Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1909-11-18
The Man Of Many
Deaths
BY HENRI DE FORCE
Thus spoke the old captain:

Eyes, gentlemen - before God
swear ton the twenty-eighth of Feb
ruary, 1871, of Saturday, the last
day of the siege of Paris, 1 stood for
the fourth and last time, face to face
with Prussian officer whom had
thrice seen die, under entirely diffey-
ent conditions"
We made no effort to conceal our
doubt of this story.
Here you have the story. We were
In camp at Fort Mont Valerien; Gen.
Noel was in command, and no day
passed without a skirmish with the
enemy. A few days before the encoun-
ter at Bourget, while accommodating
toward Longboyau, we heard in the
woods the tramping of horse, and the
rhythmic sound of cavalry on the
march. at a sign to my men, we
dropped fiat in the shrubbery on the
Buell. road, and waited.
presently, the enemy emerged from
the wood, moving quietly, two abreast.
"At the side rode an officer, tall,
well-grown fellow with blonde mus
tache, and handsome, proud face.
was considered a good shot in the
regiment, and my men whispered:
Now is your chance, sergeant
Il closed my eyes involuntarily and
fired. When I dared to look, I saw
men and horses rising and falling in
confusion, and many soldiers crashing
through the woods at a gallop. The
officer lay on the ground at full length.
How immensely tall dead man looks!
gazed at him long and attentively,
not without shudder, and l felt that
never in all my life could l forget
that face.
"A few days later / was on furlough
in Paris, and used the opportunity
to ask after one of my friends, Lieut..
Legras, who had been wounded at
Bondy, and who was in the hospital at
Val-de Grace. During our chat, no
ticed at a cot near us the vague whis-
pering and meaning glances which tell
of expected death. The doctor came,
bent for a moment over the occupant
of the cot, and signed to the two Sis.
tiers of Charity in attendance, who
dropped on their knees in prayer.
Legras whispered in my ear: "A
Prussian officer who is going to hand
over his sword; he has been two days
dying l looked toward the bed; at
the same instant the sufferer raised
himself partly up in a struggle for
breath, and as he fell back dead,
began to tremble like a leaf, and the
ashen pallor of my face startled LIE.
gras.
ut was the corn-blond German hero
| whom I had shot down on the Buell.
road, who lay dead in the hospital cot
| The answer to my inquiry was to
the effect that the dead man was a
Prussian captain who had been picked
up gravely wounded on the field near
Bondy, two days Observation-Disclosures
it could not be the same officer who a
week before had fallen, pierced by my
bullet.
DAY and night my excited brain
sought in vain an explanation of this
mystery, till the battle of Montretout
turned my thoughts into a new chan
nell
I'VE were pushing toward the Cha
teau of Buzanval when l picked out
with my field-glass group of Prus
sian staff-officers among which two
figures stood out boldly, probably the
leaders of the sortie Suddenly on oul
left flank was revealed three squad
rons of the enemy dashing pele-mele
upon us in a mad gallop. At the head
of the enemy's attack was the indy
ing dead officer of Longboyau an6
Val-de-Grace. Straight as a dart he
bore down upon me, swinging aloft his
cleaning saber. I fired upon him, ant
the next moment found myself rolling
under my assailant's riderless horse
AS soon as could regain my feet,
sprang upon the body of the faller
Prussian which lay near me, and q
confess freely what was perhaps al
act of fiendish revenge), plunged my
bayonet deeply three times in the life
less breast of the man who had be
come hideous nightmare.
He was surely dead now, was ht
not?
Then came the days for the sign
ing of our truce.
Il was on the outworks when the
parliamentary signal was blown. A
Prussian officer approached me, fol
lowed by a corporal. AS the tall state
ly figure drew nearer, it seemed a.
If every drop of blood in my body wa.
turning to ice. The blue CLEAN of the
eye, the gold-blond color of the Ions
mustache, the whole expression of thu
face, at once forceful and dreamy
He it was again, my haunting vision
my three-times fallen Germanic here
the same whom only eight days be
fore, my bayonet had pierced through
and through.
"Motionless, silent, / watched him
overwhelmed with the conviction tha
the Prussians could not die, as We
debut that they rose from the deat
after each conflict, to fight us anew
Noticing my gaze fixed upon him
the Prussian said in gentle voice:
"'Tt is a mercy cir that +his or,,o