The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1897-09-16
A TUSSLE WITH PIRATES
BY PHILIP ATKINSON.

During the spring of 1867 the En-
glish merchant ship Gazelle, hailing
from Liverpool, and commanded by
Capt. William Babson, crossed the
China Sea, Oh her way from the Phi
lippines to Singapore. She was load
ed with an assorted cargo Of great
value. besides carrying a large
amount of money, which had been
consigned to her care at Manila.
Lying at Manila, with the Gazelle,
had been the Yankee ship Minerva,
commanded by Capt. Charles p.
Henstis, and it had been planned
that the two would sail together. as a
measure of safety; for it was known
that the China Sea, at that particular
time, was infested by the most des
perate and dangerous piratical gangs
| that had ever been known in those
waters. But when the time had come
for the English ship to sail, the
Yankee was not ready, being forced
| to wait for an owner whose business
| had called him away to another is
land Babson would have waited a
day or two; but he could not waste
more time, SO he sailed alone, bidding
adieu to the Philippines on the 9th
day of May.
On the evening of the 3D. of June,
having run nearly twelve hundred
| miles, on a southwesterly course,
Capt Babson deemed it prudent to
lay his ship to until morning. Dur
ing the four and twenty hours last
past he had met a stlong ocean cur
rent that bad SO far perplexed him as
to shake his confidence in his reckon
ing; and, as he knew that he must be
very near to the most northerly of
the Great Natuna Islands, he did not
! care TO rush on in the dark. For two
days he had been able to take no OBJ
servation, and the night before him
promised to be unusually dark. So,
as the night closed in, he brought his
ship to the wind and lay his main
topsail aback.
With the dawning of another day
Babsnn found cause of thankfulness
| for his precaution. During the night
a strong current had been setting the
ship to the southwark and westward,
with the wind in the same direction;
and now, with the breaking of day,
he discovered land not more than five
miles distant The ship was heading
due south, and this land was directly
on the starboard beam, and it requir
ed no consulting of the chart to tell
them that it was an island of the
northern group of the Natunas.
Upon going aloft, with his telescope
Capt. Babson gained good view of
the island, which he judged to be ten
miles long; we'll wooded; its shore
free of rocks, and indented, about
midway, by deep bav, the northern
headland OF which was high bluff,
whereon he discovered something
that had the appearance of a beacon.
He was upon the point of lowering
his glass, for the purpose of closing
it, when the fancy struck him to take
one more look at the summit of the
headland. lie did so, and plainly
discovered a human being there,
standing close by the beacon. He
watched him, and saw that he gestic
ulated with his arms, as though sig
nalizing to some one on the shore of
the bay below. Pretty soon second
man appeared at the beacon; and the
two were evidently in eager confer
ence. 1t had now grown to be SO
light that Babson could distinguish
objects very clearly on the island.
He could see that these two men were
savages - probably Malays- their
only clothing the generic breechclout;
and that they held conference with
others below them. This upon the
promontory. Then the captain turn
ed his glass upon the deep bay. and
was able to discover a short stretch
of its shore, where, presently, he saw
other savages. carrying long spears
in their hands, running swiftly to
ward point beneath the beadland
He counted at least hundred of
these naked islanders-all Malays-
making for point beyond the reacl
of his vision; then he descended te
the deck, where he gave his glass to
one of his most reliable top men, anG
sent him aloft to keep watch, and re
port what he saw.
| This done, the captain turned t.
| his chief mate-Tom Delaney-ant
told him what he had discovered
Tie situation was not pleasar
one. With the first break of the da,
the light breeze that had held through
the night had entirely died away, S,
that the ship now lay in a dead calm
| upIar tho iptiuapoo of a onrropf N an
was setting her nearer and nearer t.
the shore-a shore then not more thai
four miles distant, where q horde o
blood thirsty pirates were maxim,
ready to come down upon them.
As sool as Babson had told hi
1 mate what he had seen, the GREY
were mustered upon the quarter
deck and clearly informed of tn
probable situation. On board til
Gazelle were five and twenty abl
men, including the capt ain, the cool
the supercargo, the mates, and th
men before the mast For weapon
] they bad four muskets, twenty fl,
large boarding pistols, and about
score of common ships cutlasse
These were brought ont, and whi
the firearms were being loaded tt
lookout in the main top reported th
a large proa WAS in sight.
Capt Babson left the work of pr
pairing the weapons to his mate, al
sprang aloft. He was an experience
hand in those seas, and knew eve1
sign and signal Taking the gla
from the hand of the top,nan,
leveled it upon the bay. and saw Il
proa just rounding the northern hea
land. 1t was one Of the largest
had ever seen-a Malay war cane
capable of carrying two hundred me
There were two clouted savages
A. her stern sheets, twenty at the broa
bladed paddles-ten on each side
ar aud two more in the bows, maki
w twenty four IN all. These were
+. a..