The Sun.
London, England, 1857-08-01 00:00:00

guns, and all concentrating four cross fires upon this very
sp-d. Happily the danger has ceased. These are, or
rather were, the Bogue Forts. John Chinaman complains
that we don't tight fair when we from time to time take
these forts. Instead of going up to them like brave men,
we send a few small ships in for all the guns to fire at, and
when the guns are all at work some marines and blue-
jackets leap over the wall in the rear and drive the gunners
out. The Chinese are of a prictical and reasoning turn of
mind. When asked why they ran away from a storming
party, one of them answered, in my hearing, " No can.
Two piecy man no can stand all same place. S'pose you
must come in, I go out."
These Wantong islands are, I am told, to be occupied
by a force of Marines expected to arrive by the Sanspareil
about the end of July.
After' passing this celebrated spot we come to a lerger
island, called Tiger Island. It is a green hill and valley,
but with no trees upon it. Here are Commissariat officers
laying plans for making it a depot for their bullocks.
Major Kearney, who as Assistant-Quartermaster-General,
has been associated with them in this service, comes on
board and tells me he here joins the expedition on duty,
having it in command to report to his General the military
character of the country through which it may proceed,
and its capabilities for purposes connected with his de-

tment
par •
Poor Kearney ! he was every inch a soldier, full of zeal
and hope ; after a career of honour at Sandhurst, a youth
passed in India, and many years lost in office duties at the
Horse Guards, the desire of his life was now about to be
accomplished. He was to see active service in this Chinese
war, and to acquire personal distinction, as he certainly
would have done, in military operations. We came out
together, and (.uting the voyage acquaintance had aug-
mented into intimacy. When I congratulated him that
he was about to receive his baptism of fire it never occur-
red to me to imagine that such a man would be knocked
to pieces by a 32-pound shot from a Chinese junk, yet so

it happened.
Hall an hour's steaming brings us to the entrance of the
Sawshee Channel--a broad water which runs away east-
ward into a plain covered with little round trees and well-
covered patches, having that peculiar air of greenness so
well imitated in Chinese landscapes—the tender green of
the young rice. This is the Sawshee Channel mentioned
in my account of Commodore Elliott's expedition. It is
suppased to lead to a large river to the eastward, but no
one knows. There are mamelon-shaped hills in the back-
ground—here all hills are of that shape—and Commodore
Elliott's pagoda is just visible; but'beyond the scene of his
operations we know nothing.
At 4 o'clock we reach a wide reach of the river, called
the " second bar anchorage." and are in the middle of a
British fleet. Here we find the Tribune, the Fury, the
Hornet, the Bittern, the Sybille, and also the gunboats
Staunch, Hongkong, and Forbes. Seven of Commodore
Elliott's captured junks are also here.
We had an opportunity of inspecting all those junks,
With one exception, the large gun had upon some former
occasion been captured and had one of the trunnions
knocked off. The manner inwhich this had been repaired
by the Chinese excited great admiration. They had pass-
ed a strong iron band round the gun, fitted a false trun-
nion to it, and kept it in its place by a firm iron breech-
ing. The prize s were full of cordage, mats, Chinese cloth-
ing, powder, loose balls, and shot holes.
On the next day (Saturday, 30th May) we steamed up
the river to Macao Fort, passMg many picturesque horse-
shoe-form tombs, and some villages that had been destroy-
ed by the rebels. Our guns look out formidable and item,
but the hundreds of sanpans a:d junks which we meet
manifest no fear. The I:unboats attach themselves to the
ships of war immediately they anchor. Thera is an air of
fearless confidence about the people which shows that the
industrious classes know that we have no intention to hurt
them. A few weeks since a Chinese who supplied our ships
with beef was beheaded—he and his wife and his children
-- yet the Admiral has found no difficulty in making ano-
ther contract for beef at about 6d. per lb. The boats come
round us with bananas and lemon syrup, and sweet pota-
toes, and the Chinamen are taking Jack's shillings and
English coppers at a most usurious rate of exchange. The
husbandmen upon the banks pursue their labours in their
paddyfields, not only as though no enemy were near, but
under the protection of his guns, for they know that while
we are here the Mandarin sailors and soldiers cannot come
down and do them spoil and violence, as is their wont.
