American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1874-08-22
MASSACRE IN CHINA.
Ten Thousand Christians Slaughtered,


The French periodical Missions
Catalogues, OF the last Of July,
gives tie first authentic and detail
Cd nara, i've Of the rece.ft massacre
OF Roman Catholic native converts
in China.
The account, as translated for
The London Tablet, relates that the
massacre broke out on the 25th OF
February, when the CELEBRATES" as
the prosecuting patty is called,
opened the campaign by beheading
two men in the service OF Pere
Doare and a Christian, whom they
then threw into the river. The
same day they burned the three
villages of Trun-IIam, FIo-Vinh
and Bau- Tach, and massacred the
inhabitants that were in them
Those who succeeded in escaping
to the woods were hunted down
and killed on the following day.
The river was covered over with
bodies floating down it from the
side of Lareg. At that time the
murderers were massacreeing the
Christians of the parish of Holven,
and were burning their villages.
Those who took refuge in the cliffs
of the neighborhood were hunted
down and burned alive. The Grand
Mandarin of Justice was at the
market of Sa- Nam with eight hun
bred soldiers, but remained an in-
active spectator of the massacre of
the Christians of Nam Duong, only
. few of whom were able to make
their escape.
The Literates, who were the
heads of the militia appointed TO
massacre the Christians, say that
the work of determination carried
out under the eyes of the manda-
rims was concerted between the
court and the literatea, and was
done in reprisal tor recent events.
The mandarins have just received
orders from the court not to en-
ploy any other means save those
Of persuasion to stop the murder
ers in their career. One of the
chiefs, who had just caused two
Christians to be murdered on the
hIgh-road, went on parade before
the Governor of the citadel, by
who m he was dismissed with honor.
On hls return, twenty women and
children fell under the sword of
this man and his followers. He
had just come from offering sacri-
fee TO the Goddess of Prostitution,
to whom a famous temple that
stands near the road, is dedicated.
NODE OF TORTURE AND DEATH.
In several localities they take an
entire family, mother and children
bind them together with bam-
boos, and then fling the bundle of
living humanity into the waves.
First, however, they take care to
cut off the mans head. The mul-
tltude of dead bodies thus fastened
together in groups of from eight to
ten block up the principal river, but
to the surprise Of everybody does
not send forth any bad smell.
There are then five parishes con-
WI CuOuS0hu
which have to be bIo.ted out of the
mission, viz: Lang Thank Huyen,
Nam Duong. Hoy Yen and Doreg
Thank. Many of the victims died
in the midst Of flames. A village
of moro than four hundred CHRIS
tians was attacked by the literates,
and soon became prey to the
flames. Among these four hun
dred Christians there were one
hundred aud twenty, more or less,
who succeeded in saving them
selves by taking refuge in large
village near by. The remainder,
about three hundred, were nearly
all massacred. Two small villages
OF Christians, situated Two hours
walk from the place at which l
then wss, were hemmed in by the
Pagans. The Mayor visited each
house, numbered the Christians,
and forbade them, under threat OF
most severe punishment, to 60 ont
of doors. A few of the Christian
women attempted to go to the mar
ket to keep from starving. They
never returned. Some Pagan wo-
men who went with them say that
the Christian women were captur-
ed and beheaded. 1.-TWO men from
one of these same villages hazard
cd a fight during the night. They
passed the great river by swim
ming, and came to tell me their
"Alas," writes Arbishop eau.
thler, from whose letter this infor-
nation is chiefly derived, 81 could
do nothing but weep for them, be-
ing unable to do anything to sue,
cor thems" Two or three days af-
forwards L learned that all the men
in that village had had their heads
cut off, but the women and chill
dren were spared. And, as their
houses were intermingIed with
those of the pagans, it was forbid
den to burn them down."