The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1872-05-16
4 Burning Ship.


Ina editorial of the London Zclc-
lraDh Of April 22d occurs this state
ment;
"a catastrophe almost unpar alleled
in nhOrror-disclOsing the gross cruelties
of the Macao emigrant trade by one
last and most terrible demonstration
happened in the China seas last May.
and IS recorded in a Parliamentary re-
port Just published. y vessel called
the Don Juan, set sail on the 4th Of
that month from Macao, bound to
Peru with six hundred and fifty-five
coolies on board, who had been kid
mapped and shipped under the flag and
with the authority Of the Portuguese
government. Once on hoard, this large
multitude was placed literally in prison
-penned on the main deck and fast
tened down by three iron gratings,
which closed the matches, ten coolies
at time only being allowed TO come
ondeck. The ship sailed in fair wealth
er from Macao. On the second day
of the voyage, as declared 10y Herker,
an Austrian seamen, the captain Sc
lected twenty coolies and put them in
Irons, with much brutality, as an ex-
ample to the others. On the third cay
a difficulty arose about the food passed
down 10 the emigrants. The interpre-
| ter got angry and strnck these who
! complained with his cane, whereupOn
the wretched coolies made n ru- h at
/ their European iailers. 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
/ into the crowd. 1t then appears that,
( in desperation, some of the few coolies
set fire to a store-roOm forward, hop
/ ing, no doubt, to force the crew 10
I throw their prison open. The sailors
/ tried to pump water down upon the
seat of the confagration, but the fren-
zied men below passed the hose out
/ of the portfolios so that the 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
either end, who had taken no part in
( the proceedings. Red tongues Of
flame and suffOcating clouds filed the
shin below hatches-while the miser-
able coolies 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 port
! holes, however, were fastened, the
I dead lights were too small to allow of
/ a mans body passing, and the venti-
| latOrs were barred, So that there was
no escape. In two hours time the
/ fire was established on the main
deck, :" which means that scores of the
! Chinese had already roasted or smOth-
cred vet the crew never took single
1 step towards saving the lives of the
/ imprisoned wretches. They merely
| lowered three boats on their own ac-
count, and pushed off from the burn
/ ing vessel, leaving all that mass of
human creatures pent in a floating
hell of fear and agony. The sea was
calm the matches might surely have
been opened at the last moment; yet
the Don .JudIl's captains and hands
showed off, while the ship blaZed, and
while the coolies persisted inside with
frightfIl cries and screams. The scOun-
drel master and crew saved theiI
viIlanOus lives; junk picked them up
and the same witness who tells this
says that when the twenty Chinese
IN irons VINO were upon Tie loIbCstSllt
broke away their fetters and swan to-
wards the junk, they were pushed of
into the sea to drown. Meantime, in
their awful terror, the survivors of the
six hundred and fifty-iive below found
some means of bursting the fore hatch,
Scores were 10y 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 3
hundred in all st last emerged from
that GolgOtha of anguish, and leaped
at once into the sea. \ few managed
TO get hold of spars and floating gear
and hung upon these till some fishing
boats picked them up the next morn
ing. The majority were already NOR.
, tally injured when they escaped, Oi
were drowned, crushed by the falling
chains and spars of the ship. But al
least five hundred were first scOrched
to death, or ehoked and trampled dead
before the internal prisOn-gate wa,
forced by the breaking open of th'
matches, which the captain and crew
! had 80 shamefully left fast"