Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-09-25
MISSIONARIES CHASED
ACROSS THE COBB DESERT.

ACkOSS The dUbl DEOEhl.
ThrilIins Experience of Five Ameri-
can Missionaries While Fleeing
From the Boxers.
LONDON, September 24-The Amer
loan missionaries, ]. H. Roberts, Mark
williams, William Sprague, Mrs.
Sprague and Miss Virginia Murdoch,
who escaped from Kaigan, Province of
Obi Ii, China, in June, were chased
across the Cobb desert. Thence they
travelled by way of Siberia, and have
just reached London in good health.
They will proceed Immediately to the
United States.
Mr.. Williams, who has worked in
China for thirty-four years, gave rep
resentative of the Associated Press an
interesting story of his, experience. 1t
appears that the first assault on the
mission compound at Kalgan was made
during the night of June 10, when a
yelling mob attempted to batter down
the gate with stones. Seeing the use
1essness of remaining the missionaries,
in the course of the night, evacuated
the compound and proceeded to the
magistrates yamen. The following af-
!'ternoon they were ordered to leave, the
magistrate declaring shat he feard not
only for the missionaries safety, but
also for his own yamen If he continued
to protect them. After allowing the
Americans to draw their money from
the native bank the magistrate fur
nished them with fifty soldiers as an
escort through the Great Gate in the
wall into Mongolia.
I'VE had no idea then of the terrible
journey which awaited U.s." said Mr..
Williams. I'VE had no notion of having
to escape across Siberia and only pur-
posed to remain In some place of safety
and return after the crisis. Wherever
we attempted to stop, however, the Of
ficials ordered us to leave forthwith,
declaring the Boxers were on our heels.
Finally reaching Mongul encamp-
ment at HarauSa we saw that flight
across the great Cobb desert was inev-
liable. Having secured caravan we
started June %. Just before starting
seven Swedish missionaries with their
families, who had just escaped with
their lives, joined u.s. One lady had
horrible experiences. She had been al
most dubbed to death, while some of
the males were frightful spectaclek,
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 an
tmalS had no grass and no water, and
marching In the daytime was impos-
sible. At the few isolated wells Mon
golS were encamped in the vicinity,
and they refused to allow us to draw
water, fearing we would poison the
wells.
After thirty-eight days of terrible
anxiety we reached Urgo, on the other
side of the desert. We presented a
sorry spectacle The Russian consul
general was kind. He gave up to us
fourteen rooms in the consulate. But
to our dismay, the consul told us we
must leave forthwith, as there were
1000 Mongol soldiers in the neighbor-
hood, who might be hostile. He also
warned us that tens Of thousands of
Mongols were gathering for a religious
festival and that if we valued our safe
ty we had better clear out without de-
lay. A fortnight later, August IL,
we reached Klakhta and remained
there t.-4 August II.
Meanwhile Mr.. Charlemagne Tower,
United States ambassador to Russia,
obtained permission from the authori-
ties at ST. Petersburg for our journey
over the Siberian railway. Arriving at
Irkutsk, September 2, we took train
and reached st. Petersburg September
IS.
'It is impossible to speak too highly
of the great kindness of the Russian
officials. Everything possible was done
for US by them, even to offering us
money On the trans-Siberian rail-
way though it was choked with troops
and closed to civilians. the authori-
ties provided a reserve car for us. We
passed immense number of troops, APP
parently conscripts, hastily collected.
They wore no uniforms, and some had
no guns. All of them wore straw
hats"
cat the United States legation In st.
Petersburg we expressed the opinion
that Russia was preparing to seize
Manchuria; but we were Informed that
the American legation had been assured
that Russia had no such intentions"