In The Early Morning The Parade Ground Is
Gay With "Thin Red" Lines Of Soldiers, And All Day Long With A Glass I
Can See The Occupations And Bustle Of Taipeng.
Taipeng is a thriving, increasing place, of over six thousand
inhabitants, solely Chinese, with the exception of a small Kling
population, which keeps small shops, lends money, drives gharries and
bullock-carts, and washes clothes.
This place was the focus of the
disturbances in 1873, and the Chinese seem still to need to be held in
check, for they are not allowed to go out at night without passes and
lanterns. They are miners, except those who keep the innumerable shops
which supply the miners, and some of them are rich. Taipeng is
tolerably empty during the day, but at dusk, when the miners return,
the streets and gambling dens are crowded, and the usual Babel of
Chinese tongues begins. There are scarcely any Malays in the town.
Mr. Maxwell walks and rides about everywhere unattended and without
precautions, but Sikh sentries guard this house by night and day. They
wear large blue turbans, scarlet coats and white trousers. There are
four hundred and fifty of them, recruited in India from among the Sikhs
and Pathans, and many of them have seen service under our flag. They
are, to all intents and purposes, soldiers, drilled and disciplined as
such, though called "Armed Police," and are commanded by Major
Swinburne of the 80th Regiment. There is a half battery of mountain
train rifled guns, and many of these men are drilled as gunners.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 321 of 437
Words from 88133 to 88395
of 120530
