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012 - Chapter 7 Part 1 The Last Struggles Of A Rebellion Departure Of Captain Plessier etc · An Englishman in the French Foreign Legion

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Speaker 1: Chapter seven of A Soldier of the Legion by George Mannington.
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Speaker 1: This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter seven,
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Speaker 1: Part one, The last struggles of a rebellion, departure of
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Speaker 1: Captain Placiers, our new commander man hunting a friend in need,
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Speaker 1: a false alarm, an unexpected rise in life on the
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Speaker 1: brigade staff. The remnants of the rebel forces, which had
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Speaker 1: been smashed and dispersed by Colonel Giles's column in the Loriente,
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Speaker 1: fled north and rallied round their chief, Ded tom who
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Speaker 1: was hiding together with a small number of his most
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Speaker 1: trusted retainers, in one of the wildest spots in the
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Speaker 1: dense forest region of the northwest of Nannam, and about
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Speaker 1: ten miles from that fort. This district is known to
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Speaker 1: the natives by the name of Quinlo. At this time,
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Speaker 1: owing to the large number of rebels we had slain
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Speaker 1: or captured or who had surrendered during the past two months,
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Speaker 1: the total number of insurgents with De TOMPs did not
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Speaker 1: exceed two hundred. Efforts had been made by the provincial
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Speaker 1: mandarins to secure the chieftain's submission, the French government, preferring
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Speaker 1: if possible to adopt a policy of conciliation rather than
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Speaker 1: run the risks and be burdened with a heavy expense
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Speaker 1: resulting from a protected struggle with such a brave, resourceful,
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Speaker 1: and mobile foe. Authorized the native functionaries to offer the
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Speaker 1: leader of the insurrection not only his life and liberty,
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Speaker 1: but also a remunerative post in the local administration, on
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Speaker 1: the condition that he would come in with his men
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Speaker 1: and deliver up his arms and ammunition. These negotiations fell through, however,
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Speaker 1: for de Toms refused all offers made to him and
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Speaker 1: wrote letters to the French authorities in which he informed
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Speaker 1: them in his usual high flown, bombastic style, that he
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Speaker 1: would never surrender and that he still possessed the utmost
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Speaker 1: confidence in the ultimate success of the cause he represented.
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Speaker 1: Notwithstanding these assertions, it is very probable that he would
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Speaker 1: gladly have accepted the terms offered had he been certain
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Speaker 1: of enjoying a quiet and comfortable life after his capitulation.
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Speaker 1: But he was too well versed in the natural cunning
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Speaker 1: of his race not to know full well that in
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Speaker 1: the event of his surrender, his very existence would be
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Speaker 1: a cause of constant dread to his former associates. The
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Speaker 1: mandarins of the Court of Way, and they would most
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Speaker 1: certainly find a way of insuring his silence by means
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Speaker 1: both wily and rapid, in the use of which Orientals
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Speaker 1: are experts from papers captured by the French troops when
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Speaker 1: they surprised the encampment Queen Loo. A few weeks later,
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Speaker 1: it was learned that the chief had decided on the
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Speaker 1: construction of a new series of defensive positions in this region,
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Speaker 1: with the intention of carrying on the rebellion with something
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Speaker 1: like its former success. His desires and this respect were, however,
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Speaker 1: doomed to disappointment, for such was the constant activity of
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Speaker 1: the troops occupying the different parts in the upper Yente
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Speaker 1: that no rest or respite were allowed him or his men.
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Speaker 1: When the main expedition had been broken up at the
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Speaker 1: end of March, General Voyon had given orders for the
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Speaker 1: permanent occupation of the fortified positions at Moutrang and Mona Lawang.
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Speaker 1: These two forts, which had both been captured from the
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Speaker 1: enemy by the Tai Nuin column, were well constructed, and
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Speaker 1: they required but little labor, mainly in the direction of
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Speaker 1: felling the trees that were too close up to the
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Speaker 1: ramparts to make them almost impregnable when properly garrisoned. For
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Speaker 1: several months after the conclusion of the principal operations, the
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Speaker 1: troops from these two forts, together with the men from
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Speaker 1: Nanam and Boja, chased De Tom from one hiding place
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Speaker 1: to another, and in consequence he was never able to
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Speaker 1: establish any permanent center of resistance. Early in May, my
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Speaker 1: section was relieved by a similar detachment of the legion
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Speaker 1: from Taiyuen, and we left Boha for good this time
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Speaker 1: and returned to our company at Nanam. On the tenth
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Speaker 1: of the same month, we were assembled under arms to
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Speaker 1: witness the departure of Captain Placier, who was leaving for Haiphong.
