The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-09-04
ALONG THE WATER FRONT.
The Crew of the Shenandoah
Complain of the Officers
Brutality.
SCRUBBED DECKS WITH BLOOD.
A Street-SWeeper on East Street
Run Over by a Heavy Truck
and Killed.

The big American ship Shenandoah ar
rived yesterday morning, lit days from
Liverpool, with 4505 tons of coal. She left
this port December 2, 1894, making a re-
markably fast round trip.
The Shenandoah experienced the usual
rough Cape Horn weather, furious and
constant gales and heavy seas. On July
Is sudden blow came on, springing out of
a calm clear sky, and in short time the
huge ship was bending down to the tenn
pest with only the storm canvas set. Next
day it was calm, and with all sails on, the
barometer dropped down, and as they
were shortening sail the first squat split
the main-topgalant and upper mizzen
topsail. Everything was furled except the
three lower topsails, upper maintopsail
and foresail. Then the ship was put be-
fore the wind and she fairly few over the
billowing ocean. The gale was accom-
panied by continued heavy rains.
After getting clear of the tempest-swept
ATTITUDES they experienced light airs and
Gains. The ship was becalmed for about
a week off this port.
This is the official memorandum of the
voyage, but that of the crew contains
other details, and they deal in the usual
tales of savage abuse and needless cruelty
to the men who work the ship. Contrary
to such stories, the first mate according to
the accounts of the men told in their little
forecastle, dark, dingy and uncomfortable
for SO large and handsome ship, is a quiet
and apparently inoffensive man, who
shared the ill-treatment of the crew. Be-
fore the ship got out of the English Chan
mel he is said to have been Jumped on by
Captain Murphy and brutally beaten. The
second mate was not bad man, but the
third mate. Spin, made things warm even
amid the snow and ice of the Horn. The
men report that he tried to persuade them
to refuse to holystone the decks and then
brutally assaulted sailor named Joseph
Johnson while the man was down on his
knees scrubbing the deck with sand and
canvas in the snow. When the luckless
man was bleeding from kicks ana blows in
the face given him by the captain and
third officer he was forced to keep on at
his work The blood ran down on the
deck and he scrubbed the planks with it.
II never saw such a horrible sight"
said one OF the men. johnson wanted
to go forward and get block to kneel on
when we got down to scrubbing with sand
and canvas. He was dubbed and forced
down on the snowy deck and his blood ran
down in front of him and mixing with the
sand he scrubbed with it.
'This treatment continued during all
the bad weather, which made our lot all
the harder. We had the usual poor food
which all sailors get, not enough of it and
of bad quality all through"
The Shenandoah is four-masted bark,
With double topsails and skysail yards.
Her complement is twenty-eight men be-
fore the mast, but she sails with the scant
crew of nineteen men and several boys.
Nj. I. O'Sullivan, sweeper employed by
the Harbor Commission, was run over at
the ferry landing by a truck yesterday
afternoon driven by Andrew Desmond and
instantly killed. O'Sullivan was sweeping
the pavement on East street, a little south
of Market, when Desmond, who was driv-
ing a team belonging to W. III. Leech,
loaded with hides, came along East street.
he called to the sweeper to get out of the
way, but the old man evidently did not
hear and was knocked down by the pole of
the wagon striking him heavily. One of
the wheels passed over the Frustrated
mans breast and shoulder, crushing the
bones. He died soon after being taken
from under the truck.
O'Sulllvan was about so years old, living
at sol Sixth street, and had been working
on the street since last March. He was in
dustrious and when engaged with his
broom and SCOOP cleaning up the pavement
was seemingly oblivious of the teams rush
ing swiftly around him.
Desmond was arrested and charged with
manslaughter.