Some of the staff of the Russo-Chinese bank served in the British legation under the orders of Captain Strouts until his death, and thereafter under Sir Claude MacDonald, who assumed command, but Messrs. Kroupensky, Evreinow, Kolessoff, Beltchenko, Dr. Korsakoff, and Professor Borodavkine constituted themselves Russian volunteers, and remained by their legation throughout the siege, never becoming a part of the so-called international volunteers serving in the British legation. These Russian volunteers did splendid service in the defense of the Legation street west entrance, in the Mongol market to the northwest, and in the various posts and barricades on the city wall, in conjunction with the American marines. The Russian sailors and the American marines fraternized at once; but the sailors were quite pleased to find their duties did not often bring them into contact with the British marines, for whom they felt a natural antipathy. Not that there has been the slightest disagreement or open bad blood between those two nationalities, but they seem to have been mutually pleased to remain apart. [Illustration: VOLUNTEERS OF THE RUSSO-CHINESE BANK This picture was not taken during the Siege, as these gentlemen had something else to do during that time. It was not even taken after the Siege, and it is a question whether they will ever be as happy and free from care again. One has passed away forever, the gentleman in the chair to the right, who was killed in an engagement with the Boxers. After hard fighting, in which a number were killed, the Boxers carried away his body.] The Russian sailors did much more manual labor than any others of the besieged. The Americans, English, French, Italians, etc., were quite satisfied to have all their barricades built for them by the Chinese Christians, working under their missionary teachers or a foreign interpreter; but the Russian sailors pitched in and built, as well as manned, all their own barricades. Their commander, Baron von Rahden, stated that upon his arrival his men were mostly green farmers, recently enlisted as sailors, and very few of them had had any military experience or even knew the proper handling of a rifle; but after association for a few weeks with the well-trained American marines under constant fire, they had developed wonderfully fast, and he felt, at the end of the siege, that he had a body of men under him well trained, steady, and cool. A detachment of these sailors accompanied the American marines in the expedition to the south cathedral, and assisted in the rescue of three hundred native Catholic Christians. At this place they killed seventy Boxers and took ten prisoners that they afterward handed over to the Chinese authorities for punishment; but, doubtless, instead of being punished they were well rewarded.