Chapter XVIII: Preface: To the Sixth Volume (17)

"The 14th being the day decided upon for the concentration on
the line 7 miles from Tong-Chow, I made no preparations for
carrying on any operations beyond a small reconnaissance by a
troop of cavalry to my front, which duty I assigned to Captain
Cabell. … My cavalry had been absent not more than an hour,
when Mr. Lowry, the interpreter who had accompanied it, raced
back and informed me that Captain Cabell was surrounded by
Chinese cavalry. I immediately ordered a battalion of the
Fourteenth Infantry to fall in, and we went forward about a
mile and a half and found Captain Cabell occupying some
houses, firing from the roofs on a village in his front. I
insisted on the French troops giving me the road, which they
reluctantly did. Having joined Cabell, I continued the
reconnaissance to my front, wishing to get as near the wall of
the city as I could, but not expecting to move my whole force,
which was contrary to the agreement at Tong-Chow on the
evening of August 12. Without serious opposition we arrived at
the northeast corner of the Chinese city, having brushed away
some Chinese troops or 'Boxers' that fired from villages to
our left and front. About 10 o'clock I saw the advantage of
holding the ground that I had obtained, and directed all my
force to move forward, as I had then become aware of Russian
troops being in action on my right, and could also hear the
Japanese artillery farther to the right. My left flank at this
time was uncovered, except by a small force of British
cavalry. The British troops did not advance from Tong-Chow
until the 14th, owing to the agreement previously referred to.
On that day they marched for the line of concentration and
found my force advancing on Pekin. At noon a British battery
was at work a mile to my left and rear.

"At 11 a. m. two companies of the Fourteenth Infantry, under
the immediate command of Colonel Daggett, had scaled the wall
of the Chinese city at the northeast corner, and the flag of
that regiment was the first foreign colors unfurled upon the
walls surrounding Pekin. The two companies on the wall, with
the assistance of the troops facing the wall, drove away the
Chinese defenders from the corner to the east gate of the
Chinese city, where the British entered without opposition
later in the day. About noon it was reported to me that the
Russians had battered open 'Tung-pien-men gate' during the
night and had effected an entrance there. I arrived at the
gate soon afterwards and found in the gate some of the
Fourteenth Infantry, followed by Reilly's battery. The Russian
artillery and troops were in great confusion in the passage,
their artillery facing in both directions, and I could see no
effort being made to extricate themselves and give passage
into the city. One company of the Fourteenth Infantry deployed
itself in the buildings to the right of the gate and poured
effective fire onto the Tartar wall. Captain Reilly got two
guns through a very narrow passage to his left, tearing down a
wall to do so, and found a position a few yards to the left of
the road where he could enfilade the Tartar wall, section by
section, with shrapnel. The Fourteenth Infantry crossed the
moat and, taking position paralleling the moat, deployed along
a street facing the Tartar wall, and with the aid of the
artillery swept it of Chinese troops. In this way, gradually
working to the westward, the Tartar wall was cleared of
opposition to the 'Bait-men gate' and beyond.

"Orders were sent to the Ninth to follow up the movement of
the Fourteenth Infantry and Reilly's battery as soon as the
wall was cleared of Chinese; also to follow the movement to
the 'Chien-men' gate of the Tartar city. The marines were to
follow the general movement, but later were ordered to protect
the train. At about 3 o'clock p. m. our advance had arrived
opposite the legations, the fire of the Chinese having
practically ended, and we drew over to the Tartar wall and
entered the legation grounds with the Fourteenth Infantry by
the 'water gate or moat,' Reilly's battery passing through the
'Chien-men' gate, which was opened by the American and Russian
marines of the besieged force. The Fourteenth Infantry was
selected on this occasion in recognition of gallantry at
Yang-tsun and during this day. The British troops entered at
the 'Shahuo' gate of the Chinese city, and following a road
through the center of the city to opposite the legations,
arrived there through the 'water gate or moat' in advance of
the United States troops. Having communicated with Minister
Conger, I withdrew the troops from the legation and camped
just outside near the Tartar wall for the night. My casualties
during the day were 8 enlisted men wounded in the Fourteenth
Infantry, 1 enlisted man wounded of Battery F, Fifth
Artillery, and 1 officer and 2 enlisted men wounded of the
marines. …

"I was informed by Mr. Conger that a portion of the imperial
city directly in front of the Chien-men gate had been used by
Chinese to fire on the legations, and I determined to force
the Chinese troops from this position. On the morning of the
15th I placed four guns of Reilly's battery on the Tartar wall
at Chien-men gate and swept the walls to the westward to the
next gate, there being some slight opposition in that
direction, supported by poor artillery. About 8 o'clock a. m.
the Chinese opened fire on us at Chien-men gate, from the
second gate of the imperial city north of Chien-men gate,
whereupon I directed an attack on the first gate to be made,
and in a short while Lieutenant Charles P. Summerall, of
Reilly's battery, had opened the door of this gate. Our troops
entered, and were met with a severe fire from the next gate,
about 600 yards distant. Fire was directed upon the second
gate with the battery and such of the infantry as could be
elevated on the Tartar wall and side walls of the imperial
city and act effectively. In the course of half an hour the
Chinese fire was silenced, and Colonel Daggett led forward his
regiment to the base of the second gate. Lieutenant Summerall
was directed to open this gate with artillery, which he did.
The course just indicated was pursued for four gates, the
Chinese troops being driven from each gate in succession, the
fourth gate being near what is known as the 'palace grounds,'
which is surrounded by the 'imperial guards.'

