Evening star., 1900-10-09
Graphic Tales Told, by the Sur
VlV0fS.
RELIEF FORCE CANE JUST IN time
Joy Over the American Message
to Mr.. Conger.
COARSE FOOD, BUT PLENTY


saw such exhausted men in my life They
literally dragged themselves into Pekin,"
said Miss Cecile Payen, who was a guest
of Minister and Mrs. Conger during the
siege of Pekin, in describing her experience
to a San Francisco Chronicle reporter. But
human faces were never more beautiful
than theirs. The sound of their cannon
and guns approaching was the sweetest
music l ever heard. 1t is impossible to de-
scribe our feelings l was afraid that when
relief actually came some persons would
be overcome and go insane, but joy seldom
kills. and all recovered their equilibrium
rapidly
The story told by those who endured the
terrible siege reminds one of the days of
the Sepoy mutiny and the timely relief of
Lucknow. Among the cabin passengers of
the steamer Coptic, which reached San
Francisco last week, were more than a
score of men and women from Pekin who
were besieged within the walls of the Brit
iSh legation at the Chinese capital for many
weary, fearful weeks, while the yellow
hordes of Chinese Boxers were battering
it's walls
The passengers brought by the Coptic are
the first to reach America from the Chinese
capital since the international forces en-
tered that city and dispersed the MOngol
hOrdes that had for weeks been seeking to
destroy all Christians within it's walls
Many of them are accompanied by their
children. some being babies in arms, and
nearly all can show the marks of blisters
on their hands, reminders of their labors
in erecting barricades to keep out the yell
low-skinned fanatics.
On the Sth of June the missionaries, warn
ed of the approaching trouble, took refuge
in the Methodist mission in Pekin. On the
10th the murder of Baron Won ketteler, the
German ambassador, caused them to lose
all faith in the Chinese governments prom
ises of protection. and on that date they
hurried, together with the members of the
European colonies. to that section of the
Tartar city in which the legations were To-
Gated. There they remained until the ar
rival of the long looked for relief column
on the morning of Wednesday, August 15.
Raising the Siege.
The most graphic account Of the raising
of the siege is that given to the San Fran
cisco Call by the Rev. c. H. Fem.
"After we had taken up our quarters in
the British legation" he said "all commu-
nication with the outside world practically
ceased. We were confident however. that
the arrival of the relief column would soon
put an end to our troubles and so none felt
the situation very keeniy until hope began
to die out and things got down to a life
and death struggle with all the chances in
favor of the latter.
Il received my scalp wound while assist
ing to erect the barricade placed round the
British legation. l undoubtedly owe my
life to the pth helmet which l wore and
which broke the force of the concussion''
Questioned as to the origin of the reports
of Congers murder and of the massacre of
the legationers Mr.. Fem declared them to
have been manufactured by the Chinese to
delay the allies advance to Pekin.
You have no idea,' he said 'of the du-
phclty and cunning of these Chinese. Be
fore the trouble commenced at all the Box
ers had black lists prepared which con-
tanned an accurate list of all the Christian
adherents in Pellin."
Mr.. Fem gives the following account of
the raising of the siege on the 18TH
Il was taking photographs in the garden
of the British legation when I received the
hrst lntimation OF the entry Of the relief
column into the city. On August 13 we
were to have met the Chinese minister's in
Guiding Prince Tuan to confer with them
regarding a truce. On August IL the ap-
proach of the relief column had been noised
about and it was thought that the Chinese
We're weakening on account Of their ad-
vance AT the time set for the conference
however. the ministers failed to material
fZe; instead came a message stating that
the foreigners evidently did not wish peace
as their soldiers had killed twenty-six
Chinese. Just after this message had been
received, at about IL am, the sound of
heavy cannonading was heard toward the
southeast. Every one of the beSieged gar
rison felt that this heralded the approach
Of the long-expected relief column and hope
ran high. At 10 o'clock that night the
Chinese began fierce fusillade which last
ed for some hours. Unlike the firing on
former occasions this attack was very de-
termined and served to strengthen our be-
lief that the near approach of the relief
column was nerving the Chinese for a last
effort. AS you may imagine, none of us
got much sleep that night, and at about
o'clock in the morning of the 14th the rat
tie and bang of field and gatling guns from
the direction of the Tung-Pein and Tse-
Hwa gates brought joy to all within the
legation walls. Fiercer and fiercer grew
the bombardment. and 1T was during a lull
in the afternoon that I went out to take
my photographs. 1t was then that the
messenger ran through proclaiming the
entry of the relief column, the advance
guard of which was afterward found to be
COMPOSED of the yellow-Skinned Hindu
troops of Great Britain and an American
marine column. 1t had been long wait
sixty days-but the relief was such that all
our sufferings were forgotten in the gen.
eral rejoicing.
1.-The Chinese" concluded Mr.. Fem,
must be taught a severe lesson. Any
vacillation now means repetition sooner
or later of the late horrors. They must
be crushed utterly, and thoroughly beaten
into submission"
Miss Payen's Narrative.
Miss Cecile E. Payen, the young minia-
ture painter, who went to Pekin last spring
as the guest of Minister and Mrs. Conger.
told graphic story Of the siege. Like all the
other women, a comprehensive view of the
operations was denied her, the women and
children being confined within compara-
lively small space. But even the soldiers
were little better off, as they were fighting
unseen enemy.
"Of the whole eight weeks of terrible
anxiety and dread" said Miss Payen three
nights stand out with special prominence
They are spoken of by the besieged the
three terrible nights The first was just
before the siege-abeut June II or IS. That
was while we were in the American legaS
ton. We went into the British legation
compound on June 20. The night l speak
of was one the foreigners will never forget.
All night long went up those terrible cries
those howls and shouts of thousands upon
thousands of Chinese crying for the blood
of the foreigners. Like wave the sound
rose and fell. In that great pagan city,
surrounded as we were by millions of hu-
man beings who seemed to have turned into
fiends, that mighty cry literally chilled our
blood. 1t foretold all the horrors that fol-
lowed and conveyed to the mind an idea
of irresistible. demoniac force. Language
cannot convey an idea of the feelings that
came into our hearts during that night-lt is
out of the question.
1.-THE second terrible night was about the
middle of the siege9 when. after three or
fr,Ir of