The Express.
London, England, 1860-11-28 00:00:00

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Thertgumpe, which were pitched
regularity, were full of
da, and clothing, and a great

gnlfihtity of powder was found in them. The latter
was blown up, and the tents, with their contents,
were burnt. The enemy's loss was severe, consi-
dering how little resistance they made. They suf-
fered chiefly from the enfilading fire of the French
artillery and the charges of our cavalry. Their
force could not have been under 12,000. We
had in the field 3,000 English and 1,000
French, with 21 guns. Our casualties were 19
wounded, of whom one, a Pimjabee, died immedi-
ately, and one man, also a Punjabee, missing. The
ground was quite level ; indeed, the whole country
in this neighbourhood may be described as a vast
plain dotted with villages and clumps of trees, and
covered with millet stubble, and here and there a
growing crop of beans. The millet is cut about a
foot from the ground, leaving a stalk of that height
sharp pointed and tolerably stilt Such fields are
very difficult to ride over, and many of our cavalry
horses have been lamed by these spikes running
into their legs. There are roads practicable for
artillery in all directions ; and few of the ditches
between the fields present any formidable obstacle
for cavalry. The enemy's lines of entrenchments
ran for upwards of a mile along a small river called
the Ohow-ho, it then took a bend to our left, cross-
ing the main road, and extending to a village about
a quarter of a mile further on. At the bend were
two well constructed batteries, mounting 10 or 12
guns. The other guns were distributed along the
work.

Lord Elgin arrived from Hooseiwoo yesterday,
and Mr. Wade went with a flag of truce to Tung-
chow, to endeavour to ascertain the fate of Parkes
and his oompsnions. The mandarins professed to
know nothing of them beyond their having left
the town on the morning of the 18th, before the
firing began, but it has been subsequently ascer-
tained beyond doubt that they have all been carried
to Pekin ; and there is every reason to believe they
are treated with every consideration. The Chinese
authorities are perfectly aware that if any harm
befalls them Pekin will be reduced to ashes. There
is no force in Tungchow, but the Tartar army is
drawn up beyond it, defending the roads to Pekin,
and we are to advance to attack it to-morrow.

Oemp on the Pekin•road, eight miles from Pekin,
Sept. ill.

The town of Chang-Ufa:wan is situated directly
south of Tungchow, and east of Pekin. From it
there are two roads to the capital ; one the direct
one, the other passing through Tungehow.
From Tungchow to Pekin runs a deep canal,
navigable for large junks, and two ranee from Tung-
chow the Pekin road crosses this canal by a sub-
stantial stone bridge. A mile or so above the
stone bridge is another, constructed of boats. Yes-
terday morning the allied forces were under arms
at 5 a.m. The English army was nearly of the
same strength as on the 18th, but the French had
brought up reinforoements from Hooseiwoo and
/lumbered 3,000, with 12 guns. The English had
15 of the latter. The advance was along the high
road, the direct one to Pekiu, until the force was
abreast of Tungchow. The French, as on the pre-
vious occasion were on the right. The whole then
obliqued to the right, till the extreme right of the
French approached the town of Tungchow, which
thus became the point for the subsequent operations.
These consisted in gradually working the whole line
round to the right, until at the close of the action in
the afternoon the left had reached the south
bank of the canal, four miles from Tuugchow,
where the British camp is pitched ; the French
having crossed the canal at the atone bridge, are in
camp on its north side. Theroed from Tungchow to
Pekin is thus in our possession. We were opposed
by the Tartar army, estimated to number from
eight to ten thousand men. It is difficult to appre-
ciate correctly their numbers in the field, for hav-
ing uo regular formation, and extending as they do
i In loose order over a great extent of country, they
appear more numerous than perhaps they really
are. They were commanded yesterday by Sanko-
lintrin, the Tartar commander-in-chief. The ope-
rations may be briefly described as a gradual
advance, the left sweeping round or pivoting on
the right, driving the Tartar hordes from position
to position, capturing and destroying several
of their camps, taking 34 guns, mostly
brass, which were chiefly found in thei
camps, and were not used in the field, and
killing, as nearly as can be ascertained, 1,000 men.
Those opposed to the English on the left were
chiefly cavalry, while the French were engaged
almost entirely with infantry. The enemy's line
broke into two portions—one party retreating across
the canal by the bridges, the other by the Pekin
road on the south side. The artillery practice,
especially of the Armstrong guns, was excellent ;
and the cavalry made some brilliant charges, espe-
cially the King's Dragoon Guards, who, having got
a good opportunity, got well in amongst the Tartar
horse, and slew a considerable number. The 15th
Punjaeb Infantry did good service, a party of 200 of
them having crossed the canal in the afternoon,
stormed • village in which there was a gun, which
they took and spiked, killing fifty or sixty of the
enemy. Our casualties were again alight. We had
two killed—one a dragoon, the other a trooper of
Probyn's Horse—and 29 wounded, most of them
slightly. Amongst the latter are two officers—
Bradbury, of the King's Dragoon Guards, and
Baker, of the 15th Punjabees. The French losses
I have not heard, but they are also inconsiderable.
Our camp was reached at 5 p.m., after a very
dusty fatiguing day. The country passed over
was much the same as on the 18th. The English
troops engaged were the King's Dragoon Guards,
Probyn's and Fane's Horse, Barry's Armstrong
Battery, Desborough's nine-pounder battery, and
ball of Stirling's six-pounders, the 2nd Queen's,
Royal Marine Light Infantry, 99th Foot, and 15th
Punjaub Infantry—in all something more than
3,000 men.
The Tartars are by no meansdeflcient in courage.
Several times yesterday their cavalry charged up to
within 100 yards of our troops—cheering as they
came on ; but they cannot stand against our artil-
lery, nor the charges of our cavalry. Their arms,
too, are miserable, and they are wretched marks-
men. Well armed, they would be a formidable
foe. To-day a letter haseome in from Pekin to the
ambassadors from Prince Ai, one of the royal
family, and • leading man at the court. It is
said that its contents are peaceful, expressing •
desire to Meet ; but how far these people can now
be trusted after their treacherous attack on the
18th seems very doubtfuL We hear from the
messenger that Parkes and his companions are safe,
and treated with courtesy at Pekin. It is much
to be regretted that Mr. Bowlby is one of his com-
panions in misfortune. The British public will
miss the interesting and graphic account he would
no doubt have given of the operations of the last
few days. It is not impossible that they were carried
to Pekin by Prince Ai, to protect them from the
Tartar soldiery, who are not scrupulous. Had
they fallen into their hands their peril would have
bean extreme. More troops and heavy guns are
expected to-morrow or next day from Tient-in, and