HORRIBLE SCENES ON BOARD A TYNE VESSEL.

Evening Star, Issue 3450, 13 March 1874, Page 3

HORRIBLE SCENES ON BOARD A TYNE VESSEL.

Mr H. E. P. Adamson, of North Shields, the owner of the barque James Montgomeiy, received a letter on Saturday, from Gap,tain Housagoe, the master of that vessel, giving the details of one of the most extraordinary outrages ever committed on board a British vessel. A seaman stabbed four of his shipmates without provocation, fastening the master and two of the crew in the cabin, and drove the remainder with the mate into the rigging where he kept them from daylight till dark, and until he took the vessel close into the land on the Corsican coast, swam ashore, and escaped. The letter said J At 6 a.m., hiovember 28, I was awoke by hearing a noise on deck, and the other Italian rushed down the cabin, telling me he was stabbed, and at the same time another man came down, telling me that one of the Italians had cut one of the men’s throats. In the meantime the mate had gone on deck to see what was the matter, and had a very narrow escape, as the Italian made two thrusts at him with a knife, but fortunately missed him, and he got up the fore-rigging clear of him. He had attempted to kill two men in their beds, then rushed aft and attacked the watch on deck, striking at them with a knife, but not injuring them. They rushed to the rigging. He then went into the house aft, and stabbed the carpenter in three places, and knoced him down with the maul, got his axe, and took charge of the deck. I was in the cabin with the other two meq, wd dared not come on deck, as we had not any weapons to defend ourselves with. There were no firearms or weapons of any description in the cabin, and we were expecting him to come down into the cabin every minute. He asked how many were down there, and the Italian told him three. Then he fastened the companion up, so that we could not get up. He threw everything moveable off the deck, so that if they got down from, aloft they could not get anything to defend themselves with, He carried the carpenter’?, and a sharp-pointed

raavimg-spike about with him, threatening that if anyone came on deck he would kill him. The ship was on the Corsican coast at the time. He steered the ship for the land, and ran her close in, and hailed some people on the beach to send a boat, but no boat came. Just as it was coming on dusk he got his clothes out ot the house and made them fast to the lead line, with tlie load attached, and a piece of wood for a buoy, and threw i them overboard, Then he took the axe and cut a hole in the boat, and then went overboard himself and swam towards the shore, which was about a quarter of a mile on. They then got down from aloft and liberated us in the cabin. We dyesaefl the men’s wounds got the ship off the land, and steered

for the nearest port, and anchored here at dusk. The carpenter is going on favorably. I will have to leave the two men that were stabbed in the neck in hospital here.