The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-04-03
DANGEROUS SEAMEN.
A SHARP PRACTICE FOUND OUT.
rA, Bark Orahlns Psllsy Hurn.d OF BsdlOV.
I,laud-Ths Oalssn POresdby the MutIuOu,
Gcswto R.ssra 70 Port, ssa Are Sap.
posed 10 Have Fired the ship.

Ing oil Bedloe'S Island, and the alarm at
tracted the tire.boat William II. Have
meyer, lying at its berth in pier No.. /. AS
sistance was at once rendered, but the car
so OF the ill.iated vessel being oil, all ef
forts to quench the flames were ansuccess
full, An attempt was then made to scuttlI
the ship, but she was practically beachet
on theisland and could not sink low enough
The flames continued all day, and at {
late hour last night the vessel was still
burning.
The story Of the loss Of the Grahaml
Policy will read more like a chapter from
a yellow.covered tale Of the sea than any
thing else. In these days Of matter Of fac
mntiny nj sea is not regarded as a very
serious matter, because 80 few mutinies
amount TO more than mere refusal o.
some unfortunate sailor to work, and they
are generally settled quickly enough by the
hard.asted mates, The crew Of the Policy
were negroes. They were furnished
in this city by Beckwith, Williams,
4 Co., shipping agents, Of No. q
Coenties slip; that Is, this firm found the
men and sent them through the Shipping
Commissioners Office. The vessel sailed
from this port on March g for Konigsberg.
She was laden with 4,372 barrels Of refined
petroleum, valued at about $4,000, which
is insured. The names Of the officers and
crew were Captain James CosgroYe, First
Mate Peter b. Olsen and Second Mate f,
Lorme, q steward and eight seamen, whose
names as given to the shipping agents were
John II. King, A j., Hall, William Groby,
Thomas Rotch, Arthur Young, John Smith,
X W. Nicholson and Edward Bascon, ali
colored. They were not an ordinary crew
iRappearanceo eorintelligence. ME. Williams,
the shipping agent, describes them as livery
dandy niggers," and that he was glad to
get them, as there had been Of late more or
less a corner in sailor men. The Policy
started on her voyage by way OF Long
Island Sound, and was t0wed up through
He'll Gate.
The crew were orderly enough until the
ship was well up the Sound Then their
mutteriHgs began. On the eth the skip
per went forward and asked one OF the men
what the matter was.
Matter enough" was the surly answer,
and that ended the conversation for the
time being. The captain supposed that
probably the growing was confined to one
or two Of the men, but in few hours was
undeceived. Everything was done in a
slipshod way and almost Every order had
to be repeated before it was carried out.
When off Block Island matters reoched u
crisis. A committee came aft aud inform.
cd the captain that the ship must go about
and the voyage end, alleging that the vessel
was leaky and unseaworthy. !.
"Fhe ship must go on" was the captain's s
nltimatum, and she went, but only for a
short distance. Captain CogsweIi went
into his cabin. AS in all merchant vessels,
the firearms and other weapons OF defense
were kept under the captains eye. Block
Island was well abeam when the second
mate came into the cabin with the infor-
nation that the crew insisted on returning,
and, moreover, that theywere armed, The
captain went on deck and found matters
Just rs the mate had represented. The
crew were stubborn, but quiet, and did not
hesitate to display q few OF the weapons
with which they were armed. The captain
had evidently 10 decide between submis.
sion to their demands and fight with
three men to one, and armed at that. The
vessel was put about to the eastward OF the
island and came back by way OF Sandy
Hook making tour OF Long Island. She
reached her anchorage on Thursday after
noon.
The ostensible cause Of the mutiny Of
the crew was that the vessel was leaking
badly and was unseaworthy. Nosooner was
the anchor safely dropped than the cap
tain hurried ashore and sought the survey
ors The vessel was pronounced seawor-
thy. This fact OF course was soon known
10 the crew and they realized that they
were in fx. Under the law governing
the shipping OF sailors they would be
obliged to continue, the voyage when the
vessel has been declared sound. One Of
crew aroused Captain Cogswell about day.
break yesterday morning with the infor-
nation that the ship was on fire. He sprang
from his bed and made such preparations
as he could to fight the flames that were
making rapid headway, but with little ef-
feet. 1t soon became evident that nothing
could stop the fiames. The Poiiy's anchor
was slipped and she was beached on the
island, where she continued to burn fierce
| j.
Two of the crew in boat
went 10 pier !, North River, where
they notified the fire boat. That and the
police boat Florence were soon Mt the
scene, and the pumps were set at work i'm
mediately. Petroleum, however, when once
well fired cannot be put out by water from
any ordinary number OF fire pumps, and
the flames increased rather than diminish
ed. The tugboats w. H. Cheny, Daylight,
W. Goodwin and Standard also came TO
the rescue, and the doomed vessel was sur
rounded and water poured into her from
all Sides The fire. began, Capt. Cogswell
thinks, near the cabin stove, as, when he
was first called, the flames were thickest
there. Tie stove was not overturned, and
h0has no positive knowledge OF how the
flames originated. At o'clock in the
afternoon the flames were still raging and
dense volumes OF black smoke were pour
ing southwark. The Havemeyer was pump.
ing water into the hold, but the vessel was
iast going to pieces. The masts went by
the board about about that time, and the
fire, after destroying the deck, had seized
on such portions Of the hull as were above
water.
LUZ NeeSel WuS uWueu 'Dy NlTs JuLlleS
Stafford and several Others, Capt. Coeswell
having IN interest In her. She was built
at Williamsburg in 1856, by a man named
Grahams, after whom she was named, and
was originally ship rigged. She had been
owned at different times by different per-
sons. The vessel was l5l feet long, 81 feet
beam and q feet deep and was valued at
$4,000. 1t Is expected that she will be
total loss She is not insured The cargo
Of oil was owned by Messrs Geopel 4
Trube and was fully insured.
The most singular thing about the whole
affair is the fact that the crew Of the Ora.
hams Policy mutinied on another ship
within month and under identical cir.
cumstances, The British bark Chignecto,
Capt. Knowlten, sailed from this port on
March IL, bound for Bremen. The crew
was made up Of the same men as that Of
the Grahams Policy. The Chig1ecto also
went up the Sound, and 10 twenty.four
hours the crew were grumhling and mr.
Vnnua An ihvaaft1atihn Nv OuntottI