DASTARDLY ATTACKS 
251 
with the French Admiral to run his ship and the 
troops on board into the hands of the French, for 
a reward of some 25,000 dollars. This was carried 
out, but he soon got rid of the money in Shanghai. 
A man of a constitutionally cruel nature, he appeared 
to delight in punishing and knocking about the men 
under him. Sometimes it happens that a man of 
this kind is physically a coward, but such was not 
the case with C. He was known to go single-handed, 
on several occasions, into a crowd of quarrelling 
Chinese soldiers on board ship, and beat them into 
submission, laying them out right and left with 
anything he could get hold of, with his fists if nothing 
else offered. Recently I came across the captain 
of a steamer who had been an apprentice on one of 
the big clipper sailing ships running to Australia 
when C. was fourth mate. He told me how on one 
occasion he saw C. attack and drive below a whole 
watch. The mate who was being relieved had had 
trouble with the men composing his watch, who had 
handled him rather severely, and were in a more or 
less mutinous mood. C., seeing this, asked the mate 
if he meant to let the matter stop there ; if so, he 
would not, and, catching up a short heaver, he went 
for the crowd, knocking them down one after the 
other, finally driving them all below. 
Although the season was a failure, my usual good 
negative luck did not desert me. I had run more 
risks than I knew of at the time. C. never openly 
attempted any nonsense with me, but after our 
return to Yokohama the Chinese boatswain told 
me that, when we were away hunting in the boats, 
C. had tried to induce him, with the others usually 
left on board, to consent to clear out with the 
