Sketcher

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XX, Issue XX, 6 May 1887, Page 2 (Supplement)

Sketcher

Cbiite.sc Pirates.

‘•Piracy, 1 sec, according to accounts, is still to the fore in China,” said an exottieernf the British army, who is temporarily residing in San Francisco. “A few years ago when 1 was in China, the English gunboats used to be pretty busy chasing and destroying these piratical junks. The junks when pursued made for the laud, and their crews abandoned them for the hills, whore they would keep up a constant tire on the landing parties. “ The coast of the mainland of China, us also that of the island of Thorking, is indented with innumerable sheltered bays, containing fishing villages, the inhabitants being more pirates than fishermen. The junks carried a number of guns, ot an obsolete pattern, mounted on low, wooden carriages. The junks were unprovided with portholes, and the guns were tired over the bulwarks, which are low. These, with spears, swords and stinkpots, formed their armament. These stinkpots iiiea kind of (bvek lire. On attacking a ship they are first thrown, and then the pirates board the vessel in the sliding smoke created. "Large vessels were seldom attacked, unless they were weakly manned. The pirates, having their spies, received good information, and Could lay their plans accordingly. " Hongkong is an island facing flic mainland of China, of which the nearest port is Kowloon, distant about one mile and a quarter. The town of Victoria, containing dock-yards, arsenal barracks, etc., is situated oii-thc side of a mountain • ailed the Peak. The bay, in the shape of a civscc-nt, forms a large harbor, and is ■wp-irated from the mainland by the Ly-e----moon Pass, through which a strong current

'■ When 1 w as in Hongkong a few years ugu, a horrible case nf piracy occurred within two or three miles of that place, in Fv-e-n a I’ass. A lorcha. a kind of brigantine, sailed in the morning, with a i oiisianment of Fulield lilies for the Japanese government. It had barely got three miles on the voyage when it was atn.kul hy three junk*. The pirates, as usual. having thrown their stinkpots, boarded and began tiring ar the crew, who, having no arms, had bolted up the rigging. Alt’ r tiling a number of shots at the crew without any elfect. disabling the steering gear, cutting the rigging, etc,, they went over the sidle taking the rules and everything of any value, I’reviou- to leaving ilie ship one of the pirates put his mmket through the skylight cf the cabin, where the captain of loreha with ins wife had taken refuge, and shot him dead while holding his wife in his arms. The male put back to Hongkong, and, repotted the eirenmstaiieu (o the hngli-h commodore, who ordered a gunboat to get under wav al once. j Ihe lieutenant of the gunboat happened to be lunching with me when one of his ollieei: brought him the order. On asking wliat was the matter, he told me and ottered to take me with him. {laving obtained h-ave without great dillienlty, 1 bundled myself amt traps into the man-of-war gig and hurried on hoard the gunbo ,t lying oif the duck-yard under steam. Taking ti Chinese mandarin, two of his ‘■til. i.als and an interpreter, we weighed anchor and stalled, examining all the bays as we who along. After steaming about fifteen miles, on rounding a point we suated some junks. When they saw us they made tor the shore nut far distant. " c gave the nearest ones several shots Iron; the sixty-eight pounder, but without an;, r-teet, the shots tailing short, as the distance was too great, .lust as we were •getting within range, the pirates ran their junks ashore, and we eollld see (hem getting into their boats in a hurry, not a mile hastened by the shells wo were tiring. ■' Alter answering mu shells with a few shots from their eighteen pounders, the pirates deserted their junks, and wo could see the crews boiling up the hills that sh [red down to the heaeh. Having given them a tew more shells wo got out our boats and landed, twenty-live all told. F inning in skirmishing order, we advanced, being tired on all the time with Jin-gals, matchlock s-, me. We escaped with live casualties. Four of the bluejackets were wounded, beside the mandarin who was shot and died the. next day. It was hard luck tor him, as he was in the front ail the time. He was a very plucky fellow and deserved a better fate. " Finding it impossible to get near the pirates, the heat on the shore being awful and the men h<-ginning to get exhausted, we returned to the junks, which, to the numt>ev of eight, were set fire to ami destroyed. Hating spiked and knocked olf the muzdes of the guns found on board we cruised about for some time, but returned the same night to Hongkong on account of the wounded, None of the wounds save that ot the mandarin were serious among the bluejackets. 1 made rather a good collect ion of swords, sircars, Hags, etc,' “ te.v weiks alter the police arrested a Couple of t hinaiiien. These turned rpieens evidence amt gave away their comrades. The captain's wife identilied the man who shot her husband, and several others. The captain and eleven others were lunged, early one morning on the wall ot tile jail. < Pie man hanged himself iu prison with his ipiene, and the others got imprisoning!!' for life iu Stonecutter s Island. The captain was the only one of the crowd who did not seem pi cave. The others all weakened, most of them howling like beast-.. The lieutenant went out again a few months after and attacked a fleet of eighteen junks, burning and sinking two thiidsof them, and was promoted to the rank of eouiutandi r. Since then the Chinese have bought from the Fitglish building yards gunboat, of very high order which earry pivot gun. and other breech loaders, and run from thirteen to sixteen knots an hour. they now do their own police work, generally cutting oft the heads o! the pirates as soon as caught, w-itlioiit giving them any trial. The Fnglish men-m-war take charge of Hongkong and its surroundings. Hut Canton, Macao, Kowloon, and other Chinese tow ns are full of pirates, who arc always tin (lie lookout for trading junks of their own country, which also carry guns to defend themselves. I should not "wonder if many a trading junk was sunk by the gunboats under the suspicion that they were pirates. ’’