The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-10-03
THE PIRATES OF SUMATRA.
SEA ROBBERS At WAR WITH ALE
THE REST OF THE WORLD.

For MANY Years the Dutch Have Been TryinE
to Exterminste Them-How tho Pirates NJ
Their Pi~EhtinE-Their Cnnnibai NeIEhbors
tho Battaks - Foes Not to Be Despiscd.
trom the ST. Lonfs GioJc. Democrat.
The butchcry of a ships crow and passengers
In Eastern seas by AChincsc pirates furnished a
grisly item of cable intelligence In the news
papers the other day. II was related that a
boatload Of the frccbootcrs boarded the vessel
in disguise, n woman carrying concealed under
her clothes the knives with which the victims
were subsequently despatched. Only one per-
son escaped to tell the tale. Most people who
read the story supposed, quite naturally, that
the Achincsc must be some sort of Cinnamon.
This notion, however, was a mistake, inasmuch
as the pirates in question are Malays, who 1.-Two
at the north end Of the island OF Sumatra.
Prof. David G.. Fairchild. u Government
naturalist, has just returned to tho United
States from that part Of the world, and he gives
a most interesting account OF the war which Ia
going on ut present between the Dutch and this
nation OF robbers.
The Dutch. IL seems, have been waging this
war without intermission for twenty-four years,
and they are not much further ahead with 1t
than at the beginning. The name of the prov.
ince inhabited by the pirates is properly spelled
Acheen, or Atschin. Nobody knows how many
Va ehShi NV SNSh opbboAAbiatOiyt va hho
simple reason that no white man can venture
into their territory without being killed. It 10
supposed that they number $4,000 to 10000.
In former times they were a scourgo OF tho
seas in that part Of the world, sweeping the
waters with their swift sailing proas, capturing
merchantmen Of all nations. and c~ustomarily
butchering every soul on board. This method
of procedure almost destroyed the trade Of
England through the Strait Of Malacca, and
finally the British Government told tho Dutch
that they must put n stop to the nuisance or
else it would take the matter in hand.
The Dutch. of course. own Sumatra. as we'll
as all the rest of the great Malay Archipelago,
which extends us far east and west as the dis
lance from New York to San Francisco. 1t
WAS thought very undesirable that the Eng
lish should have an excuse for landing troops
in Dutch territory, and SO an expedition was
sent to wipe out the natives of Achcen. That
was in 1872. The effort was so far unsuccess-
full that it is still being kept up, after an expen-
diture of 30, o0o,O 900 guilders and a great waste
would have soon put an end to the trouble by
furnishing whatever might DO necessary in the
Dutch colonial policy Is frugal, and thus moth
ing has been accomplished except the destruc-
e eiSn Who oh an are eh me- Ei onser a O tspr = on t II ' ocean, aeheen-
These %piratical people are bigger and stronger
than the other, natives Of SuInatra. excepting
only, the cannibal Battaks. who are their near
neighbors. They are tremendous lighters
long, lean, very muscular, built like profess
Their f@ayorile weapon is 2 knife Of peculiar
! shape called "klawong," with a blade two feet
s iSnsi l aed 0 is heavy rs n %t tho eie endi SO oG as to tpt ri Ge
greater weight to, the blow struck with it. In
some instances, white men have been actually
cleft from the head through the entire body by
weapons. Also tho Acheenese have carbines
have imported with ammunition from Singa.
pore. They even possess a few small cannon.
not to be ~despised. They are fond of night at
tacks, and rival the sayages of America in the
m nrmsl a0a OF ,ar their IF T csnlj1s.- TbeIEI on f1a tine les F.
covered with primeval tropical forests, inhabited
by orang;,outangs, where malaria broods, and i'm:
penetrable rattan thickets harbor legions Of
leeches. When the Dutch troops burn their vii
lagos and destroy their rice plantations, they
nesses, whittier they cannot be pursued. They
are very dirty, beastly. in their habits, and are
which cover them with bfotches. Their houses
are square or oblong. containing only the
baIest neeessities-3ne or two pots and pans
shut off by a curtain.
There is undoubtedly a great deal Of gold in
the north end of the island and not far from the
Dutch, is a hin called Gold Mountain, which is
said to be full Of the Yellow metal a Dutch Off.
S %as sh %aGe b TO the hso Ich hsiTsneid as a k0ld b sSin S Mh iSs
sixteenth century. 1t was thin and covered
with embossed characters. OF late the fighting
with the natives has been particularly severe.
Dutch outposts. t the time Of Prof, Fair.
hospital at Kota Radja out of an army of 8 1000
men. Many of the sick, however, were victims
OF various diseases which attack Europeans in
plant, which begins with a swelling OF the legs
and creeps up until it attacks the heart and kills.
Any defeat of the Dutch in Acheen damages
their prestige all through Sumatra and Java,
and this is one reason why:they have been will
which is worthless to them, producing nothing
whatever that Is of value. With all their Of
pr~oVin re that i is to on say, the tee| e siIeIl eI nor ii ere
tip of Sumatra, embracing only, a few square
miles. Across this tip OF land they have built
a string of little forts, to the south of which all
the country is in the possession of the pirates.
They have to keep a mighty sharp lookout, too.
Ing natives. All OF tho forts arc connected by
a railawy and by telegraph with the town OF
most curiously fortified place in the world. 1t is
q city Of soldiers, barracks, with officers resi-.
dences In the middle, the whole being surround,
Inside OF the fence is a stone wall.
The city can only he approached by the saw
vessels, and from that direction they must pass
the line Of forts which are fourteen in mum,
wire fences ten feet high. The fences are only
four n%ssi insh nf t sIsrf /: and n dd the os arb az are , closely srrIsr set It
wire net twenty feet in width and not very high,
but so intricate that to go through il Is prac'
rier again is a hedge Of plants known as Spanish
bayonets. set as thick as possible and thirty
feet wide. This is considered impossible by
the natives, who can neither scale nor 20
through it. A small passageway. closely guard
ed, gives access to the fort. II one of The forts
Is attacked or threatened, notice Is at once sent
by telegraph to kota NADIA and reinforce.
"ents are despatched by the railroad from the
city.
Sumatra is ono Of the largest Islands in the
world, and has u population of 5000, 900
Respecting some of the tribes in the interior
hardly anything Is known, inasmuch as the isl
and has been crossed by white men only two oil
three times. The immediate ncighbors of the
Achccnese are the Battaks, u most interesting
race of cannibals, who are quite civilized in
their way, having n written language of thcil
own. They know how to make firearms, ever
boring their own gun barrels. Also they cary,
gun stocks in correct style, and arc acqhaintod
with the art OF making powder. They find thcil
own, sulphur and saltpctrc, using pieces OF
bamboo Tor cartridge cases and bits Of coral fol
bullets. They are excellent agriculturists, and
raise cattle. In addition they are clever gold
and silver smiths, making hlgirco- work and
weaving gold thread.
The Battaks only cat prisoners of war or bad
criminals. Formerly the habit OF canniballsu
among them was universal. and human flesh
nEad m hn sold in THAR country in nt,an M ~ OF