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China in Convulsion
Volume Two
" Not only two of the v/ry best books on China, but two of the very best books which have ever been published by any author on any country at any tin'?" — Dr. Talcott Williams.
Tenth Thousand
"V'illage Life in China
A Study ill Sociology, 8vo, fully illus- trated, $2.00. "Arthur H. Smith has added a second to those extra- ordinary studies of China life, of which he is so easily mas- ter. No book like this has been written on China except one, and that is Dr. Smith's ' Chinese Characteristics.' The two books together may fairly be said to give a clearer idea of China as it is than any or all of the 5,000 or 6,000 works published on the Empire during the last century." — Phila- delphia Press.
A MAGAZINE OF INFORMATION
" He is an acute observer, a discriminating judge of both people and facts, and an entertaining narrator. No one can begin to understand the Chinese until he has read such a work as this." — New York Observer.
Fifteenth Thousand
^hinese Characteristics
New Edition. With 20 full-page illustra- tions and index, and characteristic decoration for each chapter. 8vo, cloth, $2 00.
"Those best informed call it without exception the best book on the Chinese that is before the public, and a pretty careful survey of it confirms that opinion." — The Independent.
"There is all the difference between an intaglio in onyx and a pencil scrawl on paper to be discovered between Mr. Smith s book and the printed prattle of the average globe- trotter. Our author's work has been done, as it were, with a chisel and an emery wheel. He goes deeply beneath the surface." — The Critic.
A KEEN ANALYSIS OF CHARACTER '• The book is generally accepted by students in the Far East as not only one of the ablest analyses and portrayals of the Chinese character, but, on the whole, one of the most truthful and judicial." — The Nation.
J
FIKST TRAIN PASSING TllKOLGil IIIK WALL OF PKKl.NG
China in Convulsio
BY
ARTHUR H. SMITH
Twenty-nine years a Missionary
of the American Board in China
Author of
*' Chinese Characteristics " and " Village Life in China "
With Numerous Illustrations and Maps
IN TWO VOLUMES Volume Two
NEW YORK CHICAGO TORONTO
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
1901
Copyright 1901
by
FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY
(November)
Press of
Riggs Printins^ df Publishing Co.
Albany, N. Y.
CONTENTS
Volume II
CHAPTER PAGB
XX. Siege Life 365
XXI. Days of Waiting 383
XXII. Renewal of the Attack 402
XXIII. The Relief 419
XXIV. From Taku to Peking 435
XXV. The Fortifications 462
XXVI. After the Siege 485
XXVII. Hand of God in the Siege 508
XXVIII. Punishment of Peking 517
XXIX. The Capital in Transformation 535
XXX. Ruin of T'ung Chou 555
XXXI. Tientsin after the Siege 571
XXXII. Foreigners in the Interior 594
XXXIII. Notable Experiences 621
XXXIV. The Catastrophe to the Native Church 650
XXXV. Personal Narratives 665
XXXVI. Fire and Sword in Shansi 207
XXXVII. A Twelve-month of Foreign Occupation 713
XXXVIII. The Outlook 733
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS VOLUME II
FACING PAGE
First Train Passing Through the Wall of Peking Title
The " International " Gun, " Our Betsey " . . . 373
Fortified Bridge across the Moat near Legation Street 383
British Legation Gate^ Fuel Supply Committee . . 40.2
Buddhist Temple and Modern Tram Car .... 416
Water Gate, Peking, through which Allies Entered . 416
" Here They Come." General Gaselee on the Right . 432
Fraternizing on the Tennis Court 432
Black Fort at Tientsin, Outside View .... 446
Black Fort at Tientsin. Inside View 44j6
Wall of Tientsin After Bombardment .... 452
Gate Through which Allies entered Tientsin . . 452
Temple of Heaven, British Headquarters .... 460
Court, Temple of Heaven, British Headquarters . . 460
Gateway to British Legation, Moat and Barricade . 468 The Six " Fighting P.a.rsons " and Sergeant AIurphy
at Fort Cockburn 474
Group of American Missionaries present during the
Siege 494
Ruins of Presbyterian Mission, Peking .... 498
Ruins of Methodist Mission, Peking 498
British Legation Wall S02
Chinese Gun Platform for Firing on the Legation . 502
Coming out of Church, Legation Grounds . . . 508
Railway Station, Peking 518
Police Station, Peking S18
Chien Men Gate, Peking 522
Ruins of Chien Men Gate 522
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
FACING PAGE
Y. M. C. A. Headquarters, Peking 528
Street Panorama, Peking 528
Coal Hill, Chinese Serving German Officers . . . 532
Summer Palace from the Lake 532
Tartar Wall, Location of Astronomical Observatory . 545 Temple of Agriculture, Peking, American Headquarters 548 Entrance Temple of Agriculture. American Headquar- ters 548
North China College, T'ung Chou 558
American Board Mission, Tientsin 576
American Board Mission. Tientsin, after the Siege . 576
Arsenal, Tientsin 586
Ruins of Roman Catholic Cathedral. Tientsin . . 586
First British-Chinese Regiment, Wei Hai Wei . . 590
Russian Troops en route to Peking 590
Pei Tai Ho Watering Place, from which Foreigners
WERE rescued BY CONSUL FoWLER 604
Corner of City Wall, Pao Ting Fu, destroyed by Allied
Troops in Punishment for Massacre . . . .611
Pastor Meng, a Martyr of Pao Ting Fu . . . . 680
Miss Gould of Pao Ting Fu and School Girls . . . 682
^Ianchu Family, some of them Christians . . . 700
Nattvx Christian Refugee 700
Vicinity of Legation Street, Peking 722
Dr. Ament Receiving Vill.a.ge Deputation .... 730
MAPS
Map showing routes of Relief Forces .... 438
Plan of British Legation, Peking 480
Map of se.\t of Boxer Disturbance 620
XX
SIEGE LIFE
THERE is need of a digression at this point, to explain certain phases of the routine of siege hfe which are otherwise in danger of being over- looked.
The matter of registration labour supply was one of the first importance. No sooner were the foreigners settled in the Legation and the Chinese in the Su Wang Fu, than a systematic census was begun under the Com- mittee on Registration. The list of foreigners was soon complete and required little revision. That of the Chinese proved for a variety of reasons far more difficult.
Two most important and useful officers in the siege were the Superintendent of Labour and the Registrar. Their work to a large extent dovetailed, the former mainly controlling the Protestant labour supply outside the Lega- tion and the latter the time of every Chinese living within its walls. To the energy, vigilance, kindness, firmness and tact of these two men much of the results achieved is to be attributed. The labour of the Roman Catholics living outside the British Legation, it should be remarked, after an unsatisfactory experiment on the part of the committee, was directed by their priests, and by the French, Japanese and others for whom work was done. The registration put into effect in the Fu was modelled after that which had been found to work successfully in the British Legation.
365
366 CHINA IN CONVULSION
The demand for labour was clamorous and universal. Many of the Legation servants had fled some time before, and others had to be found for their places. All the numerous housekeepers must have a detail of cooks, table boys and coolies ; the hospital required a staff always at the command of the surgeons ; there were many horses to be fed and watered ; the scavenger and other sanitary work was imperative and, like the bakery and laundry, did not admit of irregular depletion of employees. Some educated native Christians, like the scholar class of Chinese, were unused to manual labour and unfitted for it ; but every grade and variety of talent was eventually utilized, especially those able to speak English, who could serve as messengers, interpreters, or overseers. A small percentage of men manifested a rooted and chronic dis- inclination to active effort, but ere long these idiosyn- crasies were dealt with on their real merits.
When the incessant calls for labour had first to be met, much confusion reigned for many days. Let an actual case stand as a sample :
At nine o'clock one evening an order came from Col. Shiba. commanding the Japanese in the Su Wang Fu, for ten men and fifty sand bags for immediate use. The superintendent secured the bags, but could find only four available men. He then waked up another gentleman who, being appointed on a wholly different committee had nothing to do with the present exigency, but assisted on general principles. On arriving at the Fu this gentle- man learned that Col. Shiba had already got the men needed from the Roman Catholics near at hand.
Meantime a note had come to the British Legation from the American Captain on the wall, requiring twenty men to raise higher the western wall of the eastern barri- cade, as the Chinese west barricade was firing into it.
SIEGE LIFE 367
The superintendent excused a lad too small to handle the huge bricks on the wall, and sent the same obliging substitute with the three men on hand to aid the band that were kept permanently in the American Legation for emergencies, but happened on this occasion already to have been working all day. When he arrived there the Captain who gave the order had been relieved, and his successor in charge knew nothing about any call for men, but informed the conductor of the workmen that it had been decided to postpone the work until daylight, when it would be done better. The ad interim assistant, the superintendent and the Chinese were then enabled to retire for what remained of the night.
Perhaps a summons arrived from the French to con- struct an important barricade. No men could be found, for it was late at night, when the labour market, espe- cially the free labour market, is generally closed. A visit to the Fu disclosed numbers of Chinese lying about, but each one proved to have some cherished and dangerous malady. One is the victim of a persistent diarrhcea, an- other shows by a lim.p that his lower leg is broken in two places, the crepitation of the bones being, as he alleges, distinctly audible ; not, however, to the trained ear of the foreign examiner, who soon ascertains that the man is after all able to walk. Some deserve to be excused, but by degrees, between boys and men, the order is filled and they are sent to work.
The superintendent is no more than back at the Lega- tion, ready for bed after an exhausting day's work in reducing order from chaos, when a request comes for ten men immediately to work all night on a new and impor- tant barricade in the Hanlin Yuan. No one but the superintendent can find the men. and to the summons of no one else will they respond. Once more the Fu
368 CHINA IN CONVULSION
must be visited and every sleeping room entered with a lantern. In the darkness dusky forms are dimly seen prone upon the k'angs. Here the drafting process is re- peated, until at length the required number is obtained, but in transit through so many court3^ards and in cross- ing the canal in the darkness it turns out that three out of the ten have escaped, and being unknov^n they cannot be identified. At a later period every man had his number not only entered on the register but sewed upon his cloth- ing, so that evasion of duty like this became impossible.
About midnight one hears a great disturbance and angry remonstrances. The weary registrar is roused from his slumbers by an urgent demand for seventeen of the short shovels used by marines, wanted at once by somebody in another Legation. After an hour's hard work and a visit to every place where digging is known to have been prosecuted the day before, some of them are found, but upon being brought in as a part of what is wanted are refused, for they have not the serrated edges of the Austrian shovels. In the renewed search every doubtful spot is approached with a lantern.
" Put out that light," cries a sentr}-, with the addition of emphatic language. He is informed that the search is being conducted under official orders and will be con- tinued until the required articles are found.
At a later stage, the duty of a ship's yeoman is added to that of the registrar, and the tools, as far as possible, had to be called in at night and kept in a box near the bell tower. Under careless Chinese use, spades, shovels, and picks, of which the supply was originally lamentably small and for which the demand was general and insistent, have their handles broken off and are rendered useless. The assistant registrar afterward added to his many other functions that of general repairer, and as far as possible
SIEGE LIFE 369
counteracted the ravages of the wasteful cooHe. The Chinese carpenters were kept busy making handles, as also the blacksmiths in their efforts to point iron rods so as to serve as picks or crowbars.
As the result of an orderly evolution of registry every Chinese on the premises came to be known not only by name but by his reputation ; the better and more thor- ough workmen requiring little or no supervision, the lazy and inefficient ones needing constant stimulus. Each man was provided with a ticket good for that day only, en- titling him to one meal or to two, according to the amount of work done. When he had finished his work and eaten his meal he returned to his family in the Fu. After the Fu was mostly lost, and it became necessary to remove the Protestants to the vacant houses between the canal and the American Legation, the task of getting labour was much expedited. Those liable to night work were then kept on the premises where they were needed, and where they could not escape. If a man living in the Fu were derelict in his work at the Legation his pass was taken away and he could not get out to return to his family, a punishment generally quite sufficient, as their food depended upon him.
Some Chinese were fortunate or provident enough to have food supplies of their own, which rendered them in a measure independent. In a solitary instance a man of some education after persistently refusing to work, and repeated warnings, was at last tied to a post with his hands behind him, there to remain until his views upon the relation of military law to muscular activity and to rations became materially modified, which happened within a few hours.
The carelessness of the Chinese in everywhere knock- ing out the burning ashes of their pipes, made it neces-
370 CHINA IN CONVULSION
sary to forbid smoking in buildings. Those guilty of violating this rule were put on duty for four-and-twenty hours continuously. In an especially aggravated case the cook of one of the Legations was discovered to have built a fire of a dangerous and unlawful kind late at night, to see how to take care of his child. At whatever incon- venience to individuals the authority of the committee, found by experience to be just and wholesome, was sustained against all appeals, of which, however, there were but few. Those liable to punishment were sent to whatever work was most urgent ; if it chanced that for the time there was none such, they might temporarily escape.
But however perfect the system of registration and labour supply, the simultaneous demand for details of men who were not available necessarily made many hitches in the progress of military work. Thus six men were de- tailed for labour on fortifications in the Hanlin, but at that juncture a pile of sand bags had fallen in a heavy shower from a hospital window into a gutter, stopping the drainage. The six men were deflected from the less to the more pressing task, but while on the way one of them was called ofif to carry to the Chinese hospital a woman who in a time of special danger had been shot in crossing the canal from the Fu.
The need of labour made it necessary to require from every able-bodied Chinese two hours' work each day for the public, which often proved irksome alike to servants, mistress and superintendents.
Against this requisition, which was later supplemented by another for the whole time of one or more of the large staff of servants, some employers were disposed to re- monstrate vigorously. One gentleman who had at first been very energetic in his cooperation, at a later period
SIEGE LIFE 371
asked a detail of men for the purpose of getting his pri- vate dwelling ready for a rain, and still later for two labourers to clear up the grounds of the Russian Lega- tion. The unforgetting Registrar recollecting that two of this gentleman's servants had for some time evaded duty, went to his kitchen and called them out. They ob- jected that they were not liable, as they did not live in the British but in the Russian Legation.
" Exactly," was the reply, " there is where you are to work," and the amazed and abused master was then pre- sented with two of his own servants to do his own work in his own Legation!
The work done by the besieged Christians, often hard and exhausting, in no case rewarded with anything more than a bare subsistence, was in general performed with characteristic Chinese patience and perseverance, many of them, under the tireless supervision of foreigners, throw- ing into it much energy, and in some cases considerable skill.
Indeed their behaviour was almost uniformly admir- able. Instead of being a dead-weight to be carried by foreigners as many of these besieged feared they would be, they were soon found to be an indispensable means to the salvation of the rest, and except they had abode in the ship none would have been saved. As in all large bodies collected at random, there were some black sheep, and many speckled ones, but as a rule the patient, uncom- plaining fidelity of the Christians in toilsome tasks under dangerous conditions was beyond praise. The steadiness under constant attacks, and in the midst of repeated re- movals from one unsafe place to another, manifested by the Chinese women, and especially by the 120 and more school girls, were also noteworthy. Many Chinese were furnished with rifles, and fought at the loop-holes side
372 CHINA IN CONVULSION
by side with the plucky and soldierly Japanese, winning even their cordial commendation. A good number were killed in posts of danger, many others were struck by the innumerable flying bullets, two of the best helpers of the Methodists — one of them an ordained pastor — falling at the same time.
Many others fell victims to disease, and probably a score or two of poor Chinese children died from disease aggravated by mal-nutrition, but the mothers bore their deep grief with Christian fortitude, and uttered no word of reproach to the Fate in which all non-Christian Chinese have a firm faith, but rather thanked the Heavenly 'Father for such mercies as they still enjoyed.
Each day there was a gathering both of Chinese and foreigners upon the lawn, to examine the growing pile of clothing and other stuff brought into the Legation. This may be a fitting opportunity to explain in detail the method of dealing with confiscated goods. The area enclosed by the numerous Legations being extensive, it was inevitable that many Chinese families who had no connection either with foreigners or with the Boxers should find them- selves gradually encircled with troops, making entrance and exit increasingly difficult, and a prosecution of their ordinary business impossible.
As time went on most of these families became alarmed at the outlook and fied while it was not yet too late, some of them, however, leaving behind trustworthy servants to look after their premises. But numberless dwelling houses and many shops were absolutely deserted, some of the latter being well stocked with goods of many sorts, and many of the former being well furnished. In the confusion of the time it was inevitable that many shops and houses should be exposed to raids from neighbours who remained, as well :is from needy Christians, many of
iLiiH
SIEGE LIFE 373
whom had fled for their Hves with only the clothing which they wore.
Soon after the general gathering into the British Le- gation, when it became necessary to check promiscuous pillage and to secure a wise use of the miscellaneous articles thus placed within reach, Dr. Ament was ap- pointed a committee with plenary powers. An impromptu depository of second-hand clothing was established on the tennis court lawn, resembling the storeroom of a Chinese pawnshop. For many days it supplied hundreds of Chi- nese with clothing and bedding for themselves and their families, until the demand appeared to be fairly met. But many Chinese were unable while at work to guard their possessions, and others ruined their clothes in the heavy rains, or while labouring in the damp trenches or on the wall ; these had to be resupplied, yet still the inflow kept on. Foreigners, too, drew liberally from the same source, until the superintendence of the business became a heavy load of responsibility and care.
When there was a scarcity of material for sand bags the Chinese women cut apart many wadded garments, whose legs and arms, filled with earth, were used to add to the prophylactic embankments on the walls and house- tops. In quest of bag material, scores (perhaps hun- dreds) of Chinese houses were entered, but nothing was anywhere taken by force. Some of these dwellings had already been visited and largely despoiled, but others were fresh fields and pastures new. A great variety of articles which at first appeared to have no relation to the wants of a beleaguered garrison, ultimately proved to be most useful, especially tools from a blacksmith's shop and an old Chinese cannon nicknamed " Betsy," or " The Inter- national." Some of the abandoned dwellings had been forsaken in hot haste, and contained elegant garments.
374 CHINA IN CONVULSION
pieces of silk, furs, valuable chinaware, clocks and curios. A large quantity of such articles was found in the Su Wang Fu. One of the Japanese barricades was largely composed of trunks full of priceless raiment, seized as the most available material ; all of this was ruined by contact with earth, or by rains, or was destroyed in the fires.
The Christians lodged in the Su Wang Fu gave early information of the probable concealment of a considerable quantity of sycee silver, which was brought away and stored in the strong room of the British Legation until the close of the siege. Small guns were also found in some of the shops, and also many irredeemable bank bills. On one occasion about seventy taels was discovered in a coal pile, and other amounts were doubtless confiscated by the Chinese on their own account.
The owners of two foreign stores on Legation Street decided to abandon them, bringing into the Legation what- ever could be saved. As the siege became closer and the risk in visiting the stores became evident by the whis- tling of bullets and the killing of one of the workmen, the owner of the larger one gave notice that whoever wished to take any of the remaining articles was wel- come to do so. It was an unfortunate and ill-judged step, which for a few days made looting legal, and so facili- tated the universal diffusion of intoxicating liquors that an order was soon issued forbidding any one what- ever to visit the place without the express permission of the General Committee. Thereafter, the articles res- cued were put into the hands of a commissariat and is- sued only upon due requisition, a course which should have been adopted from the first.
During the brief reign of unchecked lawlessness the general demoralization was very great. Many messes
SIEGE LIFE 375
of poor Chinese ate their rice out of broken crockery, but with the addition perhaps of a plate-glass mirror set in a plush frame, or a cut-glass syrup pitcher flanked by a marble clock. The commissariat issued not only stores and utensils but everything which came to hand. All the memoranda of the progress of the siege were entered in note books, with pencil or pen and ink, all of which had been secured by application to the obliging supply com- mittee. One had but to make his necessities sufficiently known to insure such a supply for them as the case ad- mitted, for the besieged in a most literal sense had all things common.
The bulletin boards, where were posted the translations of the " Peking Gazettes " obtained during the armistice, were surrounded for days with a crowd that exhibited the keenest interest in the utterances of that unique publica- tion. Many of these were printed many weeks before, but some of them were highly important, and most of them quite new.
