WORK DONE BY STAFF OF IMPERIAL MARITIME, CUSTOMS, AND BRITISH LEGATION STAFF

AT THE same time that the tsung-li-yamen sent dispatches to each of the foreign ministers requesting them to leave Peking within twenty-four hours, they sent a communication to Sir Robert Hart, Bart., inspector-general of customs, notifying him of their communication to the ministers.

One would have supposed that the customs staff, being employed by the government to collect their own revenues, would have either been given a place of safety and separated from the foreigners who were to be attacked and exterminated, or their safe escort out of the country guaranteed.

This should also have applied to the staff of the Imperial University, but beyond a simple notification to Sir Robert Hart, no further account was taken of them, and they were left to seek either the protection of their respective legations, or remain together in the offices of the inspector-general, where all had gathered upon the entrance of the Boxers into Peking, and attempt to defend their lives and those of their families as best they might.

As the Austrians had been driven out of their legation before any of the others had yielded, and as their compound overlooked and commanded the inspectorate-general compound, however, that place had become untenable by June 20, and Sir Robert Hart reluctantly retired with all his staff and their families to a building allotted to them in the British legation.

This building is situated just within the main gate of the legation, north of and adjoining the gate-house, and consists of three fair-sized and three small rooms, with an out-house kitchen.

Into this narrow accommodation the following staff were obliged to crowd themselves: Sir Robert Hart, inspector-general; Mr. Robert E. Bredon, deputy inspector-general, his wife and daughter, Miss Juliet Bredon; Mr. A. T. Piry, commissioner, his wife, governess, and four children; Mr. J. R. Brazier, his wife and two children; Mr. C. H. Brewit-Taylor and wife; Mr. C. H. Oliver, sister, and two children; Mr. S. M. Russell and wife, and Mr. C. B. Mears and wife, besides the following single gentlemen: Messrs. P. von Rautenfeld, J. H. Macoun, J. W. Richardson, E. Wagner, E. von Strauch, N. Konoraloff, B. L. Simpson, H. P. Destelan, H. Bismarck, U. F. Wintour, J. H. Smyth, J. W. H. Ferguson, L. Sandercock, A. G. Bethell, L. de Luca, C. L. Lauru, R. B. de Courcy, C. O. M. Diehr, W. S. Dupree, E. E. Encamacao, J. de Pinna, P. J. Oreglia, and S. Sugi.

As it was simply impossible for all these people to sleep within such narrow quarters, Messrs. Brazier and Brewit-Taylor and their families secured rooms with some friends at other houses. The remainder all messed together, excepting Mr. Bredon’s family, in which were included Messrs. B. L. Simpson and C. L. Lauru. The single men slept in blankets on the narrow brick veranda when not on duty at one of the many posts.

With the exception of Sir Robert Hart, whose advanced age prevented his doing military duty, and Mr. R. E. Bredon and Mr. C. H. Oliver, all the others regularly enrolled themselves as a volunteer corps known as the customs volunteers, and did most excellent, arduous, and effective work.

Mr. E. von Strauch, having served as first lieutenant in the German army for some years, was given command, and Mr. Macoun was made second officer. After Macoun was wounded, and until again able to go on duty, Mr. B. L. Simpson acted as second officer.

Adjoining the British legation on the north lies the Hanlin Yuan, a large yard full of many buildings, containing one of the most famous libraries extant, the Hanlin library. By the Chinese this library has always been regarded as one of their most valuable possessions. Here were stored thousands of volumes of Chinese history, essays, and records of the various government boards that had collected for centuries. North of this Hanlin Yuan, separated only by a wide street known as the Chang An Chieh, is the wall of the Forbidden City.

The Boxers and Imperial troops early took possession of the northern end of this compound, and in their efforts to dislodge us from the British legation, ruthlessly set fire to their sacred library and destroyed the priceless collections of ages.

A large part of the defense of the southern half of the Hanlin Yuan has been performed by the customs volunteers, and there has been no more trying military service in the siege than at that place. We early took possession of the southern end, and built a barricade of bricks and sand-bags running completely across the compound.

