Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1912-07-12
AM|CHTY WARRIOR
General Dumas Was a Colossus
IN Size and In Heroism.
HIS AMAZING FEATS OF ARMS.

The H~ereuIean Father Of the Famous
Novelist Had the Strength OF Sam
son and the vaIor Of Horatius-His
Son Mas q Chip Of the Old Block.
General Alexandra Dumas. the ia
ther OF the celebrated French novelist.
was q mulatto Of h%erculean build. who
was renowned as a tremendous fighter
aud as a man of marvellous bodily
strength.
a Il generally believed that he was
the model from which his son drew the
character of Porthos IN the Three
Guardsmen"-the sometimes vainglo-
nous. sometimes heroic, but always
iovable Porthos.
or the recklessness and daring Of
General Dumas there can be no doubt.
aud evidently fear to him was an abso-
iuteiy unknown quantity. Il had long
thought the feats OF arms ascribed to
MIN IN La vendee. Italy. and Egypt
rather apocryphai. too good to be true"
writes Al. Jules Claretie In a French
paper. They seemed to combine In
one the tours de force Of Porthos and
the escapades Of Chicot But one day
when ! had promised to write a short
life OF the man his grandson put into
my ha nds all the papers relating TO the
soldiers career. and ] then saw that l
had before me a real epic. describing
q sequence OF glorious actions Of an
doubted authenticity.
lit was. for example. established BY
Official documents hat General Dumas.
standing. a solitary colossus. at the End
OF the bridge OF Brixen. In the Tyr
OF. did. like Horatius OF old, dispute
the passage Of Il with a cloud Of Aus.
TRANS, whom he sabered and shot one
after the other until be had broken
his sword and used his last cartridge.
and that he then did convert the body
OF an enemy into a battering ram.
again, at the theater one day he
was In a o with a lady who bad won
his affections when q gentleman OF the
court. pointing at him. remarked to the
tHuJs DOs hidt( hfOhCOcs yOo NV D.
your negro here At which the mulat.
to, without a word. seized the man By
his collar, lifted him from his seat and
threw him across the footlights on TO
the stage.
IBIS son inherited the fathers mus
cles. Travelling one year in the south
Of France for the sake OF collecting
some amusing 'impressions.' he came
to Avignon by diligence with the fnten-
ton of enjoying the well known view
of the silhouette OF the papal palace.
The diligence. on stopping. vas sur
rounded by porters. who tried 10 clutch
the ira veler's luggage. Dumas insist
ed on carrying his own valise. and this
provoked some insolent remarks from
the porters,
Look. said one. at the big lout
who won't LET a poor fellow earn q
livingr
whats so astonishing in thatr re-
piled another. Hes a niger. Nature
Intended him for q drudge
The son did not hesitate 10 initiate
his fathers example. he put down
bis yalise. seized one OF the porters.
took him by the waist. carried him to
the parapet of the bridge and held him
out I'VE the river. saying:
"'Give me your word that you are
NOT the assassin Of Marshal Brunei
Marshal Bruno was assassinated at
Avignon. in the white terror. 1915.
III But, monsieur
"'Swear. | tell you. that You did not
assassinate Marshal Bruno or ] will
throw you into the Rhoner
The mans face became az white as
q sheet. aud. he gasped out:
- will swear. monsieur. by all the
saints. | did not assassinate him.
"'AIl right said Dumas. and be
threw the wretched man or to the
bridge. took up his valise and went on
his way. smiling. leaving the porters
gasping with wonder.
ITO return to the old general. he was
coming back from Egypt when his ship
was surrounded by some English YES
sells.
flight to the last was the order.
and when shot and shell are exhausted
blow up the ship sky high
"AIl very well. put he could swim
and others couldn't To equalize mat
tiers Dumas got two cannon balls. put
them into his pockets and said with
q laugh:
Now I shall go all the quicker 10
the bottom
Put 1t was not TO be. he was taken
prisoner and thrown into q foul dun
geon at Naples. from which he only
emerged with his health shattered and
his magnificent strength dwindled to
the vanishing point"
Getting Rid Of Him.