New-York tribune. [volume], January 21, 1912, Image 15

About New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924

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PART IL
EIGHT PAGES.
NEW-YORK, SUNDAY.
. MSCmXaAJSIY,
BOOKS AND ART.
JANUARY 21. 1912.
It s No Picnic for Yankee Troops to Serve in .Flowery Kingdom
Hardships Come Thick and Fast There, as Ex?
periences of the Petrel's Men and Others Bear
Witness, and as Some of Uncle Sam's
Boys Are About to Find Out
for Themselves.
AMERICAN' troops arc again to have
a taste of life in China. A few days
ago a battalion of the 15th Infantry
ajxl other details sailed on the Logan from
?alanila. bound for Chin "Wang Tao. In
Northern China. They are to protect the
Peking Railroad between Tang-Shan and
l^n-^hau?which section is aasigntd by in?
ternational agreement to the custody of the
United States?against attack of either im?
perialist or repuhlican troops. Their visit
to this section of the Chinese Empire at
this season of the year will not partake or
the r.n* -re of a joyous excursion. To assure
themselves of this fact, it would be only
necessary for them to consult any of their
fellow Americans who have seen military
lervice in the "Celestial Empire."
The determination to fight their differ?
ences to a finish, which has inspired the
Manchus and the revolutionists, with Pe?
lting as .'?? base, means the renewal of hos?
tilities upon a scale and under conditions
which will impose sore trials upon the for?
eign powers seeking to protect their citi?
zens and their interests. The Americans
and the Europeans will be placed in a deli?
cate position, not only in maintaining their
appearance of neutrality, but in avoiding
the intemperate actions of the natives
either in the excesses following victory or
the desperate action pressing close upon
the heels of defeat. Our sailors and our
marines have already been doing effectual
?ervice in safeguarding our citizens, ana
now a military force is to share the work '
of keeping open the railway between Peking
and the Peiho.
We are virtually duplicating the condi?
tions of 1900? the year of the Boxer cam?
paign-only the added rigor of the winter
months is apt to make the task a harder
one. In this particular we are again en?
uring circumstances akin to those
that prevailed in 18W, when our marines
were held In readiness at Tientsin, in the
season, to be rushed to the capital
in c**e the defeated Chinese army menace
our people at Peking.
Tientsin Is a place of climatic extremes?
the heat of summer being great and the
cold of winter penetrating and trying. The
country surrounding Tientsin Is one vast
plain, formed by delta deposits. In the
cold season there is not a blade of grass
|0 be seen, and here and there a lonely
cypress serves to emphasize the dreary ex?
panse of plain, save where the ground is,
allowed to pass unquestioned, and ltmded
six miles above the forts at a coal dock
five hundred yards from the railroad sta?
tion. There I left Ensign Belkntip with
ten men to guard the baggage und
marched the rest lo the depot.
"Curiosity had collected a motley crowd
of dirty natives, coolies and soldiers about
us. numbering not fur from tiv.- hundred.
They pressed in so closely that it was nec?
essary to place the men back to a wall and
put in front numerous sentinels to kc<-p <?"*
the prssa, The sentinels, losing patience,
would now and then give vicious blows
with the butts of their pieces, which soon
had a good effect. The men stood fully
equipped from 3:30 p. m. until ti p. m., when
tho train pulled up, having next to the sa*
glne two coal floats for our Iransportati^n.
Tlje thermometer was much below freezing
and the wind coming over the Ic? Heidi
biting. We were "oMIcad to use the op-?n
floats, as ?'hi?ese soldiers travelling in th
American style passenger cars had made
them unbearable. Tho men dnncrd a:ul
thrashed themselves to keep from freezing,
and after an hour and a half we arrived .-it
Tientsin, crossed the river sad reported
on board the Units*] States ship Monoc
a? y."
ly>ng sheepskin coats, fur caps and glove;-.
were later bought l>y the marines to protect
them against tlie cold. Those the men pai'l
for our of their own pockets When the
river froze and ?learner communlcaUoa WSa
cut ??ff the streets si it? ntain were barri
caded by the foreign deta? hments present.
and there was an understanding what trug
to be done by each command in east of rut
ftre or disturbances. rvking wa? eighty-j
six miles away.
