Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-09-05
DELUDED CELESTIALS.
Superstition Employed to Excite the Igno-
rant Classes in China

Superstition Employed to Excite the Igno-
rant Classes in China.
The Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society
OF New York has received the following letter
from the Rev. Marcus L. Taft, one of its mis-
sionaries stationed at Pekin:
Almost simultaneously riots and mobs have
appeared in Hankin, Cyinkiang, Wuhh, Kinkiang
and Wusuch, and in the broad, fertile valley of
the Iang-Tse-kiang and in other par g OF east
China lnflammatory placards, melting riots
against foreigners, have been pasted on the
city gates Of Pekin and in the streets OF Shang-
hal, Tienstein and many inland mission sta
tons. At Nankin one of our missionaries, ID.
W. Nichols, seized the ringleader an held him
until the troops from the viceroy took charge
Of him for punishment, probably decapitation.
Only at Wusuch have the lives of any for
elSners been lost, Green and Argent. In this
city, twenty-five miles farther up the Yangts
river than kinkiang. were two houses of mis-
alonarles In the center of this Chinese popuia-
ton on July D, when the riot suddenly broke
out with such violence The two ladies living
there and a lady with the children were the only
foreigners In the mission compound. Their hus-
bands were all OF on different missionary tours
In the country The ladies escaped out of
back door to a side street. Their houses were
looted and set on fire. The mob kept on strik-
lug. kicking and stoning them. One official
closed his doors so that these defenseless ladies
could not find refuge In his yamen. Another
official willingly rescued them until the mob
burned his yanen and roughly beat him. Thew
escaped to a mat hut, where couple of aged
Cinnamon, by the promise of a large reward,
concealed them by sitting at their door calmly
smoking their pipes Later a Chinese official
sent his underlings and rescued them, until
they were taken safely on board river steamer
The two Englishmen that were kilied-Green
and Argent-seeing the glare OF the fire at the
mission premises, hastily ran thither in order
to render assistance, when they were set upon
by the bowling mob, killed and SO maltreated
that their faces were hardly recognized. Their
dlshgured bodies were afterward recovered
and carried on the United States gun boat
Palss TO Hankow, where they were buried with
Christian ceremonies. The query at once arises
What caused this widespread series Of riots? 1t
has been ascertained that a certain secret So
ciety called the Ko Lao has been the leading
cause. Ibis society consists largely of dis
banded soldiers, who are intensely provoked
because their names have recently been
stricken off the pension list .Drummo nd's
theory, as it is called, is that this no Lao
society stirring up the populace
against the foreigners in order to bring the
present Manchu dynasty into complica-
lions and II possible into war with Euro
pean powers. when this secret society will start
rebellion to secure a purely Chinese dynasty
Others versed in Chinese ways consider the
worst over from the firm way in which riots
have been squeiched. Should q rebellion arise
they say that it could be speedily put down IA
was the late Mohammedan rebellion in San.
schuan. Whatever may be the intention of these
rioters one highly beneficial result has already
been obtained. The emperor, alarmed for the
stability of his throne, has issued an edict ac-
knowledging the rights of foreigners to live in
China and granting full liberation to the prop
agaIion of Christianity.
IL has been ascertained that the popular
superstition Is causing the trouble that the
foreigners were taking the eyes out of Chinese
babies to make medicine of them, which WAS
employed by designing rascals. So dense is
the ignorance and credulity of the common
people that such a rumor acted as a spark upon
a keS OF gunpowder. man was seen carrying
IN two baskets four young babies for the Roman
Catholic Founding Hospital at Kinkiang
cry was raised they are taking those babies to
the mission to make medicine of them"