Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1890-06-14

a. the Fort Of Bicetre. The army was
ing near. They resolved 10 evacuat, i
fort and fall back upon Paris, where numyr-
Gus barricades, well provided with artillery,
made resistance possible, and where the
steep and narrow streets, the labyflnthtne
windings and twisting Of courts and alleys,
in the old quarter OF the city made fight
and concealment easy.
Carriages, carts, wagons, were hurriedly
requisitioned on every hand, and then came
a hight soeager- that the prisoners In their
easement were forgotten
Thank GodF' cried CASTOR, with a wild
throbbing at his heart, forgetting, for the
moment, that he was an infdel. 1.-THE Yer
saillais will be here In time to save u.s."
And the good Dominicans, the men who
had turned their house into an ambulance
during The siege and the Commune, and who
had nursed the wounded Federals withon.
a question as TO their beliefo or theirimpiety,
began to offer up their Thanksgiving, ard
murmur psalms OF triumph and rejoicing
those vcrsicles which Jewish captives Of
old had sung by the waters OF Babylon.
Alas for those pious hearts uplifted In
gratitude to the great Deliverer! not thus,
not by Versailles, was their d%ellverance to
come. They were to pass to paradise by a
rougher road, Their Joy had been prema-
ture, FOR they had reckoned without Seri.
zier.
And yet this Serizler was one Of the mas.
ter-iends In the Partisan pandemonium. A
currier by trade, he had been in early man.
hood the tyrant and the terror Of a great
curriers' factory at Beilevilie, and in the
revolution Of '4s he had been leader OF the
mob which hanged the proprietor OF the
factory at his own door. He had been con-
demned for some political offence during
the Empire, and had taken refuge In Bel
GUM. He ~reappeared in Paris soon after
the 4th OF September, and played an fmpor-
tant part In the siege.
After March 18th he became secretary TO
Leo Meillet, and later chief of the 18th
legion. He commanded twelve battaltons,
which fought We'll at Issy, at Chatillon, and
at the Hautes-Bruyere Amongst these
ba~ttalions there was one which he favored
above all the others, the l01st, his own par
t!cnlar battalion, composed Of his friends
and companions.
A man of fiery temperament, a great talk
er, q deep drinker, n workman without in.
dustry, living upon money extorted from
the public assistance, Ser,zier exercised a
strong influence upon the ignorant and
brutal beings who surrounded him. He was
feared and obeyed by all the 18Th orrondis.
sement, which trembled before him. His
hatred against the priests was a passion
that almost touched on lunacy. He had
profaned the churches by his foul orgies,
and IT was only III entry OF the troops from
Versailles which stopped him from selling
sanity relies and sacramental plate by auc-
ton, Assassin ard incendiar y, 1t was his
hand which fred the famous mandatory
Of GobelinS tapestry.
He WAS a man of medium height, square.
shouldered, eyes shifty and restless, fore
head low, lips thick and heavy, receding
chin, the head of a bulldog. His voice was
harsh and hoarse, his breath exhaled cognac.
When he was angry that rough voice broke
out in c~ursings and fury, more like the
bowling Of a savage dog than the accents OF
humanity.
Serizier had his particular prison rs
we'll as hiss own particular battalion. A
house in the Ayenued 'ltalie had been trans
formed into q gaol; and here ills man kept
those victims who were known as his prls.
orers. At the final day he cleared his PRISON
by n massacre.
Serizier had rot forgotten the Dominicans
md their companions. At his bidding a
detachment Of soldiers came in search OF
them, ard they vera marched into Paris by
the Barrierc F~ontainebleau, amidst hootings
and insults and curses from the crowd, a
little company Of twenty hostages, five Of
whom wore the Rowing black and white
robes of the order.
No hep from the French army. All yes
tcrday they had been he'd at bay by the
Federal artillery at Montrouge, and were
on y able to cross the rayines OF La Bievre
on the morning Of he et;h,
The prisoners were hurried along, almost
ut a run, TO the gaol In the Avenue dltalie.
Embarrassed by the Soluminous folds Of
their robes they did not always walk fast
enough, whereupon the soldiers struck them
with the butt-end Of their guns, calling out,
Quick, magpiep p in mockery of their black
and white raiment; and so TO the prison,
which vas already full 10 the brim, con-
tanning ninety-seyen prisoners arrested in
that district, and detained at Citoyen Seri-
Eier's good pleasure. Bobeche, the gao!er,
fatigued by having 10 write such a list of
names, had gone Quito refresh himself with
a drink. While he was away the Commun-
ards came 10 the prison 10 ask the Domini-
cans TO help in making the barbados; but
the depasy-gaoler having some respect for
the religious character sent fourteen Ma
tionaI Guards, imprisoned for some mi itary
irregularity, instead of the priests. Bobeche,
returning Immediately after, was uFioG
with his subord nate, and rccused him Of
shedding the blood of patriots in order to
srare the monks. He had a detachment Of
the 1olst battalion at his heels and he order
ed those tonsured scoundrels TO be brought
out.
Bertrand, the subordinate, yielded after
some opposition, aud opened the door of the
gaoL.
Come, magpies," cried Bobeche, ''of
with You to the barricadeV'
The Dominicans came out into the avenue,
where they saw the detachment Of the Ioist
with'Seriz,er at their head. This time they
believed that all was over; but they were
deceived, for their agony was to last a little
longer.
Father Cotrault, the purveyor, stopped on
the threshold Of the prison.
I'VE will 20 no further" he said; 1--WE are
men Of peace. Our religion forbids us to
| shed blood; we cannot fight, and we will
| not 20 to the barricade; bat even under fire
we will search for your wounded, and sue
cor them"
This compromise would not have been ac-
cspted by Serixier, but the Communist sol
diers were wavering, they were crying out
that 1t would soon be impossible to hold the
barricade against the hail of bullets from
the Versaillais.
Enough" said Serizier to Father Cot
| ranlt; promise to look after our wounded"
Yes, we promise" answered the monk;
| ''and you know ii is what Wa have always
done"
Serizier made q sign TO Bobeche, and the
prisoners were bundled back into theg aol.
But they no longer deceived themselves
| with false hopes. They knew the respite was
but brief. They prayed together, and made
confession to each other. They might have
been spared, perhaps; but the news brought
To Seri3ier was exasperating and alarming.
Some mel flying from the Quarter Latin
| to fight again In the Avenue d'Italie told
how tho Pantheon, the great citadel Of tho
instruction, had been taken by the Yer
saillais b fore there had been time TO FIRE
the mine which would have shattered dome
and walls, arches and columns, in one vast
heap of ruin. They told how Mlllicre, the
chief Of the insurgents In this quarter, had
been shot, and that tho French troops oc-
cupied the prison Of La Sante. The circle
which was soon to enclose the C~ommunards
of the 18th reimbursement was growing mar