The Pacific commercial advertiser., 1900-12-11
BLOOD OF
MARTYRS
A Horrible Tale From
China.
MISSIONARIES STABBED
The Treachery Of a Chinese Gov
ernor Results in Large
Loss of Life.

BERLIN, Dec. "a special from
China to the Volks Zeitung reports
fearful mission slaughter in the prov
ince of Shan-si. The first victims, the
despatch says, were Catholic bishop
and his coadjutors and four European
priests, Franciscans, Italian and
French. The governor invited them
to his house, pretending to give them
better protection, but when they ar
rived their hands were tied. Then the
governor himself poniarded them all.
Next the governor went to the bish-
|op's residence with number of sol
diers and seized six Marseilles sisters.
He promised them money and distin-
guished husbands if they would re-
nounce Christianity, which offer they
unanimously rejected. Thereupon the
governor poniarded them, and also a
number of Chinese priests and thirty
Chinese sisters, and 200 orphans from
three to sixteen years of age; Mr.. and
Mrs. Atwater and their two little
children; Mr.. and Mrs. CIV. Price and
their son; all of the American board:
Mr.. and Mrs. Lagren, of the Swedish,
and Miss Eldred, an English woman.
were butchered. The story of these
murders directly implicated Yu Hsien,
the governor of Shan-si. AS announc-
ed in the Peking despatch of the Asso-
ciated Press of Saturday last, MEM
bers of Ii Hung Changs staff say the
Chinese Emperor will probably send
Yu Hsien silk cord, which is an inti-
nation that he must hang himself.
| A number of the reports have been
published of the June massacres in
Shan-si some of the details being too
horrible for publication. Men, women
and children were butchered. Fifteen
seminarists, who had hidden them
selves in a cistern, were, the despatch
says tied to stakes and forced to drink
the blood of the first victims. They
were then killed
A Chinese priest and two Christians
who attempted to escape, were caught
land put in small hut, where they
were burned.
| ATTITUDE OF POWERS.
i WASHINGTON, Dec. 3.-The text of
the agreement arrived at by the For
eign Ministers at Peking has not yet
reached the State Department from
holding his signature to the document.
Meanwhile, it is said that following
his latest instructions to confer with
the British and German Ministers at
IPeking, he is making substantial head
way toward the substitution of modi-
fled agreement on the lines of the poll
cies laid down in the State Depart
ment's various propositions to the
powers. While the United States Gov
ernment has not seen fit to make any
formal protest against the continuance
of the punitive expeditions being sent
out from Peking from time to time, it
has managed to convey to the powers
its belief that the further prosecution
of this policy is indiscreet and will
:, tend to greatly delay the return of the
= Chinese authorities to Peking and the
, final settlement toward which all
: efforts are now directed. 1t is believed
these intimations have been taken in
d good part by the various foreign Of
f fees, and that a more restraining in
:, Ifuence will soon be exerted upon the
S military officers in China.
It CZAR TAKES ACTION.
TIEN-TSIN, Sunday, Dec. 2-It is
/ by the imperative order of the Czal
" that the Russians are handing ovel
e the Shan Hal Kuan Railroad to the
u Germans. The necessary documents
u were signed this morning
FRENCH ASSIST GERMANS.
= TIEN-TSIN, Dec. -Four compa
# nies of German troops are reported tt
, be seriously menaced thirty-five mile:
o. west of Pao Ting Flu. Eight compa
). nies of French troops, with three days
" rations, have left to go to their relief
If OBSERVATORY LOOTED.
Is TIEN-TSIN, Dec. (via Shanghai)
'e Protests and requests have been for
Is warded to Field Marshal Count vor
y Waldersee by representatives of the
l. powers urging the prevention of the
s. removal of astronomical instruments
m from the observatory at Peking. Mos
70 lof the principal instruments have been
e. prepared for shipment and labeled fol
,r Berlin or Paris. The Chinese them
r selves, do not protest, because, as
members of Ii Hung Chang's staff put
it. their objections would be useless
as whatever they say or do in the way
of protests only elicits uncivil treat
ment
"a The observatory is universally rec
ognized as one of the most interesting
l. sights in Peking. Most of tue instru
l. ments now out of place are over 15(
r years old. Many of them are magnifi
m cent bronzes, and, although not o.