The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1900-10-17
LOOTED is
CHINESE CAPITAL.
ONLY THE SACRED CITY
Has so FAR ESCAPED
THE FOREIGNERS.

Pekin, Sept The general con-
sensus of opinion of the American
and British ministers and generals is
that seldom if ever in the history Of
the world has any city been more
| completely looted and gutted than
Pekin and it is mainly due to the
influence of G en- Cbaffee aud the British
general, GaseIee that the sacred city
itself has not suffered the same fate
In fact, most of the members of the
! embassies, their families aud even the
| missionaries think that great mis-
| take was made in not footing it and
| burning it to the ground. They
| argue that if all the property of the
| merchants, bankers. pawbrokers and
the houses of the very poor have
| been looted aud burned. Why should
the property of those mainly respon.
sible be saved and held sacred for
their future use
It is an every day sight to see sol
| diers, camp followers and members of
| the riff raft that is following the army,
selling all sorts of things, particularly
the silver shoes, which we're used as
cash, valued at 81, $13, $50 and $50
according to weight Hundred
| dollar watches were selling for s..
but now prices have gone up and
| silver shoes are selling for two thirds
of their value aud other things
accordingly
The proprietor of the Pekin hotel
has bought, it is stated, silver worth
over quarter of a million dollars,
at cost of less than $4,000
The Sikh soldiers have done a lot
of trading in silver. buying from the
Russians cheaply and selling at q
profit A former street arab from
New York has made clear $4,000
with capital of nothing except
unlimited cheek aud no scruples
whatever on the subject Of his right
10 loot
Auction sales take place at the
British legation every afternoon of
looted goods turned in by the troops,
but tue prices are high. fetching
sometimes more than the things are
usually sold for in the stores in
normal times
Mai Waller has in his possession a
vast amount of stuff large portion
of which has been taken from looters
Gen Chafee has not yet decided with
regard to its disposition. but it
probably will be aold at auction
American soldiers have not been
officially allowed to loot, but only to
forage, which meaus that parties
have gone out daily over the Ameri
csn quarter aud collected the things
most needed by the troops, such as
bedding, furniture for camp use, etc.
Most of the soldiers on the march to
Pekin threw away their blankets and
other implements which rendered the
march under burning sun andeeira
ole st night now they would
suffer from cold if they had not been
allowed to commando. the necessary
covering. 1t is only human nature
if the soldier boys in that duty
should pick robes Of ermine. gray fox
skins and other warm iurs rather
than those of a coarser and uglier
appearance Some of the most per-
sistent looters have been the mission
aries
Recently meeting one ;=ith Eve
carloads of furs and antique furni
ture, Maj Waller asked the missionary
by what right be had taken the
things. and to his astouishmeDt was
told that they had been taken by
permission of Maj Waller He in.
! formed the missionary that be was
mistaken, as be himself was Maj
| Waller. and that be should confscate
every bit of it.