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

During the first half of the month of May, it rained incessantly, and they were very imperfectly protected from its effects. In fact, the rain always beat through their roof, and when it was heavy, or long continued, it flooded their den: the least bit of dry plank, or a partially sheltered corner, was matter of envy and contention; and, as may be supposed, they not only suffered from bad food, confinement, vermin, and ill-health, but were incessantly tormented with the most venomous mosquitoes, producing inflammation and sores. In this condition they were kept in the most harassing state of suspense; one day being assured that they would be sent away in a month; another, that they had no chance of liberty for six months; and the very next, perhaps, that their heads would soon be taken off.

Fortunately, the talent for drawing possessed by Mr. Gully and Captain Denham, served to gain for them friends and pacify enemies.

In this way, month after month continued to drag its slow length along. At the end of about three months' close confinement, a slight change for the better took place; they were moved into rather better quarters, where they were only three together, so that they had more room to breathe; they were also allowed water to wash themselves, and a little money was given to them. It was thought that this arose in consequence of information received by the authorities that there was some chance of an attack being made upon this island, by our forces at Amoy, with a view to liberate the prisoners. It was now ascertained, also, that the fisherman who had promised to carry over the letter to Amoy, two months before, had succeeded in his attempt, and an answer had been brought back by him, which held out the prospect of speedy release. Another letter was also sent off to Amoy; so that now at length their hopes again revived. But sickness had already begun its work, and their minds were so depressed that even the boldest, who tried to bear up bravely to the last, recorded his feelings that "One miserable day passed after another, with nothing to help them to break in upon the wretchedness of their existence; no exercise being permitted, and nothing, in fact, to relieve the dreadful monotony of such prison life." And what was the little improvement in their lot, which resulted from their removal into other cells? "We now, (three of us,") said he, "have five planks with a mat upon them to sleep on, and glad we are to get into this new place, which is the Executioners Den, and which, until we had ourselves cleaned it, could never have been cleaned since it was built." On other occasions it is noted, "we scalded our clothes this morning, to kill the vermin."

It was thought that the day they were removed into this new berth must have been the Emperor's birthday, or some day of rejoicing, for they had at the same time a dinner of roast pork, with sweet cakes, and each man received one mace, or fivepence in money. But this was too good to last – a mere freak of fortune! Generally speaking, their food was so bad, that a great part of it was thrown away, and it was only by quarrelling with the jailers, and threatening to complain to the high mandarin, that they could succeed in procuring any eatable food at all.

In the month of June, several shocks of an earthquake were felt, followed by terrific storms of thunder and lightning. It is due to the better class of mandarins to remark, that when complaints were made to them, they procured some temporary improvement for the prisoners.

On the 4th of July, it was made known that honours and rewards had been largely conferred upon the mandarins, for having contrived to make so many prisoners. This was in answer to their false accounts of the business to the Emperor, in which they said that they had attacked and destroyed two English men-of-war which came prying into the coast, and had taken all the people prisoners, enumerating the number of black, and red, and white barbarians, and the quantity of barbarian guns.

On the 10th of July, Mr. Gully, who had necessarily been ailing for some time, became seriously ill with dysentery, brought on in a great measure by eating large quantities of mangoes. The Chinese recommended him two cures for it; one was, to eat the skins of the mangoes alone; the other, to eat opium. The former he found to have a good effect, at least so far that his complaint improved under the treatment; the latter he was able to purchase at a moderate price from the visitors, who brought it on purpose for him; it was different from the extract which is used for smoking, and apparently much less powerful.

The same mandarin who had given them a treat upon the Emperor's birthday all along shewed more interest in their condition than any of the others; and one day, in the hope of inducing him to give them some kind of indulgence, they told him that it was the birthday of the Queen of England's eldest child, and that they all entertained so strong a feeling of "filial obedience" and affection towards their queen, that they wished to celebrate the event. To their great surprise and delight, the mandarin's heart was moved by this appeal, and he gave each of them money; to some five mace, to others three, (equal to about two shillings,) and then sent them a good dinner, and made himself quite agreeable; and, of course, all the inferior officers, including the jailers, took their tone for the day from their superior. On another occasion, the lascars were all brought up before the chief mandarin, having had new clothes first given to them, and he himself then presented each of them with a fan!

