The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-05-29
4. o. % "a s,'t Z. : 4 s. $
NOl.,2D.,. ].
LEFT j TO PERISH {
Shocking Brutality Of Capt. Pernan-;
DEE of the Bark Vera Cruz
he DESERTED his PASSENGERS

Without Water and Food. They
Were Crazcd and Dying wien n
Rescued by u Revenue
Gutter. s..s
All the resources OF the secret ser
vice of the treasury department. are
being brought into play. to capture
Captain Fernandez, the master Ct
bark Vera Cruz LIZ that was bcachtd
near Ocracoke Inlet, N. g., more { han
a week ago, with Al starving i'm MI
grants on board.
The story Of the voyage OF The Vera
Cruz Ill remains one Of the days Of
1.-The slave ships.
4 The immigrants are natives or Cane
Verde Islands. q They were induccd
Ito come to America by tile fact tia {
there is large and prosperous Purtu-
guese settlement in eastern Massachu-
settS. The brig OF which Clptain
hernandez was master, WAS ,.wued III
the Cape Verde islands. lis il very
Old vessel and unSeaworthy. li.
The captain got his cargo oc immi-
grants by sailing from point to point
hround the islands. Most OF tle1n
paid exorbitant passage money, and
when they went on board deposited
R|hil the funds they possessed IN the
'sworld With the captain for saiekeep-
Eng. The brig was inadequ tely pro-
Nyisloned, had scanty supply or water,
fnd the Immigrants were packed to-
EetileT like cattle. The ship uade
soad weather most Of the time and the
captain was intoxicated during the
"trip. The destination Of the brig
was New Bedford and the vessel had
a small cargo Of OIL She met adverse
winds and was blown out OF her
course and the provisions Which hads
ocen scarce at the start, soon ran SO
low that the immigrants were put on
one meal day.
water also ran out and for several
days prior to the Bleaching Of the Vera
Cruz In Ocracoke Inlet, nota man,
woman or child among the immi-
grants had drop to drink. The cap
tain said that he would run into Ocra-,
coke to get food and water, and would
then proceed to New Bedford.
When the ship went ashore he i'm
mediately disappeared, made his way
To the mainland and no trace has
been had of him since. He took with
him the seamen's wages, the passage
money paid by the immigrants and
more than $4,000 in cash that had
,pIeen intrusted to his care by the pas
:iengers.
! When the life saving service went
@ the assistance of the Vera Cruz
lst Sunday q scene was presented im-
oSSible Of description. Scarcely q
Jul on board the brig that was able ;.
astanaE hey were almost skeletons
iom the slac1KFeS,5 food. .S tllei r rsLonguess
ere Swollen with thirst, most Of, the ni;s
ere crazed frum drinking salt water
I'D all were violently i'll. In the
fs:ncrgency quick action was necessary
IND the revenue cutter Boutwell,, at 81
Norfolk, was sent to the assistance Of
.ahe crew and passengers. 2
When the immigrants received food
their stomach refused to retain it,
and the whole HI had to be carefully
nurscd back to life. They were finally
removed to- Newborne, where they
were housed in Il large building,
which was inadequate for their ac-
commodation, and many we're sent to
the hospital. There they have re-
mained for several days, while the
treasury department. has been busy
trying to solve the problem what to
do with these aliens cast away on the
shores Of United States.
Bertram NJ, Stump, an immigrant
inspector, and Surgeon Glover, OF the
immigration service at Baltimore,
were sent to the assistance of the i'm
migrants, and Mr.. Stump made
q report suggesting that the tax Of
50 head on each immigrant be waiv-
ed, and that they be transported to
New Bedford, where most Of them
have friends. Inspector Stump, in
his report received at the treasury de-
partmcnt Wednesday says:
THE manifesting Of passengers was
false, the captain took all the money
he could lay his hands on, and, from
the statements Of those examined,
half starved them, was intoxicated
most OF the time, and they find them
selves here in a most pitable condition.
Assistant Surgeon Glover and myself
are still Of the opinion that the best
thing to do is to have these people
transported, preferable by sea, to
some point in Massachusetts,, where
they can communicate with their rela-
tivcs and friends. The crew are also
absolutely without funds, and with no
possibility Of shipping from this point.
l respectfully urge that you make
some arrangements, by Monday next
to have them moved from here. The
head tax money and fines for not prop
erly manifcsting aliens cannot be set
| tied at present for the reason that
there is no representative Of the bar
kentinc here. The agents in New
bedford disclaim any responsibility.
The treasury department. author
lied Inspector Stump to make arrange
ments for the all-ral transportation
Of the immigrants to New Bedford,
and the treasury department will pay
the bills. 1t is quite likely that the
whole matter will cost the government
at least $4,000.
n Serious Charge.