Francois Reymond

  General Notes:

A Legend referred too is our Ancestor who is unknown from the year 1350

THE VALLEY OF "LA VUIVRA" the DRAGON

At the end of the valley of St. Sulpice, Switzerland, on the way through Verrieres, is a place called the Valley of the Vuivra, named for a giant serpent, which lived there. It is about 20 minutes from the church at St. Sulpice and 10 minutes from the source of the Areuse River. This dragon devastated the area, so that travelers had to make a considerable detour by way of Buttes in order to go from Switzerland into France. This is a traditional story related by a 17th century manuscript.

About 1350 a great serpent shaped like a dragon settled in a very narrow place on the highway in the valley of St. Sulpice, close to the town of Bourgogne. For several years neither people nor animals dared to pass the spot. Homes were deserted and business stopped throughout the countryside.

A very courageous native of the area named Sulpy Remond was determined to rid his land of this danger and resolved to attack it. He surprised and killed the dragon with heavy blows of stones and his spear and burned the body where it lay, whereupon it caused a great stench. Several days later Sulpy died from the dragon's poisonous odor in spite of all efforts to save him. As a reward, the Count of Neufehatel freed all of Sulpy's relatives from their previous servitude. He also exempted all Remond's descendants from land rents, gave his family the right to a coat of arms, and to sell wine without paying a tax, or tavernage.

As background for the legend, it should be noted that heavy rains swell The Areuse River, which runs through the area, or melting snows. In olden times, the river would flood the land, carrying off people and animals, destroying crops, and blocking the main highway. It is possible that Sulpy Remond designed and built a system of dikes, which made the river (allegory for the dragon?) powerless and rescued the people. He may have died in the process. Thus, he became the "dragon killer." The towns and the two highways mentioned can be found on current maps.

This account is from a publication of The HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF NEIJOHATEL AND VALANGAN by George-August Matile dated 1845. Dr. L. G. Cugnet, of Abbevillers, Herimoncourt, France, gave the book, which found it in a bookstore to Gerald Metz. This is a condensation of the original. In the past, attempts have been made to identify the genealogical branch of Sulpy Remond's ancestors without success.