New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-05-17
seemed to me to be a piece OF heartleesness was
after ALL the wsest thing that could have been
done
THE ELUslvENEss OF THE JUNK.


done.
THE ELUSlVENESS OF THE JUNK
When We reached our destination a couple OF
days later without further adventure our skipper
as soon as he had cast anchor caused a boat to
be lowered and pulled off toward an English
cruiser that was lying in port. He communicated
10 the captain the fact Of our passage through
the pirate fleet and the latitude and longitude
in which we had found It, intimating at the same
time that there were one or more white captives
on board. Tdree hours later the cruiser steamed
out OF the harbor on errand OF rescue and
Of punishment. that being the kind of work for
which American and English men-of-war and
gunboats are mainly employed in Chinese waters.
namely. the police duty. But when she reached
the spot 10 which our skipper had directed her
the birds Of ill-omen had flown. That is just
the difficulty with these pirate junks Of the
Chinese-they are so difficult to catch even
when found. For. when hard pressed by a
cruiser they will deliberately run ashore no
matter what kind Of coast there may be in front
OF them and in the space of ten minutes no trace
remains OF the junk. The latter Is built some
what after the manner of these Chinese puzzles
that are made for the entertainment Of children.
Not nail is used In the whole concern nothing
but leather thongs. which the water serves TO
tighten. All that the pirate has to do when he
runs his junk ashore is just to cut half-a-dozen
thongs with his creese knife and the entire fab
rc tumbles 10 pieces. while the sails he either
buries IN the sand drags up into the brush
wood of some neghborng hill.
The only really successful campaign that has
ever been waged against these pirates was by
the captain of an old American man-of-war. the
rame Of which | forget. She was little better
than a tug-one of those old-fashioned wooden
ships with a large number of guns but with no
speed whatsoever The captain, knowing that he
could never succeed in catching up with the
junkC before they reached land was wont to use
ruse He woull have the sides of his ship COW
cred with tarpaulin painted in such manner as
to make them resemble those of some merchant
man. Then he would sacken all the ropes. hal
yards and rigging. so as to give the ship very
sOvenly aspect, and would then drift along with
70 one on deck. so as to convey the impression
that no watch being kept. The pirates. of
course, would think that they had an easy prey
within their grasp: and scores OF 1unks, each
more frightfu-looking than the others. would be
seen gliding stealthy but rapidly out from
shore. When they were within about hundred
yards of the cruiser but not before, the word
would be given by the captain. The tarpaulins
would go up Ike the curtain of theatre, and
before the pirates had time TO recover from
be raked by entire broadsde Of guns which
would send three-quarters of their number to the
bottom and disable the remainder.
In conclusion, let me add that. according to the
Government reports which have Just been
brought before the Chamber of Deputies at Paris,
pirates no fewer than dozen prominent French
colonial officials with their wives and children.
who captured at the mouth Of the River
Meinam by a fleet of these cOrsairs, who found
no difficulty in mastering the little steamer on
which the officials in question were proceeding
to their destination. From this II Will be seen
that pirates are far from being extinct race
and that the world has by no means seen the
last of the black flag adorned with skull and
crossbones. EX-ATTACHE.