CO129-419 - Individuals - 1914 — Page 484

INI

HONGKONG TELEGRAPH SUPPLEMENT

who were found clinging to the rudder were transferred to the 8.8. Hoisang, as was also the compradore of the Tai On, who was also picked up. and brought into Hongkong early on Tuesday. On arrival off Green Island the police were called and attended under inspector Gordon, Mr. Mc Cartney was removed to the Government Civil Hospital and the rescued Chinese were taken charge of by the Water Police.

Captain Wetherell sustained no injury from the pirates, though he received a nasty bit in the chest from a detonator that he exploded when the attack also commenced. He was badly singed. Having killed the man that endeavoured to climb on to the bridge, Capt. Wetherell searched him for signs of identi- fication and papers, but failed to secure any clues from him.

The three officers concerned in this new outrage are all well known in the Colony. Capt. Wetherell has been on the West River for about two years. Firet he was mate of the 8.8. On Lee. Later he wont with Capt. Holmes to the Tai On and was Chief Off- cer on that boat wir als seu

Shortly after that, when Captain Holmes left the ship, he became master, a position which he has held ever since He has a married daughter in Hongkong;

who was saved from the wreck of a boat in Nagasaki Harbour some twenty-five years ago, when Mra. Wetherell met her death.

Mr. Evane was in India before he came to join the River steamer traffic at Hongkong, and was at one time with the Hongkong, Canton and Macao Steamboat Company.

Mr. McCartney has been on board the Tai On for many years past and was in the last piracy of the ship.

The authorities, on hearing of the water, took prompt steps in connection with it. Two torpedo boats, Nos. 035 and 037, were im- mediately placed under orders to procee there with armed guards, and they left shortly after ten o'clock for Ki 0, which

miles from is about thirty Hongkong. H. the Gov- ernor'e yacht Stanley was also commissioned and in this Com- mander Basil Taylor, Harbour Master, left for the scene of the outrage. The Hon. Mr. Mcl. Messer also left in one of the torpedo boats with a police guard. There is at present no informa. tion as to how all the pirates fared after they had fired the ship. No one seems to know whether they succeeded in getting away from the ship with any booty and ap- parently no junks were seen in the vicinity. Their fate is at present the interest of the authorities, who have despatched police in the torpedo boats, with food, to deal with matters on the spot. The fact that food has been ordered for the force that has been despat- ched seems to show that they are expected to be away some little time.

Later in the morning the .. Shun Lee and the Shiu On arriv ed in the Harbour and took up anchorages opposite the Harbour Office. Ármed police guards were at once put on board. No one was allowed to leave the vessel and a police patrol boat was told off to cruise round, keep ing craft from approaching them. Representatives of the Tele- graph went out and while allowed to pass by the patrul, were for bidden to board. However, in a few words that were passed be tween a European officer on board and the press representatives the former was able to express doubts as to the condition of Mr. Mc- Cartney before the visiting sam- pan was hurried off by the police. The Chinese brought in by the 8.8. Hoisang were conveyed to the Water Pulice to await enquiries.

Another story of the occurrence states that at about eleven o'clock the 8.8. Wo Kwai saw the s.s. Tai On ablaze near Ki O. She went within two hundred yards of the vessel and we instrumental in saving the Captain, the Chief Engineer and seven others, four of whom were found clinging to the rudder. The piracy was first made known to those on the

brilga by th sound of shots below. The captain, with a shot gun, and the Indian Guard, of whom there are four carried on board, taking watches, defended the bridge. The Pirates, finding that they could not take the vessel, set fire to it. The Chief Engineer received shot wounds and ef Officer Evans is missing.

Speaking with an officer engag ed in the West River trade, the Telegraph learnt that the dis- trict in which the piracy took place is nearly in the centre of the district commonly reported to be infested by pirates.

"If you stood on Wangmoon and drew a circle of thirty miles radine," he said “ you would map out the district where the pirates are to be four 1,"

This officer, speaking of the re- sistance that had been offered to the pirates, did not agree with it. "It is the feeling along the wharves that it will be a bad time for Europeans at the next piracy," he said.

The long scroll of piracies in the waters of south China has had a further addition in the attack on the Tai On near Ki 0; but there is one satisfactory side to the story-if there can be such a thing as a satisfactory side to so terrible and so tragic an occurr- once and that is the fact that four of the pirates, alleged, are lying in the Government Civil Hospital in Hongkong enffering from gunshot wounde in three instances and from severo burns in the other. It is very likely that one of the men who received a shot in the chest, practically blowing it away, will not live much longer and from him little information is ever likely to be gained.

