Beleaguered in Pekin 19

Beleaguered in Pekin 19

CHAPTER VII

 

_WORK DURING SIEGE DONE BY RUSSIANS—WORK BY AMERICANS_

 

 

[Illustration: YOUAN CHANG

 

Beheaded August 9, because he favored making peace with foreigners.]

 

THE Russian legation is situated on the north side of Legation street,

directly opposite the United States legation, one hundred and fifty

yards west of the moat that runs northward from the city wall to the

wall of the Forbidden City; between the British legation and the Su

Wang Fu. Consequently, the Russian legation is directly south of

the British legation, and separated from it only by a small street

containing shops of the humbler sort.

 

Immediately upon a state of siege being declared, the foreign guards

took possession of this street, drove out the inhabitants, barricaded

both ends of the highway, and so made it possible to go with safety

directly from the position held by the American marines on the city

wall, through the American legation, across Legation street, also

barricaded, through the Russian legation, and on into the British

legation—one continuous foreign occupation. This was a necessity for

our protection, and to secure for the American and Russian marines

a safe retreat into the British legation in the event of their own

locations being no longer tenable.

 

At the beginning of the siege the following persons resided in the

Russian legation: His Eminence M. de Giers, envoy extraordinary and

minister plenipotentiary, his wife, daughter and son, and Miss Edith

Miller, a governess in his family; B. N. Kroupensky, first secretary;

B. N. Evreinow, second secretary; P. S. Popoff, interpreter; Mme.

Popoff and five daughters; N. F. Kolessoff, second interpreter; A. T.

Beltchenko and H. P. Wulff, student interpreters; V. V. Korsakoff,

M.D., surgeon, wife and daughter; N. T. Gomloyeff, postmaster; A.

Polyanoff, clerk in post office; the Rt.-Rev. Father Archimandrite

Innocent Figuroffsky; the Rev. Father Abraham, Deacon Basile, Messrs.

Osipoff and Piskimoff, ecclesiastical students. This comprised the

legation personnel.

 

There was also the staff of the Russo-Chinese bank, consisting of

the following persons: D. D. Pokotiloff, company manager for China

and Japan, and his wife; D. M. Pozdneeff, his wife and child; R. T.

Barbier, wife and child; Mlle. C. Titoff; E. Wihlfahrt, cashier; F.

Vavier, bookkeeper; Messrs. Brackmann, Mirny, Alexandroff, Wasilieff,

Brauns, and Kehler; and Mr. A. W. Borodavkine, professor of Russian in

the Imperial University.

 

[Illustration: Russian Minister and Staff of Legation and their

families]

 

The Russian guards were sailors from the battleships Navarine and

Sissoi Veliku, to the number of seventy-two men, under Naval Lieutenant

Baron von Rahden and Sub-Lieutenant Carl von Dehn, with seven

trans-Baikalian Cossacks.

 

Captain Jean Wroublevsky, who was on language-leave, also resided in

the legation, and acted with Baron von Rahden alternately as commander

of the forces. Captain Wroublevsky belongs to the Ninth Rifle Corps,

stationed at Port Arthur.

 

Some of the staff of the Russo-Chinese bank served in the British

legation under the orders of Captain Strouts until his death, and

thereafter under Sir Claude MacDonald, who assumed command, but

Messrs. Kroupensky, Evreinow, Kolessoff, Beltchenko, Dr. Korsakoff,

and Professor Borodavkine constituted themselves Russian volunteers,

and remained by their legation throughout the siege, never becoming a

part of the so-called international volunteers serving in the British

legation.

 

These Russian volunteers did splendid service in the defense of the

Legation street west entrance, in the Mongol market to the northwest,

and in the various posts and barricades on the city wall, in

conjunction with the American marines.

 

The Russian sailors and the American marines fraternized at once; but

the sailors were quite pleased to find their duties did not often bring

them into contact with the British marines, for whom they felt a

natural antipathy. Not that there has been the slightest disagreement

or open bad blood between those two nationalities, but they seem to

have been mutually pleased to remain apart.

 

[Illustration: VOLUNTEERS OF THE RUSSO-CHINESE BANK

 

This picture was not taken during the Siege, as these gentlemen had

something else to do during that time. It was not even taken after the

Siege, and it is a question whether they will ever be as happy and free

from care again. One has passed away forever, the gentleman in the

chair to the right, who was killed in an engagement with the Boxers.

