Evening star., 1900-07-16
PEKIN's MURRER SPOT
B.
THE TRAP FOR FaREfGNERs IN THE
CHINESE scARIrAL.
Hopeless. struggldi with scanty Sup
plies of Ammunition and
Food.
From the New York Herald.


oughfares, roads blocked with refuse and
channeled by ruts in which ordinary pas
sengers may find death by drowning are Its
characteristics. To the foreigner its frown-
ing walls mean something more There are
four cities in one. Each has its wall. The
outermost Is from twenty-five to fifty feet
in height, and encompasses the whole capi-
tai. running to between twenty and thirty
miles in length. To the north lies the square
Tartar city, which holds within it's COM
pass a second wall quadrangle, the imperial
city, where dwell the great officials of the
empire.
cult hide this inclosure, within the recesses
of which is the pink forbidden city, where
the emperor inhabits living tomb, shut in
from all outside approach within a pink
wall and moat. There Is still the Chinese
city, separated from that of the Manchus
by another high wall. Little hope of escape,
it would seem, there would be for anybody
of intruders in whose destruction the vast
bulk of the city's turbulent populace was
bent. Once within the gates the stranger
would realize he must abandon all hope of
escape If the Inhabitants should rise against
him.
When the detachments of the various ma
tionalties reached Pekin at the urgent
summons of their ambassadors the i'll
fated June / they marched to Legation
street This runs parallel with the wall
separating the Tartar from the Chinese
city, and at a distance of about $50 yards
from it. 1t lies inside the Tartar city, to
the southeast of the imperial city. Its build
ings are easily commanded by the towering
wall, which Is fifty feet high and forty feet
broad at the top. The7legations for the most
part consisted of small compounds. each
surrounded by low brick walls and con-
tanning a number of separate buildings for
the minister, his staff and household.
The British Legation.
ct iS
On the north side of this stood the Spanish,
the Japanese, the French and the Italian
legations, and on the south side the German
legation On the other side of the canal
was the United States legation. almost fac
ing the Russian legation. A couple of yards
distant from Legation street but opening
on to the canal, was the British legation.
Among the legation compounds We're inter
SperSed Chinese tenementS, European build
ings, such the new Hong Kong and
Shanghai Bank, the Pekin Club, the Euro
pean Hotel, kept by Frenchman, and one
or two European shops. AT the back Of
the French legation, adjoining the new
Austrian legation, was the large compound
Of the Imperial Maritime Customs, with Sir
Robert Harts residence and those of the
chief European employees of his administra-
tion. The street runs for about half or
two-thirds of mile.
On previous occasions when 1t was found
necessary to introduce legation guards into
scheme of common defense was drawn up.
that the different detachments sent up
by the powers might cooperate. 1t was
agreed in case of necessity to make the
British compound, the largest and most
defensible, the international stronghold.
When the British army entered Pekin VIC
toriously in 1860 they occupied the COM
pound. which was formerly the palace Of
Chinese prince. Its grounds of acre and
a half were inclosed with fairly strong
wall. and the canal along one side formed a
kind of moat. Since 1861, when 1t was
leased to the British by ..he Chinese, mod
inclosure for the large European staff, tine
members of the consular service, as well as
separate outhouses for the Chinese attend
ants and servants. The buildings included
the minister's hOuse. the chaneelIery. an
armory, dispepsary and a fire station
This was the place chosen for the place of
refuge in case of an uprising in the city.
Probably some eextra stores are provided
but it was never anticipated that th. IN
perial authorities would instigata or sup
port with soldiers an organized attack upon
the foreign settlement, and when the crisis
came suddenly, with Prince Tuan as chief
aSsailant the means to repel assault or
sustain a siege must have been sadly mad
eQuate.
Ammunition Scanty.
Ammunition and artillery supplies We're
scanty. The legation guards. numbering in
all 430, had at the outside $50 rounds apiece
serve stores at the legation have been men
toned and the desperate fighting would
soon exhaust the meager supply. AS for
provisions, the destruction of all the lega-
tions except two quickly drove into the
British compound the foreigners of all ma
tional1ties. 1t Is computed there would be
at least 1000 mouths to feed. Behind the
British compound lies the Mongol market
an unsheltered plot where, in ordinary
times, frozen sheep are sold. brought in
n hyr ha n walls y, ,;rl,
enter and leave Pekin in the course of the
twenty-four hours.
With the Boxers, however, in possession
o; the roads leading to the capital on the
north. east and south, the railway de-
stroyed. and other means of traffic stopped,
the beleaguered garrisons could have had
no chance of replacing the trf1ing stocks
accumulated within the compounds Star
walton must have stared them in the face,
for submission was not to be thought of.
II the worst came to the worst 1t was
thought that the Mongolian ponies of which
great numbers usually to be found in
the precincts of the compounds, might be
utilized for food, but this suggestion afford
ed but faint hope An view of the des-
perate condition in which the foreign settle
ment quickly found itself.
Huddled together in buildings that would
quickly take fire, stormed at with shot and
shell as the ruthless Frartars brought up
cannon and mounted them at close quar-
ters. the gallant marines and no less brave
effective resistance. Sir Robert Hart's
knowledge Of China, his great services to
the country, went for nothing. All was lost
when he sent out his message of despair,
situation is desperate. Hasten!' probably
on June 26 The legation was then in
flames, and the number of killed and
wounded must have crippled the heroic
remnant.
The Murder Spot.
For days a horror of great darkness
brooded over the murder spot In Pekin. to
spread thence over the civilized world.
Perhaps those to whom death came early
In the struggle are to be accounted fortu-
nate. when one considers the nameless
cruelties to which the Chinese have been
addicted by previous excesses. In the Tae-
ping rebellion. at the taking Of Nanking.
thirty thousand nonSrsmbatants were mas
sacred. Inhabitant were boiled alive.
sawn asunder and OF lerwise tortured.
The few saved alive were branded on the
face. To save them from such horrors or
worse. those who endured to the end in the