The ramparts of the city wall--Modern rifles and obsolete weapons--A defiant Manchu--The looting of the looters--Handy polyglot abilities--A few plain truths--Three chapters of a story in a nutshell--Fortunes made and lost.

While all this went on in the streets, the ramparts of the wall were strewn with dead bodies of soldiers and Boxers. Many who had been killed several days before the capitulation of the city had been pitched down into the street below. The bodies were partly eaten up by dogs, and what remained of them was in a fearful state of decomposition. The majority of soldiers had been wounded in the head when peeping over the wall to snipe at our men. By the side of those last fallen near the loopholes on the top of the wall lay stacks of gingals, Mannlicher carbines, Winchesters, swords, spears, tridents, and thousands of rounds of ammunition. In addition to these modern weapons, a great number of muzzle-loading guns were found that had been used in the defence of Tientsin, and near these one picked up small cane and cardboard tubes used by the Chinese to measure the gunpowder charge when loading them. Pouches filled with lead bullets were scattered about on the ground, also quantities of nails, pebbles, and other such articles, which were added in the charge to the bullet to cause additional damage to the enemy.

Roaming along, attracted at every turn by some extraordinary sight, one came again to the South Gate of the city.

The striking feature of a tall, defiant Manchu soldier stared me in the face. He sat motionless by the guard-house near the familiar rack, on which stood a number of old, rusty spears and tridents, the shattered remains of ancient Chinese protection. His hands were tied behind his back--for he was a prisoner--and his torn coat exposed in the middle of his chest a deep gash several inches long, caused by a bayonet or a sword. The remains of his coat and his trousers were soaked in blood, and the wound, very recent, was still bleeding profusely, and must have caused him intense suffering. But not a plea for mercy, not a groan of pain, came from his lips. He sat there stolidly and perfectly upright, with a terrible look of pride mingled with contempt on his otherwise impassive face. His jaws were tightly closed, his eyes, which never winked, slowly moved their piercing pupils from one figure to the other of the noisy crowd of foreigners who were rushing with their loot out of the city. Further on, outside the same gate, two heads of Chinese swung on the wall, strung by their pigtails. Evidently two Boxer traitors.

But enough of these horrible sights. In one hour, going through Tientsin city, one could that day see enough disgusting scenes to last one a lifetime.

As I have said, the authorities, with Captain Bayly at their head, allowed free loot the first day; but on the second day, when people, encouraged by the impunity of the day before, came to convey their booty into the foreign Concessions, they found to their surprise that it was duly seized by officers of the various nationalities. A looting of the looter, as it were.

[Sidenote: USEFUL POLYGLOT ABILITIES]

The amusing part of all this was that, to avoid unnecessary friction, officers were allowed to confiscate the presumed loot brought into the Settlement by their respective countrymen only, and at this point a knowledge of several languages came in handy for looters. When rickshaws and coolies carrying the plunder were stopped by French officers the plunderers would reply in German, on which the Frenchmen would politely salute and declare that they did not understand German, nor had they any power to interfere with German subjects. The British officer, who next challenged the looter, would be met by a jabber of French, and he too would bow courteously and acknowledge that subjects of the much-respected French Republic were not under his jurisdiction. Thus with regretful eyes each would beg the pillager to continue his journey--with his spoils--until, if he knew languages enough to carry him through, he would eventually reach home in safety.

So folks--not military--who were fortunate enough to speak various foreign tongues brought home quite a nice collection of things, whereas others, of less polyglot abilities, had to endure the hardship of compulsory separation from their much-valued pickings. If they remonstrated, a few plain truths were told them in addition; their names--usually somebody else’s--were taken down, and many a rash _paterfamilias_ was made to feel pretty uncomfortable for days to come by such cool remarks of the officers as: “We do not know yet what punishment will be meted out to you, but you will hear;” “Martial law condemns all looters to be shot without trial,” or some such comforting words, which were enough to eradicate, even in the most enthusiastic, the dangerous mania of collecting Chinese curios without paying for them.

Many amusing tricks were nevertheless played on the officers in charge. Two marines had found 15,000 dollars in silver and gold. They deposited the precious load in the bottom of a water-cart, filled it with dirty water, and, without arousing the slightest suspicion, wheeled it safely into the settlement. Chapter two of the same story saw the two _nouveaux riches_ hopelessly intoxicated, standing drinks all round, and confiding in everybody how they had acquired the large fortune and brought the treasure in without being detected. Chapter three: the silver and gold, less what had been spent in drinks, was duly seized by the authorities, and the men were placed in irons pending court-martial.

Others made and lost similar and even greater fortunes within a few hours, but as the confiscated loot was divided among the brave soldiers who captured the city, no one (after getting over the first shock) thought the treatment unfair. On the contrary, one and all were glad that the troops should have all, and no one grudged that they should be rewarded to the fullest extent.