282 THE CHINESE "BOXERS" 



Each encampment had, of course, a leader who was resj)onsible to tlie 

 liigher officers. A card sent to each of these encampments, naminj; 

 the ])lace of the proposed attack and stating the number of men re- 

 quired from each, called out a party of such size as the leaders desired. 



The vast majority of the Chinese are entirely ignorant of the sim- 

 plest facts of natural science. To them the earth is still flat, and the 

 sun is said to ])ass around behind a mountain in moving from west 

 to east. The more sui)erstitious worshi{) the spirits, which are sup- 

 posed to abide in or have charge of their si)inning-wheels, hand-mills, 

 stables, wells, manure heaps, street gates, and many other things. I 

 know one man who is said to have worshij^ped thus over thirty 

 spirits, believed to reside in various parts of his three-roomed hovel. 

 Occultism and s])iritism are rife. 



The organizers of the " Boxers" have used this superstitious dis- 

 position for the furtherance of their ends. They have confidently 

 asserted that those i>roperly initiated into the mysteries of this cult, 

 and whose " Kung Fu " or exercise of its rules was perfect, would by 

 virtue of this j)ractice become invulnerable, and thus be i)rotected 

 against all bullets or knives. This was not left to future test entirely. 

 Several intelligent Chinese have told me that they had themselves 

 seen advanced members of the society strike different parts of their 

 bodies with sharp knives and swords with no more effect upon the 

 skin than is produced by the wind. The members of the society 

 believe implicitly in this invulnerability, and the peoi)le at large are 

 convinced that the claim is well founded. No difficulty is found in 

 explaining the death of society members in battle. In one instance, 

 occurring early last fall, 30 or 40 miles from Tsi-nan-fn, 10 or 12 

 '• Boxers " were killed by Catholics whom they had attacked. It was 

 then discovered that on the evening before or on the morning of the 

 battle these men had broken the rules of the society by eating certain 

 l)roscribed articles of food. In this way their death but strengthened 

 the faith of those remaining. 



It was ])roi>()sed at first to use no fire-arms in the extermination of 

 foreigners, l)ut to trust to the sword alone. Great reliance was j)laced 

 on certain calisthenic exercises and i)osturings which were exi)ected 

 to hypnotize or terrify the enemy. 



The " Boxers " are a patriotic party. AVhether this means loyalt}'^ 

 to the present dynasty or not is questioned. The Chinese have never 

 forgotten that their rulers are foreigners. Manchu and Chinese are 

 still distinct in dress and customs. The feeling seems to l)e quite 



