Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1915-04-22
LEFT TAIL AS TROPHY
FRENCH OFFICERS REMARKABLE
ESCAPE FROM MOB.
Revelation Of Closely Guarded Secret
May Have Been Unpleasant but
Undoubtedly There Were
Great compensatIons.

On February "a, 1S48, when Paris
was disturbed by the revolutionary
mobs, Captain Prebois was sent by
the government with orders to be de-
hvered to the leaders of the troops
that were defending the threatened
points in various parts of the city. 1t
was a dangerous undertaking, for the
bitterness of the people against the
government was intense.
Before starting out, says Novellen-
Schatz, Captain Prebois was warned
to take the greatest care If he valued
his life; but he took the warnings
lightly, and said, IF you fellows knew
my black horse as well as know him,
you wouldn't worry about me. That
horse has carried me through thick
and thin" And with a farewell wave
of his hand, he was of.
The black horse Of which the gal
liant captain was SO proud was indeed
a beautiful animal He had we'll
shaped, erect head, a deep chest, and
slender, well-formed legs But there
about his tail. 1t was long and bushy,
but it never moved or twitched, except
with the. movement of the animals
body. Close observation showed also
that it had a slightly reddish hue, al
though the difference in color was not
great enough to be noticed under ordi-
nary conditions.
When Prebois arrived in the dis
turbed section Of the city he fearlessly
delivered his messages. He met with
no resistance from the crowds in the
streets until he reached the Place Ven
dome, one Of the principal squares in
the heart of the city. Here a great
crowd of revolutionists had gathered,
and as the officer rode through the
square, some one seized the bride and
cried, in fierce voice, Hold! What
message are you carrying?"
The captain refused to answer. "Put
a bullet through him and get that
message!" bawled out the man in a
commanding voice. He was evidently
a leader of the mob.
At this point, the captain deter.
mined that quick action alone would
save him from violence at the hands
of the crowd. Quick as flash, he
wheeled his horse, and dashed off
Several bullets flew after him, but
they went wild-and then suddenly
ceased altogether. He looked round
and saw the mob crowding round one
of their number, who held something
in his hand. And then his eyes fell
on the back of his horse, and his heart
sank in dismay.
1t seemed that, as he whirled his
horse about, several men seized hold
of the animal. But the powerful crea
ture threw them all except one, a Lad
of fourteen, who had seized the horses
tail. That tail was the object of in
terest that Mad caused the shooting tc
stop-for it had come off There stood
the boy, in the middle of the road
with his feet spread apart and an ex
preston of grim determination on his
face, as he tightly clutched the fee
ing creatures tail. The mob saw the
humor of the situation, and burst into
a roar of laughter.
The explanation came out later. Il
seems that Captain Prebois' horse
while perfect in every other particular
did not have a very good tail, and sc
his master had had an artificial one
made for him. No doubt that artificial
TAIL. and that alone, saved Captain
Prebois' life