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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Advocate, 1914-8-13, Page 7• AD'VENTUREWITII SAVAGES British Crew Captured by Sumatrans Had Thrilling Experience While Waiting to be Ransomed For the crew of a British shia, aumbering 28 hands, to be attacked and overpowered on the high seas 'by a band of savage pirates, and then whisked away and held prison- ert$ or a period of over five months in the wilds of Sumatra, where they endured tortures and sufferings from whidh they were released only by the payment of a, heavy ransom by a European government, savors more of romance than reality. Yet sueh was the fate that befell my companions and me, el the good ship Nisero, in the year 1889, says the Wide rld Magazine. The Nisero, which belonged to D. G. Pinkney & Sons of Suaderland. and London, was a cargo steamer trading ,between Great Britain and the East. She was capable of car ryiag about 3,700 tons of freight, and in those days was 'considered quite a big ship. She was in com- mand of Oaptain Charles Hoodruff, assisted by the usuai complement of offi.cers and crew, my position on • the vessel being that of steward. All told, we numbered 28 hands, every one of Vhem a British subject. It was in the February, of the year named that we loaded uo at Sun- derland with a cargo of coal, bound for Colombo, The voyage out was quite uneventful. We discharged our black diamonds t Colombo and then proceeded in ballast to Batavia, in Java, to load tip sugar for New York. Steaming aeroes the • Indian Ocean we sighted the north- ern point of iSumatra safely, passed • Brasse island, and then hugged the coast, steering for Diamond Point, with the intention of entering the Malacca, strait. Everything went well, until the early hours of May 29th, when we ran into a particular- ly heavy fog. The ship's head was put out to eea, and we went dead slow: Despite these preortutions7 however, we touched bottom, and it was not long before we discovered that the ship Was hard and fast aground.. We could distinctly hear the sound of breakers which told us we had* not run ashore. Appa- rently we bad grounded on some uncharted reef, and at first we .did not regard the matter very Serious- ly. All we had to do, we thought, was to make everything aecure and wait until, the fog lifted and the tide rose, when we should -float off with-' ouadamage. It was about 5 &Tiede in the Morning when ^ the ship strack—as we discovered later—opposite a place called Point Nyes, about 'half way between Brasse Island and Dia- raond Point, on the northern coast of Sumatra. About an hour and a half later, when the fog began to lift a little, the lookout somewhat astonished us by reporting more 'than a, dozen large native catamar- ane, under full sail, bearing down upon us. We erowded to the ship's rail and peered through the fog in the direction of the coming -boats, speculating as to whether they would prove to be friends or foes. • We had. not long to wait to settle thia poiet. Through his glasses the , captain saw that -the boats were crowded with armed isavages, e end as they drew near we realized that they were the dreaded Achinese, a • powerful and warlike tribe who in- habit the northern portion •of Su- matra, and whom the Dutch even to this day have not completely sub- dued. They are notorious pirates, • and had evidently come out to rob us, if not to kill. us. • It was impossible to get the ship am'ay, and accordingly preparations were made to keep our foes at bay, for we knew that if we allowed them to ;Isoard us we should be at their mercy. Rockets were fired and shots sent in the direction. of the coming boats in the hope that the savages would be frightened off. Still, however, they bore down up- on us. .When they were within hail• ing distance we shouted to them, making it clear that, we did nob want them to approach nearer. Never- • theless, they came on taking not the slightest notice of our ghouts and, •threats. As they drew closer we •realized more than ever that their • mission was nob one of peaCe, and • that if we valued our lives they must be kept away from the ship at all costise• Occesional shots from the captain's revolver troubled them • little, and as our.aranery was small, • consisting only of some four or five guns, and there was little ammuni- tion to spare, other measures had • to be sought to keep our dreaded • foes at bay. . It was clear that this was not the first ship theee men had attacked. Presently, by a clever maneuver, they spread out in an immense cir- • cle and eotrapletely i•sierrounded us; then, dashing in etimuIteneously, —lhey began bo el/umber on deck, climbing up the sides of the ship like monkeys by means Of ibarnboo poles and grass ropes with hooks at the ends, which they flung upward, thus obtaining a grip on the ship's plates, portholes and rails. When they reached the deok many were hurled 'back clean into the water, but it was a 'short