The Pickens sentinel. (Pickens, S.C.) 1911-2016, 1914-10-08
An Old Hero S
Story
By F. A MlTGEL

An old Frenchman, a veteran Of thi
tranco-Prussian war, who had been Il
America long enough to speak Englisl
as he would if it were French, told M
this story over glass of French win,
raised in California:
Eet was in re beginning Of re wal
when re Prussian haf not yet conQue
re French people and we do not thinl
zey will overrun re country and die
tate terms of peace in Paris. wa:
with General lie Fevre, who command
ed brigade near re frontier We have
re railroad and ze locomotif and *
cars, but when ze Prussians cross x
border all re employees of re road ruI
away.
In re evening just before sunset ar
officer ride up to re camp Of ze Nine
ty-eighth regiment of re line and say:
"Any Of you men locomotif engi
neer"
have been locomotif engineer be
fore enlist in re army, so shake my
hand in re air. Ze officer he took no
tice and he call for me to- come t.
him. l go with him to General le
FeTre's headquarters, and ze general
ask me how much know about loco
motif, and after I tell him he say
to me:
"I send thousand men to ze other
terminal Of zis railroad at once Zere
is one company zere and re captain
telegraph zat re Prussians are coming
to occupy re high ground zere, but eef
he have a thousand men he can hold
eet till General Bazaine send a large
force. Eet is sixty miles to go, and
you must TAX re train zere in leetle
more than an hour. Eef you git zere
before ze Prussians you may save
France. ley are six or seven miles
from re place and march on foot.
say, eyes. general, I TAX re men
zere in one hour if re locomotif will
pull it so fast as zat."
It was YER dark when we start. Ze
moon only leetle crescent, nearly gone
down. We run from north to south,
re same way as ze border line between
France and Prussia. We do not know
If ze Prussians haf advanced so far as
ze railroad. Eef they haf zey fire into
ze train, zey try to throw it off the
track, Zey do all zey can to keep US
from going on.
My engine YER good engine, one Of
ze best of eets kind. run sixty miles
an hour, sometimes more, sometimes
less. When I come to ze curves slow
down leetle bit. but make eet up when
I have a straight road before me. a
few Prussian cayalrymen, re advance
Of re Prussians, have come so far as
ze railroad, and zey put distractions
on ze track. Suddenly I look ahead
and see tree felled on the rails I re-
verse, zen shut my eyes to wait for ze
smash. Eet does not come, only a
leetle bump.
When an engineer runs into ze dark
night he feels like Columbus when he
sail into Ze dark ocean. I neyaire know
when round curve, but I run into
big rock or some othaire obstruction
zat kill me and wreck ze train behind
me. I see specter all ze time. Sud
denly great black something seem to
spring up on ze track right before me-
I reverse, but before come to full
stop / see zat it ees nothing but a
leetle bug which haf fly on ze glass
before re headlight.
All at once ! hear cracking above
re noise Of ze train, and bullets whistle
through ze cab. Some Prussian horse
man fire zere carbines at US. But zey
do leetle damage, nothing but break
my right arm. So l cannot hold re
throttle with zat arm. But what for
I want two arms when one will do as
well, except for sudden reverse, and
by Eat time l come within about ten
miles Of ze end Of ze journey? New
airezeless I call ze fireman, who come
and look oyaire my shoulder.
Ze Prussians were by Eat time YER
near ze point we wish to reach, and
we both approach at an acute angle.
Zey hear re rattle Of our train, and
we hear zere huzzas. By gar, we
have to stop to take away ties zem
scouts put on re track, and while we
make no sound we hear Zere tramp
at double quick. Zen We hear a gun,
and I think we too late. Ze Prussians
must be attacking re post. But go
on, and pretty soon come to leetle
earthwork our men haf thrown up be-
side the railroad and see that they
hare gun there and have dropped a
shell into ze Prussian advance.
In few minutes we reach our point.
l whistle down Ze brakes, ze train
stop, and our men jump out and run
up to ze top Of re hill, where ze French
have work two. tree days on re forti-
fcations.
Eat was re end of my work. l get
surgeon to fix my arm and am ready
with my musket to receive the Prus-
slams when zey come Zey have twice
as many men as we, but we have very
strong position and no trouble to hold
out till Marshal Bazaine send large
force
When l get back to my command my
general he throw his arms about me
and hug me like bear. He say to me:
.sYou have done great service. You
shall be captain; you shall have a
medal. l will report what you have
done to the empereur."
Pouf! What was it all worth? re
Prussia1s march right on to Paris, and
after the capitulation our people pay
big ransom to get zem out, besides Civ
ing our beautiful provinces Alsace and
Lorraine. Some day when we gel