The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1902-01-31
Mix-Up with Yellow Pirates.

ocCIueuldl l1Oltl. ne ID vi hi5 way w
indianapolis, where he has relatives
TO undergo surgical treatment for his
injuries. Buckhardt, though n young
man, has long been resident Of Can
ton, where he was employed as an In
spector and special buyer Of silks for
a large European house.
In July last he and three companions
M. Spalinger, Swiss; G. Il. Hujigen,
a Holla1der, and V. Hogg, an English
man-were bound up the Canton River
to Shun Tack I'm houseboat owned
by Buckhardt. The Canton River
houseboat is Of peculiar construction.
1t is like one of the stern wheel river
steamers so familiar on the shallow
streams OF America, but the wheel
instead of being turned by a steam
engine Is operated by crew Of coolies,
who stand watches turning n series
Of cranks arranged after the manner
of n treadmill. For this work on Buck
hardt's boat n crew Of eighteen Chi
nese was carried. They were In charge
Of a boatman, who acted as captain OF
the craft. Besides, there were several
servants. All went well until the sec
ond night OF the journey. when the
boat was about thirty miles above
Canton, and almost opposite San Young
Hee. Burkhardt and his guests had re-
tired soon after midnight, when they
were awakened by n shot being fired.
A bullet passed through the side Of the
house on the boat and struck Burck
hardt In the left foot as he lay I'm his
bunk. An artery was cut and he bled
profusely. All four men at once seized
their rifles, but by that time bullets
were flying about the boat.
II was fast losing strength from the
wound, and I tore n strip from n
blanket and bound 1t up as best |
could" said Burckhardt, I'm telling the
story of the attack. Before had my
foot bound stink pot had been thrown
on :he roof Of the house, and It threat
ened to set fire to our craft | climbed
up to where 1t was, but as | reached
the place / met the bOatman. The
fumes from the thing were awful.
but we succeeded In eXtingulshlng 1t.
While we were at that work n bullet
struck the boatman, and he died few
minutes later from the wound. | got
down into the cabin, and in n minute
or two later | was struck in the right
leg. The pirates had boarded our boat
and the bullets were coming from all
directions One OF the pirates got upon
the bow of the boat and threw bomb
that came rolling along the deck, the
fuse burning steadily. | picked IL up
from the floor, and hurled IL through
a window, carrying the glass and the
sash with II. Just outside the window
1t exploded, and the side of the cabin
was shattered with the force of the
roncussion. My two wounds were too
much for me. and | fell
"As | lay on the floor one of my com
panions handed me revolver. and
of the pirates as | lay there, though |
was hit by another bullet In the left
shoulder Luckily the last bullet made
only n slight flesh wound. Another
bullet clipped piece out Of my scalp.
My companions did good work with
their rifles, and after about half an
hour they succeeded in driving our as
sailants Off. Spalinger was shot in
the left arm soon after the fight be
gan. The bullet barely missed the
bone, but he tied Il handkerchief about
II and kept in the fight to the last.
The Chinese of the crew jumped into
the water and most of them clung to
the paddles of the wheel. After the
pirates had been driven away they re-
appeared, and with their help we
turned the boat back down the river.
and about daylight anchored close to
n Chinese gunboat and asked for pro-
lection. The crew of the vessel made
no effort to pursue the pirates The
bodies of eight of the pirates were
found in the river with bullets I'm them
from our rifles. We secured launch
from Chinese official that day. and in
Ii we got to Canton, though we were
ten hours on the journey. Then we got
the services of n surgeon. | was two
months in hospital there, and then
was sent TO a hospital at Yokohama,
where l remained about two months
more.
THE Chinese Government paid Mr..
Spalinger and myself $4,000 each.
and also gave the others of the party
some indemnity. They also gave the
widow of the Chinese boatman who
was killed pension. San Francisco
Chronicle