WRECK OF THE BARQUE ROVER.-MURDER OF THE CREW.

Southland Times, Issue 695, 12 July 1867, Page 2

WRECK OF THE BARQUE ROVER.MURDER OF THE CREW.

"-■Chinese papers, received by the last mail, contam' accounts of the wreck of a barque named the Rover, and of : the murder of the captain; his wife, an& the- •crew;-'" A correspondent of the North China Se~rdl&, writing from Formosa!, says: — ,~ _ , I regret to have c to "communicate to you the •wreck off the south points of - this." island of the American barque Eover>jon: heir voyage from Swatow to Newchwang ; under :circumstances which. leave/:n.o\d<sub"fcthat her crew- were foully murdered, by.^the-Bav.age natives of that place;- t x -Itfche' j^ewsj-iwas _DrougHt..here> by a Swatow C3unaman,'.,w^ip i .,albne was [fortunate enough to escape, and who arrived at ! Takow on the 22nd instant. His story was that the jressel left Swafow on TffieCT9th. iDsFant, and "struck on rocks (evMenay'^He Vele Eete Rocks) -on the- '12th. She floated off, but in^ a; sinking condition, and the master (Captain Hand) determined to abandon her. The crew took to the boats, and were divided" as follows :— -The captain, his wife, one mate, and three Chinese in "one boat; the other mate and seven Chinese in the other. They pulled northwards, but during the night were parted: " The first' boat sighted, land after seventeen hours' pulling, and its occupants landed and eat down on the beacli." After sitting about half an hour, they were surprised by a discharge of firearms., from the bush, close by, .. directed on to then?: party. ' Withput waiting to see "the result of fius volley, flic Chinaman fled and liid: himself till nighty when he crossed the .hills ; and reached teang-Maoii' (a ; Chinese.yillage) „whence,.^'a fter *a deMy'of'six" flays, he got passage to Tdkow, in a sampan. 1-On receiving- this intelligence, Capt. Broad,-in command of H.M.S. Cormorant, which Happened to be_in port, at once-decided -upon proceeding down ; the coast,'^and; ifj possible to lansomany'oftHe crew who might have survived. The Cormorant left Takap on tbe morning of tfiel 25th?-4av4ng"Q)ii GarroU, SMi Acting-Conaul for Formosa, and Dr. .Mansbn^of Takao)i who ; joined ; the expedition as a : volunteer. Abqut 4 r p.jn. the ship anchored in the bay at :the' exfteme point of the island, where, on the. beach were to be seen the remains of the boat in which the unfortunate crew had landed.. 1 On the morning of the 26th the_ whaleboat, the gig, and cutter were ordered to be prepared. In the first •were Captain Broad, Mr! Consul Carroll, and the nativeiihferpreters ;- in the . second^ Lieutenant Mathias and Dr. Lucas the surgeon j .and nvthe third lieutenant Eyder r and^Dr. Manson. The two first puue'd' ashore to where the Hover's boat was lying, and the cutter lay on her oars at about thirty yards from-the shore, with ordera to keep* & look-out for any hostile movement. Everything,! however appeared quiet,_no natives to be seen save on, the hills about 300 jards from shore: - : j A few buffaloes:.had also .ioade their, .appearance on anpiier part of the.,b.each, with what object did not appear, and in charge of no one. ... .., Lieutenant ~ Mathias was the first to jump ashore, and Captain'BroadVas in the act of doing the>-"same, -when a sharp fire of musketry was opened upon" the. party from two points in the jungle, at not twenty yards distance. The abrupt nature of the sand-beach a^ this^spot, :.howeYer; : prevented tins first volley from taking effect on., the whaleboat and gig. ■ • ' : /"^ ; The position of the foe being only indicated; by ■ the s ßmoke from; their musketsj aild they them(^J.yes, being, quite hidden, in -the -dense -bush, Capfein Broad - wisely, determined not to risk the lives of his men- in pursuit of an invisible enemy in r( ajr-jungle, where every advantage r would have been on. their side. The boats were or^ere'^' pffj the retreat .being covered ; by the duifer,' from which was kept up a fire which, from &c cries of the savages, evidently told- Their .bullets and arrows, however,, now fell, thickly round the .boats, , all . of which were struck, in Beveral'plkcoji, one' ball passing 'right., through both sides of fs?.} whaleboat, only a few inches below $50 ! sea> Vd vHch were sitting Captain Mr, gajwa.

j As no doubt now remained as to the sad fate of ~j j the Eover's crew, nothing could.be done but to in--1 flict some punishment on tEeir murderers. On re- i i turning to the ship, therefore, a fire of shell was opened upon the thickets, out of which they now ventured. The effects were soon visible, large parties being seen to hurry up ,th;<r hills in the rear of the position they had occupied. At the two points, alone whence fire was opened there could not have been less than fifty men, whilst I feel - convinced that others were stationed all 'along the Bay, the buJMoes beiug only a decoy to entice the crew ashore. To explain this I must state that the one and great Object of life of a Formosa savage is to obtain heads, and I doubt not that they were greatly -disappointed at not getting a few from :the Cormorant. They fired. not long ago into '■ the boats of the_Swallpw I _and. .1 feel .convinced : tfiat the crews of half .the. Bailing vessels which have been lost : and never • heard of on their Vay \ northward from Hong-Kong have perished at '■ this spot. > -■•'-■ - ■'■ - ■'