The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-09-16
q chicken left. Forssing would be dificult
business in that country.
vfpp Avn npAru ANNA THE RfyFR.

YIRE N DEATH ALONG RIVER
It was 4 O'Clock in the afternoon when the
American tug that left 1ongku In the morning
came along. The British tug that had been at
the river end Of the railhead canal had taken on
a fearful load NJ all sorts and conditions OF men.
animals and things and struggled on toward
Tientsin. Our tug came In toward the bahh
and stopped. Il had two German boats IN low
One of them came In for us and In a few minutes
We were on up the river, The river winds
more than the most wriggly snake You could
imagine. Its water Is about the color and
consistency of that Of the Missouri The bank
Is low on each side aud much OF the way has
been strengthened By n levee. villages OF
mud huts line it, course.
on to the northward column after column
OF smoke was rising, which those who had oeen
up tn Tientsin before said came from the city
and from the arsenal which had been taken
the day before by the allied forces. All the
afternoon this smoke filed the sky and when
evening came there were dozens OF fires light
Ing up the whole country. The smoke settled
dow toward evening like the late afternoon
haze Of an Indian umner afternoon ut home.
As the tug slowly crnwled up the tortnous
river one horrible spectacle was repeated over
and over again. Both banks we're literally
lined with the bodies Of Cinnamon and all the
way droyes Of NANCY, miserable dogs had
taken the place of vultures.
Occasionally we passed a lot of junks or huge
sGmpans tied up near the bank IN a bend Some
times they seemed quite deserted. but here
aud there a lone Chiuaman pOked his head
up from behind cover on one OF the boats ana
sullenly eyed the invading foreign devils. Once
We saw a MAJ riding a horse along the bank
not very far from the TUG. lie carried a biz
sword by his side. and the opinion wa general
that he was AT least u soldier II not I'm officer, SO
the rifles were brought out aud some OF the men
on the tug took a shot ut him. IL was a dtfhrnlt
shot. but he knew when the first rife cracked
that he was the target and he got on the horse
with au astonishing leap. Then he tried to
persuade the horse ~ 40 with him down a steep
bank behind a wall OF mud. but the horse didn't
want to go. The man stuck 20 II for about
a minute and then when two or three more
bullets came singing very close he gave II up
and jumped Town alone. Some coolies working
in a field very near heard he shooting, looked
up 10 see what II was all about and went on
with their work undisturbcd.
BLOCK on lHE HVlE.
We had passed the British Tug that started
ahead nf us and were lust below TientSin. II
was we'll after shutdown. We came around
a turn in the river that was 50 sharp that we
had 10 stop the engines to make il, and there
ahead Of IA was n steamer lying athNart the
stream and completely blocking the way. on
each side Of us was n village on fire. We didn't
know where our fellows were or where the
enemy was, and had no idea ne Ia the origin
OF the fires. To tho whistle from the tug the
steamer gave no answer. although We could
SEQ plainly that she had steam NJ, We went
along SLOWLY and kept whistlinG. hut still there
Was no response. At last we saw that her
- 49,.
-he was aground and making an effort ~ get
On. \ little further on and We made ont an
officer on tho bank. First We saw him: then
we heard him talking good. emphatic English.
There vas no denying his earnestness. He
was damning the captain Of the steamer and
everybody aboard her. Here his steamer with
wounded men on board was waiting To get by
the big fellow and couldn't move until she was
out of the way. The steamer aground was the
TAPPING. n river and coast boat which makes
the run regularly between some OF the coast
ports and T%icntsin. She had been caught up
here by the row and now was trying At tn" first
| opportunity 10 get down again With n load Of
| refugees. She had been aground all day and
the tide had now swung her across the river,
blocking the way completely. The officer on
the bank raved and swore, and finally seemed
literally 10 curse tho TAPPING out Of the way,
lbT sne swung 10 one SlOe D0n 'nPTs WAs room
for the steamer and lighter with the wounded
20 get by. The tide had turned Ms head down
the stream and for an hour we had to struggle
in cramped room to got headed NJ again. When
We made II, the Coysvain in charge ot the two
German boats in tow had lost ono Of them.
II was now dark and there was no telling what
had become nf the German. The skipper OF
the tug refused to wait and on we Went.
II SCENE now as IL everything in Tienstein
must he on fire. The whole heaven was filed
with the GLOW and on every hand The Games
were leaplng M. We passed through n mile
NJ fire, each hank Of the river blazing away
nerrily, and came suddenly IN a pontoon bridge
with n Russian soldier standing guard. The
tug stopped and nosed up 10 the bridge. hove
n line out and proceeded To tie MP, Then
came the Russian and forbade il. That did
make the skipper angry. Hero he wasloaded mp
with Russian ammunition and with German
boats in tow and not n pound Of American
stores aboard. The German had bothered him
all the way up and now the Russki would not
lot him tie up. There was some parleying
and then came two American officers who
simply took the line and made II fast while the
Russian sentry stood by and protested. We
were in 1ien'Sin.
To the right and the left. and In front. rifles
were popping steadily and bullets whistled
about the bridge. Shippers" answered the
officers to our question az To what was going on,
Volumes could not explain II better. Up a
stree lined on the river side with huge barri-
cadPs and protected AT every cross street by
similar h~rpastworks We went 10 the headquarters
of the American forces and found Major Waller
In command Of the marines. still up to his eyes
with business although Il was nearly II O'Clock
Then there was all the tale to hear Of the relief
Of Tientsin by these chaps, and after that Of
the siege Of T~ientsin. from the chaps who had
stayed. and after that and best Of all. Of the
Pckin expedition from some Of those who had
been along. and Of the extraordinarily gallant
conduct Of our officers. especially OF Capt.
McCalla who was hit four times and of young
Cadet Taussig who got n terrible wound in the
hip and never for n minute lost his smile. These
were the tales Of men who had done things,
told with eXasperatinG simplicity and lack Of
detail. Yet brief as they were IL wa we'll
on in the morning before the first outline Of the
whole story had been even roughly sketched.
IN A ELL WITH humble BEES.
It Was a Cell They Didn't Build. but They Re.