Clinch Valley news. [volume] (Jeffersonville, Va.) 18??-2019, 1890-09-05
THEPIRATES OF BoRNEO

dred miles is studded with islands.
They number, great aud small, good
hundred. Some of them are not more
than an acre in extent, and some arc IF
teen miles long. A portion of these.
3 islands are occupied by Malays, and the
remainder by Dyaks. The first come from
the peninsula, and the second from Bor-
nea. There is but little difference be-
tween the two races, but what there is
favors the Dyak. He is cleaner in his
habits and has more mercy on his cap
tive.
Up to the year 1850 these islands in
the China Sea were the rendezvous of
pirates. The fellows made no secret of
their trade, but practised it openly and
boldly whenever opportunity offered. 1t
was estimated by Lieutenant Cairn. of
he English navy, that they numbered
70, 600 able-bodied men. With the
women and children and slaves the num-
Der could not have been less than &C, 900.
once saw list of the ships captured
and destroyed by these pirates between
the years 1888 and 1850, and the num-
Der was over a hundred. AS rule every
body was put to death, but if exception
labor as n slave. In 1850 the English
with some assistance from other nations,
opened crusade on the pirates and
cleared the islands. Those who got away
fed to the northern end of Borneo aud
to the islands on the north, and for seven
or eight years remained very quiet. Then,
under the leadership of Dyak called
Rikcr, they made three or four captures
III one year. England had her hands
pretty full ut the time, and the single
man-oi-war sent out to break up the new
colony accomplished nothing. There was
ut this time some international dispute
about the islands, and John Bull fourht
shy OF complicating matters by opening
n war on people who even boosted that
they were pirates.
In this emergency the foreign traders
on the peninsula, assisted by others in
Siam and along the China coast, bought
the brig Campo of her Scotch owners aud
quietly Fitted her ous as Il man-or- war.
She was Il large, stout and handsome
craft, and She was outittcd at Pehanr.
She was armed with nine guns on II side.
with "Long Tom" on swivel and
when sac left Pchang she had 13O mcn
aboard. This was crowding her some
Wyatt, but as she WIS Il clean, new shi ID
and well provisionc;l there was no rrowl-
ing. lIe- crew h'il been picked up ut
half a dozen different points, and were
all Sailors and white men. | am quite
sure that the Captain and Lieutenant and
fourteen English sailors aboard were
quietly drafted from II. NJ. s. Kilda are,
bit tie others were runaway sailors from
various American, French, German and
Russian SHIPS. Wien the brig went ous
OF Pehalg sA. was 81 mate. for anything
of her size eve. fioated and no crew
were ever under better discipline. Sac
carried three extra boats. and, rs hqa
helped to stow her ammunition, knew
that she had = grea. plclty.
There We're men Oh the peninsula who
were in communication with the pirates,
and to beGog the II we ran oil up the Gulf
: of Siam until we sighted Cape Campodia
Then we headed to the northeast, and at
once began the work of Disgusting the
brig. An old set of sails were bent on,
the paint pots brought out, and in the
course of twenty fo,l9 hours we made til.
Relief, as she was called, look like ten
barge or Il trader 1t was no use to hun;
pirates with - man-of-war. They were
altogether too sharp to be caught under
her guns.
We crnised up and down the China
Sea for Il week, keeping we'll over toward
the Eorneo coast, but met with no adj
venture. Then we got the tail end of n
hurricane, which we rode out safely, and
after it subsidized we limped along to the
north with foretopmasts down and sails
torn and rent. A sailor looking Mt us
from distance of half mile would
have said that we had pulled through by
tAGJ skin Of our teeth. A dead calm
usually follows storm in that sea, and
and as we were opposite Opokonoke, or
the westernmost island of the PHILIPPINE
group, we were not surprised to find
ourselves within five or six miles of the
green coast and without Storage way.
This was the state of affairs at sunrise on
a very sultry morning, and rs the tide
set shoreward we drifted in for couplc
Of piles and then let go our anchor
in forty feet of water. The Dyaks
not only had as good marine glasses
rs any ship carried, but they had
erected platforms in the tops of tall
tiCCS, bho COulo scc ttS lar out over the
ocean as q man ut our masthead could sec
inland. We knew that they infested
that island, and had no doubt we should
soon be an object of scrutiny. For this
reason, all but Il dozen men were sent
below, and those remaining on deck
were dressed as merchant sailors. There
was man or two in the rigging, appar-
emily engaged in making repairs, but
really to watch the coast, and at about
high noon it was reported that sampan
was approaching. The craft is sort of
: Indian canoe made of bark, and in this
case there was but one occupant. He
was doubtless coming as scout to see
how matters stood. He came straight on
until within half mile of us; and then
halted and took a long survey. Our
ports were up, yards askcw, u lot of
rattle hanging over the stern, ard it did
not take him long to determine that we
ohop =, Il m