All these circumstances naturally tended to revive their hopes, and little did they dream of the horrible catastrophe which was soon to take place. Towards the end of July they were informed, that in the course of half a moon more an answer would be received from Pekin, containing the Emperor's commands as to what was to be done with the prisoners; and they were warned that, if his majesty ordered that they should be decapitated, it would immediately be carried into effect. From this it would seem that the authorities fully anticipated that the representations which they had made would induce the Emperor to issue such a cruel command; but the prisoners themselves still retained sufficient hope to induce them to disbelieve the probability of such a tragedy. With the exception of Captain Denham (whose life was saved) and the Chinese carpenter, it does not appear that any of them were tortured; but the dreadful cries of some of the Chinese prisoners could be distinctly heard; and two poor fellows were seen passing by with their hands blackened, having been condemned to have them chopped off.

One remark is worth recording – namely, that the mandarins, from the highest to the lowest, as well as all their servants and attendants, were in the constant habit of smoking opium. Tobacco was also in general use, as elsewhere in China, and was extensively cultivated on the island. There was also noticed (what should have been mentioned before) a curious vine-like plant, grown upon trellis-work, and frequently observed to be carefully covered up with mats; what it was no one knew, but more care and attention seemed to be bestowed upon it than upon anything else which was seen upon the island.

The final tragedy is believed to have taken place upon the 12th or 13th of August, and is too horrible to dwell upon. They were beheaded with the sword.

It is difficult to account for their having reserved nine individuals from the general massacre. Of these, six were Europeans or Americans, and three natives of India. It is supposed that they were retained in order to be sent to Pekin, to be there cut in pieces. Fortunately, the treaty of peace saved their lives, and they were at length conveyed to Amoy, and there met with all the attention they so much needed from their own countrymen.

CHAPTER XXVIII

On leaving the bay of Amoy, on the 5th of September, the appointed places for the rendezvous of the fleet of men-of-war and transports, in case of separation, were successively the so-called Buffalo's Nose, at the entrance of the Chusan group; Keeto Point, a promontory running out from the mainland towards Chusan; and, lastly, the bay or harbour of Tinghai, the capital of Chusan. The progress of the squadron was slow for some days, owing to light winds and a heavy swell; and the Nemesis, being very light in the water, and having, moreover, a leak in her bottom, (after the accident at Amoy,) was kept pretty close in shore, to avoid the swell outside, but seldom entirely lost sight of the fleet. A considerable quantity of floating wood was picked up alongshore, which was very acceptable for fuel, of which she had only a very small supply remaining on board.

On the 13th, eight days after leaving Amoy, the north-east monsoon set in rather suddenly, and somewhat earlier than usual, with heavy squalls and a thick fog, which caused the unavoidable separation of the squadron. At the commencement of this change of weather, the Nemesis lost her fore-top-mast and top-gallant-mast, but continued her course leisurely alongshore until the following day, when she came to anchor under a small island at the mouth of the river Taitchou, about thirty-five miles from Sheipoo, and between fifty and sixty from the Buffalo's Nose.

On the 16th, Capt. Hall landed upon the island above mentioned, under which he had taken shelter, with a party of men, to look for wood, which was much needed for fuel, and also for refreshments for the crew, and then took the opportunity of ascending a high hill, to take a survey of the neighbouring country. The haze cleared off sufficiently to enable him to discover the entrance to an extensive harbour, which proved to be that of Sheipoo, where there is a considerable trading town. He thought that he could also make out something like the appearance of batteries or field-works at the entrance.

The Nemesis now stood in for the entrance of the harbour, which was very narrow, but fortunately, she soon fell in with a fishing-boat, in which were several fishermen busy about their nets, one of whom was made to come on board and pilot the vessel into the harbour; and he was promised ten dollars for his services if he took her in without any accident; but, if she touched ground, he was threatened to be immediately run up to the yard-arm. The poor fellow had never even seen a steamer or devil-ship before, and was not a little alarmed. But he perfectly understood the conditions, and gradually recovered his self-possession.

