The evening times., 1899-09-02
PLANNING 4 DBSPOTISM
Purposes of the N0nlet- Chanoine
Expedition i'm Africa.
Villages Burned and Men. Women,
Rnd Children Slaughtered by the
Murder of kIobb and Meunier.
A Thorough Reign Of OutIawry.

PARIS, Sept. 2.-The tales OF the deeds
o. blood of the two French officers in COM
mand OF a column of troops nog in the
heart of the French Soudan. oatlawed,
steeped in crime. are given out in detail.
II would appear that their motive is to
found a cruel, independent despotism over
millions of Africans.
These would-be Neros of a dalk empire
are Captain Chanoine, an absinthe fiend
and prey to savage impulse. and Captain
Voulet, his superior in rank, but hypnoti-
cally his slave The next news Of them
will probably relate to their encounter
with she strong column that has been
despatched TO capture them; and il SO IT
will be the second time that they VIII
have fred on the tricolor.
Meantime the '-Matin" publishes start
ling details of the investigation into their
barbarities toward the natiyes-an lnves-
tigation that resulted in the sending of
Lieutenant Colonel Klobb and Lieutenant
Meunier to relieve them, followed by the
murder OF those officers by Chano.ne and
Eoulet. These revelations have spread
dismay among military men and f.iends
of the army
From the outset of the Youlet-Chanoine
expedition in January, according TO the
'-Matin." rapine was the order OF the day.
The first lawless act mentioned is the be-
heading of native who had professed ig-
norance of a road by which the column
was to march.
Not long after this Captain youlet siaugh-
tered in revolving manner twenty women
and children who were among the eighty
natives captured in a village. During an
other massacre Noulet caused one or his
own soldiers TO be shot, on the pretext that
he had wasted ammunition. CAanoine I'M
proved this example by shooting two sol
diers for net pursuing natives with sufficient
ferocity.
The. after the TWO officers WED with each
other in destroying human life AID laying
waste the land NouleI burned village OF
10000 inhabitants, putting men, women ana
children TO the sword. ChaGoine burned a
large village, assaulted another, captured
twenty prisoners, killed ten OF tnen anu
stuck tnsir hsads on pickets. lie also csus-
ed his men 10 cut on the nah4s u AatiNes
who had baen killed
Whe3 as a result of the reports OF these
outragss. Lieutenant Colonel Klohb went
forward with column 10 relieve Noulet
and Chanoine The latter achieved t2e-f
zenith CT crime. The accounts IN lAe
..Matin" confirm the news heretofore pre-
sented. and give fuller particulars.
Al Zim6or near Domangar, on July IA,
Klobb ov srtook the other column and sent
an aide TO Noulet. telling OF his MISSION
Eoulet sent back word TO his superior oihceT
that if he advanced he would be SHOT
The lieutenant colonel advanced, never
theless. calling upon Noulet TO obey CT
ders and cisreGarding an order 10 hall'
When he and his men were within 100 me
tres Of the other column, Fouiet gave the
order tc FIRE Lieutenant Meunisr fell dead
at the first yolley. Two ether Yolleys were
fired Lieutenant Colonel hlobb tell,
wounded in the leg he was barbarously
despatched by being shot in the head.
After scattered firing by the Noulet
troops. Chanoine ordered a bayonet charge
and the remnant Of the Klobb forces were
driven off, carrying with them nine DEAD
besides the TWO officers and many wounded
A native sergeant led them in the retreat
After thus deliberately out!awing them
selves. Chanoine and Voulet plunged into
the wilds Their command includes seven
F,uropsans commissioned and non-coTn-
missioned officers, and what strikes the
authorities here as the most depiorable
feature OF the situation is that these seven
white men were in the confidence of their
superiors and were consulted before it was
decided TO fire upon the Klobb column.
This precludes any reassuring belief that
Eoulet and Chanoine are alone and ire
sponsible in their infamy. II hints at a
depth OF army decentralization that is
alarming People are asking how it is that
the Colonial Office should have selected a
man of Chanoine's known character TO hold
command in an important mission. Ii
has been learned that he frequently reveal
ed himself to his brother officers as man
of barbaric impulses, with a perverted am
bition to become the tyrant Of a black en-
pire, cut off from civilization, where hu-
man life would be so cheap that he might
crafty his bloodthirsty instincts without
hindrance
How far this extraordinary man will
progress toward the realization of his hor-
rible dream before he is overtaken by the
ayenging forces OF his outraged country
is a question that is exciting the keenest
interest in Paris.