General Voyron--Organisation of the Brigade--Piracy on the Lang-son
railway--Politics and pacification--Topography and a tiger hunt--Among
the Staff records--Colonel Gallieni--General Pernot--Hanoï--General
Coronnat--Death of a friend--Adieu to the army.
Time dealt gently with the able officer who was in command of the 2nd
Brigade at Bac-Ninh in 1892; for this General, when at the head of
the French corps, serving ten years later with the allied army under
Marschall Waldersee in China, was still the same thick-set, active
soldier, whose rugged features bespoke the energy and determination
of the man, and whose eyes held the genial light which did not belie
the kindly nature of the soul within. Throughout the whole of his long
career this officer was associated with France's colonial army. As a
young officer he was severely wounded at the defence of Bazeille in
1870. He served afterwards under Faidherbe in the Soudan and Senegal,
and with Brière de l'Isle in Tonquin.
The man-in-the-ranks of all armies is never at a loss to find an
appropriate nickname for a superior who appeals to his regard or
dislike, and this General had not been long in command before he became
known to the men, in the French and foreign battalions alike, as "Papa
Voyron." It would, indeed, have been difficult to find another cognomen
conveying with equal truthfulness the just, firm and fatherly manner in
which he treated the troops under his orders.
It is a pleasure to do justice to the high military capabilities and
admirable characteristics of this popular French officer; but it
must nevertheless be stated that the speech made by General Voyron
at Marseilles, on his return from Pekin in 1902, containing as it
did several adverse and unmerited criticisms on the discipline and
courage of our Indian troops, was a source of some surprise to me.
However, when one takes into consideration that of late years politics
have unfortunately occupied a predominant place in the minds of
France's most capable military men, and also that public feeling was
unfavourable to England at the time this speech was made, it may be
assumed that these aspersions, which tally badly with the character of
the gallant officer, were but the result of a passing wave of popular
sentiment, to the effects of which the Gallic temperament is always so
susceptible.
The Commandant of the Brigade, like many others of his profession,
possessed a hobby, as far removed from _le métier des armes_ as the
not infrequent desire fostered by many old merchant skippers for
keeping a poultry-farm is from the art of navigation. This hobby was
horticulture. It should be mentioned that during the cooler months of
each year in Tonquin--October to April--all the edible green stuffs of
the temperate zones can be grown with success; though to obtain really
good results fresh seed must be procured annually from Europe. General
Voyron made it his special care that all the stations in the interior
where white troops were garrisoned should possess a kitchen-garden.
Thanks to this wise measure the men, to the benefit alike of their
health and palate, were, and are still, supplied during six months
out of twelve with abundant quantities of fresh vegetables; and the
quality of the crops obtained from the trim, well-kept gardens is a
cause of emulation in each of these small garrisons.
Whenever the General inspected the different forts situated in the
regions under his care, he never failed to look round these gardens;
and, when they showed proof that care had been bestowed upon them, he
was lavish in his expressions of satisfaction; but there would be a
_mauvais moment à passer_ for the unfortunate officer who had neglected
or ignored the Brigadier's circulars containing recommendations
concerning the necessity of ensuring a liberal supply of vegetables for
the men.
The internal organisation of the Brigade Staff was very simple. There
were three departments, the first being the general office, the staff
of which was charged with the elucidation of all questions relating to
administration, promotion and discipline in the corps belonging to the
Brigade, the printing and despatching of general orders and circulars,
and the drawing up of the monthly reports concerning the available
effectives, the existing stocks of arms and ammunition, and the general
health of the troops.
The Intelligence Department was the second section, and the duties of
its chief were both numerous and delicate, some of the most important
being the control of the surveying and topographical bureau, the
interrogation of spies or prisoners, and administration of the Secret
Service funds, the translation of code telegrams, the classification
of the documents relative to the active operations of the Brigade, and
the editing of the monthly confidential reports concerning the existing
bands of rebels and brigands, which gave detailed information as to
their organisation, approximate strength, armament and zones of action.
The third department was the office of the Brigade Major, through which
all completed work passed for inspection and annotation before being
transmitted to the General for signature, and from which the first two
sections received instructions.
The Chief of the Staff, who was at the head of this office, was also
charged with the transmission of the General's decisions, relative to
punishments or censure inflicted on officers under his orders; and
to his care were entrusted the confidential notes concerning each of
these subordinates. These notes consisted of information concerning
the past services, punishments, special aptitudes or failings, as the
case might be, of each officer in the Brigade, and were contained in
a little parchment-covered book known as the _livret individuel_, on
the outside of which was written the name of the person it concerned.
One such book is made out for every sub-lieutenant as soon as he
passes out of St Cyr and obtains his commission, and this little
tell-tale record follows him from corps to corps during the whole of
his career. It will be easily understood that it is considered a matter
of extreme importance that no officer should ever become acquainted
with the contents of his _livret individuel_, and to this effect the
only persons who are allowed to handle them are the commandant of his
regiment, who notes therein every six months his appreciations of his
subordinate's military capabilities and moral conduct, the Chief of the
Brigade Staff and the General.
