Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-10-10
SCENES IN AND
AROUND TONGKU
All is BustIe, Activity and Great
Good HumOr
OUR AMERICAN SOLDIERS.
Have Lots OF Fun, but Are Very IIus
Russians are SeVerest ON
Native Labor.

Correspondence Of the Associated
Press.l
Tongku, China, Sept Along the
!mproyised and fimsy wharves which
line the Peiho river at this point lie
dozens OF curious little steamers and
junks dIschargng every conceivable
variety Of supplies, Anchored out
stream In the swift and tortuous chan
mel are dozens more waiting wharf
room to discharge cargo. The winding
little stream Is alive with craft from
here to Tien Tsin and from there up "
PeNn, for the nations Of the world are
rushing In supplies to feed the armies
before the rigid North China winter
seals the harbor and stream. From
steamships and junks, sampans, light
ers and tugs fly the flags Of many
lands and side by side on the deck toll
blue shifted Americans, white uni
formed Russians, sturdy Germans, in
dustrious, inGefaugable japanese, busy
as ants. and saying no word to anyone.
French, English Sikhs, Goorkas Ut ali
trenches Of service. Day and night the
toll goes on, with thousands Of coolies
laborlng In behalf Of the coujur0rs.
and the great piles of bales and boxes.
house high on the Wharyes seem not to
be- diminished.
The railway is utilized as much as
possible for transportation. but little
else than troops and immediate sup
plies are hauled over e. one track
hastily reconstructed, small cars and
light engines, ana under Russian CON
troll, II Is not used for general transp1r-
tation purposes. Il Is manned by RUS
sian soldiers from the Traus-S.b.rIau
railway and all things considered Is
conducted IN very creditable manner
At each bridge and culvert IS a Russian
outpost, and the whole line is pat0Ilel
At Tongku the Americans have see
cured about the best wharfage The
wharf extends well UPSTREAM and rs
accessible at low tide. while there IS
plenty Of room for discharged cargoes
Major Hugh Gallagher, the c0mmssary
officer IN charge. has divided his force
between here and Tien Tsin, and sup
plies are being handled oXpediu0usly
Z
has been secured for vessels suitable
for the work, and the United States au-
thorities have not come out behind In
the scramble. The liberal wages paid
coolies and native boatmen have given
Americans a great advantage both
here and In Tien Tsln At the same
time, our treatment Of the natives has
been mild and humane. the soldiers In
charge Of the gangs apparently regard
ing the Chinaman as great fun The
Russians are most severe IN handling
native labor, and the sword belt or bay
Onct scabbard Is the usual form Of per-
suasiOn. IL has been a wonderful race
OF the supply departments Of the armies
Of the world and the United States has
shown up splenddly Things are con-
Quoted with a vim and rapidity In
strong contrast TO the sllpshod methods
OF most Of the nations. and the result
Is shown In the quantity OF supplies
now accumulatlug up river and In the
storehouses here,
From all comparisons, however. the
japanese must be excluded. In ali de-
partments the japanese army Of occu-
patton works like clock-work. To the
observer no hitch is visible There
commissary Is meagre In variety, but
vast IN quantity; and almost every
other river craft flies the white flag
with the red target Of the mikado.
The japanese army works, in all the .
term implies, IL works by night and I
by day; silently swiftly like a huge T.
machine with all its parts In order Day /
after day the white coated little soil /
diers swing by, In squads, companies I
and regiments and disappear up COun- /
Try Their discipline Is strict, they are |
Wei clothed and cared for, and the Z
other nations watch them curlouslv [
and then turn 10 view the Russians. |
And the soldiers Of the car apparently
are man to man with them In mum bers l
now But TCngku and Tien Tsin and I
Pekin are but one square In the Chinese
checker board. From the far north
come vague reports OF thousands of
Russians massing I'm Manchuria, and
on the same wings fly rumors Of thou
sands Of Japanese landing al remote
points In China and Korea But these
are ruInorf from far land. land void
)t telegTaphs and malls. Here In the
valley OF the Peiho is reality. and no
one can say which force Is In majority. |
Each day brings its quota OF fresh
troops OF an nations except Americans,
ma each day brings It's little fleet I'M
N'aN N-A.NA-Na N+nN VIZ = UNI ~ u great !
}ity OF ships.
Ashore the tides still cast 10 the
lead, busy dispatch boats pun up and
Town the river soldiers debark ana
hurry W country. II is war without
he lighting Here the nations seem
raining and stripping like giant pugil-
SIS, Cossacks, with sturdy. shaggy it,
lie ponies and Hight two-wheeled carts.
3rltish-lndia troops. tall. silent glkhs.
armed with carbine, pennoned lance.
abre and revolver; turbaned Ghoorkas.
lare-legged and 1.-THE; quick moving !
laps and heavily ACQUIRED Germans
hrong the narrow, muddy streets and
III the outgoing trains. II Is a military !
Babel. and the natives watch the In
touring stream Of their conquerors
With Chinese impassivoness.
In point Of cavalry. the Russians al
his writing probably 0utnumber AIN the
est BY far the majority Of their
roops are mounted. which gives them