Rensselaer Gazette, Volume 3, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 4 May 1859 — Horrible Massacre by the Cannibals. [ARTICLE]

Horrible Massacre by the Cannibals.

Three Hundred and Thii ty Persons Killed and Eaten. We published about a week since, brief statement of the wreck of the French ship St. Paul , on the island of Russel, in the j •South Pacific, in September last, and the! subsequent massacre of three hundred and I twenty-nine of her hree hundred and thirty i Chinese passengers. The survivor was res-j cued by the steamer Styoc, and has furnished the follow ng narrative to the Sydney, Aus-: tralia, papers: “The ship went on shore during the night, and when she struck, the passengers ail rushed on d -ek. making a great outcry, upon which the captain drove them all nel nv again. When daylight broke, we landed by means o the boats on an Island, where we remained two days without any water, when some ot us went aboard the ship again to get some, as also provisions. The captain left in his boat with ?yme ot his crew, and we were t, o t. disturbed by the natives lor a month after he had gone; they ther came over from the mainland, distant about tnree-qu ir!ers of a mile, and made an attack onus. < Some of us had double-barreled carbines, but we got 1 frightened and threw them away. The only whiteman leit with us, alter the deparetur of Captain Pennard, was a Greek, who, having armed himself with a cutlass, fought desperately and killed a great many of the natives before he was overpowered. They then took all our clothing, &.C., which they partly destroyed. Any valuables that t ley found, such as severe gn.-, rings, &,c., they placed in a net hag. which each man carried j around his neck. A watch particularly ex-1 cited their attention, as they were continually opening it to observe the reflection ot j their faces in the glass. At night we were placed on the center of a clear piece of ground with fires lit in several places, the natives keeping a regular watch over.us, arid during the day they would select four or five Chinese, jukl, a ter killing them, roast the flesh, and eat it; what was not consuin d being deposited in their nets. Tlieir u ode of proceeding was as follows: The victims being decided on, they were taken out and beaten all over (excepting the head) with a kind o club, and then dispatched by ripping the stum ch open. The body was then cut in small pieces and divided, the fingers, toes and brains being eagerly sought after; the hones were then- collected and either burnt or thrown away. I saw ten of my fellu v passengers killed in this way. On one occasion seme of the Chinese took a boat which belonged to the ship, and went over to the mainland in the night, to get some water, but never returned, so we thought they had bd n killed. Every day they brought us cocoanuts or some wild roots to eat, and appeared to be quite friendly with us. This state of things continued until I was taken off the Island. When I left, there were only four Chinese and the Greek alive, all the rest having been killed. I saw these live the day the steamer came in sight, b it when the natives saw the boats coming on took them to the mountains. 1 wus sick ami lame, and they would not carry me, so that I watched my opp rtunity non contrived to conceal mys it among tie rockuntil the boat carne on shore. ’! m y art ■ very •numerous, l>ut do -not appear to have any cliiel among t hem. They live on cocoanuts, of which there are large quari‘ ities, unci a kind oi yam-, which they roast before eating; but, beyond a few dogs, 1 saw neither or lowls ot any kind.” • A Si sot ear Farewell —An exchange :. :. : young in n named Si limn Rogers blew lout i* is brains one ib v last week, utter bidj ding Bis wile good bye with a shotgun! Singular manner of bidding good bye.