The tide swept so rapidly into the narrow entrance of the harbour, that the Nemesis was fairly carried through the passage before the two small field-works, which were intended to protect it, could bring a single gun to bear upon the vessel; but the Chinese were seen running down from their little encampment above, to man the guns.

At the bottom of the harbour or basin, the town now came into full view, with a large number of trading-junks of every kind, moored in lines close to each other on one side of the town; while on the other, or the left, as you looked towards it, there was a small fort, which appeared to have been recently repaired and strengthened, but, like most other Chinese forts, was left almost unprotected in the rear.

Upon a rising ground behind the fort, a small body of troops, about five or six hundred in number, were drawn up, so that the Chinese were evidently prepared for defence. The Nemesis immediately ran in towards the fort, and took up a flanking position, anchoring by the stern between it and the town, so as to bring her guns to bear with the greatest advantage, without exposing herself to the direct fire of the fort. Shot, shell, and canister, were now poured in, and the fort was soon silenced. But the troops could now be seen descending from the hill behind, and bringing heavy ginjals with them, mounted on triangular stands, as if they intended to oppose a landing. However, a few discharges of grape-shot threw them into great disorder, killing many of them; Capt. Hall then landed, at the head of all the men who could be spared from the ship, accompanied by Mr. Gully, and took possession of the fort, the Chinese flying before them; four guns, two brass and two iron ones, were destroyed in the fort, the temporary sheds and buildings were set on fire, and water was poured into the magazine to destroy the powder.

The whole party having now returned on board, boats were sent out, manned and armed, to search for fuel, and also to attempt to capture three large war-junks, which had been seen on the way up the harbour. All the trading-junks were left unmolested; but wood for fuel was so much needed on board, that several of the wood-junks were soon picked out, well filled with the necessary article. The opportunity was extremely fortunate, and in a short time, no less than seven boat-loads of excellent wood were obtained, amounting in all to about seventy tons. Much labour was required to bring off so large a quantity, and to stow it away expeditiously; nevertheless, during this operation, one of the war-junks was captured, (the crew having deserted her,) and, as soon as she was towed clear of the town and shipping, so as not to cause any unnecessary damage, she was set on fire in the middle of the harbour, and shortly blew up. Two guns, together with a quantity of ginjals, matchlocks, swords, &c., were destroyed in her.

But the day's work was not finished yet. About two o'clock the cutters were sent away, manned and armed, under Mr. Galbraith, to destroy the other two war-junks which had been seen in the morning. One of them blew up close in shore, but the other was towed out into the middle of the harbour, before she was set on fire. One was found to mount fourteen guns, and contained a large quantity of powder, with numerous warlike implements of various kinds.

The whole of this day's work was exceedingly interesting. The hills which surrounded the harbour were covered with people, who crowded out of the town, and from all the neighbouring villages, to witness the exploits of the "devil-ship," the rapidity of whose movements, the precision of her fire, and the volumes of smoke and steam which issued from her, seemed to awaken feelings of awe and mute astonishment, even more than fear. There they stood for hours, apparently unconcerned spectators of passing events; and as they saw the destruction of the war-junks, while the merchant-junks remained uninjured, they appeared satisfied that no mischief was threatened against the unarmed inhabitants so long as they did not interfere. The neighbourhood of the town along the shore was laid out in very neatly cultivated gardens, and everything bore indications of a thriving and well-ordered community.

The day was now far advanced, and it only remained to capture the two forts or field-works upon the island, just within the mouth of the harbour. A shot or two had previously been fired at them in the course of the morning, but it was now determined to take possession of them, and destroy the works. On nearing them, a few shells and rockets were discharged into them, and the boats then put off, manned and armed, under Capt. Hall. The Chinese had only just abandoned them. The two field-works were very near each other, and were found to mount nine guns, which were spiked, their carriages destroyed, and the tents of the soldiers were set on fire.

