The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1885-09-04
AFTER THE BATTLE.
SEQUEL to the Bloodiest Fight Of the Franco
Chinese War-A Demand for Absinthe-
The Siege of Tuyen Quan.

Returning after the battle to my
/ boat, which had come with the convoy
| to Hoaimoc, writes correspondent at
Tuyen Quan, Tonquin, to The st. Loat-
! is Globe Democrat, I remained the
/ night of the Sd, and came up to Tuyen
! Quan on the 4th, preceding the junks
| by some distance The country on
either side appeared dserted. There
was not even a little basket boat to
! give a shadow of animation to the
river. Signs of war were numerous.
Headless bodies, horribly swollen and
mutilated, occasionally foated past.
Burned houses of the Anamese, some
times with the bodies of the former oc-
| cupants in the ruins, were frequently
seen along the banks. Neither Chinese
nor Anamese pirates were visible.
though either, such was the intense
| loneliness, might safely have piled
their trade of war, robbery or murder
without molestation from the French,
who were resting from their long
marches and hard fighting in the de-
serted temples of Tuyen Quan. just
below the town there were rapids rush
ing like millrace, up which the crew
dragged the boat with the greatest diff
ficuIty. On the sandy beach opposite,
half mile distant from the citadel,
were strewn dead bodies of Chinese
killed by the sharpshooters of the gar
| rison. ASH crossed the river and ap-
preached the landing, I met with a
curious illustration of national appe-
| tte. just abreast the citadel lay lit
tie awkward gunboat, having a ram
and carrying two guns, which had
been in the river before the siege COM
menced, unable to escape on account
of low water. 1t was called the Mitail-
leuse AS neared this Gueer-looklng
craft sailor. who thought that every
boat not employed by the government
belonged to sutler, leaned far out
over the water, and as soon as he
thought he could make me hear with
out being himself heard by his vigilant
captain, hoarsely whispered the word
s'absinthe. 1t was his own thought
after five weeks of short rations and
bloody siege. Neither soldiers nor
sailors had long to wait for this insane
liquor, for few hours later several
cantiners arrived with enough of it to
madden an army twice as large as that
which was now SO anxiously awaiting
their appearance.
A person who sees Tuyen Quan for
| the first time is not prepared to under
stand it's strategic value and the rea
sons for its retention by the French.
1t is about one hundred miles from
Hanoi, the capital, and about sixty
from the mouth of the tortuous and
| troublesome river Claire. There was
| formerly town of several thousand
inhabitants, but now nothing remains
but some temples-some of them large
| and handsome; some pavements OF the
principal streets, and few ruined
walls and fountains that show where
the Chinese merchants once lived.
The temples stand on both sides of the
river. One or two of them had bells
of exquisite tone, which are now used
bv one of the battalions for striking
the hours, their solemn sounds at
! night seeming weird among these war
like surroundings. The citadel stands
near the bend of the river, and around
1t to the south and west stretches a
broad plain, now green and desolate,
but formerly covered with fields of
rice, maize, sugar-cane, and gardens.
The plain merges, at q distance of a
few miles, in low, wooded hills, on
whose slopes the tents, the smoke. and
some of the redoubts and block-houses
of the black-hags can still be seen.
| Within the limits of the stream few
| low mamelons slightly diversity the
prospect. A little further Off the hills
become mountains of bold but always
! pleasing outline, always covered with
grass or trees to the summit. Around
mamelon fifty or sixty feet in height
the citadel is built. 1t is in the usual
design of all these structures, erected
In 1905 by the emperor of Tonquin,
under the direction of the French en-
gineers who came with the eXpediti on
of the bishop of Adrian, and OF a size
corresponding to the supposed wants
of the pace they were expected to de-
fend. These were placed at Nandinh,
| Ninbinh, Quang Yen, Hanoi, Babninh,
Sontay, and other places in and about
I the delta, and at such outlying posts as
Langson, Coabang. Tuyen Quan.
Hunghoa. and few other points of
less Importance. That at Hanoi is the
most imposing. 1t is at least three
miles in circumference. That at Som
tay is perhaps two miles in circumfer-
ence, while that at Tuyen Guam has
circuit of probably not more than two
thirds of mile. There is usually a
wall twenty or twenty-five in height,
not crenellated, moat, and glacis.
Sometimes the upper portion or the
wall is pierced for small arms The
mamelon within the citadel at this
place is surrounded by a block.house,
built by the French, whose guns easily
! command the entire plain, the op-
posite side of the river, and the slopes
of the nearest hills.
The siege of Tuyen Quan will not
rank with that of Rochelle, London
derry, or the Netherland cities, so
graphically described by Motley. But
it has been hotlv pressed by the
Chinese, heroically defended by it's
garrison, and for long time has been
source of anxiety to the military
authorities of Tonquin. The garrison
comprised 394 French and $50 Anamese
soldiers, commanded by Capt. Domino,
chief of battalion. The first attack
was made by the Chinese on the 26th
of January, and thenceforward till the
Sd of March it was continued strug-
gle, with cannon, musketry. or with
mines, for which the Chinese show re-