We have had are -having stirring times in this city as we are being bombarded by the Tan troops from the west mainland. Qn Friday last, a communication was received from Col. Ho of the Ist Regt. (Tan side) stating that as he was about to take, first the island, and then the city itself, it would be well for all foreigners and the foreign gunboats to withdraw for the time being. On Saturday, Major Hsin, who is in command of the battalion which is quartered near the Asiatic Installation, wrote to say that the attack had been delaycdi for 24 hours because the foreigners had not withdrawn, but whether they withdrew or not, it would begin on that afternoon.
Begin it did. Both the northern ends of the Island are now separated from the west bank by a very shallow channel which can be easily forded. The northern (down river) end was selected for the attack. As soon as the first man appeared over the embankment, the Chao troops stationed on the Island began to fire on them and an_ observer from the, mast of the Villalobos, saw that at least half-a-dozen fell. As far as could be seen, that ended the attack. But for the next few hours, the Chao troops let off quite a creditable amount of ammunition. Rifles, machine guns and a few field pieces kept up a noise the like of which has never before being heard at Changsha. There are some 25 or 30 foreign.houses on the Island and the firing took place literally on all sides of them, except the east shore side. The amazing thing is that. the only casualty, apparently, in all the foreign compounds occurred in that of the German Vice-Consul, where a soldier was wounded in the foot. (I de not know how he came to be in the compound).
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.