Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843

CHAPTER XVIII

Captain Elliot now addressed a request to the naval and military commanders-in-chief, that they would make no further movements towards the city until the disposition of the provincial officers could be put to the test. All the private information which could be gathered, however, tended to shew that further delay was likely to be useless, and even prejudicial. As soon, therefore, as the day for the expiration of the truce had arrived, the Nemesis was ordered to convey Captain Elliot, with the commodore and the major-general, together with their respective suites, up to Howqua's Fort, having the broad pendant flying; there several other ships of the advanced squadron were already at anchor. The flag of truce was then lowered, and immediate dispositions were made for the capture of Napier's Fort, which was a little distance higher up.³⁵

A little below the fort a strong double line of piles had been driven into the bed of the river, completely across from one bank to the other. These were strengthened by sunken junks, and the passage was further blocked up by large stones thrown into the river, and other impediments. There were flanking batteries also on either side, recently built of mud, and not quite finished; they were intended to mount thirty-five and forty-four guns.

These positions were capable of being stoutly defended, had they been fully armed and manned. Such, however, was not the case; and, as the commandant of the fort was inclined to exhibit the same compliant disposition as his gallant companion in arms had shewn at Howqua's Fort below, no resistance was offered; in fact, the garrison all ran away as soon as they had fired off their guns, having previously intimated their intention, and succeeded in making good their escape.

The Sulphur, accompanied by some of the boats of the squadron, managed to get up first, and took possession, followed by the Nemesis, with the commodore on board, and other vessels. A detachment of troops had been sent round by the general, with a view to take the flanking-batteries in the rear; but, as it now appeared that they were undefended, and as the march over swampy paddy-fields, and across numerous water-courses, was anything but agreeable, and not likely now to be useful, they returned to the joss-house below.

In the afternoon, the Nemesis proceeded with the commodore and Captain Elliot down to Whampoa, passing along the western side of that island, by the channel which was known by the name of Fiddler's Reach; she had therefore gone completely round Whampoa Island in the course of the day, for she went up by the eastern or Junk river side, and came down by the western or Fiddler's Reach passage, proving the practicability of both channels for vessels of small draught of water.

It may be well here to notice that, at a subsequent period, after the fall of Canton, and when the Chinese were prevented by us from renewing or extending any of the defences of the river below Whampoa,³⁶ they set about strengthening the positions above that island with all the resources they could employ. Before the close of the war, they not only rebuilt Napier's Fort in a much more substantial manner, but fortified all that line of the river upon a plan much superior to any they had hitherto attempted.

Three other large stone forts have been built, with a view to command the navigation of this part of the river; namely, one on each bank of the river opposite Napier's Fort, and one about half a mile lower down, at the point where the river is strongly staked across. Viewed from the river, all these new forts look extremely formidable, being built entirely of stone, of considerable height, and calculated to mount little less than two hundred guns. The structure of all these new works is of a superior kind to any before seen in China; and it is generally supposed that they have been built at the suggestion or with the assistance of some European engineer. But, as usual in China, the rear of the forts is almost entirely unprotected, except by a stone wall; and, were it not that the advance of an enemy on that side would be greatly impeded by ditches and paddy-fields, which would oppose difficulties to the bringing up of artillery, they could be captured without any extraordinary effort.

The short pause in our operations, which now again took place at the request of Captain Elliot, was precisely in accordance with the liberal assurances of the most pacific intentions on the part of the Chinese. Their acts, however, by no means agreed with their words. It was perfectly ascertained that a large number of fire-vessels were being prepared a few miles above Canton; that new defences were being constructed around the city, particularly upon the heights in its rear; and that people were removing their property from the town, and no valuable produce was allowed to be brought into it. Sir Gordon Bremer distinctly expressed his conviction that the measure of attacking Canton itself must speedily be resorted to; although he deplored the excesses to which it might give rise, owing to the abandonment of the city by the authorities, and the absence of control over the rabble of a community proverbially bad. The major-general now went down the river, and remained at Wantung with the commodore, where plans for the future operations were devised.

