Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1901-04-06

had taken away the employment OF
thousands of carriers, boatmen n
wheelbarrow coolies; that they had
raised the price of rice and other
cereals; that they employed foreigners
at high wages. h carried all the
money out OF the country at the same
time that they abused and ~maltreated
the natives under their control, and
wound up his rather long discourse by
declaring the abolishing Of railways
and driving into the sea of every for
eigner was the duty OF every loyal sol
dier or subject OF the empire.
HUI mildly ~endeavored to interrupt
him several times by telling him that
the railways were all Chinese property
and the foreign employees were their
empress own employees, but Chao
drowned Hu's every utterance. SO that
the old man. after several attempts.
was perforce obliged TO keep quiet un-
til the irate colonel had exhausted him
self and sat down blowing like a por-
poise. / knew HUI was very unwilling
that / should hear all OF this speech,
which he we'll knew I would perfectly
understand. and i felt sure he regretted
having brought along a surgeon versed
in Chinese. To me II was a revelation.
1 had heard that the Mohawmedan
troops from Kansu. under the famous
BCICfa uuB W I1SfdiiEs WCiC C0
to Peking Immediately after the coup
d. etat to support the empress In her
anti-foreign policy. 1 had heard that
they were fanatical, ignorant and in
tensely hostile to foreigners. But that
they would dare to insult the empress
In the person of a special commissioner
appointed by imperial edict, and re-
veal the purpose Of their general In
such open language, and that before a
foreigner, l would scarcely believe
short of my own ears testimony. Hu
realized II was useless to attempt TO
argue with or conciliate these men, and
at once set about the object of his visit
as yet ~unachievedj viz. to find out the
condition % the wounded soldiers.
SO upon Colonel Chaos finishing his
diatribe, he politely turned to General
Chang, without further noticing the
enraged colonel, and said: II have
been told two Of your men have been
wounded by one Of h foreign engin-
GERS, and as / have a very skillful sur
geon In my employ who attends to all
the people who are injured on the rail-
way. i have brought him along to
anime your men, and II o will permit
him / am sure he can hea them" He
then introduced me as Man Tai Flu, my
Chinese title.
They sullenly acknowledged my pres
ence for the first time, by a slight nod
in my direction, and General Chang
asked HUI IL he had an interpreter who
could converse with me. "Oh, he
doesn't need any interpreter" replied
HUI; "he has lived in China fifteen
years, has IONS and daughters born
here, and speaks our language like a
native" Upon this my nearest neigh
Dor, Lieutenant Colonel Wang, relaxed
q little and observed ne had never
talked with a foreigner and would be
glad to make my acquaintance. l re-
piled that II was a mutual pleasure,
and asked his age, province and per-
sonal name, which pleased him greatly.
AS 1t was rapidly growing darker, how
ever, and we had not yet seen the
wounded men, HUI cut short our bud
ding conversation by requesting Cen
eral Chang to show me the wounded
men. He CURLY declared. They are
in camp half a mile away and he can
go see them II he wants to-" "Will you
go2" inquired HUI. Yes, If you will go
with me-" / replied, not caring to ven
ture alone into the hostile camp, espe-
cially after what 1 had seen Of the
temper OF their leaders, but 1 added,
II think It would be much better to
have them brought here" Yes, yes,
that is better" said HUI. but General
Chang interrupted him by saying, I'm
Continued Next Weekly