The Secretaries on the Brigade took turns on night duty, for it was
necessary that a man should be at the office from 6 P.M. to 6 A.M. to
receive the telegrams when they arrived, and, in event of their being
of urgent importance, to send them on to the Chief of the Staff. We
were so busy in the Intelligence Department that in the first week in
September the Major decided to get another man, so as to relieve me
and aid in the topographical work. To my delight Lipthay was chosen
for the post, so that a few days later I was able to welcome my old
chum into his new quarters. This increase in work was due to the state
of affairs on the railway then in construction from Phulang-Thuong to
Lang-son, for the region was overrun by bands of Chinese brigands,
under the orders of the famous Luu-Ky, who attacked the working
parties, and carried away into captivity several of the French
engineers and contractors. Encouraged by their success, the robbers
ambuscaded several of the convoys going by road to Lang-son, and, after
slaying the majority of the escort, carried off important quantities of
treasure, several cases of Lebel rifles and a good deal of ammunition.
In one of these engagements a major of the _Infanterie de Marine_,
Commandant Bonneau, was shot dead. So great was the mobility of these
bands, and such excellent cover was offered by the mountainous
country on either side of the road, that all attempts to engage and
scatter them, made by the little parties of troops garrisoned in
the different forts, proved of no avail; and it soon became evident
that it would require a strong and well-organised column to secure
any favourable results, to ensure the security of the route, and to
allow of the work upon the railway being continued. In August General
Reste, the Commander-in-Chief at Hanoï, made an urgent appeal to the
Governor-General for permission to undertake operations against Luu-Ky,
on a scale to ensure success; but M. de Lanessan refused to countenance
any such movement, and declared that the military authorities ought to
be able to crush the bands with the forces already at their disposal,
in garrison along the Lang-son route. There is little doubt that the
Governor in making this reply was influenced by political motives.
The recent successful operations in the Yen-Thé had been utilised to
further his political aspirations in France, and the metropolitan
press had repeatedly announced, with a great flourish of trumpets,
that rebellion and brigandage were now dead in Tonquin. Indeed, in one
of his reports to the Colonial Minister, M. de Lanessan had declared
that, owing to the success of his administration, the pacification
of the colony was now an assured fact, and it was possible to wander
over the country with no other protection than a stout walking-stick.
The absurdity of such statements was clear in Tonquin, but they found
favour with the public in France, where people were only too willing to
believe that an era of peace and plenty was at last to open in their
Far Eastern possessions, with a consequent cessation of the enormous
sacrifices of men and money that had accompanied the past ten years.
The Governor, because of this advertisement, was declared to be the
first of France's Viceroys capable of grappling with the situation;
and as it was his firm intention to again contest, in the near future,
the seat in the Chamber which he had resigned on accepting the high
position he was now filling, he can hardly be blamed, in a country
where men take up politics as a business, for fostering interests
which would assure him a considerable number of votes when the time
came. That this state of affairs was detrimental to the progress
of the colony is certain, but political influence, party hatred
and electioneering jobbery have had much to do with retarding the
development of Indo-China, since its administration was placed in the
hands of a civilian governor and staff in 1886.
It is, however, possible that the Governor made these declarations
in good faith, for he had hardly been a year in the country, and was
obliged to rely for advice on the Residents and Vice-Residents; and
these civilians, hating the military element, were only too eager
to throw doubts on the exactitude of the information contained in
the reports coming in from the military territories, and they openly
declared that the officers of the colonial army were intentionally
exaggerating the gravity of the situation in the hope of provoking
operations likely to bring them promotion and decorations. The
contradictory advice of his civilian staff was possibly one of the
causes which led the Governor to pooh-pooh the importance of this new
upheaval, declaring that the Generals were alarmists, and that the
well-armed and organised bands of Luu-Ky were "_que des voleurs de
vaches pour venir au bout desquels il suffirait de quelques gendarmes_"
("only cattle-stealers with whom a few policemen could deal"). These
declarations provoked the anger and disgust of every officer and man
in the colony, and very soon a veritable hatred reigned between the
civil and military elements. The different newspapers sided with the
parties appealing most to their sentiments or their pockets; for it was
an open secret that some of these journals were subventioned by the
Government, and a wordy warfare wherein neither insults nor invective
were spared, was the order of the day. Doubtless there were faults on
both sides; and it is certain that the Commander-in-Chief committed
an unpardonable error by issuing general orders to the troops, to be
read at parades and posted up in the barracks, in which the civilian
authorities were belittled and reproached with having insulted the
army. This necessarily added fuel to the fire; and the situation became
so strained that officers and civilians came to fisticuffs in the
streets of the capital, and several serious duels took place.
