Salt Lake evening Democrat. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1885-1887, 1886-01-11
A SOUTH.SEA MASSACRE.
Only One Survivor of an Expedf
tiOn TO the Solomon Islands.

only One survivor of an EXpedi
tiOn to the Solomon Islands.
The steamer tsKildare', arrived at
Cooktown on November 25th, bringing
David Brown, the sole survivor from the
schooner "Elibank Castle" which was
wrecked on the Solomon Islands. The
survivor brings intelligence that Captain
Routch and the whole of the crew, except
himself, were massacred Immediately
after the vessel was wrecked. The "Eli-
bank Castle" left Brisbane Jew months
since on copra trading expedition, in
charge of Captain Routch. On previ-
GUS cruise two of her crew were massa-
cred, she being then owned by Routch,
but not sailed by him. On the last trip
he determined to take personal charge,
in order to work up a friendly business
with the natives. He was between so
and 60 years of age, and has wife and
family residing in Edinburgh.
Brown says that the "Elibank Castle'
left Brisbane in October of last year for
the Solomon Islands At Bentley Island
Captain Howit bought a piece of land
from the head man of the island and
built a wooden shed on it to store copra
were left in the shed, and the vessel pro-
ceeded to Goodwin Island, took in some
copra and then sailed on to the Solomon
group, taking on four native boat boys
While there trading with the natives the
captain went ashore with one European
seaman and three natives, and about
o'clock he returned with boat-load of
copra, accompanied by some natives,
who took the articles in ex-
change. Captain Howit, with the same
crew, went to shore again to trade, and
when the boat reached the beach they
were attacked by the natives and all
were murdered. Then the natives began
firing at the vessel with rifles Those on
1 board slipped the chain and made sail
for Port Douglas. The vessel LETT again
at Solomon Islands, under the command
of Captain Routch, the owner. He
touched again at Tese and Bentley islands,
where he learned that one of the men
left there on previous voyage had been
murdered and that the other had made
his way to Queensland.
The vessel went to the Solomon islands
and anchored. Fifteen or twenty natives
came on board, carrying tomahawks and
spears, and the captain was showing them
'trade," when they suddenly attacked
the crew. David Brown was in the fore
castle when he heard the cries. He took
a revolver and was going on deck, when
one of the natives struck him with a
tomahawk and drove him below Another
seaman, named Hugh Glide, came down
also, having one side of his face split
open with tomahawk They both re-
NAMED below until evening, while the
natives were stripping the vessel of all
the cargo Then, hearing no noise, they
went through the bulkhead into the
hold and up the main hatch,
Just as it was getting dark.
They saw light in the cabin, and on
going aft they met native coming out.
missed and the native grappled with him,
when the revolver went off in the strug-
gle and the bullet went through Browns
hand. He called upon Glide to fire,
whereupon the latter shot the native in
the head and he fell down the cabin lad
der. The sailors then closed the compan-
ionway and fired through the cabin win
dow at the other natives side, and killed
them both. 1t then got dark, and they
slipped the cable and made sail.
In the morning the dead bodies of the
captain, mate, cook, one seaman and a
native boy were all found lying on the
deck, terribly gashed, and were buried at
sea. The vessel drifted about for week.
They then sighted what Brown supposed
to be New Guinea, and stranded on the
reef. The vessel got off, but leaked so
badly that the men put all the provisions,
water and the ships papers into a boat
On the southwest side of New Guinea
they got into gale, and the sail,
gliding suddenly, knocked Glide over
board, Brown being unable to help him
owing to the heavy sea. Brown then
sailed and drifted about for forty y-eight
days. when he reached Key Island, and
was picked up by Danish brig on Sep
tember 25. He had exhausted all the
provisions in the boat. The captain took
him to Kaydula, and he was thence taken
to Sourabaya by Dutch steamer, where
he reported himself to the British con-
sui, who forwarded him to Singapore
The crew of the "Eibank Castle" con-
sisted of the captain, mate, cook and
three seamen, and native boy, all of
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