Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1922-04-11
CHINESE TALES
Guido STORIES
OF STEVENSON
Escapades of Pirates Rival
Best That Fiction
Produces.

SHANGHAI, China. April 11.-Robert
Louis Stevenson's tales Of pirates bold
are rivaIled by the daring escapades and
adventures OF the Chinese river and coast
pirates.
One Of the most audacious deeds Of
the Chinese pirates which has ever Oc-
Cured in Chinese waters took place re
Gently when an armed pirate gang
boarded the China Merchant Navigation
Company's steamer Kwanglee. off the
coast OF Annoy, held up the European
captain, the ships officers and passengers
and escaped with $4,000 in valuables
and money.
Capt Lindsay Crawford was sitting in
his cabin when pirates rushed in, held
him up with reviewers. bound him. He
was tied. gagged and locked in little
room along with other foreign officers
for more than thirty hours.
HOW ROBBERS
PLY THEIR TRADE.
The robbers proceeded to the treasury
room Of the vessel. broke 1t open and re
moved silver bars valued at $50 600. The
bars. together with $4,000 taken from
the terrified passengers. were lowered
over the side Of the steamer 10 their fell
low pirates, who were waiting In Chinese
junks. Rich silks and furs, amounting
TO $4,000. being taken from Shanghai to
Canton as carlo, also were -2ken by the
pirates.
Before leaving. the pirate captain with
a swaeger equal to the bravadO Of
Treasure Island" hero. wished the cap
tain Of the Kwanglee "good-by and
safe Journey Incidentally. they put the
engines OF the ship out Of order. While
9pIundering the vessel he pirates shot
number OF Chinese passengers, threw two
Chinese overheard, but did not modest
the foreign passengers. Mrs. WI Ting
Fang, wife Of DR.. WI Ting Fang, forner
Chinese minister to the United States
and a leader in the activities Of the Can
ton government, a passenger, was unin-
Jured.
While this affair is unequestiOnably
one Of the most daring and successful
robberies to occur of the China coast.
the pirates operating along the South
China coast and the rivers carry on we'll
organized robberies almost daily.
PIRATES NUMBER
THOUSANDS.
The pirates number into the thousands,
and they are particularly fond Of board
ing the junks on the rivers and carrying
of a cago of rice, wood or sundries.
They are organized into bands and fol
low the QlreCIlous OF tneIE IedAeES ne
islands of Ningo are infested with the
robbers, and so we'll acquainted are they
with the country that IL is almost i'm
possible for the river and coast police
to capture them. When they are captured
the pirates are shot Immediately.
The pirates a. -ery superstitiOus as
well as religious. Practically every port
city or town has Temple to the God
dess of Heaven" where the pirates, as
well as the bOatman, worship the young
goddess who is said to have the power TO
save their boats from harm during a
storm. When out at sea in a storm the
pirates fall on their faces and implore
the goddess OF the heavens TO save them.
If they see a strange red light in the
heavens they rejoice and feel that their
supplicstiOns have been aswered. Pirates
on shore burn incense in the Temples
to the Goddess Of the Heavens" during a
typhOOn for their brother pirates on the
rivers or ocean.