Under the Dragon Flag | Page 8

boarded by a boat from the flagship, to the officer of
which Lin Wong gave an account of his stewardship, and we received
directions to draw up to the landing-stage in turn and receive our
human freight. The troops were still arriving from the roads to Talien
and Kinchou. They seemed for the most part an undisciplined lot, and
came streaming on board in no particular order; here and there a
mounted officer directing with shouts, gestures, and blows too, the
movements of the surging masses that crowded along the water-side.
The number embarked I reckoned at about 18,000. There was also a
large quantity of military stores to be shipped, and busy enough we
were. In the evening I had a glimpse of Admiral Ting, who had been
ashore and was returning to his ship. His barge passed close alongside
the Columbia. I saw a young-looking man, very pleasant in expression
and manner; altogether what we should call highly gentlemanly in
appearance. It is well known that he expiated his failures by suicide
after the final ruin of Wei-hai-wei.
All was complete on the second day after our arrival, and shortly before
noon the flagship signalled us to weigh anchor. I may remark that the
Chinese Navy is English trained, and the duty is carried on in English,
owing to the intractable character of the Chinese language, the fact that
officers and men have thus practically to learn a foreign tongue in order
to work their ships being an obvious disadvantage. The transports were
grouped together and the warships disposed in sections abreast and
ahead, with the active torpedo-boats in the rear. Our destination was the
estuary of the Yalu, the large river which divides China from the Corea.
We left Talienwan on September 14, and reached the river on the
afternoon of the 16th. The work of disembarkation commenced
immediately, although rumours reached us from Wi-ju of the disastrous
defeat of the first Chinese army at Ping-Yang in the Corea the day
before. It illustrates the ridiculous inefficiency of the Chinese measures

from first to last, that troops should thus have been landed at
hap-hazard far from any point of communication with the interior of the
Peninsula, the very day after an action which extinguished their
prospect of maintaining their ground in the Corea.
The warships anchored across the mouth of the river, whilst the
transports proceeded some distance up the stream. Wi-ju is the only
settlement of any size in this little-known region, though there are
numerous fishing-hamlets scattered about. The soldiers improvised
their camps along the bank. A wild scene was presented when night fell
on the 16th--the glare of the bivouac, extending far along the desolate
water-side; the concourse of savage figures in the lurid gloom, with
here and there in the distance the gigantic shape of an illuminated
warship. We worked well into the night, and were at it again when the
sun rose--a glorious sunrise, pouring over everything floods of crimson
splendour.
The first accounts which reached England of the action miscalled the
battle of Yalu, categorically stated that it was fought off the mouth of
the river whilst the work of landing the soldiers was proceeding. This
story I fancy to have been invented by the Chinese as a sort of excuse
for their defeat, by representing themselves as fighting at a great
disadvantage in covering the disembarkation. However this may be, the
fact is that the work was completed by about seven o'clock on the
morning of the 17th, when no enemy was in sight. When the Columbia
weighed and stood out of the river, after breakfast, about nine o'clock,
we found that the main body of the fleet had departed, though three or
four cruisers and the torpedo-boats still remained in the bay. We and
the other transport masters had received an intimation that we were at
liberty to return to our respective ports upon the conclusion of the work
of disembarkation. As to the Columbia, Chubb had had instructions
from Mr. H----'s agent to make straight from the Yalu to San Francisco,
report to our owner, and take his further orders. We had, however, to
deal with the Chinese supercargo, if I may so term him, Lin Wong, who
still remained on board, and wanted to be re-conveyed to the Gulf of
Pechili. We proposed to put him on board one of the warships, but as
they were already under weigh when we steamed down, there was no

immediate opportunity of doing so. They were following in the wake of
the main squadron towards Port Arthur, steering south by west from the
mouth of the river. We held on with them, only one other transport ship
doing the same.
For three hours we steamed on thus, at about twelve knots. Towards