{132}

"At a conference that afternoon it was decided not to occupy
the imperial city, and I withdrew my troops into the camp
occupied the night before, maintaining my position on the
Tartar wall at Chien-men gate. The idea of not occupying the
imperial city was not concurred in by the ministers in a
conference held by them the next day. In their opinion the
imperial city should be occupied. It was later decided by the
generals to occupy the imperial grounds, and in consequence of
this decision I reoccupied the grounds we had won on the 15th,
placing the Ninth Infantry within as guard at the gate where
our attack ceased.

"During the 15th and the attack upon the gates referred to our
losses were 2 enlisted men killed and 4 wounded, Ninth
Infantry; 3 enlisted men killed and 14 wounded, Fourteenth
Infantry; 1 enlisted man, Battery F, Fifth Artillery, wounded.
At 8.50 o'clock a. m. of this date Captain Henry J. Reilly,
Fifth Artillery, was struck in the mouth and almost instantly
killed when standing at my left elbow observing the effect of
a shot from one of his guns by his side.

"At a conference of the generals on the afternoon of the 16th
the Chinese and Tartar cities were divided to the various
forces for police and protection of the inhabitants. The
United States troops were assigned to the west half of the
Chinese city and to that section of the Tartar city lying
between the Chien-men gate and Shun-chin gate of the south
wall of the Tartar city and north to the east and west street
through the Tartar city, being bounded upon the east by the
wall of the imperial city."

_United States, Secretary of War,
Annual Report, November 30, 1900,
pages 61-71._

CHINA: A. D. 1900 (August 5-16).
The horrors of the allied invasion.
Barbarity of some divisions of the army in the march
from Tien-tsin to Peking.
Murder, rape, pillage and destruction.

Of the conduct of some divisions of the allied army which
advanced from Tien-tsin, and which represented to "the heathen
Chinee" the civilized and Christian nations of Europe and the
Western world, a writer in "Scribner's Magazine," who
evidently shared the experience and witnessed the scenes of
the march, gives the following account: "The dreary stretches
through which the Pei-ho flows, never attractive to the
Western eye, presented, as the allied armies slowly traversed
them, a scene of indescribable desolation. … In a region which
usually contained a population of many millions, scarcely a
human being, besides those attached to the allied armies, was
to be seen. Towns and villages were completely deserted. In
China an ordinary town will have from one to three hundred
thousand inhabitants, while villages not of sufficient
importance to be designated on the maps, have populations
varying from ten to thirty thousand. These villages line the
banks of the Pei-ho and the main road to Peking by hundreds.
The troops were never entirely clear of them. … So hurried had
been the flight of the inhabitants that hundreds of houses
were left open, such household possessions that could not be
carried away being tousled about in great disorder. Of all
that dense population, only a few scattered hundreds of aged,
decrepit men and women, and some unfortunate cripples and
abandoned children, remained. A great majority of these were
ruthlessly slain. The Russians and Japanese shot or bayoneted
them without compunction. Their prayers for mercy availed not.
If these miserable unfortunates chanced to fall into the hands
of American or British troops they had a chance for their
lives, but even our armies are not free from these wanton
sacrifices. Every town, every village, every peasant's hut in
the path of the troops was first looted and then burned. A
stretch of country fully ten miles in width was thus swept.
Mounted 'flanks in the air' scoured far and wide, keen on the
scent of plunder, dark columns of smoke on the horizon
attesting their labors. In this merry task of chastising the
heathen Chinese, the Cossacks easily excelled. … Like an
avenging Juggernaut the Army of Civilization moved. Terror
strode before it; Death and Desolation sat and brooded in its
path. Through such scenes as these, day after day, the army
glided. A spirit of utter callousness took root, and enveloped
officers and men alike. Pathetic scenes passed without comment or
even notice. Pathos, involved in a riot of more violent
emotions, had lost its power to move."

_T. F. Millard,
A Comparison of the Armies in China
(Scribner's Magazine, January, 1901)._

Another eye witness, writing in the "Contemporary Review,"
tells the same sickening and shameful story, with more
vividness of description and detail: "As a rule," he remarks,
"the heathen Chinee suffers silently, and dies calmly. He has,
it is true, a deep-rooted hatred of war, and sometimes a
paralysing fear of being shot down in battle. But he takes
beheading, hanging, or death by torture with as much
resignation as did Seneca, and a great deal less fuss. And he
bears the loss of those near and dear to him with the same
serenity, heroism, or heartlessness. But he does not often
move to pity, and very seldom yearns for sympathy. The dire
sights which anyone might have witnessed during the months of
August and September in Northern China afforded admirable
illustrations of this aspect of the national character. The
doings of some of the apostles of culture were so heinous that
even the plea of their having been perpetrated upon wild savages
would not free them from the nature of crimes. I myself
remember how profoundly I was impressed when sailing on one
calm summer's day up to the bar of Taku towards the mouth of
the river Pei-ho. Dead bodies of Chinamen were floating
seawards, some with eyes agape and aghast, others with
brainless skulls and eyeless sockets, and nearly all of them
wearing their blue blouses, baggy trousers, and black glossy
pigtails. Many of them looked as if they were merely swimming
on their backs. …

