the last struggles of a rebellion—departure of captain plessier—our new commander—man-hunting—a friend in need—a false alarm—an unexpected rise in life—on the brigade staff.
the remnants of the rebel forces, which had been smashed and dispersed by colonel geil's column in the lower yen-thé, fled north and rallied round their chief, de-tam, who was hiding, together with a small number of his most trusted retainers, in one of the wildest spots in the dense forest region of the north-west of nha-nam, and about 10 miles from that fort. this district is known to the natives by the name of quinh-low.
at this time, owing to the large number of rebels we had slain or captured, or who had surrendered during the past two months, the total number of insurgents with de-tam did not exceed two hundred. efforts had[pg 303] been made by the provincial mandarins to secure the chieftain's submission. the french government, preferring, if possible, to adopt a policy of conciliation, rather than run the risks and be burdened with the heavy expense resulting from a protracted struggle with such a brave, resourceful and mobile foe, authorised the native functionaries to offer the leader of the insurrection not only his life and liberty, but also a remunerative post in the local administration, on the condition that he would come in with his men and deliver up his arms and ammunition.
these negotiations fell through, however, for de-tam refused all offers made to him, and wrote several letters to the french authorities in which he informed them, in his usual high-flown, bombastic style, that he would never surrender, and that he still possessed the utmost confidence in the ultimate success of the cause he represented. notwithstanding these assertions, it is very probable that he would gladly have accepted the terms offered had he been certain of enjoying a quiet and comfortable life after his capitulation; but he was too well versed in the[pg 304] natural cunning of his race not to know full well that, in the event of his surrender, his very existence would be a cause of constant dread to his former associates, the mandarins of the court of hué, and they would most certainly find a way of ensuring his silence, by means both wily and rapid, in the use of which orientals are experts.
from papers captured by the french troops, when they surprised the encampment at quinh-low a few weeks later, it was learnt that the chief had decided on the construction of a new series of defensive positions in this region, with the intention of carrying on the rebellion with something like its former success. his desires in this respect were, however, doomed to disappointment, for such was the constant activity of the troops occupying the different parts in the upper yen-thé that no rest or respite were allowed him or his men. when the main expedition had been broken up at the end of march, general voyron had given orders for the permanent occupation of the fortified positions at mo-trang and mona-luong. these two forts, which had both been captured from the enemy by the tha?-[pg 305]nguyen column, were well constructed, and they required but little labour, mainly in the direction of felling the trees that were too close up to the ramparts, to make them almost impregnable when properly garrisoned. for several months after the conclusion of the principal operations, the troops from these two forts, together with the men from nha-nam and bo-ha, chased de-tam from one hiding-place to another; and, in consequence, he was never able to establish any permanent centre of resistance.
early in may my section was relieved by a similar detachment of the legion from tha?-nguyen, and we left bo-ha—for good this time—and returned to our company at nha-nam.
on the 10th of the same month we were assembled under arms to witness the departure of captain plessier, who was leaving for ha?phong, whence he sailed for france a few days later. our new commander, captain watrin, took over the company and escorted his predecessor as far as cao-thuong. though the officer who was leaving us had always been a severe disciplinarian, unsparing in regard to the work he had required of us, yet his departure was a cause of chagrin to[pg 306] his legionaries; and their rough, though heartfelt expressions of regret were numerous and outspoken. none of the officers are allowed to remain more than three consecutive years in tonquin, though they can return there after a sojourn with their regiment in algeria. our captain had completed his period of colonial service, so that he could not have remained longer with us even had he desired so to do. officers of his stamp, that is, men whose bravery is undisputed, who are severe but also anxious for the welfare of the troops under their orders, will always be popular with the legionaries. his successor eventually became an even greater favourite with the company, for, besides the qualities mentioned already, he had a real affection for his men, though, when the occasion required it, he tempered this sentiment with necessary sternness. he regarded his command as a family, of which he was proud to be the head, and made no show of the taciturn aloofness which had characterised his predecessor. captain watrin, who was about thirty-eight years of age, was a splendid specimen of humanity, for he was tall, broad-shouldered, and extremely powerful. fair,[pg 307] with blue eyes and a ruddy complexion, he was a typical son of the "lost provinces"; and the fact of his being a native of a village near strassburg added not a little to his popularity with the numerous alsatians in the company. he seemed to take a real pleasure in making himself acquainted with the individual joys and sorrows of his men. whenever the chance offered itself, he would question us discreetly concerning our private hopes and ambitions, and do his best to prove to his subordinates that he was to them not only a chief, inflexible as far as questions of discipline were concerned, but also a friend to whom they could confide their troubles, ever ready with a word of consolation or advice, and all the aid it lay in his power to render. his enquiries were probably distasteful to such of the men as possessed a past they did not care to recall; but when he perceived that a private was reluctant to confide in him, he was too tactful to insist on the subject, and would smooth matters over by a cheerful, "et bien, mon brave. when you want a confessor, come to me. i may perhaps be able to help you."
