Chapter 13: Some Bandit Chiefs I Have Known
The way was now definitely open for me to interview several bandit chiefs. I knew absolutely nothing of the geography of the country where these men had retreated into their strongholds: nor did I know anything about the character of the men I was going out to meet other than their reputation for daring deeds. It seemed wise to call first upon Chief Ling Cu Lung, who was notorious for his daring attacks upon the northern soldiers, but whose implicit confidence, for some reason then unknown to me, in the missionary, afforded a promising point of contact in the work ahead.
This man selected as a meeting place a small village hanging on the almost perpendicular face of a chasm where a great notch had been cut through the high range of mountains which stood out with the symmetry of a green wall against the sky. There was absolutely no approach other than by one winding path up a rugged slope, and then along the top of the range for miles, where the road was plainly visible from almost any strategic point across, the chasm. When the road reached a point about two miles from the lonely little hamlet it suddenly dropped abruptly into the chasm and across the wild stream which had bitten this chunk out of the range.
The road leading from the top of the range into the chasm was in such plain view from the village on the opposite side as to render possible the distinguishing and counting of figures without the use of glasses. The strategy of this place was very evident to me just as soon as our guide pointed out the village from the distant mountain top, and I realized that these men were taking absolutely no chances when they agreed to meet me at this trysting place.
I had with me a high military officer and a special deputy from the Tuchün in Foochow, in addition to my own interpreter, cook, and burden-bearer. I could, of course, converse directly with the bandits, but on account of the presence of these military men from the north who could not understand a word of the language of the Fukien people, it was necessary to take along a man who could be ears for them to know all that I was saying. I insisted upon this. I had been instructed by the bandits not to bring along any extra men, so I had previously sent in a list of those who would accompany me. It was pointed out to me that there was great danger of being fired upon if I took along a greater number than I had designated.
I learned later that these bandits had been informed by agents of those parties who were getting rich supplying arms and ammunition that I was to take a lot of soldiers under the guise of servants and coolies, and that during the night these people would arise and attack the bandits. I soon realized the situation I faced in seeking interviews with these brigands, but I have never had any dealings with a more straightforward lot of men than these same outlaws.
I had no asset worthwhile among these people other than that I was a missionary, and an American, but I resolved in the very beginning that I would permit nothing that would impair the confidence that these men were manifesting. I refrained from being so much as seen in conversation with any of my own party except under conditions wholly above suspicion.
Upon reaching the village overhanging the tumbling stream, looking now like a silver thread resting upon the tops of the laurel and rhododendron in the depths of the canyon, I was led into a beautifully decorated room where a feast was spread. Everything was normal in the village and there was no one in sight whom I could so much as suspect of being a bandit. One distinguished-looking man came forward and talked with us for a time, until evidently he became satisfied that everything was all right, whereupon he announced to me that the, brigands had not yet arrived, but that he had been asked to prepare a supper for us. He then said that the bandits would not arrive from a far distant point until nine o'clock in the evening, but that we were to make ourselves at home in the village. At that time sharp-shooters were watching us from close by.
Though weary from my twenty-mile tramp over the rugged mountains I greatly enjoyed the following two hours studying the making of paper from bamboo pulp. The interest I manifested in this industry and in things in general seemed to gain for me the confidence of all the villagers. Young men began to slide down through the bamboo groves back of the village as if in response to some signal. We talked of paper-making, of wild boar-hunting, and of everything that I thought would interest these people. Finally, I began to talk of education, to find that there never had been a school in the community. Yet there were a number of young men who could read well, and talk intelligently concerning many problems of the outside world.
It developed that these young men as boys had studied in Christian day schools in distant townships, and it was their knowledge of the church and of the missionary that was responsible for the attitude of confidence on the part of the chief toward me. They themselves were bandits of the most daring type. They were the very brain of the gang of outlaws, and it required much real brain work to exist at all in the kind of life these people were forced to live.
During this first night with the bandits I learned the true character of the men with whom I was dealing. Only a few days after my visit, and before the last details of the matter were definitely fixed up, one of the very men who sat with me almost all night around the council table was stood against a tree and shot by his fellows because he had acted in a way that brought discredit upon the gang.
Upon being summoned to supper we were ushered again into the room where the ruby light from the many lanterns made a wonderfully beautiful glow. I found a table spread with such a sumptuous feed as one would little expect to find in such an out-of-the-way place. The chopsticks were of carved ivory, and many of the dishes and utensils of rolled silver. I had never seen anything like it in the homes of the rich, and must have manifested my surprise at the elaborate occasion.
As we were being seated around the table with the usual haggling and commotion common to such doings, a man whispered into my ear, "The chief has done you a great honor in preparing such a spread." I realized this forcibly enough, but felt a keen disappointment because no person whom I could imagine as being a bandit was being seated with us at the table, for I had hoped to meet these men in sufficient numbers to permit a study of them.
