Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1872-05-01
Horrible Tale Of Suffering.

FROM lie LOUISVILLE LeuSeT.
We have heard many stories told of
the 'suferings of a trip in an emigrant
ship from Europe to America, and read
details of many very shocking cases of
barbarity practiced upon the poor emil
grant by barbarous officers of ships;
but we have been furnished the par
ticulars, by several Germans who ar
rived In this city a few days ago from
Germany, of series of barbarities
practiced upon the passengers of the
emlgrant ship Holland, of the Liverpool
and New York line, that exceed IN in
fanny and outrage any thing of the kind
we heretofore read or heard
The Holland arrived at New York on
the Oath of March, after long and
boisterous trip, with five hundred and
fifty passengers aboard, all emigrants,
being at least two hundred more than
she had accommodations for. A num-
Der of these emigrants were for Louis
vile, where they arrived the latter part
of last week, and from some of whom
we got these particulars. The vessel
had been at sea but a few days when it
was discovered the stock of provisions
was very light. In less than week,
all the -four, potatoes and some vegeta-
bles were exhausted, and the passen-
gers were reduced to diet of ship bis
cult and horse beef, and this of the
poorest quality, and doled out In the
smallest portions.
Starvation began to stare the wretch
ed emigrants in the face, although the
ships officers and crew seemed to have
plenty of good and healthy food. To
all appeals for fair division of this
food among the emigrants the officers
and crew answered only with curses
and blows. Sickness broke out among
the emigrants, and in their desperation
some of them made an effort to secure
more food, but were knocked down, and
kicked and beat by the crew. Many of
these miserable people, men, women
and children, were exposed on deck to
the cold, and we're badly frozen. Our
informants state that the captain and
mate of the vessel were particularly
brutal in their cruel treatment of the
| poor emigrants, and as consequence
in all their sufferings there was much
sickness and many deaths during the
trip.
To such degree of starvation were
| these emigrants reduced that when
! their scanty allowance of food was is
sued to them they had to fight for its
possession, the desperation of the half
starved passengers, under the impulse
of self preservation, leading them to
try to take by force from the weakest
their share of the wretched food. The
horse beef, our informants state, was
absolutely half-rotten, and its stencil
almost sitting; yet the emigrants were
forced to eat it to save themselves from
horrible death by starvation.
The limbs of many women and chill
dren, as well as number of men, were
SO severely frozen, that in many cases
amputation will be necessary. A re-
port of the sufferings of these emf
grants wac made to the authorities at
New York, but our informants say no
attention, as far as they know, was raid
to it, 1t is a case that requires the
most ngid investigation, and if the
facts are as stated to us, the captain
and other officers of the ship should be
brought to the speediest and severest
punishment.