a few weeks after his arrival he was able to[pg 308] address every private in his company by name, a trait which is exceedingly rare with the officers in the french army. there is no doubt that the men were very grateful to him for this detail, which certainly proved that their chief was aware the legionary was not merely an enfant perdu, to be known only by the number stamped on each article of his kit, but that he recognised that his men, like the rest of mankind, possessed their just share of pride and passion, vice and virtue.
he very soon showed us that his military talents were of sterling quality, for in his first engagements with the enemy it was at once evident that his dispositions for the attack were taken with great coolness and forethought, and with the careful intention of avoiding all wanton loss of life. during the final rush and scrimmage he was ever to the fore, and would not be denied the place of honour at the head of the assault, which he led with no other weapon than a thick stick.
our company was kept continually on the move during the months of may and june, reconnaissances and ambuscades being of daily[pg 309] occurrence. often we would make a night march, and, operating in conjunction with parties sent out from the other forts, rush at dawn a village in which several of the rebels had passed the night, or capture an encampment situated in some out-of-the-way corner of the forest, or hidden in a narrow jungle-covered defile between tall, steep hills.
our ambuscades were generally placed on the paths leading to the south by which supplies, coming from the few isolated villages still friendly to the rebel cause, reached the enemy. these expeditions always took place at night, for our foes no longer possessed the strength and confidence which had allowed them to move about the country by day, as they had been in the habit of doing before the downfall of their citadels. to the majority of us the excitement of these little expeditions was a source of real joy, notwithstanding the dose of fever or twinge of rheumatism that sometimes resulted. we enjoyed the silent, stealthy march through the dark, the long wait, hidden in rank jungle, with anxious eyes peering through the gloom, our fingers on the trigger, all listening intently[pg 310] to the thousand soft noises of the night. every nerve would be strained to its utmost tension, every faculty keenly on the alert. the rustle of the long grass as a deer or wild hog moved cautiously through it, the breaking of a twig, the hoot of an owl, or even the sudden shrill chirp of the cicala would make the heart leap with expectation, so that its hurried throb sent the blood coursing through the arteries, and the system would tingle again under a wave of suppressed excitement. more often than not our expectation would be disappointed, for the enemy failed to put in an appearance, though now and again our patience would be rewarded by a scrimmage, and a convoy would be captured and several rebels slain or taken. once our ambuscade was surrounded and suddenly rushed by a strong band of most determined chinese banditti, of whose presence in the region we were unaware. it is probable that they were going south with a convoy of contraband opium. a desperate hand-to-hand struggle took place in the dark. one of our men was killed in the first charge, and several were wounded. one of the latter, a bugler,[pg 311] died of his injuries a few days later. it is difficult to surmise what would have been the result of the combat had not another detachment of our men, which had been posted at a small ford about half a mile away, come to our assistance, for we were completely surrounded, and owing to the blackness of the night we could hardly distinguish our foes, who were cunning enough not to make use of their rifles, attacking us instead at close quarters with their heavy swords. on finding themselves charged in the rear the celestials withdrew, and at daybreak we found six of their dead on or near the position. all these had been slain by the bayonet, for there had been but little firing on our side since, owing to the danger of shooting our friends, it had been found necessary to keep to steel. though our adventure lasted only a few minutes, i think those of us who escaped unhurt from the mêlée were passing thankful when it was over; for never was it better proved that if in warfare an ambuscade can cause great hurt to an enemy who comes upon it unawares, that same ambuscade is in danger of total destruction should the enemy be forewarned of its presence.
