Some of the junks drifted on shore; and, as there could be no utility in saving them, they were all successively set on fire, by order of Captain Belcher, and ultimately blew up. In some of the junks which were not yet quite abandoned by their crews, the poor Chinamen, as the English sailors boarded them on one side, rushed wildly over on the opposite one, or let themselves down by the stern chains, clinging to the ship's rudder. Others, as the fire gained upon their junk, retreated before it, and continued hanging to the yet untouched portions of it, until the flames advancing upon them rapidly, they were obliged to throw water _over their own bodies_ to enable them to bear the intense heat, still desperately clinging to their fate, more from fear of ill-treatment, if they should be taken prisoners, than from any rational hope of being saved. In many instances they _would not_ be saved; in others, they _could not_, and were destroyed as their junk blew up. On the following day, the principal part of the guns were recovered, altogether upwards of eighty in number, of which eight or ten were handsome brass Portuguese guns, 6, 9, and 12-pounders. Altogether, eleven junks were destroyed on the spot. Scarcely had this duty been completed by the different boats engaged, when the Nemesis hastened on up the river, and at the distance of about three miles, came upon a large town, where she found two war-junks moored close to the shore, but abandoned by their crews. The consternation of the people was extreme; they were seen running away from the town in all directions; the surrounding hills were crowded with the anxious and astonished gazers, wondering what was going to happen next; never, of course, having either seen or heard of a "devil ship" before, and well knowing that her visit could only be a hostile one. It was enough that they had already heard of the total destruction of their fleet at the river's mouth. The place was not at all fortified, not a shot being fired on either side. The tide was now beginning to fall, and as the water was not deep, and the bar would soon become impassable, and the day was already far advanced, it was thought better to return without exploring the river higher up. Accordingly, taking in tow the two junks, the Nemesis again descended the river; but one of the junks getting aground on the bar at the entrance, was obliged to be left behind, while the other was taken safely down, and soon after five P.M., the Nemesis joined the squadron off Chuenpee, and received the thanks of the commodore for the services she had rendered during the day. She had received no important damage, the paddle-box only having been injured by a well-directed shot from one of the junks.