“One day, when a great many soldiers were out, I saw more of the contest than was pleasant. Having got into the line of fire, I was forced to take shelter behind a grave, the bullets striking the grave from each side every second. Why they came my way it was difficult to discover, for they ought to have passed on the other side of a creek, about twenty yards distant, to the people they were intended for; but to see the dodging of the soldiers, then of the rebels, each trying to evade the other, was almost amusing.
“One fellow, ready primed and loaded, would rush up the side of a grave-hillock, drop his matchlock over the top, and, without taking aim, blaze away. There is no ramrod required for the shot they use; the bullet, or bar of iron, is merely dropped in loose upon the powder.
“There was a fine scene on an occasion when the Shanghai rebels made a sortie. One of the men was cut off by an imperial skirmisher, who had his piece loaded. The rebel had no time to charge his; so he ran round and round a grave, which was high enough to keep his enemy from shooting him when on the opposite side. Hare hunting was nothing to it. Red-cap described hosts of circles, and the royalist was fast getting blown, when the gods took pity on his wind, for, by some unlucky chance, the rebel tripped and fell. The soldier was at him in a moment, and, to make sure of his prize, put the muzzle of his matchlock close to Red-cap’s head, fired, and took to his heels as fast as he could go. It is difficult to say who was most astonished, when Mr. Red-cap did exactly the same! The bullet that dropped down readily on the powder fell out as easily when the barrel was depressed. The rebel got off with a good singeing of his long hair.”
The Tartars, however, are very different men in battle, as was frequently proved during our wars in China; and though they were comparatively ignorant of the art of war, and were furnished with weapons that were mere toys in comparison with the arms to which they were opposed, they showed themselves to be really formidable antagonists. As irregular cavalry, they displayed an amount of dash and courage which would make them most valuable allies, could they be trained by European officers. They boldly charged in the face of field-batteries of Armstrong guns, and, though the shells burst among them with murderous precision, they came on in the most gallant manner.
Indeed, a British officer, who was opposed to them, said that scarcely any regular cavalry would have advanced in the face of such a fire, delivered from fifteen breech-loading guns. Of course, when they did close, the superior discipline of their opponents prevailed against them, and the Sikh cavalry of Probyn and Fane at once routed their undisciplined ranks. But, had they been drilled and commanded by such men as those who led the Sikh cavalry against them, the issue of the fight might have been very different.
They served their guns with dauntless courage, and allowed themselves to be cut to pieces by the Armstrong shell rather than leave them. A single man would sometimes be seen working a gun by himself after his comrades had been killed, and he expected the same fate every moment; and it therefore happened, that of the slain in that war by far the greatest number were Tartars. They are better horsemen than the Chinese, and both themselves and their steeds are hardy, active, and capable of existing on very little food. One of their peculiarities is the method in which they carry the sword. Instead of hanging it to the waist, and letting it bang against the horse’s side, they pass it under the saddle-flap, where it is held tight by the pressure of the leg. They thus avoid the jingle and swing of the European sabre, and moreover are free from the drag of a heavy weapon upon the waist of the rider.
Of the courage displayed by the Tartars under adverse circumstances, a curious instance is given by Mr. M’Ghee. After one of the charges of Probyn’s horse, the Tartar cavalry, in spite of their skill in evading the thrust of a lance or the stroke of a sword, had suffered severe loss, and many were stretched on the ground. Among them was the body of a very powerful man, who had carried a handsome lance. As Mr. M’Ghee found himself without arms, in a rather dangerous position, he thought he would arm himself with the lance, and began to dismount.
As he took his foot from the stirrup, the supposed dead man sprang to his feet, lance in hand, and showed fight. An officer just then rode to the rescue with his revolver, and shot the Tartar in the back. The man fell, but rose again, charged the officer with his lance, unhorsed him, and made off, but was killed by a lance thrust from a Sikh horseman. The fact was, his horse had been killed in battle, and he meant to feign death until he could find an opportunity of slipping away. Even the wounded men, knowing nothing of the amenities of civilized war, and expecting no quarter, used to fire at the enemy when they lay writhing with pain on the ground.
These Tartar soldiers are commanded by a general belonging to their own people, and his immediate subordinate is almost invariably a Tartar also. The office of Tartar general is one of great importance, because, as the Emperor is always of a Tartar family, it is thought that the safety of his person and dynasty ought to be confided not to a Chinese, but to a Tartar. The lieutenant-general, who serves under him, though his post is perhaps the least lucrative in the Imperial household, is glad to hold the appointment, because he is usually selected to succeed to the generalship.
The chief weapons of these soldiers are the bow and the spear, the sword and fire-arms playing a comparatively subordinate part. Being good riders, they naturally take to the spear, the true weapon of a horseman, and are drilled in the various modes of delivering a thrust, and of avoiding one, the latter feat being performed with a dexterity almost equalling that of a Camanchee Indian. Although they carry fire-arms with them, they really place little dependence on the heavy, clumsy weapons which they use, that require two men to fire them, and generally knock down the firer by the recoil. Nor do they care very much for the improved fire-arms of Europeans, for, as one warrior said, guns get out of order, spears and swords do not.