The age-herald., 1900-06-18
Communication Has Been Con-
 pIeteIy Cut Off,
BOXERS OCCUPY LEGATION STREET
A Large Native Army is Ready to Op- pose the Advance of the Interna- tional Relief Column-Mat-
 ters Grow Worse

Manila, June 1S.-Q0 a. m.)-The Ninth Regiment has been ordered to Manila, whence 1t will proceed to China.
 Manila June 1.-The gunboat Concord, with marines aboard, has sailed under sealed orders, supposedly for China.
 The British cruiser Buena Ventura has sailed for Hong Kong with troops and stores for Hong Kong and Tein Tsin.
 London, June 1S.-(3 a. m.)-There is not a cabinet in Europe apparently that knows what has been transpiring in Pekin for five days or in Tien Tsin for three days. Nor is there any that knows with what difficulties the small and inadequately equipped international column is contend ing between those cities The German for- eign office, upon learning the report of the murder of Baron Von Ketteler, the Ger- man Minister at Pekin, sent telegraphic inquiry to St. Petersburg, the seat of Rus- sian government because of its wires 10 Manchuria being supposedly in better position than the other governments to obtain direct news. In reply the German foreign office was informed that nothing whatever was known on the subject as communication with Pekin was inter- rupted.
 The report spread from Shanghai that the legations had been attacked and that one minister probably the German, had been murdered has been traced to the Tao Tai Shene, who for few days, as the Empress Dowager's agent, has been cen- soring telegrams from Shanghai. The Shanghai correspondent of the Daily Ex- press says:
 Sheng, as head of the telegraph adminis- tration pretended that the line connecting Shanghai with Pekfn had been down since June 9, and that the wires to Tien Tsin were cut on June 15. Nevertheless it Is notorious that constant communications have been passing from Shanghai to Pekin over the Northern and Western routes, al- though Shen has refused both Ministers and Consuls the privilege of using the lines It is known that last Friday Sheng received a message from either Pekin or Tien Tsin. This dispatch said that General Hung Fun Siang's troops aided the Boxers in an or ganized attack on the foreign legations,
 
 of the legation buildings were reduced to ruins and that one foreign Minister was sliced to pieces.
 Why, in the cables, 1t should have been added that the murdered Minister was Ba- ron Von Kettler, is not explained.
 sheng Has Fled
 According to another telegram from Shanghai, dated June r at 7:25 p. m., Sheng has fled. fearing that the foreign authori- ties were about to arrest him because of his stoppage of telegrams.
 A late cablegram asserts that the reports of the murder of the German Minister emanated from London, are quite uncon- frmed and are discredited at Shanghai.
 "The German Minister has been captur- ed' is the announcement to the Morning Post from Pekn. in a dispatch dated June 13 at D. m.. via Tien Tsin, June 15. This is the latest press message known to have left Pekin. It continues as follows:
 "A crowd of Boxers occupied Legation street cutting off communication between the buildings few Boxers are parading in the city. Their superstition in regard to the foreign arms k pitable.
 'The Boxers hold the officials of Tung Shau for redemption. Anarchy reigns at that place The Americans fin the interior of the two neighboring provinces have been advised to leave. but several have no means of doing so. Unless q relief force Is sent there is danger of massacre of native Christians. A large native army is ready to oppose the relief column on the way here The Chinese government cannot de- eide whether 10 adopt the policy of rigid ly suppressiAg the Boxers or that of defy ing the world. The decision rests with Dowager Empress"
 During the isolation of PeRin and Tien Tsn, Shanghai Is supplying bewilder- ing bunch of reports and eonjectures most of them picturesque and threatening. Here Is one:
 Miscellaneous armed crowds have been in prdgress northward for some weeks and the hordes around Pekin are being con- stantly swelled by these arrivals. Well in- formed Chinese, who are not unfriendly toward foreigners. declare that there must now be more than 120O0O men outside the city gates, all of them armed, although some in a more or less crude fashion. The probability is that there not more than 70. 900 Chinese troops among them, all told.
 "Information from Pekfn brought hither by refugees. says that the city is in state