About this time, Keshen, whose functions had already ceased, left Canton for Pekin in disgrace, in order to be put upon his trial for traitorous conduct, as his unfortunate defeats were now termed. The result was, that he was utterly degraded; all his property, which was enormously valuable, was confiscated, and he himself banished to the cold regions of Tartary.

On the 10th, despatches were sent up by the Nemesis from Captain Elliot (who in the meantime had gone to Macao) to the commodore at the Bogue, in consequence of the Chinese authorities having issued chops or passports for all ships, except British, to proceed up the river to trade, as far as Whampoa. This act of open defiance could not be overlooked, and Captain Elliot himself seems to have been struck with the hostile temper which this proceeding evinced. A notice was, in consequence, issued to the effect, "that, as the port of Canton, from its entrance to its extremity, was in the military occupation of her Majesty's arms, no ships whatever would be permitted to enter the river, except under the authority of the commander-in-chief; and, moreover, that a close embargo would be laid on the city and trade of Canton, until the whole of their foreign trade should be placed upon a perfectly equal footing, without any exception whatever."

In point of fact, our previous forbearance had not been understood, and was certainly looked upon rather as an evidence of conscious weakness on our part, than as what it actually was – an instance of forbearance, resulting from conscious strength.

It was, probably, the necessity which he now felt of striking some blow calculated to make an immediate impression upon the Chinese, which induced Captain Elliot to direct his attention to one of the most boldly-conceived and successfully-executed exploits which have to be recorded during this campaign. It appears to have struck him almost on a sudden; and, finding that Captain Scott, of the Samarang, who was then senior officer at Macao, and also Captain Hall, of the Nemesis, entirely concurred with him in his views, it was resolved that not a moment should be lost. Above all, it was kept perfectly secret; so that no rumour of any new project could reach any of the inhabitants of Macao, either Portuguese or Chinese. The undertaking to which I allude, became afterwards generally known as the forcing of the Broadway, or Inner, or Macao Passage, (for it has obtained all these names,) by the Nemesis, accompanied by three boats – viz., two belonging to the Samarang, and one to the Atalanta steamer. This passage leads direct from Macao to Canton, but had been hitherto frequented only by native boats; indeed, no others were permitted to pass through it. This was one of those numerous opportunities in which the Nemesis so clearly demonstrated the great advantage to be derived from the employment of shallow iron steamers in hostile operations along the course of unexplored rivers.

It must here be remarked that this intricate passage was one never before traversed by any European vessel or boat, and believed by the Chinese themselves to be inaccessible to foreigners, both owing to the shallowness and intricacy of its channels, and to the number and strength of the artificial defences erected on its banks. It can, perhaps, be scarcely called a distinct river, but may be rather considered as in reality one of those almost innumerable channels which present themselves to view on every side, along the whole sea-board of China; dividing and then re-uniting, sometimes receiving large branches, sometimes throwing them off, here communicating with other rivers, and there even traversing across them. It is difficult to ascertain, with regard to many of them, whether they are distinct rivers or branches, or mere water-courses, leading from one to the other. In short, with respect more particularly to the country about Canton, the whole of it appears to be subdivided, again and again, by these ever-multiplying channels, which form a sort of fluid network, embracing the soil it nourishes and reproduces. Many of these are only known, among the Chinese themselves, by those who depend on them for subsistence; and who, rarely quitting them, make their boat their floating home.

On leaving the roads of Macao, and proceeding nearly due west, after passing the town and the entrance to the Inner Harbour beyond it, you come into a straight but rather shallow channel, which continues in the same direction along the southern shore of the island called Twee-Lien-Shan.³⁷ Having reached its western extremity, which is about four miles from Macao, you very shortly enter the mouth of a river, which is broad but shallow, and becomes narrower as you proceed up towards the north-west, by the gradual contraction of its shores. This is the entrance to the Broadway, or Inner Passage. Several openings were soon perceived on both sides, probably the mouths of smaller rivers or creeks, entering the larger channel. The proper opening of the Inner Passage begins about six miles from the western point of Twee-Lien-Shan Island, but the narrow part of it is about four miles further on.

