The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-06-07

perlilnS Two lives To save scarcely more IMAM
corpse-riskng the chance to take his place rather
than see him lie there helpless in their sight One
took him BY the shoulders, the other by the feet,
and the distance from where he had lain TO the safe
cover was half passed-but the pltiess shower from
: across the street was too much;
THE LEADEN DROPS FELL
too fast and furious TO miss space large as that
covered by the 1gures OF three men, The man at
the ieet G: ::aae wouned man re not even to strug
GLE but held TO the feet In the grasp OF DEATH ana
the other dragged the weight OF both bodies Win
Inc last effort Of his life and fell inside the opening
at the end OF the barricade.
TIE TYPE OF SCENES.
AL this saw from the window OF the mouse OF
friend In which had taken refuge and dwell thus
on the detail Of one because 1t Is the type OF
what saw In many other places-the type OF scenes
that passed at every Of the streets of PARIS
during three days. But now all around me burst
forth
MUsKErRY FIRE WITHOUT PARALLEL
for Its intensity and incessant fury. On the north
side OF the boulevard the troops had entered
the houses by the side streets, and thus
came to the front winoows without being
in the least exposed TO the IRE from the
barricades. They went up as high as the
third and fourth stories, and fired down into the
barricade across the street. leaving only q small
completely by the barrcade q man had to crouch
close to the pavement. On their side the National
Guards were In the houses ALSO for they had COM
PEELED the residents on the side streets to open their
doors. Hence 1t became q storm OF fire from innu'
meraple windows not only into the street, but into
| the other windows; and the rooms OF the houses
were traversed by the bullets as thckly as ever was
| THE HOTTEST SPOT ON THE HARDEST BATTLE FIELD.
Twas in front room at that sharp angle formed
hvt Do ,,,,ni,.o and Ina Dun
| des Capucines-a room lighted by three windows
| that stretch from door to ceiling and protected
| only by the spaces OF wall between the windows.
Even these spaces afforded protection only from the
| muskery fire, for q shell would have come through
| the wall anywhere. Bullets traversed this room,
| coming up the boulevard and out OF the Rue dc
Seze and from the houses at all the three corners
| where the Rues Sezc and Cammartn meet at the
| boulevard, entering the windows directly and
| dlagOnaly. Into this room the National
! Guards did not come-partiy perhaps. be-
| cause the American nag was flying at the
window, ana partly, perhaps because man
| could not have shown himself there and
| lived. Mattresses were fastened up before the
windows, in the hope to stop the bullets or nying
| fragments OF shell; but the hope was VAN. The
bullets traversed the mattresses and the backs OF
| sofas that supported the mattresses, ana pierced
the doors at the other side OF the room. All the
! walls were cut to pieces. One large mirror on the
further wall OF the room was pierced by four bullets
| within as many seconds Tue whole floor was
srewn with the scraps OF cured hair that the bullets
| going through the mattresses carried with them.
! The little escrltore on which wrote was pierced
by bullet through the upper part and the splinters
| fell on my paper.
DREADFUL CONFLICT.
For two hours and half this friRhrful contest
| was kept up without the least abatement. From
| eighty to hundred men were defending each OF
the two parricades In the little angle under my eyes,
| but not more than twenty could remain In either
| one at time. All the rest were kept inside the
courts and entrances OF the houses further down,
and as the men IN the barrlcade exhausted their
ammunition fell others crept cautiously forward
till they were under fire, and then rushed to the
cover Of the barrcade to take their places. All
hit in the barricades were hit in the head A
they fell their comrades carried them into the little
shops near by that they might receive assistance.
and they died in those little shops and in the courts
OF the larger houses. Others died up In the rooms
on the second and third stories OF all the houses
| where they were lighting and where they were nit
as they crept 70 the windows to deliver their nre.
At half.past six this combat was fought to stand
STILL and all the defenders OF the two little barr
| oades that looked into were either dead or
| wounded, or, having exhaused their ammunition,
4 pnu ROue W luc TcSIs Iucu ChIu0
~ A CHARACTERISTIC CIRCUMSTANCE.
These two barbados that were no longer de.
| fcnde1-from which not q shot came-covered the
rear OF important positions One, that In the Rue
Luxembourg, led into the rear OF the position
made by the famous barricade OF the Rue ST. Floren-
tin and the similar barrcade at the end OF the Rue
de Rivoli on The Place de la Concorde. The other,
/ on the Rue Neuve des Capucines, covered one OF
| the best approaches to the Place vendome. Al
/
| been known to the commander OF the troops, did
| not see any Of that dashing readiness to
rush forward and take possession of the
| derences from which the National Guards
! had been driven. On the contrary, the com.
| mander was disposed to be satisfied for
| while with the peaceable possession OF his own
side OF the street. But the Communists, not count
Ing on this and feeling the importance OF the posi-.
ton, the necessity Of keeping up at least show
of fight, and came forward from the Place Ven
dome under fire for at least half the distance
Whether he was the only one who would come, or
whether it was deemed that only one was necessary
to keep up the required show Of resistance, cannot
say; but this one
DID HIS DESPERATE DUTY WELL.
Once in the barricadc he crouched close to the
EARTH even sitting In the gutter and leaning back
on the ourbstone to be more completely
covered; ana hundreds or men In oil the
windows across the street were waiting with
their pieces ready for the least movement he
might make. 1t was all silent, and he crept to
place where he could pass the barrel Of his gun be-
tween the sand bags on the top OF the barricade;
but the moment the piece came in sight outside the
sand bags all around It were torn by hundred bul-
let's lie withdrew his gun, dropped and waited
his chance again. And so he kept on ill., In spite
Of the attention with which he was watched. he had
ared owav nil his ammuntion-with what effect
I know not-and the last / saw Of him, as
the night came on, nc fumbling with his right
hand among the fragments OF paper in the street
searching Tor cartridges that might have been
dropped by careless shooters earlier IN The day. and
his movements were and peculiar, not with the
deliberate sownesa Of steady nerves and cool blood
hut m II with the debility Of nun bleeding from