fight, kr we were hopelessly outnumbered and secure. ly bound, though nob until we had all been • more or less seriously wounded. I had a spear-6110st through the muscle of any arm, the scar of which I carry to this day, and our quartermaster had a spear driven right through his leg, while the captain had a very narrow shave, a spear, as it whistled through the air'taking the skin off one side of his face. Many of the -natives lay aboatthe, deck stunned by our blows, while several of their boats had been dam- aged, Sails had been knonked down, and here and there men lay apparently lifeless on the lashed logs of which the araft were con - strutted. Once overpowered, we r ere quickly rendered incapable of of- fering further resistance, our hands and arms being seourely tied with grass- ropes. Our captors were half naked, brawn-skinnecl savages, from five feet six inches to five feet eight inches in height, fairly muscu- lar, and as nimble as kittens. Their bodies were greased with cocoa -nut oil, which made it very clifficelt to grapple with them, while they were armed with spears, a kind of toma- hawk, axes, and a few old flintlock muskets. Once masters of the situ- ation, they quickly made us under- stand by signs that we were to leave the ship and go ashore with the. Then, two or three savages gripping each man, they literally tossed us over the side of the ship into the Wa- ter, where we were picked up by their companions and placed upon the eatamarans. Saila were then set, paddles got out, and we made for the shore. Not being able to speak their lan- guage, and the savages being. very excitable and jabbering incessantly, our 'thoughts were anything but pleasant ones. • Did they mean to kill and eat us, or were the, going -alf to 'torture us to death? We 'a. hear e stories of the creel - ties they inflicted upon other shipwreck crews, and regarded our Nee as virtually sealed. We could not ke head or tail of their intentiens, owever, except that it was clear they did not mean a single one of us to escape. After they had beached their boats the Aohinese made signs to us that we were to fellow them. Se- veral of them, heavily armed, led the way and we sailors followed, ab- solutely surrounded by our captors. They plunged into the jungle, trav- eling in a more or less straight line, and thus we tramped along for se- veral hours through thick tropical forests, which taxed our strength and patience, for fettered as we were, we eaten eaught our feet and fell helplessly among the thick roots that littered the ground, while hor- rible thorns tore our clothes and slashed oar bodies. We journeyed on through that in- terminable forest for some seven or eight hours until we were utterly exhausted from fatigue and want of food. All we had to eat on the march was some wild fruit, which our captors gathered in the jungle, and an occasional drink from some stream. - • The Achinese Made it very plain to us 'by eloquent signs that any tat- tennit to get away would mean se- vere punishment, if not death. Here held as prisoners by our sav- age captors, we were destined to spend five weary and anxious months, knowing nothing of what was going on in the outside world and in ignorance of our ultimate fate. • That first night, we were too worn out to do ,anything but sleep, but as day tsucceeded day, and we re- mained cooped up in that wretc,hed shed we began to discuss the seri- ousness of our plight and racked oar brains for a means of escape. Twenty-eight Britishers were not likely to ,subniiii tamely to captiv- ity among savages. We had 'not been among ehe natives more than a fortnight, when Quartermaster Potter, a big sturdy fellow, at- tempted to regain his liberty by quietly creeping out of camp at night. This was pot easy, for, in addition to the guards around our prison, there were a dozen or more fires enoirdling us, the glow of which revealed our every movement. Pot- ter told us of his intentions, 'and though rine of us cared to join him just then—we 7felt it , *VMS practical- ly hopeless—we wished him luck, and grew quite excited when we dis- covered that he had actually got away. It was a thettlived freedom, however, for about 9 o'clock on the net morning he was 'brought back by a band of 'savages. The eoor fel- lay( was almost naked, the little clotting he possessed having been tar lioff him by his angry captors. tter was given a punishment whitea more than one of us was oat- pelle to suffer before we were ul- thrall ,oreleased, Making a hot fire, the Neleinese tied his hands to- gether, at en, by means of cords drew them over the 'blaze, holding them there until they were badly burnt and blistered, For days Pot- ter was ,completely erippled and in great pain, and ate had to feed him like a bab se To alleviate his agony vigorous seamen, India. steamer Mombasa had re- a o'a'acaa'a ' • ALLOW ME TO ..PRESENT • my BEST. FRIEND • a ate, • IN .401111.11 )144$7 OAPEFUL 70 SPIZCIPY ROYAL "11141:4 - DECLINE 31i,B52777,17E1 teasaiao qieereafreaaaisaaer • • ...