Our barricade and the Chinese barricades are so close that often the Chinese have thrown half bricks over at us, as their rifle-bullets cannot penetrate the barricade. Several of our men have been injured by stones and bricks in this way.

In addition to the members of the customs staff given above as enrolled members of the customs volunteers, there have been attached to the corps for duty at various times Messrs. Barbier, Flicke, and Hagermann.

Messrs. E. Wagner and H. P. Destelan were soon called to serve at the French legation, as the fighting had been very hot there, and men were needed to take the places of those who had fallen. They barely joined their fellow-nationals at their perilous post, and there on July 1 Wagner was struck by a shell in the head and instantly killed. A few days later Destelan had a miraculous escape. The Chinese across the narrow lane, known as Customs lane, had undermined the street, and placed a mine under the wall and eastern buildings of the legation. When they exploded it, Destelan and several others were buried in the ruins; but a second explosion almost immediately blew several of them out again, among them Destelan and Von Rosthorn, the Austrian chargÉ d’affaires, who was on duty in the French legation after the surrender of his own legation to the Chinese troops. Only two Frenchmen lost their lives by this mine, while the Chinese acknowledge they lost twenty of their own men by the explosion.

The sad death of Wagner threw a deep gloom for many days over his young comrades in arms. He was so intelligent, bright and cheerful, always willing to undertake any service, and always in the front, that he has been sorely missed. Mr. H. Bismarck was obliged by the necessities of the German legation to join his nationals there, as was also Mr. Diehr.

Bismarck has had his hat shot off and his clothes perforated several times, has been in several sorties and all sorts of dangers, but has wonderfully escaped.

Mr. L. de Luca received a painful, but not serious, wound of the forearm, which partially disabled him for a time; but, as soon as possible, he was again serving at the various posts. For a time he was on Captain Wray’s staff as aid in the commissary department, but in this place there was no danger to be incurred, and he joyfully relinquished it to Mr. C. H. Oliver.

Mr. J. W. Richardson was the first of the customs volunteers to be disabled, having received, early in the siege, a flesh-wound of the shoulder. He, too, made a rapid recovery, and was soon acting as assistant steward in the hospital, but when entirely in health returned again to guard duty.

Mr. A. G. Bethell became ill from overwork and fatigue, and was obliged to go into the hospital for several days, but recovered under rest and appropriate treatment and returned to duty. Mr. U. F. Wintour, while excavating a deep trench in the Hanlin Yuan as a countermine to the Chinese mining attempts, badly sprained his knee-joint, which has since resulted in a severe synovitis, compelling him to remain with his leg fixed in a plaster-of-paris cast for some weeks.

Messrs. Sandercock, Bethell, and Ferguson, although barely nineteen years of age, have endured the fatigue and hardship of the watches, and have been as cool under fire as old veterans.

Especial mention should be made of the conspicuous bravery and gallantry of Mr. W. S. Dupree, or, as he is familiarly and affectionately called by his comrades, “Little Willie.” This young man, in times of peace, is a postal clerk of very affable manners, but in the siege he has been a doughty warrior. Although only eighteen years of age, he has taken his full share of the work. He accompanied the first expedition of the American, British, and Austrian soldiers in the attack upon a Boxer rendezvous in a temple north of the Austrian legation, in which fifty-six Boxers were killed. He has also served in the Hanlin Yuan, in the Su Wang Fu, and in the latest achievement of the customs volunteers,—the capture and holding of a new and valuable strategical position northward of the Russian position in the Mongol market.

On the night of August 10 this intrepid youngster crept out from behind the fortification in the Mongol market, and crawled across the moonlit common, directly in front of and up to the Chinese barricade. Here he heard one of the soldiers exhorting his comrades to follow him and make an attack upon the foreigners. “Why should we hesitate?” he urged. “We have so many and they so few; success is sure and failure impossible.” Dupree hurried back and warned his companions in time to prevent a serious rush, for a few moments later the Chinese actually left their barricade and attempted a rush upon our works; but on a volley into them, which killed one and wounded several others, their short-lived courage left them, and they precipitately bolted back again behind shelter, from which they peppered our barricade vigorously for the next half hour without doing any damage.

