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Page 7
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
noon we saw dense smoke all along the horizon ahead, and a heavy,
dull, rumbling sound reached us which soon made itself unmistakable
as the roar of artillery. We immediately guessed that the squadron
preceding us had been attacked by the enemy. Our escort, if I may so
term it, drew inshore, and I at first thought from their demeanour
that they were going to shirk entering the engagement. If such was
their intention, however, they changed it, and stood boldly on with
the torpedo-boats. We came to a stop, undecided how to proceed. The
other transport which had accompanied us was already in full retreat,
and Lin Wong, in whom discretion seemed very unduly proportioned to
valour, advised a similar course on our part. Chubb and I, however,
felt a strong desire to see the fight, and as we were not now under
the Chinese flag, there seemed no reason why we should not stay to
witness it, particularly as there was no need to let the _Columbia_
be seen.
We therefore, in spite of the unintelligible protests of Lin Wong,
cast anchor, having hoisted American colours, in one of the numerous
bays that indent the rocky coast of the Liaotung. Then Chubb and
myself, leaving Webster in charge, pulled off in a small boat towards
the scene of action. We kept close to the shore, and had about a mile
and a half to pull before we came abreast of the conflict. With its
deepening thunders bellowing in our deafened ears, we landed where the
ground was high, and ascending the most elevated point we could
perceive, had, with the aid of powerful glasses, a good view of the
scene. Terrific indeed it was--a wide, dense pall of smoke, which
there was little wind to carry off; through the haze the huge reeling
shapes of the fighting vessels, looming indistinctly, vomiting flame
like so many angry dragons, and several of them burning in addition,
having been set on fire by shells; and above all the appalling
concussion of the great guns, like the bursting of incessant
thunder-bolts.
By this time it was half-past two p.m., and the battle had been in
progress nearly three hours. Not having seen the commencement of the
affair, we were for some time unable to make head or tail of it. The
ships were mixed up and scattered, and we could perceive little sign
of plan or combination on either side. The first thing that began to
make itself evident as we watched was that the struggle was nearing
the coast. At first the nearest ships had been fully a league and a
half seaward; before we had occupied our position three-quarters of an
hour, many were well within two miles of the coast. So evident was
this that Chubb remarked that half of them would be ashore before the
fighting was over. This of course enabled us to distinguish the
vessels better, and we began to make out evident signs that John
Chinaman was getting much the worst of it. The Japanese vessels,
working in concert and keeping together, as we began to perceive,
seemed to sail round and round the enemy, pouring on them an incessant
cannonade, and excelling them in rapidity of fire and manoeuvring.
Some of the Chinese vessels appeared to me to present an appearance of
helplessness, and there was no indication of combination as amongst
their opponents. Not but what they blazed away valiantly enough, and
some of them had evidently given as good as they got, for more than
one Japanese vessel was in flames. Of course we could not identify
these ships, but we could make out that in numbers and armament they
were a fair match for the Chinese squadron. They appeared to pay
special attention to the two great Chinese ironclads, the _Chen-Yuen_
and _Ting-Yuen_, one of which at least had had her big guns, 37-ton
Krupps, silenced, though still contributing to the entertainment with
the quick-firing armament. Shortly after three, the _King-Yuen_, fired
by shells, began to burn fiercely; she showed through the smoke like a
mass of flame, and was evidently sinking, settling down on an even
keel. Three or four of the enemy circled round, plying her with shot
and shell. Finally, with a plunge she disappeared, and the immediate
darkening, as the smoke-clouds rolled in where the fierce blaze of
the burning wreck had been, was like the sudden drawing of a veil
over the spot where hundreds of men had met their simultaneous doom.
The cannonade slackened, but soon broke out again fiercely as ever.
About this time it seemed as if the Japanese flagship, _Matshushima_,
was about to share the same fate. She looked all in a blaze forward.
The fire, however, was got under, and later on she was taken out of
the action.
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