[
    {
        "id": 216402,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2003",
        "page_number": 161,
        "title": "RAS-2003",
        "content_text": "111\n\nvery close down her side. When it got near it would suddenly put the helm over, with the apparent intention of being run down, in a sort of suicide action but with the real object of passing as close as it could under the steamer's bows. The reason for this apparently suicidal manoeuvre, I was told, was this.\n\nEvery junk, every morning, started off on its day's journey with a malevolent devil hanging on to its rudder whose object was to slow it down, and if possible run it onto a sandbank. But if the junk succeeded in passing very close under a steamer's bow the devil would be cut off from its precarious hold and would drown. On days of heavy traffic, when we often saw as many as fifty junks in a mile of river, it became a bit nerve-wracking to see scores of the craft scuttling across our bows like mad, hoping to have their devils cut off.'\"\n\nWith overnight stops on passage our ship spent the night of 3rd September 1931 off Kiukiang, some 493 miles from the Fairway Buoy at the mouth of the River. Here it was noted that the current flowed at from three to four knots, a powerful stream and gigantic mass of water. Debris in the river included the swollen bodies of humans, and of cattle and other animals, tree branches and trunks, pieces of wood, and any other manner of flotsam.\n\nContinuing upstream the following day guns' crews and machine gunners were closed up in case of fire being received from parties of bandits ashore.\n\nAt 1500 hours on Saturday, 5th September HERMES anchored off Hankow, one of the three cities forming Wuhan in Hupeh Province, 636 miles from the Fairway Buoy. Wuhan is the home of the successful revolution of 1911.\n\nConflict ashore between various warlords, groups of mere bandits, and the Nationalists, it sometimes being impossible to tell the difference between such groups, had resulted in there being some danger on the River. This in addition to the high and hazardous waters. It was not only relatively large warships such as HERMES who had to guard against random fire from the river banks. The small river steamers were a far more obvious target. Consequently from Monday, the 7th, parties of armed guards constantly were being sent away from the ship to escort",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2003.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "id": 216405,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-2003",
        "page_number": 164,
        "title": "RAS-2003",
        "content_text": "114\n\nIn the meantime two machines from HERMES carried out their aerial survey work for the day.\n\nAs the ship was due to return to Shanghai the opportunity was taken to give passage to the Lindbergh's and to their aircraft.\n\nOn Saturday afternoon, 3rd October HERMES commenced her passage downstream and three days later anchored off Woosung. Here the Colonel and his wife disembarked. The following morning our ship proceeded up to moor at her buoys off Shanghai. Here the damaged Sirius was off-loaded into a lighter and later was shipped back to California for repair at the factory.\n\nAt Shanghai on Monday, 2nd November 1931 HERMES slipped from her buoys at 0726 hours and proceeded downstream to Woosung. There she altered course to starboard and at 1500 hours passed the Yangtze River Fairway Buoy on passage to Hong Kong.\n\nIt was not to be the usual uneventful coastal voyage.\n\nIn response to an S.O.S. message the next evening HERMES increased speed to fourteen knots to close the Japanese steamer RYUJIN MARU aground on the Tan Rocks near Turnabout Island. Just over two hours later our ship anchored in 21 fathoms. The night was dark, the sea rough, and a light rain was falling. Nearby HERMES found that S.S. SHANTUNG had also responded to the S.O.S. message and already had arrived at the scene of the grounding.\n\nThe stricken ship could not be made out by searchlight so Captain Mackinnon fired star shell. By the light of these the ship was sighted clearly and was seen to be on nearly an even keel and free from the effect of breaking seas. Since she was not in immediate danger and the weather was poor Captain Mackinnon decided to wait until daybreak before attempting any rescue operations. Also he informed SHANTUNG that she could proceed.\n\nEarly the following morning, Wednesday, 4 November, HERMES weighed and shifted to a position only seven cables - 1,400 yards - from the wreck and anchored in 22 fathoms. Subsequently Captain Mackinnon was to note that this move was not without risk:",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-2003.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/2v242g390",
        "rank": 0
    }
]