Things were, however, brought to a climax towards the end of August
by the abduction of three Frenchmen on the railway-line, one of whom,
M. Vezin, was the principal engineer representing the big contracting
firm, Fives-Lille & Co. The consternation in high quarters when this
news was received was considerable, for there existed no possible
chance of keeping such thrilling information out of the newspapers in
Paris.
As soon as the _coup_ had been successfully carried through, Luu-Ky
retired into the security of his lair in the mountains of the Bao-Day
range, and from here he sent out messengers to the nearest military
station, announcing that he would release the prisoners on the receipt
of a sum of $100,000 in silver; but he also declared that, in event
of the troops approaching his encampment he would have the captives
executed immediately. The excitement throughout the colony was intense,
and party rancour was forgotten in the general anxiety felt for the
three unfortunate prisoners, as the cruelty of the Chinese bandits
was well known to all. After three weeks of negotiation a slight
reduction in the ransom was obtained, and the three gentlemen were
released, after having suffered indignity and torture at the hands of
their captors, with the result that their constitutions were wrecked by
privation and exposure.
The Governor still refused, however, to authorise effective operations
against the robbers; and it was not until several military convoys
had been captured, and a good many officers and men slain, that M. de
Lanessan finally agreed that the bandits were worthy of more serious
attention than they had previously received. When the column actually
commenced operations its work was considerably facilitated by the death
of the famous chief Luu-Ky, from the effects of a wound received during
the attack made on the convoy when Major Bonneau was killed; but, owing
to the rugged nature of the country in which the operations took place,
it was fully six weeks before the brigands were defeated and scattered.
A good many of the bandits escaped into Kwang-si, and others fled to
the mountainous regions in the north.
The telegrams and reports, coming in from the column, were of great
interest to me, as my company was taking part in the _battue_. I
happened to be on night duty one evening towards the end of September,
when a wire was received stating that a detachment of my comrades had
been caught in an ambuscade, among the rocky defiles of the Kai-Kinh,
at a point not far from Cho-Trang, my former garrison. This despatch
mentioned that Captain Watrin, our commander, was among the slain. Both
Lipthay and myself were shocked at this news. We experienced, however,
a certain relief on hearing next day that the body of our chief had not
fallen into the hands of the enemy, though seven of the men were hit
while carrying the corpse out of a narrow defile to a place of safety.
Several months later I met a man who had assisted at this engagement,
and he informed me that the Legionaries went raving mad when they
learned that this popular officer was killed, and, after rushing the
position--to gain which they had to pass, one at a time, down a sort
of narrow funnel, 50 feet long, swept by the enemy's fire--they slew
every Chinaman found behind the improvised ramparts. Our losses were
very heavy, owing to the strength of the position, but the men would
not be denied, and took a terrible revenge for the death of their
Captain. In October the rebel chief began to give trouble again.
He made overtures for peace, and, profiting by the confidence thus
inspired, and the absence of the majority of the troops from the
region, he left his retreat in the forest, and captured and occupied
a strongly-fortified village called Ban-Cuc, about 10 miles south
of Nha-Nam. He established his headquarters there, and ravaged the
surrounding district, until, a fortnight later, he was driven from
his fastness by a column under Major Barr, and again escaped to the
mountains with the majority of his men.
Notwithstanding the hard work we were having on the Brigade, time
passed agreeably at Bac-Ninh, for there was plenty to see in the town
when we were off duty--that is, for any one interested in studying
the native industries and customs. Besides, to relieve the monotony
of garrison life, the General had encouraged the French troops to
organise a theatrical _troupe_, which gave some very amusing concerts
and dramatic performances in a temporary theatre in the barracks, the
Commandant of the Brigade and his staff never failing to attend. In
October General Reste was recalled to France, and General Duchemin took
over the supreme command of the troops in the colony, after which the
animosity between the civilians and military subsided.
At this time I was often left in charge of the Intelligence Department,
for Lieutenant Cassier and Lipthay were away three days in each week,
making a new survey of the surrounding country. During one of these
outings they were approached by the headman of a village, who begged
them to come and slay a man-eating tiger that had established his
headquarters in a cluster of trees inside the hamlet itself. The
beast had been there three days already, and each morning had seized
upon and devoured one of the unfortunate inhabitants, so that the
remainder were afraid to leave their houses. The natives declared
that they had employed every available means of driving the fierce
brute away, but the beating of drums and gongs, the throwing of lances
and lighted torches into the scrub, had only served to enrage their
uninvited guest, and that very morning one of the villagers who had
approached too near to the thicket, had been slain before the eyes of
his comrades. The officer and my friend, taking with them their escort,
consisting of ten native soldiers and a corporal, proceeded at once
to the scene of the tragedy. The _tirailleurs_, instructed to shout
and keep on firing off their rifles in the air from time to time, were
told to advance upon the little clump of trees from three sides at
once, while the lieutenant and Lipthay waited on the other. By these
means they succeeded in driving the tiger out into the open, and he
was despatched with a couple of well-aimed shots. I saw the beast when
brought into Bac-Ninh; he was a fine specimen of his kind, measuring 9
feet 7 inches from the tip of the tail to the muzzle.
