THE HORRORS OF THE GALLEYS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1674, 28 September 1887, Page 2

THE HORRORS OF THE GALLEYS

The life of the French galley-ulaves of the seventeenth and eighteenth centarieß has been thus described by Admiral de la Graviere : — They place seven men on each oerch — that is to say, m a space 10ft long by 4ft wide. They are ao packed away that y v oan bob nothing from stern to bow but the heads of tl>e aailore. The captain and the officers are not ranch better off. When the seas overtake the galleys, when the north wind howla along the coast, or when the olrooco dampens the passengers with It* deadily moiaturo, cl< these make I tho galley a perfect hell. The laments tioDB of the ship's company, the shrieks of the sailors, the horrible -howling of the conviota, the groaning of the timbers, mixed with the clanking of the chains and the natural nolaea of the storm, prodace an eifaot that will terrify the bravest of men S Even tha calm had its incon venlenoe. The horrid amollß are so powerful that you cannot withstand them, despite the fact that you uae tobacco m some shape from morning til night. Condemned m 1701 to serve m the galleys of France on account of being a Proteutant, Jfcan Martelle de Bagerao died m 1777 at Ghlenburg, en the Geldre, at the age of 95. fie aays : — " All tha convlcta are ohained clx to a bench ; .these benches are four feet apart, and covered with a bag stuffed with wool on which Is thrown a sheepskiD. The overaeer, who Is the master of the Blaves, remains aft, near the captain, to receive hfa orders. There are too Bub-overseers — one amidships, the other on tho bow. Each one of them is armed with a whip, . which he exercises on the naked bodies of tho crew. " When the captain orders the boat off, the overseer gives a s'gnal from a silver whiafcle which hangs from his neck. This i% repeated by the two others, and at once the slaves strike the water. One would say the fifty oarß were bat one. Imagine a<x men chained to a benob, naked as they were born, one foot on the footrest, the other braoed against the seat m front, holding m their hands an oar of enormous weight, stretching their bodies out, and extending their arms forward towards the backs of those before them, who have the came attitude. The oar thus advanced, they raise the end they hold m their hands, so that the other end small plunge Into the sea. That done, they thrown themselves back and fall on their Beats, which bend ou receiving them. "Sometimes the slaves row 10, 12, or even 20 hours at a time, without the Blighteßt relaxation. The overseer, or some one blbo, on Buoh occasions puts into the mouth of the unfortunate rower a morsel of bread steeped with wine, to prevent his fainting. If by chance one falls over — which often happenr — he is beaten until he Is supposed to be dead, and then he is thrown overboard without, ceremony."