^..:444.4.Akm, easweeneasee eariateaseesse Princess 3targaret of Connaught lit Swedish Garb. Princess Margaret of Connaught and her husband; the Crown Prince of Sweden, at the innauguration of the Centennial Agricul- tural Exhibition at Malmo. On that occasion Princess Margaret, dressed in Swedish national costume, received a procession of 1,000 peasants wearing the local costumes of every part of the country. we placed cocoanut leaves dipped in water over the tender skin. The leaves were veryecooling, and in time 'the wounds healed. About the end of June the 'same fate befell another man, Murphy by name, but the poor fellow died some weeks later. In this case theasav- ages, with fiiendish cruelty, burnt his feet as well as his hands, with the result that Murphy -could not walk. We made him up a bed of dried leaves, and in our rough-and- ready way did everything we could for him, bathing his burns and poul- ticing with cocoanut leaves. Never- theless, otur comrade grew rapidly worse, and toward the end prayed for death to release him from his sufferings. Anson, another able- bodied seaman, who essayed a bolt, was subjected to a like ordeal, while I still carry the scars of burns I re- ceived as a -punishment for trying to escape. The torture by burning was unspeakably painful and was always carried out in the presence of the whole village. When the captive was brought back tandems were beaten and very soon the „clearing would be crowded with sav- ages. Then the fire would be lit, the prisoner brought out and the cruel punishment inflicted. Being bound and securely held, there was no escape. The nien often fainted froM the awful pain, while the Adh- inese gloatingly watched their suf- ferings. The pirates invariably wound up the proceedings with a dance. • After quite a numbeatef men bad suffered this ordeal by fire we be - gam 'to recognize that it was im- possible for us to get away. Pos- sessing no compass and knowing no- thing about, the country, we did not even know in what direction to go. All around us was thick jungle, in some places absolutely impene- trable.. What dangers lurked there we did not know, bat we were well aware that it contained wild beasts, for we often heard the roarings at night. There were leopards and jaguars, we knew, and.also enorm- ous pythons. To have escaped from one savage tribe into the hands of another would not have improved matters. and it, seemed as if this was Climbing 'the trees for fruit and nuts played havoc with our elothes, avhich were soon in riibbons. Many of the men, moreover, had been weaning little at ithe time of cap- ture. When the ship was etbacked the mon below dashed upon deck in their trousers and shirts and these scanty garments were now in the last stages of ,disrepair. The natives took our watches and chains, our pipes and tobacco and every ,artiele we possessed that they Fancied. They even took the rings offtheactaptain's finaersa It 'was not long before we detected in the vil- lage many articles from the Nisero in the form of Topes, canvas, awn- ings, sails, chains and tools. Ears of steel were brought from the en- gine mein, and out of ft/hese the na- tives fashioned improvised limn - niers and ax, heads. They even •,an-•-eaght • the ship's. Chronometer ashore. This Riley 'evidently' regard- ed iee a curio, for it, was 'broken up and the works disbributed among the chiefs. These garments they often wore, especially on festive occasions, when they presented a comical sight. One would be seen parading about in a shirt, another in a vest and a third in a sou' -wester cap. As we watched them,' men would rue- fully remark: "There goes my shirt!" "There goes my coat t" and so on. Meanwhile, the days of our im- prisonment passed elowly and wear- ily by, and no whisper from the out- side world reached us. One day was very much like another. When the sun rose we would leave our bed of dried leaves, stroll down to the stream and perform our ablu- tions, often indulging in a swim. Our next task would be to cook enough rice to last us the day. We ate for breakfast, for dinner, •and also for supner, and we soon came to loathe it. After breakfast we woukl wander into the adjacent jungle, which we were allowed to do—always accompanied, bewever, by some of the natives—to hunt for fruit, When night came and we turned in we were greatly troubled by myriads of voracious mosquitoes and flies. Now and then we could not help the most we could Mope for if we being struck with the humor of the succeeded in avoiding the wild beasts and snakes. None of us get more than a few miles into the jungle before we were overtaken, 'for the natives were ex- pert trackers. Our experiences were practioally identical. All the fugitives were 'suddenly pounoed up- on by the savages, who emerged from behind trees and bushes when we imagined no one was following us. • During our imprisonment among the Achinese we were fed