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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (April 12, 1908)
THE OREGON SUNDAY JOURNAL, " PORTLAND, . SUNDAYCORNING, . TRIE- 12, 1903 T7 ' if - i "f. i 1! 5) IKILIZATION has- driven the. , - black fiag'Jrdm ', . the high seas. But .-. - ; Aa there are pi-', ' rtfi; nowactneU ..' , flying their trade . - ' li a ati nut gen; t . i, A if s peaceful dais of 1008.X JThey ore she last of '.the world's bucca neers, it is true, but they are a pic fur- : esque lot, with an inheritance of romanced and a bloodthirsty, thieving taste- that might have come-from a Kiddd Mor ' ran or a Leach, "?,: ':. ' ' T ''. ' "' ". " -7 , ; They swarm the rivers and canals of China, and sometimes venture upon the . v adjacent high seas In Chinese waters C 1 r V ? I a t ! 'T (,;!,.;' .. ...... ,. ..,- yf . . .. vn v - - 3 X At a W '.5 r? J coastwise vessels whether sail or steam,' '. are 1 never; safe from 'sudden attacks; while the smaller and more shallow river , , ! vessels are captured and exploited in cer , tain sections almost at will.; ' ' . ; ! History and fiction have found rich ' ' material in the outrages of Chinese pi-r rates, JJ rncnt,yi;uj 1 , , name? fgunboatif have cruised . Ae . roMf and explored the rivers and harbors ,' -? search of -the murderous marauders. ', ; their depredations continue. 0y a ' : few weeks ago a series 'of piratical out' rages on the Grand Canal was reported. ; ." :. These aroused both local and for- . '. governments to activity War of S extermination was declared on the tig-, '. i buccaneers remaining in the nefari- - . ous business, They are now fighting for life,1 and the hope of civilization is that j " yv may soon be removed from their un.i' .-TV I j -A 1 with" wonderful ' placid 4 ' anflclty, ther ' lp upon' th,pUr vmL - .. ' Capture 'pf tb Chanfook eoraparatlTl ' 1 .. (air vndar th clreumataaoM. Tb ahlp raa ma prUwd,' and that waa all thera waa to it- LaUr - tha plratea abandoned tha Tltnam ' and batook . Abemaelrea to tha Cbanfooki'wblok tbar ftarward , ran afborl .v' VM ',' ' ' ' ' ' In 'on day! work .tbaaa robbara aaeurad about f , ;. 110.000. ; Thara.waa no radraae;;thar Yanlahad'amW . .. tba hftla aa- aoon aa tbar raaobad abora. Wblla ' tha Cbineaa foraromant mibt- bava bM bonaat la tryln to traca tbem, uotblnf arar cama ot tba , purault. '; . , , ' ( , m Seldom baa anything- araT. coma of purault of Chlneaa plrataa, nnlaaa that purault waa by war ' yaaaola of a foralm nation.) . In tha aoutbaro watera tba, Franch bava baaa ; ' wiping out, with commandabla Induatry. piratical . . lalra and fiaata. EnglUh erulaara bara kept down ," buccanaarlnir raids In tba north, and English author i ' lUaa ara now aroualng Cblnaaa Ira by, threatening to patrol tha jlvara and aaaJa to Order to wlpa out .'-tho' raraalnloaJ freebooter of' tho" aea' wno persist ; ', to plying their trade upon tba Inland wata oouraaa. , 80 strongly baa tb Kablt of piracy beeoma to-1 'grained In tb Chinese character that berolo nieaa urea may b necessary to uproot It 'KTi Tlma was when U tha adjacent waUra of tba ., ' Taciflo wera cruising grounde for piratical-Junka, "" and many a merchant vessel liM faJlen, prey to tho . slant-eyed bandits of tb aeiu, . ? . , ', a hundred yaara, ago the.Vloodlaat pirate fleet ta Chinese history waa commanded by Woo-che-tainai who assumed the romantic two of Scourge of tho . ; . Saatern Seas." At tteeo thousand of Junk war v - M m mai . ....... v . ' - ':". i'. About thl time too,, one, of the .most adrea M J..- anMMM IllMfM 11 ttmmP&11 lurous anu w mjc wwum v - - '' into the UmellghtJ jj ' ' ' '.. . - . ' la 1307 the chief outlaw of all tho Chinese coast; . ' : Chlng-ylh. perlsbedtln a -.violent -gale.' His-widow at once took" command of tho plrate fleet; and la s more than. hundred flghta.ahowed-that bar teeui were those of the barbarian. ; -f: She waa the "newi woman" of ber. tone la tba ! East : Men feared Tier and 'obeyed., area, h moat 1 iuneontrollabl and bloodthirsty; ' "' ' Algid discipline and ajfact aubmlasloa tnr de xnkhded by her and 'readily , given, Shaypkld for what juppllea ah demanded ashore,?but was mercl- v ies in her-exacnona irom pnsca "' , lr ' Of ., late years there have 'been .'comparatively niMtiPAi. outraires on the bJkk aeas off China's , ' coaaL'.'BUt'the old pirate system 'of Tobbery ha ,. been working" at. fuU blast In' a6ofa' of-aecluded . i harbor and. on the rlvora and canals i ot the In- terlor. ' r' ' , , ' Almost- any piratical r expedlUon ; may be or xanlxed at Shanghai. - There, one may find the Hot- saxa'acd'JeUani of the world awalUng employment. v .; These becom on occasion. -modern buccaneer. They organise ralds.lan piracies, and engage la any' desperat;' enterprise , thatj promise., targe r , '-. i.m,m-s nl-k aimntv following the example set ... .nh.tiKiM that the nation of the world have to overcome are those , that Aave to do with tboTfaal Oriental-charaoter. -- r.. '-J W Driven.. .virtually, from the Wgh. aeas.