The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-11-25

hundred years old, skins of rare animals
and wardrobes of rich mandarins-in fact,
everything which Gen. Chaffee described
In recent order to the United States
forces as '1ooted and stolen property
1t is not unlawful for British soldiers to
plumber, but all loot must be turned into
the common heap, which is auctioned off.
| The officer or enlisted man is by this
means enabled to acquire what is recog-
nized as proper title to his souvenirs Of
Pekin, and he likewise puts money back
into his own pocket. In the final diVi-
sion the private will receive one share,
non-commissionedf officers two or three
shares, as the case may be, and so on
up the line until the colonies and gen
erals are reached. Their rank entities
them to as many as eight and ten shares
Every afternoon three or four large
| chest are taken from the loot storeroom
and placed on the brick floor of a large
building, a sort Of open air room or
Chinese porch, which fronts the house
of the British minister and forms army
headquarters. Benches are dragged un
for the accommodation of bidders and
the days entertainment begins. 1t takes
the place of band concert in the park
Officers and men off duty and out for q
stroll, not only British, but Americans
French, Germans and all the rest of the
conQuerors, drop in to have a lrok at
the pretty things on sale and find them
selves coming away in an hour with a
squirrel skin garment or a bundle of
silk. The auction sale furnishes a re-
| spectacle means of acquiring loot to take
home. The ration may loot but the
officer never. 1t is also a boon to the late
Corners who would have looted If they
had been on hand and are now glad
of an opportunity to buy Friends at
home coming in for benefits are caution
ed not to inquire too closely into valorous
tales of personal captures.
Some of the plumber brings ridiculous
prices, while more of it runs very near
what it is worth. A fine garment lined
with sable will on some days bring $50
in silver and again as much as $3.50 A
heavy bronze urn which stands a poor
show of being transported back to Eng
land costs its owner $50 An ordinary
Chinese fan not worth is cents was, just
for the fun Of the thing, run up to SO
and knocked down amid great merriment
to an officer of the Welsh Fusileers. The
next moment a Tommy watched his
chance and bid In a handsome leopard 5
skin for SIS.
Little time is spent in coaXing higher
bios for any article One after another
the things are put up and knocked down
and a delay of three seconds in the bid
ding means its disposal An ex-sergeant
does the auct1Oneertng.
Some three weeks ago after the British
auction had begun its daily session the
Americans got up small auction of their
own, and now every evening at the head
quarters of the Ninth infantry the en-
listed men have the pleasure of seeing
what was at one time their loot disaD-
pearing to highest bidders. For several
days following the occupation of the city
it was the painful duty of officers to
relieve soldiers of watches, jewelry, fur
coats, bolts Of silk and other pIundar
which the men artlessly brought into
camp and exposed. This stuff made d
big pile, which was augmented by q mass
lof stuff taken from deserted houses in
the American quarter in order to keep
it from falling into the hands of Russian
and French soldiers as well as Chinese.
The proceeds of the American sale are
| not to be divided like the proceeds of the
British sale, for an order issued from the
headquarters of Gen. Chaffee has provid-
ed that the money obtained from the
sale of ''stolen and looted property" shall
| be applied for municipal purposes in the
districts governed by the Americans. This
means that 1t will be expended on street
cleaning and feeding the destitute Chi
nese, when the rigors of winter come and
leave them without proper food and
shelter. Some 81, 600 in silver has already
been acquired for the municipal fund
The breaking down of idols and the
destruction of the mysterious old Pekin
have been most sweeping. The ancestral
tablets at the Temple OF Heaven, suppos-
ed to contain the souls of princes. and
kings of days gone by, and worshipej
by the emperor with the most devout Ger
emony once each year. have either gone
as curiosities to the British auction, or
have been hacked to pieces by some IN
Dian soldier intent on kindlfng his FIRE
and baking his hapjack Small bronze
idols which have been prayed to perhaps
for centuries are now used as paper
of junk And then. in spite OF resolu-
lions of. The generals to abstain. the
forbidden city and the palace have been
guished people to have the satisfaction Of
tramping where foreign foot has never
trod before. And what is more appall-