This port of Kiangsu has a large number of towns surrounded by mud walls, Some of these towns, with populations ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 or more, are so well defended by local guards that they have been able to withstand all attacks by Bandits, and have not been looted for several' years past. For this reason, wealthy families from other towns have moved into these places. for safety, bringing their guns with them. While' these newcomers increase the strength of the defence forces, they also increase the richness of the rize, thus rendering the town more Jattractive to. kidnappers and other bandits, Within the past two months, some of these towns have been captured by the 8th Route soldiers, or by their impersonators.
Method of Extortion 'A common method of extortion the collection of customs along the jeountry roads. Quantities of goods fare being transported by wheel bat Tows, of carried by coolies on their shoulders. Any man who owns a gun. is entitled to establish him~ tf a customs official at any wat long the road, and force traveuiers pay taxes on'their goods. Needless say, such collectors have no legal status whatever, their only authority is armed force. After payment of taxes, the goods are usually allowed proceed to the next stop.
'On some roads, such tax stations are only a few miles apart, there may be several in ten miles. ' While grain is moved to and from market East owns in considerable quantities, salt Is perhaps the principal item in' long. distance transportation by wheelbarrows. On some of the east and west roads, hundreds of barrow loads after day on all kinds of roads. may truly be said to earn their salt, Beggars from this part of the country go to the salt fields near Haichow, and get salt without paying full prices, In some cases, no. doubt they resort to begging or stealing. Such persons carry the salt in bags fon their backs, with cloth straps over their shoulders. If they sit down to rest, it is dificult to rise again, with the "heavy load, Each one carries a stick, with @ short cross bar at one fend." When the bearer stops to rest, the stick is placed under the bag of salt, with the eross bar at the upper fend' of the stick. This enables' the bearer to get some relief from the weight of the burden, even though he cannot sit down. "Men, women, and boys carry salt in this way.
Probably a good many of them are not real beggars, but they use this method of carrying salt in order to avoid paying taxes. For some reason, there is a quaint custom of allowing all such carriers to. pass, free of charge, Between tax stations, sometimes one may see " barrows loaded with salt, carrying rest sticks fon the barrows.' Each barrow is ac= companied by two or more persons. On approaching a tax station, the people take the salt on their backs and carry it past the extortioners, then load it on the barrows again, Bearing in. mind that all such taxes entirely illegal, this trick. seems a rather mild form of smuggling.
'A bandit chief named Liu Hou-yeh, who attained a considerable degree [of notoriety in this part of Kiang has recently come to the end of his earthly career. About a year ago, he. and some 1,600 of his friends Joined the Chinese Army and were Htationed at Giangiba, southwest of Teingkiangpu. Liu was appointed head of a ying, 800 men. Atter being defeated in some encounters. there, Liu and hundreds of his bandits returned home. Later, he and some of his followers made arrangements with the Japanese, and were appointed to guard a town near Suining.
The Sth Route Army men caused Liu so much grief in that position that he again retired to the scenes of his childhood. On March 18, soon fatter midnight," he and his " gang Tauinched a fierce attack on his home town, Lingcheng* With the aid of fan accomplice on the inside, the at tackers entered the south section of the town, but the main part of the town was strongly defended by 300 local guards. The guards occupied a. mud wall, and the bandits took advantage of mud houses, so both sides were well protected, and casual-Lies were comparatively light. Two guards and one bandit were killed, and a few were wounded. The fight continued for some hours, and at last the bandits withdrew.
The inhabitants were inclined to resent Li's attack on his home town, they felt that he had been guilty of a breach of good form. Two or three days later, Liu again joined an army, his third and last venture of this sort. This time he and 40 of his merry men went to an encampment of the 8th Route Army. Details are unobtainable, ut apparently. there was some difference of opinion, or treachery. Suddenly the 8th Route soldiers massacred Liu and most of his men, It is said that only three of them escaped.
Since these two celebrities have been removed from Lingcheng, the town has been much more quiet and safe than Defore.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.