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October 30, 1895.]
prised to find that the General and his staff had been placed on such a ship, seeing that some of the more luxurious steamers made the trip with empty cabins.
On our arrival at the Pescadores several trans-
ports and men-of-war were already anchored in harbour, and during the next four days there were other arrivals until nearly fifty ships had assembled, including the Sai Yen, formerly Tsi-yuen of the Chinese fleet, captured by the Japanese in the North. This cruiser looked spick and span, and will undoubtedly give a good account of herself if the Formosan forts but grant the opportunity.
On the 8th I changed to the transport Satsuma Maru as I thought the trip could be made more pleasant by my old friends the foreign officers of the vessel.
Early in the morning of the 10th the Northern expedition, conveyed by about 25 ships, departed from the Pescadores for the landing place at Paw-tay-chui, which is between 23 and 26 miles north of Anping. General Takashima is in command and several of the higher civil authorities from the capital city (Tai-peh-fu) accompanied him. His force consisted of one division and one mixed brigade. At 2.45 in the afternoon our ex- pedition, aboard 24 transports, steamed out of harbour for Pong-Liao, about 24 miles south of Takow, arriving near the landing place by daylight. The men-of-war who accompanied us at once landed marines in their ships' boats, these latter having mounted their bow quick firing guns.
No Chinese soldiers were seen, however, and the Japanese naval flag was soon flying from a mound near by. The soldiers from the transports were landed in quick succession, and in about two hours the whole fighting force of the the expedition, consisting of about 8,000 men, and about 2,500 horses, were in readiness for the field! Short wharves had been quickly built and the coolies, to the number of about 5,000, were hustling and bustling about, unload ing the supplies from the transports with remark- able rapidity and without mishap. Three steam launches, 72 Japanese sampans, and ten big cargo boats were the means of transport from steamers to land. No one who witnessed the landing of this force could accuse the Japanese, of being slow.
The men-of-war cruised along the coast a short distance ahead of the army on shore, and one or two scattered bands of soldiers were quickly dispersed by a few shells from the ships' guns.
Two companies were sent at once to the south, where some Chinese soldiers were found, but after exchanging a few shots the latter re- treated in the direction of Katong-ha (Ka-to-kia- ku). Two companies were also sent towards the the seaside, but found no Chinese soldiers. They then marched towards Ka-tong-ha, which is a small village surrounded by a low stone wall perforated with many loopholes allowing of rifle fire, with comparative safety to those behind it. Several cannons were mounted and further converted the wall into quite a for- midable fortification. Even after the Japanese had surrounded the village the savage attack made upon them by the Chinese gave evidence that the latter intended to take advantage of their defences in a manner quite unusual to Chinese soldiers! A pond of water hindered the Japanese in advancing to attack the Chinese at close range, and, as they were so well pro- tected, it seemed only a waste of amunition carrying on the attack from a greater distance. Several charges, however, were made by the Japanese, but with such loss that it was finally decided to conduct the siege by other methods. A battalion commander with one company suc- ceeded in gaining an entrance through one of the -gates, but not without some loss, and setting fire to the village houses in his vicinity. A strong wind blowing in the right direction carried the flames quickly towards the terrified Chinese, who for the first time in the whole Formosan war were showing true bravery in defending their position! As the flames crept nearer, with the Japanese guarding the only exit, but one course was open in which a chance of life was possible; this was to come out into the open field and battle, man to man, with the Japanese. Although their force out numbered those of the latter almost two to one, the outlook was not an inviting one. It was a
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT.
fearful scene, the crackling of the bamboos, the falling houses, the awful foaring of the fire as it drew nearer and nearer to the horror stricken people, their number now augmented by the more cowardly class who had been driven out of the burning houses where they had sought shelter and hiding. The cries of the Chinese could be heard above the uproar; they crouched closer and closer to the stone wall, taking advantage of pits or trees and bushes already smouldering to protect themselves from the stifling heat of the conflagration. But at last the extreme crisis was reached, so, with a wild vell of terror, they threw themselves over the wall and made a mad rush for the underbush and jungle to the north. Many fell by the way, but the majority made good their escape. It was a serious affair for the Japanese, who lost 77 men-16-killed and 61 wounded-including three officers, which is by far the greatest loss yet encountered in Formosa since the Japanese landed in May! Seventy bodies of dead Chinese were found, although probably a few others were consumed by the flames. Twelve cannons, several rifles, and some ammunition were captured by the Japanese. The Chinese taking part in this engagement were not Black Flags, but composed mostly of native levies, and their courage contrasts greatly with the cowardice of the Black Flags responsible for the fiasco of an engagement at Takow, which as will be described hereafter occurred a few days later For the sensational writers who take special delight in giving publication to thrilling descriptions of blood thirsty atrocities, I can assure them that the townspeople of this village all retreated to the hills as the army approached, and only oppo- nents fell under the fire of the Japanese troops. The great misfortune was that the Chinese soldiers were so ignorant of even the most common usages of modern wafare, as had they possessed even a slight knowledge of and confidence in the Japanese such would have probably induced a surrender, and thus would have been saved many lives with much property. One company of infantry was quartered near the village all night. In the afternoon of the the next day a skirmish occurred with a few Chinese. These, however, retreated, suffering but slight loss. Perhaps the most formidable enemy we met, and one who succeeded in creating considerable excitement, and some terror, was the the Chinese water buffalo! Indeed, if General Liu had only mounted a troop of these animals, success might have been secured; at least there would be no hesitation on the part of riders, as the water buffalo rushes to the attack and does not retreat! It was extremely amusing on several occasions to see every one scramble
out
of the way to avoid all argument with these anti-foreign beasts. I myself have been driven with considerable speed, usually in the direction of the nearest tree! While walking along the beach late in the afternoon, I saw a headless Chinese corpse which was washed up by the in-coming tide. I understood later that it was the body of a man who, having pointed a revolver at a gendarme, was a generally dangerous character, hence necessitating his execution. The next morning I again passed the same place, and the naked corpse was still lying on the beach in the scorching sun. troops and officers were passing by in constant succession, but as it seemed no one's. business to bury or cremate the body, which was beginning to fill the air with its poisonous fumes, of course no one attended to its removal. This was undoubtedly attended to later, but why the body should not have been carown into the water and properly disposed of at once still remains a mystery to me.
