Rebels At Canton Seeking Only Loot.

New York Times 100 years ago today, August 18, 1913:
Wanton Vandalism at Governor's Yamen — Treasury Building Pillaged.
64 DEAD AT ONE CORNER
Red Cross Unable to Reach Wounded, Whose Condition, Owing to Heat, Is Reported to be Terrible.
    HONGKONG Aug. 17.— Guerilla fighting, in which the rebels are being aided by pirates, is proceeding against the Government troops some miles beyond Canton. The guerillas are prosecuting their warfare principally for the purpose of looting.
    At one corner of a street in Canton the bodies of sixty-four persons who were killed in the fighting on Friday were found. All the men wore new uniforms.
    The Red Cross has been unable to reach the zone of fighting in Canton, where frightful conditions are reported to exist among the wounded, owing to the great heat.
    The Governor's yamen, which was destroyed in the fighting, was the scene of wanton vandalism. The valuable furnishings, such as vases, screens, and other articles, were taken into the streets and smashed, while stationary objects which could not be removed were battered to pieces with the butt-ends of the guns of the rebels.
    Near the yamen the body of a Chinese woman, dressed in silk and having large pearls in her ears, was found. She had been shot through the head.
    The Treasury Building, which was damaged by shells, was looted. The rebels in their fighting are animated by the spirit of loot and not patriotism.
    Wholesale executions are taking place in Canton daily.
    The Federal General, Lung Chi-kuang, who is president Yuan Shi-kai's candidate for Governor of Canton, disembarked from a Government gunboat here yesterday.

    SHANGHAI, Aug. 17.— Advices received from Nanking under date of last Friday say that a sharp struggle was then proceeding for the possession of Purple Mountain.
    Government troops from Chin-Kiang were pouring up to reinforce the besiegers. A steady artillery duel was proceeding between the rebels on Lion Hill and the Northerners at Pukow.
    Foreigners in Hsia-Kwan, a suburb of Nanking, had taken refuge on the warships out of the line of fire.