542 CHAPTER II.

THE AFFAIR OF THE " KOWSHING." IN the third week of July the ChineseGovernment had chartered anumber of steamers to convey about 11,000 troops from Taku ironclads. Shereally wasa smallChinesecruiser the Tsi-yuen,of 2,355 tons, carrying three heavy Krupps and nine machine-guns, and having a crew of 180 men. She had just been in action with a Japanese squadron that same morning, near the islandof Phung-tao, off AsanBay. On the 24th thenews of theJapanese seizure of the palace at Seoul hadreachedAsan. The Chinese officers there became naturally anxious about the safety of the transports which werebringing them reinforcements,and Captain Fong, of the Tsi-yuen, put to sea to look for them, taking with him a smaller ship, the Kuang-yi, a gunboatof 600 tons, armed with three light quickfirers.

and Port Arthur to Korea, Some 3,000 of them were to be landed at Asan to reinforce the garrison there, and about 8,000 were to land further north and join the armies which were assembling at the Yalu River and had pushed their vanguard on to Ping-yang with a view to an advance on Seoul. The reinforcements for the northreachedKoreasafely, but it was otherwise with a considerable part of the force destined for Asan.

The Kowshing,a British steamer trading in the Chinese seas and commanded by Captain Galsworthy, had left Taku, at the mouth of the Peiho, on the evening of July 23rd with reinforcements for Asan. She had on board 1,100 Chinese troops,twelve guns, a quantity of stores, two Chinese generals, and Major von Hanneken, formerly of the German army, but now in the Chinese service. As war had not yet been declared, it was anticipated that the voyage would be accomplished without any special incident.

In the grey dawn of the 25th the Chinese ships met— scouting among the islands and evidently on the lookout for the transports— three of the swiftest protected cruisers in the Japanese navy, the Yoshino, the Akitsushima, and the NaniwaKan. Anyone of the three far exceeded both the Chinese ships together in size, armament, protection, and the numbers of the crew. As to who fired the first shot the reports are contradictory, each party declaring that it was the other. But whether or not he actually fired first. Captain Fong, with his two weakships,pluckily engaged the threepowerful cruisers. The fight lastedfor aboutanhour. The Kuang-yi was so riddledby the Japanesequickfirers that she was run ashore in a sinking condition. The Tsi-yuen was terribly damaged by the Japanese fire. One of the first shells from the NaniwaKan penetrated and burst inside the conning tower, wrecking the interior and blowing to pieces the two officers in charge of it. The first lieutenant was sending an order down the speaking tube when the shell burst, and hisjaws were found hanging to the mouthpiece of the tube. Another shell entered the turret, killing the gunnery lieutenant and six men, and wounding fourteen others. All the upper works werebadly cut up,and the steam steering gear was smashed. The ship was on fire in more than one place, but the flames were extinguished. At last the hopeless fight ended by the Chinese ship heading for Wei-hai-wei, "The troops," writesMr. Tamplin (the chief officer of the Kowshing),"behaved generally in a quiet and orderly manner, and seemed to be very happy and contented;but they had apparently very little idea as to how or where they were to be engaged." It was the chief officer's watch fromfour a.m. to eight a.m. on July 25th. So far allhad gone well, and the Kowshing was passing through the archipelago of islands that stud the sea off theBay of Asan. Ina few hours the port would be in sight. At half-past seven Tamplin observedaman-of-warrapidly approaching. "She hadJapanese navalcolours flying,"he says," with a white flag aboveit. Asshe neared us, thinking her to be a Japanese man-of-war, and in accordance with our usual custom, tlae red ensign was hoisted and dipped and hoisted again ;but, to our surprise, she took no notice of it, and continued steaming away in a northeast direction."

Major von Hanneken,who watchedher from tlae bridge,thought she was one of the Chinese