I found a little later, however, that they were near at hand in numbers sufficient to satisfy anyone. This was my first appearance among the bandits, and Chief Ling had been cautioned by all the other chiefs to play absolutely safe lest another trap be sprung by the military. The eyes of at least four bands of bandits were watching what was going on in the isolated little hamlet, and there were armed men enough within gunshot to have cleaned up all the northern soldiers in the province.
Everything went off beautifully during the feast, which was ordered according to the ways and usages in such events. I was profoundly impressed with the etiquette of the occasion, but nearly collapsed when an expression of confidence of which I had often heard but never seen was pulled off. I think that it was about the twelfth course when a large rooster, fairly swimming in delicious gravy and covered with mushrooms, was brought in. The comb stood up over the bird almost as broad as one's hand. As the platter containing the fowl was placed in the center of the table, and before any move had been made to dismember it, the man acting as host in the absence of his chief arose, and with very great deliberation removed the comb from the head. With an unused pair of carved chopsticks he placed the comb on a silver tray. Taking the tray in both hands he walked once around the table with the air of a priest about to do sacrifice before the gods. Stopping on his second round at my left, he made a low bow and with great dignity placed the tray before me. Realizing the seriousness of the occasion I arose and made a low bow in recognition of the honor, not understanding at the time the full meaning of the procedure. The man sitting to my right leaned over and whispered in my ear: "You are crowned. This is the greatest token of confidence known among these people."
The ice seemed now to be broken with a vengeance, for the several villagers seated about the table, who up to this time had been silent to such a degree that I was almost embarrassed at their seeming sullenness, opened up and began to discuss freely with me the whole bandit situation. They appeared to ignore totally the presence of the military men sitting at the table as they lay bare the facts.
Seated at the table were the private secretary of the bandit chief, and others high in authority, who no longer tried to conceal their identity. They had committed into my hands their very lives with this "crowning" ceremony, and I realized as never before what it meant to represent men of this character in a cause of this kind. For a few seconds I almost wished that I was out of the whole thing, but upon more sober reflection I realized that the undertaking was a sure success so far as the bandit side of it was concerned. My task was to safeguard the interests of these sturdy mountain men who had committed themselves without reserve into my hands.
I well knew that if I did not act wisely from the beginning, there might be serious consequences. My first move would have to be made with very great care. What I did staggered the military men who had accompanied me, but it settled once and for all the character of the deliberations. I was assured by the interpreter as we settled down for a few minutes rest just before dawn that I had absolutely sealed the thing and that there would be no attempt at trickery on the part of the military men or those whom they represented. It was a little thing, but the right thing in the right place.
At the very beginning, after the feast table had been cleared, and ten bandit officers who had come in from the hills accompanying their chief had seated themselves, I made known my purpose in asking for the interview, suggesting my relations to the whole matter. I pointed out that the Tuchün, or military governor, in Foochow, had a representative in Mr. Chang; that the commander of the troops assigned to the task of disposing of the bandit matter had a spokesman in the presence of General Wang, enlarging upon the fact that these men acted with the authority of those whom they represented. I then agreed openly to become the representative of the bandits, responsible to them for all that I did or agreed upon. I insisted that my position as spokesman for the outlaws be understood by the other men present in order that there should be no misunderstanding when I stood firmly for fair play, as I assured all present I most certainly would do.
We had been seated around the table an hour or more deliberating concerning the terms for a settlement as they were laid down one by one by either side, when suddenly every bandit at the table jumped to his feet at the whimpering call of an owl from the distance. They jammed about the door manifestly very much excited.
At first I did not realize what had caused the sudden commotion, but sat calmly at my place at the head of the center table. From this position I could look out of the door and far across the deep chasm to the trail along which we had traveled in the afternoon. On this road, and fully three miles away, were a number of moving lights. What they were I have never learned, but the quick eye of some bandit sentinel had seen them at their first glimmer in response to which there floated across the stillness the lonely call of a night bird. This call had electrified the bandits, and every man was soon ready for either fight or flight. It all cast light upon the terrible tension of the hour.
Without moving from my seat, and without showing the least apparent concern, I said, "Brothers, I have agreed to represent you in a faithful way in this important affair, and I mean to do it if you give me the opportunity; I am wholly responsible for what takes place. I bid you be at peace and return to your seats that we may continue the deliberations."
In response to these words each bandit resumed his seat, bowing low and smiling sardonically. One man then resumed his station at the door and watched the movements of the lights. I was just as much interested in the lights as any man present, for not only the success of the task to which I had set my hand, but my own life as well was in the balance. I dared not show the least concern, however, lest there be a stampede into the hills of the men that I had gotten together. I did not get away from the thought of those lights all night, for there was no telling what some aspiring military official might try to accomplish since so many had recently been promoted upon reporting to Foochow some deed of daring against the bandits. I was much relieved when I could see the waving bamboos in the gray dawn, and there was excuse for us to be up and moving about.
