The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1901-02-27
THE FRENCH SOLDIER
SOME OF TIE BRuTALlTlEs TO WHICH
HE IS SUBJECTED.

Which Sometimes End In the Vic
Tins Death That Are wInked at. IL
Not Ordered, by the officers.
Soldiers I'm the French army are not
subjected by law TO corporal punish
mcnt any more than 1t has been part
of the regulations governing the Mill
tary academy Mt West Point that ca
diets should brace" or qualify" on
molasses and prunes. Nevertheless
the French soldier is put through
ha2lng process which Is most severe
and several times has caused death.
The French soldier Is known rs Plcton
or Dumanet, just as the English soldier
is known as Tommy Atkins. Dumanet
finds when he Joins the eolors that life
Is not all slIittles for n soldier.
The thing which distinguishes the
ha2lng In the French army from the
ha2ing In American colleges and uni
versities is that II Is suggested and al
most ordered by the commissioned odl-
GERS. An officer Will say to n corporal
or sergeant, You have man here
who has done 80 and So" naming some
trivial offcnse, more than likely to be
some neglect of the Difference due to
the officer ut would do him good IL
he were tossed In a blanket"
The officer turns on his heel and
walks away. willie the unfortunate sol
der Is placed in a blanket, with saber,
spurs. Jack boots. bayonets and such
pleasant bedfellows. and the combina-
ton is tossed until the hazers are too
tired to continue. This Is great sport
for the mans comrades, especially IL
they are half drunk, which they are
likely to be. This diversion has rather
gone out of favor Just now, because
several soldiers who have been tossed
had the had taste to die after the dlsci.
pllnc.
In some of the French barracks II
favorltc method OF punishment Is to
hang the offending soldier up by his
heels ana then To spank him with II
sword bayonet. In Algicrs. where the
men are far removed In the outlying
garrisons from the central authority
and ut the mercy of their tormcntors.
they are subjected To many forms of
ha2lng ut the suggestion of the officers
At one time the "yilo" was much HI
favor among the hazers In the Algerian
army of occupation. 1T consisted In
putting Il man In deep hole made In
the shape of n reversed funnel dug by
the Arabs in the ground MS place for
the storage Of corn The unfortunate
man was left there sometimes for days.
with hardly anything to eat or drink
and exposed all the time 10 the heat OF
the sun. while mt night the place was
cold Many died from hunger, thirst
or cold, Willie many others became in.
sane
The military authorities when they
! became aware of these tortures issued
an order prohibiting such n punish
mcnt, but it IS still prnctlced in isolated
parts of Algicrs where no eye can see
of which the officers nre afraid.
Several years ago Prince Piguatell
d'Aragon, "A young Spanish noble, raI
away from his home and went to Al
glers to join the foreign legion, til,
refuge for men with past" liz
friends announced to the French milf
tary authorities that the prince hat
gone to join the lCgiou. but the authorl
ties were able to get no word of his
arrival At last a soldier suggested
that prehnps a stranger who wandered
into camp and had considerable dihl-
Guilty IN speaking French might be the
| prince. The sergeant to whom the
prince had spoken WAS drunk ut the
time and became annoyed at the Span.
iardis broken French. so he ordered
that the stranger be placed In the
"vllo" without more ado Here the
miserable young man remained for two
days without eating or drinking, and
then good natured sentry broke the
rules and gave him food. As soon rs