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Page 10
Such is, or was, Port Arthur, and when we remember how the Turks held
Plevna, an open town until the earthworks were hastily thrown up round
it, for months against all the force Russia could bring against it,
one cannot but feel amazement that a place so powerful should so
easily have fallen. Properly defended, it should be unreducible by
anything but famine. The coast defences are impregnable, and those
inland, though more susceptible of attack, should not fall before
anything short of overwhelming superiority of force. I should like to
have seen the 20,000 men whom the Japanese led against it take that
fortress in forty-eight hours from Osman Pacha's army. The Mikado's
generals, however, had formed a perfectly just estimate of their own
powers as against those of the enemy. In fact, a third of their force
could have taken Port Arthur from the ridiculous soldiers who held it.
The garrison in ordinary times amounts to 7000 men, but before the
Japanese attack it had been increased to nearly 20,000. This is
inadequate; 30,000 men at least should occupy the fortress in time of
war, and 40,000 would not in my opinion be too many.
The chief man in the place when I was there was the Taotai, or
governor, Kung, a brother, I have heard, of the Ambassador to England.
His office, I believe, is civil; the military chiefs were Generals
Tsung and Ju. The soldiers, who appeared to range about everywhere
pretty much at their own discretion, were an uncouth, rough lot, with
very little of the smartness of dress and bearing which we associate
with the military character. Everywhere was a most portentous display
of banners, as if the sacrilegious foot of a foeman could not be set
on any spot rendered sacred by the dragon flag. The town presented a
very neat and compact aspect, and struck me very favourably as
compared with Tientsin, the only other Chinese town I had been in, and
which seemed to me to be for the most part composed of narrow, dirty,
stinking lanes with one or two good streets in the centre. Port
Arthur, as might be expected of so recent a settlement, constructed to
a large extent under European supervision, is very much better built,
and altogether presents, or did present--for to a melancholy and
deplorable condition was it soon to be reduced--a thriving and busy
aspect.
At dusk I quitted the streets, with their bazaar-like shops and
strange illuminations, and made my way back to the port under escort
of my Chinese friend, who with Oriental politeness insisted on seeing
me safe back on board. A most unwelcome shock awaited me. No
_Columbia_ was to be found, and Lin Wong's inquiries elicited that
she had left nearly an hour before. We hunted up the pilot who had taken
her out, and learned from him that she had steamed away south-east
immediately; she could not, therefore, be awaiting me outside. What on
earth could be the meaning of it? I could only conjecture that by some
oversight the fact of my not being on board had been forgotten. She
possibly might return on its being discovered that I had been left
ashore, but in the meantime what was I to do? A suggestion by Lin
solved the difficulty. If the _Columbia_ did not put back, I could
obtain a passage to Tientsin on the vessel which was soon to convey
him to that port, where I could arrange my future proceedings
according to circumstances. This seeming the only feasible plan, I,
with many internal maledictions upon the stupid mischance, accompanied
the agent to an hotel or inn where he had already chartered quarters
for his short stay in the place. There are some half-dozen of these
establishments in Port Arthur. Three or four of them are wretched
hovels, which existed in the squalid infancy of the town; the newer
ones are larger and fairly commodious and comfortable. The one we
occupied was near one of the gates of the approaches to the
north-eastern forts. Mine host was a square, thick-set Celestial named
Sen. Port Arthur being well accustomed to "foreign devils," some of
the servants had been engaged for their knowledge of that curious
dialect "pidgin English," which in the far East is pretty much what
Lingua Franca is in the Levant. With a little practice it is easily
comprehended, although, under the chaperonage of Lin, my difficulties
were largely reduced. Fortunately I had a considerable sum of American
money in my pockets, and with Lin's aid was able to negotiate it at
one of the banks, at a pretty smart loss, I may say. Otherwise I was
fairly content and comfortable, and had no human want but whisky.
CHAPTER IV
Nothing of interest occurred during the day and a half that elapsed
before the departure of the despatch-boat. Punctual enough as to time
she steamed out of the harbour under cover of night, with the Chinese
agent and myself on board. Misfortunes are well known never to come
singly, and so it was in my case. The morning after our departure was
very foggy, and towards noon we had to slow down to less than half
speed. Suddenly, without a moment's warning, a Japanese gunboat loomed
through the dun vapour close on the port bow. With their ridiculous
fondness for showing it on all occasions, in season and out, the
Celestials had their flag flaunting on a staff in the stern. The
Japanese on the gunboat perceived it, for without troubling to hail
she opened on us with the machine-guns in her tops. A storm of balls
swept the deck, and half of those upon it fell dead or wounded. One of
the bullets cut off the peak of my cap with mechanical neatness,
leaving the rest of the article on my head, though turned quite
round, back to front. Before anything could be done to increase our
speed, a quick-firing gun plumped several heavy shot through us. The
machinery was damaged, we swung round helplessly, and were evidently
fast sinking. We had two boats of no great size; one of them was
knocked to splinters by the shot; the other we lowered as fast as we
could. As many as it would hold got into it, the others jumped into
the water, and within half a minute afterwards our vessel went down,
and the woe-begone survivors of the sudden catastrophe found
themselves prisoners on the deck of her destroyer.
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