The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1883-11-03
HORRIBLE BUTCHERY.
A Dastardly Outrage Upon Humanity and
Civilization.

Civilization.
PARIS, Nov. 1.-Pierre Lote, an Officer
of the French eXpeditiOnaTy force In
TOnquin, sends description of the bar
barOus conduct of the French sailor af
ter the fall of Hue. The beaten Anna
mites were cOOped up in burning vii
lage. The only road of escape from thC
flames lay right under the guns of fort
filled with saileTs, who were armed
with KrapOfchak repeating rifles. The
sights were carefully adjusted to the
distance, the magazines of the rifles
duly loaded, and the men looked on
quietly waiting until the flank move
ment Of the other troops and the firing
of the bamboo huts should drive theiI
human quarry before them We saw
them hating at the end of the village
with Singed hair and garments; then
after moments hesitation, tucking uI
their flowing robes as high as they
could and trying to protect their heads
with plankS against the empending
shower of bullets, they rushed on, hop
ing to pass us. The great butcheTy
then commenced. Two vOlleyS were
fired, and it was quite a treat to see
these fnn-like streams of bullets, 80
easily manageable, sweeping down upon
the fugatiYeS twice in one minute, at
the word of command, in sure and
methOdical manner. 1t was like the
jet from a huge watGrpOt, which moved
them down by dozens in cloud of dust
and gravel. We could see some of them,
who seemed to be driven quite mad, and
who, picking themselves us, ran about
llmping, now one way and now another,
like wounded animals. Gathering up
their robes in a cOmical manner, their
long hair having got unfastened, stream
ed down, and made them look like wO-
men. Others tried to escape by swim
ming the lagoon TO try and reach the
junke; they were killed in the water.
Some were very good divers, and re-
malued long time under water; but
our men continued to kill them all the
same, when they came up to breath,
like seals. The men then amused them
selves by counting ths dead-ffty on
the left, and eighty to the right. In the
village there were small heaps of them.
With some killed in the southern forts,
about 800 or 1000 must have been dis
posed of. The sailors made bets as to
the number destroyed. ~ was barely 8
in the morning and all vas over. The
TOut of the king of AMMAN was com
plete. The heat grew intense. The
sailors, maddened by the sun and the
noise, theu rushed out Of the fort, and,
quiyering with excitement, rushed af-
lSI lub WOuuubu, SOME OF whom were
crOuching in holes, others feigning
death, others at their last gasp, stretch
out their hands and pleading for mercy,
shouting Han, ham," in heart-render-
ing voice, and slaughtered them with
their bayOnets, or Drained them with the
but end of their mu5ketJ. The Anna
mite servants, the diminutiVe and eff
Terminate lads who had followed the in
fantry from Saigon, hunted out the fu-
gitives, and when they uneaTthed one
they called out Here's another; come
and give him leang leang." These sal
lOrs were quite unTecOgnizable; they
were absolutely madmen; it was at
tempted to restrain them; officers told
them. You ought to be ashamed of
yourselves; this is cOwardly and dirty
work" They replied that they (the An
namites) we're savage, that they had car
ried the head of Captain RiYiere about
on the top of pole, and that they had
carried the day they would have cut the
French to pieces or sawu them within
two plank5. There was no reply pOssi-
BILE to this, 1t was quite true, and so
they were left to go on with their grim
work. After a few hours rest, when
the reaction set in, the men seemed to
feel ashamed of their ferOcity, and
they treated with humanity and tend
eTness the few wounded that survived.