Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1899-01-18


passed on to Singapore, and finally to
Hongkong, but always with the same
result. By this time everything that
was obstinate and worst in him was
reused, and when the admiral, the same
who had brought the charge against
him, was transferred to the China sta
tion my father sought him out in Shang-
hal, decoyed him outside the city, re-
quested him to publicly admit that the
charges be had brought against him
were false, and on his refusing pro-
duced pistols, invited him to duel and
shot him dead. Then, while the police
were hunting for him, he fitted out a
boat, with large sum Of money that
had some time before been left him,
collected dozen other men as desperate
as himself, tested them thoroughly be-
fore he trusted them, and having bound
them to secrecy set off to find an island
where they could lead their own lives
unhindered by the outside world. This
was the place they came to, and those
old houses near the harbor were their
first dwellings. Once in every six
months my father went off to Hongkong
for supplies, and it was during one Of
these excursions that he met the man
whose destiny it WAS to recognize him,
and so hasten the trouble that lay be-
fore him. High words passed between
them, and the result was a betrayal,
and fight with the police, in which
two men were left dead upon the beach,
That was the beginning of the end. The
same night boatload of marines put
off to arrest my father, who was in the
act of getting his schooner under weigh.
When they came within hailing dis
tance, they were challenged and asked
their business The officer in charge re-
piled that be held warrant for my IA
theirs arrest. But the latter had no de-
sire to fall into the authorities hands
again, so he bade them stand off. The
officer, however, ordered his men to
board. Again they were warned not to
approach, but they paid no heed. The
result may be imagined. A volley was
fired from the schooner, and four men
out OF the six constituting the boats
crew, including the officer in charge,
fell dead.
"Without more ado my father got
under weigh and raced for his life out
of the harbor, pursued by three shots
from the cruiser in the bay. From that
day forward he was prescribed man.
Rewards were offered for his capture
in all the principal ports of the east not
only by the English government, but
by the rich residents of Singapore,
Hongkong and the treaty ports. Consid-
ering that it was not their affair, this
action on the part of his former friends
30 enraged my father that he swore that
if ever one Of the signatories fell into
his hands he would make him pay dear
ly for his action. 1t may interest you to
know that Mr.. Vesey, the man whom
you perhaps remember l abducted, was
the chairman of the meeting that offer
ed the first reward for my father, and
years afterward for me.
"Well, months went by, and once
more the stores on the island began to
run short. 1t became imperatively neces-
sary that fresh supply should be OBJ
tained. To do this my father repainted
and rerigged his boat, disguised himself
and his men and sailed off for Shanghai.
Reaching that port, he sent: his mate
ashore to make the purchases. But sus-
picion seems to have been aroused, the
man was arrested, and had not my IA
ther been warned in time and put to
sea he would have shared the same fate.
But he was resolved not to be beaten,
and at the risk Of his life he went back
and ashore. By means of subterfuge,
which it would take me too long to ex-
plain, he succeeded in rescuing his COM
panion. In the course Of the rescue,
however, a man was killed, and this
closed the treaty ports even more firmly
to him than before.
"The matter had become terribly
serious now. He could not go into any
port for fear Of being arrested, and yet
stores had to be obtained for the starv-
ing island. To a headstrong man like
my father, rendered desperate by delib-
crate injustice, there was only one nat
ural way out of it. He made for Hong
kong, chose a dark night, went down
the harbor in a junk, boarded trading
boat, confined the skipper in his cabin
and took possession of his cargo, for
which, it is only fair to say, he paid the
full market price. The skipper, how
ever, for some purpose of his own, for
got the incident of payment, went
ashore in the early morning and pro-
claimed the fact to the police that he
had been robbed of his cargo under the
very noses of the cruisers.
"The description of the robber Tailed
with that of my father, and the hue and
cry began again. Thenceforward he de-
clared himself openly in opposition to
society, collected round him all the men
who were worth anything and whose
lives were as desperate as his own and
levied toll OH the ships of all nations
whenever occasion offered. He ran many
risks, for often he was sighted and
chased by cruisers. 1t was on one of
these occasions that my poor mother
died, killed by an English bullet. Three
months later my father caught the fever
in the Manillas and followed her to the
grave, bidding me, girl Of 1S, keep up
this settlement and carry on the war he
had begun. Ever since then the island
has been my tenderest care. l have
watched over it and guarded it as a
mother guards her child. But at the
same time, as you know, I have not
spared my enemies. My first adventure