Wichita eagle., 1889-06-13
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9ai1u e Eagle
A STORY OF PIRATES.

pound ifOm Liverpool TO Shanghai, anu
had left her on arrival found that
the captain of the Silver Crown, one of
the company's traders, was an old friend
Of my fathers, and So it came about that
took service in she company under
him, with the rating of cabin boy. The
schooner carried dozen Inuskets, lot
of boarding pixies and half dozen cut
lasses as an armament, but everything
was boxed I'D and stored away, if not
forgotten. Capt. Wharton had been in
the service for six years and had never
met with any trouble.
When we got away it was with orders
for the Philippine islands, among which
the company had many resident agents
who collected products. Our course was
to the southeast, to pass between For
mosa and the Loo Choo Islands, and we
had made the run thus far without Incl
dent when one day about noon a junk
rugged native craft, which doubtless
came from some port in Formosa, inter-
cepted US to the eastward of that island.
We We're about thirty miles off shore
when she hailed u.s. She claimed TO be
short OF water, owing TO an accident;
but this, as we afterward came to know,
was only an excuse. When she learned
that we were bound TO the Philippines
she had three passengers to transfer.
They were three natives Of Formosa,
who were going down there to found
colony, and would pay Literally for a
passage by the schooner.
l am only giving you the gist of what
was urged in excuse. We lay TO for
couple of hours, and heard only part Of
what was said. 1t did not seem to strike
Capt. Wharton or Mate Williams as
qneer or suspicious, and after hagging
over terms for while the three natives
were transferred to our decks and the
vessels separated Then / had time to
look the strangers over, and | was not
long in concluding that I did not wish
for an intimate acquaintance. They
were tough looking trio, and the cook
had scarcely set eyes on them before he
declared that we had made great mis-
take in taking them aboard. We had no
accommodations for them aft, and as the
schooner was in ballast they had agreed
to occupy the hold.
| took an early opportunity Of COM
municating my suspicious to the captain,
but he laughed at me in good natured
way. / tried the mate, but he saw moth
ing to arouse distrusJ. 1t was singular,
however, that every man of the crew
outside of the two officers was satisfied
that there was something wrong with
the trio. While their excuse was rea-
sonable enough, the looks and actions of
the men were suspicious, and it was
plain toan that they were sailors. They
let US all severely alone except thee cap
tain and the cook, and called 1t to mind
afterward that while one interested the
former the other two were occupied with
the latter. l could ''chin-chin" a bit
and the cook could speak little En-
glish, and so we managed to understand
each other pretty well. Three days
after the men came aboard ''Slop-Slip,"
as we called the cook, assured me with
very serious face that the strangers were
evil minded men, who had planned to
capture the schooner. They had asked
him 10 join them, and he had refused. I
posted off to the captain with this news,
and he greeted it with contempt.
We were getting we'll down toward the
northernmost islandsof the group, when
something happened which should have
opened the captains eyes. The leader Of
the three borrowed the glasses and went
up TO the cross rees of the nainmast and
took long lock around. We saw the
sailor In his every move, and he had not
been down en- hour when a native craft
came creeping up from the south, bows
on to us. She had free wind, while
we had been beating down all the fore
noon. We were at this time forty or
fifty miles TO thdnorthward of the group,
with a beautiful afternoon and a smooth
sea. Half an hour after the native craft
had been sighted, one of the natives and
the captain retired 10 the cabin. Five
minutes later the native showed his head
above the deck and called TO the mate,
who had Just come ON watch. He dis
appeared down the companionway, and
at the same time l entered the forecaStle
TO look for something wanted l was
down there about five minutes. l heard
no particular row on deck, but when l
reappeared | was struck dumb by tho
spectacle. One OF the natives was at the
wheel, and was bringing the schooner
into the wind to lie TO. The decapitated
bodies of the two Americans and the
cook were lying amidships, while the
two Swedes were at the foremost cross
trees. Not shout had been raised nor
q CRY uttered. The work had been done
with terrible rapidity and in silence
As reached the deck one of the ne
tives came forward with bloody creese
in his hand and called me good boy"
and said l should not be hurt. He left
ME sitting on the wtndlass 30 scared and
weak that | could not stand, and then
assisted his companions TO lower the
sails. When this had been accomplished
they called to the Swedes to come down.
The poor fellows began crying and
lamenting and refused TO descend. The
natives picked up the bodies from the
deck and tossed them overheard, and
then descended TO the cabin and brought
up the bodies of captain and mate and
served them the same way Both had
been killed by the one native who en-
ticed them down. About the time the
last body was flung over the rail the ma
tive craft drew alongside She had |
thirty men on board, al of whom seemed |
TO know our three passengers and their |
plans. There was great rejoicing over /
the capture Of the schooner, and for a |
ol,arrar of an hour no one maid ma any /