[pg 312]
at this time, thanks to the experience they had acquired during the past year and a half, and also to their having been employed during the last three months in continually chasing the enemy from place to place, through the wildest country it is possible to imagine, the men of my company had become splendid jungle fighters. each of them was now not only a hardened, almost fever-proof soldier, but also a good shot and an efficient scout, ever on the alert to notice each sign by the way, to catch each sound in the air, and understand their meaning. a footprint, a broken twig, a tiny streak of smoke creeping up from between the trees to the sky, the dull thud of the distant axe as it hit the wood, and the hundred and one other trifling indications of the passage of man in the tangle of forest-covered hills were at once seized upon and put to profit.
conversant with the enemy's methods of fighting in the dark glades and sombre thickets of his favourite haunts, the legionaries and their officers had learnt to trust no longer to the paths, but to advance silently yet swiftly through the undergrowth, taking advantage of[pg 313] every bit of cover, and making of each tree in the wood, each rise in the ground, a temporary rampart. encouraged by their officers, the men took great delight in this new sport, which seemed more like a hunt, in which the quarry was man, than regular warfare. the fact of their not being continually in touch with their officers and "non-coms," and having consequently to depend sometimes on their own resources, developed their individual initiative and self-reliance; whilst the novelty of the situation gave full scope to their courage and love of adventure. perhaps with troops possessing less stamina and morale, even these short periods of independent action would have been dangerous, but with these well-disciplined and seasoned soldiers of the legion this new method of attack seemed rather to increase the zeal and self-confidence of the men.
the following statement, drawn up by a rebel deserter, the written translation of which still exists, most probably, in the records at the headquarters of the 2nd brigade, will give some idea of how hard pressed were de-tam and his faithful few by our troops at this period.
[pg 314]
"the favourite wife of our old chief de-nam was heavy with child when the fire from the big guns and the approach of your infantry in such great numbers obliged us to evacuate our positions. notwithstanding her condition she accompanied de-tam and his lieutenants de-truat and de-hué into the great forest at quinh-low. here she gave birth to a male child, posthumous son of our former leader; this was on the second day of the fifth month" (may 26th). "at this time there were but few men with de-tam, for the majority of our troops had been scattered all over the country, and many had gone south to their villages; thus we were but sixty men armed with rifles, and with us were seven women and two little ones. we had plenty to eat, for we drew rice from the secret hiding-places in the forest, where great store of this food had been placed many months before, by the wise orders of our ong (lord), who was dead. but the white soldiers left us no peace, and each day they pressed us so hard that we dared not sleep two nights in the same place. at last we found a cave, to reach which we had to descend a passage leading straight down into the earth." (in this district are to be found numerous workings of former iron mines which were abandoned several centuries ago, and[pg 315] are now overgrown with jungle. it is probably to one of these that the deserter made allusion.) "we had been in hiding in this place for several days when a party of soldiers, who had followed the tracks of one of our men who had been sent out to fetch water, nearly discovered our retreat. these soldiers hunted for us until sundown and remained all the night in the forest, so that, knowing this and fearing lest the cries of the young child should betray us, de-tam ordered us to dig a hole, and in it de-nam's son was buried alive.
"when the mother was told of what had befallen her babe—for it had been taken from her whilst she was sleeping, and she knew not where it had gone—she was stricken with much sorrow, and went away from us, weeping and complaining, into the forest, where she slew herself in the agony of her grief.
