The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1858-05-20

handing charges when required, loading a SPAR
gun. and performing other little pieces Of services
which considerably facilitated our operations.
The threat uttered by the ladrones as they retired
might or might not be a mere bravado; but it seemed
not Mt all unlikely that there might be a sufficient
pumber Of reserved men in the two other boats to
Z form n powerful enforcement; and we were there
fore rather disinelined to await n renewal Of the fray.
The tide, however, had not yet turned; the wind was
not in our favor; and the idea of rowing n fast boat
against wind, stream and tide, was out of the ques-
ton We had the punts, no doubt, but they carried
only two in each, and, including the servants, there
were six people required to be accommodated. A
council Of war was held, and after brief elaboration,
we concluded, as there was no other available means
of escape, at all hazards to take to the punts. These
were accordingly rugged out; and Jackson and Lee
took the one, while Whymper and ourselves occupied
the other, each boat carrying besides one of the SER
wants The little vessels were loaded to the waters
edge: the night was extremity dark; and the nearest
point at which we could hope to find a friend who
would receive us was at Whampoa, a distance Of
twenty-five miles. Add to this the possibility, if not
the probability, of pursuit by the ,xasperated pirates,
which would have been certain death, and some idea
may be formed of the misery of our position.
j 1t was of consequence that our movements should
be rapid, and we accordingly piled our strength to
make the diminutive crafts fly through the water.
while one in each boat strained his eyes to catch the
first indications Of approaching danger. We rowed
thus for upwards of six hours, ard arrived at Wham-
poa about three o'cl-c ok in the morning, when we at
once made our way to the residence of Mr.. Ward, on
~ fNA4 " A~S % NAVY ~ 0
as a hearty welcome. Our appearance was far from
prepossessing-our faces begrimed with smoke and
powder, our eyebrows and whiskers scorched parti-
ally of, our clothes burned in many places, and our
hands sooty and smeared with blood; but the gentle
man was no sooner sufficiently awake to understand
our tale, than he all but embraced US. in his over
whelming expressions of sympathy. He rang up the
servants to prepare hot coffee, spread a groaning
table for our midnight tifin. and after having again
heard the particulars Of our adventure, and taxed his
ingenuity to find words strong enough to express his
surprise and admiration, he nshered us to our
couches, where we dreamed of Burgundy and fire.
pots, snipe-shooting, and deck fighting, sinking punts
and h~ospitable old gentlemen, till pretty far on in the
isext morning.
As soon as our late breakfast was concluded, our
excellent host kindly furnished us with his own boat,
and a crew to take us up to Canton. a distance of FIVE
miles, which we easily accomplished in an hour.
The first object which met our eyes, on approaching
the wharf, was the identical fast boat in which we
had gone down the river, and which the crew had
been able to get under way within q couple Of hours
after we left il.
Some of us were pretty well known in Canton; in
deed any one who resides in Canton for a month can
not but become known to almost every member OF the
small English community who inhabit what are called
the Factories; and when IL became public that our
fast boat had come back without us, and that 1t was
stained with large quantities of blood, the greatest
uneasiness had prevailed. The crew of the boat were
but they could only tell of the fight on
board, and that we had left them in the punts- We
might have been drowned or murdered after that.
As we drew near the wharf, we observed one or two
groups of anxious-looking faces and some excitement
Of demeanor: but we were no sooner observed aP-
the landing, than three hearty cheers an
our welcome, and a dozen hands were he'd
out in congratulation. We then learned also, that by
an order from the consulate, to which office two Of
our party belonged, a government steamer was at
that moment getting up steam, to proceed down the
river in search Of us, as there appeared sufficient
ground to suspect that there had been foul play on
the part of the natives. The steamer was detained
till next day, when the true state of the case being
and necessary particulars being furnished, il
was despatched with a view, if possible, to apprehend
some of the pirates. or obtain information rs to their
whereabouts; but after an absence of two days, it
without success.
1t would be too long to tell how we triumphed as
the lions of the Factories for at least n fortnight, till
The whole thing had became stale, and we were our
selves tired of being feted. After that, We settled
down again into our old business routine; and we
,an assure the gentle reader that our brain was never
more troubled with romantic dreams of gaily dressed
.orsairs, a thrust from whose rapier, or a ball from
whose pistol, we had f,ncied must he rather pleasant
han otherwise aud whose life bore q charm wherever
hey went Erperientia docef-but the proverb is
,onewhat musty.