Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-29
TEN TSIN LOOTED
Terrible Scenes at the Capture Of the
Chinese City;
THREE DAYS OF RIOT AND PILLAGE
Then Commanders of the Allies
Tried to Restore Order.
GOOD PART OF CITY BURNED

Correspondence of the Associated Press.
TEN TSIN, China, July II, 1900.
| The ancient stone walls of the Chi
| nese city of Tien Tsin, surrounded or
| the days of its occupation by the
allied troops, square mile of such
| filth, ruin and death, such Turmoil
and pilage as history could hardly dupli-
| cate Under normal conditions the place
| was nothing better than a huge cesspoo
| fostering with the accumulated rubbish and
| Stops from a population Of nearly million
| packed into a labyrinth of novels, around
| the palaces of viceroys and petty taotais
| who absorbed their wealth and gave them
| not even sewers in return. Now 1t is the
incarnation of all the suffering, horrors and
| waste of war. The European soldiers,
| when they fought their way up to the
| walls saw floating in the canals and
bitches outside dozens Of Chinese slain by
| their own people because they refused to
| fight The bodies were headless and their
| hands were tied behind their backs. The
heads were discovered afterward. Rows OF
| them decorated the outer wallis hung by
| thei- pigtails
Five flags were flying from the high pa
| godas on the city walls when the news
paper correspondents entered, the French
Japanese, American, Russian ana bTlllSH
1T was hard enough to get those flags UP
| there" remarked foreign officer. but the
real trouble will be to get them down."
The suburbs of the city presented a
torn the huts and powed the ground while
| dead men scattered about among dead
horses. pigs and dogs testified how thor
oughly the bullets had swept the region the
day before.
Chinese Dead Everywhere.
The sights inside compelled respect for
the fighting qualities of the Chinese. Their
dead were everywhere. Dressed in the
coarse blue coolie blouse and trousers. dec
GRATED with characters guaranteed to rem
der them invulnerable to foreign bullets,
they were strewn all along the top of the
wall wherever they had fallen. Walking a
quarter of mile along the embankment,
the bodies averaged one in ten feet, and the
wall was nearly ten miles long.
Throughout the city the demolished
houses and hundreds of killed gave EVIL
dence of how vastly more effective had
been the foreign shell fire within the walls
of the city than the Chinese bombardment
of the foreign settlement. which, lasting
for month, had killed only dozen peo-
pie. The viCeroy had constructed in the
trable bomb proofs, excavations guarded
by sandbags, but the common people were
less fortunate. Many women and children
were lying dead in the streets, torn terri
utterly Indifferent to their dead. They
would not take the trouble to drag them
out of the streets or even cover them with
mating, as foreign soldier did afterward.
but trampled them under foot without
bothering to turn aside. Before the shoot
ing in the streets was finished thousands
of Chinese had emerged from their bur-
rows, carrying white flags the flags of
foreign nations, principally the Japanese
The LOOtinE of the City.
looting of the city. The middle place was
like an ant hill kicked open. Chinese
swarmed everywhere, thousands and thou
sands of them; diving into the flames of
the burning shops, getting under falling
walls and into choking clouds of smoke
Most of them were half naked. grimy with
smoke and sometimes dripping with blood.
They preyed upon one another. A Chinese
appearing with prize must fight his way.
Other Chinese sprang upon him and clutch
ed his plumber They rolled among the
corpses. pulling and tearing, while chill
dren, being trampled down, cried for help
and the mob poured right along over them
The palaces, the mint. the pawnShOps,
the stores of silks, furs and jewelry, were
the first object of attack. Near the middle
of the city was the most prosperous pawn
shop, an institution that had probably ex-
listed for centuries. Wealthy Chinese were
accustomed to store their winter clothing
there for safe keeping. When the doors
were battered down they flowed in like a
tidal wave There were British officers
naval and military soldiers and sailors,
with good sprinkling of Sikhs, but prin-
cipally Chinese. In a twinkling all was
pandemonium. The Chinese knew where
the best treasure was to be found, and the
soldiers followed them. Two forces col
lided in the gateway-a rush line Of Chi
nese struggling to enter and another line
fighting to get out with great armfuls of
loot, while an occasional soldier went
no of ha
way squad Tien Tsin experienced a sweep
ing redistribution of wealth, but on the
old scheme of prizes to the strongest.
Plundered for Three Days.
The looting f1ourished for three days. On
the first day 1t was entirely unrestrained.
Many white people accumulate d stacks of
goods by simply standing at the city
gates and holding up the best-laden Chi
nese from the endles procession that
flowed out Pack horses. carts, rickshaws.
coolies loaded with trunks and sacks filled
with loose silks, furs and bronzes. crowded
all the roads leading down to the settlement.
English officers rode with their horses con-
cealed under dry goods. and soldiers slung
bundles on their bayonets.
On the second day conference Of COM
manding officers decided to adopt repressive
measures. The commanders. excepting the
French, empowered the British. who were
doing provost duty, to seize all loot This
order the British attempted to execute by
holding up the hooters they entered the
foreign towns. They took all bundles and
reported the names of claimants for future
inquiry. Naturally this step provoked
grumblings particularly among the soldiers
Of other nationalities. Capt Bailey, the
provost marshal. a big-bodied big-voiced
Englishman. explained that the prohibition
was designed to restrain civilians from get
ting the spoils which should go to the men
who did the fighting. The officials say
that all seized loot will be sold the pro-
ceeds to be divided among the soldiers as
prize money, but soldiers. wise through
former campaigns. comment skeptically.
The Japanese. so far casual observa-
ton showed did the least looting because
of the admirable discipline under which
their soldiers are held. The Americans had
all to themselves one large arsenal, which
tanned not only cannon, but fine store of
small arms. swords of curious and rich
pattern. rifles Of various makes with stands
of the long two-man guns which are simply
giant rifles. throwing a ball which, from
| the report and whistle, the soldiers in the
| fight judged to be one-pounders. Munitions
| of war were not the only contents Of the
arsenal. High officers had lived there. and
| in flight had left stacks of clothing and
other articles of great value. All this stuff
| is to be sold or shipped to Washington as
| spells of war.
Better Plan Adopted.
| On the third day of the occupation a
more effective method was followed nv