June 21. Most of the Chinese coolies and many foreigners were set right at work filling sand-bags for fortifying all the weak places in the legation, while the women, with needle and thread and the few sewing machines inside the compound, manufactured the bags by the thousand. This was kept up until 20,000 to 25,000 sand-bags were made.
The Belgian legation and the Methodist mission were set fire to and completely burned. Tung Lu’s troops kept up a desultory fusillade upon us all day, but scarcely any of the bullets took effect.
It was reported that Prince Ching’s troops were firing on the Boxers, who were attacking the customs compound and Austrian legation. This report was afterward proved false. The French were driven from their barricade in the customs lane into the French legation compound.
The Chinese set fire to a native house just in the rear of Mr. Cockburn’s house, hoping it would catch to the latter place. It was very near, and, as the wind was strong, was only prevented with the greatest difficulty from spreading into the legation. It was put out at last, after two hours’ hard fighting.
Some of the marines stationed as watchmen on the roof of the Cockburn house had seen Chinamen sneaking around with rags soaked in kerosene and had fired on them, but had not succeeded in preventing the fire being set.
The Austrians, Italians, Germans, and Japanese were forced by the heavy firing to leave their legations and come here. The Americans also started, but were sent back. The Austrians and Italians were never able to retake their legations, but the Germans and Japanese returned very shortly to theirs. The Germans found a Boxer prisoner missing on their return on the 23d of June.
A fire was started just outside the north wall of the compound at 10 a.m., which was put out, or thought to have been put out; but it broke out again in the afternoon, this time burning a part of the Hanlin Library, adjoining the legation on the north. The conflagration was separated from the legation by only one narrow court, so one of the buildings in the court was pulled down to prevent its spreading. Thousands of wooden printing blocks were thrown into the fire to get rid of all combustible material in the immediate neighborhood. These blocks represent days of labor each, and were used in printing valuable (to the Chinese) books. Many valuable books also perished in the flames. At night a guard was placed in the Hanlin yuan, or garden, to watch the smoking remains, and, as this point is of greatest strategic importance, barricades will be erected here and the position maintained.
June 22. The customs compound and Austrian legation were burned, the Austrians remaining in the French legation to help them there. The back part of the Russo-Chinese bank compound was burned, also a house in the Japanese legation, which latter fire was soon subdued. A discharge of shrapnel from a gun on the city wall struck the gate house of the United States legation, and cut down the flag-pole, tearing a large hole in the roof, but hurting no one.
At 7 p.m. a house near the Hotel de Pein was burned. In this house two Boxers were captured. When seen, they threw down their swords and attempted to escape, but were caught and brought into the British legation to be locked up.