First, let me thank
@Cataquack Warrior and
@Soundwave G1 for nominating this timeline for the 2024 Turtledove.
Now…
“Great to-do at the docks today. A British merchantman arrived in harbor this morning, one day too late to offload its cargo of dried Cayenne and Scotch Bonnet peppers before the new law went into effect.[1] What a fuss they made! Madame Talvande has taught us nothing of commerce and trade, but even I know that another day’s sailing would take them north of the state line where they’d find plenty of people happy to buy their pepper. And surely it would be more profitable to do this than to threaten honest importers with lawsuits for abiding by the will of Columbia. A little red pepper goes a long way in any event.
“They say it’s good luck to have a Negro in your home on this day. I would think if that were true, Negroes themselves would have better luck. Not that it matters. Stephen won’t hear of such a thing. Instead, we had dinner with the Chisolms—a baked ham that must have come from a prize-winning sow, and a splendid dish of Hopping John[2]. We’ll see what luck it brings.”
From the journal of Elizabeth Miller, January 1, 1840.
“Heavy snow overnight. Not as bad as the big blizzard two years ago, but bad enough. This morning we find ourselves prisoners in our own home, though for once it is because of Nature, not the fear of servile insurrection. Stephen had to make his way through the snow to guard a team of slaves.
“My brother learned a lot from our northern friends during his time on Ragged Island. They especially liked boasting of their winters to us Southerners. ‘Now I know why the Yankees despise us,’ he said when he returned home at dusk. ‘They expect snow like this every winter in every town up north. Every Yankee man owns a broad-bladed shovel. When the snow comes down at night, they all rise before dawn and work like Psyche’s ants[3] to clear paths down every street and alley. Not just men, either—strong boys, strapping widows, invalids’ wives. They shovel it all out into the street where the snow roller[4] packs it down for sledges to drive over. Just imagine if I was to try that here. Imagine if the neighbors saw me out there with a shovel working like a n____r. Instead, ten slaves take all day to move as much snow as one old Yankee with a backache could in an hour, and I have to watch with musket in hand so they don’t use the shovels to split white men’s skulls.’”
From the journal of Elizabeth Miller, January 2, 1840.
“The snow is already beginning to melt. I think the sun will clear a path to our door before the team Stephen is guarding gets around to it.”
From the journal of Elizabeth Miller, January 3, 1840.
“Terrible rumors in the market. They say a clipper came from up north bearing word that Sen. Clay was wounded in his duel. They say Rep. Wayne has been taken into custody, but no one knows why, if dueling is legal in Maryland[5].
“I confess I hardly remember anything of his presidency. I was not quite nine when he left office, and my thoughts were mostly of our own family and its troubles.
“I see no point to dueling. What does it prove, other than who’s the better shot?”
From the journal of Elizabeth Miller, January 4, 1840.
“Today in church we were asked to pray for Sen. Clay’s recovery, and for Rep. Wayne. Afterward, heard Mr. Keitt calling Clay a ‘d____d Yankee.’ Isn’t he from Kentucky? Does he not own slaves? Are we calling everyone north of Charleston Yankees now?
“Back to school tomorrow. Less than four more months and I shall be sixteen. Six more months and I shall be a graduate. Seven more months and I shall be Elizabeth Miller Brewster. What a change that will be!”
From the journal of Elizabeth Miller, January 5, 1840.
“It was near the end of the Year of the Pig[6]. We had sailed south along the coast, bringing more soldiers on board at every stop. Half were good soldiers of the Eight Banners. Others were Green Standard soldiers, but spoke Fuzhou, Hokkien, and other languages that would be useful in raising the countryside of Taiwan. Then we sailed south far out to sea, trusting in the sea current[7] to carry us to our destination.
“As a zuoling[8] of the Plain White Banner[9], I was privy to knowledge not shared with the Green Standard Army. I knew we were to land southeast of Takao[10] and liberate the city, cutting off the supply lines of the French on Taiwan and forcing them to attack. We could make no plans further ahead than that without knowing more about the disposition of French forces on the island, as well as those forces loyal to China.
“We could not approach the city itself by sea, because there were several French warships in the harbor. We did not think they were enough to destroy a fleet of over a hundred war junks, but we knew that engaging them in battle would cost the Water Force more than it could lose. ‘One cat at the hole, and ten thousand mice dare not come out; one tiger in the valley, and ten thousand deer cannot pass through.’[11] But the sea is wide, and our fleet was in as tight a group as it could form without collisions. Not even the French could patrol the whole sea. The Water Force could land us, then leave and return to harbor.
“That was what we believed. We did not know that with the balloons tethered to their topmasts, the enemy could see and signal one another ten times farther than our Water Force. Before we noticed their balloons on the horizon, we saw and heard their signal rockets to east and west and knew we were being hunted.
“We were about fifteen li[12] southwest of Liuqui Islet when they struck. The day was clear, the wind gentle, the waves low. We could not make speed enough to flee, and there was no place to hide. They did not even need to come within reach of our guns.
“I was on the deck of one of the ships—I had never even troubled myself to learn its name, that was Water Force business—leading my men in exercises, when a rocket from one of the French ships struck the bow and set it ablaze. The fire was white, almost too bright to look at. Buckets of water poured on it simply flashed into steam.
“Since childhood I have always had a horror of fire that I cannot justify, taking caution beyond need. I thought as a man I was beyond this fear, but to see that spitting fire eat the timbers of our ship like rice paper stripped me of all my courage. I simply fled, cast off my robes and leapt into the sea. I was far from the only one.
“I have always excelled at swimming, and even in winter the sea was not so cold.[13] As I swam, I saw other junks burning, or blasted apart with exploding cannonballs of a kind I had never known existed. I was able to reach one of the French ships, and they permitted me to surrender. Not many of my fellow soldiers were so fortunate.”
He Zhuoqing (translated by Lt. Elmar) in an interview with Moniteur correspondent J.F. Macé, 17 May 1845
[1] If chili pepper is hot enough, it can be used to dissuade bloodhounds from following one’s trail. Scotch Bonnet peppers in particular (which have the same Scoville rating as habaneros) have become popular in OTL’s Florida and are very useful on the southern Hidden Trail. For this reason, red pepper has been now outlawed in South Carolina and Georgia, and similar laws are being debated in Alabama and Mississippi.
[2] A dish of black-eyed peas, rice, onion, and bacon, traditionally served on New Year’s Day in the South to bring good luck. Ellie is, of course, unaware that this particular tradition did not originate with white people.
[3] A reference to the story of Cupid and Psyche. Stephen was raised in the same family as Ellie, and knows his classical allusions.
[4] A massive, horse-drawn roller. (One of the few real advantages horses have over cars is that they handle snow a lot better, and—at least north of South Carolina—sledges are common winter vehicles.)
[5] Dueling was outlawed in Maryland in 1839 IOTL. ITTL, they haven’t quite got around to it yet. (As you can imagine, that’s about to change.)
[6] January 31, 1840, but of course according to the Chinese calendar the new year hasn’t begun yet.
[7] Specifically, a branch of the Kuroshio current.
[8] Company commander
[9] One of the Eight Banners—specifically, one of the upper three that were under the direct control of the emperor, who if it isn’t obvious is about to lose some of his best troops.
[10] Kaohsiung
[11] He Zhuoqing is quoting Du You’s commentary on
The Art of War.
[12] Roughly five miles or seven and a half kilometers.
[13] The Kuroshio is a tropical current, after all.