{133}

"The next picture that engraved itself upon my memory had for
its frame the town of Tong-kew. … On the right bank [of the
Pei-ho] naked children were amusing themselves in the infected
water which covered them to the arm-pits, dancing, shouting,
splashing each other, turning somersaults, and intoxicating
themselves with the pure joy of living. A few yards behind
them lay their fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, dead,
unburied, mouldering away. On the left bank, which was also
but a few yards off, was the site of Tongkew: a vast expanse
of smoking rubbish heaps. Not a roof was left standing; hardly
a wall was without a wide breach; formless mounds of baked
mud, charred woodwork, and half-buried clothes were burning or
smouldering still. Here and there a few rootless dwellings
were left, as if to give an idea of what the town had been
before the torch of civilisation set it aflame. Everyone of
these houses, one could see, had been robbed, wrecked, and
wantonly ruined. All the inhabitants who were in the place
when the troops swept through had been swiftly sent to their
last account, but not yet to their final resting-place. Beside
the demolished huts, under the lengthening shadows of the
crumbling walls, on the thresholds of houseless doorways, were
spread out scores, hundreds of mats, pieces of canvas,
fragments of tarpaulin, and wisps of straw, which bulged
suspiciously upwards. At first one wondered what they could
have been put there for. But the clue was soon revealed. In
places where the soldiers had scamped their work, or prey
birds had been busy, a pair of fleshless feet or a plaited
pigtail protruding from the scanty covering satisfied any
curiosity which the passer-by could have felt after having
breathed the nauseating air. Near the motionless plumage of
the tall grass happy children were playing. Hard by an
uncovered corpse a group of Chinamen were carrying out the
orders they had received from the invaders. None of the living
seemed to heed the dead. …

"Feeling that I never know a man until I have been permitted
to see somewhat of his hidden springs of action and gauge the
depth or shallowness of his emotion, I set myself to get a
glance at what lay behind the mask of propriety which a
Chinaman habitually wears in Tongkew as in every other town
and village in the Empire. As soon as the ice seemed broken I
asked one smiling individual: 'Why do you stay here with the
slayers of your relatives and friends?' 'To escape their fate,
if we can,' was the reply. 'We may be killed at any time, but
while we live we must eat, and for food we have to work.'
'Were many of your people killed?' I inquired. 'Look there,'
he answered, pointing to the corpses in the vast over-ground
churchyard, 'and in the river there are many more. The
Russians killed every Chinaman they met. Of them we are in
great fear. They never look whether we have crosses or medals;
they shoot everyone.' 'You are a Christian, then?' I queried.
'Yea, a Christian,' he eagerly answered. 'And I,' 'And I,'
chimed in two others. Ten minutes' further conversation,
however, brought out the fact that they were Christians not
for conscience' sake but for safety, and they were sorely
afraid that they were leaning on a broken reed. The upshot of
what they had to tell me was that the Europeans, mainly the
Russians, looked upon them all as legitimate quarry, and
hounded them down accordingly. They and theirs, they declared,
had been shot in skirmishes, killed in sport, and bayoneted in
play.

"But the ever-recurring refrain of their narrative was the
massacre in cold blood of the three hundred coolies of Taku. …
The story has been often told since then, not merely in the
north but throughout the length and breadth of China. The
leading facts, as narrated on the spot, are these: Some three
hundred hard-working coolies eked out a very cheerless
existence by loading and unloading the steamers of all nations
which touched at Taku. For the convenience of both sides they
all cooped themselves up in one boat, which served them as a
permanent dwelling. When times were slack they were huddled
together there like herrings in a barrel, and when work was
brisk they toiled and moiled like galley slaves. Thus they
managed to get along, doing harm to no man and good to many.
The attack of the foreign troops upon Taku was the beginning
of their end. Hearing one day the sharp reports of rifle
shots, this peaceable and useful community was panic-stricken.
In order to save their dreary lives they determined to go ashore.
Strong in their weakness, and trusting in their character of
working men who abhorred war, they steered their boat
landwards. In an evil hour they were espied by the Russian
troops, who at that time had orders, it is said, to slay every
human being who wore a pigtail. Each of the three hundred
defenceless coolies at once became a target for Muscovite
bullets. It must have been a sickening sight when it was all
done. …

"The river Pei-ho, could it bear witness in words to the
dramas of blood enacted on its banks by Europeans, would have
many a tale to tell as grewsome as that of the slaughter of
the three hundred coolies. … I lived for twelve or thirteen
days on that foul river, and never was I more profoundly
impressed than by what I saw in its waters and on its banks.
The first day after I had left Tientsin I was towed by
untiring coolies through a land thickly studded over with what
had once been human dwellings, but were now high heaps of
smouldering rubbish. … A wave of death and desolation had
swept over the land, washing away the vestiges of Chinese
culture. Men, women, boys, girls, and babes in arms had been
shot, stabbed, and hewn to bits in this labyrinth of streets,
and now, on both banks of the river, reigned the peace
described by Tacitus. …

