THE THISTLE MASSACRE.

Otago Witness, Issue 283, 2 May 1857, Page 8

THE THISTLE MASSACRE.

The following version of this terrible tragedy is from the " Friend of China :" —

The last paper of the year was in the course of delivery when news reached this colony of a more frightful local tragedy than any that had been told of in previous numbers. This was the cold-blooded murder of the captain, officers, foreign crew, and passengers of the postal steamer Thistle — in all eleven souls.

With the shot holes in her bows and stack temporarily plugged, Captain Weslien, undaunted by the attack on him on the night of the 22nd ult, again proceeded with the Thistle on Sunday last on -his customary voyage to Canton. The up trip was concluded successfully. On the way down, the water being low, in French River the vessel took the mud, which so choked her feed pipes that a little below Whampoa, on Tuesday morning, it became necessary to anchor for the purpose of cleaning them. At half-past ten in the forenoon of that day, the steamer Shamrock came up, and after ascertaining that nothing was required, she took in tow H.M.S.S, Hornet's boat, previously alongside the Thistle, and proceeded on. Stopping only a couple of hours in Canton, the Shamrock again reached Whampoa by dusk on Tuesday evening, and was hardly at anchor when information was brought to the pilot to the effect that the Thistle had been taken into Second Bar Creek, 'and set on- firer— and v that the foreigners on board had- all .been decapitated. When first told; of' what had occurred, Captain Wood thought i the report was merely that of the vessel's getting aground, or of the*previous attack. Early nextmorning, however, the pilot, l who' had requested permission to go' on shore,' alleging that'his father was dead, came off secretly, "and earnestly advised—implpred;~Captain Wood to turn all the Chinese passengers on sh'oje, for, he asserted, he. was sure it was

their intention to take the, vessel in the same way th'eJThistle had been captured. , >[ „ At, daylight jail ;doubt regarding the .truth of,thereport.was put at rest by the appearance of -three, of the -Chinese, servants of the Thistle, whq.jthen tpld .the following , tale. The steamer,- -they «aid, had not long been under weigh, when, the captain left the upper deck, iwith a Manilla man' Sucunny at the wheel,, and proceeded towards the engine-room hatchway, where he was" in 'the act of stooping forward looking down, when an assassin from behind stabbed him with one of those ■ shortpointed swords 1 of which every China householder in Hongkong has one or more pairs! The first 'engineer, Mr. Abraham, '' an American, was' on the other side of the hatchway at the time, and was similarly assailed ; two Manilla men Sucunnies were working at a hand pump below, and soon shared the same fate ; one man got into one of the coal bunkers, and there, afterwards, unable' to get out when the vessel was set on fire, burnt to death. A passenger in the cabin, a Portuguese gentleman whose name we do not publish until further assured of the person, together with his servant, a Portuguese, were also murdered, as was a sick Artilleryman who was lying down forward, and who was the first victim.

The captain, on being stabbed, ran aft, but fell before he reached the cabin door. The mate, Peterson, succeeded in getting into the cabin, and fired several muskets at the wretches as they attempted to get hold of him. A stink-pot thrown into the cabin at last drove him overboard, and he must have been drowned, as he was never seen to rise. The Manilla man at the wheel was killed from behind* without seeing the hand that wielded the weapon. In all, as we have said, eleven persons were thus disposed of; and search was made for the Chinese boys employed in the cabin, one of whom, by jumping overboard, and hiding under the counter of the vessel, succeeded in escaping, as did the others in other ways. The Chinese firemen were then directed to remain at their work, and the vessel was steered up the creek called by the Chinese Chowmee, to the village of Lamkongtow, distant some half-a-dozen miles inland. There her wood work was set on fire, and when that was destroyed, every particle of brass work that could be removed was taken away ; — in fact, the vessel is so much disabled that it is questionable whether it is worth while to repair her. The assassins, said to have numbered under a dozen in all, lost no time in walking off with the heads of their victims in handkerchiefs, and at Canton, we suppose, will receive the reward said to be offered for such commodities by the gentry and people. Having turned all the Chinese passengers out of the steamer, as suggested by the pilot, Captain Wood started for Hong Kong, first communicating the above to the Hornet, off Sunchow, and to the men-of-war found at the Bogue.

The other of the postal steamers, the Rose, on her way up on Tuesday morning, descried the burning vessel, and made all speed to report the fact to H.M.S. Sybille, at Whampoa. But nothing could be done without the orders of the Commodore, busily engaged with his men in the Dutch Folly — (What about?) — and the Rose was directed to proceed on her way to Canton without delay. Unfortunately owing to the low state of the tide it was not possible to get up the usual route and she had to make detour by Blenheim Reach. Before she could get round, the Barracouta was observed coming up with the Thistle — her hull having just been found at the head of the creek. The people of the village off which she had been taken, feared lest the consequences might be visited on their heads, had prudently resolved to have her removed by fishermen out into the stream, where, in a short time, she would have sunk, a stop-cock being open, and a hole made in her starboard bow, by which she was nearly full of water. After some little delay, to arrange the manner in which the Barracouta should be safe for any salvage to be awarded, Captain Ricoby was permitted to take charge of his owner's vessel and return to Hong Kong. Five headless Dodies were found in the hull, and, in the coa^ bunker the charred remains of another., Summoned to an inquest on one of these bodies, we shall be in a better position next week,, to confirm or amend what is now written.

