, 1890-08-08

Of one hundred men. Well, 1 had
friends, and got the command; and
after the usual trouble in scraping q
slips company together. and then drill
ing them into something like working
order, l was ready for sea.
1.-The Chinese authorities had consid-
cred that it would be as well to make the
trial trip pay expenses, IL possible, by ex-
tending the tests SO as to ascertain what
the gunboat was good for in action. At
that time the mouth of Pearl river was
infested by ~piratical junks, which found
shelter and easy means of escape in the
numerous small islands and ~estuaries into
which the delta of that stream is divided.
The pirates usually confined their atten-
lions to the craft of their own country
men, but occasionally, when the grist was
very short or the opportunity very tempt
ing. they would attack some small foreign
merchantmen; and, in these cases, they
made 1t a rule to kill every soul on board,
as the simplest way of preventing those
awkward foreign protests which were
sure to stir the mandarins up to a serious
crusade against them.
"You, of course, understand that pi-
racy in China is not regarded a. n helm
Gus crime. The Monaghan view of the
business is pretty much that which all
the western nations held in the Sixteenth
and Seventeenth centuries; only there is
less romance and more .p~racticability
about the pigtails. Very respectable
Chinese business men interest themselves
in piracy along the Kwangtung coast,
just as staid old English merchants used
to interest themselves in smuggling a
hundred years ago, and nobody thinks
the worse Of a man for having been a
pirate, provided he has beer lucky ut
it. As to the taking of life, there is
30 much s~uperfuous humanity in China,
and life there is SO little wortlihvang for
the majority, that public opirAna squate
Indifferent on the subject.
while l had been drumrxtn9 I'D ny
crew in Canton l had fallen in with n
American skipper who had for some tiune
been sailing a good sized coaster for n
wealthy Chinese house. He had his wife
with him, and they were both very pleas
ant people. He was a Cape Cod man, not
pretty to look at, for he had the leanest
frame and the biggest hands and feet |
ever saw. His hands, especially, would
have attracted attention anywhere, not
only for their size, but for the look of
the latent muscular power in them. He
was not n of those disagreeable big
listed men who think it a good Joke to
crush your fingers in shaking hands
with you. but when he did shake hands
with a restrained, friendly grip you felt
the possibilities OF his squeeze plainly
enough. You will see later on why 1
dwell upon this physical popularity Of
Capt. Winsar, for that was his name.
His wife, 1 fancy, must have come from
the south. At all events she had n
with black eyes and hair and q southern
suppleness and grace of bearing. She
was not exactly a pretty woman, but
decidedly pleasing, and her oomposure
and quiet, gentle manners won upon
You steadily. Both of them spoke Chi
nese fluently, and they gave a favorable
account of the people.
''They had a special pet in a Chinese
steward named Tin-Ling, q burly, round
faced fellow, who would have passed
muster anywhere for an honest nan but
for his eyes. They struck me as treach-
erous from the first. He never looked
anybody squarely in the face, or en-
countered a steady glance without
squirming. / concluded, however, that
his employers understood him, and, any
how, it was no affair of mine. Ny ac-
quaintance with the Winsars lasted
until the captains vessel, a small bark
named the So Kiang, was ready to sail
on OF her regular coasting cruises.
h would be away some three months,
and would visit n number of little ports.
l expected to get away about forty-eight
hours after her, and the evening before
she left took supper aboard her with
the skipper and we drank a farewell
glass. AS 1 was going away l happened
to see Tin-Ling leaning over the side
talking in a low tone to some rough
looking men in a sampan alongside, and
in a half joking way / said:
"'Winsar, don't you think you trust
that fellow too much? If 1 were in your
place, with nobody about me but Chi
nese, should keep a pretty sharp eye
upon a fellow with eyes as shifty as his
1.-THE captain laughed carelessly, and
merely said something about Timing
being all right. and 30 we parted.
I'm due time 1 got away on my gun-
boat, and down the river we went, the
machinery working smoothly and the
boat answering her helm smartly. We
were armed with two Armstrong guns
Of small caliber and a couple of Gatlings
for close quarters, besides the usual small
arms, rockets, etc.-quite enough to keep
off any number of Chinese pirates, or to
give a good account of them in a square
set-to. 1t was my intention to begin by
exploring the hooks and crannies of the
Pearl river delta, and / had taken a
pilot IAN old pirate) who knew those in
tricate waters thoroughly.
1--WE reached the mouth of the river,
anchored for the night, and next morn
ing at daybreak hove up and began to
thread the creeks and estuaries of that
region, of course with due caution and
the lead always going. The first day
brought no grist to my mill, and that
evening 1 brought up between two islets,
and, being doubtful of the neighborhood,
/ kept a boats crew rowing guard all
night, for it was so dark in there that
the pirates might nave surrounded us
without being seen, provided they were
quiet enough. However, we were not
disturbed, and the second day opened
witiaout much prospect of excit ement.
Probably the pirates had got wind Of
our expedition and had made themselves
scarce. In any case there was nothing
to do but to go N, and on we went.
The scenery was interesting enough if I
had cared for that, but l was idgeting