January 16, 1904.] .
So now they, together with the inhabitants of the adjacent village Sun Ning, bave petitioned for permission to form volunteer corps, and have sent men to Hongkong to buy arms.
KIDNAPPING.
A girl. Lai A Sam, was kidnapped and sold to one of the disorderly houses in Taihanghow. Upon the information of her mother the head of the police went with a number of men to take her oat. The keepers of the houses resisted and fought with them two policemen being badly wounded. 'i he Viceroy ordered all the disorderly houses in that street and its vicinity, numbering about o le hundred and thirty, to be closed and their inmates turned out. It is said that the officials want to charge six huudřed dollars to release each house, or make them quarters for the police. During these few nights the restaurant, music and singing business
· ́s'opped.
PORT ARTHUR.
[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDent.]
Was
Port Arthur, 28th December.
A STRANGE DISAPPEARANCE.
|
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. the East Asiatic Company was rapid, "but did | not appar atly satisfy his active spirit, for he seems to have been interested in other com- mercial enterprises, especially in the Liaotung Mining Syndicate. I saw Mr. Forum, the present manager of the . A. Company here, and he says that Mr. Reilly's accounts are in order.
STRANGE AFFAIR ON BOARD THE
"
CHUNGKING.
I have heard of a rather strange occurrence that took place on Christmas Eve. A Chinaman had paid the compradore to give up his cabin to him from Vladivostock to Chefoo, and on Christ- mas night there was such a disturbance in the cabin of the compradore that the latter was aske.l in the morning to tell what was the matter. He replied that he had not slept in the cabin having surrendered it to a friend; but on afterw.rds proceeding to interview this friend in order to ob'ain an explanation of the disturbance, he found a Chinaman he had never seen before occopying the cabin, te original lessee of the cabin having apparently disappeared. A dili- gent search for him revealed, however, the fact that he bad barn chopped into very small pieces aud tied up in a s.ck which was discovered in the cabin. Robbery must have been the motive of the murderer, for the victim was rich and had been bringing a large sum of money with him from Vladivostock. The fact that the British Consulate at Chefoo handed two Chinese | pirates over to the local native authorities on Christmas Day may have something to do with this strange occurrence on board a British vessel.
of the affair is that the Chinese authori ties seem to have connived at Talensan's raids, although they showed no hesitation in execut- ing any of the optared marauders whom the Russian handed over to them. But it is clear that the. Russians take oire of the more important of the robber chiefting themselves, at least they have a fine colection of them in the Arrestny Dom in Port Ar{hur which is, in consequence, visited frequently by important-looking Chinamen who drive up to the portals of that establishment in izooscheeks and spend a long time couferring the ca tured bandits. It is not i uprobible that the authorities at Peking, are indirectly
the highwaymen to encouraging
hot for the things
Russians, bat -a
would short-sighted policy it difficult to imagine, for it only gives the latter an excuse for remaining in Manchuria.
more
with
MAKO
be
The hunt for l'ale san seems to have now lasted for a whole year, It began in the August of 1902 wh n intelligence was received that this r doubtable brigand was in full fight, He seems, by the wy, to have always managed to do the most damage when in fall fight. He was then in the Lian River district, not far from Mousden, had at the head of 600 men who are described the Russians as perfectly disciplin ed and mounted ou fiae horses. Lieutenant Konshina endeavoured to surround him with the 41st Soto, but Tuleusan escaped through a gap left of the left flank of the Russians and the Lino River. Cornet Levsheeuorsky was sent in pursuit of him with a flying column whis the 41st Sotnya came on behind. Qu the 19th of The foreign community of Chefoo-the
August last the cornet located Tulensa in the younger portion of it at least celebrated village of Syakhouta, or rather the robbers Christmas in a sensible fashion by a game of made known their presence to the Russian by football played by the Customs v. the rest of
greeting the latter with a volly as they entered the village
Russian accounts Chefoo.. The latter team scored two goals to nil.ext day there was a hockey match, in say that the bin its were defeater!, but s they which many of the local young ladies took part only lost a few non and succeedàl'in g tting with great earnestness and no little skill. Some clean away, this defeat was really a very credit- of the private celebrations of the great Christ-able one for them. They suffered more severely mas festival-at all events the one which the on the 20th August at the village of Tendostun, present writer had the privilege of attending-although that place is surrounded by marshes were marked by a spirit of joyousness, reverence, and light-heartedness such as would have deligh'ed Dickens himself.
a
CHEFO AT CHRISTMAS-TIDE.
CHRIST A8 AT PORT ARTHUR.
In Port Arthur at least one local merchant, Canadian, celebrated Christmas in the good old style, that is, with the accompaniment of Christmas tree, etc., but of course the Russians did not observe the day. Their hristmas comes later and promises to be celebrated with all the enthusiasm with which Russians celebrate. There will be three days of unbroken revelry, then on the 29th there will be a pause, and again on the 30th the revelry recomme:des. There are always a good many people, especially soldiers and sailors, in the hospitals after these religious fêtes..
