The Hawaiian gazette., 1884-08-13
TIE YAM OF THE N1sERo
Romantic Story of Shipwreck and Inpris-
onment British Scamen in Captivity.
LoNpoN. MAY 81. 1881.

LONDON, May 81, 1854.
Although many of us had heard some
thing about the crew of British steamer
being detained in captivity by certain
Rajah of lemon. few, fancy, knew the
true Yarn of the Nisero.1 till it was re
lated in the Echo" the other day. The
information came direct from Capt. Wode
house 1.-THE skipper of the unlucky vesseD.
and may be relied upon as strictly correct.
So far. the Government seem to have been
very apathetic in the matter, but they can
scarcely remain So 1t would indeed be a
sin and shame if our unhappy country
men were left to languish much longer in
captivity, simply because they are only
sailors
1t was ON November Sth OF last year that
the British steamship Niscro. while making
for Acheen for safety. ran ashore on the
west coast of Sumatra, and heeled over on
her port side, a prey to the heavy sea She
had been trading between Rangoon and
Penang, and had left Sourabaya. an i'm
portant seaport of Java, with 1,S00 tons of
sugar, bound for Port Said for orders; but
hindered by bad Goals and stormy weather,
changed her course ego from Gale. and
made for Sumatra, 400 miles away 1t was
after s o'clock at night when she struck.
A terrific wind was blowing, and the rain
was falling in torrents, while tremendous
seas broke over the vessel, breaking up the
port boats and putting out the engine fires.
In this perilous condition the crew re
manned until II O'Clock. when thinking
they could not save the ship-they got out
Efeboat and starboard boat and made
for the shore, a mile and half away. By
good fortune they reached it without
losing man, leaping out as the boats rode
in on the crests of the waves. and Selling
them to drag them high and dry. In this
they were successful with the small boat,
but the hfeboat broke away and went
ashore about half mile along the coast.
Here, then, on that strange shore they
gathered, twenty-eight men in all, half
clad, their only property some provisions
and the ships papers: around them inn
penetrable darkness, before them a raging
sea, behind them them the unknown and
perilous bush
Before long one of the crew made out
some figures moving in the bush, and after
a time the captain went up to where they
were, and found five natives. heavily armed,
They refused to shake hands with him, so
he called All Yeow, a Characterization
cook, who told them in the Malay language
that the crew were English. and that their
assistance would be rewarded by the Eng
fish Government. While the cook was
speaking another native, who had crept mp
on his hands and knees, whispered some
thing in the ear of one of them. and they
all Withdrew. Soon after this the light OF
torch was seen among the trees. and
they then discovered that all the time
motives had been concealed behind trees in
the thckct, covering each man of them
with a musket On came the torch. until
by the light of it they could discern the
presence of a chief. a noble-looking man
decked with crown of long feathers like
those of an ostrich, and followed by band
of fifty men, armed with swords, knives
and muskets The chief, who turned out
to be the Rajah of Pangah, beckoned to
the captain, who went forward and re
ceived gift of bananas. stripping one ac
cording to custom rs sign of peace, and
offering it to the Rajah. These formal
ties over, the Rajah asked them to 90 into
the bush, but the captain pleaded that he
had hurt his side, and that he wanted tC
see the position of the ship in the morn
ing; and to this the Raiah agreed, sending
some of his men with dried sticks to en-
able them to light fire This they did
but the heavy rain put it out; and the
morning that disclosed their vessel being
swept away to sea, found them drenched
to the skin and wearied ont by exposure
and suspense.
Soon after daybreak band of armed
men arrived, and led them a mile and {
half through the bush to a village com
posed of bamboo huts Here they wer,
taken before the Rajah, who sat on a ma
in the principal hut, turbaned, and with
sword of state lying across his knees, it.
handle cleaning with diamonds and pre-
cious stones. Aided by the cook, the cap
tain made his statement again, and theI
the Rajah, having looked long at them
ordered the captives to pass before him
Two light haired Dutch sailors seemed t,
arouse his suspicion. "Are these English
men?" he asked. The captain said the,
were. " If | thought they were Dutchmel
| would kill them now said the chief
Still further to satisfy their captors, til,
captain swore the men We're Englishmen
and tho Chinese cook, with a sword hel,
over his head. swore they were English
men also, for the sight of a Dutchmal
inhames the passions of these tribes o
Acheenese. and swift and cruel death i
inevitable At last the Rajah's lingerin;
suspicious We're removed by the sight o
the Uuion Jack, which the captain I'M
furled before him, and thereupon he lief
the hut, and the captured crew saw moth
ing of him or his men until next day
Here they remained for nine days, wit
no dry clothes, and nothing but rice t
eat
One night at ten o'clock the captain wa
called out of the hut with the interpreter
and taken before another Raiah. to WHOM
the Chief of Pangah was subordinate
This was the Rajah of Tenom, with WHOM
the Dutch had been at warfare for thirteel
years, man described as savage an
bloodthirsty. He was of low stature, bu
his shoulders were twice as broad as II
ordinary mans, and his teeth and nail.
red with the use of the betel nut, CAV
him fierce appearance. His men wer
armed with muskets and swords, and wor
the rangong, or short dagger This inter
view yielded no result, and the next morn
ing the captain and his men got ont of til
hut and went down towards the beaci
where they found about two hundred fight
ing men After some parleying, the chic
officer was allowed to 60 on board til
stranded steamer, rowed by four of th
sailors, and accompanied by six of til
Rajah's men, and came back with clothe.
some of which we're given to the crew an
some to the natives. The Rajah of Tenor
took box of two thousand cigars. givin
ten to the captain, but saying they wer
not for such men as the sailors Next da
the captain visited the ship again, an
found her rifed This was his last visi
to the Nisero, for the Rajah of lemon sal,
it was his property and if the Englishmel
were found wandering on the beach agail
they would be killed
That day, when they were in the hut
six hundred men from the mountains SUI
rounded it, declaring they were Dutch
men, and calling on the Rajah to tuTl
them adrift, so that they might butehe
them This was an anxious time for tn
seamen. Not q shutter was lifted, saw
when the Rajah of Pangah came to Sc
them, and then they could see the dark
visaged mountainous scowling at then
through the window, longing to dip thei
daggers in their blood. This Rajah wa
more friendly than his superior, the Chic
of Tenom. He would do little friendl.
acts by night, sometimes coming with tw,
chickens, which was hardly feather eacl
among twenty eight, but was still grea
treat.
Early ON the ninth day of their cartivit-