Page "Rover incident" Paragraph 1

Following the wreck of the United States ship and killing of the surviving crew by aborigines, the American Consul to Amoy Charles William Le Gendre quickly traveled to Foochow, arriving on 2 April 1867, to persuade the governor generals of Fukien and Chekiang to intervene and put pressure on the Chinese authorities in Taiwan to resolve the issue.

The governor general of Fukien gave Le Gendre permission to go to Taiwan himself, and wrote him a letter of introduction to take to the prefect of Taiwan, asking him to cooperate with Le Gendre, but adding that " if the consul takes measures to manage the case himself, please invite him not to do so, for these savages might give him more trouble that he thinks.

" Le Gendre commissioned the United States steamer, under the command of Captain John C. Febiger, in order to visit the scene of the wreck and to try ( unsuccessfully ) to get foreign officials in Taiwanfoo ( where he arrived on 18 April ) to act.

After a subsequent failed punitive expedition carried out by Rear Admiral Henry H. Bell of the United States Navy, Le Gendre again returned to Formosa — this time without any reference to his superiors.

While in Taiwan, he asserted United States consular authority, selected a deputy consul in north Taiwan, visited the Keelung mines, and gathered information from United States merchants.