Part 6 (2/2)
The whole scene has a very stage-like and brilliant effect.
It is worthy of remark, as shewing another trait in this truly remarkable race, that though they manufacture a very fiery liquor (called ”_samshaw_”) from rice, yet you will rarely see a drunken Chinaman in the streets. As far as I can remember I have met with only one such, and he a servant on board our s.h.i.+p, who had adopted a liking for rum because, I suppose, it is the custom for a sailor to drink what is issued to him.
The harbour, too, has its distinctive features on this gay and festive occasion. Every junk is covered with great pennons of silk in the most startling colors, whilst from every available s.p.a.ce small oblong pieces of paper, with characters written on them, flutter to the breeze. These are ”_joss-papers_,” and contain prayers for wealth, prosperity, and (if they have not one already) an heir, ”_joss_” is the generic name they give to their idols, and the whole ritual they call ”_joss pidgin_.” The priests they name ”_joss-men_,” an appellation, too, they somewhat irreverently bestow on our naval chaplains. One of the largest junks, with a priest on board, and containing all the vessels and objects pertaining to their ritual, makes the circuit of the harbour--the priest meanwhile burning prayers and setting off crackers for a blessing on the supply of fish for the ensuing year.
January 29th.--This evening the officers gave their first theatrical entertainment on board, the acting of some of the characters being p.r.o.nounced above the average; one or two of the younger mids.h.i.+pmen, to whom the parts fell, made very tempting and graceful ladies.
February 14th.--This day finds us at the back of the island preparing for target practice. In one of the bays here is an admirable natural target: a solitary rock rising perpendicularly from the sea, with a mark painted on it, is a most interesting thing to fire at, for you can observe the effect of your shot. Behind this rock sloped a hill, on which were seated, though unknown to us, two Chinamen; the first half-a-dozen rounds were so true that the unseen watchers had no suspicion they were in dangerous quarters, or that it was possible that even the Duke's marksmen were fallible; the seventh round disillusioned them, for, from a slight fault in the elevation, the shot over-reached the target and pitched so close to the Chinamen that stones and rubbish came rattling down from everywhere about their ears; fear lent them wings, and they scampered off like the wind. They may be running now for aught I know, as when we last saw them the horizon seemed to be the goal they were aiming at.
March 10th.--We were to have put to sea to-day had not a melancholy and fatal accident changed the whole course of events. Richard Darcy, a young seaman, whilst engaged on the crosstrees fell to the deck, striking the rail on the topgallant forecastle in his fall. His body was frightfully mangled and torn, his scull fractured, and all his limbs broken. Mercifully he never regained consciousness. Next day we buried him in the beautiful cemetery of Happy Valley, than which there are few more picturesque spots in China; 'twas surely a poetic fancy which inspired the Chinese with the term ”_happy_” when naming this sylvian vale.
In the afternoon we slipped from the buoy and steamed seaward for tactics, returning the following day to prepare for going in dock.
March 26th.--The last day for our stay in Aberdeen. A special steam launch had arrived from Hong Kong during the forenoon with all the elite of the city to see the floating of our s.h.i.+p. However, they were doomed to disappointment, for, on the tide reaching its highest, it was found the s.h.i.+p refused to move, nor would she start, though every effort was made to coax her. It was not until the next tide, a.s.sisted by a strong breeze, that the s.h.i.+p once more rested in deep water.
With characteristic expedition and commendable zeal, our captain had the s.h.i.+p ready for sea, and awaiting orders in the briefest possible time.
April 21st.--Early this morning that pleasant sound, the cable rattling through the hawse, told us that we had bid good-bye to Victoria, for a few months at least. A rather stiff breeze was blowing at the time--a sufficient hint that we might possibly meet with something rash outside; nor was the hint to be disregarded, for, scarcely had we cleared the mouth of the harbour, when, what sailors call a ”_sneezer_,” accompanied by a green sea in all our weather ports, met us as an introduction to our northern cruise. So threatening was the look of the sky, and remembering that in these seas old Boreas often indulges his fancy in a gentle zephyr called a typhoon, it was deemed expedient to seek shelter for the night.
On the third day out we reached Amoy, or rather the outside anchorage of that harbour, to await daylight for the pa.s.sage up to the town.
