Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1934-12-02
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equipped with building tools. cement and sup
plies, had moved upon this very dangerous
enemy headquarters with orders to erect
block house there. But the walls were no more
than three feet high before the soldier masons
viciously attacked by the outraged
Churs Instantly, trowels dropped and
rifles seiZed-and the assault of Allah yelling
demons was beaten off with terrible losses.
Seeing the new fort could not be taken that
way, thu Chlurs lay siege to reduce II slowly.
Day after day passed with them pushing this
long range battle ever closer. Behind the bar
rcade water and food were giving out ammuni-
ton had to be conserved with the utmost care.
Meanwhile an airpane scout had flown over
the fort and graSped the alarming situation.
There were no available bombs, but the pilot
able to bring back an equally precious
burden-buets, which he managed to drop
within the walls. Each time the plane swooped
low, every Arab rifle was turned upon 1t; each
time the pilot managed to get away, to bring
back more bullets and more food. The be-
seged Legionnaires signaled to him that they
now desperately needed medical supplies for
their wounded, many of whom had been lying
half dead for days without even a bandage.
The next trip the pilot came loaded down with
these supplies but dropping them smashed to
bits every box and bottle.
A ND all the time the Chlurs were swarming
j down in ever-increasing numbers like vul-
lures circling a stricken animal. Driven to
reckless measures, the forts commander sent
out 40 men, third of his effective force, to
try and form junction with reinforcements
that were struggling to the rescue.
But 40 were not one-tenth enough Half the
40 annihated before they had gone
half mile. The others, seeing their mission
was impossible, faced about and tried to reach
the fort-20 against 1000. AS they fell, each
man who could, quickly shot himself. for
the Chlurs were close behind, brandishing
their knives.
Two of the 40 Legionnaires got back
This appalling experiment left the captain
at Ait Yacoub with just 70 men, and these
20 were dropping fast. -
Only the airplane kept the Legionnaires' cour-
age and hope alive. Back and forth it few.
miraculously invulnerable. By the sixth day the
sight Of the lines of wounded men, stretched out
unsheltered from the sun and dying by inches
for lack of medicines drove the pilot to a
desperate resolution. He went back to head
quarters, took one long draft of the red pinard.
filled up case with morphine and disinfectantS,
swooped down over the heads Of the besiegers,
and right in the middle of the murderous circle
landed a patch of rocky ground other
pilot on earth would have dared risk With
bullets whizzing past him from every angle
he calmly unloaded his precious morphine, sig
nailed to the nearby fort. climbed back in
the cockpit and charged full speed at the wave
of Chlurs rushing forward to destroy his death.
defying airplane-and up into the air.
There was race for the precious box The
Legion got there first.
Only "a men were now left alive at Ait
Yacoub, but their flag still f1ew-and at last,
5000 of their comrades were coming to their
rescue. The field-pieces began to drop q
curtain of shells about the unconquerable post.
A distant bugle note floated above the noise Of
battle The defenders knew what. that note
meantime Churs knew, too. The Legion had
come in time. The bugle and 5000 cheering
Legi0nnaires rushed down upon the blood
stained field and swept the little fort into their
arms
AS I sat, almost in sight Of Ait Yacoub and
listened to many such stirring stories of fidelity
and heroism my admiration for the Foreign
Legion scared anew. I understood at last fully
and profoundly, what it means to be Legion
naire. Humby, before such brave and hardy
men, I'll tell you what it means:
It means, first of all, one must be an able
and courageous soldier. and an engineer.
builder, a colonizer as well. A Legionnaire must
WELD his spade as skillfully as his rifle. He
must build roads, cleanse the villages and irri-
gate the desert that trees and grain may grow
in the wilderness. 1t means one must march,
march, march or die be ready for every
bitter hardship, disdainful Of every danger. It
means one must serve under foreign fag-a
flag that has seen die in the shadow of its