Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-04-16
The singapore Mutiny and Slaughter.


The Straits Times of Feb. 10 contains
| long account of the mutiny of Chinese
convicts at Singapore on Feb. 10, in the
the Superintendent of Prisons, received
injuries which proved fatal, and several
of the prison warders were severely
wounded The outbreak occurred while
the prisoners were taking their evening
meal, after having finished work. "Mr
Digby Dent was walking up and down
| the roadway as usual at this time, and
the warders were all at their stations,
each watching the prisoners under his
care, when suddenly and without warn
ing two of the middle-grade Chinese
prisoners sprang from the ground behind
one of the warders, Mr.. William B. Sand
ford. One stabbed him in the back with
small chisel or similar pointed instru-
ment, while another aimed a blow at his
head with Chinese hatcbet which he
had secreted below his waistband, but
fortunately missed his aim. Mr.. Dent
rushsd in under the shed at onna tn res-
cue Sanford from them, when they
turned upon him, one stabbing him re-
| peatedly in the back and about the body,
| while the other made q blow with the
| hatchet; at the same moment these
two men shouted word of
signal, and in moment fifty or
sixty of the worse characters in
the jail-pirates, robbers, and murderers
-sprang to their feet and rushed upon
their keepers with knives, chisels, hatch
cts, pointed pieces of iron, and such
other weapons as they had secreted
about their persons. Mr.. Dent and the
warders had no weapons save stout
walking-stieks, of which, however, they
made good use, while the native sub-ward-
ers, who were mostly old Indian con-
yicts, fought bravely to rescue the
Europeans, and in endeavoring to do so
they were nearly all wounded, two very
severely. Mr. Dent, in addition to his
other terrible wounds, was finally felled
to the ground by blow over the head
with chopper. Sanford received fresh
wounds, Warders Burton, Clarke, Savage,
and Reading received cuts and bruises,
and others were beaten with carrying
sticks used by the prisoners in bringing
water into the jail. All this occurred
within two or three minutes, and as soon
as the Superintendent and warders had
been overpowered the mutineers rushed
for the gate leading to the work-yard.
This gate was guarded on the inside only
by native peon, who was knocked down,
and this avenue of escape thus thrown
open to them. They came in pell-mell,
and, running TO the toolchest, broke
it open, those who were unarmed
here providing themselves with
weapons. The door leading from
the woodward to the engineers office,
which could be fastened on the outside,
was we'll served by the convict poems,
who secured and backed up the wicket
gate with all their strength, and, being
baked in this avenue of escape, some of
the prisoners seized ladders and poles,
which they placed against the outer wall
on either side, and clambering up, still
retaining their axes and weapons, leaped
from the top at the risk of fracturing
their limbs; but the main body of them
rushed back into the yard whence they
had come, as though, elated with their
success SO far, they thought to get pos
session of the entire Jail. The European
pTisUuOTo, mostly soldiers ond sailors
begged hard to be let loose to assist the
Jail authorities in putting down the up
rising, and the gate was opened by MIR.
Lamb, the Jailer. The alarm had also
been communicated to the European
guard, three of whom came in with their
rifles. A soldier named FELTON,, who is
undergoing Imprisonment for killing
police peon with his belt, we are told,
seized rifle from one of the guard, and
with another soldier named Headly, who
followed his example, was enabled to
save the life of Jailer Lamb, who had
been borne down by two Chinese, who,
with axes uplifted, would in another sec
ond have hurled him into eternity had not
these two soldiers proviaentially shot
them dead on the instant. The Euro
pean prisoners were armed with muskets
and ammunition, and then the work of
slaughter began. The mutineers, des-
perate sayages though they were, found
| the European prisoners terrible enemy
to deal with; few attempted to make a
stand, but the muskets did deadly eXecu-
tion among them and they were shot
down or bayoneted by the Europeans,
whom the sight of blood seemed to in
furiate even more than it had the Chi
nese. These were driven back, and took
refuge in the work-yard; and while
some, still armed, sought to avail them
climbing the ladders numbers hid them
selves in the buildings-some beneath
the furnace of the boiler, some in the
drains, some among the rubbish scat
tered about the place. The fighting in
side the jail lasted some time. From
the various accounts it appears that
nearly half an hour elapsed from the
outbreak before the mutineers were fully
overcome. Mr. Dent died of his wounds
on the following evening. The wounded
European warders were, when the mail
left, recovering. Fourteen of the native
sub.warders were wounded, two of them
seriously. Fifteen of the prisoners were
killed and twenty-four wounded.