Eight Sailors Accuse a Chilean Captain of Flogging and Iron-Pin Beatings
At Port Townsend, seamen from the Chilean bark Marguerite told the consulate they were strung up by the wrists and beaten; the captain says passengers caused the trouble.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
PORT TOWNSEND, Aug. 29.—[Special.]—Eight seamen of the Chilean bark Marguerite, from Valparaiso, appeared at the Chilean consulate today and charged Captain Pederson and Chief Officer Smith with inhuman treatment. They averred that they were strung up by the wrists for hours and brutally beaten with iron pins. According to their statements the mate drove them ashore last night with a threat that if they remained aboard their lives were in danger. Several exhibited wounds and scars inflicted during the voyage. Captain Pederson denied that any unnecessary harsh treatment was exercised during the voyage, and said the passengers caused the trouble. The consular investigation will be concluded in a few days.
“They averred that they were strung up by the wrists for hours and brutally beaten with iron pins.”
Sailors in the 1890s worked under conditions that could shade into forced labor, with little protection beyond a foreign consul's inquiry. The Port Townsend hearing echoes modern fights over crew abuse at sea and the difficulty of holding captains accountable across jurisdictions.
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