"Fire and sword had put their marks upon this entire country.
The untrampled corn was rotting in the fields, the pastures
were herdless, rootless the ruins of houses, the hamlets
devoid of inhabitants. In all the villages we passed the
desolation was the same. … The streets and houses of
war-blasted cities were also the scenes of harrowing
tragedies, calculated to sear and scar the memory even of the
average man who is not given to 'sickly sentimentality.' In
war they would have passed unnoticed; in times of peace
(hostilities were definitely over) they ought to have been
stopped by drastic measures, if mild means had proved
ineffectual. I speak as an eye-witness when I say, for
example, that over and over again the gutters of the city of
Tungtschau ran red with blood, and I sometimes found it
impossible to go my way without getting my boots bespattered
with human gore. There were few shops, private houses and
courtyards without dead bodies and pools of dark blood. … The
thirst of blood had made men mad. The pettiest and most
despicable whipper-snapper who happened to have seen the light
of day in Europe or Japan had uncontrolled power over the life
and limbs, the body and soul, of the most highly-cultivated
Chinaman in the city. From his decision there was no appeal. A
Chinaman never knew what might betide him an hour hence, if the
European lost his temper. He might lie down to rest after
having worked like a beast of burden for twelve or fourteen
hours only to be suddenly awakened out of his sleep, marched a
few paces from his hard couch, and shot dead.
{134}
He was never told, and probably seldom guessed, the reason
why. I saw an old man and woman who were thus hurriedly
hustled out of existence. Their day's work done they were
walking home, when a fire broke out on a little barge on the
river. They were the only living beings found out of bed at
the time, and in the pockets of the woman a candle and some
matches were stowed away. Nobody, not even the boat-watchman,
had seen them on or near the boat. They were pounced upon,
taken to the river's edge, shot and buried. It was the work of
fifteen minutes or less. …

"The circumstantial tales told of the dishonouring of wives,
girls, children, in Tientsin, Tungtschau, Pekin, are such as
should in normal beings kindle some sparks of indignation
without the aid of 'sickly sentimentality.' … I knew well a
man whose wife had been dealt with in this manner, and then
killed along with her child. He was one of the 'good and loyal
people' who were on excellent terms with the Christians; but, if
ever he gets a chance of wreaking vengeance upon the
foreigners, he will not lightly let it slip. I knew of others
whose wives and daughters hanged themselves on trees or
drowned themselves in garden-wells in order to escape a much
worse lot. Chinese women honestly believed that no more
terrible fate could overtake them than to fall alive into the
hands of Europeans and Christians. And it is to be feared that
they were right. Buddhism and Confucianism have their martyrs
to chastity, whose heroic feats no martyrology will ever
record. Some of these obscure, but rightminded, girls and
women hurled themselves into the river, and, finding only
three feet of water there, kept their heads under the surface
until death had set his seal on the sacrifice of their life.
This suicidal frenzy was catching. … So far as I have been
able to make out, and I have been at some pains to investigate
the subject, no officers or soldiers of English or
German-speaking nationalities have been guilty of these
abominations against defenceless women."

_E. J. Dillon,
The Chinese Wolf and the European Lamb
(Contemporary Review, January, 1901)._

CHINA: A. D. 1900 (August 15-28).
Occupation of Peking by the allied forces.
International jealousies.
License to some of the soldiery.
Shameful stories of looting and outrage.
Formal march through the "Forbidden City."

"Early on the morning of the 15th [of August]—the day after
the siege of the Legations was raised—General Chaffee [the
American commander] advanced his men from the Chien Mên, which
he had held overnight, and drove the Chinese from gateway to
gateway back along the wide-paved approach to the far-famed
'Forbidden City.' From the wall at the Chien Mên the American
field battery shelled each of the great gateways before the
infantry advanced, and Captain Reilly, who commanded the
battery, was killed while directing the operations—a bullet
striking him full in the face and passing out through the back
of his head. In him was lost a popular and efficient officer. The
movements of the Americans were watched with no little anxiety
by certain of the allies, who evidently feared that General
Chaffee was about to enter and seize the Forbidden City
itself. The French, who had only that morning arrived, were
apparently very keen to establish a claim by joining in the
attack, for they took their mountain guns to the top of the
wall opposite the Legations, and began blazing away in the
direction of the approaches to the Palace. It so happened that
by this time the Americans had penetrated nearly to the
gateway of the Palace itself, and this French fire, so
suddenly opened, was directed upon them, instead of, as the
French General thought, upon the enemy. General Chaffee rode
down himself from the Chien Mên to where the guns were placed
on the wall, and from below conducted a spirited conversation
with the French General and M. Pichon. 'Stop firing those
guns,' the General shouted up from 60 ft. below, 'you are
killing my men.' Not understanding, the French General replied
to the effect that he was firing for the honour of France, and
M. Pichon joined in with similar protestations. General
Chaffee's protests increased in vigour, and the force,
perhaps, rather than the lucidity of them eventually induced
the French General to desist from firing upon the Americans
for the honour and glory of 'la patrie.' The Russians also
displayed a marked desire to participate in the operations in
front of the Palace, coming up after the fighting was
practically finished and attempting to occupy a part of the
position won by the Americans. Again General Chaffee had to
speak forcibly to persuade the Russians to retire. General
Chaffee cleared and occupied the whole length of the
approaches—a series of noble paved courtyards—from the Chien
Mên to the south gate of the Palace, before which he set a
strong guard. His doings were quite evidently being watched
with suspicion, and in the afternoon a conference was held, at
which it was solemnly agreed by the representatives of the
allies that in the meantime, pending the arrangement of some
concerted plan, the Forbidden City should not be entered. In
other parts of the city the work of clearing out the enemy was
meanwhile progressing, the Japanese and Russians operating on the
east and to the north, and the British to the south in the
Chinese city.

