Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books, including Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
The Narcissus
A busy view of Jemulpo Harbor circa 1890s-1910s / Robert Neff Collection
In the late 19th century, life aboard a British warship (especially along the Korean peninsula) was often monotonous with gunnery and deck drills and never-ending ship's maintenance. The only excitement came when the ships anchored at Jemulpo (modern Incheon) and the crews were occasionally granted shore leave at which time they would fill the handful of hotels and bars and be rounded up in the early morning and taken back to their ships. Usually, if there was trouble, it happened in the port's houses of ill repute or bars and not in the harbor ― but not always.
On the morning of January 26, 1897, the HMS Narcissus was anchored in the outer harbor of Chemulpo [modern Incheon]. A Russian warship was anchored not far from the Narcissus as well as a Japanese transport ship and the Korean-government-leased steamship Chow Chow Foo.
It was bitterly cold that morning ― the Han River had been frozen over since early December and would remain closed to river traffic until March ― and very little was moving until 8:30 when disaster sailed in.
One can imagine the sailors on the Narcissus must have looked on with disbelief as the Yechigo Maru, a Japanese steamship, sailed into the harbor and, instead of anchoring nearby, impaled itself on the British warship's ram.
According to one report, the impact “punctured a hole about 10 feet by eight feet mid-ship partly into her coal bunker and partly into the engine room. The opening was such that a sampan could have easily gone through and from the outside her engines could be plainly seen.”
For nearly two hours the Yechigo was impaled helpless on the British warship, but was finally released by the tide and the Japanese company's tugboat towed it to a nearby sandbank to prevent her from sinking. The cause of the accident was attributed to the Yechigo's “refusal to answer her helm.” A rather simple explanation begs for more details, but I failed in my quest to glean the facts that surely exist somewhere.
Fortunately, there were no injuries to the crews and the steamship's cargo ― mainly rope, oranges and straw bagging ― was largely undamaged. As for the Narcissus ― it suffered nothing more than a little paint scraped off near the impact point.
However, for many of the crew, it must have seemed that the ship was cursed. They were still mourning the loss of their captain (Henry B. Lang) and three of their shipmates who had been lost the previous September. While the ship was exploring the coastal wilderness north of Vladivostok, Captain Lang and a group of men went ashore in two of the warship's small boats to do some fishing. As they were returning to the ship, the weather turned foul and one boat overturned, dumping the men into the turbulent sea. A few of the men managed to cling to the overturned boat and were eventually rescued, but the captain and three young sailors (John Flannagan, Jesse Ousley, and John B. Pearce) drowned. The men in the other boat prudently did not attempt to return to the ship and remained ashore for three days due to the severe weather.
They were able to recover two of the drowned victims' bodies when they washed ashore and subsequently buried them, but the bodies of the captain and the other sailor could not be found. Three days of mourning was observed by the British Fleet on the China Station (Far East).
About two months after the incident at Jemulpo, the crew of the Narcissus learned that the bodies of their late captain and fellow sailor had been discovered. Apparently a group of Japanese fishermen found the bodies about 12 kilometers from where the accident had occurred. The fishermen rifled the pockets of the deceased and took the captain's rings, watch and other valuables back to Japan where they tried to sell them. They were eventually caught by the authorities and imprisoned for robbing the dead. Fortunately, some of the jewelry was recovered and presented to the captain's wife.
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.