West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1886-03-26
+, ShANGAAIING."
Tue Trsmc ln Human Firsh by which
oyster Sloous ~. Manned

wv NNnah tlFsh nv MhiNh
Oyster ~loors Ar- Hsnued.
y"' Nw'nmcNa' ril} u popuieriv
credited with being more f,rc iron,
crime than amy othvr CITY of it, size in
the Union. hut the outrage called
"Shanghaiing practiced here daily
should certainly hr regarded as crim-
innl !shanghaine Is no,hmc
more or less than trading in human
flesh. Tho slave traffic Of antc-war
days was not moro barbarous Than il.
During the winter the business is
brisk Here i Tho modus opcraudi.
The ding, little ulfcc of su-callcd
"hroker' uear the docks, is frsnrtcd
to lay captains az ui strt-pungics whom
they are In need uf hands to man
oyster drcdgcs. IL i extremely diff.
tcult to get men tor this work here.
but when a captain tells the broker
that he Is i'm need of certain numhr
of men, and that he must have them
aboard his boat hN specific time, the
"brObrt' " will largain lU execute the
contract for fee of five dollars per
head. When men are particularly
scarce larger sum Is often paid.
After the bargain is made and the
captain leaves the Office, the "brokcr'
calls one or two of his a~si.tunt- ven
otalij noted roughs and blackguurds -
and direct, them to procure and de-
liver the required number II men,
stating the reward of their ser, ices.
These fellows sally forth, making
their first visit 10 wharNcs where there
are vessels nhou, disrharglnp their
crews They use all manner ofpcrSua-
sionS and inducements To get the
strange >camcu To 90 with them. I'm
this effort they are often fnilcd, NJ the
masters of respectable merchant ships.
upon diSCharging their crew. usually
call thcm into the cabin and warn them
of the shanghHirr and the boarding
house runner some of them are So
cured 10y promises Of large wage, and
plenty of grug. II after few hours
search the broker's hrnchman finds
that h" can not secure men Legitimate
y he visits some of the low grog- shops
along the waterfront, and it's an of
day when he can not meet one or two
miscrabl" wrctchcs i'm some Of the
dives who will agree TO 20 on board. If
paid few dollars ia advance. This
the assistant agrees to give upon the
'''''' 'ifiE ~ i'NNlpA uIN Ntl NNlNf-
ment to remain ON said buAt Tor a
specified time II the assistant find,
the men obstinate i'm their dcicrmina-
Gom not tu 20. he treats them TO as
nnch liquor as they can drink. and
when the poor fellow, are dead
drunk he carries them aboard the
boat, which il ready To sail. Il, the
time The kidnapped men regain their
senses they are many miles down the
Chesapeake.
Then commences life Of hardship
and toll that il not easily described
The captain, usually n brutal specimen
Of humanity, clubs them on the least
prOvOcatiCn. often without prOycca-
ton. Poorly fed and scantilv clothed.
thes' men are compelled +" work eigh-
teen to twenty hour, ont pf the twenty
four with the thermometer but e few
degrees above zero. Whether sick or
well they must turn out when called,
or bc lnhuinanly treated. Gases have
been brought To light where man. in
capacitatcd for work by exposure and
bad food, 50 that he was scarcely able
to stand, has been carried out on deck
and lashcd up by his thumbs until his
feet barely touched The deck: he was
then stripped of all his upper clothing
and compelled to stand in the biting
cold for hours, falling in heap more
dead than alive, when finally cut
down. If this treatment proves more
severe than was intended, the man il
put ashore ut night, without cent. and
has 10 find refuge with some charitable
farmer, and get back TO the city as best
hc can
The police have endeavOrcd and are
still cndeavoring 10 break mp this prac-
ucc but. a. few cases are reported to
them. tits not easy to do So Now and
then captain is arrested. but friends
and drnsely stupid iuries generally al
low them TO 20 free. The evidence.
however. against one captain arrested
some time ago. was so clear and con
vincinR that he was convicted. and is
now serving out twenty wears SEN
tcnce. 10 was hoped that his fate
would prove warning, but the con
tinucd prevalence Of the custom show,
that the avaricc of the oystcrmcu f.,
stronger than even fear Of imprison-
ment N J. H'Orh
- =