The Sun.
London, England, 1861-05-21 00:00:00

- (From the Bombay Gazette.)
Tho schooner Good Hope, owned by .
Lawrence and Co. Of this port, and bound to the
Kooria Mooria islands, which sailed from this port
last month, was seized by pirates off Cape Fatask,
who after dismantling and breaking up the vessel,
landed the captain and crew and left them in a
desolate state. The natives treated them with
kindness, but they suffered much from weakness
and privations.
The following narrative of the events thus
briefly described has been furnished us :
" Narrative of Mr. Charles H. Cooke, late Master
of the Schooner Good Hope, of Bombay.
"We sailed on the sth March, from Bombay,
bound for the Kooria Mooria islands, with the ob-
ject of fetching away some Europeans and natives
left there ereto watch over the machinery, &c., belong-
ing to the lessees of the islands, as it was no longer
j
expedient to maintain a staff there. The
atem
rosr eer:vumen another European, and a
Lamar only, as I knew we should have a fair wind
have as many passengers
ieannt
coast
stowast a
to n 2 thea.rareturn
hvoyage.
March, and at daylight made frail to thehsoulthdward,
boarded by an Arab boatw
but shortly afterwards e
full w
oe were emoe overhauled r
who au eseemanedd
thievishly inclined. I managed to get rid of them
cacoacd,neuersioltisshtese:odnAaovnrefadnlnbiZeul
with a few presents of clothes, potatoes, &e., and
r ds
er
.o v e t h
Shortlye m oafff,
t,
ehr otwh
iesv,etrh,
eansedhpoornoceerewdeads
chasedthey left; but only to return with fresh demands.
Wecou
and surrounded by a fleet of ten Arab boat.' each
with a crew of ten to fifteen men, who boarded us,
and soon completely gutted the schooner, even to
cutting down the masts. We were then turned
ashore through the surf, and passed the night
on the beach in charge of some Arabs, who
having now nothing that they could take but our
lives, did not further maltreat us, after having
taken away our shirts and trousers, and substituted
some of their own rags to cover our nakedness.
Next morning they gave us about five pounds of
.our own ship's bread, and intimated to us that the
road to Muscat was before us, and that we were to
start off, which we did. The bread and three
gaaes were our sole provision for a
journey 4GO.- miles across the arid stony
desert of_ Arabia Petrea. We journeyed for 11
days, scorched by the blazing sun which fell ulna
our almost naked bodies and shoeless feet by day,
and chilled by dews at night, which cramped us
and brought on bowel complaints. To avoid losing
ourselves in the desert we usually travelled along
the coast, catching crabs and sea snails, which we
ate raw, for sustenance. For water—precious
water—we had every day to recover the camel
track, sometimes finding a water hole or well,
sometimes not, near the road. At times-we were
two days without water; and when it was ob-
tained, it was very brackish and dirty. Occa-
sionally, two or three times during that terrible
journey, we met with a travelling family of Arabs
or Seedies—the former invariably searching us
closely, while the latter, the women especially,
gave us water, the only thing we asked for, as our
maths and tongues were „so sore and swollen that
wt."- could hardly swallow anything solid, and
+ir poverty was almost as great as ours in the
matter of food. At last, on the eleventh day,
with blistered feet, with tongues swollen, lips
bleeding, and totally exhausted, having forty-eight
hours previously divided the last drop of water,
which was carried in a boot, we lay down under a
scrub bush, to die, as we. thought. Blank, hope-
less despair was at our hearts, and. we felt unequal fi
to make another exertion for life. At this moment
we heard a donkey bray, and scrambling over a
low range of sand hills near, we saw the welcome
sight of a drove of camels and donkeys, with seven
or eight natives, picked for rest. We hailed, and
made signs for water, which was freely given, and
they treated us kindly. These people proved to be
a party of Bedouin Arabs, and with significant
gestures, they asked if the coast people had not
robbed us. By signs, they inquired if we wished to
go to Muscat,'and understanding that we did, they
gave us fish; rice, and milk for supper, and mats to
sleep on. Never was refreshment and rest so sweet,
or so acceptable. With gratitude and thankful-
ness at our hearts to God, for his watchfalness and
protection to us poor castaways, and to these Be-
douin Samaritans for their kindness, we slept that
night. We were all suffering from gripes and bowel •
complaints, and to alleviate this the Arabs applied
the cautery freely to our stomachs, the scars of
which we still can show. Next day they packed
us upon camels, and after 11 days' journey (and
more searings of stomach cramps and spasms), pass-
ing through some long and precipitous mountain
passes, and one populous village nestled in a palm
grove, we arrived at Muscat, where Mr. Rassam,
the acting consul, kindly supplied all our wants,
and engaged a passage for us in a bungalow for
Bombay. I had an interview with the Imaum of
Muscat, who spoke kindly, and said that, had he.
possesseal a steamer, he would have sent to look
after the pirates and the stolen schooner; The
pirates ,were undoubtedly the fishing boats' crew of
the coast, and nothing would please me more than
to go again in a small craft, and being well pre-
pared, to la) a trap for these rascals which would
make them more careful in boarding strange craft
for the future. At present owing to their kind
attentions, I stand possessed of what I have on my
back, having lost nautical instruments, clothes,
and all I was possessed of. Messrs. Lawrence
and Co., too, have lost their •seheoper -land
all in her. It is to be hoped that tlie-tesi-
dents at the island, whom I went to bring back,
may speedily be relieved in some other way, or
their position, cut off from all communication with
the world, will soon be a critical one.
" CHARLES H. COOKE,
• "Late master of schooner Good Hope.
"Bombay, April 22, 1861."

