Tuckwo Fired Upon by Gang Near Chinkiang: Demand to]
Search for Malcontents but Oply Opium Found One of the most dastardly tacks by armed Chinese upon a ygtze merchant-vessel in recent fears took place on January] 15, when alleged members the Kiangsu Water Public Safety Force opened fire on the str. Tuckwo with rifles, pistols and machine guns, killing 2 Chinese passenger, whose body was later thrown overboard by the attackers, and seriously wounding a Chinese quartermaster, The attack was made at Kuan a boat station on the north bank of the river and on the Shanghai ide of Chinkiang. Two launches approached. the ship without ing it and suddenly opened fire from a distance of thirty yards. Boarding the ship with the avowed purpose of searching for two desperadoes and for a quantity of ammunition, the party left two hours later with a good quantity of smuggled opium which they found on board, Opium was the only reason for which they made this lawless onslaught, and a rival gang ashore kept on firing at them during the raid.
There were on board the average winter crowd of Chinese passenger and two or three foreign passen; ers, including Mr. Erie Teichmann, Chinese Secretary of the British Legation at Peking and at present acting as secretary to Sir Mil HM," Minister. Sir himself to have travelled by the Tuckwo, but for some reason or other did not do so: he will, however, be able to hear from Mr. Peichmann a first-hand account of this attack upon a defenceless ship. Mr, Teichmann's mastery of the Chinese language proved of great value in dealing with the pirate gang.
No Warning Give:
The onslaught on the ship. ocgurred at 7.30 p.m just as the Tuckwo was approaching the boat-station, having left Chinkiang not Tong before. The ship had slackened speed to dead slow so that the boat from the shore could come alongside to put passengers on board and take others off without the ship actually stopping, when two launches approached, "loaded a Chinese, some in uniform and in long' gowns and felt hats.
'They gave no hail to the But at a distance of some thirty yards opened fire with all the we ons they had, rifles, Mauser pistols and machine' guns. 'Their aim covered the guard deck, the bullets ide' from mid~ also the stern portion of the ship. Many she! wore fired from aft of the shi ome going up the starboard side og far as a steel partition, and it was here that a Chinese passenger Zell, shot through the neck, Protective armour: plate is no Jonger mounted all over the river vessels as it used to be, only one! or two pieces now being left. With no speed on the ship and with no armour protection worth while nor guard, there was nothing to be done but stop, and this Captain Colin Campbell' ordered. He had yushed up to the bridge and taken over command from the Chief Off. er, Mr. A. M, Jewell, as soon as! the firing started.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.