REVOLUTION IN SIAN-FU 47 



JManchu governor of the province was in a state 

 of great anxiety, and did not sleep at all. lie 

 hid the keys of the city gates, and at the outbreak 

 of the troubles escaped, but was traced to a place 

 called Ts'ao-t'an, where he was beheaded. The 

 Manchu commander of the troops was spared 

 owing to the regard in which he was held by his 

 men. There were 3,000 trained troops at Sian-fu 

 at the time of the outbreak, and the city was for 

 some weeks completely isolated. The mountain 

 passes were held by troops, and all communication 

 stopped. 



On the Sunday of the outbreak — 



" The trouble broke out about 12 o'clock. The 

 soldiers first took the arsenal, and served out arms 

 and ammunition to every one who was willing to 

 join them, the badge being white. Unfortunately, 

 this was not sufficiently distinctive, for numbers 

 of bad characters put a badge on, got arms, and 

 used them only to rob and loot. The attack on 

 the Manchu city began soon after, and continued 

 until Wednesday morning, the object being to 

 totally exterminate the JManchus — man, woman, 

 and child. After Wednesday they ceased kiUing 

 the women and girls, but continued to seek out 

 the males. The position of the JManchus was 

 hopeless from the first, for their quarter was not 

 enclosed by a wall, and tliough every man is a 

 soldier, they are soldiers of the old type, with very 

 inferior weapons, so, although there were 5,000 

 Manchu men, they could do very little. Tiie 

 Chinese fired their houses, and then killed all they 

 could while they were escaping. Many climbed 

 up the city wall, and dropped down on the other 

 side, some to be maimed or killed by the fall, 

 others to be killed subsequently, and some perhaps 

 5 



