With the Allies to Pekin: A Tale of the Relief of the Legations

by G. A. Henty

Rex was at work from morning till night, now carrying sand–bags, or building entrenchments, now distributing food, or taking his place with Ah Lo at some point which the Chinese were attacking and endeavouring to drive them off. Whatever he did Ah Lo was by his side, and the Chinamanʼs great strength was invariably of considerable value.

One of the greatest privations which the besieged suffered at first was want of water. The Legation was amply supplied for ordinary wants, but it was feared that the immense extra demand would cause the wells to run short. Happily the rains were very heavy, and when it was found that the level of the water was maintained, the regulations as to supply became less stringent, and though little could be had for washing there was no lack of drinking water.

The hospital was one of the first things organized. At present the number of wounded and sick was small, but it was certain to increase rapidly. At the head was Dr. Poole of the British Legation, and Dr. Velde of the German. There were two or three lady doctors who had come in with the missionaries, a few regular nurses, and any number of volunteers. At present, however, there was small need for their services, as there were but five or six invalids to be attended to.

On the twenty–second there was a terrible alarm, for the guards of all the other Legations poured in suddenly. As the attack had not seemed to be specially severe, this for a time was unaccountable, but it appeared that the retiral had been made by order of Captain Thomann, the senior officer. The Ministers hastily met; Sir Claude Macdonald was appointed to the chief command, and orders were at once issued for the guards to return immediately to their posts. Had the Chinese known that the Legations had all been abandoned they could have occupied them without resistance, and the result would have been a terrible disaster.

On that day the besieged learned that one of their greatest dangers was fire. At three points the British Legation was particularly exposed to this danger. On the north the Hanlin Academy, which contained a magnificent collection of Chinese manuscripts, many of great age, was separated from the wall of the Legation where the stables were situated, and the out–buildings of the Ministerʼs house, by a narrow lane only a few feet wide. Behind the Chinese secretaryʼs house, which adjoined the wall, were several native buildings, while the southeast corner of the Legation was threatened in a similar way. These houses were all built in quadrangular form, and the central courtyard was covered in summer by a mat roof. At five oʼclock in the afternoon the Boxers fired one of these sheds. The flames leapt up fiercely, and the secretaryʼs house became at once involved. There was a general rush to the spot, and men dashed into the kitchens and outhouses adjoining the wall and began to strip down all the woodwork, and to carry out everything portable, the Chinese meanwhile keeping upon them a harassing fire from every available point.

The moment the work was done and the danger over, volunteers hurried off to demolish the buildings adjoining the south stables, and, working far into the night, succeeded in doing so. It was not thought that any real danger could arise from the Hanlin, which was considered sacred by the Chinese, as it was full of memorial and literary tablets. It contained the finest library in the empire, and was the repository of the state records. At the same time it was thought prudent to open a passage through the lane into the building in order to prevent its being occupied by the Chinese.

Captain Poole called upon Rex and a few others to join him in the work. They had only just begun when someone ran up to them with the news that smoke was issuing from the building. They worked desperately. The danger was great, for a strong wind was blowing. A body of marines was at once called up, and a hole having been knocked through the wall of the building they poured in. Fighting sharply they drove the Boxers from the building, and then endeavoured to extinguish the fire, but in vain. All then set to work to prevent the fire from spreading to the buildings of the Legation. Water was brought up, buildings demolished, trees cut down. Fortunately the wind at this moment fell, and although the backs of the outhouses and stables were charred and blackened, they did not catch fire. The great hall was occupied as soon as the fire burnt down, and a wall having been built to cut off from the ruins, it was held till the end of the siege. Thus the efforts of the Chinese to bring about the destruction of the besieged only left them stronger than before.

While the inmates of the British Legation had been thus occupied, other fires were raging, one near the French and another near the American Legation. At the latter the Russo–Chinese Bank was fired, and the Americans, aided by Chinese Christians, had desperate work to save the Legation. All the houses in Legation Street, from this point to the Chien Mên, were destroyed.

All next day firing was maintained heavily from every possible point. The Boxers kept up a continuous fire, to which our men replied but slowly, as the orders against waste of ammunition were very stringent, everyone being forbidden to fire unless he could clearly see his man. On this day the Chinese began shell–fire with the gun that they had mounted at the Chien Mên. The American Legation was struck once, the German several times, but for the most part the shells flew overhead.