In 1901, the French Navy dispatched its gunboat Olry to West China in an exploratory mission to the Yangtze’s upper reaches under Lt. Emile Auguste Leon Hourst’s command. Hourst’s achievement on Africa’s Niger River set high standards for the expedition and fate blessed him a second time. Upon arriving in China, Hourst was introduced to Captain Samuel Cornell Plant, a British river explorer, who having cut his teeth on Iran’s Karun River, made his way to China’s Upper Yangtze at the end of the century. In 1900, Plant became the first to pilot a merchant steamship through the Gorges to Chongqing unaided by Chinese trackers. A year later, Hourst and Plant together – two of the world’s greatest river pioneers – successfully navigated Orly past Chongqing up to Suifu.
To my astonishment, more than a dozen photos (that appear to be from this brief period) found their way onto ebay. Having a personal connection to Plant, I submitted a winning bid for all but one – an image of the entire crew together.
My family’s overlap with French influences in China continued through the 1940’s and I often wonder if this mission in 1901 forged the initial connection.
Thanks, linked on https://www.scoop.it/topic/wuhan a topic we are maintaining for sino-french medical training program.