My first night in a bandit stronghold was past, and the suspense was over. The deliberations had been entirely successful, as arrangements had been made for the turning in of guns and ammunition, and the time and place for the issuing of pardons agreed upon. Of course the military men were greatly elated, for they could report back to their chiefs the success of the interview, pointing out the degree of success attending their efforts, and consequently would expect promotion or reward.
The bandits crowded around me like enthusiastic schoolboys, thanking me for the great service I had rendered them, each eager to know when he could safely return to his home. As bandits these fellows had proven a terror to their enemy. They had exacted heavy toll from the soldiery in every conflict and were now well armed and equipped for better defense than they had ever been able to put up before, but all were eager to quit the business and return to the homes of their fathers. This was the hour of supreme happiness for these several hundred outlaws who had conducted themselves as highwaymen for years, but not as a matter of choice.
Upon leaving the following morning, after a breakfast but little short of the feast of the evening before, the mountains and ravines reechoed the banging of firecrackers and firing of small field pieces. I heard one man say to another, "Our cause is perfectly safe in the hands of that missionary, for he is an American," and I resolved again that it was then, and always should be.
Within a few days all the conditions agreed upon were met and this band of outlaws passed out of existence. Word was passed to the other bandit chiefs and within a short time I found myself overwhelmed in this work of reconciliation.
My next experience found me involved in complications of a very serious nature, from which I had difficulty in extracting myself. I will never forget the night spent with bandit chief Dang Gi Ling. I was strongly advised at the outset not to undertake this trip, but being bent upon rushing the thing through as fast as possible, I was as willing to meet the chief now in his distant stronghold as later at some more accessible point.
I traveled far across the mountains the first day to where I was to spend the night, expecting to proceed the following day to some distant point where. I would meet in person this man of whom I had heard so much. Common rumor had it that I was to be waylaid and assassinated at the instigation of those who were carrying on a lucrative business in guns and ammunition. What I heard only stimulated in me a greater desire to see this bandit, the most dreaded among those operating in this particular region. To put this band out of business would mean the end of more than one form of lawlessness and evil.
The first thirty miles was along a narrow wooded way following for the most part a river basin, and then across a steep divide. From the crest of the divide I could look down into a quiet nest of villages on a wide plain comprising a township. The exact hour of our arrival at this point must have been announced well ahead, though by whom I do not know, as I did not know myself where we were going or when we would arrive. There was a full mile of men, women, and children lining either side of the road, armed with drums, gongs, horns, and oil tins to meet us. This was the second reception I had been extended during the day, but this one was of a character quite different from the one at ten o'clock in the morning.
I was then traveling along the Yuki River far inland. On all sides were the smoldered ruins of towns and hamlets, showing the work of the northern soldier. A terrible struggle had been going on for weeks in this region and it was now a devastated waste. As I rounded a point of land close to the river I saw five boats heavily loaded with armed men running a steep rapid. There was evident excitement in the boats as I was discovered, and one by one they swung into a cove at the foot of the rapid where the soldiers scrambled out to the shore and were soon lost in the heavy underbrush.
Of course I did not know what this meant, but I did recall the warning which had been given me not to start on this particular trip. I did not slacken my pace, however. Walking over a little knoll I came suddenly upon more than one hundred fully-armed men lined up on either side of the narrow trail. This proved to be a military escort sent down the rapids to accompany me through a danger zone within their lines. This soldier-guard convinced me that possibly there was danger lurking along the highway.
After crossing the river miles above I left the soldiers and struck off into the mountains, emerging into the township across the distant divide to receive the second welcome. I was now traveling in territory recognized as being for the time under the jurisdiction of the bandits. There were no armed men to welcome me this time. For the most part they were people who had suffered terribly during these years of disorder. Now they were out of the fullness of their hearts expressing joy at the thought of possible peace and quiet.
I unlimbered my camera to get a picture of the crowd, but everything was so enveloped in a cloud of smoke from the firecrackers that picture-taking was impossible. For nearly half an hour I passed through a double line of people shouting and singing and making more than merry, the lines falling in behind to lengthen my train as we passed. This welcome was not staged by either the bandit chief or the military, but was a spontaneous outburst of happiness and enthusiasm among the hundreds of families who had suffered terribly at the hands of both.
After getting settled down in the room that I was to occupy for the night I was waited upon by three distinguished-looking men who engaged me in conversation. When everyone else was out of the room these men leaned over and asked in a whisper, "Where are the guns?"
I supposed the man was inquiring concerning my so-called "Tiger Gun" which I had been accustomed to carry with me, and which had quite a reputation. I therefore told him that I had left my guns in Yuki City.
