The heat was terrific, and seemed, if possible, less supportable now than it had done during the hours of blinding, scorching sunshine. All the earth seemed to radiate the caloric it had been stoking up during the day.
When would the rains break? Those rains the other men who knew had told me of. Rains that chilled you to the bone, and made your teeth chatter.
The thought that in the past—it seemed years ago—I had somewhere shivered with the cold, made me laugh aloud, as, after throwing off my light cotton jacket and rolling up my shirt-sleeves, I sat mopping the perspiration from my forehead.The veins of my neck seemed to swell, and my breath came in gasps.
Thinking that it might be somewhat cooler there, I stepped into the street, and taking out my pouch, tried to roll a cigarette. Three times the thin paper broke in my sticky, perspiring fingers before I succeeded in obtaining a damp and flabby apology for a smoke. This slight exertion had caused me to perspire from every pore, and it seemed hotter outside than within. My light clothes clung to my limbs like those of a man pulled out of a pond. Disgusted, I returned and sat down again on the edge of the bed, and, after endless difficulty, succeeded in lighting my damp cigarette with a still damper match.
The tiny twinkle of the opium-lamp deepened the darkness outside the small circle of its light. Tho's brownish-yellow features, on which it shone, reminded me of a quaint and clever old Japanese ivory I had once seen; and the dark background of the night was like the black velvet-lined case which had contained it.
From where I sat I could see the arm of the sergeant's wife—bare from the elbow—and Iwatched with a kind of sleepy fascination her small and nimble fingers as they manipulated the drug. The soft light gave to her skin a rich gold tint, and made the arm and hand look graceful and comely. The Rembrandt-like effect of the picture gripped me, and for the moment the heat was forgotten.
Tho's voice brought me from a waking dream when, after laying down his pipe, he said:
"Patience,camarade! It will come. When the bull-frogs join in the song the great waters are not far off. Were you on sentry to-night you would hear the dreary note of the rain-bird, for I'd stake a week's pay she will be out. Ba (his wife) tells me it sang to-day before sunrise; but women were ever dreamers."
The little woman looked up from her task of cleaning the silver skewer, and retorted:
"Dreamers! Oh, great slaughterer of men, and dost thou give me time to dream? Is not my life as full of work as our mountain rise is full of fat? Am I not still athofrom the Tam-Dao? (a group of mountains to the west of Thaï-Nguyen). Are not my teeth white, though I have a husband who has blackened his and become a plainsman?"
As she smiled at her own wit I caught a flash of ivory between her red lips, and noticed for the first time the regularity of her small features. TheDoysmiled good-naturedly, and replied:
"Oh, thou silly one! Thou art pretty as an angry parrakeet, and talkest faster." Then to me: "Had I not lacquered my poor teeth—though my ancestors know the grief I suffered from it—how could I have gone, dressed like a pedlar, to spy in the villages for the Government? Had I tried so to do, the De-Nam would have eaten my liver long since. As it is, some day I shall probably eat his. Ba, get ready another pipe for me."
"Nay! nay!" she answered, as she lit a small kerosine lamp of German make, and placed it on the bed; "thou hast eaten ten times of the drug, and it is thy just ration." She blew out the small light and carried away the tray, saying to me as she did so: "Were I to listen to this man he would turn all the Government dollars he gets into black smoke, and I and my sons would have to go in shame to my father and beg for food."
It was very evident that Madame Ba ruled the roost, and it was probably better so.
Tho growled a little, and protested to me:
"Was ever man burdened with such a wife? She has no respect for me—the senior sergeant in the company. Now, had I married——" Here he was interrupted by the first notes of the bugle calling us back to the fort, and we rose together and hurried out of the hut. It was quite dark outside. Tho did not speak until we had nearly reached the gate, then he said: "Camarade, when the time comes, I hope you will find for yourself a white woman with a heart like Ba's.Bonne nuit!" And he ran off to his section.
Lying on my bed that night I communicated to my neighbour, Lipthay, a Hungarian, the incidents of the evening, and together we laughed over the recital of little Tho's domestic worries. This room-mate of mine had come out with our detachment on theBien-Hoa. On our arrival at Nha-Nam we had been given beds next each other, and our acquaintance was fast ripening into a close friendship.
Lipthay had joined in April of the preceding year. Shortly before this he held acommission in the Austrian army, which he had resigned. A braver, more loyal and upright nature I have never met. I have never learnt the reasons which brought him into the Legion, but am convinced they were honourable, for during the four years we were almost continually together his speech and conduct were always those of a gentleman in the truest sense of the word.
He was an adept at military topography, and, to while away the time, would give me further lessons in this useful art, of which I had already some slight knowledge.
This having reached the ears of our Captain, we accompanied in turns the occasional reconnoitring parties, and madetoposof the route taken. His work was of the first quality, and his draughtsmanship of a very high order.
The following morning I came across Tho, who was conducting the sick men of his detachment to the doctor. He halted an instant to ask me if I was coming to see him that evening, and I told him I should be deprived of that pleasure, as my section was on picquet duty at 5p.m.At this he grinned, and said:
"Well, then, we shall meet later, for there will be some fun to-night." He then left me, and trotted off to rejoin his men.
I knew it was no good trying to obtain further information from him, for theDoywas like the majority of Orientals, from whom torture will not wring a secret they have decided to keep, so I did not attempt to see him again that day.
However, as I knew that he served as interpreter to our commander when spies were interrogated, I inferred from the hint he had given me that some movement was to be made that night.
My section assembled, and were inspected with the guard that evening, and afterwards we were dismissed, but had to remain dressed and armed in our room in the event of our services being required. I took Lipthay into my confidence, and told him of the "tip" I had received. I induced him to do as I did, and fill his water-bottle with cold coffee in case of necessity.
Fully dressed, with our belt and cartridge-cases on, we lay down on our cots to snatch a few hours' rest. At 1a.m.our squad corporal shook us out of our slumbers, and,together with the other men of our section, we snatched up our rifles and assembled outside as quietly as possible.
Here we found a half-section of native troops under the orders of Tho, who nodded to me and grinned as I stepped up and took my place in the ranks. Two hard-boiled eggs and a slice of bread were served out to each man, which we were told to put in our wallet for future use.
A few minutes later Captain Plessier came upon the scene, and noticing that he was not mounted, I surmised that our coming peregrinations were to take place over difficult ground.
So indeed it proved, for, after the gate had been opened by the sentry, our little column went out in silence, like a troop of ghosts, in Indian file, turned to the right, and proceeded to the south-west across the paddy fields by the narrow ridges which served as paths.
