distrust their countrymen who had become converted to Christianity by a
Roman Catholic mission in the interior of the island, these convicts
were sent out in gangs to follow the rioters into the jungles and
disperse them. These riots lasted for over a week, and it required the
presence at last of the military to quell them. As it was, over 500
Chinese were killed, and among them many of the well-to-do Christian
converts who had become planters.

Utilized as the services of these convicts from India were by the
Government of that day, and their being wholly different in their
habits, customs, and language from the Chinese who formed the bulk of
the town population, it is not to be wondered at that the Chinese felt
themselves estranged from them, and kept themselves ever aloof. There
were, however, some Chinese of the lowest class who sought to embroil
themselves with them, so as to bring the convicts into trouble, but the
convicts always avoided a quarrel. They therefore sought other means,
and in 1852 they gave out and placarded over the town that the Governor
and all the Europeans had left worshipping in St. Andrew's Church, owing
to the number of evil spirits there, and had gone to worship in the
Court House, and that in order to appease the spirits the Governor
required thirty heads, and had ordered the convicts to waylay people at
night and kill them.

These placards created quite a panic in the place, so that people were
for some days afraid to leave their houses after dark. In order to allay
the fears of the people the Governor issued a proclamation saying that
St. Andrew's Church had been struck by lightning and was unsafe (which
was the fact), and he called upon the people not to believe the reports
of evil men. Moreover, he offered a reward of $500 for the discovery of
any person propagating such reports. This had no effect however, so the
leading Chinese merchants were called upon to address their countrymen,
which they did in a long appeal, assuring them of the benevolence of the
Christian Government, and urging them to have no fear and not believe in
foolish reports. In two days the fears of the Chinese population were
thus dispelled. In 1875 a similar "head scare" occurred during the
construction of the "puddle trench" for the new impounding reservoir.
This was a work of considerable difficulty, and some superstitious
natives circulated a report that it could not be done without "human
sacrifice," and tha