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? If we(16 r.) 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."
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. On the following day they armed and posted themselves on the sea-coast. The pirates, seeing that the(16 v.) 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. The villagers were from the beginning very much alarmed for their(17 r.) 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.
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. On the sixth day they came so far as(17 v.) 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. On the twenty-ninth they attacked the places Tung(18 r.) hwan and Too shin, and killed nearly a thousand men.
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.
1809.
On the sixteenth day of the seventh moon, the pirates attacked a village near Tung kwan.(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. The villagers pursued them killing(19 r.) many; those also who had been taken alive were afterwards beheaded. They captured one small and two large vessels.[68]