Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-04-14
CHINESE BANDITS.
The French of Tonlxin at War with
 the Freebooters.
Outlaws and Pirates the Curse of the IndO-Chinese Peninsula - Their Methods of PIundering
 tho Towns.

 Bandits and pirates are the curse of the Indo-Chincse peninsula. The story has often been told of the hundreds of Chinese pirates whc infcst the largo archipelago known as the Robber islands, near the coast of Tonkin. These bands, in their little vessels, have prcyed for many years upon commerce, but they have been at last nearly de- stroycd by the persistent efforts of the French and Chinese governments to root them out; now the French have an opportunity to turR their attention to the hundreds of bandit bands who terrorizc tho mainland.
 Piracy and other forms of outlawry have existed for ages. says the New York Sun, not only in Tonl1in, but also in the whole of Annam. These bands do not commit so many depredations when the havcsts are good and the country is tranquil and prosperous; but in times of war, or when poor crops or epidemics afflict the land, they are the curse of Tonkin. Since the French occupied Cochin-China, in 1858, they have waged incessant war upon the bandits, and have at last nearly eX- terminated them in Annam. The na- tive governments have always been powcrless. They have often been obliged to negotiate with the robber bands, giving their officers dignities and money and apportioning lands among the robber soldiery.
 The bands belong to two distinct cat egorics. One class is well disciplined and armed with rapid-fring guns. 1t is composed almost exclusively of Chi nesc or of savage Muongs recruited in tho mountains, who never visit the low, flat lands, and consequently the delta region, where the enormous crops of rice are raised, arc free from them. They | infest only the hilly and mountain re- gions of the interior, where they have hidden retreats and can easily get out l of sight after a raid and defend them selves when attacked.
 | Their little settlements are strongly l fortified on all sides, and it Is believed 1 the forces sent against them have never taken them by surprise. From these 1 fortified ccntcrs they spread over the 1 country and live at tho expense of the 1 people. If the inhabitants suffer their | depredations in quiet, none of them is killed. All the robbcrs want is good living. If any resistance is made, how ever, the bandits are mercilcss, and their revenge is terrible. When armies are sent against them, if they consider the advancing force teo large to resist, they do not await its approach, but are usually far away in the mountain fast nesses before the averaging forces reach their fortified places.
 The bandits of the second category are less warlil1e, but more numerous than the others. There is scarcely a district in Tonl1in that is not troubled with them. While the bandits de- scribed above are almost altogether Chinese, these robbers are natives of the country. Many of them are fugitive criminals who dare not return to their villages. In the wilderness they have acquired taste for the wild life of the freebooter. They till tho soil no longer
 but live by robbery. Often they dwell in villages that arc friendly to them
 Five or six men form little band, com
 hitting depredations only in regions that are quite distance from the vii
 lages that shelter them. They are not
 so well armed as the Chinese bandits
 Some of them have hint-locl1s, but
 most of them carry only swords ol
 lanccs with iron points. They give tt
 their bands imposing names, to ilnpres:
 the common people and inspire terror
 One band, for instance, Is called tho
 Butchers of the Mountains, and another
 the Heroes of the Country. They ar,
 too poorly armed to hazard an attacl
 upon the French posts or populous vii
 laGes.
 They usually select little towns wher,
 they know there is considerable boot,
 in the way of food and other plunder
 On account of bandits, all villages ar
 guarded by hedges of bamboo and cac tus, and watchmcn during the night . time walk around the town. When tn chief of a bandit band thinks the tim favorable for a foray he rallies his mel | by an understood signal. Sometimes big fire is kindled on a hilltop, or it ma. be volley of musl1etry. At the sigma all the bandits collect at the designate ; place, where they usually find a bounte ous repast, as they do not believe i robbing villages upon empty stomachs Then in the night they start for the vi 1, lage which is to be surprised. Afte reaching the unsuspecting settlemer , they send two or three men in advance F who noiselessly cut an opening in tn , thorny hedge, through which their con f rades gain access to the huts within , Tonkinese watchmen are often know , to sleep on their posts, and so 1t ofte = happens that the bandits do not find I very difficult to surprise the town. |, Once within the inclosure the bandit 0 make terrible noise, firing their gur and yelling like demons. As rule, tE
 people, thus rudely aroused from sleel
 are frightened nearly to death, and o
 fer no resistance to the bandits, WI s load themselves with every good thin r they can find. If, however, the inha' c itants offer resistance, their huts are s' If on fire, and the inmates are killed wit out mercy.
 T The French are finding that they hay s big job on hand to break up this e $ tablishcd institution of the couutr. T Within the past few months they ha' cnr,t,,red t1rn OF th1.ea hl1ndr.ed of the: