you have despised all our warnings
and embassies, publicly transgressing in many instances the Articles of
Confederation, and because we see that no justice can be hoped for from
you, we are obliged, in order to rescue and maintain the Divine truth,
its honor and ours, to chastise you for such wantonness, injustice and
violence with our own hand, in the strength of God, and intend also,
with as much strength and grace as God gives us, to take vengeance on
you without mercy. But we have warned you of it and kept our honor.
Thus you can understand the motives of our action; you yourselves
desired nothing else, since you have provoked us to this course by your
violence and gross injustice." In consequence of the threatened passage
of the bailiff (_vogt_) of Unterwalden that way to Baden, Bern was
written to: That the friendly exhortation to moderate measures had
come too late. They had certain intelligence that Unterwalden intended
to escort her _landvogt_ to Baden with an armed force. Bern must not
permit this according to her own solemn declaration. And she is
there strongly besought to join the Zurichers, now promptly rising in
self-defence.

But Bern, for some time back, had been endeavoring, principally through
Luzern, to bring Unterwalden into a more peaceful humor. She had not
yet put any troops under arms, and had received information from the
Five Cantons that they too would not be the first to do it. Hans
Edlebach, who was sent to Lenzburg, to hasten the march of the expected
contingent, had to suffer bitter reproaches from the _landvogt_ and the
Bernese residing there: Was it prudent to begin war during such a
famine? Was it like a Confederate, not to suffer the law first to take
its course? Was it fair dealing toward Bern, to rise up against every
warning, and without giving her notice beforehand? Zurich may now bring
to an end alone what she has commenced alone. To this the Zurichers
wrote in reply: "We would sooner have expected death, than that your
aid should have failed us up to this time; what guilt will rest upon
you, if calamity overtake us?" But Zurich was in no wise hindered by
this delay, and the declaration of the Bernese immediately following,
that though they would now march out, it was only for the support of
their ally and not to encourage the war. One division of troops was
sent to Bremgarten and Muri: another placed at the west end of the lake
to hold Schwyz in check, whilst another marched u