We have a Chinese pilot, who, having got his wife and
children out of the clutches of the Mandarins and located
them at Hong Kong, wishes it to be understood that he is
not a traitor, but an English subject. He wears a glazed
hat and a regulation jacket. I thought at first that he hail
cut off the last link which bound him to Whampoa—his
tail. But no, he has gone no further than a compromise in
this respect—he wears it coiled round his head, inside his
hat. When it blows hard he ties it round his hat outside.
Our branch of the river (the Blenheim Passage) now con-
tracts to the dimensions of the Thames at Richmond, and
but for the banana and lychee trees one might expect to
see a punt and a chair, an elderly gentleman and a land-
ing-net. Ever and anon we come up to a British ship,
whose captain goes off to hold converse with the Admiral.
Thus we pass the Inflexible paddle steamer and the Niger
screw ; also the Cruiser and the Elk. Farther on we find
the Acorn, 12 gun brig, and the Bustard gunboat.
Now we arrive at a bar made by the Chinese by sinking
junks filed with stones. One narrow passage has been
partially cleared, and it is said that there are 16 feet of
water over that part at high water. The Coromandel was
obliged to go at it at full speed, and some rotten timber
came floating up where ,he had got through. This bar is
Let marked in the Admiralty chart.
It is astonishing, not that this bar exists, but that a
hundred of them do not occur. At one time we had only
two ships here, and junks were accustomed to come out
and mob them.
Some way above this there is a boom half way across,
placed by the English to prevent the descent of fireships
at night, and, having passed this, the Blenheim Passage,
Ilion; which we have come, debouches into the full river,
and we have a channel to the left, which is called Fatalists
Branch. This channel leads up to the city of Fatshan, a
city reported to be rich in dockyards and arsenals, and
about 12 miles distant. Thither it is said the most timor-
ous of the magnates of Canton have retired in anticipation
of our attack upon that city. This Fatshan Breech is oar
ultimate destination. Up that channel is the fort and
the fleet wo are going to attack. We see our battle-field
as we cross the mouth, and proceed directly up to Macao
Fort,
,which is ph d at the top of a reach running down
directly to Cant • The fort is only two miles and a
43
half from the city.
Ii this entrenchment are 250 marines, a strong embra-
sured wall, surrounding a pagoda of. three stories. The
whole is in capital order, armed with large ships' guns,
and commanding the channel. The time is gone by when
the junks could come down and throw shot into the fort
and retire unmolested.
From the top of the pagoda we see the city of Canton
on the one side, and the fort and the junks on the other.
Admiral Seymour and Commodore Keppel are recon-
noitring the fort. Let us join the Marine officers and look
towards Canton. The chief part of the city is hidden
I from WI by the rising ground on Sonata's Island at our
feet ; but we look down the reach on a large suburb not
very unlike what we see on the banks of the Medway a
couple of miles below Rochester-bridge. There are two
rained lines of forts, which I am told are the Shameen forts,
blown up by the English when they retired from the city.
We can see also Gough Fort, which at this distance
looks not unlike Chester Catheiral, and stands on
an eminence far back. We also see the celebrated
five-storied pagoda, which has an ancient and re-
spectable appearance, and suggests the idea that these
structures wre originally suggested as imitations of
the bamboo, just as the Corinthian capital was suggested
by the Acanthus, the Gothic aisle by avenues of forest
trees, and the Saxon arch by twisted willows. The Chinese
are as busy as bees round Gough Fort. There is a groat
encampment there. They are throwing up e ribankments,
connecting the works with the eity walls, and evidently
expecting that the tactics of the last attack will bo re-
peated in the next. They are immen.ely mistaken
The Admiral and Commodore having completed their
surrey we can now occupy the opposite aperture in this
pagoda. We see the fort we are to attack on Monday and
a portion of the junk fleet. All who would understand
the operations must bear with me while I describe the
locality of them.
