While these ten ruffians were confined in the legation jail, one man succeeded in getting his hands free and loosing one other. Being discovered, they assaulted their sentry with a brick and attempted to make their escape; but one being promptly shot and killed, the other surrendered and was again bound. During the many heavy attacks by Tung Fu Hsiang’s soldiers at the west end of Legation street, these sailors behaved with great courage, and with their American marine companions never failed to drive the Kansu ruffians back, until finally the Chinese became discouraged at their lack of success in rushes, and settled down to a policy of sniping from behind their heavy barricades. They were such poor marksmen, however, that not one in a thousand of their rifle shots took effect, and the Russian losses all told amounted only to four killed and eighteen wounded. Their outposts commanded the entire Mongol market, overlooking the southwestern wall of the British legation, and they alone commanded this district until August 5, some weeks after the active shelling had ceased, when Lieutenant Von Strauch took up a new position in the extreme north of the Mongol market, and drew some of the snipers’ fire in another direction. The Chinese, early in the siege, planted a Krupp gun on the Chien Men or main gate of the city, and from this position of vantage shelled the minister’s house and other buildings of the legations very severely; but their aim was so bad that many of their shells passed not only over the Russian legation, but over the British legation and Su Wang Fu as well, finally falling or exploding among their own people more than a mile away from their intended target. Doubtless more Chinese have been killed by their own shells and rifles than we have killed. As they always fired high, and completely surrounded us, the balls that have constantly whistled over our heads for two months must have fallen among themselves. They attribute to our good shooting a large mortality that we know is a result, certainly in part, of their bad shooting. In the sortie made on the city wall the night of July 3d under Captain Myers, which resulted in capturing the Chinese barricades, several banners, and some ammunition, the Russian sailors ably seconded the United States marines. Captain Wroublevsky on one side found it impossible to pass in, and joined the marines in forcing entrance into the other side. In this sortie Baron von Rahden was struck on the head with a brick and two sailors were wounded. Of the Americans, Captain Myers was severely wounded and two marines killed. [Illustration: ON THE TOP OF CHINA’S GREAT WALL