Let us now imagine ourselves just embarked on board the Nemesis in Macao roads, at three o'clock in the morning on the 13th of March, all the arrangements having been completed the day before. Already, Captain Elliot and suite are on board; and Captain Scott, of the Samarang, who commands the force, is standing on the quarter deck with the other officers, impatient to start, while the boats of the Samarang, and that of the Atalanta, are being made fast astern. And we must also not omit to record that Mr. Johnston, the deputy superintendent of trade, and also Mr. Morrison and Mr. Thom, the indefatigable interpreters and secretaries,³⁸ the value of whose services throughout the war it is impossible too highly to appreciate, were also on board during this expedition.

Having quitted the town of Macao with the utmost quietness, leaving all the world asleep, and unconscious of any movement, they soon fell in with a large junk at anchor, which was fortunately able to furnish a pilot, one of her crew being taken out, not without reluctance, for that purpose. At first the poor fellow was very much frightened, but, finding that he was well treated, well fed, and good pay promised, he soon became reconciled to his position, and behaved well throughout. During the day he seemed very little concerned about the firing either of the steamer or of his own countrymen, and piloted the vessel, as far as his knowledge extended, up the river very accurately.

The progress was at first slow, owing to the shallowness of the water, which often did not much exceed five feet, for a vessel of more than six hundred tons burden! Indeed the pilot himself maintained that it would be impossible for the vessel to proceed; and it may be noticed that the soundings at the entrance were not found so deep as laid down in Horsburgh's chart, in which they are partially given. However, on she went, nothing daunted either by mud, sand, or water, or even by the shallowness of the river.

Day had now long dawned; and at eight o'clock she came in sight of a fort on the starboard hand, which proved to be situated on a small promontory on the left bank of the river. It is called Motow, and is situated some distance below a point where the main channel separates into two branches. Half an hour afterwards, the Nemesis was near enough to take up a position to the southward of the fort, so that she could fire directly into it without any of the enemy's guns being able to bear upon her; in fact, she enfiladed the position. Upon this the fort was abandoned by the Chinese, whose flight was accelerated by their seeing that the boats were putting off to attack them. The place was immediately taken possession of, the buildings of every description set on fire, and the guns, thirteen in number, rendered unserviceable. The boat's crews were again on board the Nemesis in about an hour, and she pursued her course without loss of time.

About four miles further on, just above where the river becomes more contracted by its division, a second fort was discovered, also situated on the left bank. The position was well chosen, upon a rising ground, at some distance from the river side, but commanding the whole bend or reach of the river in front of it. It was built of mud, but protected nearly all round by flooded paddy-grounds.

On this occasion the Chinese were the first to open their fire upon the Nemesis as she rounded an intervening point of land, and entered the reach above mentioned. They kept up their fire at first very smartly, having probably trained all their guns to bear upon one particular point. It was most effectually returned by the steamer with shot, shell, and rockets, which were thrown (as officially reported by Captain Scott himself) with remarkable accuracy. The boats again put off to land, under cover of the rising bank on the river side, with the intention of taking the position in flank; but the Chinese at once abandoned their works; though, if they had resisted the advance, they might have inflicted severe loss, as the party could only approach the fort along a narrow causeway, in single file. The works were immediately taken possession of, and were found to mount twelve or fourteen guns, which were of course destroyed, as were also the sheds and buildings within the fort, which, however, were of very recent construction, and of a temporary nature.

Before returning to the steamer, the boats pulled across to the opposite side of the river, where a large chop-house and military depôt were likewise destroyed. The name of the fort, or field-work, above described, was Tei-yat-kok.³⁹ At this point several other Chinamen were taken on board as pilots, for the better navigation of the channel through which they had now to proceed.

