The Topeka state journal., 1900-06-19
ARMY OF 5000.
General Mac Arthur Ordered to
Send Three Regiments
Of Regulars Under His Com
mand to China.
THE OREGON WILL GO.
The Iris Will Leave Manila To-
morrow With Supplies.
Russians Lost Most Heavily in
Battle of Taku.

@sNSSAdAS AOSb Aoo0 AOdVAy Al
Battle of Taku.
New York. June 18.-A special to the
Tribune from Washington says:
To meet the exceedingly grave COM
plication that has developed in north
ern China and in order that the United
States may be commensurately repre-
sented in the relief and protective
measures forced upon the foreign ma
tions, the president has directed Gen
eral Macarthur to send three regi-
ments of regulars to Tien Tsin, which
with their support of commissary field
transportation signal men and medical
staff, will make a force Of 5000. Ad-
miral Remey has been directed to send
the Oregon to Taku as soon as she can
start
The Oregon is sent because of her
great moral effect and the large number
Of men she carries. The Iris is ex-
pected to leave Manila tomorrow for
Talxu with food, coal and ammunition
for 900 men for three months, for Ad-
miral Kempff's squadron. She will take
at least eight days to make the voyage
The SoIace, which left Manila with 100
marines last Wednesday, is due at
Taku.
The announcement of the return to
Tien Tsin of the combined brigade af-
ter a week fruitIess effort to reach
Pekin is regarded as of the highest i'm
portance- 1t not only connrmS the De-
lief of the desperate condition of affairs
| at the Chinese capital. but is thought
| to explain why it was necessary to
seize the Taku forts. If the commanders
of the combined fleet below the forts
learned of the expeditions return to
| Tien TSin that city being IN the possess
sion of mobs it must have been neces-
sary to send reinfOrcementS and pro-
| visions up the riveR promptly, no mat
/ ter if the sun had set. The Chinese reg
ulations permit nothing to pass the
| forts at night under any circumstances.
| For the same reasons the gates of Pekin
| are closed inexorably at sunset and not
| reOpeQed until sunrise.
! Dispatches say the forts fired three
| quarters of an hour after midnight
| which bears out the suggestion that the
| gunboats were sent up the river with
| food supplies from the fleet outside,an
| were fired upon for violating the regula-
| tiOnS With the forts as bases the pow
| ers are expected to form large force
| as speedily as possible to begin a deter
| mined relief expedition of sufficient
force to open the railway. No further
| restrictions will operate TO impede the
| landing of the forces, particularly those
| of Japan.
DETAILS OF THE BATTLE.
London. June 19.-China declared war
| against the world when the Taku forts
/ opened fire upon the International fleet.
The accounts of what took place are
| still unsatisfactory, the best semi Off
cia1 information being the dispatch re-
| ceived at Berlin from Che Foo.
The unofficial narratives coming by
way of Shanghai vary and bear evil
dence of Supplanting the main facts
| with guess work. One. dlspatcn says the
Yorktown participated in the lombard
ment. Another asserts that American
marines formed part of the stoTm1ng
/ force of 9. 900. An Associated Press dis
| patch from Che Foo, dated yesterday
afternoon, says: The forts on both
sides of Taku are now occupied The
| Chinese opened fire Unexpectedly. The
| casualties to the mixed force were as
! follows:
Kined-British /; German 3; Russian
| / and French l.
Wounded-British 4; German 7; Rus
| sian IS, and French I.
! Chinese torpedo boats were seized.
The Shanghai correspondent of the
Daily Mail, telegraphing yesterday,
says: The forts began firing in OBJ
| servance to orders from PeAin, convey
| dowager, by advice of Kang vi (presi-
| dent of the ministry of war) Several
! Warships were struck by shells from
| the twelve inch guns of the forts.
,srThe heavy Russian losses were due
to the blowing up Of the magazines OF
-Four hundred Chinese are reported
killed. The Chinese, when retreatine
| fell into the hands of the Russian land
force"
! The Daily News has the following
from Che Foo: Two of the forts were
blow up The 80 way ships at Taku ag-
gregated 100000 tons and carried more
/ than 800 guns.
The failure of Admiral Seynour's col
umn and its retreat to Tien Tsin in
crease, it is presumed. the peril of the
legations in Pekin, which is still iSola-
] ! ted although Shanghai forwards Chi
nese rumors that the legations were at
3 tackled by mobs who were moved down
by machine guns and also that the
2 mem bers of the legations were massa-
: cred. The situation at Niu Chwang is
I reported critical
The powers are taking prompt action
Four thousand German troops have
been ordered to China, 10000 French
Z troops are awaiting to embark at Sal
gon, capital of French Cochin China
Z and 5000 to 10000 more Russians have
been ordered from Port Arthur to Taku
The Brussels correspondent of the
Standard, in a dispatch dated yester-
day says:
: Russia has massed 10000 men, with
seven batteries of artillery at Kiachta
with orders to proceed to Maimatchin, q
7 Chinese town contiguous to Kia Chau
and thence to advance along the tele-
graph route to the Mongol town q
, Urga, 200 miles south of Kiachta and
$50 miles northwest of Pekin.'
The Shanghai correspondent of thC
Times gives the following description
said to be from official sources of this
action at Taku:
ON the afternoon of June 16, in view
of the large bodies of Chinese troops
assembling at the forts and Of the facts
that torpedoes had been laid in the rivel
and that all communications were inter
| rupted, the naval commanders held Z
consultation and decided to send an ul
| timatum, calling for the disbandmen
| of the troops and announcing that i
| this demand We're not complied with be
| fore a. m. of the following day tbs
united squadron would destroy tbs
| forts.
Shortly after midnight the forts op
ened fire. The British, French, German
| Russian and japanese warships replied
| Two of the forts were blown up. and th.