Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1898-07-13

clOBeIy Watching tnem anu Wh'IinB ior
this and Of sudden the drum beat to
quarters and our deck was alive with
men.
was captain OF No. gun crew ana
had the honor Of firing tho first shot
1t was solid ball aud it struck the
craft on her port bow and went cl. an
through her and dropped into the sea
beyond. This opened the fight. The
natives instantly realizing that they
had caught tartar, and they saw, too,
that their only means Of escape lay in
capturing the ship. Therefore, inste I'd
OF running away, as we bad looked for
each craft bore down Oh us to board.
They were handled as easily as On In-
dian maneuvers canoe, and it wasn't
FIVE minutes after the first gun was
fred ere they were on our quarters
like wolves seeking to hamstrings deer.
I fred another solid shot and then load
ed with grape and this last charge was
fred right into mass Of natives wait
ing to Chamber up the side.
The gun next to me fred solid shot
which tore through her bottom and
/ two minutes later she foundered right
by us.
The second craft got near enough to
grapple, but the irons were thrown Of
and two guns played solid shot into
her hull until she went down stern
foremost, leaving thirty men struggling
in the waves.
The third craft had forged ahead,
sailing five feet to our one, and would
have b. arded us at the bows but for
sudden destruction Of the others. Their
fate frightened her off, but she had
scarcely laid her head for the island
than il WAS brought around as if her
crow had made some desperate reeolye.
Now occurred curious thing. She
bad about thirty mon en- board and
she came down on US with every one
OF them shouting and screaming and
tried to lay us aboard. We could have
sunk her with ono gun even. or We
could have picked of the whole Gre w
with our muskets before they hAd
crossed the rail. Word was passed to
give her full broadsids at command
and when the smoke cleared away she
she was not to be reen. There were
over twenty OF the pirates hanging to
the wreckage around us. however and
. boat was lowered TO pick them up.
You can judge OF their desperation
when I tell you that every one OF them
fought like tiger against being res.
cued and that we got only five out OF
tho lot. The others we had to kill rs
they Aoated about with the sharks
swapping at them. Two Of the five
leaped out Of the boat after being pull.
ed in and were seen no more and tho
others gave us 80 much trouble that
tho captain swung them up to the
yard arm.
Thus not one single man Of the 100
or moro who came out to attack us es-
capped with his life. was in one Of
the boats atterwaTd sent ashore to soc
what sort Of o lair the pirates had
made for themselves.
The only human being ashore were
an old native woman, q ono armed Jap.
anese and white boy about IA years
Of age. The boy was off an English
trader captured year before and had
been held prisoner ever since. He said
there were 100 men in the gang, and |
we found enough plumber on the island
to load our chip.
3 They had captured about q dozen
different vessels, large and small and ih |
every case had plundersd and sunk
them. They did not always kill all the
crew. Soon after the boy was capturr