Siege days; personal experiences of American women and children during the Peking siege

Front matter

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Preface

A year after the lifting of the Peking Siege, the following letter was sent to all American missionary women who had been in Peking at that time :

My Dear Ftiends:

A plan has been proposed by which we might all do something to help the Home Societies to raise funds to carry on the work so nearly destroyed. Those who have been spoken to about the plan seem pleased with it, and it is now commended to your careful attention. It is a work which only we can do and which we can only do now.

We have received wonderful mercies. The larger ones have already been given to the world, but not the countless little ones that made up our daily life during that summer of 1900. Let us gather up these fragments, after the great miracle, that nothing be lost. Let us record them now * ' lest we forget. ' '

The plan is that every lady and child among the American missionaries should write on some subject. Of course, children are not limited to any subject. Let their little hands pick up all the crumbs they can.

Some will object that enough books have already been written on the siege, as they have, on the causes of the uprising, its statistics, diaries of the siege, etc.; but nothing exactly like this. This is to give the small details of daily life, a record of little daily mercies, which cannot but be interesting to Christian women, and which would otherwise die in oblivion.

Let us all pray for the blessing of God upon the book, that His name may be glorified by it.

The above letter will show the way and the spirit in which these sketches of siege life were collected. This book is not intended to be a complete history of the

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siege, but lets one read between the lines in accounts already published the little bits that went to make up the daily life of the women and children during the siege.

It will give also enough of extracts from letters written before the outbreak to show the state of feeling existing, both among the missionaries and also among the Chinese.

But the main object of the book will be to show forth a few of the wonders of the siege itself, as seen by the eyes of women.

The causes of the Boxer uprising, the events of the siege and the ultianate results, have already been so admirably given by Dr. Arthur Smith, in his "China in Convulsion," that we scarcely need to touch upon them here. To his work, which must always remain a classic on the subject, the reader is referred for any gaps in the story — for the developments of the movement outside of Peking, for the diplomatic correspondence with the Foreign Office, for the philosophy of the whole episode, for all that goes to make up history. This is the story from a woman's, not a man's, standpoint, a record of feeling rather than event.

The body of the book is made of originally prepared articles on given topics, with extracts from letters and journals (often not prepared originally for publication),, to fill up the record of the days. At the close of each week's record some of these topical articles will appear, not limited in subject matter to the one week in question, but covering the whole period of the siege, though the main drift of the article would mark it as appropriate to this week. Sometimes the

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opinions of many will be given on the same subject, and we shall have, as it were, a social discussion. And at least once a week we shall hear from one of the children.

These articles were prepared, of course, without the chance of comparison and mutual discussion, the writers being scattered over two continents. In some cases, to prevent too much repetition, articles complete in themselves have been broken up, introductions and connecting links cast aside, and the anecdotes, incidents or descriptions forming the nucleus of the article, have been grouped with similar ones from others.

Owing to the pressure of many cares upon the busy workers, as well as the disadvantage of wide separation, it has been impossible to secure accounts from all the women. In order that as nearly as possible each woman in the siege should be represented, as well as to fill out the continuity of the journal, etc., it has been necessary to make liberal extracts from papers, magazines, etc., published at the time. All that appears from the pens of Miss Andrews and Miss Chapin is reprinted from the Congregational "Life and Light," (Boston). The shorter extracts from Mrs. Smith and Miss Gertrude Wyckoff are also from the same. Kuth Ingram's story is from the "Mission Dayspring" (Boston). "Mission Studies" (Chicago), is also drawn upon for some extracts. Almost all that appears under Miss Eussell's signature is taken from the Boston "Missionary Herald." Miss Miner's are sometimes taken from one of the above, but more often taken from the Chicago "Advance" or "Interior," or the New York "Outlook." Mrs. Goodrich's

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shorter extracts are sometimes taken from one of the Congregational publications, but more often from the Boston ^^Youth's Companion." The Presbyterian ^^Woman's Work for Woman" (New York), furnishes shorter extracts from Mrs. Fenn and Mrs. Inglis, Dps. Leonard and Mackey, and Misses McKillican, Newton, and McCoy. But a larger proportion of the shorter extracts from Mrs. Inglis are from the Presbyterian "Banner/' while most from Miss McKillican are reprinted from the Montreal "Daily Witness."

The Methodist "Heathen Woman's Friend" furnishes shorter extracts from the Misses Martin and Dr. Terry. Excerpts from Mrs. Gamewell's pen are from the "Northwestern Christian Advocate." Mrs. Ed. Dowry's extracts are from "McClure's Magazine." Permission has been asked from all these to reprint, and the courtesy is hereby gratefully acknowledged.

The longer articles are all originally prepared for this work. We also wish to acknowledge the courteous permission to reprint the maps that originally appeared with Mrs. Ed. Dowry's article in "McClure's Magazine."

We are also indebted to the "Dife and Dight" for the portraits of Miss Chapin and Mrs. Gait; to the "Mission Dayspring" for that of Euth Ingram; to "Mission Studies" for Misses Evans, Russell, Sheffield and the Wyckoff sisters; to "Woman's Work" for those of Mrs. Inglis and Miss McCoy; to the "Chautauquan" for those of Dr. Gloss and Mrs. Jewell; and to the "Northwestern Christian Advocate" for that of Mrs. Gamewell.

Contents

Preface 7

r Introduction 13

II The Gathering Storm 23