Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1891-06-19
A STORY OF PIRATES.

had lie. Pooi 10 Shanghai. and
nau lett her on arrival. fonnd t 't,ia
e captain of the Silver Crown ono 81
'ne companys traders, was an old So
Vi my fathers, and so it came -. nv
:, 'ooh service in the COMPANY nndar
sn .l' WIN The rating of cabin bow The
oCnooher carried dozen muskets -.
oodrulflg pixies and half a dozen ont
asses as an armament, but avorr-+l,i...
was boxed up and stored arvar ;e s''liis
i, .orsotten- Capt. Wharton had been IN
Sei VICE Tor SIX years and had never
nth any trouble.
we got away it was with ordo.,
hiDA ippine islands, amono Will
- had many resident AGENTS
Us.fproducts. Our course was
asst to pass between For
Loo Choo Islands, and we
Ne. l6 Expre run thus far without Incl
No %. Mirs1e day about noon iunt
ve craft, which doubtless
70. 70, Exprpme port in Formosa. infer
No. q Mlxethe eastward of that island
Main I.inrbout thirty miles off shore
49,. eaErhaIled us. She claimed to ha
.Rorf0f water, owing to an accidort,
this, as we afterward came 70 ltnou'
vas only an excuse. When she learned
mat we were bound to the Philinpines
sne mad three passengers to transfer
Aiey were three natives of Fornosa
VINO were going down there to found a
colony and would pay literally for a
passage by the schooner.
am only giving you the gist of what
was urged in excuse. We Law to for y
couple OF hours and heard only part of
what was said 1t did not seem to strike
capt. Wharton or Mate Williams as
queer or suspicious, and after haggIing
over terms for a while the three natives
were transferred to our decks and the
vessels separated. Then | had time to
LOOK the strangers over, and | was not
long In concluding that | did not wish
Tor an intimate acquaintance. They
were tough looking trio, and the cook
mad scarcely set eyes on them before he
declared that we had made a great mis-.
take In taking them aboard We had no
accommodations for them aft and as the
schooner was in ballast they had agreed
to occupy the hold.
took an early opportunity of com
munl,ut.A, lAg suspicious to the captain,
but he laughed at me in a good natured
way. tried the mate, but he saw moth
ing to arouse distrust 1t was singular,
however, that every man of the crew
outside of the two officers was satisfied
that there was something wrong with
the trio. While their excuse was rea.
sonable enough, the looks and actions of
the men were suspicious, and it was
plain toall that they were sailors They
let us all severely alone except the cap
tain and the cook, and called it to mind
afterward that while one interested the
former the other two were occupied with
the latter. | could ''chin-chin" a bit
and the cook could speak a little En-
gllsh, and SO we managed to understand
each other pretty well. Three days
after the men came aboard "Slop-Slip,"
as we called the cook, assured me with
very serious face that the strangers were
evil minded men, who had planned to
capture the schooner. They had asked
him to join them, and he had refused. !
posted off to the captain with this news,
and he greeted it with contempt.
We were getting well down toward the
northemmost island of the group, when
something happened which should have
opened the captains eyes. The leader of
the three borrowed the glasses and went
up to the crosStrees of the mainmast and
took a long look around. We saw the
sailor in bic avarv NOVA opd ba bod not
been down all hour when a native craft
came creeping up from the south, bows
ON to us. She had a free wind, while
we had been beating down all the fore
noon We were at this time forty or
fifty miles to the;northward of the group,
with beautiful afternoon and a smooth
sea. Half an hour after the native craft
had been sighted, one of the natives and
the captain retired to the cabin. Five
minutes later the native showed his head
above the deck and called to the mate
who had just come on watch He dis
appeared down the companionway, and
at the same time entered the forecastle
to look for something wanted. | was
down there about five minutes. l heard
no particular row on deck, but when
reappeared | was struck dumb by the
spectacle One of the natives was at the
wheel, and was bringing the schooner
into the wind to lie to- The decapitated
bodies of the two Americans and the
cook were lying amidships, while the
two Swedes were at the foremost cross
trees. Not a shout had been raised nor
a cry uttered. The work had been done
with terrible rapidity and in silence.
AS reached the deck one of the ma
tives came forward with a bloody creese
in his hand and called me good boy"
and said should not be hurt. He left
me sitting on the windlass SO scared and
weak that l could not stand, and then
assisted his companions to lower tho
sails. When this had been accomplished
they called to the Swedes to come down.
The poor fellows began crying and
lamenting and refused to desoend, The
-<,tives picked up the bodies from the
TX and tossed them overheard, and
-. descended to the cabin and brought
srEs bodies of captain and mate and
u, Pull 5sas,n the same way. Both had
49, =. - by the one native who en-
rOhANE o!s own About the time the
sing taken Inc flung over the raj! the ma
oOean AaunuIyreN alongside, She had
, collars, cuffs, hoard ali of whom seemed
thursday of eac.braa nassonoors and tbeir
s''ion' twas great rejoicing over
8 the schooner, and in a
- ~ 49, acur no one paid me any
making. first hou '.le, - ~ ~
mith shop. e 20 SIS ,s',It Is ,La,