STAGING A PIRACY

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXIV, 8 March 1930, Page 9

STAGING A PIRACY

CHINESE METHODS JEFFICIEIN7; AND GRIM PtWnS T/JAT GO ASTRAY' Staging"/ a r jiracy on coast is not unlikjOy'the of certain forms of' 'company .promoting. Capital is needed., a nd forthcoming. There irj mufJn' bargaining and negotiating b ehirA closed doors, and, though prospec j jU £,elj and lists of directors and shareh ,tW erß are no t published, they exist. / 'When the necessary capital has been yfoutid, a capable managing director is ar To recruit a reliable gang> sfle fit a likely victim, gather the es«ent,a I, information, carry through the ente /prise itself, and plan a retreat with s poil and prisoners, requires no ordinary ability. . • ' ' ■■' Imagine the scene at sundown on board one of these coasters wallowing in. the heavy swell of the south-east monsoon. The holds forward and aft, have been 'turned into whitewashed dormitories, where' a huddled mass of humanity, men, women and children, bivouac on lmjts and bundles with the close economy of a-Chinese crowd. Some are preparing- chow, others are washing clothes, or ' squatting in groups are gambling. Under the boats and on the beams ar& sleeping figures, ha|f naked if the uight is fine and warm. Amidships, ..'on the raised promenade, deck, theve, are a few saloon passengers, English and Chinese, the officers' quarters, arid the bridge. At dinner time, when the, officers off duty and all the passenger/; are "seated unarmed at the saloon tables, a signal is given—once it was the lighting of a cigarette—a sharp "Hands u/p!" is called, the startled diners find themselves staring down the muzzles of automatics held by coolies, merchants, and. seamen.

Weapons "are demanded, every one is seized, searched, and locked up either in tjh"e cabins or in the saloons; armed piratical guards are set who make it clear that death is the penalty of resistance. On the bridge, in» the guards' quarters, in the wireless vbom, and on the /engine room starting platform the samte story is told: a sudden order, a pisfiol, and inevitable surrender. Then the'polite instruction: "You will steer for Bias Ray, getting there at 7 a.m. No one will be hurt —unless attempt to retake the ship."/ Routine will go on as usual, watches being relieved as if nqthjng were wrong. Meanwhile tho cargo is ransacked"-and everv jewel or valuable; garment stripped off the terrified (passengers. Navigation and cabin, lights are put out,'and in.complete darkness the ship sets/course-for. Bias Bay, a place of sinister significance on the China coast. It Vs a. big sheet of shallow water landlocked by,the sandy scrub-covered hills of'that part. There are a few Chinese villages, a' few sampans fishing, a suggestion of peace; seclusion, aii|tt'beauty. But, as the j pirated iship drops anchor, swarms of sampans'push'off'from the shore; their' crews : hail the ( pirates with grim impassivity,: arid these beaten, tattered men,of the <&sst set to with a- will in the''task of stripping the ship. Even chronometers sextants, and trass fittings are,often Thiers are piteous'scenes w'/tien families areidivjded, a father or mother being roughjy" urged at pistol point'into a sampan' t,6 fTe" carried off to the,'mountains, perhaps to.'be rescued, more probably to die of hunger and exposure during the endleps gling between intermediaries over' the ransom. The distressed ship s steams painfully back to Hongkong, where 1 the police take charge, inventories of' the rpbbery •'are made, and public interest slowly tades. - ' :\

/ AN AMAZING FIGHT ; But it is not every piracy that works smoothly. Often the Indian guard on duty is shot dead by a treacherous volley, and when the Norwegian coaster Solviken was captured the master, Captain Jastoff, was murdered because he did not immediately open his cabin door. In another big piracy, that of the Ahking, a volley at close range cleared the Bridge, killing the chief officer and quartermaster and severely wounding .the captain. The chief engineer wa£- mijrdered from behind, while sitting in a deck chair, and the second officer was knocked on the head. The pirates ,were particularly careful of him, hpweYer, because they needed some one who could navigate the ship. '.;■ • Thfe San Nam Hoi piracy is jUso me-' morabje. About 30 pirates rushed the ship when it was only 15 minutes put of tlje littje West. River port of Pekbai. ' A volley accounted for the Indian ftuard.. and his comrades off duty, were,at once overpowered.' The'officer on watch,- Mt Hugh Conway, dashed down the ijridjjje deck, but Well mortally wounded.; Mi' Houghton, the chief engineer, had in the meantime braved a shower of 'buljetsyin closing the stout grille on the povt side of the bridge deck. He had his; reyoT-. ver and was able to cover the starboard side of the deck until the master,-Cap-tain W. H. Sparke, had joined hihv on thf>: bridge. The starboard grille' ,w»s open and desperate measures were, taken to close it. With an automatic jn each hand, Captain Sparke squarely, faced' the pjrates, and under coyer of his fire, M? Houghton ran qu' cklv a * fc ? nd slammed the grille in their faces. An'amazing fight followed, Captain Sparke dodging from .side to side to fire at the ugly, faces aft, and between whiles he had to navigato the ship, for at the.first sound of danger the pilot and quartermaster had bolted forward and hidden' themselves with the crew. At this .stage Wf the battle,'ammunition being short, Mr Houghton,, a less certain shot than the master, acted as loader and look-out. •: The pirates were an amateur Jot, several being, mehibers of a semi-BolshC-vised crew sacked some weeks before.for insubordination. A simple ruse finished their ebbing' spirits. Captain;Sparke suddenly blew lour blasts ononis siren and altered course. The pirates,'thinking that a gunboat was sighted, jumped over by.the stern. But their, troubles had not ended. Captain Sparke put/his ship about and with his gallant;engineer opened fire on the swimming heads. The noise having attracted the militia of a near-by village, some 15. of the gang wore captured and sent in chains to Canton, where they suffered the usual fate of pirates. .