The Press., 1898-02-17
A SEA SECRET.
BY c. B. LEWIS.

In the year ls49 the Hon. East India company's ship the Star of India set sail from Madras for London, having on board over 200 passengers, and among them Lord Glenham, General Swift, Lady Artwell and her two daughters, and other men and women of note at home and abroad Aside from her gen. eraI cargo, the ship carried treasure to the amount of $250, 900 The bankers at Madras figured out that the passengers must have had at least $IOO. 900 among them. while an Indian potentate, on his way to be received as a guest of royalty
 had strong box of Jewelry and gems valued at so great sum that no one dared speak it, It was intended that the ship should be conveyed as far as the cape of Good Hope by a n-of- war. as there were plenty of pirate craft still afloar, but the government vessel met with a mishap at sea and was detained somewhere, and the Star finally decided to sail without her. and there was little fear but that she could take care of herself Two days out of Madras she was sighted and reported
 but that was the last seen or heard of her until the year 1864
 The loss of tEe Star made a great sen- satlon for several reasons, and when 1t was finally concluded that she had been lost various vessels were sent i'll search of her. and every effort was made to as- certain her fate In 1856 a Malay sailor who died aboard of an English tea ship told her captain that the Star was at tackled and captured by pirates to the south of Ceylon, and that he was one of the men engaged in the attack. He said there were five native crafts, and that they came upon the Star in a calm and carried her by boarding The ship made long and stubborn resistance. but was finally captured. and the pirates had suffered such heavy loss that III revenge they killed everybody to the last child. They then footed the ship and scuttled her. and the plunder was subsequently, divided on an island ln the China sea. Some people believed thls story and some said 1t was absurd The general idea was that the Star foundered at sea during heavy gale The dying state ment of the pirate was never fully in- vestlgated for some reason So far as the investigation went it was proved to be a fact The pirates had long been scattered, many were doubtless dead
 and the idea of bringing the gang to justice was gwen up as impossible
 In the year 1863 1 was one of the crew of the English brig Swlftsure, which was making a survey of the islands to the northeast of Madagascar
 At the Chagos group, as we were pull ing into land one day. with seven men Tn the boat, we were upset in the surf and only two of us escaped death My companion was a sailor named Wallace, and while Ill a half drowned state we were swept along the coast of the island by a current and finally thrown on shore in 8 bit of cove boat put off from the brlg as soon as the disaster was noticed, but only two bodies were recovered. The three others were pulled down by the sharks before the boat got to them. Believing this to have been the sad fate of all five no search was made for the pair of us cast ashore, and before we had recovered from our ex- haustion and prepared signal the brig had departed for another field The island on which we were cast is one of Q group of nine, and the easternmost one of all It is likely the same today