"I mean the sixty guns you were to bring to-day to be delivered to Chief Dang," replied the man.
Not knowing anything about the matter, it was difficult for me to evade the issue without creating suspicion. So I simply replied, "Oh, yes, those guns. I will discuss the matter with Mr. Dang tomorrow when I see him," and tried to dismiss it in that way.
These men would not remain long enough even to drink a cup of tea, but hurriedly arose, saying that they would have to hurry back and report the matter to Mr. Dang.
As they were going out I said with a reassuring smile upon my face, "Tell the chief not to worry about the guns; that matter is all right."
They left me satisfied that everything was as it should be, although they were evidently disappointed that the guns had not been delivered.
Just as soon as my visitors were gone I called in the interpreter and laid the matter before him. He knew nothing about any guns being promised. I next called the deputy representing the Tuchün, for I now felt sure that there was some underhanded work being done, and he was the first man that I would suspect of treachery.
To my great surprise, I found that this man had personally taken a representative from the Mayor of Yuki City and one from General Wang and had gone in privately in my name and had interviewed the bandit chief, offering him a high commission in the army, and a second job paying him a big salary, in token of which he was to have sixty of the latest style military rifles and sixty thousand cartridges. This move was carried out on the part of these men simply in order that they might be able to report to their superiors having brought this bandit to terms prior to my getting on the ground, and thus get the glory.
When dealing with ambitious men of this kind one must be ready to meet some such deal at any turn. I was, in fact, expecting to do anything reasonable and was prepared for it, but to confront such a serious proposition as this worried me. However, I was too far along to back out even for a day of consideration and council.
I could but give vent to my wrath, telling the three men involved in the scheme exactly what I thought of them and their way of doing business, but in doing this I had to use great care and talk but little above a whisper. To express wrath in China in a whisper is something that Chinese have never learned to do, and I felt from the look of complacency on the faces of these men that they did not take half to heart the lecture that I was delivering. If it were possible, however, to express one's feelings in the Chinese language without a howl to be heard half a mile, I must have gotten something of my feelings across to these three aspiring scoundrels. I had to be satisfied with this. I think that these rather unfriendly deliberations were concluded without anyone in the village even suspecting any unpleasantness between members of our little group.
Counting burden-bearers and all, there were sixteen people in the party which left the village at daylight and headed into the densely wooded mountains. I always walked a considerable distance ahead in order to come upon any stray bandits who might be abroad, for should our large party suddenly emerge upon bandits in those mountains, it would immediately be fired upon, so tense had been the atmosphere for months during the struggle between the military and the outlaws.
It seemed to me that the mountains of Fukien were never so beautiful as on that spring morning. I had at last penetrated the deep recesses of the region where virgin forests stood. Rhododendrons vied with azaleas, the latter hanging in gorgeous colors and profusion from trees thirty feet in height. No country could put out a greater wealth of flowering trees and shrubs than we were passing through all forenoon.
As I was topping a heavily wooded divide far ahead of the party I raised my head to see silhouetted against the skyline a long row of bayonets. Barely showing above a low mud barricade was a row of military caps. I knew that I was coming upon a band of bandits, for no soldiers were to be found that far back in the mountain fastness. Who they were, and what they were crouching there for was the question which perplexed me, but it behooved me to get in touch with the armed men before the members of the party following should even see them. Otherwise there might have been both excitement and a stampede. Fortunately, a bend in the trail at this point gave me ample time to do this.
As I approached the waiting bandits without so much as altering my step I thought again of the advice not to undertake the venture of making the trip across the mountains. There was nothing to do now but face the crowd, who were as still as statues silhouetted against the sky. Rounding the end of the low wall I came full upon the men, who, at a command from their leader, arose and saluted me, bringing their guns to rest. The lieutenant in charge of the squad then advanced and handed me a card of greetings from his chief, Dang Gi Ling. A little note was also handed me from the chief saying that he had sent out twenty-six of his picked men to escort our party through a region where there were lurking dangers.
We learned that a band of bandits from the neighboring county, and the country through which the flow of guns and ammunition from the coast had been kept up for months, had been sent out to break up our work of reconciliation, and it was known that we were to be attacked in this particular stretch of mountain fastness. All this added zest to our undertaking, but at the same time assured me that the chief we were going to interview meant business. He was noted for courage and zeal in all things.
It was still a dozen miles to where we would spend the night. We had no opportunity to go through many formalities, for the lieutenant sidled over and held a short conference with the interpreter, who came to me suggesting it would be wise to get out of the heavily wooded area as quickly as possible.
