Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1914-05-21
PLUMBER Of STMR.
c Hill OAR RECALLS
DAYS OF CAPT. KIDD

pundered on the high seas
II was bold enough to recall to the
western world the days of Captain Kidd,
200 years ago, and II was rare case
even for these waters
The number of foreign warshps con-
stantly cruising up and down the China
| coast and the fact that many of the
| merchant ships carry rifles and am
| munition, generally deter the Chinese
from such acts of holiness, for they
are given short shrift when caught In
! the early days of the British settlement
! at Honk Kong scores of pirate junks
were captured and sunk; there are rec
! ords of forty and fifty being sent to the
| bottom in a day.
The Childar was captured in very
simple way. About fifty pirates went
aboard the ship at Hong Kong as
| ordinary steerage or deck" passengers,
| bound for places up the coast. There be-
! ing altogether 200 Chinese making the
| journey, no notice was taken of them.
They were evidently little nervous
| over the enterprise, and soon reused the
| suspicious of the bonafide Chinese pas
| scngers by their restlessness and earnest
conversations in little groups. Seeing that
they were being watched they put their
plans into execution sooner, evidently.
than they had intended, but with com
| plete success.
About forty miles out OF Hong Kong
! they whipped out their revolvers and rush
| cd the officers. There were six white
officers, and none of them was armed
or within the reach of weapons. The sec
ond officer, who was on the bridge, tried
to give the alarm to the others below
and was promptly laid senseess with
the butt of a pistol. Otherwise no bodily
| injury was done,
| On their arms, that they should
| know one another, the pirates wore white
| bands similar to those worn by the
| Chinese revolutionists two years ago
There were characters on the bands, the
| transla ton of which is said to be Money
| comes easy"
| Four of the officers were tightly
bound and placed in the auxiliary
wheel house at the stern of the ship,
while the second and third engineers
were left free to work the engines un-
der the direction of the pirates Pr
rate navigators assumed control of the
bridge and gave the proper signals to
the engine room. A very careful
course through dangerous shoals was
steered until the ship put into a little
bay known as Bias Bay. There, two
junks which had evidently been await
ing the arrival of the Childar, received
the collected money and valuables
which had been taken from the ship
the officers and the passengers. Even
the uniforms of the officers and the
good clothes of the Chinese passen-
gers were taken, and almost all the
| brass fittings of the ship. In all, the
ship lost over 10000, in cargo, valu
abcs, and damages.
PIRATES DISAPPOINTED.
The pirates We're. no doubt. much
disappointed, for on two previous voy-
ages the Childar had carried about
100000 worth of treasures of one sort
and another, valuables that were ne
gotiahlo ashore without serious danger
of discovery. The pirates seemed to be
angered by their failure to make the
big haul they expected, for. after loot
ing the ship. and passengers, they
| went through the cabins and engine
rooms destroying wilfully doors, fit
tings. and furniture.
But the exploit was not without it's
humorous side. An English speaking
buccanneer, for instance, sympathizing
with the thirsty engineer whom he was
| controlling revolver in hand asked
the engineer if he would like a whis-
KEY and soda; and leaving fellow
pirate in charge of the engine room.
| went to the pantry and brought back
Il whiskey bottle and one of beer ex-
planning that he could not find soda
water.
Among the pirates were some who
understood the navigation of steam
ships and others who knew how to run
the engines. One. indeed, told the en-
glneers in English that he knew more
about marine engine than they did.
When the ship reached Bias bay and the
collection made by the pirates were being
put aboard the junks. the English-speak
ing engineer among the robbers ordered
the Norwegians to draw the fires and re-
move certain necessary valves, thereby
making 1t impossible to restart the ship
for several hours. 1t was some hours after
the junks sailed away that the Chinese
passengers ventured up on deck and un-
bound the officers, and some hours more
before the vessel was in condition to pro-
coed at slow speed back to Hong Kong.
A reward was offered for information
leading to arrests but it seems unlikely,
owing to the disordered state of the prov
ince, that the robbers will allow them
selves to be trapped, Piracy has such a
hold in these waters that the Chinese
government is powerless to eXtermnate 1t.
The governor is hard pressed for funds
to pay sufficient number of troops to
, prevent another rebellion against the au-
thority of the Picking government. over
$4,000, 900 of paper money has been issued
with no reserve of bullion behind it, This
paper now stands at less than half It's
nominal value, as n result there are seri-
Gus prospects of trouble on this account
There Is also danger to be qua rded against
in the so-called modern students most of
whom have been turned out of office
by Lung Chi-Kwang and LII Kal-
Shen the military and civil governors,
who are loyal to Yuan Sh-Kai; for 1t was
found that the Chinese of modern educa
ton, who came into office during the anti
Manchu revolution, had other ideas of
government than that which President
Yuan has put into operation in this and
other provinces
Americans have been involved in two
cases of river piracy recently In the case
: of the Standard Oil company misfortune
befell the pirates. They boarded an oil
) junk bound for an interior town, and over
powered the crew; but a Chinese river gun.
boat happened upon the scene and in turn
? took the pirates by surprise AS is the
| custom in such cases the pirates were pu,
to death without trial on the scene OF THEN
2 |