The most important utterance among them was a de- cree issued the day after the murder of the German Min- ister, but significantly making no reference whatever to that occurrence. It is a window through which the Chinese side of the international question may be seen. It ran as follows :
" Ever since the foundation of the dynasty, foreigners coming to China have been kinclly treated. In the reign of Tao Kuang and Hsian Feng they were allowed to trade ; they also asked leave to propagate their religion, a request which the Throne reluctantly granted. At first they were amenable to Chinese control, but for the past thirty years they have taken advantage of China's for- bearance to encroach on China's territory and trample on the Chinese people and to demand China's wealth. Every
376 CHINA IN CONVULSION
concession made by China increased their reliance on vio- lence. They oppressed peaceful citizens and insulted the gods and holy men, exciting the most burning indig- nation among the people. Hence the destruction of the chapels and the slaughter of converts by the patriotic braves. The Throne was anxious to avoid war and issued edicts enjoining the protection of the Legations and pity to the converts. The decrees declaring Boxers and con- verts to be equally the children of the State were issued with the hope of removing the old feud between people and converts and extreme kindness was shown to the strangers from afar.
" But these people knew no gratitude and increased their pressure. A despatch w^as yesterday sent by Du Chaylard, Doyen of the Consular body at Tientsin, call- ing on us to deliver up the Taku forts into their keeping, otherwise they would be taken by force. These threats show their aggressions. In all matters relating to inter- national intercourse we have never been wanting in courtesies to them ; but they, while styling themselves civilized States, have acted without regard for right, re- lying solely on their military force.
" We have now reigned nearly thirty years and have treated the people as our children, the people honouring us as their deity ; and in the midst of our reign we have been the recipients of the gracious favour of the Empress Dowager. Furthermore our ancestors have come to our aid and the gods have answered to our call, and never has there been so universal a mani- festation of loyalty and patriotism. With tears have we announced the war in the ancestral shrines. Better to do our utmost and enter on the struggle than seek some means of self preservation involving eternal dis- grace. All our officials, high and low, are of one mind.
SIEGE LIFE 377
and there have assembled without official summons sev- eral hundred thousand patriotic soldiers [Boxers], even children carrying spears in the service of their country. Those others rely on crafty schemes ; our trust is in heaven's justice. They depend on violence, we on hu- manity. Not to speak of the righteousness of our cause, our provinces number more than twenty, our people over four hundred millions, and it will not be difficult to vindi- cate the dignity of our country."
Another Decree, in the "Gazette" of June 21st, ex- presses the satisfaction with which the Throne has re- ceived the report of the Governor General of Chihli, Yii Lu, of the successful engagements at Tientsin on the I7th-i9th of that month, and gives much praise to the Boxers who have done great services without any assist- ance either of men or money from the State. Great favour will be shown them later on, and they must con- tinue to show their devotion. The phraseology of the Decrees already cited serve as an excellent specimen of the Janus-faced utterances of the Empress Dowager in regard to the Boxers. They are violators of treaties, have been often rebuked and must now positively disperse, yet a few days later they are loyal and patriotic, and de- serve well of their Empress, who will reward them.
On the 24th of June the Board of Revenue is ordered to give Kang I two hundred bags of rice for distribution as provisions among the Boxers. Still another Decree of the same date mentions, as previously quoted, that since the Boxers — now styled " Boxer Militia " — are scattered all around Peking and Tientsin, it is necessary and proper that they should have Superintendents placed over them (in other words be definitely and fully accepted as in the employ of the Chinese Government). Accordingly Prince Chuang, and the Assistant Grand Secretary Kang I were
378 CHINA IN CONVULSION
appointed to the general command, Ying Nien to act as brigadier general of the left wing, and Tsai Lan of the right. All the members of the I Ho T'uan (it is re- marked) are exerting their utmost energies, and the Im- perial Family must not fall behind in harbouring revenge against our enem.ies. It is Our confident hope that the desires of each and all be successfully consummated, and it is of the utmost importance that no lack of energy be shown.
On the 27th, Edicts commanded Yu Lu to retake the Taku Forts, and to prevent the foreign troops from creep- ing northward ; and ordered the distribution of one hun- dred thousand taels of silver to the divisions of troops in the Metropolitan districts, and a like sum to the Box- ers assisting them.
During these weeks there are frequent references in memorials and in Imperial Decrees to the general law- lessness which had resulted from the encouragement to irresponsible private individuals, as well as to soldiers, to take vengeance. Were there no other proof, these documents alone would show that the Capital and its en- virons were under a reign of terror, against which there are numerous protests both from Censors and from the Empress herself.
But the mischief is always laid to those who pretended to belong to the Boxer Militia in order to plunder and kill, and it is these (and not the Boxers as a class) who are ordered to be rigorously dealt with. On the 2nd of July another important Edict appeared, under the aegis of which the slaughter of all foreigners, mission- aries not more than others, anrl the extermination of all native Christians who would not recant, became a duty.
" Ever since Foreign Nations began the propaga- tion of their religion there have been instances through-
SIEGE LIFE 379
out the country of ill-feeling between the people and the converts. All this is due to faulty administration on the part of local authorities, giving rise to feuds. The truth is that the converts also are children of the State, and among them are not wanting good and worthy people ; but they have been led away by false doctrines, and have relied on the missionary for support, with the result that they have committed many misdeeds. They hold to their errors and will not turn from them, and irreconcilable enmity has thus grown up between the converts and the people.
" The Throne is now exhorting every member of the Boxer Militia to render loyal and patriotic service, and to take his part against the enemies of his country, so that the whole population may be of one mind. Knowing that the converts are also subjects owing fealty to the Throne, we also know that they can bring themselves to form a class apart and invite their own destruction. If they can change their hearts there is no reason why they should not be allowed to escape from the net. The Viceroys and Governors of the Provinces are all there- fore to give orders to all local officials to issue the fol- lowing notification : All those among the converts who repent of their former errors and give themselves up to the authorities, shall be allowed to reform, and their past shall be ignored. The public shall also be notified that in all places where converts reside, they shall be al- lowed to report to the local authorities, and each case will be settled according to general regulations which will be drawn up later.
" As hostilities have now broken out between China and Foreign Nations, the missionaries of every country must be driven away at once to their own countries, so that they may not linger here and make trouble. But it is
380 CHINA IN CONVULSION
important that measures be taken to secure their protec- tion on their journey. The high provincial authorities shall make close investigation into the circumstances of all places within their jurisdiction, and speedily take the necessary steps. Let there be no carelessness. (The above Decree is to be circulated for general informa- tion.) "
The putting forth of this Edict was doubtless regarded by its authors as the happy issue of a long and doubtful contest, in which China by a few sweeps of a camel's- hair pencil had now obliterated forty years of the Past, and entered upon a new era!
On the 9th of July Li Hung Chang was appointed Viceroy of Chihli, and Superintendent of the Trade which the rulers of China had by this time extinguished in that part of the Empire. Pending Li's arrival, the former Governor General, Yii Lu, was to consult with Prince Ch'ing as to the best measures to be taken, and the latter are warned against a slackening of responsibility.
On the I2th of July Gen. Nieh, who fought near Tien- tsin, is severely rated for his failures and blunders and deprived of his rank although retained in command (a favourite Chinese punishment), and in the same sentence his death at the head of his troops is mentioned without comment.
On July 15th the Acting Governor of Shansi quotes a Decree which had been issued on the 20th of June to the several Governors General, and Governors, in which the following significant sentence occurs : " They must suggest plans for safe-guarding the boundaries of the Empire against the aggressive designs of the foreigner, and see that reenforcements be sent to the assistance of the Capital, in order that no disaster befall the Dynasty."
Three days later ai)pcared a Decree which sets forth
SIEGE LIFE 381
another aspect of the international troubles, again refers to the murder of the Japanese Chancellor, and for the first time mentions that of the German Minister, nearly a month previous, carefully avoiding the least informa- tion as to the circumstances.
By this time the pressure of events succeeding the capture of Tientsin began to be severely felt in Peking, and the dissensions among the followers of the Empress were at their maximum.
" The reason for the fighting between the Chinese and the foreigners sprung from a disagreement between the people and the Christian converts. We could but enter upon war when the forts at Taku were taken. Never- theless the Government is not willing lightly to break off the friendly relations which have existed. We have re- peatedly issued Edicts to protect the Ministers of the dif- ferent countries. We have also ordered the missionaries in the various provinces to be protected. The fighting has not yet become extensive. There are many mer- chants of the various countries within our dominions. All alike should be protected. It is ordered that the Generals and Governors examine carefully where there are merchants or missionaries, and still, according to the provisions of the treaties, protect them without the least carelessness. Last month the Chancellor of the Japanese Legation was killed. This was indeed most unexpected. Before this matter had been settled, the German Minister was killed. Suddenly meeting this affair caused us deep grief. We ought vigorously to seek the murderer and punish him.
" Aside from the fighting at Tientsin, the Metropolitan Department (Shun Tien Fu) and the Governor General of this province should command officers under them to examine what foreigners have been causelessly killed,
382 CHINA IN CONVULSION
and what property destroyed, and report the same, that all may be settled together. The vagabonds who have been burning houses, robbing and killing the people these many days have produced a state of chaos. It is ordered that the Governors General, Governors, and high military officials clearly ascertain the circumstances, and unite in reducing the confusion to order and quiet, and root out the cause of the disturbance."
XXI
DAYS OF WAITING
SUNDAY, July 22. — Early this morning some of the Chinese went out through the water-gate into the southern city to buy fruit, but when others tried it a little later they were fired upon, so that the market is spoiled. Labour on the barricades was sus- pended at II A. M., the first time this has been practicable, as on most of the previous Sundays work has been more urgent than on other days.
The courier to Tientsin with messages got off about noon, and the package was so large that he asked to have its size reduced a little for better concealment. (To many friends of the besieged the word brought by this courier was the first gleam of hope after almost utter despair.) The baby of Dr. and Mrs. John Inglis died during the day, and was buried at nightfall, — one of the six infants who succumbed during the siege.
It is rumoured that the Japanese, always the most en- terprising collectors of outside reports, have heard that our troops have already got half way to Peking travel- ling along the bank of the river. Tung Fu Hsiang is said to have lost his influence, and his men are scattering from him, but according to others he has gone out to oppose our troops. The Chinese have put up a new barricade in the Hanlin. A Chinese soldier has in- formed some one that we are now surrounded by only about 900 men.
383
384 CHINA IN CONVULSION
Monday, July 23. — A heavy rain came on in the evening yesterday and kept up all night. There were many collapses of barricades, and in the Hanlin a part of a house-wall suddenly fell, covering the mattresses upon which the volunteers had just been lying. The buildings in Peking are as insubstantial as any others in China, often being composed of small pieces of bricks not larger than one's fist, bound loosely together with mud and a mere suggestion of lime. The result is that whenever a heavy and continuous rain-fall occurs, the walls may be heard falling in all directions — often to the danger of those living within the flimsy structures. The rain is very destructive to the sand bags, especially to the more expensive ones, which are not meant for such a strain as this. Many of them collapse into mere heaps of slush.
Early this morning the Norwegian whose mind had become unbalanced took advantage of the rain, the dark- ness, and the slumbering guards, British and Chinese, to make his escape over the wall, desirous of speedily falling into the hands of the Chinese, where it is feared he will not fare so well as he expects. It is said that despite the apparent diminution in the number of Chinese troops, they are building new barricades. Yesterday a dog was sent from one of their fortifications to one of ours, with a letter in his mouth — all that is left in Peking of the Imperial Postal Service !
Tuesday, July 24. — It was very hot in the night, so that many could not sleep. The Japanese Secretary of Legation, Mr. Harahara, died of tetanus, greatly re- gretted both by foreigners and Japanese. He had the reputation of a great knowledge of China, and was uni- versally liked. There appeared to be a severe attack upon the Pei Tang last night, judging by the constant sounds
DAYS OF WAITING 385
of firing there. On the wall the coolies worked at the barricade till after nine o'clock, when the Chinese began firing on them, and the work stopped.
Notwithstanding the " truce " firing goes on, and four Chinese have been wounded in the Fu to-day, as well as one Italian, A mat-shed has been erected over the de- fences at the front gate of the British Legation, to pre- vent it from being ruined by the heavy rain, and only one shot was fired by the Chinese.
After dark a notice was posted that Col. Shiba had seen a Chinese who told him that foreign troops occupied Yang Ts'un on the 17th, and fought a battle on the 19th. One hundred and fifty wounded Chinese of Tung Fu Hsiang's army are said to have been brought to Peking, and foreign troops were forty li this side of Yang Ts'un. This news is discredited by Mr. Conger and many others, as being too fast an advance for the time during which troops must have been on the way.
Wednesday, July 25. — About I A. M., we were startled by hearing a great many rifle-shots in succession, mainly from the direction of the Mongol market, indi- cating that a renewed attack was beginning, but it was all over in less than five minutes. It is reported that yester- day a Japanese shot a Chinese who was getting over his barricade, a Chinese in retaliation shot a Chinese Chris- tian, when the Japanese returned the fire; the Chinese then wounded an Italian, on which a British marine killed the man who shot him!
Two days ago there were rumours of a large Chinese force from Pao Ting Fu. which would soon attack the Legations. Now it is said that troops are coming in from the Western Park, to be separated into two divisions at two of the Peking gates. There is a rumour that there was an attempt, to blow up the Pei T'ang recently, but
386 CHINA IN CONVULSION
that it did not succeed, or that at least the Cathedral was not injured. The Chinese soldier who has been giving information to the Japanese, now informs them that a battle was fought on the 24th, between Ts'ai Ts'un and Ho Hsi Wu, lasting from noon till midnight, after which the Chinese retired on Ho Hsi Wu.
A flag of truce was sent during the day to the German Legation with several letters. One of these is to Sir Claude from " Prince Ch'ing and Others " say- ing that a great many inquiries are being made of the Chinese Government as to the safety of the Ministers. The Chinese Government is willing to send replies from the Ministers to these inquiries, but they must have noth- ing in them of a military nature, and must be in plain writing, not in cipher. Another document raises once more the proposal of removing the Legations to Tientsin, pointing out that the number of rebellious people daily increases, and that something unforeseen is liable to happen. (It has already happened, however). Travel is temporary, residence is permanent, and an escort could be provided which would make the journey perfectly safe. China does not want war. What means are proposed to stop it? It would be better to settle matters at Tientsin, therefore the Ministers are asked to pack up, and name a fixed day in order that provision may be made for their travel.
A messenger disguised as a fortune-teller was sent out with a repetition of the last batch of messages. The man that was sent to procure a number of " Peking Gazettes " has returned, having experienced some trouble and dan- ger, for which he was rewarded with fifty taels.
Thursday, July 26. — Only a few stray shots in the night, which was very hot and was followed by a day of the same sort. The fortune-telling messenger did not
DAYS OF WAITING 387
get away after all, being dissatisfied with some detail of his costume. At first his despatches were rolled up in the handle of an old umbrella, but this was criticized as too obvious, and he is now ruminating on a variation of dress for another attempt later.
The Japanese Soldier-Information-Bureau (now ri- pened into "one of Tung Fu Hsiang's body-guard") to-day ofifers the very latest. There was another fight at Ho Hsi Wu yesterday, lasting till 3 p. m., twelve hun- dred Chinese being killed and wounded. The Chinese force included 5,000 soldiers and 3,000 Boxers. Li Ping Heng is said to have reached Peking, and the plan to deport the Ministers is thought to be his. In the after- noon the Ho Hsi Wu battle was revised so as to have begun at six o'clock, the Chinese being driven back ten li. By the same opportunity we learned that 4,800 troops had come in from the west, but they had left to join the Chinese army, with nine guns.
Mr. Conger puts absolutely no faith in any of these reports, but many others give them a qualified credence, " so as to hit it if it were a deer, and miss it if it were a calf."
During the night there were continual isolated rifle- shots to show that we are watched, but no replies came from us.
Friday, July 27. — Much cooler last night. After breakfast there were rumours that a man had arrived from T'ung Chou, with the same man who has come so often before, bringing a report that the Chinese intend to make their last stand at T'ung Chou, and that if they should be defeated there, the Court would retire to Hsi An Fu, the distant capital of the province of Shensi, for which journey carts are said to have been already impressed.
388 CHINA IN CONVULSION
The messenger who was to go out as a fortune-teller has made his second effort to get away and failed. The first time he was let down over the wall, met Chinese soldiers and pretended that he was sent to inspect their camp, but they told him that he could not get there with- out a pass. Then he pulled the rope, and was hauled up again upon the wall. The next time was at the east gate of the Fu, where he found himself surrounded by bar- ricades and became frightened.
To-day at noon he tried the third time. He had pro- cured a Boxer uniform, but b.e could not make any use of it. Two soldiers were willing to help him out, one to be the security for the other. The latter remained within our surveillance, while the other took the mes- senger to a distance of several li. When he left the messenger, the latter handed him a small piece of a for- eign lady's hair-pin as a pledge, a token unknown to the security who had remained. Upon presenting this hair- pin certificate that the safe-conduct had been honourably executed, the two men were paid ten taels. The mes- senger was to have two hundred taels on his arrival at Tientsin, with his thirteen letters. (It is remarkable that all this elaborate preparation was worse than wasted. There was some little doubt about the trustworthiness of the man, but he was not seriously suspected. When he had got beyond the city he was advised by his brother either to kill himself outright, or go to the headquarters of Prince Chuang, and make a full confession, thus en- suring his own escape from punishment. This he did, and all the thirteen letters were sent out to the translators of the Tsung Li Yamen, who soon put them into circula- tion in the Imperial Court, where those of them that were not in cipher were doubtless much enjoyed — as so many of their predecessors had already been).
DAYS OF WAITING 389
The Ministers yesterday had another meeting to con- sider what form of sound words to employ in replying to Prince Ch'ing and his " Others," so as to keep the matter in suspense as long as possible, with a minimum of definiteness — an aim for which diplomatic training is supposed to fit everyone perfectly. With regard to the matter of plain telegraphing, it was to-day replied that no Government would accept such telegrams, and no Ministers could send them, for they would not be accord- ing to usage, and would therefore defeat the very end proposed, which was to impart information as to the condition of the Ministers. Furthermore, it was impossible to affirm that the families of the Ministers are well, as they have suffered from the five weeks siege, and the lack of accustomed food. As for the omission of mili- tary information, this was easy to arrange, as the Ministers had no information in regard to the military situation, and therefore would be under no risk of sending that kind of intelligence.
The Japanese soldier-spy has told them that Jung Lu has five regiments (liang-tzu) at the Pei T'ang, two at the Hou Men, or North gate of the Imperial city, three surrounding the Legations, while three more have gone to meet the foreign troops. Two hundred carts have been summoned to the Palace for the removal of the Court, and seventy more for Gen. Tung Fu Hsiang.
A Chinese who had beaten his wife was to-day put into a small light cangue, or frame-work about his neck, near the bell-tower, the cangue bearing an inscription :
" THIS MAN BEAT HIS WIFE AND IS NOW PUNISHED FOR
IT." He is surrounded much of the time by a curious crowd, both of foreigners and Chinese, who regard it as a novelty ; indeed, there is reason for supposing that it is the first case in the history of the Chinese Empire — though
390 CHINA IN CONVULSION
this is undoubtedly a rash statement to make about any- thing.
There was a sensation during the afternoon on the arrival of red cards and a quantity of fruit, etc., for the Ministers, and a separate lot for Sir Robert Hart. The approximate census of the provision consignment is as follows: Melons, 150; cucumbers, 100; squashes, 100; flour, 1,000 catties; eggs, 500; ice, 24 blocks. In regard to the acceptance of these Imperial gifts there was, at this as at other times, wide divergence of opinion. Some refused to partake of them in any way, and wished them returned or declined. The controversy was sharply ar- gued on both sides, one of the Ministers being even me- morialized by a deputation of ladies against the acceptance of such treacherous bounty.
There was, however, no diflference of opinion about the imprudence of using any of the flour, at least until it had first been tried upon a dog, — a suggestion presented by deputations of native Christains, which commended itself to all. It was put aside till urgently required, and had not been touched when the Relief Force arrived, but it was subsequently used with no apparent ill effects. These gifts were as before merely acknowledged by a receipt.
A letter to the Ministers through Sir Claude from the Prince Ch'ing combination suggests that the number of converts in the Legation premises is reported to be large, and the space small. The feeling is now quiet abroad, and the converts may very well be sent out, and directed to pursue their avocations. There need be no doubt and fear. It is requested that the number of them be esti- mated, and a day fixed for sending them out.
