The
Rebel Position Having Been Carefully Reconnoitered, Both On The East And
On The South, Major Gordon Determined That The First Step Necessary For
Its Proper Beleaguerment Was To Seize And Fortify The Village Of
Patachiaou, About One Mile South Of The City Wall.
The village, although
strongly stockaded, was evacuated by the garrison after a feeble
resistance, and an attempt to recover
It a few hours later by Mow Wang in
person resulted in a rude repulse chiefly on account of the effective fire
of the "Hyson." Burgevine, instead of fighting the battles of the failing
cause he had adopted, was traveling about the country: at one moment in
the capital interviewing Tien Wang and his ministers, at another going
about in disguise even in the streets of Shanghai. But during the weeks
when General Ching might have been taken at a disadvantage, and when it
was quite possible to recover some of the places which had been lost, he
was absent from the scene of military operations. After the capture of
Patachiaou most of the troops and the steamers that had taken it were sent
back to Waiquaidong, but Major Gordon remained there with a select body of
his men and three howitzers. The rebels had not resigned themselves to the
loss of Patachiaou, and on October 1 they made a regular attempt to
recover it. They brought the "Kajow" into action, and, as it had found a
daring commander in a man named Jones, its assistance proved very
considerable.
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Words from 145124 to 145375
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