So far as the little island settlement forming the foreign concession can make it so, Amoy is a pretty enough place; otherwise it is like all other Chinese towns, and wont bear too close a scrutiny. It is built on an island of the same name, and is walled in by several miles of embrasured masonry; a fort or barracks on the beach, gay with pennons, imparting a semi-military look to the place. Flags seem to play a most important part in the usages of war amongst this nation, for, in addition to the great banners of the mandarins and their subordinates, every soldier bears one in the muzzle of his rifle, or stuck in a bamboo over his shoulder.
Resuming our course, after a stay of about forty-eight hours, we next touched at the island of White Dogs, off the port of Foo-Choo, the great naval depot and a.r.s.enal of China. The ”Vigilant” had preceded us here to embark the admiral for Foo-Choo, whilst we put to sea again.
April 30th.--At daylight we found ourselves amongst an archipelago of picturesque and richly cultivated islands, one ma.s.s of greenery from base to summit. The effect produced by the different tints of the foliage was very fine indeed. Beyond a doubt the Chinese exhibit great skill and economy in the gardener's art.
This was the approach to Chusan, the largest island of the group, at which we anch.o.r.ed at noon. The place fell under a British attack in 1841, remaining in our possession until the more convenient and more valuable island of Hong Kong was ceded to us in exchange. Before us lies a considerable town called Tinghae, where are buried many of our poor fellow countrymen and their families who fell victims to fever and the attacks of a cruel enemy during the occupation. We found their graves in a very neglected condition, many of the tombstones having been appropriated by the inhabitants to prop up those architectural abominations which it would be a libel to term houses. Admiral Coote subsequently sent the ”Modeste” down with orders to repair the burial ground; the misappropriated stones were speedily restored to their places by the blue-jackets, who dealt with the natives in a very summary manner by wrecking their houses about their ears.
It was not long before a sleek old Chinaman, rejoicing in the imposing Chin-English name of ”_Chin-Chang-Jim-Crow_,” came on board and introduced himself as ”me de b.u.mboat”; he further explained that it was so long since a man-of-war had been in that neighbourhood, that probably he would experience some difficulty in procuring ”_Chow_.”
In the course of a day or so the admiral arrived from Ningpo, which was the signal for our at once heaving up anchor and continuing our voyage.
We are now in the estuary of one of the n.o.blest rivers of the world, and the largest in China. It is estimated that this river, the Yang-tsze-Kiang, ”Son of the Ocean,” brings seaward, annually, as much solid matter as would make an island as large as Ireland! The navigation of its mouth is extremely dangerous, on account of the constantly-s.h.i.+fting sandbanks and consequent alteration of the channel.
Fortunately, the European pilots are very skilful in detecting these changes. It is usual for large s.h.i.+ps to drop anchor on this mud, locally termed the ”flats,” until boarded by a pilot, who takes you either to Wosung or Shanghai, according to your draught of water.
Wosung scarcely merits the name of town; perhaps with more accuracy it might be termed a village. It is nevertheless, the head quarters of a large junk fleet, and has one of the finest and strongest forts in China to protect it from seaward. The place is interesting to us in one sense, because in 1875 an English company obtained permission to construct a line of rail from here to Shanghai.
China, with its four thousand years of existence, looked on this innovation with a jealous eye, and would have pitched the whole concern into the river, had she dared; unfortunately the line was carried near a burying ground, and thus a ready excuse for stopping the work presented itself. It was alleged that the noise would disturb the spirits of the dead, of whom the Chinese are in ghostly fear. An almost similar difficulty was met when the a.r.s.enal was built at Foo-Choo, and a magnificent temple was actually erected in that city for the accommodation of the refugee spirits.
To bring matters to a climax a man was run over by one of the trucks and killed. The mandarins could no longer hold out against the popular voice, and the whole plant was bought up by the Government for twice the sum the projectors had spent about it.
This is the brief history of the first and, up to now, the only attempt to introduce railways into China; but the late Kuldja difficulty, and the ease with which the Russians had brought an army to their Siberian frontier, have caused the Chinese to open their eyes to the advantage of railways for strategic, if for no other purpose, and I believe a line is already in contemplation between Tien-tsin and the capital.
Owing to a blunder on the part of the pilot, so some said, and some others, in consequence of someone else's blunder, our anchor was dropped too near a mud bank, with the result that when the s.h.i.+p swung to a firm knot current, up she went high and dry. Means were at once taken to get her off, but by the time all the necessary arrangements were completed--and there was no time lost either--the tide had ebbed considerably.
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