Ichang, Dec. 1.
The soldiers stationed in Ichang mutinied, and looted the city on the night of November 29. The outbreak was quite unexpected, although some say that they had heard rumours during the preceding afternoon that the city was to be looted that night. That it was a well planned affair is proved by the systematic and very thorough fashion with which the looting was carried out. A little after midnight firing of rifles began, and the indiscriminate letting off of their rifles (happily mostly into the air) was one of the main features of the outbreak, It is commonly rumoured that the Chamber of Commerce were asked to find sufficient money to pay at least two months' wages to the troops, who are said not to have been paid for six months. The Chamber of Commerce have on several occasions found the money partly to pay the men, but this time they refused. The looting seems to have started simultaneously in different parts of the city, and very few parts escaped. The following well known places of business, all situated in the South Gate district, were cleared out: Bank of Communications, Bank of China (here they did not succeed in breaking into the strong room), Maoris & Ca., Butlin & Ca., the Robert Dollar Ca., Chinese Post Office (about $1,000 got here, but the mails not touched), Lee Chang Tseng Tsang, Young Bros., British-American Tobacco Ca. Several of the above places were burned to the ground, und one N.K.K. godown full of cotton yarn was also gutted by the fire. Then there was a very complete clearance of the other main shops. In the city two fires were started and a large area in which valuable shops were situated was burnt down. There was quite a number of severely wounded brought into the hospital next morning, and no one knows how many were shot dead, or burnt in the fires.
The following day business was at a standstill, and the people, fearing a repetition that night, flocked into the comparative safety of the schools, hospitals, and other foreign compounds, and not a few availed themselves of a steamer that was leaving that night for Hankow. The night, however, passed in abnormal quietness, and to-day the Chamber of Commerce agreed to pay $100,000, $60,000 of which was paid to-day, and $40,000 is to be paid to-morrow.
Mason Dockray will shortly return to Urga at the request of the Chinese Government to put the new wireless station in working order again.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.