Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1886-07-01
Gales aud Skftfhfs.
C4AsKD BIZ MaLaT rlRlfEs.
pr THOMAS W. KNOX.


among the inhabitants of the numerous
islands that form the Malay Archipelago,
and II is not by any means ont Of fashion
at the present time. A chief of tribe,
or an influential parsonage who had no
to boast Of. would announce
his intention of forming piratical asso-
citation very much on the principle that
governs New England fishermen or whal
ers. The men engaging with him would
receive no wages, but IN lieu thereof
would have an interest in the proceeds OF
the enterprise. or. as the Yankees call it.
q lay Followers we're easy TO obtain,
and when sufficient number we're en-
rolled they accompanied the chief to the
scene Of operations. which was only
known to himself. The chosen spot was
on bay or nook, near q channel through
which foreign or native craft were COM
PEELED to pass in their VOYAGES between
commercial points. The more secluded
the place the better it was for the pur-
poses OF the pirates. The entrance to it
was completely concealed by overhang.
ing trees. and was generally so narrow
and shallow as to he barely sufficient tor
the passage of the light proa, the boat
with which the pirates operate. Watch.
men were kept in the tree tops. and when
ever a ship was deserted the pirates made
ready to attack her, If she was deemed a
proper object of their ventures.
A proa carries all the way from so To
$50 men. about half of them rowers and
the rest detailed to the more perilous work
of boarding. Gains are frequent in the
waters OF the Malay Archipelago, and II
is during these Gains that the pirates put
IN their best work Sometimes single
proa is sufficient, but more frequently the
pirate gang is embarked on two or more
boats, especially when foreign ship is
to be attacked. Favored by the calm,
they dart from their concealment.r row Wig
orously TO the vessel which they hope 10
capture, and unless the resistance is too
much for them, they are soon in undisput-
ed possession. The pirates are encum-
bered with very little clothes; they
climb like monkeys, and swarm over the
bows Of the ship with wonderful rapidity
Their principal weapon is the kriss, or
dagger, and they are very exper, in its
use They come in such numbers that
any ordinary resistance is of little avail
when once they can bring their boats be-
low the bow of a vessel. If they capture
a European ship, the crew is slaughtered
and flung overheard without ceremony.
If their prize is native one they are
more forbearing, mt from any tender
ness of heart, but because the captives can
be sold into slavery, and therefore are
worth keeping alive. The prize is flowed
to the entrance of the parties harbor and
into it if the depth of water will permit.
She is stripped Of everything of any val
TIE and then burned, except in the case
of native craft, which are sometimes uti-
lized to carry stolen goods to market.
With the native vessels they we're almost
uniformly successful in their attacks. as
they were much more numerous than the
crews. and the latter had only the same
kind OF weapons as their assailants. But
it was not always so with the foreign
ships, as the crews OF the latter were gen.
orally well provided with firearms and
literally fought for their lives On one
occasion the repulse of the parties was
due to the shrewdness of the wife of a
Il passenger on brig from
Australia to Java, and the story was told
to me in Singapore about as follows:
among the islands of the archi
pelago. She was lying almost motion
less five miles from shore. when a large
proa was seen stealing out from under
the cocoanut trees and making directly
for her. The officers and crew of the brig
numbered only nine persons altogether,
aud the only passengers we're the mission
ary and his wife. All the firearms on
board were brought out. but it was readily
seen that they would not be sufficient to
resist the swarm of Malays that would
cover the bows of the brig as soon as the
proa reached her. The weapons were
muzzle loading muskets OF the old fash
toned kind. The crew could hardly hope
to deliver more than single volley be-
fore the pirates would rush aft and over
power them.
The voyage had been long and the crew
and passengers were English; they had
literally of bottled beer, and
The emoty bottles were lying IN barrels in
one Of the store rooms attached to the
cabin. bring up the bottles and break
them over the deck" said the missionary's
wife. The captain "caught on" to the
and very quickly the bottles
were scattered and smashed, so that the
deck was covered with broken glass from
the very farthest point of the bows as tar
back as the entrance to the poop cabin.
was heavily booted for the
occasion, and therefore could walk around
with little danger. The Malays go bare
footed all their lives, and the glass prom
ised to make serious interference with
their locomotion. Some pigs of lead
we're placed near the bows on either side.
Two sailors were detailed to pitch these
missiles into the proa when she came
in ithe~-hope of smashing her
frail bottom, and having done so they were
to run aft and join the rest OF the party
of defenders.
The pirates came on according to their
usual custom and swarmed over the bows.
Some of the foremost were brought down
by the muskets in the hands of the brig 8
people, but great many more were lev
elled BY the broken glass. One OF the
pigs OF lead was well aimed and fell into
the proa, smashing hole that kept her
occupants busy to save her from sinking.
The pirates crowded on board with great
those behind pushed the fore
most ahead, and none of them compre-
hended the new enemy they were dealing
with until too late. The broken glass cut
their feet and they fell to the deck; and
as they writhed ami twisted about in their
efforts to rise they were lacerated more
and more. Not one of them got further
aft than amidships. and all the forward