Sir Claude did not consider it worth his while to con- sult the Christians as to whclhcr they wished to facilitate
DAYS OF WAITING 391
their own massacre by leaving their only place of refuge, and no reply to this artless corHmunication was returned. In the evenings there are frequent gatherings around the bell-tower for singing.
Several songs have been composed bearing upon the siege, which have become very popular. The Russians sing their fine national air, the Germans " Die Wacht am Rhein," the British " God Save the Queen," and the Americans the " Star Spangled Banner," with great good fellowship.
The messenger reports that a foreigner has been cap- tured by the Chinese, in a very forlorn and unkempt con- dition. We recognized him as an escaped Norwegian about whom we wrote on the 25th a note of inquiry. He is reported to have been taken to the headquarters of Jung Lu, who examined him and then sent him to the yamen of the prefect of Peking where he now is.
Saturday, July 29th. — The two ponies killed this morn- ing were found to have been preempted by a parasite (filaria) in the flesh, making them unwholesome and dangerous. As the Chinese are never deterred by any trifles of this nature, the meat was accordingly sent over to the Fu, and another pony substituted for the foreigners.
A sensation was caused by the arrival of the boy who was sent out on the night of July 4th, disguised as a beggar. He brings a letter to Sir Claude replying to his of the 4th which gave the details of the siege up to that time, and the number of killed and wounded, and which stated that Chinese troops had fired into the Lega- tion quarter continuously since June 20th, and that the Legations were hard pressed.
Notice of the contents of the letter from Tientsin, which is written by the British Consul, is posted on the bulletin board as follows : " Tientsin, July 22nd. Your letter
392 CHINA IN CONVULSION
July 4th. There are now 24,000 troops landed, and 19,000 here. Brig. Gen. Gaselee expected Taku to-mor- row. Russian troops are at Pei Ts'ang. Tientsin city is under foreign government, and Boxer power here is ex- ploded. There are plenty of troops on the way if you can keep yourself in food. Almost all the ladies have left Tientsin. D. R. Carles."
The more this strange communication was con- templated, the more extraordinary it appeared. The one vital question to persons in a state of continuous siege is as to when relief may be expected, and on this point the letter not only gave no information whatever, but its phraseology was so ambiguous as to be unintelligible. Even the number of available troops was left a matter of debate, the whole culminating in the singular intelli- gence that " there are plenty of troops on the way if you can keep yourself in food." This led to the very natural inquiry, what would become of the troops if Sir Claude found that he could not keep himself in food?
It was not until long afterward that it became dimly known that the benevolent purpose of the writer of the letter was to disguise the fact — which it was thought might be fatally depressing to the besieged — that at pres- ent there was nothing whatever in immediate prospect for their relief, and that they might as well adjust them- selves to these conditions.
The messenger lad reported that he left the Red Bridge above Tientsin July 23rd, and slept at Yang Ts'un in a locomotive boiler. The railway bridge there was not de- stroyed. That day he saw only Chinese infantry — the main body being at Pei Ts'ang 8 miles west of Tientsin.
He saw no Boxers there. The night of the 24th he spent near PIo Hsi Wu. That day he saw parties of Boxers in the villages, but none on the road. At Ma
DAYS OF WAITING 393
T'ou the river was in flood, many boats moored, but few in motion. On the 27th he reached the Sha Kuo gate of Peking. The telegraph poles and wire along the river were all gone, the railway was everywhere torn up, and the rails either buried or used for making Boxer swords. The highway to Tientsin was in good condition. The crops everywhere looked well, and the villagers were attending to their farm work. There was a Boxer organization in every village.
When the messenger left Tientsin the foreign troops had not advanced beyond the defence wall. All the ya- mens in Tientsin were occupied by foreign troops — chiefly Japanese. All Boxers had left the front at Tientsin, be- cause they were so badly punished in battle. The Chinese soldiers despised them because of the contrast between their previous extravagant pretensions to invulnerability and their present flight.
The Japanese subsidized body-guard soldier of Tung Fu Hsiang informs them that there has been " a battle " at An P'ing on the 26th, when there were seven hundred Chinese killed, their army retreating on Ma T'ou. A miltary Harmony has now been constructed with a view to reconciling the dates given by the body-guard expert, with the evidently authentic information of the messenger lad, as follows:
Summary of Battles under the patronage of the soldier of Gen. Tung Fu Hsiang : Ts'ai Ts'un battle, July 24th ; Ho Hsi Wu battle, July 25th ; An P'ing battle, July 26th ; Chinese army at Ma T'ou, July 27th. The messenger boy reports that he slept at Yang Ts'un on the 23rd, Ho Hsi Wu, 24th, Ma T'ou, 25th, Yii Chia Wei, 26th, Peking, 27th. There is thus no material contradiction between these reports.
The word of the intended escape of the Empress Dow-
394 CHINA IN CONVULSION
agcr is confirmed by four others, as well as the soldier- spy. Yesterday an experiment was made in getting rude cobbling done by one of the Christians, and watch-repair- ing by a Roman Catholic refugee.
Sunday, July 29th. — Last night there seemed to be heavy firing about the Pei T'ang, or Northern Cathedral. Early in the morning the intellectually aberrant Nor- wegian w^as brought to our lines by a Chinese guard, looking much like a wreck. He had been manacled, and remarked that all the gold in the world would not induce him to repeat the experience. It gradually leaked out that he was asked a great number of leading questions by Jung Lu, and others, showing that they have a very correct knowledge of what is going on inside the Legation prem- ises. One inquiry w'as about the pits which were being dug, probably the bomb-proofs, and another as to the amount of damage done by the Chinese firing. The Nor- wegian gave the whole thing away by frankly stating that the Chinese fired too high, and as there w^as soon after a marked depression of the muzzles of their rifles (and of the spirits of the besieged to match) it was pro- posed to shoot the man as a deserter and a spy. Alore temperate counsels prevailed, however, and he w^as thence- forth kept in a state of surveillance until the siege termi- nated.
An Austrian marine, who was acting as a cook in his Legation at the time it was abandoned, says that when the order was given to retreat, he was at work in the cook- house and knew nothing of it, supposing that the firing was due to the Boxers, and was unimportant. Hearing the bullets whizzing he went out to see, and was imme- diately struck with the total absence of any Austrians at the barricade; he was himself soon hit by a bullet that made a flesh-wound in both legs. Crawling back to the
DAYS OF WAITING 395
guard-room he wrote his name in his own blood on the wall, explaining that circumstance, lest he should die unknown to the rest. Finding that the Chinese did not enter, he tore up his clothing, made rough bandages ,and crawled to the barricade at the Customs, pursued by bullets. It is now generally recognized by impartial ob- servers that the abandonment of the Austrian Legation at the time was utterly inexcusable.
Air. Sugi the dispenser of Japanese-Chinese intelligence has taken a small house just outside the Japanese lines, opening on the Customs lane, where he receives messages and whence he dispatches couriers. His body-guard soldier to-day informs him that there are 25,000 Chinese troops at Ma T'ou awaiting the foreign army, which is 30,000 strong and retired yesterday on An P'ing.
A messenger sent out to Chang P'ing Chou, north- west of Peking, met refugees from Tu Shih K'ou. There are said to be Russian troops coming hither by way of Kalgan, but whence is a dense mystery known only to the immortal gods. It is now affirmed that all but two of the gates of Peking are stopped with sand bags.
During the afternoon the Chinese began to build a new barricade along the south side of the bridge which crosses the canal under the walls of the Imperial city. This was at once observed from the north stables, and reported. The Italian gun was sent up there to attack the work- men, and fired several shots, until the gunner (Italian) got a bullet through his hand.
The method of the Chinese was very business-like and effective. There was no one in sight, but now and again a brick or two came around the corner, and then others were thrown on it, until the wall began to show up. Sometimes a box full of earth or bricks was suddenly pushed around adding to the fast growing barricade, but
396 CHINA IN CONVULSION
still no one in sight. The shots fired at them did the Chinese no harm, and did not in the least impede their work. Before dark the new wall stretched along the whole bridge front, and during the night it was completed, very high and strong. ]\Iucli of their work elsewhere was done like this, and having practically unlimited ma- terials and labour, they were able to execute a great deal in a short time. Everyone sympathized with the Russian gentleman who remarked the next morning: "That new barricade makes me very uneasy."
Another and rival messenger just in from Somewhere, tells us that Yang Ts'un was completely destroyed by foreign troops "two or three days ago," they being in steady advance. This makes necessary a revised Har- mony of the Peking Anabasis, involving great intellectual labour and highly uncertain results.
A few " Peking Gazettes " have been secured, but there is nothing of commanding interest. The issue of July 23rd contains a long joint memorial from Yii Lu, the Governor General of Chihli, and Gen. Sung Ch'ing, giving confused details of the attacks upon the Foreign Settle- ment from the 8th to the nth of July. The " Gazette " of July nth also had a long memorial of the same de- scription from the Governor General. The Chinese losses are admitted to have been severe, but then those of the enemy were " not small." The Empress Dowager is com- forted by information that the Arsenal at the Treaty Temple is not so injured that it can not be repaired. The tone of the later memorial, which was sent two days be- fore the last and successful foreign attack, is much less hopeful, giving details of the numerous foreign forces present and prospective, and each of them makes it plain that " large reenforcements " will be needed.
A paragraph from the former memorial is interesting
DAYS OF WAITING 397
as illustrating Chinese strategy under depressing con- ditions : " I have consulted," Yii Lu says, " with Gen. Ma Yii K'un, about the mode of continuing the warfare, and we have come to the conclusion that in the first place it is necessary to force the foreign troops to retire from the foreign settlement of Tientsin, and then to at- tack them at Taku. I have consulted on this subject several times with Generals Ma, Nieh, and Lo, and we hope to be able to take the Taku Forts." A Rescript ap- proves this mode of action (as well it might, considering that it is the Report of a Committee of Civil and Military Rats as to the best Alethod of Putting a Large Bell on several Foreign Cats now in possession of Our Attic).
In a memorandum by the same Governor published at the same time, he informs the Throne that " Boxers of different places in my province have at dift'erent times arrived at Tientsin, and taken part in the battles. At present there is a Boxer-chief of the district of Ching Hai who has come with 5,000 Boxers, and presented himself to me. Seeing that he is a man physically strong and mentally capable, 1 have ordered him to choose a resi- dence and await instructions. I have also directed that fire-arms and provisions should be distributed to his fol- lowers. In case of any merit on his part in future, a special report will be made by me on the subject." A Decree announces that as a reward for the nvmierous vir- tues of Jung Lu, he is to be allowed to ride with two bearers through the Forbidden City (a privilege which he was unable to retain for any length of time. )
Monday, July 30th. — The new barricade at the head of the canal commands the whole roadway on each side down to the city wall, and although passage is forbidden, there are many shots fired at the pertinacious Chinese who will take the more dangerous route, instead of the
398 CHINA IN CONVULSION
perfectly safe one through the tunnel. A Roman Catholic was killed this morning outside one of the houses near the Fu, along the canal road. A Cossack who was suf- fering from malaria took this morning a twelfth of a grain of strychnine by mistake for quinia, but he was saved from the toxic effects with some difficulty.
It is a great strain on the human understanding to digest, and especially to coordinate the incessant contra- dictory reports which come from every quarter. Here is to-day's budget : Col. Shiba's messenger says that he left Chang Chia Wan (three miles from T'ung Chou) at eight o'clock on the evening of the 29th. There had been desultory fighting there from 3 to 8 p. m., and many Chinese were killed. The foreign troops had advanced on j\Ia T"ou on the morning of the 29th, the Chinese fall- ing back upon Chang Chia Wan, with about 10,000 men. in the afternoon a candy-seller from T'ung Chou, who had been sent out as a spy, returns with the story that there are foreign troops at Yang Ts'un but none this side. As this is not the news we wish, the man is tied up, until he can revise it! He also informs us that Li Hung Chang is here, and has been given three days to make peace. A courier was sent off early this morning with eleven letters, and during the day it was reported that two who had been dispatched yesterday by Mr. Sugi had returned. One of them has brought word of a battle just south of Ma T'ou, on the 29th (or 28th.) These men say that they saw a man who had been in the Roman Catholic village of Chia Chia T'uan, eight miles from T'ung Chou, who reports that foreign troops have come there to relieve the Catholics, who have been standing a little siege of their own.
There are wild and contradictory accounts of what is seen from the Anicrican position on 'the wall, looking
DAYS OF WAITING 399
down into the southern city, singular movements of carts, horses, coohes, etc., in great confusion. It is said that Sir Robert has received a ciplicr telegram of nearly an hun- dred words for which he has no cipher key — so that it is unintelligible.
A reply was sent to-day to the letter suggesting that the Chinese Christians might return to their " avoca- tions," now that the country is quiet. The Ministers mention that in view of this statement they were sur- prised at the sound of heavy firing at the Pei T'ang, which was evidently being attacked. The barricade at the north canal bridge is referred to, and the fact that a continuous fire is kept up from there, and also against the French and the Russian Legations. There is a strange contra- diction between the above professions and the actions described. There are European officers and soldiers at the Pei T'ang. If such attacks as these can not be pre- vented, it is difficult to see how similar assaults could be prevented on a journey to Tientsin. Explanations are wanted in regard to this matter, before discussing the question of transport.
Prince Ch'ing and his " Others " in reply informed the Ministers that, in the preparation for the journey to Tien- tsin, the Chinese Government would of course provide carts and chairs for going to T'ung Chou. Brig. Gen, Sun Han Lien with a picked force, and also some of Gen. Sung Ming's troops would be the escort ; notice a few days in advance is requested. In reply to the letter just quoted it is explained that the attack on the Pei T'ang was due to the converts going out in all directions to plunder for food. The people joined the crowd of Box- ers, and made continuous attacks. A Decree has now been issued that if the converts do not come out to plunder they are to be protected and not attacked. The troops
400 CHINA IN CONVULSION
of Gen. Tung were building a road across the canal, and the Legation mistook it for a barricade, whicli was a mis- understanding on both sides. With regard to the pro- posed departure, it is not an easy matter to adjust. It was only after much arrangement that it was possible to give guarantees against mischance. The matter is one of the greatest importance, and we could not purposely deceive. We ask you not to be over anxious, but to come to a decision.
Tuesday, July 31. — During the night, there was what one of the British marines called " a tidy bit of firing " down the canal. The Chinese complain that we fired first on them as they were working on their " road " (barri- cade), which is true. Despite their promise of cessation of hostilities, the Chinese do not suspend their firing any- where. The supply of eggs has never been large, and now that the Chinese have beheaded a man who was bringing supplies for sale, and the French guards have shot an egg-seller, there are not likely to be any more.
The Chinese soldier-spy brings to the Japanese his usual tale of military news. The foreign army advanced from Ma T'ou fighting, arriving at Chang Chia Wan late on the afternoon of the 30th. The Chinese army is eight miles south of T'ung Chou. The " Ch'ang A.n Vic- torious Army " of fifteen regiments, which left Ilsian Fu June 27th, is expected at the Southern Hunting Park to-day, and is to make a forced march to T'ung Chou. Tt is thought that there may be 4,000 or 5,000 of them, and as they are not foreign drilled they will add but little to the Chinese strength in a military way.
The five great armies hitherto controlled by Jung Lu are said to have been turned over to Li Ping Hcng, who had arrived from the south a few days before in obedi- ence to a special summons, and whose influence was at once
DAYS OF WAITING 401
thrown into the scale in favour of further hostilities, so that they began to be more pronounced in every direc- tion. Tung Fu Hsiang has leave of absence for ten days. Li Hung Chang (who is already in Peking) will arrive at Tientsin in two days. A dispatch from Chi Nan Fu reports that Yuan Shih K'ai, the Governor of Shantung has " revolted and joined the Germans ! "
A party of Mr. Gamewell's men who were at work on the fortifications, were to-day called off to make a " brick-proof " for the north-west corner of the Han- lin, where bricks and bottles are coming over almost every minute, and " make the men nervous." The Hague Peace Conference should have included these weapons in its condemnation, along with the " dum-dum bullet." A barricade has been built in the night across the north side of the bridge at the Legation Street. At present the bridge is very unsafe, owing to the perpetual sniping from the Chinese barricade at the upper bridge.
XXII
THE RENEWAL OF THE ATTACK
WEDNESDAY, August i.— During the night the mentally unbalanced Norwegian broke away from the Japanese Legation where he was under restraint, and went to the Hotel de Pekin. The proprietor brought him to the British Legation at 2 a. m., whence he was sent back to be put under watch again. The barricade at the south gate of this Legation, to pro- tect the crossing of the canal, was finished last night, and we can now breathe a little more freely, but still there is a certain (or rather a very uncertain) amount of danger in going to Legation Street by this route.
The Committee on Food Supply have been very active in getting together everything which could be used, and especially in the steady and most important work of get- ting the grinding done properly and in season. LTpon this the continued existence of all the besieged depends. As the duration of the siege is so uncertain and the matter is one of vital importance, careful stock-taking has been had as to the visible food supply. There seem to be about 600 pounds only of white rice, 11,500 of the " yel- low," or olfl rice, and 34,000 pounds of wheat. If all other supplies were unavailable, it is estimated that the public stores coulfl furnish one thousand persons each a pound of wheat and one third of a pound of rice each day, for five weeks. There are about thirty available ponies re-
402
THE RENEWAL OF THE ATTACK 403
maining, which at the rate of three every two days would last twenty days.
A visit to the wall shows a vast improvement in the defences there as compared with the period when the first effort was made to build a worm fence of bricks to the top of the ramp. Now this has been completed, and is perfectly safe from shots in any direction. Each of the barricades on the wall is built up very high and strong, and could not be rushed by the Chinese even if they had the disposition, which since the night of July 3rd they have never exhibited. Between the two terminal barri- cades there is a long path on the wall, protected all the way so as to be entirely safe for passage. The western barricade is held conjointly by Americans and Russians.
Another letter from " Prince Ch'ing and Others " has been received, continuing the subject of the previous cor- respondence. It says that last night some converts again fired on the posts of the Government troops, wounding two of them. If the converts are not amenable to control, it is to be feared that they will produce a great dis- aster, and ruin the whole situation. The strictest re- straint is requested so as to avoid further hostilities. We hear that the converts have collected in great numbers, and that they do not wish the Envoys to leave Peking, their hope being that they will thus have a perpetual support. The Foreign Ministers ought not to fall into this trap. A reply is requested within two or three days, as to the date of the Minister's departure.
It seemed best to the Ministers to respond as if they were arguing with rational beings, as there was no cer- tainty into whose hands the correspondence might fall. Accordingly a reply was sent to this nonsense the follow- ing day. The Legation is defended, not by " converts," but by guards. All day and all night there had been shoot-
404 CHINA IN CONVULSION
ing from the new barricade on the north bridge, and not a shot was fired in reply. It is difficult to see why this is kept lip. The Foreign Envoys are in great difficulty about the plan to go to Tientsin on a certain day. What security could the Legations have that the firing would not begin en route?
It is learned from the telegrams received through the Tsung Li Yamen to-day, that Mr. Conger's telegram of July 17th saving that the Legations had been bombarded by shot and shell for a month, had made a great sensa- tion, and that relief would be sent. It is singular that both the tidings of our distress and the intelligence of the efTect produced by the announcement of it, should each have been transmitted through the Tsung Li Yamen. A Shantung Christian named Chang, who was dispatched to Tientsin on the i8th of July, returned to-day with a reply to the Japanese Baron Nishi from Gen. Fukushima, say- ing that there had been unexpected difficulties in the land- ing of the 5th Japanese Division, but that most of the troops had already reached Tientsin and the remainder were constantly arriving. The messages sent out from Peking had made the situation there universally known, and many councils had been held as to dispatch of a relief expedition. It was expected that within two or three days from the date of writing, which was July 26th, an expedition would start.
Other letters brought the same or similar intelligence, which makes it clear that the reports which have been coming in so frequently and so regularly from the heavily subsidized body-guard soldier-spy of Gen. Tung Fu Hsiang's are deficient in the element of coordination with other facts of contemporaneous history — in other words they are pure fabrications, which have served their one purpose of holding the attention of the besieged, au'l
THE RENEWAL OF THE ATTACK 405
which have kept them studying the map and making esti- mates of the probable present situation of " our troops." Those who had all along discredited the military narra- tives, were enabled to say with much and iterative em- phasis : " I told you so."
