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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 1901)
January 0, 1001. rrir if! 1 1 . T .iiOTTf A rv i iji 7 Fighting Missionaries- Personal Experiences (Copyrighted, 1900, by C. II. Fcnn.) Tho events of tho summer of 1900 In North China afford nn cxcellont opportunity for a study of tho "Church Militant." Tho "ambassadors of pcoco" were compelled by forco of circumstances to lay asldo tho work of preaching tho gospel and tako up the temporarily raoro necessary work of de fending their own and others' lives against tho fierce attacks of an enemy who would show no quarter. For somo tlmo boforo the slcgo actually began wo had all carried revolvers as we went about tho streets, hardly expecting to use them, but not know ing what a day might bring forth. Thon on June 8, when wo gathered together In the Mcthcdlst Episcopal mission, there was nn Instant call to arms. A list was made of all the firearms In our possession. The Ilrltlsh minister, who had promised ten marines to help In our defense, In consider ation of our protecting also tho London CARPENTER GOES TO mission converts, sent us Instead ten rifles and there was no difficulty in finding ten men to carry them. Raw recruits Indeed wo were, most of us totally without mili tary training, but tho American marines took hold of us and each day at evening put us through tho drill, while the unarmed and tho women sitting by laughed at and cheered "tho awkward squad." Wo forward marched, wo right-about faced, we charged tho barbed wlro fenco with such vigor that wo nearly got tnuglcd up In It. Wo fired countless rounds of Imaginary cartridges at an enemy so accommodating ns to let us havo things our own way. Wo took our turns on guard with tho marines, playing sentinel for six to ten hours of tho twenty four, on wnlls and roofs. On C u II ill Duty In tile StrectN. My own guard duty tho greater part of thoso strango days at tho Methodist Epis copal mission was from 12 to 3 a. m. and 12 to 3 p. in., In tho lano lending from tho main compound to tho university about ono-elghth of a mile in length, and In tho largo open Bpaco between tho university and tho city wall. There wore sovoral chances of being cut off hero by an enemy rushing down a sldo street, so across theso streets wo strung barbed wire and posted natlvo sentinels at every corner to glvo tho alarm. A few of theso men had revolvers or blunderbuse-cs, but most of them wero armed with either spear or sword. Oc casionally It was necessary for ono of us to tako a position removed from the rest to ovorseo tho clcnrlng away of rub bish piled against our walls and rendering them too easy to scale. At such times It was curious to seo tho awo which ono in spired, somo of tho natives going around sovoral blocks to avoid tho awful forelgnor with a rlflo, while that poor foreigner was longing for tho end of his watch and hop ing that ho might not fall n victim to n sudden attack on his exposed position, And then at night tho moonlight and tho dark ness each had Its own shadowy possibili ties, and wo wero glad enough to havo tho "moral support" of ditches, barbed wire and barricades, with which wo hoped to provo moro familiar than tho mob whoso onslaught wo awaited. It seems now a great pity that wo had to lcavo all that wlro when wo went to tho legations, fcr not only would It havo proved very usoful there, but wo missed the fun of seeing tho Boxer mako his first acqcalnlnnco with that Interesting American Invention. Ono of our chief occupations during tho night watches was that of keeping our Chinese sentinels from going to sleep. Their hours wero long and their flesh was weak. To work all day and then watch a part of tho night was moro than many of them wore equal to, yet they wero In tho main most faithful. It was a great relief to some of us to know that tho Chlneso did not know how llttlo wc know of tho use of a rifle. Another position which I occupied for a tlmo was ou the galvanized Iron roof of the great church. Prom this point of vantago wo could occasionally seo armies with banners entering or leaving the city and had a lino view of the great llrcs In which tho Chinese consumed everything foreign which they could find undefended In tho city. Hero I watched, through much of that awful night of Juno 13, nil our mis sion houses with their contents and every matorlal clement of our work go up In llamo and smoke, and thought ot tho prob able accompanying massacres. So con stantly was ono or another of us sented on tho ball of tho cupola of the church that, as wo learned from outsldo Chinese, the Boxers had announced that they would do nothing until a certain day, when the "black Bplrlt" should no longer sit nstrldo tho