Narrative of the Voyages and Services of the Nemesis from 1840 to 1843

On the following morning, at daylight, the weather being very unsettled and hazy, Captain Hall determined to take his cutter and pinnace, and proceed to the extremity of the lagoon, nearly a mile distant, in the hope of finding a river, or probably some town or village, not far off. The crews were well armed, in case of a surprise; and we also took our double-barrelled guns, in the hope of getting a shot or two at some game. As we approached the end of the lagoon, the water became very shallow, and the passage difficult to find. We saw what appeared to us to be deer and pheasant, in abundance, along the edge of the mountains, on either side; but time was too precious and the water too shallow, (it being quite low water,) to permit us to land where we most wished.

At length, after carefully searching for a considerable time, we found a distinct entrance to a river, nearly at the right hand corner at the end of the lagoon. It was not easy to make it out at first; as the banks, which were low, were thickly covered with mangrove shrubs. The country expanded into a broad, open valley, beyond which well-wooded hills could be seen on every side. Cocoa-nut trees were growing in abundance; and here and there we could descry, in the distance, small, rich, green spots of cultivated ground, which made us think that we should find inhabitants not far off. We had no difficulty in ascending the river, but discovered no habitations or appearance of cultivation on its banks. The bare roots of the mangroves on either side, standing out exposed into the river, served to shew by their marks that the water sometimes stood much higher than it then was, and that floods occasionally took place.

At the distance of about two miles from the entrance, we came to a narrow, wooden-plank bridge, close to which were two small junks, or decked boats. One of our boats was sent higher up to explore; but the river was found divided by a small island, a little above the bridge, and the water was so shallow that the pinnace could not proceed without difficulty. Accordingly, having left a part of the men in charge of the boats at the bridge, and another party, consisting of an officer and six men, being ordered to follow at an interval of less than half an hour, Captain Hall and myself, accompanied by four men, well armed, set out to explore the country. We soon fell into a well-beaten, sandy cart-track, which surprised us not a little, as we had hitherto seen nothing of the kind in China. It has been already noticed that carts were found to be in use in the island of Formosa; and it was also known that they were to be met with in the northern parts of China, in the neighbourhood of Pekin.

After pursuing our way along this sandy track for about a mile, we entered a fine cocoa-tree wood, with several neat little cottages built in the midst of it; and presently we heard a creaking, or rather, squeaking noise, which seemed to be nearing us. It was soon found to proceed from three bullock-carts, rudely built of poles, covered round with matting, and drawn by buffaloes instead of bullocks. They had more the appearance of large bales of goods than of carts; the wheels were made of solid wood, and the axletree was fixed in the wheel, (as at Formosa,) but turned round under the body of the cart, causing a loud, squeaking noise at each revolution.

Several teams of buffaloes were passed, dragging timber down to the river-side, which must be found in abundance in this neighbourhood, and of good quality; an important consideration for ships driven into the bay of Yin-lin-kan by stress of weather.

We soon emerged into a fine, level, grassy plain; upon which, at intervals, clusters of shrubs and young trees were passed. Small green parroquets seemed to be very numerous. The soil, however, was poor and sandy; but the mountains which bounded the plain, or expanded valley, were covered with wood; while, lower down towards the river, (or what appeared to us to be its probable course,) grass-lands and paddy-fields varied the landscape. We were surprised, however, at seeing so few people; and, compared with China Proper, the country appeared to us very thinly populated.

The autumnal tints were still fresh upon the foliage, although it was past Christmas-day; and the variety of the trees, and the peculiar conical shape of some of the mountains, thickly covered with wood to their very summits, combined to give additional interest and novelty to the character of the country. Perhaps it struck us the more forcibly, from being different from anything we had recently seen in China Proper. It was curious to notice the gradations of verdure according to the height above the valley. At the bottom, everything was brown and autumnal, at the top, it was all green and youthful, while between the two were all the intermediate stages. Here again we thought we could distinguish deer and pheasants in the woods along the mountain sides.

