Year: 1866

on to occupy narrow pass about ten miles
from where be was staying, and the posses
sion of which would give them an opportu.
nifty to prevent an important movement of
the which French was then on foot. They
hoped to surprise this post, and were NOV
ing so rapidly upon it that they were not
more than two hours distant from the place
where be was staying, and which they would
have to pass on their march. 1t matters
not how he heard the news. 1t is sufi.
cieut to say that he determined at once to
act upon it. ..


He had no idea of being captured by the
enemy in their advance, and be at once set
off for the pass, He knew that the pass
was defended by stout tower, and gar.
rison of thirty men, and he hoped to be
able to warn the men of their danger. ,.


He FASTENED on, and arriving there,
found the tower in perfect condition. 1t
had just been vacated by the garrison, who
had heard of the approach of the Austri.
ans, and had been seized with panic there.
at, and had fed, leaving their arms, consist
ing of thirty excellent muskets.
La Tour d'Auvergoe gnashed his teeth
with rage as be discovered this. Searching
in the building, be found several boxes of
ammunition which the towards had not de.
stroyed. For moment he was in despair,
but then with grim smile be began to fas.
ten the main door, and pile against it such
articles as he could find.


When be had done this be loaded all the
guns he could find, and placed them to-
gether with good supply of ammunition,
under the loop-holes that commanded the
road by which the enemy must advance.


Then he ate heartily of the provisions he
had brought with him, and sat down to
wait He had absolutely formed the heroic
resolution to defend the tower alone against
the enemy.


There were some things in his favor in
such on undertaking. The pass was steep
and narrow, and the enemy's troops could
enter it only in double file, and in doings
this would be fully exposed to the fire from
the tower. The original garrison Of thirty
men could easily have held it against di
vision, and now one man was about to at.
tempt to hold it against regiment.


1t was dark when La Tour d'Auvergue
reached the tower, and he had to wait some
time for the enemy. They were longer in
coming than be had expected, and for a
while he was tempted to believe they had
abandoned the expedition.


About midnight, however, bis practiced
ear caught the tramp of feet. Every mo-
ment the sound came nearer, and at last he
heard them entering the de6le. Immedi.
ately he discharged couple of muskets in
to the darkness to let them know that he
knew of their presence and intentions, and
he heard the quick, sharp commands of the
officers, and, from the sounds, he supposed
that the troops we're retiring from the pass.
Until the morning he was undiSturbed.-
The Austrian commander, feeling assured
that the garrison had been Informed of his
movements, and was prepared to receive
him, saw that be could not surprise the post
as he had hoped to do, and deemed it pru.
dent to wait until daylight before making
! his attack.


At sunrise be summoned the garrison to
surrender A grenadier answered the sum-
| mons


"Say to your commander" be said, in
reply to the messenger, "that this garri-
son will defend this post to the last extrem.
ity."


The officer who had borne the flag of
truce retired, and in about ten minutes a
piece of artillery was brought into the pass
and opened upon the tower But to effect
this, the piece had to be placed directly in
front of the tower, and within easy range
of it. They bad scarcely got the gun in
position, when rapid fire was opened upon
it from the tower, and continued with such
marked effect that the piece was withdrawn
after the second discharge, with loss of
five men.


This was bad beginning, so that half an
hour after the gun was withdrawn the Aus
trian colonel ordered an assault.
As the troops entered the de6le they
were received with a rapid and accurate
fire, so that when they had passed over half
the distance they had to traverse, they had
lost fifteen men. Disheartened by this, they
returned to the mouth of the de6le.


Three more assaults were repulsed in
this manner, and the enemy by sunset had
lost forty-fve men, of whom ten were kill
ed.


The firing from the tower had been rapid
and accurate, but the Austrian commander
had noticed this popularity about it every
shot seemed to come from the same place,
For awhile this perplexed him, but at last
he came to the conclusion that there we're
a number of loop holes close together in
the tower, so constructed as to command the
ravine perfectly.


At sunset the last assault was made and
repulsed, and at dark the Austrian CON-
mauder sent second summons to. the gar
rison.


This time the answer was favorable. The
garrison offered to surrender at sunrise the
next morning if allowed to march out with
their arms and return to the army unmoles-
ted. After some hesitation the terms we're
accepted.


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