Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1899-10-09
CRUEL CHINESE PIRATES.
Their Terrible Crimes and no Less
Terrible Punishment.

Some of the exploits of these red
covers are curiOuSly interesting. If
any of my readers have sailed up the
Canton river they will recall the
Chinese fortress of the Boca Tigris at
it's mouth, on the starboard 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 disappears
over the crest. Whether there is
fourth wall out of sight joining the
two and completing The square I do
not now remember; but certain British
tars could tell you-if they have lasted
from 1912 till the present year of grace.
During the opium war the fortress was
attacked; but the storming party pull
ed quietly around the headland and,
forming on the beach, clambered up
over the HILL and the first thing the
celestials knew their foe was rushing
down upon them from the rear, and
within the Enclosure. There was
nothing for it but 10 surrender, which
they did, brist1ing with wrath at such
a breach of military manners. fHiyah!
Why you no come front side? More
better fight where we makee ready
for you!"
But this is a dispersion. What we
are after is the pirates. 1t was an
earlier commandant of this same
fortress who met with equally bad
luck. One of the fleets appeared in
his neighborhood, and he sailed out
to attack it. The pirates surrounded
him, and after a furious engagement,
which lasted all day and with such
havoc as may be left to the magma
ton, captured him and whatever frag-
ments of his fleet were still afoat.
This disaster was partly avenged the
next year, when the Chinese admiral,
with hundred junks, attacked an
other fleet on the same cruising
ground Great numbers of the pirates
were destroyed and some 200 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 below IN another encounter
the coEnbatants could close upon one
another, it fell dead calm, whereupOn
crowds of the pirates leaped into the
sea like savages, SWAN to the enemy
with their knives in their teeth, and
attacked them so fiercely that they
could not be beaten off, and actually
cut out several junks from the i'm
perial fleet The fortunes of war
varied. With provoking impartiality,
and apparently with no ethical prefer
ence, victory would perch on the stand
ard of the pirate quite as often as on
the banners of the righteous defenders
of their country's commerce. We
read of whole fleets engaged, fighting
all day and all night, two days, even
three days at a time, two or three hun
dred junks on side, and a drawn
game at the end. No child's play this.
At one time the admiral is lying
quietly at anchor 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 vigorous defense, 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.
Century Magazine.