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Speaker 1: Whence he sailed for France. A few days later, our
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Speaker 1: new commander, Captain Watran, took over the company and escorted
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Speaker 1: his predecessor as far as Cautwong. Though the officer who
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Speaker 1: was leaving us had always been a severe disciplinarian, unsparing
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Speaker 1: in regard to the work he had required of us,
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Speaker 1: yet his departure was a cause of chagrin to his legionaries,
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Speaker 1: and their rough, though heartfelt expressions of regret were numerous
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Speaker 1: and outspoken. None of the officers are allowed to remain
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Speaker 1: more than three consecutive years int on Kin, though they
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Speaker 1: can return there after a sojourn with their regiment in Algeria.
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Speaker 1: Our captain had completed his period of colonial service, so
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Speaker 1: that he could not have remained longer with us, even
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Speaker 1: had he desired so to do. Officers of his stamp,
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Speaker 1: that is, men whose braveries undisputed, who are severe but
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Speaker 1: also anxious for the welfare of the troops under their orders,
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Speaker 1: will always be popular with the legionaries. His successor eventually
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Speaker 1: became an even greater favorite with the company, for besides
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Speaker 1: the qualities mentioned already, he had a real affection for
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Speaker 1: his men, though when the occasion required it, he tempered
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Speaker 1: this sentiment with necessary sternness. He regarded his command as
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Speaker 1: a family of which he was proud to be the head,
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Speaker 1: and made no show of the taciturn aloofness which had
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Speaker 1: characterized his predecessor. Captain Wotron, who was about thirty eight
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Speaker 1: years of age, was a splendid specimen of humanity, for
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Speaker 1: he was tall, broad shouldered, and extremely powerful. Fair, with
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Speaker 1: blue eyes and a ruddy complexion. He was a typical
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Speaker 1: son of the lost provinces, and the fact of his
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Speaker 1: being a native of a village nih Strasburg added not
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Speaker 1: a little to his popularity. With the numerous Alsatians in
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Speaker 1: the company, he seemed to take a real pleasure in
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Speaker 1: making himself acquainted with the individual joys and sorrows of
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Speaker 1: his men. Whenever the chance offered itself, he would question
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Speaker 1: us discreetly concerning our private hopes and ambitions, and do
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Speaker 1: his best to proved to his subordinates that he was
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Speaker 1: to them not only a chief inflexible as far as
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Speaker 1: questions of discipline were concerned, but also a friend to
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Speaker 1: whom they could confide their troubles, ever ready with a
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Speaker 1: word of consolation or advice, and all the aid it
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Speaker 1: lay in his power to render. His inquiries were probably
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Speaker 1: distasteful to such of the men as possessed a past
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Speaker 1: they did not care to recall. But when he perceived
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Speaker 1: that a private was reluctant to confide in him, he
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Speaker 1: was too tactful to insist on the subject, and would
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Speaker 1: smooth matters over by a cheerful Epierre Mombrov. When you
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Speaker 1: want a confessor, come to me. I may perhaps be
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Speaker 1: able to help you a few weeks after his arrival,
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Speaker 1: he was able to address every private in his company
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Speaker 1: by name, a trait which is exceedingly rare with the
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Speaker 1: officers in the French army. There is no doubt that
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Speaker 1: the men were very grateful to him for this detail,
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Speaker 1: which certainly proved that their chief was aware the Legionary
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Speaker 1: was not merely an enfant perdieu, to be known only
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Speaker 1: by the number stamped on each article of his kit,
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Speaker 1: but that he recognized that his men, like the rest
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Speaker 1: of mankind, possessed their just share of pride and passion,
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Speaker 1: vice and virtue. He very soon showed us that his
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Speaker 1: military talents were of sterling quality, for in his first
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Speaker 1: engagements with the enemy, it was at once evident that
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Speaker 1: his dispositions for the attack were taken with great coolness
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Speaker 1: and forethought, and with the careful intention of avoiding all
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Speaker 1: wanton loss of life. During the final rush and scrimmage,
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Speaker 1: he was ever to the foe and would not be
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Speaker 1: denied the place of honour at the head of the assault,
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Speaker 1: which he led with no other weapon than a thick stick.
