New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1861-04-06
fIassacra at Sea.
+ ON the Sydney Herald. Jnnuary I'll

MASSACRE OF THE CREW OF THE AMERIcAN
WHALING SUP SUPERIOR BY THE NATIVES Of
dHEAsrRY ISLAND, IN THE SOLOMON GRouP.-The
following letter. addressed to the editor of the Her
aid by Captain Hugh MAR, of the schooner Ariel,
has been handed to us by Captain Deylin, of the
Eebecca, now lying at this port:
beg to inform you that anchored at Rubiana,
tSoiomon lslands) on the 10Th of November and
on the following day the schooner Ariel, Slater,
master, arrived at the same place, having touched
at treasury Island three days previously. The
mate of the Arielto me that he had reason to be-
lleVc that the American whaling ship Superior, of
New Bedford Woods, master, had been taken at
the lasV named place. thereupon Immediately got
under weigh and proceeded to Treasury Island,
Where the natives, as usual, came on board in con-
siderable numbers, and during the whole day were
coming and going, but did not offer anything for
sale. This gave rise to increased suspicion, and
hndlng but too much grounds for my misgivings,
called one Of the chiefs into the cabin and told him
that j knew OF their having taken the ship and
murdered the crew, and that it was of no use for
him to deny the fact The man then confessed
that it was the case, but said that he had had no
hand in it, which afterwards found out TO be
partly true.
The next day the natives brought part of the
ships sails (all cut up), and several more articles
which they wanted to sell; amongst the rest
was the ships log book. That day l found
out that six of her crew were prisoners upon the
island, and at once set about trying to get pos
session Of them. For three days more ] cruised
off the island, having the natives backward and
forward during that time. | went to the beach oc-
caslonally, and could see the men, but on every
occasion they were strongly guarded. None of
the principal natives coming on board. as a last
resource had to secure native who was related
to one OF the head chiefs. put him in irons and
next morning took him ashore, and again offered
the natives to pay them for the men, They agreed
at last to let me have one, who, on coming to my
boat, gave me the dreadful intelligence that the
whole Of the crew of the Superior, with the ex-
ceptlon OF himself and five others, had been mur-
dered and the ship burnt. 1t seems there are two
chiefs implicated-Copan, the head man, and
America the next. My prisoner being o relative
to America, resolved to keep him until got the
two other men that chief had (for each of the two
chiefs had, it seems, two men), and | was finally
successful after great deal of trouble. The three
men, however, whom Copan had possession of. /
could not get either by persuasion or by threats.
At night proceeded to the anchorage, where the
ship had BEEN taken, and remained there two days.
saw no natives, but found the ships jbboom
on the beach, together with pieces of burnt tim
ber, slaves, etc.
The bark Superior, R. D. Woods, master (Woods
owner), of New Bedford sailed from that port on
the 24th June, 1857, made Treasury Island on the
18th of September, 1860, and came to anchor there
on the same day. On the 18th, l4th and 18th Of
that month the crew were employed in wooding
and watering, and, from the mems statement were
visited by great number of natives, armed. On
Sunday, the 10th, nine of the crew went ashore.
The carpenter and two OF the crew went to
the settlement and were murdered in one of the
native huts. The natives then proceeded, in ca
noes and overland, to the ship and those who came
by land ie in with the remaining six close to the
beach and murdered them. About one hundred
aud fifty natives got on board the vessel and made
a rush on the crew, who were all on deck except
four, who were in bed. These on deck were I'M
mediately tOmahaWked, only two escaping by
jumping down the main hatchway and Joining the
four below in the forecastle. One Of the crew,
whom | recovered, saw the captain and second
mate murdered by native called Billy" who
has been to Sydney, and speaks English we'll, The
Chief C0pan was the principal in this dreadful
massacre, The six men below being armed with
ances, kept thef natives from coming down the
furecastle, until at last Billy told my inform
ant that if they came up they should not be hurt.
At length, therefore, they did sO and were at once
surrounded, and by the chief Copan ordered to be
put to death. The chief America offered to buy
three OF the men, and he persuaded C0pal to keep
the other three to till the gTouud Those three, as
have already intimated could not recover.
The three men on board my vessel say they We're
well treated by the chief America, and they tell
me that the native Billy" was at the taking of
the schooner PEARL where l am now at anchor
about eighteen months before this happened. 1t
is said that he went to Treasury Island in the
Superior, and had an opportunity Of seeing that
there were no arms kept; there being only seven
old flint guns, and none OF them loaded when the
ship was taken. TWcnty-six men were butchercd
in cold blood, amongst whom was poor lad 10
years OF age-the crew consisting of thirty-tWo
souls when she anchored. The natives took five
boats, with quantity of cordage and sails, which
were all cut up, and everything else was destroyed
by setting the ship on fire. The Superior had on
board l5U barrels OF sperm and $50 barrels of right
whale Oil. In November last she was in Honolulu,
and shipped in the Midas, fer the Uncd States,
1858 pounds of bone, $40 barrels of SPERM and
$50 barrels of whale oil, as shown by her log i'll
my possession
RuBtASA Solomon Islands ~ovorntcr 80 N'-''