The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-01-18
PUNITIVE PICNICS.
Ao" the Allies Gayly KIN the Ma
lives of a Country With which
They Are at peace

HG~ the Allies GayIy KIN the Ma
lives of a Country With which
They Are at s'Peace."
From the London Express
Pekin. Oct. live have had sew
eral little expeditions. punitive picnics or
international field days. during the past
couple of weeks. The one from which
] have just returned may be taken as
typical We started yesterday afternoon
the Engsh at and the Americans at 4
and went out through the western gate
of the Chinese City amid dense clouds
of dust
1t was three or four inches thick on
the road. Outside the wall is stone
road, which means a raised path, as if of
colossal dominoes fixed at varying angles
with gaps at irregular intervals. and deep
ruts in places, where thousands of cart
wheels have made an impression after
centuries of jo ting.
/ don't know how many miles of ID
there were. The American gun carriages
and drivers had a errible time, but got
over 1t without a smash, whereas one
of ouls gvt tempo ari knocked out and
on the way we passed a Chinese gun ly-
ing by the wayside with a broken car
riage wheel. There were about 500 Eng
lish and slightly greater number Of
Americans composing or portion of the
expeditions; TWO battalions of Germans.
with two guns, were TO cooperate olso
some Japs, who were to leave Pekin
this mo ming. A number of Boxers were
known to be in the temples in the west
ern hills. TIE English and Americans,
by making detour, were to at ack them
from behind, and, If pos ible drive them
down into the plain between the hills
and Pekin, where they would be met
and dealt with by the Germans and Japs.
We got into little walled village about
z o'clock. 1t was just dark and the first
drops of what was TO be a heavy shower
were falling. We well as the Ameri-
cans. had an enormous baggage train
considering our number of men and
there was considerable confusion in the
narrow streets when all the mules, wag-
ons and carts got crowded into them
These Indians are very quick about set
Ting down, and it was not long before I
was tucking in to a cold dinner with Mai
White and the officers of the Field Hospi-
tai Corps.
We occupied a little house outside the
village. just next Marco Polos bridge
This great structure looked peculiarly
strange in the twilight. At the end of
the street one suddenly comes to a huge
stone-faced embankment looking like the
place, which stretches right and left as
far as the eye can see.
A Weird scene.
At its base is a level plain of sand, as
II it had been left by a receding tide, and
out at right angles to this, giving the
illusion of a pier built out into the sea,
stretched the level bridge until its fur
Their end was lost in the darkness There
was little water in the shifting channel
of the Hoang-ho, but the enormous but
tresses that faced up stream like the bows
of ironclads must be none too heavy for
the enormous volume of water when that
immense river is in flood.
/ slept in dhoolie, and a dhoolie is "a
most excellent combination of tent and
four-poster to sleep in. II was a chilly
night with some showers, and, my good
ness, how some of these poor Indian bear
ers bivouacking around coughedl Several
of them were already evidently suffering
from chest complaints, but what will II
be when the cold weather comes?
! like the sound that awoke me about
o'clock-the tramp. tramp Of marching
men In the night. Men do not talk much
or talk loud marching in the dark. There
IS sort OF fascination In the sound min
Eled with the rumbling rattle OF artillery
wagons and guns. 1t is nice TO be able TO
lie IN bed and speculate where all these
silent men are bound for. or what foes
may face them before the dawn. but II
g. Internally uncomfortable TO have TO