Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1899-04-14
OUR EXPERIENCES WITH
PIRATES
BY wardon Allan Curtis

| in the east. The article said that piracy
| is quite prevalent among the Chinese,
Malays and other eastern races, and
that many native vessels and a few
European ones are plundered every
year.
81 had some experience with those
piratical fellows while in the-Arethuse
on the Tonquin station" said the Rhode
| Islander who had been in the French
navy, land but for me one Of our finest
vessels would have been lost.
cit was on beautiful spring after
noon that. our feet came to anchor off
the mouth of the. Gumchew river, where
| we had been sent to investigate pratt
cal outrages reported to have occurred
in that vicinity
I'VE had heard that the head man of
the. district had been killed by the
pirates. so we were glad when whole
feet of little boats came out of the
river bringing messages from him and
presents of all kinds of fruit, vegetables
and poultry. 1 don't know why, but
when l saw that procession of natives
come up over the ships side, with their
baskets, I couldn't help fearing treach-
cry. and I said as much to the admiral.
1.-THE natives ran around the vessel,
handing fruit to the crew and max
ing friends. but I wouldn't have any
thing to do with 'em, and stood by
the foremost talking to the admiral,
who was eating a banana All of a
sudden there was a chorus OF yel1S,
the ship was ablaZe, with flashes Of
glistening steel, and every one of those
natives stood with long snaky knife,
a creese, they call it-pointing at a
sailors throat. The creeseS were made
of Timber steel, and those cusseS had
wound 'em around their waists inside
their breech-cloutsa
'sThe admiral and [ skipped up into
the cross-trees of the foremost at the
first alarm, and there we sat and
watched the natives bind the crew and
stow 'em below decks.
'sThe admiral hoped the rest of the
fleet would notice that something was
wrong, but it didn't, and, when night
fell, the natives hitched on their lit
tie boats and the Arethuse began to
creep slowly to the shore. Only two
natives stayed aboard, and they stood
side by side on the forecastle beneath
us, to keep US from getting down.
"'We must attack them at once
said the admiral, and. if we overpower
them, discharge all the guns and &larm
the rest of the fleet
"'Just let me arrange it, said I.
There was a coil of rope on the
cross-tTees- fastened around a little
roller-and-crank arrangement used for
raising ammunition. l took the end
of this rope and put it through pull
ley high above us Then [ tied it
around my body.
"+I want you to set me and this rope
swinging like a pendulum across the
ship said L Let the rope out foot
every time get TO the end of the swing,
and when I yell let it out six feet
Gradually L neared the two men di-
rectly under me. Swish, swish. swish,
swish; still they didn't hear me-
MY feet swung by within two feet
of their heads, and, as 1 completed the
end of the swing and was high in the
air, L gave a. yell, the rope slackened
and i came back with terrible force
just on the plane of the two natives.
The blow swept them off the forecastle
into the, sea.
I'm. two minutes we had the Cuttings
working on the little. boats ahead, and
in few minutes more the water red
dened and the air shook with the dis
charge of the great guns AS a re-
| ward the. admiral ordered me a lieu
tenantcy; but l was already a lieu
tenant in the Rhode Island militia, and
| was only in the French navy to learn
| French so L declined. Then he said I
could have all the jewelry on the ma
| tives we had shot, and they all wore
| big gold earrings"
Did you make much out of that?"
asked the storekeeper.
"Crocodiles ate all but one of the
natives, and his earrings were plated
| ones, and were made by Connecticut
| firmy' said the Rhode Islander who had
been in the French navy
I've met them ere Malay pirates,
too,' said the ex-sergeant of the Devon
| shire Blues. Il wasn't in the army
then, but belonged to little theatrical
| and circus company what lad been
p1ayin' in Australia. We was bound
for Injy in a little sailin' vessel and
| got beca1med in Torres straits. The
sailors at once begun to talk about
| pirates, and sure enough about four
| in the AFTERNOON along come mess of
| EN- and attacked the ship. We fought
| as well we could, but VERY soon
| they boarded and drove us into the
cabin and shot at us whenever they
got chance, and we treated them the
same.
There. was one of 'em who could
talk Henglish- and he got our clown
terrible 'ot. By maxim fun Of our fat
woman. who was engaged to be mar
ried to the clown.
"Arter awhile we 'eerd the pirates
chopin on top of the cabin, and pref
ty soon there was ole there and they
threw in fre-pot. We put it out, and
bowed off the pirates cad what looked
in TO sac 'ow 1t worked