Testimony of George Lynch (indorsed as entirely trustworthy by the
_Tribune_ and the _Herald_), war correspondent in the Cuban and South
African wars, and in the march upon Peking for the rescue of the
legations. The italics are mine:
When the _soldiers_ were prohibited from looting, no such prohibitions
seemed to operate with the _missionaries_. For instance, the _Rev. Mr.
Tewksbury held a great sale of looted goods, which lasted several
days_.
A day or two after the relief, when looking for a place to sleep in, I
met the Rev. Mr. Ament, of the American Board of Foreign Missions. _He
told me_ he was going to take possession of the house of a wealthy
Chinaman who was an old enemy of his, as he had interfered much in the
past with his missionary labors in Peking. A couple of days afterwards
_he did so_, and held a _great sale of his enemy’s effects_. I bought
a sable cloak at it for $125, and a couple of statues of Buddha. As
the stock became depleted _it was replenished by the efforts of his
converts, who were ransacking the houses in the neighborhood_.--New
York _Herald_, February 18th.
It is Dr. Smith, not I, who has suggested that persons who act in this
way are “thieves and extortioners.”