The whole squadron soon after sailed, and proceeded to the mouth of the Canton River, where they astonished the Celestials by blowing their forts to pieces. The larger ships remained at the mouth of the river, while the smaller vessels, we among them, with a couple of steamers, were sent higher up. The Chinese did their best, of course, to bamboozle the diplomatists. However, those gentlemen saw enough to make them advise all the foreign merchants living at Canton to leave the place. They heard also that the Chinese had laid plans to destroy the English ships, and that a large army was also collecting, to meet our troops, should they land. We, with several other small men-of-war, corvettes, and brigs, lay high up the river. Generally speaking, the river is crowded with boats of every possible shape and fashion, moving up and down the stream. A vast number of people live in these boats, and merely go on shore occasionally to buy food, or to sell their fish or ducks, or the articles they may have brought from other places. At this time, however, not a boat was to be seen; they had all gone up the creeks, out of the way of the barbarians. At length the sun set gloomily, the sky was overcast, and the darkness increased, till it was difficult to see far beyond the bowsprit end. Our people were all ordered to remain on deck. The guns were loaded, and each man was armed. The boats were cleared, ready to be lowered as they hung at the davits, at a moment’s notice.
“Well, Jack, what do you think of it?” said Mr Plumb, who came forward where I was standing.
“I suppose something or other is going to happen,” I answered, “but I don’t know what.”
“Why, I will tell you,” he said; “the Chinese think they are going to catch a weasel asleep, but they are mistaken. They will find that they have only stirred up the British Lion with a long pole, and that he will not only roar, but make a spring which will astonish them. I have been anxious to have something to do, and I hope we are going to find it at last.”
Scarcely had he spoken, when the sentry from a vessel ahead of us hailed. He got no answer, it seemed, for he immediately fired. Directly he had done so, in the midst of the darkness, as it were, a bright light burst forth, blazing away furiously, and revealing a number of dark objects floating on the water. Instantly the drum sounded, beating to quarters. The Chinese had commenced their plan for destroying the English ships by fire-rafts. The boats of the squadron were seen immediately, pulling up the river, when, grappling the rafts, they towed them away clear of the ships. Some went on shore on one bank, some on the other. Some drifted down towards a village, the houses of which they immediately set on fire.
Dicky Plumb had jumped into one of the boats, and I, without orders, followed him. We steered away towards one of the rafts which seemed to be approaching the Fawn. Just as we got hold of it, it burst into flames; but, in spite of the heat, we got it clear of the vessel, and did not leave it till it was close in with the shore. And now, on all sides, were blazing up vast fires, some drifting about the river, others on shore where the rafts had struck; their light exhibiting the panic-stricken Chinese who had had charge of them, some trying to escape towards the shore, others swimming down the stream, those who could not swim standing on the deck till driven overboard by the heat; all the time a sharp fire being kept up at them by our marines, who, naturally, under such circumstances, showed them but little mercy. As the first body of fire-rafts had been towed clear, guns opened on us from the shore, the Chinese having erected several new batteries for that purpose. Now began the roar of artillery, though, in consequence of the darkness, the Chinese, not being able to distinguish the vessels, took but bad aim. We also could only find out the whereabouts of their batteries by the light of their guns, and the reflection of the fire from the burning houses on the shore. These showed us numerous Tartar officers hurrying about, and endeavouring to rally and encourage their men to fight the guns. We managed, as did other vessels, to escape damage, by alternately veering out cable and shortening it again, so as considerably to alter our position, and thus to deceive the Chinese gunners.
This sort of work continued till daylight. At length, when the sun rose in an unclouded sky, it exhibited to our sight a scene of havoc and destruction on either side. On the banks were the wrecks of the still burning fire-vessels; the batteries on shore knocked to pieces by our shot; the suburbs of the town, and several of the villages, in flames; while, here and there, a spar knocked away on board the vessels, or some other trifling damage, showed how we had been employed during the night. One of our active little steamers, soon after daylight, was some distance ahead, when a large junk made her appearance from round a point, and began firing away. The steamer very quickly put the junk to flight, when, at a signal made, the boats of the squadron were ordered to proceed after her. In a few minutes, some twenty men-of-war’s boats were pulling away, as hard as the crews could lay their backs to the oars. I, as before, jumped into Dicky Plumb’s boat, and she was away before I was discovered. No sooner had we rounded the point I have spoken of, than a whole fleet of war junks and boats of all sorts were found huddled together at no great distance. Instantly, we dashed at them. Many of the junks had soldiers on board, who, as soon as they saw us coming, did their best to get on shore, shoving off in small boats as fast as they could leap into them. Some, in their hurry, fell overboard. A considerable number had thus made their escape by the time we reached the scene of action. Some of the junks and boats were pulling away up the river. We, with other boats, made chase. The shot from the ships’ launches quickly set many of the junks on fire. As soon as we got up to a junk, we examined her carefully, to ascertain if anybody was on board, before we devoted her to the flames. In a short time, the whole water was covered with burning vessels, one after the other, those having powder on board blowing up with loud explosions. In spite of our humane intentions, there are so many hiding-places on board a Chinese junk, that nearly in every one several unfortunate fellows had concealed themselves. As the fires in creased, we saw them rushing up from below, where they would remain until no longer able to bear the heat on deck. Some then were seen to jump desperately overboard. Most of these swam on shore without much difficulty; but others, who apparently could not swim, remained clinging to the outside of the junk or the rudder. Here we saw them holding on till the junk blew up, or the heat compelled them to leave their last refuge.
When we could, we took them on board, but there were so many junks burning together that this was not always possible, and consequently a considerable number must have perished. We had got alongside a boat, not knowing what was on board her, when Dicky Plumb leaped on to her deck. I had followed him, when my eye caught sight of a little fizzing spot of light, just as if the end of a cigar had been thrown down. I saw the fire slowly working its way on. In an instant, it occurred to me that it was a slow match. Seizing my friend by the arm, I leaped back into the boat.
“Hillo, Jack! what do you mean by that?” he exclaimed in an indignant tone.
“Shove off!” I shouted, “and pull away!”