North Star affair

The ship was unarmed except for a few muskets and pistols belonging to Captain Voight of the Royal Navy corvette HMS Pearl, and the other Europeans on board.

Marks claimed that the compradore at Hong Kong, named Ty-kee, was in league with the pirates as he placed a young Chinese boy and a steward on the ship who acted suspiciously during the event.

At 3:00 pm, North Star was about thirty miles from the port of Hong Kong, near Ling Ting, when a two-masted junk was spotted.

Of the crew there were only three survivors; two young British men survived the encounter by hiding in the ship and when the pirates were gone they steered her back for Hong Kong.

Henry Marks survived as well, having swum for several hours, with the help of some floating spears, from the scene of the crime until being thrown onto a group of large rocks 400 yards (370 m) off the coast.

HMS Pearl , circa 1856