CHAPTER VI - THE GORGES OF THE GREAT RIVER

Summary

March 7.—The governor-general of the province had come up here to arrange matters with our consul; but he went away two days after our arrival, either because he would not take the trouble to arrange matters, or because he was afraid of the responsibility of failure. No doubt he thought that things were going wrong, and in plain English his departure would have been called running away.

When he left, of course all the people in the neighbourhood who had spare gunpowder let off guns.

At about ten o'clock the consul went ashore again with the Tao-Tai, attended by the other chief Chinese officials, and escorted by a regiment of braves.

They were at once surrounded by a yelling mob; and as the officials and braves were quite unable to quell the disturbance, they retired to a temple.

On the way they succeeded in making prisoners of two men who appeared to be ringleaders, and these they carried off.

When they were inside the walls of the buildings, one of the officials walked up and down, stamping and calling the people of I-Ch'ang by all the vile epithets he could think of.

The clamour outside now induced the officials to give up their prisoners. It had much the same effect as a pot of Liebig amongst a pack of wolves.

After a while a retreat was determined on; and the whole party returned to the landing-place, amidst a shower of dirt, stones, brickbats, and tiles.