He delivered his letters to a foreigner in citizen, dress, who spoke Chinese. On July 22 he was taken to the British consulate; there the consul gave him a letter. He was then sent to the foreign outpost at Hungchian (Red Bridge over the Paotingfu river, a half mile west of Tientsin city).
On July 23 he left Hungch’iao, and soon met the Chinese troops. That night he slept at Yangtsun in a locomotive boiler near the bridge. The bridge there was not destroyed. That day he saw only Chinese infantry, the main body of which was at Peitsang; he saw no Boxers. The night of July 24 he slept near Hoshiwu; saw few soldiers and no Boxers. The night of July 25 he slept at Mat’ou. That day he saw a few parties of Boxers in villages, but none on the road.
At Mat’ou and elsewhere he saw that the river was in high flood; few boats moving, but many moored to the banks. On July 26 had no adventures; he spent the night at Yuchiawei, twenty li from Peking.
APPROACH TO HATAMEN GATE IN WALL DESTROYED BY THE RUSSIANS
Elsewhere in this work is presented a view of the top of this wall, indicating its great width. The view above shows its height and form. To the left is the encircling canal, with its stagnant water and accumulations of filth; under a corner of the wall near the bend of the canal may be seen a caravan. A block house or fortification is shown on top of the wall. At the right the larger building upon the top of the wall indicates where one of the city gates is placed. The foundation of the wall is of great blocks of hewn stone, above which are tiers of sun-dried brick.
On July 27 he reached the Sha Kuo gate, the east gate of the south city, at 10 a.m. He found the roads good; telegraph poles and wire along the river all gone; railway torn up everywhere, rails buried, or used for making Boxer swords.
He was not stopped at the gate, though there were many Boxers and Tung Fu Hsiang’s men there. He made his way without trouble to the Hatamen, which he found closed, and to the water-gate, which was too closely guarded to pass by day. The man slept last night near the Chien Men, crawled along the moat, and entered the water-gate without challenge before daylight this morning.
He said the high road to Tientsin is in good condition. Crops everywhere look well. Villagers are attending to their farms, but there is a Boxer organization in every village. When he left Tientsin, the foreign troops had not advanced beyond the defense wall, San Ko Hin Sin’s “Folly,” built by that general against the British and French in 1860 but never defended (hence the name “folly”) surrounding Tientsin city at a distance of one-half to one mile. All the yamens in Tientsin are occupied by foreign troops, chiefly Japanese. All Boxers have left the front at Tientsin because badly punished in the battle, so the Chinese soldiers despise them. Chinese army was concentrating on Peitsang, eight miles northwest of Tientsin. The messenger had a dollar in his pocket when he met the foreign pickets at Tientsin, and they relieved him of it, “lest he might lose it”!
Colonel Shiba’s informant gives the following dates of battles: