Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-05-27


When occasion for fighting arises the battalions
hastily filed in with men undisciplined and
unprepared. Not long ago there was trouble in
Formosa, and recruits were inveigied on board
Of ships by false pretense. When they found
out whittier they were going great numbers Of
them jumped overheard and were drowned
The regular infantry Of the empire numbers
somewhat more than SOC, 900; there are less
than 100 900 cavalry. There is also an heredit-
AIRY ard privileged soldiery composed Of Man
chus and Mongols, with many Chinese de-
scended from those who joined the invading
Manchus in 1913. These "banner men," as
they are called, are supposed to inherit a strong
devotion to the present Tartar dynasty. In
twelve provincial capitals they and their fami-
lies are assigned to special fortified quarters in
order to isolate them from the other inhabitants
as far as possible, thus securing the purity Of
their patriotic stock. Sixty Thousand of them
are stationed at Peking. where there are 1881
900 troops in all. The capital city has some
what the aspect Of vast intrenched camp, be-
ing under military rule and protected by .
series of double and triple walls.
INFANTRY AND CAVALRY.
The banner men are seldom required to drill,
and, when called out, they muster with rusty
swords, bows and spears. Their pay is very
small and usually they are permitted to pursue
occupations in civil life for subsistence. The
regular infantry is armed with Russian muzzle
loading rifles, swords and shields, spears, bows
and arrows and all sorts OF queer medieval
weapons They are instructed in European
tactics to some extent. Some battalions are
provided with huge matchlocks six feet long
one for every two men. When such a gun is to
be discharged one soldier stoops with his hands
on his knees and serves as a rest for the muZzle
Of the piece, while it is fired by his companion.
The Chinese cavalry is armed with carbines,
chassepots, matchlocks and short swords. Most
Of the guns used by the artillery are small
brass cannon with smooth bores of Russian
manufacture. They also have small iron
cannon, which fired from wooden tripods
or benches, shooting projectiles that weigh
from four ounces to a pound Nearly all of the
artillery practice is done with blank cartridges,
a method not calculated to promote proficiency
in craftsmanship. The troops employed for
the defense of the distant frontiers are
equipped with matchlocks, bows cutlasses and
spears. Germany army officers have been en-
ployed during the last few years to give in
sIruction in tactics and the use Of various arms
as well AS in torpedo service and engineering.
At present 4O0, 900 Of the soldiers have had
more or less teaching, and modern arms are be-
ing introduced to some extent.
METHODS OF WARFARE.
The methods Of warfare hitherto practiced
by the Chinese have been the most primitive
imaginable. Having thrown up intrenchments
and posted their men to slaughter an enemy in
'front.' they have regarded an attack on the
an American boy would consider kick in
the stomach an unbelievable diversion in
fsticuffs. When they fought with the British
they were astonished to discover that their
tiger-faced shields and the clangor OF the
gongs, cymbals and other strange instruments
played by their regimental bands failed to
terrify the European enemy. Their lon9-re-
spected books on tactics prescribe, with illus
trations. certain specific grimaces which must
accompany each attitude with the gun or spear
brighten the foe. At Canton, where arms Of
American patterns now being manufac-
tured, the Remington and Spencer rifles have
been enlarged to a caliber Of one inch, with =
barrels six feet long. On being told that such
a length was excessive. a Chinese gun factory
superintendent replied that ''he knew it, but
the increased size gave the weapons a more
formidable appearance"
China s the only country ne world where
the profession of arms is not hOnored. There,
on the contrary, 1t is held in the utmost con-
tempt. The people have proverb that says:
AS one would not employ good iron to make a
nail one would not use o good man to make
a soldier" Branded as the refuse of society,
the warrior class has been condemned by gov
ernment policy to hopeless ignorance. Pre-
serving traditions antedating the invention Of
firearms, officers of the army need have no edu-
cation, being merely required to be trained
athletes, to be expert archers and swordsmen
and to swing heavy weights. One Of the m ost
important uses to which the soldiers are put is
to exterminate .grasshoppers. In time OF a
plague of those insects they march against
them under the leadership of their officers, as
if proceeding to meet a hostile army in the
field. Each man is armed with a coarse hempen
bag attached to a bamboo pole, which is waved
back and forth among the swarms until the bag
is filed. Then the contents crushed and
the performance is repeated. Regiments Of
ducks are kept for the same purpose in China,
and when grasshoppers have a bad year these
birds not allowed to be killed. The execu-
ton they do is said to be astonishing. The
farmers receive cents pound for dead grass
hoppers or for their eggs. which they dig out Of
the ground.
CHINESE EXCLUsIyENESs.
The Chinese empire has ever held aloof in
gloomy pride from intercourse with other peo-
pie Of the world. From its point Of view they
are all barbarians, most fifty described as "for-
eign devlls'-a term at once Of contempt and
hatred. Its disastrous war with England sixty
years ago did not prevent the son of heaven
from provoking a second conflict with the Same
power a few years later. On this latter occa-
sion the occupant of the dragon throne, ruling
400, 600 people, was unable to prevent a
European army of 20 900 men from marching
to Peking, where the most beautiful Of the
royal palaces were destroyed by the invaders in
retaliation for crueltes inflicted on prisoners by
the Chinese and terms OF peace were dictated
to the emperor. Never in the history of the
world was there exhibited such an illustration
of the superiority of discipline and science over
the brute force of numbers.
The natives resisted tLe'invaders with frantic
courage, but they had no chance in fight
against European soldiers trained in the art of
war at its highest development. Thew gazed
awe-stricken upon the fleet of frowning for
tresses sailing up the river toward the capital
city. In every armed collision they were shot
down like sheep. The Manchus. descendants
of the ancient invincib.e conquerors of the
country, when they found themselves beaten,
would commonly cut the throats of their
women, throw their children into wells and
stab themselves to death, either through de-
spair or because they expected no mercy at the
hands Of the victors. The survivors who fed
would sometimes pack their valuables in cofins
or wrap costly stuffs around corpses One small
footed lady was found curled up and hidden in
a drawer of a cupboard in the cabin of a cap
tured war junk. One great impeachment to mil
itary operations in China is the want of good
highways. Every stream and canal for lack of
bridges constitutes barrier.
TREATMENT OF PRISONERS.
Some of the European prisoners taken by the
Chinese were skinned alive, their bodies being
afterward burned. The ears of others were
cut off. United States soldiers and sailors cap
tured in war by these heather might expect
similar treatment The latter are by dspo-
sition cruel The rebellions which occur from
time to time in the fowery land are COM
monty prolonged for many years, as in the case