The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-06-15
Aphonse Daudet Wildly Pictures
the Famous Battle of Pere
Lachaise.
The Brave Old Chief and His Terri
BILE and Untimely
# Fate.
Great Cemetery-Orgie of tho Ar
hllerymen in the Tombs.
Written for TIE SUNDAY INpEprxpEsr.1

Written for TIE SUNDAY INDEpENDENr.1
The watchman burst out larRhingly: "a
battle here? But there never was a battle.
It was an invention of the newspapers.
This is exactly what took place: On the
evening of the 22nd, which was Sunday.
thirty communist artillerymen arrived with
a battery of seven Founders and new
tangled mitrailleuse. They took position
on the high ground of the cemetery; and, as
have that section under my charge, it was
I who received them. Their m,trailleuse
was at that corner Of the alley, near nv
Matchbox; their cannon little lower down.
upon that terrace. On their arrival thew
them. I thought they would break
everything, steal everything i'll them;
but their chief restored order, and, plac-
ing himself in their midst. made them this
short speech: The first scoundrel who
touches anything shall be shot! Dismissr
He was white-headed old fellow with
Crimean and Italian medals, and had an
air that was not at all indulgent. His men
obeyed him, and I will do them the justice
to say that they took nothing from the
tombs, not even the Duo de Morny's cruel
fix, which alone is worth nearly two thou
sand francs.
''They were, nevertheless, most villain
cannoneers of the moment, who cared for
nothing but their pay. How they carried
on in the cemetery! Thep threw themselves
down pell-mell in the vaults. in Morny's in
Favronne's-that beautiful Favronne tomb
in which the emperor's nurse is buried.
They put their wine to cool in the Cham
peaux vault, which contains fountain;
then they sent for women. And all night
they drank-they guzzled. Oh, tell, you,
our dead heard some queer talk.
Gan tho CANA 1a4nita their auEua r1noca
those bandits did much damage to Paris
their position was such good one. From
time to time an order reached them:
Palais- Royalr
'rhen the old chief pointed the pieces
and the petroleum bombs flew toward the
city. What was taking place below none of
us exactly knew. We heard the reports of
musketry coming nearer little BY little, but
that did not disturb the Communists.
With the cross fire of Chaumont, of Mont
martre, of Pere-Lachaise, it did not seem
possible to them that the Versailles people
could advance. What undeceived them was
the first bomb which the marines sent US on
arriving at the rising ground of Montmartre
80 little had they expected it!
II was in the midst of them, leaning
against Morny's tomb, about to smoke my
pipe. On hearing tie bomb coming had
barely. time to throw myself upon the
ground. At first our cannoneers thought it
an error in aiming or some colleague who
had become intoxicated. But it was no such
thing. In five minutes Montmartre burst
out again, and another joker reached us, as
well aimed as the first. Instantly. my gay
birds quilted their cannon and their nit
railleuse and ran of as fast as their legs
could carry them. The cemetery was OF
big enough for them. They cried ont:
"'We are betrayed! We are betrayed
'The old chief, left alone under the hail
Of bombs. rushed about like brave devil
in the midst of his battery and wept with
rage to see that his cannoneers had aban-
doned it.
However, later in the evening some of
them returned to him-at the pay hour.
See. Monsieur. look at my Matchbox. It
still bears the names of those who came to
be paid that night. The old chief called
them out and wrote them down:
D: ",,'sidhain1,e-present; Choudeyras-present;
''As you see, only four or five came back;
but they had women with them. All! l
shall never forget that pay night. Below,
Paris was in fiames-the Hotel de Vile, the
Arsenal, the store houses. In Pere- Lachaise
we could see as plainly as in broad day.
The Communists strove again to man their
guns, but they were not sufficiently numer-
GUS. and, besides, they were afraid of Mont
martre: Then they entered tomb and fell
to drinking and singing with their women.
tall stone figures which are at the door of
the Favronne vault. He gazed at Paris
burning with terrible air. One might
say that he thought it would be his last
night.
''From that moment 1 cannot say with
certainty what happened. went to my
house, that little hut you see down there,
half-hidden among the branches. was
greatly fatigued. | threw myself upon my
5 pea with - my clothes on, keeping my lamp
somebody knocked roughly at the door. My
wife ran to open it, all in a tremble. We
thought we should again see the Commun-
lists. The marines were there-a COM
mander, enslgns. surgeon. They said to
me:
"'Get up and make us some Coffee
Il arose and made their coffee. I heard
IN the cemetery a murmur, confused
movement. as if all the dead had awak.
ened for the last Judgment. The officers
drank very quickly. standing the while
they led me out with them. The cemetery
was full of soldiers, of marines. They put
me at the head of squad and we began tC
search Pere-Lachaise tomb by tomb. From
move, fired down an alley, upon bust
into grating. Here and there they dis.
covered some unfortunate wretch bidder
away in corner of chapel. His business
pened to my artillerymen. l round them
all. their women included, lying in pile
before my Matchbox, with the medal-cov
cred old chief on top. It was not pleas
ant sight at the cold dawn OF day.
But what made the deepest impression
on me was long file of national guards lee
at that moment from the prison of La Ro
4u-tte. where they had passed the night
They assembled the main alley slowly, like
funeral procession. We heard not a word
not a complaint-those unfortunates were
60 worn out, SO overcome. There wer
some among them who slept as the,
marched. and the thought that they were OF
Their way to death did not awaken them
lhey were taken to the extremity of tn
cemetery and the firing began. They nnm
bered hundred and forty seven. You car
imagine that they were disposed of in shor
Pere-Lachaise''
Here the Waterman, perceiving his chief
Quilted me hastily, and I remained alone
gazing at the names of the last pay lis
written upon his Matchbox by the light o
burning Paris. ! called up that night Q
May, disturbed by bombs red with bloc
ana with flames, this great deserted GENE
terry illuminated like city in festivity, th
cannon abandoned in the midst of the cross
paths, ali around the open vaults the orgi
N the tombs, and, near by in this confu
sion or domes, of columns of stone image
which the gambols of the flames yivifiei
the bust of Ba!zac. with its high forebea
ana large eyes, looking on.
AvpuoNcp n.