At this period of my service I was promoted to the post of
_archiviste_, and thus was placed in charge of all the records of the
Brigade. I should mention that at this time they were in a serious
state of disorder, owing to the negligence of the secretary who had
preceded me in this work; so that I was obliged to set to and sort the
whole of them. It was somewhat weary work at first, wading through
this mass of paper: the greater part consisting of musty, dust-covered
_dossiers_, dating back, some of them, to the conquest of the country
by the French. But there were documents of immense interest among this
medley of yellow, evil-smelling and worm-eaten despatches; and the
reconstruction, with the aid of all the original reports of the famous
march of General de Négrier to Lang-son and the frontier of China, the
subsequent retreat to Kep, and the enquiry prior to the court-martial
held on the unfortunate Colonel Herbinger, who took over the command
of the troops after the General was wounded at Ky-Lua, was a source of
pure joy to me for several days.
In December General Voyron left Tonquin for France, and Colonel
Gallieni, later a General and Governor of Madagascar, came down from
Lang-son, where he was in command of the 1st Military Territory, and
took over the service _par interim_. The Governor-General, who had
already done away with the brigade at Son-Tay, thinking, no doubt,
that this was a magnificent occasion to weaken still further the hand
of the military party in the colony, decided to dispense with another
brigadier, so he issued a decree abolishing the command at Bac-Ninh.
Probably the fact that the announcement of this step would be hailed in
France as another proof of the supposed pacification of the country was
an inducement to the taking of this measure.
It is doubtful, from a military standpoint, if the change was a wise
one; for, though it saved the colony about £4,800 a year--the salary
of two generals--it was hardly possible for the Commander-in-Chief in
Hanoï to deal directly with the commandants of the different regiments,
military territories and garrisons in the Delta, who were scattered all
over so vast a country. Indeed, the insufficiency of the new system was
so evident that the authorities eventually returned to the original
arrangement; and to-day, though the country is almost completely
pacified, there exist two brigades in Tonquin and one in Cochin-China.
However, though M. de Lanessan planned this important change in the
colony, the Colonial Ministry in Paris did not look at affairs in the
same light. As soon as they learned that General Voyron was leaving,
they sent out General Pernot to replace him, and the latter arrived in
Indo-China to find that the post he had come out to fill, no longer
existed.
M. de Lanessan would have liked to send the General back to France--and
indeed he proposed to do so--but the authorities in Paris, probably
because they had no post for the officer at home, insisted that he
should remain. Thus the brigade was resuscitated for his benefit,
and its secretaries, already on their way to rejoin their respective
regiments, were recalled to Bac-Ninh. I had been in Phulang-Thuong
four days, and was awaiting a convoy for Nha-Nam, when the order
arrived for my return, and its arrival caused me no little surprise and
speculation.
Two days later I was back in my old place, my absence having lasted
about a week, and the following morning General Pernot came up from
Hanoï with his staff.
He was a short, fat, red-faced man with a very loud, disagreeable
voice, and a temper that was worse; and his reputation with the men
of being a crusty martinet was not altogether unjustified. The day
following his arrival he came to the office and passed a review of the
secretaries. On learning that I was in charge of the records, he came
over to where I was standing at "attention," and asked:
"You are naturalised, I suppose?"
"No, _mon Général_," I answered.
"What! not naturalised yet! You have the intention of becoming so, of
course?"
"No, _mon Général_," I replied.
He glared up at me with an angry stare, and his face took a dull-red
colour. I thought he was going to burst.
"Oh, indeed!" he blurted out at last. "You _must_ put in an application
to become a French citizen, or go back to your battalion. I will have
no foreigners in a post of confidence on _my_ staff. _Grand Dieu!_
what have they been doing to allow such a thing? It is shameful! _Nom
de nom!_"
He almost shouted the last words, so great was his indignation, and
from the expression he put into them one might have been justified
in imagining that the Republic was in danger owing to my presence
there. I did not become naturalised, and I heard nothing more about
the question; and in justice to this cantankerous officer, I must
acknowledge that, during the fifteen months he commanded the Brigade,
he treated me with consideration on the rare occasions that I had
any direct business to transact with him. He had risen from the
ranks--indeed, I was told that he began his career as a sailor on a
man-of-war--and it is therefore probable that his modest origin and the
hard times he experienced at his _début_ accounted for his rough and
rude manners.
Our new Brigade Major, Captain Bataille, was a quiet and reserved
gentleman, who studied hard at his profession and was a most capable
officer, having already brilliantly distinguished himself in the field,
for which he had been decorated with the cross of the Legion of Honour.
We had now no Intelligence Department; and all questions formerly dealt
with by this branch, together with those relating to active operations
by the troops, were treated by the Headquarters Staff at Hanoï.