The night was stifling and pitch-dark—so dark, indeed, that each man had to hold on to the wallet of his comrade in front so as not to lose his way. Thus progress was very slow. When we had been walking about an hour, and had covered, perhaps, a mile and a half,the blackness of the night was of a sudden lit up by a brilliant flash of lightning which illuminated, for the fraction of a second, the surrounding country. The weird aspect of it, with the tall outlines of the palms and bamboo silhouetted against the sky, remained with a strange vividness as if photographed upon the retina, for several minutes. This was succeeded by a peal of thunder so deafening that it seemed to split the ear-drums and shake the ground beneath us, and the rain came down as it only can do in the tropics.
For a few seconds our little troop was thrown into confusion, and some of the men, temporarily blinded by the sudden light, stepped into the fields, where they floundered about with water and mud almost up to their knees. After this interruption we proceeded on our way.
Very slowly though, for the lightning continued, flash following flash, in quick succession for an hour, and our ears were weary with the crashing of the thunder. The track, which was of clay, was sodden and slippery. We were all wet through to the skin, and our boots, full of water, emitted a curious squashing noise at each step.
Fortunately the din of the thunder and the continued thresh of the rain more than covered the noisy advance of our column.
Ten minutes before, wet through with perspiration, I had mentally cursed the heat; now my teeth were chattering and my fingers were numbed with the cold. I felt a strange joy at it, smiled to myself at the evident truth of Tho's recent prophecy anent the "great waters," and thought how appropriate was his term for the downpour.
For two hours we continued on our slippery way, and were then halted on a patch of grass covered with little mounds—a village graveyard.
Here our expedition was broken up into little parties, the one to which I belonged being composed of ten Legionaries and a sergeant, and as manytirailleurs, with Tho at their head.
We proceeded a short distance, and were ordered to be down in some long grass, behind a clump of cactus and hibiscus shrubs. As we did so, I heard theDoysay to our sergeant:
"When it will be light we shall see the door of the village from here; the path to it is a little to our left."
From this, and the movements I could hear on our right and left, I gathered that the remainder of the column was surrounding a village which lay before us, but owing to the darkness and the rain I could distinguish nothing ahead of me.
We had been lying on the ground some minutes, and, notwithstanding the chill dampness, I was almost falling into a doze, for the walk had tired me, when from the surrounding darkness a figure came noiselessly and crouched beside me. The next instant Tho's voice whispered in my ear:
"I told you so;ithas come."
"Yes"—I shivered—"and I think I have had enough of it."
"No! say not so! A few more hours and you will grumble at the heat once more,camarade! 'Tis a fool who ever complains. Our land had sore need of the rain; the crops will drink this as the mandarin does his Yunan tea. When the sun rises all the earth will rejoice. The voice of the tempest has shut the ears of our enemy to the noisy approach of thelinhtap lanxa(European soldier). This time we shallsurely surprise the brigands; therefore we should thank our Lord Bhouddah for his great mercy."
"What village is before us, friend?"
"Yen-Trieu," he answered; "and in it is alinh-binh(sergeant) of the De-Nam with twenty men. They are collecting the taxes, and were to have left it this morning. But they will never leave it," he added, with a low chuckle. "Yesterday the spies came and told the Captain. I was there. Last night they surely feasted, drank muchchoum-choum(rice alcohol), and smoked many pipes, for the headman is a great traitor, and in secret a partisan of Ham-Nghi."
"We shall have much trouble to enter," I ventured, "for we have not brought axes."
Tho chuckled again, and said:
"Let not that trouble thee. I have advised theOng-quang-Ba(the Captain—literally, 'Lord of three stripes'), and these fools will open the door themselves; even as I said to him."
I turned to chide him for his presumption, but he had glided away silently into the night.
The rain had ceased now almost as suddenly as it had commenced, and the smell of thedamp earth and vegetation reeked in the nostrils. Turning, I glanced behind me, and saw that towards the east the sky was grey. In a few minutes the forms of my comrades near by could be dimly distinguished. The nearest—he was barely a yard away—was a boy of twenty, an Alsatian. He was fast asleep, his head pillowed on his arm, and dreaming pleasantly, for on his lips, which bore no trace of a moustache, I could discern a smile. Fearing lest the sergeant should find him thus, I awoke him, and he thanked me.
It was now so light that a few paces away to the left I recognised our Captain, seated on the ground. He was chewing the end of an unlit cigar. In a low voice he called the sergeant, and talked for some moments to him.
Then our "non-com" came from one to the other of us and communicated the instructions he had just received. These were:
"Load, and fix bayonets as quietly as possible. Lie still until the signal is given by the Captain with his whistle, then rise at once and rush for the village gateway, and on into the houses beyond; weapons not to be used until resistanceis offered; and every effort must be made to capture an enemy alive."
By looking through the foliage before us, we could now see in the yet dim light that we were close to a pond or moat, covered with rank duck-weed and lotus plants. On the other side of this was a big village, surrounded by the usual embankment and bamboo hedge. Presently we could hear the crowing of cocks, barking of dogs, and other sounds of awakening life.
The pond was crossed by a dyke about 6 feet wide, forming a path leading to the heavy gateway of the hamlet. This was yet closed.
By this time the eastern sky was a bright red violet, and against it the great leaves of the plantains, the spiky foliage of the macaw palms, and the delicate leafage of the bamboo seemed to be cut out of tinfoil, reminding me of a tropical scene from a drama staged in one of our large London theatres. The birds were out: troops of white-breasted jays scurried from tree to tree, with an uncouth cry; sparrows darted about with an endless twittering; and several carrion-crows started a concert among the areca palms inside the village. Suddenly on thehorizon there was a glitter, and a convex curve of fire appeared. The mighty ball of the blinding sun rose inch by inch from the rice fields, the wet surface reflecting its light with dazzling vividness.
It was already hot, and our sodden linen grew stiffer and drier each instant.
All attention was now turned to the village, and behind the gate came the noise of withdrawal of bolts and bars. The heavy ironwood portals swung open, and out stepped a water-buffalo, on whose back straddled a naked youngster, gripping tightly a cord attached to the iron ring in the animal's nostrils. Just outside the unwieldy beast halted its big head, and, throwing its great horns right back, sniffed the air. Its eyes seemed turned towards our hiding-place. But there were others behind who were impatient to get out, and a native woman darted forward, and beat the beast's buttocks with a hoe. The boy on his back, unconscious of the danger in front, drummed his little heels on the black, hairless sides, and the animal moved slowly and reluctantly forward.
One, two, three of the beasts stepped out; afourth was already in the doorway, when suddenly came the shrill order from the whistle.
In an instant we were up and racing like madmen for the causeway, almost before the natives with their cattle had realised what had happened.
