Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1871-10-21
The Gloucester Fisherman.

The escape of the fishing schooner E. A.
Horton continues topic of excitement at
Gloucester. Considerable powder has been
burned over the affair. A correspondent of
the Advertiser interviewed the victorious
skipper, and gives the following account of
him and his operation:
Captain Harvey Knowlton is in appearance
and manner the ideal Cape Ann fisherman.
His age is somewhere between forty and
forty five years. He is man of more mus
Gle than flesh, and is about five feet ten
inches in height His features are thin, and
he wears struggling beard under his chin
He is slow and hesitating in his speech, but
soon shows himself to be very intelligent
man. His countenance has somewhat
worn look, but shrewdHess, caution and per-
sistency of purpose are clearly written there.
This afternoon l visited him at his resi-
dence, and the narrative he recited contained
| enough of exciting adventure for forty col
| umn romance of the Ned Buntline order:
but he related it in manner SO modest aud
| unassuming that it is impossible to doubt its
truth in any particular. He told it lucidly
and connectedly. but upon points where he
displayed the most GINNING and bravery it
was necessary to draw him out by questions.
There are many interesting details both ex-
citing but stripped of these his story is sub
stantially as follows:
When he learned of the taking of the E.
A. Horton by the Dominion authorities and
that she was hauled up in port at Guysborough
he at once determined that he would regain
her, whatever the hazard or the personal risk
might be. He went to Guysborough, saw
| where his vessel was lying and then found
himself boarding place about six miles dis
tant. He disguised his person, and, in order
| that he might the more securely do his work
without exciting suspicion, pretended to be a
gold prospector hailing from Prince Edward
Island. This character he assumed success
fully,a he once had a long experience in the
mining of California. His presence was soon
known, and as there was already some excite
ment there at the suspicion of the presence
of gold in that region, he was much sought
for. He was called upon by many to look at
particular localities, and specimens of quartz
were brought to him for examination.
He would give his opinions in general
way, but tell the parties that it would be nec-
essary for him to send the quartz to Halifax
| for crushing before he could say how much
| of gold it contained
| He stayed about there for some time and
was never suspected of being other than what
he pretended. In the meantime by night he
was busy in forming his plans and preparing
| to execute them. He studied the situation
| thoroughly, the position of his vessel, the
| wharf, the storehouse where his sails were,
| the guard, the river, in fact everything. He
got supply of provisions such as they could
| carry with them. and on Wednesday the 9th
| they started for Guysborough. They worked
| their way through the woods, avoiding the
| roads, as such body of men travelling to-
gether would naturally excite suspicion.
Il
take his vessel on Thursday night but that
time proved unfavorable, and so he postponed
| action. The next night, and the next were
equally unpropitious, and for three days he
kept his men hid in barns and succeeded in
surreptitiously getting food to them. On
| Sunday night, at about eleven o'clock, his
men went down in the darkness upon the
wharf at which the Horton lay. Save them,
no living being was to be seen, and the only
sound was that made by the eddying of the
waters around the piles of the wharf. Then
| singly, or two at time, more men came,
| until there were seven of them. They were
Captain Knowlton and his followers. With
military precision two men were stationed as
gurd while the others worked. All were
armed and ready for any emeI gency, and had
| a guard or any stranger appeared he would
have been quietly overpowered, put on
board the Horton and carried away. The
men had their own countersign, and
| thus were enabled to pass one another
| in the darkness. At that hour there was
not water enough to float the vessel, and
would not be for some time. With as little
noise as possible they forced their way into
the store-house where the sails of the Horton
were. They found them without difficulty
and took them to the end of the wharf AS
soon as there was enough water to float the
vessel the sails were fastened on board, the
rigging was bent with two hoops on the
mainsail and two hanks on the jib, the hal
yards were rove in single parts and quick
work generally made. Then the guards
were called from their posts and at half-pas.
two ON Monday, the 18th, the Horton passed
| out with fresh northwest breeze.