The Governor had not succeeded in doing away with the Brigade, but he
had taken his revenge by reducing its importance to a minimum, and the
_rôle_ of its chief now consisted almost entirely in looking after
the details of administration and discipline of the regiments under
his orders, and in conducting the annual inspection of the troops in
French Indo-China. In January, 1893, we received orders to transfer our
offices to Hanoï, and we had rather a lively time of it for several
days packing up the records and stowing them away, together with all
the portable furniture, into a long string of commissariat mule-carts.
Our march to Hanoï was not a fatiguing one, for the distance is not
great--about 20 miles--and the road is probably the best in Tonquin.
Owing to the numerous carts we were escorting our progress was not
as rapid as it might have been, and it was late in the evening when
we reached a point on the left bank of the Red River, just opposite
the capital. The country we had traversed during the day was perfectly
flat and covered with paddy fields, and I do not think we saw the
smallest patch that was not cultivated. The weather was bitterly cold,
the mercury having descended almost to freezing point (the winter of
'92-'93 was a record one in the colony), and thrice along the route we
came upon the bodies of natives who had died from exposure. Our convoy
was transported over the stream--nearly a mile wide at this point--by
a steam ferry. The accommodation on this ferry was so restricted that
only two carts could be taken at a time, so that it was quite dark when
we reached the citadel, situated some distance from the landing-stage.
Our new offices were inside the fortress--a fine place, constructed on
the same plan as that of Bac-Ninh, the difference between the two being
that the superficial area of the first was twice that of the second.
These fortifications, first captured by the French in 1872, no longer
exist, and on the former site of their ramparts and ditches can now be
seen one of the finest quarters of the European town.
Hanoï, the capital of Tonquin, was important and imposing when I first
saw it in 1893; and to-day, thanks to the enterprise and good taste
of its municipal council, it is certainly one of the finest cities in
the Far East. Its rapid development and flourishing condition leads
one to reflect on what the colony itself might be were its destinies
placed, like those of the metropolis, in the hands of a representative
chamber of colonists elected by their fellow-citizens, instead of
being entrusted to an army of political functionaries. The city was
founded in 865 A.D. by the Emperor Cao-bien, and its original name was
Dai-la-Thanh. A succeeding monarch, Thay-Son, constructed a palace
there in 1028. Hanoï is admirably situated for commercial purposes,
being at the extreme northern limit of the Delta provinces, at a point
on the river, 82 miles from Haïphong, where communication with lower
Tonquin, by means of the numerous estuaries and canals, is easy and
rapid. The same may be said with regard to upper Tonquin and Yunan,
which can be reached by the Song-Koï itself. The Dutch merchants
established factories or trading posts here, and at Hung-Yen, Nam-Dinh
and Haïphong, towards the end of the sixteenth century.
Hanoï has the form of an isosceles triangle, the base of which
extends along the river bank for about 2 miles. The inhabitants of
the capital owe a good deal to M. de Lanessan, who was the first to
suggest the demolition of the immense and useless citadel, which,
owing to its situation, retarded the growth of the city northwards.
The native quarter of the town is extremely picturesque, and the neat
whitewashed houses, not two of which are alike in size or height, with
their quaintly-curved, red-tiled roofs, and step-like cornices, the
numerous pagodas ornamented with dragons, griffins and genii, produce
a vista of pleasant aspect and great interest to the European. There
are hundreds of small shops, wherein the natives squat on a piece of
matting, surrounded by their wares. Workmen of a like craft, merchants
in similar lines of business, flock together and live in the same
quarter, so that the majority of the streets in the Annamese portion
of the town are named after the objects made or for sale there.
Thus it is that one sees at the corners of the thoroughfares such
indications as "Bamboo Matting Street," "Hat Street," "Fan Street,"
"Copper Street," etc., etc. The main arteries of this quarter present
a crowded appearance, and traffic is continual, but, contrary to the
usual state of affairs in most Oriental cities, the streets are clean
and odourless, a fact which can be attributed to an excellent system of
police supervision.
The _riksha_ is the favourite means of transportation, although an
admirable system of electric tramways has now been started. The native
inhabitants of the town dress somewhat more carefully than their
fellow-countrymen in the villages; that is to say, the merchants and
shopkeepers do so. They all wear the big hat made of palm leaves; and
the wealthier classes embellish its appearance by applying a light
brown varnish to its exterior and surmounting its crest with a cap of
silver scroll-work and a small spike of the same metal.
The Asiatic population of Hanoï is very dense, and in 1902 consisted of
100,000 Annamese and 3,500 Celestials. According to the returns, there
were 6,110 native houses in the city, covering a total area of about
165 acres.
