The Sun.
London, England, 1860-01-12 00:00:00

iITROCIOUS MURDERS AT &Ed.

The first and second mates of the American
barque Anna, of New York, have been brought this
week before the magistrates for the Isle of Wight,
on the information of John Thomas and Abraham
Rock, seamen on board the vessel, on a charge of
having murdered John Turtle and several other sea-
men during the voyage from Legona to England.
The information of the dreadful circumstances was
communicated to the police on the vessel arriving
at Cowes. The names of the mates are Edmund
Lane and George Hires.
It appears that the vessel first sailed from New
York to Mobile in June last, with a crew consisting
of eight men besides the captain and officers, and
they included John Turtle, a man known on board
as Frank, William Johnson, David Pagins, James
Armstrong, and William omeroy, who are now
dead. At Mobile Lane struck Armstrong on the
right eye with a mallet, felled him from the fore-
castle to the maindeck, and knocked out his eye.
He was then sent by Hires to do something to an
"ear-ring" under the bowsprit, but being unable to
do so he was dragged along in the water until
Abraham Itock went to his assistance, when Lane
exclaimed, "Don't haul the nigger in ; cut the ear-
ring and let him go !" In two minutes after Arm-
strong let go his hold and was lost. The ship sailed
from Mobile to Legona, in South America, and from
thence to Cowes. On the voyage Hires accused
Turtle of stealing rum from his cabin, and as he
was obeying one of the mates' orders Hires caught
him by his head, hauled him down upon the deck,
stamped on his head, and kicked him with his heavy
sea-boots. Turtle's head and eyes were observed to
be bleeding, and he went to his berth. Hires said
to a seaman, Thomas tell him, " lf he don't come
out and get on to the pumps, I'll murder him."
The unfortunate man's reply was, " I can't get up
if they kill me." Hires went to him, pulled him
out of the bunk by his ears, threw him down in the
forecastle' and stamped upon him heavily. He
was laid by Thomas in the forecastle. In a few
minutes Hires said, " Tom, is that old nigger
dead yet ?" He was then dying, and expired the
same night. His body was sewn pp and thrown
overboard two days afterwards. While he was
being sewn up it was seen that the bone of the
forehsad was broken in the centre. The same
morning a scuffle was heard in the sail-room ;
it proved to be Hires holding Johnson down on
the tool chest, with both hands to his throat, chok-
ing him. There was blood issuing from his mouth,
and he died at six o'clock the same day. He said,
previously to his death, " Jack, I feel very bad, and
am dying—the mate has choked me to death." His
tongue was hanging out of his mouth. The man
Frank died about seven days before the arrival of
the vessel at Cowes, after having been severely
beaten by the chief mate, who said, while the man
was at the wheel, " If you go a quarter of a point
off your course I'll murder you." Directly after
Lane struck him on the head with a belaying pin.
This took place off the Start Point. The man cried
*Murder' twice, said " Oh, God!" several times,
and called once for the captain.
The unfortunate men who fell victims to the
brutality of their officers were men of colour.
The prisoners have been remanded.