jurgation, the station was cleared by the Germans and English at the point of the bayonet and the naval artificers got on the en- gine and drove out the train. Of course, when all this was done, the formal sanotion of the Chinese arrived at the last moment.
LATER, 5 P.M. ADMIRAL SEYMOUR WANTS NO MORE MEN.
The Admiral has wired that he has as many men as he needs: that the food and water diffi- .culties en route are such that further reinforcé- ments will only impede movements. This may possibly affect the movement of 1,700 Russians, just arrived from Port Arthur, who are only awaiting facilities for landing.
Our Peking advices of to-day are reassuring: nothing has happened yet. We have been very apprehensive of the effect of the news of the reinforcements being in the way, but up to date it has evidently had a steadying effect in the mob. The private Peking letters to-day speak of 8,000 disaffected troops; this is a great drop from the 50,000 spoken of a day or two ago.
THE CONDITION OF TIENTSIN.
Tientsin is safe and the residents confident. We have formed a guard and practically our adult male population (300) is under arms. The sailors and marines are 600: field guns two, machine guns about a dozen. We hoped to have the honour of pricking the Boxer bubble, but now fear it will fall to the Admiral. The panic among the Chinese is indescribable and piteons. All export and import trade has ceased. Prices of food have been doubled, and all credit to natives has been stopped. Servants want wages paid daily. Many are leaving, and the washermen have all bolted except three. The native passenger traffic to Shanghai is
wonderful.
We can only hope the reaction will be effective and rapid when it comes. It is enraging to reflect on the dislocation of trade, domestic life, &c., simply because half dozen small administrators elect to support a .pack of seditions blackguards in overt rebellion.
A
There is no news from Paoting-fu or Tung Chow beyond the fact that mission premises have been sacked and burned, and native Chris- tians killed. As far as we know at present no more European lives have been sacrificed, but grave fears are held for small missions in outlying districts.
The coal pits at Tong Shan have a naval guard, but are also pretty safe, through the presence of 1,500 Cantonese who will side with the foreigners to a man, it is thought,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
[June 23, 1900.s
villages, killing and burning without mercy. I thereupon decamped, and as soon as they wer The result was that four villages were burnt gone the boatmen dropped anchor and refused and destroyed and 430 villagers killed. The to go on. We then went on shore and facei soldiers lost 12 men and a captain. Quiet the Boxers, and fell back on the plains where reigned throughout the vicinity of Lofa for we gave them battle, and succeeded in putting nearly 48 hours until the decree censuring them to flight after killing several. We then General Nieh and ordering him to Lutai, near discovered that four of our party were missing. Kaiping, became known; when the I-Ho Chuan We reached another river but were followed by once more rallied, this time with no one to say the mob. Two of us swam out and secured a them nay any more.
boat in which we got the whole party over to the other bank. Before long we discovered an- other mob on our track, and had to fight some 50 Boxers. About midday we again reached the river. The women were exhausted, the men for the most part demoralized. We had had nothing to eat or drink since we left the evening before. To proceed on foot was impossible.
THE
26
+
BIG KNIVES IN THE LIANGKIANG.
45
**
THE BELGIAN REFUGEES FROM PAOTINGFU,
&
|
The Daily News also reports that Viceroy Liu of Nanking has sent instructions to the various yamêns under his jurisdiction in the Liangkiang provinces to keep careful watch on the conduct of the members of the Tatao Hui or "Big Knife Society," who are known to abound
Though the river was deep and wide and we in the vicinity of Kiangyin, Chinkiang, and up
were much exhausted, two of us swam out again the Grand Canal, including Tsingkiangpu and Hsuchoufu, which is the home of the society. and detached a boat from a bend in the river. As soon as a suspicious character is arrested and We remained in this till 8 in the evening, the found to be a "Big Knife man' he is to be sum-strongest of our party going along the bank as marily decapitated without first referring to an escort. Then we found ourselves between Nanking for permission. Our contemporary two fires. Behind usa came a small mob, while points out that the I-Ho Chuan Society men armed with guns waited us on either bank. is merely an off-shoot of the Tatao Hui, We had to fight again, and though we killed se- the name of I-Ho Chuan having been adopted veral we had to retreatonce more to the plains, where we succeeded in keeping up such a mur- by Shantung and northern members as
derous fire that the enemy retreated. We stayed cover, the Big Knives being too well known as a revolutionary society. The I-Ho Chuan first thereabouts all night, and started out again the called themselves " I-Ho Chuan Hui," but owing next morning to try and reach Tientsin. Early Hui"-a secret society on Wednesday morning we were three times in to the character
contact with the Boxers and each time we killed being obnoxious to the Government and more- over prohibited by law, they dropped the desig. or wounded many. Aboutmidday on nearing a big nation Hui." at the Empress Dowager's own village, we were obliged to wage a regular battle Tuan" again, the Boxers numbering more than a suggestion, and assumed the character "
militia body-as their suffix to "I-Ho Chuan." thousand and led by a mounted leader who was It will be remembered that the Imperial decree protected by four gingals. We thought our of the 6th inst. confirms this by saying that the last hour had come and bid farewell to each Society-men simply trained themselves for other, but the younger men determined to make one more effort. A desperate charge on our self-defence," that is to say were changed from "Hui" to "Tuan," and therefore innocent of part made them abandon their gingals and the mob then fed followed by our shots. Great any intention to rebel against the Government.
