Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1888-06-08
A BIT OF TATTOOING.

One day over thirty years ago, as our
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. I was at the moment on the
ships bowsprit, and without taking second
thought I dropped into the water and seized
an old man who had gone down for the Sec
ond time and was almost done 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
idiot" he roared as he danced around me.
"The idea of your jumping overheard among
the sharks and crocodiles to save the life of a
contemplate heathen!"
At that time, and presume it is still the
case, the life of 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 I was also younr and impulsive.
''See ke.e, young man, continued the
mate after he had exhausted his stock of
curses; and as walked to the port quarter
and looked over into the muddy waters the
head of crocodile was plain to be seen.
The native whom I had rescued was an old
man, at least 60. He had venerable, digni-
fed look, and was evidently 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:
sThe white people are born brave; would
not have done it, had been young man,
for one of you. I can do nothing to reward
you. had wealth, but it went to the bot
tom Of the harbor when the boat was
wrecked
told him that no reward was expected, or
would have been received, if rendered, and
that would get the captains permission to
pull him to the shore. He looked at me for a
couple of minutes, still holding my hand, and
finally asked if 1 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, sign or token.
The right and left hand figures were like
capital els" 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 as reward. If ever you
need help in India show this sign" It was
four or five hours after the rescue that he was
RULED ashore, and no one aboard the ship
kn ew of the sign he had left behind. While
I 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
| as 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. I had the misfor
| tune to break my leg before we had reached
our ship, and consequently did not make the
next voyage Instead, made voyage tt
| Liverpool and return, went back to Liver
pool and was paid off, went out to Singapore
before the mast and there joined an Englisl
government surveying party, which wa
1 necharting the northeast coast of Bornet
| and the islands adjacent The schooner
was called the Survey, and she car
| ried q crew of thirty-six men, and wa
/ armed with two nine Founders on side anC
a. long Tom on swivel. In those days TIN
| China sea was the paradise Of pirates, ant
tba GREAT raft of islands to the north of Bornet
| offered them every security. These island
| are strung along for distance of 1 900 miles
separating the Pacific ocean from the China
| sea. and from secure and unknown harbor
ON the west side of the islands every specie
| of native craft had show to attack the com
MERGE passing up and down the great water
svay. The schooner was differed from tn
| navy, and naval discipline prevailed aboard
She was fitted out to fight as well as to sur
yey, and better crew could not have beel
selected. With few exceptions, all wer
Young men, full of physical strength and dar
devil spirit, and the knowledge that the voy
age was a dangerous one had made them tn
more eager to go.
We had been out six weeks and had bee
making soundings and surveys along tn
west coast of Long Island to the north Q
Borneo. when we had our first trouble. W
had been surveying a bay about six mile
long by three in width, and deep enough t
float man-of-war. While we had failed t
| make out any inhabitants on the shores, sev
| eral small native crafts had visited us an
| engaged in fishing in our nefghborhoot
While they seemed to be poverty stricke
fellows, with nothing more than naturs
curiosity to know why we were taking s
much trouble for nothing, our quarterma
ter, who had spent years on the coast, pr
them down for spies sent out by near colon
OF pirates, and he advised every man to kee
a weather eye open. We had been in the ba
three days, anchored in thirty feet of waite
and within half mile of the beach, when
came on a dead calm. Some of our men ha
seen natives in the tops of trees ashore, an
there was no doubt they had climbed up wit
spyglasses to look down upon our decks an
discover our strength. We had one mo-
days work to accomplish, and, therefore, j
stead of getting out the boats and towing I'll
schooner out of the bay, we got spring
OR cables, loaded the guns with grape al
canister, and made everything ready II
the night attack which the quarternast
scented from afar Off He was sure that
midnight we would be beset by dozen
tive craft manned by desperate fellows inte
our caDLI1re ,. .
A more unfavorable night for us could n
have been made. Not breath OF ar
moving, and the sun had no sooner go
down than mist rose from the still waite
of the bay, and by o'clock we could not
the length of the schooner, Although nall
| IL f,.o,,, tho shore we heard all the SCUM