The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1893-11-16
A MODERN SAMSON.
BY ROBERT BARR.


have been a giant. Brittany men are
small as g rule, but Jean was an excep-
! ton. He was a powerful young fellow
who, up to the time he was compelled to
enter the army, had spent his time in
dragging heavy nets over the side of the
boat. He knew the Brittany coast, rug
ged and indepted as it is, as well as be
knew Toe road from the little cafe on the
square to the dwelling Of his father on the
/ hillside overlooking the sea. Never be-
! fore had he been out of sound of waves.
lie was a man Who, like Herve Riel, might
have saved the fleet, but France, with the
usual good sense of officialism, sent this
man OF the coast into the mountains, and
Jean Rasteaux became a soldier in the
Alrlne corps. II he stood on the highest
mountain peak, Jean might look over IL
llmltable wastes of snow: but he could
catch neither sound nor sight of the sea-
Men who mix with mountains become
as rough and rugged as the rocks, and
the Alpine corps was wild body. harsh
and brutal. Punishment in the ranks
was swift and terrible, for the corps was
situated far from any of the civilizing
things of modern life, and deeds were
done which the world knew not of; deeds
which would not have been approved if
reported at headquarters.
The regiment of which Jean became a
| unit was stationed in a high valley that
had but one outlet, a wild pass down
which mountain river roared and foam
ed and tossed. The narrow path by the
side of this stream was the only way out
of or into the valley. for all around the
little plateau was walled in by immense
peaks of everlasting snow, dazzling in
the sunlight and luminous even in the
| still, dark nights From the peaks to the
south Italy might have been seen, but no
man had ever dared to climb any of them.
| The angry little river was fed from a
glacier, whose blue breast lay sparkling
IN the sunshine to the south, and the
! stream clrcumnavlgated the little plateau
as If trying to find an outlet for it's toss
ing waters.
Jean was terribly lonely in these dreary
and unaccustomed solitudes. The white
mountains awed him and the mad roar OF
the river seemed but poor compensation
for the dignIfied and measured thunder
of the waves and the broad sands of the
Brittany coast.
But Jean was a good-natured giant
and he strove to do whatever was requir-
| ed of him. He was not quick at repartee
and the men Knocked his Breton dialect
He became the butt for all their small
and often mean jokes, and from the first
hewas very miserable, for, added to his
yearning for the sea, whose steady roar
he heard IN his dreams at night, he felt
the utter lack for all human sympathy.
At.first ne endeavored by unfailina
good nature and prompt obedience tc
win the regard OF his fellows, and he be
came IN a measure the slave of the regi
ment, but the more he tried to please the
more his burden increased and the great
er the insults he was compelled to beal
J from both officers and men. 1t was Sc
easy to bully this giant, whom they nick
named Sampson, that even the smaller
men in the regiment felt at liberty to
swear at him OF cuff him if necessary.
But at last SIMPSONS good nature
seemed to be wearing out. HIS stocl
becoming exhausted, and his comrades
forgot that the Bretons for hundreds o
years have been su ccessful fighters, ano
that the blood of contention flows il
their veins.
Although the Alpine corps, as gen
eral thing, contains the largest anC
strongest men in the French army, ye
, the average French soldier may be term
ed undersized when compared with tn
military of either England or Germany
There were several physically small mel
IN the regiment, and one of these like
diminutiye gnat, was SIMPSONS wors
prosecutor AS there was no other nal
IN the regiment whom the gnat coul,
bully, Sampson received more than evel
he could be expected to bear. One da
the gnat ordered Samson to bring hlr
a pail of water from the stream, and til
big man tinhesitatingly obeyed. He spill
, some of it coming up the bank, and whe
j he delivered it to the little man, the lat
, ter abused him for not bringing the pa
full, aud as several of the larger soldier
who had all IN their turn made Samso
miserable, were standing about, the littl
j, man picked up the pail of water an
: dashed it into Samsons face. 1t WE
such good opportunity for showing o
before the big men, who removed the
pipes from their mouths and laughe
loudly as Samson with his knuckles trie
x to take the water out of his eyes. The
N Samson did an astonishing thing.
y You miserable, little, insignificant rat
n he cried, L could crush you, but you al
- not worth it. But to show you that
am rot afraid of any of you, there, ar
J. there"
AS he SAID these two words with er
phasis. he struck out from the shoulde
not at the little MAI, but at the two bI
gest men in the regiment, and felled the
like logs to the ground.
A cry of rage went up from their col
rades, but bullies are towards at hea
I and while Samson glared around at the
no one made move.
81 The matter was reported to the offic
n and Samson was placed under ARE
nI When the inquiry was held the officer {
III pressed his astonlshment at the fact tt
Samson had hit two men who had not
Il ing to do with the insult he had rece
ed, while the real culprit had been
RI lowed to go unpunished.