The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1902-05-22
II Uoya9e in a Slave Ship.

TWAS born too late in the century to
see real "Black Birder"-a SLAYER
but have taken a voyage on a
modern slave ship. 1t is the same
thing under different name. We took
a hold-full of rice at Hongkong and
then went to Macao and filled out the
cargo with Chinese coolest say
"cargo," for they were cargo, not pas
sengers. The owners got $15 per head
to land them safe at Callao, Peru. Six
hundred of them were stuffed in tween
decks, with iron gratings on the matches
to keep them below and a couple of
'six-pOund Howitzers on the break of
the quarterback to NOW them down if
they did not behave. The Howitzers
were double shotted with canister-a
fact the coolies were aware of,-and
there was also double wire netting at
the break of the quarterback to keep
them out of the cabin where the small
arms were stored. We had thousand
miles of fine weather to make with
these coolies in the tween decks before
we reached our destination.
A Macao Chinaman is the most
treacher0us Chinaman in all China. l
think they learned trescherY from the
Portuguese, for Macao is a Portuguese
settlement. We had little interpreter
from Portugal with us. He stood about
four feet high and was all pure grit.
He would 60 among those Chinks and
knock them about, see tnat they cleaned
up regularly and-if there were any
make them pass up the dead, with
as much nerve as if he had a regi-
ment at his heels. He let few remain
on deck all day to cook for the rest,
and now and then would let a hundred
or so come out to get breath of fresh
air. Once they turned on him and tried
to get the keys but we were on the look
out for that and the mate sent charge
of double canister among them and
they quit. The captain had no regrets,
for he got rid of five dead coolies in
Callao. The ship didn't give them half
enough to eat, but the sailors helped
them out some-sold them sea biscuits
at Mexican dollar apiece, passing
them through the grating after dark.
The coolies passed up the dollars before
they got the biscuits.
The ships boy thought he would get
rich quick and stole forty or fifty bis
cults, secreting them about his person.
Somehow the chinks found out he had
the food, and when he went among
them on deck they mobbed him. First
they choked him, and then sat on him
and he finally was smothered. When
they finished the biscuits and found
out that the boy was dead they picked
him up and threw him overheard. The
first the crew knew of it was when
someone saw him land in the sea.
Then there was a row. The mate came
up with lighted fuse and the inter-
prefer made the coolies give up the
two that threw the boy overheard He
told them that if they didn't give up
the two men who were wanted every
man on deck would be killed. Some
thing had to be done, for they were like
rats in trap. On one side was the
locked iron grating and on the other
the crew stood at the guns with small
arms and lighted fuses. They finally
gave up the two men and the captain
hung one of them at the yardarm;
but the other chinks just laughed they
had their biscuits. Kick and the
ship was out $15.
Well, we landed them at Callao and
they were slaves all right, for by some
sort of contract they had to work seven
years to be free from debt. God help
them! For Of all the rotten countries
in the world, Peru takes the cake. The
sailors say the Lord made the world in
six days and rested on the seventh, and