A Secret Agent in Port Arthur by Wirt Gerrare

There is a portion of the Chinese Empire outside the Great Wall which was tacitly regarded by both Russians and Japanese as beyond the legitimate sphere of war. It lies west of the Liao, and extends to the Mongolian boundary. Its length is about 250 miles, and its greatest width less than a hundred; the eastern portion comprises much of the Liao plain, swampy land, with barren stretches and salt-pans in the south, and well cultivated grain lands in the north. On the west are the Hai mountains, a chain of rugged rocks with fertile slopes and excellent corn and grazing ground, where they rise from the plain.

Nominally, this territory is governed by Chinese authorities; actually it is domineered by Russian troops foraging for supplies, by Japanese agents, and by the chiefs of independent mountain villages, whose inhabitants are usually regarded as robbers, bandits, Redbeards, or Hunghuses.