A STOWAWAY'S SUFFERINGS.

Mataura Ensign, Volume 7, Issue 356, 13 May 1884, Page 5

A STOWAWAY'S SUFFERINGS.

. ♦ An extraordinary escape of a stowaway is reported by the captain of the barque Claymore, at Newcastle from Boekhampton. Ifc appears that in consequence of a glut in the labor market stoways are numerous at all Queensland ports. The captain of tho Claymore ordered the boatswain, before|the ves-*-el left, to search the hold, to see whether any one was concealed in the vessel. There was a large quantity of dunnage wood under the fore peak. The boatswain rammed a sharp broom handle into this, but| detected nothing. Four days after the vessel sailed the mate, having had occasion to go below I to examine the ballast, heard a faint i moaning. He ran to the dunnage wood, pulled a lot down, and was asi tounded to see a young man about 18 years of age jammed in a^ perpendicuLr position, and quite unable to move. . l,e eyes of the stowaway were bloodshot and sunk in his head. His face wtis emaciated, and bore traces of acute s i file ring. He was speedily released, ami ate food ravenously. It seems that hi- had been discharged from the Kockhampton Hospital, and could no work. He stowed away in the fore peak, and when the boatswain rammed iho spike, it went through the flesh of his side and inflicted a bad wound. He ■el'rained from speaking, fearing 1 ai'-v-st. The motion of the vessel jamnu'd him fast, and he had only one arm fi- •«. He suftered great pain all the i imp, minus food and water. In a few more hours death must have ensued. Tin- captain treated him kindly and •t'C him at liberty on the arrival of the \ .\«sel at Newcastle.