The herald., 1898-08-14
Blood Thicker Than Water


at breakfast without finding 1t staring one
In the face, and no article on 1.-The War"
is complete without quoting 1t once at least.
Under the circumstances 1 cannot help
thinking that it would be of interest to
your readers IL 1 recalled an occasion on
which this phrase was not only quoted but
also acted on, and in manner In every way
worthy of the best traditions of the Anglo
Saxon race.
1t was in April. 1853, that Rear Admiral
James Hope took over the command of the
China station from Sir Michael Seymour.
The year before, after months of hard fight
ing, our minister, Lord Elgin, had, on June
II, 1858, wrung from the reluctant Chinese
treaty of peace and submission known as
the treaty of Tientsin. On June g. 1859, this
treaty was to be formally ratified. and Lord
Elgin's brother, +. Bruce, had been ap-
pointed our plenipotentiary to carry out the
ratification. On April 16 Admiral Hope as
sumed command; he was then at Singapore.
On that very day he ought to have been
with force in support of our ambassador
At the mouth of the Peiho river. 1t was not
his fault that he was not there, and he did
his best to get north with all possible speed
1t was not, however, until June 10 that he
arrived with his squadron outside the bar
OF the Peiho river, and 1t was not until next
day that the English and French ministers
arrived in the Magicienne and Duchayla.
They arrived, therefore, at the mouth of the
river exactly six days before the expiration
OF the period for the ratification Of the
treaty Of Picking, and In that land Of cero-
mony to arrive late would be looked upon
as a breach of etiquette and regarded as
premeditated slight to the emperor. More
ever, 1t would give such a handle to the re-
dictionary party, who were doing their best
to upset the treaty, as to render Its ratifi-
cation an impossibll!ty.
Further delay was, therefore, fatal to
the treaty, and when Admiral Hope, on
accommodating the mouth of the river,
found the entrance blocked by three bar
riers, and the forts, which had been de-
stroyed the year before, rebuilt, the mis-
sion was in a decidedly awkward predica-
ment. There were only two courses open
to Mr.. Bruce-one was to abandon the
treaty won with so much difficulty and re-
turn to Singapore; the other was to order
Admiral Hope to remove the obstacles in
the river and proceed up it to Picking with
all possible speed. Mr.. Bruce very naturally
chose the latter course. Accordingly, Adj
miral Hope, after warning the Chinese of
what he was about to do, commenced on
June 23d to send in his smaller craft across
the bar of the river, and by the evening Of
the oath all was ready for forward move
ment.
The admiral's plan was simple in the
extreme. He had eleven vessels, all small
gunboats, and only mounting thirty guns
between them. Nine of these were to move
in as near the first barrier as possible, and
under cover of their guns the remaining
two, while the flagship Plover and the
Opossum under Captain Willes were to en-
deavor to make a passage through the bar
rier and remove the obstruction. The Brit
ish began to move in at daybreak. but 1t
was not till nearly p m. that the Opossum
had succeeded in making a passage
through the first barrier, and the two lead
ing gunboats, running through the breach,
passed up to the second barrier, where they
were under the guns of the forts on either
side of the river at point-blank range. This
was moment of intense excitement as
up to now not a shot had been fired. Just
as the Plover, however, touched the second
barrier a single gun was fired.
This was the signal, and moment later
forty heavy pieces Of artillery opened on
the little craft. At this moment the adj
miral made the signal. Support me by
engaging the enemy more Closely and
this signal he kept flying the whole day.
Never was a British admiral In greater
need of support and never was his appeal
more nobly responded to. 1t seemed to
be the object of the Chinese to annihilate
the flagship, and so well trained were their
guns on the space between the first and
second barriers that within twenty minutes
of opening fire the Plover and Opossum
had so many killed and wounded that their
batteries were completely silenced. 1t was
at this critical period of the fight that the
Americans rendered such assistance to the
sorely tried British
Cant. Tattnall, commodore Of the Amer
ican squadron in the China seas, had been
watching the treacherous attack on the
British squadron from the Toey-Wan, a
small steamer of very light draught. The
commodore, who was great character In
his way. at last seeing the desperate con-
dition of the British admiral, could stand
It no longer.
Observing that "blood was thicker than
water. and he was damned If he was going
70 see white men butchered before his eyes"
he ordered his barge and announced his in
tention of paying an "official visit" to the
British admiral
The commodore rowed through a storm Of
shot and she'll, one round shot going through
the American ensign in the stern of the
boat, cutting 1t to ribbons, and was wildly
cheered by our people as he passed through
the fleet. Just as he reached the flagship
his barge was again struck and sank along
side. The Americans, however, managed to
scramble on board, only to find Admiral
Hope, desperately wounded, seated in an
armchair on deck, still directing the fight.
Tattnall, after exchanging a few words
with Hope, sent his boats crew forward to
man the big S-inch gun there, the whole
crew of which had been either killed or
disabled. His responded with alacrity, and
for the next hour and half this gun was
worked entirely by American seamen, until
relieved by fresh crew from another gun
boat.
Borrowing a boat from the Plover, TAFT.
nall then returned to the Toey-Wan and
knowing that the British reserves, who
had been placed In sailing junks at the be-
ginning of the action, were sorely needed,
and that, without a steamer, there was no
means Of getting them to the front, took
them in tow himself and started boldly
up the river, with 600 fresh British seamen
behind him. Nor was this the last occasion
on which Tattnall rendered us assistance
on this disastrous day. After the landing