The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-12-08
BOXERS TALE or THE SIEGE
GILMAN SEN GIVES A VERSION OF
TIE ATTACK UPON LEGATIONS.

Prince Tuan OverrmIed ching-The Lat
ter Did His Best to Save the Ministers
From Injury-COurt Dealings with
Boxers.
We have had any number OF stores
relating to the siege of the Peklng le-
cations written by the legauoner5
Themselves. but not until now have we
heard from the other side. In it's cur
rent issue the Independent publishes
narrative from a Chinese source, the
author being Chuan Sen, an attache OF
the Imperial College at Picking, VINO
was in daily association with the box
ers throughout the entire siege. Among
other things Chuan Sen says:
I'm the evening of the - day l
heard the cry that boxers had entered
the Haitai gate. After moment dense
smoke rose to d great height ana d
noise of firing guns was heard. l knew
that it was the American missionary
building, inside the Haitai gate which
was being burned down by the boxers.
As they moved northward they ordered
every shop to burn incense. Then the
English hospital, the house Of Yu Keng
present Chinese minister in France; all
the shops thence southwark to the en-
trance of Tengshikou, the American
church in Tengshikou, the French
church at Pamientsao the dwellings OF
the professors of the imperial college,
were burnt, one after the other.
"According to what the people said,
the way the boxers burned the churches
was that they only used a buAdle of
incense, read charms and told all the
bystanders to cry Burn loudly, and
then they threw the incense into the
buildings, which caught at once; but
all those houses next the churches were
left in safety Thus the people believed
that the boxers actually possessed souls
OF spirits in their bodies, otherwise the
houses in the neighborhood would have
caught fire too.
"In the morning of the next day the
fire was yet in a fierce state; the smoke
was so much that it looked like big
masses of clouds In the street the
Chinese Christians were running about,
anxious to take refuge. In TengshilSou
several boxers came crying 'Sha'
CAKiIrD loudly, with swords in their
hands As they were passing along
little child in her arms met them.
When they were just going to kill these
Christians I was in such a sorrowful
state that I could not bear to see them
die. Then I turned back and walked
toward the Haitai gate. In the main
street saw several dead bodies, which,
as was told, were killed by boxers.
"Some time later very dense smoke
was rising up violently. 1t was found
that boxers had set fire to the medicine
shop in Tachalan, outside the Chen
men. At first they did not allow the
shops in the neighbarhood to remove
their goods, saying that the fire would
only burn the one which they wanted
to destroy. But two or three others be-
gan to burn, and the boxers wrote some
charms on yellow papers which, as
etihAy-eaid, could stop the fire where they
We're pasted by them.
"After few minutes the fire spread
to such an extent that to extinguish it
with water was impossible. This fire
destroyed about a quarter of q square
mile, including gate of the Crienmen
After that very few people believed the /,
boxers.
Son the next day rumor said the
boxers desired to burn the Legations,
but they feared that foreigners had |
prepared mines Tung Fuhsiang sug-
gested that boxers could not burn the |
foreign legations for several days. and |
that assistance of soldiers should be |
rendered. This plan suited the mind of
Prince Tuan's party, as they presumed |
the foreigners in Picking We're the chief |
number of all in the world. Thus the |
Chinese troops guarding the Legations
were increased with orders to resist the |
boxers; but virtually they would be-
siege the legations. In the evening the |
Tsung II Yamen, under imperial orders,
sent dispatches to the different lega- |
tions, telling the ambassadors to leave
Legation street within twenty-four
hours, as the admiral had demanded |
from the Chinese the forts at Taku, by
which peace had been broken, and say
ing that if they would not do so bonn
bardment would be inflicted.
sHThe boxers were very glad and said
foreigners had been enemies for forty
wears; now it was the time to take re-
yenge by sweeping over all the world.
In the streets written informations
were pasted on the walls by boxers,
to the eighth moon and the name of
Legation street was changed to Cut |
up foreigners-cock- growing street. In
the evening boxers set fire to the tele-
graph station outside the Haitai gate
"On the -- day before the noon I
was told that the German ambassador
was shot to death by soldiers on his
way to the Tsung Ii Yamen. 1t was
said the man who killed the minister
got promotion. In the afternoon a sound II
of shooting guns was heard which was
the beginning of the war.
'In the morning of the next day
large numbers of poor people carrying
furniture, windows, ETC., passed by my I
door. They told me they got them
from the American church and school. Il
Meanwhile the Belgian legation WAS al
so burnt and plundered, the men in ;
side having all left, so that the boxers {
could set fire to it. Soon it was said
the Austrian legation was rifed by Z;
Tung Fuhsiangs soldiers. The Chinese
Commercial bank, as well as the east [
ern railway Russian school, was plum '
dered, too. '
"The boxers now got the liberty to
4Iaxr r;-l1o | /