TRAGEDIES'OF THE SEA.

NZ Truth, Issue 120, 5 October 1907, Page 8

TRAGEDIES' OF THE SEA.

The Mutiny on the Flowery Land.

ONE OF THE MOST HORRIBLE ON RECORD.

Bloodthirsty Instincts of a Dago Crew.

Captain and Other Britishers Thiwn Overboard—. Five Villains flanged on 0»e Scaffold,

TKe mornTffg" wa't'cli was- Comer, tfce vessel lay Hen course, and gently, ma/dc her •liojuvd way * The cloven billow flashed from off her prow. In furrows formed by, that "majestic plough;.

r P2 more miomey-grivtSbing set of men than ship-owners it would be impossiMe to find. Many of them, . not satisfied at paying the usual .pittance of 2s a 'd!ay to the deep-water sailor, are always on the look out for cheaper crews if they can be obtained. The white race ought to be thankful that the Asiatic is no sailor, otherwise the crews of certain British ships would be manned wholly by the yellow scum. The way sailors are fed and treated, it is marvellous that any self-respecting man can be found to adopt seamanship as a mode of livelihood • and perihaps the sooner deep sea sailing vessels are rele•rated to the dim shades of oblivion, the bietter will it be for humanity m general.-

THE STARVE-GUT RATIONS served out to Jack afloat sends him off his head with joy when coming [ashore with his pay m his pocket, and while the money lasts th© women and wine won't be far off ; but immediately Jack's pocket is empty, he sells himself body and soul to some wretched boarding-house runner, who. makes the most of the opportunity to fleece poor J&ok all he knows. The sailor, having no vote, has no meni'ber of Parliament to keep a weather-eye open for the sharksi, and is forced to solace himself hy grumbling and grunting, and making comparisons regarding the cuisine and sailing capacities of the tank he happens to be aboard, and those of the last vessel he was glad to get clear of, always greatly to the disparagement of his present ship. This shows that Jack is possessed of a short memory. You see, the shipowner doesn't need such a memory. If a ship, like the Lt-nnie, whose horrible tale we told a few issues j back, or the one we are speaking of now, the Flowery Land, is lost owing to filling the forecastle with foreizm murderers, what does it matter to - the owners ? The ship is well insured, a nd that settles everything. They don't leave any widows or orphans to bewail the fate of their husbands and fathers, and can't be expected to feel the pinch. They even claim to be more liberal-minded than the men who wish to see British ships manned by British seamen, and while press and Parliament patronisingly applaud them, and treat the owners as though they were alone were the only people to be considered, so long will there 'bo no remedy, and so long will mutinies such as occurred on the Flowery Land happen. Piracy and theft was not the mainspring, here, but racial hatred— the inborn hatred of the colored race for the more favored White, fanned into flame, ill-treat-ment and starve-gut rations, probably. Yet THE FEARFUL TRAGEDY enacted on this British barcjue was but one occurrence out of several hundreds somewhat similar, causing but a nine-day wonder, and the world jogs on as before, utterly regardless of the cause and lesson. Pieced together from the evidence of the survivor of the tragedy, Taffir, the second mate, the story of the mutiny on tooard the Flowery Land, is one of the MOST HORRIBLE ON RECORD.' It was on July 28, 1863, that the good ship m question left London for Singapore. She' was over 900 tons -burden, baSque-rigged,' and carried a special cargo of wine and soft goods. Her skipper was John Smith, a skipper of repute m the shiptpihg world as <a seaman of unusual resource and ability. The first and second mates w-ere respectively Karswell and Taffir, the latter, as stated above, being spared to tell tbetale. Besides these three officers, and .the captain's brother, who was being carried as a passenger, there were only two other Britishers on board. This was the mistake m the "finding" of the Flowery Land. Everything about her was as good as dt could he EXCEPT HER CREW,who were shipped at lower rates than was usually paid, from motives of false economy. Six of the men before the mast were half-bred Spaniards from Manila. Then there were a Greek, a Turk, a Frenchman a Norwegian (who acted as carpenter), three Chinamen, a Finn, and a full-blooded negro. Well enough Captain Smith might remark to a friend before he sailed, "I can trust the ship, but such a dago crew as they have given me will want watching day and night." He was right m his surmise. The Flowery Land had been about three weeks out when the crew began to be saucy. Orders were disobeyed, and it was evident that if navigation was to .be properly carried out and discipline maintain^, strong measures must be taken. The captain was a fine F-vilor and a fearless man, his two mates were of the same calibre, and they soon showed the recalcitrants that they meant to fee obeyed. Some of the' Manila Spaniards and the Turk, who were impertinent, got a shia,rp ropes-endi«g and various other small punishments^ This SEEMED TO COW THEM. The men moved to their work' when ordered, albeit m a sullen manner. iasd all spcaaed vrell oa jfehe Flowery,

