The _Banterer’s_ Deck--An ugly Sight--Sad Thoughts--Saying their
Say--Jack’s Opinion of the Admiral--The Killed and Wounded--What
they killed each other for--The Forts again--Battering the
_Banterer_--Long Tom--Woe to the _Nimrod_--The last Shot--Spare the
Dead--In we go again--Chinaman’s Triumph--Night Work--The British
Flag and Sam Collinson--Snarling Forts--Burning the _Plover_--The
Admiral’s Thanks and Jack’s Growl--We return to Shanghai--Sham
Sympathisers.
Shortly after sunrise I awoke and looked vaguely around me, but soon
remembered all that had taken place, and rose and got a drink of
water. What a scene presented itself! Many a one at home in England,
I thought, might have learnt a useful lesson could he have seen the
sight. Lying in groups round the deck were the seamen and marines,
bedaubed with mud; their hair all tangled; some shoeless, some without
caps; few had retained their belts, and all looked miserable even in
sleep. And to match the heap of men, there lay in ugly confusion broken
muskets, spoiled and wasted ammunition, belts, pouches, cutlasses, and
all the disheartening signs of a retreat; while from below came the
groans of the wounded, and in many cases dying.
Turning away from this painful scene, I leant over the gunwale of the
vessel watching the turbid stream, and many and sad were the thoughts
that passed through my mind. Above was the bright blue sky; not far
away the sparkling waves of the gulf; all nature around was for the
moment quiet and peaceful; in man the storm alone raged. He, amid
all God’s creation, strove to make his littleness great by spreading
bloodshed, desolation, and sorrow around.
When I turned again to look inboard, many of the men were up and
talking of the past night, its terrible incidents, narrow escapes, and
wondering what the upshot would be.
A general opinion was that the guns were fought by more than Chinamen;
some asserted that they had seen Europeans dressed, and in their
shirt-sleeves, walking from embrasure to embrasure; encouraging the
Chinese to fight, and laying the guns; moreover, they had heard the
word of command, and somebody sing out “More powder, Jack, for the
English rascals.” If ’twasn’t renegade Russians who said this, who was
it? “I don’t care who says there wasn’t, but I’m certain the Long-tails
didn’t have all to do with the fighting!” says Curtis. “You’re right,
too, Tom,” responded young Inwood; “and they played a good game with
us, anyhow!” “They tell me the admiral’s going to have another slap at
’em as soon as the gun-boats is patched up a bit,” says old Fielding.
“I don’t so much care if he does!” “Well, strike me lucky, he’d ought
to be shot if he do. Ain’t there enough killed already?” “Well, let it
be as ’twill, mandarins don’t wear white shirts and bob-tailed coats;
and they don’t talk nohow like Russians,” rejoins another. The admiral
was strongly blamed for having made too sure of taking the forts; but
all hands acknowledged that he was all right in the matter of courage,
and putting on a good face; and pluck is so admirable a quality in the
eyes of English seamen, that had our party had to try the admiral, they
would have acquitted him with three cheers. Did we not hear afterwards
that though wounded dangerously in two places he would not allow
himself to be removed, but ordered the men in his boat to pull him to
the vessel nearest the forts. There were two or three, however, who
thought the account of killed and wounded would be laid to his charge.
The crew of our ship, the _Highflyer_, suffered severely, having
twenty-eight killed and wounded. I could hardly realise that the
same men with whom I had eaten and drunk the day before, were now
stiffened corpses in the mud of the Peiho. Many a bronzed and stolid
face did I see bedewed with tears of real sorrow for the loss of some
friendly messmate or shipmate: nothing hypocritical about it, but
real, downright, heartfelt grief. And when after a while we heard the
report--four hundred and sixty-four in all killed and wounded--how it
rang in our ears, and how sickened we felt when the muster was called!
And all this fearful scene and havoc was because John Bull wouldn’t go
round to the Imperial Tea-merchant’s back-door.
As the day advanced most of us got a wash and a shift of clothing from
our knapsacks which had been left on board the gun-boat in the lockers,
and something to eat; the last being particularly acceptable after our
long fast and hard work. We had not finished breakfast when the forts
began giving us a few shots from their long-ranger which was mounted on
the south battery; but they nearly all fell short, striking the water
ahead of us. We could see by our glasses that _Yellow Jacket_ was very
busy inside, patching up breaches, and remounting and replacing guns,
as if in anticipation of another attack. By-and-by, however, the shots
came too close to be pleasant; one struck us on the bow, making an ugly
hole, and causing all who were sitting forward to jump up very suddenly
to see whatever was the matter. Not relishing this, the _Banterer_
shifted her berth farther out of range of their mischievous Long Tom:
a lengthy brass gun, which always when fired gave out a clear ringing
sound like a bell.