The poor Chinese fisherman who had acted as pilot was of course liberated as soon as the harbour was cleared, and he appeared no less astonished than overjoyed when the promised ten dollars were counted out into his hands.

On the following day, the 18th, the Nemesis reached the appointed rendezvous at Buffalo's Nose, and found the Sesostris was the only vessel which had preceded her, the rest of the fleet having been kept back by contrary winds and hazy weather. When we remember what a large number of hired transports and store-ships passed up and down along the coast of China from this time to the close of the war, many of which had frequently a great part of their crew sick, we cannot but be surprised⁵⁹ that so few accidents happened. The inaccuracy of the surveys of the coast which had been then made; the wrong position on the charts of most of the numerous islands which stand out as bulwarks at very uncertain distances from the shore; the strength and unknown irregularities of the currents, and the heavy squalls which frequently burst suddenly over that part of China, rendered the navigation precarious, and frequently caused the utmost anxiety. Occasionally the captains found themselves inside of islands when they believed that they were some distance outside; and I well remember, on one occasion, making the voyage up to Chusan in a fast-sailing brig-of-war, which just weathered a long rocky island, called the Alligator, and at noon discovered it to have been laid down upon the chart full twenty miles wrong in its latitude – an error which can scarcely be accounted for.

The strength of the currents among the Chusan islands, and the continued boisterous weather, made it difficult to collect all the transports at the appointed rendezvous. The admiral did not get up until the 21st; and the general being on board a large transport which had been carried far down to leeward, did not join until the evening of the 25th.

In the meantime, the Nemesis had gone to join the Phlegethon at Keeto Point, where the sad tale was learned of one of the officers of the Lyra, (an opium vessel,) Mr. Wainwright, and one of the crew having been enticed on shore, under the pretence of selling them stock, and of their having been then overpowered and cruelly murdered. This event occurred very near the village where Captain Stead had been murdered some months before. Lieutenant M'Cleverty soon afterwards landed with his crew, accompanied by Lieutenant Crawford and the commanders of the Lyra and Ann, and soon put to flight a party of Chinese soldiers, burnt their barracks, and then destroyed a great part of the village.

As soon as the Nemesis arrived, no time was lost in landing to examine the adjacent country, which was very picturesque and beautifully cultivated. But the recollection of the cruel fate of the poor fellows who had been so recently captured, and, as was believed, barbarously put to death there, with the sight of the very spots where the sad occurrences took place, awakened feelings of bitterness, and a wish for retaliation which it was impossible to suppress. In a very short time, everything that remained undestroyed was set on fire, including various buildings, stacks of rice and grass, &c.; and as darkness set in, the whole valley appeared lighted up with the blaze of the spreading fires.

At length all the transports were assembled, according to a preconcerted arrangement, just off the little island called "Just in the Way;" as it was the original plan laid down by the general and the admiral to occupy Ningpo, after having first captured the heights of Chinhae, which command the entrance of the Tahea river, which leads up to Ningpo. Chusan was to have been retaken afterwards. The boisterous state of the weather, however, prevented the ships from approaching near enough to Chinhae to carry out this part of the plan; and it was therefore determined to make an immediate reconnoissance of the harbour and defences of Chusan, or rather of its capital town, Tinghai; this was accordingly carried into execution on the following day, the 26th of September.

The admiral and general, together with the plenipotentiary and suite, embarked early in the morning on board the Phlegethon, the Nemesis being ordered to accompany them. As they approached Chusan, the alarm was given by the Chinese from numerous watch-towers, or rather signal stations erected upon the hills, or upon the tops of the several islands which lie in the immediate neighbourhood. Great changes had evidently taken place since our forces left Chusan, a few months before; and preparations of an extensive kind had been rapidly made for the defence of the place. As the steamers entered the principal harbour by its western side, between the so-called Tea Island and Guard Island, the Chinese opened a few guns at them, but at too great a distance to do any damage; and as there was no wish to attack them in a desultory manner, the steamers were ordered to keep at a good distance, but to direct their movements so as to get a complete view of all the Chinese positions.

