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

felt quito sure that the game was in our
hands. The crew were called to aua--
ters, shot, shell and grape passed up, and
when cutlasses and pistols had been
served out We were ready.
As the tide WAS setting inshore, the
briggs stern was toward the island. We
quietly tailed on to the spring which had
been set and brought her starboard
broadside to bear. This man9uvre might
have aroused the suspicious Of the Dyaks
had we not taken so much pains to dis
guise the brig. AS it was, they doubt
less argued that it was foi the purpose of
assisting US in our repairs, AT any rate,
ut about o'clock in the afternoon, we
caught sight of their fleet coming out.
The see was smooth and CLASSY, and we
could see the craft almost as soon as they
left shore. There were five of the native
craft called prahns. These are clumsy
looking affairs TO European, but, as a
matter of fact, are light, buoyant, and
quite safe in a heavy sea. None of those
approaching us had masts OF sails, but
were propelled by rowers. Each had a
small iron cannon mounted ON the bows,
aud the rowing and steering was done
from behind screen or partition, which
crossed the boat about third of its
length from the bow AS they came
nearer we could count about twenty men
in front Of each screen. Some had mus
kets, and all had the sword-likc weapon
called kris.
While our guns were loaded and the
ports ready to be dropped, the most of
our crew were out OF sight behind the
bulwarks. The prahus came on in line
until about half n mile away, and then
they formed i'll line the other way.
That is, each was now bow on to us,
with nm interval of not more than ten
feet between them. You would have
thought they would play the hypocrite n
bit and try and get aboard of us without
any fighting or loss of life. but that isn't
Dyak nature. They didn't mean to spare
asoul ofns, and they probably hoped for
II little shindy to make matters more ex-
citing. They got If, sure enough. At a
given signal each one of their howitzers
sent solid ball whizzing at us. Every
man raised yell, and the five prahns
dashed forward to board us. We let
them come within quarter of q mile be-
fore we dropped the ports and run out
nine guns, loaded with short fuse shell
and grape. "Bang!" chang" "bangl"
went gun after gun, the muzz!c of
each depressed for the short
range, and, although we could
see nothing for the smoke, we heard
enough to satisfy us that great havoc had
beca wrought While we waited for the
smoke to lift some object dashed against
TIE brig, and next moment we were be-
ing boarded by about thirty Dyaks They
belonged to prahn which Ind escaped
injury, and you can judge what manner
OF men they were. While they must
have realized that they had caught n
Tartar, and while our broadside had
sunk or disabled the other craft. this
solitary one hoped TO carry us by Il dash.
She'd have done it, too, had VIC been n
merchantmen. for she reached us under
cover of the smoke, and no sooner had
we left the shock of contact than twenty
five o: thirty swarthy fellows were on
the rail. We opened on them with our
pistols and then sailed in with the steel,
but before we had overcome them they
Fad Cut down three men and wounded
two more. One fellow, who seemed to
be leader, kept six OF us away from
him for four or five minutes, and the
way he handled his kris would have done
honor to IL fencing master
When those left in the prahn saw how
the fight was going they backed her off,
but Il solid shot was capped into one of
the guns, the muzzlc depressed Mt the
right moment, and the shot sunk the
craft as if she had been loaded with
stone. Two Of the prlhns were sreall-
ing shoreward, though badly battered,
whca Long Tom was turned loose on
them and finished the Job A dozen
sampans had come out at the opening of
tae fight, some carrying one and some
two mca, and these picked mp few
stragglerS and took them TO shore. AS
WAS afterwarl known, the number of
warriors who came out was 143. OF
these only eleven escaped death Mt our
hands. we had no sooner disposed OF
tie parans than four boats were dropped,
cach filled with we'll, armed men, and
thea we pulled for the beach. The
anchor WAS lifted, and tao brig driftcd in
after or soundings until she brought
up in four fathoms within musket-
saot of the beach. Then we lay off for
half al hour, while size piled the woods
with her shells, and when we landed it
was to meet with a scene of devastation.
There had been good-sized village Just
opposite the brig, and such of it as Ind
not been knocked to pieces by her shells
was ROW on fire. We found about thirty
dead bodies, men, women and children,
and i'll the mouth of small river were
three prahas and about twenty sampans.
These were destroyed, and after the brig
had turned her shells loose again rs a
goodbye we went on board The forest
was now on fire in twenty places, and the
flames were not cxtinguished until they
had burned every tree and bush over a
space twenty-five miles long by fifteen
broad.
AT about shutdown We got land breeze
and made an of1ing. We were not yet
through with the pirates. We had sim
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