The Pirates Own Book (32 page)

In this it was decreed, that if any man went privately on shore, or did
what they called "transgressing the bars," he should have his ears slit
in the presence of the whole fleet; a repetition of the same unlawful
act, was death! No one article, however trifling in value, was to be
privately subtracted from the booty or plundered goods. Every thing they
took was regularly entered on the register of their stores. The
following clause of Mistress
Ching's
code is still more delicate. No
person shall debauch at his pleasure captive women, taken in the
villages and open places, and brought on board a ship; he must first
request the ship's purser for permission, and then go aside in the
ship's hold. To use violence, against any woman, or to wed her, without
permission, shall be punished with death.

By these means an admirable discipline was maintained on board the
ships, and the peasantry on shore never let the pirates want for
gunpowder, provisions, or any other necessary. On a piratical
expedition, either to advance or retreat without orders, was a capital
offence. Under these philosophical institutions, and the guidance of a
woman, the robbers continued to scour the China sea, plundering every
vessel they came near. The Great War Mandarin, Kwolang-lin sailed from
the Bocca Tigris into the sea to fight the pirates. Paou gave him a
tremendous drubbing, and gained a splendid victory. In this battle which
lasted from morning to night, the Mandarin Kwolang-lin, a desperate
fellow himself, levelled a gun at Paou, who fell on the deck as the
piece went off; his disheartened crew concluded it was all over with
him. But Paou was quick eyed. He had seen the unfriendly intention of
the mandarin, and thrown himself down. The Great Mandarin was soon after
taken with fifteen junks; three were sunk. The pirate lieutenant would
have dealt mercifully with him, but the fierce old man suddenly seized
him by the hair on the crown of his head, and grinned at him, so that he
might provoke him to slay him. But even then Paou spoke kindly to him.
Upon this he committed suicide, being seventy years of age.

After several victories and reverses, the Chinese historian says our
men-of-war escorting some merchant ships, happened to meet the pirate
chief nicknamed "The Jewel of the Crew" cruising at sea. The traders
became exceedingly frightened, but our commander said,—This not being
the flag of the widow Ching-yih, we are a match for them, therefore we
will attack and conquer them. Then ensued a battle; they attacked each
other with guns and stones, and many people were killed and wounded. The
fighting ceased towards evening, and began again next morning. The
pirates and the men-of-war were very close to each other, and they
boasted mutually about their strength and valor. The traders remained at
some distance; they saw the pirates mixing gunpowder in their
beverage,—they looked instantly red about the face and the eyes, and
then fought desperately. This fighting continued three days and nights
incessantly; at last, becoming tired on both sides, they separated.

To understand this inglorious bulletin, the reader must remember that
many of the combatants only handled bows and arrows, and pelted stones,
and that Chinese powder and guns are both exceedingly bad. The pathos
of the conclusion does somewhat remind one of the Irishman's despatch
during the American war,—"It was a bloody battle while it lasted; and
the searjent of marines lost his cartouche box."

The Admiral Ting River was sent to sea against them. This man was
surprised at anchor by the ever vigilant Paou, to whom many fishermen
and other people on the coast, must have acted as friendly spies. Seeing
escape impossible, and that his officers stood pale and inactive by the
flag-staff, the Admiral conjured them, by their fathers and mothers,
their wives and children, and by the hopes of brilliant reward if they
succeeded, and of vengeance if they perished, to do their duty, and the
combat began. The Admiral had the good fortune, at the onset, of killing
with one of his great guns the pirate captain, "The Jewel of the Crew."
But the robbers swarmed thicker and thicker around him, and when the
dreaded Paou lay him by the board, without help or hope, the Mandarin
killed himself. An immense number of his men perished in the sea, and
twenty-five vessels were lost. After his defeat, it was resolved by the
Chinese Government to cut off all their supplies of food, and starve
them out. All vessels that were in port were ordered to remain there,
and those at sea, or on the coast ordered to return with all speed. But
the pirates, full of confidence, now resolved to attack the harbors
themselves, and to ascend the rivers, which are navigable for many miles
up the country, and rob the villages. The consternation was great when
the Chinese saw them venturing above the government forts.

The pirates separated: Mistress Ching plundering in one place, Paou in
another, and O-po-tae in another, &c.

