ENTERING TIEN-TSIN UNDER DIFFICULTIES
It did not take Gilbert long to rouse up and reach for his weapons.
His pistol and sword secured, he ran to where his company was already
forming, under the directions of Second Lieutenant Bruff. A shooting
in the direction of the Pei-Ho told him that hostilities had already
started.
“The Chinese are moving in the direction of Tien-Tsin,” announced Major
Morris. “We must follow them up. The French detachment will support us.”
But little more was said, and five minutes later the battalion of
American regulars were moving along silently. It was still raining, but
it could be seen that the storm was coming to an end.
Presently there came a loud shouting out of the darkness, followed by
more shots.
“Don’t let them get into the boat! For the love of heaven, push her
from shore!”
“Some Americans or English in a boat, and in trouble!” cried Captain
Banner, and gazed at the major inquiringly.
“Company A will march directly to the river shore,” said Major Morris,
promptly. “If those people in the boat need assistance, give them all
you can.”
The rain had soaked the marshland thoroughly, and soon the members of
Company A found themselves in water over their ankles. The shouting
from the river continued; and at length they made out a small lighter,
usually used to transport goods from the steamboats in Taku Harbor to
Tien-Tsin. The lighter was filled with refugees from Tien-Tsin,--men,
women, and children,--who were trying to escape the furies of the
Chinese bombardment. The craft had become stuck in the mud, and was
being fired upon by a party of Boxers, numbering at least two hundred
and fifty.
As soon as he realized the situation, Captain Banner did not hesitate
as to what to do. Bringing his company to a halt, he ordered the men to
fire low, so as not to hit anybody in the boat.
The first round was very effective, six Boxers being killed and as
many more wounded. The attack came largely as a surprise, for the
Celestials had been so intent upon killing those in the boat that they
had paid no attention to what might come behind them. At once yells
and shrieks arose; and, when Company A poured in a second and a third
round, the Boxers scattered, some running up the shore, and the others
down. They fired only a handful of shots, and these did little damage.
By this time both the American and French soldiers were ranging along
the Pei-Ho, and the scattering of the Boxers brought on their doom.
One detachment fell into the hands of the Frenchmen, and were killed
almost to a man; while the other--by far the larger detachment--ran
into the arms of the other companies of Major Morris’s battalion. A
fierce rough-and-tumble fight ensued, the most of it on the American
side falling to Company C; and then the Boxers leaped into the stream
to swim for the other shore. At least twenty were laid low on land, and
as many more killed or wounded in the water.
It was soon learned that the lighter had started from Tien-Tsin on the
evening of the day before, in the midst of the heavy downpour of rain.
It carried twenty-eight people, mostly English and German, although
there was one American and his wife and little girl.
“The bombardment at Tien-Tsin is something awful,” said the American,
whose name was Margoss. “At first the Chinese couldn’t get our range;
but now they have it, and they pour shot and shell into almost any
place they select. My partner in business, Mr. Mackley, was sitting
on the front porch of his residence when a shot struck the top of the
porch, killing him instantly. Most of the stores are in ruins, and
the people have all they can do to keep the fires that start from
spreading.”
“What are our soldiers doing?”
“I know nothing of any but the marines under Captain McCalla, and
they can do but little outside of holding their own. Some of the
sharpshooters are out every day, picking off every pig-tail who shows
himself. But that is only a drop in the bucket; for the government
troops of China have united with the Boxers, and combined they number
thousands to our hundreds. If the Chinks could fight as the foreign
troops fight, we should be wiped out in no time.”
“The barbarities are something dreadful,” put in Mrs. Margoss. “The
Chinese are very brutal, literally hacking women and children to death;
and this has so angered some of the Japanese and Russians that they
can’t be held in check, and consequently they are taking no prisoners,
but putting all the enemy to the sword or bayonet. In some cases women
and children are treated like the men, for the Japanese and Russians
say they are not to be trusted.”
This version of affairs was corroborated by all the others in the boat.
The refugees were very bitter, for many of them had lost everything but
the clothes on their backs. Two in the craft had been wounded, and two
had leaped overboard and disappeared.
