It was interesting to learn that the Chinese government eventually did pay an indemnity to the United States over the unwarranted shooting of Charles Coltman. I don't know how long that took or what twists and turns that plot took before the Chinese finally coughed up the dough. Even if Coltman was in violation of some Chinese laws, as they seem to have alleged, shooting him was probably not the appropriate solution, not that I would know. I only learned recently that Samuel Sobokin signed Coltman's documents in Kalgan in 1919 whereas he signed my great-grandfather's passport application in Shanghai in 1917, a completely different set of circumstances in a completely different location. No other connection that I know of and yet I can't say that I know everything about that.
How strange that Samuel's report of the Coltman shooting differed so greatly from that of the Chinese authorities who were responsible for the shooting, as if the Chinese authorities were responsible for a completely different shooting.
And why would I want to side with either Samuel or the Chinese government in this matter of which I know almost nothing? I wash my hands of Samuel's myserious affairs and yet I am no pilot. How would I know who is telling the truth anyway when they never really explain? I have no idea. I have no interest in taking sides with either party, Sam or Hsu, just to clarify, so why would I be calling 911 over some mysterious shootings and passport applications and Mongolian expeditions and other events of which I know nothing? Something about this picture just doesn't fit.