It was at this time that Mr. Glasspoole had the ill fortune to fall into
their power. This gentlemen, then an officer in the East India Company's
ship the Marquis of Ely, which was anchored under an island about twelve
miles from Macao, was ordered to proceed to the latter place with a
boat to procure a pilot. He left the ship in one of the cutters, with
seven British seamen well armed, on the 17th September, 1809. He reached
Macao in safety, and having done his business there and procured a
pilot, returned towards the ship the following day. But, unfortunately,
the ship had weighed anchor and was under sail, and in consequence of
squally weather, accompanied with thick fogs, the boat could not reach
her, and Mr. Glasspoole and his men and the pilot were left at sea, in
an open boat. "Our situation," says that gentleman, "was truly
distressing—night closing fast, with a threatening appearance, blowing
fresh, with a hard rain and a heavy sea; our boat very leaky, without a
compass, anchor, or provisions, and drifting fast on a lee-shore,
surrounded with dangerous rocks, and inhabited by the most barbarous
pirates."

After suffering dreadfully for three whole days, Mr. Glasspoole, by the
advice of the pilot, made for a narrow channel, where he presently
discovered three large boats at anchor, which, on seeing the English
boat, weighed and made sail towards it. The pilot told Mr. Glasspoole
they were Ladrones, and that if they captured the boat, they would
certainly put them all to death! After rowing tremendously for six hours
they escaped these boats, but on the following morning falling in with a
large fleet of the pirates, which the English mistook for fishing-boats,
they were captured.

"About twenty savage-looking villains," says Mr. Glasspoole, "who were
stowed at the bottom of the boat, leaped on board us. They were armed
with a short sword in either hand, one of which they layed upon our
necks, and pointed the other to our breasts, keeping their eyes fixed on
their officer, waiting his signal to cut or desist. Seeing we were
incapable of making any resistance, the officer sheathed his sword, and
the others immediately followed his example. They then dragged us into
their boat, and carried us on board one of their junks, with the most
savage demonstrations of joy, and, as we supposed, to torture and put us
to a cruel death."

When on board the junk they rifled the Englishmen, and brought heavy
chains to chain them to the deck.

"At this time a boat came, and took me, with one of my men and an
interpreter, on board the chief's vessel. I was then taken before the
chief. He was seated on deck, in a large chair, dressed in purple silk,
with a black turban on. He appeared to be about thirty years of age, a
stout commanding-looking man. He took me by the coat, and drew me close
to him; then questioned the interpreter very strictly, asking who we
were, and what was our business in that part of the country. I told him
to say we were Englishmen in distress, having been four days at sea
without provisions. This he would not credit, but said we were bad men,
and that he would put us all to death; and then ordered some men to put
the interpreter to the torture until he confessed the truth. Upon this
occasion, a Ladrone, who had been once to England and spoke a few words
of English, came to the chief, and told him we were really Englishmen,
and that we had plenty of money, adding that the buttons on my coat were
gold. The chief then ordered us some coarse brown rice, of which we made
a tolerable meal, having eaten nothing for nearly four days, except a
few green oranges. During our repast, a number of Ladrones crowded round
us, examining our clothes and hair, and giving us every possible
annoyance. Several of them brought swords, and laid them on our necks,
making signs that they would soon take us on shore, and cut us in
pieces, which I am sorry to say was the fate of some hundreds during my
captivity. I was now summoned before the chief, who had been conversing
with the interpreter: he said I must write to my captain, and tell him,
if he did not send an hundred thousand dollars for our ransom, in ten
days he would put us all to death."

After vainly expostulating to lessen the ransom, Mr. Glasspoole wrote
the letter, and a small boat came alongside and took it to Macao.

Early in the night the fleet sailed, and anchored about one o'clock the
following day in a bay under the island of Lantow, where the head
admiral of Ladrones (our acquaintance Paou) was lying at anchor, with
about two hundred vessels and a Portuguese brig they had captured a few
days before, and the captain and part of the crew of which they had
murdered. Early the next morning, a fishing-boat came to inquire if they
had captured an European boat; they came to the vessel the English were
in.

"One of the boatmen spoke a few words of English, and told me he had a
Ladrone-pass, and was sent by our captain in search of us; I was rather
surprised to find he had no letter. He appeared to be well acquainted
with the chief, and remained in his cabin smoking opium, and playing
cards all the day. In the evening I was summoned with the interpreter
before the chief. He questioned us in a much milder tone, saying, he now
believed we were Englishmen, a people he wished to be friendly with; and
that if our captain would lend him seventy thousand dollars till he
returned from his cruise up the river, he would repay him, and send us
all to Macao. I assured him it was useless writing on these terms, and
unless our ransom was speedily settled, the English fleet would sail,
and render our enlargement altogether ineffectual. He remained
determined, and said if it were not sent, he would keep us, and make us
fight, or put us to death. I accordingly wrote, and gave my letter to
the man belonging to the boat before mentioned. He said he could not
return with an answer in less than five days. The chief now gave me the
letter I wrote when first taken. I have never been able to ascertain his
reasons for detaining it, but suppose he dared not negociate for our
ransom without orders from the head admiral, who I understood was sorry
at our being captured. He said the English ships would join the
Mandarins and attack them."