"on the morrow, when the troops had moved off a little, we succeeded in getting away further into the jungle...."
the 9th june, 1902, i happened to be with a scouting party, and came upon the body of the dead woman. it was still warm, and a native knife, embedded right up to the hilt, had pierced the heart. like the rest of my[pg 316] comrades, i imagined at the time that this unfortunate creature had been murdered by the rebels; and it was only several weeks later, when assisting at the examination of the deserter mentioned above, that i learned what had really happened.
on my return to nha-nam in may, i had been glad to renew relations with my friend doy-tho; and whenever i found time to do so, i passed my evenings in his caigna, and, seated beside him as he smoked, talked over the situation.
he was always very well informed on all that was going on, though he most certainly owed much of his knowledge to his former enemy, but now devoted friend, linh-nghi, who, since the termination of the main operations, had been nominated to the important post of lu-thuong (headman) of the village of long-thuong; and, in return for the services he had rendered to the authorities, important stretches of cultivated land, formerly owned by some of the rebels, had been made over to him.
it was from tho that i learned of the lasting impression which the rapid capture of[pg 317] all de-tam's fortifications had produced upon the population of the yen-thé. the majority of the people, he said, were no longer moved to enthusiasm by this chiefs appeals to their patriotism, and they now possessed no confidence in the ultimate success of the movement in favour of their exiled monarch. however, my friend was never weary of repeating that, until the french succeeded in killing or capturing de-tam, the chief would be a source of constant trouble in the region, because most of the peasants possessed such a real dread of him, that but few of the villages would dare to refuse his demands for money or rice, so long as he remained an outlaw, and had at his disposal a band of cruel and determined partisans.
though i think that tho was glad of my company, it was evident to me that he was chagrined at my continued refusal to become a votary of the soothing drug, which, like the majority of his compatriots, he regarded as one of the necessities of existence. his disgust at my persistence was all the more intense because it was an open secret that several of the french officers and sergeants, serving in the[pg 318] native regiments, smoked opium, and took but little pains to conceal the fact. he would give me as examples the names of his superiors who indulged in the pleasure procured by the subtle poison, hoping to induce me to follow their example; though, curiously enough, he would generally conclude his exhortations with quaint reflections full of irony, concerning the excess to which most of the europeans who indulged in this passion would go; and he would then, in grandiloquent terms, replete with oriental conceit, inform me that he was himself complete master of his own desires. he would swell with pride and delight when, to humour him, i would praise his powers of self-control, though, for the matter of that, i was convinced the length of his purse and the veto of ba, his wife, had more to do with the number of pipes he smoked, than any check he was himself capable of imposing on his cravings.
he would speak at length on this subject, bringing out his words with a slow, drawling, sing-song cadence in which there was no indication of emotion, though now and again, when he had given an opinion he considered was[pg 319] possessed of more than ordinary value, he would pause somewhat longer than necessary, watching me intently the while, to see if i had fully grasped the sense of his argument and appreciated the beauty of his flowery metaphor.
"yes, friend," he would say. "tell me, i beg you, has not heaven given to us men the different pleasures of life so that we shall draw from them delight wherewith to lighten our troubles and to forget our hardships? indeed you do know, since i myself told it to you, that our wise men have long since decided that these numerous and varied pleasures can be classified according to their merits, which consist in the degree of bliss they can procure us. each of these emotions finds its proper place in its proper section, which last is itself one of 'the seven joys,' even as a soldier has his appointed position in one of the four battalions of his regiment. the ancients represented 'the seven joys' by as many bats, because, like our pleasures, these animals flit around us in eccentric curves; though it requires but a little patience and a light blow to bring them to our feet. that is why in our pagodas, our houses and upon the altars to our[pg 320] ancestors you will always see, sculptured or painted, the seven bats which are 'the seven joys.'
