Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-08-25

turn out big guns. and the Kiagnan arsenal
is turning out twelve-nch guns which
weigh over 10000 pounds and fire single
shots which weigh over 100 pounds. Three
of such shot would be load for two
horse team, and one of those guns standing
upon its end would reach as high as the
roof of a three-story house, and at its
breech II is as big around as a flour barrel.
Sorle of the other guns that have seen in
these arsenals will fire shot at the rate of
ten to the minute, and each shot weighs
100 pounds. ! saw fifty Cinnamon pouring
metal into the mods for the making of
projectiles, each of which weighed a thou
sand pounds. They were turning out thirty
of these shot day. and the ships are now
being supplied with them. l was taken into
one -Uf the warehouses and was shown the
different kinds of shot that the arsenals
were making. There were more than 200
different varieties of shot and shrapnel and
in addition to this there We're specimens
of all sorts of powder which are being
made at the powder works. Many of the
varieties 1 saw we do not make in the
United States. j am not sure that we make
the brown cocoa powder which is used for
the firing of these big guns. This comes
in the shape of nuts, just like those by
which a big holt is fastened and 1t takes
something like four bushels of these powder
Still, the Chinese are making this powder,
and they have lately sent for a German
chemist to teach them how to make smoke
less powder They are making pebble pow
der for from five to eght-inch guns and
they make all sorts of other powders from
that of the rifle to that of the largest guns
They have been ordering new cruisers dur
ing the past year and they recently sent
an order to ArmstronSs, the big ship-makers
of England, for two new vessels which are
each 10 cost Si,2Joooa. They have a num-
Der of trained men in these arsenals Ii
Hung Chang has several thousand. The
viceroy of Nanting has 1000, and there are
thousands at work at Hankow, Canton and
FoocEow. The hours of work Of these men
will be doubled from now on. / am told
that the Chinese learn very rapidly, and
that there will be little difficulty in in
creasing the force. The making of small
arms is to be pushed and Qui Lee rifles will
be turned out as fast as possible These
are sort OF Remington. which the Chinese
consider the best gun In existence, and the
old matchlocks and lances will be done
away with as soon as possible.
Bows and Lnnces SIN Used.
With all this you would think that the
Chinese would have given up their bows
and arrows and the weapons which have
come down from the middle ages They
have not done so by any means Some
of the interior troops still carry bows and
arrows, and archery is regular part Of
every military examination. These military
examinations are held all over the en-
pire and the candidates have to shoot witt,
bows both on foot and in the saddle. l
saw just outside of Picking an archery
match of this kind. There were peYhaps
10000 Cinnamon looking on, and the sol
dicrs rode on the gallOp 10y one target after
another shooting arrows as they passed.
The targets were about the size of & man
and ! did nOt note one If the hundred
whom | saw shooting who missed IN a
single instance. They also shoot at balls
lying on the ground rs they go by on a
gallOp. and they practice for years before
coming to Picking. The candidates are
wee1ed out again and again before they
GOT to ITDl &c tr-t
nation held by the project of the district
shoot again before the literary chancellor,
and their next examination is before the
governor of the province. Such examina-
tons comprise great tournaments, and out
of the thousands who are examined only
forty or fifty may pass Those who stand
highest at PefiaS always got official IoSi-
tons, and nearly every officer of the Chi
nese army could drop n bird on the fly
with his arrow. The exercise Of the SOL
Giers consists largely of gymnastics, and
these students are examined in the welding
Of swords and in the lifting of weights,
which are graduated 10 test their muscle
They have to be good lancers. and while
visiting one of the interior cities / saw
some of these lance exercises. | had been
warned that / must not so into the bar
cks and that I must keep Iway from the
forts. but in passing one l heard music
and told my guide that / wanted to enter
He replied that it was not allowed and that
it might be dangerous. 1 had caught a
- limnSn. f~w0--oT. Of SIC exercise 6 went
10y. and | determined To try. ! walke'
boldly through the gate. No one atteTnrte1