The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1886-09-14
BY PIRATES,

- OALO IL LII LID
James florence was q foremost ham
on the British bark Huntress. and On,
morning insthe seventies we left sinpa
pore, bound to the South by way of tn,
STRAITS OF Sunda. We had sixteen hand,
onfthe bark, and for armament we ha6
a ~nlnc-pounder mounted on a carriao o.,
a good supply of muskcts and pixies
OF the seas to the north of .Australis
are suspicious waters for an honest shin
Flrates have aboan6ed there ever since
sn1ps began to sail, and I'm thinking it will
be long before the business is wiped ont.
mere are hundreds of islands in the Jaws
ana Banda Seas, and each one Of them
oners a secure headquarters for a gano
or native pirates. They are not az hold
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, whcH off the Red Islands, on the
northwestern coast of Sumatra, we over
hauled an Italian brig called the Cam
pcilo. She was stripped of sails, cordape
ana most OF her cargo, and had been set
hre to and scuttled. For some rcason
the flames died out, and the water came
IN so slowly that she was fioatrd six
hours after the pirates abandoned her.
Our mate was sent off to board her, and
he found a shocking state of affairs. She
nad been !alc aboard without resistance bv
aWo native boats, armed only with muskcts
and pistols. The crew had ut once been
made prisoners, and set to work to strin
inc snip 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 a guard during the
Gay. and at night Captain and all were
secured in the forecastle. The crew
numbered fourteen.
reward evening of the third day the
pirates had secured all their plumber. Sew
everal native crafts had been looded md
sailed up the coast to some rendezvous.
n only n remained to take on the last
OF the plumber. AS no actual violence
had been offered Captain or crew during
1ne three days, there was hope that the
pirates woal2 50 away and leave them in
possession OF the robbed aud ~dismantled
brig. Just what shift they would have
made IN his case I cannot saw, for tho
craft was left without sal, rope block
or provisions. About 4 o'clock in the
afternoon the crew We're ordered forward.
Whlietthe natives collected aft, and at a
given signal fire was opened on the de-
tenceless men. To their credit let il 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 mimi. es the last
one was shot down. The pirates then
raised the anchor and got it into their
poat' bored holes in the ships bottom,
and started a fire in the, hold amidships.
The Information l have given YOU came
from q little chap on board who was
making his first voyage as an apprentice.
de was, if Iremcmber right, only thirteen
years old. On the morning of the third
day he managed to hide among the
cargo. and the pirates complct d their
work and sent the hulk drifting out to
sea without having missed him. lie was
on deck to catch the painter of the
mates boat when size drew alongside,
and to one of our crew who cou.d speak
Italian he gave tho story as straight as
the Captain could have talked.
We reported the affair at Singapore,
and q British gunboat was sent off to in
vestigate. She returned before we had
completed u loading, and reported
that shc had made no discoveries. It
was a warning for our Captain, and he
wisely determined to heed it. We took
on shell and grape for our cannon, a
dozen Ecvolvers were purchased for the
crew, and on the very dry we left, the
Captain brought aboard two,very heavy
rites which he had picked up somewhere
Al q bargain. I call them rifles, but they