The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1900-08-16
IN THE BLOODY CITY OF PEKING.
By Charles DENLY.

| When you enter the "Chenmen,"
which is the principal gate at Picking,
you shortly turn to the right and are
on Legation street, as the foreigners
call it, The Chinese call it, 1.-The
| street of the subject nations"
AS you go up Legation street, in a
couple of hundred yards, you pass on
the right the Dutch Legation A hun
dred yards further you come to the
American Legation on the right. Just
| opposite is the Russian Legation. The
, British Legation is almost exactly be-
hind the Russian, but is separated from
it by street and some houses. 1t is
situated on a street which runs along
side of moat and is perpendicular to
Legation street. 1t is about a hundred
yards from the American Legation.
The moat runs along the east front
of the British Legation. 1t is a pro-
longation of the moat which surrounds
the Forbidden City. This moat some
times has water in it, and is sometimes
dry. The water can be turned in or
stopped by gates at pleasure.
The walls of the moar are probably
twenty feet high. There are two bridg-
es across it-one at Legation street and
the other one block above. The water
escapes through the passage under the
city wall and flows into the Grand Ca
nal.
It is probable that during the siege of
the British Legation no water has been
let into the mOat- The existence of the
street along the moat and of the moat
itself is a military advantage. 1t is
not likely that attacks were made on
the garrison from that side. because
there would be no cover.
The American Legation premises oc-
cupy probably one acre The buildings
are old Chinese houses, all on one floor.
except the chancellery, where the offices
are This is a two-story brick building,
which was put up about four years ago
by the then owners of the property, the
heirs of Dr. S. S. Williams.
It is very good house, and contains
a strong room for the protection of the
archives. The walls of the strong room
are three feet thick, made of brick and
cement, have iron doors, and would re-
sist any fire. The vault is copied after
that of the Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation at Tien-tsin-
From a military point of view the
American Legation is untenable. Along
the front and west side there is a wall
twenty feet high, but it is very weak.
Along the back of the lot there is no
wall, but neighboring houses jut into
the compound (yard) and their back
walls constitute the only protection in
the rear. An attacking force could cas-
lily take possession of these houses and,
by pulling down the back wall. enter
the compound.
A POOR POSITION.
The legation premises do not reach to
the street in the rear. except at one
point
There is nothing, therefore, separat-
ing the legation from the city wall ex-
cept a few low houses and a street
about sixty feet wide. The wall runs
all around Picking; it is so feet high and
40 broad, made of brick and concrete
facing filled in with earth. A force
on this wall would look down from a
distance of $50 feet on all the build
ings in the legation compound and they
would be at it's mercy. The defenders
of the legation could not show themsel-
YES without being picked off by rifiemen
on the wall.
It is for these reasons probably that
Mr.. Conger left his own legation and
went to the British. During the Jap
anese war there was talk of sending
American marines to Picking at the
time that other nations sent forces
thither and two American officers came
to the city and inspected the legation.
They pronounced the place untenabIe
on account of the proximity of the city
wall. and looked for other locations for
the troops.
No legation at Picking has the slight
est semblance of a fort. The COM