Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1891-07-17
Cleaning Out Pirates.

During the year 1868 no less than
three trading vessels fitted out at Singa'
pore for traffic in the Java Sea mysteri-
ously disappeared, aud no trace of them
could be discovered. Two more were
added to the list early in 1863, and about
July it was whispered around that a
nest of pirates had been discovered on
an island off the north coast of Java.
If the news was true The chieftain of the
cang must be bold fellow indeed, and
needed looking after at once.
The merchants at Singapore were talk
ing of fitting out a ship to investigate
when II. NJ. cruiser The SHARK arrived.
She was one of the old-fashione1 ten
gun brigs once so numerous, and at that
time was engaged in survey Of the
south coast Of Borneo, or about to be.
As | was one of her crew | can relate
what happened during the next two
weeks first-handed.
1t seemed that the story of the pirate
was accepted as fact, for we over
hauled our armament, took in lot of
ammunition and strengthened our crew
By fourteen men before sailing. These
men were drafted out of crew belong
ing to a mau-of war which had been
wrecked on the Malay coast, and all
were old hands. The captain got his
bearings from some source unknown to
us, and wnen we left Singapore the brig
was headed to the east. We logged
along down the coast of Sumatra for
week without finding any unusual incl
dent, and though we spoke score Of
crafts none Of them had any information
about the pirate. The crew had begun
to ridicule the idea when something oc-
Cured to open our eyes very wide.
One morning, about an hour after day
light, we came up with Dutch trader,
which was taking care of herself. All
her sails had been cut away, ropes were
flying in every direction and she was so
low in the water that we wondered why
she didn't go down. When boat
pulled off to her it was to find the cap
tain mortally wounded and his wife and
two sailors stiff and dead and horribly
mutilated on the deck beside him. We
got him off, but had no time to give the
bodies burial before the little craft went
down. The captain was man about
forty years Of age, and though hardly
alive when we found him he rallied
enough to tell his story.
The trader had been trafficking along
the Java coast and had finally complete
his cargo and headed for Singapore
Just at sunset on the previous eyening he
had been Overhaule1 by a native craft
carrying about forty men. He was then
about ten miles off the coast and about
five miles south of an island known as
"Queen's Bower lie had no suspicion
whatever of the natives, and the first
thing he knew they boarded his craft
and began to cut and slash. When they
had finished the crew they began to
plumber and strip the vessel, and were
with her until midnight. Before leaving
they bored her full of holes, and we had
reached her just in time to rescue the
captain. The first craft was joined by
two others later on, and the three car
ried at least hundred desperate fellows.
The captain heard and understood enough
TO satisfy him that they were an organ
lied gang Of pirates and that they were
also we'll equipped for their bloody busi.
ness.
The island mentioned was not over
twenty miles away, and as the Java Sea
was aud is great highway, it did no.
seem possible that men would take such
a risk as those pirates had. The trader
said that no less than three friendly
sails were in sight when he was attacked,
but all too far away to signal, even if he
had been warned in time to do some
thing. Owing to the shoals surround
ing the island our craft could not ap-
proach near enough 10 use her guns and
shell the fellows out, and We were not
strong enough to land from our boats
aud deal with them. The sight of an
armed vessel nosing around would put
pirates on their guard, and so it was re.
solved to play then Yankee trick. We
ran into bay on the coast aud set to
work.
You are probably aware Of the fact
that an English man-of-war, no matter
how large or how small, is a pattern Of
neatuess and regulation, and tue cut Of