The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-10-23
ON THE MARCH
TO PBKING.
Canton Boy, Now With the
the Fourteenth Infantry,
WRITES OF THE FIGHTING
Tn It Chafee's Men Saw From the Time
They Landed ut Taku Until Peking
Fell-.Long Marches and
Desperate Charges.

William F. Heating, former well
known Canton man, now a member Of
Company F, 14th o. ". l., which regi-
ment was in the Peking expedition, has
written. L. J. Blake, of South Market
street, of his experiences with Chaffee's
division in China. The letter is dated
September 1. and reads as follows:
II hope that you will let my friends
know I am alive and well. 1t is very
hard to get letter from here, and as
write this don't know whether 1t will
reach yoO or not. 1t was on the 14th
CT July that we went aboard the
transport Indiana, sailing on the 18th
for China. We arrived at Taku July
26, and on the 27th landed at Taku city.
Leaving there at 12 noon we marched
to Tein Tsin, where we stayed until
August 4. Tien Tsin is in ruins now.
The only buildings Of any note still in
tact are the foreign buildings.
when we reached Peking, the city
streets were full of dead Chinese from
the fight Of July IL and 13. Meantime
we had taken the Shu Ki arsenal, near
Tien Tsin on the 5th, the Japs losing
nearly 300 killed and wounded. Our
regiment that day acted as rear guard.
The fight lasted until 3 p. M, the artil-
lery, however, keeping it hot for the
Chinese all night. The next morning
we were on the march again. At noon
the Chinos fired on us at Yang Tsun
which place we took after losing 81
killed and wounded in our regiment
1t was the hardest fight the Fourteenth
was In this campaign. We charged the
trenches without firing shot while the
artillery poured shell after shell into
them. When we reached the trenches
several Of our men Wee hit by our own
shells. That charge was over a mile
and a half of country, and when the
boys reached it they were thoroughly
wearied.
"All that night and the next day we
camped at Yang Tsun, and, and on the
sth we were on the march again. We
had no more fighting until the 14th
when we took the outer walls of Pek.
ing. The Germans and the French had
the right flank, while the English, Japs
and Americans held the left Of the line
"The artillery opened the fight on the
evening of the 18th, and it continued
all night and all day the 14th until 4:3(
In the afternoon, when we went through
the gate, with none killed and only q
few wounded. The following day, the
18th, we took three walls and the gates
Of the Imperial city. In this fight W.
lost four killed and 16 wounded. Capt
Ryley lost his life here. We had two
field pieces on the wall in front Of tn,
Imperial city and the captain wa,
standing in front of them giving orders
when he was shot through the mouth
THAT was our last fight, We ar,
now in camp in Peking, doing police
duty. The Chinos who fed from tn,
city are coming back and starting bus
mess again. We don't know how lonI
we will stay here. Some of the officer
say we will go back to Manila, Others
that we will go to the states. 1 hop,
we will. for am tired Of foreign ser
vice. Everything is quiet now. Nor
troops have arrived here, but the fight
ing is all over.
WILLIAM F. HEATING"