Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1911-07-01
BRAVERY Of
FRENCH SOLDIERS
They Suffer Almost indie.
scribable Hardships in Af-
rican Campaign
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS FOUGHT
American Visitors in Paris Struck
by Signs: "Be Kind
to Beasts"

tBy Special Leased Wire to New Mexlcany
i Paris July almost every week
some half dozen French homes inform
ed by the dreaded official dispatch,
are thrown into mourning by the loss
OF some beloved son or brother on the
African field of battle.
The hardships encountered in the
present French military action in Nor
occo are scarcely ever referred to in
the official dispatches, but little by
llttle the accounts creep histories
OF long, hot marches, of sudden noct-
urnal attacks by Moorish guerilla
bands, of frightful wounds which
either kill or main for life and dread.
full tortures when the unhappy wound
ed Frenchman falls into the hands of
the Moorish warrior
Take at random the story of Can.
tain Labordette General Ttoutee. his
commander, tells it in his diary which
has just been forwarded to Paris. La
bordette was sent to examine the
safety of a route leading from Debdou
TO Moulouya. Having accomplished
this he decided to push on to Ell AL
louana, situated in the heart of
handful of miniature mountains.
With few soldiers he advanced slow.
ly to a group of tents when his pro-
gress was stopped by shower of shot,
He saw one of his men behind him
fall, wounded. Calling the others
around him Labordette started back
to recover his wounded comrade. and
to rescue him from certain torture.
The brave band, which numbered 81,
retraced their steps. The way led to
ravine, but soon they were enveloped
in dense fog. They could see moth.
Ing and the bullets continued to fall
amongst them and about them. They
staggered on blindly, firing as they
went. One by one they went down.
l1abordette was shot through the body
and died instantly. His lieutenant
Fradft took command and spoke
y ~ Voa courage. Slowly the little
party was decimated until, when
rescue column arrived, only one man
OF the 81 was left, still fighting des-
perately. OF the band of 81 twenty.
nine were dead and all the others
wounded.
Kindness to Animals.
The movement in France for the
prevention of cruelty to animals has
been extended in the direction of at.
tempting to stop the -bull-fights which
are now held in French cities nearest
the Spanish frontier Bull-rings exist
at Bayonne, Toulouse and Mines
where in the summer large crowds
applaud Spanish bull fighters in their
picturesque struggle in the ring. A
deputy from southern France, claim.
ing that bull-fights are attended by ex-
cessive cruelty to horses therein en-.
gagged, has introduced bill in the
chamber under which bull fights would
be declared illegal.
American visitors to Paris this
summer have been struck often with
the printed signboards hung across
electric light posts in the centre of
the boulevards, which contain the
words. BE kind to animals" Re-
Gently the number of these signs has
been increased throughout the city.
and an alert society of humane peo-
pie, founded along the Lines of the
American society for the prevention
OF cruelty to animals, keeps an active
eye on public cabmen or other drivers
OF horse-vehicles to see that horses
are not wantonly punished.
The Paris cabman in the past has
often been complained of for merci.
lessly whipping his tired, slow horse.
but since the new campaign Of educa-
tion and prevention has been institut-
ea the evil of horse whipping has
greatly diminished
Wireless Weather Reports.
The central bureau of meteorologv
announces active studies in the devel-
opment of the wireless telegraphy in
the collection and distribution of
weather bulletins. Already in Europe
wireless is used to great advantage.
Gibraltar for example, sends every
morning to London, weather observa-
tons OF the Mediterranean. These
messages are copied in transit by the
French post of the Eiftel Tower and
transmitted throughout
France. =.
The greatest problem in the collec-
tion OF mid-sea bulletins is the limited
power of the ocean steamer apparatus
10 transmit long distances. And BY
the time other ships pick up and re.
transmit the messages much valuable
time is lost and the value Of the com.
to outgoing mariners is
considerably lessened. The present
aim is to reduce the time of transmits
sion from sea SO that the ship captain
may be quickly advised az to the
weather he is likely to encounter along
his route.