went on board his flag vessel, called Mih teng, and proceeded with about
one hundred other vessels to attack the pirates. They were acquainted
with his design by their spies, and gathered together round Wan
shan;[53] the admiral following them in four divisions. [sd: (10 v.)]
The pirates, confident in their numbers, did not withdraw, but on the
contrary spread out their line, and made a strong attack. Our commander
looked very lightly on them, yet a very fierce battle followed, in which
many were killed and wounded. The ropes and sails having been set on
fire by the guns,[54] the pirates became exceeding afraid and took them
away. The commander directed his fire against the steerage, that they
might not be able to steer their vessels. Being very close one to the
other, the pirates were exposed to the fire of all the four lines at
once. The pirates opened their eyes in astonishment and fell down; our
commander advanced courageously, laid hold of their vessels, killed an
immense number of men, and took about two hundred prisoners. There was a
pirate's wife in one of the boats, holding so fast by the helm that she
could scarcely be taken away. [sd: (11 r.)] Having two cutlasses, she
desperately defended herself, and wounded some soldiers; but on being
wounded by a musket-ball, she fell back into the vessel and was taken
prisoner.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
About this time, when the red squadron was assembled in Kwang chow wan,
or the Bay of Kwang chow, Tsuen mow sun went to attack them; but he was
not strong enough. The wife of Ching y[)i]h remained quiet; but she
ordered Chang paou to make an attack on the front of our line with ten
vessels, and Leang po paou to come from behind. Our commander fought in
the van and in the rear, and made a dreadful slaughter; but there came
suddenly two other pirates, Hëang shang url, and Suh puh king, who
surrounded and attacked our commander on all sides. [sd: (11 v.)] Our
squadron was scattered, thrown into disorder, and consequently cut to
pieces; there was a noise which rent the sky; every man fought in his
own defence, and scarcely a hundred remained together. The squadron of
Ching y[)i]h overpowered us by numbers; our commander was not able to
protect his lines, they were broken, and we lost fourteen vessels.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
Our men of war, escorting some merchant vessels, in the fourth moon of
the same year, happened to meet the pirate nicknamed _The Jewel of the
whole crew_, cruizing at sea near a place called Tang pae ke[)o],
outside of Tsëaou mun. The traders became exceedingly frightened, but
our commander said: "This not being the red flag, 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. [sd: (12 r.)] The fighting ceased towards the
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 valour. It was a very hard fight; the sound of cannon and
the cries of the combatants were heard some le[55] distant. 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[56] This fighting continued three days and
nights incessantly; at last becoming tired on both sides, they
separated.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
[sd: (12 v.)] On the eighth day of the fifth moon the pirates left their
lurking place, attacked Kan chuh han, and burned and plundered the
houses. On the tenth they burned and plundered Kew këang, Sha kow, and
the whole sea-coast; they then turned about to Këe chow, went on shore,
and carried away fifty-three women by force. They went to sea again the
following day, burned and plundered on their way about one hundred
houses in Sin hwy and Shang sha, and took about a hundred persons of
both sexes prisoners.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
On the sixth moon, the admiral Ting kwei heu went to sea. Wishing to
sail eastward, but falling in with heavy rains for some days, he stopped
near Kwei këa mun,[57] and engaged in settling concerning his ballast.
