The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-10

THE LOOTING OF PEKIN.
Missionaries Were the Best "Fences"
Harder to Get the "Swag" Home
Than to Steal 1t.

Harder to Get the "Swag" Home
Than to Steal 1t.
Pekin Letter in the London Mail.
Here in the Imperial City these chill Oc-
tober days the one pervading topic to the
practical exclusion of all else is loot. Do
! you attempt to steer a conversation along
the road to a settlement, you will soon
find loot in possession of the floor. En-
deavor to extract from the lips of those
who endured the rigors and terrors of the
long siege some account of their expert
ences, and Immediately loot, you know,
not how, has routed the other subject
completely. Loot-how to get 1t, where
to get it, the value of it, how to sell it,
where to sell it, how to convey it home,
how best transport it, how best adapt it
to use or convert it into money-holds Pc
kin engro9sed.
Ladies' First.
There Is much contention as to who was
the frs in the field. Probably the honor
| belongs to two French ladies, who, with
in five minutes after Maj Scott and his
Sikhs entered the British legation COM
pound, and without even waiting to don
| hat or wraps, hurried away to a store oe-
! longing to Chinaman, and within the
| foreign concession, to secure some valua-
| BILE articles which they had seen and COW
eted. These women had a race for GER
tain particularly desired article, and the
winner has often since boasted of her VIC
tory and the presence of mind that made
it possible. Her defeated competitor is
only consoled by having secured some
! thing equally good.
That the revulsion which usually fol-
| lows relaxation of severe and prolonged
tension was scarcely noticeable among
the besieged residents was probably due,
| in a measure, to the immediate diver
sion afforded by the scramble for loot.
! The day following the relief a majority
! Of the people relieved were in full cry
/ in the appropriative hunt They had
! decided advantage over the believers, in
asmuch as they were familiar with To-
calities and the whereabouts of precious
| things. They got in Ion the ground floor"
Soldiers Next.
A period followed in which the city was
| literally given over to the will of the de-
spoiler. Then the military authorities took
hand and hedged the loot mania with
some restrictions. All the loot was to be
! gathered in certain places, and sold at
| public auction, the proceeds to go into
common fund held at the disposal of the
| government which conducted the sale.
! This amounts to much the same thing,
! but it gives the officers a better "whack"
and has a less reDugnant sound These
limitations, however, were not imposed
until the best stuff had been garnered,
nor did they prevent looting except by SOL
ders. They did prevent wholesale vast
age and destruction, for soldiers were
thus encouraged to turn into the general
| loot pile such articles as they could not
| conveniently carry, use, or dispose of.
The sales still continue, and the various
| loot piles contain great quantities of mis-
cellaneous property. Nothing remains lex
cept an occasional valuable piece of brio
a-brac or priceless antique which may
! have been overlooked), and the sales now
offer little besides common stuff. They
are still regularly attended by connois-
seurs, in the hope of picking up some
| rare article of vertu, and by specula-
! tors who purchase Unfortunately and
In large quantities Watch at home for
all sorts of spurious stuff, ordered for
sale as relics of the lot of Pekin.
IF YOU want something really cookbook
IN one of the missionaries. But | warn
YOU that you will have to pay its full
value"
This was the advice given me by
man who has been here through 1t all, and
''knows his little book" Bargains, COM
mon a month ago, are now extremely
| scarce. often the prices demanded are
double what is asked in normal times.
| The most valuable stun came OF course,
from the temples and palaces.
Not only has Pekin been gone over
with a fne-toothed comb, but the country
for twenty miles in all directions has been
| tborouehly looted. Half the petty mill
! tarv expeditions sent out are only legit-
| inatized plundering raids. We have now
| 50 far reacted toward civilized methods
| that the British and American soldiers
are prohibited from openly hawking loot
IN the streets This is progress, indeed.
Fair Bandits.
AT an afternoon tea table-no matter
inst where. except that it was in Pekin-
! the chat was heard to run along these
! lines:
.~Nere YOU much frightened during the
! siege?" said the man.
ooh. yes at first. But not so much
| after a while. The worst was when ! had
TO cut up my dresses and make sand
! bags" said the woman.
"Did YOU lose much, desr?" said the
| other woman
mot so much. You see I only cut up
nv old clothes You remember that blue
| elk of mine I sacrificed that"
What a pity!'
"Rut I have more silk now than ! can
! have made up in ten years. You ought TO
! see the beautiful piece Of brocade 1 got
Cax,o VO,tr Money.