Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-10-08
FRANCES FOREIGN LEGION.
Helped to Make Absinthe Drinking
Commentator Of All Nations In it.

Common-Men of All Nations In it,
In the first days uf the troubles in
Morocco a brief dispatch said that the
soldiers of the Foreign Legion having
shown Il little too much dash they
were To- be replaced at the nutpuSts by
Algerian SharpShuoterS and that some
of them would have tu stand court
martial. M details were given as to
what form the dash took. but no one
who knows anything of the legion was
surprised at the dispatch.
The Foreign Legion is composed of
two regiments of four battalions each:
as battalion consists Of n thousand
men. this means 5000 men for active
service. The legion is a relic Of the
monarchy.
In the famous days of July. 1880.
the Swiss regiment which formed the
private guard of Charles y. defended
the Tulleries against the people of
Paris This naturally made them un-
popular. The people decreed their
dissolution as a royal guard and Of
fered them the choice between being
set free or serving in Algeria. Most
nf them. soldiers to the core. chose AL
geria.
These Swiss soldiers formed the nu-
cleus of the French Foreign Legion, and
i; is to them that the use of absinthe
is due in large measure. They found
that most of the wells in northern
Africa contained water charged with
lphate Of lime and bothOught them
selves of the cordial Of their country,
and took to mixing a little absinthe
with the water.
This habit was thought to be so ben
efcial that the army instructions of
the time directed that each company
should carry bottle of abSinthe for
the mems use at halting places. Off
GERS after leaving the service intro
duced the abSinthe habit into France,
where it quickly spread to all classes.
At the present time there is hardly
one Swiss in the Foreign Legion. Its
backbone is formed by men from AL
SAGE and Lorraine. who thus seek to
avoid serving in the German army and
t. obtain French naturalization. which
they can claim after service under the
flag. Next in number are Belgians,
whose object is similar and who make
as good soldiers as the men Of Alsace
and Lorraine.
The rest are Of all races. Germans.
AuStrans. English. or rather Irish;
Poles. Russians. Croats. Spaniards.
Greeks: even a Malay from Suma-
ira has worn the uniform. Nobody
asks who they are or why they have
enlisted.
Not long ago simple private just
before he died in hospital sent his pa
perS to his colonel. The colonel for
warded them by diplomatic channels to
the sovereign of a foreign nation. One
day the men of the Foreign Legion saw.
without much surprise. for they know
that anything is possible in their
corps. stately man of war. with its
flag at half mast. stop before their
camp. which was by the Mediterranean.
4 procession of officers landed and
bore off the coffin of their fellow SOL
dier, who had not even the worsted
stripe Of a corporal. with all the hon
ors that could have been paid to a
prince. For the dead man, who had
fought under the French flag. was the
son of king. and his father had led
armies against France.
Another tale, though this may be
only II legend. says that one day a
lieutenant in charge Of n burying par
" said to his men as they stood be-
side the grave dug in the African
sand:
It's disgusting all the same to bury
a comrade like a dog-no service, no
chaplain. not even prayer. Well. |
must say l can't say a prayer and I'm
sure none Of YOU can"
saluted.
Excuse me. lieutenant" he said. 81
have been n bishop"
And one legionary at least had the
burial service spoken over his grave.
During the Franco PrusSian war the
Pontifical Zouaves and the Foreign
Legion We're ordered to cover the
French retreat after the battle of Or
leans. Of $40 Zouaves on the morning
Of October 10. 1870. there remained II;
| of 1890 LegionarieS. &c alone answered
the roll call.