San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-12-09
CAPTURED BY MALAYS.

saw in n Singapore paper the other day
the statement that no less than five trad
ing vessels hailing from that port were
long overdue from the Java seal and that
there were grave reasons to fear they had
fallen into the hands of the Malays. Such
statement has an odd sound to the reader
who is not well posted in the locality and
its surroundings. The Java sea, which
separates Borneo from Java, contains over
thousand islands, great and small. Mac
assar straits, TO the east of Borneo, con-
tains almost as many more. From Bat
avia, looking north, the Chinese sea is
studded with islands for two thousand
miles. 1t is an old saying among sailors:
"Wheu Nature created Borneo she meant
that every man who ever lived on the island
should be pirate"
That four-fifths of the coast people have
for the last 200 years been engaged in this
business, no one doubts. The Malays hold
the sea front, while the Dyaks and other
tribes holds the interior. While piracy by
organized fleets no longer exists, every Ma
lay craft stands ready to do business on its
own hook. | was captured by single
craft, and a small one at that, and will
now give you the particulars.
The English firm of Warner & Hill, at
Batavia, employed three or four small
trading schooners to cruise among the ISL
ands after fine woods, furs, shells, hides,
roots, dyestuffs, etc. was left in Batavia
off an English steamer, my father having
died on the voyage, and the firm spoken of
gave me birth on the Orient, one of their
schooners. She was of ninety tons burden,
and carried captain, mate, cook, two
foremost hands and q boy.
The captain stood his watch turn and
turn about, and the cook was on call as a
sailor This gave us three hands to a
watch, which made handling the craft an
easy matter. We took out axes, matches,
powder, lead, hoes, Seeds shoes and vari-
Gus trinkcts, and more or less money, and
as an armament we had seven or eight good
muskets This was my third trip, and we
left Batavia for an island called Anello.
This is situated about forty miles south of
the southeast point of BOrneO, and at that
time was an island containing about |, 200
people. We reached it after u pleasant run,
and for the next week We're anchored in a
bay on the north side. In this time we had
secured about half Il cargo, and at the end
of the week were ready to up anchor and
sail for another island to the south.
The king of Anello wanted 10 prove his
friendship for us, and therefore made a
banquet to which all were invited. No
doubt all would have gone, but that after
noon | accidentally cut my foot, and it
panied me so much that begged to remain
aboard as shipkeeper. All others went
ashore at shutdown. We lay within 200
feet of the beach. and the village was right
there Several large fires were built, and
u could see and hear almost everything. 1t
was a warm, balmy night, and after a
while lay down on deck, and despite the
noise on shore went to sleep. When |
opened my eyes again some one was tying
my wrists, having already neatly per-
formed that job on my ankles. As tried
to SIT up received n smart tap on the head
from club, and n voice which knew be
longed TO Malay warned me to be quiet
had picked up enough of the lingo to I'M
derstand what he meant, and as caught
sight of five or six other figures on deck,
and also realized that the schooner was in
motion, lay back and kept quiet
The craft was in the hands of the Malays.
They had sneaked into the harbor under
cover of darkness, cut her hempen cable,
and she had drifted out with the tide. She
must have been mile off shore when
awoke, for they now proceeded to get her
head around and give her all sail. In about
an hour the leader of the gang approached
me and cast Off my bonds, and mOtioned
me into the fo'castle was glad enough
to go, for was in a terrible fright. had
seen MaIays about Batavia often enough,
but had been told that the real residents of
Borneo were n cruel and savage lot, and
that an EnElishman unfortunate enough