Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-04-18
THE PANAaIA OUrBREAK.


Eject of the Rebellion on Kingston-
" hat the Purser OF the AthOs saw
Terrible Condition OF Affairs at Colon.
The Atlas steamship Athos, running be-
tween New York and the West Indies,
says the New York Tribune, reached this
port from Kingston, Jamaica, late We'd
nesday. on her outward voyage the
Athos reached Kingston on March ..
The reports of the terrible condition Of
affairs at Colon and Cartagena We're so
alarming that the West Indian agent of
the Atlas line in Kingston was unwilling
10 permit Capt. Low 20 take the ship any
further. The rriF 70 the rebelliOus dis
tricts upon the Isthmus was not taken.
and the Ath0s remained in Jamaica till
April $. when she started on her return to
this port.
Nv e saw quite a good deal Of the rebel
lion, however, said Mr.. McAlister, the
purser Of the Athos, to a Tri5une report
or. ''Or rather of its effects. Kingston
was crazy with the excitement We got
there almost simultaneously with the
news OF the first victories of the rebels.
All the thieves, blacklegs. sharpers and
dlssOlute women from Kingston, Hon
duras, Port Huron and everywhere else
6Ocked in droves to Colon. For the first
time since the Haytian rebellion the cities
OF J Jamaica were free from these fierce and
wicked wretches. They are of all ma
uons, French. Spanish. Mexican, Coolies,
Chinese, Creole, negro and half breeds of
all hues and kinds, and they poured out Of
the dens Of the Indian cities for the scene
of disorder. When Colon was burned and
pillaged their appetite for greed had its
opportunity.
''In a few days the Balize and the Para.
steamships of the ROYAL Mail. and the
West Indian and Pacific Steam Naviga-
ton Company, came into Kingston from
Colon. Each OF them had on board about
500 labOrers who had been working on the
canal. Their stories of blOOdshed and
crime were terrible. Men and women,
they said, having been shot down in
droyes, lay rottlng away in the hot streets.
There was no food and no shelter. and
where bullets had not done the work of
destruction, famine and pestlence had.
A lot of small sailing vessels, filed with
provisions and lumber, put right out for
Colon. On April a French man-Of-war
went down heavily laden with provisions
Then came the news that a company
Of Colombian troops, variously reported
to be from go to 100 in number, had pushed
through from Panama to Colon, arriving
there on April , and had retaken the city
from the rebels. This news was con-
Tirmed, and the stories of the punishment
inflicted by the troops upon their prison.
ers were frightful. They made them dig
their own graves, long trenches, into
which they shot the poor wretches. Then
another relay Of them was brought up and
forced to cover up the bodies Of those last
killed, only to suffer death them
selves. Massacre succeeded massacre,
and the carnage, riot and misery
were far worse than occurred
during the Haytian rebellion. In
fact, l never listened to such sickening
stories in my life. Then the steamships
began to return to Kingston, and all the
rih-ratf came on them. Kingston is a
poor town, and knowing that these ras-
Gals had come back with their pockets
fall Of gold and jewels, the people turned
out en- masse to receive them. The last
three days that we were in Jamaica. the
town was being painted red and redder
all the time. Iney had piles OF money
and the gambling dens reaped a harvest
they have not enjoyed In many a wear.
colon is being rapidly rebuilt. Run
dreds OF speculative schOoners laden with
building materials went down, and l ex-
pect to see good-sized town there on the
old ruins when we 20 down again. 1t was
a mistake that we did not 90 before. We
should have made a good deal OF money
bringing labOrers and others back to
kingston. Most of the escaped rebels re-
tired into the swamps of the isthmus,
where they Will pursue their old business
of brigandage. The general idea in the
Indies is that this occasion presents a
splendid opportunity for the United States
to secure control of the canal. They have
by far the biggest hold there now. with
plenty of troops, and people wonder why
they have not seized and occupied the
iSthmuS'