In 1900 Karl travelled to India from Australia, but that wasn’t his original plan.
Karl was keen to visit China and Japan but couldn’t get a passage from Australia. The Boxer Rebellion was underway at the time — the rise of a secret organization in China opposing Western influence and imperialism.
They were called “Boxers” by Westerners because of their physical strength and propensity for violence. This group was directly responsible for thousands of deaths, including many foreigners, Chinese Christians, and missionaries. The Boxers didn’t stop at killing people; they also destroyed property like churches and railroad stations. The Boxers took control of Beijing (then Peking), China's capital, until 20,000 armed forces from eight nations squashed the rebellion on August 14, 1901. Many reparations were imposed on China as set out in the “Boxer Protocol”, including consequences for any government officials from China involved in the Rebellion.
Karl provided an update to the Truro news on August 8 1900: “I have retraced my journey for a distance of over two thousand miles from Townsville to Sydney. I first returned to Brisbane, where I hoped to obtain passage for the Orient, but after remaining there ten days I failed in my efforts and instead sought for a chance to go to Sydney.”
Karl then managed to take passage on a ship from Sydney to Newcastle and writes: “Here there were 95 deep sea ships, most of which were loading for ports out of my path. However, I hope to obtain a shop to some Eastern port soon. I could not arrange a passage on one of the regular line ships going to China and Japan”.
The Truro News reported on October 11, 1900: Karl M. Creelman is not having much success in his efforts to get out of Australia. Karl writes: “I am still in Australia, but I will be in Hong Kong or Singapore within a short time, and once in Asia, will get along all right. … Will get a ship shortly and will wheel up through the Malay Peninsula, Burma and Siam to Rangoon, thence to Calcutta*. I will then take the Grand Trunk road to Cawapore and Lucknow thence southwest to Bombay, where I hope to get a ship to Mauritius thence on a sugar boat to Cape Town”.
The Boxer Rebellion lasted under two years, culminating with the siege of Peking on June 20, 1900. Australian troops were being sent to support Britain at the same time Karl was trying to get to China. Naval contingents were dispatched from South Australia, New South Wales and Victoria to support the coastal defence.
Karl was obviously really keen to get to China and had planned his original route for travel through Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Myanmar before going to India. Notwithstanding his frustration and inability to get to China, given the sentiment of the Boxers against all foreigners, I’m glad Karl wasn’t one of the hundred thousand casualties of the Rebellion.
Finally, there was a letter to Karl’s family that was published in the Digby Courier by Captain Oscar Dakin from Newcastle N.S.W Australia. Captain Dakin wrote: “...he met Karl Creelman, the bicyclist who is touting the world on his wheel, having started out from Truro, NS. Creelman told Captain Dakin that he had walked 1,000 miles, wheeled 9,000 miles, lost two months trying to get a ship from Australia, worn out three sets of tires and spent nearly $400, requiring him to raise money for expenses by lecturing on travels; but he was going to Calcutta”.
Then, on September 9th, Karl got a passage from Newcastle, Australia, to India.
*Malay Peninsula comprises southeastern Myanmar, southwestern Thailand, West Malaysia and Singapore. Burma is now Myanmar. Siam is Thailand, Rangoon is Rangon, Myanmar. Calcutta is Kolkata, India. Cawapore is Kanpur, India. Bombay is now Mumbai, India.
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