The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-08-16

mates certificate. He took a turn in New York
at the business of ship brokerage and marine
supplies. Thence he disappeared for several
years and was heard of In Central America,
where he had joined Walker, the flibuster, mar
rowly escaping the fate of that adventurer. Ru.
NOR also associated him with the ill-starred ex-
ploits Of Wheat and Henningsen in the same
region. He had been heard Of also In the Cri-
mea as enlisted In the French zouaVes, from
which he managed to escape by desertion to
save himself from drum-head court martial after
having slapped his captain in the face.
These and other adventures doomed in his
background. .
Not Disconnected by Tah-ke's cold reception,
he took things into his own hands. He had
enough money to hire q small force Of rapscal-
lions, native and foreign, the kind that infest
an Oriental seaport like rats, and among them
a few deserters from the British military and
naval forces, who knew something about drill.
The most important of these acquisitions was
James Burgevine, a North Carolinian adventur-
er, who had severed allegiance to the Heavenly
King" Tah-ke had sold to Ward for a baga-
.telle a batch of condemned muskets and bayo-
nets which armed this ragged and unreliable
battalion. Ward and Burgevine whipped them
into shape not only by camp drill but by skir-
mishing with the Taipings at every opportunity,
for from their cities of Sung Kiang and Sing
Poo, only two or three days march from Shang-
N~N WV 1httS NOlDluhb AtupNiChDs
Wards primary object was to inspire his
men with confidence in him and in themselves.
He lived on the country and when he captured
Taipings he converted them into recruits in
stead Of refusing quarter, as was the habit Of
the tmperialists. Very soon the exploits Of
Wards irregulars began to make a buzz In the
foreign clubs and counting rooms. He had ere.
ated his own standing and when he went again
to Tah-ke that worthy received him with low
salaams.
He went straight to his mark like a bullet,
with the manner of one debating, not accent.
Ing, terms. He proposed a formal contract,
which Tah-ke was to negotiate with the Futai
OF Shanghai. Ward was to have $780, 900 from
the government for every city he captured, of
which $25, 900 was to go to the Chinese part
ners. He was to have the first days looting,
after which the captured place would be turned
over to the imperiaists.
Tah-ke was pledged to finance Ward for one
year, furnishing him with arms, ammunition and
stores, within a certain limit OF cost which the
other thought would suffice.
Within a month Ward led his first exned;tion
against Sung Kiang. which was garrisoned bv
about 5000 Taipings under the command of an
Englishman named Gardiner, an ~ex-offcer of the
British army. The attack failed, with serious
loss to Wards 500 assailants.
One thing had happened, however. which
proved of vast import to him, He had taken a
TeDel pliSoHsr ol soIe rank, VINO confessed 10
him that one of the bastions had a choked.,p
subterranean %sallyport If he could mako a
secret entrance through this, 1t would save the
necessity Of a desperate and bloody assault
General Ward recognized his little command
and, with 5000 imperialists to cooperate. made
his second attempt. Sung Kiang, with its Ave.
mile circuit of wall twenty feet high, was can.
tured; and to Wards great credit he prevented
anything like indiscriminate massacre.
Leaving Sung Kiang with an officer of bts
own in command, he returned to shanghai
where his achievement had caused a tremen,
dous sensation
There comes now an interim In Wards fight.
ing tolls, for half a score Of unhealed wounds
compelled him to go to Paris for treatment. but
we find him back again in the early summer of
1861 where his presence was sorely needed.
The foreign powers still pursued their hands.
off policy and allowed the Taipings to sound
their drums and tom-toms within earshot of the
swarming treaty port. In a diplomatic way, In.
deed, formal recognition Of the Heavenly King"
as the dominant power was In the air.
Wards coming shattered that intention,
which, II carried out, would have destroyed the
empire. He grasped the situation and, through