The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1883-04-19
A WHITE SLAVE.
Trapped Into Servitude, Tried, Beaten
and Maltreated for Two Years.

Trapped Into Servitude, Triced, Beaten,
and Maltrsated 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 remarkable
romance of fact H. L. Benedick came
to San Francisco in September, 1880,
suffering from chills and fever. He ae-
cepted an offer to 60 to Honolulu to do
''ight work. on plantation for S24 a
month. He was to return to San Fran
cisco when he pleased.
Judge, then, of his surprise when, on
arriving at Honolulu, he was informed,
in common with his companions of voy-
age, that he was under a contract for
years. Along with his companions Bene-
dick 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 con-
tract. BY its term he found himself
bound to labor for one year, counting
twenty-six working DAYS in each month,
and paid at the rate of S12a month. 1t is
also stated that he agreed to live on fish
and rice, and was, IN return, to be pro-
vlded with house room ''while at work.
The document was an infamous forgery,
of course, and Benedick vehemently re-
pudiated it. All the satisfaction he re-
ceived in reply 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 a 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
could .'lay OFF, and make himself
acquainted with his new home. Bene-
dick was conducted to the slave quar-
ters, and found them to be two-storv
house, the lower floor devoted to cook
ing purposes, and the upper used as
dormitory. But such bedroom! On
the bare floor there were close upon
three hundred human beings stretched
out-negroes, Chinese, Kanakas, Portu-
guese, and men of other nationalities,
huddled 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 account.
Vermin re SO thick that they could
be seen crawling over everything.
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 day: for food he was
given a bag Of raw rice, which he
cooked by making fire of dried twigs
and boiling small quantity in an old
can. So he labOred for thirty-two days
at % cents day, until the fine of So
was worked out Once more he was
brought before the Sheriff and asked if
he would go back TO the plantation. and
again he refused. The same day he
was led down to a boat and sent to
Honolulu, consigned to assistant War
den Malay, together with the contract
and a note requesting 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. As soon as Malay had read the
note he approached Benedick and asked
him if he would 60 back to 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 a quarry
little outside of Honolulu, and there
worked until p. m, 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, by, for forty wears.
unless you 90 back to Pahala Kau.''
At length, apparently exasperated
out of all reason by Benedick's persis-
tency, Malay had him stripped and
triced up to four steel ringbolts screwed
into the wall. There this man, free
American citizen, treacherously shared
into slavery, was whipped like dog,
Malay laying on fifteen lashes with a
blacksnake. This-these forever degrad-
ing strokes-broke poor Benedick's
spirit, and after fifty-two days work in
the quarry he agreed to go back to the
plantation. From his labor account he
found he had 264I days to work, and
when, after counting the days and hours,
as a schoolboy does before vacation, the
day of deliverance came near, he did
not need to be told that he was free
man.
At $50 o'clock on the morning of the
2Sth Of June, 1882, Benedici walked up
to the yifice and secured his discharge.
He asked for the Cancelled contract, but
it was denied him, while the money ac-
count yielded him absolutely nothing,
everything having gone in supplies, fines,
little comforts, etc. When Benedick
left on the w. II. Myer he took with him
$500; when he returned to San Francisco
on the Consuelo he brought with him
S150.-San Francisco Chronicle