The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-09-03
AMERICAN GRIT AT PEKIN.
Captain Meyers Small Force Held Il
AFob at Uay.

MOD at nay.
VICTORIA. B. c.. Sept 3-Included in
the news of the Pekin fighting brought by
the steamer Victoria. which reached here
from the Orient. yesterday are the details
Of the gallant sortie made by Captain Mey-
er. OF the United States ship Baltimore
and little band Of American marines.
The American Legation was surrounded
4 thousands of Chinese. when, under COW
er of darkness, Captain Meyer and his
small force charged out and drove back
the mob which was firing FROM the ada
cent walls. The Chinese were held at bay
until barrieades surrounding the legation
were built. These were held until the re-
lief arrived.
The news is given by q Chinese reform
e. in a translated interview to the North
China Daily News that the Chinese Min
listers Hsu and Yung Y, and Yuen Chang
and two others, who at risk of their lives
warned the American Minister of the i'm
pending attack also warned the German
Minister not to go 10 the Tsung-li Yamen
as he proposed He persisted and was
murdered by the Kansu troops.
Refugees also say that as the Empress
was about to give her consent in writing
to the decree calling upon her generals to
proceed 20 the attack upon the legations
and TO war with the foreigners. the En-
peror prostrated himself before her and, in
a voice broken with emotion and despair
besoGght her to pause before sending the
Government troops TO attack the legations
thereby plunging the Empire into war and
putting matters beyond recall The re-
fugees, in an article translated for the
North China Daily News described the
Interview as follows:
If l alone" cried His Majesty in de-
spairing accents, were to suffer and die as
a consequence of what you have done and
intend bye and bye to do gladly would I
die in atonement for the catastrophe you
would bring on China, but I beseech your
Imperial Majesty to pause before you de-
stroy the hundreds of millions of my poor,
unoTending subjects, throughout the cOun-
try What have they, l ASK your majesty.
done to merit the calamity that viii be in
store for hem by the false step your
counSeiaFs intend TO take. I beseech your
majesty g stop before it becomes too late.
"A myriad times do i pray you to re-
consider your decision before launching on
a policy which will end in the very founda-
tiOl6 Of the Empire which my forefathers
handed down to me to nourish and to pro
tect from harm. I would rather die zen
thousand deaths than see all the sufferings
that are in store for my myriads of unfor-
tunate subjects" Here His Majesty broke
dowE utterly.
The Empress Dowager merely cast a
look of contempt On the Emperor and
looked away, utterly ignoring the protests
of the Emperor who. while saying his last
word, had impulsively moved forward a
step and clutched the hem of his Imperial
aunt's robe, the picture OF helpless des-
pair and impotency
II only required Prince Tugu. who stood
near the throne with his Manchus. to
speak in a loud tone and the Empress Dow
ageT to say with a coEtemptuous shrug Of
the shoulders: What does His Majesty
the Emperor know about such things any-
wsoy?" to break utterly the heart and on
position OF the unfortunate Emperor. His
Majesty at once rose and weeping left the
council chamber