The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1912-08-23

Frederick Townsend Ward had gone to Mexic
more than two years before to sell some old or
nance to the government. Having accomplishe
this in due season, he had suddenly dropped oil
of ken, the eve of supposedly returning hom
Fancy, then, the surprise which greeted these word
If any act of so erratic person could amaze.
Il have entered into the Chinese service hay
very fine prospects at present and hope soon
have a comfortable fortune. / have been tran
formed from a Yankee into Chinaman In goo
style, with a good establishment. /, few daI
ago, took the second city of Importance in the vic
royalty from the rebels. 1 have made a pref
good thing of it and hope in a few weeks to tai
another city"
This communication was a veritable bolt fro
the blue. A restless, almost penniess vagabor
of a man, whom his friends had given up as los
suddenly emerging in China as master OF men an
a conqueror of cities! Our own bloody slaught'
house had not yet opened it's shambles, but IL
newspapers were SO absorbed in extraordinal
political situation that they gave scarcely a par
graph to such curious piece of news when 1t WI
made known to them.
A few weeks later another similar letter reaehs
the staid merchant:
81 was then referring to his first letter. ABOUT
starting up country, but l have since returned
having been badly wounded while attempting "
scale the walls of Sing Poo City. and was COM
PEELED to return to Shanghai for treatment.
got several shot wounds, the worst one went
through the cheek and down through the roof
of the mouth. They, that Is, the missionaries
and some English and Dutch merchants, TALK
very badly about me and my measures, having
used both rather unceremoniously when found
having connections with the rebels; but JACK
l am Independent of them all and consequently
do not care - for them
China is the country for man who IS
able to take risks and is gifted with GcoG COM
mon sense l have made more money in few
weeks than I could at brokerage in New York in
twenty years"
Sixty years ago American pu1pits ard church
conventions rang with the glad tidings that
Christian movement had sprung, spontaneously
as it were out of Chinese soil. The future OF
missionary effort was thus assured, 1t was hoped
in the poisoning of farreachng native force
that would speedily win the heather to the ban
ners of the cross. These hopes, however were
blasted as the rise of the religious cult OF
Makka schoolmaster developed into one OF the
most ruthless and devastating civil wars OF his
tory, and the nature of the outrageous traYesty
which had perverted a few Christian doctrines
into grotesque blasphemy, came to be under
stood.
Hung Su Tsuen had sought in vain for that
recognition before the literary boards at Canton
which the passport of official ambition. In
Canton he had absorbed crude notion of
ChrisA ian doctrine from Methodist missionary
and when he returned home, crazed by disap
pointment to live as humble pedagogue he
began to dream dreams and speak prophecies as
directly inspired from heaven. AS time
went on, his propagandism drew to its banner
hordes from the ranks of discomfort and crime
and army of ragged desperadoes began to
move from west to east in the early ffties to
establish the claim of the crazy fanatic (who
nrofessed to be the younger brother of Jesus
Christ and directly consecrated by the Holy
Ghost) to be the imperial head of the empire.
the annals of Oriental barbarism. 1t esti-
mated by conservative opinion that in ten years
this Internal regime known the TAPPING rebel
lion had cost the empire two and half
billions of dollars and the destruction of several
millions of lives by war, starvation and whole
sale massacres.
Hung Su Tsuen, as Tien Wang or Heavenly
King" was enthroned at Marking and he prac-
tcally controlled the great provinces of Kiang-
Su and Sheh-Kiang, the heart of the richest
tea and silk production of China. His robber
bands indeed raided down to the very gates Of
Shanghai, and the foreign merchants there were
sometimes hard put to it TO defend the city
though nominally on amicable terms with the
Marking despot, whom their trade so largely
depended.
One autumn morning at Shanghai in 1859 a
slight dark-compIexioned, MISUNDERSTANDING
called at the office of Tah-ke, mandarin
of the third button banker and merchant well
regarded by the foreign residents.
1t Frederick Townsend Ward, who had
Just landed in Shanghai from San Francisco He
was rough and seedy-looking with sailors roll
In his gait, but with a glance of fire and solid.
square-set jawbone to redeem his face Tah-ke
not encouraging when Ward spoke of his
desire to enter the Chinese service as free
lance, and answered that he could get belly.
full of fighting by joining the Shanghai volun-
teers
Thank you for nothing" said Ward, but
do that without your help. I didn't come
for that sort of advice. could make you help
me and help yourself at the same time. You
don't see it now. but you will"
Who then Ward? Born at Salem, Mass,
about thirtytwo years before his arrival in
i. China he came of race of deep-sea shippers
who had sailed on all oceans, arctic and tropi-
cal. and been noted for their handspfke and bes
layng-piu discipline Daring ami resolution ran
In his blood.
At the age of nineteen he had won his first