1'nder the condition?- as they exist tO-day
our soldiers and our marines and sailors
have lor s l?a>e ?it Tient! ef our
river gunboats bujit especially for aervlce
In the waters of fhlr.a. but tin- manner in j
which this vessel has been placed In a mud
dock and virtually turned into a fort?now ;
that the river is closed !>>' lo??is of ?
cial Interest to us. Another of these guu
boats is hiber.iatir.g ?t Nleachuanc, Chi'
na'8 moat northern port, and this vessel,
too, 1? similarly disposed for her season .1*
watchfulness In that far-away nook of the
empire.
The northef-n rivers freeze tight some,
time in December, and the break-up
Hots until some Urne in April When
COUNT WALDERSEE RIDING BE?
TWEEN LINES OF U. S. INFANTRY.
ESCORT IS COMPOSED OF OFFICERS
OF THE ALLIED ARMIES.
American Marines and Sailors Who Passed an
Unpleasant Winter in Mucdock at Nieu
Chuang Have Vivid Memories of
Chinese Looters and Other
Unpleasant Things.
fortunate than her predecessor, the Grass?
hopper. The Palos was put In drydock and
out of reach of the river ice, and. the next
April, was safely floated again. The Palos
was a craft of only 420 tons.
With these precedents the United States
ship Petrel was ordered to Nleu-Chuang
Just before the Llao River closed. She was
to be the fortifie?! outpost of civilization,
standing between our resident citizens and
the defeated Chinese and camp followers
fleeing before the victorious Japanese. To
share her Isolation the British government
detailed the little gunboat Firebrand. At
that time the Petrel, a craft of 8!?0 tons,
was doublo the size of any naval vassal
that had been placed in a muddock at that
somewhat hazardous point, and she pre?
sented a rather serious problem. However,
her commanding officer had no choice but
to obey orders and to do his best to place
her safely in the hole to be cut in the river
bank for her reception.
In preparation for her coming, orders had
been telegraphed to Nleu-? 'huang to start
the work of excavation, the desire being
to get the gunboat out of harm's way be?
fore ice formed in the river. When the
Petrel reached her destination her winter
resting place was partly dug, but there
was still a week of anxiety ahead and
I much work to be dene before she was
' properly berthed. The obstacles that had
to be overcome on that occasion give a
pretty good Idea of the risks run and the
labor required to fret the petrel virtually
ashore and fitted for her winter's work of
watching over our citizens in China's most
northern part.
I When the Petrel arrived at Nleu-?'huang
I much of the ?oft mud had been dug .out of
l the hole Into which she,was to be placed,
; but in a ?lay or two the diggers une? vered
springs and quicksands, the latter allowing
?he river water to seep through and into
the excavation In large quantities. The
earth bank at the river end of the dock
: was still intact -this was to be the last cut
i made. Unfortunately, an unusually high
I tide o. urred which broke through the sep?
arating wall of dirt and left the dock flood
? d ("Then the Llao receded. The undertak
! Ing looked hopeless for a while, but grit
and dogged persistence won the day in the
e*id. The force of ?'hi?ese coolies working
upon the excavation was augmented and,
| by digging in freezing water up to their
waists, they llnally succeeded in complet
peller It became In effect a turbine pump,
drav.ine water to It and thence forward
Into the dok. artificially raising the level
therein At a critical instant her propeller
was then reversed at full ?peed ahead, and
' in this way and by the us* of her ?team
j capstan pulling on heavy hawsers and the
! employment of hundred? of chattering
coolies, who tugged away upon other Unes,
I she was finally landed In the hole cut for
her.
With the vessel berthed, the entrance
across the river end was filled in so as to
shut out both the Ldao and the moving ice.