The customs mess, in spite of their exceedingly narrow accommodations, was eminently a hospitable group, and cheerfully allowed Messrs. E. Backhouse, G. P. Peachey, Dr. J. Dudgeon, and J. M. Allardyce to eat with them, they turning the stores they possessed on entrance into the common storeroom. The meals were well managed under the efficient care of Mrs. Russell and Mrs. Mears, whom all of the customs volunteers will ever remember for their constant, untiring efforts to render palatable the daily ration of horse-meat and rice which has constituted their principal food.

Sir Robert Hart, the I. G., as he is generally spoken of by his staff, as well as many outsiders, has endeared himself to all his young soldiers by his sharing with them without complaint and unvarying cheerfulness the meager diet of the mess. He has never allowed any delicacy supplied to him that the others did not partake of, but has acted on the principle of share and share alike throughout. He may in time have a successor in the service, but he can never be supplanted in the affections of those members of his staff who have endured with him the trials of the siege in Peking.

Mr. J. H. Smyth entered the British legation when he was convalescing from scarlet fever, and was placed in quarantine for some weeks. Consequently he was prevented from taking any part in the early proceedings of the siege, but as soon as allowed out he at once went on duty. Mr. Origlia came down with scarlet fever also on July 10, and thereafter could render no military service.

The staff of the British legation who were actually in the siege consisted of the following persons: Sir Claude M. MacDonald, G. C. M. G., K. C. B., envoy extraordinary, etc., his wife, two children, and sister-in-law; Herbert G. Dering, secretary; Henry Cockburn, Chinese secretary, and wife; W. P. Ker, assistant Chinese secretary, wife, and child; Wordsworth Poole, M.D., surgeon; B. G. Tours, accountant, wife, and child; D. Oliphant, consular assistant; W. Russell, consular assistant; Rev. W. Norris, acting chaplain; Rev. R. Allen, curate, and the following student interpreters. Messrs. T. G. Hancock, A. T. Flaherty, H. Bristow, T. C. C. Kirke, H. Porter, W. M. Hewlett, A. Rose, R. Drury, L. R. Barr, H. Warren, L. Giles, W. E. Townsend. Captain F. G. Poole, who was living with his brother, the doctor, while on language-leave, was also considered of the legation household, as well as several guests, Mr. Clarke-Thornhill and the legation keeper, Sergeant R. Herring.

The military guard consisted of Senior Captain B. M. Strouts, Captains Halliday and E. Wray, Sergeants J. Murphy, A. E. Saunders and J. Preston; four corporals, one bugler, one armorer, and one hospital steward, with sixty-eight privates. They had one Nordenfeldt quick-firing gun. The greater part of the civilians serving as volunteers also served under Captain Poole in the British legation.

When the siege commenced, the western side at the south end of the compound, which adjoined a lot of Chinese buildings, was a most vulnerable point, which the natives readily discovered, and a number of vigorous attempts to set fire to the legation were made by firing these buildings, so that a fire-brigade was organized under B. G. Tours and Tweed, of the volunteers, to fight this dangerous form of attack.

During one of these fires in the first few days of the siege, Captain Halliday led a brilliant rush through a hole knocked in the wall, and drove off the attacking party, killing over twenty of them. Unfortunately Captain Halliday was severely wounded by a shot through the lungs, which rendered him helpless, and lost to the besieged the services of a brave and kindly officer.

The British marines took part in the expedition to the Boxer rendezvous and the taking of the city wall, where Sergeant Murphy distinguished himself as the leader after the fall of Captain Myers. Brave Captain Strouts, who was much loved by his men, was shot and mortally wounded in the Su Wang Fu on July 16, while on a tour of inspection. Dr. G. E. Morrison was injured by the same volley, and Colonel Shiba, who was with them, narrowly escaped, several bullets passing through his clothing.