The last lap of the journey was started silently. No one seemed inclined to speak. It was a study of a lifetime to watch these bandits as we wended our way hurriedly along the wooded, winding trail. The last two miles was over the most rugged kind of country, where it several times became necessary to get down on all-fours to climb mere wild animal trails. Five bandits heavily armed kept well ahead, and five with like equipment well in the rear. There seemed but little danger of an attack from the flanks on account of the dense cover. It was a journey fit to kill the less-hardened of the party. I was beginning to feel the strain myself, though I had been scouting over the mountains of the province on foot for many years. The well-fed general and the special deputy from the Tuchün suffered most, for this business was new to them.
Crossing the summit of a high mountain we came upon a basin surrounded by ragged cliffs. This basin had been cleared, and in the center stood a two-story house, with a number of smaller houses scattered around. This was the stronghold of bandit chief Dang. He had chosen this isolated and impregnable spot and built the houses himself. But few people other than bandits so much as knew it was there, and they were those who had been captured and held for ransom. Before any man was released he was bound with an oath of a character effectually to seal his lips forever. No force of soldiers accustomed to the barren hills of the northern provinces would ever venture into such a place. It was as safe as though upon another planet.
A table was spread with many kinds of cakes and dainties, tea and wine, and placed at the further end of a bridge composed of one slender plank across a deep ravine. Beside this table stood the bandit chief.
As we approached the bridge my interpreter whispered to me that we were just to sit at the table, but were not expected to touch even the tea. We were being greeted with a form of etiquette formerly practiced only when the emperor was being received. It would be a great mistake, so my companion assured me, even to touch anything, though we would be hard pressed by the chief both to eat and drink.
We greeted the bandit, readily taking the seats assigned to us, but soon I bowed low and arose, which was a sign for all to follow suit. The bandit chief pressed us to partake of the dainties for a time, then arose and led the way one hundred yards up the approach to his home.
The house where we were to be entertained was a veritable blockhouse. It was a roomy, two-story building, built to accommodate comfortably, according to Chinese standards, one hundred or more men. In the center of the building on the upper floor was a spacious reception hall, very appropriately decorated for the occasion.
When we entered the hall there was nothing so much as to suggest that we were in the stronghold of an outlaw. Handsome banners of satin and silk covered the walls, while the place was fragrant with bouquets of beautiful mountain flowers. Behind the three chairs set against the wall in the place of honor hung three large Sabbath-school scrolls, each portraying some act of Jesus. One could for the moment more easily imagine himself in a place of worship than in a building literally alive with outlaws.
I was assigned to the seat of honor, with the others seated according to the custom of the people. We soon settled down to business while a feast was being spread in the center of the hall. I consumed about fifteen minutes making known the object of my coming, and why I became party to the work in hand, taking especial pains to impress upon all that I meant absolutely fair play. This conversation lasted until eight o'clock when we were invited to take seats around the table. I was asked in a most gracious manner to say grace at the feast table. More and more I became impressed with the fact that things were out of harmony with all for which this place was noted, yet there was an atmosphere of sincerity in it all.
After the saying of grace fifty armed men quietly filed into the room, taking their stand along the wall almost encircling the table. At this juncture the chief requested the privilege of making a few statements. He had so arranged the seating at the table a to place himself opposite the general who had accompanied me. His remarks were rather pointed, and directed at this man.
He began in a courteous manner to discourse upon the strife which had been going on between the soldiers and the bandits, referring in a polite yet sarcastic way to certain battles which had been fought in which the soldiers suffered heavy losses. He pointed out that it was high time that the matter be settled by arbitration, as the bandits could never be suppressed by force, emphasizing the fact that these people were outlaws because it had been forced upon them, and the presence of the northern soldiers in the community had perpetuated it.
The bandit chief drove home the cruelties of the soldiers, reciting instances of ruthless pillaging and burning of whole communities, winding up by saying, "General Wang, you people have within the past months executed more than three thousand people. In all of your cutting off of heads you have not caught ten bandits. In this matter it is impossible that a bandit chief be mistaken." It all was a most terrible arraignment of facts, but no matter how these military men might have felt there was nothing now for them to do but sit patiently under this rapid-fire of accusations.
In closing his speech the chief played a most impressive card. It had, of course, been told him that there was more treachery in this present movement, and that any chief who agreed to meet these men in a parley was courting danger. It was evident that he had implicit confidence in me, but that he felt these men would willingly sacrifice even me upon the altar of their ambitions.
With his keen eyes upon the general, the bandit said, "General Wang, I am called a fool for permitting you to enter my place of abode and sit with me at a feast table. It has been suggested how easy a matter it would be for you to come to my presence with a sleeve gun [pistol] concealed up your sleeve; what an easy matter for you to shoot me dead across the table. As I sit here facing you I realize it would indeed be an easy thing for you to either shoot me above or under the table. But can you fly? Can you suddenly disappear as a spirit does? If you could do neither, you would not live long enough to know whether your shot across or under the table took effect," waving his hand toward the armed men standing sullenly around us.