This last messenger, although he had been promised a large reward for executing the commission which he had so well fulfilled, said that he did not care for money, would not accept it, and only insisted that he should be furnished with a return packet of letters as soon as pos- sible. He explained that he was risking his life for the general good, and not for private gain. To the Japanese, as well as to some others, he appeared to be a very eccen- tric individual. Within two hours he was sent off again on the coveted errand.
A telegram to Sir Robert Hart mentions the results of the fighting at Tientsin July 15th, and states that sub- sequent to it arrangements for the relief were being ha- stened, and inquiries whether the Chinese Government is protecting us and supplying us with provisions, etc.
This last sentence exposes the " true inwardness " of the water-melons, egg-plants, and cucumbers, all of which had been sent in not for the purpose of serving as food, but as padding for the dispatches of the Chinese Ministers to various Western Powers, all of whom were now assured that the Government was doing its utmost to make the besieged experience ideal happiness, so that their lot was upon the whole an enviable one.
It is reported from Japanese sources that their losses in killed have been ten, (including the Chancellor of the Legation) of whom five are soldiers, three Legation of- ficials, one an officer, and one a civilian. There have been seven badly wounded, and thirty slightly so. The dead are buried in a special spot in the grounds of the Su Wang
4o6 CHINA IN CONVULSION
Fu, and when the siege is over the bodies are to be taken up, cremated, and the ashes transferred to Japan.
During the siege a Htter of kittens has made its ap- pearance, two of which have been adopted by the ma- rines in the main gate, have had coloured ribbons put on their necks, and sleep serenely in the loop-holes !
Thursday, August 2. — One of the Continental Min- isters who was for a long time very timid and pessimis- tic, remarked in our gate-house this morning: "Well, we are going to get out of this." He seems to think the thermometer is rising.
The two soldier-spies returned to-day, and one gave an account of the retreats of their phantom foreign armies as far as Yang Ts'un ! He was somewhat alarmed at finding his fictions rated at their true value. Instead of falling into a passion, as the unskilful Occidental would have been likely to do, his shrewd Japanese employer smiled upon him, and remarked that he was aware all along that the tales were a tissue of fabrications, inso- much that he had never even mentioned them to Col. Shiba at all! Considering that each day a careful ab- stract of the reports had been drawn up, illustrated with maps, and the whole at once posted on the bulletin board, this was almost as robust a falsehood as the marching and retreats of the imaginary forces from Tientsin. In- stead of being dismissed, the soldier was told that he would still be paid, if he would hereafter bring in reports which were somewhat more veracious than any of those which had preceded, but from this date he ceased to be quoted by any one as a military authority.
A man who was sent out for the purpose, returned to- day with a fresh lot of " Peking Gazettes," which con- tain some crumbs of news.
On the 28th of July a memorial appears from Yii Hsien^
THE RENEWAL OF THE ATTACK 407
the Governor of Shansi, who reports that the district magistrate of the capital of his province, T'ai Yuan Fu, had sent word of a Boxer gathering which invaded his yamen and had asked for troops. Upon investigation the Governor learned that the crowd was a small one, and that only one man had come to the yamen demanding food, and he was not a Boxer. He recommends the dis- missal of the magistrate. (There is probably much more in this little incident than appears upon the surface, and it not improbably signifies that Yu Hsien was engaged in inculcating the teaching among his subordinates that Boxers were not to be interfered with, and that any official guilty of obstructing them would be promptly cashiered.)
The same Governor mentions that he was about dis- patching four " camps " of infantry and two hundred cav- alry to Peking, in obedience to a Decree, but that in ac- cordance with a later Decree their destination was changed to Kalgan. Fie also reports that he is about to raise fresh regiments. (It was learned later that he marched at the head of his troops for the relief of Peking as far as Huai Lu Hsien, at the entrance to the Ku Kuan pass leading from Chihli to Shansi. Learning that Peking had already been taken, he returned to his own capital, where he later welcomed the Empress Dowager on her flight to the remote west.) v
A Decree of which the date is uncertain, but apparently of July 28th, states that Hsu Ching Ch'eng and Yuan Chang, two of the Ministers of the Tsung Li Yamen, had been denounced as of bad reputation, and as given to serving their private ends in dealing with foreign affairs. At an Imperial audience they have made wild proposals, and used the most improper language. Their suggestions have tended to introduce divisions (i. e. be-
4o8 CHINA IN CONVULSION
tween the Empress Dowager and the Emperor) and have been extremely wanting in respect. In order to inspire awe in the minds of other officers they are both con- demned to immediate execution. (The above two officials were sacrificed to the fury of the Empress, apparently at the instigation of Li Ping Heng immediately upon his arrival at Peking. PIsii Ching Ch'eng was the Chinese President of the new Imperial University, had been Chinese Minister to Russia, and was an enlightened and liberal man. At an Imperial audience of unusual impor- tance the Emperor reached over the dais upon which he was seated, grasped the sleeve of Hsii, and exclaimed, " If China is to fight the World, will it not put an end to China?" At this the numerous Manchu nobles present manifested great indignation, and someone cried out that Hsu had laid hands upon His Majesty, and began to re- vile him openly. Hie retired as soon as he was able, very much frightened. The same day Li Ping Heng is re- ported to have reached the Capital, and the following day both Hsij and Yuan were executed. Their real crime was in daring to advise against the insane course of the Empress Dowager, as urged by Prince Tuan and the rest, in endeavouring to find some way of adjusting the growing difficulties, in alleged truckling to foreigners by visiting the Legations secretly, and in taking up the body of the German Minister when it lay exposed in the street, and encoffining it.) It was at once perceived that this was a most ominous proceeding, displaying the temper of the actual rulers of China as nothing had yet done.
Yesterday preparations were made for extending our line to the southwest of the British Legation, by taking in the ruins of burned buildings near the Mongol Mar- ket, and making barricades of them witli a view to keep- ing the Chinese at a greater distance. This was done to-
THE RENEWAL OF THE ATTACK 409
day by Mr. Gamewell and his men, under Lieutenant von Strauch of the Customs (formerly of the German Army), a brave and skillful officer, who threw himself into the new movement with the greatest zeal. The work was designedly begun at a time when the Chinese sol- diers are usually torpid (taking their opium and resting after the fatigues of their early rising), and the work was for a long time not even discovered. It has enlarged the area under our control by a space perhaps fifty yards wide to the west, and stretching the entire distance from the Carriage Park on the north to the Russian Legation on the south. Many court-yards were crossed, many houses perforated, and a final barricade made of flag- stones in the one furthest west. When at last the Chinese found out what was going on, they made a par- ticularly spiteful attack, piercing a wooden door, and wounding a Chinese, but notwithstanding their utmost efforts they were never able to recover any part of this tract and hold it against the defence.
Toward evening another courier arrived, — the one who took the messages July 23rd, conveying information of the safety of the Legation and the besieged up to that time. The greatest excitement prevailed, both before the posting of the news (which happened almost immedi- ately, as the letters were mostly for the American Minis- ter) and afterwards. The cipher dispatches and letters gave the dates of the military movements for the relief of Tientsin, and information as to the probable order of advance by columns of the relieving force, which did not, however, correspond to the actual movements later on. One of the letters contained the judicious advice to "Hold on by all means," and another said: "Keep heart, aid coming early. Troops pouring in."
The letter of Consul Ragsdale to Mr. Conger, although
4IO CHINA IN CONVULSION
very brief, was of special interest to Americans for the welcome glimpse into the doings and feelings of their distant countrymen: "July 28th. Tlad lost all hope of seeing you again. Prospect now brighter. We had thirty days' shelling here, nine days siege, thought that bad enough. Scarcely a house escaped damage. Excitement at home intense, of course. Our prayers and hope are for your safety and speedy rescue. Advance of troops to-morrow probable. McKinley and Roosevelt nomi- nated. Also Bryan — Vice-President unknown."
A letter from Lieut. Col. Mallory, 41st U. S. Infantry, said: "A relief column of 10,000 is on the point of starting for Peking. INIore to follow. God grant they may be in lime." Under date of August 30th, Maj. Gen. Chafifee announced that he had just arrived at Tientsin.
Some of the other letters mentioned that attacks had been made by Boxers upon Chinese Christians in the dis- tricts of Tsun Hua Chou, Shan Hai Kuan, and many other places. That the Russians had been fighting near Chin Chou in Manchuria, and that Newchwang was much disturbed, as all Manchuria seemed to be rising against foreigners, and the hands of the Russians were likely to be full there. The Yangtze valley was said to be also very unquiet, although the two Governors Gen- eral, Liu K'un Yi, at Nanking, and Chang Chih Tung, at Wu Ch'ang, were doing their best to keep order. Li Hung Chang was still at Shanghai, and his coming north to Tientsin considered doubtful. Tientsin was governed by a joint foreign Commission. Germany and the United States were each to send 15,000 men, and Italy 5,000. Tientsin was full of soldiers, with more constantly arriv- ing. The railway was running between Tientsin and Tongku. Many ladies and children had been sent to the
THE RENEWAL OF THE ATTACK 411
United States on the transport " Logan." All property at the sea-side resort at Pei Tai Ho was destroyed.
For some time it has been known that there was a stock of Chinese sanishu, or strong wine somewhere, but recently it was traced to a shop in Legation Street, where they deal in condiments, sauce, etc. Mr. Tewksbury went there with some men on behalf of the General Com- mittee, and found a sick man asleep above a large wine- jar. He was forced to remove, and the fluid was all poured into the street, which was highly perfumed, to the value of many taels. The jar had been sealed up once before, but the thirsty marines had broken through the seal.
The messenger who brought the welcome news of prospective relief says that, when he reached T'ung Chou, instead of taking the usual route he went east, spending one night on the way with Chinese soldiers. On his return he had his letters sewed into his hat. He left Tientsin by the west gate, making a wide detour so as not to excite suspicion, yet got through in very good time.
Friday, August 3. — The Committee on Confiscated Goods is busy this morning going through the houses which are within the territory captured yesterday, and a great deal of stuff was found which will be of service. There is a fire in the Imperial City, but it is impossible to determine where it is. The following has just been posted :
Census of the British Legation, August ist.
Soldiers, British and others 73
General Hospital, wounded 40
412 CHINA IN CONVULSION
Legation residents :
Foreign men 191
Foreign women 147
Foreign children 76
414
Legation residents:
Chinese men 180
Chinese women 107
Chinese children .. .■ 69
356
Total 883
This afternoon the Yamen sent to Sir Claude, an un- dated cipher telegram from Lord Salisbury, in which he complains of having heard nothing since July 4th. The Ministers are trying the experiment of sending cipher telegrams through the Yamen. The latter send notice of the appointment of Jung Lu to escort the Ministers to Tientsin, a piece of impudence which even for the Chinese Government is nothing less than colossal, con- sidering that he has spent the whole summer in trying to kill everyone in the Legations.
In reply to Sir Claude's remonstrances about the in- cessant firing upon us, the Yamen blandly remarks that it was the result of a misunderstanding, and that it is more or less on the same footing as the morning and evening bells of the temple priests. " It is really hardly worth a smile." In confirmation of the morning-and- evening-bell theory, it is mentioned that the wife of one of the Ministers has been heard to say that, now there is so little firing of rifles and no shelling, she cannot sleep !
Over at the Fu some Chinese coolies have brought
THE RENEWAL OF THE ATTACK 413
rifles and ammunition for sale at one of the out-posts. (This circumstance probably gave rise to the widely cir- culated story that during the siege a part of the ammuni- tion was bought from the attacking Chinese troops. It was, however, stated as a fact that a Japanese paid one of the Chinese Imperial Guard two dollars for 140 rounds of ammunition, and that within a quarter of an hour the two men were diligently attacking each other!)
Saturday, Aug. 4. — There was much less firing last night than before. The Nordenfelt gun was put up on a high platform at the angle of the newly annexed territory behind the house of the Chinese Secretary, and has a very dissuasive appearance. " Oh, he's little, but he's wise. He's a terror for his size."
The Ministers had a meeting and agreed to ask the Yamen to send mutton and other supplies for the ladies and the sick, but the action was not unanimous, and some of the besieged protest against it vigourously, as a dis- play of uncalled for weakness. A letter was received from the Yamen, informing the Ministers that the various Foreign Offices of the different Nations concerned wish the Foreign Ministers escorted out of Peking, and de- siring a speedy reply. Two Russians who were at work in the Russo-Chinese Bank incautiously exposed them- selves too much, and were wounded this afternoon, ap- parently by the same bullet. One of them died during the night.
At an adjourned meeting of the Ministers during the afternoon, the draft of a letter in reply to the Yamen was agreed upon, to be sent to-morrow. The general pur- port is that the Ministers must be allowed to communicate with their Governments direct, and that they can not re- ceive instructions through the medium of the Tsimg Li
414 CHINA IN CONVULSION
Yamen. Foreign Ministers in China must have the same rights that Chinese Ministers at foreign courts at pres- ent enjoy.
With this letter were sent cipher telegrams to the vari- ous governments from the Ministers, asking for instruc- tions as to leaving, in compliance with the Yamen's de- mand. The object of this is to gain time, as the replies at quickest can not be received in less than ten days or two weeks, since the telegrams have to be sent, according to the Yamen's letter of to-day, by courier to Chi Nan Fu, the capital of Shantung. It is understood that at least one of the Ministers incorporated in his dispatch a hint of the object of raising the inquiry at all, with the suggestion that there need be no haste as to a reply. In the interim the Yamen was told that, when these replies are to hand, the Ministers will be in a position to arrange the matter of leaving or remaining — (a prediction and promise which was more than fulfilled.)
Yesterday the Ministers had for the first time tried the experiment of all sending cipher dispatches to their re- spective governments, to be forwarded by the Yamen, and it is understood that as they have not been returned they have been forwarded.
There is a species of censorship established over out- going telegrams, to the deep indignation of some of the correspondents who do not wish their opinions revised by a committee.
At the Su Wang Fu soldiers without arms crowd around our sentries in a very friendly way, as the Imperial Edict arranging for the departure of the Ministers is well known and we are supposed to be soon leaving. A soldier who has been useful in getting copies of the " Peking Gazettes " for us, took occasion to observe : " You are
THE RENEWAL OF THE ATTACK 415
alive ; we are dead. The foreign army is on the way, and has driven back Gen. Sung Ch'ing, 140 h from here." Rumours among the Chinese say that among the for- eign troops there are many " blacks," who are supposed to be from India.
Sunday, August 5. — A report has got around that the Chinese are intending, if the Foreign Ministers do not accede to the proposition to go at once to Tientsin, to attack the Legations in earnest. After nearly three weeks of comparative quiet, with steady preparation under the invariable persistence of Mr. Gamewell, there are many who are quite of the mind of the German soldier who exclaimed on hearing the rumour : " Let them come on!" (Lassen sie kommen.)
There was a hard rain last night for two hours or more, and everything is fresh to-day. No walls have fallen in the Mongol Market addition to our territory, as was feared. This is the first Sunday when no work has been done at all. Several Chinese children died yesterday and to-day. The Roman Catholics are very short of food, — for what reason is not quite clear, as the total stock appears to be good. In the afternoon there were letters from the Yamen again, one of which conveyed expres- sions of sympathy to the Italian Legation on the death of King Humbert (of which they had not previously heard.) The news was communicated by Lo Feng Lo, who is accredited both to Great Britain and to Italy. Other letters to other Ministers communicated inquiries as to health, etc.
The following letter was sent out to-night to the Allied forces, and it was through the use of this information that the British and American troops entered Peking so early.
4i6 CHINA IN CONVULSION
COPY OF MESSAGE SENT TO COMMANDER ALLIED FORCES:
August 5, 1900.
" I enclose map showing Manchu City soutli wall, with lines in rear, including Legations now occupied by us. Our position on wall is strongly held, is about 300 yards long, and equally distant from the two city gates, and is indi- cated by flags, Russian and American at each end. The left of the position (American) covers the water gate, an opening under the wall, about forty feet wide and twenty feet high, and through which any number of men could pass without difficulty; arriving within our lines, could take one or both the gates by assault, following down the wall and in the rear from the street. 500 men for each gate would be a sufificient force, especially if assisted by artillery fire from outside. The wall of the Chinese City near the south gate is in bad condition, and far easier to take than any part of the Manchu city wall, which is thicker and higher. The ground from Chinese City south gate up to houses in that city is open. After shelling, an advance up the main street towards the middle gate, then turning to the right in the direction of the water gate, ought to be made without any very great diffi- culty. I deem this the safest and most feasible entrance into Peking. See Slater's Code, using Ragsdale's code number."
(Signed) Claude MacDonald.
Monday, August 6. — Between two and three o'clock this morning there was a furious rifle attack, such as we have not had for a long time, beginning with the Mongol Market region and apparently going all around. It con- tinued for perhaps half an hour. It may have been stirred up by the steady work on the barricades in the new terri-
BUDDHIST TEMPLE AND MODERN TRAM CAR
WATER GATE, PEKING, THROUGH WHICH ALLIES ENTERED
THE RENEWAL OF THE ATTACK 417
tory, which are being strengthened all the time. A Chinese barricade fell down at the French Legation, and the Chinese had the presence of mind to set up a great yell- ing, beating of drums, etc., to distract attention. There was much alarm at some of the houses in the British Legation, and in one of them the second story was aban- doned for the night as unsafe.
The alley through which the egg-sellers and the pur- veyors of news have made their entrance into the Japanese lines, has been walled up, so that we are again isolated from the world, except for the driblets of news — largely of an obituary nature — filtering through the Tsung Li Yamen. During the afternoon another communication arrived from that august body, in reply to those sent yes- terday referring to the various home Governments the question of return to Tientsin. The Yamen has forwarded the dispatches, thus recognizing the right of the Ministers to ask for instructions. They also explain the attack of last night by saying that some foreigner made a great noise, so that the Chinese soldiers thought they were being attacked, and replied in kind !
Tuesday, August 7. — The night was much more quiet than the previous one, though there were some shots. To-day is the " Japanese Decoration Day " (the thirteenth day of the Chinese seventh moon), the equivalent of our " All Souls " festival, and they have put flowers upon the eight graves of their dead, — the touch of nature which makes the whole world kin.
The sand bags in the windows of the hospital are all giving way, and are to be taken down and used to fill up the unsightly holes in the tennis-court where earth has been removed. Despite the general quiet there is firing near the Mongol Market, and a Japanese was brought in from the Fu wounded in the leg. A telegram
4i8 CHINA IN CONVULSION
was received to-day from the Yamen with condolence for the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, of which there was no previous information.
To-day after elaborate preparation and many emenda- tions, the Register of the Siege in Peking is published, and put upon the bulletin board. It was originally headed " Commander in Chief, Sir Claude MacDonald," which is understood to have been in accordance with a vote of the Ministers, asking the British Minister, in view of his twenty-four years of service in the British Army, to take the command, which no one else was willing to do. This was the more appropriate, as it was agreed that in the last extremity the British Legation was to be the place for a final stand. Now that the siege seemed nearly over and the unremitting exertions of Sir Claude for the gen- eral welfare were about to end, it appeared somewhat un- gracious to assert, as some of the Continentals seemed disposed to do, that he was not their " Commander in Chief." Some final appeal in a military way there must of necessity be, and aside from the previous agreement of the Ministers made in the presence of a deadly peril, no more competent or more suitable candidate than Sir Claude was either available or requisite.
In the evening Mr. Squiers prepared a long message to be sent out to the troops, recommending the Southern City as the best point of attack, as being less defended, more easily entered, affording a shorter distance, largely through open spaces where there can be no loop-holing buildings, and having the water-gate accessible. Other letters of this kind have been sent also to the British detachment.
XXIII
THE RELIEF
WEDNESDAY, August 8.— During the night there was considerable firing in the region of the Mongol Market, a few Chinese creeping through the ruins and throwing bricks at the guard on the high platform where the Nordenfelt gun is placed. It was this that gave rise to the story that this post was " attacked." It is impossible for all to look at the matter in the same light, and there are some who are fully per- suaded that this addition to our territory, instead of being (as it really is) a source of additional security, is rather the reverse.
