WHILE surveying, I had engaged a fisherman to come in the gig with me and point out any rocks there might be in the river. The man was seated near me, while the cox'n, the only member of the crew who spoke English, hove the lead forward. After a while the fisherman asked the stroke oarsman if I was the captain and then said, " Does he know of a rock outside, which a steamer struck some twenty years ago, and that a sailing vessel also struck some years before that and foundered? " As I understood most of this, I called the cox'n to confirm the information. The steamer referred to was a British trader which, after striking the rock, sank on the reef that fringes the coast; her name was the S.S. Lorne.

3.42 [updated 11 February 2023 ...]
Tonggu Zui (Tung-ku Chiao) (Tung-ku Tsui) (19°38'N., 111°02'E.) is a reef-fringed point. It forms the SE extremity of a hilly promontory which rises to a height of 347m about 2 miles NNW. Between Tonggu Zui and the entrance of Ch’ing-lan Chiang, 14 miles SW, the coast is low and reef-fringed. The bight to the W of Tonggu Zui is encumbered by above-water and drying rocks.

3.42
Lorne Rock, which covers, is a dangerous pinnacle lying about 11 miles S of Tonggu Zui.

3.42
Ch’ing-lan Chiang, lying 11 miles W of Lorne Rock, is a sheltered inlet receding 3 miles NW which leads to a large shallow lagoon. Rocks and sand bars that fringe the entrance uncover at LW and limit the use of the bight for shelter to small vessels. These craft anchor off the entrance of the inlet, in a depth of 12.8m, sand and coral, about 2 miles S of the E entrance point. A narrow buoyed channel, about 0.1 mile wide, leads over the bar and into the harbor. The village of Ch’inglan is situated on the W bank, 1.5 miles from the W entrance point. It was reported that there are two berths built at Ch’inglan for vessels up to 5,000 dwt.

I was particularly interested, because there was a mark on all charts indicating a reef reported hereabouts, some fifteen miles off the east coast of Hainan to the south eastward of Chunlan, which I was always careful to avoid when Navigating Officer of the Kai Pan, under Captain Stewart. The captain of the Lorne had, while landing a load of contraband opium at Chunlan, grounded on the extensive reefs off the coast and his ship had become a total wreck. To clear himself he had stated that he had struck a reef fifteen miles off the coast and had managed to steam his ship on to the reefs where she sank, and so saved life and property.

I, naturally, welcomed the opportunity afforded me of locating the rock, and arranged to take the fisherman out the next morning to show me the spot, but even those fishing near the rock, though admitting that there was such a rock in the neighbourhood, pretended that they did not know how to find it.

My boy, a smart Cantonese, told me that the Chunlan fishermen called the rock a Joss rock, that it stood in deep water like a pagoda, and that as shoals of fish swarmed round the rock it was their main fishing ground and they were afraid to show me where it was, for fear that I would blow it up and disturb the fish.

At last my boy told me that he had secured the services of the sailing master of a war junk who, being neither a local man nor interested in fishing, would find the rock and take me to it on my next visit two weeks later. I had, of course, always offered a substantial reward, which I now increased to make it worth the man's while, as he had to engage a local boat to locate the rock.

On my return I was taken out as promised. The man told me that he had anchored a bamboo on the rock by means of a stone and line; that a small junk would be under sail near the rock, and that the sampan, with a flag on it, would be over the rock. The day was calm, bright and clear, and as the water near the rock was 35 fathoms (or 210 feet) deep, I anchored the Kai Pan by means of a kedge anchor and proceeded to the spot in a gig, looking down into the clear water as we went along.

Suddenly I felt as if I had been hit in the face.

It was the rock, which looked near enough for the gig to ground upon, but there was six feet of water over it.

The rock's head was about 60 feet long with a razor edge, and its long side lay parallel with the coast, its edge curved seaward, which accounted for the fact that the current flowing past the coast side of the rock made no ripples, and the sea was breaking on its sharp edge pointing seawards. I could see the bamboo with which he had marked the rock far down its inshore slope, it being so steep that the stone had slipped till it had caught on a projecting piece of coral.

I fixed the position of the rock and reported it to the British Admiralty hydrographer, and it is now marked on all charts as being 15 miles off the coast. The mark which was supposed to represent its position and which was eight miles away from the actual spot where it was situated, was removed.

It may interest some of my readers if I tell them of the difficulty I had in locating rocks from the information given by junkmen and fishermen, because until one has had experience one never knows the length of the fathom they refer to. The fathom is used by some, while others indicate a three-foot fathom. When I found this out, and asked how it was that their fathom was only three feet, I was told that they pulled in three feet when hauling in their fishing lines. After this I always made sure of the length of fathom used by the informer.

When wanting to locate a rock in a large sheet of water which I was surveying in Bias Bay, and which I had good reason to know existed, I engaged a fishing sampan and towed it to the place where the rock should have been. Fishermen had reported that there was no rock anywhere near that spot. I landed on a high rock not far off, from which I took a round of angles. While doing this a small, dark object was reflected in one of my sextant mirrors; I thereupon took up my binoculars.