They had ascended a very little way further up the river, when to the joy of every one, they espied nine war-junks under weigh, a considerable distance ahead, and chase was given at full speed, in spite of all obstacles of the navigation. The interest and excitement momentarily increased, as every mile they advanced served to lead them to the conclusion that the Chinese were better prepared for defence than had been at all expected. Indeed, it was not a little remarkable that a passage never before explored by foreigners should have been found in a state of preparation against attack, by forts of old standing and solid construction, as well as by works of recent and temporary formation.

On entering the bend of the river in which the junks had been first caught sight of, a considerable stone-built fort was discovered, called Houchung, or Ha-chap, close to the river's side, upon its right bank, (on the left hand ascending,) in front of which, and perfectly commanded by it, piles had been driven across the river, so as to obstruct the navigation. But the work had apparently not been quite finished, and a narrow opening was still left in the centre, through which the junks had already passed, in order to take up a more secure position, as they thought, on the other side. The fort mounted fourteen or fifteen guns. But there was also another and smaller fort close to it, built of earth, and not yet finished, being without guns, but having ten embrasures.

Here again the Chinese were the first to begin firing, both from the fort and junks; but it was returned with precision and rapidity by the Nemesis, under cover of which the boats pushed off to storm the fort. This was effected without much difficulty. The fall of the fort of course left the passage through the stakes quite unprotected, except by the junks; but the Chinese sailors were so panic-struck by the rapidity with which the fort had been taken, and by the approach of the boats, which were now making their way through the stakes to attack them, that seven out of the nine were run ashore by their crews, – when they immediately jumped overboard and escaped, leaving their vessels entirely at our mercy.

Just as the boats came up to take possession, a field-work on the left bank, within little more than a hundred yards of the headmost junk, opened fire on them unexpectedly with grape-shot. As the junks were already abandoned, a strong party at once landed, under Lieut. Bower, and carried the field-work, by passing round to its rear, which, as usual with the Chinese, was left almost unprotected. This place, which was called Fie-shu-kok, was set on fire and destroyed, together with the seven guns which were mounted on it. The war-junks were likewise set on fire, and blew up very shortly after. But the two which had not been run ashore contrived to make good their escape.

During the time that these operations were being effected, Capt. Hall had dexterously succeeded in getting his steamer through the stakes by the same opening through which the junks had passed, and which barely afforded room for her paddle-boxes. The flood-tide was now running up with great rapidity, and she was therefore dropped through the passage, being steadied by kedges and hawsers, two of which they cut away, and left behind.

She now joined the boats opposite Fie-shu-kok; and as soon as the destruction of the junks and works had been completed, it was resolved to push on further up the river, in the hope of overtaking the two junks which had got away. Altogether twenty-one guns had been destroyed in these forts, and twenty-eight more in the junks. But the impression made through all the neighbouring country by these active measures, was far more important than the mere destruction of a certain number of guns.

At half-past three they arrived at the large trading town of Heong-Shan, about five or six miles further up. The river flows straight through the middle of it, so that they found themselves unexpectedly in the centre of an important inland town, in which, if it had been their object, it was easily within their power to inflict severe injury upon a dense and apparently harmless population. But it has been mentioned before that much suffering was spared by the assistance of Mr. Morrison and Mr. Thom. Capt. Elliot also exerted himself very much to prevent the peasantry or mere lookers-on from being implicated; and he sometimes allowed even the armed soldiers to escape, rather than run the risk of injuring the innocent. The object was to confine hostilities as much as possible to the servants and property of the Chinese government, leaving the people uninjured.

