Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-06-09
#isfsllanruus 8eadins,
IN eEKIN.
Behind the Scenes During Boxer Up
risinu,

with its latent possibilities or armed
insurrection, recalls the vague mutter-
ings that arose before the Boxer rebel
lion in 1900. The awful experiences OF
the American and European ENJOYS
and their families during the long
siege by the Boxer fanatics and Chi
nese soldiery are vividly set forth by
Mary Hooker in Behind the Scenes In
in Pekin," a book recently published
1t was early in the spring that the
Boxers began the rioting, and then, as
now, no one attached much import
ance to the outbreak. Indeed, it was
not until the end Of May that foreign
ers found it advisable to come in from
the cool hills, fifteen miles away, and
congregate for safety's sake in the le-
CATION buildings at Pekin. which could
be more readily defended.
II felt" writes Mrs. Hooker at the
end of the story of battle and murder
and fevers and partial starvation, Il
felt exactly as children feel who have
been having a wild game Of mahe be-
lieve all day, when the grownups break
in and say, Come, children, there has
been enough of this And so it was
with US; these terrible times are
over and there is nothing for us to do
but remain passive and try and get
some sort of equilibrium into our lives
again, and as we dine together that
last night there was a strong feeling
though we did not speak of it-that
nobody but ourselves, who went
through this incredible eight weeks Of
horror, would ever know really what
the siege in Pekin has been, and that
we might all talk until doomsday, but
the world will never understand"
The transformation of the beleaguer-
ed legation buildings into armed for
tresses Is effected before the readers
eye. The handful Of American and
European marines allowed by the Chi
nese government to come up from
Tientsin before the destruction Of the
railroad is disposed to the best effect
and the tragic defense has gone on
for weeks, with many deaths and
wounds, when we come to this:
when we turn the room into q
nursery for the children Ofor we can
not keep them always in their own
room, nor can we allow them to be
much in the compound, as half the
time it is thick with exploding bullets).
it is then a sight to behold. There are
a good many children here. Their one
game is Boxer and they copy in min
iature what we grownups are playing
in earnest. The youngest ones are
forced into being the attacking Chi
nese, and am afraid when the big
ones repulse them they occasionally get
very real bumps on their heads. They
have small sandbags and barricades
and their Chinese war whoop Of 'Sha!
sha!' (Kfn! kill!) is a creditable imi-
tation of the real thing. 1t is very
clever, and they are all very full Of
life, and l help them to play, for it's a
good thing that they don't realize what
all this may mean, and we hope relief
will come before they lose their spirit
and before they know. The
Methodist mission, SO lately vacated,
was looted and burned last night. So
much happens in every twenty-four
hours can hardly keep account of it
all, and as a background to the hour
ly horrors that develop is the contin-
uous snipe, snipe, sniping, mostly by
our own men, who are on the roofs Of
buildings shooting at the constantly
approaching incendiaries."
Already there was scarcity Of food,
although there was abundance in ma
tive shops under the guns Of the Box
ers. Therefore: Imagine our sur
prise when, late in the afternoon,
Chinese cart, driven by Fargo Squiers,
a boy of Is years, came laundering in
to the British compound with the up
per part of the cart riddled with bull
let holes. He was heading for the two
rooms in DR.. Poole's house, which has
been allotted to his family, and his
supplies from Imbeck's death sur
rounded shop, which he had procured
at the greatest risk to his own life
The committee was about to order him
to unload his desirable cargo to be
used for the good of the public, but
upon hearing that the boy had ridden
into the very jaws of death to procure
these supplies and had dared to do
what no man in the compound had
dared to do they told him he could
have the disposition of them, for by
his rash valor he had we'll earned the
lot.
1T seems he procured Chinese cart
and forced two coolies to go with him.
On their way to Imbeck's one was kill
ed by bullet in his head, and though
the other survived to help him load
the cart, after arriving in the court
yard of the place he had difficult
work, as coolie number two tried to
run away, and twice the boy had to
point the muzzle of his rife at him,
indicating what he would do If he
made any further attempts. They
were fairly free from shots while ac-
tually loading the cart. On the return
trip every yard of the way they were
peppered by bullets and the second
coolie was wounded but not killed.
This boy saw what he thought he
ought to do and he did it, but what a
terrible price might have been paid for
these stores.
This afternoon we were in Mrs.
Coltman's room, and her sweet baby
was asleep in a funny, old fashioned,
high backed crib. Although the sound
of exploding bullets was to be heard
outside the house we were much star
tied to feel one-you can't see them,
they come so fast-enter the room, hit
the headpiece of the baby's crib, de-
taching it from the main part, and
bury itself in the opposite wall. An
inch lower and it would have cut
through the baby's brain. His mother
picked him up, and all of us flew into