The Forrest City times., 1900-12-21
CURE SICK HEADACHE.
DID GOOD WORK AT PEKING.
Famous International Gun That Wa Handled by an American
 Gunner

The following is an interesting ac- count of the now famous internation- al gun known as Our Betsey," re- lates the Chicago Chronicle.
 An American gunner named Miteh- ell, of the United States legation guard of marines, proposed to make a small cannon out of an old British legation pump. A number of Chinese converts, refugees in the British lega- tion, together with a few marines, were sent to the shops within the
 lines to find materials and tools wherewith to bring about the neces- sary conversion of the pump. While they were foraging in a deserted blacksmith shop they discovered to their intense joy and surprise an old cannon of Chinese manufacture, and brought it home amid the shouts of the besieged. The next trouble was suitable ammunition. When the Rus sians left their legation, in more or less of panic, they threw some shells they had in their possession into q well to prevent their possibly falling into the hands of the Chinese. These were fished out and adapted, after lot of skill and ingenuity, to meet the contingency. Other ammunition was made out of pewter candlesticks and temple vessels of every description footed from temple within the lines
 The manufacture of this ammuni- tion was under the superintendence of one of the British marines; Bet sey' was mounted on an Italian gun carriage; Chinese gunpowder formed the charge; Russian shells were fired, and the American gunner, Mitchell, fired the gun. Unfortunately, on the day before the troops arrived this very capable gunner was seriously wounded in the arm by bullet from the enemy's fire. Although it was not by any means a formidable weapon, the excessively loud report therefrom usually struck consternation into the hearts of the Chinese soldiers, with the inevitable result that they quilted their position as quickly as possible when 'Betsey' was brought to bear upon them. Possibly they imagined that by some means or other the lega- tion defenders had been reenforced by big battery of artillery, seeing that 'Betsey' was constantly being moved from one position to another, snd during the first days of the siege there was an entire absence of any thing of the nature of heavy firing from the Europeans.
 One night, when the French lega- non, the eastern limit of the lines ot defense, was hard pressed 'Betsey was taken over and put into opera tion there, with the result that the attacking Chinese soon scattered Tn all directions. On the memorable night before the relief force arrived, when the Chinese made their most vigorous attack of all, the defenders had in operation every single gun that could be mustered-'B 'Betsey,' the British Nordenfeldt quick-fring gun brought up by the marine guard, the American Colt quick frer, the Italian and the Austrian ma chine gun. In addition to this the heavy artillery of the Chinese ana the rife fire on both sides incessant- " going on in the Mongol market, ad- jacent to the British legation, made night hideous to those who could do nothing but listen and wonder what was going to happen next. 'Betsey was so named after Lady Macdonald. This interesting gun will probably find a home in the British legation the Americans lay claim to it on the score of it's being found by and fired by him"