^16 WITH BOAT AND GUN IN THE YANGTZE VALLi^Y. 



the fancy of the crowd the latter are apt to disregard it. Besides, no official settlement is 

 deemed conclusive unless it "satisfies" the complainants, and after all one may negotiate 

 such a settlement just as well one's self, and probably on easier terms than through a Tipao. 



Nor is it much use producing a passport and threatening to appeal to a Consul in 

 Shanghai. A passport, of course, one ought to have, but it is not a document that inspires 

 much awe in the breast of an ignorant villager who probably never heard of a Consul or 

 Taotai before. Such officials are in any case abstract entities to him : he only knows that 

 he has a claim for compensation and he is convinced that if he does not get it there and 

 then he never will. On the whole it is best to meet him on his own terms and negotiate 

 direct the best settlement possible. 



If, however, the accident is too grave to be settled privately an appeal to the 

 authorities is inevitable, and the sooner you can reach someone who really has authority the 

 better. The wisest course in that case is to seek the protection of the nearest Hsien or 

 District Magistrate. The people will probably urge this course or insist on taking you there 

 whether you like it or not, and it would be the wisest policy to comply willingly and at 

 once. It would be hopeless to expect from an ignorant peasantry that they would simply 

 take your name and address and let you go, although you may assure them fifty times over 

 that you are prepared to meet and settle any claim that may be brought against you. This 

 may be very annoying, but in the present state of China nothing else is to be expected. If 

 foreigners go shooting in the interior they must take the country as they find it. In the 

 situation we are supposing the immediate question is not what are one's treaty rights in the 

 matter, but what is the best method of escaping from an unpleasant situation with the least 

 amount of personal inconvenience. It is for this reason simply that we counsel submission, 

 and an offer to go at once and place the case in the hands of the nearest authorities. 

 Once there the foreigner will be at all events safe against personal violence, and the rest 

 is a matter of time. Notice should of course be sent to the nearest Consul at the earliest 

 moment, taking care that the name of the locality (in Chinese) and other particulars are 

 given so as to enable the Consul to act without delay. 



We are supposing in the preceding remarks that the trouble is of the foreigner's own 

 creating and that it is in his power by proper negotiation to settle the matter. But it may 

 be his ill-luck to "happen" upon a turbulent locality where he or his servants may be 

 assailed by a mischievous crowd through no fault of his or theirs. No general rule can be 

 given for such cases. Discretion will usually be the better part of valour and it may be 

 wise to beat a judicious retreat. The mandarins in charge of the small native gunboats, one 

 of which is usually to be found here and there along the principal waterways, have several 

 times shown themselves friendly to foreigners and helped them when in difficulties. If one 

 of these is known to be within reach, assistance, we believe, may be counted upon. In any 

 case the shooting party should keep well together and while acting strictly on the defensive 

 get back to their boats as best they may. 



Such cases, which are fortunately very rare, will of course be reported to the Consul 

 concerned, and we would remark in this connection, that if one has received assistance 

 or been specially befriended in a difficulty by any official large or small the fact should be 

 duly reported, so that some suitable recognition may be made to his superiors. 