The rapidity of the tides, in the different channels leading into the harbour, is so great that large vessels sometimes become perfectly unmanageable; and even powerful steamers found it difficult to stem the current.

Nothing can be more striking or picturesque than the views on every side, as you approach Chusan; you are here particularly struck with the garden-like aspect of every spot of ground you see. The country is hilly on all sides, but every hill is cultivated with extreme care, up to its very summit. It is divided into small ridges, or beds, in which various productions are raised, side by side, giving the greatest possible variety to the aspect of the country, and pointing out the vast labour and perseverance with which the tillage must be conducted. It is entirely spade husbandry, and ought rather to be called horticulture.

In the low valleys, and little sheltered nooks, you trace villages and farm-houses of neat appearance; and every bend of the coast, every little bit of low, swampy ground, is embanked and recovered from the sea by long, thick, stone walls, which are maintained with the utmost care. Behind these, the ground is laid out in rice-fields, irrigated with much ingenuity, and there is a general appearance of well-being and industry, which indicates a thriving and contented population. Generally speaking, the island of Chusan, with some of the smaller ones adjacent to it, may be considered as among the most picturesque and fertile spots in the north of China, as far as it was visited by the expedition, and the loss of this possession was deeply felt by the Emperor, of which, as he said, "he read the account with fast falling tears."⁶⁰

The great and rapidly completed preparations which were found to have been made for the protection of the island prove the importance with which it was regarded.

The city of Tinghai, the capital of Chusan, is a walled town, of the third class, about two miles in circumference, having four entrances, with double-arched gateways, situated at right angles to each other, according to the usual Chinese practice. The greater part of the town is surrounded by a wet ditch or canal, which adds very much to the natural unhealthiness caused by imperfect drainage, (owing to the lowness of its situation,) and by the swampy rice-grounds, which occupy the whole valley. Indeed, were it not protected by a raised bank running along the face of the harbour, from which the city is three-quarters of a mile distant, the whole of the valley in which the town is situated would frequently be flooded. It was upon this raised bank that the great line of sea battery, presently to be described, had been recently erected. A narrow causeway and a shallow canal connect the city with a village, at which is the principal landing-place of the harbour, situated at the foot of a steep, conical hill, which stands about the centre of the whole sea-face of the valley or plain, which may be about three miles broad. The latter is bounded by steep hills on either side, which stretch down close to the city, and command the western face of the walls.

The hill at the landing-place, which came to be known by the name of Pagoda Hill, is a very striking object from every point of the harbour. The appearance of a temple upon it, and several small detached buildings, which had been recently built as prisons for the English, whom the Chinese intended to capture, and the steepness of its summit, gave it an appearance of strength which it did not possess.

Directly opposite Pagoda Hill are two small islands, called Trumball and Macclesfield Islands, which bound the harbour on the eastern side, and upon the nearest of these a mortar-battery was afterwards erected, for the purpose of shelling Pagoda Hill.

To the southward the harbour is shut in by the highly cultivated and considerable island called Tea Island; while on its western side, at the extremity of the long sea-battery, lies the small island called Guard Island, only separated by a very narrow passage called the Devil's Gates, from the hills which overlook the valley.

As the two steamers now entered the inner harbour by the western passage, leaving Guard Island on the left, they immediately came in sight of a long line of continuous works, constructed of mud, along the top of the whole line of embankment before described. It is strange that such a mode of defence should have been adopted; for the flank of the battery was completely commanded by the range of steep hills running up to the very city itself. Upon the nearest hills, however, at the end of the battery, the Chinese had formed a fortified encampment, in which there appeared to be a large body of troops; and in a hollow at the foot of it there was an unfinished stone fort, intended to mount eight guns. But they had placed their principal reliance upon the line of mud-batteries fronting the harbour, and had run piles and stakes along the water's edge, to prevent our troops from landing from the boats, as if they imagined that a battery could only be attacked in front, and partly perhaps to prevent the washing away of the soil.