"heaven has sent us a thousand flowers—of which the most beautiful is the sacred lotus—so that we should admire their colours and shape, glory in their scent and draw great joy therefrom; also the splendour of our hills, our forests and our rivers, the beauty of our women, the love of our little ones, the pleasures of the chase, and the gladness in the slaughter of our foes, are only a few of the million joys in life, amongst which ong-tu-phian (lord opium) is not the least in importance; and these blessings have been generously accorded us by the lord buddha himself, and any refusal to participate in them is indeed rank blasphemy. but be warned that in all things there must be moderation, and because of our friendship, i would not see you do like the ong-quan-hai (lieutenant) i have already spoken of, for, if his orderly speaks not lies, this young man smokes one hundred and twenty pipes each day, which is a great foolishness indeed; for in this way his pleasure is no longer his servant, to come and go at his bidding, but rather he has[pg 321] become the slave of his pleasure. neither is his case an exception, for nearly all you western foreigners are alike in this matter, and ever you go to the extremes. either you will not touch the drug—most probably because you are afraid of yourselves—or, if you once begin, you will increase each day the number of pipes you smoke, until your pleasure kills you, instead of remaining content with a moderate use of it."
in speaking thus tho was but echoing the opinions of his compatriots, for the inhabitants of indo-china, like the chinese, are convinced of their superiority, so far as intelligence is concerned, over the european.
partly from curiosity and also because i was determined to show this little brown man that i possessed more self-restraint than he gave me credit for, i consented one evening to make the experiment, and smoked four pipes. i was rewarded by a most violent headache, prolonged nausea, and a sleepless night crowded with waking nightmare. it is hardly necessary to add that i did not repeat the experiment; and though for some time tho persisted in telling me that i[pg 322] had not given the drug a fair trial, he finally dropped the subject. but it is probable that my inability to partake of his favourite pleasure was to him another proof of the decided inferiority of the european.
about the middle of june, lieutenant deleuze, the intelligence officer from tha?-nguyen, to whom reference was made in a preceding chapter, came to us to assist in the operations that were going on, for owing to his knowledge of the vernacular, of the natives and their customs, he was able to obtain information when others, less gifted, would most certainly have failed. this officer was also instructed to complete a new map of the region, for the late expedition had brought to light the many errors and omissions contained in the former surveys of the province. my friend lipthay accompanied the lieutenant, for he was to assist in the topographical work.
i was pleased, indeed, to see my friend again, and was happy at being able to congratulate him on his recent promotion, for he was now a corporal; and we "wetted his stripes" on the evening of his arrival with several bottles of good wine. in confidence he informed me that i was[pg 323] myself to be attached to the intelligence staff of the district; and, though he disclaimed all knowledge of the cause, i soon found out that i owed this chance of promotion to his good offices.
i little knew at the time what important changes in my existence this new departure would bring me, though had i possessed that knowledge it could hardly have increased my gratitude for the "good turn" my chum had done me.
for a month i worked with lieutenant deleuze, and accompanied the different reconnaissances and little columns; making rough surveys of the ground covered, and bringing back the sketches to nha-nam, where they were amplified and checked. during these expeditions i was mounted on a native pony, and armed with a carbine instead of the longer and less handy rifle.
my new life was a most agreeable one, for not only did i escape all the drudgery of fatigue duties in the fort, but when the reconnaissance with which i might happen to be out, got in touch with the enemy, i would put away my compass and planchette and do duty as a galloper; carrying information from the scouts[pg 324] to the commanding officer, and going back again with orders. my mount was only 11? hands in height, so that when i was in the saddle my feet were but a few inches from the ground, but the animal's pluck, endurance and surefootedness were extraordinary.
on the 15th july, lipthay, together with the other members of the district staff, returned to tha?-nguyen. i was left behind, as my employment had only been a temporary one; but i continued to do topographical work for our captain, and was in consequence spared the ordinary company routine.
owing to the extreme heat which had now set in, the authorities gave orders for the suspension of all operations, except in case of great urgency, so that nothing more exciting went on than an occasional hour of drill or theoretical instruction. having failed to capture de-tam while it was still possible to move the troops, the authorities were now obliged to wait for cooler weather.
within the réduit, or little citadel, of our fort, a military telegraph office had been erected, communicating with bo-ha and tha?-nguyen by wire, and with mo-trang and mona-luong[pg 325] by the heliograph. two french operators, a marine and a gunner, were in charge of the station.
since i had been detached on special service i had messed with these two telegraphists, and it was not long before we were the best of friends. bougand, the marine, and gremaire, the gunner, were parisians of good family and education; and, thanks to their natural versatility and wit, we soon found means of introducing a certain amount of fun into our existence, which helped to relieve the terrible monotony of life in the fort.
