7.—The Celestial Stakes,—For all Beaten China Ponies at this meeting.—Entrance $3 with $30 from the fund. Weight for inches.—Once round and a distance.
8.—The Native Purse,—Value 15,000 cash, for all Ponies.—Indian and Chinese riders.—Post entries to the clerk of the course. No entrance fee.—Twice round.
The native horses are small, and the native saddles clumsy in the extreme, with their large iron-lever stirrups; and when John Chinaman, perched like a monkey on his shoulders, pushed his pony for the purse, the scene was exceedingly ludicrous. Fourteen cash make one cent, so the amount won in the last race was not so great as one would think.
On the 9th the commodore, with the customary manning of yards and salute, shifted his broad pennant from the Mississippi to the Susquehanna, and the British war-steamer “Hermes,” which had been to take the English plenipotentiary to the camp of the rebel chief below Nanking, returned with that functionary, whose mission had not proven propitious. Her officers stated that on their way up the river, near Cheang-foo, they were fired at by the rebel forces, and above Nanking by the imperial troops, but without injury. In an interview with them, the English assured them that their visit was both friendly and neutral. The rebels expressed regret at the firing, and said they would send down an order to prevent its recurrence. There being a difficulty between Thae-ping-wang and the English embassador, Sir S. George Bonham, as to the preliminaries of an interview, the “favorite of Heaven” not willing to make any concessions, the steamer returned, and was again fired at, one shot striking her hull, and another the main-yard and backstay. The “Hermes” let slip at them, knocking over some of their guns, and passed on. At a place called Silver island they stopped to take a look at the idols the rebels had broken, when one of their generals came down with an apologetic letter about the firing; it was a mistake. This general said himself, and those united with him in the struggle, were protestant Christians; that they did not tolerate opium, tobacco, or profanity, and worshipped not idols, but the one God. If they were successful they would open Nanking to all the world. At that time a great deal of aid to the labors of the missionaries in China, was predicted from their movements, which subsequent events have not realized.
The storeship “Supply,” of our squadron having gotten ashore at the mouth of the Yang-tse on the “North bank,” we were suddenly despatched to her assistance, but discovered she had gotten afloat before the Mississippi reached her anchorage. Below Woosung we took in tow a large teak-wood junk, manned by Chinamen, and laden with coal, which we were to take aboard after getting over the bar. On the 18th, while waiting for the Susquehanna, the tide changed, the old junk drifted into us threatening to crush our quarter-boats, so she was cast off. The ancient pig-tail mariner who presided over her crew and helm, though conscious of drifting each moment on a dangerous bank, would not cast his anchor, because, as it was afterward believed, he thought the “fanquis” of the American steamer were going to tow him out to sea; the consequence was, the wind and sea having increased, the junk struck, and the tide soon falling, she was hard and fast. Boats were sent to her assistance, but the breakers prevented her from being reached, before a late hour of the night, when the officer sent with the boats seeing it impossible to get her off, and seven feet water in her hold, she was abandoned, and the crew brought aboard of the Mississippi. A dismal looking set of Celestial scape-graces they were, and presented a motley group as they sat around their pig-tail Falconer encased in an antique fur cape, jabbering about their escape. Before our boats were able to reach them, they had illuminated their cabin altar, burned perfumed sticks and paper, and chin-chinned Joss with great vim, but their stupid little tutelar deity not having responded to their prayers for assistance, they became indignant, tossed Mr. Joss, altar, perfumed sticks, and all, overboard, and betook themselves to the more sensible thing of building a raft of bamboos and their huge mat sails, with which they proposed, when the sea went down, to risk their safety. They were sent back to Shanghae by the pilot-boat, having subjected Uncle Sam to some three thousand dollars’ loss, besides nearly all of the crew of the boat, that slept aboard of her, had the “junk fever,” and one afterward died from it.
The weather continuing very rough, the wind at times changing in five minutes to the opposite point of the compass, we laid under Saddle island for two or three days, when, with the “Supply” in tow, and in company with the now flag-ship, “Susquehanna,” on the 23d of May, we took our departure for the Loo-Choo islands.
CHAPTER VII.
The island of Great Loo-Choo appeared in sight after a run of three days from China. Previous to reaching there, the commodore issued a general order, requiring look-outs to be kept in port as at sea, during the stay of the squadron among the Japanese islands, and all movements of vessels or collections of boats were to be reported to the officer of the deck, and by him to his superiors; sentinels with loaded musket and six rounds of ball-cartridges; general and division exercises of great guns and small arms, with artillery and infantry drills, were to be prosecuted with increased diligence; and in navigating those seas attention was to be given more to precautionary measures to secure safety than to accomplish quick passages. Another general order stated that the countries which our ships were then about to visit were inhabited by a singular people, whose policy it had been, during more than two centuries, to decline all intercourse with strangers, to which end they had resorted to acts at variance and irreconcilable with the practices of civilized nations; that one of the duties enjoined upon the commodore, was to endeavor to overcome these prejudices by a course of friendly and conciliatory measures, and to strive to convince the Japanese that we went among them as friends, though assuring them of our determination never to submit to insult or wrong, or desist from claiming and securing those rights of hospitality justly due from one nation to another. In pursuance of these objects, every individual under his command should exercise the greatest prudence, forbearance, and discretion, in their intercourse with all with whom they came in contact. While distrustful of their apparent friendship and sincerity, and guarding against treachery, they would extend toward those oppressed and misgoverned people every kindness and protection, and would be careful not to molest, injure, or maltreat them in any manner; that it would be in time to resort to extreme measures when every friendly demonstration should have been exhausted. The commodore also stated that his instructions directed him to forbid in the most positive manner the acceptance of presents or supplies, unless those who proffered them, were prepared to receive adequate returns.
That we might be the better prepared, in addition to the great-gun exercises, drill, &c., when “friendly demonstrations should have been exhausted,” the commander-in-chief provided himself with an octagonal marquee made of red, white, and blue, caused ambulances to be made in the different ships, and directed that all boats of the squadron when prepared for distant or active service, were to be armed and provided, so as to be ready at a sudden call, with anchor and cable, two spare oars, masts, sails, and rigging, spun-yarn and seizing stuff, four battle-axes, a hand-saw for each division, one wood-axe, spikes, bag with hatchet, sheet-lead and nails, spy-glass for commanding officer of division, musket, pistol, and cutlass for each man, cartouch-box filled, screw-driver and nipple-wrench, cleaning rags and oil for each boat, a crow-bar, two blue-lights, two rockets, candles primed, and match-ropes in tin-box, lantern and materials for getting light, boat’s colors and signals, compass, bread, water and provisions, oar-muffles, bandages and laudanum for wounded, lead-lines, small cooking apparatus for largest boat, flash-pans, and awnings.