weather it was easy for ships to keep clear of these danger spots. But they could not avoid those islands lying northeast of Singapore, and it was there that most of the merchantmen were looted. The pirates were chiefly Chinese, with a considerable number of Malays and some Dyaks. As to bravery and bloodthirstiness there was little choice between them. They were all desperate villains and their thirst for gold was exceeded only by their truly Oriental cunning. When they fell from wounds they would watch for an opportunity to hamstring their opponents or disembowel them with their long, crooked knives, which were as sharp as razors. After we discovered this devilish trait no quarter was ever shown them. When one of them fell he was shot through the head or stabbed, to make sure that he would do no further harm. Nothing else could be done with such an enemy. The Chinese operated chiefly in large junks, with which they could go well out to sea. Most of them carried guns of considerable size, while all of them were supplied with a multitude of stink-pots,--their favorite weapon. These were round earthenware pots, twelve or fifteen inches in diameter, filled with a black mixture of the consistency of moist earth, which was lighted just before the missile was thrown. They were handled in a sling, such as every small boy has used but on a larger scale, and could be thrown with great accuracy for one hundred feet or more. When the pot struck the opposing ship it broke open and the contents spread out on the deck, giving off a thick, pungent, and vile-smelling smoke which would quickly produce complete asphyxiation if it was inhaled at close range. If the smoking mass was left long enough undisturbed it would set fire to the ship. The pirates themselves were largely immune to this horrible smoke and under its cover, following a rain of stink-pots, they would board a ship almost unseen and have her defenders, whom they always outnumbered, at a great disadvantage from the start. When fighting at close quarters the Chinese used long, curved swords, something like a Turkish yataghan, while the Malays were armed with the krese, a short, double-edged sword with serrated edges. Both were murderous weapons and the pirates were graduated experts in the use of them; in fact, they preferred their butcher knives to firearms, for they were miserable marksmen. As soon as an engagement became general they would throw away their guns and pistols and use their swords, with both hands, striking powerful, chopping blows.