July 29, 1897.]
SERIOUS FIRE AT SHANGHAI.
Shanghai, 16th July.
CHINA OVERLAND TRADE REPORT. danger he incurred. The Dutch Government cannot do much more at present. Most of the land forces have enough to do to hold Acheen Proper, and only small detachments can be spared for the coast States which have to be looked after by a naval force that requires strengthening. Under these cir- cumstances, masters of vessels trading to Acheen have to exercise incessant vigilance. The money and articles of trade on board are standing incentives to the cupidity of a people whom fear of Dutch authority alone restrains from open piracy. Passengers coming on board have to be searched for concealed arms; in one instance, the raiders hid the weapons in rolls of mats. In short, safety depends upon a sharp lookout, and upon keeping one's weather eye open.-Straits Times.
A serious conflagration broke out at about 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon in the Ching Chong match factory, on the Singkeipang Creek. The fire originated in the dipping room and was caused by one of the workpeople tread- ing on some loose matches. Owing to the in- flammable nature of the surroundings the flames spread with almost inconceivable rapidity and in a few minutes the whole building was in flames. The fire brigade showed their usual promptitude in turning out, but owing to the lack of hydrants in the vicinity it was some time before they got to work. Two hand pumps be- longing to the factory had been got to work to pump water no the burning buildings from some small fire-wells in the compound, but their feeble efforts made no impression on the flames. Supplementing our information regarding Eventually the Hongkows and Victorias sent the piracy of the Pegu, we learn that the for their engines and on these arriving they Achinese who raided the vessel got their were at once got to work to pump water from weapons on board concealed in the sarong of a the Singkeipang Creek, In the meantime the
woman, who accompanied them and who was fire had spread to a number of native dwellings not examined. I seems that it had been Captain adjoining the factory, and it was only by Ross's custom lately to search passengers for the most strenuous efforts that the arms, but that he did not think it necessary flames were held in check. Towards six to examine the women who were on board. o'clock the conflagration had almost spent The affair took place between Paran Busuk and itself and began to yield to the volumes of Simpang Olim which is almost the exact spot water thrown on it and by seven o'clock all danger on which the tragedy of the Rajah Kingsee of its further spreading was over. Thetal Atjeh occurred. The engineer, Mr. Craigie, amount of damage done is not yet known, but who was slightly wounded, was making his first the building in which the fire originated, to-royage on the Pequ. The Achinese took a gether with 45 native houses, was totally des- considerable amount of booty in addition to the troyed. The houses were all inhabited by specie, and required two of the ship's boats to matchbox makers, to the number of about 400, convey the spoil on shore.-Straits Times. all of whom are thrown ont of employment for the time being. The factory was insured for Tis. 30,000, which is only a partial loss, and the honses destroyed for about Tls. 3,000.-N. C. Daily News
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THE PEGU” PIRACY.
HOW IT WAS CARRIED OUT,
Singapore, 13th July, The Pegu was pirated by eleven Achinese men accompanied by one Achinese woman.
Penang, 12th July." Penang has been once more thrilled with the committed off the coast of Acheen on Thursday, account of another daring piracy which was July 8th.
The s. s Fegu, Captain Ross, left this Port on Wednesday, 7th, for her usual run to the north of Sumatra. She reached Edie safely on the 8th, and left that port for Teluk Semawe the same evening at 5-30 p. m. Among the passengers who went aboard at Edie eleven Achinese passengers and one woman, booked for Segli. All was apparently go- Captain Ross and the European engineering on in the usual way, but while Captain were attacked while at table at dinner. The captain was immediately killed, but the en- gineer only received slight flesh wounds.
These came on board at Edio.
The other people killed were three of the crow, three Chinese passengers, and a Kling
gunner.
Fifteen were wounded, eight of them severely; and one has since died.
The pirates got away with the booty, includ. ing about fifteen thousand dollars in specie- They escaped by going ashore in the ship's boat. The serang then navigated the Pegu to Teluk Semawe, where she is now.
The Governor of Acheen is expected at Te- luk Semawe.
The piratical attack on the Pegu gives some idea of the dangers which beset pepper-traders on the Achinese coast. The Pegu traded for pepper with ports that have been frequented for commercial purposes for many years, des- pite the treacherous character of the people. Security only set in with the Dutch occupation of the coast, when the Acheen war began in 1873. Edie, on the N.E. coast, and Teluk Semawe, on the. N. coast, the ports between which the outrage occurred, are held by Dutch garrisons. Dutch men-of-war also cruise about. The power of the Dutch in that quarter is limited by the hostility of the people, who have long been noted for their piratical in tincts. The exercise of Dutch authority has, however, ourbed the latter. In short, the gar- risons and the cruisers act as a check on the people of the land, and piracy on ocean-going vessels has become rare. It is four years since anything like the Pegu tragedy happened. The Achinese, in the same section of coast, then raided the Rajah Konjsee Aljeh with equally sanguinary results. The coast there is notori- ously unsafe, and those who trade in pepper run terrible risks. They can only slacken vigilance and neglect precautions at their own peril In this case, Captain Ross, the murdered master of the Pegu, know the bad character of the people from personal experience, and the Dutch autho- rities had given him ample warning of the
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Ross and Mr. Craigie (of Ipoh, replacing Mr. Foggie as Chief Engineer, that gentleman being unwell) were at dinner in the saloon, about 7 p.m., the vessel then being off Pari Busuk, six armed Achinese suddenly broke in upon them by one door and two by the other. Both Europeans, though taken at great disad- vantage, defended themselves as well as they could with their chairs, but their opponents so slashed their hands that any effective resist- Craigie, however, succeeded in getting on deck, ance became soon out of the question. Mr.