The good effect of this policy was soon very evident. The inhabitants of this populous town appeared to regard with very little apprehension the approach of the steamer, and seemed more moved by curiosity and astonishment at her structure and locomotive power, than alarmed by any dread of her hostile intentions. The people crowded upon the banks of the river; the house-tops and the surrounding hills were covered with curious gazers, wondering what strange event would happen next. Hundreds of trading junks and boats of various kinds, most of them the sole home of their owners, were crowded together on both sides of the river throughout the town, and even above and below it. The river was narrow, and so densely were the boats packed, that the only passage left was directly in the centre of the stream, where, as if by mutual consent, a clear way had been left, only just broad enough to allow the steamer to pass, and requiring some dexterity to avoid running foul of the junks on either side.

It is very curious that so large a body of people should have looked on with so little apparent fear, particularly as they could well perceive that the steamer was in chase of two war-junks, which had preceded her, followed by several mandarin-boats, in which the mandarins or authorities of the town were endeavouring to make their escape, in the greatest consternation. One of the war-junks, finding that it was impossible to keep ahead of the steamer, which was rapidly gaining on her, was run ashore, some distance above the town, by her crew, who immediately jumped overboard, and had only just time to escape before the steamer came up. She was at once boarded, and then set fire to and blown up. She carried four guns. It was now observed that Chinese soldiers were gathering thickly upon the neighbouring hills, as if meditating a descent; but a shot or two thrown in amongst them served to put them to flight.

Just at this moment a masked battery, concealed by some trees, not more than a couple of hundred yards ahead, imprudently betrayed itself by opening its fire on the steamer; nor was this the only instance in which small forts or field-works would have been passed unseen and uninjured, had they not expended useless powder in making a smoke, which at once betrayed them. The fire was instantly returned, and served to cover the boats, which put off with the marines of the Samarang to storm the works. Eight guns were found in it, which, together with the buildings and magazine, were of course destroyed. This place was called Sheongchap, and was situated just below a point where the river divides, or rather where two branches unite.

It being now past six, P.M., it was thought proper to anchor for the night, after a very severe day's work for all hands since three in the morning. The Nemesis, having proceeded a little distance above Sheongchap, found herself getting into very shallow water, and therefore anchored for the night. The channel was so narrow that it was impossible to turn the vessel round, scarcely even by forcing her bows hard aground over the banks. She was anchored head and stern, and guard-boats were placed round her all night, for fear of any attempt at surprise.

On the following morning, the 14th, the Nemesis again pursued her course up what appeared to be the principal branch, but which became so shallow that it was doubtful how far she would be able to proceed; she had seldom more than six feet water, and in many places only five, so that she was frequently forced through the mud itself. There was not room to turn her fairly round, and the only mode in which she could be managed was by sometimes driving her bows as far as possible into the river's bank, sometimes her stern; while at other times it was hard to say whether she was proceeding over a flooded paddy-field, or in the channel of a water-course. This gave occasion to a facetious remark, in which sailors sometimes delight, that this "would be a new way of going overland to England."

After proceeding only three or four miles, a village came in sight, with a fort adjoining, and rather above it. This was afterwards found to be named Kong-How. Nearly opposite the fort the river was again found to be staked across, much more strongly than it was at Houchong; and it was in a similar manner commanded by the guns of the fort. The Nemesis, as soon as she came within good range, opened her fire warmly upon the fort, which the Chinese returned. The boats pushed off as usual; but the moment the marines and a party of seamen began to land, the Chinese abandoned the fort in confusion.

On the upper side of the fort, sand-bags were found recently piled up against the walls, as if the Chinese had expected the attack to be made on that side; which shews that they anticipated that an attempt would be made to explore these passages, but that they rather looked for it from the side of Tycocktow than from Macao. The works, with their nine guns and magazine, were afterwards all blown up at once.