The French may well be proud of the European quarter of the capital of
Tonquin, for its fine, well-laid-out boulevards and streets, handsome
public buildings, big shops, comfortable hotels and well-appointed
_cafés_ would do honour to the _prèfecture_ towns of Southern
France, such as Arles, Avignon, or Montpelier. Though the principal
thoroughfares of the town do not present the busy appearance of our
Eastern commercial centres, such as Singapore or Hong-Kong, and one
does not meet the hurrying throngs that give to these two cities the
characteristics of Anglo-Saxon activity, yet the prospect of the
Rue Paul Bert, the principal street at Hanoï, at the hour of the
_aperitif_, is extremely pleasing, and reminds one of the Parisian
boulevards. In front of the more important _cafés_ the pavement is
occupied by the numerous round marble-topped tables so dear to the
boulevardier. After five o'clock every evening these terraces are
crowded with _habitués_ who, while sipping their iced _absinthe_,
_vermouth_ or _bitter_, sit enjoying the cool breeze, exchanging
the tittle-tattle of the town, discussing the latest departmental
or social scandal, or watching the passing carriages--smart little
victorias or dog-carts drawn by diminutive, well-groomed ponies, and
provided with yellow-skinned coachmen and "tigers," glorious in their
neat liveries and top-boots. At this hour the ladies of the colony,
whose means permit of this luxury, drive through the town, out to the
fine botanical and zoological gardens, and alight at the _Kiosque_,
to enjoy a stroll in the fresh of the evening, and to listen to the
band or partake of a cup of tea or an iced _sorbet_. The male sex is
also _en evidence_ at these gatherings and promenades; consequently
the _toilettes_ are brilliant and of the latest fashion, and, with
a slight flight of fancy, one might imagine oneself back at the
_Cascade_ or the _Pré Catalan_ in the Bois de Boulogne. In 1893, as
it is to-day, the palace of the Governor-General, the residence of
the Commander-in-Chief, and the offices of the Headquarter Staff are
situated in a portion of the town known as the Concession--a strip
of ground fronting the river, about 1 mile long by 700 yards broad.
This small territory was conceded to the French in 1882 by the Emperor
of Annam, and, together with the Concession at Haïphong, which was
occupied a few years previously, it may be said to represent the first
foothold of France in Tonquin.
The public buildings in the Concession are well built, and are
surrounded by fine gardens. The town is provided with a splendid system
of surface drainage; it is lighted throughout with electricity, and
possesses an adequate water supply, which, however, is the cause of
some complaint, owing to the fact that the water is pumped from wells
situated in the native quarter of the town and close to the river,
from which, it is more than probable, there exists a considerable
infiltration.
In the centre of the European quarter of Hanoï there is a lake. The
borders of this are covered with trees and shrubs and laid out with
paths framed in verdure, so that the effect of the whole is charming.
There are two small islands on the lake, and on each of these is a
small pagoda. On the largest island, which can be reached by a fine
native bridge, about 30 yards long, built of ironwood, is a beautiful,
though small, specimen of a native temple, known as the pagoda of the
isle of Jade, and for the last five hundred years it has been the
_rendezvous_ for the _literati_ of the capital. The zoological and
botanical garden, to which reference has already been made, is situated
in the extreme north-west corner of the city. It is splendidly laid
out, and covers several acres of ground. It is here that the "Society"
of Hanoï comes to drive or promenade of an evening before dinner; and
its fine avenues, flower-beds, groves and lawns compare favourably with
the Cinnamon Gardens in Colombo, or the waterfall at Penang. The roads
throughout the town are wide and well built, and in this respect, as in
the laying out of the streets, and the style of architecture adapted
for the government buildings or for private residences, the French are
by far our superiors. This is due partly to the naturally artistic
taste they possess, and also to the wise regulations adopted by the
Public Works Department in the colony, with regard to the construction
of new buildings, all plans having to be approved by the Department
before a permit to commence building is granted.
In July, 1892, when I had arrived in Bac-Ninh, it seemed, after my
protracted stay in the wild regions of the upper Yen-Thé, that at last
I had returned to a large town, and the sight of a few scores of brick
buildings was, for the first few days, quite a novelty; but when, six
months later, I found myself in the capital of Tonquin, it was like
getting back to a big European city, and, though we sometimes regretted
the charms of our former adventurous existence, both Lipthay and myself
soon began to find a new pleasure in the renewed acquaintance with the
comforts and distractions of civilisation. We were not as free as we
had been at Bac-Ninh, as we were lodged in a room set apart for us,
in the barracks of the 9th Regiment of _Infanterie de Marine_, and
were for a few days the pet grievance of the "non-coms" of that corps,
who put us on fatigue duty and made us take part in the inspections.
This, however, was soon stopped by the Chief of the Staff, and we were
allowed to continue the even tenour of our way. There is always a
certain amount of jealousy felt for the scribes of the army, and the
French sergeants were probably indignant at the thought that we were
drawing as much pay as they were, that we were allowed out every night
till 10 P.M., and also because we took our meals at the canteen, in a
room specially reserved for us. The latter arrangement was adopted to
avoid indiscretions, for a few of us were continually and unavoidably
in possession of facts it was of absolute importance the majority of
the troops should not learn.