On the eighth day of this moon, Chang paou, availing himself of the bad
weather, explored the station in a small boat and passed the place. Ting
kwei was right in thinking that the pirates would not undertake any
thing during these heavy rains; but he was careless regarding what might
happen after it. [sd: (13 r.)] Indeed, as the weather cleared up on the
morning of the ninth, Chang paou appeared suddenly before the admiral,
and formed a line of two hundred vessels. Ting kwei having no sails
ready, and all the ships being at anchor, could by no means escape the
pirates. The officers, being afraid of the large number of the enemy,
stood pale with apprehension near the flagstaff, unwilling to fight. The
admiral spoke to them in a very firm manner, and said: "By your fathers
and mothers, by your wives and children, do your duty; fight and destroy
these robbers. Every man must die: but should we be so happy as to
escape, our rewards from government will be immense. Should we fall in
the defence of our country, think that the whole force of the empire
will be roused, and they will try by all means to destroy these
banditti." [sd: (13 v.)] They now all united together in a furious
attack, and sustained it for a long time: Ting kwei fired his great
guns,[58] and wounding the ringleader, nicknamed _The Jewel of the whole
crew_, he fell down dead.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
The pirates were now at a loss how to proceed; but they received
succour, while the force of our commander diminished every moment. About
noon Paou drew nearer to the vessel of Ting kwei, attacked her with
small arms, and sustained a great loss. But Leang po paou suddenly
boarded the vessel, and the crew was thrown into disorder. Ting kwei
seeing that he was unable to withstand, committed suicide; while an
immense number of his men perished in the sea, and twenty-five vessels
were lost.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
[sd: (14 r.)] Our former deputy-governor Pih ling was about this time
removed from his situation in the three _Këang_ to become
governor-general of the two Kwang.[59] People said, now that Pih comes
we shall not be overpowered by the pirates. Old men crowded about the
gates of the public offices to make enquiries; the government officers
appeared frightened and held consultations day and night, and the
soldiers were ordered by a public placard to hold themselves ready to
march. "Since the death of Wang pëaou," it was said, "all commanders
were unfortunate. Last year _Kw[)o] lang lin_ was killed in the battle
at _Ma chow_; _Tsuen mow sun_ was unlucky at _Gaou kow_, _Url lin_ ran
away like a coward at _Lang pae_, and now _Ting kwei_ has [Sidenote: (14
v.)] again been routed at _Kwei këa_. If the valiant men let their
spirits droop, and the soldiers themselves become frightened at these
repeated defeats, the pirates will certainly overpower us at last; we
can really not look for any assistance to destroy them. We must try to
cut off all provisions, and starve them." In consequence of this, all
vessels were ordered to remain, or to return into harbour, that the
pirates might not have any opportunity to plunder, and thus be destroyed
by famine. The government officers being very vigilant about this
regulation, the pirates were not able to get provisions for some months;
they became at last tired of it, and resolved to go into the river
itself.[60]
[Sidenote: 1809.]
The pirates came now into the river by three different passages.[61]
[sd: (15 r.)] The wife of Ching y[)i]h plundered about Sin hwy, Chang
paou about Tung kwan,[62] and O po tae about Fan yu[63] and Shun tih,
and all other smaller places connected with Shun tih; they were together
explored by the pirates, who guarded the passage from Fan to Shun.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
On the first day of the seventh moon, O po tae came with about a hundred
vessels and burnt the custom-house of Tsze ne. On the second day he
divided his squadron into four divisions, extending to Peih këang, Wei
yung, Lin yo, Sh[)i]h peih, and other villages. The _Chang lung_
division[64] surrounded the whole country from Ta wang yin to Shwy sse
ying. The _Ta chow_, or large-vessel division, blockaded Ke kung
sh[)i]h, which is below the custom-house of Tsze ne. The pirates sent to
the village Tsze ne, demanding ten thousand pieces of money[65] as
tribute; and of San shen, a small village near Tsze ne on the right
side, they demanded two thousand. [sd: (15 v.)] The villagers differed
in opinion; one portion would have granted the tribute, another would
not. That part who wished to pay the tribute said: "The pirates are very
strong; it is better to submit ourselves now, and to give the tribute
that we may get rid of them for awhile; we may then with leisure think
on means of averting any misfortunes which may befall us. Our villages
are near the coast, we shall be surrounded and compelled to do what they
like, for no passage is open by which we can retire. How can we, under
such circumstances, be confident and rely on our own strength?"
[Sidenote: 1809.]
The other part, who would not grant the tribute, said: "The pirates will
never be satisfied; if we give them the tribute now, we shall not be
able to pay it on another day. If they should make extortions a second
time, when should we get money to comply with their demands? Why should
we not rather spend the two thousand pieces of money to encourage
government officers and the people? [sd: (16 r.)] If we fight and happen
to be victorious, our place will be highly esteemed; but if, what heaven
may prevent, we should be unlucky, we shall be everywhere highly spoken
of." The day drew to its end, and they could not agree in what they
should determine on, when one villager arose and said: "The banditti
will repeatedly visit us, and then it will be impossible to pay the
tribute; _we must fight_."