"It was thought that an expedition would have been undertaken
by the French to relieve the besieged in the Pei-tang. Help
could have been obtained for the asking, and it is difficult
to understand why no effort was made to reach the unfortunate
people, who, be it noted, were still being attacked, and whose
position, for all that was known, might have been desperate to
the last degree. The story of the long and weary weeks of
fighting round the stately cathedral pile—alas, now, now
battered and rent!—must be written by no outsider from
hearsay, but first hand by a survivor. As heard from the lips
of Père Favier, it is, indeed, a thrilling narrative in many
respects, surpassing in wonder even its sister story of the
defence of the Legations. … The relief was effected the
following morning by a combined force of French and Russians,
with whom also were the British Marines under Major Luke, R.
M. L. I., the whole under the command of the French general.
When this force arrived it was found that the Japanese had
already practically raised the siege, having started earlier
and worked along on the north-west of the Imperial City,
driving the Chinese before them. However, the Japanese had not
actually penetrated into the Pei-tang defences, and the French
had the satisfaction, after all, of being first in to receive a
joyful welcome from their long-suffering fellow-countrymen.
{135}
The raising of the siege was signalized by the slaughter of a
large number of Chinese who had been rounded up into a cul de
sac and who were killed to a man, the Chinese Christian
converts joining in with the French soldiers of the relieving
force, who lent them bayonets, and abandoning themselves to
the spirit of revenge. Witnesses describe the scene as a
sickening sight, but in judging such acts it is necessary to
remember the provocation, and these people had been sorely
tried. …

"The French general had given orders to Major Luke to remain
with his men to guard a bridge in the rear while the relief of
the Pei-tang was being effected. Afterwards the main body of
the relieving force was pushed on through the Imperial City,
leaving the British contingent behind. After waiting some time
Major Luke came to the conclusion that he must have been
forgotten, and, leaving a guard on the bridge, followed on in
the track of the French troops, to find that they had
penetrated into the Imperial City along the wall of the Palace
as far as the Meishan (Coal Hill), from the pagodas on which
the tri-colour was flying. The Russians had taken up a
position near the North Gate of the Palace, and he was only
just in time to secure the temple building at the foot of the
Meishan, and the camping-ground alongside of it. There was
great enthusiasm between the Russians and French, who cheered
each other as their forces appeared, in marked contrast to the
coolness with which the arrival of Major Luke and his men was
received. … The Russians are camped round the old place and
will permit no one in to see over it; in fact, in this part of
the city French or Russian sentries make it difficult to see most
of the many objects of art or interest. …

"Now that the common bond of interest in the success of the
relief expedition was removed, the points of difference at
once began to appear, and the underlying jealousy and
suspicion with which it seems each nation regards almost every
other manifested itself in various ways, particularly in the
unseemly race for loot and the game of general grab that now
started up, the methods of which were indicated above with
regard to the seizure of the Meishan. The Japanese seized the
Board of Revenue and must have found a huge amount of money
there, to judge by the length of the line of pack mules that
it took to carry it away. Through a mistake, it is said, on
the part of the Americans, the French got possession of the
Palace of Prince Li, said to contain treasure to the extent of
many millions of dollars. The Russians also got some treasure,
seizing on a large bank.

"Inside the Forbidden City, the Chinese say, there is fabulous
wealth in treasure stowed away or buried, and it is
principally lest this should prove true that so much jealousy
exists about the privilege of entering. Of course, the
question is also of great importance politically, and after
several diplomatic conferences it was eventually decided that,
on a date still to be arranged, the Ministers and Generals of
all the Powers should enter at the same time and proceed
together through the Palace, ascertaining the nature and value
of its contents and then sealing the whole place up and
withdrawing to await instructions from the home Governments. …
As regards the larger game of grab, the Russians succeeded in
winning the last large prize, the Wan Shen Shan, or new Summer
Palace, seven miles out near the western hills, racing for it
against a body of Japanese and coming in a quarter of an hour
ahead, having had a long start. So the story goes, but it is
not easy to check such stories, both Japanese and Russians
being very reticent about their relations with each other. One
thing only is certain, that the Russians are in jealous
possession of the Wan Shen Shan. Two British officers who rode
out there a couple of days ago in uniform were refused
admission to the grounds.

"Alongside of this official looting, private looting on the
part of the foreign soldiers was freely permitted during the
first few days; in fact, the city was abandoned for the most
part to the soldiery, and horrible stories of the kind common
in war, but nevertheless and everlastingly revolting, were
current—stories of the ravishing of women in circumstances of
great savagery, particularly by the rough Russian soldiers and
their following of French. The number of Chinese women who
committed suicide rather than submit to dishonour was
considerable. A British officer of standing told me he had
seen seven hanging from the same beam in the house of
apparently a well-to-do Chinaman. These stories, and I heard
of many more, reflect credit upon Chinese womanhood and
something very different upon the armies of Europe, which are
supposed to be the forerunners and upholders of civilization
in this particular campaign. However, this period of licence
was not of long duration. The soldiers having had their fling,
the city was divided, by arrangement, into districts, each
under the control of one of the Powers, proclamations were
issued reassuring the remaining peaceable citizens and
encouraging others to return, and gradually the work of
restoring law and order and confidence is progressing. …

"Where is the Chinese Government? Fled to Je-hol? No one seems
to know for certain. It is only certain that on the morning of
the 14th the Empress-Dowager and her following, and the
Imperial Court, fled by the west gate of the city and
disappeared. This flight took place while the Japanese were
actually engaged in shelling the Tse-kwa Mên and the city
wall. If they had succeeded in their first attempt on the gate
in the morning, the flight of the Court might have been
prevented. The Empress and her advisers had a narrow escape. …

