Wichita eagle., 1888-05-15
A BIT OF TATT0OING.

ship, the Three Partners, was lying IN the
harbor at Rangoon waiting to discharge
cargo, a native boat in which were three
people met with an accident while drawing
near US, and the occupants were thrown into
the water. l was at the moment on the
ships bowsprit, and without taking a second
thought dropped into the water and seized
an old man who had gone down for the sec
ond time and was almost don for. A rope
was thrown me from the ship, and after a
good deal of trouble the old chap was lifted
over the rail and brought back to life. The
two other men were swept away and drowned
But for the fact that the captain of the ship
was my brother, the mate would probably
have broken my head as | regained the deck.
A madden man never saw.
''Why, you Internal, good for nothing
idiotr' he roared as he danced around me-
''The idea of your jumping overheard among
the sharks ana crocodiles to save the life of a
contemplate heathenp
At that time, and presume it is still the
case, the life of a common Siamese was of no
more value than that of dog in the eyes of
white men. 1t was my first voyage to those
waters, and was also young and impulsive.
See Eere, young man" continued the
mate after he had exhausted bis stock of
curses; and as walked to the port quarter
and looked over into the muddy waters the
head Of a crocodile was plain to be seen.
The native whom had rescued was an old
man, at least 90. He had a venerable, digni-
fled look, and was evidently a man of much
intelligence. He could speak English fairly
well, and as soon as he was able to talk he
took me by the hand and said:
Gt'Isha xx,hf horn I
not have done it, had I been young man,
tor one of you | can do nothing to reward
you 1 had wealth, but it went to the bot
tom of the haY'bor when the boat was
wrecked"
told him that no reward was expected, or
would have been received, if rendered, and
that L would get the captains permission to
pull him to the shore He looked at me for a
couple of minutes. saiA holding my hand, and
finally asked il had India ink and needles.
When brought them to him he told me to
bare my breast, and he slowly and carefully
pricked into my flesh, right over the breast
bone, a sign or token.
The right and left hand figures were like
capital lis" and the middle one an inverted
capital ''V." He was wondrouSly swift with
his work, and was evidently an adept When
he had completed his task he said:
81 offer you this a reward. If ever you
need help in India show this sign" 1t was
four or five hours after the rescue that he was
pulled ashore, and no one aboard the ship
knew of the sign he had left behind. While
! felt certain in my own mind that it was
connected with native Free Masonry, and
was given to me in all earnestness, to have
shown it TO the crew would have been to
make me a butt OF ridicule The ink was
pricked in so deeply that the punctures were
much longer in healing than those made in
sailor work, and when the wounds were
healed the sign stood out as bold and plain
rs if put on with black paint
In due time the ship was unloaded, received
her cargo, and sailed for Boston, at which
port she arrived safely. | had the misfor-
tune to break my leg before we had reached
our ship, and consequently did not make the
next voyage. Instead, | made a voyage to
Liverpool and return, went back to Liver
pool and was paid off, went out to Singapore
before the mast, and there joined an English
government surveying party, which was
recharting the northeast coast of Borneo
and the islands adjacent. The schooner
was called the Survey, and she car
ried q crew of thirty-six men, and was
armed with two nine Founders on a side and
a long Tom on a swivel In those days the
China sea was the paradise OF pirates, and
the great raft Of islands TO the north of Borneo
offered them every security. These islands
are strung along for a distance of l 900 miles,
separating the Pacific ocean from the China
aea. and from secure and unknown harbors
on the west side of the islands every species
~ craft boi a chow 70 attach ia co,,,
merce passing up and down the great water
way. The schooner was differed from the
navy. and naval discipline prevailed aboard.
She was fitted out 10 fight as we'll as to sur
vev, and better crew could not have been
selected. With few exceptions, all were
young men, fun of physical strength and dare
devil spirit and the knowledge that the voy-
age was q dangerous one had made them the
more eager to so.
We had been out six weeks and had been
making soundings and surveys along the
west coast of Long Island to the north of
Borneo, when we had our first trouble. We
had been surveying q bay about six miles
long by three ii width, and deep enough to
foit a man-of-war. While We had failed to
ms Ike out any inhabitants on the shores, sew
erel small native crafts had visited US end
engaged in fishing in our neighborhood
Wlaile they seemed to be poverty stricken
fellows, with nothing more than q natural
curiosity to know why we were taking SO
much trouble for nothing, our quartermas-
ter, who had spent years on the coast, put
them down for spies sent out by near colony
of pirates, and he advised every man to keep
. weather eye open We had been in the bay
three days, anchored in thirty feet of water,
and within half a mile of the beach, when 1t
came on a dead calm. Some Of our men had
seen natives in the tops of trees ashore, and
tn ire was no doubt they had climbed up with
spvs4asses 10 look down upon our decks and
dis cover our strength. We had one more
da Us work to accomplish, and, therefore, in.
stead of getting out the boats and towing the
schooner out of the bay, We got spring on
GU cables, headed the guns with grape and
canister, and mads everything ready for
tho night attack which the quarterlnasSeT
SCI nted from afar of He was SIRE that by
mi eiDight we would be beset by dozen MS.
tive craft manned by desperate fellows intent
on our capture
a more unIaVoraple night for us could not
bave been made. Not a breath of air was
norinS, and the sun had no sooner gone
aown than q mist rose from the still waters
= the bay, and by 9 O'Clock we could not see
The length of the schooner. Although half a
nile from the shore, We heard all the sounds
If tropical night, and after 10 no one vas
allowed to speak above a whisper. There
vas nothing serious about ttss situation 70 US
Toupg fellows All we had to do was to open |