Guns to the Far East Read Online Free PDF Page B

seven!’ Then came a report from the lower deck that daylight could be seen through a fifteen-foot rent in the ship’s side.
    â€œWe beat to quarters and the first order was to sound the well— the carpenter reported ten feet of water. Rigging the pumps was a matter of minutes; I never saw men turn to their work in grander fashion. Off came their frocks; they stripped to flannels and hove round with a will but the water steadily gained on us. Keppel decided to try to ground the ship in shoal water. The wind was easterly and every sort of sail was improvised, even to setting the sails of boats hanging at the davits, and the Commodore himself took charge of the conning of the ship.
    â€œThen one of our large chain pumps broke down. Just at that moment, a ship was reported at anchor off Macao and, with a glass, I made her out to be a frigate flying the French Admiral’s flag. Keppel—this was typical of his splendid spirit—ordered me to lower the fore-royal, hoist the French flag, and fire a salute. Our foremost maindeck guns had been run aft to prevent the ship settling forward but they were already loaded, in preparation for saluting our own Flag, and most of our after-ports had more than one muzzle protruding. A boat was seen coming from the French ship but there was nothing to show that we were in distress apart from our ensign at the peak, hoisted Union Jack downwards, and this was hidden from the Frenchman by our studding sails. A few minutes after firing our salute, our poor Raleigh grounded on the mudbank between Roko and Typa Islands and the officer commanding the boat, learning what had occurred, returned at once to his ship, the Virginie, to inform his Admiral.
    â€œRear-Admiral Guérin came in person to offer us any help we needed. Keppel received him at the gangway and the Frenchman embraced him, exclaiming again and again, ‘A British frigate saluting the French flag while she is sinking … c’est magnifique! ’ If we had been French, we could not have been given more kindly assistance. Keppel landed marines to clear the nearest island of Chinese and then, with the assistance of our allies, we put most of the ship’s company ashore, with their hammocks and bags, stores, and the ship’s sails. The Commodore remained, on an improvised bridge set up before the mizzenmast and over the wheel, with a small guard of seamen and marines throughout the night, and sent our First Lieutenant, Jim Goodenough, to Hong Kong in the French gunboat Catinat, to report to Admiral Seymour.
    â€œThe after part of the lower deck was still dry up to nine o’clock, so that most of us were able to get to our cabins to salvage our clothes and personal possessions, but after that, the ship settled considerably and at 5 a.m., when it was still dark, we were called upon to man the boats and land. The Frenchman sent us boats at daylight and helped us all that day to get stores and provisions ashore. Admiral Seymour sent the Bittern to our assistance and came himself on 16th, the Nankin and Inflexible standing by as we hoisted our guns out and loaded them into lighters sent from Hong Kong.
    â€œThe poor Commodore was, as I told you, heartbroken. He only left the ship when all hope for her had to be abandoned and, even then, he insisted on dismantling her, hoisting out lower masts with the aid of our spars only … quite a task, as you well know, Father! I think he hoped, if we cleared her even to the ballast, that it might be possible to refloat her but, I regret to say, the Admiral has decided against it.
    â€œKeppel, and the Master, Mr Williams, are to be tried by court martial early in June but the verdict, of course, is a foregone conclusion, since no blame can be attached to either of them. In the meantime, preparations are being made for an attack on the Chinese Fleet, which we hope will not be long delayed. It will be a boat attack, since all the war junks are dispersed up