"August 28. After deliberations occupying a full fortnight the
question of what was to be done with the Forbidden City has
been settled, at any rate, for the time being. The main
problem presented was not new; Lord Elgin had to face it forty
years ago. Considerations of immediate political expediency
guided his action then, as they have dictated the course
adopted now. He spared the Imperial Palace, and burnt instead
the Yuen Ming Yuen, or Summer Palace, seven miles from Peking.
As a result the fact that British troops ever entered Peking
does not appear in Chinese history, indeed the idea is
ridiculed by Mandarindom. Remembering this, many people here
thought it would be desirable in the present instance to burn
the Imperial Palace, after carefully removing the art
treasures, and thus, if possible, impress upon the whole
Chinese nation some idea of the enormity of the crime which
their Government has committed against civilization at large.
{136}
On the other hand, it was held that if this were done the
Imperial Court, through loss of 'face,' could never return to
Peking, and this contingency appealed strongly to the
representatives of both Russia and Japan, who conceived that
the interests of their respective countries demanded the
retention of Peking as the capital. What the representatives
of the other Powers thought has not transpired, nor does it
matter much at present, the overwhelming position of Russia
and Japan combined making all opposition to their proposals
futile. Germany may insist upon burning the Palace when he
forces have all arrived, and those who think it ought to be
done hope that she will; but in the meantime the conference of
commanding officers, in consultation with the Ministers,
decided not to do more than march a small force of foreign
troops through the 'sacred precincts' from the South Gate to
the North, after which these were to be again closed, leaving
the Palace intact. There was to be no looting. Everything was
to be done to provide against the idea arising that the place
had been desecrated. The ceremony was merely to be a display
of military power. …

"Arrangements were made for certain Chinese officials to be
present during the ceremony and also for a number of
attendants to open up the various halls through which the
troops would require to pass, and to close the doors behind
the 'barbarians' when they finally withdrew. Yesterday there
were reports of further friction and possible further
postponement of the ceremony, but by evening these had died
away and the programme had assumed at last a definite shape.
According to it the various troops were to parade this morning
between 7 and 8 outside the Tien-an Mên, the Inner Gate of the
Imperial City. There at the time appointed they were drawn up,
and the interest of a great historic event began. The Imperial
Palace, or Forbidden City, is an enclosure about two-thirds of
a mile long from north to south and about half a mile broad
from east to west. It is surrounded by a high wall. Outside
this wall on the west, north, and east lies a broad moat. From
the south it is approached by a series of immense paved
courtyards divided one from the other by high and massive
gateways, above which rise imposing pavilions with
yellow-tiled overhanging roofs, flanked by great towers built
in the same style and similarly roofed with Imperial yellow.
This Forbidden City or Imperial Palace enclosure is situated
within the Imperial City, a larger enclosure, also surrounded
by a high tile-topped wall. It was outside the Inner Gateway
to this Imperial City that the troops were drawn up. The
Russians took up their position on the centre, close to the
stone bridge in front of the Tien-an Mên; the Japanese were
opposite the gateway on the left; the British to the right of
the Russians in a wide paved avenue running east and west
outside the inner wall of the Imperial City. The remainder of
the allies were drawn up to the rear of the Russians and
Japanese in the wide avenue running north and south from the
Outer Gateway (Ta-ching Mên). As a pageant it was not a
success. Soldiers on service do not make a fine show. … Inside
the Tien-an Mên the central stone road continues for about
half a mile down a broad, flagged avenue running between
handsome temple buildings on either hand, until the Wu Mên, or
south gate, of the Forbidden City is reached. It is an
imposing entrance. The gateway itself is high and massive, and
the towers on top are particularly fine. Thus far, on the
morning of the 15th, the American troops fought, driving the
Chinese before them into the city. The self-denial displayed
by General Chaffee on that occasion has not, perhaps, received
proper recognition. There was at that time no agreement to
hold him back, and he might have pressed on and taken the
palace and hoisted the Stars and Stripes over it. It would
have been a fine prize, and the temptation must have been
great, but General Chaffee, acting, possibly, under the advice
of Mr. Conger, the United States Minister, refrained—a
noteworthy act. This gateway has been held by an American
guard ever since, and American troops have been quartered in
the approach to it. …

"After it was over the generals and staff officers and the
Ministers and other privileged persons returned by the way we
had come through the Forbidden City. Tea was provided by the
Chinese officials in the summer-house of the palace garden,
the quaint beauties of which there was now time to appreciate.
Beautiful stone carvings and magnificent bronzes claimed
attention. The march through had occupied about an hour, and
another was spent sauntering back through the various halls
and courtyards. As the halls were cleared the Chinese
attendants hastily closed the doors behind us with evident
relief at our departure. A few jade ornaments were pocketed by
quick-fingered persons desirous of possessing souvenirs, but
on the whole the understanding that there was to be no looting
was carried out. Arrived at the courtyard where their horses had
been left, the generals and staff officers mounted and rode
out of the palace, and the rest of us followed on foot. The
gates were once more closed and guards were stationed outside
to prevent anyone from entering. The Forbidden City resumed
its normal state, inviolate, undesecrated. The honour of the
civilized world, we were told, had been thus vindicated. But
had it?"

