News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1884-04-03
CHASED BY THE CHINESE.
A TRUE STORY OF SHIPS ENCOUNTER
WITH PIRATES, BY AN OLD SAILOR.

We had just finished loading the old
ship Iconium at Hong Kong for San
Francisco. had embarked our Chinese
passengers and dropped down from
Typenshang to Green Island to wait a
fair wind. We had noticed a number of
West Coast boats or lorchers sailing past
us and Watching our movements whilst
loading. Our cargo consisted of the
usual Chinese goods, tea, rice, sugar and
chow-chow, with an unusually large
quantity of opium. We had some six
hundred Chinese passengers and ten
cabin passengers.
After lying at Green Island one night
and getting things well Strengthened up,
all hands were called to get under way,
and we stood out the Lymoon passage,
working along up the China coast as far
as Breaker Point, so we could weather
away the Pratis shoal, very dangerous
shoal in the Chinese sea, halfway from
Hong Kong to the Bashee Islands.
Nothing momentous occurred until
the third morning out, when we were
well up with Breaker Point. 1t was a
fine, pleasant morning. Our Chinese
passengers were through with breakfast
and the usual routine of ships duty was
going on. The ships crew consisted of
twenty able-bodied seamen, two mates,
boatswain, cook, steward and carpenter,
twenty-seven all told, including myself,
who commanded the vessel. My officers
were smart men and had all been old
cruisers in the China seas. We all un-
denstood the movements of the Chinese,
were well acquainted with their tactics
and could tell pirate as soon as we saw
him. We were we'll armed with two
twelve-pounders on the poop, a pivot
gun on the topgallant forecastle and
rifle for every man: also, a set of board
ing pixies.
On that eventful morning we saw two
large West Coast boats at anchor under
Breaker Point. We saw them getting
under way together and knew them at
once, for those pirates always go in
pairs. had my glass upon them watch
ing every movement and could see them
getting their barrels of stink-pots OF
bumbs aloft and making every prepara-
tion to attack u.s. 1 called the officers
aft upon the quarter deck and told them
what we had to deal with-that these
were the same boats that had watched
Us while we were loading at Hong Kong;
that they probably had had spies on
board and knew that we were rich
prize, because we had so much drug or
opium, some five hundred cases.
The ship was standing along upon her
port tack, heading off shore with light |
breeze from the northeast. The two !
pirates were about three miles to the
windward, or ON our port beam, and |
could run little free. All hands were |
stationed. The boatswain begged to |
have charge of the pivot gun on the fore |
castle. The men were stationed along |
the weather waist with their rifles and
boarding pixies, and with them the
volunteer Cinnamon. The mate and
second mate had charge of the two
twelve Founders ON the poop. 1 ordered
the foresail, mainsal and crochetclewed
up and the Chinese passengers sent
below. They were intensely excited,
some fifty of the bravest remaining with
us on deck, declaring that they would
be the first ones killed if we were cap
tured. 1 very willingly consented to
their wishes. The wind was still very
light, and at the rate of our sailing 1T
would be some time before we should
come together. Still we were near
enough to see the Cinnamon going to
the mastheads of their junks, ready to
throw their stink-pots upon our decks.
These pots are made like bean-pot and
filed with something that ignites, set
ting the ship on fire and giving forth the
most horrible odors.
The pirates soon came up with us,
using their sweeps or long oars. wished
them to get little nearer, SO that
could welcome them with a shot from our
twelve-pound pivot; so 1 ordered the
fore, main and mizzen royals to be
elewed up. The boatswain was pleading
to let him send a shot at them. The two
boats were close together and the old
sailors were anxious for a chance to shoot
a ''bloody pigtail." / had been familiar
enough with the Chinese to know that it
would take but little to drive them away,
having often had brushes with them and
sometimes pretty hard ones. These
West Coast boats are quite large vessels
and go well armed, and if they knew how
to use their guns would be hard fellows
to meet. Those two boats were we'll
armed. We could see their decks full of
men, one hundred, should say, to each
boat. To allow them to come up / thought
of laying the maintopsail to the mast, but
did not like to lose control of the ship,
and so kept her moving. / did not try
to get away from them, as 1 was conf
dent we were too much for them, with
our crew and all the Cinnamon we
wanted
1 saw they intended to attack MS on
both sides. One of them was to go
around the stern, the other to engage us
on the port side to the windwaTd. As
they swung off for us before the wind the
boatswain let go his twelve-pounder at
them. He was little low in his calcu-
Iation and the ball fell short of them. /
now ordered the mate to try from the
poop guns, and whang went a shot
which fell close to one of the boats. Still
down they came, beating their gongs and
kicking up awful bobbery. The boat
swain now gave them grape and canister
and away went shot through their sails
and rigging, making bad havoc with
their bamboo sails.
The pirates did not use their big guns
much 1t was their play to come along
side of the ship with their junks, throw
their grarplings on board, make fast to
the ship and overpower the crew. The
mate was feeding them grape and canis-
ter from the quarter deck and the old
boatswain was giving them solid shot.
Pretty soon one of their masts went over
the side and now their game was up,
although number of boats had made
sail from in-shore aud were standing out
toward us. They got their wreck around
on the in-shore tack with their sweeps,
and gave it up as bad job.
The excitement among the passengers
was SO great that they all rushed on