Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1889-09-06
CAPTURED BY PIRATES

CAPTURED BY PIRATES.
| entered the service OF the Unit
ed Company when only IA years
of age, writes an old salt and story
teller. The United Company was
an organization of English and
Chinese capitalists at Shanghai
which exported teas and other CON-
modiues. 1t had at one time eleven
vessels, eight of which were small
schoonerS and brigs, which were
employed in visiting ports along
the coasts and various islands In
the China sea and Pacific ocean. 1t
Is of my first trip l am gong to tell
you.
had run away to sea on a YES
sci bound from Liverpool to Shang-
hal. and had LETT her on arrival l
found that the captain of the Silver
Crown, one of the cOmpany's traders
was an old friend of my father s
and so It came about that ] took
service in the company under him
with the rating of cabin boy. The
Crown was a fne new fOre.and.af
schooner, carrying a crew OF eight
men. all told. She had a native
cook. but all the others were for
eigners. The captain, mate and
myself, were English, two OF the
men Americans, and the other two
we're sweedeS. While rated as
cabin boy, ! had to asslstln sailing
the vessel, and was sort of clerk
to the captain. The schooner car
ried adOzen muskets. a lot of board
ing pixies, and halt dozen cutlass'
es as an armament, but every thing
was boxed up and stored away, il
not forgotten. Capt. WartOn had
been in the service for six years,
and had never met with any trouble
Wuen 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 FOrmosa
and the LoO.ChOO Islands, and we
had made the ran thus far without
accident, when one day about noon
a iunk-rlgged native craft, which
doubtless came from some port IN
FormoSa, intercepted us to the
eastward Of that island. We were
about 30 miles off shore when she
hailed US. 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 we're bound to tue
Philippines she had three pas
sengers to transfer, They we're
three natives of FOrmOsa, who
we're going down there to found a
colony. and would pay literally for
a passage by the schooner. They
claimed to have contracted with
the junk for the round trip, but
she had sprung leak and must
return to port.
am only giving you the gist OF
what was urged in excuse. We lay
to for a couple OF hours, and !
heard only a part Of what was sald.
1t did not seen to strike Captain
Wharton or Mate Williams as
queer or suspicious, and after bag
Cling over terms for a while the
three natives we're transferred to
our decks and the vessels separs.
ted. Then | had time to look the
strangers over, and | was not long
10 conclud ng that | did not wish
for an int nate acquaintance. They
were a ough.looking trio, and the
cook had scarcely set eyes on them
before he declared that we bad
made a great mistake in taking
them aboard. We had no accom-
mOdati0ns for them aft, aud as the
schooner was 10 ballast they had
to occupy the hold. This wasn'I
such a'bad place with the matches
of, and they looked like fellows
used to roUghing It ashore ant
ahoat.
/ took an early opportunity o
communicating my susplclOn2 t
the captain, but he laughed AZ IN
IN a good naVured way. tined tn
mate, but he saw nothing 10 srous
distrust. 1t was singular, boweN
er, that every man Of the crew out
side OF the two officers was satishe
that there was something wron
with the trio. While their excus
was reasonable enough, the look
and actions Of the men we're SUI
picious, and 1t was PLAIN to ali tn;
they we're sailors. They let as a
severely alone except the capital
4 and the cook and / called it to min
d atterwapd that while one inte