?© de, 1799-1850 / 2008-11-27 00:00:00
But for this unhoped-for help, I must have perished. But with
a fury you may imagine, I began to work my way through the bodies
which separated me from the layer of earth which had no doubt been
thrown over us--I say us, as if there had been others living! I worked
with a will, monsieur, for here I am! But to this day I do not know
how I succeeded in getting through the pile of flesh which formed a
barrier between me and life. You will say I had three arms. This
crowbar, which I used cleverly enough, opened out a little air between
the bodies I moved, and I economized my breath. At last I saw
daylight, but through snow!
"At that moment I perceived that my head was cut open. Happily my
blood, or that of my comrades, or perhaps the torn skin of my horse,
who knows, had in coagulating formed a sort of natural plaster. But,
in spite of it, I fainted away when my head came into contact with the
snow. However, the little warmth left in me melted the snow about me;
and when I recovered consciousness, I found myself in the middle of a
round hole, where I stood shouting as long as I could. But the sun was
rising, so I had very little chance of being heard. Was there any one
in the fields yet? I pulled myself up, using my feet as a spring,
resting on one of the dead, whose ribs were firm. You may suppose that
this was not the moment for saying, 'Respect courage in misfortune!'
In short, monsieur, after enduring the anguish, if the word is strong
enough for my frenzy, of seeing for a long time, yes, quite a long
time, those cursed Germans flying from a voice they heard where they
could see no one, I was dug out by a woman, who was brave or curious
enough to come close to my head, which must have looked as though it
had sprouted from the ground like a mushroom.
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