THE SPANISH SLAVER

Evening Star, Issue 18052, 21 August 1922, Page 5

THE SPANISH SLAVER

STORY OF DEBORAH BAY SKELETON. GRISLY RELICS' IK HER HOLD. Lying .in the shallows at Deborah Bay, peaj Port Chalmers, are the skeletons of three old-time sailing vessels. One of those is a long rakish-looking craft, whoso dim outlines augur a rare turn of speed in tho days when she “ walked the water.” An evil history ia buried with her in these shallow waters. Every old salt in harbor knows something of her sinister story; details alone are wanting to complete as spine-chilling a narrative «s fiction ever provided. She was notorious in long-forgotten days as an active agent in foe nefarious slave trade.

As a slaver she must have hod' many narrow escapes, both from naval vessels sngaged in the suppression of the traffic and from the native tribes upon which she made her depredations. Although no definite Information as to her exploits can be gleaned, it has been stated at different ■times she was engeged in “ blackbirding ” on the African coast, in the West Indies, and in the Pacific.

She was a foreign vessel, and came to Otago forty-eight years ago under tho name Rosalia, although before that she was known as the Don Juan; and is better remembered by old Port Chalmers identities under the latter name. When she was being dismantled, after being condemned, grisly relics of her avocation in the guise of wrist and ankle shackles (to the number of several hundred) were discovered in her after hold, proving be yond the shadow of a doubt that she had not spent all her life as a peaceful trading vessel. These shackles were eagerly sought after, and many may still be found in the possession of persons connected with shipping in many parts of blow Zealand.

. A ‘Star’ reporter, after patient reference to newspaper files of forty-seven years ago, and from inquiries made amongst old seafaring folk, has been able to set out a fairly accurate account of the Don Juan’s experiences from tho time she was purchased in San Francisco close on half a century ago to the hour when, after a life redeemed by stalwart service in her later years, she* was dismantled and left to rot.

The Don Juan was purchased by the late Mr W. Guthrie, of Guthrie and Larnach, when ho was in San Francisco. Thex ship was taken over by her new owners after completing a charter voyage. She went to Puget Sound, and loaded a cargo of timber for Port Chalmers. On the passage she encountered heavy weather, and put into Napier in distress. Part of her cargo was discharged' there, and after undergoing repairs she resumed her voyage, arriving at Port Chalmers on November 22, 1874.

An examination was then made of the Rosalia’s hull, and particulars painted; on the main beam, which were almost obliterated, showed that the vessel had originally been a British-owned ship named Uon Juan. Her port of registry was Liverpool, and her official number was 29,995. She was a. vessel of 667 tons gross and 647 tons not register. She was afterwards purchased by Messrs Charles and George Clark, of Port Chalmers; then passed into the hands of Messrs Briscoe and Co.; and again came under the flag of the Union -Steam Ship Company of New Zealand. The ship was registered at Dunedin Custom-house on May 7, 1875. The declaration made by the late Mr Walter Guthrie in connection with the purchf.se of the ship before a justice of the price at Dunedin on April 30, 1875, reads >a follows: —

I, Walter Guthrie, of Dunedin, _in the province of Otago and colony of New Zealand, merchant, do sincerely declare that I purchased the ship Rosalia at San Francisco on the day of_ May, 1874, from one Jose Antonio Garcia y Garcia, who was not a British subject; and that prior to my so purchasing the said ship she had been sailing under Spanish colors and trading between Costa Rica and San Francisco. That I never heard nor do I believe that the; said ship was ever wrecked or abandoned, or_ that she ceased to be registered as a British ship by any other means or for any other reason than her transfer to a person not qualified to own a British ship; and that I know of no reason whatsoever whereby the said ship should not be registered as a British ship.