Land- But it was nos all well fey any means. A deep plot was being liatohedr, and none of the officers apparently had any suspicion of it. The six Spaniards, the Greek, and the Turk, who were all m the port— or first mate's— watch, were the prime movers. The eight truculent and restless scoundrels had resolved to murder their officers and to made the Flowery Land their own. It was midnight of September 10, 1863,, that the tragedy eventuated. The weather was calm, the ship going easy, asd the mate, whose watch it was, was humming a song as he paced the poop. Suddenly one of t'*~ Spaniards oame aft, and, pointing over the side of. the vessel. said "Look !" The mate ran to the rail and stooped over. Directly he did so THREE DARK FIGURES stole up behind him. and the next moment he was struck down by a blow from a capstan-bar. Karswell implored mercy, but the wretches only laughed at him, and struck at him again and again till his face was battered m. They then threw him, still living, into the sea. Meanwhile Captain Smith, roused by the noise, had rushed from his cabin. He did not get far. Two. of the mutineers were waiting for him m the companion-way, and stabbed him to death as hs tried to gain the deck. His brother was also stabbed to death, and thrown overboard. The fighting and struggling had roused Taffir, the second mate, who managed to gain the deck m time to witness the murder of the captain and the captain's brother Seeing ihe position, he at once returned to his cabin, where, armed with a revolver, he ibarricaded himself m. resolved to SELL HIS LIFE as 'dearly as possible. Presently the mutineers came down and parleyed with him. He was the only man left who could navigate the ship, and they offered to spare his life if he would take them to the River Plate. To this he agreed.. Then an orgie began. The pirates broached the wine and got raving drunk, and m this con di felon mutilated one of the Chinamen with their knives m a fearful manner. But they spared the second mate, and managed, under his guidance, to work the ship for three weeks, during which period only one vessel was sighted. On October 2 they saw the Braziliian coast ten miles distant, and immediately put the ship about, hanging off and on till nightfall. Then they got out the boats, allowing all the crew to embark except the Chinamen, whom they left to GO DOWN WITH THE SHIP, which they scuttled. Landing not far from the entrance of the River Plate, Leon, one of the Spaniards, told a plausible tale to the- effect that they were the crew of an American vessel from Peru, which had foundered at sea. Taffir, the second mate, however, meeting a man who spoke English, told him the facts of the ; cas«, and the Brazilian authorities soon had all the ruffians under lock and key. Their surrender to the British Government and their trial at the Old Bailey followed on February 11, 18G4. Eight were arraigned at the same time— six Spaniards (Leon, Blanco, Duranno, Santos, and Marsolino), the Turk (Vartos), and Carlos (the Greek). The latter was acquitted.

The other seven were found guilty of murder yon the high seas and sentenced to death by Mr Baron Bramwell. Of these Santos and Marsqlino were reprieved and sent to penal servitude for life. ,The remaining five, an abject, miserable crew, .cowards of the worst type-— were executed m one batch on February 22, 1864, ; 8 days only after the sentence.

They were placed m different cells, then pinioned, and sent out one by one to the gallows. As the first to appear would have to wait some time for his fellows, the seemingly bravest was chosen to face thus ordeal. This was Duranno, one of the Spaniards. But the sea of faces opposite tho gallows, the shouting, howling mob, was too much for him*, and he so nearly fainted that he had to toe accommodated with a chair on the drop. Calcraft, who was then the common hangman, however, carried the execution through without a hitch.j