The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1893-08-19
LaoorerS Threatened and Shot
Down by the Lnuas.
Details OF Living aud Condition. in
Guatemala.

Captain" Ferguson against the
editor of the ADVERTISER came up
yesterday morning in the District
Court.
Judge Robertson read a decision
overruling the motion for the dis
charge of the defendant.
MR.. TOMBSTONE sworn: Have no
power TO stop the publication of the
| ADVERTISER; have no control over
| its publications; nobody interferes
with me in discharging my editorial
| duties; had a conversation with Ferg-
uson; told him that as / considered
| all such articles might be untrue, had
Insisted that it should be inserted over
| the name OF the writer; after talking
| with Clogs, had decided he was a re-
| sponsible person; Captain Ferguson,
| in repeating the conversation, had
left out the auxiliary verb might
Cross-examination: Have charge
| of the newspaper department.; order
/ in or out all matter for publication;
| nobody has ever interfered with Inc;
| L generally revise articles and read
the proof; sometimes these latter are
read by the reporter or foreman.
| Redirect examinations: Mr.. Whit
| ney is the ultimate authority; when
| ever / have Doubts / consult with
him; he has ultimate authority as to
the publication of the paper.
ANTOINE CLoYs, sworn: Have been
| staying at the st. Louis lodging
house. When 1 returned, on August
| 18th, heard Paul Neumann and
| Charles Creighton had made inquiry
| for me as a Portuguese. L had been
out bicycle riding. l am an Ameri-
can, born in Utah; went to Guate-
mala in 1888; peddled goods there;
| have travelled over the country; was
! in the country three years; found lots
of swamps and fever there; have had
the fever myself; the fever is called
| the mOria fever, the Guatemala
| planters have the fever.
| JUDGE ROBERTSON ordered witness
| to testify to any facts he had heard
concerning the country from the
| planters.
CLoYs, E(continuing): All Europe
ans are subject to the fever and do not
| stand it as well as the natives; L saw
| their houses on one plantation; used
corrugated iron roofs; it rains heavily
| there; some houses are wooden below
| the roof; the wind can blow through
| them; the laborers sleep on mats;
| eat beans and dried salt meat; there
| are lunas or captains; they go armed
as all in authority do; was in San
Jose when South Sea islanders ar
rived; they looked n curious lot; any
one who can afford it carries a re-
volver; it is the custom; there are
few Chinese in Guatemala city; the
Indians work but will not work under
contract; plantation hands eat cakes,
beans and dried beef; have ridden
! through the swamps, my mule would
sink TO the girth; the money there is
POGO tempo dollars and other foreign
coins are in circulation; dollars were
worth 90 to % cents when i was there;
native Indians do not like to contract;
contract laborers are scarce but de-
sired; sometimes violence and force
is used in making them work, they
| are threatened they will be shot if
they don't work; / have heard such
threats made when / was peddling
| among them; they hate Gringos
Americana; had seen natives threat
ened to be shot; contract labOrer told
me the fellow who threatened to shoot
| him would do so without much provo
| cation If he didn't go to work; have
| no personal malice in making my
statements; it was the common re-
| mark in San Jose "there goes the fell
low who traffics in human flesh"
| Cross examination: Arrived here
| in middle of May; was here the year
| before, in June; was here three
months; had no occupation, but paid
| for all / got; worked three days on
| Discovery for a sailor; resided at
| Fowler's Yard; left on the British
| ship Palmas for Port Townsend; went
| from there to- Portland, Oregon;
| thence to San Francisco; returned to
| Guatemala in latter part of 1892; came
up on the steamer Colima; was bound
for San Francisco; spent Christmas
| day at sea; this was after we left Pan
anna; was ashore two or three hours
at San Jose; had lived there before
| from 1897 to 1890 or thereabouts; was
| at San Jose when steamer Monserrat
arrived.
To Judge Robertson: Made trip in
CoIima i'm 1892; if j said San Juan 7
meant the steamer Colima.
Cross-examinationc continued: Con-
versed with people who were dis
charging the south sea islanders;
never saw them on the plantations;
Indians sign for a month only; the
only one whom l talked to about it
was the contract labofer who told me
the luna would shoot him; the plan
tations were twenty to thirty miles
inland; / slept.on n mat with thirty
IAborers; / never saw anybody shot by
lunas; the climate is warmer than
here; have eaten beans ana peer with
the laboreTs; do not know il the plan
tations gave out rations; the Monser-
rat was at anchor when the
landing was made; the Aus
trian dock laborers told me
the bIackbirds were looking out for
the boss who brought them into trou-
HE: don't know il Ferguson saw
them; he told me they were looking
for the boss and that it would go hard
with him il they found him; many
others thought the same; have worked
at the Chinese theatre; was on Maui;
attempted to run n roulette game
there; was arrested but not fined; had
a similar game in Guatemala two ma
tive policemen arrested me; / did not
have enough money to offer the kama
kas; nobody asked me to write the
letter to the ADVERTISER.
To JUDGE ROBERTSON: / made two
trips to San Jose In Palmas and Co