AUSTRALIA.

PLYMOUTH, MONDAY.

The ship Copenhagen, 876 tons, Capt. J. B. God-
frey, belonging to Messrs. D. Dunbar and Sons, 109
days from Melbourne, has passed up Channel.
She has 51,000 ounces of gold-dust, valued at
£204,000, and a cargo of wool, copper ore, and hides.
The Copenhagen brings 25 cabin passengers, in-
cluding Mrs. J. B. Godfrey, Mr. and Mrs. M‘Kin-
non, Mr. and Mrs. Seale, Mr. and Mrs. Holland,
Mr. and Mrs. Murray, Mrs. Harte, Mrs. Haines,
Mr. Eiloart, Miss Burke, and Miss Eliza Weston.
She left Melbourne Jan. 30, rounded Cape Horn
March 12, crossed the line April 11, and passed the
island of Carve May 3. In the South Pacific four
icebergs were observed. After passing the Western
islands easterly winds prevailed. On Sunday morn-
ing, at 11 o'clock, the Lizard bore north west, dis-
tant five miles, and the'Copenhagen was then tack-
ing up Channel under all plain sail, against a light
north-east wind.

The Copenhagen spoke, March 11, lat 56 38 S.,
long 68 38 W., the British bark Robert Bright,
bound west ; 15th, lat 57 37 S., long 51 31 W., the
American whaling bark Majestic ; April 9, lat 00 44
S., long 31 50 W., the American whaling vessel
Benjamin Franklin ; 19th, lat 13 39 N., long 40 22
W., the British bark Witch of the Seas, 91 days
from Geelong for London ; 22d, lat 21 50 N., long
44 42 W., the French bark Alliance, 28 days out,
from Nantes for Martinico ; 25th, 1at.26 24 N., long
47 06 W., the French ship Victorine, bound north-
east ; 28th, lat 30 28 N., long 41 57 W., the ship
Colonist, from Barcelona for Quebec; May 15, lat
48 40 N., long 9 24 W., the German schooner Amells!
35 days from Cadiz for Copenhagen ; 16th, let 41 29
a
N., long 9 8 W., a Norwegian bark, showing 7 9
colour marked K 153 ; 17th,lat 48 50 N., long
for
W., the Dutch brig Gebrodes, from Amstte%
Ham-
Batavia; and let 48 52 N., long 7 07 w., 11
burg brig Helena.

of
_t. Tee a
iih emeid, ilstBiier9,
---
22,419 adults un-
der details are
FRENCII PRISoNS.
centralof t ho Interior
prisons
fur
aot: rier)mecen.,3=l: d 4,684 females. The
Ftarkeennchfropmristohnes report'
virh.
hard labour contained, on
prisons specially set apart for t.em--
°Cadillac, Clermont, Ha en M
them
those
both men and women were con-
fined. au, Mont-
pellier, Vannes. There
pellier, Renn°s/ IT
which
that of Limoges,of
rissBo.nslamatbzue daenpdartthmeenctonoefietrhgeerie
fined. The number what are called establishments of
correctional education for the two sexes was, on the 31st
_tdwhe women
I us
condemnation-17,735
nn
of ds
were
emi
71 ebn eai lt
i i v°s eue:
Seinefor
persons awaiting trial, the former being on the cellular
system ; Saint Lazare, the Madelomettes, and Saint
tDheecreemareber,eiglhBts9p,
Pelagie, which are houses of correction; Saint
Denis, for the punishment of persons guilty of petty of-
fences ; and Clichy, for debt. In the year 1859 the number
of persons received into these eight prisons was 30,208-
21,383 being men:and 8,825 females, and of the whole 7,307
had been brought from other prisons. In the course of that
year there were no evasions, while in the four years pre-
ceding there were several. In 1848 the number of persons
who entered was 27,309, of whom 19,9G1 were men and
7,348 women. The number discharged in 1859 was 30,446
—21,542 men and 9,016 women. On the 31st Dec. in that
year. +. b aumber remaining was 4,647, of whom 3,270 were
males and 1,377 females. On the same date of 1858 the
number was 4,894, of whom 3,427 were men and 1,465
women. The number of departmental prisons was 385,
which, excluding those of the Seine, contained on the 31st
Dec., 1859, 15,911 persons, of whom 12,624 were men and
3,287 women. On the 31st Dec., 1858, the number of pri-
soners was 18,268, of whom 14,956 were males and 3,312
' females,