Lipthay was in front, leading me by 6 feet; we had been lying nearest to the path. Tho was panting along at my side. My Hungarian chum was now on the dyke, but he slipped on the wet clay, and came down with a crash. Both of us jumped clear of him, and went sliding along for several paces on the slippery surface. Soon we were up to the first buffalo, which was trying to turn. Tho leaned forward, and drove his bayonet into its hind quarters. With a roar it leaped off the path, and fell with a mighty splash into the pond, the boy still clinging to its back. I heard a peal of laughter somewhere behind me. On we went again, and the next instant were at the door, in which two of the beasts were wedged. Again theDoy'ssteel darted out, and one of the animals, with a bellow of pain, was forced through, like a cork pushed into a bottle.
buffaloes
WATER BUFFALOES.
In our ears rang the yells of the natives, beseeching each other to close the way.
The next instant we were through, and I saw a native heroically striving to pull away a bamboo pole, so as to let fall an inner gate; but before he could do so the rearmost buffalo, which was lumbering along in headlong flight, cannoned against him, and he was knocked sprawling. Tho had slipped in front, for we were now running in a narrow lane, where only one could pass at a time. The sides were walls of thick, sun-dried clay, in which, at irregular intervals, were little round loopholes. No one fired from them, though a few seconds had passed since the first alarm was given.
Behind us came the clatter of nailed boots, and I turned to see that Lipthay, his khaki and accoutrements caked with mud, had caught up with us. He laughed and puffed as my eye caught his. Every few yards the narrow way twisted and turned. We saw nothing, but could hear the cries of alarm of the natives and the thumping gallop of the terrified buffaloes just ahead. Suddenly theDoyturned off to the left, through a door in the wall, and thenext instant we were in a kind of courtyard, covered with red tiles. In the middle was a guava tree in full bloom, and facing us a thatch-covered native house, with green blinds of split bamboo hanging from the roof.
As we advanced one of these was lifted, and a tall, lank native, holding a Winchester at the "ready," confronted us. His hair was long, and hung over his shoulders; his eyes, still full of sleep, had a fierce, wild glare in them.
We spread out and advanced towards him.
"Thelu-thuong! (headman). Opium drunk," said Tho. "Surrender to us!"
The native spat at him, jerked up his weapon, fired at theDoy, and missed him.
Already he had pulled back the lever, preparing to shoot again, when Lipthay's rifle spoke. His weapon fell with a clang to the tiles, and, his two hands clasped to his breast, he staggered back against the screen, which gave way, and fell doubled up under the verandah. With his back against the wall of the house, he watched us as we came to the door. His mouth opened, and he tried to curse:
"De-oh!... de-oh!" Then he coughed,and a rush of blood choked his words. He toppled over on his side as our three rifle-butts, descending on its surface, splintered the wooden door of his abode. He had done his best to defend his guest.
The scene inside was a strange one. We had expected resistance, but found none, and were perhaps disappointed in consequence.
On a big wooden couch, and inside a green mosquito-curtain, lay a man, dressed in cream-coloured silk. Beside him was a tray on which I saw the little silver box, the skewers and the lamp. The latter was burning, and the brilliant stream of sunshine pouring through the broken door seemed to drown its flicker.
The man's face was long and emaciated, and, as the light struck it, I noticed that his skin was very fair for a native, that he wore a green silk turban, and that his hair was carefully rolled. The finger-nails of his left hand, which held the pipe over the flame, were very long; that of the little finger being at least 4 inches.
On the index finger of the same hand was a massive gold ring.
Beside him lay a woman, who was tendingthe opium, even as I had seen Ba do a few hours earlier. She was dressed in a long stole-like garment of bright green.
Neither of the pair moved or looked towards us, and for a few seconds their indifference to our presence seemed complete and contemptuous. When he had finished the pipe he had been smoking, he sat up and nodded to Tho, who saluted him in the vernacular, saying as he did so:
"Linh-binh, you must surrender and come with us. Fools, but not grave men, resist the inevitable."
There was a tremor in his voice, and a gleam in the little sergeant's eye that said only too plainly how gladly he would have slain the rebel then and there.
I noticed a glitter on the floor near the bed, bent down and picked up a Spencer carbine and a belt full of cartridges. Attached to it was a hunting-knife in a leather sheath, and a holster containing a revolver of an American pattern.
Thelinh-binhslid off the couch and stood before us.
"Cannot I die now?" he said to Tho.
"No! no! we are to take you alive. Such are the orders which must be obeyed." Then to me: "Camarade, you who are as strong as an ox, will you hold his arms behind his back one little moment?"
I did as he requested, and theDoytook the green turban from the head of our prisoner, and tied his elbows together, leaving about a yard of the silk loose, the end of which he wound round his own wrist.
Then we left the hut with our captive. As we passed under the verandah I saw that thelu-thuongwas lying on his side, and seemed to be sleeping peacefully. He was quite dead. Lipthay picked up the Winchester, and walked with me behind Tho, before whom was the prisoner. We noticed that they were talking together in quite a friendly manner. The woman was following us, and I could hear the low sobbing complaint which she kept up as she trotted behind. We could hear much shouting, and the explosion of firearms in the village not far from us, and it was evident that the rebels were offering a stubborn but tardy resistance.
Guessing the importance of our capture, and fearing a rescue, both Lipthay and myself shouted to Tho to hurry on, and we all started off at a trot.
Outside, we found the Captain attended by a bugler. Our commanding officer was seated on a mound watching the gateway, and smoking his cigar. When we got up to him, he said:
"What have we here?"
"A rebel,mon capitaine," answered Lipthay.
"Thelinh-binh,mon capitaine," I replied.
"Linh-Nghi,mon capitaine," added Tho, who had learnt the name of the prisoner.
"And two rifles, and a pretty girl," added the officer with a laugh. Then he continued: "Leave all here in charge of Calvet (the bugler). You, Doy, go back to your section. You two men rejoin Sergeant Bevan in the village, and tell him to get his detachment together and rejoin me here."
When we reached the sergeant, all resistance had terminated, and the men were foraging in the huts or securing the prisoners.
We communicated the orders.
The little column assembled outside again,and we learned that two of our men had been slightly wounded; we had captured six prisoners, taken nine rifles, and five of the enemy had been killed. The surprise had been complete. Although few, if any, of us realised the importance of the capture we had made, it will presently be seen that our morning's work produced results which eventually aided not a little towards the success of the operations on a large scale undertaken against the rebels at the beginning of the following year. We reached Nha-Nam at eleven that morning, and an extra ration of wine was served out to us, as a compensation for the drenching we had received.
