The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-08-30
SACKING OF A GREAT CITY
HOW THE TREASURE OF CHINESE
MERCHANTS WAS LOOTED.
Heads of COwardly Natives Stuck on
the Outer Walls-Part of the
City Like a SHAMELESS
correspondence of the Associated Press.

Tsin surrounded on the days of its occupa-
ton by the allied troops, a square mile or
such filth, ruin and death, such turmoil and
pillage as history could hardly duplicate.
Under normal conditions the place was no
better than a huge cesspool, fostering with
the accumulated rubbish and Stops from a
population of nearly a million, packed into
a labyrinth of novels, around the palaces
of viceroys and petty ~tsotais. who abb
sorbed their wealth and gave them not even
sewers i'm return. Now it 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 head
less and their hands were tied behind their
backs. The heads were discovered after
ward; rows of them decorated the outer
walls. hung by their pigtails.
Five flags We're flying from the high
pagodas on the city walls when the news
paper correspondents en~tered-the French,
Japanese, American, Russian and British.
1t was hard enough to get those flags
up there" remarked a foreign officer. "but
the real trouble will be to get them down."
The suburbs Of the city presented fore
taste of what was inside. Shells had torn
the huts and plowed the ground, while the
dead men scattered about among dead
horses. pigs and dogs, testified how
thoroughly the bullets had swept the re-
eion the day before. The sights inside COM
PEELED respect for the fighting qualities of
the Chinese Their Ioad uyoro o1-oryuuboro
Dressed in the coarse blue coolie blouse and
trousers, decorated with characters, guar
anteed to render them invulnerable to for
the top OF the wall wherever they had
fallen. Walking a quarter of a 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
aence 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
a month. had killed only a dozen people.
The viceroy had constructed in the palace
yard two comfortable and impenetrable
bombproof excavations. guarded by sand
bags, but the common people were less
fortunate. Many women and children were
lying dead in the streets, torn terribly by
shrapnel. The living populace were utterly
Indifferent to their dead. They would not
take the trouble to drag them out of the
nuts, or even TO cover them with mating,
as a foreign soldier did afterward, but
trampled them under foot without bother
ing TO turn TO one side. Before the shoot
ing in the streets was finished thousands
of Chinese had emerged from their bur-
rows, carrying white flags or the flags of
foreign nations, principally Japanese.
LOOTING OF THE CITY.
Most remarkable of all the sights was the
footing of the city. The middle of the place
uoc 1iEa m mt It'll I;olx1d o-o Ols----
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 o. them were half Naked. grimy with
smoke, and sometimes dripping with blood.
They preyed on one another. A Chinese who
appeared with a prize must light his way;
other Chinese sprang upon him and clutched
his plumber. They rolled among the corpses,
pulling and tearing, while children 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 objects of attack. Near the middle
Oh 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 like a
tidal wave. There were British officers.
naval and military, soldiers and sailors,
with a 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
ided in the gateway, a rush line of Chinese
struggling to enter and another line fight
ing to get out with great armfuls of loot,
while an occasional soldier went through
the crowd like one of the Broadway squad.
Ttnn ~ M N
tribution of wealth, but on the old scheme
of prizes to the strongest.
The footing fiourished for three days.
on the hrst day it was entirely unre,
stacks Of goods by simply standing at the
city gates and holding up the best laden
flowed out. Pack horses, carts. rickshaws.
coolies loaded with trunks and sacks and
piled with loose silks, furs and bronzes,
crowded all the roads leading down to the
! settlement. English officers rode with their
horses concealed under dry goods, and
soldiers slung bundles on their bayonets.
On the second day a conference of COM
manding officers decided to adopt repres-
sive measures. The commanders, except
ing the French, empowered the British.
who were doing provost duty. to seize all
loot. This order the British m to
execute by holding up the hooters as they
entered the foreign towns. They took all
ants for future inquiry. Naturally this
step provoked grumbling, particularly
among the soldiers of other nationalities
Captain Bailey, the provost marshal. a
big-bodied Englishman, explained that the
prohibition was designed to restrain civil
ians from getting the spoils which should
go to the men who did the fighting. The
official statement is that all seized loot
will be sold, the proceeds to be divided
among the soldiers as prize money, but
soldiers, wise through former campaigns
comment specifically.
The Japanese, so far as casual obserya-
lions showed, did the least looting. be-
cause OF the admirable discipline under
which their soldiers are held. The Ameri-
cans had all to themselves one large arse
nal, which they occupied on entering the
| fine store of small arms, swords of a curl
Gus and rich pattern. rifles, of various
makes, with stands of long two
man guns, which are simply giant
rifles, throwing a ball which, from the re-
port 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 fight had left stacks of clothing and
IL TO be sold or shipped TO Washington as
spoils of war.
on the third day of the occupation a
| more effective method was followed bv
compelling hooters to give up their loads
at the city gate Even this measure did
not prevent the loss OF much gold and sill
yer. Civilians from the concession made a
general raid on the salt commissioners
| treasure, and many succeeded In smuggling
The Americans seized nearly a million taels
| worth Of precious metals. which is piled up
I'm the marine barracks.
To-day the walled city looks as though