The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1895-05-11
the CHINE Sc Array.



the United States and Frznce- Wexnen
are nos allowed 10 be present st sreh
events, bus l took advantage Of my
preru4ariye and installed my.rlf LII the
clerks ofhoe, which Commanded the
courtyard and the road beyond
had seen soldiers In many parts Of the
wRid, and sat At the window expect
ing 20 se the soldiers II the Titai
swing around the rad in four nis-s
front and In mathematical order. But
noxhing Of the kind ocrarred l heard
the unSac apprueching and then IL came
In sight Ii consisted u . sxAlwary
cu'olie with huge pair Of brass Gym
bAls. and a sss,Jnd who pounded an i'm
nense hrass sung. Behind this simple
hand came company Of soldierS-whar
the Chinese call braves" and ban
nerrnen- And such soldiers, The
only military thing about them was 4
r-.i cloak, On whose front and hack were
white targets inscribed with tea-ch-st
charsctsrS Some Of them carried red
cylindrical umbrellas, Others flags Of
various shapes, sixes, and eolors; sill
.
which were written the titles and honurs
Of the TitAi; fourth st, remarkable
weapons Of all kinda The weapsns
were echoes Of antiquity. There we're
sword blades fastened At tho end u
poles, hAlhrrds and spears There were
Queen Anne Inuskets and rusty Spring
field rifles And there WAS not a single
acroutrenens in the entire lOt. At
other places saw many more specimens
of the imperial army, and nearly all
were equipped In the same patheticaily
ludicru0s manner.
But there were exceptions 10 the rule.
Wherever the progressive policy II
Il Hung Chang and his heutenAnts had
been able to overcome the corruption
and conservatism of the nandArins,
there were troops armed and trained III
excellent modern style. But the places
where this was the case were not many.
and the troops were few. At Tamsin
was a regiment, az Annoy a company,
at Canton brigade, at Foot how
battalion. and at Swallow u corporal's
guard. Only at Tien-Tsin was there a
decent number, and 1t consisted u rhs
army body guard which Ii Hung Chang
keeps as much for defense aginst his
many personal enemies a. for any public
OF patriotic purpose.
IL was interesting To watch the raw
recruits broken in They were drawn
from the coolie class, and at first wer-
extremely awkward and stupid. But
they Possessed the national virtues u
patience, perseverance, and endurance
Greater than these was their wonder
full capacity for imitation. They
learned more slowly than do our p.eo-
Pile, but anything once learned was
never forgotten. They were slowest "
all in mastering firearms. Even after
they had perfected themselves in
the manual of arms they were lament
able marksmen. They did not have
much opportunity to improve their
shooting, as powder and cartridges arr
favorite booty for their dishonest Off.
GERS. II the central government allows
a hundred rounds Of ammunition man,
the officials pocket ninety five. | talk
I'd with one soldier who served threc
years, and who told me that he never
fired his rifie. A glance at the weapon
confirmed his tale-it had no trigger.
Another soldier, sentry at the fort in
Swallow, carried Springfield musket
80 old and 80 worn from constant clean
ing that the metal had become a film at
points along the barrel.
They have hard time drilling.
Their language, admirable for refined
conversation or for trade. Is poorly
suited for martial purposes. Each word +
is marked by an accent. II it be given
with another accent it is a different
word In shouting command there
is difficulty in using any accent what
ever. in which case the order may lose
all meaning. A second difficulty is in
new styles Of walking.
Chinese roads and streets are 20 narrow
that the people always walk in single
fle. In the native style Of drilling a
march il conducted ON a go-as-you-
please basis
'orne the habits Of lifetime and to
walk in time and abreast Of others.
In June, 1894, when q riot was ap-
pretended in Canton. the viceroy order.
d ont a battalion TO protect the foreign
ettlement in that city. The soldiers
rrived several hours late, and then /
traggled in by ones and twos, like
hildren going to school. The native
Ulcers know nothing Of civilized tao.
les, and follow out the traditions Of
heir race. As a necessary consequence
he troops only do well when under
oreign command: when they are trans
erred from this 10 native command they
Don become careless and slovenly,
FINDING up by losing nearly all disci- :
line. When thoroughly drilled by
europeans they make capital soldiers.
hey march and move with automatic
egularity, and make what Germans
frm fine ''war-machine. They are
cry abstemious in both eating and
Their pay Is about two dol.
ar- month-when they can yet 1t.
Under an upright administration they
'ould be formidable power; under
ne present system they are merely food
Dr powder-Margberita A. Hamm, in
eslie's Weekly.
IL early broilers are wanted, the in.