Our prisoners were lodged under the verandah of the house occupied by the native troops, where there was abarre de justice—heavy ironwood stocks—in which the right leg of each of the captives was secured. A guard, furnishing two sentries, was placed over them. They were well fed, and suffered no cruelty or insult; but, having been captured in armed rebellion, there existed no doubt as to what their ultimate fate would be.
It is now necessary to give some detailsconcerning the important changes which were taking place at this time in the administration of the country.
The Government in Paris, influenced, no doubt by the growth of rebellion and rapine in the colony, had decided upon the appointment of a Governor-General armed with greater power than his predecessors.
For this purpose a decree, dated 20th April, 1891, was issued by the French Cabinet, which accorded that functionary great freedom of action. According to the new order of things, the Governor was vested with absolute power in the colony, and both the civil and military authorities therein were entirely under his control. All appeals or reports made by the heads of departments in Indo-China to the Minister in the metropolis were to pass through his hands.
At this time M. Picquet, the Governor, was just returning to France, and the Ministry appointed M. de Lanessan, a Radical deputy, who had already given proofs of superior ability in Parliamentary circles, and who was acknowledged to be a man possessing great initiative energy and activity.
The new Governor-General arrived in the East in May; and although his enemies have reproached him—and not without some cause—with want of tact and conciliation towards the military authorities, there can be no doubt that from his administration dates the era of commercial progress, which still continues in Indo-China.
He was the first to insist on the necessity of constructing railways and good roads in the colony, and, much as he did in this respect—for the first railway to Lang-son owes its origin to him—he would undoubtedly have done more had he not been hampered by the restricted finances at his disposal.
As it was, by his vehement insistence on the subject, he caused the investing public of France to realise the latent wealth existing in Tonquin, for the development of which it was absolutely necessary to construct good means of communication. He thus paved the way for his successors, MM. Rousseau and Doumer, who, thanks to his propaganda, eventually secured large loans, guaranteed by the Government, enabling them to construct a system of railways now almostterminated, traversing the whole of France's Eastern Empire, and penetrating into two of China's wealthiest provinces, Kwang-si and Yunan.
The first care of M. de Lanessan was to put an end to the intrigues existing at the court of Hué, having for their object the dethronement of the young king Than-Thai, and the restoration of the exiled Ham-Nghi to power. Also he took urgent measures to restore order in Tonquin.
To obtain these results he enquired into the grievances of the natives, and adopted pacific methods when possible; but when these were of no avail, he did not hesitate to employ rigorous and repressive measures. He undoubtedly possessed the necessary qualities for an administrator and organiser; and a few months after his arrival the Residents and local mandarins vied with each other in stamping out, with the aid of the native militia, the seeds of revolt and discord sown in the Delta, so that he was able to turn his attention to the central, northern and eastern districts of the colony, where rebellion and piracy existed in an armed and rampant state.
To ensure success in this work of pacification, M. de Lanessan made every effort to do awaywith the rivalry among the regular troops and the native militia, the latter being controlled by the civil Residents. To obtain this result he created in the unsettled provinces military zones—districts wholly administered by officers in the army—so that the powers and responsibilities of the different authorities were clearly divided and defined. The all-powerful military authorities were alone responsible for all that went on in the region committed to their care, and to the civil authorities was entrusted the administration of the Delta provinces.
This system proved such an excellent one that it has been maintained to this day, with few modifications; and at the beginning of 1903 there were, in Tonquin, four military zones divided up into nine districts, with a total population of about 2,000,000, and a superficial area of 20,000 square miles.[2]
[2]1. Territoire militaire, headquarters Lang-son, close to Kwang-si and Kwang-tung frontier.2. Territoire militaire, headquarters Cao-Bang, close to Kwang-si frontier.3. Territoire militaire, headquarters Ha-Giang, on the Yunan frontier.4. Territoire militaire, headquarters Lao-Kay, on the Yunan frontier.
[2]1. Territoire militaire, headquarters Lang-son, close to Kwang-si and Kwang-tung frontier.
2. Territoire militaire, headquarters Cao-Bang, close to Kwang-si frontier.
3. Territoire militaire, headquarters Ha-Giang, on the Yunan frontier.
4. Territoire militaire, headquarters Lao-Kay, on the Yunan frontier.
Thanks to the system introduced by M. deLanessan, organised rebellion no longer exists in the colony, and, although the provinces bordering on Kwang-si and Kwang-tung are occasionally ravaged by the Chinese bands which cross the frontier, the pacification of the country may be said to be complete.
That the commercial progress of the colony was a slow one at this period there can be no doubt, but it was owing principally to the want of means of communication with the interior, and also to the prohibitive customs tariff and exorbitant transit rates on goods passing through to China, which had been adopted by the French Government.
To-day things have considerably improved, thanks to the railways already built, and they will go on improving when all the lines are completed. But unless the authorities adopt a broader policy with regard to transit duties on foreign goods imported into Yunan through Tonquin, reduce the railway freights and modify the existing scale of duties, the realisation of the full value of the country as a speedy and safe route to the central Chinese markets, with the consequent prosperity which would result, willbe lost to France; and private enterprise, which as yet has developed but slowly, notwithstanding the undisputed agricultural and mineral wealth of the Tonquin, will be brought to a standstill.
CHAPTER V
An execution—A rebel chieftain—A bid for liberty—De-Nam's mistake—Linh-Nghi speaks—A new road to Thaï-Nguyen—In the enemy's country—A sharp encounter—Cho-Trang—The fever-fiend—In the hospital—Quang-Yen.
An execution—A rebel chieftain—A bid for liberty—De-Nam's mistake—Linh-Nghi speaks—A new road to Thaï-Nguyen—In the enemy's country—A sharp encounter—Cho-Trang—The fever-fiend—In the hospital—Quang-Yen.
The five prisoners captured with Linh-Nghi were executed the first week in August. They had been tried and condemned by the native mandarins entrusted with the administration of justice. These functionaries had come over on purpose from Bac-Ninh in great state, and the execution took place in an open space in front of our fort. We supplied a guard and picquet for the occasion.
None of the rebels had given any information, although it was whispered that the native judges had submitted them to torture during their interrogation. We had no means of controlling these rumours, for each morning the prisonerswere handed over to the native police, and they were returned at night; and, although they slept in the fort, it was forbidden to communicate with them. From their appearance and evident exhaustion I should be inclined to think they had suffered maltreatment. There would be nothing very surprising in this, for according to the native code of justice such methods were not only recommended, but were actually indicated. It is certain that the rebels showed no mercy to the loyal natives or French soldiers they captured alive (fortunately it was rarely, indeed, that any of the latter fell into their hands), and subsequently it was destined that I should witness shocking proofs of the terrible cruelty they were capable of employing.
