Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-03-07


Crimcan and Italian medals, and the
"medaile militairc," which is given
for bravery on the field and wounds.
After three days stay in Gran
which is a thoroughly eastern town,
full Of Arabs, negroes, Berbers, pic
turesQuely dressed Jews, and camels--
We started on the march for Sidi-bel-
Abbes. the headquarters Of the Second
Foreign regiment. Each man had his
blanke, and his portion Of a shelter
tent cooled up and strapped over one
shoulder and under the other arm, with
his little tent-pole in two pieces, piece
ofIope, and three pegs tied to the back
Of it. This, with his canvas suit, made
marching easy. Cooking-cans were car
RED by each in turn, and as we halted
at village every night the meat and /
vegetables were bought as we halted. |
The bread each man carried for himself |
on his back or in his stomach, as he !
might prefer. One man gathered |
up the wood, another fetched water, |
another made the fire and acted |
as cook-eye one did something. We !
bad o cantecn full Of coffee about |
O'Clock in the morning before starting,
another about 10 o'clock, and soup,
with about half pound Of beef, some
vegetables, and bread, at or 2 o'clock,
after we halted for the day. Any one
who had bread for the evening could
eat il, and those who had a sou or two
to spare dubbed together and had coffee
in the evening. We always started be-
fore daybreak and had the days march
over before the hottest part of the day.
One DAYS experience made us familiar
with the shelter-tent, and three, four,
or more men joined together to make
the tent according to fancy. Our ave-
rage days march was about eighteen
miles.
As the old sergeant in charge knew
every inch Of the ground, we frequently
Quilted the high road and marched
across the country. Generally the
ground was hard and parched and COW
cred with bronssaille," o. a stunted
| little shrub the soldiers called pa
micr." We passed three or four vii
lagos on the way, inhabited by a mixed
population Of French, Spaniards, and a
! sprinkling of other natiOnalities, and
each having close by its Arab
village. composed Of immense tents
Of a dirty brown color. For
some miles on each side OF
all these villages there were we'll
cultivated farms, and, as we neared
| Sidi-bel-Abbos. we found a nigh state
Of cultivation. Wemarched for a couple
Of miles before entering 1t through luXu-
riant gardens, over magnificent roads
shaded by large trees. We arrived there
On the afternoon of the third day. Sldi-
Lel-ALbes is a walled and fortified town,
having four gates, at each Of which there
Is strong guard. Nearly half Of 1t
was at that time taken up with barracks,
stables. paradc-groundS. etc, and if it
has grown since it must he on the out
side Of the walls. The garrison num-
Icred over three thousand men of all
arms.
As the sunburnel and dust-coycred
crowd Of recruits marched into the bar
rack square the whole regiment turned
out to look at us. Every man was
looking for a friend or cOuntryman, and
we were piled with questions in all sorts
Of languages as to where we came from.
As the soldiers Of the Legion rarely, if
ever, saw a newspaper, they wanted the
latest news Of their own country, as
well as information about friends. 1t
was a novel sight to see men Of the same
regiment talking in half dozen differ
tnt languages, and all knowing enough
of French. good or bad, to make it the
common medium Of Intercourse. |
found two countrymen Of mine, or
rather they found mo after dill
gent inquiry, and they were the
only representatives of the race
in the regiment. One Of them, who
aiterward during a second enlist
ment won distinction and commission
in the Franco German war, was a strap
ping. handsome fellow named McElrOy,
from the County Down, but was at that
time a simple grcnadier. The other, a
Lronzcd veteran named MOrlarty, with
a breaStful Of medals won in twelve
Years service from the Crimca to Italy,
kabyla and Morocco, was mueteer to
the company to which | was assigned.
lie had been in France since early child
hood. spoke little English. and that lit
tie with strange mixture Of French
accent and Kerry brogue. Poor Mo-
riarty, a born soldier and fit for no.
Thing else, after coming safely through
the disasters Of IN. Frauco-Mexican war,
was. ! believe. killed in one OF Chanzy's
battles on the Loire in 1870.
! afterward found two Englisbmen
and four Americans. The Englshmen
were Young fellows who had found
themselves pcnniless in Paris after a
spree, and enlisted in the Legion for lack
Of something better. The Americans
were of widely-dillerent types. One
was the son of wealthy New York
widow. and had been living a fast life in
Paris. His mother stopped his sup
plies, and to spite her he drove IN a car
rage with a spanking pair Of horses to
the Ministry Of War and enlisted. He
lived a miserable life in Algeria with
chills and fever all the time, and soon
managed TO get his discharge. The day
before he left lac borrowed four sous out
of my scanty purse and went away with
ont saying good-by. Another was
southern man of education and
refined manners who was eating his
heart out because he could not get
away to ioin the Confederate army.
lie disappeared suddenly one day, and
have 10 doubt he aiterward figured
in the American civil war. The third
was a short, chubby, good-natured lit
lie Pennsylvania Dutchman, who had
worked or a farm in Illinois, and had
been over half the world in Ameri-
can merchant vessels. lie deserted
his ship in Genoa, made his way to
MarSeilles, and donned the uniform ofthe
Legion. lie, too, was dying to take a
hand in tie fight at home on the Union
side. and after a few months Of hope
deferred finally succeeded IN deserving