There was an auction yesterday of much confiscated property, clothing, furniture, etc., bringing several hun- dred dollars to a relief fund for the Christians. A French marine accidentally shot another this morning through the lungs, the man dying not long after. Nothing but the grossest and most inexcusable carelessness could have occasioned such a calamity. Work was begun outside the main gate of the British Legation on a trench leading to the canal, where a platform is to be put up for the Austrian gun to command the bed of the canal, down which it would at any time have been possible for a bold and determined enemy to have made an effective rush in the night. On the west side of the Hanlin compound a countermine is being made for the Chinese mine, which has not, however, been discovered,
419
420 CHINA IN CONVULSION
A meeting of the Alinisters was held to-day, and strict economy was enjoined in the use of food. It was agreed to say to the Yamen that in view of the kindly feehng manifested by them in the communication of tidings of the death of kings and princes, it would be greatly ap- preciated if like kindness should be shown to the women and children here, in arranging for the furnishing of eggs and vegetables. They were also to be asked to take over more than an hundred neutrals who are still within our lines.
In the afternoon a circular dispatch came from the Yamen to announce that yesterday Li Hung Chang had been appointed a High Commissioner to arrange terms of peace between China and the Powers, with the Gov- ernments of which he is to correspond telegraphically.
One of Col. Shiba's informants says that there are at present only about 2,500 Chinese troops in Peking — the rest having gone to confront the foreign army. He also reports that another body of 50,000 foreign soldiers has been landed at Taku. It is thought that the appointment of Li as Peace Commissioner may mean that there has been a decisive victory at Yang Ts'un, but one of the Ministers would not be surprised if the expedition had not yet started, owing to difficulties of transportation, etc.
Sir Claude replied to the letter conveWng sympathy for the death of the Duke of Edinburgh, remarking that notwithstanding these agreeable amenities it still remained true that he could not put his head out of his own Lega- tion without the danger of being shot ! This is the fiftieth day of the siege.
Thursday, August 9. — During the night there was a great deal of firing from the north bridge, not only down the canal but on the British Legation. It is rumoured that there has been a general change of the Chinese
THE RELIEF 421
soldiers attacking us, the Manchus taking the place of the Chinese, who have been sent out to meet the troops of the enemy. Bullets rattled through the Legation grounds, and during the night a groan was heard, but no out-cry. In the morning it was found that a Chinese Roman Catholic " Brother," whose head was turned to the north and who was asleep on the outer pavilion, had been wounded in the chest by a glancing bullet which perforated his clothing and made a flesh wound near the ensifonn cartilage. The man was perhaps stunned, for he did not even wake up, and when he did it was to find himself bloody.
Specimens of the " food " eaten in the Fu have been brought over on a tray, consisting of a mixture of chaff, sorghum seeds, wheat, and the leaves of plants and trees, made into flat cakes. A request has been sent that those who can do so will go out and shoot dogs and cats for the Chinese, to serve as food. There has been a recount of the Catholics in the Fu. The census is 755 women and 546 children, a total of 1,301. The men, who were absent, number 412, making a grand total of 1,713.
Friday, August 10. — About three o'clock this morning there was a sudden and very violent attack begun in the Mongol Market, running all around the circle. It lasted only about fifteen minutes, but during that time it was as vicious as anything we have had. At the signal of a rocket the firing suddenly ceased. Before it began, there had been a Boxer killed and another wounded west of the Market. There was also much shooting down the canal.
In the morning an aged Catholic priest slowly walked the entire distance from the Legation Street bridge to the entrance of the Fu, against many remonstrances, attract- ing at once the fire from the north bridge. There were
422 CHINA IN CONVULSION
twenty-six shots directed at him, but not one struck him. Yesterday some one counted thirty shots fired at a Httlc girl, and an old woman gathering greens became a speedy target. Some Chinese do not seem in the least con- cerned when fired at, while others are terribly alarmed. One of the Chinese was cautioned not to go into danger, but would not heed, when a bullet pierced his clothing over the abdomen. From that time he became more pru- dent, but his caution assumed the form of a thick wad of cloth over the place where he had been hit, assuming that the next bullet would strike in precisely the same spot!
One of the diplomatic military authorities says that there were shots enough fired into the British Legation last night to have killed, if properly directed, every person in it. The intention certainly was not lacking, but the execution was imperfect. The trouble began in a corner of the Mongol Market where a bag of powder was found yesterday.
Designs are invited for a Siege medal to be struck in commemoration of the experience. One of the mottoes suggested has been the words " Mene, mene, tekel, up- harsin," but one of the besieged was heard to object to this on the plausible ground that " not everybody knows Latin." The total of several auction sales thus far comes to $68 1.
About three in the afternoon there were rumours of the arrival of a messenger from the troops en route to Peking. There was a letter from the Japanese Lieut. General Fukushima, dated near Ts'ai Ts'un on the 8th. The Japanese and the American troops had defeated the enemy near Pei Ts'ang on the 5th, and occupied Yang Ts'un on the 6th. " The Allied forces, consisting of Americans,
THE RELIEF 423
BritisH, and Russians, left Yang Ts'un this morning, and while marching north the General received the letter of Col. Shiba. It is very gratifying to learn from your letter that the foreign community are holding on, and it is the earnest wish and unanimous desire of the Lieut. General and all of us to arrive in Peking as soon as possible, and deliver you from your perilous position. Unless some un- foreseen event takes place, the Allied forces will be at Ho Hsi Wu on the 9th, at Ma T'ou on the loth, Chang Chia Wan on the nth, T'ung Chou on the 12th, and probably arrive at Peking on the 13th or 14th." A letter of a similar tenor was also received from Gen. Gaselee.
The messenger got among Chinese soldiers, who de- tained but did not search him, and coming back he was forced to help track a boat. Still he made a relatively quick trip, leaving Tientsin Sunday night, reaching the foreign troops Wednesday morning, and arriving at Peking Friday afternoon. He came in through two half- manned barricades disguised as a coolie searching among the ruins of buildings.
Many telegrams were received making inquiries, and others with news. Mr. Conger received one from Wash- ington asking information about his telegram of July i8th, and giving him a name to insert in his reply to establish authenticity. This seems to be an indication that the Yamen is suspected of having sent bogus messages.
There is still no answer from the Yamen in regard to food, except a strange verbal message purporting to come from Jung Lu to the Chairman of the General Committee asking him to make out a list of what he wanted, which Jung Lu would furnish, and for which Mr. Tewksbury could pay him later ! The messenger brings a rumour that Li Ping Heng was wounded in the shoulder at Yang
424 CHINA IN CONVULSION
Ts'un. One of the Ministers thinks it a pity that it had not been a little lower ( but the wound eventually proved fatal.)
There was an attack on the German Legation last night, as well as on the British, and this morning a message came from the Yamen apologizing for it, and saying that they had beheaded the man who made it !
A cow was killed the other day, to the great joy of everyone who could get some of it. One of the legation ladies sent for the cow's liver, only to find that it had been calmly appropriated by the marines. An attache of the British Legation sent up for a part of the cow's kidney as a great luxury, but it had been already dis- tributed. The sympathetic superintendent of the meat ap- portionment, however, not wishing to disappoint him, sent the man the kidney of a horse, " without note or com- ment ; " afterwards meeting him, he inquired how he liked it. He had enjoyed it greatly, and remarked that while eating it he had forgotten that he was in China !
In the afternoon Lt. von Strauss made a sortie on a Chinese barricade in the Mongol Market addition, which provoked a great deal of retaliatory firing. Showers of bricks came over; one of the British marines had his head cut open, and two Chinese were badly stunned. The bricks are much more dangerous than the bullets. Fortu- nately the worst brick attack came while the Chinese work- men were at their afternoon meal, so that the most of them could stand quietly under shelter and watch the bricks curve through the air to their harmless destination.
In the evening a hard rain came on, and with it an attack, the firing being especially furious at each loud clap of thunder. It really aj^pcars as if it were considerctl as a signal from the gods for the encouragement of the Chinese.
THE RELIEF 425
Saturday, August 11. — Two ponies were condemned this morning on the ground that they were affected by phthisis, but they were absorbed by the less fastidious Chinese, and another horse and a mule were substituted. Dogs, cats, magpies, crows, and sparrows have all been shot for the Catholics, who got the condemned animals. It is proposed to give the grain directly to each family, instead of having it cooked in a common kettle and di- vided.
There is some indication of special activity on the wall of the city, where the Chinese flags have been removed, but the number of soldiers seems increased. They have begun firing on the American Legation again, and a ball went through the door of Mr. Squier's office and pene- trated the outer door of the (so-called) iron "safe!" Bullets struck some of the other buildings, and one came into the Minister's bed-room. After several weeks of comparative immunity from this kind of attack by day, its sudden resumption by the enemy is peculiarly exas- perating.
Sunday, August 12. — There was intermittent heavy firing during the night at no very long intervals, making it difficult to sleep. There were rumours of sharp attacks in various directions. An Austrian and a German were wounded, and a Frenchman killed. A Russian on duty on the wall was slightly wounded. Another Russian died in the hospital yesterday, and also a French marine. Over at the Fu there was a great deal of yelling during the night. Col. Shiba had kerosene tins beaten, and the Italian soldiers shouted, whistled, and cried " Bravo " to one another, to give the Chinese the impression of un- limited numbers.
It was understood yesterday that a deputy official was to come to-day to open a market, but no one appeared.
426 CHINA IN CONVULSION
A man who sells eggs to the French Legation soldiers has tokl them tiiat there was a battle at Chang Chia Wan yes- terday, and 3,000 Chinese were killed. There are some appearances of a panic in the city. Jung Lu is said to have taken poison. It was very hot all day, and it was often remarked how trying this must be for the marching troops.
In the afternoon there was a sudden and savage attack on the Mongol Market defences, to which the Nordenfelt gun replied. The bullets fell thick, and very low. There w'as a melancholy funeral of two Frenchmen to-day, just on the eve of what we hope is to be the raising of the siege.
The ladies of the United States Legation were busy to- day making sand bags for the German Legation defences. The Austrian gun was taken to the stable-yard. A letter was received from the Yamen saying that the Princes and Ministers would come to the British Legation to- morrow to confer w'ith regard to the cessation of hostili- ties. The French Captain La Bruce was killed early in the evening in his own Legation, while walking to a barri- cade. It might have been well to have replied that this Legation is at present a very unsafe place for " Princes and Ministers." Sir Claude planned to receive them in his own house. The Spanish Legation would have seemed a far more suitable place, but at last a mat-shed was put up outside the front gate. The Chinese do not believe in receiving them at all.
It is reported that a Chinese gun at the Ha Ta gate has been firing blank cartridges, so that the Germans did not think it worth while to reply with rifles. At a loop- hole in the Mongol Market region, two nights ago, a bullet cut clean through the small board over the open- ing, so that the bricks dropped down without having been
THE RELIEF 4^7
hit. It is becoming a favourite plan with the Chinese now to keep on firing away at a loophole and its neighbour- hood, until the wall gives way. Sometimes they get the range, strap the gun tight, and keep blazing away at one spot. Our Nordenfelt yesterday knocked down a sec- tion of the Chinese barricade in this manner, but the hole was promptly filled up with sand bags.
Monday, August 13. — The attack which was expected came off, and was practically continuous all night, and very violent. The Chinese soldiers and their rifles seem to be different from those before used, and the bullets (Mannlicher) have much more penetrating power. Many barricades were much weakened and must be repaired. It is marvellous that no one in the British Legation was hit during the night. The firing was more consecutive than at any time since the siege began, and strangely in- congruous with proposals for peace, — another of the many glaring absurdities of our situation. The impression given by these repeated and furious onsets is that, the time being short, they must annihilate us immediately. The shooting was much lower than hitherto.
There was a meeting of the Ministers in the forenoon to consider the place of receiving the Yamen Ministers. It is difficult for the Ministers to refuse an interview with the Yamen, because it was on the ground of being use- ful in helping on such negotiations that they declined to go to Tientsin.
At half past ten o'clock, however, came a letter from the Yamen to say that the Ministers have reopened hos- tilities ( !), by killing an officer and 26 men in the region of the Board of Works (just west of the British Lega- tion), and as "the Yamen Ministers are busy," they can not come as agreed ! There was no reply as to the pur- chase of food, and not an atom of news from outside.
428 CHINA IN CONVULSION
Both the German and the American Legations were at- tacked last night, the former at very short range. Notice is posted that arrangements have been made to take photo- graphs of the siege positions, etc., with a camera which belongs to a Japanese, and there are fortunately enough photographic chemicals available for the purpose.
Some Chinese cavalry leaving the city yesterday by the Ch'ien ^len were fired at several times from the wall, but this is not the alleged resumption of hostilities, but the fact that men were killed on the west of us. The Chinese officer who was shot is said to be a Captain who had guaranteed to take the Legation within five days, which time was up yesterday. This, however, is not authenti- cated. The American and Russian flags have been put up on the wall to-day, and a staff prepared for the British flag.
About eight o'clock in the evening there w-as, as ex- pected, a furious attack in the Mongol Market region, which was kept up for a long time and only died down to be again resumed. An hour or so later there was a second, likewise very furious and vindictive.
Tuesday, August 14. — The distinction between to-day and yesterday was entirely obliterated, as no one could sleep, and very few made any pretence of even going to bed. The battery on the wall of the Imperial City began firing Krupp shells during the night, about ten shots in all. One of these fell in a dressing-room off Sir Claude's bed-room, and made a complete wreck of it. Three others struck in the front gate fort, one of them coming through the gate-way and knocking over by its concussion those who were at hand.
Between eleven and twelve o'clock there was an alarm on the bell of a " general attack," and every one turned out — the first experience of the kind for nearly six weeks.
THE RELIEF 4^9
Sir Claude was on hand and, after waiting to see how many appeared, dismissed them after a brief delay as if it were a mere drill.
Three hours later there was a second alarm, which was caused by the fear that the Chinese were about to make a rush into the Mongol Market defences. Volunteers were assigned their positions, and the attack was as savage as those which had preceded, and as unsuccessful. It was alleged by some of the Volunteers that the Chinese officers were heard urging the men to make the long-expected rush, crying " Don't be afraid — we can get through," to which after a short interval there was the response, " It can not be done."
In preparation for this attack all the big guns had been made ready, the American Colt's Automatic in the main gate, as usual, the Nordenfelt on its high platform back of the house of the Chinese Secretary, the Austrian and the " International " in the Mongol Market addition. In firing the latter, owing to its recoil and uncertainty, it was necessary to have a large porthole, and Mitchell, the American gunner, had his arm shattered by a rifle- ball while discharging the piece. When the sheh-gun opened fire on us, the Colt's replied, and the gun was eventually silenced, or at least suspended operation.
All through the night at irregular intervals could be heard the deep baying of the Nordenfelt, the irresistible and simultaneous discharges of which must have been very depressing as well as exasperating to those within its range. The attack at the Fu was fierce as elsewhere, but it did not drive the Japanese from their position, for the Chinese did not charge. The same was the case in the Hanlin, and likewise in the French Legation, be- tween I and 2 A. M.
A French priest and the Belgian doctor were slightly
430 CHINA IN CONVULSION
wounded during the night, at the British Legation — among the very few casualties to civiHans within that area during the whole siege. The Japanese doctor at the Su Wang Fu had a ball through his leg, a British marine was wounded in the shoulder, and a German who had been wounded previously and had recovered, was killed, also a Russian on the wall. It was understood that yes- terday the Yamen had notified the Ministers that what- ever Chinese officer reopened hostilities should be court- martialed. The proceedings of this fearsome night were a singular commentary upon this imaginary truce.
Between 2 and 3 a. m. there was distinctly heard the sharp rat-tat-tat of a machine gun far to the east, and it was at once concluded that the foreign troops are at hand. The yard, even at that early hour, swarmed with eager groups discussing the probabilities. The question was raised whether the machine-guns which we heard might not be in the hands of the Chinese themselves, and it was remembered that Li Hung Chang had ordered a large number of them many years ago. (It was not then suspected, what was afterwards said to have been a fact, that these particular guns had been captured from the Chinese, and were probably a part of the very equipment referred to.)
Many excellent designs have been sent in for the pro- posed commemorative medal, and to-day they are repre- sented by drawings placed on the bulletin board, and votes are solicited as to the material, the pattern, the in- scription obverse and reverse. A limit of time is also fixed. Unfortunately for the best effect, the all absorb- ing interest in the impending relief deprives the mere pictorial symbol of much of its interest, so that the voting halted, and was soon altogether abandoned.
In spite of the heavy firing none of our barricades were
THE RELIEF 431
overthrown, and the strength of those most threatened in the Mongol Market tract had been almost doubled within twenty-four hours. During the forenoon it was learned that the shell-gun on the Imperial city, which fired so much last night, had been taken away, which indicates activity of some sort. Our Austrian Maxim has been removed to the north stable court to be ready for it, however, should it begin again.
There has been a sound of heavy cannonading to the eastward all the morning. From the wall the Southern City seems to be quiet, but Chinese troops are hurrying in through the Ch'ien Men, instead of going out, as yester- day. The bulletin-board has a notice that " the sentries in charge of the south gates have received orders not to allow any civilian to leave tlie Legation without a special permit from the ofificer in charge of the defences, since in case of a general attack by retreating Chinese the services of every available volunteer will be required."
Another order announces that '' women and children and persons not on duty are requested as far as possible to keep within doors to-day, as there will probably be considerable danger from dropping fire."
From the city wall an excellent view is to be had of the bombardment of the Ch'i Hua gate, upon which thus far not much impression seems to have been made. There is also a heavy attack at the Tung Pien Gate, and all the time the deep rumbling of the heavy booming guns of " our troops." " Blessed are the people that hear the joyful sound." The troops on the wall thought those outside would " be lucky if they got in to-morrow night."
Soon after two o'clock, Mr. Moore, who was on the wall, reported to Capt. Hall that he saw foreign troops in the distance; though this was doubted, it soon proved to be the case, and he was sent post-haste to convey the
432 CHINA IN CONVULSION
news to Sir Claude MacDonald. It was at first errone- ously supposed to be the Germans who had been sighted, but they soon showed up as British.
The excitement was now at its height, and the few who had leave to do so, not being on duty, hastened out through the Russian Legation to the street, only to be told that the troops w^ere already making their way into the Tartar city through the water-gate. There was at the time very little water, but the mud rendered the entrance through the narrow passage somewhat disagreeable, yet it was only for a few rods and unworthy of mention as a difficulty in a march.
The regiment w-hich made the first entry, was the ist Sikhs and then the 7th Bengal Rajput Infantry, and Gen. Gaselee was one of the first officers to be seen. The banks of the canal were lined by Chinese, and tlie few Europeans present, among whom was Sir Claude, tried to raise a cheer, but their voices were unequal to the task and it was a feeble failure !
On reaching the British Legation there was such a riot of joy as is seldom seen in Asia, and such as was never seen in the Capital of the Chinese Empire. Every- body swarmed out to see the glorious spectacle. The Rajputs cheered as they marched, till they brought up on the tennis-court, beyond which there seemed to be no- where to go. The next regiment was the 24th Punjab Infantry (Frontier Force), who went cheering past the hospital filled with brave but disappointed, yet happy, men who had lived through it after all, and now saw the day of rescue.
It was remembered that the ist Sikhs regiment is des- cended from the one which helped take Peking forty years ago. The ist Bengal Lancers came next, having had to
HERE THEY COME," GENERAL GASELEE ON THE RIGHT
FRATERNIZING ON THE TENNIS COURT
THE RELIEF 433
wait for the Ch'ien Men to be forced ; then a detachment of the Royal Welsh Fusileers, the 23rd Field Battery, the Hongkong Regiment, and the Royal Marines.
By this time the limited available spaces of the tennis- court and the Legation roads and paths was more than exhausted, and the whole place was one complicated tangle of Sikhs, Rajputs, Lancers and Fusileers, with Chinese and the besieged Occidentals everywhere at once.
In the midst of this wild welter the American 14th In- fantry arrived, to add to the joy and the chaos, and everyone is asking to know where some one else is, and what is going on in that segment of creation outside of the Peking Legations.
