The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1909-06-24

CONTINUED from Page IL

talk broken English, akin me my
name an whar I wuz from. / told
him. Then he axed IL had pass
port. I dug down in my pocket an
produced hit, awlso the letter from
the President ov the United States
| recommendin' me az peaceable.
law-abindin' citizen ov the United
States. He thanked me in English
an sed that he wuZ simply obeyin'
orders an that I wuz at liberty ter
purceed, which / did. But hev had
other experiences since.
Ov course the easiest way ter git
into Russia from the naborhood ov
Paris or London would hev bin ter
hev taken boat an go GROUND
through the North Seat and the Bal
tic. But l wuz anxious to see more
ov France and Germany. Then, too.
az an admirer ov Napoleon an Mar
shall Ney, wished ter see the ground
over which they fought, an at the
same time, get a look at some real
Russian territory, see the people that
live erway frum the cities, an awlso
to see both Moscow and ST. Peters
burg, the two cities bein' not a great
distance apart. The climate IL Meth
err hot nor cold at this time, an me
an Bob made guide time.
I hurried erway frum Paris an
followed the road over which the
great Napoleon went to defeat; not
that he wuz defeated by Russian
arms, fer Russia hez never defeated
any country of any consequence. But
Napoleon displayed bad judgment, in
this instance, at least. Not many ov
hiz men wuz killed in battle, fer the
Russians kept out ov the way; and
he did them but little damage. But
the climate, the season, wuZ err
gainst him an hiz expedition. He
got too far from hiz base ov sup
plies. The Russians looked to hit
an saw that nothin' wuz left ter sus-
tain life erlong hiz line ov march.
He did reach Moscow, but he found
the city deserted and wuz forced ter
return toward France, harrassed now
by Russian soldiers who wuz brave
in pursuit after Napoleon had lost
thousands ov men and horses from
lack ov food and exposure to the Sc
we're climate. During this disas-
trous retreat wuz when the brave
Marshall Ney displayed hiz greatest
generalship, his most unselfish brav-
cry. The retreating French army,
which, understand, would not hev re-
treated under any ordinary circum-
stances from any army in the world
at that time, wuZ losing hundreds
daily from the fire ov the Russians,
from sickness and deadly exposure.
Then it wuz that Marshal Ney with
hiZ regiment ov picked men, the
flower ov the French army, now re-
duced to a mere handful, however,
wuz placed az rear guard to cover
the retreat ov the starvin' French
soldiers. An Marshal Ney did slow
ly retreated in wake ov the main
army, finally reachin' Paris. The
three hundred Spartan soldiers who
held the pass at Thermopylae, near
Athens, until awl ov them lost their
lives, hev bin famous in history. But
the feat accomplished by Marshal
Nevy and his men wuz, I think, even
greater. The Spartan soldiers were
killed to a man-Marshal Ney held
the bridge ergainst fearful odds an
| then succeeded in gettin' erway with
a few men. He must hev shown
greater generalship than did the
Spartan officer, though conditions
may hev bin slightly different.
One would think that the people
ov France would hev bin reauy Tel
die fer Marshal Ney after that. An
| they were. The soldiers loved him
the people loved him. But the rul.
ers the politicians, went back OF
him. He Wuz sentenced to die
There IL theory in American thai
| the detachment ov soldiers selected
to shoot him had only powder il
their guns; that they fired an thai
the body ov Ney wuz placed in a cot
fin, but that the great French soldier
wuz unhurt, an that he wuz spirited
erway to America, landin' at Charles
ton, S. G. 1t IL claimed that he 10
Gated in North Carolina and laugh
school a few miles from Salisbury
Up to few years ergo few ov hi.
former pupils were Twin an awl o.
them believed that the soldier-teach
er wuz really the great French gen
eral, though he liz sed ter hev no
mentioned the matter except whel
in hiz cups In size, height an
personal appearance the man an
lswered the description ov Marsha
lNey.
i The great Knockout argument WI
that Marshal Ney wuz nearly O
!, quite illiterate, not capable ov teach
in a high-grade school. But / be
lieve that he wuZ, and that he VIII
: wuz buried in that lonely North Car
) DINA church, wuz Marshel Ney. Tn
: weight ov evidence wuz at least tel
! to one in favor of the general theory
When the grave wuz opened NOR
than twenty years ergo in the pres
ence ov many interested people, in
cludin' the writer, only the large
bones skull an teeth were found i
a guide state ov preservation. TIL
teeth, both upper and lower, wer
perfect, not a decayed spot in on
: ov them. Az the man who wuz bur
D led there wuz more than 20 year
old an looked hit, an az hit liz un
: usual for man to reach that az
: with perfect set of teeth, an az hi
: IL a matter ov history that Marsha