The morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1899-1930, 1900-07-06


10. The empress dowager also took
poison but is still alive. though report
ed to be insane from the effects Of the
drug.
The above has been officially reported
to the German consular stan.
NEW YORK. July 5.-A dispatch to
the Tribune from London says:
The situation in China remains hor-
ror Of great darkness. There is no
trustworthy information from Pekin
since the end of June. and there may
never be. Shanghai reports state that
there is not a foreigner alive in the cap
ital. If this be true the story OF the
massacre and barbarous butchery will
never be told in detail. There is a
budget Of rumors and surmises which
is a poor substitute for authentic news.
All the legation houses except three
are said to have been destroyed by
June 25, and the condition Of the Brit
ish embassy, where all refugees of all
nationalitiesh were huddled together
under fire. is described as desperate and
utterly deplorable. Most Of the details
mentioned IN the Chinese dispatches
are artificial and are evidently based
upon conjecture. One detail is suspi
ciously misleading. 1t is the statement
that infuriated German troops set fire
to the house Of the Tsung Ii Yamen,
after the murder Of the minister. and
that many Chinese members perished
in the flames. This Is evidently a |
clumsy Chinese invention. designed to
cover and condone the unspeakable
horrors of a massacre Of the foreign |
embassies.
One of the worst features OF the ca
tastrophe. which everyone in official
and diplomatic circles here is now COM
PEELED TO believe has taken place. is the
suspense which must follow the omin-
GUS rumors. Days and possibly weeks
may elapse before a connected story Of
this crime against humanity and civil
ization can be told. Relief from Tien
Tsin is clearly beyond the range Of
possibilities. The admirals are reported
TO have decided that they cannot
march toward the capital until they
are heavily reinforced. They may not
be able to hold their ground where
they are, for the Chinese army has
been heavily reinforced. the lombard
ment of the foreign quarter has been
renewed and the allies are constantly
under fire. ~
Toward midnight dispatch was CIV
en- out from the British consul at Han
kow stating that the legations were
still holding out July l. but that the
struggle was hopeless. The admiralty
confirmed this report, but added that
the ammunition Of the legation guards,
originally about $50, had been
exhausted An earlier dispatch from
Admiral Seymour dated the 24th of
June had stated that all the legations,
except the British, French. German and
part Of the Russian. had been de-
stroyed. but that one gate of the city !
was held with guns captured from the
Chinese. Official news was less de- I
spondent than the press dispatches
from Shanghai and other ports. but it
was clearly impracticable for the army ;
at Tien Tsin to relieve Pekin. unless
a stroke of extraordinary audacity were {
attempted. Possibly the pathos of the :
messages received at Tien Tsin may
inspire the commanders Of the allied |
forces with the energy required for a
forlorn hope, but this hardly seemed
within the range of possibility.
NEW YORK, July 5.-Twenty- eight
American missionaries cent out by the
Presbyterian. Congregational and
Methodist churches and the Christian
and Missionary Alliance, and their
families, stationed at Pekin, are be-
lieved to have been there when the
Boxers and Chinese soldiers began their
reign Of terror. Their names are as
follows:
Rev. DR.. w. A. P. Martin. Rev. John
Wherry. Rev. J. L. Whiting Rev. and
Mrs. C. H. Fem and two children;
Rev, and Mrs. C. A. Killie, DR.. John
N. Ingles and wife. Miss Eliza E.
Leonard. Miss Grace Newton, Miss
Bessie Mccoy and Miss Jennie McKil-
lican. Presbyterians. Rev. W. S. Ament.
Rev. Chase Ewing and wife, Mrs. NJ.
I. Matteer, Miss Ada Haven, Miss
Nellie Russell. Miss Elizabeth Sheffield
and Miss Virginia Murdock. NJ D.,