The works had been hastily and unscientifically constructed, and consisted principally of heaps of mud, of a conical shape, raised upon the embankment, with embrasures between them for the guns. These intervals were so large, measuring generally from ten to fifteen feet wide, that it would be impossible for the men to stand to their guns, although the mounds of earth between them were about twenty to twenty-five feet broad. The line of battery extended far beyond the Pagoda or Joss House Hill to the eastward, but was not completed at that end. There were altogether nearly two hundred and seventy embrasures, but only about eighty guns mounted, exclusive of those in a newly-built redoubt upon Pagoda Hill, amounting to twelve or fifteen. Of these twenty-five were afterwards found to be of brass and copper, and tolerably well cast. Several improvements had been made by the Chinese for the strengthening of Pagoda Hill, since our evacuation of the place. They had retained the wall which we had formerly carried round the top of it, with an arched gateway of stone on the side looking inland towards the town. Other improvements were in progress; so that, if the attack had been delayed for some weeks longer, the Chinese would have completed their defences, as well as their want of science would permit. As it was, the authorities claimed for themselves the honour of "having fought with heavy toil for six days and nights," reckoning the commencement of their so-called fighting from the day on which the steamers first approached to reconnoitre. Our forbearance was magnified into a great victory by them, for the moment at all events.

On the return of the steamers to the anchorage at Just in the Way, with the rest of the fleet, orders were given for the Nemesis to proceed on the following morning across to the Ningpo river, to reconnoitre Chinhae, &c. &c., but the weather proved so hazy and unsettled, that this purpose was deferred for the present. On the following day, the 28th, the weather still continued very squally, which prevented the fleet from moving; and the admiral, therefore, gave orders that the Nemesis should proceed again to Chusan, in company with the Modeste and Columbine, (the whole under the command of Captain Eyres, of the Modeste,) and they were directed to destroy the unfinished battery already mentioned, at the foot of the hills at the western extremity of the long line of works, and if possible set fire to the encampment on the hill above, or, at all events, disperse the Chinese troops. The object was evidently to prepare for the landing of our force at that point, in order to take the line of Chinese battery in reverse, and then march upon the town by the hills. The increasing severity of the weather obliged them all to come to anchor before they reached Chusan.

At daylight next morning, the Nemesis was sent in alone to reconnoitre, having Captain Eyres and Captain Clarke on board, and she soon discovered that the entrenched camp on the hill was stronger than had been supposed, and that the troops were collected in great strength at that point. As the steamer ran pretty close in shore, a smart but ineffective fire from large ginjals was opened on her from the entrenched camp; but the small stone fort below was quite silent, and, indeed, appeared to be unarmed. Having fired a few shot into the camp on the hill, in order to warn the Chinese of what they had to expect, the Nemesis speedily returned, to bring up the other two vessels; and these, as soon as they had come to anchor as close in shore as their draught of water would permit, immediately opened fire upon the entrenched camp above, and also at the fort below, in order to ascertain if it was occupied. As the Nemesis, however, could stand in much closer than the other vessels, Captain Eyres and Captain Clarke went on board her, and she was then carried within excellent range by Captain Hall, and immediately poured in shot, shell, rockets, and carcases, with such remarkable precision, as to have been made the subject of special mention in the admiral's despatch.

In a short time, the temporary buildings were demolished, and a breach was made in the wall of the fortified encampment. The proper moment for landing was now come; but as the orders were positive not to come to close quarters with the enemy, but merely to reconnoitre their position, and prevent them from adding to their works of defence, no attempt was made to carry the encampment. A small party of men were landed, but merely with a view to ascertain, beyond a doubt, that the small stone fort below was unarmed, and to make a hasty reconnoissance of the line of sea-battery, nearly a mile long, which connected this point with Pagoda Hill. A large body of Chinese troops were now seen forming under the brow of the hill in the rear, in order to make an attack upon the reconnoitring party; but a few well-directed shot from the steamer's guns immediately dispersed them.