Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, With the Annual Message of the President Transmitted to Congress December 3, 1900
Mr. Hay to Mr. Conger.
Washington, February 20, 1900.
Sir: In connection with previous correspondence in relation to the dangers threatening American missionaries and their converts in the province of Shantung through the lawlessness of the society of Boxers, inclose herewith, for your information, a copy of a letter from the Rev. Judson Smith, corresponding secretary of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, with an inclosure containing further information on the subject.
I am, etc.,
Mr. Smith to Mr. Hay.
Congregational House, No. 14 Beacon Street,
Boston, February 7, 1900.
Sir: Recalling the recent brief interview which I had with you in Washington, and the request which you made at that time that if additional news of importance should be received from our missionaries in China I should at once advise you of the same, I inclose herewith a copy of a letter just received from Dr. Arthur H. Smith, the same missionary a letter from whom I inclosed in my previous communication. It is clear from this letter that Dr. Smith and his associates at Pang Chuang, Lin Ching, and Chinanfu, all within the province of Shantung, have been in great peril, if, indeed, they are not so at the present time. I am delighted with the warm testimony which Dr. Smith gives to the promptness of Mr. Conger, our minister at Pekin, in replying to dispatches and in looking after the personal safety of the missionaries.
Whether something more energetic than has yet been attempted is needed, and in what way such additional effort on the part of our Government should be made if it be deemed requisite, we gladly leave to the discretion of our State Department and of Mr. Conger. It would seem that the presence of United States war ships in Chinese waters might be an added guaranty of safety to American citizens residing in that Empire, under existing conditions.
You will understand that in writing thus to the State Department I speak not for myself alone, but for the officers and members of the American Board, a constituency that includes many hundred thousands of the intelligent and law-abiding citizens of the United States.
Grateful for the protection which has been afforded, and assured that with even greatei perils than have appeared the prompt offices of our Government will be employed and will be effectual,
I am, with great respect, etc.,
Dear Dr. Smith: I wrote you a letter soon after our return from the north, giving a little account of the state of things at that time. Ever since we have been living in the midst of the most exciting rumors, varied by urgent telegrams to the minister, and not infrequent replies from him as to what the tsungli yamen had ordered to have done in the most prompt and peremptory way. All this was at the moment a great gratification to us, but as the governor of the province has not paid the least attention to any of the “peremptory” orders which have been issued to him, the result is largely negative, except for the matter of prime importance, that Yuan Shih-Kai has been appointed governor in the place of the incompetent and criminally negligent Manchu who has held it since last spring. It is impossible to say what his motives may be, unless they are hatred of Germans and Roman Catholics. All of the districts about us are in some parts and at times in a condition of lawlessness unprecedented for nearly half a century. I think I wrote you of the pillaging of some of our members in the Kao T’ang district; if not, it was just as I wrote. Since then there has been an incessant stream of complaints of the most bitter sort, such as spoiling of houses and all movable property that could not be carried off or sold at auction to the highest bidder, utterly destroyed, and the families fined a sum of money gauged by what they could possibly pay, as a fee for not having their houses burned down over their heads.
To-day we have heard from tbe Kao T’ang district of fresh outrages upon one of the well-to-do members, who has heen robbed, his son badly beaten, and one of our helpers who tried to interfere was beaten also, how severely we do not certainly know. All this in a county the next south of our own, where there has been a decisive defeat of the Boxers in a small battle. But in each case of this sort the magistrate of the district where the fighting is is removed and the military commander reprimanded. About two weeks ago there was a battle between the inhabitants of a Roman Catholic village which had fortified itself against attack and a large company of Boxers, in which 2 of the defenders were killed and nearly or quite 20 of the assailants. Yet at the time the provincial troops were near by, and also the county magistrate, who did not do anything whatever to hinder the assailants, and the troops did not fire a shot.
From the house of Pastor Chia we have word of a like state of things, and he was justly in fear that the chapel there would be destroyed. It was assailed one night by a band of from thirty to forty men armed with swords, who tried to force the gate to “level the chapel,” but they were finally persuaded to go away by the assurance of a local Boxer that this was not a bad place, since foreigners do not live there and very seldom come. On this ground it was spared, for the time, though the same party returned on their way back from going to kill a church member, whose life was also spared on account of the petition of some of his friends. It was he who brought us the letter. Mr. Chia is very anxious about getting his family to some place of safety, either “by the sea” or even “beyond the sea.” All over that part of the county there is a general impression that there is to be a general rebellion next year” and the first installments seem to be payable at random. Without teasing you with details of the harassments of the month and more since we returned (not to speak of the two months preceding, when Dr. Porter had the burden alone), I will merely quote the telegrams which we have sent to the consul and the minister, with a few comments.
