The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1909-05-12
T%VENTYCHINBSERAN ASHORE
WIEN THE NORWEGIAN TRAMP
HERCULES TIED UP.

Held Up by q Customs 0ficer's Pistol They
Surrender Amiabiy, but Declare That
They VIII Die Rather Than Go Back to
Ship-6ay They were Abused On Her.
Twenty pigtailed yellow mon OF the
Norwegian tramp steamship Hercules,
Capt. Bjeruk. which arrived yesterday
from an around the world voyage and
dooked at Pier 2. Tompkinsville. over
powered tho sailor on guard at the gang
plank and ran down on to the pier. Gus
toms inspector George Samuels, on watch
at the pier, waited until the yellow tornado
had spent Its force and reduced It to
greater quiesoenoo by pointing q revolver
at II.
Only ono OF the Cinnamon understood
English and he Is tho assistant donkey
engineer, Wah Ming; but all realized
that an American man in uniform was
demanding that they should halt. and
they did halt. Samuels never had beer
in a similar situation and he decided
that he would first lock the Chinamen
up and then telephone for help to his
chief. Deputy Surveyor Matt Conveys.
in charge Of the night foroe at tho Barge
Once.
The Cinnamon were dooile and marched
to tho ofioe OF the pier. Deputy Sur
veyor Coneys went down to Tompkins-
vile with Acting Deputy Surveyor Peter
r. Bradley and Inspectors Robert l..
Warner and George Cornell.
The customs men boarded the ship and
learned that the skipper had gone to re-
port to his agents here. Mate Rasmussen
said he had been unable to prevent the
Cinnamon from leaving the ship. as he
had not enough force to hold them back.
Tho Chinese said through Wah Ming that
they would drown themselves rather than
return to the Hercules. as they had been
treated badly. The mate declared that
the Cinnamon had not been mlsused.
Tho customs men could not induce them
to return to the Hercules and decided to
bring them up to tho Barge .Ohice and
turn them over for safe keeping to the
Chinese bureau Of the Immigration De-
partment. A.. Dslessandro. head OF the
the Cinnamon. He had difficulty in
reaching an interpreter.
Meanwhile Wah Ming explained IN
pidgin English the troubles OF himself,
and his oountrymen. after all hands had
accepted greedily the hospitality OF
Deputy Surveyor Coneys. consisting OF
sandwiches and coffee. Wah Sing said
he and the nineteen other men, nine OF
whom were sailors and eleven stokers.
had beer promised wages In American
dollars. but that latter they had been old
that they would be paid IN Chinese dollars,
or Mex worth about one-half.
They also had received about half the
allowance OF food, and finally they de-
cided to make . break for liberty 80 soon
as they tied up to o dock. They had been
gathering cargo in Peru. and sailed from
Junin on February lss. getting here by
They said they had been threatened
with death and that their Quartermaster.
Ing Ching, q man Of about so, had been
hit with brass knuckles by an officer
and nearly killed. Ing Ching was brought
forward and exhibited two spaces In his
upper Jaw that had been filed with teeth
and showed q scar on the left side Of his
head.
Wah Ming declared that he would rather
die than 60 back on the Hercules. The
Hercules has only five Cinnamon left
aboard and they are all cooks. Wah Ming
and his friends, all looking startled and
scared, slept on benohe. In the Barge
Once last night, and will be taken to-day
to Ellis Island. The Norwegian Consul
will be appealed to to shed light on the
case. and interpreters Of the Chinese
bureau will get a completer story OF the
Chlnamen's grievances,