The declaration signed by Jose Antonio Garcia y Garcia and. his attorneys at the time of the sale of the ship Tends as follows :

To all whom these presents shall come, Greeting! Know ye that I, Jose Antonio Garcia y Garcia, by my attorney in fact by substitution, sole owner of the Costa Rica ship Rosalia, of the burthen of 655 tons, or thereabouts, for and in consideration of the sum hi £2,145 sterling to me in hand paid before the sealing and delivery of these presents hy Walter Guthrie, a natural-born British subject, bom in Tay, FilVnira, Scotland, now residing at Dunedin, province of Otago, New Zealand, to have and to hold the said ship Rosalia and appurtenances thereto belonging unto the said Walter Guthrie, his executors and administratbrs. THE ROSALIA’S ARRIVAL.

A report of the vessel’s arrival at Port Ghalmers on November 22, 1874, was published in the .‘Evening Star’ on November 25 as follows:

“During the heavy north-east gale which blew yesterday afternoon a fullrigged ship was seen entering the Heads, and she afterwards sailed up to an anchorage in the lower part of Deborah Bay. She proved to be the Rosalia, from Puget Sound, which put into Napier in a leaky condition. By her appearance she seems to have been severely strained. On deck, between the main and fnizzen masts, there are the framework and wings of a windmill that was rigged to work the pumps shortly after leaving Puget Sound, and close to the mainmast was a donkey engine, attached to the pumps, in full work, with both pumps going at the time we went on board. The Rosalia left Puget Sound with a full cargo of timber on July 51,, she then making about lin of water an hour: but before getting clear of the sound the crew refused to go with her, and she was jailed back and surveyed. She left again on August 4, ail going well until abreast of Honolulu, when the leak again began to increase, and gradually gained until within 50deg south of the Equator, when she encountered heavy westerly weather, during which the windmill _ broke down. Bad weather continued until within 550 miles of the New Zealand coast, when the crew came aft to Captain Veale and stated that they were worn out by pumping, and insisted that the ship be kept away for the nearest land. She was accordingly kept before it for thirty-six Homs; but the wind coming from the eastward, Captain Vealo persuaded them to keep the vessel on her proper course for Port Chalmers. The wind afterwards ■hitting to the southward, she was run into Napier on October 22, where she took in the steam engine to work the pumps, and after a stay of twenty days, left there on November 15 for Port Chalmers. During her stay at Napier Captain Crabbo Joined the ship as mate and coasting pilot.” TROUBLE WITH THE CREW. On November 9, 1874, the Hawke’s Bay * Herald ’ published the following telegram, which was received by Captain Veale on the previous Saturday from the owners of the Rosalia (Messrs Guthrie and Larnach) with reference to a paragraph which had appeared stating that Captain Crabbe had been despatched from Dunedin for the purpose of taking charge of the vessel: — “ As you appear to have bad difficulty with your officers and crew, we have despatched, per s.s. Taranaki, a party acquainted with the coast to render what assistance ho can; but we shall be glad to hear you have p Bed ere he reaches Napier, when wo shall recall him by writing to Wellington.” Captain Veale informed a 1 Herald ’ representative that the donkey engine which bad been placed on board the Rosalia fcept the vessel perfectly dly, the eiigiaa- / ■

