Beleaguered in Pekin 22

Beleaguered in Pekin 22

Mr. J. W. Richardson was the first of the customs volunteers to be

disabled, having received, early in the siege, a flesh-wound of the

shoulder. He, too, made a rapid recovery, and was soon acting as

assistant steward in the hospital, but when entirely in health returned

again to guard duty.

 

Mr. A. G. Bethell became ill from overwork and fatigue, and was obliged

to go into the hospital for several days, but recovered under rest and

appropriate treatment and returned to duty. Mr. U. F. Wintour, while

excavating a deep trench in the Hanlin Yuan as a countermine to the

Chinese mining attempts, badly sprained his knee-joint, which has since

resulted in a severe synovitis, compelling him to remain with his leg

fixed in a plaster-of-paris cast for some weeks.

 

Messrs. Sandercock, Bethell, and Ferguson, although barely nineteen

years of age, have endured the fatigue and hardship of the watches, and

have been as cool under fire as old veterans.

 

Especial mention should be made of the conspicuous bravery and

gallantry of Mr. W. S. Dupree, or, as he is familiarly and

affectionately called by his comrades, “Little Willie.” This young man,

in times of peace, is a postal clerk of very affable manners, but in

the siege he has been a doughty warrior. Although only eighteen years

of age, he has taken his full share of the work. He accompanied the

first expedition of the American, British, and Austrian soldiers in

the attack upon a Boxer rendezvous in a temple north of the Austrian

legation, in which fifty-six Boxers were killed. He has also served in

the Hanlin Yuan, in the Su Wang Fu, and in the latest achievement of

the customs volunteers,—the capture and holding of a new and valuable

strategical position northward of the Russian position in the Mongol

market.

 

[Illustration: Chinese barber and his outfit]

 

On the night of August 10 this intrepid youngster crept out from behind

the fortification in the Mongol market, and crawled across the moonlit

common, directly in front of and up to the Chinese barricade. Here he

heard one of the soldiers exhorting his comrades to follow him and make

an attack upon the foreigners. “Why should we hesitate?” he urged. “We

have so many and they so few; success is sure and failure impossible.”

Dupree hurried back and warned his companions in time to prevent a

serious rush, for a few moments later the Chinese actually left their

barricade and attempted a rush upon our works; but on a volley into

them, which killed one and wounded several others, their short-lived

courage left them, and they precipitately bolted back again behind

shelter, from which they peppered our barricade vigorously for the next

half hour without doing any damage.

 

[Illustration: Chinese barber at work]

 

The customs mess, in spite of their exceedingly narrow accommodations,

was eminently a hospitable group, and cheerfully allowed Messrs. E.

Backhouse, G. P. Peachey, Dr. J. Dudgeon, and J. M. Allardyce to eat

with them, they turning the stores they possessed on entrance into the

common storeroom. The meals were well managed under the efficient care

of Mrs. Russell and Mrs. Mears, whom all of the customs volunteers will

ever remember for their constant, untiring efforts to render palatable

the daily ration of horse-meat and rice which has constituted their

principal food.

 

Sir Robert Hart, the I. G., as he is generally spoken of by his staff,

as well as many outsiders, has endeared himself to all his young

soldiers by his sharing with them without complaint and unvarying

cheerfulness the meager diet of the mess. He has never allowed any

delicacy supplied to him that the others did not partake of, but has

acted on the principle of share and share alike throughout. He may in

time have a successor in the service, but he can never be supplanted in

the affections of those members of his staff who have endured with him

the trials of the siege in Peking.

 

Mr. J. H. Smyth entered the British legation when he was convalescing

from scarlet fever, and was placed in quarantine for some weeks.

Consequently he was prevented from taking any part in the early

proceedings of the siege, but as soon as allowed out he at once went

on duty. Mr. Origlia came down with scarlet fever also on July 10, and

thereafter could render no military service.

 

The staff of the British legation who were actually in the siege

consisted of the following persons: Sir Claude M. MacDonald, G. C. M.

G., K. C. B., envoy extraordinary, etc., his wife, two children, and

sister-in-law; Herbert G. Dering, secretary; Henry Cockburn, Chinese

secretary, and wife; W. P. Ker, assistant Chinese secretary, wife,

and child; Wordsworth Poole, M.D., surgeon; B. G. Tours, accountant,

wife, and child; D. Oliphant, consular assistant; W. Russell, consular

assistant; Rev. W. Norris, acting chaplain; Rev. R. Allen, curate,

and the following student interpreters. Messrs. T. G. Hancock, A.

