Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1871-06-09
Street Fighting in Paris.


eve were considerably astonished as we went
up a street, the Rue d'Aboukir, l think, to find
ourselves facing a barricade about 100 yards off
manned, and with flag floating over it that
looked very red. We stared hard and long,
but the flag was Enthusiastically red and, there.
fore, surprising any regulars to advance, we
were directly between two fires. We according
ly turned into side street and waited patiently,
as it seemed impossible that regulars and reds,
so near each other, should escape collision.
The regulars were sure to come on; the only
question was whether the reds would run AS
looked up another parallel street, the Rue de
Clery, think, found the question answered in
an odd way. There, within thirty yards were
two officers of reds lounging leisurey about and
stopping now and then to talk to people at
doors. suppose they were told of the near APP
prOach of the regulars. for they turned back in
the direction of their barncade. But meantime
the regulars had advanced, and therefore the
enemies were at one moment within forty PAGES
of each other, though, being in different streets,
they were unconscious of each others near vicin-
ity. Both parties seemed, as they well might,
thoroughly at home, the people, whatever might
be their secret sympathies, showing decent APP
pearance, at least, of impartialty to all men
with arms in their hands; and yet in few min
uteS or seconds-for there was now no doubt
that they were about to ight-everybody was
the qut UiUe, getting ready to escape if neces-
sary. The extraordinary feature of these Paris
street fights is that many of them 90 on with a
crowd of non-cOmbatantS, men, women and
children, as close to them on both sides as if the
whole affair were theatrical representation of
q sensational melodramatic kind, where a good
deal of powder and blue lights would be burnt,
but no bullets or lives would be spent. In
streets in which fighting actually occurs no one
of course shows except combatants, and these
show as little as possible, lying down or shelter
ing behind eXtempore barricades and windows.
The people indoors, as may be supposed, do not
keep near them, as the bullets fired down the
sides OF the streets under cover of doorways or
corner houses glance and ricochet about in the
widest way. Scarcely window escapes if the
fight lasts long, but adjoining streets running at
right angles to the fighting ground are for the
moment comparatively safe, and the people
crowd about the doorways in these, the more
Venturesome getting close to street corners and
every now and then cautiously craning their
necks round TO see, if possible, whether shots
tell.
perhaps the strangest thing about Paris
street fight is that up to the very last moment
one sees people running quietly along, utterly
unconscious of danger, right between two lines
OF hre, with loaded mitrailleuses within a hun
dred yards Of them. One minute before the
| fight am describing began this morning, an
old lady, with a large market-basket on her
arm, was leisurey walking down the Rue
dAboukir between the barricades and soldiers
mastering quietly at the corner of the Rue Mont
martre. She was probably making way to the
hdIlts CtullduOS ClOoG ny W SeD something Tor
breakfast, in happy ignorance of the fact that
at that very moment soldiers were firing, as far
as we could see, right into it,"
Another correspondent relates his observa-
tons Of the city after Its capture
"1have been over a large portion of Paris to-day.
and am happy to say that, though large fires
are still raging, the confiagration is not spread-
ing to the extent that had been apprehended.
The destruction done by the street fighting and
the desolation which prevails in the principal
boulevards and other leading thorOughfares ex-
coed all could have imagined from more dis
tant view. entered to-day by the Porte de la
Muette, and, getting round to the left an
preached the Arc de Triomphe from the avenue
de Hlmperatrice. All olong found trees, lamp
posts and the facades of houses smashed by
shells. Turning off by the rue de Mornv.
worked my way round to the Boulevard Hauss-
mann. IL was impossible to proceed along by
the pavement, as on either side at intervals of
few feet felled trees and thick branches had
been laid down by the insurgents to ObStruct the
passage of the troops, On Monday last the fed.
erals had occupied the houses and fired from
the corridors. All the fronts of the houses were
dishgured by rifle balls, the corridors were brok.
en-, and the handsome stone cornices were very
much battered. The beautiful columns of the
Madeline are sadly injured, the fluted edges bay-
ing been in many places shot away. The two
houses IN the Rue Royale, at the corner of Rue
Faubourg st. Honore, were blazing still. and
the smoke and ashes that flew from them were
sitting the pompiers, who were working ener-
getically there and at other points: but while
was in the city some of their cOrps were shot
1t had been discovered that they, instead of
throwing water on the fires they were called
upon to extinguish, were actually pumpino ne
troleum into the flames, and SO adding to their
fury. When this was detected the guilty fire.
men were surrounded by a body of cavalry CON
Quoted into the Pare de Monceaux, and there
shot. | could count the number of people mot
along the bOulevards few tpera ,baco -
yentured TO walk about. The fears of petroleum
and explosions are universal. The inhabitants
had stopped up or were engaged in stopping nm
every chinck through which petroleum might
be thrown into their houses Their cellar Limits
their yentilators and their gratings were being
made impervious by sand, mortar and other
materials. This precaution was taken because
women and children, partisans of the commune
have in numerous instances been detected
throwing petroleum into houses. Not sbon
was entirely open, and those that opened only
doors were inferior restaurants and wine houses
Around the railing in the Place Yendome
troopers horses were tied. The bronze figure
of the emperor was on its back; the shattered
and PROSTATE column lay about In fragments
| On coming round by the quay TO the Place de
"a Concorde l found that all the statues of the
French cities are injured, and some very con-
sderably. OF several the arms and heads are
on. The splendid fountains in the centre of the
| Place are dreadfully smashed The stone balus-
aaHANN 10 Oai1l DlOhtu III u uuuuISu PLACES,
The lamp posts are all down, and this once
charming spot presents most melancholy APP
peaIanee, | found crowd looking over the
wall of the wharf beside the bridge. | looked
over and found number Of lahoTeTs digging a
| huge square grave in which 10 bury some
twenty-five insurgents, who lay mangled and
dead along the wall,
Inc MOTEL de Vile was still smoking when ]
1eit az SIX O'Clock. 50 were the ashes of the
I Tollerle !: Happily not very much of the
hre was extinguished when only portion of
that building had been consumed. The prefec-
ture oil ponce Is consumed, but the Palais de JUS
tice Is not and the sainte chapelle has suffered
but little injury. The greatest confiagration Of
to-day was that at the Grenier d Abondance.
The 1ames and smoke from 1t rose high over the
city, There were other fires, but, happily not
| in the centre Of the city, -
Julius Krafert, Prussjan engineer hos I'm.
| vented a a machine which will NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 10