The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-04-02
CHMA'S QUEER ARMY
AMAZING FRAUDS AND LIES MET
WITH ON ALL SIDES.
StupendOus Lying-Mukden Relying
for Defense Upon Lamps and Clubs
ITO Discard Modern weapons.

army is 100000 strong. On paper, that is
in the Blue Book, it numbers $4,000 For
this number pay is drawn from the inn
perial treasury. At the beginning of the
war there were 100000 men under arms in
the entire empire. OF these not more than
$1,000 were sent to the front when hostilities
began last July. The reinforcements have
been conscripts-chiefiy ignorant farm hands
and pauper coolies. These were torn from
their wretched homes and sent forward in
droves like cattle. The best among them
escaped or deserted; the weakest died by the
wayside. Less than half of those conscript-
ed have reached Picking, Tien-Tsin, and the
scene of war. This half numbers about $780,
coo men undrilled, undisciplined and prac-
tlcally unarmed AS against the Japanese
they stand the same chance as three small
boys with tin swords would against police
man with a revolver.
The officers are a par with the rank
and file Their military education consists
In lifting weights, in practicing with the
bow. in reading the classics, and in raising
money with which to secure an appoint
ment after graduation. In their textbook
on tactics there are such injunctions as
Play sweet music in order to soothe your
enemy into a gentle and sumberous mood
In attacking make great noise and fiaunt
t tin banner, IN order to create consterna-
Hie, so as to increase their apparent num-
Der and thus deceive the enemy All this
IS RIDICULOUS enough, but it is not circum-
stance TO what is now going on in the war.
Inc Cnlnese met with overwhelming
defeat at kaipi,le on Dec 90 yet this is the
way in which il is described by the Shen-
pao a prominent Chinese newspaper: :.
"A Chee-Foo scholar writes us that an
important battle has just occurred at Kali
pag. AN overwhelming army OF Japanese
mace coWardly attack upon the fearless
General Sung Ching, thinking to take him
unaWares But that great soldier is always
vigliant, and routed his foes with great
slaughter, killing over three thousand and
driving the rest back tfirty-five miles with
out losing over ten men himself. Evening
the hard labor of the day, General Sung
d dnougn ~ ordered rs, all his men to He
had not been il bed more than an hour or
two when he was disturbed by the Japan
again assaile,l his camp. He was naturally
indignant, and ordered a lieutenant to drive
his s,umbers The officer did the best he
could. but, being wounded, and his troops
being panic-stricker. by the cold. he and
his men turned and retreated. being pur-
sued by the Japanese. This turned the
camp into great disorder and resulted in
deep unhappiness. General Sung perceived
this and ordered a retreat at full speed.
His forces quickly outmarched the enemy,
that at morning the whereabouts of the
Japanese were unknown, from which it is
inferred that they have fed While the
tents, guns and munitions were left behind.
safely brought away. General Sung, in
view of the urgency of the situation, has
applied to Picking for 0,O00 reinforcements."
MUKDEN'S DEFE,ySES.
General Chang, who is the commander of
the ancient Manchurian capital Mukden, re-
ported to the Board of War at Picking, in
December, that he had vastly strengthened
the Notifications of that city by equppng
them with one thousand lamps, which were
lighted every evening at dusk and kept
burning all night the illumination being
SO brilliant as to inspire amazement and ter
ror in the souls of all spectators. The Board
of War, by return dispatch, complimented
January he reported that, hearing that the
Japanese forces were advancing, he had in
walls by adding three thousand lamps
making four thousand in all, and raising a
city guard of five thousand men with ban
ners and clubs.
General E-Ko-Tang-A, Tartar general
in command near Mukden, reported to the
Board OF War that, between Nov %, 1894
and Jan. g. 1895. he had in open battle, in
ambush, or by stealth, succeeded in killing
two thousand Japanese and wounding as
many more. He denounced the enemy for
their utter ignorance of warfare, and. as
II sent one thousand braves with flags
and banrers to strike terror into them, fol-
lowed by three thousand troops. Instead
: of waiting in a dignified manner they
opened fire from every direction upon my
people. SO that to prevent useless blood
shed was Obliged to retire my army twelve
miles to secure a strong position
General WEIGH ang was so astonished at
the reverses of his fellow-countrymen that
he consulted a score of eminent astrologers,
fortune teliers, and geomancers, and then
gave the matter his deepest consideration.
He thereafter memoralized his superiors
stating that 1.-The tangled rifles of the
foreign devils were worthless and brought
bad luck to the Chinese arms; the heroic
jingals, banners. bows and spears, which
should be adopted again by the imperial
forces. w ,,;.i, they would drive the
that 1.-THE foreign devils who were teaching
military science and tactics should be sent
out of the country, as their presence was
distasteful to the GODS and their scholars
should be taken away and trained in the
martial exercises of their valorous an
cestors.''
When the Inspector-general officially ex-
amined an arsenal at Tien-Tsin he found
purchased and paid for at the highest rates
as containing fine gunpowder ninety were
five with powder He demanded an ex-
PLANTATION from the general in charge who
replied that while the rats and mice had
doubtless effected some of the substitution
complained of, yet he was convinced that
the change had been worked by the magic
charms of some Japanese astrologers of
great skill and power; besides this, there
were some expert thieves in his command
they could steal anything they determined
upon without any one being able to pre-
vent them, no matter what might be the
A LACK OF CONSISTENCY.
When 1t comes to two men, one a West
ern devil and the other a Chinese official.
describing the same set of facts, the differ
ence between the two accounts is simply
amazing. good example is afforded by
two letters written Dec. %, 1884, at Kalgam,
the one by English missionary and the
other by a mandarin, and both received
by the same mail in Picking. The manda-
rim says:
.erhe great event of the month was the
arrival yesterday of 10000 troops from
North Kansu under General Tung-Fu-
Slang. They are Mohammedans, and are
armed like foreign-deviI soldiers. They
have strong, big horses, which may be
too large for our roads. They are eager to-
attack the japanese. whom they swear
they will exterminate AS soon they
have been rested a day or two they will
march TO the seat of war. They report
that they are followed by second army of
10000. They strike awe by their great fe-
rocity."
This is what the missionary saw:
life was broken by the arrival of 1000
the command of ng-5u-Ixiang. They are
Moslems with dark skins and Tartar feat
ures. Every man is a comcal walking
arsenal. beins, armed with a spear sword.
dagger. horse pistol and in some instances
a Shield, bow and arrows and ancient long
gun Their horses are big bony animals
Cd for 4 ha srrlc laf al o-