By then, however, the dark object had disappeared, but I saw a ring on the surface of the calm water, so concluded that it had been caused by a duck diving for food. Arguing that the duck was most likely to have dived in a shallow part, I took a line of direction, and sure enough found the rock. When I asked the fisherman why he had not told me of this rock, he replied that there was plenty of water over it to allow the steam pinnace to pass over it with perfect safety.

The Kai Pan was a steel vessel, and the waters off Hainan were full of vegetable matter that caused grass and barnacles to cover the ship's bottom, interfering with her speed. We had to dock and repaint the ship's bottom every four months. Hitherto it had been customary for the captains of cruisers to request the Hoihow Commissioner by letter for permission to proceed to Hong Kong to dock and coal ship, which meant that the ship would be absent from her station for some two weeks.

That season I changed that procedure. I explained to Mr. Schoenecke, the Commissioner, that information leaked out from his office of the movements of the station cruiser to the merchants engaged in importing opium from Singapore. As it took a junk less than two weeks to sail from Singapore to Hainan during the south-west monsoon, they managed to import considerable quantities by advising their Singapore agents by telegram of the date the cruiser was leaving the station.

I was thereupon given permission by the Commissioner to proceed to Hong Kong at my own discretion, and to notify him privately from Chunlan that I had left by the courier that brought us our mail.

It so happened that we had gone to Yulin Kan about a week before I had intended leaving for Hong Kong, and while I was there I walked to the top of Dog Mountain (already described) accompanied by a native.

The day was beautifully fine, and the prospect of a cool breeze and shady trees on the mountain tempted me to leave the heat and stuffiness of the harbour.

I thought I would have lunch there in the shade of the trees, and sent a note by the boy I had with me, to the ship, inviting two officers to join me and bring lunch with them.

I saw the boat leave the ship, and after waiting a long while wondered why it was no one came. At last one officer appeared, breathless after a hurried climb up the steep hill. He told me that two of them had left the ship, but that his companion, rather a stout man, had fallen while jumping from the bow of the boat on to the beach, and in falling his left leg had doubled the wrong way. The officer who had joined me had naturally been obliged to return to the ship and see his companion comfortably settled in a hammock-chair before he could come to me.

This accident placed me in an awful fix, as the cruiser I commanded was the only one on the station, and if people got to know that I was taking her to Hong Kong to dock and get coal and stores (which would take me away from my station for two weeks or more), word would be sent to Singapore and several junks laden with opium would be dispatched. With the prevailing wind they would be able to land the opium before I could return to stop them, and for this reason the Commissioner of Customs at the Treaty Port of Hoihow, under whom I worked, had allowed me to take my instructions verbally the last time I had seen him — the instructions being that I was to leave Yulin Kan for Hong Kong direct on a certain date without telling anyone.

At the time of the accident the date of my departure was some days ahead and I had still to visit Chunlan, from which port I was required to send a courier as an indication that I had proceeded to Hong Kong.

Naturally, my officers would think me wanting in feeling if I did not at once proceed to the nearest port where medical aid was procurable; for, as you will readily understand, a leg cannot be bent at the knee with the foot forward without causing damage, besides displacing the knee-cap. Therefore, on returning on board I told the patient that it seemed useless for me to take him to Hoihow at once, as the inflammation was too great for anything to be done by any doctor, and that as the Chinese had a wonderful knowledge of herbs, a native medicine man might do what was possible to meet the present requirements; and that, moreover, the American doctor at Hoihow might not prove as efficient as the one at Hong Kong, where we would shortly be going. In any case, there was no accommodation for Europeans in the hospital at Hoihow.

The patient, a man of great common sense, appreciated what I told him, so I got hold of a Chinese medicine man whose methods proved most successful. At any rate, when in due course we arrived at Hong Kong, the patient only had to lie in hospital for about two weeks before the inflammation of his knee had sufficiently subsided to allow of an operation being performed. The officer soon recovered from the effects of his fall, and in a few months walked without a limp.

At the finish of the season, i.e., when the north-east monsoon had set in and junks could no longer arrive from the south, I had occasion to remain at Hoihow for some time and took the opportunity of inviting the Foreign (or European) communities of Hoihow and Kiung Chow to a picnic, which was to be held in a large circular pavilion situated in the walled enclosure round a large Chinese temple. The roof of the pavilion was supported by an inner and outer circle of massive wooden pillars. These I had covered with flags, and hung a large number of Chinese lanterns from the ceiling. I had four corner sofas made which were also covered with flags. Adequate tables and chairs were provided for my 32 guests.

The day selected was one when the moon was full.

The weather was beautifully fine and everybody enjoyed their tea; then at dusk, when some started on their way home, they found a white screen in the doorway of the enclosure with the words — " A hearty welcome is extended to a cold supper." A sailor held a lantern behind in order that the writing could be clearly seen.

All the guests stayed to supper, after which some smoked and chatted while others sang. The party broke up about midnight.