The principal obstacle now remaining to be got rid of was one more troublesome than all the forts together, or any impediment yet met with. The line of piles which had been driven in across the river was not less than twenty feet wide, or rather it was a double line, filled up between the two with large sunken junks laden with stones. Great labour and perseverance were required to get up sufficient of these piles to clear a passage broad enough for the steamer to pass. This was only accomplished after four hours hard work, in which, oddly enough, the Chinese peasantry bore an active part, voluntarily coming forward to assist, and even venturing to come on board the steamer itself. This was, undoubtedly, one of the good results of not having inflicted any injury upon the country people or inhabitants of the villages through which the little expedition had passed.⁴⁰

A little above this obstruction a large chop-house or mandarin-station came into view, with a mandarin-barge lying just off it. A shot fired into the principal building soon drove out all the soldiers who had taken refuge in it – probably the mandarin's guard. The boats were now sent ashore, and soon destroyed the whole of the buildings, together with the mandarin-boat, with a gun and two ginjals. It was not possible for the steamer to tow any of the boats or junks away with her, because she was continually touching the ground, and frequently forcing herself through the mud, so that it would have been impossible to have got on at all if she had been impeded by any other encumbrance; they were therefore all destroyed.

As soon as the boats had all returned from their service on shore, the steamer pushed on again, and the water began to deepen; so that at half-past six she was able to come to anchor for the night in five fathoms water. From this point the high rock of Lankeet, in the Canton river, could be easily recognised, bearing about due east, and not very far distant.

On the morning of the 15th, having proceeded about three miles further on, a large village, called Tamchow, came into view, on the left bank of the river. Here a party of matchlockmen were observed crouching along the banks of the river, endeavouring to pass unnoticed. A few rounds of musketry at once dispersed them.

Again the steamer pursued her course, without finding anything particularly worthy of notice for a couple of hours, when she came to a large town on the left bank of the river, (it is remarkable that nearly all their towns and villages were on that side,) which was called Tsenei, just above a place called Kwam, close to which two or three dismantled and abandoned forts had been passed. Here the chop or custom-house, which was also a sort of military station, by the water-side, was set on fire and destroyed. A large war-junk, also, (probably the one which had before escaped,) which mounted seven guns, was captured and blown up, the crew having abandoned it on the approach of the "devil-ship."

Above this point the channel again became very narrow and shallow. The Chinese pilots now declared that it would be impossible for the steamer to proceed much higher up, as the passage was only deep enough for boats. Having nearly reached a small place, called Weichung, the Nemesis was at length compelled to desist from the attempt to pursue her course further in that direction, particularly as it was now ebb-tide. Several other channels could be seen on both sides, and one in particular appeared to lead to the eastward, towards the main branch of the Canton river, below Whampoa. Accordingly, it was resolved to follow this latter branch, with a view to join the advanced squadron, if possible.

In this short passage a considerable walled town was passed, at the distance of less than half a mile, with which the communication was kept up by means of a canal, which could be seen to enter the town under a large arch, or bridge. Upon this a great number of people were collected, to watch the progress of the steamer. The country around it was extremely well cultivated, and the peasants were busy at their agricultural operations, without any apparent fear. Shortly afterwards the Nemesis found herself entering the main river, at a very short distance below the pagoda at the Second Bar, and proceeded without delay to join the light squadron which was at anchor in Whampoa Reach, and received the congratulations of all parties. Captain Elliot and suite then left the Nemesis, and proceeded on board Captain Herbert's ship, the Calliope.

Thus ended this singular and highly successful expedition of three days up the Broadway passage, during which so much had been done towards disabling and annoying the enemy by the steamer, assisted by the boats before mentioned, and the marines of the Samarang, all under the direction of Captain Scott. This exploit would have gratified most men, even as the work of a single vessel, for a whole campaign. It need hardly be added, that Captain Scott was the first to acknowledge and to bring to public notice the value of the services of the Nemesis on this occasion; and Captain Elliot, who was an eye-witness of all these operations, bore similar testimony to their importance. They were also mentioned in flattering terms by the commodore in his public despatch. It must not be omitted that all the officers of the vessel nobly and energetically bore their share in the labours and dangers of the undertaking; and those who belonged to the boats of the Samarang and the Atalanta were equally conspicuous, and had opportunities of distinguishing themselves on shore.⁴¹