dome. Thoso of us who were not carry ing n rifle on sentry duty were busily en gaged day after duy In the digging (if MACAO ON THE STEAMER. ditches, tho building of barricades, tho stretching of wlro and the blocking of win dows. A Sally to the MnrkctN. Ono of tho most venturesome- yot ridic ulous performances of this preliminary slcgo was tho exploit of four of our num ber, who escorted our servants to tho great street to buy provisions ono morning after a night of flres and massacres. Tho prcs onco of four foreigners with rifles was qulto sufficient to nwe tho hitherto unwill ing shopkeepers Into disposing of their goods at markot prices, and wo soon had all wo needed for tho tlmo. Then ono of our number proposed that wo should pro duco a "moral Impression," which wo pro ceeded to do by "holding up tho street," 1. o., halting each cart and horseman, ex amining the former for foreign good3 and questioning tho latter ob to his business. Two of us held up three suspicious looking horsemen, who, on being questioned, fled In terror In thrco different directions. Wo held a quarter of a mllo of the street In nbsoluto cringing subjection for nearly two hours and then withdrew. That nftcrnoon our escapado was surpassed by that of four of our numbor, who went out at 6 o'clock, with two ma rines, and directed tho keeper of tho Hal Tal gato of the city to carry out tho wish of Minister Conger and close tho gato two hours boforo tho usual time. After brief demur ho did so and turned over tho great Iron key, about two feet long, to tho keeping of tho missions. It was returned to him early In tho morning, but tho next evening retaken and a foreign padlock nfllxed to tho gate for greater se curity. I havo often wished that wo could seo ourselves Just as tho Chlneso saw us during thoso days. It was most fortunato for us that a certain awo of tho foreigner per vaded people nnd ofllclals and hold them in check until wo hnd put ourselves In a position of compnratlvo safety. In thoso days oven a high official accopted our re fusal to permit him to uso his own city gates at tho usual hours as finnl and mado his exit by another way. Wo wero not In terfered with In absolutely Isolating our selves In our limited district, though It In volved barricading four small streets, to tho serious Interference with tho business nnd domestic pursuits of divers residents. Dur ing the twolvo days spent In tho Methodist mission wo so Intrenched nnd fortified nnd trained oursolves that wo had llttlo fear ot a noxer attack. Our walls, ditches, barbed wlro and rifles would havo been moro thnn a match for tho far moro numerous knives of tho Boxer hordes, for nt that tlmo tho rlflo, as an Invention' of foreign deviltry, was strictly tabooed among thorn; but wo feared tho onslaught ot legtons of Imperial soldiers with their Mausers and Mnnnllch ers and Krupp guns. And at last tho day camo when wo know with a certainty that their forces would bo arrayed against us, and a cannon flro from tho city wnll would soon render our position untenable. HxuiIiin friiiu tin .MInnIiiii DlMlrlot. Tho foul murder ot Baron von Kettelcr saved us from nn optimism which woull have been fatal. Our captain of marines sent Instant request to bo relieved, tho ministers abandoned the thought ot a march to Tien Tsln nnd we were ordered to march at onco to the legations, there to mako a last Btnnd for life. The Herman marines camo for Ihelr wounded Interpreter nnd led tho van cf cur retreat; then followed our women and children, flanked by us volun teers. The long procession cf 800 native Christian refugees, guarded by American marines nnd more volunteers, brought up the rear. We passed within 120 yards of the Hal Tal gate and saw on tho tower nnd by tho gato hundreds of Chlneso soldiers, who might have mowed us down nt any mo ment. It wns an anxious passage until we reached the Italian barricade. Eager to savo something of tho stores ot clothing and food left In tho mission compound on our hasty retreat, wo begged tho marines to return with us. Hut they would not con sider It. Uov. W. S. Anient, 1). I)., of tho American Honrd mission, bravo oven to rnshness, making no announcement of his Intention, set off with no other companion than ono Chlnrso servant, found tho prop erty still undisturbed nnd brought off his blcyclo In snfety. Emboldened by this deed of dnrlng. fifteen or twenty of us mission aries, tnklng fifty or sixty Chlneso refugees. with ropes, poles, spears and rifles, spent the afternoon In running tho gnuntlct of the Chlneso soldiery, bringing In load after load of the Indispensable clothing nnd food which wo had abandoned. Ileforo wo hnd finished tho attack had begun In nnnthcr quarter; but wo mot with no Interference, except