CO129-496 - Public Offices - 1926 — Page 174

I

Enclosure in Mr. Pratt's No. 10 of February 14th, 1926.

173

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HODOA, February 9, 1926.

biyode

mitsut talimi Jyd,sidżyllis‡nt at

Dear Friends,

197:wod

+

On the 5th a forge of three to five hundred

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Les art nå ar #nfl deitira to smutangeb

porata los vointasokan T

et noiden Nida qin te su avalian IIlw sh titta

42397adni władź tobian do

申

GDJE OVNS I

(ba)

of the Canton soldiers came to Nodoa+ We had a band of several thousand of the old regime soldiers in possession of the town, so that we had thousands of refugee women and children in the compound. Ve knew this force of

Canton soldiers were coming, but the women and children said they would wait a few days before leaving the safety of our compound. After keeping our gates looked for a couple of days when the other force was milling around the town, this Friday a.m. we opened the market gate and had no thought that the soldiers would attempt to crowd in here. The gateman came saying that one of the petty officers wanted to see the foreigner, and we asked him to come up to Dr. Seaton's house, where we were just having a station Keeting. He said he could not come, but would we please come out. Unsuspectingly Dr. Beaton and I went down to be accosted by a petty officer in Cantonese, saying he wanted to quarter a hundred soldiers in the church.

I said there were no living conveniences there, and we had no many women and children refugees in the compound, and the girls' school, so we could not let him have the church and that on Sunday we used the elmrch, He insisted and ordered

me to open the locked doors, but I refused, and we stood Just at the door of our compound, so to get in they had to fores us away. I tried to get the gate shut, but a soldier flourished his gun in my face saying "I'll kill you, I'll kill you".

I said "Well, if you must kill, kill' and did

not move aside, but he ordered a column of young huskies

to advance and Dr. Seaton and I were hustled out of the

way!