Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-02-25
FIGHTING FIRE IN CHINA
Noise Plays Bigger Part Than the Use of
Water
A Time of Rich Harvest for the
Thieves-When the Foreigner
is a Brother.
From the North China Herald.

FROM the North China Herald.
The third watch of the night had just
been announced from headquarters by the
firing of three large squibs, and the watch
men. who are not sleepy in these times
they used to be, had started once more
on their rounds with the cry: Take care
of fires and candles! Use no foreign oil!'
when hard by the city wall-a sudden roar
and a glare; the pale moonlight warmed
into orange everywhere, and great pillar
of smoke expanding over hundred houses.
Shouts of Fire." Screams of waking
mothers; Selling and rousing of sleeping
children. Every one slipping into their
clothes. Every one at the door, with
Hal ya.'' or Hal yo!'' or Hal YER
according to the distance from the
volume of fame-the first sound uttered in
a tone of philosophical surprise; the second
der; the third, staccato of agonized
alarm.
CLOSE at hand. and soon to be upon us!'
is the next cry-variously worded, from the
latter speakers, interarded with swear
words by most of the men, and with 90
nit or Ancestors protect or
pu sab protect" in the case of the women.
Then a general gathering up of belongings,
children knocked over, sworn at, picked up,
dragged to the street: then boxes. bundles,
everything portable dragged there. too
Triple gong beats sounding in all direc-
tions, from the various depots of the little
water dragons" A babel of voices every
where Fire more distant than was mag
ined, or Hal yer as near as can be. Lam
tern bearers rushing along The streets, ask
ing or answering hurried questions as to
the precise spot. Bearers of burdens hur-
rying about, colliding, a spill here a broken
rope there, a lantern bearer upset child
trampled on yonder. Boxes missing from
doorways. Thieves by the score on the
al art- y1.an
Clear the way! Here comes the water
dragon" with its uncouth band of hremen
in gray. Clear the way! A mandarin in
his chair Crowds damned against shop
the water carriers! Soldiers with halberds
enforce that cry, as the scene of the fire is
neared
The river is too far off. The long closed
perfect peace tank is officially opened.
torch is lit within. 1t is barely half full!
No other water at hand. Who has a well?
The foreigner, perhaps. And SO a rush is
made to his gate. His men have already
been carrying buckets to the front in case
the fire leaps over the few houses between
or the big sparks fall there. A touch of
nature such as this common danger. and
there Is no foreigner. Water is carried out;
man with a compound is everybodys
brother now.
Happy thought! Garry the engines on to
the city hall! They cannot get near other
WISE AHc SO tney are carried up from IN
side the gate. The men behind are drench-
ed, but never mind. Only swear a little
that so much water has been split. The
wall is mass of lanterns And now, the
little jets spirit forth. To what purpose,
upon flames fifty feet high? Only brick
walls can stop the flames in this crowded
mass of wooden structures, dried by
drought.
The wind is fairly high. but the house has
side walls of thin tile. and there is brick
wall to the west. And engines have forced
their way below well as above the fire.
the house itself. But. horrors, The water
cracks the tile wall! 1t comes down with
crash, and four men under it-bruSed,
burnt, one of them never to recover.
TIE bodies are dragged out, the hose
turned on to them. They are carried away;
three regain consciousness. And through
the gap the engines have IN opportunity
now.
Half an hour passes. and the flames be-
gin to abate.
Whose house?" is the question next day
and the answer is, IAN empty house where
no one has lived for months" And tie
whole turns out to be piece of thieves
business. one (unknown) setting the empty
house on fire while the Waterman had turn
ed the corner. and scores of others ready
with their carrying poles to turn away with
anything they could lay their hands on
All this in a quiet place, and only one house
burnt.
Accounts have been published of the
series of fires in Hankow beginning with
that of the night of the 1st of October.
with its destruction of 10000 houses and
the loss of hundreds of lives. At least we
call them accounts. They are graphic and
detailed we say. But / question whether
human mind can grasp more than an iota
OF the unWrltten account read. as even the
heathen' Chinese would say, by all-seeing
heaven.