On the 25th of November we telegraphed to the consul at Tientsin: “Kao T’ang members pillaged; lives threatened unless ransomed; officials inert, troops useless. Implore minister get governor instructed sharp.” After this there was no improvement of any kind, and no signs that anything was being done. We had word from Chi Nan Fu of the chaotic state of things in their district, and there was great peril in Lin Ching.
On the last of December we sent the following direct to the minister: “Conger, Pekin: Boxer rebellion twenty counties Shantung Chihli rapidly spreading. Pillage, arsons, murders increasing. Avowed object kill Christians, exterminate foreigners. Unless four legations combine pressure P’ang Chuang, Ling Ching, Chi Nan Fu Americans consider situation almost hopeless. Reply awaited.” The next day came the following from the minister: “Tsungli yamen has peremptorily ordered governor dispatch soldiers, use every means suppress rioters, afford protection. Conger.” A few days before this we had a telegram from Mrs. Wilder saying that 1,500 troops had left Tientsin the day before. This gave the assurance that the Government now recognized that there is something going on in this province requiring imperial handling. The soldiers began to reach Te Chou on the 5th. We supposed [Page 99] that they were to be at once dispersed to the unquiet districts, and that the immediate effect would be to overawe the innumerable Boxers, now convinced by several actual experiments of their extreme vulnerability, despite the claim of supernatural protection by “immortals.”
On the 7th of December we had a dispatch from the minister: “Yuan Shihk’ai appointed governor Shantung. Conger.” This contained the “promise and potency” of the settlement of the whole matter—in time; but in the interim, the only effect seemed to be to stir up several devils where there had previously been but one or two. The rumors of impending pillage of our place became so serious, and the aspect so threatening, that our very friendly magistrate sent us almost the whole of the small force of cavalry at his disposal, and 8 foot soldiers.
Hearing of Pastor Chia’s troubles, on the 10th of December we telegraphed to Mr. Conger, and in a short time received a reply that the yamen had ordered protection in Shen Chou and Chi Chou (the station of the London Mission, who had telegraphed to their consul and minister).
The evidences that the minister has done all that lay in his power are numerous and encouraging, yet, as already remarked, nothing has any effect on the situation as long as the present governor has not been displaced. There is no evidence that any orders have been received from him at any of the various yamens, and there is accumulating proof that he is still just as obstructive of any real repression of the rebellion as he was three months ago. For a period of three months all the misery and ruin in this part of this populous province are to be laid at the door of this single bigoted and incompetent Manchu. What will be done with him we do not know, but it is not at all impossible that he may be merely reprimanded and put again in office, perhaps in this very province.
The sufferings of many of those who have been pillaged are very great. One of our men came to us yesterday, who was attacked without warning, and his house completely emptied in a short time, even the bricks in the yard being carried off. The doors were taken out of his house, and the windows even pulled loose and sold to whoever would give the largest cash price. At present the five members of his family are in four different places, all of them living as thieves and murderers do, not daring to show themselves by day. The same has been true of the family of Helper Ho, in Ho Chia T’un, who have had to move their goods into dwellings of whoever would suffer them to do so.
A peculiar feature of this business has been the steady requirement of money ransom from everybody who could possibly pay, the land being often mortgaged to raise the sum required. In three villages in Kao T’ang the aggregate thus extorted has amounted to more than 700 strings of cash, equaling in value the combined income of many families for a year. We have heard indirectly that one of our members, who is the treasurer of the county of Wu I, 150 li northwest of here, in Chihli, has been taxed 600 taels. In some instances there are “peace-talkers” from the outside who help arrange the terms, and all these have to be entertained at a “feast,” which is given by the person despoiled to his friendly pillagers and their allies, the middle men. This is probably a feature of social life in the Orient to which you may have hitherto been a stranger.
December 15.—I mentioned above that we had received urgent letters from Pastor Chia about the barely averted attack on the chapel, schoolhouse, and families there. On the 10th we sent the following to the minister: “Shen Chou Chang Ssu Ma imminent peril unless troops dispatched.” The next day, as mentioned above, we had a reply that the yamen had ordered protection of all missionaries in Shen Chou and Chi Chou (London Mission). This word we also dispatched to Mr. Chia by his return messenger. He traveled all night and reached there on the morning of the 13th to find a large force of 150 or more men arrived to demolish the premises, which they proceeded to do in terrible earnest. Chapel and schoolhouse were completely wrecked, not a single object escaping, and parts of the dwelling houses of the Chia family as well were pulled out, everything movable looted, and the rest either sold or destroyed. The rioters threaten to return and despoil all the rest of the church members. The lives of Pastor Chia and his whole family are in great danger and the Boxers threaten to cut them into strips if found. At present they are hiding in several different villages, wherever they can find a place. As he has two grown daughters, one with unbound feet, we are especially solicitous about them all.