[Sidenote: 1809.]
As soon as it was resolved to resist the demands of the pirates, weapons
were prepared, and all able men, from sixteen years and upwards to
sixty, were summoned to appear with their arms near the palisades. They
kept quiet the whole of the second day, and proceeded not to fighting;
but the people were much disturbed, and did not sleep the whole night.
[sd: (16 v.)] On the following day they armed and posted themselves on
the sea-coast. The pirates, seeing that the villagers would not pay the
tribute, became enraged, and made a severe attack during the night; but
they could not pass the ditch before the village. On the morning of the
fourth, O po tae headed his men, forced the ditch, took the provisions,
and killed the cattle. The pirates in great numbers went on shore; but
the villagers made such a vigorous resistance that they began to
withdraw. O po tae therefore surrounded the village on both sides, and
the pirates took possession of the mountain in the rear; they then threw
the frightened villagers into disorder, pursued them, and killed about
eighty. After this the pirates proceeded with their van to the
sea-shore, without encountering any resistance from the front. [sd: (17
r.)] The villagers were from the beginning very much alarmed for their
wives and daughters; they collected them in the temple and shut it up.
But the pirates being victorious, opened the temple, and carried the
women by force all away on board ship. One pirate set off with two very
fine women; a villager, on seeing this, pursued after and killed him in
a hidden place. He then took the women and carried them safe through the
water,--this was a servant. A great number of the pirates were killed
and wounded, and the villagers lost about two thousand persons. What a
cruel misfortune! it is hard indeed only to relate it.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
On the third day of the moon the people of Ta ma chow, hearing that the
pirates were coming near, ran away. The pirates plundered all that was
left behind, clothes, cattle, and provisions. [sd: (17 v.)] On the sixth
day they came so far as Ping chow and San shan. On the eighth they
retired to Shaou wan, made an attack upon it on the ninth, but could not
take it. On the tenth they ascended the river with the tide, went on
shore, and burned Wei shih tun. On the eleventh day they came to our
village, but retired again at night on command. On the twelfth they
attacked Hwang yung, and left it again on the thirteenth. They retired
on the fourteenth, and stopped at Nan pae. On the fifteenth they sailed
out of the Bocca Tigris,[66] and on the twenty-sixth attacked the ships
which bring the tribute from Siam,[67] but were not strong enough to
capture them. [sd: (18 r.)] On the twenty-ninth they attacked the places
Tung hwan and Too shin, and killed nearly a thousand men.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
The pirates tried many stratagems and frauds to get into the villages.
One came as a country gentleman to take charge of the government guns;
another came in a government vessel as if to assist the village; after
which they on a sudden attacked and plundered all, when people were not
aware of them. One pirate went round as a pedlar, to see and hear all,
and to explore every place. The country people became therefore at last
enraged, and were in future always on their guard. If they found any
foreigner, they took him for a pirate and killed him. So came once a
government officer on shore to buy rice; but the inhabitants thought he
was a pirate and killed him. There was every where a degree of
confusion, which it is impossible to explain.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
On the sixteenth day of the seventh moon, the pirates attacked a
village near Tung kwan. [sd: (18 v.)] The villagers knowing what would
happen, made fences and palisades, and obstructed the passage with large
guns. Armed with lances and targets they hid themselves in a secret
place, and selected ten men only to oppose the pirates. The pirates
seeing that there were so few people, went on shore to pursue them. As
soon as they came near the ambuscade the guns were fired; the pirates
became alarmed and dared not advance farther. Not being hurt by the
fire, they again advanced; but three pirates presuming that there was an
ambush, thought of retreating, and being very hard pressed by the enemy,
they gave a sign to their comrades to come on shore. The ten villagers
then retired near the ambush, and when the pirates pursued them, about a
hundred were killed by their guns, and the whole force of the banditti
was brought into disorder. [sd: (19 r.)] The villagers pursued them
killing many; those also who had been taken alive were afterwards
beheaded. They captured one small and two large vessels.[68]
[Sidenote: 1809.]
