The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-07-20

Ing ldhen lIdl IlSul. IL appears bhhN +
the naval captains had caued on the I
general OF the forts, taking Mr. John /
stone. a good Chinese scholar, as In
terpreter. and informed them that un-
less they surrendered by IL o'c ock that !
night they intended to lombard the |
forts, at a. m. II having transpired
that thousands of soldiers were enter
ing them. and also laying mines across
the channel during the day. In coAse-
quence Of this the residents of Taku re-
ceived orders at p. IN. to leave within
an hours time and take refuge on
board the ". :. s. Monocacy, lyiag at
the railway wharf. About | a. m. the
Chinese opened fire, the first shot pass
ing harmlessly through the Algerines
rigging. From this time til about $50
n. m. was an unceasing bombardment,
the roar OF the cannon being almost
deafening. The first fort taken was
the North. by, We presume, the Japan
ese. as that was the first flag we saw
hoisted, followed shortly after by the
British on the outer North fort.
After taking these forts the men-of-
war steamed toward the mouth of the
river, and soon after the German and
Russian flags went up on the South
forts. Shortly after daylight we saw
four torpedo boats being towed In stern
first by the Whiting and Fame. flying
the British flags. During the time of
bombardment we and the ships at
Tangku were right in the line Of fire,
and had anything but pleasant time,
the shells whistling above and around
us In all directions. and the marvel is
that the Monocacy was the only one
struck. she receiving a shot right
through her bows. The Lienshing, ly-
ing at Jardine's. besides running the
risk Of shells from the forts. was at
tackled by party OF Chinese, who
were looting the cargo. but the return
fire from the LienshIng eventually
drove them away. a shell fall / to
one of the Tangku hotels near the rail-
/ way station killed three Chinese. the
only ones that were in the house at
the time.
About 10 a. m. when all was quiet.
some of the officers of our ship went
of to explore. Mr.. Couley going to the
North fort. Mr.. Burgess TO the South.
and Mr.. Miner to Taku, to see how the
FOREIGN residences had farce. on their
return they had most CHASTITY tales 70
relate. The forts were a mass of blood,
with headless and armless bodies
everywhere, which the blue jackets
were gathering together and cremating
in heaps.
Several of the houses at Taku were
complete wrecks. and nearly all had
suffered In some way. As soon as II
was daylight we saw In the distance
n black mass OF Chinese hurrying from
the forts and the villages round about
IL is feared they will make for Tien-tsln
and join the Boxers.
As We passed down the river on ouI
return We noticed the Russian flag wa
flying at the Imperial dock at Tlka
also on destroyer lying in the dock
We do not know how many Chinese
were Killed. but near Tien-tsin raiiwAS
rtation we saw several corpses iyinf
he. Of - f~rfne
night none Of US are ever nkely to for
. get.
on passing through the fleet outsid'
the Taku bar on our return 1t made VI
, all feel very sad to see the flags or
: every SKIP half-mast 1t brought befor'
, US the horrors of the previous night
, and made US think not only of the poo
fellows who had lost their lives, but al
; so of the unfortunate ones left in TT N
tsin. The difficulty there is gettin.
, away, as II Is impossible to leave o.
= either boat or train without a guard
q A few residents did start for Tangku
but soon after leaving the crews de
a serted them. The trains are most un
n certain. and II Is not always possibl
!, for people to leave, owing to the man
: attempts to wreck them.
- An armored train that ran during tn
= night for the protection Of the line, o
: the night of the bombardment. did nC
" arrive as usual, nor had they hear
: anything OF II in Tien-tsin up to tn
n time OF our leaving. Great uneasine:
n was felt both there and at Tangku &
" Its non-arrival.
>" Another trouble IL the scarcity
a food. II being impossible to get ar
. fresh meat. All the Chinese stores b.
- Ing closed. timed provisions from u
- foreign ones seem to be the only thinl
N procurable.