The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-12-24
THE EXPERIENCE OF TWO
 BIRMINGHAM MISSIONARIES
 IN. THE CHINESE REBELLION
By ROBERT A. LOVE

certainly be besieged, as it is the capital of the province and the. Manchus have a city of their own within its walls. One missionary said that the poor creatures 1 were building mud walls around then
 homes, and cry all the time.
 Tt is understood that if the Chinese
 win the heads of every living Manchu must be cut off. We do not desire to be l here in case of a battle, for both sides
 will be too busy. with their own affairs to send us protection and we are almost sure to be footed. Some of the missionaries are frightened already and are leaving for
 the coast. We must stay as long as we l can on account of the baby, and to pro- tect our property. We are so in hopes that the affairs of the government will quickly come to some good end. For this uncertainty is worse than if war were going on about you. You should then l Know which side is getting the upper l hand, and would know what to do. If
 we have to flee we will go by carts to | the river, and try to make our way to 1 Picking, and thence to Shanghai. But | some say that robbers fill the river in times of disturbance and there is no tell | ing how we will come out.
 We don't think our lives are in danger, except by some accident, but our property
 concerns us greatly. If we arrive in safe- l ty at the coast we will cable you.
 Try not 10 be worried over us, for this cannot last long, and should troops come against Kai-Feng we will get out in a
 hurry. At first we thought of going back l to America, but now we think we will go | to Shanghai.
 l Most probably we will have to remove 1 from here soon, and we are going through
 the beautiful ''arts and crafts cities of | China Just now we cannot sell cheeks. | and it is dreadful to be without money; people will not take paper money and give l you it's value. We are getting 25 cents
 for dollar bill, and you know we are
 losing greatly on it. But we have $50 in
 Mexican silver that we are holding so | that we will have 1t in case the officials ,or consul should tell us to get out and flee l to the coast.
 we expect to carry nothing but clothes. l Everything else will be left to the looters, l who have already shown skill by stealing | heavy things in our yard. The native | Christians have warned us to go and so l have the people of other missions and the | American postmaster, but we are awaiting | something more definite before moving off, and leaving all to be p1undered By leav- ing we lose everything, for the officials
 will not promise protection to our proper I ty, as it is so far out. But our little | trouble is.nothing compared to that of the 1 Manchus, who know they. will be killed. Most of our railroads are down and | the wires are cut, and so we are in the l dark as to what the revolutionists are | doing away from here. We are not two days from the center of the trouble here,
 and yet I suppose you at home know 1 everything" and we know nothing at all.
 We all hope that the rebels will win, l yet our hearts ache for the Manchus in
 case they lose S
 we have bought coal and wood and will get coal oil and sweet potatoes and flour in large quantities, for the price of lcverything is going up very high, and If we should be cut off from the market we can still live.
 Last train leaves soon" | A cabegram received by pr. Powell and forwarded to Mrs. Harris here, stated that the fleeing missionaries had arrived safely at Chefoo. This was on November | 29 Mrs. Harris is in receipt of letter l from her son dated subsequently,, telling of the departure of the couple from Kai- Feng, leaving all behind; their thrilling flight across the country, and their safe arrival at Chefoo, alAo which can be bet