On the eighteenth day of the eighth moon the wife of Ching y[)i]h came
with about five hundred vessels from Tung kwan and Sin hwy, and caused
great commotion in the town Shun tih, Hëang shan, and the neighbouring
places. The squadron stopped at Tan chow, and on the twentieth Chang pao
was ordered to attack Shaou ting with three hundred vessels. He carried
away about four hundred people, both male and female; he came also to
the palisades of our village, but could not penetrate inside. [sd: (19
v.)] The twenty-first he came to Lin tow, and the twenty-second to Kan
shin; he made an attack, but could not overpower the place; he then
returned to Pwan pëen jow, and lay before its fence. The inhabitants of
Chow po chin, knowing that the pirates would make an attack, assembled
behind the wall to oppose them. The pirates fired their guns and wounded
some, when the villagers ran away. The pirates then went on shore, but
the villagers crowded together and fired on them; the pirates cast
themselves on the ground, and the shots passed over their heads without
doing any harm. Before the gunners could again load, the pirates sprang
up and put them to death. Out of the three thousand men who were in the
battle, five hundred were carried away by the pirates. One of the most
daring pirates, bearing the flag, was killed by the musket of a
villager; a second pirate then took the flag, and he also was killed.
The pirates now pressed against the wall and advanced. [sd: (20 r.)]
There was also a foreign pirate[69] engaged in the battle with a
fowling-piece. The pirates assembled in great numbers to cut the wall
with their halberts, but they were disappointed on seeing they could not
attain their object in such a manner. The pirates lost their hold, fell
down, and were killed. The engagement now became general, and great
numbers were killed and wounded on both sides. The villagers at last
were driven from their fortifications, and the pirates pursued them to
_Mih ke_, or _the rocks about Mih_, where they were hindered from going
farther by foggy weather; they retired and burned about twenty houses,
with all they contained. On the following day the pirates appeared again
on the shore, but the inhabitants made a vigorous resistance, and being
driven back, they retired to the citadel _Chih hwa_, where a thousand of
them fought so hard that the pirates withdrew. [sd: (20 v.)] It was
reported that ten of them were killed, and that the villagers lost eight
men. On the twenty-third the wife of Ching y[)i]h ordered O po tae to go
up the river with about eighty vessels: he stopped at Show ke and Kung
shih. On the twenty-fourth Chang paou and Po tae divided this district
between themselves, and robbed and burned all. Pao had to plunder the
north part to Fo shin; he carried away about ten thousand stones of
rice,[70] and burned down about thirty houses; on the twenty-fifth he
went to Se shin. O po tae came and burnt San heung keih; he then
plundered Hwang yung, and came to Këen ke, but did not make an attack
against it. He afterwards returned and laid waste Cha yung.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
[sd: (21 r.)] On the twenty-sixth Chang paou went up the river to Nan
hae[71] and Lan sh[)i]h. In the harbour of the place were six rice
vessels; and as soon as Paou was in Lan sh[)i]h he made preparations to
capture these vessels. The military officer, seeing that the pirates
were numerous, remained however on his station, for the instant he would
have moved, Paou would have attacked and captured him. Paou proceeded
then against the village itself; but the officer Ho shaou yuen headed
the inhabitants, and made some resistance. The pirates, nevertheless,
mounted the banks; and the villagers seeing their strength, did not stay
to fight--they became frightened and ran away: all the others ran away
without making any resistance: [sd: (21 v.)] Ho shaou yuen alone opposed
the banditti with a handful of people; but he at last fell fighting, and
the pirates burnt four hundred shops and houses, and killed about ten
persons. After the pirates had retired, the inhabitants held in high
esteem the excellent behaviour of Ho shaou yuen; they erected him a
temple, and the deputy-governor Han fung performed sacrifices to his
memory.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
Shaou yuen was commanding officer in the citadel of Lan shih; he was of
an active spirit, and erected strong fences. Before the pirates arrived,
this was his daily discourse when he spoke to the people: "_I know that
I shall be glorified this year by my death_." Half the year being
already passed, it could not be seen how this prophecy was to be
fulfilled. When the pirates came, he encouraged the citizens to oppose
them vigorously; he himself girded on his sword and brandished his
spear, and was the most forward in the battle. He killed many persons;
but his strength failed him at last, and he was himself killed by the
pirates. The villagers were greatly moved by his excellent behaviour;
they erected him a temple, and said prayers before his effigy. It was
then known what he meant, that "he would be glorified in the course of
the year." Now that twenty years are passed, they even honour him by
exhibiting fire-works. I thought it proper to subjoin this remark to my
history.[72]
[Sidenote: 1809.]