For the next twelve months we continued our somewhat uneventful life as
staff secretaries within the ancient precincts of the Annamese citadel,
the only break in the monotony of our career being my promotion to the
grade of corporal, which occurred in November. I had waited a long time
for my stripes, and should have had them sooner had I remained with
my corps; but till then there had been no vacancy on the staff for a
"non-com," so I had nothing to complain of. In February our offices
were again moved, this time to the Concession, in a building close to
the Headquarters Staff, and we were lodged with the secretaries of
that organisation. Since I had come to Hanoï my health had considerably
improved; and very soon after my arrival I was no longer troubled with
the attacks of malaria, which formerly, at almost regular intervals,
used to lay me up for a day, and sometimes more. The change of air was,
I suppose, chiefly responsible for the amelioration, and the better
food and more comfortable quarters probably helped to mend matters.
Life in the capital was very agreeable, though during the summer
months the heat was terrible. This is due to the fact that, because of
the low situation of the city, the south-west monsoon is little felt
there. The French colonials I happened to come in contact with were
extremely kind and hospitable, and during my military career I made
several acquaintances which ripened into friendships that never failed
me during the subsequent years passed in the colony as a civilian.
The French settler, be he either planter, merchant, manufacturer
or shopkeeper, is one of the hardest workers I have ever seen. He
possesses an admirable faith in the rich country he has adopted, and a
supreme contempt for his government, which seems to delight in throwing
every possible obstacle in the way of private enterprise, and in ever
increasing the number of functionaries he has to pay for.
In April, 1894, General Pernot practically reached the age-limit of
his rank, and returned to France, his place being taken by General
Coronnat. At the time he took over the command he was the youngest
Brigadier-General in the French army, having, thanks to the services
he had rendered to the Republic, and to his wide knowledge of his
profession, attained that rank when most officers in France's forces
esteem themselves happy if they are in command of a regiment. This
distinguished soldier was by birth a Basque, the son of a modest
cooper, who plied his trade in a small and picturesque village
situated at the foot of the rugged and majestic Pyrenees; but he was
in demeanour, speech and conduct, one of the truest gentlemen it
has been my lot to encounter. Tall, and somewhat sparse, fair, with
blue piercing eyes, a straight thin nose, a small light-coloured
moustache, and a very strong chin. When listening he was reserved,
attentive and courteous; when speaking his voice was wonderfully soft
for a military man, and as clear as a bell. On first acquaintance he
appeared to affect a certain aloofness; but this was only apparent,
and was due, most probably, to the erectness of his bearing, and to
his habit of speaking but little, and of fixing his eyes on the person
who was addressing him, so that, unless they were acquainted with
this particularity, he would stare them out of countenance. Having
gained a hard-earned scholarship, the General obtained his grade of
sub-lieutenant by passing through the military school of St Cyr,
instead of being obliged, like many of small means, to work his way up
from the ranks.
The work of pacification went on steadily, but it was destined that I
should remain at my post on the Brigade, and take no active part in the
different expeditions sent against the pirates and rebels in 1894-95.
In October, 1894, I lost my friend Lipthay. He died in the military
hospital at Hanoï, worn out with fever and debility acquired during our
campaigns in Yen-Thé. I was by him almost to the end, and he passed
away calm and courageous, like the noble, true-hearted gentleman he
had always proved himself to be. He had been promoted to the rank of
sergeant, and had been made a Knight of the Dragon of Annam shortly
before his death.
On the 27th February, 1895, I was liberated, having completed a period
of five years under the French flag. The experience I had gained was
invaluable, and I felt no regret for the step I had taken in enlisting.
Nevertheless it was with an emotion akin to delight that I hailed
my return to the liberties of civilian life. It should, however, be
mentioned that I experienced a certain regret at severing my connection
with the French army and the Legion.
While serving in that corps I had learned that there were good and
brave men outside my own country, and that courage, obedience,
self-abnegation and national pride are not the monopoly of any one race.
By living side by side with them, fighting, and ofttimes suffering, in
the same cause, I had been taught to like and respect the foreigners.
The French, Italian, German, Austrian, or any other European soldier
is very much like our own. He has his virtues and his vices; and the
stronger his race and national character, the more likely is he to
possess a superabundance of the latter.
British interests in Siam and Southern China render the development
of the French colonies in the Far East a matter of importance to
us. The majority of the foreign products imported into Yunan, _via_
the West River route, or through Tonquin, are of British origin.
Our treaty arrangements with France and the good feeling at present
existing between the two nations should make it no difficult matter
for Frenchmen and Englishmen to agree in the settlement of questions
arising out of their trade relations with Kwang-si, Kwang-tung and
Yunan.
The recent concessions made by Siam to France have increased the
responsibilities of the latter, and it remains for France and Great
Britain to develop the commercial resources of Siam and South China.
[Illustration:
CARTE
DES
POSTES DU TONKIN
d'après une Carte du Service topographique
de l'état major des troupes de l'Indo-Chine
ECHELLE]
By the aid of the railway system, agriculture and manufacturing
industries are being fostered in the French colonies of the East, and
a great future undoubtedly exists for them; but before real success
can be obtained Indo-China must be provided with functionaries who are
not only able administrators, but who have a knowledge of the language
and customs of the country. They must be workers with a single aim for
the success of the colonies under their administration, and not merely
politicians whose personal ambitions colour their perceptions. Then the
colonies, wherein I spent the years of which I have written, will have
a future of constantly-increasing prosperity before them.
