Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-09-17


ieneral Woo that he would proceed on the
blowing day at noon, which he accordingly
lid; none Of the batteries appeared at all dis
posed to obstruct the progress Of the ship. On
approaching Kwa-chow, some distance above
;hin-kiangfu, a strongly fortified point at the
mouth Of the grand canal, in the possessioa OF
he rebels, the oficerin command approached
| he Susquehanna, with a letter, repeating whaI
lad previously been written by General Woo.
bout going on. Ii was said to him in reply.
hat the object of the minister was friendly.
md that be could only have intercourse with
he higher authorities at Marking; it was get
ing rather late, and as an inlimation had
been given that chepaurde- tiise had been
thrown across the river to obstruct the passage
If the imperial feet, the captain came to an
lnchor for the night. The general was con.
iucted through the ship, and expressed very
sreat admiration of her battery; he particularly
fingered around one of the heavy 6-inch pieces;
ler traverse pivot carriage and beautiful appa
ratus for raising and depressing, excited biz
'pecial attention; he remained on board until
late hour, and ultimately expressed great
lesirt to proceed on in the ship; he left, stat
ng that he would come on board in the morn
ng, but the vessel leaving at an early hour, he
was not taken on board.
On approaching Marking, on the low fiat
| land outside of the northeast wall of the city.
crowds were assembled, and as it was from
| This point that the "Hermes" and "Cassini,
we're fred at, the men were beat TO quarters
and every preparation made to give them a
broadside, if any hostile demonstrations had
been made; none was however, and the aSus-
quehanna" slowly and gracefully moved up to
her anchorage just off the corner of the wall,
L a1o,, ~ Ic., ~ I'D
the thousands and thousands who gazed at her
as she approached, were evidently much i'm,
pressed with her fine appearance.
Lieut.. Duer and Mr.. Carr, with the Rev.
DR.. Bridgman, were again sent on shore with
letter from Capt. Buchanan, to the highest
officer commanding at Marking, announcing
the arrival of United States ship-of.war, with
the American minister on board: the letter
was delivered to an officer who stated that be
would forward it at once to Yank, the Eastern
| King, whose residence was inside the city
walls, distant some eight or nine miles. An
answer was received by Capt. Buchanan, the
tone and style of which was very extraordi
| nary. His excellency Mr.. McLane subse-
quently had some correspondence with the
authorities, the character of which is not known;
it is shrewdly surmised, however, that the cor
respondence developed views of policy both
political and religious, quite as remarkable as
any previous accounts had of this singular
movement, which, from Its very origin to this
hour, seems utterly TO battle the comprehen-
sion of mankind.
During the two or three days the ship re-
manned at Marking, she was crowded with
thousands of visitors, from princes and gen
erals whose number is legion) down to coolies,
all of whom appeared filled with amazement at
her size and elegance. Many of the officers
visited the city, and some of their adventures
were odd enough-(possibly an account OF
some ofthem may be given.) 74sa
The ship left Marking on Wednesday, the
| 3lst TO make an examination higher up the
river. On the visit of the Hermes, she went
| up some ten or twelve miles; with this exeep-
lstion, the Susquehanna is the first square-rigged
vessel that ever disturbed the waters Of this
noble river so far from its mouth. The spec
tacle that was presented on that beautiful morn
ing, and more lovely one surely never dawned,
was calculated to produce an impression not
easily forgotten. Here was seen n magnificent
steam-frigate, oneof the largest vessels in the
world, her tonnage and draft of water surpassed
by very few Of the largest three-deckers, armed
with the most improved and deadly implements
of destruction, manuel by crew Of officers
and men whose discipline is perfect; her trim
! spars, stately dimensions, and elegance OF
! model would make her an object of admiration
! in any harbor Of the world. Here was seen
this noble ship steaming boldly into the heart
/ of a vast empire, up a river which is scarcely
surpassed by either the Mississippi or the ANA
zon; the myriads Of human beings, who crowded
the banks, looked at her as she passed on with
| kind of admiration not unmixed with awe,
wondering in their own innocence and igno-
rance from whence she came, or whittier she
was going little did they imagine that she
had come from distant land thousands Of
miles away and that her object in these strange
waters was to watch over, with careful soil.
citude and punish with summary prompt
tude the slightest violation Of the rights or
privileges Of those whose flag she bore. Truly
it was a scene not soon 10 be forgotten.
The varied scenery on either bank Of the
river, above Marking, is not equalled In the
world Ii becomes very broad-in some places
several miles, and is interspersed with innu-
merable islands, some Of which are extremely
beautiful; the valleys and even the highest
hills, TO their very SUBMITS, seemed teeming
with vegetation whose opulence fortunately
yields q sufRciency Of food TO supply the mil
lions who inhabit this region,
NC Oubqucuhnuh pioCccucN VI % taf %
wuhu, in the province Of Gnanhwuy, one Of
the largest markettowns on the river, about
one hundred miles above Marking, as stated
in Daviss work it is scarcely, however, so far#
Here the ship and her engines were gazed at
with even greater astonishment than below !;
she had scarcely dropped anchor, before innu-
mcTshle boats, 81 ed with thousands, approached
from the shore as these crowds came on board
their wonder was also too great for utterance-
at one time their number was so great as al.
most to jeopardize their lives in getting up and
down the gangways; however, nothing could
exceed their good bumor or correct behavior.
The city Of Wu-hp and vicinity was visited by
most OF the officers, and the greatest Kindness
was shown them by the people and the au
thorities; guides accompanied them through
the streets they we're here as elsewhere always
called brothers--the same scene Of desolatiou
was also observed here as at Chin kiang fu and
Marking, The city is enclosed by q wall, and
is said to contain o populstiongof half mil
lion; its trade, however, is at present entirely
interrupted BY The revolution; there are few
objects particularly worthy Of note, except the
splendid bay, that stretches out, for distance