"During this engagement it was ascertained that Commander Darley had been killed and Lieut. Fogg. Elliott took charge of the boarding "The Chinese guns having been silenced, the party, in more or less safety, managed to work their way to the place where the imprisoned officers were being held captive and they eventually, after probably 35 minutes of muzzle-to-muzzle fighting, succeeded in freeing the three affeers, Capt. Thomson, Mr. Tohnson, chiot officer, and Mr. Kerr, chief engineer. Two of the captives made their way over the bridge, while the third, according to his own story, which was rather hazy, walked aboard the Kiawo, "The mission of the Kiawo having been accomplished as far as the Wanhsien was concerned, the vessel pulled away and went alongside the Wantung, on which were three other captives, to see what could be done.
"On nearing the Wantung, we officers take! the eye-witness related. "One of these, Mr. Paul, the chief officer, was rescued by thi French gunboat Doudart," The chie: engineer, Mr. Johnston, missed the Doudart'and was shot dead in the water, "About this time we saw that] Capt. Bates had also jumped overboard and was clinging to the Wantung toward the after part of the ship. We also saw that the Chinese soldiers aboard the Wantung were firing at him. We eventually res-ued him, however, but only after he had been shot in the throat and wounded.
"This completed the work of the Kiawo and we pulled away."
Wanhsien Shelled According to the eye-witness, throughout the whole of the pro-coedings H. M. S. S. Widgeon and Cockchafer were shelling into Wanhsien and it was seen that the city on fire in several places. This tion was necessary, however, since, when the fighting first started between the Kiawo and Wanhsien, a battery of 12-pounders opened fire from the banks of the river on the sid® where the city was located.
All along both. banks were thousands of General Yang's Sen's soldiers who were also firing at the ships. Two of the shots from the 12peunders struck the Kiawo during the battle and carried away'
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.