I Come what may, there the Petrel was
| landed high and dry, and there ?he had to
! remain until the break-up of winter and
j the higher tides of spring should make it
possible to get her out of that hole In the
mud She was In a position of peril as well
as one of isolation, not only because of
physical conditions, but on account of the
attitude of the destitute, defeated soldiery
and the desperadoes passing that way. Tfee
executive officer of the ship ha? given us
a good Idea of the conditions confronting
him and his fellows in the following words:
"But what a situation, and how hopeless
the outlook for the first few days! Ths
natty little vessel, whose trim appearance
had been the pride of all on board, lying
in a hole of ?lime and water, with decks
and sides begrimed with mud and encora
i passed with mounds of slippery earth, ?ur
? mounted by curious group? of Chinese
! coolies, soldier? and vagabonds of every
description, only too eager to pilfer or to
! turn an honest (?) penny by selling liquor
? to the men. The dreary outlook, the town
in a state of panic, and outrages from
1 < 'hi?ese looters expected at any moment,
and most likely to occur simultaneouely
with an attack by the Japanese?alto?
gether there have been pleasanter pros?
pects.
"But chaos was soot? resolved Into order;
the dock was pumped out and closed; s
fortified lnclosure sufficient for protection
of all the foreign residents was built; the
ship stripped and covered In; stoves put
up; precautionary measures for fire ar?
ranged; water for distilling, lighting and
heating provided; military tops construct?
ed, etc.; so that, before the last steamer
had left and the place had been temporar?
ily cut from the outside world the comfort
of the en w hatj been assured and 'Fort
Petrel' was ready for any emergency.**
UNITED STATES SHIP THE MONTEREY DOING GUARD DUTY ON THE
CHINESE COAST.
otherwise broken by dingy walls, scmbre
tBf houses or huts, and the uninsplr
.ndulations of thousands of mud-cov
graves.
At this s??ason of the year the tempera?
ture ranges down to zero and seldom rises
much above lh
no rain, and little snow, but dust and
?and storms of considerable violence are
frequent, and these make the cold more
penetrating and trying.
.11 example of how things may be in
thai unlovely region, let us recall what
iied in December of 1 S*>4. Our Min
. king had called for a guard by
bsmogrmm, and the United States ship Bal?
is hastened from Nagasaki to
Cbefoo, reaching the latter port on De
cemr>..' 4 at 7 o'clock in the evening. A
^Kuh steamer bound f?r Tientsin en
the harbor just ahead of the Balti
atott. and passage was arranged for three
o?etr, .ir?| forty-two men. the latter hav?
ing to put up with very poor ?Accommoda?
tions The steamer airlved off Taku bar
on the evening of the following day, but
because of the presence of other vessels
?"?loading into lighters the British craft
was kept waiting for some time. Our of?
ficers and marines had left Chefoo hur
and the allowance of rations had
not been sufficient to provide for delays en
Kverything edible had been con?
sumed aboard the steamer at breakfast
on trie morning of the ?th, except flour
reis, for which there were no means
?f '"?king for mo large a number. The
**ind gave warning of an approaching
which meant possible Isolation from
or? for three or four days, ?nd there
was the added probable handicap of the
Hp** freezing up. It was then promptly
<?*termln*d to land the men at one? and
t? hasten them on to Peking, thirty-two
wiles away, by rail. Captai?? Oeorge F.
en in command of the detach
m?nt. has described the moves that fol
"4:
"I was well ?ware I had no right to
l?nd an armed force without permission In
* foreign country, but it was impossible
'or rn?, to get this permit within nsces?
fc*ry time, ao I embarked the men and
"??gage on a tug at 1 p. m. After cross
In? Um bar and steaming shout ten miles
we mi , niver. the mouth of
la fortifia rgb concrete and
'.th sides. As soon as we
*??"? in sight of the forts numerous trum
**??? sounded 'to arms," and ths Chines?
Karrlson manned the guns. They went
through the fonn of loading them?may
***** actually <jon<. ?^ However, ws wer?
the i?e is carried down by the spring
i Is swept eeaward with i.-r?
force. Woe to the craft tlicr. ?aught in that
grinding, crushing movement. To i
this peril native shipping is hauled ashore
ar.d sheltered from the high tide and the
if..fiii?-s of th-? spring advent. Unfortu?
nately, nature does not temper her physi?
cal conditions to suit politi? al ?vents, and
our gunboats in their muddocks will thus
'eff<?ct a compromise with the surroundings
and the climate and provide protection for
our psopte. We i-hall And our gunboats
generally ??f more uso than our bigger craft,
and this antithesis is quite to be expected In
China, the land of contradictions.