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Speaker 1: Our company was kept continually on the move during the
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Speaker 1: months of May and June, reconnaissance and ambuscades being of
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Speaker 1: daily afacurrence. Often we would make a night march, and,
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Speaker 1: operating in conjunction with parties sent out from the other forts,
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Speaker 1: rush at dawn a village in which several of the
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Speaker 1: rebels had passed the night, or capture an encampment situated
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Speaker 1: in some out of the way corner of the forest,
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Speaker 1: or hidden in a narrow, jungle covered defile between tall
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Speaker 1: steep hills. Our ambuscades were generally placed on the paths
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Speaker 1: leading to the south, by which supplies coming from the
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Speaker 1: few isolated villages still friendly to the rebel cause, reached
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Speaker 1: the enemy. These expeditions always took place at night, for
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Speaker 1: our foes no longer possessed the strength and confidence which
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Speaker 1: had allowed them to move about the country by day,
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Speaker 1: as they had been in the habit of doing before
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Speaker 1: the downfall of their citadels. To the majority of us,
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Speaker 1: the excitement of these little expeditions was a source of
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Speaker 1: real joy, notwithstanding the dose of fever or twinge of
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Speaker 1: rheumatism that sometimes resulted. We enjoyed the silent, stealthy march
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Speaker 1: through the dark, the long wait hidden in rank jungle,
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Speaker 1: with anxious eyes peering through the gloom, our fingers on
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Speaker 1: the trigger, all listening intently to the thousand soft noises
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Speaker 1: of the night. Every nerve would be strained to its
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Speaker 1: utmost tension, every faculty keenly on the alert. The rustle
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Speaker 1: of the long grass as a deer or wild hog
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Speaker 1: moved cautiously through it, The breaking of a twig, the
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Speaker 1: hoot of an owl, or even the sudden shrill chirp
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Speaker 1: of the cicala would make the heart leap with expectation,
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Speaker 1: so that its hurried throb sent the blood coursing through
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Speaker 1: the arteries, and the system would tingle again under a
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Speaker 1: wave of suppressed excitement. More often than not, our expectation
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Speaker 1: would be disappointed, for the enemy failed to put in
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Speaker 1: an appearance. Though now and again our patients would be
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Speaker 1: rewarded by a scrimmage, and a convoy would to be
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Speaker 1: captured and several rebels slain or taken. Once our ambuscade
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Speaker 1: was surrounded and suddenly rushed by a strong band of
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Speaker 1: most determined Chinese banditti, of whose presence in the region
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Speaker 1: we were unaware, it is probable that they were going
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Speaker 1: south with a convoy of contraband opium, a desperate hand
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Speaker 1: to hand struggle took place in the dark. One of
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Speaker 1: our men was killed in the first charge, and several
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Speaker 1: were wounded. One of the latter, a bugler, died of
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Speaker 1: his injuries a few days later. It is difficult to
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Speaker 1: surmise what would have been the result of the combat
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Speaker 1: had not another detachment of our men, which had been
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Speaker 1: posted at a small fort about half a mile away,
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Speaker 1: come to our assistance, for we were completely surrounded, and
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Speaker 1: owing to the blackness of the night, we could hardly
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Speaker 1: distinguish our foes, who were cunning enough not to make
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Speaker 1: use of their rifles, attacking us instead at close quarters
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Speaker 1: with their heavy swords. On finding themselves charged in the rear,
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Speaker 1: the Celestials withdrew, and at daybreak we found six of
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Speaker 1: their dead on or near the position. All these had
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Speaker 1: been slain by the bayonet, for there had been but
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Speaker 1: little firing on our side, since owing to the danger
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Speaker 1: of shooting our friends, it had been found necessary to
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Speaker 1: keep to steel. Though our adventure lasted only a few minutes,
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Speaker 1: I think those of us who escaped unhurt from the
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Speaker 1: Malay were passing thankful when it was over, For never
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Speaker 1: was it better proved that if in warfare an ambuscade
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Speaker 1: can cause great hurt to an enemy who comes upon
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Speaker 1: it unawares. That same ambuscade is in danger of total
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Speaker 1: destruction should the enemy be forewarned of its presence at
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Speaker 1: this time. Thanks to the experience they had acquired during
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Speaker 1: the past year and a half, and also to their
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Speaker 1: having been employed during the past three months in continually
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Speaker 1: chasing the enemy from place to place through the wildest country,
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Speaker 1: it is possible to imagine the men of my company
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Speaker 1: had become splendid jungle fighters. Each of them was by
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Speaker 1: now not only a hardened, almost fever proof soldier, but
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Speaker 1: also a good shot and an efficient scout. Ever on
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Speaker 1: the alert to notice each sign by the way, to
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Speaker 1: catch each sound in the air and understand their meaning.
