The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1918-08-17
A WONDERFUL STORY.
Spoiled by Publication of the Hcro's
Picture-Arrested by the Police as
a Eakir.

Paris, July % Correspondence OF
The Associated Press The heroic eX-
ploitS and hair-breadth escapes of
D'Artagnan as narrated by Dumas in
The Three Musketeers fade into COM
parative insignificance when compar-
ed->xith the achievements of Rene
Bertrand as told by himself. Minus
an arm and a leg with nine medals
glittering on hi Sbreast, and asserting
that his body bore more 80 bull
let and bayonet wounds, private Rene
Bertrand Of the French Colonel IN
fantry' posed in Paris as the greatest
hero of the war.
Now he has been arrested as per
haps one Of the wars greatest fakirs
and the police authorities declare that
he lost his leg and arm in q railway
accident and that five imprisonmentS
instead of five citations compose his
record. 1t was the publication Of
Betrands photograph in q French
newspaper that led to his undoinS
Meantime, while reyeling in the
fruits of his own romance, Bertrand en-
joyed the confidence of army officers
and the credit of the leading Paris
cafes. One famous and fearless avia-
tor made private Bertrand his godson
and adopted" him for the balance Of
the war.
The medals he wore included the
cross Of the legion of honor, the mill
tary medal, the war cross with seven
palms and five stars, the British mill
tary cross. the Belgian war cross, the
colonial medal, medal Of Morocco.
and the medal for saving life, and the
medal for wounds. In addition IL
wore the "foura gere" of the legion ,ol
honor
Where he got them has not been
disclosed but to account for them Be
trand constructed a story Of wonder
ful incidents. According to this tale
he won the military medal by saving
the lives of two officers and was him
self wounded in the thigh when sur-
rounded by natives while fighting with
the French Territorial Forces, in Mo
crosse, in 1913.
Then according to his own story.
Bertrand won the war cross in patrol
expolit in the present war, when, i-t-
ter his companions were killed he cap
tured a whole German cooking out
fit at Laon, having killed most of tiie
cooks. Next, fighting with the Brit
ish on the Somme he won the military
cross by capturing II Germans single
handed. Meantime he had been cap
tured five times by the Germans pu
y oo1 TO occan
In the next chapter Of his biograph'
Bertrand appears in the fight aroun-
Monastir on the Macedonian fron:
where he simultaneously operat'>c
four machine guns and wreaked sucl
an awful havoc with the enemy thu;
their attack was beaten of. At the BAT
tie Of Monastir he essayed to rescu'
an officer who lay wounded In Nc
Mans Land and was himself woundei
in the abdomen Despite his pain n
dragged the officer back to safety ant
went out again to rescue wounded
nurse In the last trip his arm wa
shattered by a bullet and later W.:
amputated.
Next we find Bertrand a passenger o:
board a ship bound for France. Tn
torpedo which hit the vessel shatter
ed one of Betrand's legs. Calmi!
amputating it with his knife Betrans
bound up the stump, dragged him
self to the r:lil. threw himself over
board, paused long enough to reScu
the captain and swan to a piece
drift wood where he lived for thrc.
Gays and three NIGHTS before bein'
rescued by Spanish vessel. For TIL
Bertrand said he received the medal o
the legion Of honor.
Numerous stars and leaves of palm:
that Bertrand wore upon his wa
cross had been acquired, according u
his tale, by Il distinct acts Of heroisn'
worthy of the coveted cross but thS
details of these incidents have not ye
been given to the public.