Gradually the plain became contracted, and we entered a regular sort of narrow cart-road, overhung with trees, and cut at least two feet below the surface, as if the better to give protection from the sun's rays. This soon led us to some rich paddy-fields, in the neighbourhood of a village, around which were gardens planted with the sweet potato and other vegetables, and apparently cultivated with great care. The village, or rather hamlet, was very inconsiderable; and we passed on without halting, in the hope of reaching some town of consequence. The valley continued to get narrower, and our road was now sheltered with trees.

A walk of about four miles further brought us to another considerable village, where we halted for an hour, and took refreshment in a large public tea-shop. The villagers crowded good-humouredly round us, and betrayed little fear, although we were all well armed. We only saw two really poor people amongst them, and they looked as if they were just let out of prison. As usual, our dress, appearance, arms, and every little trifle we carried about us, attracted great attention and curiosity. They had probably never seen Europeans before; and when we fired off a musket to please them, their astonishment was indeed great. Their wants were few, and the necessaries of life appeared easily obtained; there were some decent shops in the village, and, as usual, plenty of people who could read and write.

Altogether the whole appearance of the country gave one the idea of a newly-colonized spot. We saw no goats or cows, but plenty of capital pigs and poultry. We still thought that there might be some considerable town not far off; and by the help of a small vocabulary, written in Chinese, (which of course they were able to read,) we ascertained that there was one some miles off, the direction of which was pointed out to us. After some hesitation, we determined to proceed; and at length we reached the extremity of the valley, where there was merely a footpath, running sometimes between low hills, at other times through a dense scrub, until at length we crossed the bed of a river, with a fine rocky bottom and a rapid stream. Here we halted, to refresh ourselves with a cool draught, when suddenly a whole posse of people descended the hill on the other side, and began to cross the river; some were carried in sedan-chairs, (mandarins, probably,) some were led with chains round their necks, while others had chains round their legs; there were also several attendants; and one great man rode on horseback. They had almost reached the middle of the river before they observed us, and naturally looked somewhat alarmed at our appearance. We saluted them, and then passed on.

Our road now lay among hills, and the ground was broken and tiresome. We ascended one hill, which was paved all the way with large rough stones, and we concluded we must be near the town we were in search of; and the novelty of the adventure stimulated us to go on, although the heat was great, and we had still the whole distance to travel back again. We now ascended a steep eminence a little out of the road, from which we obtained a magnificent view of the country, with a fine plain just beyond the hills, bounded by the sea in the distance. We could see no town, but there could be little doubt that it lay somewhere in the beautiful plain beneath us.

Having regained the principal path, we proceeded some way further along the side of a wooded mountain, until we reached an inn by the road side. Here again we got tea, and smoked our cigars, on perfect good terms with the Chinese, our fellow-travellers. A consultation was now held. It seemed probable that the town we were attempting to reach was that of Lychew, upon the sea-coast, about ten or twelve miles from the capital of the island. The day was already far advanced, and we had still about twelve miles to get back again to our boats. Moreover, we thought it very likely that by returning at once we should meet the sedan chairs empty, and the horse without its rider, returning to the town, after having escorted their prisoners, and thus we should manage to get ourselves carried back to our boat. We determined, therefore, not to proceed further, although we much longed to descend into the valley beyond.

It surprised us that, considering we were without doubt the first Europeans who had been seen in that part of the country, the people shewed not the slightest rudeness or troublesome curiosity. They all seemed much more taken up with the appearance of one of the black Kroomen, who attended us, than with the Europeans.

After proceeding two or three miles on our way back, we fortunately met the sedan-chairs and the horse returning. We soon made them halt, and tried to come to terms for them to carry us all the way down to our boats. Captain Hall mounted the horse without any ceremony; but the poor fellows who had charge of it cried so lustily, and from their manner made us believe that they would be so terribly punished, that at last they were allowed to proceed unmolested.