THE END
INDEX
Administration errors, 106-107
---- changes, 192
Algeria, arrival in, 21
Ambuscades that failed, 138-155, 310-311
Annamese language, difficulties of, 159-160
Arzew sanatorium, 57
Attack on a village, 180-187
Bac-Ninh, arrival at, 332
Bamboo, native uses of, 132
Bands of the regiment, 50-51
Bo-Ha, arrival at, 261
Brigade staff, work on the, 337-338, 342-345
British interests in Siam and South China, 376
Campaign, start and end of, 257, 279-284, 287-301
Caves at Cho-Thuong, 277-278
Chaplain of the transport, 65-66
Chinese allies, De-Tam's, 273
Cho-Trang's unhealthy fort, 223
Commerce in the colony, 196-197
Coronnat, General, 373-374
Delta provinces, scenery of, 87-89, 91
---- native population, 89-91
De-Nam, rebel leader, career of, 97-102
---- death of, 265
De-Nam's body disinterred, 299
Deserters, rebel, 297
Deserter's statement, rebel, 314-315
De-Tam wounded, 221
De-Tam's force routed, 298
---- last stand, 303-305
Discipline in the Legion, 29
Discouraging interview, a, 10-11
Ditties, military, 41
Doy-Tho, native sergeant, 161-165
Drilling recruits, methods of, 27-28
Education, military, 37
Enlisting, reason for, 2
Execution of prisoners, 198-203
Feet, care of the, 41-42
Ferry's downfall, Jules, 81
Fever, epidemics of, 56, 232-233
Fight with De-Nam's troops, 215-219
Fighting, watching the, 291-294
Food in French army, 20
Fortifications, rebel, 298-299
French area in the East, 69
Funeral of _tirailleur_, 220
Godin's expedition, General, 103-105
Haïphong, growth of, 85-87
Hamlet defences, 123-124
Hanoï, transferred to, 361
---- history of, 363-370
Heat discomforts, 156-157, 169-170
Hospitals, in the, 243-253
Hou-Thué, engagements at, 107-112
Indo-China, French influence in, 75-78
Indo-China's future, 377
_Infanterie de Marine_, the, 254-256
Inspection of corps, 43-49
Jokes, practical, 37
Jungle scenery, 225-228
Lanessan's good work, 193-195
Legion, farewell to the, 375
---- history of the, 8, 12-17
Legionaries, types of, 15-16, 30-32, 34-36
Linh-Nghi, career of, 187-190, 203-209
Lipthay, the Hungarian, 173-174
Lipthay's story, 265-271
Lipthay, death of, 374
Luu-Ky causes trouble, 345-346
Man-hunting, 315
Marseilles barracks, 17-19
Military changes, 357-358
_Ministère de la Guerre_, the, 1
Native spies, work of, 136-137
---- troops, 133-134
Nha-Nam, arrival at, 112
Night attack, the first, 125-132
---- marching, difficulties of, 275-277, 309-310
Officers act as doctors, 233
Officer's blunder, an, 297
Opium-smoking, effects of, 321
---- methods of, 165-168
Oran, arrival at, 61
Panthers, attack by, 231
Pernot, General, 359-360
Phulang-Thuong, arrival at, 92
Plessier, Captain, 114-115, 217, 305
Promoted, 323, 329, 356, 371
Reconnoitring, methods of, 117-122, 209-213
Records of the Brigade, 356
Recreations in camp, 158
Recruiting station, the, 3
Recruits, types of, 4-6
Red-tapeism, government, 157
Regimental march, 50
Rifles used by troops, 38
Saigon, arrival at, 67
_Sampan_, voyage in a, 258-261
Sapper corporal's bravery, 54
Sidi-bel-Abbes, life at, 21-28
Signals, rebel code of, 279
Snow in Africa, 26
Storm in the paddy fields, 177-178
Superstition, native, 96-97
Surrender of chiefs, 301
Tent routine, 25
Theatricals, amateur, 59, 325-327, 354
Tigers in the streets, 211
Tonquin, arrival at, 67
---- history of, 69-75
---- political situation in, 78-82, 346-352
---- disasters in, 80
---- brigandage in, 82-84
Topography, military, 174
Tragedy in the jungle, 315
Training, system of, 39-41
Transport life, 63-65
Volunteers for the East, 60
Voyron, General, 339-342
Watrin, Captain, 306-308, 352
Yen-Thé, region of the, 95-96
---- anarchy in the, 105-106
Zones, military, 195
PRINTED AT THE EDINBURGH PRESS, 9 AND 11 YOUNG STREET.
End of Project Gutenberg's A Soldier of the Legion, by George Manington