212 TRAVEL, ADVENTURE, AND SPORT. 



until our return down the stream. Her draught of 

 water was nearly three feet more than that of the 

 Furious : she was a remarkably unhandy vessel, and 

 it was not without the exercise of more than ordinary 

 skill that Captain Barker and his officers had already 

 navigated her in safety to a point 250 miles from the 

 sea, at a season of the year when the water was so 

 low. Kew-shien happened, moreover, to be in the 

 hands of the Imperialists, and Lord Elgin was not 

 sorry, as we were obliged to leave the Retribution 

 behind, that she should stay where her presence could 

 not give offence to the authorities, or give rise to a 

 suspicion that we were treating with men in arms 

 against the Government. 



The worthy senior officer gave us as much pro- 

 visions as he could spare (for it was evident we had 

 under-estimated the delays incident to the ascent of 

 such a stream), and caused the gunboats to be coaled 

 to their full complement. The afternoon of Novem- 

 ber 24th saw the Furious, Cruiser, Dove, and Lee 

 again under way, and we parted with hearty cheers, 

 and as hearty wishes for mutual success. On this 

 and the following day our progress was as rapid as an 

 economical expenditure of coal would admit of, and 

 we anchored near a dangerous reef on the night of 

 the 26th, in order that we might have daylight to 

 clear it, and pass the great city of Ngan-king. This 

 reef is called the Hen Reef by our native pilot, and if 

 not much of an authority upon the depth of the water, 