The troops were no sooner in the courts than Gen. Gaselee relieved the sentinels on duty with his own men. One of them (a Sikh), was assigned to the front gate fort where the Colt's Automatic was pouring out its reck- less welcome in a thunder of rat-tats. There he was imme- diately hit by a bullet through a loophole and went promptly to the hospital. The tumultuous cheering of both the besieged and the relievers roused the Chinese from their afternoon nap, and they began the fusillade with renewed vigour, but apparently without any notion of what the altered conditions denoted. For a time the bullets were falling thickly all over the Legation, and the wife of a Belgian engineer was wounded in the leg, — the only case in which a lady received any injury from shot or shell during the whole siege.
In a very short time a large hole was blown into the Carriage Park through the thick wall to which we had owed so much, and in a brief time that expansive en- closure was filled with the jaded horses of the Lancers. The Chinese shots grew less in vigour, fewer in number,
434 CHINA IN CONVULSION
more distant in space, and died away to nothing. The men who had so long manned the barricades facing us " folded their tents like the Arabs, and silently stole away " (except that so far as they had any tents they left them in situ), and were to be seen and heard no more.
XXIV
FROM THE TAKU FORTS TO THE RELIEF OF PEKING
AS the military events connected with the progress of the AlHes from the coast to the capital have been detailed at length by more than one com- petent observer, they will be sketched here only in the briefest manner, — though of the deepest importance and interest.
While the clouds were thickening about the all but doomed city of Peking, a splendid fleet had for weeks been proudly riding at anchor off the mouth of the Peiho. There was good reason for indecision as to their move- ments.
By the middle of June it was obvious to everyone that the political complications were so grave that no peace- ful solution was at all likely. The Mephistophelian cynicism of the Edicts of the Chinese Government, the fact that the regular troops and the Boxers were every- where fraternizing, and the increasing evidence that the Throne was privy to the councils of extermination, made the situation difficult beyond precedent, surpassing the flight of the wildest imagination previous to this experi- ence. Peking was already cut off from the world. There was an unknown body of Chinese troops between the capital and Tientsin, where the McCalla-Seymour Ex- pedition was soon to be fighting for its life against over- whelming odds. Gen. Nieh was somewhere, and there was a great camp of his troops at Lu T'ai, which could
435
436 CHINA IN CONVULSION
be brought to bear upon the hne of communication of the fleet with the Settlement of Tientsin. There were signs that those troops were about to move, that the river itself was being mined with torpedoes, and that the Taku Forts were to be strongly reinforced, so that their capture without enormous loss would be out of the question.
On Saturday, June i6th, the Admirals held a Council and under these exigent circumstances determined to send an ultimatum calling for the disbandment of the troops, and announcing that if it was not complied with before 2 a. m., the United Squadron would destroy the forts. Admiral Kempff, representing the United States, dissented from this step, but that fact did not in- fluence his subsequent actions.
The questions in what is termed " International Law " thus brought to the front, have served for much debate, and many vigorous editorials ever since. But at the time, and under the circumstances, it is difficult to see what else the Admirals could have done with any self-respect, or with any regard to the interests of their respective Powers. It is quite true that it was this ultimatum which directly led to the corresponding order to the Lega- tions to leave Peking within four and twenty hours, and it is likewise a fact that the effect of the attack upon the Taku Forts by the Allied Forces was to fire the Chinese national feeling, as nothing else had ever before done. In some respects it is comparable in its conse- quences to the effect of the assault upon Fort Sumter upon the people of the North, at the opening of the American Civil War.
Nevertheles.% if the Taku Forts had not been taken within a few hours of that time, it is a moral certainty that not only would the Legations in Peking have been even in far greater peril than ll;ey were placed by this
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 437
act, but that it would have been hard to save the lives of a single man, woman, or child of the large numbers who were at Tientsin, and who as it was were rescued from deadly peril only with the greatest difficulty.
The Chinese Commander of the principal Fort acted with more decision and courage than was expected, and an hour before the time limit had expired opened fire upon the fleet, and hostilities had begun. The Forts were for the third time assailed by foreign guns, which in 1858 had taken them within the compass of twenty minutes, while the succeeding year the Forts had been able to beat back a combined squadron of thirteen British and French gunboats. On the present occasion the fight lasted about six hours, when the last gun was silenced and the north Fort was stormed, the British and the Japanese entering simultaneously, and the other contin- gents a little later, the Chinese soldiers prudently aban- doning the position in hot haste.
A shell from the British " Algerine " exploded a maga- zine in the south Fort, which blew up, with a magnificent column of black smoke, 500 feet in height, the wreckage falling for miles around. By 7 130 all the Forts had been taken, with a loss of 21 killed and 57 wounded on the part of the assailants. But for various errors of judg- ment on the part of the Chinese, and their lack of resolute- ness, the results might have been very different.
The situation at Tientsin was now serious, but no in- formation regarding it had reached Taku, the communi- cation having been completely cut ofif. It was impera- tively necessary to get word to the fleet of the dire dis- tress of the foreign settlement. In this emergency James Watts, a young Englishman of 22 years, volunteered to ride with despatches through forty miles of country swarming with Boxers. ITe started under cover of dark-
438 CHINA IN CONVULSION
ness on a pony, with three mounted Cossacks, for a journey of twelve hours, knowing only three words of Russian. He had to speed through villages where men were sitting with rifles and fixed bayonets, his flask was shot away, and the lives of all were in momently peril. The horses swam a creek near a hostile village and reached Taku, where the despatches were delivered to the Russian Admiral. This brave act saved the lives of the besieged at Tientsin, and was subsequently rewarded with a decoration.
From Tangku to Tientsin the railway was largely torn up by Boxers, and the last part of the distance was m.ade with extreme difficulty by the relieving forces. They were welcomed by the besieged with great joy, a full week after the Forts had been taken.
In case relief did not come, the military authorities had seriously debated the question of the necessity of abandoning Tientsin altogether, and retreating upon Taku.
The relieving body had no sooner reached Tientsin than a party was sent out to rescue in turn the force of Admiral Seymour which though but a few miles from Tientsin was unable to move on account of the large number of the wounded and the strength of the enemy. To the fortunes and misfortunes of that famous expedi- tion it will be desirable to devote a little attention.
Early in June Admiral Seymour had proposed that the senior naval officers should consult in regard to mutual protection, and the first meeting of this kind was held June 4th, the officers of eight nations being present. Two days later at another consultation it was agreed that if communication with Peking should be cut oflf, it should be reopened with whatever force was necessary.
On the 9th another conference was held owing to the
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 439
receipt of an urgent telegram from Peking, the Ministers saying that unless they were soon relieved it would be too late. Capt. McCalla was resolved to go to the relief of the United States Minister, and Admiral Seymour in like manner declared his intention to start at once, and ex- pressed a hope that the rest would cooperate.
The force which left on the morning of the loth was composed of 300 British, 112 Americans, 40 Italians, and 25 Austrians. The train proceeded to Yang Ts'un where it had to stop for repairs. There it remained for the night, and there two more trains joined the expedition, making a total number of 112 Americans, 25 Aus- trians, 915 British, 100 French, 450 Germans, 40 Italians, 54 Japanese, and 112 Russians. This was increased the next day by the addition of 200 Russians and 58 French, to a total of 2,066 men.
On the 1 2th a guard having been left at Lo Fa, it was found that the line was much cut up in front. A party was sent out to An Ting to prevent more damage and to hold the station there. The party was attacked three times by Boxers, who retreated with the loss of fifteen men.
About the middle of the forenoon there was another onset by 450 Boxers, who advanced with great courage and enthusiasm, but who were repulsed with a total loss of about 150. As the party at An Ting was out of ammunition a retreat was ordered.
On the 13th Maj. Johnstone was sent towards An Ting, but was attacked in a village adjoining the railway. The Boxers lost about 25 men killed, while there were no foreign casualties. The party returned to the main body on the evening of the 14th. On that day there was a fierce and determined assault by Boxers in great numbers on the train at Lang Fang. They advanced in a loose
440 CHINA IN CONVULSION
formation, vsitli ihc utmost courage under a withering fire, and some even reached tlie train before they were killed. Their loss was about lOO. Five Italians who were on an exposed picket in an abandoned village were killed.
At 5 :30 p. M. a messenger from Lo Fa in the rear reported that the guard was being attacked by a large body of the enemy. A train was taken down the line to assist them, when it was found that the fight was over, and that the Boxers were retreating having left about lOO killed. Two small cannon had been captured from the Chinese. Two seamen were dangerously wounded, one of whom died later.
On the 15th the line was repaired under a strong guard, but the road below Lo Fa to the rear was reported broken up, and the Boxers were concentrating on Yang Ts'un to cut off the retreat of the expedition.
On the 1 6th a train endeavoured to get through to Tientsin, starting at 4 a. m., but returned at 3 p. m., because the line was too much damaged. Both provisions and ammunition were now running short ; the expedition was entirely cut off from its base and since for three days there had been no intelligence from Tientsin, it was ignorant of what was occurring elsewhere. It was vital that the rear sliould be protected; but when on the 17th a train reached Yang Ts'un it found the station de- molished, communication more than ever cut off, and no supplies obtainable. Messages had been sent back to Tientsin with orders for junks and provisions to be sent to Yang Ts'un, but no couriers had got through, and even if they had done so no boats could have been sent. From the 13th of June to the 26th there was no com- munication from tlic Admiral to Tientsin or rice versa.
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 441
As an advance was now felt to be an impossibility the recall of the trains in the front was determined on.
The following day — June i8th — a new aspect was put on affairs by a strong attack at Lang Fang, not as here- tofore by Boxers, but by the regular troops of Tung Fu Hsiang, who had been stationed in the Hunting Park south of Peking, and who now began to " bear a hand " in a decided manner. The force including cavalry was estimated at not less than 5,000 men, armed with the latest magazine rifles. This gave the first definite knowl- edge that Imperial troops were arrayed against the ex- pedition. They were driven off, but rallied, and when repulsed were supposed to have lost 400 killed. The loss of the Allies was six killed, and 48 wounded.
At a conference the next day (19th) it was decided to abandon the railway trains, and to withdraw to Tien- tsin, marching by the left bank of the river, conveying the wounded and the necessaries in boats, four of which had been taken by the Germans below Yang Ts'un. A start was made at 3 p. m. A six-pounder gun had to be thrown overboard before one of the junks would float. The men were unskilled in handling the clumsy boats, and no Chinese were to be had. The enemy opened fire but were driven back. Several villages had to be carried by rifle fire or by bayonet charges, which were invariably successful. A one-pound gun used by the enemy was harassing, but its position could not be located. The distance made this day was eight miles. The Chinese cavalry hovered about all day firing occasionally, the enemy using artillery which was replied to in kind. Sev- eral villages had to be taken by fighting, the enemy being strongly posted in Pei Ts'ang. It was decided after a rest to make a night-march.
442 CHINA IN CONVULSION
On the 2 1st the enem}' made an increasingly stubborn resistance, and their gun-power was augmented so tJiat but six miles were made. The hghter containing the guns filled and sank, and had to be abandoned, only the Maxims being saved.
At 4 p. M. the expedition arrived opposite the Imperial Chinese Armory at Hsiku. A party of lOO men under Maj. Johnstone was sent across the river to rush the position, and at the same time a German detachment crossed lower down, capturing several Krupp guns. The two parties soon cleared the Armory, the main body crossing the river and occupying the place, which was commodious and defensible by the numerous captured guns. The provisions remaining were sufficient only for three days at half allowance, but the next day when there was an opportunity to make a search, 15 tons of rice were found. This set at rest all fears of starvation.
Renewed efforts were made to communicate with Tientsin, but in vain. The Chinese made a most de- termined attempt on the 23rd to retake the Armory, but were wholly unsuccessful. Immense supplies of guns, ammunition, and war material of the latest pattern were found there ; thus the great want of food and ammuni- tion being suddenly met it was possible to hold out for several days. The number of wounded was about 230 and on this account it was impossible to force a way to Tientsin, now but a few miles distant. The couriers had all been either kil'ed or stopped. Guns were mounted and a Boxer stronghold down the river was attacked with such good effect that thereafter the enemy was more quiet.
A courier succeeded on the 23rd in getting through to Tientsin. Although captured and tied for a time to a tree, he had destroyed his message and was released.
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 443
A Chinese soldier taken prisoner the next day said that Gen. Nich's army was much discouraged at their failure, having attacked with 25 battalions of 300 or 400 men each. On the 25th the relief column under the Russian Col. Shirinsky appeared in sight, to the joy of all. The wounded were transported across the river, and the whole force followed later, bivouacking on the bank for the night. On the 26th, after the return march had com- menced, Lt. Lowther-Crofton, and Mr. Davidge, Gun- ner, remained behind to destroy as far as possible the contents of the Armory, which were of the estimated value of three million pounds sterling. After the work of destruction had been accomplished the officers re- crossed the river, mounted ponies which were in waiting, and overtook the main body.
During the whole sixteen days it was difficult to esti- mate with precision the numbers of the enemy. At first they were simply Boxers armed with spears, but later the Chinese regulars, and perhaps the best fighting men to be found in the Empire, joined them. It was unfore- seen that these soldiers would join in the attack, and this alone made the whole enterprise impracticable.
The gallantry and steadiness with which it was con- ducted by this mixed contingent are worthy of all praise. Admiral Seymour in his official report especially com- mends the conduct and services of Capt. Von Usedom of the Imperial German Navy, whom he had nominated as his successor in case of accident, and also Capt. Mc- Calla, each of whom were wounded.
The dramatic incidents of this attempted relief expedi- tion attracted universal attention, and whatever else the enterprise may have accomplished it disposed once for all of the favourite proposition so often advanced that it would be possible for a small but well organized and
444 CHINA IN CONVULSION
thoroughly equipped foreign force to march through China from end to end without effective opposition.
An important result of this failure to force a way to Peking was the profound conviction on the part of many military authorities that the Capital could not now he reached without an enormous army prepared for all con- tingencies, and able to hold open communications with their base against any possible force which the Chinese could bring. Extreme confidence in foreign ability to deal with Chinese opposition, thus gave way to a much juster estimate of the difficulties to be faced when the Chinese were thoroughly aroused and poured forth in practically illimitable numbers.
The story of the Siege of Tientsin deserves far more space than can be devoted to it in these pages, for taken altogether it is perhaps not less remarkable than the Siege in Peking.
It should be remembered that the Foreign Settlements, French, British, and German, lie along the Peiho, be- ginning a mile or so below the native city and extending for another two miles or more, with an average breadth of perhaps half a mile. An earth rampart fully ten miles in length surrounds the settlements, the native city, and the suburbs. The vicinity of the city itself and that of all the settlements, was crowded with Chinese villages, each of which became a natural and a convenient nest for Boxers and for Imperial Soldiers in their attack.
The rampart which, could it have been held, would have made an excellent defence, was partly within and partly without the lines, and the handful of foreign soldiers, aggregating about 2,400 when reenforced by the Volunteers, was totally inadequate to guard so long a line, attacked by perhaps five thousand Chinese troops, with an indefinite number of cooperating Boxers.
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 445
Instead of making a strenuous attack in two places at once, the Chinese contented themselves with a galling rifle fire from across the river, and indeed from every direction. The bombardment by shells began on Sunday, June 17th — the day of the fighting at the Taku Forts — by a plan evidently preconcerted, and continued with occasional intermittence until the city was captured a month later.
The miscellaneous foreign community retreated to the Municipal Hall, a lofty structure in the Norman style, well adapted to serve both as a fort and a hospital.
The larger part of the non-combatants gathered there under siege conditions, but a considerable number of the missionaries were invited by Mr. Edmund Cousins, the hospitable agent of Jardine, Matheson & Co., to his com- pound, where also the native Christians to the number of over 500 found accommodation in the expansive go- downs. As in Peking, so here at the beginning of the siege, the Christians were regarded as a menace and a nuisance, and as in Peking so in Tientsin, it was not long before it was perceived that without their help the necessary labour simply could not have been performed as practically all other Chinese quit their work and fled.
The whole settlement was barricaded with bales of goods from the godowns, a task which, owing to the long distances and the number of cross-streets, involved a great amount of exhausting labour. The men among the Christians carried water, ammunition, and provisions, and dug the numerous graves, the women did the hospital washing, picked over the camel's- wool for pillows, and performed much other useful service, winning in the end unstinted praise.
The arrival of the relief force at Tientsin did not prove the immediate deliverance of the Foreign Settle-
446 CHINA IN CONVULSION
ments from perpetual attack, as had been expected. The enemy was numerous and gradually became aggressive. After a fierce and bloody contest, the Eastern Arsenal was taken on June 27th, a slightly inaccurate report of which by Yii Lu, the Governor, found its way into the "Peking Gazette," and enlightened the darkness of the besieged in the Legations. The military relations were, it is true, sufficiently harmonious, but that did not lead to the vigorous action which any one or two of the de- tachments would have been likely to take by themselves.
A Fort situated at the junction of the Peiho and the Grand Canal was the key of the position, for it com- manded the native city, the suburbs, the settlements, and the line of advance to Peking by rail or river. The dif- ficulties of the Allies were enormously increased by the inexplicable lack of suitable artillery, theirs being far in- ferior to that of the Chinese. Many of the Chinese guns were difficult to locate, and practically inaccessible, but their range was excellent, and their attacks most annoy- ing. On a single day six shells were thrown into the Temperance Hall, occupied as the head-quarters of Gen. Dorward and his staff. One shell went through the dinner-table while the officers were at tiffin, followed im- mediately by another equally well aimed.
It was unsafe to appear anywhere upon the streets on account of random shots, the steady rifle fire, and the con- stant shooting from loopholes in Chinese houses in the French settlement and elsewhere, at every foreigner who showed himself. The settlements were full of spies, many of them posted in foreign houses deserted by their owners, whence they kept up a perpetual fusillade. Some of them even acted as signalmen for the Chinese gunners at a distance, indicating at what places to direct their fire, and it proved practically impossible to detect and dislodge
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FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 447
them all, but as many as were caught were immediately executed.
The center of the fighting and the key of the position on the east side of the river was the railway station, the holding of which was recognized both by the Chinese and the Allies as vital. The courage and persistence of the Russians at tliis point more than once saved the day. They guarded the pontoon bridge, and bore the brunt of the heavy fighting in the exposed positions between the river and the captured Arsenal. On one occasion en- gines were urgently needed down the line. There were locomotives at the station, but the problem was how to get them out under the heavy shell fire. Russian in- fantry made a wide feint attack to attract the enemy's attention on the left, while two engines on which steam had been got up, and three trucks were to make a dash over a mile of exposed embankment.
Hardly had the first pufif of white smoke appeared from the funnel, when the Chinese saw what was going on and at once turned their guns upon the train. Four shells whizzed over it and then two fell just short; speed was gathered and the gunners did not again get so near, but the gauntlet had to be run for a mile or so, and it was made warm for them all the way. It was a daring deed dashingly done, and the most exciting inci- dent of the day.
On the 5th of July transportation was provided and the ladies and children who were still left in Tientsin were sent to Tangku, on the way to some safer place than a settlement which was daily being shelled. A previous party had escaped just in time to witness the attack on the forts, and to be within range of the fire, — to their imminent peril, from which they all happily escaped.
For a summary of the following events, as for some
448 CHINA IN CONVULSION
which have been previously mentioned, we are indebted to the graphic and trustworthy narrative of the Corre- spondent of the " London Times," who called attention to the surprising and unique fact that 10,000 European troops were being held in check by about 15,000 Chinese braves, the former paralyzed by the lack of long-range guns ; thus repeating the lesson which England had paid so dearly to learn in South Africa — the importance of heavy artillery.
The inactivity of the Allied forces encouraged the Chinese to renewed efforts. Not content with vigorously shelling the settlements, they were busily engaged in pushing out their lines in a south-westerly direction, until eventually their flank rested on the ruined building at the race-course, their left remaining as before on the mud wall where the Lu T'ai canal flows through it. Their lines thus stretched from north-east to south-west over a distance of about six miles, in a rough crescent or semi-circular shape, having the settlements for a centre. A British battery of naval guns on the mud wall at the extreme west of the northern line of defence was in a precarious position, being under a harassing fire from front and rear, besides being enfiladed. The settlements, now become one huge camp, were subjected to a severe cross-fire, in addition to being bombarded from the fort near the city and from the batteries on the north bank of the Lu T'ai canal. The practice made by the Chinese gunners showed signs of considerable improvement, so that an increasing amount of damage was done and the casualties in barracks grew frequent. Inactivity was no longer possible ; sometiiing had to be done.