After hard fighting, in which a number were killed, the Boxers carried

away his body.]

 

The Russian sailors did much more manual labor than any others of the

besieged. The Americans, English, French, Italians, etc., were quite

satisfied to have all their barricades built for them by the Chinese

Christians, working under their missionary teachers or a foreign

interpreter; but the Russian sailors pitched in and built, as well as

manned, all their own barricades.

 

Their commander, Baron von Rahden, stated that upon his arrival his

men were mostly green farmers, recently enlisted as sailors, and very

few of them had had any military experience or even knew the proper

handling of a rifle; but after association for a few weeks with the

well-trained American marines under constant fire, they had developed

wonderfully fast, and he felt, at the end of the siege, that he had a

body of men under him well trained, steady, and cool.

 

A detachment of these sailors accompanied the American marines in the

expedition to the south cathedral, and assisted in the rescue of three

hundred native Catholic Christians. At this place they killed seventy

Boxers and took ten prisoners that they afterward handed over to the

Chinese authorities for punishment; but, doubtless, instead of being

punished they were well rewarded.

 

While these ten ruffians were confined in the legation jail, one man

succeeded in getting his hands free and loosing one other. Being

discovered, they assaulted their sentry with a brick and attempted to

make their escape; but one being promptly shot and killed, the other

surrendered and was again bound.

 

During the many heavy attacks by Tung Fu Hsiang’s soldiers at the west

end of Legation street, these sailors behaved with great courage, and

with their American marine companions never failed to drive the Kansu

ruffians back, until finally the Chinese became discouraged at their

lack of success in rushes, and settled down to a policy of sniping from

behind their heavy barricades.

 

They were such poor marksmen, however, that not one in a thousand of

their rifle shots took effect, and the Russian losses all told amounted

only to four killed and eighteen wounded.

 

Their outposts commanded the entire Mongol market, overlooking the

southwestern wall of the British legation, and they alone commanded

this district until August 5, some weeks after the active shelling

had ceased, when Lieutenant Von Strauch took up a new position in the

extreme north of the Mongol market, and drew some of the snipers’ fire

in another direction.

 

The Chinese, early in the siege, planted a Krupp gun on the Chien

Men or main gate of the city, and from this position of vantage

shelled the minister’s house and other buildings of the legations very

severely; but their aim was so bad that many of their shells passed not

only over the Russian legation, but over the British legation and Su

Wang Fu as well, finally falling or exploding among their own people

more than a mile away from their intended target.

 

Doubtless more Chinese have been killed by their own shells and

rifles than we have killed. As they always fired high, and completely

surrounded us, the balls that have constantly whistled over our heads

for two months must have fallen among themselves.

 

They attribute to our good shooting a large mortality that we know

is a result, certainly in part, of their bad shooting. In the sortie

made on the city wall the night of July 3d under Captain Myers, which

resulted in capturing the Chinese barricades, several banners, and some

ammunition, the Russian sailors ably seconded the United States marines.

 

Captain Wroublevsky on one side found it impossible to pass in, and

joined the marines in forcing entrance into the other side. In this

sortie Baron von Rahden was struck on the head with a brick and two

sailors were wounded. Of the Americans, Captain Myers was severely

wounded and two marines killed.

 

[Illustration: ON THE TOP OF CHINA’S GREAT WALL

 

Wall destroyed by the Russians after the Boxers got it. This picture

gives a good idea of the width of the Great Wall, and looks almost

like a field with vegetation growing, and the block-house or fort

erected upon it. The method of reaching the top of the wall is shown

by the driveway up the side, which it will be observed, is completely

commanded by the block-house. This wall extends several thousand miles,

and is said to represent the sacrifice of millions of lives, and labor

beyond comprehension.]

 

Some of the best work of the Russians was that done in burning many

native houses and then pulling down the walls in the Mongol market

that concealed sharpshooters of the enemy. Had this not been done, the

entire southwestern part of the British legation would have been under

a constant sniping fire, such as they really were exposed to during

the first few days of the siege, and until the Russians made a dash

into the Mongol market, drove out the Chinese, and burned down their

cover.

 

The Russians also joined in an unsuccessful sortie, during which an

attempt was made to capture a cannon in the Su Wang Fu, but owing

to incorrect information as to its whereabouts, the Italian officer commanding led his men in the wrong direction, and after having several men wounded, the party returned without having accomplished anything.