The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1877-06-28
SAN FRANCISCO LETTER.
International Press Bureaus Letter.


The purpOrted discovery in San
Francisco of some new and important
evidence relating to the famous Itch
borne case in England, has created
considerable comment during the past
week. Most of your readers have
doubtless seen the brief announcement
in many of the papers that the Hon.
MI. Whalley, NJ. P, the great advocate
Of the pretensions of the claimant to
the Tichborne estates, has recently Wis
tied the United States in behalf of his
imprisoned client. It appears now
that San Francisco is his destination,
and that it is in this city that he hopes
to obtain new evidence to enable the
CT deUa7at Roger Tichborne to obtain
another hearing before the English
Courts. The history of the new devel-
opments regarding the great case are
briefly as follows: Last December the
Surveyor of the Customs of San Fran
cisco received q letter from the Secre-
tary Of the Tichborne Release Associa-
ton, i'll London, asking him whether
he could give any information as to a
three-masted schooner called the Os-
prey, which was supposed to have
sailed from this port in 1854 for Mel
bourne, Australia. This was believed
to be the vessel which picked up the
claimant, according to his story, off the
coast Of Brazil in that year. 1t will
be remembered that in the Tichborne
trial the one weak point in the plain
tiff's case was his uncorroborated testi-
mony that he had been rescued off the
coast of Brazil by such vessel and
carried to Melbourne. No trace Of any
such craft had, thus far, been obtained,
although it is not too much to say that
the whole world has been secured for
her history. The application to San
Francisco is only a part of the inquiry
which is still being widely pushed for
the mysterious three-masted schooner
The Surveyor Of the Customs replied
to the Tichborne Release Association
that the records of his office for that
year had been destroyed, but that he
had found several persons in San Fran
cisco who distinctly remembered such
a schooner. The Association then for
warded full account of the desired
vessel, and engaged two Well-knoWn
lawyers in this city to furnish the re.
quired information, and possibly sup
Iply the missing link Of evidence in the
claimants case. Detectives have also
been employed, and the search has
been prosecuted quietly for severa,
months. The results are thought tC
be important. Several old residents
,.o,,, on, how +bo 1vocoo1 op1 +bo+ 1,o,, co,,
tain was Mitchell Owens. This was
one of the names which the claimant
at the trial, gave in his efforts to recall
the name of the captain of the Osprey
Owens, however, who was in San Fran
cisco while the investigation was going
on, suddenly left the city a day or two
since, when the results of the search
had begun to attract notice. But il
had been ascertained that the log-book
of the Osprey was purchased from him
several weeks ago, by parties who
probably knew it's possible value
From the log-book it appears that the
Osprey left this port early in 1854, and
after sailing around the Horn, picked
up five men off the Brazilian coast
who declared that they were the sur.
vivors Of the British ship Bella, which
had foundered. The log-book also
states that the rescued men were
landed at Melbourne. The Importance
of this information, if true, may be in.
ferred from the fact that, at the Itch.
] borne trial, the career of the genuine
Roger Tichborne was clearly traced uI
to the time when he embarked on the
Bella, which was never heard of again
The present whereabouts of the Os-
prey's log-book are unknown, but it is
believed to be in this city, and has been
seen here by several parties. The
friends and agents of the claimant are
making every effort to get possession
of it. Those who are interested in the
matter, however, to-day made some
new discoveries which, if substan-
tiated, will probably defeat the hopes
of the Tichborne Release Association
There is in this city the written state
! ment of a sailor, who declares that he
was one of the five men who were ship
wrecked on the Bella, and afterwards
picked up off the coast of Brazil. He
| is at present at Honolulu, but his
story, which has been lately forwarded
to this city, gives full account of the
wreck of the Bella, and the subsequent
lhardships of her crew. 1t corrobo-
rates, in many particulars, the story
of the wreck and rescue as told by the
claimant at the trial. He furthermore
declares that Roger Tichbone was on
the Bella and was one of those who es-
capped when she went down. He knew
Tichbone well, and saw in his possess
sion various papers proving his identi-
ty. But now comes the important part
of his story. After the sinking of the
ship, the boat containing Roger Itch
borne, himself and four others landed
at desert island, and there, Tichborne,
who had been unwell for several days.
was seized with a brain fever and died.
His companions buried him on the is
land, and soon after were taken on
hoord thn 0cprnu on6 oorr;oI 70