on rice. A bagful of this grain, with the husks on, were 'brought every morning by one of the natives and flung down before us. We had to separate the rice from the husks and Olen cook it in a sort of cauldron over a fire Nvhith we kindled with an old flint. Water we obteined from an adja- cent stream, fetching it in a kind of old pail we found. To vary our diet of rice we had various kinds of wild fruit, such as mangoes, oranges figs, apples, tomatoes and cocoanuts, These we either picked frond the forest bordering tthe clear- ing or obtained from ,the natives. We induced the native boys to limb the cocoanut tree,s and throw us down the nuts. These we eraak- ed and drank the milk. In spite of these shifts, however, our menu was nob very satisfying' to healthy, situation. Not only did the na- tives bring everything movable away from ,the ahip, but aur clothes as well. One morning, when we had been there just over four months, we found 'the natives greatly alarmed. It was clear that something nn - usual Was about to happen. The young bloods were greasing their bodies, fondling their spears, and marching to and fro. Were we be- ingtattacked by a rival tribe, or 'what was it? Just after noon we heard •shouts, but they were not wax ories, and then a band of na- tives, many of 'whom we had never seen before, stepped into the clear- ing, followed by a troop of some 50 European soldiers, dressed in light blue uniforms and peaked caps, and lad by a smart little officer. They were Da tehmen, and we could not help giving them a rousing cheer, whieh they promptly answered. Without more ado they strolled over to• us, shook hands with us went - 1V, god Plied us with queetions cora cerning our health. Never had we seen faces that cheered us so mucls as those of these sunburnt sons aof Holland I Nearly all of them spoke English and we thanked heaven that we had been found and reeeued at taste— • We now learned that the British 0 7 , ,t 414 AST KE E.W. GI L.Lerr co. urn. TORONra N N t PEG. 1M ONTag re.1 4.1Mett-fialeHW, Creme dijLejeloYliRe.411""1"le—ellaPee:t one and a half pints of new milk over a slow fire with the the (thinly pared rind of half a lemon. Beat a whole egg and the yolks of three more •till light, then mix in two ounces of sifted su- gar and four tablespoonfuls of dried and sifted flour rubbed smooth with 'two or three spoonfuls of the milk. When this is all blended strain it into the hot milk just as it reaches boiling point and stir it to- gether over the fire, without allow- ing it to boil, until it thickens and "drapes' the spoon. Have ready a layer of ratafias and 7nacaroon,3 mixed at the bottom of a deep glass dash soaked with half a wineglass- ful of brandy or so of essence of vanilla,. Strain the • hot mixture into this and strew ground cinna- mon over it. Leib it ,stand over night to get perfectly oold, then serve either plain or with whipped and 'sweetened, cream flavored with brandy Served separately. Yellow Custard :felly.—Put one pinbofiiiilkin a pan with one-haLf an ounce of leaf gelatine, dissolve the gelatine in the milk. letting it boil up, then add two ounces of su- gar teed when the milk has eooled a, little and the sugar :ie dissolved stir in the besbten yolks; of four eggs, talking care however not to let the mixture boil; flavor with vanilla, and when nicely thickened pour into a border mould and leave till set, when you fill up the centre with iced t ..44444 KfasTEWErfet. gooseberry fool. For the goose- berry fool stew very slowly one quart of greea gooseberries, after lopping and tailing there, with half a pound of sugar, three or four strips of finely aa,red lemon peel and just sufficient water to preveut their burning. When tender rub them carefully through a fine sieve (ad- ding a drop or two of vegetable green coloring, but be careful with this), and wine -glass of merits- ohina liqueur syrup, a squeeze :of lemon juice and halrf a pint of stif fly whipped cream (or failing this use custard): and either freeze in a freezer or paek into a tin, cover down tightly and 'bury in ice and freezing salt for some hours. The fool must be stirred up from the bottom and sides occasionally to make it set evenly and smoothlY- Any. fruit ean be prepared in this way. Orange Cheeseealses.—Boil the thinly peeled rind of ;four oranges in water to remove the hitter taste. When tender pound up with half a, pound .of sugar, four ounces of but- ter and the yanks of six eggs. Beat the mixture well and add the juice of the oranges; should the oranges be large only use the aice of two. Have ready some small patty pans or two large ones, line with puff paste, put, in the mixture and bake. The whites may be used for merin- gues, etc. • Vegetable Soups. • Vegetable soup with etoeleis made in this way: Measure a teaciaPfal, each of 'chopped cabbage, parsnip and turnips and a cupful and a half each of onion, carrot and celery. Pub these chopped vegetableis in a soup kettle and add a quart each of stock and water. Simmer until the -vegetables are tender and then add • a cupful a canned tomatoes and a ported having. seen our vess,e1.