Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1901-01-17
A tCHRISTIAN" INVASION.

lD tub IlutlpE VI ihb Lilhtb-TkJtl. L
The writer of the letter from which the
following is an extract is a dstin-
guished American officer, who resigned
an important post at home IN order to-
place his services at the disposal Of the
government of his country at the open
ing of the present campaign in China.
l think tine graphic account which he |
gives OF his experiences will be read by
all with interest, but my object in
making it public Is to cali attention to |
the description, coming from so entirely |
trustworthy sohrce, of the method in |
which this war has been hitherto con- |
Quoted. Is it not time that all the |
Powers engaged should come to COM
mon understanding to put a stop to the |
abuses here alluded tot The best con-
quest Of Christianity was the intro
duction of humaner methods Of war
| fare, and, as is we'll Known, Con5tan-
tina the Great gave reward to those
of his soldiers who showed humanity
! TO fallen foes. Is the Twentieth Con-
tury to witness this great landmark IN
| the progress OF mankind effaced and
abolished2 s3te ,an.
| ! am sir, your obedient servant,
| Evelyn Martinengo Cesaresco.
| December 20.
| " go Here am, living in a tent,
few hundred yardsfrom the Temple
of Heaven The whole region from
Pekin to the coast, abnut ll5 miles by
wagon road, has been laid desolate by
the allies. Every house has been looted
and vast numbers OF them destroyed.
Temples and palaces, mandarin man
sion, and PEASANTS hut, all have Jared
alike. Between Pekin and the coast |
Epassed near many villages, besides the
city OF Tientsin, small compact cities,
many Of them, all ''looled, silent
and emEty, "a the ruins of Nineyeh or
Babylon. Except such coolies as have
Leen rounded up'il.by the allies and
forced to work under guard, not q
native in region lately teeming with
human life. That is, no natives outside
Of the big cities of Tientsln and Pekin;
possibly they contain one sixth OF their
former population. Thousands of people
have been brutality murdered there has
been greatB wanton destruction and
other outrages on helpless people. /
hope and believe Anglo Saxons have
been less cruel and brutal than others,
but they got their share of the loot
The historysof this war, thus far,
has not been creditaEle to the Superior
racen or to its fin de steele oiviliza-
tion. The prevention of brutalitIes TN
the part of the soldiers was, course,
rendered more difficult from she fact
that the troops comprised SO many
nationalities. each under a different
3 commander. Most of the officers, | be-
: lieve, hare done what they could to
. prevent wanton murder and outrage,
but the "looting'' has carried away
8 nearly every one. As | arrived here
q after Tientsn and Pesin and the In
. tervening region had been thoroughly
'looted'' 1, have not as yet been led
into temptation. The valuable plumber
taken has consisted chiefly 10 this
order, of silver in coin or bullion, silker
4 fabrics, furs, cid porcelain, an6
t cloisonne. Few Chinese Eank theil
+ wealth; nearly every one has q hoard
Of silver in strong boxes or buried in Of
r near his house or shop. These hoard'
d for laborers are, offeourse, small, offer
J. only few dollars worth. But 10 othel
L cases they amount lotions, The soldiers
o became very expert IN uneartning thes'
!. boards. And the mint of Tientsip aut
II other public and semi public deposit
o were looted. Many soldiers had more
i. silver THAI they could carry. OF course
J, they could not oumber themselves witt
~ it permanently, and most of 1t wal
" bought for mach less than its value b.
" hangers on Of the armies, who paid TO
n it in gold or bank notes, The Englisl
d have system requiring all plumber t.
be brought to regimental headquarter
ls and it is sold at auction, the proceed
II being divided in some way or going +
10 some regimenta fund. Such auction
1T sales have never before bean known b
the American army. But we are havin
IS them daily now also. At the taking O
t. Pekin our troops got possession OF
10 house containing the imperial ward
robe, an immense collection OF garment
+, for the use of the paace attendant
% and inmates of the harem, also for gift
5h to favorites or foreigners, gratifics
20 tions,' &C. A big lot of this stuff wa
looted, officers and soldiers carryin
u away trunks and chests full Of 1t. Blu
when the United States commando
Of heard of it, he sent guard to seiz
re what was left, and 1t is now bein
s. auctioned daily. Queer thing
to have been done over here by ''officei
he and gentlemen" The enforced labs
w of coolies, working under the control I
be soldiers, has led to regrettable inc
OF dents. 1t has been very denoralizin
ng experience. 1t is amazing how quick
nd the instincts of tyranny, the wors
NJ characteristics of the slave driver, al
e- developed in the average MANI WI
be finds his fellowmen under his iui
on checked control /, t,V t.a
id TN the way here from Tientsini I IN
~ nearly sure that saved the livea Of a
lrt elderly Chinameu and lad who wei
on about to be put to death by a Russia
of patroL The Cinnamon, at least, ha'
Of no doubt that would have been the
-al fate The storysis rather too long
tell in this already long and slipshc
So letter. III ~ f5f =