Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-09
BY M. P. SEIIEL..
somethIng more 1or somelhIng less than !
TORY OF THE WORLDS GREATEST WAR.
Copyright. 1899. BY r. F. renao Co.,

he left the rudder-oar and searched the
poat; lA-ken. apparently. had forgotten
nothing; there was food and drink in
plenty, pot, a compass of western make,
ana a curious instrument which he as
sumed to be a continuance for taking the
suns altitude. but which he could not at
| once understand
He made fire. for which the materials
We're at hand, put on some rice to boil, and
resumed his place at the oar.
| Now and again painted junk passed him
toillng up the river: but he was not even
/ at the pains to hide himself as Ni-ching-
tang had warned him. was he of
safety.
| At shutdown he gllded between the GEN.
tral space, then open, of the bridge of
boats across the Peiho at Tientsin. At
IL o clock, under calm and radiant night,
he had Taku on his starboard beam; and
Pechili
| Feeling drowsy about fifteen miles from
/ land. he shipped his oar lowered his SAIL
and went to sleep.
| The point of his destination was Kiao-
| Chau. once German, then very much Eng
| iisii.
Here. seven weeks before, one dark mid
| night, hundred and eighty English sail
/ ors had beached the battered second-class
| cruiser Iphfgenia and landed.
The subsequent adventures of these men,
when properly written, would fill volumes
| AT present we can merely glance at them.
At the moment of landing the English
| men were no longer wholly in the dark as
| to the real state of things In China The
| absence of white men both at Chemulpo
| and Seoul. of which they knew, If not very
| suggestive in itself. very suggestive
| when no explanation could be found of
| the fagless ships which had chased them,
/ except that one of these ships was Japa-
/ nese.
| The possibility. therefore that they would
/ be massaered on Chinese territory occurred
| to them: and their object in coming to
| kiao-Chau, which was not very remote
| from the sinking ship, to throw them
selves upon the protection of the Germans
who. as they supposed, occupied the forts
| of kiao-Ch3u.
! strongly fortified the harbor and its APP
| proaches. It's waters We're thick with sub
| marine mines, and two strong forts at each
| of the claws of land which formed the en-
/ trance, together with one on the low-lying
| island in the basin of the harbor, made the
position one of considerable strength.
| The harbor is about six miles long
and lies n. by W, and S. by d
! Around IT, in general is high
| ground. save at the northeastern entrance,
| where area of sioping meadowland rises
gradually to the higher levels Of the inner
| encourage of the basin And II was here
| that the Iphigenia, then on the point OF
| sinking, beached.
| Fifty yards away, on the brow of a slope.
| stood the n. f. fort. Though the night
was dark, and rain fell heavily, its out
| lines could be made out
The blue-tackets held sort of informal
| synod on the sands. There was among them
| Edwards VINO however, was wounded in
| the breast, and in A kind of daZe. Happily,
| ull the special hands were In evidence eA-
cept the surgeon, these including the cher
engineer, engineer and assistant engineer,
the gunner, the boa tswain, the carpenter,
with the stokers, and all engne-room hands.
Beside these there were a hundred and
fifty blue Jackets.
1t was decided to make straight for the
n. q. fort, and though no one present could
talk German a volunteer committee of ten
men. headed by the chief engineer, a Mr..
Murray, set off toward the rising ground.
But these were careless watehmen, these
Germans! Where was the sentry, and the
challenge. and the soldiers stalk, and the
rattle of butt-end? Nowhere was there
| light to be seen through all the dripping
and desolate night
The ten men reached the fort TO find it as
solitary as desert. They called, and the
hills echoed their voice, ana through the
open portal the night-bird fed and screamed.
They passed within the gateway between
the two outer bastions, and into the court
yard, and thence onward through every
open door. They saw one dead Chinaman
sitting in the embrasure of a window grim
ming in old decay. But otherwise there was
10 sign of any struggle. At all events, there
were no Germans there. Only the guns re
manned, and some ammunition, and some
stores, but not a single small-arm
What to do now? 1t only remained to
visit the S. w. fort. and the fort on tna
Island And these they found in the came
condition.
The Chinese had gained possession of them
by killing the unsuspecting sentries in the
middle of the night. and seizing almost
bloodlessly, the rest of the garrison. so 10
speak, as they slept in their beds. The
captive soldiers were distributed over
China for the celebration of Yen Hows
Sabbath of blood; and the forts had then.
for the time being been deserted
There remained no further doubt In the
minds of the British blue jackets as to their
own fate. But they We're resolved to sell
their lives dearly
The Iphigenia had still a steam-pinnaee
uninjured. and in this they took turns In
plying backward and forward between the
ship and the island all the night landing
everything In the way of stores, small
arms and ammunition which might prove
useful.
The gunner, Shflltoe, counseled the occI-
patton of all three forts; but Murray and
the rest, fearing the result of division OF
the little army, gave their voice for con-
centration of forces upon the island-fort,
on account not only of its dsconnectfon
with the mainland. but also of the fact that
X appeared to be the most powerful.
This plan somewhat unfortunate be-
cause the island was uncultivated and fur
nished no other food than scanty supply
of wild orris and cassava roots though
there three springs of rather brackisE
water. Moreover at about SUNRISE the
movements OF the pinnace We're observed by
some peasants on the mainland. and shortly
afterward there was a considerable com
y
Though the work of the pinnace was not
half completed, 1t was seen that no further
voyage must be attempted, nor had any ef-
fort as yet been made to spike the guns OF
the other two forts. At about I, these two
opened fire simultaneously upon the island
fort
At this period China was awake; or
at least had opened her early-morning
eyelids: she had tasted blood and
every Chnaman. was feeling the thrill OF
that electrical cobweb spreading over the
land. of which the brain of Yen How was
the center. The artillery combat which now
commenced between the island fort and the
other was fought not more obstinately on
one side than on the other
But the fixed batteries of the outer posts
had not been constructed for inward at
tack, while the inner had been constructed
for outward attack. BY noon, the two
outer fortresses were In ruins. But the
poor Iphigenia also. by which the cast
Always set much store, had been broken by
the wanton Chinese almost into nothing
ness.
And now commenced series of strenuous
and adventurous days and nights for these
one hundred and eighty men--or rather one