Captain William Sturgis and the "Atahualpa" Fight

Captain William Sturgis was proclaimed a hero when he saved the "Atahualpa" and her crew from falling into the hands of the Chinese pirates in the year 1809. The vessel was lying peacefully at her moorings in the Macao Roads, when Mr. Bumstead, who was a passenger on board, and who had lost a brother through pirates, called to Captain Sturgis's attention a fleet of junks in line of battle floating down upon them. All on board the "Atahualpa" believed the strangers to be peaceful fishermen, but to satisfy Mr. Bumstead, Captain Sturgis ordered a shot to be thrown across their bows, "just to show how soon it will bring them about on the other tack," as he expressed it. The shot did not stop their advance then it became a race for life. Captain Sturgis well knew the cruelty of the Chinese pirates, and he therefore got ready a barrel of gunpowder, telling his crew that he intended to blow all of them to pieces rather than to have them captured by their attackers. Captain Sturgis was a very strong man, with a determined expression and shaggy eyebrows, and every one on board was fully aware that this threat would be carried out should the pirates get the upper hand in the fight. Shaggy eyebrows were a characteristic of the Sturgis family, and Captain Sturgis himself must have known well that they gave him a determined expression, for when he went on board one of R. B. Forbes's vessels, and the latter showed him his pet dog, which had very long hair, Sturgis jokingly remarked, "I recognize the likeness." The fight was a hard one, the "Atahualpa" pouring shot on the crowded decks of the junks with frightful slaughter, while the foremost of the pursuing Chinese, with fearful yells, fired jingalls and fireballs. Slowly the ship moved landward before a gentle breeze, still keeping its adversaries at bay, but with great difficulty. Daniel C. Bacon, who was then the first mate, had rowed ashore with four of the crew to procure a pilot, and to all those on land the fate of the ship seemed certain. Bacon tore himself from the hands of his friends, who believed it hopeless for him to try to reach his vessel, rowed out to her, and joined in the fight. Soon the "Atahualpa" drifted within range of the guns of the Macao forts, which threw their shot amid the pirates with much effect. The battle was then soon won, and Apootsae, their cut-throat leader, was put to death by the mandarins by the slow process of hacking to death, or "the thousand cuts," as it was sometimes called. Captain Sturgis fortunately had taken with him four small cannon, although the owner of the "Atahualpa," Mr. Theodore Lyman, had ordered him not to do so. It is said that when he brought his ship safely back to Boston he was reproved by Mr. Lyman for thus disobeying orders. In his own heart, however, the owner undoubtedly rejoiced that his commands had on this occasion been disregarded. Young James Perkins Sturgis, a cousin of the captain, usually known as "Uncle Jem" by his contemporaries, was also a passenger on the "Atahualpa" and had been a victim of jaundice throughout the whole voyage, his face being described as resembling a sunflower. It is related that the excitement of this fight completely cured him. He lived in China most of his life and while there a Chinese artist painted his portrait. Captain bacon used to tell his friends in Boston that when it was finished Mr. Sturgis complained that it was not good-looking enough, to which the Chinaman replied, much to Sturgis's amusement, "Handsome face no got, handsome face how can have," and then bolted.

Captain Sturgis originally came from Barnstable, his father having been a ship-master of that time. The "hero" of this little chapter began his business career by entering the counting-house of Russell Sturgis, and when his father died, he decided to go to sea, being given the opportunity by J. & T. H. Perkins, who were then despatching the "Eliza" to the North West Coast and China. Sturgis acted as assistant trader and was so good in this position that he was chosen chief mate of the "Ulysses." He then went out under Captain Charles Derby in the "Caroline," one of James and Thomas Lamb's vessels; the Captain died on the voyage and young Sturgis took command. He returned to Boston in 1810 and with John Bryant formed the house of Bryant & Sturgis, transacting business with the Pacific Coast and China. His next venture was in the "Atahualpa" described above.

He was a master of many foreign languages. Once, when he was in the Massachusetts Legislature, a pedant who was continually quoting Latin thought he would "show off " his knowledge of the language, believing that Mr. Sturgis would not understand him. Much to the disappointment of the former, the answer came back in fluent Latin, and from that day Latin quotations were heard much less often in the Legislature.

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