Our Sailors | Page 4

in 1840 by the Governor-General of India to the Chinese
seas.

Soon after this a large fleet arrived from England, under the command
of Admiral the Honourable G. Elliot, while Sir Gordon Bremer had his
broad pennant flying on board the Wellesley. Captain Elliot, RN, it
must be understood, was acting on shore as Chief-Superintendent of
Trade.
The Chinese are a very clever people, but though their civilisation is
very ancient it has been stationary for ages, and all change and advance
of Western ideas has been violently opposed both by the governing
classes and the people. In the matter, however, of armament they have
in recent years made great advance, but at this time this advance had
hardly yet commenced, and they had nothing to oppose to the British
fleet.
Not having the real thing, with great ingenuity they proceeded to
extemporise an imitation, the appearance of which they hoped would be
sufficient to frighten off the foreigner. They purchased an English
trading vessel, the Cambridge, intending to turn her into, at least in
appearance, a man-of-war, and built some strange-looking little
schooners upon a European model, for the purpose of employing them
against the English. Commissioner Lin also got up some sham fights at
the Bogue, dressing those who were to act as assailants in red coats, in
order to accustom the defenders to the sight of the red uniform,--the
redcoats, of course, being always driven back with tremendous
slaughter. They also ran up formidable-looking forts along the banks of
many of their rivers, which on examination, however, turned out to be
merely thin planks painted. The object of these was to alarm the
barbarians, and to prevent them from entering their harbours. But the
crowning and most ingenious device was the construction of some
vessels, with large paddle-wheels like those of steamers, which were
worked inside by men; though, that they might appear to be real
steamers, they had, it is said, funnels and fires under them to create a
smoke.
Although from these accounts it would appear that the Chinese were
not very formidable enemies, it must be understood that they also
possessed some forts which were really very strong; and that though

the true Chinese are not very fond of fighting, and, from their peculiar
temperament, (looking upon discretion as the better part of valour),
prefer running away to stopping with the certainty of being shot or
bayoneted, yet that, as they fully understand division of labour, they
employ a large number of Tartars to do their fighting for them. These
Tartars are very brave fellows, and so are their officers; and in
numberless instances they preferred death to defeat. They invariably
fought to the last; and often, when they could fight no longer, cut the
throats of their wives and children, and then their own, rather than yield.
This horrible practice arose undoubtedly from ignorance, they believing
that their conquerors would ill-treat and enslave them if they captured
them alive. Besides these Tartar troops, who were far from
contemptible enemies, our gallant redcoats and bluejackets had to
contend with the pernicious climate of the south of China, by which,
more than by the jingall-balls of the enemy, numbers were cut off. The
Tartars we have been speaking of are powerful men, armed with long
spears, and often they crossed them with the British bayonet, for which
the long spear was sometimes more than a match. Hand-to-hand
encounters with the Tartar troops were not uncommon, and our men
learned to their cost that they had held the Chinese too cheap. Instances
occurred in which the powerful Tartar soldier rushed within the
bayonet guard of his opponent, and grappled with him for life or death.
A full description of the numerous actions which took place from the
commencement to the termination of the war, extending over so many
months, would at the present day be far from interesting. We shall,
therefore, but briefly allude to some of them.
CAPTURE OF CHUSAN.
The crisis had come. The Chinese had determined to drive away the
"foreign devils" from their coasts, and the "foreign devils" had equally
determined to show that they were a match for the Celestials.
On 5th July 1840, Chusan, a small island in the Chinese sea, fell into
the hands of the British. The previous day, HMS Conway, Alligator,
and Wellesley, with a troopship and two transports, arrived in Chusan
harbour. The ships took up position opposite a large Joss House or

Temple. Sir Gordon Bremer was in command of our force. In the
evening a deputation was sent on shore, calling upon the governor to
surrender the town of Chusan and avoid unnecessary bloodshed. The
Chinese admiral and two mandarins themselves came to refuse this
offer. During that night the people were seen strengthening their
fortifications, while