel- vetii plundered, there is a very good reason for the Sequani allowing the Helvetii to take this road, and no other, if there was at that time, and at that seaaoB of the year, another waggon-road, which HELVETII. 1045 cannot bo proved. Caesar left Labienus to take care of his wall, while he went to North Italy for fresh troops. Ho raised two legions, took three more from their winter quarters about Aquileia, and again crossing the Alps came into the territory of the Vocontii, and thence crossed the Isara (/aere) into the country of the Allobroges. From the territory of the Allobroges he crossed the Rhone, into the ter- ritory of the Segusiani. The Senrusiani, whose chief place was afterwards Lugdunum (Z.yof»), had also a part of the country in the angle between the Soone and the Rhone. Caesar crossed the Rhone above the junction of the Rhone and Sadne, Labienus had let the Helvetii move through the pass at Fort VEduse. It was enough fur him to defend his wall. When Caesar was comiug up with the Helvetii, some of them were in the country of the Aedui, having crossed the Arar (So^ne). They got across with boats and rafts, some of which they would find (HI the river, for it was much used at that time for navigation ; but we may suppose that they would also have to make rafts to carry across so many people and so much baggage. Caesar waited till three parts of the Helvetii had got over the river, when ho attacked the remaining fourth part, the TigurinL These were the people who had defeated L. Cassius and killed L. Piso, the grandfather of Caesar's father-in-law. A great part of the Ti- gurini were cut to pieces, and the rest took to flight and hid themselves in the woods. Plutarch and Appian say that Labienus defeated the Tigurini, which may be trae. It is nut said where the Hel- vetii were crossing the Saone ; and there is no au- tliority for placing the passage at Mdcon, as some people will pl^ce it, though Mdcon cannot be much out of the way. The march of the Helvetii from Fort tEcluae to Mdcon could not be direct ; and by the nearest road it would be about 90 or 100 miles. This was the distance that they had tra- velled with their women, children, carts, and bag- gage while Caesar went to Italy, returned, and overtook them on the Sa^ne, The Helvetii, with such roads as they had, or no roads at all, and the immense number of people and waggons, would not travel at that season more than a few miles a day. The Helvetii had also some cavalry. The roads, such as they were, would be all mud, and full of ruts. Caesar made a bridge over the Arar, and folkiwed those who had crossed the river. He got over in one day, and the Helvetii had taken twenty days to do it, a length of time not at all unreasonable, if we consider that there were about 300,000 of them and many waggons. If we add these twenty days to the lime of the march from Fort FEclute to the passage of the &i($fie, there will be plenty of time for Caesar s hasty march into Italy and back. Dirico, who had commanded the Tiguiini (b. c. 107) in tiie war against Cassius, came witii other Helvetii to Caesar af^er he had crossed the Sadne^ to propose terms of peace ; but he and the proconsul could not agree. Though Divico had commanded an army in b. c. 107, that would not prove that he was too old to be a counsellor flftv years after ; as some suppose who find fault with Caesar's narrative. Caesar followed the Hel- vetii for about fifteen days, keeping five or six miles in their rear ; easy work for his men, for the Helvetii could not move quickly. The route was up the valley of the Scwne on the west side, but not close to the river. {B. G. L 10.) Caesar's supplies were brought up the Arar in boats, and it cavsed 3x 2