Here the bandit squared his broad shoulders, and then added: "Well, after all, what is the use of thinking of these things that other men think of? It would be a very great and commendable thing for an outlaw to exchange his life for that of an illustrious officer in the government army. Let us proceed to the discussion of more important matters."
Enough had been said. No matter what might have been in the mind of anyone present, there was now no danger of any attempt at trickery. We sat at the table and feasted and talked until three o'clock in the morning. One wondered where such a bountiful supply of food and dainties could possibly come from in such an out-of-the-way place, many miles from any market.
After we had discussed all the questions brought tip by either side we withdrew from the table, whereupon the chief asked me to retire to his private room for a few moments. Upon taking our seats on his elaborately spread bed he immediately asked me to explain about the guns. Before I could answer he pointedly asked, "Do I understand by this failure to deliver the guns that the government is afraid to trust me?"
The chief then went on to say that he cared nothing about so many guns, pointing out that he could send his men out and catch a certain wealthy farmer from whom he could exact money enough to purchase any number of guns. But then, squaring around on the edge of his bed and looking me in the face, he said, "Mr. Caldwell, I have confidence in you because you are an American and a missionary, but I have neither confidence in, nor respect for, those who have accompanied you. I demanded the guns from the government in order to ascertain whether or not these men are sincere in their desire for peace. With the guns I will agree to terms of peace, but without the definite promise from you that the guns will be forthcoming I will have to bid you good-by with the coming of daylight."
I did not answer any question put to me, but merely said that I myself was greatly concerned over the gun matter, making it plain that my concern was caused by a sense of the responsibility upon the chief in receiving such a number of guns. I impressed upon him what the consequences would be in the event that one of the guns got lost, closing by saying, "Mr. Dang, if you are going to insist upon those guns I am afraid that I cannot become responsible for what might follow, so you had better permit me to step out of the negotiations right where we are, and you can go ahead with the men who promised the sixty guns. There will always be most cordial feelings between you and me."
At this juncture the chief got up and pulled a heavily iron bound trunk from under the bed. From this box he took out a commission furnished him by the mayor of Yuki City appointing him to the high office of commander-in-chief of the constabulary of the county; also a large seal of office. Holding these up he said, "Now I can carry on my work under the name of the government, and I can call the money that I assess the people 'taxes.' I am now in a better position to do business than ever before, and no one can call me a bandit."
Immediately I saw the seriousness of the situation, for what these men had done was actually to endow this bandit with both a commission and a seal with which he could openly conduct any kind of money-grafting career. The men responsible for this blunder dare not report his bad conduct to the higher-ups. It was an awkward position.
The chief then handed me a document promising the sixty guns and sixty thousand rounds of ammunition, definitely stating that I would be responsible for their delivery. My position in the matter was one demanding that I either deliver guns or expose the whole plot, and it would never do to let this man know that I was not a party to the whole deal. My only hope was to barter with the man and get him to weaken in his stand.
I knew full well that it would be impossible for me to deliver even one of the modern military rifles, each of which was registered and had to be accounted for to the Tuchün in Foochow. The general in charge of the bandit affairs even now dreaded the day of reckoning when he would have to account for many guns captured from his soldiers, and those taken by the soldiers who had mutinied and turned bandit. Even to propose to him that he give outright sixty of these guns to the bandits would invite disaster upon the whole affair.
How I would extricate myself from the embarrassing position I found myself now in was a matter of gravest concern, for if I let it be known that I was not a party to the promise of guns, not a man who accompanied me into those mountains would live an hour. My only defense was to play for time.
I argued until daylight trying to get this man to abandon the demands for guns, appealing all the while to his honor in the matter and trying to get him to see how much more dignified it would be to look with utter contempt upon the whole proffer of guns. I wanted the people to know that my friends among the bandits could not be bought and traded for like so many sheep.
I knew that the mayor in Yuki City had hundreds of old obsolete single shot rifles which had never been reported to Foochow, and which were at his disposal. Here was my only hope. In order to get the bandit to accept these guns I had to play long upon his pride. Failing utterly in my endeavors to dispose of the gun matter, I arose from the bed, remarking that it was now daylight, and that I should be on the move.
As I turned to go I said, "It has not appealed to you that your demand for so many guns reflects very great lack of confidence in me. People will interpret it as being an indication of your feeling that you still have to trust to your own prowess. This thing reflects discredit upon me." With these words I walked out of the room.
I had suggested that I would stand for ten of the old single-shot rifles and ten thousand cartridges. The chief hailed me, saying, "Mr. Caldwell, I would not have you for a minute think that I mistrust you. Go ahead and get the ten guns. All I want is to prove that the government is sincere. Tell that general in Yuki, bandit Dang Gi Ling will accept his proffer of ten useless guns instead of sixty that he promised, and say to him that as head of the constabulary of the county I will be responsible not only for the lives of the people of the several townships, but for the lives of the pigs and poultry as well. Tell him no bandit will cross the county boundary to return to tell of deeds of valor he has done."
