The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1877-06-07
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A LONG. NIGHT or AGONY.
Desperate Struggle for Life With1a
Band Of Black MlIlGTGrS, ''.'
THE STORY ORA HORRIBLE TRAG-
EDY OFF ONE OFTHE SOUTH
SEA ISLANDS,

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South Sea Islands should either be
speedily brought under the influence OIL
Christian civilization or suffer eXtirpa'
ton. The latest case Of horror which
reaches us from this section of the world
is the massacre of part of crew belong
ing to a Melbourne vessel, the particu-
lars Of which have been furnished by a
correspondent of an Australian paper.
1t appears that in January the schoon-
er Douglas, with crew of ten white
men, including officers, left Cairns for
Chilcot Island, lying two hundred miles
to the east, to take in a load of guano.
On the passage the vessel stopped off
Drink Island and shipped three blacks,
who boarded the Douglas from canoe.
On arriving at Chilcot, a small, detached,
uninhabited island. a brig belonging to
the same owners was found there par.
TALLY loaded. A member of the firm
who had gone out with the schooner de.
cided that as there was not black labor
enough to screen the guano as rapidly as
desired, he would return with the brig
and fill up her cargo with cedar at the
Daintree In the presence Of the three
blacks shipped at Drink Island, nearly
all the arms belonging to the schooner
we're transferred to the brig, and the lat.
ter sailed on the morning of the 18th.
The arms, it may be said, were taken
because the Daintree was known to
swarm with treacherous natives, and no
one dreamed that the blacks on the re-
naming vessel would undertake the
murder of more than three times their
own number. A hut had been erected
on shore for the storage Of water and pro.
visions. Early in the night this hut was
occupied by two white men named
Cochrane and Mcintosh, and two of the
blacks, The blacks seemed cheerful
and happy, and the whites were under
no apprehension Of danger. Watching
their opportunity the two negloes STEALTH
lily approached their victims and des
patched them with an instrument known
as halfaxe. Retaining their weapons,
the murderers swan off to the vessel.
The whites were all sleeping in fancied
security, and not soul was on the alert
save the third black, who waited the
coming Of his fellows. Softly they stole
about their bloody task. Two of the
whites we're sleeping on deck, and mur,
derous blows rendered them incapable
of uttering a sound, Leaving these two
men for dead, the blacks next entered
the hold. and finding sailor named
Purcell they chopped his head, face and
arm in frightful manner, and cut a
huge gaping cash in his back. They be-
lieved him dead, but subsequently he
managed to crawl through the hold into
the after cabin. The acting second
mate, Deasy by name, who was asleep
on the forecastle, hearing the outcry
made by Purcell, rushed on deck. He
lodged the blow of bloody axe and
cried out, Captain, the blacks are mur-
dering us .. a2'. y"
The three murderers attacked him
but he managed to get away with nu-
merous flesh wounds and a severe chop
on the arm, Once they had him on hi.
back, and one attempted to chop off hi:
legs while being held by the other two
He managed to free himself, and struck
down one of his assailants with small
grindstone lying on deck. Deasy ant
two menthen succeeded in reaching the
rigging. The blacks followed, but the
men gained the foreyard, and kept them
at bay with blocks, cut away with the
mates knife. The struggle aroused the
captain. He started to 60 on deck, but
as he laid his hand on the top of the
companion it was chopped off with an
axe, and he Immediately retreated to the
cabin. Here he remained with his son,
and was subsequently joined by Purcell
and Shaw, the latter one Of the men first
attacked, On lying down to sleep Shaw
had wrapped rug and a thick bag about
his shoulders, and this alone saved him
from immediate death. According to
his own story, he awoke in sort Of a
dream and found himself one mass oi
clotted blood from wounds on the head
and arms. The men on the foreyard-
the mate so wounded that he had to be
lashed to prevent falling-supposed that
ll1hands, save themselves, were dead,
and did not venture down. The negroes,
not able to attack them in their position
aloft, commenced search for the bodies
Of their victims and such others as might
have evaded their attack. The steward
had shut himself up in his galley and es-
capped their murderous intentions. Shaw
and Purcell, as we have seen, had
crawled away to the cabin. Coming
across the body Of Troy, one Of the two
first struck, they found him still alive,
They then chopped his body and Glove
his head, till all life. all semblance even
of humanity, was lost in the horrid BUTCH
cry. Trembling in his galley, and mo-
mentarily expecting his own fate, the
steward heard the poor victim groan out,
"Oh, God! I'm finished now" The
wounded, mutilated men in the cabin
attempted, and vainly so, to load pis.
tol, the flowing blood clogging the wea.
pom and SO damping the powder that
they could do nothing. sl 5a
b Daylight came at last, and with it came
some hope for the poor bleeding victims
of the murderous fends, although deliv-
erance was yet to be -delayed,--The stu.
alton as the day dawned was as follows
The three blood stained demons held the
dock, three men were on the yard, the
steward was hidden away in the galley,
and the oaptain,c n,c%ith his boy. held watch
in the cabin, with,two poor wounded
men weltering in their blood beside
them. One Of the blacks commenced
pelting the men onthe yard with stones
and pieces of coal obtained from below,
while the fellows, with, axes in hand,
renewed the attempt to ascend the rig
ging, The sink blocks kept them at
Bay, and at last they gave up the attempt.
Then the blacks discovered that the
Steward was.ir the galley One was