The morning call., 1891-09-19
KICKED AND BEATEN.
How a Negro Sailor Was Treated
on the Mistley Hall.

The talk of the city front yesterday was
the British ship Mistley Hall, which re-
Gently arrived in port, and the bad treat
ment received by the crew at the hands of
the officers. A CALL reporter paid visit
TO the ship, but Captain Evans was ashore
and Mate Duncan at first denied that there
had been any trouble with the crew. AT
last, however, he said that he bad knocked
down one OF the men with billet of wood,
as the fellow had drawn knife on him.
ms man was a negro named Charles
Williams, who, the mate claimed, was "a
holy terror" Every man in the ship was
afraid OF him. and dozen times the sailors
appealed to the officers to protect them from
being beaten by him. Each time Mate Dun
can kindly went forward and gave the
Dl0odthlrsty darky good thrashing. The
ofhcer denied the report that the man who
had died at sea had been in any way ill
treated, or that his death was the result of
abuse.
AT sailor boarding house ON Front street
the reporter found the terrible negro spoken
OF by Mate Duncan, and he proved TO be any,
thing but terror" Williams is evidently
a poor half-witted fellow, and has been
sadly abused by the officers Of the vessel.
His story shows that there is always two
sides to every question.
Il had no trouble at all with the men,"
said Williams, ''but the captain mates and
apprentices made lif6 misery to me. Three
times the mate knocked me down with a
HEAVIER and once when / was at the wheel,
oil cape Horn, and asked TO be allowed TO get
my Eiltts, as 1t was bitter cold, both Captain
Evans and the mate smashed me- in the face
knocking me down. l was blood all over.
When l got up. and the mate was about to
StrlKe me again, l ran forward oil to the
main deck and went into the forecaStle.
ne mate and second mate came after me
and both of them dubbed and kicked me.
They also told me they would kill me before
the ship got to San Francisco. The appren-
ticeS were allowed to abuse ME, and one
day when l could stand it no longer | struck
one OIL them. and then both the mates beat
me until l could hardly move"
Williams, who is a native of the West
Indies, says he is an American citizen aud
belongs to Oakland. He gave his age as %,
and said he had been at sea twenty years.
The rest of the crew, who are now ashore
substantiate Williams statement, and say
the officers abused the poor fellow shame
fully. The mate once kicked him brutaliy
Tor having pair of shoes OH that had nails
IN the heels. They all agree that lie made
target of Williams as ne would be the least
likely to resent the brutal treatment.
The men also say that Thomas Green.
who died on the passage, no doubt came to
his death from exposure. He had no cloth
ing, and would go to the wheel and look
ouS WIN huthllfB Oil Dut tHlN uHueISNlIG
and pair of Canton flannel drawers, and
this when the ship was in the terrible
weather off Cape Horn. Two weeks before
he died he fell from the main middle stay
sail foot-rope to the deck and was severely
hurt. The men say there were plenty of
clothes in the slop-chest, but they were not
given out Most OF those hurt on the trip
received their Injuries by being dashed
against the bulwarks or the house by the
heavy seas and not by the falling spars.