T. Flaherty, H. Bristow, T. C. C. Kirke, H. Porter, W. M. Hewlett,

A. Rose, R. Drury, L. R. Barr, H. Warren, L. Giles, W. E. Townsend.

Captain F. G. Poole, who was living with his brother, the doctor, while

on language-leave, was also considered of the legation household, as

well as several guests, Mr. Clarke-Thornhill and the legation keeper,

Sergeant R. Herring.

 

The military guard consisted of Senior Captain B. M. Strouts,

Captains Halliday and E. Wray, Sergeants J. Murphy, A. E. Saunders

and J. Preston; four corporals, one bugler, one armorer, and one

hospital steward, with sixty-eight privates. They had one Nordenfeldt

quick-firing gun. The greater part of the civilians serving as

volunteers also served under Captain Poole in the British legation.

 

When the siege commenced, the western side at the south end of the

compound, which adjoined a lot of Chinese buildings, was a most

vulnerable point, which the natives readily discovered, and a number of

vigorous attempts to set fire to the legation were made by firing these

buildings, so that a fire-brigade was organized under B. G. Tours and

Tweed, of the volunteers, to fight this dangerous form of attack.

 

During one of these fires in the first few days of the siege, Captain

Halliday led a brilliant rush through a hole knocked in the wall,

and drove off the attacking party, killing over twenty of them.

Unfortunately Captain Halliday was severely wounded by a shot through

the lungs, which rendered him helpless, and lost to the besieged the

services of a brave and kindly officer.

 

The British marines took part in the expedition to the Boxer rendezvous

and the taking of the city wall, where Sergeant Murphy distinguished

himself as the leader after the fall of Captain Myers. Brave Captain

Strouts, who was much loved by his men, was shot and mortally wounded

in the Su Wang Fu on July 16, while on a tour of inspection. Dr. G.

E. Morrison was injured by the same volley, and Colonel Shiba, who

was with them, narrowly escaped, several bullets passing through his

clothing.

 

The British legation compound being of such dimensions, necessitated

a larger guard for lookouts than any other one place. Notwithstanding

this, men were daily detached for duty with the Americans on the city

wall, and to help Colonel Shiba in the Su Wang Fu. A barricade was

built across the moat connecting the legation with the Fu, and thus the

men could cross without being seen from the north bridge just under the

Forbidden City walls, where a strong force of the enemy was posted.

To replace these detachments sent out, the civilian volunteers were

largely called upon, and rendered excellent service.

 

Sir Claude MacDonald, after the death of Captain Strouts, assumed

command of the garrison, and directed some of the outposts of other

nationals; but the French and Germans denied his authority at their

outposts, and controlled their own movements. Captain Poole was in

charge of the international volunteers within the British legation

and had command of the north stables, north wall, Hanlin Yuan, and

students’ quarters. He led one expedition into the carriage-park, a

large tract of land which came close to the legation on the northwest

side of our enclosure.

 

[Illustration: GROUND-PLAN OF THE FOREIGN LEGATIONS IN PEKING

 

This will serve to locate the various buildings pictured elsewhere.]

 

As will be seen from the accompanying diagram of the British legation,

the eastern side and the southern side required no watches kept so long

as the Japanese retained possession of the Su Wang Fu and the Russians

and Americans held the wall and Legation street. But the Hanlin Yuan

in the north and the entire western wall covered long stretches of

space that required a constant watch to be kept, as the Chinese were

intrenched in numerous and heavy barricades in their front, from which

they maintained a constant fire from rifles, Krupp guns and smooth-bore

cannon.

 

Until the 18th of July the cannons boomed from morning until night,

sending their solid shot and shrieking shells into our midst, tearing

the brick houses to pieces, and crushing the tiles on the roof to fine

powder, at the same time sending their fragments in every direction.

The very shortness of range prevented their dropping with any force,

and saved us much damage; and when the muzzles of their pieces were

raised to pass over the first row of buildings, which they had failed

to batter down, the projectiles flew harmlessly over our heads.

 

The building that has suffered most has been the constable’s house,

in the south stables. This place has borne the brunt of most of the

attacks made upon the British legation and is literally converted into

a sieve.

 

Under the direction of Mr. F. D. Gamewell all the walls of the legation

have been so strengthened, often to a thickness of eight feet, that one

is perfectly safe behind them, except at the loopholes, and in these

large bricks are kept, except when the openings are being used for

observation or firing.

 

The Chinese have been remarkably bad marksmen, and have usually fired

by holding their guns up so that the point barely projected above their

barricades, and then, pressing the trigger, immediately withdrawing the

gun, having never ventured their lives in the least. But this method of

firing does no damage. Thousands upon thousands of bullets have been

sent whistling far over our heads. Doubtless when we hear the history

of the outside we will learn of hundreds having been killed and wounded

a long way from the legation district.

 

[Illustration: A Chinese cart]

 

On July 5 Mr. David Oliphant, of the legation staff, while serving