Next came a grand dispute about the sedan-chairs, rickety old things made of bamboo; but we soon got into them, (there were only two,) and held out a dollar; but between fear and disinclination to the job, the men set us down, and left us in the lurch. However, as we kept possession of the chairs, we had the best of the bargain, though it was not a very pleasant prospect for us to sit there until it should please the men to carry us on. At length, after some deliberation among themselves, they agreed to carry us for a dollar each, and away we went, greatly enjoying the fun.

On reaching the village at which we had before halted, they set us down again in order to rest themselves, and tried every means to persuade us to alight, and take some tea; but we were rather too old travellers to be taken in by such tricks, and continued to keep possession of our chairs. At length, finding they could not get rid of us, they made up their minds to carry us on the whole way, and trotted off nimbly enough. The easy, measured step of the Chinese bearers, who carry the poles upon their shoulders, one on either side, with a cross piece joining them together, and resting upon the back of the neck, is by no means disagreeable; and considering the rudeness of the construction of the chairs, we were surprised that the motion was so pleasant.

Presently we fell in with the other party which had been desired to follow us, and received a very good account of the civility they had met with from the people. Indeed, they stated that they had overtaken a respectable-looking Chinaman on horseback, as they were marching along, who, seeing a young midshipman of the party, among so many stout men, very gallantly dismounted, and offered him the use of his horse; intimating by his manner and gestures that he was too young to walk so far. This little piece of attention was the more remarkable as horses are seldom used by the Chinese, and are usually only found in the hands either of people of rank or of great wealth. On reaching a road which branched off to the left, the polite gentleman resumed his horse and disappeared.

At length we reached the beautiful cocoa-nut wood near the river, and refreshed ourselves with the milk of the fresh nuts, under the shade of the trees, which were here growing to a very great height.

Having regained our boats, we found a number of Chinese collected round them, but no violence or insult had been offered; indeed, the peasants had brought down fowls and ducks for sale.

It was now almost sunset, and the tide was just beginning to turn, so that we descended the river rapidly, and, as we emerged from it into the lagoon, it was christened Hall's River, with our last glass of cherry-brandy, a little of which we had taken with us for the journey.

As it was still nearly high-water, the appearance of the lagoon was much more striking than it had been in the morning, and we could see plenty of game coming out of the woods, to feed upon the little green patches at the foot of the hills. But not a single human habitation could be discovered. We soon reached the steamer again, and instantly getting under way, proceeded out of the lagoon, or Inner Harbour, as it is called upon the Admiralty chart.

It should here be remarked, that the entrance to the outer harbour or basin of Yin-lin-kan, as laid down in the chart, is much toe broad and the bay too open; at least, such is the impression from what we remember of the very moderate breadth of the entrance, and of the appearance of the basin when inside of it. There was a heavy swell outside, the result of the strong breezes which had prevailed for several preceding days.

We now stood across the Gulf of Tonquin, towards the coast of Cochin-China, which we kept in sight all the way down. On the 29th we ran into the large and beautiful basin, called by Horsburgh, Phuyen Harbour, in latitude 18° 23' N., with a view to ascertain its character and capabilities, which could be done with very little detention. The importance of an accurate knowledge of the best harbours for ships to run into, in the China Sea, in case of need, cannot be overrated now that there is every probability of a great increase in the number of merchant ships passing up and down. The great Phuyen Basin, which in fact contains three excellent harbours, is accurately described by Horsburgh. We steamed round it in all directions, and were struck with its beauty, and the perfect shelter it affords. The soundings were very regular, from twelve, to five and a quarter, and four and a half fathoms. The Buoy Rock, which is the only danger, is distinctly seen above water, at ebb-tide, looking precisely like what its name indicates. As we came out again at high-water, it was found covered. It lies about half way up the first or outer harbour, at the distance of half to one-third of a mile from the northern shore.

