IN PIRATE HANDS

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 50, 28 August 1934, Page 9

IN PIRATE HANDS

FIVE MONTHS' MISERY

STORY TOLD IN A BOOK

(From "The Post's" Representative.) NEW YORK, August 2.

l-'ivo months' captivity with Mauchurian bandits is the subject of dramatic notes from the diary of Clifford Johnson, one of the three British Merchant Marine officers who were snatched from their ship, in his book, "Pirato Junk," published here.

Tho British-owned coastwise vessel Manehang was riding at anchor at the mouth of the Liao Ho River. Three enrefrec officers, Johnson, Blue, and Hargreavc, were taking their case towards noon. Fifteen minutes later, they were lying at the bottom of the "glory hole" of a Chinese junk, helpless captives of a race and class of men th^y unaffectedly despised. Tho diary was written on cigarette papers and other scraps, while bandits were- not looking, in the hope that it might eventually reach European hands if they were killed.

Here is the description of their capture:—

"I flung open my door; but, as I did so, a pirato canio up tho ladder, a couple of yards away. He fired ut me as soon as ho saw me. I hoard the shot striko the steel plating near mjr head. There was no time for me to get my Winchester and load it, so 1 swung around and ran along tho deck to the second engineer's cabin, at the after-end of the deck, thinking I might get one of his. "As I nipped my head back, I saw two pirates climbing the ladder six feet away; those who had chased me along the deck came, into sight at the same moment. They fired wildly into the room. God knows how we missed being shot. Blue was loading tho first gun—he had got the catch back —when they crowded into the room and jabbed their revolvers into our ribs. It was no good; we had to put our hands up." While negotiations for ransom were going along well, their captors werefriendly; at other times, in an evil temper. They yanked out their prisoners' hair, and tweakad their ears and noses. "All day in this damned glory hole. Even when tho hatch was open, so many bandits looked in that we got no fresh air. We could. scarcely see the sky most of tho time. It was blotted out by their ugly faces. . . . They're all mad." One after another, tho monkey faces peer ia and laugh and snigger and torment us. Hargrcave gets it worst, as ho is directly under tho hatchway. When he lies down, he looks straight up into their faces; when he sits up, they pull his hair. I'm out of sight, halfway up tho junk's side. It's hard to keep this diary with Joh Sang looking- through the spy-hole all tho time. How wo do it is that Hargrcavo and Blue lean forward while I_ do tho scribbling behind their backs." Four men had originally boon captured; one had been released to carry the ransam demands. For months tho three endured filth and danger, with moments of dospair at thoir possible fate. They sang tho "Prisoner's Ron?" to keen v" their spirits. The Chinese loved H. They sang also. While the din lasted through the nic;ht._ we ouarrelled as to whose goddam fool idea it was to start Rinsing, anyway. . _. . The lico are "walking out, and making lovo." Worn out phvsinally. they endured further torture in forced marches when th<> nuTsnir became hot. after they were "hiiackf-d" by another band of ruffians. Then tame the fight with pursuing troops. Finally, their ransom ;inil ri'lcnsi'.