18
W. C. HUNTER
wears a conical hat made of stout rattan capable of turning aside a cutlass, on it in front is written in large characters the name of the Hong, white on black ground, and every man is furnished with sandals made of twisted grass which lace over the instep. A pair of loose trousers, and a loose jacket tied with a sash about the waist complete the dress.
The coolie from No. I has just run in to say that the mandarins know he is inside the Factory and that he must be off. I locked the front gate and barred it inside and I tell him to shut himself up in his room.
These 500 men from the Hongs are posted from the creek to the entrance of our Factory in one line beneath the Company's arch and in the passage way. They are stationed on both sides, as each carries a large rattan shield their appearance is uniform and good, and a finer looking set of men I never saw. They are cheerful, and as we are all known by them they are exceedingly civil and do not molest us in the least. They nearly all know me personally and I often get such a crowd of them about me to talk over the news that sometimes I have a difficulty in escaping them.
At night they march out headed by the oldest member of the body, in parties, one Hong at a time, on patrol. Starting from their station they cross the front of the Factories, go up and down China Street, then return to their tent, when another party immediately goes the same round.
The Hong merchants constantly remain under the arch of the Company's Factory except when off on the business of the day. They relieve each other regularly at night, sleeping in large chairs, and the linguists have erected a large shed of mats in the middle of the Square where they also remain on watch. This is the land force. On the water are 200 of the Nam Hoe's guard,14 100 of the Kwang Hups, and a few of the Governor's1. They are distributed in boats lying close to each other and drawn up in three lines along the whole front of the Factories. The first and second line, separated from each other by a space of 100 feet, consist of large boats usually employed in carrying tea. Their bows look towards the Factories. The third row consists of Chop boats. They are placed so close side by side as to render any escape utterly impossible, and never were measures taken to prevent escape with such eminent success as those adopted to