by nailing a damp sheet over a window which gave upon the gun-platform, and with the aid of a powerful lamp, sometimes used for signalling at night, we started a shadow theatre. our troupe and scenery we cut out of thick cardboard, and we were able to present adaptations of some of the most popular dramas and comedies of the day, the text and mise-en-scène of which would have been a startling revelation to the original authors.
these performances were given twice a week, and lasted from 7.30 till 9 p.m., and our audience was composed of all the legionaries not on duty[pg 326] and such of the native troops as cared to attend. there was, of course, no accommodation for the spectators, who were indeed above such details; and they contented themselves with standing, or squatting, upon the hard ground to watch the show. though some of our audience saw fit to make rude remarks concerning the tone of voice in which the feminine r?les were read, the majority were unsparing of their applause; and the appearance of the silhouettes of such famous artists as the golden-voiced sarah or the two coquelins brought down the house. now and again some ready-witted interruption from one of the spectators would cause the temporary disappearance of the actors from the stage and a momentary cessation of the performance, for, unable to control our emotions or continue the dialogue, we would fall on the floor of the little mat-shed hut, where we would lie convulsed with laughter, until the noisy public threatened to pull down the house unless we continued the play.
success ofttimes breeds foolhardiness, and in an evil hour, finding that we had exhausted the répertoire our memories offered us, of plots from the parisian stage, we decided to draw on[pg 327] local incidents for the construction of our plays. at first all went well, for such farces as the de-tam's defeat, in which that chief, after refusing the hand of the governor-general's daughter and a big dowry, died through incautiously tasting the contents of a tin of bully-beef, supplied by the commissariat for the use of the troops, were successful, and produced no untoward results. but, craving for still greater popularity, we were foolish enough to put upon our stage the too transparently caricatured counterpart of one of the senior non-commissioned officers in the company of native troops, who, though an excellent soldier, was possessed of many eccentricities. this veteran resented our impudence, and we were reported and obliged to suspend our performances.
the instruments were placed in the upper storey of the little telegraph station, and i was in the habit of sitting upstairs for a couple of hours each evening with either of my friends who happened to be on duty. here we would chat and smoke—for the messages were few and far between after eight—and while away the time till eleven.
on the evening of 22nd may i was there as[pg 328] usual; bougand was on duty, and we had been exchanging opinions concerning the adjutant, who had succeeded in obtaining the cl?ture of our theatre, when our conversation was suddenly interrupted by a call on the morse from tha?-nguyen. in the middle of the message he was receiving, my companion gave a sudden whoop of astonishment; though this did not cause me much emotion, for i was accustomed by now to his pet mania, which consisted in telling me all sorts of tall stories concerning the wires he received, and i prepared myself to greet a yarn about the capture of de-tam, or my promotion to the much-desired dignity of a full blown corporal. when the message was finished, and he had rapped back that he had read the same correctly, he jumped up excitedly, came over to me and, holding out his hand, shouted:
"mon vieux, i congratulate you!"
"blagueur!" i answered. "spare me your mouldy joke. it's much too hot to laugh, so be sensible. let's take a glass of wine, if any remains in the bottle, and then i'll go to bed."
"i assure you——" he almost yelled it, but i would not let him go on, and taunted him[pg 329] with the staleness of the joke he was trying to play; till, in despair of obtaining a hearing, he rushed over to the instrument, tore off the band and handed it to me to read. to my amazement i saw, clearly printed in little blue letters upon the narrow strip of paper, beyond the possibility of a hoax, the following message:
"major—tha?-nguyen, to captain-commanding nha-nam.—send soldier manington by first convoy to phulang-thuong, from whence he will proceed to bac-ninh to take service as secretary, brigade staff."
the next few minutes were exciting ones, and it was not until we had hauled gremaire from his bed downstairs, communicated the news to him, and drowned our emotion in a jugful of wine and water, with a lemon cut up in it, that things began to assume their normal proportions.
