The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1901-09-24


Ems MATE AMEsBuR1 Of the tn
II Carleton can spin bunch of in
u teresting yarns about the days
when he was engaged in 'black-blrd-
ing" in the South Sea. The sight OF
the Porto Ricans being taken from the
| City of Para the other day brought
| told many and queer tales which car
ried one back nearly to the adventure
Gus days of Bully Hayes, when the
happy isles in the South Seas were not
having their palm groves blackened by
| the smoke of the big steamers.
Black birding" as the business of
supplying kanaka labor to the Austria
liam colonies was Familiarity called, was
a flourishing business in those days.
Three pun ten was paid for each ka
naka landed, and on the trip back for
more "blackbirds, it pal dto take
to the islands. For this service the
government paid thirty shillings head.
THE thing was practically slavery"
remarked Amesbury. But as they
were only kept in the Colonies for three
years and then shipped back, and as
they also received some pay it was
just called importing labor. The ka-
nakas were not coming by their own
free will but that didn't matter much.
Business is business.
The ships used for the trade were
generally very fast tea-clippers, and
the crew was a varied assortment
These ships generally kept large num-
Der of men on board as the kanakas
often showed fight, as was quite natural
when they were taken away from
their island homes. Thus ship, calling
for say, twenty men would ship sixty
and so FORTH the extra men being enter
ed on the roll as lower deck sweepers"
The methods employed in "blackbird
We're varied according to the
number and character of the islanders. |
If the island visited had comparative
ly few and peaceable inhabitants, the |
sailors would just go ashore. surround |
them and drive them out in the water |
where well manned boats would be ly- |
ing in readiness. The great difficulty |
in this game was, that when the ma |
tives got in the water, many of them |
would escape, as they swan like fish.
Another method which was considered |
safer when the number of inhabitants |
was larger and the people more war;
ike, was this. The ship would simply |
drop her anchor in some quiet cove.t
where there was a village, and await |
the arrival of the villagers AS the
were very curious, it would not
be long before the vessel would be
with natives. Then the OBJ
ect was to get them so stupeffed with
liquor, that they could not offer much
resistance. They were then slowed |
away under the matches. It would often
De necessary to visit six to eight islands
to get full load, after which they
would set sail for Australia. Here it
was favorite plan to lie in some rivers
mouth where there were small islands
upon which the blackbirds could be |
corralled. They were then counted and |
the money for them was paid over
The ships would then take on a load |
OF return passengers. Amesbury told |
a little story about how he once was
upon ship which, after taking on |
board load of return passengers in |
one colony, set sail for another port |
put their kanakas on a coral islet. and
after they had received pay for them
three pounds ten heaD skipped out
quickly for other chimes.
The trade flourished for a long time
There was big money in it and plenty
of excitement, but soon the thing be-
came too fragrant and finally a black
birder came under the same laws
pirate. Thus finished the picturesque
days described by Luis Beche, and the
old salts, who lived in and enjoyed those
days, look back with regret to the time
when the blackbirder crossed the trader
under the Southern Cross
The Wharves Busy.