Just at the entrance to this harbour, near its southern shore, stands the high, abrupt, rocky island, called Nest Island, which, although there is deep water close in, on either side, has a coral reef running out from its western extremity. The three harbours are, first, Xuandai, on the southern shore, round Nest Island; next, Vunglam, on the north-western side, about a mile and a half further up; and lastly, Vungchao, at the end of the basin.

Nothing can exceed the beauty and security of the spot, shut in on all sides, like a large lake, the shores being bold and mountainous, but not much wooded. Further inland, to the westward, the country appeared fertile and well cultivated, but not laid out in terraces along the hill sides, as in most parts of China-Proper, but divided into small fields with hedgerows round them, putting one very much in mind of some parts of England.

We were disappointed in not finding a town of some size along the shores of the basin; but, as the soil is there generally poor, while there was evidently a rich valley a little in the rear to the westward, we concluded that it was probably situated in that more favoured spot. There were however two hamlets, one on either side of the extremity of the bay, situated in the midst of a fine cocoa-nut wood; and in a little bay in the east corner we found a very extensive burial-ground, with a number of large tombs, and a small chapel. We could learn nothing of its history, but concluded that it was the cemetery for wealthy people belonging to some town not far distant. We landed, and rambled among the curious tombs, different in appearance from those either of the Chinese or the Malays. There were a few fishermen's huts in the neighbourhood, but the people were poor and ill-clothed, and their features far from prepossessing. The men were small in stature, and in every respect an inferior-looking people to the inhabitants of Hainan.

A vast number of large, well-built fishing-boats were sailing about the great basin, built very sharp at both ends, and of great length. They carry an enormous sail, very broad, but not high, cut square, but yet not like a lug-sail. It was made of a strong kind of grass cloth. As this powerful sail must of course endanger the safety of their long narrow boat, they adopt a curious mode of counterbalancing it, so as to keep the boat upright. A long straight stout spar is run out to windward from the middle of the vessel, and upon this three or four men (more or less according to the strength of the wind) crawl out, and sit upon the extremity, dangling their legs over the water in a manner not to be envied. From long habit, they sit there very contentedly, for a length of time, almost entirely naked, and appear to think that no other kind of ballast is needed. If the wind were suddenly to change, they would probably get a ducking, by their own weight bearing down the boat, with such a lever. But, as the monsoon blows pretty regularly here, they are not afraid of sudden changes. If they have occasion to put about, the men all come in first, and then rig out the spar upon the opposite side, crawling out upon it again as before.

Two or three better kind of vessels were seen, differently rigged, something like our lattine-rig, and they looked and sailed remarkably well. The people did not appear at all afraid of the steamer, although they looked on in evident wonder, as she moved so steadily through the harbour.

The same afternoon, we pursued our voyage; and on the 5th of January, the Nemesis steamed into Singapore, decorated with a number of Chinese flags, and was cheered by several of the transports as she passed. The next day, nearly all the rest of the squadron set sail again, leaving the Nemesis to follow, as soon as her fuel was completed.

On the evening of the 12th, the Nemesis again pursued her voyage; and on the 14th, at daylight, anchored in the shallow open bay of Malacca. The view of the town and coast from the bay is striking; there is a Malay look about it, and much less of the European character than in Singapore. There is a rich flat belt of country along the coast, thickly covered with cocoa-nut trees; while a hill adjoining the town, upon which there is the ruin of a church, with a flag-staff, and a saluting battery, forms a marked point in the prospect.

Everything at Malacca distinctly indicates the "tempora mutantur" of by-gone days; the dull stillness of the town, the mixture of Dutch countenances, modified by long descent in a tropical country, the fallen-off look of the public buildings, point out the little value which is set upon Malacca in the present day. The kind attentions of the governor, however, induced us to pay a short visit a few miles into the interior, where we obtained a splendid view of a fine, rich, well-wooded, and well-watered country. We were evidently in the favoured regions of the spice plantations.

