QSA846965 1877 Depositions of crew of the Schooner Douglas 22 February, Colonial Secretarys Office In Letters, In letter 77:757, DR63971

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[Top right corner] Police Magistrate Cairns Queensland Cairns To wit 22nd February 1877 In the matter of an Enquiry respecting the murder of three of the crew of the Schooner Douglas and the wounding of five others at the Guam Islands lying about 260 miles East of Queensland.

Present Edward Morey P.M.S. [right side annotation] Depositions crew of Schooner Douglas [written in left margin] Previous 753 6 Mar 77

This deponent being duly sworn saith, My name is Daniel Deasy, I am a Seaman belonging to Schooner Douglas - I sailed East from Trinity Bay. The Masters name is Harris. I am engaged for six months on Colonial voyages. There are Eleven hands all told including Master and cabin boy. We left Trinity Bay about the end of first week in January. and called at Dunk Island to take in wood. While we were there two aboriginal blacks came up in a Canoe and came aboard quite friendly and the Master gave them some tobacco. I forgot to mention there was another person on board. Mr Beaver the brother of the owner of the

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of the Douglas. The Master asks the blacks if they would come with the ship, and they appear to be satisfied and the Master told them to fetch two more. The blacks then went away and returned with two others the second day afterwards. We were getting under weigh, when [struck out "they"] three came aboard, the fourth black remaining in the canoe. The Master would not take this fourth man aboard as he looked a very bad kind of man. We then sailed for the Guano Island about 200 miles due East of this Port. The wind proved contrary and we anchored at Cape Upstart & watered there. The three blacks assisting on shore, they did not attempt to go away. We stayed nearly a week at Cape Upstart and reached Guano Island about the seventh or eighth of February. We found a brig called the Alexandra there, belonging to the same owner, but she left eight days after taking Mr Beaver with her. We loaded up some guano, the blacks working with us. [struck out "The day after the Al"] The day the Alexandra

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(2/ left, there were two of our new men on shore, Humphrey Coughlan and Alexander Macintosh, also two of the blacks, whose names I don't know. The vessel was lying achored both head and stern lying about half a mile or more from shore. [struck out "About midnight"] - We kept no watch, some of us sleeping on deck and some below. About midnight I was awoke by hearing a cry coming from the hold, and fancied the ship had parted an anchor. I was below and rushed on deck crying out the ship was going on the rocks. [struck out "We"] As I was running I heard a sound behind me and saw a black after me with an axe above his head. I then sang out to the Capt'n that the blacks were murdering us. I kept singing out and the other two blacks each having an axe came at me and struck at me, grazing me in several places and cutting a piece out of my left arm. I scrambled forward and managed to draw my sheath knife & made a blow at one of the blacks but struck the axe handle and lost my knife. I then picked up the grindstone and staggered

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the blacks. I then got below. Finding no arms I thought it best to get up the foreyard. When getting up the rigging I found one black half way up with an axe and another started to follow. One wounded me on the right arm, & while struggling with him, the other wounded me on the right heel. I managed to get away & take refuge on the foreyard. I found the mate and a man named W'm Laurie on the yard. They bound my wounds and lashed me on the yard. While we were all on the yard I could hear the blacks cutting at the body of one of our shipmates, and also cutting away the after skylight. We sang out to the Captain to try and shoot them, and during the night I heard the report of twelve or thirteen pistol shots. At daylight we heard the sound of a man with boots running and a few words of English. After that two blacks came up the rigging but we kept them at bay by striking at them with blocks strung on ropes. One black then went down and pelted us with the ballast stone while the other kept striking at us with the axes. The black then came up from the

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(3) deck carrying his axe in his mouth and a block in his hand. W'm Laurie jumped down on to him and tried to get the axe from him but did not succeed. By this time it was broad day light, and I heard another shot from the cabin, and the two blacks on the rigging looked aft, and I saw the body of a black lying apparently dead. The blacks went down the rigging and one jumped overboard. The mate then went down the rigging and seized a hand spike and the black came at him and made a blow. By this time I was down, also W'm Laurie. I picked up a block and struck the black on the back of the ear and staggered him and Laurie hit him with a hand spike. The mate closed and I wrenched the axe from the black, and struck him with it three or four times, killing him. We then sang out for the Capt'n to come out of the cabin, and he and the Steward and Purcell & John Shaw and the cabin boy came up. The Steward fired at the black swiming away but he got on to a rock about a hundred yards away. I then saw the black jump into the sea

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