“They apprehended the old and sick, women enceinte and in childbed, together with their innocent babes, and treated said persons in various ways, with great harshness and cruelty; yea, they seized all whom they could get into their power, so that at one time there were, in confinement, thirty-seven persons, of whom many men and women, in consequence of the dampness and long confinement, were very grievously injured in their health, and sixteen persons had to die in these prisons,” etc.
This letter was written at Mackenheym, and signed by six elders and ministers from Alsace (whose names on account of the present peril, we will not mention), in the year 1658, in the month and on the day given above.
SEVEN TEACHERS AND ELDERS OF THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST IMPRISONED AT BERNE, NAMELY, ULY BOGART, ANTHONY HINNELBERG, JEGLY SCHLEBACH, HANS ZAUG, ULY BAUMGARTER, CHRISTIAN CHRISTIANS, AND RHODE PETERS, IN THE YEAR 1659.
The little flock of Christ having fled from the confines of Zurich to the regions of Berne, could at this time also there obtain no freedom, inasmuch as those of Berne, following the footsteps of those of Zurich, also undertook to lay hands on them, but especially on the shepherds and leaders of the church, in order that they might by this means, as it seems, cause the more terror among the innocent sheep and lambs of the scattered flock of Christ.
Seven of the teachers and principal elders of the church were apprehended, for whom special prisons were prepared, namely, Uly Bogart, Anthony Hinnelberg, Jegly Schlebach, Hans Zaug, Uly Baumgarter, Christian Christians, and Rhode Peters.
These were for a while kept very hard at work, and very poorly fed with heavy food, spelt and rye, to make good the expenses they caused; besides that much reproach, contumely and vituperation was heaped upon them.
They were first told, that they should be kept confined in this manner until the end of their life; in which they patiently comforted and surrendered themselves to the grace of the Lord. However, when they saw that there was no hope of dissuading these people from their faith and religion, they determined upon another plan (according to what we have been informed from Alsace), namely, that they should have to choose one of these three things: 1. To go with them to church; or, 2. Be perpetually banished to the galleys; or, 3. To have to die by the hands of the executioner.
Certainly a hard and difficult choice; for the first proposition concerns the soul, and the last two the body: by choosing one of these things doubtless either the soul or the body, or even both together, should be imperiled.
If one denies his faith, he does violence to his conscience; or if he adopts another religion, contrary to his heart and mind, he exposes his soul to extreme danger, yea, to the peril of damnation.
If one on the other hand will keep his faith, not bend or violate his conscience, and maintain and defend the religion which he has accepted and thinks necessary to salvation; he brings, in such case, his body in distress, so that he must wander about in misery, or meet with an untimely and violent death.