The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-09-11
Daring French
Zouave Escape
They Bride Peasant Woman With
Chocolate, Tea and Canned
Goods and Get Overcoats and
Old Felt Hats OF Civilians.

TIC must ffLlhlhuple tphScdcS
of the great war has been told
me by Adjutant Pilot Henri Reservat,
a hero OF the French aviation corps,
who recently succeeded In escaping
from a German prison camp and is
now enjoying once more the free air
OF France. | wish | could convey In
writing the modest, simple, matter Of
fact manner In which Adjutant Reser-
vat speaks of his strange experience.
says Paul Ayres Rockwell, staff cor
respondent of the Chicago Daily News.
Adjutart Reservat was a pilot with
the famous lighting escadrille N. 65.
which was one of the first flying
year. After many successful recon
~noissances and combats he was order
ed on May -, 1915, TO attack and de-
stroy a German observation balloon.
The attack was successful. and Iteser-
vat sent the ''drachen" flaming TO
earth. But while he was diving on
the balloon and destroying 1t four Ger
a a~eroplanes came up behind him
and began Kidding his machine with
bullets.
Reservat was eight kilomrters -four
and eighteenth niles within the Ger
nan lines and subjected not only to
the attacks OF the four a%viators. but to
a grilling shell fire from anti-aircraft
guns. Yet he did not lose hope of get
ting back home. lie headed for the
French lines with his -four assailants
after him. firing all the time. Reser-
watts machine gnn was a fixed n and
could only be fired In the direction I'm
which his machine was headed. Sew
eral times he tried to maneuver SO as
10 return the German lire. All his eff
forts were In vain A number OF bull
lets pierced the motor. and he was
forced to land In German territory.
Germans Congratulate Reservat.
The four German pilots who had
been attacking lseservat also landed.
They congratulated him upon his gal
liant struggle. then wrote "A note o IA
hrming his having destroyed the
drachen assigned him and telling OF
his being captured after a heroic at
tempt TO escape. The note was car
ried up by a German aviator and drop
ped into the French lines. Reservat
was put on IA train and taken away to
"A German prison camp near Mayence
tthe German Mainz)
Captivity was not agreeable to this
eagle, who loved the free air. and Res
eryat at once began planning his es-
cape. The camp at Mayence vas too
well guarded. however. Then he was
moved to Weilburg. where the regime
was W more strict. Seeing that
there was little hope Of getting safely
away from this camp. Iseservat volun-
teered to go TO work in a great agricul-
tnral camp and succeeded In being
transferred to Gicssen.
Here there was more freedom. The
prisoners were even allowed an hour a
day In which to 10 out into the little
village Q by to- purchase coffee and
other bits. Reseryat made the ac-
quaintance OF nm old peasant woman
and, pretending that he wished Ii as a
protection against the cold. asked her
to sell him a civilian overcoat. The
woman consented TO sell the coat on
condition that IL should be paid for
with chocolate. tea. canned goods and
other edibles, which Reservat received
In weekly parcels from France. The
exchange was made. and the old wom-
an also sold a civilian coat to a young
Qua sergeant. who was to he Reser-
watts comrade In the dash for liberty.
For several cakes of chocolate the
scheming Frenchmen also bought from
a servant girl two rough felt hats.
Road Map In Parcel.
Many months before one Of the prts-
oners had received, hidden In a parcel
from France. a good road map of Ger
many. Rcservat and his comrade
made a tracing OF II. They also laid
by a little store of chocolate. biscuit
and canned foods sem them from
home and finally. ON March is. 1917,
all was ready for the departure. TAX
ing advantage OF n half hours ~lateness
In locking the door of their barracks,
the two men skipped out in the dark
ness and were En- route for liberty.
Here are a few notes describing the
journey. written by Reservat during
the long daylight hours In which he
and his companion lay hidden In thick
cts or abandoned huts:
Departed al S:i5 the evening Of
March 10. 1917, and got away without
incident. We took the route for Linn
burg and thought to gain several kilo-
meters by cutting across through the
woods. Alas, at the end Of an hour
and a half. we found ourselves lost In
the forests. Finally We discovered the
main road and crossed the Lain. Rain
and an intense darkness Taking our
direction north west, we again got lost
and walked without knowing where
we were going until 3 a. III. Then we
came to the edge Of a large wood and
entered q thicket OF small pines. where
We lay down near the road. A rainy
day, some snow. We are suffering