Much anxiety is felt for the well-known Port Arthur mercbant, Mr. Sydney Georg Reilly (whose name I mentioned in my last letter), the Manager of the East Asiatic Company, who left about seven weeks ago for a short pleasure trip to Japan and has not been heard of since the 18th November. The disappearance of r. Reilly bas given rise to a considerable amount of gossip. It appears, however, that the case is absolutely mysterious, as money has no place in it. Mr. Reilly voluntarily gave notice, some time buck, that he wished to leave his Înciative post as manager of the above- mentioned Danish Company in order to start in business on his own account. The con- fidence of his friends in his honesty and business capacity was such that sufficent money was placed at his disposal to enable him to begin the new business, and the pick of the East Asiatic Company's Port Arthur branch resigned their posts (or gave notice) in order to join him in his new venture. The present writer saw him in his own house just before he started for Japan and found him looking well, although he said that he had overworked i imgelf and needed a rest badly. He accordingly left. Dalny for Nagasaki by the E. R. S. Argun on the 14th November, reached Nagasaki on the 6th, and telegraphed the news of his arrival to a friend in Port Arthur on the same day, le after- wards wrote from Kobe on the 18th saying that he was delighted with Japan and proposed see- ing saka, Kioto, and Miyanoshita before re- | turning. That was the last letter his friends received from him, and some seven weeks have now elapsed without any news of him coming to hand, He should have been back in Port Arthur several weeks ago in order to assist at
THE BATTLE OF VAFIN. the closing of the business for the year and to The burial of the Russian aldiers who were meet his wife, then on her way from Europe. killed in the fight with the Hunghulze or Mrs. Reily arrived, expecting to meet her Mancherian highwaymen at the vill ge of Vafia husband who had telegraphed to ber saying that in Mongolis on the 13th November last, took he hoped they would spend Christmas together, place with the usual ceremonies at Dashi zyo in and her surprise and annoyance on discovering Manchuria on the 9th December his absence and on hearing some of the gossip time full information of the little campaign circulated about him may easily be imagined. which terminated at Vafin has been published. She has now left for Japan in order to trace him It is a long story but an interesting one, for it as best she can. Some of Mr. Reilly a friends bears a close resemblance to many of the British here are inclined to think that he is the occupant, campaigns against De Wet during the South of a Japanese dungeon as a Russian spy, but African war. The Mane' arian De Wet is this is in the highest degree improbable, as is also call d Talensan by the Itu sians and seems to the theory that he has met with an accident on be a resourceful der. He had under him two some out-of-the-way mountain in the Hakone Mieutenants, one of them a Chinaman called distriot. If he were arrested he could soon Tenben, and the other a Russian convict who put himself in communication with persons had escaped from the penal colony at Sakhlin, who could help him, and if he met with an and who called himself Fulenhoy, but this is accident or were even killed in some remote probably an assumed name. Mention is also part of Japan, the police would very soon: made in the reports of the campaign of a communicate with his friends here.
brother of Fulenboy who was captured by Mr. Reilly's father was Irish, and his mother the Chinese and put to death, and it may Polish. He was educated at Trinity College, be here stated that Fulenboy himself, who Dublin, and at Heidelberg University, Germany
useful to Tulensan and speaks French, German, and Rus ian as well Abdullah Sheri was to the Mad Mullah as he speaks English. He studied chemistry at of Somaliland, broke his back in attempting college and joined Messrs. Clarkson's Port to
escape from
the Russians at Vafin. Arthur branch two years ago as a clerk. His Tulensan escaped, however, with the loss rise to the head of the Port Arthur branch of of several of his fingers. A singular feature
Arthur
was
about
Port Arthur, 30th December.
At the same
as
|
The
hitherto believed to be impassable. They were driven out of this village with a loss of 25 men killed, many arms and horses, five pood of powder and 12,000 cartridges, After this defeat Tulengan fed to Mongolia
L'enben
Towards the end of October, this year, news was received that Tulensag with a new band 300 men was at Apshanobja a on the Chinese Eastern Railway between the rivers Taiuzikhe, Khunkhye, and Liao. A party was at once sent. In pursuit of him under the dires- tion of Captain Vestermark. Along with Tulensad was the famous Russiau renegade Fal phot with 50 mounted MD, also the other celebrat d brigand chief
In view of with about 10 mounted men.. this formidable combination the Russian force sent in pursuit was sufficiently formid.
of the able, consisting it did
7th Sotaya, two companies of the 4th Brigade, one commands of cavalry, and four guns, under the chief command of Captain Trotsky of the General staff, The object of the expedition was to surround the highwaymen and to prevent them making their way into o golia. In the Novi Krai newspaper of Port Arthur, from which I take this account, it is stated that Tulensan had been previously ia ekingând h d received permission to cross into Mongolia.
8.8
In order to catch Tulensan it was manifestly necessary to guard all the fords on thề Liaoho, but the robber captain succeeded in finding à ford which we not guarded. By the night of 30th October (old style), however, the Russians had overtaken him at the village of Vafin in Mongolia. They were not sure at first if it were he, and there were not a large number of Russians present, so that some care was necessary. But the Russians to k no pre cautious. A non-commissioned officer and two. privates penetrated into the village, killed several armed robbers and had soon the whole nest of hornets about them. The robbers numbered no less than 90 men, and their equipment and good shooting as well as their method of attack seemed to indicate that they were regular soldiers For a time the Russiaus were in great danger but they crouched down behind soine Chinese houses on the outskirts✨f the village and held their own gallantly. But they were unable to prevent the escape of the robbers