The sun., 1908-05-10
TONKINs NOTED PIRATE DEAD
De Than Once Led the French In = Merry
Danoe.


De Than Once Led the French In Merry
Dance.
The famous pirate chief OF Tonkin, De
Than, il dead at last. He had his period
| OF activity and II was bad time for the
French Colonial Government in Tonkin.
After he had become a subdued and
chastened eI-pirate Commandant, Perot
wrote book about his exploits, the dance
he led the French soldiers and his final sub
mission with his forehead in the dust Since
that day he had lived on a French pension.
quiet and harmless, but perhaps his old
enemies are glad he is gone.
All Tonkin was at peace In 1891 excepting
little mountain region in the heart Of the
country, TO the northeast OF Hanoi, the
capital This district, Yen-The. was the
stamping ground OF De Than. He was
usually doing something interesting,
He had never submitted TO the French,
he had kept them out Of bis country. and
he plundered the surrounding regions when
! ever he felt like it, In 1907 he was espe-
cially active His mountains were centre
OF outlawry and rebellion. Tne French
| ueClueu 10 cup MS wings.
His advantages were that he had COM
plete control Of his men. knew every inch
! OF his land aud was full Of willy strategems.
Besides this his district was almost i'm
| penetrable on account Of the dense forests
and swamps that cover IT,
The French decided that the thing TO do
was TO give him no rest day or night, They
l. 4 A, "A
500 native soldiers, divided into five bands
| One or another Of these bands was TO be
constantly on the move. De Than had only
| about 100 fighters. but they were we'll
| armed, we're dead shots and had all the
other accomplishments OF buccaneers.
Two Of the French bands would be in
! the field two days and two nights beating
the bush and fighting when they had a
chance, and then would be relieved by the
other bands for the same period, and some
thing was doing all the time.
The French did not underst md travel
| in the dense vegetation and knew nothing
Of the secret passages leading from each
| OF De Tham's settlements or the traps he
| had ready for his enemies. Weeks elapsed
| before they began 10 do any effective work,
excepting that one or another OF their bands
was usually on the pirates trail. They
kept him and his men moving 80 inces-
sanity that they we're nearly worn to death
| by sleepessness
One day the French reached q stockade
! in the forest where De Than and thirty
! OF his men we're resting. Two FTenohmen
! crawled 80 noiselessly TO the entrance that
they bayoneted the seminal before he
! could sound an allrm. lot Of the men
| entered on hands and knees and found
| themselves in a lon passageway, which
! they slowly wormed along.
! Near the further end they saw an open
| space and men scattered over the ground,
some apparently asleep and others eating.
Little dreaming that their presence was
now known, the whispered order went
along that they must crawl little nearer
and then rush into the open, ready to fire.
Suddenly there was q fash Of gun
| powder trail and bomb burst in the pas
sageway. Frenchmen rushed over their
| dead and dying comrades into the open
| space, but not an enemy was in sight,
| though dishes food and accUutrements
were scattered around, The rebels had
vanished into the thiokets and not a man
OF them was caught
! they had De Than and his band completely
surrounded. There happened 20 be a
great deal Of dry vegetation. This was
| kindled, and soon there was a ring OF fire
as we'll as Of Frenchmen and their allies
round the enemy,
The enoircling line Of soldiers drew
nearer and nearer to the centre until move
ments were seen in the thiokets, into which
rife volleys we're poured. But 1t was French
| killing French. The ring OF troops had
grown smaller till their own men were the
! targets Of their fire
| Not an enemy could be seen though there
was plenty OF evidence that the pirates
| had lust been there. The case was mex
| plioable and the French never understood
| II till after the surrender, when De Than
| told them that he had escaped through
an underground passage without the loss
| Of a man The fact was that the willy
pirate never halted anywhere except in
places where he had provided means OF
| escape in case Of surprise.
On another occasion the French had
De Than and a part OF his force hemmed
In between themselves and the shore Of q
lake. They knew they had driven him
| down TO the shore and that the tanks Of
| their party we're on the shore TO the north
and south Of him. But he disappeared and
could not be found.
They Enew re had OF broken through
their line, but nothing could be seen out In
the lake. Here was another mystery, the
solution Of which came later.
De Than and his men had plunged into
/
the bottom that they made no disturbance
OF the surface, which was a foot or two
above their heads. Each man had a short
bamboo pole, one end In his mouth and
the other above the water. Air was OBJ
tanned through the bamboos.
On the other side Of the lake they clam
bered leisurely into the overhanginR
! thiokets. Not a sign OF them had been
seen. They we're all proficient in this
practice and it saved their lives at this
critical time.
I The game OF trap and pitfall. amhusoade
and surprise was kept up for months, but
| the odds were too great even for the re-
| souroeful De Than. Every day some Of
( his handful Of men were perishing Of bullet
! exhaustion or starvation.
The pirate chief could scarcely stand
on his feet when he sent word one day
that there was only one Frenchman In
| whom he had any confidence and his name
was Perot II Perot would take his sub
mission and promise that the lives Of him
self and the few men with him would be
spared he would surrender II Perot
would not do this then they would hRht
on for the few days they had yet 10 live.
With his face 10 the ground that brave
fellow, never humbled before, held his
rife kbove HE head and Perot took Il. Ths
last RnrWtth Tonkin bandItn Wna A an md