Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1872-05-23
M q $.
horrible.

A catastrophe almost unparalleled In hor.
ror, disclosing the gross cru,itics OF ,h,.
Macao emi.rant trade by one last aud most
terrible demonstration happened In the
China Seas last MAY. aud j. recorded IN a
Parliamentary Report just ordered hy the
House or Commons 10 be- printed. 4 vt.>-
sci called the Don Juan. sailin. un4rr the
nag aud with the authority oi the purtu-
gucsc government. set sail IN the 4th at
May with 600 coolies un board Thp>,.
poor "retchcs. II appear>. wer, kiluappcd
aud shipped la the most shameful manner
Once on board. this large multitude W.,
placed literally In pri>on-p,uncd on the
main deck and fastened down bv three iron
gratin->. which closed the hatch :. ten
coolies a a time Only hcIu. allowed ta
come on deck. he ship sailed ln fan
weather from Macot. GA tho SECOND day
oil tie voyage. a. declared by llrrkcr. an
Australian seaman, the captain >rlcc.ttt
twenty coolies aud put them la irons. with
much brutality. a. an example t.. the 9TH.
crs. On the third day 4 difficulty arose.
about the TODD passed down a the emf
grants. he interpreter goi angry. and
struck those who complained with hi cane.
whrrrupon the wretchrd coulic, made a
rush at their Euro .ran coolers. The iron
matches were immediately slammed ha,k
upon them. and. when the poor creature.
beat upon the beam, and plauks 10 90, air..
mu>keis were .Ted down into the crow
Ii then appears that. in d,sper ton. some
lew OF the coolies SET fire to 4 store room
forward, hoping. no doubt, TO force the
crew 10 throw their prison open. The
sailors tried 10 pump water down upon the
seat OF the connagration, but the freuzic,l
.-.~. I~i"- Pass,s, 49, L--- e.s A.
holes, so that pumping became useless
/ hen the fire spread beyond all control.
and volumes OF thick snake rolled into the
main ceck-ehoking the mass OF soolie, al
either end, who hid taken no par, In the
previous proce' dings. Red tongues OF
haine and suffice Tin: clouds nllet the ship
below hatches-while tho miserabl. prison.
ers beat at the iron grating. tore at IN,
fasienings OF the deck, and even cndray
ored 10 get mp 10 the air through the ven-
tilators. The portfolios, however. were
fastened. the headlights wcr. too small -
allow OF mans body passing. aud IN,
yentilators were barred. 50 thai there wa,
no escape.
In tvs hours time the fire was c>tab-
lished oil the maiu-ieck'' which mean.
that scores Of the Chinese had alr.a,ly
been roasted or smothcred- set thu. CREW
never took single step towarJ saving Tia,
lives Of the imprisoned wretches The !
merely lowered three boats on their uNt,
account, and pushed OF from the bu niuv
vessel, !, aring all thai mass OF human,
creatures p+nt up in Il floating he'll Of f,.tr
and agony. The sea WAS calm; the hate h.
es might surely have been opened AZ the
last moment; yet the Don Juan', captain
and hands showed OF. while the shin blaz.,l
and while the coolies persisted inside with
frishtful cries and screams The scnunJrel
master AID crew saved their ,iIlauous
III :; junk picked them up: and tie
san witness who tells Us thu, SAYS. thar
when the twenty Chinese in irons. WHO
were upon the forccasIlc, broke AWAY their
fetters, and swan toward the Junk. they
were pushed on into the SEA 10 drown :
Meantime. III their awful terror. the sur.
yivors OF the six hundred and dfty-fiye be
!ow fpund soine means OF hur,tiu the fore
hatch. Scores were by this time Killed ~
The faIne> or the smoke; scores had been
trA.npled down in the frenzi-d rti. for life.
10 the upper deck. About a hundred IN all
at last emerged from that Golyotha Of au.
guish, and leaped at once into the sea.
lew managed TO get hold of spar,. and
noating gear, and hun= upon these tin
some h>hins boats picked them up uexr
morning. The majority were already
MORALLY imj ired y hen they escap d. or
were drowned, Or crushed by the fal, ing
chaihs and >pars of the ship. But ut least
nNe hunured were first scorched to death
or chokcd and trampled dead. before the
internal prison-gate was forced by The.
breaking open 81 the matches. hich the
captain and crew had so shamefullv I'm
fast.