Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1861-01-02
THE WAR IN CHINA.

: The London journals are replete with incl
dents relative to the taking of Pekin. 1t ap-
pears the Chinese offered every indignity to
the prisoners they had taken:
They were, whilst with Sang ko-lin-sn's
army. treated in most cruel manner, forced
to kneel before every Mandarin, however
petty, their faces rubbed with dust, they we're
bound with their hands behind them and car
ried on horses to Tung-ehow, and thence, in
the same state, in one of the carts of the cOun-
try, to Pekin, where they were placed in dun
geons, and remained so until ten days ago.
Mr. Parkes was beaten when he did not In
stantly reply to a question, and Mr.. Loeb be-
cause he could not speak Chinese"
THE ENTRY INTO THE CITY.
correspondent of the North China Herald
of November 30th writes:
81 sent letter to you from the camp, six
miles from Tung-chow, on the 4th, which will
probably reach you with this. On the follow
ing day the allied forces were on the march in
search Of the Tartars, who were supposed to be
In great numbers about four or FIVE miles off.
The front Of the two armies stretched over a
large extent of country, but the enemy was
not seen, nor any sight of an abandoned camp
visible. We halted at i o'clock p. IN. Recon
noitering parties were sent out at night, and
they fell in with the Tartar pickets, who fired
three shots at them. On the morning Of the
9th we were again on the move at an early
hour, but on reaching the ground where the
pickets had been seen all was still.
Here are some very high brick kilns, from
which several gates and other structures within
the walls of Pekin were distinctly seen about
five miles distant. Still in pursuit of the re-
treating enemy, we marched on through a
thickly wooded country until within half a
mile Of the earthwork which extends along the
nerth side of, and distant one mile from, the
the houses close by. The Kings Dragon
Guards went in at them, and they fed, leaving
sight dead or disabled, and one of the dragons
wounded in the skirmish., In. a short time
after the earthwork was reached, and gap
Of sixty or eighty yards opened upon a straight
road of the same width leading to the north
east gate of Pekin. The troops entered by
this gap, and wheeling to the right, halted
where we now are, within the earthenwork-
an embankment of forty to eighty feet high,
which would be a strong defense in the hands
Of efficient troops. Here the greater part OF
the British army encamped. Why it did not
proceed to the Summer Palace at once as was
planned, do not know. The French, and
most Of our cavalry, with some artillery, did
50, but the former did not arrive on the spot
until two hours after the latter, who were
waiting for the remainder Of our army. On
the French coming up, the Brigadier offered
to cooperate with them. They asked him to
60 round to cut of the Tartars while they at
facked the palace. This they did, and found
take care Of the gardens, only twenty of whom
had guns. They made a slight resistance; two
eunuohs were killed and two French officers
wounded, and they then took possession Of the
palace"
THE sAcKING OF THE ENPERoRs 8 PALACE.
The Summer palace Is about FIVE miles by
a circuitous road northwest of this camp, out
side the ea-thwork. A description Of il is
given in Staunton's account Of Lord Mscart-
ney's Embassy, and other works on China, but
no pen can describe correctly the scene that
has taken place there within thelast two days
Indiscriminate loot has been allowed. The
public reception hall, the state and private
bedrooms, ante-roOms, boudors and every
other apartment has been ransacked; articles
of yirtu, of native and foreign workman
shiS, taken, or broken if too large to be car
ried away; ornamental lattice work, screens,
jade stone ornaments, jars, clocks, watches and
other pieces of mechanism, curtains and fur
niture-none have escaped from destruction.
There were extensive wardrobes of every ar
tiele of dress; coats richly embroidered in silk
and gold thread, in the Imperial Dragon pat
tern; boots, head-dresses, fans, &c; in fact,
roems AL but filed with them; store-rooms of
manufactured silk in rolls, such as may be
bought in Canton at $50 to $50 per piece BY
a calculation made in the rooms, there must
have been 20 900 or sc, 900 pieces. Hundreds
were thrown down and trampled on, and the
floor covered thickly with them; men were
throwing them at each other, and all taking as
many as they could carry. They were used in
stead OF rope to secure the loading of carts
filed with them. Throughout the French
up, others used to make tents or beds and
CnvarIata