East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1922-08-24
CHINESE WATERS
INFESTED BY PIRATES
by EDNA lee BOOKER
International News Service Staff
Correspondent.

ABOARD THE s. s. SOOCHOW
OFF FOOCHOW, Aug. 24,-Hun-
dreds of thousands of dollars worth
of treasure is captured yearly by
the pirates operating along the China
coast from Foochow to Canton in
raids made upon the coast and river
steamers according to Captain NJ. S.
Monkman, of the S, S. Soochow.
| The days of the pirates bold with
their ''heaVe no and a bottle of rum"
are not all past for PIRATES are dar-
| ing and murderous as Robert Louis
Stevensons favorite variety are car
rying on flourishing business in
South China.
The pirates are organized in bands
and live in picturesque junks boast
| ing great patched sails, huge eyes
and gaily painted bodies They fear
neither man nor evil spirits and will
attack any boat whether large or
small if they have reason to believe
| the loot is worth the effort.
We were sitting out on deck ad-
miring the islands covered with grass
and trees, the fishing boats being
rowed by husky Chinese men and
women, and the little villages nestl-
| ing in the hills which we We're pass
ing when the Captain began to spin
tales of the Chinese pirates.
Pirates Hard to Capture.
There are so many pirates and
SO many ways in which they can es-
cape along the coast from Fooshow
to Canton that it is almost impos-
sible to capture them" said Captain
Monkman. THE rivers emptying in
to the China Sea are filled with
small islands, which are havens for
the pirates
why. only six months ago band
of pirates, disguised as second class
passengers boarded large coast
steamer at Foochow. A day or so
out of Hongkong these men suddenly
took charge of the ship, The pirate
chief, a great bury fellow, and an
assistant, entered the captains cab
in, ordered him to hold up his hands
and they searched the room.
"Other members of the gang were
at work all over the ship. A group
of confederates in junk came up to
the side of the steamer and the loot
was handed down to them. Alto
gether they made haul of more
than 100000 worth of silver.
THE pirates disabled the machin-
cry and escaped / believe that one
Chinese passenger was killed in the
fighting"
Are We carrying any treasure? ?"
asked girl from Georgia en- route
from Shanghai to Hongkong, for
large quantities OF silver are carried |
back and forth on the coast steam
ers from the various banks and also
for wealthy Chinese
"Oh, yes" answered the Captain
nonihalantly, I'VE have about mil
lion dollars in silver on board"
Passengers Watch Boats.
After that every Chinese fishing
boat, junk or launch We saw spelled
pirates in big letters. Incidentally IT
explained the unusually heavy police
guard on the boat. The Indian men
in their brown uniforms paced back
and fourth night and day on the
decks. ready for any emergency.
The Captain told of the favorite
method of the river pirates in attack
ng a river boat, Two junks will 20
up the river on either side of the
BOAT A heavy rope connects the
wo junks and when the prov of the
)oat hits the rope 1t draws the two
unks toward the boat and IT is
imple matter for the men to spring
IN board.
The pirates are very agile and can {
board boat simply by hooking {
ong bamboo pole on the side and =
limbing up hand over hand. Many {
II the most successful pirates come {