Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 June 1900 — WAROPENS IN CHINA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

WAROPENS IN CHINA

Celestials Fire Upon the inter* national Fleet. TAKU FORTS TAKEN. Beginning of What May Prove Conflict with All the Powers. Forts Surrender After a Seven-Hours Bombardment Magazine and Two Forta Blown Up and 400 Chinese Killed—Slight Loss of Allied Forces —Russia, Japan, Germany and France Hurrying Forward Large Armies to the Disturbed District Vessels Arc Pushed Up the Pei Ho. China declared war against the world when the Taku forts opened fire upon the international fleet. The accounts of what took place are unsatisfactory, the best senii-qtficial information being a dispatch received at Berlin from Chefoo. The international fleet captured the northern Taku forts after a battle that lasted seven hours, and the lighter-draught vessels pushed on up the Pei-Ho. During the bombardment of the forts a shell exploded the Chinese magazine. The allies sustained small damage in the fight. Six men on board the British barkentine Algerine were wounded. The Russians and Japanese, now that the forts have been forced, will land many troops, and American troops will proceed immediately from Manila to Tientsin. The narratives, coming by way of Shanghai, vary widely and bear internal evidence of supplementing the main facts with guess work. One dis-_ patch says that the Yorktown participated in the bombardment. Another asserts that American marines formed part of the storming force of 3,000. An Associated Press dispatch from Chefoo says: “The forts on both sides of Taku are now occupied. The Chinese opened fire unexpectedly. The casualties to the mixed force were as follows: Killed, British 1, German 3, Russian 1, French 1; wounded, British 4, German 7, Russian 45, French 1. Chinese torpedo boats were' seized.” Discovering that the Chinese were placing torpedoes in the river and heavily garrisoning the forts, and making other warlike preparations, the foreign commanders assembled on the Russian flagship and addressed an ultimatum to the commanders of the Taku forts, calling upon them to withdraw their troops before 2 o’clock on Sunday morning. The troops were said to have been brought from Shan-Hai-Kwan, and probably were those lately supposed to be marching west to put themselves under the command of Gen. Tung. China Fires First Shot. The only reply of the commanders of the forts was to open fire suddenly at 1 o’clock on Sunday morning. The British, Russian, German, French and Japanese warships immediately replied. After a seven hours’ engagement between the warships and the forts, during which a Russian gunboat was blown up by n shell exploding in its magazine, the German vessel litis and the British sloop Algerine were each struck thirteen or fourteen times, two British merchant vessels sunk, and two Chinese forts blown up, the European troops stormed the remaining forts with bayonets, and took them all. killing, so some reports say, several hundred Chinese. Of the European losses sixteen were killed and forty-five wounded by the explosion on the Russian warship. On the litis three were killed atid seven wounded. On the Algerine one man was killed and four wounded. The forts on both sides of the river arc now occupied, and the Chinese torpedo boats captured. The return of Admiral Seymour's force to Tien-Twin—due largely to lack of food —is regarded as a humiliating check, and one likely to encourage the Boxers to further harass the Europeans in Pekin. The allied forces found the line cut in front of them, and were faced by 10,000 imperial troops, who are now regarded as Boxers pure and simple. Thon the line was cut behind them, and the force could not get from Tien-Tsin the supplies needed. The retreat is not to be marveled at, being assuredly necessary, but in the eyes of the army and navy officials it amounts to a serious disaster. Attack Ordered from Pekin. The Shanghai correspondent of the London Daily Mail say si “The forts began firing in observance of orders from Pekin, conveyed in a personal ediet of the empress dowager, by advice of Kang Y 1 (president of the ministry of war). Several warships were struck by shells from the twelve-inch guns of the forts. The heavy Russian losses wore due to the blowing up of the magazine nt Mandshur. Four hundred Chinese are reported to have been killed. The Chinese, when retreating, fell into the hands of the Russian land force.” The London Daily News has the following from Chefoo: "Two of the forts wore blown up. The thirty-two warships nt Taku aggregated 21X1,000 tons and carried more than 300 guns. The failure of Admiral Seymour’s column and its retreat to Tientsin increase, it is presumisl, the peril oY the legations in Pekin, which is still isolated, although Shanghai forwards Chinese rumors that the legations were attacked by molts, which were mowed down by machine guns, and also that the members of the legation were massacred. The situation at Niu Chwang is reported critical. The British consul nt Kin Kwang has ordered all foreigners to leave Ku Ling and Nnu King Chang. Tlie powers are taking prompt action. Four thousand Gorman troops have been ordered to China; 10,(KM) French troops are waiting to embark at Saigon, capital of French Cochin China, and from 3,000 to 5,000 more Russians have been ordered from Port Arthur to Taku. This re-en-forcement, says the St. Petersburg correspondent of the London Daily Telegraph, is announced In the St. Petersburg Gazette.

Methodists nlone have sixteen missionaries in Pekin. He said there are about 200 foreigners there, sixty of whom are Americans. The Catholics have the most property of any denomination. They have three compounds, three fine churches, a convent and an industrial school. The Presbyterians have two compounds. Mr. Headland added that none of the legations is provided with means of defense, except the German, where a few soldiers are kept on guard. Dowager Einpreu Is Angry. A Shanghai dispatch says the latest news from Pekin is that the dowager empress Is greatly concerned at the capture of the Tuku forts and that wholesale degradations of the Chinese army, including Gens. Bung Ching and Fung Fu Slang, the governor of Pekin and other high officials who promised in the Tsung-li-Ynmcn to accomplish the expulsion of the foreigners, have taken place. Recruits for Philippine Army. Fifteen hundred reernita for the regular army in the Philippines are now being enlisted ami assembled in New York harbor and Columbus barracks, Ohio, to aafl on the transports Buford and Kilpatrick, about the Ist of November next, to take the plaees of enlisted men nphose .terms of service will expire this year. It Is stated that the richest gold mine in the world is the United Verde mine in Arisona. Senator Clark of Montana Is the principal owner, and the profits yield him at least *1,000,000 per month.

LI HUNG CHANG.

PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE.

Built by Americana at Tung Chou—Burned by the Boxers.