It is therefore probable that the native judges made use of all the powers afforded them by the law of the land, and did not employ European methods—for which, most likely, they possessed supreme contempt.
The execution was carried out in a very simple and expeditious manner.
When a rectangular space had been cleared and lined by the troops, the two mandarins,dressed in robes of embroidered silk, of which the dominant colours were red and gold, their long hair neatly rolled in a new crepon turban, took up a position in the middle of one side of the square, and facing the centre.
Behind them were massed their retainers. Bannermen carried tattered triangular flags, and coolies bore aloft enormous umbrellas—two to each official—whereon were painted in bright colours a quaint design of dragons and griffins. Each mandarin was also accompanied by a sword-bearer, a pipe-bearer, and a domestic to whose care was confided a black-lacquered box containing the areca-nut and betel-leaf of his master. They formed a dirty, motley crowd, without order or cohesion—clad in shabby, tattered scarlet uniforms; and they laughed, chatted or squabbled, one with the other, like a pack of old fishwives.
They subsided into comparative silence, however, on the appearance of Captain Plessier, our commander, who occupied the place of honour, a little in advance of the two judges.
The prisoners were now brought into the enclosure, under the escort of a fewlinh-le(soldiers of the mandarin guard), whose dirty green uniforms and still dirtier rifles and accoutrements were certain proofs of their slovenly and undisciplined habits.
Behind the little procession formed by the condemned men stalked the executioner, a tall native dressed in a red embroidered vest and black silk pantaloons. Upon his shoulder he carried a heavy curved sword, about 3 feet long, and a good deal broader at the end than near the handle.
The five rebels, their hands tied behind them, walked to their death without any tremor or hesitation. Chatting together merrily, they threw curious glances at their surroundings, and expectorated from time to time, with evident unconcern, the red juice of the betel-leaf they were chewing.
They were lined up, separated about four paces one from the other, on the opposite side of the square occupied by the authorities, and facing them.
As each of the prisoners reached the place assigned to him, a native soldier unbuttoned and turned back the collar of the rebel's vest; then,one after the other, they knelt upon the grass, taking every care that their position should be as comfortable as the circumstances would allow.
The sentence having been read aloud to the assembled natives, the executioner, after thrusting his finger into his mouth, traced a wet line of red betel juice across the back of the neck of the first of his victims, about half an inch above the last big vertebra. Stepping back a pace, he swung aloft his heavy sword with both hands. It poised a second in the air; there was a glitter in the bright sunlight as it descended; then a swishing sound and a dull thud. The head of the first rebel, detached with a single blow, fell on the ground and rolled once over.
From the severed neck a rich red stream shot out quite 6 feet over the grass; the body rocked once and subsided gently. Bending over it, the executioner touched the open arteries, and smeared a little of the warm blood over his own lips as a charm against any evil influence from the spirit of the departed.
The other prisoners, who had watched the execution of their comrade with evident interest,made flattering remarks concerning the skill of the swordsman.
The next to die smiled, and prepared himself calmly, stretching his neck as far forward as it was possible for him to do without losing his balance.
I felt deadly sick, and could not bring myself to watch the succeeding decapitations, which were carried out with similar skill and expedition.
The bodies of the condemned were handed over to their families, but their heads, attached to the top of a tall bamboo pole, were exposed at the entrance of the fort as an example to all rebels.
The authorities had decided not to hurry on the trial of Linh-Nghi, in the hope that they would eventually succeed in obtaining information from him. He was interrogated during several days by the two mandarins, who failed, however, to extract the slightest indication of the strength of the enemy or the whereabouts of their positions. After the departure of these functionaries, our commander made several attempts, with the aid of Tho as an interpreter, to break through the reserve of the chieftain, but without success.
The treatment accorded him was a humane one; his diet was unstinted, and his parents, an aged, white-haired couple, were allowed to visit him as often as they chose during the daytime. His wife—for so the woman whom we had found with him proved to be—remained constantly by him, and attended to all his wants.
To one privation only was he submitted, and that was the want of opium. On this point our Captain was obdurate, and though Linh-Nghi, who was well supplied with money, offered to purchase the drug, his craving was not allowed satisfaction. To all his entreaties the same reply was given: "Speak! tell us what we ask of you, and you shall have opium—the very best—at our expense."
Only those who have witnessed the powerful hold the subtle drug takes on its votaries can imagine the torture endured by this native during the hours at which he had accustomed himself to indulge in his passion. These agonies, occurring shortly after the noon and evening meals, would commence by protracted yawnings, and develop into spasmodic, nervous contractions of the body and limbs, which broke into profuseperspiration. Unable to stand the strain, the unhappy victim of the brilliant-hued, but treacherous flower, or rather its seed, would entreat his guards to supply him with the smallest particle at no matter what price; then, finding that his supplications were without avail, he would break into a torrent of invective and malediction, which grew in intensity and filthiness as his increasing and impotent rage neared its climax. Then, speechless and foaming at the mouth, he would fall back on the hard, beaten-clay floor of the verandah, with mouth agape and black eyes fixed, staring at the roof above; his face, pale yellow, framed in the thick, tangled mass of long black hair escaped from his fallen turban. His chest would heave and crack under the short, sharp pants which brought the air through the larynx with a whistling hiss. Thus would he continue for perhaps an hour, until, exhausted by the struggle, he would fall into a sound sleep, from which he would awake refreshed and smiling, to laugh and chat with his guards, his wife or parents, if they happened to be present. Had there been any real danger to Linh-Nghi during these attacks I believe that opium, or someanæsthetic, would have been administered to him by our surgeon, M. Joly, who, on several occasions, was present during these crises.
On the 22nd August our prisoner made a daring bid for liberty. During the night he had succeeded in picking the lock which secured the two heavy beams forming the stocks wherein his ankles were imprisoned. At four in the morning, profiting by the fact that the native sentry was slumbering—though the soldier denied this, and attributed the chieftain's escape to the miraculous—Linh-Nghi made a dash for the palisade, and was astride it, when a native sergeant, who had heard the rattling of the bamboo, ran to the spot from whence the sound came, and succeeded in grasping a leg of the escaping rebel, to which he clung, shouting the while for help. A few seconds later the prisoner was brought back and secured, and the doctor attended to his wounds, for he had been almost impaled during his struggle by the pointed bamboo poles of the palisade.
Shortly after this incident a terrible tragedy occurred, which brought about a complete change in the attitude of our prisoner, and eventuallymade him a devoted partisan of the French cause.
Linh-Nghi had enemies in the rebel camp, and one of these, desirous of taking over his honours and command, informed De-Nam that the captivelinh-binhhad succumbed to pressure, and had given information to the French. He also provided evidence, which was false, to substantiate his declaration. Enraged at the apparent weakness of one of his most trusted lieutenants, the rebel chief decided to make an example, and he gave orders for the immediate seizure and execution of Linh-Nghi's aged parents. The details of this drama, which I obtained from Tho, were confirmed by documents captured later from the rebels. I had an opportunity of perusing them whilst serving on the staff of the 1st Brigade some months later.
At daylight on the morning of the 28th August, the European sentry at the gate of Nha-Nam found a basket, which had been deposited outside during the night. On being opened it was found to contain two heads and a letter addressed to our prisoner.
It is unnecessary to give further explanations,or to describe in morbid details the reception of this strange parcel by the unfortunate Linh-Nghi.
Certain it is that its effect was immediate, for that very evening I saw ourci-devantrebel, who had just returned from a long interview with our commander, under the verandah, his former prison, where he was squatting side by side with Tho, with whom he was engaged in a most friendly conversation; whilst, with some damp clay and split bamboo, he was constructing, with nimble fingers, neat little models of the different fortified positions belonging to his chief of yesterday.
From that time forward he was allowed all the opium he cared to smoke, and, though for his own safety he preferred to remain in the fort during several weeks, he was liberated, and lodgings were assigned to his wife in the native soldiers' village. Linh-Nghi now became a scout and guide to the French columns, and as such he rendered immense services to the authorities, concerning which more will be mentioned hereafter. Eventually, he was made a mandarin, and is now a local prefect of a district formerly overrun by rebellion. He and Tho became fast friends, and from their evening talks, when the "black smoke" hung thick under the thatch, I was able to derive much amusement and some knowledge.
Owing to information furnished by Nghi, the authorities decided to reconnoitre a road which had not been visited by French troops since 1886, when a column, under Major Dugenne, went by it from Tin-Dao (the old name for Nha-Nam), to Thaï-Nguyen, an important town situated on the Song-Cau river, about 20 miles as the crow flies to the north-west of Nha-Nam. This road had probably been constructed several centuries before, but, owing to the depopulation of the districts through which it passed, and also to its proximity to the forest-covered, mountainous region to the south, it was now but a path, which in some places completely disappeared in the ever-advancing jungle.
From a military point of view the reconnaissance of this route was of the greatest importance, since, should it be found practicable to infantry, it would be possible to make use of it, when the time served, as the means ofadvance for a column destined to attack the enemy's positions on the right flank.
In Thaï-Nguyen there was a garrison consisting of two companies of the Foreign Legion, one of native infantry, a section of mountain artillery, and a detachment of militia.
My squad formed part of the small column which left Nha-Nam on the 4th September, at five in the morning, to explore this road.
Though it had been supposed that the distance to be covered would not exceed 25 miles, we actually marched close upon 35 before reaching our destination.
At intervals we were obliged to cut our way through the vegetation which had invaded the track, and it was only by using the utmost care that our little party succeeded in keeping in the right direction.
On several occasions we disturbed big herds of deer, which scampered away on our approaching them; the tracks of tigers were frequently visible, and once the advance guard, consisting of half a dozentirailleurs, were considerably startled by the presence of a fine python which lay basking in the sun, close by the track. Itwas only after several stones had been thrown at it that the big snake decided on withdrawing into the long grass. Owing to the advisability of concealing our movements from the enemy, it was deemed necessary not to make use of firearms on this occasion.
The men suffered much owing to the extreme heat; the path was in the worst of conditions, and we were obliged to twice ford a river, which, though not very deep, was exceedingly rapid, so that our expedition proved to be a very arduous one to all who took part in it.
It was nearly 8p.m., and quite dark, when we reached our destination, and several of the men fell exhausted whilst waiting in the ranks for a hut to be prepared for us to pass the night in. Thaï-Nguyen possessed a fine citadel, of the Vauban style, which was built in 1798, and it was in this that the garrison dwelt.
The town and its neighbourhood was at this time infested by tigers, which prowled about the streets after dark, so that it was imprudent for the inhabitants to go out without a torch or a light of some kind. So great was the voracity and daring of these animals thaton several occasions they had penetrated into the citadel and carried off dogs and goats belonging to the garrison. Indeed, the doctor, by an extraordinary stroke of good luck, killed one with a revolver shot as it was groping under his bed in search of a favourite pointer which had taken refuge there. Report had it that the lucky slayer of this greedy feline was so excited by his good fortune that he was found more dead than alive by the guard who ran to the hut on hearing the report of his weapon.
He lost his dog, however, for the poor animal was found to be quite dead, its skull crushed beneath the powerful paw of its enemy.
Our column, having proved that the road explored could, if necessary, serve as a means of penetration into the enemy's country, left Thaï-Nguyen on its return journey the next day at 4p.m.
Lipthay had been in charge of the topographical work during our exploration, and his sketch of the route so pleased Major Berard, who commanded our battalion and was also in charge of the military zone, that my chum wasdetained in Thaï-Nguyen, and attached to the staff there. I was very sorry to lose him, but, for his sake, was glad of this change in his prospects, as his new position brought with it a greater chance of promotion.
Our party did not return to Nha-Nam by the same route it had come, but took a better known and more frequented track, passing more to the south, through a district more populated, and consequently better cultivated.
On our way back we slept one night at Cassong-Thuong, a small fort garrisoned by a detachment of militia under the orders of a European officer. We continued our journey the following morning, and reached Nha-Nam at 6p.m.
Owing to the fact that the military authorities were now in possession of reliable information concerning the rebel's strength and positions, orders were issued by the Brigade for reconnaissances to be made from time to time, into the districts north of our fort, with a view to exploring the region and obtaining topographical sketches of the country, to be used in the production of a reliable map, for the use of theofficers who were to assist in the big column, which the Government had decided to put in the field during the winter months. I took part in the first of these little expeditions on the 12th September, the object of which was to determine whether the track to Long-Thuong, a rebel village which had not been visited since January, was still accessible to infantry, and also to see if the hamlet was inhabited and fortified. We started out from Nha-Nam at three in the afternoon. As it was not intended to make any attack on the enemy should they be in force, our detachment was a weak one, composed only of thirty Legionaries and as manytirailleurs. In order to make things easy for the Europeans, for the heat was very oppressive, we were instructed to take with us only the six packets of ammunition contained in our belt-pouches—36 rounds. Fortunately for us all thetirailleurs, who accompanied us, started with 120 rounds per man.
We arrived within a quarter of a mile of our destination, which was about a league and a half to the north of our position, without incident.
