Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-08-10

seemingly uIuuh anu nav 3 ms"
old time. We had a man alOft to
play part, knowing that we should
be hailed in English. Both ofthese
boss pirates had Americans and
Englishmen with them-rascals
who had deserted their ships and
voluntarily adopted the life of a
pirate-and one of them was al
WAYS put forward to hail ship
The Junk came steadily forward to
within halling dlstace before she
came up into the wind. This was
proof, whether she was honest or
not, that our appearance had de-
ceived her. The men on deck yell
ed and shook their fists as drunken
men might do, but at the first op-
portunlty voice hailed us.
"Schooner ahoy! What schooner
is that ?"
"The Revenge, Capt. Thatcher,
bound to Shanghai" answered the
man alOft.
"N hats the matter aboard :"
"Crew IN a state of mutlny for
the last three days. They have
lashed the captain to the mast and
driven me alOft."
"What's your cargoW
General merchandise"
"Any arms aboard :"
"Only a few muskets."
There we're dozen men aboard the
Junk but they dared not attempt to
board. They chartered away among
themselves for a while, and then the
spokesman called out:
every well; we will bring you
help"
With that the Junk headed back
for the bay, accompanied by the
wells and curses of the apparently
drunken crew. We had a native
aboard called Shin.Lee. He had
been in the headquarters office for
several years, and could be de-
pended upon. He gave it as his
opinion that the junk was a spy
boat sent out by the pirates, who
never attacked a vessel by day
light without taking all due pre-
cautions. lie said we would see
the pirate feet come out IN case no
sail appeared upon the horizon, and
his words we're speedily VERIFIED
We had been gradually edgIng in
shore, and we're not over five miles
from the land, when we caught
sight of five junks coming out after
US. There was a good working
breeze, and now, as was only nat
ural, we began to claw off. by
seeming to want to get away very
badly, but by carefully manipulat-
ing the helm, we were seven miles
of the land before the fleet reached
us. We were satisfied of their in
tentions, long enough before. 1t
was not to help vessel in distress,
but to take advantage of one al.
most helpless.
The iunks kept pretty we'll to-
gether, and when within rifle shot
each one raised Chin. Lungs flag
and uttered cheer. Each had a
couple of howitzers, with which
they opened fire upon the schooner,
but no harm had been done when
we we're ready to spring the trap.
at the word OF command every
man was on deck, the gun crews
jumped to their stations, and things
aloft were shipshape IN a moment.
Then we wore round to get between
the pirates and the bay, and open
ed fire. A Chinese junk IS mere
shell. The solid shot went through
them as if they had been paper
The poor devils we're unneryed as
soon as they saw the trap into
which they had fallen, and devoted
, all their energies to getting away
We could outsail any OF the junks,
but it was quick work with four OF
, them. They were sent to the bot
tom one after another, and az We
r came up with the fifth We ran heI
, down. Our stem struck her ful
on the starbOard br0adside and cuI
| her almost IN two. She had al
D. least thirty men aboard, and there
{ was one long, 6espalrlng shrek al
1 they went down TO watery graves
{ A few came up to clutch at thu
!. wreckage and beg to be taker
d aboard, but not one of them would
s the captain lend hand to. Sucl
# as the sharks did not get hold o
r. drifted out to sea with the tide. |
IT was fearful retributiOn, but thes
o men we're monsters. inside o
|. thirty minutes from the time VI
Il opened fire the fleet was at tn
a bottom and at least hundred pl
is rates had paid the penalty of thei
IT crimes.
d Our captain was lamenting th
d. fact that he had not picked up on