Beleaguered in Pekin 12

Beleaguered in Pekin 12

The ammunition for the Italian one-pound gun having run short, pewter

vessels from the Chinese houses around were brought in, melted, and run

into molds to make the shot for the gun. With these the used cartridges

were reloaded, and, there being no primers for them, revolver

cartridges were readily used instead. When tried in the bore they

worked very well, though it was feared that the harder metal of which

they were made would be ruinous to the rifling of the gun.

 

The Chinese broke two holes in the top of the imperial city wall and

built a platform just over the water-gate, where it was expected they

would mount guns the next night. At 10 P.M. they started a fusillade,

which lasted for a few minutes, but the rest of the night was fairly

quiet.

 

The French and Austrians claimed to have heard cannonading about ten

kilometers (six miles) to the southeast. But this has also proved a

false hope, and the general opinion is now that the relief has not

started from Tientsin at all, though why, no one can say.

 

July 8. Sunday. The Chinese on the wall moved up their arms and opened

fire on our barricade. The third shot they fired was badly aimed and

struck their own barricade, carrying most of it away, when they were

forced to retreat in a hurry. There was a fire at the Su Wang Fu of

the main pavilion buildings, but it was not very serious. Two shells

from a gun to the west struck the wall, and one the top of Mr. Coburn’s

house, showing that the Chinese are getting the range. The evening

fusillade started at 9:45 and lasted about twenty minutes.

 

July 9. In the morning Mr. Squiers sent out a man into the city to see

what was going on there. He returned in the afternoon reporting, first,

that Hatamen has been closed for many days; second, that there are no

Chinese troops in the southern city; third, that Rung Lu’s troops are

guarding the Chihaumen, but there are many Kansu men on the Hatamen

streets and in the imperial city; fourth, that at the ssupailou (four

arches) the shops are open and doing business as usual; fifth, that

the Emperor and Empress Dowager are still in the city; sixth, that

the Peking “Gazette” is published daily. The day was quiet except for

occasional firing.

 

July 10. In the morning several of the Chinese shells came very close,

breaking right over the tennis court, and making it unsafe for any one

to cross.

 

July 11. A messenger sent out with a letter tried to get through the

water-gate, but was immediately fired on by the Chinese sentries and

forced to fly. He got in without being hurt.

 

The Chinese were extremely quiet all night, but the cause was not known

until the next morning, when it was discovered that they had built two

new big walls, one in the Hanlin Yuan, and another in the imperial

carriage park.

 

[Illustration: Part of Author’s Diary]

 

July 12. The Chinese kept up a heavy cannonade all day, mostly from

the guns on the imperial city wall, but did very little damage to us.

A flag, white ground and black characters, was captured by the French

in the morning, and in the afternoon Mitchell captured a big black one

in the Hanlin Yuan. He got up on a Chinese barrier and wrested the flag

from a Chinese soldier by pounding him with sand-bags until he let go,

while five or six volleys were fired at him. He secured the flag and

got down without a scratch.

 

July 13. A Chinese prisoner taken by the French marines this morning

states that the Emperor and Empress Dowager are still in the palace

here. Prince Tuan, Jung Lee and General Tung are in control of public

affairs. Prince Ching takes no part in them. Many Boxers are still in

the city. Their principal patron is Prince Tuan. In his palace they are

registered, fed, and paid.

 

These Boxers are ridiculed by the soldiers because they dare not

go under fire at the front, in spite of their pretensions to be

bullet-proof.

 

General Tung’s troops are facing us on the wall and along our lines on

the south. Jung Lu’s troops are behind the French legation. Several of

them are killed or wounded every day. The prisoner declares that he was

one of several coolies (hired at twenty-five cents a body) to carry off

and bury the dead. There are about three thousand of Tung Fu Hsinang’s

troops in the city.

 

The Empress has forbidden the use of guns of large caliber against us,

because of the harm they might do to her loyal people and their houses.

 

Direct attack having failed, and our rifles being better than theirs,

it has been decided to starve us out. Two weeks ago news came that

foreign troops from one hundred warships at Taku had captured the Taku

forts, and occupied “East Taku,” opposite Tangku railway station.

Tientsin city was in a panic on this account.

 

Ammunition is being brought here from the Hunting park. Imperial edicts

are issued as usual. Business is going on in the north part of the

city, and market supplies are coming in. The four “chief banks” are

closed. The soldiers believe that we have several thousand troops under

arms here. The prisoner thought we had at least two thousand.