The most pressing need was for the clearance of the rear and flank of the battery of British guns on the mud wall, and this was accomplished on the 9th b}' a com-
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 449
bined wide flanking movement to the south-west, working around eventually to the north-east until the West Arsenal was captured and cleared. This was accomplished by the Japanese blue-jackets and the American marines, who entered together, the Japanese flag flying over it soon after. The whole movement was well planned and well executed by the British, Japanese and Americans in com- bination, the naval battery was relieved in flank and rear, and the settlements were subjected to no further cross shell-fire.
The next day passed quietly, the Chinese even refrain- ing from attacking the outposts at the railway station, which had not before happened since the siege opened. They began again on the nth, and were only repulsed after three hours' sharp fighting, in which the French and Japanese lost heavily, and the British and Russians slightly. The Boxers had bayonets, and as they got into a string of railway trucks lying outside of the foreign lines, the soldiers had to turn them out at the point of the bayonet. The difficulties in getting the Allied artil- lery into position were great, owing to the lack of ma- terial, tools and machinery. These were at length over- come, and on the 13th it was arranged that a combined movement of the Russians, assisted by the Germans, should be made on the batteries of the Chinese at the Lu T'ai canal, w'ith a force of perhaps 3,500. Another body of about 4,500, consisting of Japanese, British, Ameri- cans, French and Austrians, was to advance under cover of the western battery of British naval guns and attempt the capture of the city of Tientsin.
The forces of the Japanese and British, under General Fukushima and General Dorward, started at 3 a. m., making a wide flanking movement similar to the one on the 9th.
450 CHINA IN CONVULSION
At daylight the British batteries attacked the Chinese position. The AlHed troops converged on the West Arsenal about a mile from the south gate.
During the morning there was a terrific explosion caused by the blowing up of a vast quantity of brown prismatic powder stored in a magazine connected with the East Arsenal and situated near the Lu T'ai canal. A colossal cloud of smoke stood up white and still against the clear blue sky — a " wonderful and beautiful sight." In the settlements nearly every one got the impression that his house had been struck by a shell, and many, running out to see what damage had been done, found this marvel in the sky.
The plan was to advance against the south gate, which the Japanese were to blow up and so effect an entrance ; on their right were the French, and later, through an error, the Americans under Col. Liscum ; on the left were the British.
The day was hot, and so was the fire from the British battery as well as from the Chinese guns and the innu- merable rifles on the wall. The plain is dotted with tumuli each representing a Chinese grave, but they af- forded very little shelter for so many soldiers at so short a distance from the enemy. Col. Liscum fell pierced by a bullet, and the loss of the Americans, as well as of the other detachments, was very great, perhaps amounting to ten per cent, of the forces engaged, and including a great number of officers. If the Chinese infantry and cavalry which during the whole morning had been seen drawn up on the plain to the westward had taken an active part in the operations, matters would have been still more serious. As it was, the failure of ammunition and the difficulty of making effective headway made the situation bad enough.
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 451
Hour after hour passed, but the blowing up of the south gate did not take place. At length Gen. Fukishima sent word to Gen. Dorward that he should himself oc- cupy his present position throughout the night, to which Gen. Dorward agreed. Meantime no report had come from the Russians whose operations on the north were a principal part of the work of the day. It later appeared that they had been very successful. After heavy fighting they had captured the batteries on the north bank of the Lu T'ai canal, and pushing on to destroy two Chinese camps, left a force to attack in the dawn, the main body returning to camp with the loss of about 150 men.
At three o'clock on the morning of the 14th, the Japa- nese crossed the city moat, blew up the entrance to the bas- tion of the south gate, scaled the walls, and opening the gate itself from the inside, admitted the rest of the force. The Japanese, French, British and Americans poured into the city, the Chinese dispersing like clouds before a strong wind. The Chinese position, had it been properly defended, was one of irresistible strength, but Chinese troops are incapable of resisting a resolute attack of Western or Japanese soldiers and had virtually aban- doned their defence before there was any external evi- dence of that fact.
The city was no sooner captured than a Tientsin Pro- visional Government was organized by the Military Com- manders, and installed in the yamen of the Governor General, who had fled, and who seems to have killed himself and his whole family at Yang Ts'un.
From the occupation of the city onward for a period of nearly three weeks, the whole world, especially the tiny segment of it imprisoned in the Peking Legations, was anxiously waiting to know what was next to be done toward their relief. The correspondence in regard to
452 CHINA IN CONVULSION
the matter would fill volumes, and there is more between the lines than in them.
Considering the proximity of Japan and the complete- ness of her military preparations, it appeared to many that, in the dire emergency, that Power would surely be intrusted with the task of rescuing the besieged of all nations, lest by undue delay they should all be massacred together. Japan was ready to do the work, provided she were asked to do so by all the other Powers. The " other Powers " had their own ideas, some of which were ex- pressed and some of which were repressed. In case Japan were to execute this commission, what was to pre- vent her from retaining the territory which would be once more hers by right of conquest? Every one had vivid memories of the events following the war between China and Japan, when the latter Empire was defrauded of the fruits of her victory by " diplomacy," in other words by superior force.
The result was what every one, even the besieged themselves, anticipated, and diplomatically next to noth- ing was done beyond exchanging notes and ascertaining by slow processes of conference, proposition and explana- tion, iterated and reiterated, what the Powers respectively were not prepared to do. Troops meantime were pour- ing into northern China from the uttermost parts of the earth, with more and ever more to follow.
There was not wanting evidence that delay might be fatal to the success of the relief of the Legations, but the inevitable difficulties attendant upon the movement of large bodies of troops in a foreign land under unpropi- tious conditions, especially when as now flying several diflTcrent flags, made it unlikely that anything would be done before September. The efi"ect of the repulse of Admiral Seymour, as already remarked, was to inspire
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FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 453
extreme distrust of any but the most thorough prepara- tion, especially as it was thought that the Chinese might be able to mass perhaps fifty thousand troops to oppose the Allied advance. The Americans and the British were alike impatient for a forward movement, but noth- ing seemed decided upon.
It became known at a later day that the influence of Jung Lu had been exerted in Peking to minimize the unavoidable attacks upon the Legations, and that, while he could not repress he could in some degree neutralize the vicious energy of Tung Fu Hsiang; and in this he was to a considerable degree successful. Jung Lu was in communication with trusted Chinese at Taku and at the Pei T'ang Forts, who perfectly comprehended the situation. It was learned from messengers who left Pe- king at the time when the capture of Tientsin was first known there, that the party of Prince Tuan and Tung Fu Hsiang was practically irresistible, and that it would not do to wait till September to start the army of relief. This information was communicated to Mr. Detring, one of the commissioners of the Imperial Customs, and by him to the Allied Commanders.
On the 3rd of August a five hours' conference of the Allied Generals was held, at which it was decided to start the next day, despite the fact that it was in the midst of the rainy season when the difficulties of trans- port are likely to be almost insuperable. As it was they were truly colossal, and were greatly augmented by the heterogeneous nature of the Allied forces, and the end- less variety of their equipment. The latter was at all points insufficient, even that of the Japanese, who had to provide for a division instead, as originally planned, for a brigade. The road w^as blocked with carts of all sizes and kinds, from the light little wagon used by the
454 CHINA IN CONVULSION
Japanese to the heavy arm)- wagons of the Americans, drawn by four enormous mules and capable under any ordinary circumstances of hauHng immense loads. The total number of troops was in the vicinity of 20,000, of whom the Jar»anese had about 10,000, the Russians 4,000, the British 3,000, the Americans 2,000, and the other Powers each but a few hundred. All the larger con- tingents were provided with artillery, the Japanese alone having perhaps as many guns as all the others combined.
On the afternoon of the 4th the British and American troops moved out toward Hsiku, where Admiral Sey- mour's expedition had taken the Armory. The route lay through the endless series of villages which line the Peiho on either side. Heavy rain had threatened, and on the way it began to fall, making the roads slippery and furnishing a foretaste of what might be expected if the fall should be heavy and continuous.
Before the village was reached the rain had stopped. Gen. Gaselee took up his headquarters with the British troops to the left of the place, and the Americans to the right. Orders were issued for an early start on the fol- lowing day, and the force lay down on the wet ground to snatch what sleep they might before the impending fight. The British troops consisted of four companies of the Welsh Fusiliers; the ist Bengal Lancers; the 12th Field Battery and the Hongkong Artillery, with two naval 12-pounders and four Maxims; the ist Sikhs, 250 of the 24th Punjab Infantry, and 400 of the Rajputs. The Naval Brigade was to cooperate with the Rus- sians and French, preparing the way for an attack on the enemy's left.
The American force under Gen. Chaffee consisted of 450 marines, tlic 14th Regiment, t.ooo strong; the 9th Infantry, 800 strung; two Ilotchkiss guns, and the Fifth
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 455
Field Battery under Capt. Reilly. The Japanese division was under Gen. Yamaguchi, Gen. Fukushima being Chief of Staff, with three field batteries, and six mountain batteries. The Russians had two infantry regiments with a nominal strength of 2,000, two field batteries (eight guns each) and some squadrons of Cossacks. The French, only a few hundred in number, were infantry from Tongking, with two mountain batteries firing melinite.
The enemy were intrenched in a position running roughly north-east and south-west across the river and the railway, their right resting on an embankment, their left five miles away on the other side of the river, near the fifth railway bridge, beyond which the country was inundated. The main strength of their position was in the centre where it crossed the river. PI ere was a skil- fully concealed series of rifle pits and trenches from which it would have been exceedingly difficult to dislodge a courageous enemy. On the left bank of the river their position was protected along its whole length by a canal.
The combined forces of the Japanese, British, and Americans were to operate against the enemy's position on the right bank of the river, the Japanese leading the attack, the British supporting, and the Americans in re- serve, while the Russians and French, assisted by the guns of the Naval Brigade, were to operate on the left bank.
About 3 A. M., the Japanese moved forward and cap- tured a battery which would have enfiladed a front at- tack on the enemy's centre. There was an artillery duel for a time, when the Japanese under a galling fire made a charge for which the Chinese did not wait, although they inflicted severe losses on the Japanese before taking flight. The whole army advanced, the Americans on the
456 CHINA IN CONVULSION
left, the British in the center, and the Japanese on the right. Here and there the Chinese made some slight resistance at long range, and it was expected that they would make a stand near Pci Ts'ang where they were supposed to hold strong positions, but while they had the positions they had not the disposition to stick to them. The fight was practically over when the first trenches were rushed. Before 9 a. m., the Japanese occupied Nan Ts'ang, after which all firing ceased.
The Japanese had borne the brunt of the fight, and their losses were all out of proportion to those of the other forces engaged, being estimated at about 60 killed and 240 wounded. The British lost four killed and 21 wounded, while the Americans lost none. The Russians on the left bank had six wounded. The Chinese loss in men was not large, owing to their being protected by a mud wall, but they lost " face " and lost heart, a far more important matter than the actual number killed.
The whole army spent the night at Pei Ts'ang. On the morning of the 6th there was another encounter with the enemy at the ruins of the railway station of Yang Ts'un which lasted for about four hours, the Chinese being driven back on the town of Yang Ts'un, the Rus- sians shelling them, and the Bengal Lancers clearing them out of the villages. The effect of the previous day's action was throughout apparent, the enemy fight- ing in a very half-hearted manner. The heaviest losses were sustained by the Americans, 65 killed and wounded in the 14th Regiment, and nine in the 9th. The British losses were under 50, the Russians had seven killed and 20 wounded.
The troops were exhausted after their two days of marching and fighting in excessive heat, and it was de-
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 457
cided to remain at Yang Ts'un during the whole of the following day, to rest the force and to wait for supplies.
The advance w^as resumed on the 8th, the whole force to march thereafter on the right bank ; the Japanese in front, the Russians next, the Americans following, the British bringing up the rear, while the French were to remain at Yang Ts'un. The Japanese were quick marchers and the Russians slow, slouching along wnth frequent halts at a pace hardly exceeding a mile an hour, which greatly embarrassed the Americans in their rear, who were often compelled to halt on the sandy plains in the hot sun, while the Russians were resting in the umbrageous vil- lages in front. This fact was of importance as accounting for the large number of casualties which they suffered from the heat, the Americans and the British being obliged to do the heaviest marching in the hottest hours of the day.
The superior organization and equipment of the Japan- ese were everywhere conspicuous, and their position in the front of the column gave the enemy no time to rally, so that their retreat was in reality a long and rapid flight before the agile men from the Land of the Rising Sun, who gave them no respite and no pause. Gen. Fu- kushima, the moving spirit of the pursuit, was asked if his troops were not very tired, and replied : " Yes, but so are the enemy."
His plan was to keep them on the run at all costs, and it was carried through perfectly and with great suc- cess. His cavalry and mounted infantry were usually pushed ahead about three miles in advance of the main body of infantry. Whenever they got into touch with the enemy they dropped back upon the infantry, which was then extended and sent forward to go thoroughly
458 CHINA IN CONVULSION
through all the villages to the right and left of the line of march. While the infantry rested after this, the cav- alry pushed on again, and the process, to the consterna- tion of the pursued, was repeated.
On the morning of the 9th the Japanese shelled the Chinese out of Ho Hsi Wu, who after some skirmishing fled, leaving the place to the Japanese. The same day the Bengal Lancers and the Japanese Mounted Infantry came on a body of 200 Chinese cavalry, scattering them, killing about fifty, and capturing four banners of Gen. Sung and Gen. Ma.
On the loth the main body was at Ma T'ou, and though the march was not a long one the road was lined with stragglers. The place where the Chinese had break- fasted in the morning was strewed with melon rinds. They had no commissariat and lived on what they could pick up, such as melons and Indian corn.
The next day the weather was a little cooler, and to the great relief of the troops, rain fell. The army brought up at Chang Chia Wan, and the Japanese shelled the enemy out of a position south of T'ung Chou, from v.-hich they retired into that city.
Early on the morning of the 12th (Sunday) the Japanese advanced to assault the east south gate, and found the city evacuated by the Chinese troops and no resistance offered to an entrance, though the city wall is strong and high and could easily have been defended. By way of saluting their own general the Japanese blew in the outer gate of the enceinte, and the city was quietly occupied. Gen. Yamaguchi issued a proclamation assur- ing safety and protection to non-combatants, and promis- ing to respect the rights of the people in their homes. The Japanese took the southern half of the city, and the French, who had now reappeared, the northern part.
FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 459
The Allies spent the night of the 12th at T'ung Chou, and on the next day began the last march to Peking, now only twelve miles distant. The Japanese advanced along the stone road leading to the Ch'i Hua gate, the Rus- sians south of them, but to the north of the canal, on the road to the Tung Pien gate of the southern city. South of the canal, on the road to the same gate, marched the Americans, and still farther south, the British.
It had been arranged that at a distance of three miles from Peking, the four columns were to halt, and that another conference should be held to decide on a plan of attack. But the Russians, instead of halting, marched close up to the city walls, and meeting no opposition thought it possible to effect an entrance. But they had not reached the gate before a hot rifle fire from the corner of the northern city wall met them, and their loss was heavy, including the Chief of Staff, Gen. Vasilewski. They became tangled up inside the Tung Pien gate, which had been forced open, and for many hours made no progress.
The Japanese advanced to the vicinity of Ch'i Hua gate early on the morning of the 14th, working under cover of houses toward the vicinity of the gate, which they hoped to blow up. But the rifle fire from the wall was so sharp that the Japanese suffered severely, and it was decided to bombard the wall. The bombardment began about 10 A. M., and continued for some hours without much visible impression being made. Only the heaviest artillery would have breached the wall of the gate, and the number of sharp-shooters made impracticable any ap- proach to blow it up. More than a thousand shells were wasted, as well as the whole day, and nothing had been gained. It was decided to wait until night to blow up the gate. It was then successfully accomplished, the lofty
46o CHINA IN CONVULSION
tower being set on fire, and the Chinese troops driven from the wall with great slaughter. All honour to the brave troops of every nation, and most of all to the sturdy Japanese !
The American troops had come early in the fore- noon to the corner of the southern city wall, near the Tung Pien gate, where some of the men scaled the wall. The main body came in at the Tung Pien gate, as the Russians had done before them, and found themselves within the southern city exposed to a heavy fire from its northern wall. Their detachment entered the southern city at about the same time as the British, but they missed their way, and it was many hours before they reached the water-gate, entering the British Legation some time after the British, a part of each of these forces forcing open the Ch'ien Men, or main gate of the wall between the cities.
The British were fortunate in finding the Sha Kuo gate, on the east face of the southern city, almost en- tirely undefended, though a party of Chinese cavalry had first to be shelled out of a village in front of it. A small guard was left to hold the gate, the 24th Punjab In- fantry was sent to occupy the Temple of Heaven, and the remainder of the force advanced along the main east and west street of the city, more than half the way to its centre, when they turned north in the direction of the water-gate, in accordance with the advice previously quoted in a letter from Sir Claude MacDonald to the Commander of the Allied Forces. When the British advance emerged from the houses to the south of the canal, at some distance from the water-gate, there were still Chinese riflemen posted at the Ha Ta gate to the cast, who opened an ill-directed and ineffectual fire. The
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,^._,.42»*- ^, X
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FROM TAKU TO RELIEF OF PEKING 461
first officer to enter through the gate was Major Scott, of the 1st Sikhs, accompanied by four of his men, with Capt. Pell, and Lieut. Keyes, Aides to Gen. Gaselee, who with his staff was close behind.
From the water-gate by way of the Russian Legation (the only safe route) to the British Legation, was but a few minutes' walk, where the deliverers were welcomed with an outburst of joy, which to those who experienced it can never be other than a vivid recollection while life itself lasts.
The Siege in Peking was raised ! Once more the Occidental had met the Oriental in a face to face death struggle, and by means of intrepid resourceful- ness, indomitable perseverance in the face of obstacles, supreme courage confronting deadly dangers, and the Superintending Providence of God, had been victorious. It was the dawning Twentieth Century victorious against the Middle Ages, a potentially glorious Future vanquish- ing an inert and lifeless Past. In it was the seed of a New China, and Hope for the Far East.
XXV
THE FORTIFICATIONS
TECHNICALLY speaking, the Siege in Peking was over, although much still remained to be done to render the relief effective. Before add- ing anything on that head it may be well at this point to mention in somewhat fuller detail, a topic to which no justice has yet been done, but which can not be omitted altogether — siege house-keeping.
Under the abnormal conditions of the siege, the exi- gencies of domestic life (if such a thing could be said to exist) deserve to be depicted by a woman's pen. Every building on the grounds was crowded, sometimes almost to the point of suffocation. The mess of Lady AlacDonald was generally about thirty-five in number, and the whole establishment was literally turned inside out for the benefit of the besieged ; Sir Claude's office and library became a hospital, the smoking-room was occu- pied by gentlemen by night, and the ball-room by ladies, while for weary officers there was, during the day, an overflow into the sleeping apartments of the ladies of the house. It would liave been difficult to suggest anything for the comfort of the sick, or for the welfare of the besieged, which was ncjt promoted by the administrators of this hosjMtablc establishment.
The quarters of the legation doctor, ordinarily occu- pied in the summer by one European, or at most two, suddenly became llie abode of eight and twenty men,
462
THE FORTIFICATIONS 463
women and children, distributed into four different messes. Their servants' quarters absokitely swarmed with Chinese, and the minute back yard was always over- flowing with eager candidates for participation in the next kettle of rice, always just about ready for distribu- tion.
The Customs mess (in the Escort quarters) was of variable size, the number ranging between thirty and forty, and as the dining-room was small it was neces- sar}^ to serve the meals to five different detachments, when all were on hand. But a large part — perhaps one- half — were members of the Customs volunteers, assigned to duty in various parts of the defences, oftenest in the Su Wang Fu, for a period of twenty-four hours at a time. Food had then to be sent over to them three times a day. This greatly augmented the care of so large a family, yet two capable English ladies ably and success- fully managed it all.
The number of American missionaries who came in from the Methodist compound was about seventy. They were assigned to the occupancy of the church, a rectan- gular structure situated near the median line of the com- pound, measuring forty-three feet in length by twenty- five in width. On each side of the entry was a small closet, and one of these was provided with a winding stair- case to the loft. The rear of the audience room was occupied by a platform, surrounded by an altar-rail and furnished with a lectern. Passages on each side led to the small robing-room in the rear. Most of the available space in the main room was absorbed by more than a dozen large wooden seats, each with a book support in front.