The fields were well cultivated, and the ricewas being harvested, but on our approach, the reapers—all women—fled with loud cries towards the hamlet. It is probable that the suspicions of Captain Plessier were aroused, for, by his orders, we left the path, extended and advanced towards the village across the cultivated ground; a small reserve remaining upon the track under the orders of Lieutenant Bennet.
When about 200 yards from the position, we were received by a hot fire from a strong party of the enemy occupying the hamlet. Our line halted, and took cover by kneeling behind the little embankments which separated one field from the other. From here we replied to the rebels, but, a few minutes later, were exposed to a severe cross-fire coming from the left flank; and, in less time than it takes to describe, atirailleurwas killed, and two others and one Legionary were wounded.
The enemy who took part in this flanking movement were some of De-Nam's regulars, who came from their entrenched positions in the forest, having been summoned to assist by their friends in the village, who for this purpose made use of long, copper speaking-trumpets, the weirdbellowings of which we could hear above the reports of the rifles and the repeated words of command.
Our reserve had extended on our left, at right angles to our line, but its fire failed to keep the enemy in check, and very soon we could distinguish their skirmishers, as they advanced in line at regular intervals, dropping now and again on one knee to discharge their rifles at us.
The situation was getting too warm to be pleasant, and most of the Legionaries having expended their slender stock of ammunition, it was found necessary to distribute among us the cartridges of the men who had been placedhors de combat, and also to take a few packets from each of the native infantrymen. Thanks to the wall-like ridges behind which we lay, we suffered no further casualties, but our cartridges were getting scarcer each minute, and we felt that should any of the enemy succeed in getting out of the village by an exit—which might possibly exist—other than the door before us, there would be a possibility of an attack on our right flank, and consequently a danger of the road to Nha-Nam being closed to us. It was very soon found necessary to restrict the efforts of the native troops to volley-firing, for, notwithstanding the repeated efforts of their French sergeants, they expended their ammunition with reckless extravagance when acting independently. The majority of them, not waiting to select a suitable target or to aim carefully, just loosed off into space, happy so long as the excitement created by the report of their rifle and the smell of their burning powder stayed their rising fears.
This was the first time I had seen our Captain under fire, and it was a supreme satisfaction to me to note that his attitude came up in every respect to the descriptions given me by my comrades, senior to myself in the service. Calm and collected, he had an eye for every detail, and seemed to foresee each new development in the situation. He was never a man of many words, and now he spoke only to give some short, crisp order to the bugler, or to a non-commissioned officer. Though he happened that day to be dressed in a suit of white drill, he was the only one among us who took no cover, and was in consequence the target formany a rebel rifle. As he walked coolly up and down behind the line of our crouching figures, his helmet cocked over his right ear, a cigarette between his lips, flicking his leggings every now and again with the cane he carried, he seemed to defy death itself. This attitude inspired his men with enthusiastic confidence, and every Legionary present would have hailed with joy an order from him to fix bayonets and charge right at the enemy.
The action had lasted but a few minutes when the order to retreat by echelons was given. The object of the reconnaissance had been accomplished, for it was clear that the track followed was accessible, and also that the village was occupied in force as an outpost; and under the circumstances it would have been a culpable breach of the art of war, a wanton invitation to disaster, to have continued the engagement.
Our retirement was not effected without some difficulty, for the enemy showed considerable daring and initiative in harassing our retreat; and our progress was slow, because we were embarrassed by our dead and wounded. Some difficulty was also experienced by the Frenchsergeants in keeping theirtirailleursin hand, and it was undoubtedly due to their efforts, and also to the example of cool steadiness displayed by the Legionaries, that our withdrawal was saved from degenerating into a totalsauve-qui-peut. It was found necessary to tell off men of my corps to bear away our comrades who werehors de combat, for the native troops were too plainly victims to shattered nerves to bear the strain of this task under fire. This somewhat reduced the strength of our little firing line, which, however, received some assistance from Lieutenant Bennet, who picked up a rifle and "downed" several of our eager pursuers, for he was a first-class marksman.
The enemy abandoned their attack when we were about a mile from Nha-Nam; but it was a band of tired and thirsty men that reached the shelter of our position that evening at seven.
Warned by our Captain, who had galloped on ahead of us as soon as all danger had ceased, the guard turned out and rendered the usual honours to the dead and wounded as they were borne through the gate of the fort.
The wounded were at once attended to inthe infirmary, and were transferred under escort the next morning to the hospital at Phulang-Thuong.
On the day following our engagement the whole garrison turned out under arms to assist at the funeral of thetirailleurwho had been killed. He was buried in the small, well-kept cemetery, situated just below the slope to the north-west of our position. The French people have had at all times a great respect for their dead, and their soldiers whose lot it has been to lay down their life,au champ d'honneur, as they so eloquently express it, have always received their full share of the respect paid to the departed. In France there exists a fund, known asL'Œuvre des tombes, subscribed to by thousands of the charitable public; and the money thus obtained is expended on the hundreds of far-away colonial graveyards, which are kept in excellent order, and in erecting an iron cross, bearing the name and corps of the deceased, over the last resting-place of each soldier of the Republic who falls in fight or dies of disease. This is done without restriction of race or religion.
I went to see Tho that evening, and found Linh-Nghi with him. They both amused me by their evident regret at not having assisted in the engagement of the previous day.
The little sergeant's complaints were based on plain, unsatisfied bloodthirstiness; those of my ex-rebel friend clearly originated in that spirit of unslakable vengeance which only an Asiatic can acquire. It was instructive to note how they, after each pipe of opium, built fresh plans, and devised new methods for the merciless slaughter of their enemies. From them I learnt that a spy had come in during the day with information that De-Tam, the most capable of all the rebel military leaders, had been in command of the troops that had attacked us; and that this famous captain, for whom they evidently cherished much hate, and a good deal of reluctant admiration, had been severely wounded towards the end of the fight, his left arm having been shattered by a bullet just below the shoulder. This proved to be a fact.
I met the famous chieftain in 1897, when he was a partisan of the French, and the crippledstate of his limb—due, no doubt, to the elementary treatment of the wound by the native medicine-man—was an evident proof of it.
I passed many pleasant evenings with Tho and Nghi, who would favour me with stories of war and love, legends of ancient origin, in which the actors were demi-gods, dragons and genii, and strange fables full of local colour, replete with quaint proverbs and philosophical axioms dear to the disciples of Confucius. Unfortunately, I was soon to be deprived of the real pleasure obtained from these foregatherings, for my section received orders to proceed to Cho-Trang, and I was thus suddenly separated from my two friends. It was not without some regret that I accepted this hazard of a soldier's life, against which one should not murmur; and I was really sorry that the opportunity afforded me for the study of the complex characteristics of Tho and Nghi should have been such a brief one.
