The walled native city and the foreign concessions--The railway
station--The mud wall or “Sankolin’s Folly”--Detring and Dickinson’s
house’s and the racecourse--The North Fort--The East Arsenal and
the Military College--Mounds of salt--The Viceroy’s Yamên--The
West Arsenal--The Hsiku “or Siku” Arsenal--Landmarks--The Gordon
Hall--The arrival of Russians--A failed attempt to communicate with
Seymour--The native city in the hands of Boxers--A threatening moment.
Let us see now what took place in Tientsin at the same period.
A short description of the place, and of the position of its various
parts which will be referred to in the narrative, may help the reader
to understand what occurred.
The walled native city was of a rectangular shape, the sides of the
rectangle running respectively from north to south and east to west.
The Foreign Settlements and Concessions were about two miles south-east
of the native city, and consisted of a large French Concession along
the south bank of the Pei-ho River, with the British Settlement
south-east of it, still along the west of the river, and the Extra
British Concession south of the French Settlement.
[Illustration:
_SKETCH MAP
OF
TIENTSIN._
_By A. Henry Savage Landor._
]
To the east and north, on the opposite side of the stream, were a
number of native houses and some large and important buildings.
Principal of all was the Railway Station, with its commodious
engine-house and workshops.
[Sidenote: SANKOLIN’S FOLLY]
The German Settlement adjoined the British.
There was an almost continuous succession of native houses between the
native city and the Foreign Settlements, especially on the south-east
and nearer the river; while on the west there was much open ground and
large patches of water, even within the famous mud wall, or Sankolin’s
Folly, which in an irregular fashion surrounded the native city, all
the Settlements, the Railway Station, the North Fort, and also a long
stretch of the Pei-ho River, with the Grand Canal stretching west and
the Lutai Canal to the east of the Pei-ho.
This mud wall, about 10 feet high, 10 feet broad on the top, and 30 at
the base, was built by the Chinese to protect the city and Settlements
during the time of the Tae-ping rebellion. As will be seen by the
adjoining sketch-map, the mud wall at its nearest point was only a
few yards from the Settlements, and on that side extended almost
in a straight line, the direction of which was roughly north-west.
The American Consulate, almost the last house in the Extra British
Concession, was situated only about 350 yards from the wall, where the
naval guns were subsequently mounted for the defence of the Settlement.
Messrs. Detring and Dickinson’s houses, as well as the Racecourse
itself--which will often be mentioned at the beginning of the
siege--were outside the mud wall.
The North Fort, built by Li-hung-chang, was outside the native city, on
the north bank of the Pei-ho, near its junction with the Grand Canal,
and the next fort still further north, at the point where the Pei-ho
feeds the Lutai Canal. The East Arsenal was two miles outside the mud
wall, and the Military College was also immediately beyond the wall,
to the south of the Foreign Settlements.
One of the most curious features of Tientsin was furnished by the huge
mounds of salt along the water, which were under the control of the
Salt Commissioner, and were used with much success by the Chinese as
cover.
Near the North Fort, directly outside the city, but separated from it
by the canal, was the Viceroy’s Yamên, reached by a quaint bridge, like
those familiar to us on china plates.
The West Arsenal, or Joss-House Arsenal, lay west of the Settlement,
and due south of the native city. Between the Arsenal and the city were
a great number of Chinese graves and earth mounds, of which the Chinese
took advantage, digging trenches in addition for further protection;
and the extensive graveyards north of the Railway Station, on the
opposite side of the stream, were used by them in the same way.
The Hsiku Arsenal, partly destroyed, as we have seen, by Admiral
Seymour, was north of the city, and some distance outside Sankolin’s
Wall.
To the south and west of the Settlement were large tracts of
comparatively open country. I say comparatively, for there were Chinese
houses scattered here and there, and a few miserable villages, which
afforded good shelter.
The gasometer, the Water-Tower, and the Cathedral were landmarks to the
visitor in Tientsin, as well as to the Chinese artillerymen; and in
the Settlement itself, on the Victoria Road, one could not help being
impressed with the massiveness--if not the beauty--of the Gordon Hall,
erected in memory of the great and beloved General. It was the tallest
building in Tientsin, and, like the gasometer and the church, made, as
we shall see, a capital target for the Chinese guns.
[Sidenote: AN ATTEMPT THAT FAILED]
The streets in the British Settlement ran at right angles across the
Victoria Road, the course of which was parallel to the Bund along the
Pei-ho.
Let us now go back a few days, to see what took place in Tientsin while
the Seymour Relief Expedition was fighting up country, and the Taku
Forts were being captured by the combined forces of the Allies.
[Illustration: THE TIENTSIN SETTLEMENT]
On June 11, 12, and 13, everything was quiet enough in Tientsin.
The tug _Pennace_ arrived with two Maxims, and on the 14th a guard
with these two guns was placed on Temperance Hall. Seventeen hundred
Russians with field guns came up by train the same day, and a patrol
train was run to Tongku and back by the Russians to safeguard the
railway line.
An attempt, which failed, was made to communicate with Admiral Seymour,
and great concern was felt at the serious turn matters were taking.
A rumour was current in Tientsin that the Empress had ordered the
Legations in Pekin to be burned on the 16th, and the inmates to be
massacred.
It was not, however, till Friday, the 15th, that things became lively.
The native city was practically in the hands of the Boxers, who were
destroying chapels and killing Christians, while the Government was
causing additional alarm by concentrating large numbers of Imperial
troops near Tientsin and Taku.
The Russians, who were to join Seymour, were requested, since the
moment was so threatening, to remain in Tientsin to protect the
Settlement. It was lucky that they did so.