Russian Peddlar Said to Have "Been Shot Fnost 4 Connesroxoent Shaohsing, Nov. 12. have just returned from a visit to the mountainous district south of the city. "My journey took me 60 li away from the terminus of the motor road up a river, which was so low that a water buffalo could ford it on the 11th. On the following day, however, there was Zaging torrent with the turbulent waters eating into the banks as they tore along.
On every hand there was evidence lof & good harvest, which, in other' days, was taken to mean peace and freedom from bandits. Such, however, is not the case this year for friend who, by his profession as of doctor, is in a position to know, told me that seven out of every ten failles in the mountain villages the south were connected with the bandits, This friend recently attempted to visit his home, but, meet-jing a bandit leader on the mountain road and seeing others lying in wait for him on the hills farther up, he eat a hasty retreat, Knowing' the country perfectly, he was able make an escape which a less for. tunate traveller would have found impossible.
As we went into one of the larger market towns yesterds the local guardsman sitting on the the guardhouse, with his rifle across his knee ready fo stant action. That this precaution was necessary was all too apparent from the stories which we had been told. No one would think of venture ing out from this town after dark except on the most urgent busine:
We were told of the death of al Russian peddiar in one of these towns when a pitched battle took place between the soldiers and the bandits at the foot of a theatrical platform. In the fighting, this man was shot and Killed whilst selling] soap to those who were at the theatre, The bandits are said to be tapised with headquarters in Shang, to which place a percentage of the tribute money which they exact fs sent regularly, So great is the menace that the larger towns have organised local militia bands, some of them equipped with modern rifles Jand some with native firearms.
The bandit menace has driven many of the wealthy people from the country to the large towns and the city of Shaohsing. There hi been a very great advance in rents. in the city because of this influx of refugees. What the end of this organised banditry will be is hard say, but it is only too apparent that, with such large numbers of People loosely organised for robbery, pillage, and abduction, the stage is set for a very serious political disturbance should any leader emerge strong enough to weld these scattered forces into one compact organisation, As one meets and talks with business and professional men who are. carrying on-under such difficult cumstances, one cannot but feel the warmest admiration for the people }who are able to overcome obstacles and rise above surroundings that, would bring despair to less sturdy characters. lof it came from a semi-official source, there does not, seem to. be larly real truth in it. The bandits fare practically all local men, many lof them well known as fierce leaders lof their kind, so the report of \Japanese collusion in this episode is apparently groundless.
The bandits evidently took their foreign captive in the hope of get-{ting a tremendous ransom, and they later were very sorry they. took Ihim because of the trouble i zat them into, -and, instead of "aking ithe way out that was open to them, namely, of freeing their captive, they took: the unreasonable method lof venting their rage on the i nocent cause of their if this dastardly deed occasion of a determined effort the part of the government to put down the bandit "menace in this region, there will at least be' that auch good to result from this-awful Seven of the wounded soldiers Itrom the. Bei-sih-dei fight came into ithe*Mission Hospital here. One has since died and two more can hardly hive. Other wounded men have been [brought in, some from another place 180 miles west of Haichow. and. not far fromthe railway, which has ust been attacked by another band Jof robbers. They report: that,.at [this place, ten were killed and mary wounded "the night before last.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.