Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1901-06-13
4 YELLOW CRIME,
THE SIEGE IN PEKIN.

Captain Won Montalman directed the
defense of both the French and the
German legations, Sir Claude MacDon-
aid having been elected by the minis
tiers as commander in chief.
The attacks on the French legation
We're from the beginning extremely We
hement, as the Chinese fully recognized
the high Importance of its position.
Had 1t been lost. the German legation,
the Hotel de Peking and the Su Wang
Flu would have been no longer tenable.
The Austrians shared in all the various
services which the garrison of the
French legation had to perform.
strong barricade was built to command
East Legation street. and a sort of
blockhouse at the main gate.
Together With the French and Ger
made in the neighborhood, killing and
wounding q number of Chinese each
time. On June "a detachment under
AIidshipman William Royneburg took
part with the Germans in storming the
city wall, which enabled the Americans
to reoccupy their former position on
wall. The Austrians constantly REIN
forced the Germans on the wall front to
the east, and after the 26th of June
constantly had five men assisting Colo
mel Shiba at the Su Wang Flu Their
machine gun did excellent service as
long as the position behind the barri-
cades could be maintained, and after
these We're given up was sent from time
to time to the Russian, German and
English legations as needed. When the
French legation was under the hottest
fires from north. east and south, only
the western side being protected by
the other legations, the French took the
northern and the Austrians the south
ern line of defense and We're each under
constant rifle fire at only twenty-five
yards range. And this they endured
for weeks. On June 90 the Chinese
succeeded in making break in the
eastern wall on Customs street, and set
fire to the French legation stables but
they had not sufficient courage to fol-
low UP with rush the advantage
gained. But this necessitated relin-
gushing the barrier in the southern
end of Customs street, and easternmost
loarricade In Legation street, the gar
risons being under rear and flank fire.
The Chinese succeeded daily, or rather
nightly, in making the breaches in the
eastern wall larger and more numerous,
until they had nearly RACED the entire
structure. Yet they gained no great adj
vantage owing to the breaches being SO
we'll covered from the windows of
buildings and barricades erected in the
western part of the compound The fa-
| tigue endured by the defenders was ex-
traordinarily great. From July l daily
| Smelling was endured, which riddled the
roofs and walls of every building In the
compound, and until the main building
and main large gateway, an imposing
structure, was utterly demolished and
became a pile of ruins. On the Sth of
| July the Chinese brought into position
at about eighty yards distance a three
inch ISrupp gun. from which they cont
menced to pour in a destructive fire on
the eastern wall. Captain Won Thorn
burg, with Captain Labrousse and
Ilieutenants Darcy and Kollar all anx-
ious to locate exactly this gun, left
1 their main barricade and proceeded to
a spot behind n low loophoicd wall IN
| their front, and had scarcely arrived
when she'll burst In their midst, a
/ fragment of which pierced Won Thorn
burg through the heart, causing him to
fall dead IL the arms of hiA friends. He
| was carried sorrowfully to the rear,
and at p. m. buried with military hon-
ors, although the bullets We're falling
thick around those who We're thus hon
oring their comrade and leader The
tears of sympathy on this occasion Wit
messed the sorrow of the nell and the
| general esteem in which the fallen had
BEEN held. After the death of Captain
Won Thornburg the command of the
Won Winterhalter.
made furious attack, commencing
with rifle fire and shouts of "k;l,!
XIII" This was intended to draw all
the defenders into their positions, and
/ nearly Succeeded for after few mo-
ments the rifle fire suddenly ceased and
two mines exploded with great report,
blowing up Mr.. Morrisse's house, where
DIR. Won Rosthorn, Lieutenant Darcy
and MIR. Destelan, with four French
sailors, We're stationed. Two of the sail
ors We're never recovered. All the 9TH
ers We're able TO extricate themselves
from the ruins but slightly injured.
Earth, stones and dust We're thrown
high into the air, clouds of heavy sui
phurous smoke rose from the hole In
the ground, poisoning the dust-laden
dir, and at the same moment, to add to
the horror of the situation, two three
inch guns opened up on the main gate
house, sending their contingent of iron
hail from distance of only eighty
yards. This explosion compelled both
4 the Austrians and French to retire
about thirty yards eastward behind q
barricnde they had already partly
erected in preparation for stubbornly
contested retreat. But upon the shell
fire ceasing, later on the combined
forces made a sortie, drove the Chinese
out of the main gateway and reoccu.
pied it. Never in history has there bee,
q a more stubbornly contested few acres
than those occupied by the Austrian:
and French in the French legation com
pound. The buildings, however, taking
fire compelled the French again to re-
tire behind their intrenchment in the
western part of the garden, the Aus
trians retreating To the chapel ant
earthworks connecting with the Pavi!
ion deS EstranBer3. u small building
with very thin wallis. One small hous,
. was burned by the Austrinns to pre-
vent the Chinese from using it agains
them. AT first this entire new line O
defence was very weak, but it was rap
idly strengthened by adding bricks ant
sandbags.
AS the Chinese barricaded themselve
, in the western part of the legation cap
tured by them. they also made use o
the shrubbery and trees to shield them
selves, and these the Austrians had t.
clear away under hot fire. Until Jul,
II, day and night, the enemy In tn
opposite barricade poured in stead
fire, which the Austrians only returne,
by an occasional shot, as their ammu
milton had to be husba nded. The so
called truce did not last very long, fo
on the 23d the firing was nearly as ba
as before and at nights often worse
TO cut off any further mines trenc
, sixty yards long and ten feet deep wa
dug in front of the Pavilion des Etran
!, gers. AS was afterward seen, the Chi
nese had really attempted two furthe
mines, but for some unknown reaso
had given up before they were com
pleted. They admit that they los
twenty lives in the explosion that kille
two Frenchmen. On the last night Q
the siege the firing in the French lega
ton, as everywhere else, was exceeding
ly hot, and although two shells burst i
the chapel. no one WAS injured Th