The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-19
TALES OF THE CHINA SEAS =

h.e been said that having nm ad
~, " nboard ship is like having |
shar';n. PIE, law in the house. Technical
Ms admiral is a passenger and knows
;ng & of the conduct of the ship
.n shis sort of an admiral happens only
"; blue moon. The commando,
cq cu;s =; Mniesty's gunboat Porcupine
ar the mouth of the Kiang river
pp5havinp on board Vice-Admiral Har
u b. felt thrill of ecstasy whei
w usSmiral bctook himself to Number
~ the torpedo-boat division fol
,nlise up the wlndlngs and turning:
4 The river.
zach of the young lieutenants com
.ndlug torpedo boat in the division
N Extremely nervous lest he should
.rs the honor of the vice-admiral :!
There were things to try the temper
"a admiral with torpedo-boat divis
!, commauded by little boys, as Ad
r.I Harbord considered these young
'mmanders. Especially was this true
-sen the duty consisted IN ostcnsiblC
',rnsdo. host practice. but really look
y into the tributaries of the Ki-ang
"A watching for outbreaks of murder
'sou and disguised piracy.
Ths Chinese are wary race, espe'
.,.liy where the land and the waters
IN, and the cunning of the Orient
IMPOSED. to the cunning of the Occi'
IN. They know a gunboat from a
-.rpedo boat, and will scurry away
irsm the one and lolter impudently
4 The presence OF the other Besides
'|orpedo boats are frail craft, and like
||5r man-eating shark, one good blow
'-gIl delivered can do for them.
. Perhaps Admiral Harbord would not
rye ventured so far up the Ki-ang
..,ept that lie had Il string Of com.
'npieation with the Porcupine, lying
d The mouth of the river.
. There was no international agree.
<sni-oh, no. not the least bit Of it
q, by happy coincidence, the Amer
I'M gunboat Aletta, with a consul on
||,ad. hsd come up the river to inves-
|1zie some commercial matters, and lay
,koui ten or Twelve miles below the
|e,dewous of the ;orpcdo-boat division
len, ten miles farther down, the third
las German cruiser Cecilia, with a
|ientifc party on board, was botanic
"a leisurelv and within easy commun-
alion with the Porcupine.
Admiral Harbord was acuiely CON
.|inus that on one point-namelv. that
bis two daughters-he had become
t laughing stock of all the treaty
iris in China, He had sworn both
Ia and deep that his daughters should
q marry outside the naval service of
fitain- Both of these girls, however,
q acted in mutinous manner, and
'lfy, the elder girl, had engaged her
Ia openly to Aylwin, junior lieuten-
q on the Aletta. while Claricc, who
Is barely eighteen, had claimed the
tht TO marry Tourneau, the French
Futepant commanding the baby gun.
tat LHirondelle, Admiral IIarbord
rd not in reason object to either of
prospective sons-in-law, but he
lied the idea OF being balllcd and of
-s1bordlnation in his own family. No
Edy could accuse him of partiality
tsad either of these young officers.
.fh of whom the admiral considered
ID robbed him of = daughter. And
= viewed with a critic S eve all the
Ffnmances of the Aletta and l. 'IIir-
zdcle.
Il The Admiral S View.
Int dnHDral nad ntgher opinion OF
'F2sdo boats in general than of their
'HnaDders. Being n torpedo crank
considered that nobody but himself
3fed torpedo boats rs high as they
:wld be. They ought TO be command
q by seasoned officers, instead of which.
II The admiral thought. grinding his
'ff'h.. the admiralty had sent him out
pack Of schoolboys to do the work
meu. The only one among the five
'un2 commanders who really won the
lnira' S favor was Lieutenant Ken
,'a Mckenzie, commanding Number
'ye, and that because Mckenzie, being
.'oeh and willy, professcd TO believe
Ai ihe future of nations was to be
f1lded by torpedo boats,
y was indeed Il boyish looking set
ilen gathered around the table in the
e little cabin Of Number Five on