The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1898-02-12
PART 3.

| Cinnamon were stationed on the scaffold-
ing within easy reach OF each other, with
! little baskets about the size and shape OF
an ordinary coal shovel. So they passed
the ballast up in these basket one to an
other until it was dumped into a shoot that
carried it to lighter. All of the bal asst
was not taken ont. While this was going
on chop beats Il believe they were called
! brran to come alongside with tea We
loaded it through port hole, a little up
from the lower deck. The Cinnamon on
the chop boat would put under the reeds
that bind the mating or the tea chest
bamboo stick which we called chop stick.
had the job Of taking these sticks out
When they would reach twenty 1--WE we
would tally and pass them back, the first
mate taking account.
This is the way we loaded.
Some days we took in none. We were
about five weeks loading. Our crew began
to growl and get restless because they
hadn days liberty on shore There were
no wharves, all ships laid in the stream.
They waited on our skipper in a body.
He told them when the proper time came
he would give them liberty, and nos until
then, and commanded them to 20 to their
work. II they didn't he would send them
on board of that ship up the river (mean-
the "Nandalia The thoroughly Chinese
part Of Shanghai was | believe, walled
around, and about four or five miles up the
river from where we lay opposite, and
little above US, was the European part,
built up with fine houses, surrounded by
lawns, with flag staffs and flags of differ
ent nations. These were occupied by
councils of the nations the flag represented.
| | am pretty sure that Uncle Sam occupied
| one of these houses. Then there was
Chinese part to the European. The streets
were narrow and houses small. When the
| shutdown guns were fired on the man of war
all flags were hauled down, then the in
fernal gOngs (makes me mad to think of
| them commenced on these Mandarin iunks
and bark, the latter laid close to us in
the middle Of the stream. Such noise
no one on earth away from there ever
heard. This bark, which had guns and
| considerable of crew, was a kind of a
custom-bouse arrangement. All Chinese
boats that pass up the river had to come
alongside to be searched. This was done,
| was told, to prevent the smuggling in OF
opium. But boats carrying the English,
American, German or French flags, all of
which we could see quite frequently, were
allowed to go on.
At that time there was rebellion going
on. There seemed to he three sets, Rebels,
Imperials and Mandarins. 1t was such
common thing to hear heavy firing south
and west of Shanghai proper that we paid
very little attention to it.
a day or so before Christmas, 1851, some
boats left the French frigates, went up the
river as far as the city and went ashore,
the Cinnamon jumped on them and killed
several.
Christmas Day the two friSates worked
their way up the river in front of the CITY
and let 20 broadside after broadsde into it.
! Went to the foretop and watched the
sight until the Frenchmen hauled off and
come bacl; their anchorage
Where the attack was made by the
French was about five miles above where
we were laying. They didn't have it all
their own way. There seemed to he fort
further up the river that threw shot at the
Frenchmen pretty lively. for I could see
them strike the water, throwing great
bodies of it high in the air.
A day or SO after Christmas, in the morn
ing the port watch was ordered aft. The
old man, AS the captain was called on
shipbolrdl said the time had come when
he would give the crew days liberty.
He cautioned the watch about their con-
duct. That affair was in bad shape on
shore.
He asked each the amount of money he
wanted. When he came TO me told him
/ would like 10 have SO. He paid me in
Mexican silver dollars. That was the frat
money had seen, except Chinese cash
which is about the size of 2-cent niece,
with square holes in them and Chinese
letters between the hole aud the edge. We
chartered sanpans. These are Chinese
boats, built scow fashion, decked forward
and aft, the middle covered with bamboo.