News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-04-03

went up for their safe deliverance. W.
now hauled on board the fore and mail
tacks, sheeted home the royals, hauled
taut the braces, and away we went with
nice breeze. The next morning we
passed in sight of the Pratis shoals
leaving them to the leeward, saw the
wreck of the ship Courser, of Boston
which was stranded some two months
previous, with cargo of teas from Shang
hal to New York, ship and cargo total
loss. The wind favoring we hauled uI
for the south end of Formosa, and IL
forty-three days dropped anchor in San
Francisco.
About six months after this late bat
tie 1 happened to be in Annoy, Chinese
port in the Formosa channel, one of tn
worst ports in China for pirates. One
day young man came ON board my
ship. was sitting under the awning. 1
saw he was an American. He said he
came on board to see me, as he thought
we had met before. Quite likely, l re-
piled, as I had often been in China ports.
He asked me if was in the ship at such
time of Breakers Point, to which l
answered yes. 'Well," said he, 81 was
on board one of those Chinese lorchers.
I came out in the ship White Racer two
years ago, leaving her at Hong Kong.
There 1 was induced to go on board
pirate and have remained in the business
ever since. am but twenty years old
now. / belong to good family from a
town In Massachusetts,. My mother is
still living, as l suppose. have never
written to her since becoming pirate.
/ am sailing master of that lorcher,"
pointing to the very one [ had met Oft
Breakers Point six months before.
"Well," said 1, ''please tell me how
many were killed at that time?"
''Some twelve or fourteen were killed
and a number wounded, he replied.
"Your grape and canister was too much
for us, and when we lost our mast l saw
we were done for it.
''Do you ever expect to go home to
Massachusetts, ?" 1 asked.
''No, I am too hardened to go there.
l have lived the life of pirate too long
to do anything else. We shall have to
leave here in day or two for a cruise,
and may have to Kill good many be
fore return here"
''Do you make Annoy your port %
1--WE are here to fit out. When we
want a crew Annoy is good place to get
them; in fact, Cap, am not only the
sailing master, but am, in fact, owner of
the lorcher. fit her out. 1 dress in
the regular Chinese dress when at sea,
and very few can tell me from a China
man."
One year from that time I was in
Hong Kong. A large number of pirates
had been captured. They had become
SO bold that they would come into some
of the ports and pluuder ships at anchor.
The English and American men-of-war
vent out to capture them They found
some twenty or thirty of them in bay
to the westward of Hong Kong, some of
their boats being as large as ships.
Among the captured ones was this
young man, bearing the title of commo-
dore. He was taken to Hong Kong for
trial. with four or five Europeans. He
pleaded his own case. He told them in
court they dare not convict him--if they
did he would get a large lot of mer-
chants into trouble, showing that they
were the ones who had first employed
him in this piracy. He was not con-
victed, but was let off with the promise
that he would leave the country.