The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1900-10-07
IGnT or SI0hARIES
hrjIling Experiences of q Band
or Americans.
I'M THEY ESCAPED FROM CHINA.

s~e I'm London After On Long and
n.rilous Journey - Pursued by
s....ashfraty Boxers-Fled Across
~ Great Gobi Desert.
@he American missionaries, j. H. Rob-
80 mark Williams. William Sprague,
- snrague and Miss Virginia MUIR
. sscks who escaped from Kalgan. prov
~. AZ Chill. China, In June, were
h .sssed across the Cobb desert. Thence
~ travelled by way of Siberia and
ssye lust reached London in good
hsalth.
rha missionaries will proceed imme-
s.teav TO the United States, says N
s.edon dispatch Mr.. Williams, who
\ 80 urorked in China for "a years, gives
!, ,uteresting story of his experiences.
M arst assault on the mission COM
.,.nnd at Kalgan was made during the
sleht of June 10. when g yelling mob
.stpmpted to batter down the gate with
ssones. Seeing the uselessness of re-
malninx, the missionaries in the course
H the night evacuated the compound
IA proceeded to the magistrates va
AN The following afternoon they
.,ere ordered to leave. the magistrate
/ aecIaring that he feared not only for
~ missionaries safety. but also for
ia own yameN If he continued to pro-
tect them
After allowing the Americans to
draw their money from the native bank
The magistrate furnished them with so
ladders as an escort through the great
f3oafe in the wall into Mongolia.
sWe had no idea then of the terrible
barney which awaited u.s." continued
M. williams. I'VE had no notion of
hsying to escape across Siberia and
only proposed to remain in some place
AZ safety and return after the crisis.
wherever we attempted to stop, how
erer. the officials ordered us to leave
forthwith, declaring the Boxers were
ON our heels.
aFfnally reaching a Mongol encamp-
across the great Cobb desert was in
eyitable. Having secured a caravan,
we started June %. Just before start
ing seven Swedish missionaries, with
their families. who had just escaped
With their lives, Joined us. One lady
had had horrible experiences. She had
been almost dubbed to death. while
some OF the males were frigbtful spec
taces, being covered with blood.
a0ur caravan consisted of 20 camels,
10 horses and six camel carts for the
ades and children. For eight days
we travelled over nothing but sand.
The air was like that of an oven, and
The suffering was intense. The anil
mails had no grass and nc water. and
marching In the daytime was impossi-
hle At the few isolated wells Mongols
were encamped in the vicinity. and
thsy refused to allow us to draw wa
ieE fearing we would poison the
wells
after 3S days of terrible anxiety we
reached Urga. on the other side Of the
desert We presented a sorry specta.
lie. The Russian consul general was
most kind. He gave up to US IA rooms
In the consulate. But to our dismay
the consul told US we must leave forth
with, as there were 1000 Mongol sol
diers In the neighborhood. who might
be hostile. He also warned US that
tens OF thousands Of Mongols were
gathering for a religious festival and
that II we valued our safety we had
better clear out without delay.
"a fortnight later. Aug. IS, we reach
ed Kiakhta and remained there til
Ang. e. In the meanwhile Mr.. Tower
lGr. Charlemagne Tower. United
States ambassador to Russia) obtained
Permission from the authorities at ST
Pafsrsburg for our journey over thu
II Siberian railway. Arriving at Irkutsl
Sept 2, we took a train and reached st
Petersburg Sept. 18."