Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-05-20
AN UNPARALLELED HORROR.
Five Hundred Human Beings Meet a
Horrible Death.

A catastrophe almost unparalleled in
horror, disclosing the gross cruelties of
the emigrant trade by one last and
terrible demonstration, happened in the
China Sea last May, and is recorded in
Parliamentary report just ordered by
the House Of Commons to be printed.
A vessel called the Don Juan, sailing
under the flag and with the consent of
the Portuguese government, set sail on
the fourth OfMay, with six hundred and
fifty coolies on board, These poor
wretches, 1t appears, were kidnapped
and shipped in the most shameful man
ner. Once on board, this large multitude
was placed literally in prison-penned
ON the main deck and fastened down by
three iron gratings, which closed
the matches, ten coolies at time only
being allowed to come on deck. The
ship sailed in fair weather from Macao.
On the second day of the voyage, as de-
clared by Herker, an Austrian seaman
the Captain selected twenty coolies and
put them in irons, with much brutality,
as an example TO the others. On thethird
day a difficulty arose about the food
passed down to the emigrants. The in
terpreter got angry and struck those who
complained with his cane, whereupon
the wretched coolies made a dash at
their European jailers. The iron matches
were immediately slammed back upon
them, and, when the poor creatures beat
upon the beams and planks to get air,
muskets were fired down into the crowd.
1t then appears that, in desperation,
some few of the coolies set fire
to a store-room forward, hoping,
no doubt, to induce the crew to throw
their prisons open. The sailors tried to
pump water down upon the seat of the
confiagration, but the frenZied snen be-
low passed the hose out Of the portfolios.
so that pumping became useless. Then
the fire spread beyond all control, and
volumes of thick smoke rolled into the
main deck, choking the mass Of coolies
at the other end, who had taken no part
in the previous proceedings. Red
tongues of flame and suffocating clouds
filled the ship below matches, while the
miserable prisoners beat at the iron
gratings, tore at the fastenings of the
deck, and even endeavored to get up to
the air through the ventilators. The
portfolios, however, were fastened, the
headlights were too small to allow of a
mans body passing, and the ventiiatOrs
were barred, so that there was no escape.
In two hours time the Iire was "estab-
lished on the main deck"-which means
that scores of Chinese had already been
roasted or smothered-yet the crew
never took single step toward saving
the lives of athe imprisoned wretches.
They merely lowered three boats on
their own account, and pushed off from
the burning vessel, leaving that mass of
human creatures pent up in a floating
hell of fear and agony. The sea was
calm; the matches might surely have
been opened at the last moment; vet the
Don Juan's captain and hands showed
off, while the ship blazed, and while the
coolies perished inside with frightful cries
and screams. The scoundrel master and
crew saved their villianous lives; Junk
picked them up; and the same witness
who tells US this says that when
the twenty Chinese in irons, who
were upon the forecastle, broke away
their fetters and swan toward the
junk, they were pushed off into the sea
to drown. Meantime, in their awful
terror, the survivors of the six hundred
and fifty-five below found some means
Of bursting the fore-hatch. Scores were
by this time killed by the flames or. the
smoke-scores had been trampled down
in the frenzied rush for life to the upper
deck. About a hundred in all at last
emerged from that Golgotha of anguish,
and leaped at once into the sea. A few
managed to get hold Of spars and float
ing gear, and hung uponsthese till some
fishing boats picked them up next morn
ing. The majority were already NOR
tally injured when they escaped, or were
drowned, or crushed by the falling chains
and spars of the ship. But at least five
hundred were first scorched to death, or
choked and trampled dead, before the
Internal prison gate was forced by the
breaking open of the matches which the
captain and crew had so shamefully left
fast.