The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1890-03-21

divided that junk like the two halves of an
apple falling away from a knife. | ex-
pected great shock, but there was none.
1t was no more than as if we had run down
a yawl.I believe she held at least fifty men.
A great cry went up as we passed, and when
l had headed the steamer around not more
than half dozen of the poor wretches were in
sight, and those were clinging to fragments
of the wreck and tossing about. l gave the
engineer information of how we had succeed
ed and told him proposed to serve the other
junk the same way. The natives aboard the
steamer seemed helpless and terror-stricken
at first, but when they realized my plan they
| moved to prevent it. They ran down and
| opened the furnace doors to lower the steam,
| and a gang ofsix or eight attacked the
wheel house. A second party made an at
| tack on the engineers room at the same
| moment.
The second junk, seeing the fate of the
first, had gone about, and was standing due
| north with all sails set. The wind was light,
however, and we could run five feet to her
one. We had large reserve of steam, and
after had her nose pointed for the junk /
gave the gang outside little attention. They
were banging the door and the shutters with
the capstan bars, and 1 wounded two of them
before they could desist. The engineer also
using revolver, killed one and wounded
two. The fellows then drew of, beaten at
every turn and disguised with the job, and
now was close up with the junk. She also
held about fifty desperate looking fellows
Aware of my intentions, about twenty of
them who were armed with muskets gather
ed aft and peppered away at the pilot house,
but the few bullets which hit it fell harmless.
When the bow of the steamer was within
a cable length of the stern of the junk
every native began to howl and wall, and
most of them threw themselves PROSTATE on
the decks. White cloths were held up in
token of surrender, but in answer / rang the
bell for the engineer to pull her wide OPEN
He did 80 and we seemed to lift out OF the
water and behuDg at the doomed craft like
missile. The steamer struck her square in
the stern, crashed into her for ten or twelve
feet, and then the junk fell apart and became
heap of wreckage which was cast aside from
either bow. ran on for quarter of mile
and then turned. Not living man was to
be seen in this last disaster. ran over to the
other heap of wreckage and saw two men
still hanging on, but the sharks pulled them
under just as / rang to stop our way. The
steam was about exhausted anyhow, and the
time had come far move against the pirates
on board.
Believing they were badly frightened, /
reloaded the revolvers and stepped out on
the deck with one in either hand. The only
man in sight was the leader of the band, who
stood on the bows looking up at me. As
stepped out he said:
Don't shoot mel We meant you no harml
We have thrown away our weapons"
l went down to find them covering in the
passageway, every mans pluck completely
gone The Captain and second mate were
in the armory. let them out and then freed
thoo NT . boo Iry
white men left alive. We collected the
prisoners in the mess room, held short con-
sultation, and then proceeded to act. While
remained among them to check any new
ambition, the Captain took his station at the
forward port gangway. The engineer then
led the pirates out to the Captain one by one,
and the latter put bullet through each mans
head and pitched him forward into the sea.
1t was retri5ution with vengeance and GER
tain writers, who were thousand miles
from the scene and underwent none of its
perils, have termed it "the massacre of the
prisoners" Invent out with the last one.-
Like all others who had preceded him, he
went humbly to his death, not even urtering
a protest. When he had been disposed OF
we turned to and prepared the bodies of our
dead for burial, cleaned the decks, and. by two
of us acting as stokers, we worked the
steamer up to Kiu-Siu.
For lew weeks the natives kept wonder
fully quiet about the adventure, but it then
leaked out that about 100 lives had been lost
in the attempt to capture US. Had they got
possession of the steamer it was their inten-
ton to run her up to the head of the Yellow
Sea, and make use of her in their piratical
excursions from the coast of Formosa. As
none of them understood how to navigate
1.-THE wingless devil" as they called her, it is
likely that she would have been blown up
within an hour or two after they got charge.
She was in the trade and on the sand line for
the next five years, and every native craft
would turn tail at the sight of her mile
away. ...-.. ..