Packhorses Carry A Body Home

In some parts of rural China, the only way to get a relative's body home was in a wooden box strung between two horses like this scene on the Shansi Pass. The photograph was taken by Lt Charles F Gammon who was the American Bible Society's agent in Tien Tsin and was, for many years, commissioned by the Chinese government as a military instructor in Tien Tsin University. He was in China at the peak of the Boxer Rebellion in 1900 and was in the city when 700 Russian soldiers defended the city against more than 10,000 Chinese 'Boxers'. Gammon took many photographs during his time in China, many of which were published as postcards. His book, Souvenir Album of China contained 450 such photographs. He died in 1926 and is buried in Arlington Cemetery.