A consultation was held; and it was decided that the lighter should be
used to ferry the American and French soldiers over the river, that
they might have more of a chance to get into Tien-Tsin. On a pinch
the craft could carry several hundred men, so it did not take long to
complete the movement. This done, the lighter was again turned over to
the refugees. With the latter went all the Americans and French who had
been wounded, under an escort of eight Frenchmen,--clever shots, who
could do a good deal in the way of protection if the lighter got into
another tight corner.
By the time the battalion was ready to continue its march toward
Tien-Tsin it was broad daylight. As the soldiers came closer to the
foreign quarter of the city, they kept closer together; and a vidette
was sent ahead, that they might not fall into a trap.
The evidences of a bombardment were now to be seen on every hand. The
Pei-Ho was full of the dead bodies of Boxers, some washed up on the
shore by the tide and others floating aimlessly hither and thither.
Here and there a savage “chow” (Chinese wolf dog) was feeding on the
corpses. Where the road was not torn up, it was strewn with household
effects, soldier equipments, and the like. At one point there was a
hasty breastworks built of a pile of salt.
Suddenly, just as Tien-Tsin was sighted, there came a number of shots
from across the river, and one of the French soldiers was struck in the
arm. A body of Chinese troops had sighted the oncoming troops, and in a
few minutes a small field-gun was trained upon them.
“Double-quick!” came the order from Major Morris; for he realized that
they could do nothing against an enemy who lay across the stream and
who had a piece of artillery at his command.
The order was obeyed as quickly as given. The Frenchmen were in the
lead; and they soon reached the wall of the foreign quarter, where of
a sudden they received a cheer from their own countrymen, who were
guarding the outer defences in that vicinity.
“Right wheel!” came the order for the American battalion; and they
moved off in the direction of a row of huts, but still keeping close to
the wall. They were still some distance from one of the arsenals, when
a volley from an embankment to their left made them stop.
That the entire foreign quarter of Tien-Tsin was suffering a heavy
bombardment there could be no doubt; for the booming of cannon was
continuous, and from a distance came that whining of shells which, when
once heard, is never forgotten.
“Hurrah! I see an American flag!” cried Gilbert, after looking through
a pair of field-glasses.
“Hurrah for Old Glory!” was the cry. “See, there is an opening for us,
at yonder gate!”
Major Morris had already seen the opening, and the battalion was
immediately urged onward once more. Once some Chinese troops showed
themselves in the long grass to the westward, and the four companies of
Americans opened fire on them. Then the embankment was gained, and the
troops slipped through the gate mentioned, just as a Chinese field-gun
sent a twelve-pound shot after them. The shot took off the top of a
near-by flagstaff, but otherwise did no damage.
Once inside of the outer wall of Tien-Tsin, the battalion felt fairly
safe for the time being. Still, they were but a short distance from the
Chinese quarter; and it was soon learned that the Celestials had from
ten to twenty thousand troops on hand, with many more pouring into the
neighborhood every day. What the outcome of the fighting at Tien-Tsin
would be, no one cared to predict. It was felt that the Allies needed
re-enforcements very much.
“What a mixture of troops!” such was Gilbert’s comment when first he
saw the camp of the Allies. English, French, German, Italian, Russian,
and Japanese were represented; and of these troops there were numerous
branches, such as the Chinese-English, the East Indian English, and
the Japanese-German and Chinese-French. It was a conglomeration as
startling as it was interesting. Some few of the troops were on ponies
and horses, but the majority were afoot. All were armed in the latest
fashion, however; and the general appearance presented was formidable.
“China must think it has the world against it,” observed Gilbert, after
the company had come to a halt and Major Morris had gone off to report
to his superior.
“And so it has,” answered Captain Banner. “Civilization is going to
move on; and China must move, too, or take the consequences.”
The battalion was too tired out to do anything but rest; and a cool,
shady spot was found for it not far from the English legation, for
it was but natural that the Americans and the English should stick
together, speaking the same language. Gilbert was glad enough to throw
himself down, and was soon half asleep.
“They tell me the Chinese have four mounted guns in the native
quarter,” remarked Captain Banner, on returning from a short walk.
“But we have heard more than four cannon,” said Gilbert.
“Oh, they have others, on the outside. They are directing a good part
of their fire over to the railroad station, and an English officer just
told me that the round-house is in ruins.”
“What are we to do?”
“Nothing for the present. I suppose they will put us on the outer
defences to-morrow.”
“Then we’ll see some more real fighting very soon.”
“We shall.”