The Topeka state journal., 1900-08-25


the canaille of the southern provinces,
and naturally do not compare very well
with the French troops that you see in
France.
house seemed to be the last, and SO my
companion and myself started back to
town. We had gone only few yards
when we changed our plans abruptly
Crack-ungI split the air over our heads,
and thriz-z-zi fragments flew about
There was a trench at our feet and we
dropped into it without stopping for
consultation. THE ChinkS, as every
body calls the enemy. had concluded to
drop little steel on the inner side or
the round-houSe, on the speculation
that there might be something there
worth wrecking, wounding or killing
..One-two-thrse, in the regular order
Of fire are usually all they put into
one SPOT unless il is a battery So
after the third, we Went our way IN
peace back to the concession without
any unpleasant reminders except q lew
stray bullets
The great incident of the afternoon
comes to me by report and not opserVS-
ton. Mr.. Cossack, who, they say, would
like to get the railway out of Engllsn
control, already occupies the line IN an
attitude of mine points of the law
There were two locomotives at the sta
fion which had not yet been damaged
by shell-fire. The Russians, with four
field guns and skirmish line. started
out toward the railway bridge batteries
cost As soon as the Russians were in
range the Chinese guns opened with all
their might The Russians seemed to
fall back, and the Chinese thought they
had won a great victory, until they hap
pened to look over toward the railway
station There they saw two locomotives
manned by Russians, with three nat
cars, making from the station to safety
down the line twoard Tongku. They
turned their guns and trained them with
most praiseworthy agility on the real
enemy. They dropped shells all around
those locomotives as they few out of
range without hitting them or harming
a hair of the Cossacks' heads. 1t was q
pleasant trick for the Russian general to
play, and the manning of the train a fine
thing for the COssack to do. With all
his rough edges, you yet grow fond of
the Cossack- He is blue-eyed and light
haired-and that is a great deal-a born
icslxe1, ready to fight anything, used to
brown bread and hardship, not knowing
as luxuries the necessities OF our own
troops, muscular at q Viking, and alto
gether the happiest soldier in the worlds
We have had few more shells than
Yesterday. Only half an hour ago one
passed the window at a rate of speed
which suggested that it was in hurry
to overtake man down the road.
July 6.=Up to 1890 a. m-we had peace.
That is. the four big guns Of position in
the native city restricted their attention
to the other end of town. At 0:30, they
paid their compliments to US for Is min
a
nese pony batteries, ammunition, guns,
extra parts, spades and medical attach
ment started out toward the west wall.
The Chinese signalmen saw them Two
or three shells went over their heads and
then came one just between ours and our
neighboT~s house, and threw up spout
of dust a few yards to one side OF the
ammunition train. Three horses went
down; two from fright and one from
wounds. That was all the damage done,
except a stampede which the little laps
controlled with the deftness that charac-
teIfZeS all they do as soldiers. If that
shell had struck on the macadamized
street itself just in front of the train its
power for evil would have been terrible
In one instance, 1t sepnds itself in the
turf: in the other, 1t scoops up quanti-
ty of fragments of rock which it turns
into missiles that fly forward with its
own segments and bunets.
Not long after the Japs went out, we
heard that the 12 FOUNDERS were going to
turn their shells on the native city at 2
p m. with view to firing it. Evidently
Admiral Seymour has overcome his
qualms of conscience about the property
of foreigners and the W~srrarxa and child
rem in Tien Tsin. 1t is unpleasant to
think of shells falling in any place where
there are women and children, whether
heather or not But the Chinese have
been throwing shells among the white
women and children of Tien Tsin for
over two weeks. The foreign-owned pro-
perty is insignificant beside the increase
allowing the Chinese to get TOO good an
opinion of himself.
At 2 the correspondents were on the
roof of the German club. An hours
shelling put shell after shell into the
west gates from the British II Founders,
and some into the native city itself from
the guns which the French have in their
Concession Two fires were started. In
stead OF spreading, as we expected, they
went out At least the Viceroy, laughing
at our generosity as weakness, viii no
longer sit in his yamen attending to bus
mess IN peace and quiet while the four
guns of position in the native city are
heaving shells into the Concession and
killing soldiers in their barracks as they
have today One shell, by the way, struck
in the '.gO-dOWn'' occupied by our ma
rlnes- 1t dropped girder in the laps of
two OF the men and bricks into the laps
of others, but injured nobody
There is talk that the Chinese may at
tack tomorrow
July 7-Shelling as usual. No attack
marerialized- Apparently the Chinese
are moving around on our western
front to try to invest the city. With the
additional imperial troops that have ar
rived, they may have the men to do it
IL they know how. The Japanese cav
airy on reconnaissance developed the
enemy IN the neighborhood of Ded-
rings house, which means the enemy
extended his lines two miles overnight
l was going out there this morning to
try TO buy some vegetables from Chi
nese gardeneres who hang around at
some little distance from the wall at the
risk of being shot by our sentries while
waiting for customers to come. The
reason why we are still living on bread
and canned goods is therefore evident.
This afternoon, from the wall our
glasses revealed to US. a number of
men working on what seemed to be the
enprasure Tor gun near behring's
house, and also the banners of either
troops or boxers to the south of IT.
This little demonstration has set us all
TO thinking Our enemy has to go only
q little further to have his left rest
on the river which is our connection,
with steam tugs and lighters, with our
base at Tongku and Talsu. The. recon-
struetion of the railways from Tongku
to Tien Tsin is not further along than
1t was a week ago. AS yet we have