Massacre in the South Seas.

Feilding Star, Volume IV, Issue 60, 23 October 1883, Page 3

Massacre in the South Seas.

By the mail from Noumea, Sydney j papers have received intelligence from j the New Hebrides. The French schooni er Energy, which arrived at Noumea on 28th September, reports that three more murders have been committed at Api, and one not fur from where the boat's I crew of the Lavinia were recently j massacred. One of the mnrdered men j waa named M cEwan, an Englishman, I and the others were a Frenchman and a l native. AH were in the employment of Messrs Morgan. McEwan was trading at Api, and lived with a sea coast tribe, who had quarrelled with an inland tribe. The inland people wanted a body to eat before there wounded honor could be satisfied. So a number of them crept through the bush and fired a volley into their adversary's vidage, killing McEwan, Tbe Frenchman was in a little cutter buying cocoannts on the coast of Aaba when a number of natives came on board, and, when he was in the act of handing some tobacco to a native in payment for cocoanuts, he was cut down with a tomahawk. A .\ialicolo native shared the same fate, but a Loyalty islander jumped overboard, and swam to the shore amongst the friendly natives. Next day the Loyalty islanders and the friendly natives recovered tlie cutter, which had been completely pillaged, and navigated her to a place of safety. The two bodies had been taken away and eaten by the j murderers. H.M.S. Dart shelled the place where McEwan was killed, but directly ihe ceased firing the natires opened fire on her from the shore with Snider rifles.