cantonnier

To each lieue de poste (two and a half miles), is appointed a "cantonnier" or road-keeper, who is responsible for the condition of the length of road assigned to his care.

Brittany & Its Byways Fanny Bury Palliser

a broader road which bore unmistakable signs of military workmanship in its construction, and here he met, and passed with laconic greeting, a few peasant women returning with empty baskets from some neighbouring market; or perhaps a "cantonnier" here and there, plodding home with

The Slave of the Lamp Henry Seton Merriman 1882

That he united the functions of _cantonnier_ and _garde_ did not occur to me.

Two Summers in Guyenne Edward Harrison Barker 1885

The cantonnier confided to me that he was formerly employed in the phosphate quarries, and that he had closed his experience in this line by working three months without wages for an Englishman whose speculation turned out a failure.

Wanderings by southern waters, eastern Aquitaine Edward Harrison Barker 1885

At length I thought I had had enough of his company, so at the next bend in the road I came to a stand beside a heap of stones that a _cantonnier_ had neatly piled up in geometrical pattern.

Two Summers in Guyenne Edward Harrison Barker 1885

Hither ascended a _cantonnier_ when the new road was made up the valley, and here he found chipped flints of primeval man, a polished celt, a scrap of Samian ware, and in a niche at the side sealed up with stalactite, a tiny earthenware pitcher 2-1/2 inches high, a leaden spindle-whorl, some shells, and a toy sheep-bell.

Castles and Cave Dwellings of Europe 1879

Excepting an occasional cantonnier at work by the roadside, or a peasant woman minding her cows, the region is utterly deserted.

The Roof of France Matilda Betham-Edwards 1877

Presently there comes up an old cantonnier in a blouse and heavy sabots, who has just returned from mending the roads; he takes off his cap, crosses himself devoutly, and kneels down to pray.

Normandy Picturesque Henry Blackburn 1863

_cantonnier_ breaking stones, and he told me that if I made haste I might reach Neuvic before dark.

Two Summers in Guyenne Edward Harrison Barker 1885

a handsome fellow, with a moustache that one would expect to see upon the face of a Sicilian brigand, was a cantonnier, and as he scraped out the ditches and mended the roads, his donkey browsed upon what he could find along the wayside.

Wanderings by southern waters, eastern Aquitaine Edward Harrison Barker 1885