When the Telegraph called at the Hospital on Tuesday, Dr. Bell intimated that the men could not be seen, as they were in a special room under an armed guard of Indians. One man had been shot in the shoulder and the other in the left thigh. The dam- age to the thigh was, from his observation, of a very serious nature and at the moment the

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patient was about to be operated upon. The wounds were of each a spreading nature that it appear- ed as though they were inflicted with a shot gun. Engineer McCartney had been to the Hospital that morning suffering from a slight wound in the lower part of his back, but, though he was invited to stay, preferred to leave the hospital after being attended to.

The men, said Dr. Bella who were alleged to be the pirates, appeared to be of the Chine common class, and neither of them appeared in any dreas other than that of the artisan or boat- As far as he knew, no man. arma bad been found upon them, but it was practically certain that they would have been subjected to a search before being brought to the hospital.

The Telegraph eventually succeeded in interviewing Capt, Smerville of the e.s. Shun Lee, The captain gave a most graphic description of the truly horrifying in scenes that he witnessed

five solid accomplishing bis hours' rescue work within a few steamer, yards of the ill-fated Capt. Somerville is fifty-nine years of age and possesses the agility of a mau many years his junior. le was certainly showing the effects, nevertheless, of bis all-night vigil, snatching souls from a watery grave.

At

The Shun Lee left Hongkong, said the skipper, at 5.30 on Mon- day; the weather was cloudy and squally. They passed Kwongmoon at 9.00 and the 8.8. On Lee passed them at 10.10. Shortly after the On Lee had passed them, the Liatan passed up and gave word that the Tai On was on fire. 10.20 Capt. Somerville, from the bridge of the Shun Lee, observed distress rockets going up on his starboard bow. A quarter of an hour later he saw the Tai On asbore sending up rockets, and blowing her steam whistle. Capt. Somerville slowed down his en- gines and made towards the Tai On blowing his steam whistle in answer.

At 10.50 he anchored in twelve feet of water; it was very dark at the time and he could not get very near to the Tai On. He seuil- ed down about four cables lengths off, just inside half a mile.

In

At eleven o'clock a fork of flame abot skywards from one end of the Tai On. At the moment he could not say whether it was stem or stern, owing to the dark- ness. He immediately put out the lifeboats of the Shun Lee, with the object of rescue work. At 11.30 three bots pulled towards the burning ship, and from then until four o'clock in the morning, the men worked with the unceas ing vigour of machines, bringing half-drowned persons to the haven of the Shun Lee. this time no less than 116 persone were rescued from certain death.

"Of what use are our grilles now, or que amor plated protectors for the bridge," feelingly exclaim. ed Capt. Somerv.lle, if they are going to burn our ships from under us and plunder as while we are sinking slowly and help- lessly into the treacherous mud of the West River? The ⚫cenes in and about the Tai On," he continued, "were almost indescrib able; the flames shot mast high and the smoke hind-red greatly the rescuere in their work and to a great extent obscured vision. The wails and cries from the hundreds in the water heartrending, and as the boats drew close by the Tai On desper- ate people clung to the sides of the bouts and made frenzied effort to gain security from the muddy waters."

were

The fact that they set fire to the ship, said Capt, Somerville, proves the treacherous nature of the gang of pirates that make it their business to molest ships on this particular run. Finding the heroic defence of those on the bridge of the Tai On too great for them, from sheer desperation and lust for blood, they set fire to the vessel, caring not for the loss of hundreds of lives-the lives of fellow countrymen 80 long as they avenged themselves

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on the sturdy and stalwart defend- ers of the Tai On's commanding qua ters.

A peculiar feature of the affair is that not a junk or a sampan was seen alongside the Tai On during the whole of the night, and the only other craft that got near her was the rescue party,

It is quite probable, however, that when the ship was fired, the smoke would obscure the move- ments of craft about the stern of the vessel. The captain did tara the ship round so that the flames would be carried from the ship by the wind instead of on to it. It is believed by those on board that many of the pirates mixed among the passengers in the dis- order that followed, and in that case many have either perished or have been rescued with the passengers. The authorities are inquiring into the matter, how- ever, and no doubt their investi- gations will lead to a better un- derstanding as to how the pirates escaped.

Those who have first hand information of the occurrence tell the most glowing stories of the gallantry of the guard on the Tai On who did so much coura- geous work during the fighting between the pirates and the ship's officers. Twice the pirates euf- fered reverse and it was not until they found the fire from the officers so fatal to their numbers that they determined to set fire to the ship. The Captain of the Tai On had but a shot gun with which to take up his stand, but this he did, gallantly assisted to a man by his loyal assist- anls. 10 one case a pirate received a full charge of small shot in the chest at a few yards' range, and terrible injuries were inflicted.

The two Portuguese watchmen on board the Tai On are named Dias and Leocadie Jorge da Silva. The former was a soldier in Macao. for a time, and from there he went to Shanghai, later returning to Hongkong. The latter is a young man with a wife and mother in Hongkong.

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