An Exciting Experience: Stern Running Fight With Pirates News reaches us of an exciting' encounter which the steam tug Nang Yuen, employed n the run between Waichow and Sheklung, has just had with pirates on the East River. Amongst those aboard " junk towed by the tug was a German business man, who gives some interesting details of the runing fight which Jensued between the boat and the pirate hordes.
Tt appears that at about nine} Jo'elock on August 28 the tug was towing two big junks, loaded with, jeargo and passengers, down the river towards Sheklung, and when at point about seven miles from the latter city, where the country is flat but covered with tall grass, a number of pirates, estimated at 400 men, suddenly jumped up from the grass, where they were lying" concealed, About half of them maintained a grilling fire upon the tug and its tow of passenger junks, while th Jother 200 dragged a lot of small skiffs into the river from their hiding places and attempted to board both the tug and the junks.
However the pirates were apparently not aware of the fact that 'a detachment of Whampoa sailors under the command of a naval officer were distributed amongst the three ships, and these at once replied vigorously to the pirates' fire. At, the same time, the officer in charge ordered the chief engineer of the tug, to get up as much steam as possible! in order to increase the speed of the tow, sending two of his sailors down to asssist in the stokehold.
A running fight then developed Which was described by the only foreign passenger on board. (it Andreas "Richthofen, a. Germas business man of Canton) as follows:—"While the passengers were all hiding down in the lower holds of the junks, which were amply] protected by iron plates, the soldiers) shot from whatever small. shelter they could find on deck.
"The defence was efficient and well directed. " While the sailors on the launch ahead were constantly potting away at the pirates ashore, who now had to leave their hiding] places and run as fast as they could marder to keep pace with the steadily increasing speed of the tow, the two junks concentrated their fr! upon the pirates in the skiffs, who kept on trying to board them. observed five diferent skite give up the chase one after another after one or more men of their crew had been "several of them mortally. Of the brigands ashore 1 counted twelve] who dropped down dead or wounded ju the grass, bat there may have been more."
The sailors recognized the pirate chief, a man with a stiff right arm hanging down his side, whom they called "Break-one-hand Jeung" and tried to shoot him, but unfortunately!
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.