Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-08-25
How Tien Tsin's Bloody Fight Was
Won by the Allies.
WORK OF THE GALLANT NINTH
BrayeIy Held the Position in Which
They Were Placed by Mistake.
PREPARING TO GET EVEN
Copyright, 1909


Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
TEN TSIN. July 16. 1900.
The long. grim nightmare is over. but all
Is yet chaos here. The spasmodic bonn
bardment Of the foreign section, which had
lasted for weeks, Is at an end, and the
American and European civilians who have
endured all the diabolical torments and in
defnable suspense that goes with barbarian
warfare now feel that they can breathe
safely. Already their flight to Taku has
begun. The military officers are begging
every non-combatant who is not needed by
the army to leave the city at once, for
Tien Tsin sits uneasily on a powder key
with bonfires raging all about
The Chinese enemy have seemingly van
iShed, though bodies of scouts are nosing
out small parties of them just beyond the
city. The main body of the yellow enemy
defeated here. but by no means discour-
aged, are believed to be not many miles
away on the Pekin road. Chinese runners
bearing alarming reports are coming In at
every hour. They secure quick admission
to the various military headquarters. There.
in consideration of the secret service"
money handed to them, they glibly tell the
most wonderful stories. Regiments of i'm
perial troops and hordes of new yellow re-
cruits so they say, swarming the roads
to Pek1n. But can Chinaman be believed?
Especially one who claims that he Is sell
Ing out his own countrymen for pay?
Fighting Imperial Troops.
Yet in all the chaos, through the storm
of conflicting reports that come in here
momentarily, one fact Is assured. We are
not fighting Boxers, but imperial troops.
Boxers there are in swarms and they are
very incarnate devis-but they are only
camp followers! They do the guerrilla work:
they come in through our lines at times in
the guse of Christian converts; they spy,
they loot and they cut off stragglers, at
tack the outpostS of the allies, but 1t was
the imperial troops, with fine rifles, using
accurate aim and serving modern artillery
with a fair degree of precision, who at
tackled the foreign concession here, and
who were two days ago fought completely
out of Tien Tsin. Imperial troops and
their officers were found lying in swaths
In the positions that the allies took. What
ever the government Is at Pekin that gov
eminent is directing its large and fairly
good army in revolt against the rest of
the world. Let diplomats say what the
extgencies may require. but every mill
tary officer here knows that he has been
fighting against the imperial power of
China. AS for the Roxers-unless every
Chinaman be Boxer-few Of them have
been found among the dead.
1t Is yet too early to write the full,
thrilling story Of the capture Of Tien Tsin.
For days the Chinese posted on the walls
Of the native walled city had amused them
selves with potting at every soldier of the
allied camps who got near enough to be
within possible range. 1t was more than
annoying, and. besides, If the reported
heavy Chinese reinforcement on the way
reached here 1t was likely to result in
making the native city impregnable to an
army much larger than ours. On Thurs
day the commanders met. The Russians
advocated swift. reckless attack. The Jap
anese were all but silent, merely replying
that they were ready to attempt whatever
the council decided. Brigadier General
Dorward of the British army favored Wig
orous attack. Col. E. H. Liscom Of the
9th United States Infantry agreed with
him. There was some opposition, on the
ground that the arrival Of more troops