Aug. 20.
Dumbell Island (or Long Island), distant only eight miles from Hongkong, was the scene of a daring attack by pirates on Wednesday evening, the 19th., at 10.30 p.m.
The pirates, numbering about fifty, rowed ashore in small boat and at once attacked the Police station from all sides. Two of the Indian Police were shot dead at the! station, and another was killed in the street. At once the robbers attacked the safe, blew it open, and secured about $1,000. The £uropean Sergeant of Police, who I'ves in a matshed near, came on the scene just as the robbers, having taken all they wanted, had turned their attention to the pawnshop. Seeing half of his force killed, the Sergeant clambered on to the roof; and just in time, for scouts were out seeking to shoot him. He ran along the roofs of the! shops in the main street armed only with his revolver, for the robbers! had cleared the tation of all guns, From this vantage point he shot at the pirates, and it is a miracle he also was not killed, for they made a desperate attempt to capture him. After looting several shops the robbers boarded the launch and steamed away in the direction of Colowa 'The systematic way in which things were planned is shown by the fact that while all the arms and' ammunition in the station were being secured, the two launches in the bay were boarded, one used to store the booty, and the other disabled by part of the machinery being removed. The Police boat was also taken away to ensure that the robbers would get a good start before the alarm could reach Hongkong. The robbers were armed with modern revolvers and guns, and dumdum and soft-nosed bullets were found lying in the police station.
The scene in the police station this morning was piteous. Under some coarse matting the bodies of the three Indians were lying, the big hob-nailed boots of one man showing at the end. In another corner the three widows, one with a tiny baby in her arms, were w ing and rocking to and fro in their grief, The European sergeant sat at his desk making a report of the attack, and the sole surviving Indian policeman stood near by, with true Oriental fortitude, showing but little concern.
It is to be hoped that this daring outrage will lead to some drastic action being taken so that this nest of pirates at Colowan may be cleaned out.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.