We have just sent the following telegram to the minister: “Conger, Pekin. Our Chang Ssu Ma chapel demolished 13th. Four famlies looted completely. Lives pastor family imminent peril. Catholic chapels destroyed daily. Magistrate helpless. No troops. Insurgents innumerable. Headquarters Ch’uan T’ou. Hsien Hsien cathedral threatened 15th.” The families looted were Chia’s brothers, and [Page 100] his own. It is threatened that the rioters will return and remove every single brick and tile of the property.
On receipt of this distressing news it is needless to say our “hearts are filled with ashes.” The situation in Chihli is now distinctly worse than in this province, as there is no evidence that anything is being done toward the suppression of what is likely to grow into a most formidable movement if not checked. We have written ‘letters repeatedly to the local magistrates, and some of them are outwardly polite, others courteously insulting, but no one of them is able to do anything effective. Yesterday we had a letter of the latter class from the P’ing Yuan magistrate, to the east of us, who affects not to know of the things which have happened in his own county, but will “rigorously investigate” (and then deny the existence of the facts, as per schedule plan). Last week one of our men, living 12 miles west of us, came to us black and blue in consequence of a beating which he had received from the hands of the Boxers who wished to force him to lead the way here so they might kill the two foreign devils.” He refused and in the night made his escape here, and we sent him to the magistrate, where he told his story. It was from this and other alarming indications that the magistrate sent his few cavalrymen to guard us as well as the 8 foot “braves.” During the past week it was bruited abroad that a great force of the Boxers was to collect east of us to-day, with a view to drill, and presumptively attacking our premises, which have long been a discontent to many counties, as all the relief from their assaults has been due to telegrams from here. We sent word of this to tho P’ing Yuan magistrate who summoned the leader of the Boxers for that county, and gave him our letter to read. This happ ened to coincide with the arrival of the troops at Te Chou, and the numerous rumors that something is at last to be done from Pekin. On this account (the Lord having caused them to “hear a rumor”) the leaders of the Boxers in the three counties of En Hsien, P’ing Yuan, and Kao T’ang had a hasty meeting day before yesterday, and one of them sent a message to our Pastor Wu, with whom he is acquainted, to come to his village, which Wu did. They then confided to him what the P’ing Yuan magistrate had said, and denied the issuing of the threatening cards which we have had served on our members in the name of these leaders, alleging them to be forgeries, and not sent with their knowledge. What they wanted was some written word from us to the P’ing Yuan magistrate exculpating the leader in that district, perceiving that our telegrams take a very rapid effect. To this we have returned a diplomatic reply, which means very little, but the incident showed us that in this region the crisis seems to have been passed.
The new governor will be some days still on the way, and finding it impossible to get a letter to the general in command at Te Chou (he returned the three letters unopened, though one was sent through the Te Chou magistrate), we yesterday telegraphed to the minister, “Kao T’ang virtual rebellion. No troops. General Chiang Te Chou, pending governor’s arrival, declines action. Please get yamen order troops Kao T’ang, En Hsien, P’ing Yuan promptly.” This was sent about middle of the forenoon. At 5.30 p.m. the following reply was received at Te Chou, getting here late in the evening: “Telegram received. Yamen sent instructions send troops. Conger.” From this you will see that the inexcusable delays in the administration of these great provinces are not due to American citizens or the American minister, who has been a model of efficient promptness. Unfortunately every other link in the long chain is not of this temper, and the result is what I have reported.
December 18.—Although the telegram ordering the troops to be distributed was dated five days ago nothing seems to be coming of it, and we are repeating the request. This is on account of a demonstration made two days ago on a village only 2 or 3 miles from here, where we have several members. We tried to prevent the organization of a Boxer “camp” there, but failed. Then having organized they thought it a loss of prestige not to pillage somebody, and set last Saturday for a great assembly there. Over one hundred came, stayed all day, ate and drank and frisked about their big swords. One of the secretaries of our district yamen was in our yard to look after the protection of this place, and he got on a horse and went to the city. In the evening he turned up at that village with a small force of cavalry just in time to nip in the bud the proceedings and to prevent the looting. But after they had succeeded in getting things quieted down there was a revival of the demand for an indemnity, and it is now fixed for 50 strings of cash, to be paid in three days, and we are making a legal case of it. We have some hope that extortions of this kind will have to be repaid by some one, but no one can say.
Very sincerely yours,