 

Of course, this information is not official, and there may be much

that is not strictly accurate. It simply represents the gossip of the

tea-shops and restaurants.

 

One reason the Chinese have for thinking we have so many men here is

that a number of them are killed by their own bullets, which are aimed

high and pass over our heads and drop among their own people. This

shooting they attribute to our men, and so think we have a large force

here.

 

Same date, 6.30 P.M. The Chinese exploded a mine under the French

legation wall, destroying part of the wall and also part of their own

fortifications. Four men were buried by the first explosion, one of

whom was dug out, and another blown up again by a second explosion.

Having done this, the Chinese made a desperate assault, but were beaten

off after having killed three and wounded three French marines and lost

about twenty of their number.

 

[Illustration: VIEW IN LEGATION STREET

 

The entrance to French legation is on the left. The lions shown on

either side of the entrance are such as can be found nowhere outside

of China. The street is in somewhat better condition, since it is

presumably under foreign control, or at least is modified by foreign

influences.]

 

The minister’s and first secretary’s houses were fired, the minister

destroying all his official papers himself, to prevent their falling

into the hands of the Chinese.

 

Simultaneously with this attack came a tremendous fusillade from all

sides, which lasted forty-five minutes, by far the longest we have had

yet.

 

The Su Wang Fu was the scene of the hottest firing, and once it was

thought it would have to be given up.

 

At the same time a body of Chinese, numbering about two hundred,

charged down the wall street and got past the German legation without

being stopped. When they got to the bridge, one of the United States

marines was just coming down from the wall and saw them as they were

coming up over the bridge. He gave the alarm to four men stationed in

the barricade on the street, who fired about a dozen volleys on them,

killing thirty of them. The natives then turned and fled; on the way

back the Germans fired on them, driving them into the club tennis

courts, where they killed eighteen more. The officer in command of the

Chinese was shot by E. von Strauch, captain of the customs volunteers.

In the fray two Germans were seriously, and two slightly, wounded. The

Chinese kept up a desultory firing all night.

 

July 14. A large supply of wheat was brought over to the British

legation from a grain store near the south bridge, and distributed in

several storerooms throughout the compound. This was done as there had

been some burning near there, and it was feared it would be destroyed.

A messenger sent out by Mr. Tewksbury on the 10th instant returned,

bringing a message supposed to have been written by Prince Ching. It

was soon known to be an invitation to leave the legations and go to the

tsung-li-yamen for protection, though the full translation was not put

upon the bulletin board till the next day.

 

July 15. The following bulletin was posted at 1 P.M.:

 

A messenger sent out on July 10 by Mr. Tewksbury, with a letter for

the troops, returned yesterday. He is the gate-keeper at the Nan

Vang (south cathedral) and a Roman Catholic. He says he was arrested

outside the Hatamen and taken to the Wofursu (temple?), his letter

was taken from him, and he was beaten with eighty blows. He was then

taken to Jung Lu’s headquarters in the imperial city. Here he found

a man named Yu who formerly knew him as gate-keeper. He was there

given a letter, purporting to be written by Prince Ching and others,

addressed to the British minister, and told that men would wait at

the water-gate to-night for an answer. A translation of the letter is

annexed:

 

* * * * *

 

“For the last ten days the soldiers and militia have been fighting,

and there has been no communication between us, to our great anxiety.

Some time ago we hung up a board (referring to June 25) expressing

our intentions, but no answer has been received, and, contrary to

expectation, the foreign soldiers made renewed attacks, causing alarm

and suspicion among people and soldiers.

 

“Yesterday the troops captured a convert named Chin Ssu Hai,

and learned from him that the foreign ministers were all well,

which caused us great satisfaction. But it is the unexpected that

happens—the reinforcements of foreign troops were ever so long ago

stopped and turned back by the Boxers, and if, in accordance with

the previous agreement, we were to guard your excellencies out of

the city, there are so many Boxers on the Tientsin-Taku road that we

should be very apprehensive of misadventure.

 

“We now request your excellencies to first take your families and

the various members of your staff, and leave your legations in

detachments. You should select trustworthy officers to give close

and strict protection, and you should temporarily reside in the

tsung-li-yamen, pending future arrangements for your return home in

order to preserve friendly relations intact from beginning to end. But

at the time of leaving the legations there must on no account whatever

be any single armed foreign soldier, in order to prevent doubt and

fear on the part of the troops and people, leading to untoward incidents.