ATTACK BY BEDOUIN PIRATES.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 788, 11 April 1910, Page 8

ATTACK BY BEDOUIN PIRATES.

INCIDENT IN THE RED SEA. STRANDED STEAMER STRIPPED. The steamer Kilbura, which arrived at Melbourne from Grey's Harbour reoently with a cargo of timber, is on her first voyage after an extensive overhaul and. refitting in Great Britain. Her last previous voyage was an adventurous one, and two members of her present crew—the chief officer, Mr. T. H. Hember, and the chief engineer, Mr. W. Campbell—are not likely soon, to. forget it. The Kilburn was on, a. voyage from the United. Kingdom to Japan with a valuable cargo, and had the misfortune to bump on to a reef in the Red Sea,' in the vicinity of the Farsan about 10 miles from the. mainland of Arabia, and' 300 of 400 miles north' of Perim. The impact tore a large hole in- her hull, and her engrneroom and holds were soon awash with sea water. The reef, however, held her up, but the crew,were powerless to do anything else than "sit back" and wait for assistance. One or two Arab dhows hove in sight, and came alongside, their owners being friendly, but not a steamer was; seen:.' For .a week the crew were idly awaiting succour. They had nothing to. look- on but the sea breaking on the barren-islands, and a stretch of desert shore in the distance. In the scorching heat they watched eagerly for a ship. The chief officer, Mr. Hember, in telling the story, said: "The heat was almost unbearable. Pitch bubbled in the deck seams, ,and we gasped as we lay in almost a state of nudity under rigged/ canvas awnings. The ship was as safe as a newly-built house. The reef was a firm' foundation for her, and the sea being like glass there was no dasger of her breaking up. One : solitary Arao dhow had remained with us, in the hope of taking us as passengers to Perim. But we were not going to desert, the ship for some other fellow to come along and claim salvage. Then came the morning on. which we found ourselves in trouble, . and we were mighty glad that the rotten looking old dhow had stuck to us. - From behind one of the islands there shot nearly sixty boats, crammed to the. gunwales, withi yelling Bedouins, armed, with scimitars, daggers, spears, rifles, revolvers, and almost every kind of weapon the world has known. They had paddled out from the shore during the night, and awaited the early morning. . Most of them were na&ed to . the waist, but the chiefs wore long flowing robes and turbans* They did not leave ,us long in doubt- as to their, intentions, .for-they opened fire on us immediately. .-There, must,,have ,been- 800 of ,them, and-, you will, see the marks' of their bullets on our hull yet. We returned their, fire,,,but we could see' that "m their overwhelming, numbers .they were much too strong for us with our' limited company and arms and ammunition, and, as our friend the Arab with the dhow was in a hurry to get away we skipped over the side and left with'.him. It was our-only chance of saying our lives. - . ■ '■ . , ■ ' ■

"A day or so later we were picked up by a small steamer and landed mPerim, and our captain reported the piracy, and arranged for a salvage vessel to, return to the ship - and patch her up. On board we had a company of Tnrkish soldiers to recapture her, but when we .reached' the ship we fonnd that .the pirates had left. ~ But they had stripped her of every bit of. woodwork, copper pipes, and much other valuable material. Luckily, the holds and- engine-room had not been interfered with, probably because they were flooded. .

"As far as I know, the pirates were not captured, but the British Government has taken possession of the Farsan -Islands .as the result of ■ our experience, and they are. now visited at intervals to prevent a; recurrence of piracy. The ship was patched up and pumped out. She was then refloated and towed to Perim for temporary repairs," .■ .. : - :