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Speaker 1: A footprint, a broken twig, a tiny streak of smoke
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Speaker 1: creeping up from between the trees to the sky, the
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Speaker 1: dull thud of the distant axe as it hit the wood,
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Speaker 1: and the hundred and one other trifling indications of the
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Speaker 1: passage of man in the tangle of forest covered hills
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Speaker 1: were at once seized upon and put to profit. Converse
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Speaker 1: with the enemy's methods of fighting in the dark glades
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Speaker 1: and somber thickets of his favorite haunts. The legionaries and
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Speaker 1: their officers had learnt to trust no longer to the paths,
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Speaker 1: but to advance silently yet swiftly through the undergrowth, taking
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Speaker 1: advantage of every bit of cover, and making of each
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Speaker 1: tree in the wood, each rise in the ground a
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Speaker 1: temporary rampart. Encouraged by their officers, the men took great
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Speaker 1: delight in this new sport, which seemed more like a
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Speaker 1: hunt in which the quarry was men than regular warfare.
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Speaker 1: The fact of their not being continually in touch with
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Speaker 1: their officers and non coms, and having consequently to depend
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Speaker 1: sometimes on their own resources, developed their individual initiative and
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Speaker 1: self reliance, whilst the novelty of the situation gave full
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Speaker 1: scope to their courage and love of adventure. Perhaps, with
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Speaker 1: troops possessing less stamina and cons morale, even these short
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Speaker 1: periods of independent action would have been dangerous, But with
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Speaker 1: these well disciplined and seasoned soldiers of the Legion, this
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Speaker 1: new method of attack seemed rather to increase the zeal
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Speaker 1: and self confidence of the men. The following statement drawn
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Speaker 1: up by a rebel deserter, the written translation of which
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Speaker 1: still exists most probably in the records at the headquarters
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Speaker 1: of the second Brigade, will give some idea of how
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Speaker 1: hard pressed were Da Tom and his faithful few by
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Speaker 1: our troops at this period. The favorite wife of our
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Speaker 1: old chief Dot Nom was heavy with child when the
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Speaker 1: fire from the big guns and the approach of your
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Speaker 1: infantry at such great numbers obliged us to evacuate our positions.
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Speaker 1: Notwithstanding her condition, she accompanied Da Tom and his lieutenants
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Speaker 1: De Truat and de Way into the great forest at
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Speaker 1: Queen Loo. Here she gave birth to a male child,
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Speaker 1: posthumous son of our former leader. This was on the
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Speaker 1: second day of the fifth month May twenty sixth. At
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Speaker 1: this time there were but few men with De Tom,
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Speaker 1: for the majority of our troops had been scattered all
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Speaker 1: over the country, and many had gone south to their villages.
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Speaker 1: Thus we were but sixty men armed with rifles, and
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Speaker 1: with us were seven women and two little ones. We
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Speaker 1: had plenty to eat, for we drew rice from the
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Speaker 1: secret hiding places in the forest where great store of
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Speaker 1: this food had been placed many months before by the
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Speaker 1: wise orders of our own lord, who was dead. But
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Speaker 1: the White soldiers left us no peace, and each day.
