1-2-2 



CHINA. 



:1 Miiv> vsf-ic lakon. The German military 

 - i, )( )k auay the instruments that were 

 i,-M-iiti-ii to tin- ( hi'uese Government astronom- 

 ii-al ol.M-rvatorv centuries ago by Jesuit mission- 

 aries The < ;Tman Government offered to return 

 them but tin- ( hiiu-M' Government asked the Ger- 

 man- to keep them. The Americans and Japanese 

 guarded the Forbidden City effectually, and the 

 Krenrh left the i'alaci- of Ancestors undespoiled. 

 Nevertheless pillagers carried off a large part of 

 the treasures preserved in the imperial city, and 

 fin- destroyed many of the buildings. In the be- 

 ginning of* March the greater part of the Temple 

 of a Thou.-and Years in the Summer Palace was 

 burned to the ground. A conflagration that oc- 

 curred on April 17 in the part of the Winter Palace 

 occupied us the German headquarters cost Gen. 

 von S-lnvar/hotf. chief of staff, his life when he 

 attempted to save military documents. Count 

 von NValdciM'e escaped narrowly, and unique art 

 treasures and costly presents for the Kaiser were 

 continued in the flames, which wiped out an acre 

 of buildings. Another fire, which occurred on 

 June f. destroyed many buildings in the Forbid- 

 den City, among them the Wuying hall, which 

 contained the archives of the dynasty and the 

 imperial library. The cause was at first supposed 

 to lie lightning*; later it seemed probable that some 

 servant of the court had started the fire in fulfil- 

 ment of the imperial policy of obliterating the 

 historical precedents and literary standards .that 

 were considered the chief obstacle to political 

 progress. 



Of more than a score of expeditions undertaken 

 before January, only a third resulted in encounters 

 with Chinese troops or Boxers and a few others in 

 the execution of local ringleaders according to the 

 i..-] M i;m reports. The Chinese reported that the 

 troops and ringleaders were in several instances 

 regular police and properly constituted officials 

 and the Boxers peaceful villagers. Boxers and 

 bands of robbers did appear near the main garri- 

 sons of Pekin. Tientsin, and Paoting-Fu, and be- 

 came bolder and more numerous, but the troops 

 could not catch them. Count von Waldersee 

 formulated his plan for evacuation before the end 

 of January, but the condition of the river and 

 harbor and the lack of transport rendered it im- 

 poasihle for the troops to embark before April. 

 Itesides the permanent legation guards, whose 

 number was fixed at over 2,000, he intended to 

 leave fi.OOO troops at Taku and Lutai, in the Tien- 

 tsin district, and 1.500 at Shanhaikwan, to re- 

 main until all the conditions of peace were ful- 

 filled : also to occupy the towns of Hosiwu, Matou, 

 and TungetiRu until the evacuation of Pechili. 

 The permanent garrisons at Tientsin and Shan- 

 haikwan were fixed at 2.000 and 1,500 men respect- 

 ively, and garrisons along the railroad at about 

 300 men each, placed near enough together to be 

 able to patrol the whole line, the troops at each 

 Mat ion to consist of men of one nationality and 

 the command of the whole force to be taken by the 

 different countries in rotation. The American and 

 Russian generals thought that half the number of 

 troops would be sufficient to guard the legations 

 and that l.OOOor 2.000 stationed at Tientsin. Shan- 

 haikwan. and perhaps two or three other points, 

 were capable of protecting communications with 

 tbe sea. instead of 6.000 distributed at nine differ- 

 ent point*. The larger plan of the commander-in- 

 < hief was adopted, but the United States furnished 

 no troops except to guard the legation, Russia onlv 

 a contingent at Shanhaikwan. After the razing of 

 the forta the seaport garrisons were to be reduced. 

 The Austrian* decided to have only 200 men for a 

 legation guard, the Italians the 'same, and the 



Americans 150, while the guards of the British, 

 French. Germans, Russians, and Japanese were 300 

 strong. Including these, the garrisons at Tientsin 

 and Shanhaikwan, 9 posts on the railroad between 

 Pekin and Shanhaikwan, and 250 men in small 

 posts on the Peiho river, the permanent interna- 

 tional force to be kept in Pechili was expected to 

 number 12,500 men. 



Paoting-Fu was held by a French garrison, and 

 in the mountain passes beyond leading into Shansi 

 were the outposts of Gen. Liu's army of Chinese 

 regulars. For months the two forces faced one 

 another without mishap. Gen. Bailloud, who had 

 3,000 men at Paoting-Fu, desired to attack when 

 Gen. Liu massed 10,000 troops within 12 miles of 

 the French advanced positions, but was restrained 

 by orders from Pekin. A massacre of Christians 

 at Chingting-Fu was avenged by the French, who 

 had difficulty in settling the quarrels between 

 Christians and the rest of the population at 

 Paoting-Fu, where the Catholic missionaries were 

 so arrogant and exacting that the military would 

 not uphold them, and left the government of the 

 city to the Chinese officials, confining their own 

 action to the arbitration of disputes. A German 

 reconnaissance was carried beyond Paoting-Fu 

 while the preparations for the advance toward Sin- 

 gan-Fu were in progress. Col. Hoffmeister's col- 

 umn was checked at Kuangchang by imperial Chi- 

 nese troops, who fought stubbornly, although their 

 losses were about 300 killed, and compelled the 

 Germans to retire. Gen. Yinchang, by order of 

 Li-Hung-Chang, requested Count von Waldersee 

 not to send out expeditions, but to restrain the 

 native Christians and the missionaries from mak- 

 ing exorbitant claims, to allow the Chinese troops 

 to remain within 10 miles of the allies for the pur- 

 pose of keeping off Boxers and robbers, and within 

 the occupied territory to seek the assistance of I 

 the Chinese officials in the detection and punish- 

 ment of the guilty. The field-marshal promised 

 not to send out expeditions unless bands of rob- 

 bers or an advance of Chinese troops made it neces- 

 sary, and said he would seek the assistance of 

 Chinese officials. The indemnities to be paid to 

 native Christians he said would be settled in the 

 future by mutual agreement between them and the 

 local officials, or would be referred to the diplo- 

 matic representatives. In March the Japanese be- 

 gan to withdraw their forces, gradually turning 

 over the districts they occupied to the Chinese offi- 

 cials, with whom they had already cooperated. 

 The United States Government, in April, withdrew 

 all American troops, except enough to serve as a 

 legation guard. A reported advance of Gen. Liu's 

 troops a mile or two beyond the agreed line 

 offered the Germans an opportunity they eagerly 

 seized for an encounter with the Chinese regulars. 

 In previous skirmishes the Chinese had retired, 

 relying on assurances, coming mostly from Russia 

 and the United States, that if they evaded a con- 

 flict the allies would not advance, and the negotia- 

 tions would reach a peaceful conclusion and Pe- 

 chili be evacuated on more favorable terms than 

 would be the case if they were drawn into fight- 

 ing. On the report that the Chinese had passed 

 the bounds in the northwest, Gen. Kettler's 

 brigade marched out in four columns. Col. Hoff- 

 meister's column met the Chinese, who had re- 

 tired to the Great Wall, on April 23, and drove 

 them into Shansi, capturing several banners and 

 guns. On the same day the column of Major von 

 Mfihlenfels, numbering 1,100 men, attacked a 

 strong body, estimated at 2,000, in a bastion com- 

 manding the pass into Shansi and fought all day, 

 and the Chinese did not yield, but toward evening 

 began to enclose the Germans, who entrenched 