-the, Chi-. h, nese pirate hae now taken,tohe.riyers;and canals.' There are ions; ,sirciuuc , f .ni afpETAIlS eached.here today," a recent dls-j, I 1 patch from Shanghai stated, "of piratical '- I J outrage committed within the last few ' : day oa the Grand Canal, eight .hours Journey from thl city. ; The attack, were the .most daring known Inc the day 1 of tba .Klplngs. , j . "Three tow of crowded launcbe coming , from ' Kashlng were held, up by; hundred of pirate,, who . are believed to be soldiers that hav. deserted, from, the disaffected districts of Cheklang. All the passen-: gers refusing to Immediately , deliver t up their valu-' aWcs were mercileiwly ahot" XCr;:?. rx :,lri It hasn't been so long, since Chinese pirates In tested the sea along the coast of that country, and ventured far from land In their .unlawful' enterprises..- a trade la CecMry for a large part of the goods. Hardly'bave the goods left Hong Kong when they., are subjected ' to -, the' risk " of being, selied ; by pirates, and' la three case out of five consignment . for up '. river town never reach their destination., ' 1 ' - ' ''..' The; Chinese pirate travel "light In Ilong. . awlft river junks..' Their favorite trick is to. await the com " tag of night la on of the lagoon of the Canton delta, -and then sUp up to laden boat as It pushes It way ' ' lowly up the river," board ,lt,and Iay thecrew. Then that boat disappears from the register rof the ; Far ? ' Eastern trade and her good are never more aeen by . .the owners. . , ' .- There are mar reasons why. the pirate remains on the Chinese coast Una ..and hr the Interior. Almost -every, Pacific ocean .port has It quota of. soldier of : L fortune, but most of these are now-gathered la Chinese , ?ports. - ",,,. rtual .war against, nauyea, di . a ' ' a a . ' M . m if. . . J . 111 A . a .Aiialni Regressive measures aimed at slracv unnn th hih uiiiveraaiiy maooiea . or iilta ttiflt:fmiMi ,wu ikumv. iiblutvh. uui jiey. arts .carerni -rn uninese nave oeen eonflnlng ? ' employ nauve cuitnroai ana marauaers ,va carry out ' -frequented -harbor -and to .'their plamt. ' ; - , rv-- Tnese .may-mean- in - capture- ana t-iooung or- a about 140,000 by tne steamer. seas hHve been so no.st of the buccaneering tiii'lr ritwratiooa to llttl ion river Btretcnes iimtde of beaoiands. , k H ... Thwi mav-mean At tbi e.iine. time few ships are absolutely safe In ' coastwise veasel or attacks upon river craft proceed. r-rtnln t'hin-Ko watcrn. A British vessel, jor exam- lne from seaport towns to the interior. If the capture indi n with s;oods ronsiKned to Canton -or towns . Mh made without bloodshed," good and welL 60 much 'up ta river." may come all the way from JJverDooI , Ukk is the Chance of discovery. But even of lata t Hi.i-r Kav unmolested by pirates. At If on Kone vonm most darinir aUacka have been mada by. Chlne ; -v One might- cite,; for . Instance,' the -capture of' the ';,-One' of -the; boldest, depredations, ever, committed British .steamer ; Slanam . by buccaneera ' near. Canton .-'.was about two year ago, . when two 'steamship were not many yt8j ago. r Murdered by' the . pirates ;wer - captured by the pirates. . , , r . the". Rev. ' Dr. MacOonald; a : mlaslonary. and four , j ' Just" ,below "Wuchow was. the. British steamer. FI- " Indian members of the erew; while the commander of,' nam, in need of a. crew.; :On' night a Junk came the vessel, . Captain Joalin,'- waa-serlously", wounded. alongside with a large force of j Chinese,v who volun- ;- f In - thl Instance the 'outlaw secured about 14000 la V teered for service, i Once on deck they took possession. money-and some ammunition. ' waa aupposea-that -A -.j- They overcame and tied'up.the .omcers ana .crew the Chinese provincial authorities had intended to ship.' and drove the passengers into their . Staterooms, .where 'rm louS that lit ue'of thrm0n.u; they were apeiily. robbed of all; Valuable, wwi. this was aboard ' ' 1,5, act, of robbery, was going, on the-vessel, was tnett on Thi. rnhiun AfTfTfA fmtn most of -the oneratlnni of the pirates In that a number of the piratical gani ii aiifcii ment to snialier boat and Junk of the river, pirate upon vessel on tb high ceasr v t This robbery differed from most of -the operations 1 la mat a numoer or xne piratical gang'. 1"'"r'lt1";1' v....... - 'took passair on-the steamer and arose-to capture t- jvviid grw-siuii, ae P"! 'a '5U1"" . ti.L't the high seas another steamer was seen approaching. -It -was a larger-and faster "Steamer, ine vjnanrooa. When an opportune -time . came. .. -aide the Chanfook, until the ships touched, and then. Accordingly, the pirate may?, bold up ; traveling , Junk as be will. He may pillage to bla heart' con-tentandsoap-iat -the . Interior, safa from pur- -suit.' . , , " ' v It may be a long time before this form of piracy is'dlscountcd'and stopped.,It:ta. the- last, form -of : the famous piracies of China and those plracie are th last piracies of the world. , - , . Oifflcult, indeed, has it been to convince these people thaf-their -buccaneering exploits were un- -lawful.' without the indorsement. of .civilization and Tbif nat?ewaUSlrt..yfor centuries; they wish to be pirates still, and they resent bitterly the edl-t of civilization,, that they shall . no .longer bath s scourge of the eastern seas. . ; ;V7 -'( ;':
