Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-03-18
Kearney's Cowardice.


From the Alta California, May 9Th, 1873 ]
No single fact in the outrageous
attacks on law, order and decency,
by a few ignob1e and debased men,
lyingly claiming to represent the
feelings, needs and aspirations OF
the honest aud worthy working
classes of this city and State. pre-
sents itself more strongly in con-
demnation of their efforts than the
characters of those few themselves.
Covert and insinuating in their eff
forts to lead worthy men estray;
uncertain, changeable and vicious,
with no good motive inspiring;
with the paltry ambition of Great
ing fear among those whose possess
sions they cOvet and whose respect.
ability they detest; encouraged in
their initial evil-acting by supine
city uthorities-these men, whose
whole purpose is evil, whose only
desire is plunder, and whose great
est aim is to bring on riot, blood
shed and disaster, SO that in the
ruin of their betters they may fat
ten-by their past actions, as by
their present history, prove them
selves to be the veriest scum of the
earth. Bereft of every noble quail.
ity Of nature, cowardly, debassd
and detestable, the chief of these is
the ex-drayman, Denis Kearney,
to whom all men are thieves, liars
and corruptionists, and all women
nafifttfoo fnhta
wild and filthy in his denuncia-
tions, has a record of his own, the
remembrance of which must have
furnished the foundation for his
charges of general unworthiness in
his incoherent harangues, delivered
to his unthinking and novelty
hunting listeners OH the sand lots.
A REVELATION OF CHARACTER.
In the year 1870, the Montana,
Captain Jas. Carroll, Master, was
running between San Francisco
and the southern ports with freight
and passengers. On one trip, late
in the year she was working her
way down the coast, when, arriv-
ing off Coxo Bay, she endeavored
to put in for the purpose of landing
passengers. Coxo Bay is just back
of Point Conception. At the time
there was a very heavy fog, render
ing 1t impossible to see farther
ahead than half ships length.
The vessel was feeling her way in
slowly, the fog and the very heavy
swell on at the time rendering the
task exceedingly difficult and dan.
gerous. The rough roar of the
breakers could be heard distinctly
as they rushed upon and retreated
from the many dangerous reefs
known TO be on all sides in the
neighborhood. Suddenly, without
the least indication of warning the
vessel brought up on one of these
reefs. All was CONSERVATION. 1t
being early morning, the passen-
gers, including men, women and
children, many partially clothed
and frantic with terror. came rush.
ing on deck. Dismay and terror
reigned on every hand. The extent
of the disaster could not
be ascertained, but every
one anticipated misera-
BILE death amid the breakers onthe
lonely coast. The shrieks OF the
women and children and the bias.
phemy of the despairing men rose
above the roar Of the water and
added new terror and confusion to
the scene. OF the Montana, Denis
Kearney was the second officer.
Believing that all was lost, but yet
willing to make every effort to res
cue the steamer, Captain Carroll
ordered the engines reversed and
endeavored to back the Montana
off the rocks. He also endeavored
to bring some order out of the con.
fusion, ordered the officers to their
places and the crew to the pumps.
All obeyed but Denis Kearney and
six poltroons, his comrades; deaf to
the appeals of the Captain, and
deaf to every sense OF humanity or
shame, they rushed forward to one
Of the best boats on the steamer,
and, hastily cutting it away,
jumped in, leaving the vessel and
its freight to what they all believed
was
CERTAIN DESTRUCTION,
And put of from the steamer.
Meantime, Captain Carrolps efforts
to save the helpless women and
children, and the steamer, never
relaxed, though so basely deserted
at SUCH critical moment. He
finally backed the steamer off from
the reef, though in badly dam
aged condition. Seeing the Mon.
tana safe, Kearney and his com.
panions returned. AS he stepped |
on board, Captain Carroll, enraged
at the baseness of the desertion,
struck him in the face, telling him
to the deck like q dog, and then
snurnad him with bis foot. as ha |