In the winter of 1S70-'71 the British gov?
ernment, under stress of circumstances, dls
I the guaboat ??rasshopper to Nleu
Chuang, but that unfortunate craft broke
her back In trying to get Into dock and was
sold the next spring for scrap. Twelve
year later?1. e.. In the fall of 1S?3?the
Vnlted Ktate? ship Falos was sent to the
same port to hibernate, but she was more
UNITED STATES MARINE GUARD WITH GATLING GUN AT AMERICAN LEGATION IN PEKING, MARCH, 1899.
WINTERING IN A MUDDOCK IN CHINA,
THE SPECIAL RIVER GUNBOAT THE WILMINGTON WHICH, LIKE HER
SISTER SHIP THE HELENA, IS ON GUARD IN A MUDDOCK IN THE
NORTH OF CHINA.
? ing their part of the preparation?. The con?
tractor was required originally to dig deep
i enough to Insure thirteen feet of water
' over the sill of the dock entrance, but the
tides made that Impossible, and the best
that could be had was something short of
twelve feet.
The Petrel was lightened as far as pos?
sible by sending large quantities of stores
j and movable weights ashore, but even then
| she drew two Inches more than the twelve
i foot depth. Time was getting short, the
nights growing colder and a freeae-up waa
Imminent?the gunboat had to be docked
without delay. Four unsuccessful attempts
were made to get the vessel over the en?
trance and Into her berthing place. At
one time tt looked as if she would either
have her ba~k broken or be hung up on
the dock sill In s position Inviting certain
destruction should a movement of Ice oc?
cur.
A skilful expedient suggested itself to her
commanding officer. By backing her pro
It was not sufficient merely to dock tha
Petrel and to house her over. To Insure
irtvacy and proper administration, it was
! needful to surround the gunboat with a
fortified inclosure. The earth excavated In
digging the dock furnished ready material
for building these battlements, which were
?o arranged that they could command all
approaches from which danger was likely
i to threaten. The wall? w ere eight feet
high and a dozen feet thick at their baae,
and ttot> vessel's main battery peered over
the parapets and commanded wide arcs
of fire. The top? of the walls were crenel?
lated for riflemen, and a Gatllng gun was
placed on the parapet, where It could pro?
tect the approaches to the South Gatte. Ia
side of the Inclosure was a good sized par?
ade ground, upon which the marine guard
and the Jackies were drilled wellnlgh
dally.
The installation of the British gunboat
Firebrand in general principle was like
that of the Petrel, and both ships lay near
enough each other to co-operate In caae of
need.
The native Governor, or Taotai. waa In a
?ad state of funk, and his fear was not un
warrant. ?1 under the circumstance?. How?
ever, the presence of the Petrel and the
Firebrand helped to stiffen that official'?
?pine and even inspired him to assert hia
authority when matters reached a critical
pass upon several occasions. Supported by
the moral effect of the American and Brit?
ish forces, the Taotai not only kept objec?
tionable refugeea out of the town but ho
set a salutary example by decapitating
some dangerous characters that were bent
upon inflaming the native populace.
Toward the latter part of April, following
her installation, the Petrel was refitted,
stripped of her winter garb and safely
flcated out into the river, then tree of lw.
A few days later she reached Shanghai,
every one on board being thankful for the
deliverance from comparative imprison?
ment.
Owing to the shifting of the channel at
Tien-Tsln.due to silting, the old Monocacy
wa? similarly wintered during HWI-'Oa at
that place, and for the same reaaon one of
our present gunboat? Is hibernating there
now as an advance post to cover the line
of communication between Peking and the
Pel-!io. Despite the fact that the native will
have nothing to do with a wheelbarrow,
using basket? instead, and does not know
the piledriver as we understand that appar?
atus, still John Chinaman works rapidly
and effectively with the primitive facilities
at hia command, and, what ta ?equally laa
portant, labora cheaply.