The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-03-31

could not get my little Chinese pony TO
pass there without getting of and leading
him, he SHE'D to such an extent at the hut
tering papers. Day after day this literary
holocaust continued. When the wind was
in the direction of my house a fine black
snow kept perpetually falling and covered
the roofs and c~ourtyards with these ashes
Of dead thoughts. Hundreds of the books
were written in the quaint characters which
showed that they belonged to and were
written by Lama priests. Many of them
had probably found their way there from
the bleak steppes of far Thibet.
They were printed with those wooden
blocks by which these barbarians prac-
ticed the art of printing for centuries be-
fore the time of Caxton. Many Of them
also were in manuscript, which must have
meant years of labor. and hand-painted
pictures Illustrating some were occasionally
10 be found. They were all alike consigned
to the same funeral pyre, and thousands
of volumes of unascertained but perhaps
Of considerable value were thus lost 10 the
world forever. AS the bleak. cold winds
from over the plains swept down the de-
serted street at night and moaned dolor-
ously through the ruined houses, rafting
doors and tapping paper windows, it lifted
these torn book leaves and swirled them
around in a fantastic dance of death until
one could almost imagine one heard the
lamentations of the ghosts of their long
dead a-uthors-priests, hermits and scholars
mourning over the ashes of their life
work.
When some men demonstrated at this
piece of Western vandalism, the reply was
made that the Chinese had burned the
Hamlin Library in order to set fire to the
British legation.
Since the destruction OF the Alexandrine
Library there has been no such wholesale
holocaust of unreplaceable literary treas
ures as in the burning of the Hamlin. But
it must be recollected that this was not
done by the educated Chinese. but by an
Infatuated mob of Boxers, whose European
equivalent would be found in the incen-
diaries of the Palace of Versailles, or the
members of the Commune. 1t must be
borne in mind that this was done by a mob
who, however ignorant and infatuated,
were mainly actuated by a fanatical patri-
otism which, in a way, might be considered
not to be so far off the idea which an
mated the inhabitants of Warsaw to put
the torch to their city. But one seeks in
vain for any such excuse for the destruc-
ton of these thousands of books which
remained by the orders of the generals
who commanded the armies Of Western
civilization. If positions had been reversed,
and that il was the case that a part of the
Bodleian Library at oxford or the Con-
gressional Library at Washington had been
destroyed, would we not have considered
those who had destroyed the remainder as
unworthy TO be considered civilized?
PLUNDERED AND PLUNDERERS.
1t was a strange position on the morrow
of the day after the allies had entered Pc
king. The rich city lay at the mercy of
her plunderers. 1t was almost deserted by
its immense population, except a few Of
the very lowest class, who had nothing
in the way of worldly goods to lose, and
who seemed to hold their lives cheap. They
still held on and lived amid the ruins Of
their homes. Yet some Boxers fingered
about and lurked in the ruins, who had
an awkward way of shooting from behind
corners or through windows. so that there
was a certain amount Of risk Of going far
afeld to loot, but there was great reward
awaiting the enterprising. As late as two
weeks after the relief of the legations. in
the principal street near the Peitang Ca
thedral. two French soldiers were shot
dead close beside me, and although we i'm
nlediately rushed in through the ruins in
the direction from which the shots came,
we could find no trace of the men who had
fired them. The Japanese Intelligence De-
partment knew where every building con-
tanning treasure was located, and they
lost no time after their arrival in taking
possession of the most valuable Out Of
the buildings of the Board of Revenue
alone they took several million taels in
sycee. The silver was almost invariably
found in this form, and almost every even
ing for about a week after the occupation
/ would receive a visit. in the Chinese house
which / occupied, from Russian soldiers,
who would tramp in heavily with their
high-topped boots stuffed with silver, and
their blouses above their belts bulged out
with it also, who had come, Offering it for
sale at almost any price. The SO dollar
shoes were being freely offered for $40 10
SIS, but the difficulty was that there were
very few people in the happy position of
having a supply of ready cash with which
TO purchase. The proprietor of the Hotel
de Picking realized a large fortune by i'm
mediately securing a financial backing
from his bankers, which enabled him 10
purchase a large quantity Of silver which
had been taken possession OF by the
French or other soldiers. 1t was curious
what a redistribution of wealth went on
in Picking for the first month. The rich
pawnshops, fur stores and jewelry shop
that were broken open by the allied troops
were completely gone through by the low
est class of Chinese rabble almost invaria-
bly the night after they had been opened
For a week or more after the relief the
laws Of meum and tuum were in abey-
ance.
THIS HOUSE is OCCUPIED"
Ones possessions were only secure as
long as one could keep them within sight
The night of my arrival my pony was an
nexed by some Russian Cossacks. and
had 10 wait TIL the following night to make
reprisaI by taking one of theirs.
This one was an excellent pony except
that he had the awkward habit Of want
ing TO fall into line whenever I happened
TO be near a Cossack regiment. Going along
Hatamen street one DAY 1 saw a complacenf
looking Chinaman. sleek. well fed and blanc
in expression, riding along on a beautiful
Chinese pony.
On the end of a stick he carried a ban
ner with the strange device This house il
occupied" 1t was one OF the little flag
that used 10 be hung over doors OF sons