Just two miles from the month of the Fatshan Branch,
is a long low island called Hyacinth Island. Thera is a
steep hill on the left bank opposite to that island ; and
beyond it, and higher up the "Branch," two smaller tri-
butaries which go off right and left. These features map
our field of battle. Stand on the Thames below Twicken-
ham Eyot, bring the Star and Garter hill close up to it,
make two creeks branch right and left from the river
above the eyot, and you would have something like it. It
is tolerably well shown in the Admiralty chart, but the
two creeks are not quite correct, and the distance between
the island and the transverse creeeks is too great.
This is our fighting-ground. That hill has been con-
verted into a fort. Nisebeen large guns are there mounted.
Along the two creeks and across the channel above the
island 72 junks are moored, with their large bow grins so
placed as to command the channels on either side of the
• island. A 6-gun battery is erected on the shore opposite
the fort. The fire of the 70 junks will sweep the narrow
channels on either side of the island. The fire of the fort
and battery will plunge upon them from either shore.
This is the position we have to attack.
The Chinese believe they are here impregnable. They
know you cannot get at the junks without first taking the
fort, and they believe that no man can go up that hill in
the face of their guns. Several vessels have from time to
time gone in and exchanged shots with the fort and coma
back again. This confirms their confidence.
( We now return to our anchorage down the river, and
the captains receive their instructions for the attack on
Monday morning at 4 o'clock. The Coromandel is to go
in first, towing the Marines, and manoeuvring to take off
the fire while they are lauded ; then she is to dash in among
the junks, the gunboats and the rowboats following. Hard
work for the little Coromandel.
On Sunday there was a large congregation on board the
flagship. The solemn words of the prayer before battle
fell heavy upon every ear.
It was scarcely 3 o'clock on the morning of Monday, the
let of June, when those who slept on the deck of the
Coromandel wrapped in their cloaks were aroused from
their sleep. A hushed movement among the sailors had
already begun. The steam was up. The vigilant young
commander, Douglas, was already at his post, and looking
through the darkness for the arrival of the boats contain-
ing the Marines. They soots came, and in a long string
el crowded. rowboats attached themselves to the
Bern of the steamer. Then the Admiral took his place
upon the bridge, the wheels slowly revolved, and the
Coromandel moved forth from the surrounding fleet. Those
dark hulls, seen dimly by their own lights, would appear
to be soundly at rest but for a hushed munnur which ever
and anon comes from the darkness, the hum of men mus-
tering in secret.
The Admiral's last orders were, "Let no ono up anchor
till am well in with the fort. Respect private property ;
and do no violence to unarmed people." It was en obedi-
ence to the first of these that the Coromandel was allowed
to
Thesteam p
aosu alone. s
at
ge through
the bar was buoyed with lights.
It night as tho steamer cleared it, and fosr
half-mane-dhour,twilth her freight of 300 red-coats in tow, she
(Plaawhiniesbon r muluern.wwrisYtp—he e 4 up to the month of the Fatshan
x of
thatas an anxious thing to look forth from the
the
enemy's
country—alone.,
as she steadily advanced into
became indistinctly
up when, from thesr visible.right
rocket shot up in the air ;
bank, and a minute after it
the fleet of junks. alone, An almost imperceptible
ealerkness loss opaque, and ()ejects
isg ,
determined
: ,
was
lakni
al
eaanresl
anotheriwiut tealrreekdf
showennSihneeahtaodgone about a mile
:r o-bahmyn
edaatndohonetohwof
another
fwersreoi,
:meat
to •I:oJooleanugChlatinnaarnppainn
that be is not
for another five minutes.
There is little twilight here ; the division between thick
darkwis and broad daylight is almost to be nie.ibizredhy
moments.
Now wo could see the higher hills that form the back.
ground to the forla an 1 the Coromandel was abreast of a
village which is about 1,500 yards from the fort itself.
Suddenly, in the gray distance, a_ flash and -a curl o!