Evening journal., 1914-07-24
Success, at Warmers Wharf,
Shows Methods of Torture
For British COnvictS
COFFIN BATH AND
DEATH CHEST HORRORS

]
Canal to the Panama Exposition at
San Francisco. II came from Balti-
more to Wilmington.
In these days of transatlantic levia-
thans when a trip to Europe is com
ing to be regarded as Of little more
than passing moment, the ancient
hulk Success, for many years the
most notorious of England's feet of
convict ships, possesses to the lover
Of the historical and the student of
sociological conditions. a rare inter-
est The Success embodies the ideas
Of the boat builder of a century and
a quarter ago, and thanks to the
fidelity with which her equipment
has been preserved. a visit on the ves-
sci will suffice to make the visitor
thoroughly familiar with the sailing
transportation methods Of the time |
the Success first came into being, at
Moulmain. British India In 1890.
Could the weather-woTn teakwood /
beams of the vessel but speak they /
could disclose volumes of stories /
that would make the terrors of the |
Spanish inQuisition a trihe by COM |
parson. The mainmast, a teak spar |
apparently as stout today as the day |
would tell of the execution of more |
than two score men from the yard
arm. Many of these killings we're
carried out for onenses that today
would result in nothing more serious
at the worst than a reprimand.
The visitor is met by neatly uni
/ formed members of the crew on step
ping aboard from the wharf. and is
escorted to a common meeting place
on the main deck where, with
sizeable group assembled, a lecturer
takes charge
/ The lecturer begins with a recital
/ of the history of the Success, epitom-
/ lied to meet the requirements OF the
| busy visitor The story of the early
days Of the vessel as a merchantmen
/ is CLOSED over, and then comes
description of its conduct as a trans
port and later as a receiving ship for
convicts.
Then comes an inspection of the
various instruments of torture and
punishment Hundreds of exhibits of
rare historical value are included in
the collection of the Success. Most
Of these were found aboard the Sue
cess when she was raised from the
bottom of Sidney harbor, where for
FIVE years she had been sunk. The
ball and chin, even now in use, the
handouts that are a common ap-
purtenance to every police depart
mont. are seen in the cruder form in
which they were used a hundred
years ago Both these were as moth
ing in comparison to the manacles
and leglrons that we're used upon re-
fractorv prisoners. Some of these
heavier irons weighed half q hun
dred-wcight, and they CALLED the
wrists and ankles of the prisoners to
extreme torture.
There are specimens of the cat O.
nine tails. types used for both men
ana women: pillories on which the
prisoners we're hogged: irons by
which head. arms and legs we're
cramped as if in a vice. and the pris-
oner was forced to remain so for
hours. Men were yoked to heavy
beams for punishment. forced to
, stand in rows with hands and legs
, chained down. and their heads
/, brought forward like cattle In
+ stanchions Then there was the
? compulsory bath" into which the
+ prisoners, streaming with blood from
fioggings. were thrown, on the pre-
text that their wounds were to be
=, cleansed, but really to make them
more painful
y The coffin bath" was the dread
> name given to this receptacle, neal
! the bow Of the vessel, for many a
poor fellow was tossed into the batf
i never to emerge alive. Authentic rec.
ords of many deaths in the compul
IS sorry bath are preserved on the Sue
a cess. while tradition says that It was
often convenient to clap down the liz
n OF the barrel-like contrivance anC
% forget about the bather until his suff
n crings were at an end. and his trou
- blesome spirit could no longer offei
10 annoyance to the captain or warders
4. These are but a small number o
the interesting things to be seen OF
3. the top deck Below are two decks
,s each lined with cells. Each cell Il
!" labelled with the name of a notoriou
!. convict who at one time or anothe
m occupied il, and within each is wa,
" figure. as faithful a reproduction o
is the prisoner as It has been possibl
" TO secure.
n Scattered through these cells ar
e. black holes into which the unrul
lie men we're thrust for punishment
H. There are the black holes-two {
D. them-into which sunlight neve
ne penetrated, where men we're chaine
in such a posture that they coul
f. neither stand nor sit, and confine
ID for from one hour to thirty day
lv But in the longer sentences to tn
of torture, the men never lived. The
" found means to end their existenc
g most of them going raving mad, (
n else perished from exhaustion.
n Another CHASTITY spot in the ho
n is the tigers den, where the pugn
id cious prisoners were thrown togeth
n and left to vent their rage upon ol
a another The ferocity of many
nj these fellows led to the christeniI
of the cell with the name that HI
remained with it through all d
years.
The convict sentenced to the Su
cess was forced to spend the first tv
az years on the lowermost tier of q
~ cells. Then he was allowed 10 tai
Va a cell on the upper tier, and eventua
ly he secured the privilege Of wal
eu ing about the main deck, occasiona
ne ly, if laden with irons. But on eve
10 hand he had in sight the instrumen
of torture hungry for the refracto
ne prisoner.
Tor One Of the most dreadful OF the
on devices is the sweat-bOX, con
rst shaped iron chest. The sentence
Il