The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-10-04
CHINESE PIRATES.
The Incorrisible Disciples of Captain
Kidd on West River.

Lieutenant w. r. Henderson, of
the United States Navy, who arrived
here last evening on the army trans
port Thomas, has been chasing pi-
rates in Asiatic waters. He was in
command of the gunboat Callao, sta
toned in the West River, and brings
with him from the orient u whole
some respect for the Chinese pirate.
On July 13 Chinese pirates at
tackled the British steamer Sainam
on the West River, about $50 miles
from Hongkong. Among those killed
WAS DR.. Mcdonald, a British medical
missionary.
Lieutenant Henderson chased
those pirates with the Callao. He
was on board the Sainam soon after
the attack and says that the meth
DDS in that case are typical of the up
to date pigtailed pirate.
The pirates boarded the Sainam
at one of her ports as call passen-
gers. 1t developed later that each
was armed with a modern revolver
and well supplied with ammunition.
The pirates distributed themselves
about the vessel and when the time
came made short work of the Sal
mans crew. Captain Joscelyn, mas
ter of the vessel, was wounded and
escaped further harm by dropping to
the deck and pretending to be dead.
The mates We're killed and some
members of the Chinese crew who
offered resistance We're murdered.
The chief engineer escaped by crawl
ing under the boiler, where he was
so badly burned that he was in the
hospital at Hongkong for many days
afterward. DR.. Mcdonald, who was
a passenger, demonstrated with the
pirates and was shot through the
head. dying instantly.
When everybody belonging to the
steamer had been murdered or rem
dered hors du combat the Chinese
hoistsd signal, in response to which
2 large junk came alongside. Into
this junk the pirates loaded every
thing on the Sainam that was loose
or corld be detached. They stripped
the cabin, even to the carpet, and re-
moved every bit of coal from the
steamers bunkers. All the brass
work that could be unscrewed or
broken off was taken, and even the
dead and wounded were robbed of
whatever the pirates deemed worth
while.
I'VE found that junk few days
later" said Lieutenant Henderson.
There were three old Cinnamon on
board They knew nothing. The
junk had been moored there, they
said, for months and months. 1t was
always there. We searched the craft,
but found nothing and did not ex-
pect to.
1T is hard to believe it in these
days, but there, on the West River,
piracy is flourishing as it never did
on the Spanish Main. These Chinese
pirates are wonders. They will steal
anything, but manage to get away
with a vast amount of valuable prop
erty every month.
I'VE patrol the river in the Callao
constantly and the British have a
gunboat on the same service. but the
pirates are the only ones whose
watchfulness is rewarded.
''Once in a while the Chinese Gov
ernment, after an unusually daring
attack, will proclaim the arrest and
execution of pirate. AS a matter
of course, however, these occasional
sacrifices to the demands of the Pow
ers for assistance in suppressing pi-
racy are ancient Chinese who would
soon die anyhow, or natives whose
absence from the earth is desirable
to the viceroy. San Francisco Call.