only working on ani average six hours out of the twenty-four. He also stated that had the ship been bound for England he would not hesitate to proceed by her in her present condition, in spite of the fact that complaints had frequently been made by tho crew to t]jo effect that the'vessel was unseavvorthy. A PRELIMINARY SURVEY. Tho Don Juan was surveyed in the Port Chalmers graving dock early in April, 1875, by the desire of Captain Clark. After a careful examination tho surveyors _ recommended that certain repairs be carried out. DETENTION OF THE DON JUAN. On the afternoon of May 12, 1875, the Don Juan, which had been 'detained at Port Chalmers for some time owing to the Government surveyors refusing to pass her. was towed to tho Heads by the tug Geeiomr, where she anchored on account of tho heavy sea on the bar. It was the intention of Captain Clark to sail the vessel to Sydney for tho purpose of having her thoroughly overhauled. On the following afternoon the Geelong was chartered to • convey tho Customs and harbor authorities alongside tho Don Juan. These steps were taken bv tho General Government on account of the report by Captain William Thomson, harbor master, and -Mr David Stephens, who had been appointed to survey the vessel. An Order in Council had been obtained under His Excellency the Governor’s signature, and addressed to the master and owners of the ship, restricting them from proceeding to sea until tho matter had been before a Court of Appeal or His Excellency’s permission was obtained for tho ship’s departure. The Government officials went on board, and after serving conies of the Governor’s order on Captain Clark, as master and part owner of the vessel, two of tho officials were left on the ship. No resistance was offered Tho surveyors’ report showed that tho Don Juan was in a very bad state. Tho seams in tho decks and waterways, wore very wide, and in many parts soft and leaky, and the deck planks in several places partially decayed. Many of the hanging knee and strop bolts in the ’tween decks and lower hold were loose and several of them broken. The beams in the lower hold, though comparatively sound, had all been working jporo or less. One iron, hanging knee in the lower hold was broken in the throat, and most of the iodgin" knees in the lower hold and some in tho ’tween decks were soft through natural decay. The timbers, as far as could be seen, with some exceptions, were comparatively sound. The ceiling in the lower held was so decayed as to have very little longitudinal strength. Tho surveyors found that the length of the vessel exceeded twelve times her depth; therefore more than ordinary longitudinal bending was necessary, which-she had not got, and in consequence the ship was very much hogged. The ceiling afforded almost no strength to bind the vessel longitudinally or to secure the through fastenings properly, and many of such fastenings were slack and broken. In consideration, therefore, of tho whole detects enumerated, the surveyors were satisfied that the ship waa unfit to proceed to sea without endangering human life. Specimens of timber taken, from the Don Juan were shown to a ‘Star’ representative on May 15, 1575. They were like tinder, being completely rotten, and some also wonft-eaten. These were taken from tho ceiling and) tho frame of the lower hold. The Den Juan sailed up as far as the quarantine anchorage on tho afternoon of May 14, and was floated into the graving dock at Port Ohalraers a few days later. The ship’was hauled out of the dock on June 9, 1875, and remained at an anchorage in the stream for some time. The Don Juan was subsequently dismantled and used as a store ship by the Union Steam Ship Company for several years. After being condemned finally, she was removed to her present site. In another few years there will probably be little left of this once-famous old sailer. The ‘Herald,’ in its issue of November 9, said:—

“ It certainly speaks well for Captain Yeale that, in the face of so much evidence against him, he came out of the late inquiry so satisfactorily, and that was chiefly owing to the very creditable manner in which his charts, chronometer workings, etc., had been kept, which showed the position of the ship daily, and indications of the barometer, these being verified by the nauticial assessor, and also by a certificated master of the Board of Trade and others.” LEAKY SHIP AND REFRACTORY SEAMEN. •

The following report appeared in the Napier ‘Daily Teleg-i/aph’ on October 27, 1874, in connection with the stay of the Rosalia at Napier:—■

At the Resident Magistrate’s Court on Monday John Raymond was charged by Captain Veale with being a seaman on board the ship Rosalia, and with having unlawfully assaulted him on October 13. He pleaded not guilty. The evidence of the captain and chief officer, Robert Reid, went to prove that shortly after leaving Puget Sound, in Washington Territory, bound for Dunedin, the ship became leaky and experienced very rough weather. The pumps had to be kept going, and a windmill had been erected to work the pump. On the day in question the captain told defendant to assist the mill, as the wind was not sufficient to work it. He refused, and they had words together; when the defendant picked up a largo piece of wood and threatened to strike the captain, and, going close up to him, said he would knock his brains out. For this offence he was sentenced to be imprisoned for ono month, with hard labor. He was also charged with wilfully disobeying lawful commands on October 16. This he also denied. It appeared the ship had been running before the wind, making for Tahiti. The day in question the wind chopped round, and the captain called the ship's crew aft and consulted with them as to going on to New Zealand. They all agreed except the defendant, who said he would rather go in irons than go on to New Zealand. The crew being unanimous, except the defendant, the ship was headed for this country. He refused to work, and he was put in irons and kept there until arrival at Napier. The Resident Magistrate said the defendant’s conduct was very bad, and if the Act had allowed it he would punish him more severely. He was sentenced to one ■months’ imprisonment, with hard labor, to run concurrently with the other conviction, and to forfeit two days’ pay.”