The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-03-10
CHINA'S GREAT LOSS.
y1pAy VOW At NEW cHWANG. FAR
ON THE ROAD 10 PgKJN.
our Gunboat on the spot-Cbinese Soldiers
Marching To and Pro without order
at Discipline.

Tho story OF the capture OF New
Chwang. the big town OF Manchuria' by
TIE Jaoanese army. has added interest In
America bossuse OF the presence Of the
Tinted states sunboat Petrol, one OF inc
smallest of Tho white squadron on the
scene ala the part she TOOK ~ Pro'eT,-
iug tie lives of the foreigners IN inc
town, ..... -.
ma Petrol has been frozen In al New
Chwang since last faA. along WIN tne
FircbrAuu. OF the British navy. II hdS
probabIy proved fortunate for me ioi.
cigners ia INC town that she was LOT II
was iu her alone that they could re'y I0r
protection The Brhsh boat, me flieT
brand, Ia an old wooden boat. nol nor
than half the s. 20 OF inc ie'fe' ""I
alone she could hardly have cared Tor
them 1T
The Petrol was IN mud dock with
mud fort around her on the walls OF the
fort were Calling and Hotchkiss guns,
which Commanded the entire ppif' anu
until she Japanese arrived these guns
were the only modern implements OF war
around
The New York sun printed the follow
ing remarkably interesting letter from
Cbfef Engineer Robert g. Denlg, OF the
,lnb14t II was written on December
18th and arrived just before the news OF
che battle which at the time the letter
waF written was almost daily expected.
The japanese army at that tline was
only thirty miles away, and " the dis
catches from Toxic giving The date Of the
battle on March 4th are correct the army
must have been cucampcd long while
before the attack which resulted in the
capture was made This letter from En-
a-ucer DeHic was private one to
relative. 10 was obtained by the sun yes
fcrddy for publication. II VIII throw
some light on the Chinese army and
Chinese customs that will help to explain
why since the beginning of the war the
chinese have not won single victory.
though in numbers their armies have.
i'm every instance, vastly exceeded the
JaplT Csc armies:
New Chwang Yingtz. or Yinkoa. as
you please. but the choice Of names does
not matter much. for this Manchu-Chin-
CSC town will smell just the same 1t is.
eeograp hically speaking. thirteen miles
from tho mouth Of the Lao Ho, a rush
ilg. muddy stream that drains the plains
or lower Nanchuria into the head waters
Of the Gulf Of Pechcli. Practically
speaking Oor four months Of the year at
loasU IL rs frozen completely ont of the
world. The Hong Book for China de-
scribcs New Chwang as an unintcresting.
uLimporiant place. This Is a truthful
statement in time Of peace, but II had no
Influence upon our own or the British
Government, for Uncle Sans gunboat.
Petrol. and Her Majestys gunboat. Fire
brand. arc frozen well above the water
line in the bend OF New Chwang there
70 remain tin the warm spring soGtens
the heart Of the water demon. clears the
ice-chckcd river. and converts the bar
ren. dusty plains into lim!tloss mud
eloughs
I'VE steamed up the Lao Ho on No
Nembcr 1th. passing huge Chinese mud
forts on either hand. They were mostly
cunless. but resplcndent with innumcra-
bic red flags and red steamers. which
bits Of rcd the warriors of China con-
sder qui7e as eflcacious against the
enemy as repeating rifles or krupp guns
The river was filled with vessels We
thought the whole Of Mauchuria was
flying before the ever-advanCing Japa-
ucse. We counted loj large junks and
nine iron steamers. all loaded to the wa
ters edge with Chinese, and all outward
bound. \ similar exodus, though a much
smaller one. We learned later takes place
every fan. Tho Chinese from the Shan
fung province are the husbandmen Of the
plains Of Msnchuria, ana after the vast
crops Of millot. bene and hacbam are
EaTncrCd. the hcnC oil extracted and OK
millet and hac-bdm stored in the 90
downs. they pack up and return to the
ore genial climate Of Chifu. Permanent
colonization OF this region by the Chinese
has been much retarded so cold arc the
winters, so scarce the fuel, so rude are
the manners OF the native Manchu. and
80 difficult Is the Malchu language for
the common Chnamdn.
GREAT FxoBUs or TBT S41tvFs
Twenty thousand Chinese come In the
spring ami go I'm the fall from this port
alone. This year, however the rapid ap-
preach of the Japanese made the south
ern pilgrimage extremely fashionable.
and 10 is estimated that 5000 have left.
The hustlng 10 get away was evident on
all sides Trdiesmon were selling their
goods al a loss or storing them in Euro
peans godowns at high rates. The
steamers could rot carry the hordes that
sNarned on board of them one Ger
IN m steamer WAS obliged TO ask for an
armed force to drive of 800 Chinese.
There was literally no standing room
left. The ships crew could not get for
ward 10 hoist the anchor or move about
the ship I'm any direction. Moreover they
must leave before navigation closed. This
we were told would take place on No.
Nembcr I'd. When we came up the Lao
Ito the shores Tor miles were lined with
JlnHs large and small, eight and ten
abreast. The river banks seemed 10 be
frinsod with a bamboo forest. so count
less were their masts.
About the l4th OF November ninke
ceased 10 arrive. on the 10Th not a mast
was IN sight, not a junk, sampan, or ma
Give boat OF any description was atoat
In three days they had mySteriouslv
disappeared, warned by d cold snap maj
t"e Wintrr-a Manchuuan winter-wae |
near al hand. For day or two some !
Chinese troop ships fingered bringing re- |
Inducements. ON the 18th the las,
steamer escaped 10 the sea Following
close IN its wake was a swft-moving ice |
pack. grinding and smashing before the |
ebb tide.
"No vessel can winter in the stream |
or tie 20 the banks so irresistible is tho |
moving ice; besides. the water Is so |
charged with mud that keeping steam up !
becomes dangerous. and later on impos- |
sible. For these reasons. il was ncccs- !
sary 20 dock the Petrol.
The method is TO dig a dock in the !
soft mud of the bank. rOat the vessel in |
al high tide, close the mouth Of the /
dock, pump the water out, and let |
the vessel settle as she viii, using spar |
shores. OF course. TO keep an even keel |
When We arrived We found the Firebrand |
doCked and our grave well under way !
IT was being dug entirely with shovels. |
the mud being thus handled four times |
The amount OF labor was considerable |
but coolies were plentiful. At one tine |
three hundred were at work at the as /
toRishing wages OF ten cents each Der