Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1899-12-13
.MUTINY ON A CQQLIE ship. !.
One Of the Tragedies Of q Branch h J; J
/. / of the Slave Trade! + Wv

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hour before was repeated, only there
was more savageness to it this time.
It did not die away as before, but kept
|. increasing in intensity aud lasting SO
Elong that the mate leaped upon the
rail and looked toward the brig. and
muttered:is, ,fa- trGI 1sr' no1
,'The scouudrels are making a
break at lastI Why don't the men
usestheyguns%'E CI
His words were followed blythe
reports of q dozen ,muskets, and they
were still cracking, away .whea some
one stood on the rail of the brig and
waved his hat in our direction.
=, sIhe coolies are looser' exclaimed
the mate as he made for his boat.
"rhat signal is fo-' me, but Til return
for the water as soon as the outbreak
is put down" '.l'aii 49,
He was OF in moment, and his
men pulled such stroke that their
boat was carried to the briggs side in
four or fyes minutes. She was run
under the bows aud the men scram-
bled up oyer, the ., chains. We knew
that the outbreak was serious,a for the
hubbub increased, and we could see
the crew rushing wildly about; There
was continued pop ofmusketry, and
we became SO excited that every man
in the ship, cook included, hurrie d
loft to look down upon tho stran gers
decks. As we lay broadside to each.
other, and the distance was so short,
we could see all,that took place. De-
spite, the desperate <effortsvo of the crew,
tie coolies were finding their way on
deck. They were shot and dubbed
and hacked, utthey came faster than
they could be taken care Of, and in
half an hour from the timei the mats's
boat left US, the Chineserhad possess
sion of at least one, half the brig. They
got hold of some Of the muskets and
cutlasses, and they knew how to use
j the former. as, we'll as the sailors. The
forward gratihgs were pried off iand
the hold emptied of its living cargo,
and during all this time there twas
fierce fighting in the waist Of the
brig
: The coolies had 20 q fear, IN Il osiea
iists
oslg|h asoused. Wllen they got pos
session of half the, vessel they cap
5tured the water-butt on deck, and We
;saws shena2drining Nth the bullets
sfying past their 'ears. The water.
to add 10 their desperation, fo1
soon after getting possession of it
hundred or more made grand rush,
armed with every sort OF weeoop, and
after a conflict of FIVE minutes hey
had possession of the ship. Three
of the crew saved their, lives for. the
time being by running aloft, but all
the others seemed to have been killed.
B =, You cannot suppose that we were
quiet spectators of such scene. We
wanted to be called away to help sup
press the outbreak, but our captain
had "a mortal hatred for coolies and
announced that he would not interfere,
in the slightest. It cut us men,
though, to see the crew making fight
against such odds, and gradually fall
ing back and fighting to the last, with
out getting our help. When the grand
rush was made, and the remnant of
the crew driven aloft, a sort of groan
went through our ship, and more than
one man muttered against our cap,
tain's policy. When the Chinese got
full possession many of them drank
sea water, and git was only short
time before cask of rum was. broached
rand served out to ALL. When the vile
stuff began. to take. effect fury was let
loose aboard the brig, Such a surging
sto and frof Such jabbering and shout
ing andscreaming! The bodies of the
dead sailors were stripped naked,
kicked about the decks and mutilated
in the most horrible manner, and then
flung overheard. At the very first
splash we, sSw.at least dozen sharks
make for the spot, and after that their
dorsal fms were'cuttihg title water in
every direction. ~ :
---As-Itold-you -before,- -three-of the
briggs crew escaped instant death by
running aloft, where they were for the
time forgotten. 'Fhey went as high as
they could go and concealed themselves
as well as possible. They dared not
shout to US, but they implored us by
gestures to come to their relief, and
gave us to understand that the coolies
supposed. our bark to be loaded with
Chinese also,' and that we would be
attacked in an efortlto set them free.
They also made, it clear, the night
being almost as light as day, that the
fellows had a score of muskets, and
we could easily understand that "a
sharp cutlass in the hands of des-
perate" coolie would be wicked
weapon. 81 'ii '.s ~
d;"Down with you, lads, and prepare
to defend the ship with your lives"
called the captain, and every man re-.
sponded with alacrity.
AS we had no firearms of any con-
sequence, everything which could be.
used as missile or weapon was speed
lily gathered, and every utensir in.
which' water could be- heated was
placed on the stove in the cooks gal:
ley. We. opened the midship-hatch
and broke out of the cargo lot of
pressed brick which had been ordered
by contractor at Singapore. They
weighed about five pounds each, and
we piled up thousand or more at
different points ON the deck. We were
still handling the bricks when the Chi
nese suddenly remembered the three
sailors in the rigging of the brig, and
eight or ten started aloft after them.
The sailors called out to our captain
for Gods sake to come to their relief,
end he answered them tha our own
position was SO full Of peril that he
did not dare send off q boat.. The
coolies were very agile fellows, and as
they7drew near the sailors we saw the
latter. were preparing to ieapinto the
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