The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1900-07-01

developed the Chinese practice into q
science and have won the admiration rf
the MongolianS. One winter the Palos
which was light-draught gunboat. ran
on mud fiat at high tide. mud wall
eight feet high and ten feet wide, was
built all around it. Between the walls
and the boat the sailors put straw, and on
the straw Goa ting of mud eight inches
thick. From the port and starboard gang
ways they ran out wooden platforms to
the top of the wall and thence light
bridge to the land. Over the deck they
built a barnlike structure containing win
dows, and covered all the joints with pa
per. While building the deck-cover the
early frost converted the mud into ada
mant, and so gave them an outside wall
10 their craft which was proof against
cold, rats, and thieves. They next made
a skating pond along the wall, and there
during the winter they held high carnival
junk Trade Crushes by Steam.
AT one time there was a large junk
trade on the Peh-ho, especially OF big
freight junks bringing rice beans, beam
cake, bean-oil, and foreign goods to TEN
Tsin This was almost wholly destroyed
by the coastng steamers At the present
time two Chinese, four Japanese, six Eng
fish and one German line of steamers call
regularly at Ten Tsin, and at least two
tramp steamers visit it every week As
single schooner will bring from ten to nifty
times as much cargo as a junk, the de-
cadence of the junk trade is easily under
stood. The junkmen, who even to-day are
a powerful element in the working class
es, are very bitter against the foreign de-
vii and his vessels, and even more bitter
against the Chinese merchants, who are
now so largely interested in steam navi-
cation. 1t must be remembered that these
coasters are manned by Chinese crews
chiefly Swatow men with Malay quarter
masters The Swatow men speak Ian
guage utterly unintelligible TO the people
of Chilli, who regard them as foreigners
of a worse type than those who have red
heads, i. e. English or Luzon men Span
iards), or Fower-fag men, that is Ameri-
cans. A Chinese steamship seilor receives
So gold month, while the junkman, even
in his palmy days, got but 81 or $3.50 To
the resentment occasioned by the destruc-
ton of the business is added the jealousy
produced by seeing a rival receive what
is to him a princely salary. This may ac-
count in some measure for the fact that
most of the disturbances OF the present
instruction have thus for taken place on
the great internal waterways, which have
NAAAN~NNO
in the past decade.
The native soldiers at Taku are no bet
ter and no worse than those of other
ports. At one time when Ii Hung Chang
was in power in Chi Ii they were well
drilled. and were thoroughly familiar
with modern weapons. but during the
war with Japan his famous army corps
was broken up and when he was dis
placed and degraded the efficient organi-
cation which he had created at Tien Tsin
and Taku was utterly demolished by MS
conservative rivals. only one regiment
and a brass band remain at Tien Tsin
to tell the story of their former great
ness. For the last five years the Taku
garrison has consisted Of poorly dressed,
noorlv fed and poorly drilled raw levies.
with their paw generally six months in
arrears, and with no medical attendance
executing that which they could secure
from a medical missionary. Many OF
them have never fired a rife nor handed
- cartridge So far as is known, they
have never used the big guns the only
firing they have done being the salute
from a light fieldpiece whenever a man
of-war passed the forts en- route TO lien
Tsjn. The present officers are on par
with the men. Under the conservative
characterization OF the Empress Dowager,
all the foreign VI lilliaSNSi9 "~
diecbarped from the imperial service, and
their places filled with graduates or the
Nfanchurian Military College az Pekins.
This school, its system and graduates
would he ridiculously funny II they were
not so pitiable Their chief text DOCK
mon military science is a literary classic
more than 1000 years old. II aoounds IN
eucb extraordinary recommendations as
these: -
"a wise general plays sweet music ne
fore going into battle in order 70 lull MS
enemies into a deep sleep"
"A good commander should insist upon
,is won practicing with the bow TO SHOOT
,,ac,wards as they ride on their horses
ana should al times lead in the exercise
himself" ,,.Io,,.
mo general should 60 to war without
taxing with him an extra red umoreHd
ia an extra umbrella-beare
THESE graduates are supposed to nave
mastered horsemanship, bow and arrow
ne smear. the sword, and martial music
trese being even to-day the chief FEATURES
- the Manchurian curriculum.
The Tal,u garrison is supposed to con-
.iet Of 500 soldiers commanded by
- .,i Ar n,aior general If Taku is like
,,ogt If the garrison cities OF emma the
4 900 soldiers existed only upon papei'
cxccpting so far as drawing theH sa' ai' &c
from the national treasury was conc ~ ~
81 and are represented by l'lw OF A.So
moor vrotches no more enttled 10 tn.
,or,e NJ soldier than the little New ork
bovs who parade up and down the street
Win wooden guns and paper mats