The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-11-09

Thus. without ornament. an old, I'm.
slightly hulk. whose dark and filthy OK
ternal appearance fifty represented the
death and despair that reigned within.
she was anchored in april. 177S in the
"Wallabocht Bay" for the reception Of
prisoners.
For the purposes OF a prison ship she
was stripped of everything and the bow
spirit, which was used as a derrick for
taking in supplies. was ali that was left
on deck. except a haghole amidships for
signaling. Her portfolios were closed ana
securely fastened. and groups Of four
holes. about twenty inches square, were
cut IL her sides for the admission of air
at distances of every ten feet. The aper-
lures were secured by strong iron bars
/ crossing each other at right angles. but
/ their arrangement did not permit free
current OF air between decks. where the
! prisoners We're confined.
Her position was nearly opposite the
mouth Of the old rinlrace and about three
| hundred yards from the shore" South
/ east Of her, distant about two or three
( hundred yards. lay the so-called hispital
| ships Falconer, Good Hope and Hunter.
/ 1t Is said that the sick were seldom
removed to them until past al hope Of
recovery. and the nthe moving was an
! aggregation.
! In fact, the idea of hospital ships was q
mockery. They were Kept in the bay
probably for the sake OF q historical rec
ord, but the dry bones Of the thousands
CT men which have been dug UP near by
prove their uselessness
The "Old Jersey" was the receiving ship
in this death recruiting station, and the
hospital ships were the places where
/ prisoners were sewn up in blankets ana
taken ashore for burial
The appearance of the odd Jersey a.
/ she lay in WhallabOcht Bay is graphically
( described by Captain Dring. Leaving
New York with 10 prisoners. brought
in by the British ship Belisarius, he pro-
eeeded TO the place OF their impYlson
u.ent, under the charge of the notorious
David Sproat. Commizsary Of Prisoners.
we at length doubled that point he
says, and came m view OF the Walla
bout where lay ebfore Us the black hulk
OF the Old Jersey, with her satellites,
the three hospital ships. to which Sproat
pointed in an eXulinE manner. and said:
There rebels, there : the cage for
you
"As he spoke my eye turned to the
hulk. A multitude of persons were NOV
( ing on her upper deck. Some of them
seeing up approach, waved US away as
IL in warning. II was nearly sunset. ana
before we were alongside every man ex-
cept the gangway ha0 disappeared. AS
we went up the gangplank the croaking
voice OF a wretched prisoner called 10 US
from one of the iron barred holes:
1t is q lamentable thing to see 80
many young men in full strength. in the
ush Of health. about TO enter this Internal
abode. Death has no relish for such skel-
eton carcasses as we, bur now he viii
feed fat upon you rosy newcomers
In the memoirs Mr.. Coffin says tire
prisoners were fed on putrid beef which
had been condemned on the British war
ships. It was full of vermin that they
bad to beat il against the hull before
they could eat it, 0 nthe upper gun decA
hogs were kept in pens for the use Of
the officers. When the hogs were fed
bran the prisoners would steal It from
the trough.
Sometimes the prisoners were denied the
use Of fire for several days in success
sion. and had to eat their raw meat.
When FIRE was allowed it was confined
to large copper boiler. which was cor
roded by the use Of salt water. Tho men
were compelled TO put their meat into
theis green boiling water and take it OUT
again at this particular time, whether
1t was cooked or not To the use OF this
poisonous boiler and the Slthy bilge
water they drank Captain Dring attribut-
ed much Of their sickness.
Light was not permitte dat night, and
the hulk was so crowded that the pris
oners could not move without falling over
each other Their rests were broken b.
the groars OF the sick and dying ana
by the men who went crazy and cursed
their inhuman keepers. The dying IN
their last convulsive agonles frequently
fell across the bodies Of their sick com
panions and as the sick We're unable to
remove them they had TO lie there until
morning. when the death patrol came
in search OF those who had died IN the
night.
Turn out your dead" the patrol would
cry. coming out of the sunlight into the
stencil of the black hulk below. And
the dead were turned out from the living
il being necessary TO awaken some of The
prisoners to ask them II they were dead.
because movement, not appearances could
be trusted only.
The fortunate ones were sewn up in
their blankets and carried by their COM
ranions under a guard, to the shore and
there buried Sometimes the succeeding
TIDE washed out the remains and their
bones were exposed along the beach
bleaching in the sun. The whole shore.
from Rcnner's Point 70 Remsen's door-
yard. and from this barn to Replies Earn.
and the slopes of the HILL ard the sand
island between the noodgates and the
mill dam that used to be there were hllso
with the remains Of the martyrs.
Ii is estimated that eleven thousand
persisted in the old Jersey alone. The
matter was frequently brought 10 the at
tention OF General George Washington
by returned prisoners and he wrote this
letter 70 Lord Howe. under date OF Jsnu-
ary 2. I777:-
I am sorry that I am under the disa-
greeable necessity TO trouble your lord
ship with q letter almost whoily on the
subject Of the cruel treatment which our
officers and men in the naval department.
who are unhappy enough TO fall into YOUR
hands receive or board the prison ships
in the harbcr Of New oYrk. Without de-
scending 70 particulars The matter con
tanned in the enclosed paper. whfeh IS
an exact copy OF an account OF the usage
q the prisoner. delivered 20 Congress oy
one Captain Gamble lately q prisoner
himself in New York