The Press.
London, England, 1857-08-08 00:00:00

THE PRESS, AUGUST 8, 1857.

only he pulled away, apparently for the town of
Fatshan, with its population of 200,000 inhabitants.
His progress, however, was not uninterrupted. The
Chinese had not so entirely relied on their position
by Hyacinth Island as to neglect further precau-
tions. Four mites above the scene of the first
engagement Keppel and his little company came
upon an island, at the head of which twenty junks
had been so moored that their fire was concentrated
on the only available channel. Two funnel shaped
passages appeared available, but one was staked and
impassable, and the other had not water to carry two
boats abreast :

At this perilous passage Keppel and his crew now
dashed. The three boomboats took the ground in attempt.
ing to follow. The base of this triangular island consists
of high land which the grounded boomboats could nut fire
over, so their guns were ageless; the apex, or, to use my
more familiar illustration, the knuckle part, was low paddy
fields, which the junks' guns could not sweep across. It
was a position worthy of a Carthaginian—focus inAidiis
flatus. No sooner did the boats appear in the narrow
passage than twenty 32-pounders sent twenty round shot,
and a hundred smaller guns sent their full charges of grape
and canister at a range of 500 yards right among them.
The effect was terrible. Keppel was sounding with the
boathook for water for the boomboats, and went back amid
the storm to get them up. They start afresh, and make
another effort to get through. The commodore pushes on
ahead. There was Captain Leckie in his galley, with
Major Kearney by his side. There was Captain Rolland
in the laench of the Calcutta, and Lieutenant Seymour in
the barge of the same ship. The Tribune's cutter was in
among them. The Hongkong, who had worked herself up
through the mud to within 500 yards of the scene of
action, had sent her gig. Perhaps there were others, but
amid so much smoke and fire even those who were in it
cannot agree as to minute details. If the gunners of the
Excellent had been in those Chinese junks, and had
worked those 32. pounder guns, they could hardly have
thrown the round shot straighter. Keppel's galley, not a
large mark, is hit three times in two minutes; a 32
pounder shot strikes Major Kearney in the breast, tearing
him to pieces. He must have died without a sensation.
Young Barker, a midshipman of the Tribune, who wore
upon his finger a ring bequeathed to him by his brother,
who was killed at Inkermann, is down, mortally wounded.
The commodore's coxswain is killed, and every man of his
crew is wounded. But the miracle is not that the men
are falling, but that any escape. The God of Battles is
there, and wonderful are the instances of His merciful
protection. Captain Cochrane has the sleeve of his coat
torn away by a shot, which leaves him unharmed. A
round shot enters the Tribune's boat and passes along her
line of keel, from stem to stern, without touching a man.
" That was close, Victor," said Keppel to his tlag•lieute•
nant, as a cannon shot passed between their heads.
Fortunately for himself, Victor (Prince Victor of Hohen-
lohe, as thorough and as unpretending a British seaman
as if his name were Drake or .Jervis) was leaning forwards,
and using his handkerchief as a tourniquet to stop the
bleeding of a seaman whose hand had just been shot off,
ether wise that ball must have taken Victor's head off. At
this time the galley was disabled, and she was drifting
down under the guns of the junks. Even Keppel saw that
it would not do. The matter was, however, settled for
him, for the next shot tore away the stern sheets of his
galley while he was fortunately standing up with the
tiller ropes in his hand, " Seymour, you must take me in,"
and he stepped from his sinking galley into the barge of
the Calcutta. All the other occupants of the galley were
also removed into the barge ; all except the 'paneled
corpse of the coxswain and the favourite dog of the com-
modore, who had been accustomed to be tended by that
man, and would not leave his body. With this freight the
wreck of the galley drifted with the rising tide up towards
the junks.— Times cor.

Although he retired within sight, the gallant C01:12-
modore was not beaten off. The tide rose in the
afternoon, and with it the war junks slipped, and
were off up the creek. Keppel in a moment was
after them, and in a very short time there were only
eight junks not hors de combat :

The commodore was waiting for reinforcements and
for more water in the river; and meanwhile he piped to
dinner. The men were getting their rations, and were
devouring them when the fire from the junks slackened.
"Three cheers for the Blue," cried a Raleigh boat that
now came up. Man the boats, lads; those rascals are
getting afloat." Off they go again dinnerless, but in high
spirits, and under a fire so hot that the Calcutta's launch is
sunk, and Captain Rolland has to scramble into another
boat. This time they find water enough in the narrow
paaaage, and, dashing through the shot, find the enemy
afloat and in movement. It has now become a chase.
These junks, manned by from sixty to one hundred
rowers, go faster than our heavy boomboats can follow.
But shrapnell shell go faster than even a snake junk ;
there are twistings in the creek that are not shown in
the chart, and in following these windings pursuers and
pursed often find themselves side by side with an interval
of land between them. They fire at each other across
these peninsulas, and the guns are so well served, and the
shells are so terrifying, that every now and then the crews
leap out and the junk is deserted. Spike the guns and
posh on. Six miles this hot chase lasts, and there are now
but eight junks oncaptured ; when rounding a sharp point
pursued and pursuer.; rush almost together into the city of
Fatshan. A Chinese town is not seen afar of; the pago la
and the pawnbrokers' warehouses are the only high build-
ings. Three of the junks escape, the other five are headed
and are abandoned. But the braves of Fatshan would

775

think it a shame that their fl►e junks should be taken from
tinder their eyes. They turn out in martial array; they
ring bells and beat gongs, they come filing down a fosse,
so covered from view that only their waving banners and
their brandished swords and shields are visible. "We are
terrible ; flee before us !" they are supposed to sing or cry.
Keppel has his own way of settling these matters. He
turned his marines out of his boats, drew them up on the
margin of the suburb, and poured into the Fatshsn militia
such a volley of ,Minis balls that the Chinese army went
quickly back up its fosse again.—Timer cur.
he commodore wanted to land his howitzers and
pass the night in the city, but the admiral refused
his permission. However, five junks out of the
remaining eight were captured, and towed off in
triumph. " The result of the expedition," writes the
admiral—

Was the capture of between seventy and eighty heavily-
armed junks, mounting on an average from ten to fourteen
guns (many of them long 3.2-pounders), nearly all of
European manufacture. As no object would have been
gained by removing the prizes, I caused them, with a few
exceptions, to be burnt; and the flames and numerous
heavy explosions must have been seen and heard far and
wide. This engagement opens a new era in Chinese
naval warfare. Ureat judgment was shown in selecting
the position for the fleet, and the Chinese, particularly the
last division attacked by Commodore Keppel, defended
their ships with skill, courage, and effect. I inclose a
list of casualties, which I regret to state is large, amount-
ing to three officers and ten seamen and marines killed,
and four officers and forty seamen and marines wounded ;
but it is to me a matter of surprise that, under the circum-
stances of the case, the loss was not greater.
So ended one of the most brilliant cutting-out
expeditions that have ever occurred lathe China seas.
" The commodore (says the Times correspondent) bad
his five junks towed out before him, and as be left
the city he stood up in the stern-sheets of his boat,
and shook his fist good humouredly, saying, You
rascals, I'll come back again to you soon ;' and those
extraordinary Chinese, they too laughed—a broad,
good-humoured grin—and so they parted."
It was three o'clock when Commodore Keppel re-
turned to the flagship, which was now anchored
where tho Chinese admiral's junks had been moored
at the commencement of the engagement. As be
came down his lost dog recognised the yellow Raleigh
boat, and swam off to his master.