Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-03-29
A wHI1E SLAVE.
Trapped Into Servifude. Triced, Beaten and
Maltreated for Two Years.

Maltreated for Two Years.
The following remarkable story
might well be set down as belonging to
the romance of fiction were it not that
there is indisputable evidence to show
that it belongs to that still more re-
markable romance of fact. H. L.
Benedick came to San Francisco in
September, 1880. suffering from chills
and fever. He accepted an offer to go
to Honolulu to do Light work" on a
plantation for $24 month. He was
to return to San Franoi5co when he
pleased.
Judge then Of his surprise when, on
arriving at Honolulu, he was informed,
in common with his companions of
voyage, that he was under contract
for two years. Along with his com
panions Benedick was marched down
to the landing. shipped on board
small steamer and taken to Pahala
Kau. The Office of the plantation was
five miles up from the shore, and when
he arrived there he was shown for the
first time the contract. Byits terms he
found himself bound to labor for one
year, counting twenty-5ix working
days in each month, and paid
at the rate Of $12 a month.
1t also stated that he agreed
to live on fish and rice, and was, in re-
turn, to be provided with house-room
"while at work. The document was
an Infamous forgery, Of course, and
Benedick vehemently repudiated it.
All the satisfaction he received in re-
ply was that the contract was there in
black and white; that he would find
the task Of disproving its authenticity
no easy one, and that for his future
comfort it would be well for him to
make a virtue out Of necessity and go
to work. He took the advice, with
mental reservation that he would
escape as soon as possible. 1t was on
Friday night when the plantation was
reached, and he was informed by the
manager, Goodell, that until Monday
he could clay off /" and make himself
acquainted with his new home. Bene-
dick was conducted to the slave quar-
ters and found them to be two-story
house, the lower floor devoted to cook
ing purposes and the upper used as a
dormitory. But such a bedroom On
the bare floor there were close upon
800 human beings stretched out-ne-
groes, Chinese, Kanakls, Portuguese
and men of other nationalities, hud-
died together in filthy promiscuity.
The only covering used was a dirty
blanket, one of which Benedick was
told would be provided him and the
price charged against his labor ac-
count Vermin were so thick that
they could beseen crawling over every
thing.
He ran away, but was captured and
thrown into the slave pen and the next
day set to work on the roads. His hours
were made ten a day; for food he was
given bag of raw rice, which he
cooked by making a fire Of dried twigs
and boiling small quantity in an old
can. So he labored for thirty-two days
at twenty-five cents day, until the
fine of eight dollars was worked out.
Once more he was brought before the
sheriff and asked if he would go back
to the plantation, and again he re-
fused. The same day he was led down
to a boat and sent to Honolulu, con-
signed to Assistant Warden Malay, to-
gether with the contract and a note re-
questing Malay to "treat this man
rough as we can get no work out of
him." The letter and spirit of the
message were both carried out and the
trough" treatment began without
delay. Assoon as Malay had read the
note he approached Benedick and
asked him if he would go backto work.
"No,' replied Benedick, and was in
stantly knocked down with a loaded
whip. Next day at 3 o'clock in
the morning he was put to work in
quarry little outside of Honolulu
and there worked until P. NJ, with
an hour at noon for dinner. So it
went on day after day, with stripes
and Imprisonment, made the associate
Of convicts working with ball and
chain and being treated trough" and
rougher on each refusal to return to
the plantation. One day he met
Malay and asked him how long he was
in for.
You are in for forty years, unless
you go back to Pahala Kau."
At length, apparently exasperated
out of all reason by Benedick's persist
ency, Malay had him stripped and
triced up to four steel ring-bolt
screwed into the wall. There this
man, a free American citizen, treach-
erously SHARED into slavery, was
whipped like a dog, Malay laying on
fifteen lashes with a blacksnake. This
these forever degrading strokes-broke
poor BenediclS's spirit, and, after fifty
two days work in the quarry he agreed