that some of our number wero com pclled, nt the last, to repol certnln would-ho looters, who could not wait till wo wero through. Rev. W. I). Stello of tho Mission to the Higher Classes had boon stationed cn the corner of tho great street near tho Hal Tal gate. Within 120 yards wero tho Chlneso srldlers, yet ho ehnl- longed nt will any who entered tho gato and ordered tho suspicious appearing to withdraw, and they withdrew. Presently twenty-five or thirty rough fellows came In on tho half-run. evidently bent on mis chief, disregarded the challengo of tho sin glo trembling, but determined sontlnol. and continued their ndvnnce. Mr. Stello leveled his rifle. They hesitated, turned nnd fled Hnd thoy had tho courage to attack him tho lives of our party would havo been U-orth very little between thorn nnd tho sol dlers, who would, doubtless, hnvo supported uio attnclc. CoiiNtimtly Under l-'lrc. With our settlement In tho British lega tlon, tho nctlvo military career of most of tno missionaries camo to nn end. Wo be took oursolves to tho work tho chnrgo of Chlneso Inbor, or tho digging of trenches, filling of Handlings nnd build lng of bnrrlcndes, In all of which work, however, wo wero almost constantly under flro. In splto of our almost constant ex posure to shot and shell no missionary was killed, and but ono received n wound which rendered him hors du combat. Two of us wero wounded very slightly, my own escape from serious Injury or denth being narrow In tho oxtromo. Working behind a barrl cado on tho city wnll, I was suddenly felled by bricks dislodged from that barrlcado by an unexpected shell from the enemy's gun. My heavy plh hat saved mo from moro than a slight scalp wound, which speedily healed. If our missionary women wore not "fight ing men" thoy wero the next thing to It. Calmly, courngeously, they carried on their work of feeding us, caring for tho wounded, making clothes for the soldiers nnd thou sands of snndbaw which undoubtedly saved many n life. And our children mado mud forts and fought many n llttlo bnttlo of their own nnd gathered up tho real fallon bullets by tho basketful. I bollcvo others will bear testimony to tho fact that tho missionary as a fighting mnn Is not to bo despised: nevertheless there were none more Joyful thnn ho when tho dnys of his fighting were over. Yet I am proud to possess a lasting souvonlr of my fighting days In n flno Mnnnllcher rlflo, presented to mo when I left tho city by tho first seerotnry of tho United States legation, who had seized a number In n Chlneso magazine COURTENAY HUOHES FENN. Carpenter's Letter (Continued from Sixth Pago.) thoy begnn at C In the morning and will not stop until G. Later on I visited tho tobacco factories, Somo of theso In Mncao are lnrge, employ ing hundreds of women and girls. Every thing Is dono by hand. Tho women squat on tho floor nnd pull tho leaves from the stems nnd sort them Into round baskets. I nsked about wages, and found Hint a good, likely girl could mnko C cents In eloven hours. I noticed thnt thoro wero many old women nt work, nnd somo wero mothors with babes nt tho breast. In nnothor room 1n tills Fame factory I saw how tho Chlneso mako lino-cut tobneco, Tho leaves aro first pressed Into great plates or plugs, which aro then fastened to n board and Bhnved off with a piano much as wo piano boards. Tho plan ers wero half-naked and somo hold tho tobneco botwecn their baro legs ns thoy shaved It. This factory employs 200 men and 100 women and girls. FRANK Q. CARPENTER, Photographic Art Studies Theso aro tho works of tho Tonneson Sisters ot Chicago, nnd there Is probably no moro cnpablo photographlo artists In tho world thnn theso enthusiastic young women. There nro twclvo subjects from which to Theso pictures nro handsome enough for effectively unfrnmod, or will look splendidly How to Get Them Theso pictures aro mounted on hnndsomo black raw silk stock mounts, 12x15 Inches, tho photographs aro 7x9 Inches. for less thnn ono dollar. By securing an Immense quantity of them wo nro ablo to offer thom L With a Coupon for 10 Cents. Whou ordering stato tho name of the subject, nnd If they nro to bo mailed enclose four cents additional for postngo and packing. AKT HHPAIITMIONT, THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 17th mid Fnriiuin Sts. THE ROSE. EASTERTIDE. OUR PET. THE WAIF. CUT OUT THIS COUPON Present at Boe Office or mall this coupon with 10c and got your cbolco of Photo graphlo Art Studies. When ordering by mall add 4c for postage. AKT DEPARTMENT, IIEB PUBLISHING CO., OMAHA. choose, of which wo rcproduco eight. anyone's drawing room nnd may bo used with a simplo dark frame. Thoso havo never been sold nt tho art stores DOLORES. THE NEW BABY. BUBBLES. THE OLD HARPIST'S TREASURE.