The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-16
WARS TRAIL TO TIENTSIN.
PEIHOS COURSE MARKED by DEAF
MEN n BURNING VILLAGES.
Devastation Left By the Allies From the Tsku
Forts 20 Tientsin- Trip 10 the Tortuous
River Lootinx and Alleged Cruelty OF the
Ru.sians-AiIied Forces Contracted Bullets
vbi,,lin9 and Fire Raging at Tientsin.
Prom a stan Correspondent OF THE SCN

TnSrsTN, June ?a-When the Yorktown
.ame nm 10 the anchorage on Taku on the morn
ing OF June u she made the twenty-nlnth war
shin there. Flags Of eight nations New from
their stats -Four trucks sported the nass OF
AdmIraIs. Away on OH the horizon was n
low lying line Of dirty brown. There. they
asid. were the Taku forts Nothing else was
\, sight except a few transports. NoWhere
was land visible. II seemed like ahChoilhg
out at sea. 4 rough sea had been kicked UP
by the fresh breeze. and II took some time ana
care TO transfer to the flagship sh" vas the
same Newark we had seen in the Philippines.
but thinss were very different aboard her. the
Jackies tina, used 10 be swarming about were
represented by only here and there n man
In the warcrJom it was worse. one did not
need to be told that alanding party was ashore
GU the Newark they told us the story OF tL"
taking ~ the raku forts It seems there was
a meeting Of the senior Officers OF the various
fleets on the afternoon Of Friday, june l5.aL
which the proposition was first advanced. Adj
mlral Kempn was opposed to II. lie heid
that I'D to that time the allied forces had mad
nothing TO do with anybody but Boxers. and
that To make a demand for the surrender ol
the forts would be al act Of war against emma
and as such likely To INVOLVE us With the I'M
perial troops. Matters had not yet gone iar
enough in his Judgment To warrant the Powers
In thus uecipitating war with the Chinese
Impire. There was no doubt OF the great
menace the forts were. as matters stood. but
Al that time theImperial forces. in form at least.
were attempting TO suppress the Boxers The
meeting adjourned without agreeing ON he
demand. There was another meeting. when
resulted in a demand ON the Chinese commander
10 surrender the forts at O'Clock on the next
I-- a. A1a-tTA aNtn0
did not sign il. The ultimatum Of the naval
commanders was delivered by a Russian Cap
tain. The Chinese commander replied that
as he was not supreme in the district he could
not give any answer. Then he asked the RUS
sian. why do YOU wish Ia make war upon usF'
The Russian was compelled to answer that
/, was not In his province to enter into any
discussion of the matter. He went away. aud
that night before the time of the ultimattIm
had expired. a. all the world knows now, the
Chinese opened fire Oh the gunboat- wing IN
the river. After that it could only be- by the
most apparent and absurd fiction that there
should be any INSTANCE that The war was
against The Boxers and not against China
rHE MUD PORTS or rAKr.
At $50 \. VI. on June rs the orderly came
10 say that the launch would he ready At the
khINA ~ ~ fHf'F ~ i'lE ~ ~ 49, 49, 30
king about seven miles m the Taku bar. II
you do not make the tide Won do not get across.
therefore II behooves you TO go when the tide
serves Daylight of a clear and beautiful
morning was lust breaking when the launch
left the ships side. For the better part Of an
hour we teamed in toward the light~hip be-
fore We began to raise the brown streak which
we had seen from the deck Of the Newark,
and which they had told MS was the forts. They
didn't look a biz like what | had thought they
would. There was nothing at all like the forts
We used 10 read about in the old story books
One naturally thinks that a real, genuine fort,
capable of making a hard fight, will hs an i'm
posing structure. with plenty Of ston" around,
hut those forts are nothing hut mud, yellowish
brown sun-dried mud, mixed with straw.
As YOU come Into tho mouth Of the river
they stretch away on each hand. long. sloping
walls with huge black guns mounted on top.
Nothing protects the guns. Nothing is needed.
II they vero well served nothing ever could
come near enough to them to he of any serious
Importance. Al extreme high water only
ships Of small drsught ran get over the bar, and
at ebb slack q It is difficult for launches. The half
dozen little gnnboats lying under the forts
In tho river did not mount a gun bigger than
s-inch. They were absolutely ~ tho mercy
Of the forts, except that the gunnerS in the
forts we're Chinese. n those Runners had
heen anything like a. skilful as those about
Tientsin. the tale would have been different
First evidences Of the fight came in the shape
of the great scars on the walls ~ the forts The
li'tle gunhoatS shot well. and in one Of tho north
forts there were two places badly torn M hy
explosions. What a picture they made As tho
launch steamed in between them in tho early
morning. One flag here and another there,
Japanese on this wall, Russians there, Germans
Just beyond and farther away the British. n
there had only be light enough for a picture.
aud II, too, there had been a camera large
enough Inside the mouth Of the river other
evidences began to show these not so pleasant
10 see; dead men lying along the hanks utterly
UNDECIDED because they had been Chinese
The Pei River Is one OF the crookedest things
even in China, and from Taku at the mouth
up to Tonrku, where the railroad begins, Il il
several miles by water though little more than
one bS crownight. Just by tho railroad station
there is a straight stretch Of perhaps a quarter
Of n mile. Here the gunboats that had made
the fight were lying. They still had the ham
mock rolls and sandbags piled up about their
upper works. which had served as some pro-
lection To the gunners on the night Of the fight.
Here and there was the maxi Of a shell but
most Of the signs of battle had been removed.
The old MonocaCy, with one Of her boats stove
and a hole in her bow. lay directly opposite the
station. and although it was 50 early. mon of
half a dozen nationalities we're scramblinc
over the gangplank after water. She was
distilling for everybody there. BY the time We
had got our luggage transferred from the launch
20 the Monocacy and had had n chance 10 say
"How-dye-do" to her officers We had learned
that there would be "A chance TO get on to TEN
tsin that morning. We had heard on the Newark