3
The time passed on, however, without the rebel chief making overtures for his surrender-which, by the way, the authorities had announced must be unconditional. Towards the end of June it was reported that he had left his hiding-place in the jungle and come into the province of Phuc-yen, which has been for some time in a very disturbed condition. This rumour was shortly proved true in a sufficiently startling fashion. On the 5th July a Frenchman named Voisin, employé of a contractor for bridge-building, was seized by Ca-rinh, the De-Tham's chief lieutenant and adopted son, on the high road near the village of Velinh, some 16 miles only as the crow flies from Hanoi. Two mortor-cars, one of them containing the resident of the province, which passed along the road shortly afterwards, were also fired on by the brigands, but escaped. The De-Tham himself was in the neighbourhood, and Voisin was brought to join him that night. A force of militia which was at hand might have attacked the band, but did not do so, Voisin having sent to the officer in command a letter, dictated by the De-Tham, stating he would be at once killed if the militia advanced.
The Government decided to take energetic measures in consequence of Voisin's abduction. The Dê-Tham was told that the only condition which would be granted to him was that his life would be spared if he gave Voisin up, but that if any harm happened to the Frenchman, the relations of the De-Tham in captivity in Phu-lang. thuong would answer for it. A column of two companies of European and two companies of native troops, with a portion of the Foreign Legion, artillery, and all the militia and irregular "partisans" available, was put under the orders of Commandant Chofflet, who was given full powers, civil and military, in the troubled district. This column closed round the village of Lang-Lai, whither the band had retired after the capture of Voisin, and where they had established themselves in a temple. The De-Tham had with him probably 100 men with rifles, and twenty or thirty carriers. Before the investment was actually complete, the Dê-Tham, profiting by a storm on the night of the 13th July, succeeded in passing through the lines and escaping with all his men and his prisoner. Commandant Chofflet executed several of the inhabitants of the village for complicity with the rebels, and burned some temples. This escape of the Dê-Tham came as a disappointment to Hanoi, where great hopes had been placed upon the new column.
On the 19th July, a small outlying party of brigands, numbering six men and a woman, were reported from the village of Lap-chi. Fifty men of the Legion and fifty militia were dispatched to search for them the next morning. The brigands were concealed in a sort of trench or cavern, and fired on the men of the Legion before the latter had discovered them. One légionnaire was killed and three or four seriously wounded. The brigands made a vigorous defence, but were all destroyed, being smoked to death in their hole.
On the 22nd July, the Dê-Tham and his band, said to number 102 rifles, were reported to have appeared suddenly in the village of Xuan Lai, about 3 miles cast of Phu-lo. Troops were immediately dispatched there, and arrived about midday. The Dé-Tham commenced negotiations through the intermediary of Voisin, who was still with him, but as these were evidently merely to gain time they were broken off. The artillery bombarded the Catholic church in which the chief had made his head-quarters. During the afternoon the Dê-Tham burned the village, executed several of the inhabitants, and took others prisoners for having told the French of his presence, Troops continued to arrive, and by evening the investment seemed to be complete, but the commandant postponed the attack until the next morning. About 11 P.M., however, it was found that the band had left, and once more got away intact. It has transpired since that it marched openly and with determination on a point of the investing line which was only held by native troops, and these gave way at once on the mere sight of the enemy without firing a shot. The De-Tham's party seems to have suffered no casualties on this day, and the French had only three or four militiamen wounded early in the engagement.
The commandant, however, speedily got information this time of the direction taken by the band, and started in pursuit. On the 25th, Hanoi was astonished to hear that Voisin had been released unconditionally by the Dê-Thum the previous night. He had been ill for some days and unable to walk, and had been carried in a litter. During the In the night he was suddenly, without explanation, deposited on the road and left. morning he dragged himself to a neighbouring village, and he was brought down to Hanoi by train the same day. I may mention that some of the Saigon journals have published suggestions that Voisin was really in secret relations with the De-Tham, and therefore never in any danger, but there appears to be no foundation whatever for these extraordinary rumours.
