The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1876-02-29 00:00:00

A TRAGEDY OF THE SEA.

Eleven Mutineers are wwe being placed at the London
Bow-street Police court for that they did
with malice aforethought, on Oct. 31st, 1875, murder
on the high seas Study Hatfield. the captain of the
Lennie; John Wortley, the first mate, on the 3lst of
October last The Lennie, it appears, ia.ile.l from
Nova Scotia. The crew consistedi
o Captain Ilartrield,
and was hound for
JAonsetwpherilivoourttiheye.22finNd of
first lusts,
belt Robert Macdonald,
.ecoud
num, all of whom were murdered: the eleven alleged
Drees in custody ; and the other two survivors, Von
11. Ogtonch, the steward, and a buy named Ilenry
Ynislitt, to whose praiseworthy conduct, and especially
I, the eteminCe, the credit of saving the ship and the
arrest of the murderers is due. The men in custody were
a crew got togther in London is the early part of October.
and taken to Antiverp for the purpose of manning the veseel.
When they got into the Bay of Biscay, and after they had
been live days at sea the crew umnifmted signs of insa-
bordination, which eventually broke out into the most
terrible mutiny. As early ae four o'clock on the morning
of the 31st of October the steward, who w. sleeping in his
berth, heard on the deck above a frightful commotion_
Dressing himself as speedily as he could, he ran to get on
deck, but found he was prevented by the hatchways being
fastened down. Amidst the violence and uproar going on
above he heard terrible moans and gurgling sounds, the
captain saying in the last throes of death, "Oh, you are
not sailors ; you are slaughterers." Directly after that he
heard another rush, and the sound of footsteps, AA if a
man were running away. It seemed as though a rush was
then being made after the second mate, who was probably
trying to escape to the rigging. Immediately upon this
he heard five shots fired, end then a heavy thud on the
deck, at though a loan had been brought down. After
the lapse of about an hour and a half some of the
mutineers came down to the steward. One of them
addressing him, said, "Well, we are finished now." The
steward affecting surprise, mei, "Oh ! What have you
finished r "The captain and the mates," replied the
mutineer, and he added, "Now, you can take charge of
the ship." The steward eeplied, " Yes ; where do you
want to go I" "To Greece, replied the metineer. "You
take us to Gibraltar and well find Greece." The steward
replied that it was all right; he would take the ship mite.
When he got on deck be found it covered with blood,
Five of the meta were endeavouring to wash the blood
off. Three others were over the front, and three were
over the stern, cutting away the name of the Isett. Some
of the men then went down below and got tile captain's
clothes, whilst others went about and ransaeked the ship,
and another man took poneseion of the niedicise chest.
In this position, with the murderous gang toasters of the
situathen, and feeling that they were uncertain as to
whether they should trust him with their dreadful secret,
the steward came to the conclusion that lie had no alter-
waive but apparently to bowline their willing servant.
When working order was restored he Went VI the boy
Garry Tnislitt, a ho Wai the only one both ,ught he could
trust, Awl eaid to him. "Now, bok here, Garry. If we
take these fellows to where they want to there is ii,,knowing what they may .to. When they item where
they are they will Le very likely to murder us awl throw
us over also. Let us try to save the ship and our owe
lives as well. Now Can I trust your' Yee • all right,'
replied the buy. "Well, then," said the steward, "You
go down into the cabin, and I will lock yeti in. then you
write 21 notes in French and iii English stating that the
captain and officers on board the Lonnie are all murdered,
and that the crew have *wised the ',hie. and we two are
waiting assistance. While you are doing that I will go
and get 21 empty bottles to put the note, in, and then
we'll throw them overboard and see what they'll send us."
The boy did so, and when everything was all ready the
stewanl again altered the course of the vessel towards
the French coast. They threw the Witte, footboard,
hoping they would drift towards the . oast, or that
they might attract the attentf. is ..f the French
authoritim. The weather became very rotigh, and the
or
Tal rij-isdwnatr dthfeit.iir
ectkg.tcnealin
cue to g
forward, ti toe,
nt.t hd,akt
claimingo int
ewofoutl h
po.so oi
if
theru to go to sea to lose their sails, and that if they chose
ere
Fre
ame
netreieht.nand:T.pP:risi
miesietelo.,ufwsta..rriiibe,lelbohasfttili.n:::ilaikt,y,:s.
to go on shore he would put them near to laud at a small
tance
place lie knewtirhwsale;:e,:eaet:Leishi
and, lowering it? went on shore
itbbii:gyeott
h%nhificei
hut hfiTtor.lerut:tte
reero liuhcyardoco::::::inred.aite:f
dabisl
and within two days
u.anifdtey.triwmeTardtb:syr:ahniiatirryilaut.
'side, followed rhlt
.Isioipxww
being
do
of
of
wpromhaotextr:titootury'o
anal Itht.htleegtompurnerdccm,hth:enudst
to know the meant' of the Lennie's name beiiig obliterated,
the immediate
steward,
at once told the
Whthowrie
ing five of the mutineers who hail remained on board were now charged with complicity in the murder, arrested and
placed in irons, and taken on shore by th:, Traveilleur.
In the tneantime the news of the oecurrence was
privately communicated to the French gendarmes. While
all this het been proceeding on board the Lennie, the six
Greeks who had Landed at Sables d'Olonne bad attracted
the attention of the French police there, they having
with them their °dicers* clothes and other things they hail
seized in order to eelL Eventually they applied to the
Commissioners of Marine and represented themselves as
being destitute, and belonging to the Greek brigantine St.
Georges, which had foundered with the loss of all heads,
but they themselves. By this time the news of the
murder had spread through the French provinces, and
the men in question being suspected as the six Greeks
who were wanted, they were soon arrested. The whole of
the eleven paving undergone their preliminary exami-
nation before the French authorities, the matter was
handed over to the English government.

EMIGRATION TO Sol:111 A—VSTRALIA. —The ship &pen,
1,338 tons, belonging to MT William Th•Nmson, Jun.,
chartered by Mr. Dutton, Agent-General 1. 7 South Au.-
tralia, .ailed from Plymouth en traturd ay for Port
Adelaide with emigrett., comprising carefully *elected
agrlcultund and alerlabourere, anal auecha .ics, married
and tangle, and Including 44 single young women. The
emlyanta are under the medical charge of Dr. Sweetiniai,
R.N. Surgeon Superintendent, and the single young
woolen under the care of Kis David/014 a. Retro&