The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1890-03-12

L
and when hard pressed, says the Cour.
Ter d Haiphong, make their escape across
the frontier into China, where the man.
darins help them.
1t is long row up the river to the
little frontier town of Monkay. This is
or rather was-a very peculiar place.
1t was built half on each side of the
little stream that forms the actual
frontier. l believe the two halves had
different names, the Tongking only be.
ing called Monkay, but they were prac,
tically one town. The reason for using
the past tense will be plain presently.
The town had no poor quarter; its
streets were automatically laid out
its houses were all of brick and stone,
with richly carved and ornamented lin.
tells and caves; their inhabitants were
all rich. In some way or another this
was the outcome of the alliance of pi-
racy and smuggling.
When the French came they did not
! interfere with the town on their side OF
the stream, but on the top of sugar
loaf hill three-quarters of a mile back
they began to build little fort, and un.
der it's guns laid out citadel" inside
which to locate the barracks, officers
quarters, magazines, etc.
Among the first to be sent there was a
civilian official named Haitce. One day
whilst out with small party they were
attacked by band of Chinese soldiers.
They fled, some were shot, some escaped.
Haitce only was captured. He was taken
back to house in the principal street
OF the model little town of Monkay, tied
down upon table and skinned alive.
Now, at this time the famous Colonel
Dugenne was in command of the For
eign Legion of Tongking. Every body
knows what the Foreign Legion is
almost the only force in the world where
sound man is enlisted instantly with
out question being asked. No matter
what your nationality, what your color,
what your past, you are welcome in the
Foreign Legion. A man may even de-
sert from the regular French army and
re-enlist, unquestioned, in this hetero-
geneous force. In return for this pre-
liminary indulgence, however, you must
put up with many inconveniences-the
worst climates, the hardest work, the
front line of the attack, the forlorn
hope and the most iron discipline. Once
out of civilized parts, and there is prac-
tically only one punishment in the For
eign Legion-the punishment that can
OILY be awarded once.
To keep such a body of men in order,
this is perhaps necessary, and the Off
GERS to enforce it must be hard men
men with bodies of steel and hearts of
stone. And the hardest of them all was
Colonel Dugenne. When the author
tiles heard of the outrage I have de-
scribed, they understood that it was no
use to wipe it out with rosewater. So
they sent Colonel Dugenne and his chill
dren. He came and looked at the place.
BURN it," said he. But it wouldn't
burn, being ali brick and stone. elbow
it up" said Colonel Dugenne. And they
did-they blew the whole town literally
to bits. Compared with Monkay, Pom
peii is in good preservation. You need
an alpenstock to get through the streets.
And the house where Haitce was tortured
is now hole in the ground twenty feet
deep.
You are not long in discovering that
Monkay is not like other places. AS we
were rowing up, a big red pheasant was
sitting in tree not twenty rods away.
picked up my rifle to try and shoot it's
head of, as we do with cartridges in the
Maine woods. Don't fire here" said
Watts, quickly; ''the people at the fort
would think there was trouble, and
probably turn out lot of men," The
Resident, M. Rustant, walked down to
meet us and take us to the residency.
This proved to be an old temple, or
pagode, as the French call all native
buildings, divided into rooms by board
partitions and very meagerly provided
with modern furniture. Outside, six
foot moat was dug and lined with spikes
of bamboo so thick that a hen could
hardly walk about in it. On each side
of the moat was a stockade built of
heavy bamboo, eight feet high, and
sharpened to a spike at the top. At
each corner lookout was built of sods
and bamboo in which sentry stood
always with a loaded rifle. The front
of the residency faced the river, where
little gun.boat lay at anchor. The
back Of it looked towards the frontier,
and therefore the back entrance, with
the ukitchen and offices, was further
protected with thick walls of sods, to
guard against the bullets fired across at
it from long range. The residents
guard consists of 1870 native militia, I'M
der two European officers. But at night
as we sat at dinner in the cold bare cob
webbed, bat-tenanted central hall of the
former temple the door was pushed nois-
lily open and night guard of thirteen
men and sergeant of the foreign lega-
tion tramped past our chairs to an ante
room and grounded their arms with
crash on the stone floor. At midnig hit
we were awakened by the same tramp
and crash as the guard was changed.
And there is no ''show-pigeon" about
this; all these men and their ball cart
ridges may be needed at any minute.
Next morning we went to pay our re-
spects to the commanding officer, and
look round. First we climbed up to the
forth on the top of the sugar-loaf hill,
where there are half dozen light guns
and small force of French artillery
men, into which no native is ever per-
mitted to set foot. The frontier river
winds along like silver thread three
quarters of mile off; the citadel is just