News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-09-02
STRANGE SEA STORIES.
A MERCHANTMAN's FIGHT WITH PIRATES
OFF THE COST OF BoRNEO.

James Terrence was foremast hand
on the British bark Huntress, and one
morning in the seventies we left Singa-
pore, bound to the south by the way OF
the Straits of Sunda. We had sixteen
hands on the bark, and for armament
we had nine-pounder mounted on a
carriage and good supply of muskets
and pixies. All of the seas to the north
of Australia are suspicious waters for an
honest ship. Pirates have abounded
there ever sine ships began to sail. and
I'm thinking it will be long before the
business is entirely wiped out. There
are hundreds of islands in the Java and
Banda Seas, and each one Of them offers
secure headquarters a gang of ma
tive pirates. They are not as bold as
BEFORE the Government cruisers got or
tiers to patrol those waters, and sink
every craft which could n show hon
est papers; but they are there still, and
the temptations are too great to expect
they can ever be entirely suppressed.
On our wayup, when off the Red Islar~s,
on the northern coast of Sumatra. we
OScTnuul1a 1Go.ls.Ea DIas5 ~ttNSo
Campello. She was stripped of sails,
cordage, and most of her cargo, and
had been set fire to and scuttled For
some reason the flames died out, and
the water came in SO slowly that she
was f1oated six hours after the pirates
abandoned her. Our mate was sent off
to board her, and he found shocking
state of affairs. She had been laid
aboard without resistance by two native
boats, armed with only muskets and
pistols. The crew had at once been
made prisoners, and set to work to
strip the ship and hoist out such cargo
as the pirates coveted. She was run in
behind one of the islands and anchored,
and for three days and nights the pirates
were hard at work on her. Each man
of the crew worked under guard dur
ing the day, and at night Captain and
all were secured in the forecastle. The
crew numbered fourteen
Toward evening of the third day the
pirates had secured all their plunder.
Several native crafts had been loaded
and sailed up IL e coast to some rem
devious, and only one remained to take
on the last of the plunder AS no actual
violence had been offered Captain or
crew during the three days, thers was
hope that the pirates would go away
and leave them in possession of the
robbed and dismantled brig. Just
what shift they would have made in
this case cannot say, for the cla't was
left without sail, rope, block, or pro-
visions. About 4 o'clock in the after
noon the crew were ordered forward,
while the natives collected aft, and at q
given signal fire was opened on the de-
fenceless men. To their credit let it be
recorded that they seized whatever
weapons they could lay hands on and
dashed at the pirates, but it was simply
to die like brave men. In ten minutes
the last one was shot down. The pirates
then raised the anchor and got it into
their boat, bored holes in the ships
bottom, and started a fire in the hold
amidships. The information | have
given you came from little boy on board
who was. making his first voyage as an
apprentice. He was, if | remember
right, only 13 years old. On the morn
ing of the third day he managed to hide
among the cargo, and the pirates com
/ pleted'their work and sent the hulk
drifting out to sea without having
missed him. He was on deck to catch
drew alongside, and to one of our crew
who could speak Italian he gave the
story as straight as the Captain could
have talked.
We reported the affair at Singapore,
and British gunboat was sent off to
investigate. She returned before we
had completed our loading, and report
ed that she had made no discoveries. 1t
was warning for our Captain, and he
wisely determined to heed it. Wetook
on shell and grape for our cannon, a
dozen revolvers were purchased for the
crew, and on the very day we left the
Captain brought aboard two very heavy
rifles which he had picked up some
where at a bargain. | call them rifles
but they were young cannon, carrying Il
a three-ounce ball, with powder enough
behind it to kick the marksman half
way across the ship. We left Singapore
as we'll prepared as a merchant vessel
could be, and it seems that the Captain
was advised to bear well up toward
Borneo, and give, the Red Islands a
wide berth. We crossed the equator at
least hundre miles to the east of the
islands, as | overhead the captain say,
and then altered our course to the south
east, calculating to pass to the east of
Billion Island before hauling away for
Sunda Strait.
The bark made good weather of it,
and we had crossed the equator and run
down on the new course until iliton
might have been sighted from the mast
head, when there came calm. The
wind had died away about midforenoon,
and the drift of the bark was to the
north. We looked for change at sun
set, but nothing came, and the night
passed without wind enough to move
feather. My watch was below when
daylight came, and we got the word to
turn up lively. To the northeast, off
the coast of Borneo, two or three islands
! were in sight, and between US and tine