The release of Voisin seemed to presage the approaching surrender of the De-Tham, but the public was soon undeceived. On the 25th, the troops came up with the rebels at the village of Hien-luong. The colonial infantry and Foreign Legion attacked with much dash, and met with but little opposition until they found themselves at about 5 P.M. in a swamp, at the other side of which was a sort of rampart hidden by bamboos. From this position a murderous fire opened on the French, who were unable to advance, and in a short time a captain and thirteen European soldiers were killed and some forty wounded. The troops found such shelter as they could, and were not able to withdraw until darkness came on without abandoning their dead and wounded and exposing themselves to the enemy's fire. This, however, prevented the French artillery from bombarding the position. The Annamite tirailleurs are said to have again behaved very badly on this occasion. This affair, happening only some 14 miles from Hanoi, made a very painful impression here, but at first the French population comforted itself with the thought that the Dê-Tham had suffered even more heavily. The report went that about half his band had been destroyed, although it was a suspicious fact that no bodies were found and no rifles taken. It appears now certain that the losses of the band were extremely small, not more than five or six killed, if, indeed, there were any, and that, as a matter of fact, it succeeded in carrying off eight rifles belonging to killed or wounded Frenchinen.
The De-Tham evacuated Hien-luong that night. The next day, the 26th, the tirailleurs, with a European detachment in support, came into contact with what is believed to have been only his rear-guard at the village of Ninhbac. Four or five tirailleurs were killed and an equal number of the enemy, but the main body withdrew. The French did not continue the pursuit.
Since then there has been no contact between the French and the Dê-Tham, He has completely disappeared, and there are the most divergent rumours as to his where- abouts. The special powers accorded to Commandant Chofflet have been withdrawn, and an influential Annamite functionary, the Tong-doc Le Hoan, an old adversary of the Dê-Tham, has been entrusted with the reduction to order of the province of Phuc- yen. He has received special powers and rank from the Annamite Court to that effect, and has enrolled a corps of 300 or 400 "partisans " who are to live on the country, and are expected to succeed in tracking down the Dê-Tham. This step had really been decided upon before the unfortunate affair at Hien-luong, but, coming as it does, it has proved very galling to the army here, and certainly is not calculated to enhance French military prestige in the eyes of the natives. It seems probable that some time will now elapse before the Dê-Tham is definitely brought to book.
In the meanwhile, however, another affair has occurred which, though apparently not directly connected with the De-Tham, has created a profound impression here. On the night of the 2nd instant the militia post at Hoa-hinh, capital of a province, about 50 miles from Hanoi, was attacked by natives, captured, and sacked. The post was occupied by about sixty native militia. They had had strangers in their quarters gambling with them during the night, and it is supposed that these had drugged some of the militia. At all events the assailants, who are said to have numbered about 100, attacked the garrison with knives and choppers only. The European inspector heard a noise, came out, and tried to rally his men; he was killed and cut to pieces. The four European civilians in the place hid, and then escaped by boat down the river.
Four or five of the militia were killed and a few wounded; the rest fled in every direction. The robbers broke open the gaol and released the prisoners; they took all the arms in the place to the number of about 150 rifles and carbines, about 2,000 dollars in cash, and 5,000 dollars worth of opium, and then left. Up to the time of writing they have not been found, though they are said to have entrenched themselves in a village on the road from Hoa-binh to Hadong, The affair is believed not to be the work of the De-Tham, but to be an act of vengeance caused by the alleged unjust arrest of certain natives. however gives a poor impression of the value of the militia who garrison most of the small stations up-country, and it is most unfortunate coming just at this juncture.
It
Other parts of the country are also disturbed, namely, Dong-Trieu, north of the Haiphong-Hanoi railway line, and Luc-Nam, east of the Yen-the. In both of these districts there are bands of marauders at large, among whom there are said to be a certain number of Chinese. Near Laokay, also, there has recently been an alarm caused by a band of Chinese raiders (probably workmen discharged from the railway), but this does not seem to be serious,
very
At present many rumours are current in Hanoi, and the papers even speak of the possibility of a general rising. There was an alarm ou the night of the 6th, and the troops were all kept in barracks. Every night parties of military patrol the roads round
532