i slept but little that night, and lay speculating as to how it was that fortune had so favoured me, for a berth on the staff meant interesting work, extra pay and comfortable[pg 330] quarters; in fact, a return to partial civilisation. the change carried with it one drawback, however, which made me hesitate as to whether it would not be better for me to propose another man in my place, for i knew that promotion was very slow on the brigade, the number of "non-coms" there being limited to three, and i was already somewhat disappointed at not receiving my "stripes" at the same time as my friend lipthay; though this had been owing to the fact that several corporals had been sent out to the corps with the last batch of troops from algeria, so that the vacancies had been few, and only the best had been chosen.
next morning i was called up to the rapport, and after captain watrin had informed me of the order received from our major, i told him of my fears; but he would not listen to them at length, and informed me that i must go: that he was proud that a man from his company had been chosen, and that i might congratulate myself on my good luck.
"why, mon gar?on," he said, "you have only to do your work well and keep sober—and you will do that, i know, for the honour of the company[pg 331]—and promotion will come in good time. in two years you will probably be a sergeant; and then, if you so choose, you will be able to go to st maixent (the military school for sergeants who wish to become officers), and get a commission. now go to the sergeant-major and get your feuille de route, for you will leave with the convoy to bo-ha to-morrow morning." then, offering me his hand, this excellent man and true gentleman said: "now, good luck to you; and be careful to remember always that you belong to the legion, and that the honour of the corps is yours also."
after packing my kit and getting my papers from the sergeant-major, who chaffed me good-naturedly by saying that now that i was going to be on intimate terms with a general, he hoped i would not put on too much "side," i went round the company to say good-bye. later i slipped away to tho's hut in the native village, and told him of my coming departure. the little man was evidently chagrined at the news; nevertheless, he congratulated me most heartily, and made me promise to write to him, saying, with evident pride, that he was now able to read a little french,[pg 332] so that, with the aid of one of the native clerks in the commissariat department, he would be able to decipher my letters.
we had a grand dinner that evening in the little telegraph station, a tin of salmon and several bottles of beer having been purchased to swell the menu provided by our usual rations.
my friends drank to my success, and i to their health and speedy return to france; and it was late in the night before i retired to rest for the last time in the fort which had, with few intervals, been my home for the past fifteen months.
several of my comrades were present to bid me "godspeed" when, early the next morning, i filed out with the convoy through the gates of our position.
together with several sick men, both legionaries and tirailleurs, who were going down to the hospital, i left bo-ha that evening. we descended the river in sampans, and reached phulang-thuong next morning.
on the morning of the 26th july i left for bac-ninh with the weekly convoy to hano? which carried the mails. we passed through dap-cau at noon, and arrived at our destination at 2 p.m.[pg 333] the country we traversed was a big cultivated plain, dotted with villages, with here and there occasional small groups of low hills.
at bac-ninh there is a small citadel, built, no doubt, towards the end of the eighteenth century by one of the engineers lent by louis xvi. to his ally, the emperor of annam. it is hexagonal in shape, and constructed according to the principles of vauban. each of its sides has a frontage of about 1000 yards, and is furnished with numerous flanking bastions and demi-lunes. there was a company of marines, a battalion of the 3rd regiment of tirailleurs tonkinois, and about a thousand militia in garrison there. inside the citadel were the houses of the general commanding the 2nd brigade, the resident of the province, the officers' quarters, the barracks of the troops, the staff offices, and the lodgings of the soldier-secretary.
on my arrival i reported to the brigade major, captain michaud, who sent me on with an orderly to the intelligence department, where i was to be employed.
the chief of this office, lieutenant cassier, received me very kindly; and, after telling one of[pg 334] the secretaries, a marine, to go and show me where our lodgings were situated, he informed me that i might rest that afternoon, and come to work the next morning.
i found that i was quartered, together with the other scribes—five privates and two corporals—in a one-roomed brick building with a verandah in front, which was situated at the end of the general's garden, and looked out into the parade ground of the native infantry. on the other side of this open space, about 300 yards away, were the buildings occupied by the french marines.
