The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-08-29
AWFUL WORK OF BOXERS
EXTRACTS FROM THE DIARY OF A
HIGH CHINESE OFFICIAL.
Alleged Truthful Account OF the Up
rising Against the Legation
ers at the Capital.

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 2S.-From the
diary of a high Chinese official in Picking,
published in the North China Daily News.
the following extracts are taken:
by the 4th of June the Boxer outlaws
had begun to tear up and destroy the rail-
way system between Peking ana Ilen-
Tsin, and from that day also began 10
enter the city walls of Peklng, crowolhg
i'm at the rate of over a thousand a day
AT this time also, these outlaws began the
wholesale daughter of Christians ana ourn-
ing of churches outside Picking unth none
of the latter have been left standing. As
many as could escape among the chris
tians then poured into the capital, taxing
refuge i'm the legations. This state or al
fairs, / may say. existed in the capital dur
ing the first days of June.
June I3.-Seventeenth day of the fifth
moon, twenty-sixth year of Kwang-Su:
About dusk. while in the University of Pc
king, / saw four places on fire, whereupon
1 Immediately returned to my mouse, SUD
sequently learning that all the churcnes
and mission property inside the Eastern
city had been set on fire and entirely de-
stroyed. Tonight there was a huge COM
motion and rioting. mostly i'm the eastern
and western thoroughfares after when a
great fusillade of rifle firing succeeded. Inis
was due to those places being near the
Austrian legation, the inmates OF which,
hearing a great commotion among the
Boxers in the great thoroughfares and
seeing them approach close to the legation,
began to shoot them. The Boxers returned
the fire, the mutual fighting lasting until
1:30 d. m, when both sides ceased.
June 16-To-day the fire and smoke rls-
ing from buildings set on fire in the great
street leading from the south gate or the
palace was awful. So dense was the smoke
that throughout the day there was a pail
over the capital, making the sun a pale
yellow. 1t seems that the Boxers had set
fire to the old established Lao TIE Tung
drug shop, and there being at the time
a strong southwest wind blowing, the con-
daorot;o, hoH dacfrnuaH sayQrQl hundred
shops.
June 19-At noon to-day as the German
minister and his interpreter were riding
in sedan chairs to get to the Tsung Ii
Yamen and had got Just north or the single
imperial arch, suddenly there was heard a
shot in the sedan chair of the minister,
due to the revolver which he carried as
personal protection going of accidentally.
The soldiers on guard at the Belgian le-
cation. suspecting that the shot had been
fired by Our government troops, the for
eign soldiers Immediately opened their
gates and began firing on passers-by. The
Belgian legation is just next the Tehsing
Tanghu. Thereupon our government troops
returned the fire. During the mutual fusii-
ladies' those in the sedan chair were hit.
the German minister fatally. This was
the beginning of actual hostilities. The
government feeling that, under the cir
cumstances, the matter had got beyond re-
call, accordingly decided for the first time
to order out the Kan-Su Corps to attack
the various legations.
June pat 4 p. m. to-day kansu troops
began firing on the AUSTRIAN legation from
the Princes palace, Great street. The FIR
ing lasted all night.
June 21-At about / p. m. the Austrian
legation was captured by the Kansu troops
and at about s p. m. they began setting fire
to the buildings nearby As night fell the
buildings just east of the Austrian legation,
namely, the Imperial Chinese Bank and the
Dollar Mint, got on fire.
June pas morning broke we could see
that the confiagration was spreading and
burning more fiercely than ever. and 1t
seemed that the large railway school, be-
tween the Austrian legation and the I'm
perial Chinese Bank, had also been de-
stroyed. Then the troops belonging to
Jung LUIS own personal m came on
the scene to restore order and preserve the
peace. But instead of doing this they ac-
tually joined the Kansu men in getting loot.
Eventually il was found that Jung LUIS
own army were the greatest sinners in this
respect.
June Recommending from to-day. the
sound of rifle firing has never ceased,
springing up on all sides. that in the direc-
ton of the bridge over the Imperial canal
being the most severe.
June 27-To-day the British legation was
taken and the foreign troops took refuge
in a lane. The houses in Chia-Ming street
had by this time all been burned to the
ground, scarcely any being left standing :"
Here the diary ends. A letter from an
unnamed refugee. also published in the
North China Daily News, confirms many
of the above statements.