Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1898-04-22
A HOT FIGHT.
BY l. b. LEWIS.

From the year 1853 to that OF 1867
there were no less than seven British,
French, German and American cruisers
constantly cruising in the waters Cf tho
China and Java seas after pirates. Dur
ing this time over 100 piratical craft
were captured, a dozen or 10 strong
holds broken up and at least 2,OC0
''black flags were killed ofhand or
sent ashore 20 be hung. The cruisers
thought they had finished their work,
but in 1869 several traders which had
been fitted out at Bantum, Batavia and
Singapore were o%verhauled by pirates
and their crews butchorod. When We
arrived at Singapore in 1870 in the
British gun brig Vixen, q nest Of pi-
rates had been located on one Of the is
lands off tho west coast Of Java, and We
had orders to proceed to the spot and
clean them out. We overhauled our
armament, took in a lot OF ammunition
and strengthened i crew by ii men
before sailing. These men were drafted
out of q crew belonging to a man-of-
war which had been wrecked on the
Malay coast, and all were old lands.
This captain got his bearings from seine
source unknown to us, and when we
left Singapore tho brig WAS headed to
the east. We logged along down the
coast of Sumatra for o week without
any unusual incident, and though we
spoke q score of craft mono of them lad
any information about the pirate. Tho
crew had begun to ridicuio tho idea
when something occurred to opon Our
eyes very wide.
One morning, about an hour after
daylight, we came up with u Dutch
trader, which was taking care Of her
self. All her sails had been cut away,
ropes were flying in every direction,
and che was so low in the water that
we wondered why she didn't so down.
When a boat pulled of to her, it was to
find the captain mortally wounded and
his wife and two sailors, stiff and dead
and horribly mutilated, on the deck be-
side him. We got him OF, but had no
time to give the bodies burial before
the little craft went down. The captain
was a man about 40 years of age, and,
though hardly alive when we found
him, he rallied enough to tell his story.
The trader had been traficking along
the Java coast and had finally completed
his cargo and headed for Singapore.
Just at sunset IN the previous evening
he had been overhauled by a native
craft carrying about 40 men. He was
then about ten miles Off the coast and
about five miles south Of an island
known as Queens Bower. He had nc
suspicion whatever Of the natives, and
the first thing no knew they boarded hii
craft and began TO cut and slash. When
they had finished the crew, they begOI
to plumber and strip the vessel and were
with her until Midnight. Before leaving
they bored her full Of holes, and we hac
reached her just in time to rescue the
captain. Tho first craft was joined by
two others later on, and the three car
ried az least 100 desperate fellows. The
captain heard and understood enough tC
satisfy him that they were an organized
gang Of pirates and that they were also
we'll equipped for their bloody business,
The island mentioned was not ovei
30 miles away, and as the Java sea wa
and is a great highway it did not aeon
possible that men would take such q
risk as those pirates had. The trader
said that no less than three friendly
sails were in sight when he was at
tackled, but all too far away 70 signal
even If he had been warned In time L
do something. Owing 60 the shoals sur
rounding the island our craft could no
approach near enough to use her gum
and shell the fellows out, and we were
not strong enough to land from oui
boats and deal with them. The sight o
an armed vessel nosing around woult
put the pirates on their guard, and 81
It was resolved to play them o Yankee
trick. We ran into a bay on the coas
and set TO work.
You are probably aware of the fac
that an English man-of-war, no matte
how large or how small, is a pattern o
neatness and regulation, and the cut o
her sails win alone establish her identi
ty while her hull is yet below the wa
ter line. We had therefore to undo an
overhaul a great deal. We put every
thing in seeming confusion aloft, dis
Ruised her hull as much as possible, an
when we left the bay the Shark had Ii
look Of q merchantmen which had bee
through a typhoon and was too shol
handed to make repairs. The Dutch cal
tain died on tho day after we foun
him, and his last words were a pray'
that we might fall in with and punis
the pirates
IL was just at daylight that we al
peared of the north coast of the islam
and anchored on a bank about thr'
miles from the beach. Men were ser
Aloft as If engaged in repairs, a boz
was got down aB If 10 work ON the hui
and the bulk Of the crew remained
hiding below. No doubt the fellow
ashore had a lookout in some trees, al
provided with a good glass he could s
everything going on aboard IL vi
hardly sunrise when a small natl
Avaft with four men In her, came out