The age-herald., 1900-07-08

aries became general, and after a time in- cluded all Christians. Near onr city natives who were suspected of having embraced l Christianity were black7nailed by threat and torture. #sI They were relieved of money, horses and l all kinds of property. When they7 refused to submit they were tied up by theYthumbs and tortured in other ways. The robbers were gathering in all kinds of money. We applied to American Consul Fowler at Chee Foo, but he did nothing to check the outrages
 Finally military attache was murdered after killing three of the Boxers and
 the governor of the province, according to custom, had to investigate the crime per- sonally.
 To the west of us was the home of the Great Knife Society," Hundreds of villages covering an area of about eighty to one hundred miles, were known to be occupied by Boxers. Through this region the governor passed on his way home from the investigation. While there he consulted with the leaders of the robbers and gave them permission to loot fnd murder grant ing to them immunity - all their crimes
 The region is known as the Ten Thousand Man Robbers region, and shortly after the governors visit, the robbers began to ap- pear in great forces at the other villages robbing and torturing men with impunity They said that they had the governors sanction and easily terrorized the natives Chinese would not move from their homes except in large bodies.
 Finally the news of the Governors work reached Pekin It was found that his brother was one of the big men of the
 Boxers" He was degraded and a new GoVernor appointed. The missionaries did not know what to do. but we went on with our work, for they had not yet laid hands on white man.
 It was about Christmas time that Mir Brooks the English missionary, was mur- dered He was returning from a visit to his sister at Tal On Flu, to his home at Ping Yin,, forty miles distant As he was entering village, he was warned that a pand or Boxers had stopped there for Ginner on their way to rob another village. He did not take the advice to go on the outskirts but kept in the main street. A number of Chinese children saw him and began crying: Blind devil! Blind devilr'
 The Boxers rushed out and surrounded nm and made him prisoner. They carried him to another village, and he was almost frozen to death. It was in winter time Just after Christmas In some way he managed to effect his escape while the rob bers were deliberating as to his fate.
 some were for beheading him. but others said they dare not do that to a white man. When he was overtaken he was beheaded immediately. The murderers were caught and sentenced just before I left. Two of them were ordered beheaded, one was Strangled, another was condemned to be starved to death, and two were improsined for life.
 All foreigners would be glad to see China dismembered as it can never be properly governed by Chinese. There is too much corruption in office. As an instance of this sort of work, the government allows a certain sum of money each year for the maintenance of the Grand Canal ; Should one-tenth of the sum be spent for actual work, the people are delighted and think that those handling the government money have been most generous. 7