The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1919-08-07
SOLDIERS OF ALGERIA.
Southern Negroes Did Not Get Along
With Them Very Well.

Picturesque and peculiar to a de-
gree among all the soldiers who
! fought in France were the Algerians
brought from their far-away home
in Africa to European soil by the
French to help the Allies push back
and crush the Hun hordes. And they
played a gallant and most important
part in the crushing. 1t is said that
France had 100000 of them in the
battlelines of Europe and I have no
reason to doubt the statement. They
were brave soldiers. Wild and natur-
ally war like, they sacrificed their
lives with reckless abandon. Mo-
hammedan in their religion, fighting
"holy" war they believed (and they
were fighting holy war if any war
lis holy) death meant absolutely
nothing to them, because, according
to their religion, all followers of Mo-
hammed who die in such war al
ways go to heaven, regardless of sins
of omission and commission. II such
is the case there are lots OF them
/ in heaven now because in the early
days of the war they suffered most
terrible losses and in fact all through
the struggle their losses were pro-
Iportionately great.
Never Took Coats Off.
Born and reared in hot climate
where clothes were more of a formal
ity than a necessity and being trans
ferred to France where the climate is
almost always cool and most Of the
time cold, they could never exactly
accustom themselves to the change.
They wore the same uniform as
regular French soldiers, a beautiful
blue color with long overcoat of the
same material. saw thousands of
Algerians in various parts Of France
during my period of service overseas.
No matter in what kind of work they
were engaged in cooking their meals
on hot army range or over an open
fire those overcoats were always
worn. They went to bed with 'em on
and got up with 'em on and fought
in 'em too.
There was little or no fraternizing
between them and the Allied troops Of
other races and nationalities. AL
though of the negro race, with most
of the racial characteristics Of our
negroes-the same broad noses, kin
ky hair and thick lips they didn't
hobnob with the negroes from the
States even a little bit. One reason
was that they could not speak Eng
lish but they spoke French to a
great extent. Then their Mohamme-
dian religion would not allow frater-
nization with peoples of any other
faith and besides by birth and breed
ing and custom running from time
immemorial, they kept to themselves
and among their own kind.
Our Negroes Didn't Like Them.
1t used to make some of our neg
roes pretty mad-especially the neg
ro soldiers who came from the Sou
thern States. A southern negro with
whom 1 formed an acquaintance, was
discussing these Algerian soldiers one
day and his eyes rolled and he show
ed his teeth as he talked about them.
white folks" he said to me, what
yo' all reckon is de mattah wild
dem French niggers-dem fellers
fun Alderia or geria or what ebah
place dey is fum?"
"Why l don't know that there is
anything wrong with them'' l re-
piled. II don't know great deal
about them; but from what l know
and from what l have learned they
are pretty good scrappers and they
behave themselves pretty WELL"
well, suh," the negro said, dem
niggers is about de stuckupedest
niggers what ah ever did see. Back
home in de States ah used to know
one or two niggers what wuz kind O.
stuck up lax and what thought dey
was better den rest an ah has seen
er few of dem kind o. niggers heah
in dis American army; but dem
French Gerians or whatebber you call
dem, is all dem wus de leader OBJ de
processhun back home on 'Mancipa-
tion day. All is happened ermong 'em
quite er little bit an abs tried to be
sociable wifi 'em an all OBJ dat; but
eber one whut ah has tackled jest
sort O. shrug his shoulders lax, and
gibber some kind O. monkey French
an pass on. 1t make me feel pow'ful
mad some time, sub, an it makes me
pow'ful bad udder times, sub. All
fought erbout carvin me one of dem
day, kase he wouldn't be sociable
when ah wanted ter be, but. he had
er bunch oh his buddies erlong an
so ah jest let him be.
lob cose ah knows dat white folks
amt gwine to hab much to do wild
niggers over heah an dat is all right;
but ah sho' does hate to see one set o.
niggers git so powerful stuck up dat
dey won't have nuthin' to do wild
ernother set o. niggers."
The conversation ended with that;
but l afterward observed many evil
dences of the contempt and i'll feel
H. 1, ;ol, 4 l. l.