The coroner's inquest on the burnt remains of a human body found in the coal bunker of what was the steamer Thistle,- stands adjourned till- after the current criminal? sesssions. . It hastranspired .that when- the .assassins had com-1 pleted, or were upon their bloody work, they> threw off their upper' garments* and 1 displayed} the uniform- of Che Se6ng-:Wise* Braves— &) militia under' the 'control of- the Ming sling 1 fong— the society at : Canton< that f ha% always' been' foremost in a display of, hatred r tobarba;«' v ;rians from afar.' The' report. of Hihe'safe^foif*

the Portuguese* passenger, ;Senhor Francisco Diaz de Sebrecazas, < Consul for Spain at Macao., proves incorrect, we regret to find. HOSTILITIES IN {jANTON. From aHJong'Kong journal of, the same date, we select the subjoined : — We have no news whatever from Canton, beyond rumors brought by Chinese, who report the city as still, in, flames, and that over 7,000 houses have been destroyed. The Sir, Charles Forbes, having been chartered and; fitted out as a gun-boat, has gone up the river, ,and we suppose the Hong Kong will also be. taken up by the Admiral, — for the purpose of pursuing the mandarin fleets of war-junks up the creeks and into shallow waters' where the large steamers dare not .venture. . This chartering of , river steamers would be a needless expense were the •proper gun-boats here ; but we cannot expect the arrival of any of them for at least a month to come, and in the meantime there is no saying what mischief the junkmen may be hatching. Mr. Caldwell, it appears, has got information of a projected attack on the colony by a large fleet in conjunction with imperialist emissaries already here, who are to fire the town in various places ; and as the information is stated to ,be much more definite than usual, we cannot understand the apathetic indifference on the subject displayed by the Governor. It would be an easy matter to charter and send off one of the small steamers to seek for information, and learn whether such a fleet really exists in the locality specified ; somewhere near the Bogue ; and a fearful responsibility rests upon his Excellency's shoulders should, the warning prove true, yet remain unheeded. THE REVOLUTION. The "North China Herald" of 10th January gives the following rebellion news : — Kiangsi. — Of the thirteen departments, or prefectures, of Kiangsi, nine were long ago lost to the Imperial Government. Two more are now in the same category ; at least reports to this effect come from various quarters, and in all probability are true. Cheh-kiang. — On the frontiers of Chehkiang, west or north-west, are two important passes, leading from that province to the great plains of Kiang nan. These passes are distant some six hundred li, say one hundred and fifty miles, from the two renowned cities Suchau and Hangchau. ' Rumour says that the Assistant King since the death of the Northern King, has drawn large bodies of troops from Kiangsi to Nanking and Nganhwui, and has despatched a strong force against Tung-pa and Shang-yuh-shan, ' the aforesaid passes, intending to take the two aforesaid cities. From Tung-pa, however, the rebels have been repulsed by imperial troops, under General Chang Kwo-liang, who have sustained three successive defeats, with a loss of more than eight hundred men, at the other pass, where the rebels appear in great strength. Two thousand men, — one thousand of veteran troops from Tanyang, and one thousand militia from Cheh-kiang — have been ordered to move in that direction, towards Chang-yuh-shan, in order ! to save that place and drive back the insurgents. I Shantung. — Ever since the long-haired rebels reached Tien-tsin, about three years ago, the western borders of Shangtung have been more or less disturbed by " local bandits," tv fi. ' Two gangs of these from Suichau, on the north of Iviangu, together mustering 10,000 strong, after having been chased about by the emperor's troops, and rejected by the Nanking chiefs, with whom they sought alliance, are now reported on the borders of Shantung, where they have linked themselves to a third gang, numerous and desperate as themselves. Horses, provisions, &c, they- share in common. Violent I attacks have been made on- them " by the mandarins," but without success. Their leaders are Tien Sanhu, Ho Aluh", and Wang Chingchin. THE PORCELAIN TOWER. It appears by the accounts published in the "North China Herald," that the wonder of China, the Nanking Pagoda, or so-called Porcelain Tower, exists no longer. Our informant says it was blown-up by orders from Hung Siui tsiuen about the time that the head of Wei, the northern king was demanded of him by Shih Tab-kai the assistant king, [vide N. C. Herald No: 336] under the apprehension- that it migbJP be taken possession of by one of the other lead- 7 ers, fortified, and directed against the city, J which it commands. * Politeness is like an air cushion — there may be nothing in it, but it eases our jolts' wonderfully. ' -Don't Persecute. — John Wesley' ssaidi : "If you cannot reason or persuade a man- into 'theitruth, 'never attempt to forcehinvinto^it.^ Iflove,will:not compel him to come, leave Kirn to (Jrod, the Judge ofaii." v *''„, x ,"'\ f . ';;", . .