KOREA. 241 



hunting-grounds. I concluded at once that my unfor- 

 tunate missing boat, with its crew of six men and an 

 officer, had been caught by some means, probably when 

 they hove-to in the middle of the day for their usual 

 hour's rest. If such were the case, I knew any attack 

 on our part, unless thorough and sudden, would merely 

 seal my men's fate and probable torture. This consi- 

 deration alone, I may say, induced me to submit to 

 being aimed at within half-a-dozen yards by dozens of 

 these rascals. Such a variety of weapons that were 

 presented at our devoted heads would have made a 

 very fair collection in themselves, — old rifles, match- 

 locks, flint and steel instruments, jingalls, and cross- 

 bows. These latter articles were really curious. 

 Underneath the stock was a large box, with a handle 

 on one side, which the owner kept turning fiercely 

 round as he aimed. Steaming quietly through them, I 

 returned to the ship, intending to go back to Chosan, 

 and demand the restoration of my men. Wlien 

 in the act of getting under weigh, my missing boat 

 returned from the opposite direction, having, as it 

 turned out, been chased when approaching the narrows 

 by a number of boats filled with soldiers. A rattling 

 breeze was blowing at the time, and she had dashed 

 through them, and out into the open sea. All night 



Q 