i washed, disposed my kit above the cot which i noted was of the comfortable pattern in use in algeria, and went for a stroll into the town, about a couple of hundred yards outside the fortifications, for i desired to reconnoitre the surroundings before dinner, which i had been informed was at 6 p.m.
the little town of bac-ninh is situated on the old mandarin road from hano? (the capital of tonquin) to lang-son and the chinese frontier, about 18 miles from the metropolis. it contains a population of eight thousand natives, is the capital of the province of the same name, and has a[pg 335] cathedral, seat of the spanish bishopric of eastern tonquin. though it is not a manufacturing centre of any importance, its only local production being silk embroidery work—for which, however, it is famous—it is considered as one of the principal commercial towns of the colony, because its markets are a medium of barter or exchange for objects imported from the surrounding provinces and also from china, through the frontier towns of lang-son and cao-bang. i wandered through the narrow streets for an hour or so, and was delighted with the life and bustle of the little town. it was market day, and the busy throngs jostled one another as they passed to and fro. the natives are noisy individuals, and their shrill cries as they hawked their wares or wrangled over the price of some article for household use—a basket of rice, yams, or some other comestible—were perfectly bewildering at first to me; for i had become so used to the silence of the empty plains and the jungle-covered hills, that even the tiny stir of this overgrown village produced an impression akin to what an inhabitant of exmoor might feel were he suddenly transported to the busiest centre of london.
[pg 336]
i got back in good time to the citadel, for i was anxious not to commit so serious a breach of etiquette as to make my new comrades await dinner for me.
i received a hearty welcome from them all, though only one of them, a lance-corporal, who was working in the general office, belonged to the legion: he came from the 2nd regiment. we sat down to our meal in a small building close to the offices of the brigade; and the fare, which was better than i had been used to at nha-nam, and the unexpected luxuries of china plates, real glasses, a table covered with white oil-cloth and a punkah, were more than sufficient to reconcile me to my new surroundings. owing to the extra pay we drew—about one and sixpence a day—it was not only possible to keep up a good mess, but, besides the cook, we were able to maintain a boy, at four piastres a month—about eight shillings—and this faithful servitor swept out our quarters, made the beds, cleaned our boots, pipe-clayed our helmets, and performed a hundred and one other services, which i had become so used to doing for myself that it was several days before[pg 337] i could become accustomed to leave the work to him, much to the amusement of the other secretaries.
the morning after my arrival i rose and dressed at 5.30 a.m., as i had been used to do in my company; but i got roundly sworn at by the other occupants of the room for awakening them by my noisy ablutions. the fault lay with them, however, for they had neglected to inform me that the office opened at eight, though it was several weeks before i could accustom myself to lie abed till seven each morning.
i found that my task consisted partly in aiding in the drawing up of a new map of the yen-thé, and partly in clerical and intelligence work. this last part was the most interesting, for i had to write down the reports of the different spies attached to the brigade, and the depositions of the captured brigands when they were interrogated by the lieutenant in charge of our office. besides this, i had to pass an hour each morning with the brigade major, as it was my duty to register all the correspondence received, the letters and reports being handed over to me for that purpose by captain michaud,[pg 338] as soon as he had perused them. by this means i became acquainted with everything of interest that was going on in the colony, so far as rebellion, brigandage and military operations were concerned; and i had not been long on the staff before i realised that the little warfare in which my company had taken a part in the yen-thé was but a chapter in the history of a struggle that was still going on all over the country, outside of the delta provinces, between the french on one hand and the tonquinese rebels and chinese bands on the other. columns were marching, or being organised, against such chiefs as luu-ky, whose powerful gangs of well-armed plunderers overran the provinces of quang-yen, lam and lang-son; the veteran banditti of the quasi-feudal lords, ba-ky and luong-tam-ky, in the districts of cao-bang and ha-giang, on the higher reaches of the red river, and the frontiers of yunan, kwang-si and kwang-tung; and skirmishes were reported daily by the officers who commanded the numerous forts and blockhouses, whose garrisons were continually coming in touch with the bands infesting the mountainous regions of the colony.
