The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1871-06-23
f, OUTRAGEs OF THE COMMUNISTS.
Day.


The occupation of the church of
Notre Dame DIES Victories was accom-
panied by peculiar atrocities. The
Guards appeared there at II o'clock on
Thursday afternoon. Their first act was
TO expel with various insults and foul
abuse the numbers of people who were
saying their prayers; then they arrested
the clergy and some of the neighboring
inhabitants who came IN TO protest. The
doors were shut, and the prisoners were
informed by an officer, in pompous
manner, was " to seek for corpses in the
name of high morality" The stone
pavement was pulled up; the treasure
of the church, which was very consider
able, including gifts of precious objects,
and votive offerings, worth more than
fl0,000, was soon discovered in cellar
but the search for "corpses" was less
productive. 1t was not till late in the
evening, when the diggers got down
deep into the old battle-ground, that
skeletons were found, During the
night the Guards, of course, got drunk I;
in the intervals of their work they put
on the vestments of the clergy, and exc
cuted dances and sang obscene songs
before their prisoners, telling them that
they had just dug up the fresh bodies Of
women slaughtered by the priests" but
refusing to allow doctor, who was in
carcerated with the others, to verify the
accusation. Citizen lie Moussu. Chief
Commissaire de Police, decided over the
proceeding; he was joined at 9 next
morning by Potter, a member of the
Commune, who, on his arrival, attacked
the imprisoned priests, screaming to
them, " Miserables, comblen avez-vous
de femmes?' but who finally softened
down and said that everybody should
be released if no charge could be sub
stantiated. At the same moment a
priest arrived from the Church Of st.
Augustin, which had been sliced and
sion from Citizen lie Moussu to perform
the burial service in the crypt of the
church, urging that several funerals
were awaiting his return. In reply he
was instantly arrested, with the organist
of St. Augustin, who had accompanied
him, and the funerals were LETT to them
selves. All day the prisoners were kept,
great orgie going on round them.
They say the church is polluted in ways
which cannot be described they saw
the cash-box emptied, the boxes for
voluntary gifts forced open and their
contents seized; they saw the National
Guards receive their pay out of the mo-
ney thus obtained, and become drunken
and drunken, they saw the lustres, the
lamps, the bronze ornaments, and
everything else Of value pulled down
and packed into cases, which, with the
treasure, were carried off in four large
vans, Then the obscene insults recon-
menced, cantiniere being remarkable
even among the drunken brutes in the
incredible foulness of her imagination
and her language. At last, at 6 Thurs
day evening, after detention of 26
hours, the prisoners, save one priest,
were told they might 60 home. Such
is the account given to me by one O. the
released. ! have heard many other
odious details, but do not mention them
because they were not included in the
statements of my eyewitness, and may
be exaggerations.
The Commune, in its supreme wis
dom, has found out that the "small IA
TIERS" their grandsons, and great
grandsons have been using Louis
Treize's church as a murderer's, not a
robbers cave; and it has now deIer-
mined to get at the truth. The Ma
tionals 90 about tapping the walls, and
if there is a hollow sound, out they
come in force, swords and guns, pick
axes, pioneers and ALL" and break
open that which was probably monas-
tic family vault If bone remains UNI
mouldered, they shake their fists and
call the murderer of the individual of
which it was component member any
name except saint or gentleman. At
present they have dug up GO skulls and
bodies, more or less to match. The
skulls are stacked up like cannon shot
in Woolwich-yard, and the limbs were
ranged in a semi-circle round them 1t
is a horrible spectacle, but it draws
"great houses" and that is what the
women are so eager to rush and pay to
see. Anatomical skill is trying to fit
the bones to the body, and the bodies
to the skulls while other professors are
endeavoring to find the date and the
cause of the death of these victims TO
monkish evil passions, who must have
been dead at least 800 years. You see
National Guard take up bone, and
playfully hit his captain; the drummer
trying thigh-bone on his parchment
another man holding up an arm to a
lady as if he was going to lecture on it,
or beg her kind acceptance of the trihe.
Beyond are two gallant youths playing
catch-ball with skull!
Ascension Day, need hardly say, is
one of the greatest festivals in the city
and so, early on Thursday, large mum
Der of women of all classes, dressed in
the deepest mourning, appeared at the
gates of this church, and demanded
admittance. They were told that there
were no longer religion, or churches, oil
"Our ladies' so they had better &C
home quietly. Then ensued regular
religious row, and one lady struck 6
National in the eye. The more serious
however, retired to the corner of Rue
dies Victories, and knelt by the side
rails in the street. No sooner was this
seen than more than usually rufiianl,
| National called from the mob ten of tn,