Those who have witnessed the individual bravery, be it courage or be it despair, frequently exhibited by the Chinese during the war, in almost every encounter, will be slow to stamp them as a cowardly people, however inefficient they may be as fighting men in armed bodies, against European discipline and modern weapons. The most painful of all the scenes on this occasion was that of the bodies of men burnt perhaps to death when wounded. It is well known that the bow and arrow is the favourite weapon of the Tartar troops, upon the dexterous use of which they set the highest claim to military distinction. The spear also, of various forms and fashions, is a favourite weapon both of Tartars and Chinese; but the matchlock, which in all respects very nearly resembles some of the old European weapons of the same name, except that the bore is generally somewhat smaller, is of much more modern introduction, and by no means so much in favour with the Chinese; this is occasioned principally by the danger arising from the use of the powder, in the careless way in which they carry it. They have a pouch in front, fastened round the body, and the powder is contained loose in a certain number of little tubes inside the pouch, not rolled up like our cartridges. Of course, every soldier has to carry a match or port-fire to ignite the powder in the matchlock when loaded. Hence, when a poor fellow is wounded and falls, the powder, which is very apt to run out of his pouch over his clothes, is very likely to be ignited by his own match, and in this way he may either be blown up at once, or else his clothes may be ignited; indeed, it is not impossible that the match itself may be sufficient to produce this effect. At Chuenpee, many bodies were found after the action not only scorched, but completely burnt, evidently from the ignition of the powder. In one of the latest encounters during the war, at Chapoo, where a few of the Tartars defended themselves so desperately in a house in which they had taken refuge, they were seen stripping themselves altogether, in order to escape the effect of the fire upon their combustible clothes when the building was in flames; and many other instances of a similar kind were noticed during the war. With respect to the attack upon the fort at Tycocktow, on the opposite side of the river, the Nemesis was not concerned in that part of the operations of the 7th January. The force employed on that service was placed under the orders of Captain Scott, of the Samarang, 26; and consisted, in addition to that vessel, of the Druid, 44, Captain Smith; the Modeste, 18, Commander Eyres; and Columbine, 16, Commander Clarke. Captain Scott was directed to proceed to attack the forts upon Tycocktow, and to dismantle them, spiking the guns, and destroying the forts as much as possible; after which, he was to take up a convenient position in reference to the expected operations against the proper Bogue forts higher up.