While the fleet lay here, one night the Portuguese who were left in the
captured brig murdered the Ladrones that were on board of her, cut the
cables, and fortunately escaped through the darkness of the night.

"At day-light the next morning, the fleet, amounting to above five
hundred sail of different sizes, weighed, to proceed on their intended
cruise up the rivers, to levy contributions on the towns and villages.
It is impossible to describe what were my feelings at this critical
time, having received no answers to my letters, and the fleet under-way
to sail—hundreds of miles up a country never visited by Europeans,
there to remain probably for many months, which would render all
opportunities for negotiating for our enlargement totally ineffectual;
as the only method of communication is by boats that have a pass from
the Ladrones, and they dare not venture above twenty miles from Macao,
being obliged to come and go in the night, to avoid the Mandarins; and
if these boats should be detected in having any intercourse with the
Ladrones, they are immediately put to death, and all their relations,
though they had not joined in the crime, share in the punishment, in
order that not a single person of their families should be left to
imitate their crimes or avenge their death."

The following is a very touching incident in Mr. Glasspoole's narrative.

"Wednesday the 26th of September, at day-light, we passed in sight of
our own ships, at anchor under the island of Chun Po. The chief then
called me, pointed to the ships, and told the interpreter to tell us to
look at them, for we should never see them again! About noon we entered
a river to the westward of the Bogue. Three or four miles from the
entrance we passed a large town situated on the side of a beautiful
hill, which is tributary to the Ladrones; the inhabitants saluted them
with songs as they passed."

After committing numerous minor robberies, "The Ladrones now prepared to
attack a town with a formidable force, collected in row-boats from the
different vessels. They sent a messenger to the town, demanding a
tribute of ten thousand dollars annually, saying, if these terms were
not complied with, they would land, destroy the town, and murder all the
inhabitants: which they would certainly have done, had the town laid in
a more advantageous situation for their purpose; but being placed out of
the reach of their shot, they allowed them to come to terms. The
inhabitants agreed to pay six thousand dollars, which they were to
collect by the time of our return down the river. This finesse had the
desired effect, for during our absence they mounted a few guns on a
hill, which commanded the passage, and gave us in lieu of the dollars, a
warm salute on our return.

"October the 1st, the fleet weighed in the night, dropped by the tide up
the river, and anchored very quietly before a town surrounded by a thick
wood. Early in the morning the Ladrones assembled in row-boats, and
landed; then gave a shout, and rushed into the town, sword in hand. The
inhabitants fled to the adjacent hills, in numbers apparently superior
to the Ladrones. We may easily imagine to ourselves the horror with
which these miserable people must be seized, on being obliged to leave
their homes, and everything dear to them. It was a most melancholy sight
to see women in tears, clasping their infants in their arms, and
imploring mercy for them from those brutal robbers! The old and the
sick, who were unable to fly, or make resistance, were either made
prisoners or most inhumanly butchered! The boats continued passing and
repassing from the junks to the shore, in quick succession, laden with
booty, and the men besmeared with blood! Two hundred and fifty women
and several children, were made prisoners, and sent on board different
vessels. They were unable to escape with the men, owing to that
abominable practice of cramping their feet; several of them were not
able to move without assistance. In fact, they might all be said to
totter, rather than walk. Twenty of these poor women were sent on board
the vessel I was in; they were hauled on board by the hair, and treated
in a most savage manner. When the chief came on board, he questioned
them respecting the circumstances of their friends, and demanded ransoms
accordingly, from six thousand to six hundred dollars each. He ordered
them a berth on deck, at the after part of the vessel, where they had
nothing to shelter them from the weather, which at this time was very
variable—the days excessively hot, and the nights cold, with heavy
rains. The town being plundered of everything valuable, it was set on
fire, and reduced to ashes by the morning. The fleet remained here three
days, negotiating for the ransom of the prisoners, and plundering the
fish-tanks and gardens. During all this time, the Chinese never ventured
from the hills, though there were frequently not more than a hundred
Ladrones on shore at a time, and I am sure the people on the hills
exceeded ten times that number.