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Speaker 1: They pressed us so hard that we dared not sleep
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Speaker 1: two nights in the same place. At last we found
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Speaker 1: a cave to reach, which we had to descend a
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Speaker 1: passage leading straight down into the earth. In this district
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Speaker 1: are to be found numerous workings of former iron mines,
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Speaker 1: which were abandoned several centuries ago, and are now overgrown
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Speaker 1: with jungle. It is probably to one of these that
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Speaker 1: the deserter made allusion. We had been in hiding in
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Speaker 1: this place for several days, when a party of soldiers
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Speaker 1: who had followed the tracks of one of our men
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Speaker 1: who had been sent out to fetch water, nearly discovered
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Speaker 1: our retreat. The soldiers hunted for us until sundown, and
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Speaker 1: remained all the night in the forest. So that, knowing this,
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Speaker 1: and fearing lest the cries of the young child should
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Speaker 1: betray us, to Tom ordered us to dig a hole,
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Speaker 1: and in it the anam's son was buried alive. When
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Speaker 1: the mother was told of what had befallen her babe,
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Speaker 1: for it had been taken from her while she was sleeping,
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Speaker 1: and she knew not where it had gone, she was
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Speaker 1: stricken with much sorrow and went away from us, weeping
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Speaker 1: and go plaining into the forest, where she slew herself
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Speaker 1: in the agony of her grief. On the morrow, when
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Speaker 1: the troops had moved off a little, we succeeded in
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Speaker 1: getting away further into the jungle. The ninth June nineteen
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Speaker 1: o two, I happened to be with a scouting party
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Speaker 1: and came upon the body of the dead woman. It
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Speaker 1: was still warm, and a native knife embedded right up
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Speaker 1: to the hilt, had pierced the heart. Like the rest
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Speaker 1: of my comrades. I imagined at the time that this
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Speaker 1: unfortunate creature had been murdered by the rebels, and it
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Speaker 1: was only several weeks later, when assisting at the examination
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Speaker 1: of the deserter mentioned above, that I learned what had
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Speaker 1: really happened. On my return to Nanam in May, I
18:47
Speaker 1: had been glad to renew relations with my friend Doutet,
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Speaker 1: and whenever I found time to do so, I passed
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Speaker 1: my evening and his kanya and seated beside him as
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Speaker 1: he smoked talked over the situation. He was always very
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Speaker 1: well informed on all that was going on, though he
19:06
Speaker 1: most certainly owed much of his knowledge to his former
19:10
Speaker 1: enemy but now devoted friend Lin Yi, who since the
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Speaker 1: termination of the main operations, had been nominated to the
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Speaker 1: important post of lutug head man of the village of
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Speaker 1: Long Tuang, and in return for the services he had
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Speaker 1: rendered to the authorities, important stretches of cultivated land formerly
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Speaker 1: owned by some of the rebels had been made over
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Speaker 1: to him. It was from Toau that I learned of
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Speaker 1: the lasting impression which the rapid capture of all De
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Speaker 1: Tom's fortifications had produced upon the population of the Yinte.
19:48
Speaker 1: The majority of the people, he said, were no longer
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Speaker 1: moved to enthusiasm by this chief's appeal to their patriotism,
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Speaker 1: and they now possessed no confidence in the ultimate success
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Speaker 1: of the movement in favor of their exiled monarch. However,
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Speaker 1: my friend was never weary of repeating that until the
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Speaker 1: French succeeded in killing or capturing De Tom, the chief
20:11
Speaker 1: would be a source of constant trouble in the region,
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Speaker 1: because most of the peasants possessed such a real dread
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Speaker 1: of him that but few of the villages would dare
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Speaker 1: to refuse his demands for money or rice, so long
20:25
Speaker 1: as he remained an outlaw and had at his disposal
20:29
Speaker 1: a band of cruel and determined partisans. Though I think
20:34
Speaker 1: that Doau was glad of my company, it was evident
20:37
Speaker 1: to me that he was chagrined at my continued refusal
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Speaker 1: to become a votary of the soothing drug, which, like
20:45
Speaker 1: the majority of his compatriots, he regarded as one of
20:48
Speaker 1: the necessities of existence. His disgust at my persistence was
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Speaker 1: all the more intense because it was an open secret
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Speaker 1: that several of the French officers and sergeants serving in
21:00
Speaker 1: the native regiments smoked opium and took but little pains
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Speaker 1: to conceal the fact. He would give me as examples
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Speaker 1: the names of his superiors who indulged in the pleasure
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Speaker 1: procured by the subtle poison, hoping to induce me to
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Speaker 1: follow their example. Though curiously enough, he would generally conclude
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Speaker 1: his exhortations with quaint reflections full of irony, concerning the
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Speaker 1: excess to which most of the Europeans who indulged in
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Speaker 1: this fashion would go, And he would then, in granduilicant
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Speaker 1: terms replete with oriental conceit, inform me that he was
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Speaker 1: himself complete master of his own desires. He would swell
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Speaker 1: with pride and delight when to humor him, I would
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Speaker 1: praise his powers of self control, though for the matter
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Speaker 1: of that I was convinced the length of his purse
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Speaker 1: and the veto of ba his wife had more to
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Speaker 1: do with the number of pipes he smoked than any
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Speaker 1: he was himself capable of imposing on his gravings. He
22:05
Speaker 1: would speak at length on this subject, bringing out his
22:08
Speaker 1: words with a slow, drawling sing song cadence in which
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Speaker 1: there was no indication of emotion. Though now and again,
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Speaker 1: when he had given an opinion he considered was possessed
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Speaker 1: of more than ordinary value, he would pause somewhat longer
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Speaker 1: than necessary, watching me intently the while to see if
22:28
Speaker 1: I had fully grasped the sense of his argument and
22:32
Speaker 1: appreciated the beauty of his flowery metaphor. Yes, friend, he
22:37
Speaker 1: would say, tell me, I beg you, has not Heaven
22:40
Speaker 1: given to us men the different pleasures of life, so
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Speaker 1: that we shall draw from them to light wherewith to
22:47
Speaker 1: lighten our troubles and to forget our hardships. Indeed, you
22:51
Speaker 1: do know, since I myself told it to you, that
22:55
Speaker 1: our wise men have long since decided that these numerasus
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Speaker 1: and varied pleasures can be classified according to their merits,
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Speaker 1: which consist in the degree of bliss they can procure us.
