The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-11

Their Terrible Crimes and No Less
Terrible Punishment.


Terrible Punishment.
John S. Sewall in the Century.
Some of the exploits of these red COW
ers are curiously interesting. If any of
my readers have sailed UP the Canton riv-
er they will recall the Chinese fortress of
the Boca Tigris at its mouth, on the star
board side as you enter Down by the
waterside a long white parapet stretches
along the shore; at each end a wall of
masonry reaches up the hill, and disap-
pears over the crest. Whether there is a
fourth wall out of sight joining the two
and completing the square, do not now
remember; but certain British tars could
tell you-if they have lasted from 1912
till this present year of grace During the
opium war the fortress was attacked but
the storming party pulled quietly around
the headland, and forming on the beach,
cambered up over the hill, and the first
thing the Celestlals knew their foe was
rushing down upon them from the rear,
and within the Enclosure. There was
nothing for II but to surrender which
they did, bristling with wrath at such
breach of military manners, "Hiyah!
Why you no come front side? More bet
ter fight where we nakee ready for you"
But this is a depression. What we are
after is the pirates. 1t was an earlier
commandant of the same fortress who
met with equally bad luck One Of the
fleets appeared i'm his neighborhood, ana
he sailed out to attack it, The pirates
surrounded him, and after furious en-
gagement, which lasted all day, and with
such havoc as may be left to the imagi-
nation, captured him and whatever frae-
ments of his fleet were still afioat. This
disaster was partly avenged the next year.
when the Chinese admiral, with hun
dred junks, attacked another feet on the
same cruising ground. Great numbers OF
the pirates were destroyed and some 2U0
taken prisoners. Those who are familiar
with Chinese methods can easily Judge
how long the 200 were kept from joining
their bloody comrades in the shades be-
low. In another encounter not far from
the same place, before the combatants
could close upon one another II fell dead
calm, whereupon crowds Of the pirates
eaped into the sea like savages, swan to
the enemy with their knives in their teeth
and attacked them so Hereby that they
could not be beaten Off, and actually cut
out several junks from the imperial fleet
The fortunes of war varied With provok-
ing impartiality, and apparently with no
ethical preference. victory would perch on
the standard of the pirate quite as often
as upon the banners of the righteous de-
Tenders of their countrys commerce We
read of whole fleets engaged, fighting All
day and all night, two days, even three
days at a time, two or three hundred
junks on a side, and a drawn game at
the end. No child's play this. Al one
time the admiral is lying quietly at an
Choir among the islands, when suddenly
200 pirate craft slip around the headland
and pounce upon him with an onset so
furious that, in spite Of a vigorous de-
Tense, twenty-five Of his fleet are gone
with their captors before he can get up
his anchors and chase them. These en-
counters were not confined to the sea
There were frequent raids on the vii
lagos that lined the harbors and rivers