MASSACRES AT THE SANDAL-WOOD ISLANDS. (From the Sydney Herald, January 21.)

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 402, 20 February 1850, Page 2

MASSACRES AT THE SANDAL-WOOD ISLANDS. (From the Sydney Herald, January 21.)

In the Herald of the 12th instint, an account was Riven of the voyage of the Elizabeth, schooner, to New Caledonia, and the accounts biought by that vessel led to the supposition that not only had the parly at Mr. Fit/Geralds beche-la-mer fishing establishment at the north end of the island, been driven away or massacred, but that the French Mission establishment at Yengin or Balade had shared the same fate. Tha Maiy Anne, schooner, which arrived yesterday, has brought further accounts, which we regret to state are of a most melancholy character. The Superintendent of Mr. FitzGerald't establishment, Mr. David W. Miller, arrived by the Mary Anne, and from.hiua we have learned the following particulars. Feefjce Islands, 1849. On the 10th July we sailed from Cantate Hurbour in the Mary, cutter, for Balade Harbour, New Caledonia, in company with the schooner Minerva, and the Sir John Franklin. We anived there after a passage of twenty-one days. On the 12lh September, the Mary returned to Bilade to look (or the Sir John Franklin, which vessel she expected to find had returned tlmre from Sydney. On arriving theie, Captain Rubey, of the Mary, sent a boat with Robert Hall, an American, and a native of Rotuma, to procure water. On getting up the river they were attacked by natives and killed. After this, two natives came on board the Mary, under pretence of selling full, the rook went down into the hold, to bring up some yams to exchange for the fish, and the captain's attention having been drawn to the fish in the canoe belonging to the na'ives, they split his head with a tomahawk ; they then killed the cook as he was coming out of the hold. The only man now left alive on board the Mary, wys a Rotumah man, whom the natives would not eat, because of a disease in his eyes which rendered him almost blind. They cooked the bodies of the captain and crew ashore, and ate them ; after which they burned the vessel to the water's edge. This is the statement of the Rotumah man, who managed to make his escape from the cannibals to Yengin, and who iclated the facts to Mr. Miller, who now takes up the narra'ive in person, and who writes fioin Mr. FitzGernld's establishment. "Ou the Bth September, we not having heard of the loss of thb Mary, Mr. FitzGrruld sailed for Sydney, I being left in charge of the Inch^-le mer expedition— in.* party consisting of John Blake (an American), nineteen Fetgee men, one Rotumah map, and Abraham Silver (.in East Indian). On the morning of September 20tli, the natives brought ms grass for thntuhiug, and appeared on very friendly terms. About noon about from 300 to 400 of them assembled, and rushed upon us with spears and clubs. We took to our arms, with which we were enabled to keep them off till about 4 p. tn., and two being killed ml a number of them wounded, they retired — John Bhko, the Atne ican, refusing to fight, and holding a c ure^pundence with the native?, I took his gun from hi n and jjave ii to one of the Fee jee men. The natives continued quiet until the 1 lib October, when a large body of 800 or 900 natives assembled and commenced an attack on oui B'ttlement, which they maintained with great determination from 11 in the morning until sunset. Oue ot the Feejee men was wounded with a spear, and i had several narrow escapes The natives had surrounded our hut, and were calling out to John Bhke to set fire to it. Several ot the natives being killed and a number wounded, we made a rush at them and shot their principal chief, -on which they all ran away. On the following day, finding that our Feejee natives had lost heart and were constantly crying, we thought it was best to piepare to leitve, as we could not have withstood another encounter with the natives, our ammunition being nearly expended ; and on the 14th October we took the boats and started for Yegnin. Having yams and water, we pulled up the coast, followed by about 200 natives, until we arrived at Balade. We then landed on a sandbank to recruit, where the natives attacked and obliged us to retake to the boats, one of which, being very leaky, we left behind. We then pulled to the south cust, the wind being contrary and blowing ytrong. During the ni^ht I miss d one of the boat*, and run to the lee side of a ■mull island where there we le no natives. We were obliged to lMnain here for four days, it blowing and raining very hard. The weather having moderated, we pursued our course to Yen^n, and during the pas* »fge picked up two natives from the missing boat, the others having most likely been cast ashore and hava taken to the bush. On the 25th October we arrived at Yengin, after being eleven days in the boats, and were kindly received by the French Missionaries, and remained with them until the arrival of the schooner Mary Anne, when the Binhop granted us a passage to Anatam— • from which place Captain Padden was kind enough to give me a passage to Sydney. I do not think the natives would have attacked us had they not been encouraged to do so by the man Biuke, who stole n boat and deserted from the schooner Vanguard a short time previously & had been living with the natives since. Cook's Bay, Erro.manga.— Extract from the log of the Rover's Biide, dated 11th December, 18J9 :— Light breeze; schooner Rosetta in company. At 7 a. m. lowered the boat and sent the first and second mates to trade for sandalwood at Mallaby and Bunkett, the vessel cruihing between those places. At 2p. m., Mr. Banner, first mate of the Rosetta, came on board, and stated he had some suspicions that one of my boats was taken by the na(ivt6— he having been trading at Effbo, a place about two miles distant from .Bunkett — and that about noon the natives of that place gave over trading, and informed him that the Bunkett tiibe had taken a boat and killed the crew of five men. The Effoo natives then went in the direction of Bunkett, taking with them their tomahawks and other weapons; on which Mr. BaHner returned to the Roietta and informed Capt. Edwards. In the meantime Mr. Dill, who had been trading at Bunkett, and had seen the Rover's Biide there trading with the natives on very fiiendly terms ; went back to the Rosetta for more trade, and on his return to Bun* kett, found no natives but two, who brandished their spears and said "No wood to-day." The Rover/s. Bride's boat was gone, nnd Mr. Dill having returned to the Rosetta and informed Captain Edwards of his trip, that gentleman immediately sent Mr Banner to inform Captain Bell, ot the Rover's Bride. Captain Bell immediately made a signal to his other boat at Miillaby to return to the ship, and on her arrival he dispa'ched her with two exira hands, in company with the RossJt'a's boat, to ascertain the facts. On their return at 7 p. m. they made the following statement : —"When the boats arrived at Bunkett, the cicws landed, leaving one man in charge of each. On examining the beach, they found it strewed with portions of hair and pitches of blood ; they then proceeded up the river as far na possible in the boat, and on landing

fliscovered one ton of sandalwood besmeared with blood, near which was the stump of a tree literally coTered with blood, portions of flesh, h»ir, &c, and which, from its appearance, seemed to have lerved the purpose of a block for this human butchery. Near the stump was found a pistol belt, and canvas pistolba<»: no natives were seen, and not a vestige of the boat snve the anchor-buoy. Finding that nothing further could be ascertained, they took the landal wood and returned to the vessel. Captain Bell then consulted with Captain Edwards, and it was deemed best for the Rover'a Bride to proceed to Anatam, and the Rosetta to continue cruising about Cook's Bay for five days, in case anythin* further should transpire.—OntheSund'iy prior to the massacre, the chief of the Bunkett tribe was on board the Rovci's Bride, received some presents, and appeared on the raest friendly terms. Bunkett is a small boat-harbour aid creek on the south entrance of Cook's Bay, Erromanga.— The following is a liit of the names of the men killed : Mr. Win. Jordan, first mate, of Berwick-on-Tweed ; John Allen, of Liverpool; Frederick Gardener, of London ; John Burrows, of Glasgow ; and Edward Ward, of BnMol— seampn.