Trunks of all sizes were piled at the entrance, and out- side under the projecting eaves. The mattresses were
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spread for the night wherever there was room, the dispo- sition for sleeping much resembhng the ground plan of a box of sardines. Some of the gentlemen found tempo- rary and precarious lodgment on the edges of one of the pavilions, and later, as already mentioned, in the smoking- room of the Minister's house. The two closets on each side of the entrance were soon cleared out and turned into wash-rooms, every superfluous article being relegated to the loft.
At a later stage this attic was itself transformed from a lumber room into a dormitory. A high platform in the middle (representing the arch in the ceiling of the church) and the surrounding spaces in front, in the rear, and on either side, were found choked with the accumulation of the entire Legation for decades. Among the mass may be mentioned the balls and pins of the bowling-alley, huge packing-cases, iron bed-steads with- out their ropes, scores of windows used for winter fittings to the dwelling-houses, punkah fans, shelves, trunks, boxes, relics of the Queen's Jubilee in the shape of trans- parencies, lanterns by the hundred, theatre scenery, rush- mats, reed-screens, cubic yards of copies of the some- what useless treaty between Great Britain and China, and piles of legation archives and accounts, running back to the ancient days of the East India Company, — all profusely decorated with hoary cob-webs accumulated under successive ministries.
L^nflcr the energetic superintendence of a few gentle- men and ladies, much of this material was removed else- where, leaving space for narrow bed-rooms in which nearly twenty persons found much better accommodation than had been before available. The loft was built to conform to the general Chinese architecture of the Lega- tion, having windows upon the cast side only, making a
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circulation of air an impossibility — a circumstance little adapted to promote comfort in the heats of July. Yet despite a due allowance of sand-flies, fleas, and mosqui- toes, it was discovered that the inconveniences almost amounted to luxuries, and by mutual exchange of quar- ters the sick and the weary could always find some haven of comparative rest and quiet.
The small room in the rear of the church, already men- tioned, was made to do duty as the only store-room for such provisions as had been gathered, or at any later period turned up. At first even a part of this was used as a ladies' bath-room, which was replaced later by the little lamp-room at the front entra,nce. Sergeant Herring obligingly gave the mess his own kitchen — a tiny one at the back of his quarters, with a small Chinese range — and had his own meals prepared on a Chinese stove on the door-step, or wherever he might be.
In the effort to get all the needed articles cooked at once on this minute range, the cooks were forced to exert themselves to the utmost, every hour of the day. A small kerosene stove and a little spirit lamp were in constant use as accessories, but as there was no oven it was only possible to bake biscuit in a kerosene tin. To get quantities of food cooked at one time under such conditions, without perpetually having some of it scorched, would appear out of the question — yet it was accomplished.
One of the greatest and most serious perplexities, suffi- cient to drive an Occidental cook to complete distraction, was the incessant demand upon the kitchen for hot water. It was wanted for cooking the regular meals, it was called for by the occupants of the house to which the kitchen belonged, by the marines, by the mothers of sick babies, and by the Chinese ad libitum. Fortunately two
466 CHINA IN CONVULSION
large braziers were brought, which materially relieved tlic pressure on the kitchen, so that tea, coffee, and a certain amount of hot water could be provided near to the church— the kitchen being distant from it half the width of the Legation compound. It is to be borne in mind that while many were able to drink the water from the principal wells without even filtering, perhaps half of the company were less fortunate, and had to be sup- I)lied with that which had been thoroughly boiled.
The indispensable utensils for cooking on a large scale were happily provided from the stock distributed by the owners of the foreign stores. Yet the provision v»as far from complete. There was a great lack of large dishes, and it was sometimes necessary to soak beans, or to make biscuit, in a wash-bowl. The dishes must often be washed in cold water, when there was no other. For it must be remembered that the first contingent of about thirty-two persons were summoned to breakfast at 6.30, and must finish their meal and make way for the second section, who at no long interval gave way to the third. (Later the three divisions were condensed into two.)
Sideboards for this large company there were none, except the altar, and all the surfaces — seats, book-rests, window-sills — were uniformly aslant, aft"ording no sup- port for crockery, which had to be continually passed out through tlie window to be rewashed, a task of some difficulty during the frequent heavy rains. A similar embarrassment was felt on rainy days, in drying the dish- cloths, the supply of which never seemed to run short, being mysteriously recruited from odds and ends which turned up (table-cloths and napkins being practically and hai)pily unknown).
All this unceasing round of work was carried on by three diiTer'jnt sets of cooks and servants, each of which
THE FORTIFICATIONS 467
had always to hasten its work so as to be out of the way of the next relay; yet there was never a quarrel, and no friction worthy of the name.
During the height of the rainy season, the only place in which to put away food was a small wire-screen safe, about a foot and a half square — there was no ice-box and no ice. A few rods distant w^as the slaughter place for ponies, haunted by millions of flies, and the only way to keep meat from their attack was to have it always covered with a cloth — a very temporary device in the hot damp days of July.
There was a standing committee of three ladies who planned the menu for the three daily meals, and two others — changed each day — attended to setting the tables and saw that each meal was ready on time. The in- genuity of this committee in so planning an extremely limited diet as to make the most of it, was positively marvellous, — a housewifery that frequently served up the flesh of tough mules so that no one would have suspected its origin, and that made tasty puddings without milk, butter, or eggs.
The lady in charge of the hospital kitchen also showed great skill in making palatable dishes for the wounded, and if at any time there happened to be a little left which would have spoiled before the next morning, she was invariably able to make such arrangements as to forefend that catastrophe. Little committees of the foreign Chris- tian Endeavor children busied themselves in carrying around whatever might be left on hand, distributing to those in need, and to the sick Chinese, who were always so hungry after their perpetual diet of porridge that all scraps from a foreign table were welcomed with joy.
Much of the time there were sick ones among the mess wdio could not eat the coarse brown bread and the old
468 CHINA IN CONVULSION
yellow rice, and for such, whatever the stress of other work, appetizing dishes were always ready. There were also wan little babies, for whom their mothers had to cook in a passage-way so narrow that if one stooped down no one else could pass, and for many, many nights these tired mothers were kept awake by the moaning of their own infants, or perhaps by the cries of some of the others, for whom no other place was open and for whose ills there was no respite and no help. In the recapitulation, all these disadvantages and inconveniences appear most formidable, but at the time they were submitted to with a patience and a courage which never once failed, and which was not a little promoted by a daily half-hour serv- ice of prayer and praise in which many passages from the Psalms, the prophecies, and the epistles, were made to become luminous with a new light, glowing like a diamond in the dark.
Although this is in no sense a military history of the Siege in Peking, yet a few words in regard to the fortifi- cations of the British Legation must not be omitted. These it may be remembered were early in the siege put in charge of the Rev. F. D. Gamewell, whose edu- cation as an engineer proved a unique qualification for a unique work. At the request of Sir Claude MacDonald he also undertook in a few instances work outside of the area of the Legation and its precincts ; but this was exceptional.
The barricade on the west side of the Legation Street bridge was made eight feet thick, with five feet of earth intended to stop cannon balls, for which it is probable it would have sufficed. One of the military engineers con- sidered that such an elaborate defence, each of the double walls being of the thickness named, was quite unneces- sary, but after the German losses had become ver}- heavy
THE FORTIFICATIONS 469
he wished it continued. There was a similar experience of change in military opinion as to the value of thorough- going fortifications, in the Mongol Market, where the bullets penetrated fifteen and eighteen inches of rubble — or common Chinese wall.
The Russian Legation was practically not fortified at all, for what reason it is difficult to comprehend, although there were barricades in some parts of the premises.
At the south end of the Mongol Market lane, the barri- cade built was five feet thick, and solid. The north and south walls were reenforced so as to be always eighteen inches thick, and in no case was dependence placed on a single line of bricks, where there are sure to be many cracks, and where there is always a chance of penetration bv a stray bullet. This reenforcement continued up to a point opposite the house of the First Secretary. Beyond that the outer line began with a thickness of two feet. The importance of this was illustrated by the fact that on the very day on which Mongol Market defences were finished at 11 a. m., by 4 p. m. the Chinese had every house opposite loopholed, and twelve loopholes in a single building.
The ordinary penetrating effect of the Mauser bullets on Chinese bricks was from one-half to three-quarters of an inch ; but in the case of the Mannlichers used dur- ing the closing days of the siege, the damage was much greater, — the bullets leaving deep pits, and rapidly cutting away any wall. On the last Monday morning of the siege Mr. Gamewell was called up to build extra walls to check this destructive and corrosive fire.
The courts next beyond the one last mentioned were protected in the same way, under constant attack. Dur- ing all the building of fortifications, at which probably an average of fifty men were employed every day except
470 CHINA IN CONVULSION
Sunday, only one man was killed, and that was due to his total disregard of repeated cautions not to expose himself unnecessarily. The barricade immediately to the west of the south stable-court was four feet in thickness, aside from the outer yard wall, and was one of the strongest in the whole line, as it was one of the most exposed to attack. It was a marvel that the two-storied house in the stable-court did not fall. Behind the stable- yard gate was a barricade three feet thick slanting to the north-west, and next beyond that was a platform built for the Italian gun, the wall being ver>' solid, and eight feet thick. The next wall was twenty inches thick, inde- pendent of the original outer wall, and very strongly built. Beyond this was a sort of fort, with five loopholes, very securely put up, and after that a rubble wall four feet in thickness, reenforced by still another substantial wall.
Further to the north stood " Fort von Strauch," which was the situation of the " International " gun at the close of the siege. The gunner, Mitchell, stood behind it when he was wounded, and not to one side. Directly to the west of this, and not more than fifty feet distant, was the Chinese barricade. Still further beyond is a court which is directly under the wall of the Carriage Park,
The death of the marine who was killed at the stable- court early in the siege first called the attention of the military men to the need of sand bags. Before that time they said they had enough, but it was discovered later that the director of the work of fortification was right in his consistent declaration that there would never be enough of them until the relief column reached the Lega- tion. After a time every officer was converted to the value of sand bags, and made frequent and liberal calls for them.
Behind the .Students' Liljrary a deep trench was dug as
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a countermine, between ten and twelve feet deep, and only ten inches from the wall of a two-storied building whose foundations were only three or four feet below the ground. Digging this trench was at great risk of undermining the building, but the risk of being blown up was also a serious one, and it was risk against risk. The trench was not absolutely continuous, but the main sections were connected by cavities which went from one to the other, or as nearly so as the roots of a large tree would allow. It was almost certain that this digging would have de- tected any Chinese mine, as it was 12 feet deep, and at that time of year the water line was thought to be about 13 feet. In the first court of the Hanlin a countermine was begun which extended some distance into the Car- riage Park, but it was discontinued as superfluous, and v/as a standing jest for a long time.
In the Hanlin grounds the line of defence was at first weak. The second line, however, had a two foot brick wall very strongly propped, and reenforced to stand ar- tillery fire. Being short of bricks, the Vv'orkmen used a great number of the wooden plates of books, mostly poetical works in the Hanlin Library. From this point eastward to the north stable-court the whole line of wall was likewise reenforced for withstanding artillery, and there was a trench 12 feet deep just behind the de- fence for the whole length.
In case this should have been rushed by the Chinese, the pavilion immediately to the rear had a loophole three and a half feet in thickness to enfilade the enemy. This pavilion, itself, by the way, was perforated with solid shot from the batteries on the Imperial City wall, seven shots striking within the space of ten feet. One of them went through a heavy post, 16 inches in diameter, and shattered one of the marble tablets let into the
472 CHINA IN CONVULSION
^vall. The book-cases of the Hanlin had been set up in the yard, and covered with tar-paper simply as covering- screens, so that the Chinese should not be able to detect the movements of the defence. A smaller pavilion in from was looplioled to prevent the approach of the enemy unseen, and there was a second strong line of defence beiiind. The larger of the two pavilions (called the Ching I T'ing) was named " Fort Strouts." Another smaller one to the north was loopholed in the same manner.
At the east end of the Hanlin the artillery defences were carried up two-thirds of the way to the top, but were never wholly completed. The most eastern of the fortified positions was styled " Fort Oliphant." Immedi- ately in front of this the defences were ver}-- strong, con- sisting of an enormously thick wall, eight feet through at the base, and a trench 13 feet in depth. The steps up to the elevated sentry-posts were made of the wooden cases which when found contained the great Ming Dy- nasty Encyclopaedia, " Yung Le Ta Tien ", but were now packed solidly with earth. The strength of the Hanlin position as finally fortified was great, and if the Chinese had been able to screw up their courage to the point of a desperate charge, the positions could have been cap- tured only with the greatest difficulty, and with the sacri- fice of a great number of lives, for which happily they were at no time quite prepared.
The defences of the eastern side of the Legation (the Hanlin being on the north) received perhaps more labor- ious consideration than those of any other quarter. On the 29th of June — only nine days after the siege be- gan— Col. Shiba informed Sir Claude that at the outside he should not be able to hold the Su Wang Fu more than two or three days longer. Sir Claude communicated to Mr. Camewell the information, with the comment, "You
THE FORTIFICATIONS 473
should know this." The result was a most elaborate plan of defence which was a surprise alike to Chinese and to foreigners, who were perpetually asking " What is the use of all this work? " The use was to guard the Brit- ish Legation at its weakest point, in case the Su Wang Fu should be abandoned, and the Chinese should plant artillery on the high mounds of the Flower Garden be- longing to the Fu, which was separated from the Lega- tion only by the width of the canal road. The Chinese would have been able to mount guns within fifty yards (or less) of the residence of the British Minister, and it was difficult to see how any part of the Legation grounds could have then been held for an hour.
The fortifications by way of defence against this danger began at the end of the north stable-court, and extended in an unbroken line to the Escort Quarters, a little north of the main gate of the Legation. The post on the roof of the cow-house at the north end was a very strong position, and a very exposed one, being much nearer to the batteries on the wall of the Imperial City than any other, as well as close to the enemy's positions which attacked the northern end of the Fu. The wall of the stables themselves on the canal front was about fifteen inches thick, and with great labour this was reenforced by a wall five feet thick, strongly braced both at top and bottom throughout its whole length. At the upper end of the stable-court there were countermines, lest the Chinese should attempt to blow up the post. The tunnel was run to the west about five feet, thence north twenty- five feet, and then east the same distance, but no sign or sound of Chinese mines was found, and the very ex- istence of the countermines was not generally known. From the stables to the Escort quarters the same plan of defence against possible cannonading was pursued
474 CHINA IN CONVULSION
tliroughout, — thick and high walls made of earth well rammed down, and stoutly braced by the heaviest avail- able timbers against the buildings opposite at every point.
The cannon balls and shells of the enemy received on this side did much damage. One of the three brick col- umns in the second stor>' veranda of the Minister's house was knocked down into the yard below, but extra posts were put in under the supports of the roof, so that it did not give way. On the last night of the siege one of the smaller roofs of a room adjacent to a bed-room in the Minister's house was crushed in by a shell, as already mentioned, but the injury throughout the siege from this source was surprisingly small.
The discerning reader will perceive that, amid so many military men at a time of such peculiar strain, the task of a civilian charged with one of the most important duties of the defence, was one of peculiar difficulty and delicacy. The sense of responsibility was at times al- most overwhelming, and, aside from sometimes working twenty hours a day, the necessity of having the most discouraging military secrets confidentially imparted was enough to wear out the constitution of one in the most robust health.
Perhaps in no other order throughout the entire siege did Sir Claude MacDonald exhibit to better advantage sterling good sense, than in placing Mr. Gamewell in a position absolutely free from military interference of any kind, with responsibility to the Commander in Chief only. When this fact was thoroughly established, all occasion for friction disappeared, and the civil and the military defence dove-tailed into one another in an ad- mirable and most effective way. At the close of the siege Mr. Camcwcll received a cordial letter from Sir Claude acknowledging the common ol)ligations to him
^A
THE SIX "FIGHTING PARSONS" AND SERGEANT MURPHY AT FORT COCKBURN
THE FORTIFICATIONS 475
for his services, and j\Ir. Conger in a similar note justly added that " to you more than to any other man we owe. under God, our preservation." A few days after the relief forces arrived, one of the British subjects who had been through the siege took occasion to ask Gen. Gaselee what he thought of " our infant fortifications ? " Gen. Gaselee replied that he was greatly surprised at the extent and the effectiveness of the defence conducted, and especially with the amount of work done in the time at the disposal of the besieged ; and that the fortifications and everything connected with the defence were " beyond all praise."
In the official report of the events connected with the siege of the Legations, Sir Claude MacDonald states that an important effort to betray the Legations was only dis- covered after they had been relieved. " Among some documents seized by the German troops was found a letter addressed to the General commanding at the Ha Ta gate on the subject of mines. The writer had been a teacher at tlie British Legation in the employ of Her Majesty's Government for four years, and was well known to the student interpreters ; together with all other teach- ers he disappeared about the middle of June. The letter was dated the beginning of July, and pointed out that the General's methods of attacking the Legation were faulty, and were bound to lead to considerable loss in the future as they had done in the past. The proper method of attack, the writer said, was by mining; to assist the General in his attack he enclosed a correct plan of the British Legation, with which he was well acquainted, and marked on the plan the most suitable place for the mine to be driven. Eager inquiries have been made, since the siege was raised, for the writer of the letter, but as yet he has not been found." The fact that with such de-
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tailed treachery as this freely offered to the Chinese, they failed to drive a single mine under any part of the long front of the British Legation, adds one more to the already long list of surprises connected with the defence.
In view of the supreme importance of the subject it may be worth while to devote a little space to a brief summary of some of the foregoing aspects of the defence of the Legations, by a competent military authority, Lieut. Col. Scolt-Aloncrieff, of the Royal Engineers, who con- tributed an article on the subject to the " Royal Engineers Journal" (April, 1901.) Only a few points can be se- lected. The reader is indebted to him for the excellent map of the defences which accompanies this volume.
" The first thing which strikes one on looking at the plan of the whole defensive position is the enormous number of buildings crowded together on the ground. Even in this respect the plan comes short of the truth, for if the houses had all been actually drawn it would have added to the confused mass of buildings shown, in such a way as to obscure essential points.
" Some of the Legation compounds and yards have many trees standing in them. The trees were both a help and a hindrance to the besieged. They obscured the look-out, tended to spread conflagration when a fire broke out, and falling branches were often a source of danger ; but they afforded some protection, and prevented the enemy from seeing in. The massive and heavy roofs of the Chinese buildings though giving considerable com- mand were not much taken advantage of by the assailants. The two-storied houses in the Legation, though heavily bombarded, acted most efficiently as traverses, so that it was quite possible to move about freely inside the de- fended area. This was very much noticed by the relieving force wht-n they entered. The noise of the musketry and
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machine guns was incessant, projectiles of all sorts were whistling overhead, yet on the lawn-tennis court of the British Legation ladies were moving about so freely that it was like a garden-party. The defences of the British Legation were, by all consent, the strongest and best of any of the works in any part of the position. The engi- neer who devised and superintended them was an Ameri- can missionary, the Rev. F. D. Gamcwell. He was one of a considerable number of American missionaries who were sheltered during the siege in the Chapel of the British Legation, and whose skill in organization and cheerful energy contributed largely to the comfort and well-being of the garrison.
" There were no engineers, military or civil, among the garrison of the British Legation. Mr. Gamewell made it his business to be always working at and improving the defences. Walls liable to artillery fire were strength- ened and strutted. Walls supporting roofs, or in any way doubtful, were propped and buttressed, traverses were made in every possible passage, openings and communica- tions were made freely throughout the defensive line, barricades and flanking caponiers were made in every place where it was possible they might be needed, deep trenches were sunk across every part where the enemy might be expected to mine, the upper stories of houses were barricaded, loopholed and strengthened, and above all in every place ample head cover was given to the firing line, so that only as much of the man as came opposite the loophole was exposed.
" On the west of the British Legation in one of the large sheds of the Imperial Carriage Park, the enemy be- gan a mine, the failure of which is very instructive. They started in the direction of a strong barricade and breast- work inside of our works in the Hanlin. Thev were
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