Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1900-09-26
DRIVEN OUT OF CHINA
Experiences OF American Mission
aries Who Have Just Ar
rived in London.

London, Sept. 24.-The American mis-
Sionaries, J. II. Roberts, Mark Williams,
William Sprague. Mrs. Sprague and
Miss Virginia Murdoch, who escaped
from Kalgan province of Chin Ii, China,
n June, were chased across the Cobb des-
art. Thence they travelled by way Of ST
IBERIA and have just reached London in
good health. The missionaries will pro-
coed to the United States
Mr.. Williams who has worked in Chi
ia for thirty-four years, gave represen-
tative Of the Associated press an inter-
esting story of his experiences. 1t APP
pears that the first assault on the mis-
sion compound at Kalgan was made dur
ing the night of June TO- when yelling
mob attempted to batter down the gate
with stones. Seeing the uselessness of
remaining. the missionaries in the course
Of the night evacuated the compound
and proceeded to the magistrates va
men. The following afternoon they
were ordered to leave, the magistrate de-
clarlng that he feared not only for the
missionaries, safety. but also for his own
yamen II ne continued to protect them.
| After allowing the Americans to draw
their money from the native bank the
magistrate furnished them with fifty
soldiers as an escort through the Great
/ gate in the wall into Mongolia.
Escape Across Siberia.
I'VE had no idea then of the terrible
| journey which awaited US" continued
Mr.. Williams. I'VE had no notion of
having to escape across Siberia, and only
purposed to remain in some place of safe
| ty and return after the crisis. Wherever
We attempted to stop, however, the Off
Gals ordered us TO leave forthwith, de-
clarlng the Boxers were on our heels
! Finally reaching a Mongol encampment
| at Harausa, we saw that flight across
the great Cobb desert was inevitable.
Having secured caravan we started
! June %. Just before starting seven
Swedish missionaries. with their families
who had just escaped with their lives
joined us. One lady had horrible expe-
rien,es. She had been almost dubbed to
death. while some Of the males were
| frightful spectacles. being covered with
blood.
Our caravan consisted OF twenty
camels. nineteen horses and six camel
carts for the ladies and children. For
! eight days We Travelled over nothing but
sand. The air was like that Of an oven
and the suffering was intense. The ami
mails had no grass and no water. and
marching in the daytime was impossible.
At the few isolated wells Mongols were
ancamped in the vicinity, and they re-
fused &c allow us to draw water, fearing
we would poison the wells
Had to Keep Moving.
After thirty-eight days of terrible anx,
iety we reached Crga, on the other side
Of the desert. We presented a sorry
spectacle The Russian consul-general
was NEST kind. He gave up to us four
teen rooms IN the consulate But, to our
dismay. the consul told us we must leave
forthwith as there were 2000 Mongol SOL
diers in the neighborhood who might be
hostile. He also warned US that tens of
thousands Of MCngOls were gathering for
a religious festival and that if we valued
our safety we had better clear out with
out delay. \ fortnight later, August 10.
we reached Kiakhta and remained there
till AUGUST p.
In the meantime the United States
ambassador to Russia obtained permits
SIGN from the authorities at st. Peters
burg for our journey over the Siberian
galway. Arriving at Irkutsk September
?, we took a train and reached st. Pc
.ersburg September IS.
1T is impossible to speak too highly Of
the great kindness of the Russian Off
Gals. Everything possible was done for
us by them, even to offering us money.
On the trans-Siberian railway though it
was choked with troops and closed TO
civilians, the authorities provided a re-
served car for us. We passed immense
numbers Of troops, apparently conscripts,
hastily collected. They wore no uni
forms and some had no guns. All of
them wore straw hats.
AT the United States legation in st.
Petersburg we expressed the opinion that
Russia was preparing to seize Manchu
ria; but we were informed that the
American legation had been assured that
Russia had no such intention"