The British legation compound being of such dimensions, necessitated a larger guard for lookouts than any other one place. Notwithstanding this, men were daily detached for duty with the Americans on the city wall, and to help Colonel Shiba in the Su Wang Fu. A barricade was built across the moat connecting the legation with the Fu, and thus the men could cross without being seen from the north bridge just under the Forbidden City walls, where a strong force of the enemy was posted. To replace these detachments sent out, the civilian volunteers were largely called upon, and rendered excellent service.

Sir Claude MacDonald, after the death of Captain Strouts, assumed command of the garrison, and directed some of the outposts of other nationals; but the French and Germans denied his authority at their outposts, and controlled their own movements. Captain Poole was in charge of the international volunteers within the British legation and had command of the north stables, north wall, Hanlin Yuan, and students’ quarters. He led one expedition into the carriage-park, a large tract of land which came close to the legation on the northwest side of our enclosure.

As will be seen from the accompanying diagram of the British legation, the eastern side and the southern side required no watches kept so long as the Japanese retained possession of the Su Wang Fu and the Russians and Americans held the wall and Legation street. But the Hanlin Yuan in the north and the entire western wall covered long stretches of space that required a constant watch to be kept, as the Chinese were intrenched in numerous and heavy barricades in their front, from which they maintained a constant fire from rifles, Krupp guns and smooth-bore cannon.

Until the 18th of July the cannons boomed from morning until night, sending their solid shot and shrieking shells into our midst, tearing the brick houses to pieces, and crushing the tiles on the roof to fine powder, at the same time sending their fragments in every direction. The very shortness of range prevented their dropping with any force, and saved us much damage; and when the muzzles of their pieces were raised to pass over the first row of buildings, which they had failed to batter down, the projectiles flew harmlessly over our heads.

The building that has suffered most has been the constable’s house, in the south stables. This place has borne the brunt of most of the attacks made upon the British legation and is literally converted into a sieve.

Under the direction of Mr. F. D. Gamewell all the walls of the legation have been so strengthened, often to a thickness of eight feet, that one is perfectly safe behind them, except at the loopholes, and in these large bricks are kept, except when the openings are being used for observation or firing.

The Chinese have been remarkably bad marksmen, and have usually fired by holding their guns up so that the point barely projected above their barricades, and then, pressing the trigger, immediately withdrawing the gun, having never ventured their lives in the least. But this method of firing does no damage. Thousands upon thousands of bullets have been sent whistling far over our heads. Doubtless when we hear the history of the outside we will learn of hundreds having been killed and wounded a long way from the legation district.

On July 5 Mr. David Oliphant, of the legation staff, while serving in the Hanlin Yuan, was shot in the abdomen and died from shock and internal hemorrhage in about an hour. Brief mention of his death has previously been made. He was born on July 12, 1876, and had been three years in the consular service. Passing first in his examination, he soon showed a special aptitude for acquiring the Chinese language, so much so that when he finished his term of student interpreter he was retained to work as consular assistant in the chancery of the British legation.

Here his services have been appreciated most highly by those under whom he worked, and his loss is a most grievous blow to all those who came officially in contact with him.

He was one of the most promising of the younger members of the British consular service, with which he was further connected in the person of his uncle, Mr. R. M. Mansfield, H. B. M. consul at Amoy. During his stay in Peking, David Oliphant had endeared himself to all who knew his exceptionally even temper, readiness to oblige, and active mind. In sport he was the leading spirit and manager, and he will be practically impossible to replace in this capacity.

When the siege began he was among the first to go forward in the defense of the legations. Untiringly he worked at fortifications, vigilantly he watched at night. When a portion of the Hanlin Yuan was occupied he was specially detailed for service there, and took part in several brilliant raids in connection with the occupation.

It was while cutting down a tree here in an advanced position that he was struck down by the enemy’s bullet, and his promising career cut short. He died in the arms of his elder brother, Nigel Oliphant, of the Imperial Bank of China. He is deeply and sincerely mourned by all who knew him.

Another young man, Mr. H. Warren, student-interpreter, while on duty in the Su Wang Fu, on July 16, was struck by a shell in the face; he was very badly injured and died in a few hours.