The _Nimrod_ also shifted, and just as she was turning ahead to steam
out, a savage ball came screaming and hissing through the air, all
of us watching where it would pitch, not thinking it would reach the
shipping, when crash--it burst through the _Nimrod’s_ waist, and we
knew by the piercing shriek which immediately followed, that it had
done mischief. And so it had, for three were killed and seven wounded.
This was the Chinaman’s last harmful shot: fearfully and fatally had it
told.
The enemy, taking courage from our shifting, came out on the mud in
front of the forts, and were soon busily engaged picking up all the
arms and equipments which had been dropped in the retreat, or thrown
away for self-preservation. A rich harvest they must have made of it.
But not content with the plunder, they must needs abuse the lifeless
bodies of our shipmates. We couldn’t stand that, so our vessel and
the _Janus_ hove up anchor, steamed right up under the batteries, and
sent a bouquet of three or four ten-inch shell amongst the mob of
plunderers; to which they replied by a spirited discharge of ginjalls.
The forts presently took up their cause; whereupon we had recourse to
our muskets, and blazed away for about a quarter of an hour, till the
Chinese, being tired or frightened, fled to their cover. Then away
we steamed again out of range, the forts sending one or two harmless
shots after us. Then parties came and made prizes of some of our boats,
which, having been abandoned, had drifted in under the batteries;
and with evident triumph they rowed away towards the river, shouting
derisively.
So passed the 26th. When night came, Captain Willes, taking a boat’s
crew from the different vessels, went to try and recover some stores
from the sunken despatch-boat _Cormorant_, and the two gun-boats
_Lee_ and _Plover_. This enterprise was repeated for several nights
afterwards. One night they got up steam in the _Cormorant_, but after
the engines had turned once they stopped, and never moved afterwards;
so the engines were smashed, to make sure that she should not prove any
great catch to the Celestials, for, besides her damaged machinery, she
had been hit by forty-seven shot between wind and water.
After this the Chinese came to see what they could grab from the
unlucky vessel. One of the things they took was the ensign which had
been nailed to the _Cormorant’s_ main, to make them believe she was not
abandoned; and we saw them present it to some fellow with a feather in
his cap, perhaps the commandant of the forts, or Sangkolinsin himself,
whom our men called “Sam Collinson,” declaring that he was a marine who
had deserted from one of our ships and joined the enemy. The flag was
received by this worthy very graciously, and they had it hoisted on the
fort out of bravado.
Night was the favourite time with those snarlers for firing, and we
used to sit and watch them, although what they wasted their powder
and ball for was a mystery to our side: it could not be to harm us,
for we were out of range entirely. Probably they did it to let us see
they were quite ready for us at any time we should be condescending
enough to oblige them. One of their nightly jobs was to set fire to
the _Plover_. At first she burned but slowly, and was smouldering all
next day; but in the evening she blazed up high and fiercely, and it
appeared as though she were engaged, when her shells exploded one by
one. The glare of the burning vessel lighted up the forts, and we could
see the battlements swarming with soldiers, who evidently enjoyed the
spectacle. Gradually the boat burnt down to the water’s edge; flickered
up fitfully for a moment; and then all was again darkness.
After remaining before the forts till the 4th of July, we returned with
the gun-boats to the fleet, and right glad was I to get on board my own
ship again. We could not be jolly, however, for we had lost shipmates,
and our captain was badly wounded in the foot.
Shortly after this a letter of thanks from the admiral was read to us
from the quarter-deck. The gallant chief deplored the failure of the
attack; it had not, he said, pleased Almighty God to grant us the
blessing of success, yet neither he nor our country would think any the
worse of us on that account; and he wound up with an expression of his
hearty thanks.
Well! all this was very gratifying, although to some a guinea to spend
in drink and dissipation would have been far more preferable. “Oh, hang
the letter of thanks! what good ’ll that do a fellow! What say you,
Charlie?” “Why, I hope the old ’un ’ll be superseded in the command.
He an admiral! why my big sister u’d make a sight better one than he!”
“Well now, look here,” says Tommy, “you’re all talking about what you
can’t eat. I say the admiral acted well as far as ever he knowed how!
Yes! and I’m blessed if any man could ever have set his people a better
example than he did! I say make him red at the main: ’tain’t no more
nor he ought to have!” But these opinions were not delivered without
a good sprinkling of naval interjections. The fleet in China swore as
roundly as ever the army did in Flanders.
The _Highflyer_ sailed from the Gulf on the 10th of July, and arrived
without any incident of importance, and after a sixteen days’ run,
at Shanghai. As soon as we dropped anchor our ship was besieged by
newsmongers, all eager to hear about the Peiho, and very eager to
condole with such as had been wounded; but not practically; the
theoretical way suited them best. I set them down as belonging to the
sounding brass and tinkling cymbals sort.