Page:Through China with a camera.pdf/81

 is the principal thoroughfare, and is crowded with thousands of junks and boats, all busily engaged in loading or discharging cargo, or else in bearing passengers to and fro along the extremely narrow channel which winds its way through this floating Babel where endless discord reigns. This creek is evidently much too con- tracted for the traffic of the place; and I can readily imagine how, forty years ago, the Chinese squadron, fleeing before a handful of British tars in their small boats, drew up like a wall across this narrow passage, and poured a hail-storm of shot upon their gallant assailants, spreading death and destruction among the little band. As for the Commodore, with his boat shot away from under him, ''with his coxswain killed, and every man of his crew wounded, ^ he retired to await reinforce- ments, and returned at last from a severe attack, with five of the largest junks in tow." The Chinese themselves, who are by no means destitute of courage, are said honestly to have acknow- ledged their admiration for the pluck and daring of the man who started with seven small boats to capture Fatshan and its 200,000 inhabitants, and who destroyed their entire fleet— the terror, as was supposed, of the "foreign fire-eating devils," who were held never before this to have fought a fair fight; but to be always taking their foes in the rear of their forts, instead of bravely coming to the front and taking the guns which had been set up with so much pains for the very purpose of re- ceiving their assaults.

Whenever a block-up among the boats in the creek takes place — which happens frequently, and is protracted indefinitely for a long period of time — one has leisure to notice the nu- merous floating tea and music saloons, and many flower barges


 * China, p. 35. — G. Wingrove Cooke.