The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-09
THE LOOTING OF TIENTSIN.
PLUNDERING UNCHECKED WIEN THE
ALLIES TOOK THE CITY.
Mobs OF Onicers. soldiers, Civilians and Chi.
nese, Get Great spells Of Valuable Furs.
siiks and Precious Metais-Russian and
British Omcers After s~able-scheme by
which the British Got a Big share OF the
From a Stan Correspondent Of THE sun,

which the Brittsh sOt a BIZ snare OF inc
Plunder-Excuses OF the Commanders.
From a stan Correspondent OF THE Sun.
T1ENTsIS, July i6.-Rioi, tumult, debauch;
wild, struggling, bowling. pushing, hauling,
screaming, shouting. tearine. scrambllng, Tight
ing mob: these are the words that rise In the
front line with both hands ur, each eager TO be
called first when the looting OF the city IL the
subject: "A great hurly-burly Of sight and sound
and action, a mix-up, n mess, a confusion OF
colors. figures. shapes. noises. languages. that
all together make up the greatest story that
never will be told until Pekln eclipses II. Forty
times an hour you hear some one say that Kip
ling ought TO be- here to do this piecn, but KIP
ling is lucky in missing Il. lie doesn't have TO
try 20 tell 1t. and will never know that he
couldn't do It. II you took all the words In the
dictionary and jumbled them into a bushel
basket and stirred them up with a stick they
would come out with more order and less con-
fusion than there has been in 1ientsin for two
days, and be wholly inadequate as a descrip-
ton Of what has happened
Loot That's n master word. II has the
same ring now that cave and secret drawer and
Spanish doubloons and pieces-of-eigh used to
have In the story books Of boyhood. This WAS
loot. no Philippine Islands by-play about bolos
and crooked knives. This was a game with
wealth as the stake property that represented
price all the world around. coined silver gold.
diamonds, pearls. jade. rare gems. costly furs:
superb silks. old porcelains and china. the
treasures Of an art and a civilization a thou
sand year old. and all in the hands 81 a crazy
rAbble OF coolies. men who pull rickshas about
the streets for a few miserable cents a day, or
toll IN sinks and cellars. oT sweat In sinking
stables, or-but what's the usel II you come TO
Pekin you will have a chance to see It for your
self. and after that you can spend the rest OF
your life trying to tell about 1t.
The first | saw Of It was about noon Of the
day the city was taken II was In the street OF
the silk merchants. That was when II was true
that men ran hither and thither. And every
man either had sometimes he had looted and
was running home with IL. or was running to
the place where he could loot something to run
home with. Rolls of brocade that would stand
alone. stln. heavy. rustling! just fancy the
opium Joints and laundry shops OF Chinatown
crowded with their normal occupants and
every man with rolls and rolls Of the finest silks
ever woven and maybe you will get some no.
ton OF how 1t felt to see this mob with its loot.
The pigs we're surely In the par Tor that day.
THE LooTERs.
See a man coming down the street with half a
dozen rolls In his arms and a fat. greasy. swine
OF a shepherd belt him under the jaw and
grab the first piece that flies out OF his grasp,
tear open tnt WIdpp4llkS dnu Slll'al NV 'oiNF
full fabric with the filth OF his sweaty paws. roar
out a laugh that Aus the air with his sinking
garlic breath. and duck down a blind alley to
bury the stun In his pigpen hovel Of a home
against the day when he can realize a 1.-THE OF
It's value by sale to a fence,
See a burly thief struggling along under a
huge chest filled lid-splitting full Of silks. and
some less energetic but more pugnactous rascal
beat him down with n club and rob him under
the eyes OF the mob that had no thought but to
get away with what they had, let what might
befall the rest!
The Anarchist was haviEs his day. Things
were coming to a common level. Every man
was to have his share for once, II those
stronger than he would let him alone. Might
was the only medium OF exchange. Every
Chinaman recognized this. Every Chinaman
knew how it came that he was having this
chance Of his life. All his days he had worked
and sweated for the ptible pittance he
got from the merchant prince he robbed now
with impunity. Now the foreign devil had
come and the merchant could run away.
Coolie had to stay; there was no place where
he could run. So he stayed, and when he
found he was not eaten up by the foreign
devil on the spot, forgot his fears and robbed
his recent employer with all the alacdty OF
his natural inclination and long training.
Then the foreign devil in the person OF a
soldier stopped In the street TO see what he
could and get what he might; coolie ran up to
him cheerfully and surrendered all he had,
hurrying back on the instant for more. And
when the soldier had piled up all he wanted he
summoned coolie from the mob rushing past
and calmly told him to pack the stun back to
quarters. Easy, simple, charmingl
IN THE PAwSsHoP.
There was pawnshop in the city. probably
- -. Ali 100 80 . .
ular one. 1t was a long, low, rakish craft, as
BELTS a proper pirate like a pawnbroker. 1t
happened to be a place where rich men stored
their winter clothing for safety during the
summer. Most Of the residents OF Tientsin
must have been rich, and most Of them must
have used this pawnshop for storage, Along
. the walls rows Of bamboo shelves ran clear to
: the ceiing. and every row was piled with big
boxes, every one OF which was filled with heavy
silk coats, thickly padded with cotton OF lined
!, with fur. Inside this pawnshop were all the
component parts of a mob. To begin with.
D there we're Chinese OF several classes. noise.
dust, DIRT, confusion, and the unut;erable
: stenches attendant upon such a collection OF
I Chinese men, furs, hlth and the personalities
Q used by the rawnbroker. Then there were men
u owning allegiance 20 six or seven different fiags
and, under at east one of thee classes. two or
9 three subdivisions. There were Americans.
proper British. Colonials. Pathans, Purjaubis.
Weiheiwei Chinese, Frenchmen and Annam-
: ties, Russians and MonRols Germans and
r Austrians. There were sailormen. marines, in
: fantrymen. ca%valrymen. srtnlerymen, service
corps men. baggage coolies, engineers and men
= OF the hospitals. staff and corps The air reeked
II with vile odors and was filed with dust.
[ There was a general scramble to see what
= was In the boxes that lined the walls. This was
s tn, factor Of action. mixing MP the existing
d conditions. which produced the mob. Howls,
jeers, shouts. imprecations, oaths, threats.
dreadful promises and profa lity in many
s tongues! There was no light except the feeble.
II du> t-beclouded rays that struggled through the
II grimy glasses in front, where part Of The shut
ters had been battered down from The small
square holes which served as windows. Men
up on ladders along the walls were pitching
!. down the boxes into the middle Of the room as
! fast as they could. Each box was aimed at
0 some confederate in the mob on the floor, Once
U In m whiIe II reached him, much oftener IL was