Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1886-09-04
ATTACKED BY PIRATES,

lanes Terrence was foremost hand
on the British bark Huntress, and one
morning in the seventies we left Singa-
pore, bound to the South by 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 since
ships began to sail, and I'm thinking it will
be long before the business is wiped out.
There are hundreds of islands, in the Java
and Banda Seas, and each one of them
offers secure headquarters for gang
Of native pirates. They are not as bold
as before the government cruisers got or
ders to patrol those waters and sink
every craft which could not show honest
papers; but they are there still, and the
temptations are too great to expect they
can ever be entirely suppressed. On our
way up, when off the Red Islands, on the
northwestern coast of Sumatra, we over
hauled an italian brig called the Cam
pello. 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 foatcd 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 only with muslets
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 during 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 plumber. Sew.
everal native crafts had been loaded and
sailed up the coast to some rendezvous.
and only one remained to take on the last
of the plumber. As no actual violence
had been offered Captain or crew during
the three days, there 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
craft was left without sail, rope, block
or provisions. About A o'clock in the
afternoon the crew were ordered forward,
while the natives collected aft, and at
given signal Ere was opened on the de-
fenceless men. To their credit let it be
recorded that they seized whatever weap-
ons they could lay hands on and dashed
at the pirates, but it was simply to die
like brave Lien. 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 fire in the hold amidships.
The information have given you came
from little chap on board who was
making his first voyage as an apprentice
he was, ifIremember right, only thirteen
years old. On the morning of the third
day he managed to hide among the
cargo, and the pirates completed their
work and sent the hulk drifting out to
sea without having missed him. He was
on deck to catch the painter of the
mates boat when she 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 in
vestigate. She returned before we had
completed our loading, and reported
that she had made no discoveries. It
was warning for our Captain, and he
wisely determined to heed it, We took
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 somewhere
Of bargain. call them rifles, but they