Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1900-08-17
YANKEE SOLDIERS
COMMAND RESPECT
Are Best Fighters in the
Allied Campaign
in China.
DIVIDE HONORS WITH
BRITISH and JAPANESE
Story Of Fighting About Tien TSin
As Told by Participating
Refugees - Important
SkirmiSh.

San Francisco, Aug. 6.-R. Il. Diff
fendorffer of Philadelphia. the manager
and builder of the first wooden mill cs-
tablished in China, and the personal
friend of United States Consul General
Ragsdale and of Poe Tong, a brother t.
the Chinese Emperor that was, tells
the following story of the attack On
| Tien Tsin:
1T was the morning of July 18th
that the first clash between the for
eigners and the Emperor's soldiers &C.
cured. On the afternoon of the sane
day the bombardment of the Taxi
forts began.
Captain Bailey of the British ship
Orlando was commander Of the allied
forces at Tien Tsin on July 18th, as
Captain McCalla was with Seymour dt
the time. About IL o'clock in the fore
noon he saw smoke rising from the
railroad track about four miles dis.
tant from the city, and suspecting that
the Boxers had fired another bridge
Captain Bailey ordered thirty of his
! blue jackets, commanded by midi
shipman whose name | nave forgotten,
to proceed and investigate.
I'VE had 3-inch gun and the men
were fully armed. When our fiat ear
had travelled about three miles We
found bridge in which the timbers
had been burned away from the iron
Orders, and considering it unsafe to
cross the structure, our commander
ordered his men to return to the city.
We had gone about 800 yards on the
back trip and saw lot of Chinese sol
diers, about $50 of them crossing the
track at a point mile ahead of w.
They were walking very rapidly, and
as we approached them all doubt as to
their being Imperial troops disappear
ed. They did not wear the red tur-
ban and sash that distinguished the
Boxers. and as soon as we got within
800 yards Of them they scattered and
got behind the grave mounds with
which the surface ground was thickl!
studded. Regarding this action as suS-
plcious. our mldshipman gave the or
der to fire yolley. and they quickly
and vigorously returned the salut".
Our field piece was minus sight, ard
most of its shots passed over the enc
my, so after ten minutes of heavy fir
Ing we resumed our retreat, the Chi
nese firing at us as long as we were
within range.
Now the significant feature of that
incident was its bearing on the subse-
Quent proceedings. If 1t had not been
| for the action OF our party that mora
ing the bombardment Of Tien Tsln
might not have commenced that after
noon. In other words, am inclined to
believe that our attack on the Chinese
troops precipitated the bombardment
of the city. And for that reason the
skirmish may attain some importance
when final settlements are beira
made"
DR.. Diffendorffer thinks that thu
trouble with China will be at an enl
within couple of years at farthest
ut will he repetition of the Tai Pin
rebellion" he said. when the allies
have captured Peking the Boxers viii
be broken into bands Of marauders.
Charles Mcintosh, a Toronto, Can
man, but an American citizen, who wa.
DR.. Diffendorifers assistant in Ii,
wooden mill said: 81 think we mus
have spent about fifteen days in tn,
tower. was doing sharp-shootin-
most of the time. We got Meteor,
rifles from the arsenals, and how many
Mongols they brought to death | dom
know. tried to run three engines OH
of Picking, but did not get far. | thinl
we must have got half way, though
Bodies of Chinese were lying all alon;
the track, headless and butchered.
was work of the Boxers. They tough
with spear and knife until they got II
with the Imperial troops, and woul'
not use foreign guns. Now they hav
a lot of them and they shoot well.
THE tower commanded view of tn
entire situation for miles. In the lowe
part of the building the marines an
soldiers were holding the position
against the attacking party. They hs
loopholed the building by removing III
bricks, and it was necessary that the
should be kept posted on the move
ments of the enemy, so as to be pre-
pared for the charges. We signaie
to them from the tower and arrange
to let them know exactly where III
Chinese were.
These are the kind of bullets y
used" said the speaker, as he DIRE,
several cartridges from his poke
"They are dum-dum bullets, and v
!