Directory_and_Chronicle_1903 — Page 612

PEKING

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thus to suffer was the well-known Nan-Tang or Southern Roman Catholic Cathedral built more than two hundred years ago. In the attempt to destroy the small foreign drug-store belonging to Messrs. A. S. Watson and Company, Limited, of Hong- kong, the great Bazaar in which it is situated caught fire, notwithstanding the assurances of the chief Boxer that he, by occult influence, could prevent the fire from spreading. The destruction caused by this fire was inconceivably great: all the wealthy banks, silver shops, silk warehouses, and curiosity-shops, with their priceless and irreplaceable stocks of antique art, were consumed.

Before this act of incendiarism the threatening aspect of affairs had led the Ministers to apply to their Admirals for marine guards, and late in May and early in June some five hundred men with two or three machine guns had been sent up to the Legations. On the 9th of June the Ministers wired urgently for more men, a request which the Navy met in a way described in the notes on Taku (see pages

168-9); but these latter reinforcements never arrived. On June 19th the Tsung-li- Yamen notified the Legations to quit the city by 4 p.m. on the 20th, assigning as a reason the Allies' attack on and capture of the Taku forts. Protection was of course promised; but even had the Imperial Government been acting in good faith and been willing to protect the thousand refugees in their long journey to the Coast, it was certain that they had not the ability to do so. The Boxers were now in complete domination of the City, and would have paid no heed whatever to any assurances of the Government. Moreover, such a policy of scuttle meant the certain massacre of several thousand Christian refugees who had fled into the City from the suburbs, and had placed themselves under the care of the Fathers and the Missionaries. The demand of the Yamen was refused. The next day, Baron von Ketteler, the German Minister, while proceeding to the Yamen to interview the Chinese Ministers, was shot at by Imperial soldiers from loopholed houses, and was brutally murdered; his Secretary, Mr. Cordes, escaping the same fate by a miracle, though he was badly wounded. This unheard of atrocity precipitated the supreme crisis. The Chinese Government saw clearly that it could not possibly now go back, and the foreigners knew that certain death was in store for them unless they could ward it off by their own prowess until relief came. Earthworks were thrown up, and all the people were brought within the lines to a central position. The extreme limits of the defended position were 800 by 400 yards, the greater dimension being marked with the South Wall of the Tartar City. The Rev. G. W. Gamewell, an American Missionary; undertook to construct earth- works under the direction of the military officers, and succeeded admirably. His work afterwards exacted the highest praise from the Engineer officers of the Relief Column, and next to the defenders' courage it was the chief factor in the ultimate salvation of the garrison. Sandbags were improvised in vast number, the ladies and native refugees rendering fine work in this direction; every possible textile was used for this all- important purpose, and priceless embroideries, carpets, curtains, as well as clothes, were seen in the barricades alongside of jute and hessians.

The first death was that of the Rev. H. James of the Imperial University. He was shot by Tung Fuh-shiang's wild Kansu ruffians while he was advancing to speak with their officers at the bridge to the North of the Legations. The Austrian and Italian Legations were the first to be attacked and burned; these were followed by the destruction of the Customs' premises, with all the archives and the records of Sir Robert Hart's life's work. On June 22nd and 23rd desperate attempts were made to fire the British Legation, which from the first and throughout the siege was regarded as the key of the foreign position. On the 24th these were renewed, but were checked by the fine steadiness of the British marines. The Hanlin College, with its priceless Library, was burned to the ground by the vandalistic soldiery in these attempts. Rifle fire was practically continuous on the part of the Chinese for the first ten days; with great skill they kept under cover, but if their own testimony may be accepted (their conversation was easily overheard at some of the barricades) this was less due to military prudence than to personal cowardice; the besieged never wasted one shot and only fired when an enemy was seen and could be hit. After the Customs' premises were fired, the most persistent attacks were on the east of the Allied position around the palace of the Prince Su (Su Wan'g-fuh) where the native Christians were aggre- gated, and where Colonel Shiba and his gallant band of Japanese sailors were constantly. acting the part of heroes. On June 28th shell fire was added to the sufferings of the defenders. Happily, as at Tientsin, the shell was of indifferent quality, and was seldom well timed. It often failed to burst, and seldom did much damage. The most severe punishment was from a big gun in the Mongol Market close to the western wall of the British Legation.

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