‘ tablespoonful of Chopped parsley. ashore. and on assistance being sent Flavor with a, teaspoonful of salt to her itwas disicovered that not a and half a teaspoonful of pepper. single member .01 the orew 'remain- Serve very hot. ed on board. There were tames of Another vegetable puree, of which a fight, however; and the wreckage of the ship found on the shore made it clear that we 'had been over- powered and carried off into the jungle. The matter was at once brought to the notice of the Dutch /govern- ro.e.nt, whir& eyes asked to ascertain what had become of ue, a;ndby dint of Many inquiries at last discover- ed our Whereabouts. Word was sent, through the natives, to the chief who held us prisoners that we were to be at once released, but this the chief refused to do without first receiving a ransom. He threat- ened to massacre as if soldiers were sent against him. We learned all this from our rescuers. They in- formed us that the matter badbeen brought before the British House of Commons by Samuel 'Storey, then M.P. from Sunderland, and that the British people were very incen- sed sit tine inability of the Drubch to release us. The British foreign of- fice had insisted on something being done, and that was why they had come to bargain with the chief. There were certain preliminaries to be gone through, but we should undoubtedly be free shortly. It was indeed joyful news. The soldiers pitched their tents close to ue, and that night we , had the pleasure of tasting hot coffee, eating properly cooked European food, •and indulging in a smoke— the first far ages. Never was a meal so satisfying and a smoke so soothing to troubled rierves. Next morning our captain left us, in company, with 'some of the ;sol- diers and Chiefs. There was to be a palaver with the chief who claim- ed us, and Who was away at the time, one of the conditions being that the taptain was to be present. As the days wore on naturally we speculated as to what was happen- ing, though our Dutoh friends as- sured us that it was only a matter of errangernent, Twelve days later, to our dismay, the soldiers were called away, • but retuned next mornintg, and great Was our `joy when they informed us %hat we were nOW .they and were to accompany them to the tweet. Our liberty had been bought by 'tale Dutch govern- ment, which had agreed to give the natives 12,000 guilden-eaboub Al, - 000, Thus ended our captivity of five months and three days among one of the most warlike and danger- ous tribes of Sumatra, Wesoon rea tir ched Sarawak,. where we found oeapltAYti tain ltAltig us, and from that 'P1a60 we aline home to Eng- land, via 11,obterdana, by the steam- ship Souriabaya,, stook is an ingredient, is made in this way : Boil slowly until tender in stock enough to cover half a oup- ful each of chopped potatoes, leeks, onions, carrots, parsnips and bur - nips. -Men add salt, pepper and other seasoning to taste and rub through a sieve. Melt four table- spoonfuls of butter over the fire, and when it ibubbles, add table spoonful of flour. Gradually pour on the puree and stir over .the fire - for four minutes. Then reduce the heat and add two well beaten eggs mixed with . a little Milk. Serve with croutons. • CONGENIAL WORK Ana Strength to Perform It. A person in good health is likely to have a genial disposition, ambi- tion, and enjoy work. On the other hand, if the diges- tive organs have been upset by wrong food, work become drud- gery. "Until recently," writes e West- ern. girl, "I was a railroad steno- grapher, which means full work every day, "Like many other girls alone in a large city, I lived at a boarding house. For breakfast it was mush, greasy meat, soggy eakes, black coffee, etc. "After a, few months of this diet I used to feel sleepy and heavy in the mornings. My work seemed a terrible effort, and I thought the work was to blame-atoo arduous. "At home 1 had heard my father speak of a y-oung fellow who went long distances in the cold on Grape -Nuts and cream and nothing' more for breakfast. "1 concluded if it would tide him over a mornings heavy work, it might help mac, so on my way homo one night I bought a paokage, and next morning I had 0 -rape -Nuts and milk for breakfast. "I stuck to Grape -Nuts, and in leas than two weeks I 'noticed im- provement, I remember I used to live. the 12, blocks to business and knew how good it was simply to iv "As to my work --well, did you ever feel the delight of having eon - genial work and the strength to perform it That's how I felt. truly believe there's life and vigor in every grain of Grape -Nitta," Name given by Canadian Nature Co., Windsor, Ont. Read "The Road to 1,Vellville," itt pkge, "There's a Reason," thief' road the above 'otter. A new ono appoarg , from time to time, They are genuine, trueand full o huinan Interest. 4 1 1 14 4 1 4 4 1 A 4