My new location was a small fort situated to the north-west, on the confines of the Yen-Thé province, about 60 miles from Nha-Nam as the crow flies, but a good 80 by road.Owing to its position in a rugged, forest-clad mountainous region, and to its being surrounded, a few hundred yards away, by a chain of rocky heights, green with the vegetation which flourished in the crevices, it was found to be so unhealthy that the military authorities had, up till October 1891, contented themselves with maintaining a garrison of native soldiers there. Owing, however, to the approaching operations against the rebels, and to the fact that Cho-Trang was situated on the left flank of their positions, and close to several paths leading into their country, it was found necessary to strengthen the force there for a few months; since by these tracks it would be quite possible for some of the Chinese bands, established in the hills around Lang-son, to come to the assistance of De-Nam.
From Nha-Nam our detachment marchedviaCao-Thuong to Phulang-Thuong, whence we served as an escort to a convoy going to Lang-son. We went by the famous mandarin road which had been the scene of the retreat of General de Négriers army in March, 1885.
Our rate of progress was a slow one, for thevehicles we escorted were heavy carts, drawn by tame buffaloes, or native wheel-barrows of a most peculiar pattern, constructed entirely of bamboo and ironwood, without a single nail or screw. The wheel consisted of a big wooden disc about 3 feet in diameter, which revolved on a teak axle, and produced a loud scratching noise as these clumsy carriages trundled over the rough road. The regulation load for these barrows was about 180 pounds, and to each of them there were two Chinese coolies. One pushed the barrow from behind, with a strap, each end of which was attached to a handle, passing over his shoulders, and thus relieving the wheel of some of the weight carried; and another was in front, hitched to a rope tied to the horn of this prehistoric little vehicle. The creaking of the wheels and continued yelling chatter of the Chinese created a perfect pandemonium of sound. Our convoy was more than 2 miles long, so that when the head had reached a halting-place, and its escort was able to obtain rest and refreshment, the unfortunate soldiers in the rear were still toiling slowly along, and would arrive at anétapeto find that only a short spaceof time remained for them to refresh their tired legs and empty stomachs.
After Kep, the scene of Major Dugenne's reverse in June, 1884, the road passed through a stretch of scenery wild and magnificent. By a succession of loops and curves the route rose and passed round the flank of one mountain after another. Sometimes the convoy crept slowly over small bridges spanning mountain torrents, overhung with dense, tropical vegetation. Now the road would wind through beautiful thickets of bamboo, so dense that it would have been impossible to penetrate it. At times we skirted deep woods and charming combes full of thick undergrowth, palms and creepers. Often the track dipped and traversed fine valleys, covered with waving jungle grass; beyond this could be seen a vista of hills overrun with black forest, or chain upon chain of massive rocks, 1,000 feet high, all bedecked with variegated foliage. On or near the track there were few signs of animal or bird life, with the exception of the ubiquitous sparrow and the ever-present kite, though the vanguard occasionally disturbed a flight of chattering parrakeets, orscared away small herds of deer, which, with a few bounds, would disappear into the jungle. We halted at Kep, Sui-ganh and Bac-Lé, and passed the night in the forts at these places. Here the convoy was packed in an enclosure surrounded by a high bamboo fence, fires being kept burning all night to scare away tigers and panthers, as there were many in the jungle along the road.
The coolies, on their arrival, were told off into squads, and the daily ration of rice and salt fish was served out to them. This they cooked in copper pots, and the men of each squad squatted round the fires awaiting their evening meal, while one of their comrades, who acted as cook for the occasion, kept stirring the stew with a bamboo stick.
Most of these Celestials were tall, well-made men, whose lower limbs were abnormally developed—a natural result of the calling they followed—and, like the majority of their race, they evidently possessed a strong dislike to soap and water, for they were extremely filthy. They were clothed, like the men of the mountain tribes in this region of the Tonquin, in acostume consisting of a vest and pantaloons of blue cotton cloth, which, in most cases, was in a terribly ragged condition.
For pay they received twenty-five cents per diem (about fivepence), plus their daily rations.
The meal finished, the majority indulged in a few pipes of cheap opium, locally known asSai, and the surface of the compound was starred over with the numerous tiny twinkles of their little lamps. These went out one by one, and before midnight the camp was plunged in silence and slumber, the naked limbs of the sleeping coolies having the appearance of old ivory or new bronze in the flickering glimmer of the watch-fires, round which they reclined. Then the stillness of the night would be broken only by the song of the cicalas, the crackle of burning wood, the occasional call of the sentries, and the far-away cop! cop! cop! of a tiger hunting in the hills.
At Bac-Lé our detachment left the convoy, and abandoning the highroad, we struck off due north by a small path which led to Cho-Trang. We set out before daybreak, so asto avoid marching in the midday heat, and were accompanied by a guide and several coolies bearing lighted torches made of split bamboo as a precaution against wild beasts.
Cho-Trang is about 12 miles from the Lang-son road, and the little track we followed passed for nine of these through a succession of jungle-covered valleys, and over hills hidden in primeval forests of teak, banyan, ironwood and palm trees, some of which were of enormous size, with an impenetrable undergrowth of fern, interlacing creepers, orchids and spiked rattan. In these woods the light of day was almost shut out by the dense foliage; no birds seemed to live there, and the strange, weird silence was only broken now and again by troops of chattering brown monkeys, which, disturbed by our approach, would scuttle away through the branches, jumping from one bough to another with their usual agility, and maintaining the while such grotesqueness of face and demeanour that our laughter was frequently provoked.
When we had marched about five hours, for during the darkness the pace had been a slow one, we found ourselves close upon therocky chain already described, which exactly resembled the pinnacles which rise in hundreds from the sea in Along Bay. This strange configuration is known as the Nui-dong-Nghi, and its jagged ridges run east from this point right through Tonquin into Kwang-si, and also far north to the heart of the province of Cao-Bang.
We traversed the first chain through a pass known as the Deo-Mou-Phieu, which in some places is so narrow that a native pony can only just squeeze between the projecting boulders. This narrow cleft is evidently the thousands-of-years-old work of the waters, which have eaten a way through the calcareous rock. Indeed, there rushed through the pass a rapid though narrow stream, wherein we had to wade knee-high.
Between these high stone walls the scenery possessed a savage grandeur I have never seen equalled, and the semi-darkness of the narrow way produced a most awesome effect. A few lines fromLa Mort de Rolland, recited by a comrade during one of the short halts we made, produced such a feeling of intense sadness that I was glad when our little column broke outof these weird surroundings into the bright sunshine beyond.