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RENCONTRE WITH PIRATES. '-…

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RENCONTRE WITH PIRATES. -ob Captain Thomson, of the ship Troughton has written to the owners of that vessel, describing the extraordinary escape of hiiiiseifarid crew from the perils of the sea, and from an attack of pirates, who boarded them whiit the ship was a wreck. Captain Thomson's letter is dated from Canton, July 11, and it appears that he left Signapore in the Troughton, on the 19th of June. On the 3rd of July he encoun- tered a severe gale, which carried away the masts of the Troughton and the men were obliged to keep woiking constantly at the pumps to prevent the vessel from sinking. After being for three days in danger of sinking, he succeeded in reaching the Manderin Cape, where the vessel was boarded by between three and four hundred men, armed with pikes and swords, who came to the Troughton in two large boats from the shore. Captain Thomson then proceeds to say- ''On seeing their intention was to murder t'.s the mate and myself immediately jnmped into the cabin and seized our pistols, with which we kept firing through the companion and skylights. The skylights were now torn to pieces and thrown overboard, yet, seeing we were determined, none of them had the courage to enter the cabin. They then hove down firebrands, with the intention of burning us. Out- hopes of life at this time were but faint, for I had already received two severe wounds in the right side, and had bled considerably. Tiie cabins were now all in flames, and also the berths in which the mate and myself had taken shelter. Death, at this time, in two of its most awful forms, presented itself, and we were left to the dreadful alternative of being butchered or burnt alive. It was at this awful crisis that the idea occurred to me ot blowing the ship np, with all on board, rather than submit. We now threw three barrels of gunpowder into the flames, which exploded but, from some unknown cause, did not take the desired eti'ect, only springing one of the beams, and starting the deck planks, ami the companion of the cabin. At the moment of tha explosion I made my escape into one of the after- cabins this the mate could not do, the berth in which he was being on fl, e, aud their spears pointed at him through the door; how he succeeded after- wards in gaining the afier-cabiu unhurt is impossible for me to say; however, however, he got into the larboard cabin, and myself the starboard. The lar- board cabin being on tire, the (lames and smoke soon drove him through the stern-window into ille sea, preferring, as he has since told me, drowning to being burned alive, Here heswam for a considerable time, and had a great many spears darted at him, but fortunately was not wounded at last one, more humane than the rest of the villains, hauled him in:o the boat, and lashed him tight round the neck to a piece of timber that w ent across the stern of their boat. After the mate jumped overboard, 1 found auolher barrel of powder, which I threw into t. e flames, but it had no effect. At this time t thought the mate had long since perished, and that myself and one of the seamen were the olliy living persons belonging to the ship. Shortly after I was surprised to hear the second mate call me by mv name, and beg of me to come upon deck, and my life w >u d be spared; but, being in an exhausted state, from the loss of so much blood, and the cabin being on fire, I ventured, and on coming up the companion, I re- ceived another severe wound in tk head; and I really believe the villain would certainly have killed me if he had not been prevented by the rest. They then lashed me to the wheel chain, on my back, so tight as almost to prevent circulation. Shortly after this they brought the mate from the boat, and lashed him alongside me. They had by this time ex- tinguished the flames, and were breaking and tearing' everything thing to pieces. They soon found the dollars, and after breaking and tearing to pieces a trreat many valuable packages, and taking every- thing we had, to make sure that there was no more by ten P.M. they left us. After they were gone and' the mate had recovered, the people were found locked in different parts of the ship, the cook and myself most severely wounded, and also one of the seamen. The steward was also dreadfullv burned from the explosion of part of the gunpowder. For- tunately the mate was but slightly wounded, and, after dressing our woundsas well as he could, we got the ship to Macao, on Wednesday morning, when the mate went on shore and stated the facts to Sir George Robinson, the superintendaut of British trade."

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