Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1888-01-21


TIE FUNNY YAMKNI HUNGE
Adventures q ths Aroma -sr.-v~r1r i
cyclist In tho Celestial Emparu.
Taken all in all my trip three
China was about the toughest BIZ a. =
Perience on the whole journey arour
the world on bicycle, writes Urito6
Stevens. the cyclist Nothing is mofo
certain than that should have por-
1shed st the hands of some hoyiinr
city mob in the interior except for tie
good services of the yameni runnaxs
under whose protection I travelled dur
ing the last two weeks I was IN the
country.
The yameni runners of China corre-
spond to the zaptiehs of Turkey and the
sowars of Persia, Afghanistan. and
other Central Asian countries. AZ
tached to the government of every city
or district are certain number of these
yameni runners Their duty is tocarry
dispatches, convey prisoners, protect
property, act as escort, and otherwise
obey orders in the service of the man
darins.
The yameni runners wear the ordi-
nary Chinese garments, with the ex-
ception of the coat, which is embel-
ished with sundry distinguishing ap-
pendages The most prominent of
these, and by which the yameni rum
ners may readily be distinguished from
other people as far as he can be seen.
are two big white "bull's-eyes, one on
his back and the other in 'front.' These
round white patches are about eighteen
inches In diamater and are marked with
big red characters which indicate the
district the wearer belongs to.
The real object of these large disks
OF white is to form fitting ground
work for the conspicuous display Of
the characters. The European resi-
denees of the treaty ports, however,
facetiously call them "bulls-eyes, and
account for their adoption as follows;
A Chinese soldier can never, under
any circumstances, hit the bulls eye Of
target Observing this, and in their
egotism believing that what the celes-
tial warriors couldn't do the soldiers Of
no other country could, the authorities
conceived the idea of attaching BULBS
eyes, front and rear, to the yameni rum
ners, so that, in case of war, if the SOL
diers fred at them they would be sure
to miss their mark.
Whatever the explanation, q squad
of yameni runners drawn up in line
present to the foreigner q very gro
tesque and amusing spectacle. Look
ing at them from front or rear, they
present the appearance of row of hui
man targets, with big, white bulls
eyes in the center. At the back the
long dangling cue sewers the white disk
in half with black streak.
The first time was favored with an
escort of yameni runners was at the
city of Ta-ho, a place of some impor-
lance in the Province of Kiang-tsi.
The mandarin at Ta-ho sent an escort
of two with me to guide me to the next
city, days march distance. This city
was Kin-ngan-foo, and in its narrow,
crowded streets, by hurrying me along
the nearest way to the yamen, or Off
cial quarter, the two yameni runners
rescued me from an infuriated mob,
bent Oh the diabolical purpose of burn
ing me alive.
As I wheeled slowly through the
gate OF the nlgn DrlcK wall tn8t sur
rounded the city of Ta-ho, trotting
along ahead Of. me was q slim young
yameni runner with short bamboo
spear. He was bareheaded, bare
footed, and barelegged. In the pow
erty of his apparel and the all-around
contempt of personal appearance and
cleanliness one could plainly read the
total absence of individual ambition.
In striking contrast to him was the
dandifed individual who brought up
the rear, about ten PAGES behind the BIZ s
cycle. He likewise was a yameni run
ner, but of superior rank. Instead OF
bamboo spear with rusty head, he
carried an oiled-paper parasol, bright
red article, ornamented with blue char
acters and gold-gilt Chinese ladies'
golden lilies with tiny feet
Besides this elaborate article he re-
joiced in the possession of both hat and
shoes. As soon as we got well away
from the walls of Ta-ho, however, he
pulled off these latter articles, and, CIV
ing them to his comrade to carry,
trotted along behind me in his basa
eat