_London Times,
Peking Correspondence._

CHINA: A. D. 1900 (August-September).
The flight of the Imperial Court.

The following account of the flight of the Court from Peking
to Tai-yuen-fu was given to a newspaper correspondent, in
October, by Prince Su, who accompanied the fugitive Emperor
and Dowager-Empress, and afterwards returned to Peking:

"The day the Court left Peking they travelled in carts to
Kuan-shi, 20 miles to the north, escorted by 3,000 soldiers of
various commands. This composite army pillaged, murdered, and
outraged along the whole route. At Kuan-shi the Imperial
cortege was supplied with mule litters. The flight then
continued at the rate of 20 miles daily to Hsuan-hua-fu, where
a halt was made for three days. This place is 120 miles from
Peking. Up to this time the flight had been of a most
panic-stricken nature. So little authority was exerted that
the soldiers even stole the meals which had been prepared for
the Emperor and the Dowager-Empress. Some improvement was
effected by the execution of several for murder and pillaging,
and gradually the various constituents of the force were
brought under control.
{137}
Many of the Dowager-Empress's advisers were in favour of
remaining at Hsuan-hua-fu, on account of the comparatively
easy means of communication with the capital. The majority,
however, were in such fear of pursuit by the foreign troops
that the proposition was overruled. The flight was then
resumed towards Tai-yuen-fu. Before leaving Hsuan-hua-fu,
10,000 additional troops under Tung-fuh-siang joined the
escort. The newcomers, however, only added to the discord
already prevailing. The Dowager-Empress did little else but
weep and upbraid those whose advice had brought them into such
a position. The Emperor reviled everyone irrespective of his
opinions. The journey to Tai-yuen-fu took 26 days, the longest
route being taken for fear of pursuit. On arriving there the
formation of some kind of Government was attempted, but owing
to the many elements of discord this was found to be next to
impossible. Though many edicts were issued they could not be
enforced. Neither party cared for an open rupture, and affairs
rapidly assumed a state of chaos. Prince Su further said that
the Emperor did not desire to leave Peking, preferring to
trust himself to the allies, but his objections were not
listened to and he was compelled to accompany the flight."

The final resting-place of the fugitive Imperial Court for
some months was Si-ngan-fu, or Sin-gan Fu, or Segan Fu, or
Sian Fu (as it is variously written), a large city, the
capital of the western province of Shensi.

CHINA: A. D. 1900 (August-December).
Discussions among "the Powers" as to the terms to be made
with the Chinese Government.
Opening of negotiations with Prince Ching and Li Hung-chang.

Immediately upon the capture of Peking, Li Hung-chang
addressed appeals to the Powers for a cessation of
hostilities, for the withdrawal of troops from Peking, and for
the appointment of envoys to negotiate a permanent peace.
Discussion among the governments followed, the first definite
outcome of which appeared in the announcement of an intention
on the part of Russia to withdraw her troops from Peking as
soon as order had been re-established there, and of a
disposition on the part of the United States to act with
Russia in that procedure. This substantial agreement between
the two governments was made public by the printing of the
following dispatch, dated August 29, from Mr. Adee, the
American Acting Secretary of State, to the representatives of
the United States in London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin, Rome, and
Tokio:

"The Russian Charge d'Affaires yesterday afternoon made me an
oral statement regarding Russia's purposes in China to the
following effect:—'That, as she has already repeatedly
declared, Russia has no designs of territorial acquisition in
China; that, equally with the other Powers now operating
there, Russia sought the safety of her Legation in Peking and
to help the Chinese Government to repress the troubles that
arose; that incidentally to the necessary defensive measures
on the Russian border, Russia has occupied Niu-chwang for
military purposes, and as soon as order is re-established she
will withdraw her troops from the town if the action of the
other Powers be no obstacle; that the purpose for which the
various Governments have co-operated for the relief of the
Legations in Peking has been accomplished; that taking the
position that as the Chinese Government has left Peking there
is no need for the Russian representative to remain, Russia
has directed her Minister to retire with his official
personnel from China; that the Russian troops will likewise be
withdrawn, and that when the Government of China shall regain the
reins of government and can afford an authority with which the
other Powers can deal, and will express a desire to enter into
negotiations, the Russian Government will also name its
representative.' Holding these views and purposes, Russia has
expressed the hope that the United States will share the same
opinion.

"To this declaration our reply has been made by the following
memorandum:—'The Government of the United States has received
with much satisfaction the reiterated statement that Russia
has no designs of territorial acquisition in China and that,
equally with the other Powers now operating in China, Russia
has sought the safety of her Legation and to help the Chinese
Government to repress the existing troubles. The same purposes
have moved, and will continue to control, the Government of
the United States, and the frank declarations of Russia in
this regard are in accord with those made to the United States
by the other Powers. All the Powers, therefore, having
disclaimed any purpose to acquire any part of China, and now
that the adherence thereto has been renewed since relief
reached Peking, it ought not to be difficult by concurrent
action through negotiations to reach an amicable settlement
with China whereby the treaty rights of all the Powers shall
be secured for the future, the open door assured, the
interests and property of foreign citizens conserved, and full
reparation made for the wrongs and injuries suffered by them.

