Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1901-06-15

- bA0 Oh0
end OF, Legation street. From that date
Captain von Hontalman directed the
defense OF both the French and tina
German legations, Sir Claude MacDon-
aid having been elected by the minis
ters as commander in chief.
The attacks on the French legation
were 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 SD wa1g
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. A
strong barricads was built to command
East Legation street, and a sort 6f
olockhouse at the main gate;
Together with the French and GER
mans several successful sorties were
made In the neighborhood, killing and
wounding a number of Chinese each
time. On June "a a detachment under
Midshipmah william R%oyneburg took
part with the Germans in storming the
city wall, which enabled the Americans
TO reoccupy their former POSITION on
wall The Austrians constantly reii-
forced the Germans or 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 were 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
tho othSr legations, the Frefich took the
northern and the Austrians the south
ern line Of defense and were each under
constant rife fire at only twenty-five
yards range And this they endured
for weeks. On June 29 the Chinese
succeeded In making a break in the
eastern wall OH Customs street, and set
fire to the French legation stables, but
they had not sufficient courage to fol-
low up with d rush the advantage
gained. But this necessitated relin-
gushing the barrier in the southern
end of Customs street, and easternmost
barricade In Legation streeti the gar-
rieons 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 ad-
vantage owing to the breaches being so
well covered from the windows of
buildings and barbados erected In the
western part of the compound. The IA
tigue endured by the defenders was ex-
t~raofdinarily great. From July / daily
sheliing was endured, which tiddlea 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 Krupp gun, from which they COM
menced to pour in a destructive fire on
the eastern wall. Captain Won Thorn
burg, with Captain Labrousse and
Lieutenants Darcy and Kollar, all anx-
ious to locate exactly this gun, left
their main barricode and proceeded to
q spot behind a low loopholed wall in
their 'front.'. n had scarcely arrived
when q shell burst in their midst. a
fragment ~, which Pierced Won Thorn
buFg through the heart, causing him to
fall dead In the arms OF his friends. He
carried sorroSfully TO the rear.
and at 2 y. III. buried with military nom
ors, although the bullets were falling
thick around those who were thus nom
oring their comrade and leader. The
tears OF sympathy on this occasion wit
messed he sorrow Of the men n the
general esteem in which the fallen had
Teen held. After the death OF Captain
o Thornburg the command of the
Austrians devolved upon Lieutenant
O Winterhalter,
On July Is, at 6i45 p. M, the Chinese
made a furious attack, commencing
with rifle fire and shouts OF kilt
XIII" This was intended to draw ali
the defenders into their positions, and
nearly succeeded, for after q few mo-
ments the rifle fire suddenly ceased and
W mines exploded with great report,
blowing up Mr.. Morrisse's house, where
DIR. Won Rosthorn, Lieutenant Darcy
and MI. Destelan. with four French
sailors, were stationed. Two of the sail
ors were never recovered. All the 9TH
ers were able to extricate themselves
from the ruins but slightly injured.
Earth, stones and lust were thrown
high into the air, clouds of heavy sui
phurous smoke rose from the hole In
ground. poisoning the dust-laden
air, n at the same moment, to add TO
the horror of the situation, two three
guns opened up on the main gate
house, sending their contingent of iron
nall from q distance of only eighty
yards. This explosion compelled both
the Austrians and French to retire
thirty yards eastward behind. a
they had already partly
erected In preparation for q stubbornly
contested retreat. But upon the shell
fire ceasing, later on the combined
made a sortie, drove the Chinese
out of the main gateway and reoccu-
pied 1t. Never In history has there been
a more ~stubbornly contested few acres
than those occupied by the. Austrians
French in the French legation com
pound. The buildings, however, taking
lire compelled the French again to re-
tire behind their intrenchment In the
part of the garden, the Aus
TRANS retreating to the chapel and
connecting with the Payil-
lon des E~strangers, O small building
very thin walls. One small house
was burned by the Austrians to pre-
vent h Chinese from using it against
them. AT first this entire new line OF
was very weak, but ii was ran
.dly strengthened by adding bricks and
5andbags.
AS the Chinese b~arrtcaded themselves
n the western part of the legation can
by them, they also made use of
he shrubbery and trees to shield them
selves, and these the Austrians had to
away under hot fire. Until July
z, day n night, the enemy In the
barricade poured in a steady
Ire, which h Austrians only returned
an occasional shot, as their ammu-
iition had to be husbanded. The So
'alled truce did not last very long, for
IN the 23d the firing was nearly as bad
- before and at nights often worse.
cut off any further mines a trench
iixty yards long and ten feet deer was
lug in front of the Pavilion des Etran-
'ers. AS was afterward seen, the Chi
lese had really attempted two further
mines, but for some unknown reason
lad given up before they were COM.
'leted. They admit that they lost
wenty ives In the explosion that killed
wo Frenchmen, On fhe last night of
siege the firing In the French lega-
ION, as everywhere else, was exceeding
Y hot, and although two shells burst In
chapel, no one was injured. The
lost, killed one officer, three
woundesi, three officers.
light ~ueiacke Cf the IN 0oo ro,,nd.