The Savannah morning news., 1901-09-01

that lurked behind the ultimatum were
| proved by the dastardly murder the
| same morning at the hands of a uni
| formed banner soldier, of the German
minister Baron Won Ketteler, who i'm
| prudently went forth to keep an APP
| pointment at the Yamen. At the hour
of that afternoon, by a preconcerted
! signal. heavy fire was opened upon
| the legation outpostS. A French ma
| rne fell with a bullet through his
brain. The siege had begun in earnest
The tale of the heroic defence, of the
weeks of stubborn resistance against
odds that have no parallel save in the
history of Lucknow and Cawnpore, has
| been told many times; it need not be
| set down at length in these pages.
When actual hostilities opened, and the
| Chinese government dropped the mask
and Haunted its murderous intentions,
! the ministers hurriedly completed the
| preparations on which they were en-
| gagged. The Austrian and Belgian le-
| cations and the American and Metho-
! dist mission buildings were abandoned.
| The British legation was regarded as
| the strongest and safest point, and in
| to it's spacious compound thronged
women and children, missionaries, most
of the ministers and all the unofficial
foreigners of Pekin. Passages were cut
| from house to house. Silks and satins,
curtains and embroderies, were made
into thousands of sandbags. The be-
sieged area, which comprised all OF the
legations but two, quickly gathered
strength.
And it needed to do So for it was ex-
posed to rifle and artillery fire on all
sides--from housetops and city walls,
the imperial carriage park% and the
Mongol market, and from other places
| of vantage.
AS the terrible days wore on. each
| marked by the death of one or more
| brave fellows who could i'll be spared,
the enemy pressed their earthworks
nearer and nearer. Many valorous
deed was performed by volunteers, CT
villains and marines. 1t was record
| of gallant sorties and attacks, of posi-
Il tions taken, and lost, and taken again,
of invaders driven from breaches they
| had made in walls and forthcations. A
| Krupp gun, mounted on the Chen Men
| gate opposite the Forbidden City, add
ed to the horror and danger Adjacent
| buildings were set on fire, threatening
| to destroy the Legations, and only aft
| err hours of desperate labor, when buck
| cts of water were passed along amid a
i hail of bullets, was the peril averted.
/ On the 29th the shell fire was terrific,
| and great damage was done. Early in
| the morning of the Sd of July small
! fort which the Chinese were erecting
stormed and taken with severe loss to
| the enemy The next day a desperate
| attempt was made to reduce the Brit
ish Legation, and from the walls OF
| the Imperial City, where three bat
| ferries had been erected, the Empress
| Dowager and her counselors watched
| the bombardment. Fast grew the roll
/ of the dead-Prof. James, the nidship-
| man Herbert. the heroic Goelitz, M.
Wagner the japanese attache Kojima,
| David Oliphant, and others too numer-
Gus to mention.
Thus the siege dragged on, but brave
hearts never wearied, and dauntless
| courage never tagged, though from
morning till night the shells burst and
| pounded, musketry ratified and volleyed
filling the air with Kissing bullets, fire.
balls of petroleum and arrows freight
ed with burning cloth flew overhead,
| and the devlish cries of the investing
hordes blended with the Chinese bugles
that hoarsely sang "Murrr-der Murrr-
der!" The Gordon drew tighter and
| tighter, and the isolation was complete.
The Legation, cut off from communi-
cation with the world outside Pekin,
ignorant of what was happening at
Tien-Tsin and along the railway line
to the capital, wondered why relief did
not come. And as horror was piled on
horror, and hope grew less and less,
a sorrowing husband and wife. the one
sticking nobly to his post of duty and
the other confined to her bed with a
fever, mourned the loss of an only
child; for Dan killigrews parents did
not doubt that he was dead.
The eleventh of July was a day of
many casualties, including those in
Cured by a reckless attempt to capture
a Chinese banner. Toward evening Mr.
Eustace Killigrew had occasion to take
message to the French Legation, and
| ho Ian he h.,fId
shrill. swelling tumult fell on his ears
AS he stepped to one side of the gate
way body of French troops entered
the compound, shouting threats and
curses at number of Chinese prison.
ers, with fettered hands, whom they
were hustling along.
Where did you get these fellows?"
the American secretary asked of the
officer in command, as the party came
to halt.
Found them hiding in a temple lust
outside our lines" was the reply. "A
native Christian gave us the informa-
ton"
And what will you do with them?"
Question them first, monsieur, and
then put them to the bayonet, to save
| cartridges"
The captives numbered IS, of whom
| all but one were imperial soldiers. The
exception was a young Chinaman who
wore a Boxer red sash, and who APP
peared to be half stpuefied by a Sc
we're blow that had raised a purple
lump over one of his temples. But di-
rectly he heard the decree of death
pronounced by the officer his eyes d.
lated, as If he suddenly realized his
position. Jerking his pinioned arms he
made a couple of Keeling steps toward
the secretary.
Save me-" he exclaimed. 81 am not
a Boxer-this is only disguise. Don't
you know me- Mr.. Killigrew?"
Who are you?"
Il am Alec Drury!"
by Heavens-yes. it is young Dru-
| rvs voice." cried Eustace Killigrew.
Are you alone? Where is my son?
Speak, for PHYS sake"
There was no answer, for the lad had
fallen senseless to the ground.