We had just arrived in time to disturb a nest of Malay pirates who had landed the day before, and had robbed one of the neighbouring villages, killing or wounding several of the inhabitants. The steamer's boats were immediately sent away manned and armed, at the governor's request, and accompanied by a large hired boat, carrying a strong body of police. A search-warrant had been obtained for the purpose of examining two or three small junks which had recently come into the bay, but nothing suspicious was found on board. The boats then pulled off towards two islands several miles distant, where it was thought the pirates might lie concealed; but nothing was discovered. The matter was then left entirely in the hands of the police, and the steamer's boats returned.

The same evening we again pursued our voyage towards Penang, or Prince of Wales's Island, the so-called gem of the eastern seas. Our course was taken as close along shore as was possible; and instead of passing through the narrow channels between the sands in the middle of the straits, we pushed through the Calam Strait, just above the Parcellar Hill, and found the passage broad and safe, the shores on both sides being bold and well wooded.

On the 17th, we reached the truly beautiful island of Penang, a spot which becomes the more striking the oftener it is seen, and anchored in a small sandy bay close to the fort, inside the Dido, 20, under the command of the Honourable Captain Keppel. Enough has already been said of this lovely spot in the early part of this work. Its clean and regular town, its excellent roads, beautiful villas, and rich plantations of spices of all kinds, and of cocoa-nuts, added to the picturesque beauties of the landscape on every side, cannot be forgotten by any who have visited them.

The hospitality and good feeling of the inhabitants of Penang cannot be exceeded. There is a considerable population of Chinese upon the island, (in addition to Malays, Indians, and Europeans,) who, besides being excellent mechanics, enter largely into the cultivation of spice trees, and often become not only honest and useful tenants, but actual proprietors of small plantations. It is worth remembering, that from its geographical position, there is not half an hour's difference in the rising and setting of the sun at Penang throughout the whole year.

There is one curiosity in natural history very common on this island which I had never seen elsewhere – viz., the trumpet beetle. Although not large itself it has a long trumpet-shaped proboscis, or kind of feeler, from which it emits so loud and long a sound, among the woods by the mountain's sides, that you can scarcely believe that any insect could possibly send forth such a tone. It gave one more the idea of the sound which a bird might utter, such, for instance, as that of the bell-bird, or the whip-bird, or the laughing jackass (vernacularly called) met with in New South Wales.

One of the largest trees on record is to be found at Penang. It is one hundred and thirty feet high to the first branch, and thirty-six feet round in the largest part.

After a few days' detention at Penang, to complete some necessary repairs and to take in coal, we bade adieu, with many regrets, to that lovely island, and coasted along all the way towards the entrance of the Moulmein river, at the mouth of which we found the Endymion at anchor, having Sir Hugh Gough and staff on board. Having delivered the despatches and letter-bags, we proceeded up the river in charge of a pilot, for the purpose of getting coal. The river was found broader and deeper than had been expected, well wooded on both sides; indeed, a great quantity of valuable timber is exported from Moulmein, and large ships are built there extremely well and cheap. The H.C. steamer Tenasserim was built in this river after the model of The Queen, built in England, and has answered extremely well.

Two of H.M. brigs were at anchor off the town, besides two small vessels and gun-boats belonging to the East India Company. Moulmein was garrisoned by a force of about 4000 men, including one European regiment. It is the frontier town of Burmah, on its southern side, lying just opposite Martaban, where it was said the Burmese had collected a large army just before we made peace with China; probably with no friendly feeling towards us. The town itself is in its infancy, but has made great progress within the last few years. There is a magnificent view of the surrounding country, and of the river both above and below, and also of the distant town of Martaban, from the top of a high conical hill, upon which are several curious temples built after the Burmese fashion. The town must be considered rather as a large frontier military station than as a place of trade, and the soil is generally poor and sandy.