1 204 
THROUGH ASIA 
as to see if the Dungans approached the walls with their 
scaling-ladders. On September ist the large Mohamme- 
dan village of Tung-kwan, a suburb of Si-ning-fu, situated 
outside its eastern gate, revolted, and every Chinaman 
in the place was slain. Meanwhile famine began to make 
itself felt inside the city, and various epidemics raged 
amongst the overcrowded population. Then the fuel ran 
short. In order to procure fresh supplies of wood, the 
Chinese began to foray the neighbourhood, always going 
out in large companies and exercising the utmost caution. 
But the Dungans were too cunning for them. They 
placed themselves in ambush and slew all who ventured 
to leave the shelter of the walls. 
The rabble of the town dragged through the streets 
certain of the mandarins who were suspected of looking 
with a too favourable eye upon the rebels, and after 
torturing them in every conceivable way beheaded them. 
It was only with the greatest difficulty that the governor 
of the city, the cowardly Dao Tai, managed to save his 
life. At the end of the revolt he was summoned to 
appear before the Emperor, to receive the fine silk cord 
which carries with it the ominous command, “ Go home 
and hang yourself” He did not obey the summons, but 
put an end to himself in Lan-chow. 
Meanwhile it was expected every day that the town 
would be taken by the Dungans. The Chinese distributed 
amongst their wives large doses of opium, to be taken 
the instant the town was invaded, so that they might 
not fall alive into the hands of the Duncans. But the 
o 
walls were strong, and the Jen Tai or general in command 
was a stout-hearted man, and Si-ning managed to hold 
out until January 1896; when General Ho approached 
with a reinforcement of 2000 men, who had been fighting 
the Japanese. General Ho was a very worthy man. 
He was still in Si-ning-fu at the date of my visit, and 
1 had the honour to make his acquaintance. 
It is scarcely possible to conceive the horrors that were 
perpetrated on both sides. Prisoners were tortured in the 
most inhuman fashion, and little children were tossed on 
