Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1909-04-23
BOLD BUCCANEER"
STILL FLOURISH|NG
The Chinese Sea in Par
ticular Has Many a Pirate
Band.

Not n few persons have been sur
brised to learn recently that, In spite
OF our elaborate system of customs OF
ficers and coast guards, smuggling Is
stili carried on around u coasts, says
1.-The Saturday Journal The Dold
smuggler has long been relegated 10
the good old days, and with him the
bloodthirsty pirate OF the high seas.
But the buccaneer Is still very Huch
in evidence. and all the greater powers
are obliged TO maintain gunboats IN
out of the way seas to put down as
determined a stand that preyed upon
! shipping in the stirring days or the
Barbary corsairs
Ii seems only the other day the huge
p. a O. liner China was In trounie
in the Red Sea. Down swooped a Night
OF Arab dhows upon the helpless mon
ster, like gulls on a stranded Whaie.
Long before a gunboat could be sum-
moned from Alden the rich prize was
stripped OF her Indian silks, or opium,
tobacco, tea, coffee and spices. with
gold and silver, and passengers bag
gage worth thousands oe pounds. Inc
pirates were even stripping the big
Indiaman of her copper fittings. ana
scudding under her mat sails over 10
the Arabian coast, when the destroyer
Vixen came tearing along, to open hre
with her primary battery, sinking ana
III lHE4liA6 III -
neers.
True. the once dreaded Salee rovers
no longer roam the sea, and the mari
time blackmail paid for immunity 10
the Deys of Algeria n the Deys or
Tunis is a thing of the past; vet IL Is
not long since a heavily laden ramp
broke her propeller shaft between Glib
raltar and Tangier and drifted helpless
ly ashore near the foot of the Aujera
Hills. at a point barely twenty miles
from Britain's studendous fortress IN
Southern Spain. The Riff pirates saw
her coming. Boats were ana
armed and put off. and up the sides Of
the helpless steamer swarmed he yell
ing saVages
BY the merest accident the lookout
on Gibraltar saw the vessels plight and
heard the crack of rifles. A sharp
alarm was sounded and in a few min
utes a 30-knot torpedo boat was UNI
leashed from the dockyard. Within an
hour the black, low-hulled racer was
only a pistol shot away from the wreck
yet by hat time the pirates had looted
from stem to stearn, had beaten and
bound the master with all his officers
and crew.
But, after all, what has been for ages
and will be for generations-the par
adise OF pirates is the southern coast
of China.
The capture Of the British steamer
Flenan, just below Wulchau, lends
point indeed to the doings of these buc-
cancers of today. A big junk contain
ing a horde OF saVages n muscular
pirates drew alongside of the steamer
which they knew was in need of hands
for unloading. Thinking the pirates
were laborers. the captain took them
on board, whereupon they disposed
themselves stragetically all over the
vessel, and or a given signal from the,
leader, flashed revolvers. Within a few.
minutes they had control Of the vessel.
Not content with this, however, the
pirates sighted another and still larger
steamer. the Chanfook. And still
marvellous skill and audacity they
Unanswered their latest capture along
side, and then leaped on board to loot
their second prize. The Chaufook was
a bigger and faster ship than the Ffe-
man,, so the marauders transferred all
their prisoners, wrecked the engines
of the smaller vessel and then turned
her adrift.
In the gathering dusk they sighted a
third victim, ran the Chanfook along
side and leaped overheard. This was a
hornets nest, however. for the ruffians
were met by a terrible fusillade. They
had boarded the cutter OF a revenue
commissioner, and eight soldiers were
on board, armed with repeating rifles.
for there was a valuable cargo to pro-
tect. A really fierce and determined
battle ensued, and at length, when
quite dark, the pirates were forced
back upon the Chanfook, leaving II
dead and wounded behind them. The
cutter, unable to follow them, was
obliged to let them go on their way.
At 4 in the morning the buccaneers
anne upon the steamer Salyik, and
hoo ~IN1 her nd .1tntYnI Nyot,,o L., A..
crew were unprepared and fell easy
victims. They were beaten and bound.
all their property and cash seized, and
after that the Saiyik's machinery was
crippled mi the vessel turned loose.
Finally the Chanfook was run aground
on a beach near F~ong-chaien, and the
pirates made their escape in an ordi-
nary mat-sailed junk, which was wait
ing for them. as IL by Encouragement.
1t was only In 1906 that the bark
Trougton came limping into Hong
Kong from Singapore, a pitiful wreck
from enemies of many kinds. First,
she had been overtaken by a typhoon,
her masts wrenched out and bulwarks
torn Off. Her exhausted crew would
not forsake her, however; they kept
her afioat with the pumps, and rugged
a sail on a jury mast that they might
reach land. Yet in spite of all their
previous Sufferings a new enemy
awaited them here in the form of the
pirates of Southern China, who know
no mercy when possible loot Is con
cerned. Two piratical luggers came
boldly alongside and poured a swarm
of Celestial cutthroats on board the
battered bark. Before the captain and
mate could fire a shot 200 pirates had
overwhelmed the crew and dashed them
10 the splintered decks. Master and
mate fought desperately for their ship
and ever tried to blow her up, for she
carried nearly a ton OF gunpowder
But they in turn were overwhelmed
bound and thrown into the waterlogged
hold, exhausted from loss of blood and
In grave danger of drowning inside
their own ship.