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and soon all were camped in the city of Tang- kang. No opposition whatever was encounted in the city, the Chinese troops having deserted long before the arrival of the Japanese Tang- kang, about 17 miles south of Takow, has a population of 20,000 and is a most flourishing city. The exports are principally rice and sugar. The Chinese force formerly consisted of 1,000 men, divided into two camps.
13th October.-A Chinese Commandant sent to General Nogi an offer of unconditional surrender. It is thought these troops were those that formerly garrisoned Tang-kang, with perhaps the addition of one other camp, the occupants of which may have joined them from the south. General Nogi accepted the offer and waited, delaying his troops all during the 14th, but seeing no peace seeking Chinese appear eventually continued his march.
14th October.-A squadron of cavalry recon. noitring to the north reached the big Chinese walled city, Pithau ("Ho Yan"), where they were agreeably susprised to see white flags of peace floating from the houses and a large white flag over the city gate On attempting, however, to enter they found the gates closed, whereupon they scaled the wall, and were once more astonished at being greeted with a most vigorous fusilade from several sections of the city. Upon this happening they beat a hasty retreat and were pursued by about 200 Chinese soldiers. On the same day a company of infantry, on their way to "Cho-ko-sin," met the enemy before reaching the village and being greatly outnumbered were easily surrounded. The probability that the engagement would be one of considerable magnitude and per- haps even fatal to the Japanese seemed un- pleasantly great. Fortunately, however, ac- cording to Chinese custom, a few rounds from the Japanese rifles sent their opponents all scampering away! It is thought this Chinese force was the one that had made the offer of surrender on the 13th.
1.
15th October.-One company of infantry was sent forward to attack Takow, but on approach saw that the flag of the Japanese navy was dying from the forts; they thereupon started out to return to the main army. After going a few miles eastward they came to a large walled city, the inhabitants of which resisted them. After some fighting, however, the Chinese retreated, and the assailants, entering the city triumphantly, were surprised to find they had captured Pi-thau ("Ho Yan") the place the main army was then preparing to capture, and anticipating considerable difficulty in doing it.
October 16th-On this day the army and headquarters, advanced to Pi-thau ("Ho Yan") and encamped north of that city, where they are stationed at the present writing, The whole force moves early to-morrow morning, and the attack on Anping and Tainanfoo will no doubt take place on the 23rd or 24th.
Latest news from Tainanfoo is that the merchants and Black Flags nearly came into collision, the former having refused to furnish supplies to the soldiers, who had only General Liu's paper notes to tender as payment for their purchases.
ANPING, 21st October. The advance guard of General Nogi's army advanced to within a few miles of Anping last evening without encountering any fighting on the way. It is a mystery how the Chinese troops retreated so quickly.
The Admiral then decided to land a force of marines in the morning from four men-of-war which were already near that port.
At 5 s.m. the Naniwa, Akitoshima, and Yos- hino took a circular course, bringing them very close to the fort, but the Black Flags did not fire then upon them. The landing force was assembled and approached the shore, but were fired upon from the fort, which they answered with the small quick firing guns mounted in the bow of the landing boats. The. Naniwo and Saiyen then approached and fired a few shots which silenced the Chinese forts, the Black Flags all retreating towards Tainanfoo.
October 12th-The main army in order to reach Tang-kang was obliged to cross two rivers of considerable size, but pontoon bridges had been constructed in a remarkably short time. The Formosa bamboo catamaran, which con. sists of from sight to twelve bamboos placed side by side, braced by cross bars, and securely lashed, has fortunately such shape and size that a number of them can be easily con. verted into a most satisfactory bridge by con. necting them together! To protect the bam- boos a pathway of boards, covered with straw, is laid across them and this reaches from bank One German and two English men-of-war to bank. With two bridges thus constructed witnessed the landing, and at 9 a.m. the Eng- heavily loaded pack horses passed over in safetylish gunboat Tweed arrived from Takow,
The foreign residents were aboard the Eng- lish gunboat, and their property is of course undamaged.