The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-21 00:00:00

We were on board the Alabama six days. On the
27Th of February the Ale bitna gave chase to a ship,
which proved to be the ship Washington, of New
York, from Callao, hound for Antwerp. Abut
three p.m., they came up within gun-shot of the
ship and fired two hltinks ; the ship not heaving to,
they fired a shot, which came very near to the ship,
which then hove to, and was boarded by an armed
crew from the Alabama. The captain came on board,
and was obliged to give a ransom bond of 50,000
tens, and take on board all the Alabam4's prisoners,
including my crew and the crews of the Golden
Eagle and schooner Palmetto. We were then all
compelled to sign a parole, and then all transferred
to the ship Washington, where we received a hearty
welcome from Capt. White.
(Signed) "ROBERT KALLOCK, late Master
of the barque Olive Jane."

TERRIBLE TRAGEDY AT BLACKWALL.

Late on Thursday night or early yesterday morning an
affray of a most desperate and sanguinary character, and
which lasted for several hours, took place on board the hulk
Venus, lying in the river off Blackwall-stairs, resulting, it
is be‘ieved, in the deaths of two officers and several soldiers,
besides serious if not fatal injuries to a large number of the
crew of the Peruvian corvette Arica. For some time past
the Arica has been lying in the West India dock, fitting
out. On her arrival in the river the crew were transferred
to the Venus hulk They numbered about 160 men, of
whom it is understood, PO were soldiers. They were under
the command of Gapt. Gaspar Ecurrae. It appears that on
Thursday the soldiers were allowed to go on shore, and a
number of them availed themselves of this privilege to get
intoxicated, and upon returning to the hulk at night they
contrived to smuggle a quantity of liquor on board. A
scene of disorder and riot soon ensued, and the soldiers re-
fused to obey the orders of their officers. Thelatter, finding
that all their efforts to enforce discipline were without avail,
called out the sailors to secure the most disorderly, and to
clear the decks. This apparently roused the soldiers to
frenzy, and they resisted with fury. A fearful affray en-
sued over nearly the whole ship. The sailors were armed
with muskets and bayonets, but were, it would seem, with-
out ammunition. Whether the soldiers were possessed of
their side-arms we have been unable to ascertain, but it is
asserted that they made use of 1111 the weapons they could
lay their hands on, The tumult and disorder on the main-
deck were fearful, the soldiers, maddened with drink, en-
deavouring to overpower the sailors ; • but the latter, by the
free use of the bayonet, drove them down between decks.
Here a kind of hand•to-hand struggle took place, and the
soldiers for a length of time managed to prevent the
sailors following them. At this juncture Captain
Ecurrae, who happened to be at his lodgings ashore, was
sent for, and he speedily arrived. The fight still con-
tinued, and the sailors were openly defied and kept at
bay. The captain, with drawn cutlass, dashed down
amongst he mutineers, and the sailors followed. A ter-
rible encounter arose, and the yells and shrieks of the
excited and drunken men could be heard up and down
the river. For some time it was difficult to say which side
would prevail, and it was no doubt during this dreadful
period of the contest that one of the officers, Ensign Fran-
cisco Vidal, was thrown overboard and perished. It is
feared that others also, who are reported to be missing, met
with a similar fate. The glass and framework of the pot-
holes were broken out, and the weaker of the combatants
were seen to scramble over the side of the vessel into the
boats alongside, This state of things continued until
towards daybreak, when the soldiers were somewhat over-
powered,;although the uproar was by no means silenced.
When order had been partially restored, and some of the
ringleaders secured and placed under a guard, an examina-
tion took place of the deck, when it was discovered that
two soldiers were lying dead, and several others seriously
if not mortally wounded, In the cabin were found the re-
mains of a young midshipman named Guardia Marina, who
had died while the fight was at its height. It appears that
he had been unwell, and it is believed that the extraordi-
nary excitement consequent on the fearful scene around
him brought on his death. The two soldiers who were
killed were named Pablo Vasquez, 25 years of age, and
Simon Garcia, 24. Both had received bayonet wounds,
and one of them had sustained a fearful blow on the head,
apparently from the butt end of a musket, The three
wounded soldiers were discovered to be seriously injured
with punctured wounds over the head and chest. The doc-
tor attached to the ship, Don Manuel Gastaneta,was soon
in attendance on them, but owing to the dreadful confusion
that prevailed, it was difficult to administer aid.
Shortly after daybreak the report of the fearful occur-
rence spread through Blackwall and the neighbouring dis-
tricts, and hundreds congregated on the river banks to
view the scene of the painful event. The Thames police at
once put themselves into communication with Captain
Ecurrae, and measures wets taken for the greater security
of the ringleaders. The Peruvian Minister and Consul
were apprised of the outbreak, and they immediately re-
paired to the ship and instituted an inquiry into the cir•
cumstances. In the course of yesterday Dr. Brownfield,
the surgeon to the police of the district, was required to
visit the ship to see the dead and wounded men, and advise
the medical officer of the vessel as to tha treatment of the
sufferers. Hopeless accounts are given as to the state of
two of the wounded.

The last report from the ship states that the men had
become calmed down, but most stringent measures had to
be taken to prevent a renewal of the outbreak,