courage was shown by several members of our party. We then resumed our tramp to Tien- The Peking and Tientsin Times obtained the tsin still some 200 li away. At about 4 p.m. we had repulsed the Boxers several times, but following narrative from one of the unfortunate Belgian Engineers who have lately escaped they kept reforming. Each time we killed several of the mob which had the effect of from Paotingfu. The story was written in French, and any slight inaccuracies and omis-driving them away. In the evening we camped sions in it may be attributed to mistranslation in a marsh after having crossed a small river, and also to the excitement under which such a and resumed our journey about 3 a.m. We dut narrative would naturally be penned. No attempt the line of the enemy about 4 a.m. and surprised an advance post whose object was to stop our has been made to describe the sufferings of the
progress. But we routed this detachment and party, especially the women, but those who saw the first party arrive, and can imagine what four this was the last encounter we had, and finally
we reached Tientsin." day's exposure at this season, without food or drink, and being hunted like wild animals, means, will realize how keen those sufferings were. Many of the party were repeatedly wounded with shots, one man having nine such wounds, and it is entirely due to the poor quality of the Boxers arms and ammunition that so many General Nieh and his troops arrived at reached Tientsin alive. The writer states:- Lofa by train on the morning of the 5th "On Sunday, May 27th, four of us were in In the inst, and seeing a numerous body of armed the train due at Liu-li-ho at 4 p.m. men holding the line blocking further progress, neighbourhood of Cho-how our train stopped. General Nieh ordered the mob to disperse. When The station master told us the Boxers had des- this was unheeded the troops detrained and good. troyed the bridges and the track. We immedi naturedly began pushing the mob away from the ately backed the train to Kao-pei-tien where we line and telling them that the Railway belonged found 1,903 soldiers under the command of a to Government and hence it was foolhardy of general, who refused to encounter the Boxers, them to destroy Government property. But the protesting that he had no orders from his chief mob in the rear began to revile the soldiers, cry. on the subject. The train then started for Pao. ing out that they had been bribed by foreigners to tingfu. The following day, 28th, we, oppress the people and therefore should be dealt other engineers and myself, left Paotingfu on with as enemies also. Upon this the mob began, a special train at 4 a.m. with matterials for re- some to throw stones and others to fire their guns pairing the track. On our arrival at K10-pei- and revolvers at the "foreigners" (soldiers) two tien, bands of villagers incited by Boxers rifled of whom immediately fell, killed. Even with the train and station, leaving nothing but bare this provocation the troops, restrained by their walls. The commander and soldiers supposed officers, refrained from using their bayonets to be guarding the place, stood by and saw these rupon the mob until one of their Captains, who acts. On leaving Kao-pei-tien the track present- had come up to exhort the mob to clear the ed a lamentable aspect. The sleepers were line, fell mortally wounded by a bullet from burnt, the rails torn up and thrown on one the gun of an I-Ho Chuan Chief. Then a bay-side. We had to repair the line for about 12 onet charge was made, killing a dozen or so of the mob, who scattered and began firing on the troops from all sides. The order to load was then given, and as the machine guns were being drawn up to the front the troops received two more volleys from the mob, killing six or seven soldiers. Then the troops volleyed again and again and the machine guns began to rattle, tumbling over the mob like chaff before the wind as they made towards their villages. Three more soldiers now fell, and the troops being now thoroughly roused pursued the mob into the
GENERAL NIEH AND THE BOXERS.
The following account from a Chinese official despatch describes the fight in the 5th inst. be- tween Gen. Nieh's Chihli troops and the I-Ho Chuan at Lofa. The translation is from the N.-C. Daily News:---
seven
kilometres and we did not reach Paotingin till midnight. The next day we all left Paotingfu, under escort, 32 men, 6 women, and one little About 3 o'clock we secured girl of 3 years. twelve sampans, one occupied by the Mandarin Sun, and another by the interpreter Tsing. The former left us the next day about 4 p.m. Orders were given by him to shut in the sampan entirely. On Tuesday at 5 a.m. the Boxers who had been waiting for us in the hills opened fire on the boats, seven of our party being wound ed by the volley. The soldiers escorting us
S
THE PROTECTION OF THE YANGTZE VALLEY. Mr. W. V. Drummond writes to the North China Daily News to point out the insecurity of the Yangtze Valley in events of disturb. ances spreading in that direction. He says:-- Notwithstanding the plain warnings that have been given since the beginning of this year as to the approaching crisis in China, there is at the present moment when the crisis has begun, not one British ship of any size or strength on the Yangtsze. The only British ships now on the riven are the Woodcock, Woodlark, Snipe, and Esk, all of these being diminutive gunboats, and far too small to have any deterrent effect. Here at Shanghai, where there ought always to be a vessel of the Bonaventure or Hermione class, there will probably be for some days no vessel at all, when the Hermione leaves for Weihaiwei on Tuesday next (the 13th inst.), and then her place will be taken by the Linnet, a small and ancient gun-vessel, with a speed of about 7 knots only. The Esk may also be here, as she is on her way down from Hankow, but as she is only a very small gunboat, and requires about eight days to make the voyage from Hankow to Shanghai, her power, as a protector of British interests, is extremely small."
He continues: As British interests so greatly predominate in the Yangtze provinces, and as they are supposed to be politically ear- marked as within the British sphere of in- fluence, and as such plain warnings have been given as to their dangerous condition, it might have been taken to be prepared for emergencies, yet, as a fact, it is hardly possible for such vast interests to be more utterly unprotected than they now are.
Russian men-of-war have recently arrived here from Port Arthur. There are Russian interests of some importance at Hankow, and in the event of any disturbance
+
Į
I
{Page 11
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.