The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-01-30
PEKIN HERolNE's STORY
Miss Condit Smith Says the Women
Were Schooled to Suicide.
If They Failed to XIII Themselves the
Men Were Pledged to Shoot
Every One Of Them.

Washington, D. C.-The thrilling ex-
periences of Miss Mary Condit Smith,
sister-in-law of Major General Wood,
and the other women who were shut
up in the British Legation at PekinS
during the siege. were kept in diary
from day to day by Miss Smith, who
has sold the diary to New York pub
fishers for $4,000 for its reproductions
in book form. In telling Of her expe-3
riences In Pekin Miss Smith says:
1--WE grew to be horribly expert I'm
pistol practice. Every woman In the
legation was provided with pistol,
and the vital spots where a well-di-
rected bullet would kill instantaneous
ly were pointed ou. to her.
Every day the women practiced tars.
get shooting for hours with revolyers,
and also practtced with blank car
Every woman had promised to place
the muzzle Of her revolver in her
mouth and blow the top Of her head
off at the sight Of the first Boxer who
should scale the wall Of the legation
compound. Should the women be-
come panic-stricken, every man was
pledged to shoot the women until not
one was left alive.
"For days and nights together not
soul in the legation dared to sleep,
but stood ready at any moment to use
the pistols in bis hands, which, tired
as they were, never once relaxed their
hold upon the weapons Of death. b
ION one neyer-to-be-forgotten 0cca-
sion we were actually lined up, with
the men in a solid line in front of us
ready to shoot us, for 1t was momen-s
tarily expected that the Boxers would
gain possession. Night after night
since then have lain awake going all
over 1t again. OF sunk into sleep only
to be tortured with dreams as harrow
ing as the actual experiences.
"But even at such times there was
left in US an appreciation Of certain
comicalities over which we actually
laughed. I remember on one Of the
occasions how Mrs. Conger made us:
laugh by saying that she actually, all
through the siege, was more afraid OF
her husband than any Boxer who ever;
was born, for Mr.. Conger was In such
an overwrought condition she was
mortally afraid he might shoot her.
dead on some false alarm.
zone of the worst things was to
witness the suffering and starvation
of the poor children huddled In the
legation. The positive heroism OF
some of those children in trying to:
distract the attention Of the starving
ones from their pitiable condition and
give them heart to hive through the,
awful experiences is beyond anything.
that ever was written.
81 remember on one occasion one OF
the officers came to US holding out his
sword reeking with Boxer blood, ana
told me to use it for my own destruc.
ton upon the instant Of hearing the
signal which was then momentariiy
expected.
"Once the Empress sent to the lega-i
TONERS a number of horses for them to.
use as a means of escape. The horses.
were loaded with sacks Of food. Halt
Of the food was found to be poisoned.
Miss Smiths marriage to Lieutenant
| Richard Hooker, United States Mar
inc Corps, will take place In this CITY
at noon on February II, with Bishop.
Satterlee officiating.