"So far as we are advised, the greater part of China is at
peace and earnestly desires to protect the life and property
of all foreigners, and in several of the provinces active and
successful efforts to suppress the 'Boxers' have been taken by
the Viceroys, to whom we have extended encouragement through
our Consuls and naval officers. This present good relation
should be promoted for the peace of China. While we agree that
the immediate object for which the military forces of the
Powers have been co-operating—the relief of the Ministers in
Peking—has been accomplished, there still remain other
purposes which all the Powers have in common, which have been
referred to in the communication of the Russian Charge d'
Affaires, and which were specifically enumerated in our Note
to the Powers.

"These are:—To afford all possible protection everywhere in
China to foreign life and property; to guard and protect all
legitimate foreign interests; to aid in preventing the spread
of disorders in the other provinces of the Empire and the
recurrence of such disorders; to seek a solution which may
bring about permanent safety and peace in China; to preserve
the Chinese territorial and administrative entity; to protect
all rights guaranteed by treaty and international law to
friendly Powers; and to safeguard for the world the principle
of equal and impartial trade with all parts of the Chinese
Empire. In our opinion, these purposes could best be attained
by the joint occupation of Peking under a definite
understanding between the Powers until the Chinese Government
shall have been re-established and shall be in a position to
enter into new treaties containing adequate provisions for
reparation and guarantees for future protection.

{138}

"With the establishment and recognition of such authority the
United States would wish to withdraw its military forces from
Peking and remit to the processes of peaceful negotiation our
just demands. We consider, however, that the continued
occupation of Peking would be ineffective to produce the
desired result unless all the Powers unite therein with entire
harmony of purpose. Any Power which determines to withdraw its
troops from Peking will necessarily proceed thereafter to
protect its interests in China by its own method, and we think
this would make a general withdrawal expedient. As to the time
and manner of withdrawal, we think that, in view of the
imperfect knowledge of the military situation resulting from
the interruptions of telegraphic communication, the several
military commanders in Peking should be instructed to confer
and to agree together upon the withdrawal as a concerted
movement, as they agreed upon in advance.

"The result of these considerations is that, unless there is
such a general expression by the Powers in favour of the
continued occupation as to modify the views expressed by the
Russian Government and lead to a general agreement for
continued occupation, we shall give instructions to the
commander of the American forces in China to withdraw our
troops from Peking after due conference with the other
commanders as to the time and manner of withdrawal.

"The Government of the United States is much gratified by the
assurance given by Russia that the occupation of Niu-chwang is
for military purposes incidental to the military steps for the
security of the Russian border provinces menaced by the
Chinese, and that as soon as order is established Russia will
withdraw her troops from those places if the action of the
other Powers is not an obstacle thereto. No obstacle in this
regard can arise through any action of the United States,
whose policy is fixed and has been repeatedly proclaimed."

Even before the communication received from Russia, the
government of the United States had taken steps to withdraw
the greater part of its troops. "On the 25th of August," says
the American Secretary of War, in his annual report, November
30, 1900, "General Chaffee was directed to hold his forces in
readiness for instructions to withdraw, and on the 25th of
September he was instructed to send to Manila all the American
troops in China with the exception of a legation guard, to
consist of a regiment of infantry, a squadron of cavalry, and
one light battery."

The expressions from Russia and the United States in favor of
an early withdrawal of foreign troops from Peking, and the
opening of pacific negotiations with the Chinese government,
were unsatisfactory to several of the concerted Powers, and
were sharply criticised in the British and German press. The
German government, especially, was disposed to insist upon
stern and strenuous measures in dealing with that of China,
and it addressed the following circular note, on the 18th of
September, to all the Powers:

"The Government of the Emperor holds as preliminary to
entering upon diplomatic relations with the Chinese Government
that those persons must be delivered up who have been proved
to be the original and real instigators of the outrages
against international law which have occurred at Peking. The
number of those who were merely instruments in carrying out
the outrages is too great. Wholesale executions would be
contrary to the civilized conscience, and the circumstances of
such a group of leaders cannot be completely ascertained. But
a few whose guilt is notorious should be delivered up and
punished. The representatives of the powers at Peking are in a
position to give or bring forward convincing evidence. Less
importance attaches to the number punished than to their
character as chief instigators or leaders. The Government
believes it can count on the unanimity of all the Cabinets in
regard to this point, insomuch as indifference to the idea of
just atonement would be equivalent to indifference to a
repetition of the crime. The Government proposes, therefore,
that the Cabinets concerned should instruct their
representatives at Peking to indicate those leading Chinese
personages from whose guilt in instigating or perpetrating
outrages all doubt is excluded."

The British government was understood to be not unwilling to
support this demand from Germany, but little encouragement
seems to have been officially given to it from other quarters,
and the government of the United States was most emphatic in
declining to approve it. The reply of the latter to the German
circular note was promptly given, September 21, as follows:
"The government of the United States has, from the outset,
proclaimed its purpose to hold to the uttermost accountability
the responsible authors of any wrongs done in China to
citizens of the United States and their interests, as was
stated in the Government's circular communication to the
Powers of July 3 last. These wrongs have been committed not
alone in Peking, but in many parts of the Empire, and their
punishment is believed to be an essential element of any
effective settlement which shall prevent a recurrence of such
outrages and bring about permanent safety and peace in China.
It is thought, however, that no punitive measures can be so
effective by way of reparation for wrongs suffered and as
deterrent examples for the future as the degradation and
punishment of the responsible authors by the supreme Imperial
authority itself, and it seems only just to China that she
should be afforded in the first instance an opportunity to do
this and thus rehabilitate herself before the world.