SOLOMON ISLAND HORRORS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXII, Issue 88, 15 April 1891, Page 2

SOLOMON ISLAND HORRORS.

GHASTLY MURDERS AND MASSACRES.

SYDNEY BARQUE PET IN

DIFFICULTIES,

The fine little clipper schooner Albatross, belonging to Mr J. Williams, arrived in Sydney last week from the Solomon Islands, and her commander, Captain Smith, has a ghastly tale to tell of the atrocity of the islanders. The schooner left Howlah, one of tho Solomon Group, for a trading cruise round the group, during which she picked up 40 tons°of ivory nuts and 10 tor" of copra. She arrived ab Loco on Mar.- <d, and nexb day she proceeded to Man, -, bub in the course of her passage she encountered a terrific hurricane, during which her BOAT WAS SWEPT AWAY by a sea which curled far up the forema»b,

and which looked for a moment as if ifc would sink the clipper-built Auckland craft. She, however, weathered the hurricane and arrived safely at Ugi, where she fell in with the barque Pet, owned by CapYob, of Sydney. The barque had been in the same "hurricane as the Albatross, but she did not have the same luck. Her decks had been stove in by the heavy seas, her rigging was carried away, her sails split, and all her provisions spoiled, the crew having to live on cocoanuts. Captain Smith was unable to render the assistance thab he could have wished, bub ho proceeded to Santa Anna, where fcho trading station of Mr Nyeberg, a Gorman, was situated, and the trader ab once started off to THE HALF-STARVED CREW with a load of yams. At Ugi the horrifying intelligence was received that the natives of Mallatla had swept down on the station of Mr Stevens, near Ugi, in the hope of obtaining a rich harvest of plunder in the shape of trade goods. Mr Stevens was fortunately absent in another portion of the group, but his partnor, whose name was not known to tho natives, was MURDERED IN TDE MOST CRUEL MANNER, his body being frightfully gashed by tomahawks and spears. The place was completely stripped of all goods, and narrowly escaped destruction by fire. The natives also reported thab a terrible occurrence had happened to a French schooner, which was engaged in recruiting natives along the coast. Tho vessel had sent two bents ashore. Ono had gone off with a laughing, chattering crowd of rocruitsf and a second but load followed. As the latter entered i ho surf tho recruits capsized the craft, and the dusky occupants of the other craft, seeing what had happened, immediately capsized their boat. The crews managed to reach shore, when they were murdered in tho raosb barbaric manner, and ib is f.-ared that the fearful

C/NNIBAL PRACTICES wore m o ted bo on the bodies of the victims, t is not known how many white men were murdered. The Albatross got away from such a horrible place on March 18th, and had a pleasant weather passage to Sydney.