The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1869-12-01
COOLIE HORRORS.
4 Terrible Picture of seuth Pacific
Slavery

4 Terrible Picture Of south PRcihc
slavery.
(San Francisco Cor. of the n. Y. Herald)
The coolies are not permitted to re-
turn to China or India when their orig
inal terms of service expire. They are
"inducedn to extend them by methods
of which the following atrocity, wit
messed by our informant, is a type: a
few months since large number of the
coolies were entitled to return to their
homes by the expiration of their terms,
but the men we're in debt Gas is general
" the CASEY to the company, and would
not be allowed to 90. Their wives,
however, possessed of more indepen-
dence, and tired Of remining longer the
slaves of beastly, lecherous overseers,
mustered in front of the store and de-
manded their liberty. The tyrant sent
men who drove them like sheep and
crammed them into close prison ten
feet wide and fourteen feet long. The
air was close and sitting. They had
neither food nor water. At intervals,
one of the "pets" of the manager would
enter the den bearing heavy club, and
with that he would beat them right and
left till many of the helpless women lay
bleeding and almost dead at his feet.
During three whole days and nights
they were kept shut up in the dreadful
place, with a morsel of food and only
occasionally drop of water. Seine be-
came dellrious, and all were so weak
and stupid that they scarcely moved
under the descending club Of the mis-
Creant overseers. On the morning of
the fourth day they all promised vol
unfairly" to remain on the plantation
another term, and were then dragged
out and nursed, till, like beasts, they
could be driven to their appointed tasks.
The men are often persuaded" in q
similar manner, but the usual course as
to keep them constantly in debt'to the
plantation owners.
On this plantation tho coolies are al
lowed only one meal per day, and that
is given q evening. Horses are fed to
them, and pigs and other animals which
die of disease are saved aud served out
10 these miserable wretchts for food.
Several times horse flesh was set before
the Europeans on the plantation, but
they refused to partake. Everything
possible is done to keep the coolies in a
COuulGlOu VI apJSCb SSlN4IuuC, anu
our informant says no pen can
adequately portray the scenes suf,
fering, misery, starvation, and
butchery which he witnessed at
different times during his residence ia
Tahiti. Murders are Of frequent occur,
renee on all the plantations, and the
condition of Europeans and coolies alike
is deplorable in every respect.
The whole business of procuring
coolies is in the hands of skip-owners,
who employ agents to go aboutin opium
and gambling houses and pick ont such
as are in debt;they advance small sum,
the men are placed on a dirty old Junk,
and when the cargo is full, the ship
sails with them to the field of their la.
bors.
These wretched people do not gen.
orally know the length of the voyage
nor of the privatious, and cruelty to
which they are sure to be subjected.
Hundreds of them get homesick and
commit suicide, and Others, packed into
vessels without sufficient air and ex-
ercise, expire during the voyage. Those
who survive are sold to the highest bid
der for nominal term of years, and in
some cases as high as $3.50 are paid per
head for them. AT the end of the SER
vice they find themselves in debt to the
owners of the plantation, and must re-
main, being in this way subjected to
perpetual slsvery.