The San Francisco call., 1897-11-09
A Sad STORY
OF THE SEA
First Mate John johnson
Accused of Sickening
Brutality.
Sailors Complain That They
Were systematically Starved
Into Scurvy.
The Mate Arrested for Cruelty
Breaking the Arm of a Sick
Seaman.

A case of alleged cruelty on the high
seas was brought o the attention of United
States Commissioner Heacock yesterday
morning by two sailors of the American
ship John A. Briggs. The men are Charles
Jarvela and George Nichols. Both are
suffering with scurvy. caused, they say,
by scanty and improper food.
The crew of fourteen men shipped from
Baltimore for the voyage to this port,
Captain J.W. Balch being the skipper ana
John johnson being the first mate. From
the very start the men say that they were
placed on meager allowance, consisting
of two slices of salt junk cut as thin as or
binary writing paper, half loaf of bread
and couple of potatoes at each meal.
Five times week they had a watery So
luton which the captain facetiousIy
called pea soup at one time and bean soup
at another time. On Sundays they were
treated TO canned meat.
According to their story they had not
been more than month on the way when
the supply of potatoes became exhausted,
so that for the remaining five months OF
the voyage the crew were without vege-
tables. The ration of bread in the absence
OF potatoes was too small, and when the
men demanded a more liberal allowance
Captain Baich acCeGed to their demand
and allowed them whole loaf at each
meal, but with rare sense of heroic
humor instructed the cook to make the
loaves little smaller than half loaf.
The men became so hungry that they
used to eat the grease which was used for
lubrlcating the maSts, but they were
obliged TO endure their treatment, for
every complaint was answered with a
blow from the fist OF the m ate, John John
son. In fact it was his habit, say the
complainants TO enforce all his COM
mands with blow in the face of the
miserable sailor who might be the object
of his attention for the time being. On
one occasion, on July %. Jaryela was
obdered b. the mate 10 move faster.
Jarvela replied that on account of the
scurvy he could not move any faster than
he was doing, whereupon Johnson struck
him heavy blow in the face with his
fist knocking him down so forclbly as to
dislocate his arm. On August 2 the mate
beat him again and broke his nose, Kick
ins him in the ribs by way of variety.
During the voyage OF 162 days the other
scurvy smitten sailor, George Nichols,
was beaten more than 100 times, according
to his own system OF computation.
a bel Peterson is another OF the crew
who says that he was brutally beaten by
the mate. He was not only beaten with
fists, but was also knocked down with the
blow of broom-handis and remained
senseless for fully five minutes.
The captain is alleged to have been a
witness OF all these cruelties, but never
monstrated with his mate or attempted
to save the men from his fury.
Nichols is worse aff1 icted with the scurvy
than his companion n misery. He showed
the Com missioner that wherever b stuck
his finger on his body deep dent was
seen, the skin not having sufficient energy
to spring hack.
Jarvela and Nichols each swore to sep
arate complaints accusing Mate Johnson
OF beating and woundlng seamen on the
high seas, and the warrant was served by
a United States Deputy Marshal late in the
afternoon.