St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-28
TILL HE TAINTED.
Rough Treatment st. Louis Man
Got From the Oyster Dredgers.

Rough Treatment St. Louis Man
Got From the Oyster Dredgers.
Washington Post.
Henry Wallace, an intelligent-looking
white man, who is in Washington for a
few days. relates horrible story of his
experiences with oyster dredgers. Wal
lace is an engineer. and arrived in Bal
timore some weeks ago from his home
in st. Louis in search of employment.
During his stay IN the Monumental
City he formed the acquaintance of a
man who represented himself to be the
owner of large oyster beds.
The stranger gave the name of Capt.
BOthall, and when he learned that Wal
lace was out of work he offered him a
place on his boats at weekly salary of
$40, and the offer YVES accepted by the
engineer.
Early one Monday morning the
schooner on which Wallace had shipped
left her moorings and made sail for the
Lower Chesapeake. The spires and
steeples of the city had hardly been
the water when the captains cruelty
begun. The members of the crew were
evidently used to rough treatment, for
they seemed to endure the brutality
with stolid Indifference.
Wallace was made Of different mate
rial, and the first night they were out,
when the captain ordered him to per-
form some mental service he refused.
He was knocked down, and the captain
kicked him in the face until ne tainted.
From this time on Wallace was abused
on the slightest provocation. When
they reached the oyster beds he was put
to work ''culling" oysters. Being new
man, Wallace performed his duties in
such a clumsy manner that in short
time his hands were frightfuliy torn
and lacerated.
The salt water irritated the wounds,
and gangrene set in, till Wallace was
totally incapaciuated for work. This
angered the captain. and one night
when he was half drunk Wallace was,
by his orders, hauled out of his filthy
bunk, where he lay moaning with pain,
and brought on deck. a
so you are fine gentleman with
soft, white hands, are you? Well, PHI
tan 'em for you, curse your lazy soul"
grOwled the captain. ''Then to the
crew: Tie him up to the rigging, boys,
and give him twenty lashes on each
arm.
Wallace cast an appealing look at the
Crew. uOG one Ol WuOu WiHk6Q an eye
in opposition to the barbarous orders.
Two sailors seized his arms, the skin on
them raw and torn and the muscles
trembling with pain, and tied them fast
to the ropes. A negro with a revolving
face, who seemed to revel in his devil
ish task, then stepped up and admin
istered twenty lashes with a knOtted
leather throng on Wallace's right arm.
After ten strokes blood ran in
great streams down the tortured
mans arm, over his face, and settled
in large pools on the deck. Wallace
begged them to shoot him and end the
torture, but, remorseless as fate, the
black fiend brought down the lash on
the quivering flesh until the wretched
man sWooned. Wallace was then I'M
tied and laid on the deck. A bucketful
of salt water thrown on him restored
consciousness.
The next morning the engineer was
put on shore in an almost dying condi-
ton, weak and helpless from loss of
blood, to find his way as best he could
to some village where assistance might
be obtained.
After a journey Of two days, that
seemed like centuries, he reached one
of the steamer Wakefiald's landings,
and was brought to Washington, where
he received medical aid at the Emer-
gency hospital. He said he was going
to try to punish the oyster dredger when
he got to Baltimore.