The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1891-10-02
ON LAND AND SEA.
CLEANING OUT A GANG OF PIRATES.

During the year 1868 no less than three
trading vessels fitted out at Singapore for
traffic in the Java Sea mysteriously dis.
appeared, and no trace of them could be
discovered. Two more were added to the
list early in 1869, and about July it was
whispered around that nest of pirates
had been discovered on an island off the
north coast of Java. If the news was
true the chieftain of the gang must be a
bold fellow indeed, and needed looking
after at once.
The merchants at Singapore We're talk
ing of fitting out a ship to investigate
when II. NJ. cruiser The Shark arrived.
She was one of the old fashioned 10 gun
brigs once so numerous and at that time
was engaged in a 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 overhauled
our armament, took in lot Of ammuni.
ton, and strengthened our crew by Ia
men before sailing. These men were
drafted out of crew belonging to man
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 when we left
Singapore the brig was headed to the
east. We logged along down the coast
of Sumatra for week without any un.
usual incident, and though we spoke a
score of crafts none of them had any in.
formation about the pirates. The crew
had begun to ridicule the idea when
something occurred 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 60 down. When boat pulled
off to her it was to find the captain NOR.
tally wounded and his wife and two
sailors stiff and dead and horribly mu.
tilated 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
40 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 completed
his cargo and headed for Singapore. Just
Mt sunset on the previous evening he had
been overhauled by a native craft carry.
about 40 men. He was then about
10 miles off the coast and about five
miles south of an island known as
"Queens Bower" He 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 plunder
and strip the vessels, and were with her
until midnight. Before leaving they
bored her full of holes, and we had
reached her just in time to rescue tho
captain. The first craft was Joined by
two others later on, and the three carried
at least hundred desperate fellows.
The captain heard and understood enough
to satisfy him that they were an or.
ganized gang of pirates and that they
were also well equipped for their bloody
business.
The island mentioned was not over 20
miles away, and as the Java Sea was and
Is a great highway, it did not seem posi-
BILE that men would take such 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 something. Owing
to the shoals surrounding the island our
craft could not approach near enough to
use her guns and shell the fellows out.
and we were not strong enough to land
from our boats and deal with them. Tho
sight OF an armed vessel nosing around
would put the pirates on their guard =,
and SO it was resolved to play them a
Yankee trick. We ran into bay on the
coast and 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
neatness and regulation, and the cut of
her sails will alone establish her identity
while her hull is yet below the water line.
We had, therefore, to undo and overhaul
great deal. We put everything in
seeming confusion aloft, Disgusting her
hull as much as possible, and when wo
left the bay The Shark had the look of q
merchantmen which had been through
typhoon and was too shorthanded to
make repairs. The Dutch captain died
on the day after we found him, and his
last words were prayer that we might
fall in with and punish the pirates.
1t was just at daylight that we ap-
peared off the north coast of the island
and anchored on bank about three
miles from the beach. Men were sent
aloft as if engaged in repairs, boat was
got down as if to work on the hull, and
she bulk of the crew remained in hiding
below. No doubt the fellows ashore had