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In the fighting in Sham Chun, the two allied clans at all stages had the advantage, principally because of their larger cannon. This caused in total about thirty deaths, two-thirds from among the Cheung clan. Through the shelling of the village several women and children died. Furthermore, a man from another village which had nothing to do with the conflict also died. His only contact with the fighting was to have gone to the market to buy something. The actual market itself had originally been considered as neutral ground, since the whole district had to go there, until suddenly the Tsois sent their shots straight into it.
One day a so-called Fortune Teller in the new market was seized as a spy by the infuriated people, and thoroughly beaten. One of our Christians, who had previously learnt something of surgery from the Missionaries, functioned as a surgeon from the beginning of the fighting, and made good business from the many woundings by his understanding of the use of chloroform.
After the fighting had continued for several more weeks, we saw the District Mandarin whose office was only about five hours walk away at last take steps to issue instructions to bring the case to an end. He sent an underling with a detachment of soldiers to Sham Chun to make peace. However, the warring parties refused to listen. He therefore took all his soldiers away with him, and the fighting continued fiercely.
A few weeks later, the cannon-fire stopped. I asked the reason, and was told that the Military Mandarin Tin On-pong had arrived with his soldiers to clean the matter up. This news pleased me. It was this man who, about five years ago, cleared this whole district of robbers and other rabble, so leaving us here free from what the Chinese call "great enemies of the people". He was at one time a day-labourer in a village not far from here, and then joined up as a soldier. From then on, his resolution has carried him through every sort of different endeavour, and so, going up step by step, he is now the man before