La Poule Noire (The Black Pullet)

this eternal and sacred truth; and you, who will read this work, believe!!!

I was part of the Egyptian expedition Napoleon Bonaparte’s military campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801), which, beyond its military goals, included a large group of scientists and scholars tasked with studying Egyptian history and geography.. As an officer in the engineering corps original: armée du génie. The branch of the French army responsible for military engineering, surveying, and fortifications., I witnessed the successes and setbacks of that army, which, whether victorious or forced to yield to the force of events and circumstances, was always covered in glory.

Let no one expect to find here any details relating to that memorable campaign; I will report only a single incident that concerns me, and which is necessary for the development I must give to what I announced in my preface.

I had been sent by the general under whose orders I served to survey the plan of the pyramids; I had been given an escort of several mounted hunters original: chasseurs à cheval. A class of light cavalry in the French army known for their speed and reconnaissance skills., and I arrived with them at my destination without experiencing any accident, nor perceiving anything that could make me foresee the fatal fate that awaited us. We had dismounted near the pyramids; our horses were picketed Horses were "at the picket" when they were tied to stakes driven into the ground to keep them from wandering.; sitting on the sand, we satisfied the hunger that tormented us; French gaiety seasoned the dishes that made up this frugal meal: it was on the point of ending, and I was about to