The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1896-05-24
PIRACY IN THE EAST
FREEBOOTERS NOT YET DRIVEN
FROM THE OCEANS WATERS.
They Are still 20 he DIet with In the
Mediterranean, and Also I'm Malay
an and Chinese Waters.

New York Tribune.
Pirates, although they no longer infest
the coasts of North America or roam
through the Caribbean sea, are never
theless far from being as obsolete and
out of date as is imagined by those good
people who are accustomed to associate
them with seventeenth and eighteenth
century stories of the Spanish main.
The attack made the other day upon
Mr.. Walkers well-known yacht, the
Ailsa, by Rif1lan pirates while she was
hugging the coast of Morocco on her way
back from Nice to the Solent is by no
means an isolated case. 1t was but a
short time ago that sailing vessel was
brought into Gibraltar by steamship
which had found her drifting off the
western coast Of northern Africa with
not q soul on board, the decks and
cabins stained with blood and display
the craft had been the scene Of a terrible
struggle before being plundered by
pirates. And within the last three weeks
the Tangier and Gibraltar newspapers
have published accounts of how a small
English coaster trading between the
various Spanish ports and the African
coast was captured and run ashore by
Riffian pirates, those of the crew who
escaped death being carried or into the
interior of Morocco to slavery. One of
them, a mere boy. managed to get away,
and presented himself at the British
consulate at Tangiers, where for the 1irst
time the fate of his ship and Of his mess
mates was made known. Pirates ere
likewise to be found in Malay waters,
on the huge rive s Of Cochin China, and,
above all. alo, the Chinese coast. Re-
peated endeavors have been made by
American and European cruisers to wipe
these corsairs Of the far east Of Asia OF
the face of the globe. But no practical
results have been attained In this di-
sailing vessel frequenting those seas
that does not include an attack by pi-
rates among the risks which she is called
upon to face. Sometimes the pirates
will come on board the ship at Hong
Kong, at Shanghai. Annoy. Saigon and
Singapore in the guise of innocent and
guileless Chinese passengers, and then,
when the vessel is two or three days out,
there will be a sudden outbreak among
the deck and Storage passengers at
night. the crew and captain will be taken
by surprise, and before morning not a
white man will be left on board to tell
the tale. no trace Of their fate existing
save in the blood stains marking the
spot where their threats had been cut
with those murderous curved creeses or
knives which are to the seafaring men
of the far east Of Asia what the machete
Is to the Cuban.
AMONG A PIRATE FLEET.
1t was only few years ago. while I
was on my way up the coast from Hong
Kong to Shanghai on board one Of the
big peninsular and Oriental steamers,
that we ran right through q fleet Of
pirate junks lying becalmed. had come
up early on deck to find out why the
engines were moving 50 slowly. and
found that we were cropping our way
through an impenetrable fog. 1t was
one Of those fogs that would almost
bear cutting with q knife, and that
seemed to lie on the top OF the water
like some heavy pail. Suddenly. as l
stood there on deck looking over the