The first part of our way to Hoihow lay across flat, grass-covered country, which in the moonlight appeared to be covered with a carpet, for the closely-cropped green grass was thickly dotted with large moon-flowers.

They are the most elusive flowers, as they only come out by moonlight, disappearing at dawn. So while the full moon lit our way it also added to the beauty of the scenery.

While at Hoihow, I made a report at the request of the Commissioner, which may still be seen at the Customs House.

During the season I took Mr. Schoenecke to visit the port of Pakhoi, which was the treaty port that lay the furthest west on the China coast on the Tong King Gulf, which, like Hoihow, is but a small port. One night I had the British Consul and the Harbour Master and his wife to dinner. They all came in the Harbour Master's gig, and he told me on arrival that it was reported that a gang of some 400 pirates were in the neighbourhood, and he had reason to believe that they might attack the settlement that night. He had left instructions that should there be any signs of a disturbance, a white light was to be hoisted on the Custom House flagstaff, below the red light that was always at the masthead as an aid to navigation.

When dinner was over and we were enjoying a glass of port wine, the quartermaster reported that there was now a white light on the Customs flagstaff below the red light. Half my Chinese crew were on leave, but I managed to man two gigs with an officer in charge, all of whom were armed. The Consul and Harbour Master got into the boats and they all left for the Customs House, which stood near the shore at the head of the harbour, some two miles to the northward of the anchorage, after I had instructed the officer in charge to report himself to the Commissioner of Customs.

After the boats had left I enjoyed the society of the Harbour Master's wife, who was a most charming woman. I had no reason to worry about the landing party, because if there had been anything seriously wrong the Commissioner would have sent his own instructions to me. However, I could not ignore the information given me by the Harbour Master, so I was not altogether surprised when the boats returned, and the officer in charge told me that the Commissioner was very angry with me for sending the men ashore, and that he was at present dining with the Deputy Commissioner who lived in a flat above the Customs House.

Some nights later I dined at the Deputy Commissioner's flat myself, and when the ladies had left the dining room, the boy took a large kerosine lamp from the table and preceded the ladies to the drawing room. When the men joined the ladies I noticed that the lamp stood on a table in front of an open window, and that the window was in line with the Customs House flagstaff, and I was able to explain how it was that a white light had appeared below the red light after dinner on the night the Harbour Master dined with me!

Some time later I was asked by the Pakhoi Commissioner to take him to a Chinese town at the N.E. corner of the Tong King Gulf. As the chart only showed extensive sandbanks, I took a pilot. After steaming for some five hours without sighting land, I went to lunch with the Commissioner, leaving instructions with the officer of the watch to ring the engine room telegraph to slow as soon as the leadsman got five fathoms, the water being ten fathoms when I went to lunch. The meal was barely over when I heard the engine room telegraph ring. I went on deck and saw stretching across our track, some two miles ahead, a long and narrow line of a bright yellow colour, which, with the sun shining on it, looked like a narrow ridge of sand. I asked the pilot if there was plenty of water on the other side and as his answer was in the affirmative, the only thing for us to do was to cut through that ridge. If we went at it at a slow speed we would get stuck, so I put her to full speed with leadsmen on each side, and managed to cut through the sand ridge, which had only about six feet of water over it, but it was so narrow that we felt no shock. Our troubles were not yet over, however, for on crossing a flat we got stuck in a fish weir and had to lower all our boats, and make the ship's crew run from one side of the ship to the other to shake her clear. In due course we arrived at the anchorage.

The officials of the town had invited the Commissioner to come to their town to inspect a coal mine they were starting. I did not land, but was amused to notice from the ship that the shaft was being dug downwards from the top of a hill some 100 feet high, which had a roof over it to keep the rain out. That, of course, was sensible, whereas to commence digging at the top of a hill was not, but I have no doubt that superstition played its part.

On the way to Pakhoi one passes the island of Guei Chow, which is interesting because two French Jesuit priests have converted the inhabitants of the island to their faith, and, assisted by the islanders, have built a very fine church, which is certainly an achievement to be proud of.

To finish off this season, the first I spent at Hainan, I must tell you that one day the missionary doctor's wife told me that she was training a carrier pigeon, and asked me if I could take it to the Kai Pan and release it from there. I felt I could not let it go without a message of some kind, so I wrote on a piece of paper, " I would I were a bird that I might fly to thee," rolled it up and tied it under a wing.

When I called a few days later I was told that she had heard the pigeon arriving and had caught it through the bathroom window without anyone noticing. There is nothing in the story, but it reminds me of two things — one is that later on the same lady embroidered a teacloth for me, working on it the outline of Hainan Island with a mermaid seated on the Lorne Rock, and showing the pavilion in which I gave my famous picnic. The other, that I told her that I wanted to buy some Chinese silks to send to my mother and three sisters. She sent for a silk man, who brought endless rolls which were spread round the room, and as a lady friend of hers was asked in to help in the choice of silks, you can well understand that I bought a great deal more silk that I would have done had I gone to a shop.

However, it gave pleasure to my family.