The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-09-16
A BOXERS VIEW OF US
WONG TA,s OPINION OF FOREIGN
DEVILS AND THEIR DRAGONS.
Expressions That Reveal the Mental
Attitude OF the Cinnamon Who
Have Been Doing the Fighting.

IlEN-ISlN, July Z3.-Wong Id Is a typl-
cal Boxer. His name signifies that he is the
eldest. or greatest son of the house of
Wong. He is therefore. his fathers hope
and pride. May his father have much joy
of this talented son, Not that Wong is real
ly celebrated name here as human stand
ards go. Wong is as common family
name hereabouts as Smith is in the United
States, where there are Smiths and other
Smiths. Wong Ia is one Of the other
Wongs. He is a coolie. and, as far as he
knows, his ancestors have been coolies for
the last four thousand years.
Wong Ia was one of a bunch of Boxers
caught by a scouting party of mounted
troops not far from here. At the head of
twenty men in loose column of twos rode
an officer. shading his eyes with his hand
and gazing sweepingly over the fiat, muddy
plain. They were following the river, away
from the city. and looking out for any
signs Of mischief and mischief-makers. A
quarter of a mile ahead of them stood a
solitary mud house, distant only a few
yards from the river.
Thought 1 saw some one leave that
house. sir" reported one Of the soldiers at
the head of the column.
Thought l did, too," rejoined the officer,
gazing more intently, but seeing nothing
new. 1T may have been a dream"
On rode the troopers In a little more
than couple of minutes they trotted up
TO the house and halted. One of the men
went inside. He came out in instant,
reporting that there was no one there The
scouts rode on, one of them keeping forty
yards or so on the left flank
Here they are!' cried the scout, refining
up.
'Armed?"
Don't seem to be, SIR
AN EASY CAPTURE.
The column veered and rode down into a
little basin Of mud, about forty feet square.
Here, out of view of anyone riding close
TO the river, seven half-dressed Cinnamon
huddled. As they saw the troopers riding
at them they made no movement to escape.
Probably they knew how hopeless it would
be. They were badly scared and shaking,
yet every one of the seven showed the
inevitable Chinese poker face" stupid,
stolid, impenetrabie. They were quickly
brought to their feet by signs. and SUBJ
mitted mutely TO search. On one of them
was found a small knife, such as the
Just lot of scared coolies. afraid we
were going to kill Them" said the officer,
carelessly. "They hid to save their lives.
poor, scared DEVILS
Then he glanced back at the mud house
close by, s.s.AssA--~->@<s.&>
Take them back there" ordered the Of
ficer. IF that is their house we'll just
make quiet search and see if we can't
dig up something
So the coolies were marched back OBJ
serving them covertly, the officer noted
that the uneasiness of the prisoners
seemed slightly to increase. They were
halted outside the house under close guard
while the officer and four or five of his
men went inside. There was nothing in
sight but few embers of fire and small
mating sack, containing rice. But the Of
fcer glanced out through the door, saw
the Chinese prisoners stealthily watching,
and turned to give the order:
Sound the walls and the floor. Search!
If there's anything hidden here find itr
ARMS DISCOVERED.
Ten minutes later the soldiers found a
cache under the mud floor in one corner
There was tiny cellar. with a trapdoor
the top of which was covered with smooth
~ plastered mud. The plastered sides of
the trap door fitted neatly into the mud
floor. 1t was a triumph of that peculiar
kind of mechanical ingenuity for which
the Chinaman is justly famous. And down
in this little cellar. or cache, was a mu-
scum of arms. There were five rifles, four
pistols, ammunition, few long, narrow,
dirk-like knives and seven or eight swords,
besides a couple of hatchets.
March the prisoners inr' sounded the
order. In they were marched. Seven stolid
Oriental countenances were turned toward
the unearthed collection of weapons. 1t IS
bad form TO betray emotion, and the China
man is schooled in etiquette from baby
hood. Not one face among the seven
showed sign. 1t was rather the slightly
covering attitudes of the wretches that
showed their uneasiness.
These yours?" demanded the officer d.
recting their attention TO their weapons.
His look and gesture were as plain as in
telligible words. The Chinese looked at
the weapons and sadly shook their heads.
Yet the whole situation was clear. These
men had hidden themselves in the house,
hoping for chance to "snipe' an incau-
/ tAOdo SOiNitCA Va l"O WIZ ifil6Al tCululS
their way. They were ready for murder
where they could attempt it without too
much risk to themselves. But the appear
| ance o. scouting party as strong as this
one had upset their plans. They had hidden
their arms and sneaked into the mudhole,
| hoping that the horsemen would ride by
| without seeing them. Now. of course, it came
| about that they were sent back to Tien-
| Tsin as prisoners. What has happened to
| the most of them since / cannot say but
| 1 am of opinion that six of the seven were
released after a scolding. convinced that
| they could not hope to drive the white man
out of China But what happened to the
| seventh Chinaman 1 am we'll able to tell
| you.
| LEADER OF THE GANG
| Wong Ia was that seventh Chinaman. II
| did not require much astuteness to see that
| he was the leader of this small gang. So
/ sent for Walters. Who is he? Probably
! Walters-initials r. Cts one of the best
known men in Tien-Tsin at present Ger
| tainly he is the happiest. His face, all day
| long, is the ultra type Of laughter. He is
joyous. neutrality-suspicious. He is earn
ing 81 an hour-that is. most of the hours
that he is out OF bed. Walters is an Amer
! lean. Years and years ago, he said. he