CHAPTER XXIV.
PRESIDENT McKINLEY AND THE CHINESE CRISIS.
When, in 1899 and 1900 the civilized world was filled with indignation over the atrocities of the “Boxers,” a vast element in China, and when it became necessary for the United States to send its contingent of soldiers to the scene, for the protection of United States interests there, and of its diplomatic corps, this government’s hand in the matter was guided by President McKinley.
The result was like that of all other affairs in which the comity of nations has been involved, during President McKinley’s incumbency of the executive place, so far as the United States were concerned. It was creditable to this country, and was ramified by the judicious and commendably conservative character of the man.
The conduct of our country in it all was devoid of elements of greed and spoliation, or revenge, or any sort of unnecessary violence, and there was an utter and entire absence of outrage.
The great uprising of a large part of the Chinese population against the presence of foreigners in the empire, which began in the latter part of 1899 and resulted in the loss of untold thousands of lives, was one of the strangest occurrences in the history of the world. At its inception little was thought of it by the other nations, for China has been the home of disorders, insurrections, uprisings and rebellions for many centuries, but when the revolt spread from one province to another; when Christian missionaries were ruthlessly slaughtered on every hand; when natives who had been converted to Christianity were subjected to the most horrible tortures; when foreign ministers in Peking were assassinated and legations burned; when the guards of other countries whose duty it was to protect the foreign representatives and members of legations were attacked by the imperial Chinese troops and forced to shoot down the soldiers of the empire as well as the rioters by the thousand in order to save themselves; when millions of dollars’ worth of property belonging to missionaries and citizens of other countries had been burned; when the fleets of foreign nations were fired upon by the Chinese, as was the case at Taku on the morning of June 17th, 1900, resulting in the taking of the forts by the foreign fleets after a brisk bombardment; and, finally, when the American, British, German, Russian, French, Italian and Japanese soldiers, sailors and marines sent to the relief of the imprisoned ambassadors and ministers of the great powers of the world were beaten back by the Chinese troops with heavy loss, then, and then only, did the other nations fully realize the great danger that confronted them. The awful Yellow Terror was wild for blood, and determined to drive every one of the “white devils,” as the Celestials call all foreigners, out of the Empire.
When the outside countries demanded that their ambassadors and ministers, as well as their citizens in China, be protected, the Chinese government replied that the uprising was too widespread to be controlled, and then the powers took the matter in hand themselves and sent troops by the thousand—the aggregate by the end of July, 1900, being nearly 100,000, with fully that many on their way or ready to start. Meanwhile the Chinese imperial troops, most of them having joined the insurgents, showed their fighting qualities in several engagements, and the tried and trained warriors of the United States, England, France, Russia, Germany, and other countries soon found they were opposed by no mean foe. The Chinese have a contempt for death, and are stoical when undergoing the most frightful punishment; they fell in ranks and rows and heaps before the steady fire of the invaders, but yet they came on. The one thing they did not like, however, was the use of the bayonet against them, and when the foreign troops resorted to the cold steel and rushed upon them with it the Chinese invariably gave way.
The uprising which began in 1899 was the most extensive China had ever known, and the national government soon found itself helpless. It was incited by the secret society Ye-Ho-Chuan, or “Boxers,” the literal meaning or translation of the name of the society being “Righteousness, Harmony and Fists.” It had about 4,000,000 members in the Empire, and while the society was formed for the purpose of overthrowing the Manchu dynasty, which represented not more than 12,000,000 of the 450,000,000 people of China, its hatred of all foreigners was the predominating spirit. The “Boxers” first began by attacking the outlying foreign mission settlements and then worked their way to the capital of the Empire, leaving a bloody trail behind them.
China had always hated the people of outside countries, and never had much to do with them until about the first quarter of the nineteenth century. China traded as little as she could with the outside world. Indeed, there was formerly a law punishing with death any Chinaman who ever visited any other country. “China for the Chinese,” was the watchword, and the lives of foreigners have never been safe in the Flowery Kingdom.
China is thousands of years old, and was known to the ancients—the oldest nations of which history makes record. It was mentioned in ancient Sanskrit literature, but little was known of it. It was called by the earliest civilizations as Seres; two thousand or more years ago it was known as Chin, possibly because of the Thsin dynasty, which occupied the throne some two hundred years before Christ. In the Middle Ages it was called Cathay. The probabilities are that the name China comes from the race called Chinas, who lived in the mountains near the Indies, and was a branch of the Dard races. This name probably reached Europe through the Arabs.
In 1840 China had her first experience with a civilized power. She had been fighting barbarian nations like herself for many centuries, but had never become embroiled with any of the western countries. England had been doing a large trade with China in opium, to which the mandarins of the Empire, who really ruled the country, objected, and finally they stopped all foreign trade whatever. England declared war and captured Canton, Shanghai and other important cities, after subjecting them to bombardment, and China, to gain peace, being defenseless, paid England an indemnity of $21,000,000 and opened the ports of Amoy, Fuh-Chow-Foo, Ningpo and Shanghai to foreign trade.