Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-12-22

And there is no "shOw-pidgin" about this.
All these men and their ball
cartridges may be needed at any minute.
Next morning we went to pay our respects
to the commanding officer, and look round.
First we climbed up to the fortin on the top
OF the sugar-loaf hill, where there are bali .
dozen light guns and q small force OF French
artillerymen, and into which no native is
ever permitted to set foot. The frontier
river winds along like silver thread three
quarters Of mile of; the citadel is just be-
low. and the halt-dozen houses of the foreign
population; and through glass you can see
the Chinese guns and soldiers In their own
fort, on similar hill, couple of miles of,
or less All these guns, of course. are
trained straight at one another. And over
the hills you can see the telegraph wire con-
Meeting the furthest extremities of the Chi
nese Empire, stretching down into the town
"a solid and prosperous-looking little
place, like MonkaY on this side before
Colonel Dugenne blew it up. The French
have no telegraph, but line of heliograph
to within a few miles of Haiphong, only al
lowed to be used Tor official messages. In
deed, there is nobody else to use it, although
the Resident was kind enough to allow me
to receive private message from Hong
Kong by its aid.
PLEASANT NE1GHBoRs.
Then we walked, always with an es-
cort, through the ruins of the town down to
the river. As We entered the street the
quick eye of the commandant caught sight
of new marks on a blank brick wall.
Climbing into the inside we discovered that
somebody from across the frontier had come,
probably during the preceding night, and
actually loop-holed the wall for rifles, so
that they could steal across the next moon
light night and pick off the sentries at the
tortl From the arrangements made then
and there, fancy those gentry would get a
reception to surprise them. The river which
constitutes the actual frontier is only about
40 yards wide, and can be forded at low
tide, On the French side the bank
is high, while the Chinese town is
built almost down to the waters edge. As
soon as we were seen on the opposite bank
the Chinese soldiery came down to the river
in crowds, in their bright yellow and red
Jackets, to stare at us, and when I set up
my camera they evidently became rather
nervous, thinking it a new engine of war.
Indeed, the Commandant said: "Don't stay
any longer than is necessary; it's just posi-
Bile they might take a pot-shot at US.
Across this river, of course, not soul vent
ures. If "a Frenchman should try, his head
wouid, be off his shoulders, or worse, in five
minutes. With good deal of difficulty
bribed Chinaman to take telegram across,
addressed to Sir Robert Hart, in PekiD, but
they refused to dispatch it, and sent itback.
In fact, the relations between the French
aud Chinese are just about as STRAINED" as
they can possibly be-.
The commandment pointed out to me a
small cleared and leveled spot on the top of
a hillock, and told me its gruesome story.
Two months before my visit blockhouse
had stood there, garrisoned by sergeant
and six French soldiers and eight native
regulars. One night the people at the fort
suddenly heard rapid firing, and shortly
atterward the blockhouse burst into flames.
The night was pitch dark, and it was no
good for them to move out to the rescue, as
they did not know that there were not a
thousand Chinese, and, as the blockhouse
was burning, their comrades had either es-
capped or been killed. At daylight they
marched down and found the eight natives
and five Europeans dead. the sergeant
headless and horribly mutilated, aud one
European missing-evidently carried off
into China. as he was never heard of again.
A SHORT sHRIFT FOR JOHN.
No wonder that Chinamaa who falls |
into French hands here gets very short |
about as long as it takes to |
pull trigger. In fact, I believe any China
man at Monkay at night is shot on sight. |
The Chinese who come across on these muir |
1ering expeditions are not pirates at all, or |
black flags" or dacoits, or anything Of |
hat kind; they ara Chinese regulars, who |
leave their yellow jackets behind and re- |
sume them ON their return. And, of course.
II the practice were not encouraged, or at |
east Winked at, by the Chinese officials, it |
,ould not go on.
The native troops are not very smart sol |
liers, but they take kindly to the loose |
French discipline, and on several occasions
hey have fought very well indeed. Their
1ress consists of dark blue cotton knicker-
occkers and jacket, little pointed bamboo
nat, and sash. They wear no shoes; and |
,he only difference between the militia or
;ivil guards aud the regulars is that the sash
Ind hat of the former are blue and of
he latter red. At Monkay the total
strength is about 75O men-35O Eu-
-opeans and 400 nstives-not nearly
enough, the Commandant complained
bitterly. Once as stood with him in the
ort he showed me valley miles of, and
aid: "There are 500 pirates over there. The
lay after tomorrow am going out to say
Bonjour' to them" And two days after
rot back to Hong Kong, 1 read in the news
,aper that he had made his expedition, the
chinese had attacked his camp during the
light, and that he had been the first man
hot. "Don't forget to send me some of
Tour photographs, " he had said to me at the
anne time; ''they will be very dramatic"
HENRY NORMAN.