Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1900-08-22

fever of apprehension, and most of
them determined to get away by the
first possible means. Native Christians,
learning this, begged ON their knees to
be saved from the savagery Of the
Boxers.
"On the morning of the 10th Mr..
Clifford went to hire tug to take us
to Taku, which is down the Pei-Ho 2S
miles. No tug could be had. The au-
thorities prohibited the departure of
any vessels. We accidentally learned
that military train was to leave for
Taku in 40 minutes. Permission was
obtained to board this train, and we
hastily packed our belongings and
reached the train. The Chinese en-
gineers, flremen, brakemen and station
men deserted in terror, leaving the
trains standing.
"Our train consisted of an engine
and two or three coaches. Preceding
it was a train composed of an engine,
a fiat car upon which was rapid fire
gun, followed by another fiat car bear
ing an engine and dynamo operating
a searchlight and still another fiat
car with another rapid fire gun. This
military train was in command of Brit
ish officers, and the men handled the
engine and brakes. Our train was
handled by German officer in uni
form, with his hand on the throttle,
and American marines did the firing.
We left Tien-tsin at 2 p. m. and arrived
at Taku in the evening. In our imme-
date company Were my wife and our
daughter Mrs. Clifford. her husband
and their 4-weeks-old baby. My grand
son, Robert Coltman, Jr., was to join
us from Peliing to accompany us back
to the States, but the Boxer troubles
closed down so suddenly that he could
not reach Tien-tsin.
ARRIVING at Talu, we hired a sam
pan to convey us out to the Chinese
steamer Fie Chin, which lay at anchor
ready to sail for Shanghai. We reach
ed the steamer in safety. We could
see the lights of the foreign gunboats
lying in another bend of the river,
which forms n letter G. at that point
We could not sail that night for some
reason or other and lay in company
with other merchant vessels at anchor
At 1915 o'clock on the morning of
June II the bombardment of the for
eign gunboats by the forts began. The
gunboats returned the fire immediate
ly. We We're lying up the river, with
gunboats between us and the forts
Whenever the Chinese in the forts
fred too high their shells went scream
ing over us or struck the water about
us. We were directly in the line of
fire. There was panic on board, in
tensified by the fear that the native
crew of the Fie Chin might prove
treacherous.
"Beginning with few desultory but
fairly well directed shots, the firing on
both sides soon developed into tre-
mendous duel of shells. Shell after
shell screamed over our heads. Some
exploded on the river surface, sending
up column of water; others skipped
over the water and struck the opposite
bank, where the bodies of a number of
Chinese We're found at daylight. 1t
was a wild and terrible scene, moon
light being rendered ghastly by the
frequent illumination of the explosions.
How we ever escaped being scut-
tied | cannot imagine. We stood ready
to take small boats at moments no.
tice. Between our steamer and the
gunboats was a fleet of Chinese gun
boats lying in a wide sweep of the riv-
er Some of the foreign gunboats at
tackled them, and that added to the
uproar and confusion. Sometimes
there was such glare of fire from the
ships that we thought them afire. Shot
and shell poured back and forth un-
ceasingly for several hours. We did
not see the land operations, but after
daylight we soon discovered that the
forts were in the possession of the for
eign forces. The Chinese gunboats,
dismantled and half burning and con
tanning dead and wounded, were towed
past us up stream, the prizes of the
powers. Our steamer got under way
that morning, and we went down past
the gunboats and forts to the gulf and
on to Shanghai. The battleships and
cruisers were out beyond the bar, out
of range of the forts and therefore un-
able to assist the gunboats.
I'VE arrived at Shanghai on June %
and were fortunate enough to catch
the Coptic, leaving that afternoon. l
had heard nothing since the lombard
ment, but the events that transpired
while we We're at sea do not surprise
me. 1t Is as | feared-the Chinese en-
pire is afiame against foreigners. The
worst has come to pass, and Minister
Conger's credulity and good faith in
the Chinese have probably cost his life
and the lives of all the other foreign
ers in Peking.
'The Boxers as a body are ignorant,
miserably poor and deluded fanatics.
They are used and directed by intelli-
gent men. The movement spread like
wildflre-eXactly as though it were re-
ceiving powerful aid from those in
authority. Boxers carried on their
drills and exercises in Peking under
the eyes of the government unmolest-
ed. | did not see these drills but they