23:08
Speaker 1: Each of these emotions finds its proper place in its
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Speaker 1: proper section, which last is itself one of the seven joys,
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Speaker 1: even as a soldier has his appointed position in one
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Speaker 1: of the four battalions of his regiment. The ancients represented
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Speaker 1: the seven joys by as many bats, because like our pleasures,
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Speaker 1: these animals flit around us in eccentric curves, though it
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Speaker 1: requires but a little patience and a light blow to
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Speaker 1: bring them to our feet. That is why in our pagodas,
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Speaker 1: our houses, and upon the altars to our ancestors, you
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Speaker 1: will always see sculptured or painted the seven bats, which
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Speaker 1: are the seven joys. Heaven has sent us a thousand flowers,
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Speaker 1: of which the most beautiful is the sacred lotus, so
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Speaker 1: that we should admire their colors and shape glory in
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Speaker 1: their scent, and draw a great joy therefrom Also the
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Speaker 1: splendor of our hills, our forests, and our rivers. The
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Speaker 1: beauty of our women, the love of our little ones,
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Speaker 1: the pleasures of the chase, and the gladness in the
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Speaker 1: slaughter of our foes, are only a few of the
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Speaker 1: million joys. In life, amongst which untufiun Lord Opium is
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Speaker 1: not the least in importance. And these blessings have been
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Speaker 1: generously accorded us by the Lord Buddha himself, and any
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Speaker 1: refusal to participate in them is indeed rank blasphemy. But
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Speaker 1: be warned that in all things there must be moderation.
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Speaker 1: And because of our friendship, I would not see you
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Speaker 1: do like the Ogwanghai lieutenant I have already spoken of.
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Speaker 1: For if his orderly speaks not lies, this young man
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Speaker 1: smokes one hundred and twenty pipes each day, which is
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Speaker 1: a great foolishness. Indeed, for in this way his pleasure
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Speaker 1: is no longer his servant to come and go at
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Speaker 1: his bidding, but rather he has become the slave of
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Speaker 1: his pleasure. Neither is his case an exception, for nearly
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Speaker 1: all you Western foreigners are alike in this matter. And
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Speaker 1: ever you go to the extremes, either you will not
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Speaker 1: touch the drug, most probably because you are afraid of yourselves,
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Speaker 1: or if you once begin, you will increase each day
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Speaker 1: the number of pipes you smoke until your pleasure kills you,
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Speaker 1: instead of remaining content with a moderate use of it.
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Speaker 1: In speaking, thus to was but echoing the opinion of
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Speaker 1: his compatriots, for the inhabitants of Indo China, like the Chinese,
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Speaker 1: are convinced of their superiority so far as intelligence is
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Speaker 1: concerned over the European. Partly from curiosity and also because
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Speaker 1: I was determined to show this little brown man that
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Speaker 1: I possessed more self restraint than he gave me credit for.
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Speaker 1: I consented one evening to make the experiment and smoked
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Speaker 1: four pipes. I was rewarded by a most violent headache,
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Speaker 1: prolonged nausea, and a sleepless night crowded with waking nightmare.
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Speaker 1: It is hardly necessary to add that I did not
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Speaker 1: repeat the experiment, and though for some time Tow persisted
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Speaker 1: in telling me that I had not given the drug
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Speaker 1: a fair trial, he finally dropped the subject. But it
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Speaker 1: is probable that MY inability to partake of his favorite
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Speaker 1: pleasure was to him another proof of the decided inferiority
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Speaker 1: of the European. End of Chapter seven, Part one