and thence into the engine-room, where he was not followed. Captain Ross also man- deck, hotly pursued by his savage assailants, one aged to drive his way through and reached the of whom had meanwhile laid hold of the carving knife from the table. As the unfortunate skip- per, wounded as he was, struggled to get to the bridge this man stabbed him terribly in the abdo- men, and when he fell the rest of the piratical gang surrounded the prostrate man and hacked him about dreadfully, actually disembowelling him, and leaving him as a mangled corpse on deck.
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The mate and the steersman were the next to be attacked. Both these men were on the bridge, and in spite of what resistance they could offer were soon cut down. The serang, however, climbed up the funnel stays, and thus escaped the onslaught of the pirates. Return- ing to the deck two more of the crew, and three Chinese passengers were killed, thirty or forty more passengers, according to one account having been killed or met their death by jumping overboard. The vessel was then thoroughly looted. One of the Achinese was. placed at the wheel to steer the ship nearer land, others plundered the Captain's cabin, taking a repeating rifle, and a revolver. The safe was opened, $15,000 taken therefrom, two boats lowered from the ship, and the pirates made off in the direction of Simpang Olim. The Serang then took charge of the vessel and steered her to Telak Semawe, where she was. taken charge of by the port authorities.
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On her arrival fifteen men on board were taken to hospital, more or less wounded, and one of them has since died. The vessel was a very charnel house, the deck being bespattered with blood and the entrails of slaughtered. The serang's hands were terribly bruised, and when he got to Teluk Semawe he dropped down fainting. Mr. Craigie does not appear to have been much injured, and is doing fairly well. We are awaiting further details.
Captain Ross has been in trade here for the last fourteen years.
He was on the Fair Malacca and Perse, and then joined Messrs. Leng Check & Co's. Washi. In 1885 he brought out the Malacca from home. He was a marked man by the Achinese and knew he carried his life in his hands. The news of his death has been received with the greatest regret, for he was very popular in Penang.
It is believed that the woman who came aboard at Edie had the weapons of her male companions hidden on her person. The men were examined for concealed weapons, but the woman was not examined.
The Free Press, from which we take the above, adds the following-It may be remem- bered that in the case of the piracy of the Rajah Kongsi Atjeh, which took place exactly four years ago at the same place, the piracy was carried out in much the same way. A number of Achinese came on board as pas- sengers, and just when the vessel had weighed anchor and bad begun to turn her propellor ahead, a boat with an old woman approached the ship at a fast pace bailing the ship to stop. This was done and the old lady was helped on board by the Achinese who also assisted to pass up out of the boat afterwards known that in those bundles were sundry bundles of mats and bedding. It was
the piracy was perpetrated, the mattresses secreted the krisses and parangs with which being cut open during the night and the wea pons distributed to those who were in the plot. This should be a warning to all masters of evidently to a woman passenger that the Achinese vessels plying on the Sumatra coast. It was
in both cases looked for the smuggling of the ir plete a success in both instances. We under weapons on board; with, sad to say, too com- stand that the steamer Pegu has now arrived
in Penang.
THE LATE CAPT. II. ROSS,
We (Free Press) are now able to give some further particulars of the late Captain Henry Ross, of the s.s. Pegu, who was murdered by Achinese on the North-east coast of Sums. tra, while on a voyage from Penang to Oleh- leb.
appren-
Capt. Ross was a comparatively young man, being 33 years of age, and was a native, varied Carnoustie, Forfarshire. He has had a
experience, serving his ticeship on the barque Ranger from Duudes. He then became second officer of a ship sailing out of Cardiff, and going down below to get å coil of rope, strack a march and ignited some explosive gas, which blew up the ship. The Captain and another, who were crossing the deck, were blown to pieces, and Roga was severely burned. He subsequently became chief officer of the Elgin, which was lost on the Bombay Shoal. He took charge of one of the boats and was picked up by a French man-of-war and taken to Hong. kong. Captain Ross SOW that there was money in the Acheen pepper trade, and em barked upon it some years ago. He was a keen- man of business and would buy the pepper him- self, also forwarding it to London. Although he has been twice attacked by Achinese who have attempted to raid his boat, he was absolutely fearless. Told by a friend that the third time might be fatal, he simply ignored the warning, with a fatal result this time. The late Captain Ross leaves two children at Carnoustie, his wife having died about two years ago.
We await further details of the outrage, but it would seem that sufficient precautions are not taken in thèse coasting vessels, which frequently contain valuable cargo and specie, and seldom not sufficiently manned or armed to resist the determined attacks of these fierco natives. Ge- nerally an officer stands at the gangway with a louded revolver and makes every nativo deliver up his arms when coming aboard. A neglect of