With this concession on the part of the chief my real troubles had just begun. It was agreed that I proceed to Yuki City, and that I should give a definite reply concerning the ten guns not later than the evening of the third day. This date was fixed by the bandit because his exact whereabouts were known by the military men, and it was possible that an attempt would be made to bottle him up. I left him at an early hour with the definite understanding that if no messenger from me arrived on the evening of the third day, he was to understand that I had failed to secure the ten guns, and he should act accordingly. To gain his confidence I whispered into his ear as we parted, "If my messenger fails to appear on time, my advice would be that you shift your position."
Very much to my surprise I found the escort of twenty-six picked men outside awaiting me. I noticed that they seemed more agitated when we entered the defiles of the forest, but attached no importance to it. When we reached a point near where they had met me the day before two men were sent on far ahead. These men kept their distance well ahead. I was in the middle of the line of march, twelve bandits bringing up the rear. There was much signaling back and forth by whistle and bird calls, but little talking during the first three hours of the march.
As we came into an opening at one point I looked far ahead and saw what I supposed to be one of the large Atticus atlas moths resting on the top of a reed stalk in a field beside the road. I wanted this specimen very much, but was shocked to see the two leaders rush out and grab the moth roughly in their hands. They called back something in dialect unknown to me, whereupon the lieutenant and two others hurried forward.
Upon reaching the five men standing beside the road examining the catch I saw that it was not a moth at all, but a piece of red paper with a message of some kind written in bold letters. This paper had been placed there by some person who knew we would be passing through, but by whom I never learned; nor did I learn the character of the message other than that it concerned plans of another band of bandits having to do with breaking up the work we were trying to do.
The lieutenant announced to me that he would accompany me clear through to the township. Evidently, there was danger along the route, and these young men had been intrusted with the task of safe conduct. Their actions during the next few hours showed that they meant to make good.
The announcement that these men were going all the way with us, while reassuring in a way, gave rise to one very grave question. Though there was a truce declared during the time of our deliberations, the tension was so great that clashes almost invariably followed a meeting of soldiers and bandits. Each were suspicious of the other, and it was very much a question of who got the first volley in, for the soldiers would generally withdraw after the battle began.
Stationed at the township to which I was going was a large force of soldiers which had had many a clash with these same bandits. I wondered what would happen when these soldiers saw a small force of the bandits, led by the son of the chief, in their very clutches. It worried me. I would have much preferred to have proceeded on my way alone and run any risk of ambush rather than to have these bandits accompany me to the barracks of the soldiers.
A man hurriedly passed us and I hailed him to know where he was going. He was going on to Twenty-fourth Township, he said, so I gave him a message to the officer in charge for the day to the effect that I was bringing out a force of bandits, and that I wanted the soldiers to extend a cordial welcome.
"Be sure to say to the officer that I send word to him that the way these bandits are received will be considered by me as a reception to myself," were my final instructions to the man, who only grunted an inarticulate reply and was gone. I did not so much as know whether or not the man would deliver any message, as all people dreaded going about the soldiers.
As we came down a densely wooded mountain slope to a stream I looked across toward the barracks to see a great stir among the soldiers. No one else seemed to have seen it yet, but as we crossed the stream on an arched bridge the lieutenant in charge of the bandit squad saw the soldiers falling in line. He ordered a quick halt on the bridge, quickly throwing a cartridge into the barrel of his rifle.
There was a clacking of bolts as each gun was loaded. We were crossing the bridge in single file. I was in the middle of the group and just behind the young officer. I touched him on the shoulder saying: "Be at peace and fear nothing from the soldiers. You are now my guests and I am responsible for whatever takes place to-day. If you are fired on, fire first on me for leading you into a trap." Being thus reassured the order was given to march, but I noticed that the guns were not unloaded.
We proceeded to follow the narrow trail winding among the rice fields. I knew that the untimely firing of a firecracker might draw a volley from the nervous bandits. I was under none the less strain now as I did not know what the stir among the soldiers meant. They were now out in force and could be plainly seen getting into formation.
Not until we were within one hundred yards of them did I really relax. It was then that I saw the men were out in side arms only. To thus welcome an armed force was the highest etiquette known. I breathed the first easy breath since the finding of the butterfly early in the day. It was a trying day for me, and I found later that the others shared the same apprehensions that had troubled me.
We had a fine time in the barracks of the soldiers, who went so far as to bring basins of hot water and towels for bathing the hands and feet of the tired bandits. After a good dinner together these men announced that they would return immediately to their chief by another way. I tried to prevail upon them to spend the night with us as it was now near sundown, but the officer suggested that their presence might be needed far back in the hills. I accompanied them to the gate of the village, where they posed for a photograph and then bowed a low adieu. They were soon seen far up the mountain on a trail taking an entirely different direction from the one we had come out. My troubles were not yet over. I started at dawn for Yuki City to render my report to the general-in-charge. At a late hour that evening I had an interview with him in his headquarters. There were with me during the interview the three men who had balled things up by promising the sixty guns. These men did not know what report I would render, but it behooved each to be present to gather laurels in case I reported the private interview with the chief a success.
