Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1889-11-01
THE NAVASSA MASSACRE.
Full Details of the Murder of
Five Americans.
The Ringleaders Taken to This
Country in Irons on a Warship.

country IN irons on Warshlp.
Further and fuller details of the massacre
pf five white Americans on the island of Ma
vassa by colored Iaborers, in September are
brought by the Atlas line steamship Athos
which arrived few days since at New York.
Navassa is q rocky island of volcanic origin
containing about three square miles, and is
situated about thirty miles southeast of Cape
Dame Marie, Hayti. 1t is rich in bird guano
and is occupied by the Navassa Phosphate
Company, which employs a large force of col
~Ored men to dig and prepare the fertilizer for
shipment to the American market There
are no women on the island and none of the
sex is permitted to land. For several years
Navassa has served as a mail station for the
Hayti-New York mails. regular fortnight
ly service having been established and the
Atlas Steamship Company giving gra-
tutious service between the ports on
the southern coast of HaYti and the island.
The bags collected are left in charge of the
Superintendent of the company, who deGv
-ers them to the first homeward bound vessel
that touches at the port after their recep-
ton. Up to the 14th Of September last this
service had been rendered by Mr.. Shay, the
superintendent, an amiable and kindly gen.
tleman, American aud believed to have
been native of New York State. On the
afternoon Of that day, in endeavoring to es-
he lost his life after first seeing four of his
companions massacred in cold blood
The Athos sailed from Port au Prince on
September 81 and headed for Navassa for the
purpose of intercepting the steamship Alene
of the same line, and transferring to her the
mails from Hayti for New York On arriv-
ing at the island the officers of the vessel
were surprised when they were boarded by
an officer of the British war vessel Forward
instead of Superintendent Shay. The officer
informed the Captain of the Athos that
mutIny had taken place, and that of the
eleven officers Of the Phosphate Company
only six survived. and that they were on
board the Forward and would be taken by
that vessel to jamaica Then after some
difficulty the story of the tragedy was
learned, although the causes leading thereto
were not made quite clear.
The trouble began on September IS between
one of tho "dlgging superintendent" named
Roby and the gang of men under his charge.
Complaint had been made of inferior food,
although this afterwards proved to be with
out foundation and resulted in physical
encounter. Roby was terribly beaten and
was carried into camp wounded and bleeding.
This was Immediately followed by the assem-
bling OF an angry mob IN front OF Superln-
tendent Shay's house. They made threaten
ing demonstrations and demanded a change
in the administration of affairs. The con-
duct of the mob became SO violent that on
the following day the Superintendent ordered
Cno arrest OF one OIL Un0 IaDOferS. ne OTlC0r
who attempted to carry out this order was
set upon aud beaten. A free fight ensued,
and in order to brighten off their assalants
the officers began discharging their revOlvers
The negroes retaliated by throwing stones,
and eventually drove their superiors into
Mr.. Shay's house. Later on they obtained
some dynamite and drove the officers out.
A parley followed and then man, who ap-
peared to be the ringleader, proposed that if
the eleven men would surrender their arms
all further hOstilities would cease.
This offer was fooIishly accepted. No
sooner were the officers helpless than the mob
rushed upon them again. Two of them
Thomas Fales and Thomas n, Foster-werc
literally chopped to pieces They were
stabbed and hacked with pitiless ferocity and
the ground was dyed with their life blood
John Mcmahon, the third victim, was shot
through the head and almost instantly
killed. Samuel Marsh was wounded in SO
many places and suffered such extreme agony
that he became insane and, 1eaping into the
sea, was drowned. Superintendent Shay,
finding such fearful odds against him, sought
to escape by flight. He ran up a ledge of
rocks and, leaping overheard, struck out in
the direction of the British brig Amorette
living in the harbOr One of the mutineers
threw rock, striking the swimmer the
head. Poor Shay sank, but whether the
blow stunned him or he was captured by a
a shark is a matter of conjecture. At all
events he was never seen again.
found what was going on, Immediately
weighed anchor and set sail for Morant Bay,
Jamaica, and from there sent cablegram to
United States Consul Allen, at Kingston.
BY Consul Aliens request the Forward was
despatched to Navassa, to await there the
arrival of the United States man-of-war Ga
lena, which was at Port-au-Prince. No Off
1:ial orders were received, and the United
States man-of-war had no knowledge of what
was going on until October 2, when she fell
in with the Atlas line steamship Ailsa at
Gonaives and received from her copy of a
New York paper containing brief account
of the nutiny. The Galena Immediately
started for the island. and Admiral Gherardi
upon his arrival made a thorough and ex-
haustive investigation.
The result of this was that several of the
supposed ringleaders were captured, put in
irons and sent to this country on board the
4alena One hundred and twenty-four of
the mob were put on board the brigs Alice
and Romance and sent to Baltimore. The
Roman -o.ne out with new superin-
Rndent and fresh lot of laborers. The Alice
vas in the harbor and was temporarily
pressed into service as prison ship by orders
of the Admiral