The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1909-07-01
Terrible Two Days Struggle on
Board the Steamship Low.
thcr Castle
TRAGEDY OF The INDIAN OCEAN
Wing kee Discerns a Noble Soul Re.
jncarnate in Chang-Fierce Re.
Nense for the Murder Done by a
tleedless BiIIow.

on board the steamship Lowther Cas-
tie, which arrived here few days
since from far Eastern ports, mutiny
that lasted two days and two nights.
Before it was quelled and the mutt
neers were safe in the hold fourteen
of them had paid the penalty with
their lives and their bodies were
thrown to the fishes.
When the Lowther Castle, Capt.
William Lightoller, flying the British
flag, sailed from Yokohama with a
Chinese crew the officers did not be.
lieve that there would be trouble. All
went well until after the ship left
Singapore and was out in the Indian
Ocean well on her way to Port Said.
At Singapore the bumboat men and
other traders had come alongside with
monkeys-many monkeys, both large
and small. Monkeys are cheap at
Singapore, and when the vessel sailed
athere were fifty of them slowed in the
hold, to say nothing of two fine ring
tailed simians that Wing Kee, the
cook, had in cage in the galley. Wing
Kee bought his pair from the Malay
servant of a Chinese merchant who
lived in the town of Djokjokarta
which is in central Java.
A few days later Wing thought that
he saw in the eyes of the female,
which he had named Ki Ki, a piteous
appeal for liberty, so he opened the
cage door ever so little and let her
out. Ki XII romped about the decks
happy as lark, if monkeys ever get
that happy, but always at meal times
she was to be found near the gallery
petting her mate, Chang, through the
bars.
One day the cook decided that there
would be no particular harm in letting
Chang have his liberty-so Chang
Joined XII Ki and the two climbed all
over the ship.
One night there came a typhoon
", out of the south and the waves
led high on the bosom of the Indian
- can.
The gale increased; so did the fears
~ the Chinese crew and they burned
;eworks to frighten away the storm
devils that were pursuing the ship.
The noise of the firecrackers and the
glare of the Roman candles frightened
poor little Ki XII and she bounded
from one side of the deck to the other
in terror. Finally she leaped on the
port rail just as huge sea came over
the port bow. Wing Kee, seeing the
danger to his pet, ran from the gallery
to save her. But he was too late;
the ring tailed one was caught on
the crest of the wave and carried
away.
Chang from his cage top in the gal
lery saw Ki XII go overheard, and rush
ed to the side. He gazed at the trou-
bled waters and then went to the
cook. He caught Wing by the trous-
ers and seemed to be trying to ask
him to save Ki XII.
The next day the storm abated
Chang would eat no breakfast and
climbed to the foremast head. There
he sat the entire day, looking out over
the sea and chattering to himself.
Night came and still Chang clung to
the fore truck. One of the crew went
after him, but returned to the deck
minus part of his cherished queue.
Another tried to get the monkey down
and was frightfully scratched.
The morning Of the third day Chang
was not to be found and it was
thought that during the night he had
jumped into the ocean where his mate
had gone.
At midnight Second Officer Donohue
took the bridge. All was quiet save
for the throb of the engines and the
muffled football of the lookout on the
bow.
Then there was heard a terrible
noise below. A rush as of many feet,
chattering as of many tongues, and
fifty forms rushed from the hold up
the after companionway and on to
the deck.
Forward they rushed, tumbling over
one another in their eagerness to be
at the front.
What the mischief is the matter
herer yelled the second officer.
me monkeys! screamed the
bos'n. They have escaped"
And before the bos'n could say
more, they had pounced upon him and
felled him to the deck.
The struggles Of the bosn, combined
with the cries Of the second officer
and others Of the watch, brought all
hands on deck.
AS the captain hurried from the
cabin and the Chinese scurried from
the forecastle, they were met by the
monkeys, who seemed bent on mis-.
chief
Time and again the monkeys were
chased to cover only to return to the
attack, and for the next two days al
most the entire crew were fighting for
their lives against willy foe.
When fourteen of the larger mon
keys had been killed, the rest were
oowed and secured in their cages
from which they had been liberated by
hang.
Chang himself went back to the