After brief formalities and considerable tea drinking I announced that the bandit chief had agreed to certain terms, and was now waiting a reply from me. In response to this statement the spectacled general bowed low and drew deep from the yard-long pipe which was constantly fed by an attendant at the other end.
When I announced condition number one the general smiled approval and wrote it down. So it was with number two, three, and four, but when number five was announced thunder and smoke turned loose.
"Ten guns and ammunition!" shouted the goggle-eyed soldier as he brought his huge fist down upon the table, setting all the cups into a merry-go-round dance. He laid down his pen and looked steadily at me for a moment, then struck the table again with his palm, bawling out, "Guns! Do you mean you promised that devil ten guns?"
Everyone in the room was excited now but me, and I would have been afraid had it not been that I was forced to play a certain game regardless of cost. I replied that I had promised ten rifles in working condition with ample ammunition for each, and that unless these should be granted the whole thing would fall through.
"Fall through!" he shouted. "You have already knocked the bottom out of it."
Here the burly brute talked to me as I had never dreamed I would permit any man to talk to me. He called me a "foreign child" who had played with a life-and-death matter as with toys, closing his tirade with these words, uttered half pathetically, half angrily: "You have played the part of a child; you have wrecked my hopes of a settlement of this affair, and now you come asking that I give that bandit guns when he must turn in his guns to me. You may go your way now. I will need your services in this matter no more."
Seldom would a full-blooded American take such a berating from any man and not boil over. I quenched the fire consuming me from within and replied as calmly as I could, "What your honorable self says is all true and strictly in keeping with reason, but the facts remain that there must be ten guns and ammunition, or the whole matter fails."
I assured the enraged general that I had played the fool and all that, and that all the abuses he was heaping upon me were deserved, but as the hour was now late I would retire to let him think it over, assuring him that I must have a reply by the very first peep of dawn. My only request was that he do not wait until he had washed his face in the morning to let me know, as I had promised the chief to have word back by dusk the following day.
As I crossed the threshold I turned and said, "Remember, guns or no guns, the thing will fall through unless you let me know your decision before dawn."
When we were out in the street the three culprits fairly fell upon my neck in tears. The mayor wept aloud, saying, "How kind of you, Mr. Caldwell, to endure all that scolding on account of the blunder we made! Had you spoken but one word of the truth, you could have taken glory to yourself in bartering with the bandits until you had reduced sixty modern rifles down to ten old single-shots. You could easily have saved yourself by exposing us."
The three men were deeply moved by what I had put up with in order to save them from disgrace, declaring that they never once thought that a foreigner would suffer such abuse for the sake of the Chinese. I bowed them a good night and hurried up to the chapel, where I was to sleep.
At midnight there was a call at my door. A man who had come with a message from the general was waiting outside. The message said that the ten guns would be granted and everything carried out in accordance with the conditions laid down by me. I got a man off at daylight with my report to the bandit chief.
Just as I was preparing my message to be hurried through to the bandit the mayor darkened the door of the chapel. He had come over, he declared, because he could not sleep, and he wanted to thank me again for refusing to expose him in what he had done. At the close of a long conversation, he said, "Mr. Caldwell, I want to learn a gospel which will permit men to do what you did."
Since that day the mayor has been a frequent attendant at religious services in our church. I cannot even estimate what amount of the "doctrine" has sunken through the crust of the man, but that he has heard a lot of preaching of the gospel since that night in the general's yamen is certain. He counts himself still a "learner."
I handled the matter of the transfer of the ten guns to the bandits, trying the action of every rifle in order to see that not even a little thing like a broken spring in an obsolete gun could hinder the matter of closing up this business. I had been through too much already to permit any little thing like that to prove a hitch.
When this was done I started to my boat, calling in to say good-by to the general. I did not even sit down to have the customary cup of tea, but after a word or so of greeting said, "General Chang, you did not understand why I demanded ten guns, but you will understand some day. On that day you will realize how difficult it is for an American missionary who really loves China to do anything for the country. I assure you that I did the best I could."
I turned to hurry away, when the burly palm was laid upon my shoulder. I turned to look straight into the eyes of the general. His palm slipped from my shoulder slowly down my arm until the big hand clasped mine tightly.
"Ah, my friend, I realize now who it was played the fool. How could you possibly endure my harsh words in order to save the guilty ones? It is all over now, but I want to apologize for the unkind things that I said to you." The man broke into a sob, and we parted, each with eyes dimmed by tears.