The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1900-07-03
CHINESE BOXERS
AND THEIR ORIGIN.
Their Organization Was Once
Respectable.
NOW IT'S ANYTHING ELSE
A Great Band of Lawless and Muir
derous Men.
NOW IT'S ANYTHING ELSE
1urtR TREATMENT OF MISSIONARIES
The Literary Glasses Especially Dislike Chris
tanity and They Keep the Passions
of the Masses Famed IT,
Fury.

aFury.
Eleven millions of men are said to ,
belong to the great Chinese Society Of ,
H3<crs. against which Uncle Sam. in J
connection with the great Europeani
movers. may soon direct armed force. |
'Thi~ estimate was made by a Chinese
Grocer doing business in ST. Louis.
The Society of Boxers, which now
stands for law~lessness, robbery and
murder. was once respectable. 1t is
a rood influence gone wrong. Accord
jng to the Boston Journal it was a law
and order league, originally. organized
as a protest and Il means Of defense
against the bandits with which the
province of Shan-Tung was infested.
AZ tina time the life and property
of no honest man was safe. The
handits were not wild ruffans. such
rs those of Italy or the American
west of a few years ago, but, on the
contrary. seemed to be men of peace.
By day they toiled as shoemakers,
carpenters. farmers and what not. but
at night they repaired to their strong
hold in the mountains, from which
they made dcscents on any man who
was reported to possess a store of
HtbIItN NoI I'll Tx IdNIlS. ~ w Dlcil
attack of these bandits was that made
several years ago On one of the Shan
Tuug missions, of which Rev. j. III.
Laughiin was a member. Other men,
bcrs were r.. II. Bent and j.. l.. Van
Schoick. They lived in three houses.
all surrounded by a high wall. The
first evidence Of trouble was a gunshot
outside the gate. whereupon the gate
keeper pokcd out his head to see what
was the matter. Instantly a pistol
was shot off in his face. so that the
powder blinded him. although he re-
ceiycd no other wound.
The man fel shrieking. to the
ground and twenty-five bandits rush
ed over his body and into the court
yard. Mr.. Bent saw them coming
and retreated into his cottage, but
the robbers smashed in the door and
shot him in the thigh. The mission
AIRY seized a piece of the splintered
door and ran out, striking right and
left. One of the bandits slashed at
him with a sword and cut his head,
another wounded him on the arm, but
he at last escaped with his life. Mr..
iaUghlin. who was rOmping with his
little girl in the dining room. ran out
to investigate and found Mr.. Bent's
l''A' 49, ''tii w ~ u " III jan
dts, and heard them shouting, xiii.
kilI,>
He ran back to his quarters, got his
wife and children over the fence and
bel ped them to a place of safety. Mr..
Van SchOick did likewise. When they
returned the bandits were gone and
the mission safe lay literally smashed
10 bits on the ground. The bandits
had shattered it apart with crowbars.
The amount Of money secured was
small. Sometimes when the amount
OF plumber does not equal their eN-
pectatiOns they seize on of their vic
INN, blindfold him, carry him off TO
the mountains, from where they send
4 message demanding a ransom.
It was such attacks as this, repeat
ed over n over again in villages
throughout the province, that resulted
ll the organization of the Boxers.
Ent they were not called Boxers then.
Their name was Ta-Tao-Hwei, which
means the Society of the Great
NWord.' More recent is the name
~niversal Society of Boxers but the
change signifies little: in fact, change
ct name among the secret societies is
frequent. One name is kept up unit
am edlct Of suppression is issued
against it, and then a new name is
adopted, and the society goes on as
II nothing had happened.
hrl>tians do not know just when
IUr society of the Great Sword had its
origin. The natives refer to it as an
dnrlent society, but that may mean
ZEN years or a hundred. 1t is agreed
however, that at first its principles
We're laudable and its work good
''f as 1t became more powerful ant
increased IN numbers. many dlShOn
,9' ana designing persons entered i
'F the prestige and protection 1T al
."r""d, Just as dishonest and design
,0% persons ally themselves with in
nI"ntIaI bodies in other lands today
'"'N' men provided a disturbing ele
",hl, and in many cases directed tn
'""r1S Of the society against thei1
personal enemies, whom they repre-
N"oted az bandits or ~lavvless persons
come of the victims, it is said, ter
''t" ny the persecution Of the Grea
""fd society, looked for some Othe
'''' from which they might hop
protection, and found it in tn
'''>!'ah missionaries, and especial.
If herman Catholics. These me
Pi'''SSed conversion. and besough
'"'""f, and the missionaries used ever
r94I'ca\or to secure Justice for them
"' IN turn, some of the mission
..,S' II may be inferred. became tn
inns OF designing men who profess
h~r!Htianity in order to obtain al
''"IoIng Just punishment; and i
.1I'' cases 1T is probable they wer
s 10 secure from these noble an
.>"crIiclng men and women a pro
d,.''' winch they did not altogethe
+b, I'VE. In condition intensifie
ao.i aV.'lng which has always existe
'~TTIInSt the missionaries.
h" feelings GREW 10 some exter
ONT of the general contemnt VIII
TTIo''h the Chinese regard foreigner
ni: hIhese literary class are kee
4sa ana give close scrutiny to tt
N"1"IDGs OF the Christian Bible. The