British ambassador to leave the town immediately, and also to prevent any members of his party from walking through the streets. In due course of time a reply came to the letter. It was from Prime-Minister Yuh, signed by the Vermilion Pencil (Emperor). The substance of the reply was, that in the first place the British ambassador should go straight back to Canton, as that was the only point from which negotiations could be received. This was not the kind of reply Lord Elgin had desired. He did not wish to use force in getting near the imperial throne, but could see no other way out of the difficulty. Accordingly he determined to pass the forts at the mouth of the Peiho River, then advance to Tien-Tsin, and make another effort to communicate with the imperial government. The representatives of the other powers supported him in this design, particularly the Russian minister. Count Poutiatine, who thought that even this measure would fail, and that nothing short of a powerful naval and military force could break through the obstinacy of the emperor and those who surrounded him.
Light-draught boats were ordered up and the fleet proceeded through the Yellow Sea to the mouth of the Peiho. As they entered the Gulf of Pechele, they encountered strong gales, which turned that body of water into a substance resembling boiling pea-soup. Occasionally the cold gales from the northeast suddenly ceased and were followed with hot blasts filled with impalpable sand from the great desert of Gobi. Ten fathoms was found to be the average depth of the Gulf of Pechele. As the fleet neared the coast the water shoaled, and suddenly the leadsmen announced only four fathoms. Immediately the ships were brought to anchor.
The position of the fleet was nearly in front of the entrance of Peiho, "The River of the North." A bar extends into the gulf at least a mile from the mouth of the river. This bar has eleven feet of water upon it