On the twenty-seventh, Lin sun mustered about forty vessels, and went
out to fight with the pirates in order to protect the water passage.
[sd: (22 r.)] He remained at Kin kang (which is near Shaou wan hae), hid
himself westerly of that place the whole day, and removed then to Tsze
ne. Chang paou ordered his vessels to remove to Shaou ting, and his men
to go on shore in the night-time. Sun, seeing with sorrow that the
pirates were so numerous, and that he could not make any effectual
resistance, ran away eastwards and hid himself at Peih keang. At
daylight the following morning the pirates sailed to Tsze ne to attack
our commander, but not finding him, they stopped at Shaou ting; for
this being the time when the autumnal winds begin to blow, they were
afraid of them, and made preparations to retire. But we shall soon find
the different flags returning to the high sea to fight both with
extraordinary courage and great ferocity.[73]
[Sidenote: 1809.]
[sd: (22 v.)] On the twenty-ninth they returned to plunder Kan shin;
they went into the river with small vessels, and the inhabitants
opposing them, wounded two pirates, which all the pirates resented. They
next came with large vessels, surrounded the village, and made
preparations to mount the narrow passes. The inhabitants remained within
the intrenchments, and dared not come forward. The pirates then divided
their force according to the various passes, and made an attack. The
inhabitants prepared themselves to make a strong resistance near the
entrance from the sea on the east side of the fence; but the pirates
stormed the fence, planted their flag on the shore, and then the whole
squadron followed. The inhabitants fought bravely, and made a dreadful
slaughter when the pirates crossed the entrance at Lin tow. The
boxing-master, Wei tang chow, made a vigorous resistance, and killed
about ten pirates. The pirates then began to withdraw, but Chang paou
himself headed the battle, which lasted very long. The inhabitants were
not strong enough. [sd: (23 r.)] Wei tang was surrounded by the pirates;
nevertheless that his wife fought valiantly by his side. On seeing that
they were surrounded and exhausted, the father of the lady[74] rushed
forward and killed some pirates. The pirates then retired in opposite
directions, in order to surround their opponents in such a manner that
they might not escape, and could be killed without being able to make
any resistance; and thus it happened, the wife of Wei tang being slain
with the others.
The pirates now pursued the inhabitants of the place, who cut the bridge
and retired to the neighbouring hills. The pirates swam through the
water and attacked the inhabitants, who were unable to escape. [sd: (23
v.)] The whole force of the pirates being now on shore, the inhabitants
suffered a severe loss,--it is supposed about a hundred of them were
killed; the loss of the pirates also was considerable.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
The pirates went in four divisions to plunder; they took here an immense
quantity of clothes and other goods, and carried away one thousand one
hundred and forty captives of both sexes. They set on fire about ten
houses; the flames could not be extinguished for some days; in the whole
village you could not hear the cry of a dog or a hen. The other
inhabitants retired far from the village, or hid themselves in the
fields. In the paddy fields about a hundred women were hidden, but the
pirates on hearing a child crying, went to the place and carried them
away. [sd: (24 r.)] _Mei ying_, the wife of Ke choo yang, was very
beautiful, and a pirate being about to seize her by the head, she abused
him exceedingly. The pirate bound her to the yard-arm; but on abusing
him yet more, the pirate dragged her down and broke two of her teeth,
which filled her mouth and jaws with blood. The pirate sprang up again
to bind her. Ying allowed him to approach, but as soon as he came near
her, she laid hold of his garments with her bleeding mouth, and threw
both him and herself into the river, where they were drowned, The
remaining captives of both sexes were after some months liberated, on
having paid a ransom of fifteen thousand leang or ounces of silver.
[Sidenote: 1809.]
Travelling once to Pwan pëen jow I was affected by the virtuous
behaviour of _Mei ying_, and all generous men will, as I suppose, be
moved by the same feelings. I therefore composed a song, mourning her
fate: