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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
March, 1935
V illagers T urned B andits “ The next day, one hundred Mongolian soldiers who were escorting one o f their princes, believing the bandits to have gone, entered the town. But they were still there and a short skirmish ensued, with street fighting in which five or six bandits were killed. The defenders o f the south distillery left with the Mongolian party the next day, only to meet five hundred bandits three miles east of the town. They fled, leaving all their baggage behind. Later these fifty or sixty men from the distillery returned, having in the meantime themselves turned bandits in order to defend themselves, and to prevent their being carried off for ran- son, joined in the spoils. Others were forced to leave their homes and join the bandits at the point of the gun. “ Four days later, on the twentieth, two hundred soldiers o f the so-called ‘save-the-country army’ along with ‘red spears’ arrived. The people turned out to welcome them, waving the republican flag o f China and letting off fire crackers. These new forces of disorder did not loot, but just ate off the people. On the day following, they issued a proclamation forbidding looting and carrying people off for ransom. The farmers were ordered to harvest their crops. Nevertheless, fresh bands o f robbers continued to arrive and loot at will. One o f the bandits, while passing the church, looked at Mr. Li and said in a sneering voice, ‘You should be shot for doing this,’ meaning preaching in the Christian church. “ In the evening, a group o f Christians had gathered for prayer in the church. A bandit entered and asked for Mr. Li’s. shoes. He was taking them away when one o f the Christians who had gone to school with the bandit recog nized him and spoke up. The bandit lost face, dropped the shoes, and disappeared with a disparaging remark. He returned the next morning for the shoes, when his former schoolmate was not there, and took Mr. Li’s socks for good measure. Later on, an old, ragged garment some one had loaned Mr. Li was also taken. “ Mr. Li, twice robbed within seven months, made his way to Taonan this week, in borrowed clothes. All he had left was a few books tied up in a cotton hymn sheet. “ T ’a Tze Ch’eng will probably be more or less free from bandits for a while, as nothing o f value has been left to plunder. Meanwhile, the bandits who roam the country in countless numbers look for new towns to plunder.” Since preparing the above, our own railway station at Szepingkai, in sight o f our home, has just been raided and burned down by sixty armed bandits in a surprise night attack. Several station hands, including the deputy station master, were burned. Truly, in'face o f these conditions, we plead for your prayers.
A F avorite H iding P lace for B andits . entered the yard and pounded at the door until Mr. Li, who was kneeling in prayer, feared to delay any longer, so he opened the door. They insisted that he lead them to the homes o f the wealthy people. Mr. Li told them that he was a preacher, that he did not know who had money, and that he did not want to go. The bandits beat him and forced him to lead the way. They made him carry a cloth and rope to tie up the loot. They struck him if he lagged behind. The first yard they entered was that o f a carpenter shop full o f coffins—a coincidence, surely, for in the presenoe o f these symbols of death the barbarous hordes o f rob bers, by their uncivilized and fiendish behavior, were ring ing the death knell o f their country. The people had already fled. By this time the town was in mad confusion. Terrified people were fleeing. Bandits had climbed onto the tops o f buildings and were firing wildly. A bullet en tered a house killing a girl fourteen years o f age, while she was lying on the k’ang (Chinese bed). The firing was being answered by volleys from the two distilleries, which were well defended. The streets were a riot. Looters were tearing off shutter's, smashing windows, and carrying away what they .wished. The town was theirs. “ Mr. Li’s three captors went into a dry goods shop and, their eyes dazzled by the sight o f good things to be had for the taking, seemed to forget him for the moment. He dropped the cloth and rope, fled back to the churchyard, and crawled into a haystack which, although full o f thistles and thorns, provided at least a temporary refuge from the storm. Bullets whizzed overhead and struck the roof of the church. By this time, the sun was high in the heavens, and it must have been about eight o’clock. Bandits were going from yard to yard searching for anything o f value. On turning the hay, one found Mr. Li, asked what he was doing there, and declared he must be wealthy or he would not be hiding. Mr. Li was taken off again, but fortunately two men among the rabble had heard him preach and said, “ ‘What are you taking him fo r? He is only a poor preacher and has no money.’ They let him go. Later an other bandit came to the church and said, ‘We don’t want anything, but we lack a little money.’ “ Mr. Li offered them his remaining twenty-five cents, but the robbers spurned it and beat him four or five times, saying, “ ‘If you haven’t any money, lead us to those who have.’ “ For the third time, Mr. Li was forced to go with them. This time, he was released on the pleadings o f an old man. When he returned to the church, he discovered that other bandits had been there and that, using an ax, they had smashed open a drawer containing $8.00 church col lection. This had been taken.
A M ountain P ass in J ehol , C hina —T ypical B andit C ountry .
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