The daily Republican., 1902-12-10
MURDERS ON THE
EASTERN SHORE.
New Castle Oysterman Tells
Stories of fDeath and Suf-
fering Among Dredgers.
MANY ARE ALLOWED TO Die
Always Intoxicated When
Shipped and When They
Cannot Work They
Are Set Adrift.


! Frank Keegan. who has been oyste
Z ing down the Chesapeake Bay, tol'
a story of brutality toward oyste
dredgers the like of which has neve
before been heard Murders there
Keegan says, are daily occurrance
and most of them go unnoticed by
the authorities, as the bodies of tht
victims are never recovered to bt
produced as evidence against the
heartless captains who commit the
crimes.
Keegan tells of many hardships
On various vessels in all sorts OF
climates and under all kinds of cap,
tains, but the brutality and down
right murder which he has witness,
! I'D within the last month on the
Eastern Shore. of Maryland have
been SO flagrantly wanton, that he
could scarcely contain himself while
he was telling how men on some of
the oyster pungies are treated.
Keegan shipped on board an oys-
Ter boat on October 22, and when
the vessel reached Tedious Creek,
Iii Fishing Bay, Dorchester county
Maryland, he had an opportunity of
learning how some captains treated
the members of the crow.
On board another boat anchored
near the one on which he was, was
9 fellow named Frank OBrien, who
had been a clerk for a Savannah
cotton firm. How OBrien got aboard
the oyster boat no one knows. He
was no doubt shanghaied. His mates
found him in the bunk on the morn.
ing of October 29ht, suffering i'll the
first stages of dalirium tremens.
He was of no earthly use on board
the boat while in that condition,
and the captain sot him ashore,
miles from any habitation. O'Brien
must have wandered about for
DAY or more, but no one really knows
what happened to him, Keegan is
positive, however, that his body
was floating in the creek day or
two afterward.
The death was not reported to the
authorities; no inquest was held nor
investigation made. A hole a foot
deep was dug on the Shore and the
body tumbled into it. There il
nothing to mark the grave, but ,
keegan says he can point it ont along
with those Of several others.
"A few days after O'Brien was put
ashore another of the hands, Harry
Reese, who had been shipped while
stupetied with rum, developed a
case of the rams" and in his eff
forts to elude the snakes and
things which he imagined were
pursuing him, jumped overheard.
He was tshed out and laid away in
his bunk. A short time later he
again made his way to the deck, and
once more dived overheard, This
time he was again rescued but was
put ashore. He had no hat, and
with his clothing dripping with the
salt sea water he made his way to
Wingates Pier.
He was found there, lying under
a pile of salt hay, and a colored
man who reported his presence was
ordered to push him overheard. The
darky refused, and the captain, ,
with IN oath, declared. He won't
be there in the morning" He was
MT but in the afternoon some ton
gers, who were working opposite '
tne pier, brOeyht the body to the {
surface in pair of oyster tongs. e
HIS face was disligured to such an +
extent that the features were almost a
There were cuts h
and bruises all over his face and t
head, and the men openly told each
other Thai ile must have Alet with t
foul play. No attention was paid v
to this talk, however, and Reese Il
was thrown in the same hole with il
OErlen. Reese had said he was {
married and had three children, but n
no one knows where he came from. {
"On November 7th" said Keegau, L
another man was shipped. He
lad II new pair OF rubber boots, but =,
when he developed the rams he
Was put ashore barefooted. The i
,aptain has tho boots, but no one
las seen or heard of that man since
The way some captains treat
heir men Is simply horrible. Here
8 sample. There wore several boys r.
III one of the boats culling oysters.
They were not used to the work,
md their fingers We're bleeding from
he oyster shells. hive seen the
aptain walk along the deck and
because the boys were not working j.
IS fast as he thought they should, til
le stamped upon their hands with W
he heel of his boot, and laughed at pi
hem when they cried ont with pain. til
These same hoys were kept without til
ood from Saturday until Monday ro
'ecause they didn't smile when the
lend tortured them le
keegan concluded his story by nj
aging that these were only a few " NJ
hs crimes committed by those in W
uthority along the Eastern Shure 70
nd mentioned the name Of one man
Tho boasts Of having a record Of six- il
zen deaths to his credit this season. G,
Only last Monday ighls said Keegan fo
1 saw this man split mans head
pen with i blow OF a club. The man
III like alog, and was allowed to lie
here he fell, because nune OF tho cd
eek bands would dare interfere or Sn
tempt to assist an njured man. 1t A
ould be as much as their lives were Ar