Massacre of Passengers and Crew, &c
THE MASSACRE
OF THE WHOLE OF THE
PASSENGERS AND PART OF THE CREW
OF THE SEA HORSE,
On her Homeward Passage from Sydney, and the Plunder of 18,000 ounces of Gold by the Murderers.
We have just received intelligence of one of the most daring cases of plunder and wholesale murder on the high seas that it is our duty to make public for many years. It appears that the crew and thirteen passengers of the ill-fated ship, the Sea Horse, some of whom had been seeking to better their condition by toiling at the diggings of Ballarat, Bendigo, and the several numerous diggings of the surrounding country, whilst others had gained a respectable position in life by mercantile and other pursuits, all returning light-hearted and elated by their good success to the land of their birth, and to look on the dear faces, and gladden the hearts of the dear ones they had left at home, but whom they were doomed never to meet no more on earth. Among the crew was a Spaniard known by the name of Digo Salvesata, and three others, who were tempted by a love of gold to gain possession of the valuable cargo, to do which, they conceived the horrid idea of putting the whole of the passengers and that part of the crew who would not join them to death. The following are the facts of this demon-like outrage:—It appears that the Sarah Ann, of North Shields, on her passage home, was driven by the gales into the German ocean, and it was in sight of the white cliffs of Old England that these horrible murders were committed. As the Sarah Ann was laying at anchor on the morning of the 12th, at day break they saw through the fog the ill-fated vessel, and not seeing any one on deck they hailed her, and on receiving no answer a boat was immediately lowered, and they went on board, and on getting below a shocking sight met their gaze, with one exception the whole of the passengers and the remainder of the crew were in their berths stiff and cold, with their throats cut, and otherwise dreadfully disfigured. One poor man had a piece of dirty sheet tied tightly round his throat, and about eight inches of it stuffed tightly into his mouth. On this being removed, there was a large wound in the throat four inches in extent from right to left; there were five incisors on the right side ending in one deep one on the left. The windpipe was cut through and the muscles of the neck on the left side; the forehead was contused and scratched. The hair was covered with blood. On the back part of the right hand there were several scratches. Most of the victims were more or less mutilated. On going to the Captain’s cabin another shocking sight presented itself, he was laying completely hacked to pieces, his tongue was completely cut out at the root, and his entrails strewed on the cabin floor, showing that there had been a terrible struggle; it appears from the statement of a man who had stowed in the hold to escape the slaughter, that the second mate, who is one of the murderers, treated the passengers and the rest of the crew with some grog in which some laudnum was mixed, which rendered them senseless, and while in that helpless state murdered them in the manner described, they afterwards went to the Captain’s cabin, who fought bravely but was overpowered by numbers, they then took all the gold they could find and lowered the long boat and made off with their ill-gotten gains. The tiller of the boat has been found, so whether they have escaped and sent the boat adrift is not known, but search is being made after the murderers, and we hope they will soon be taken, and meet with their just reward.
Copy of Verses
You landsmen and you seamen bold,
Attention give to me,
While I a tragedy unfold,
Upon the briney sea;
In the German ocean it occurred,
Near the sight of land,
Twenty-eight fell victims
To the cursed murderers hands.
The Sea Horse it from Sydney sailed,
Bound for Old England’s shore,
With crew and thirteen passengers,
Whose fate we now deplore;
Returning home with hard earned gold,
Across the briney main,
But alas! the ones they loved at home,
They ne’er will see again.
Four of the crew they laid a plan,
The passengers to slay,
And with the gold they dearly earnt,
O’er the seas to bear away;
These murderers were led away,
All by their thirst for gold,
And their victims they did cruelly slay,
Most shocking to unfold.
In some grog they mixed some laudanum
And soon they fell asleep.
And then these wretched monsters
To their victim’s berths did creep;
Then to the Captain’s cabin,
Intent on blood did steer,
And mangled his poor body,
How dreadful for to hear.
The Sarah Ann from North Shields,
As by the facts appear,
Saw the poor ill-fated ship,
And boarded it we hear;
And found the gory victims—
How shocking for to read,
May the murderers soon be taken
And suffer for their deeds.
Walton, Printer, Mary Street, Limehouse.