Centre Democrat. [volume] (Bellefonte, Pa.) 1848-1989, 1882-07-13
A Terrible Tragedy of the Sea.

Dwight, of the American ship freeman
CLARK, from Singapore for New York,
by the steward and the cook of the YES
sci, both Malay Cinnamon, was terri
BILE affair. The two Cinnamon had
been ordered to stop smoking opium,
as it made them unfit to attend to their
duties. They disobeyed the order, and
Captain Dwight ordered that the opium
in their possession be thrown overheard.
This was done, and is believed to have
been the incentive for the crime. The
published account of Captain Dwight's
murder is as follows: On q Friday
night, before going to bed, Captain
Dwight complained that he did not
feel right. He was not at all sick
and had no definite cause of complaint.
Nevertheless he seemed to be unac-
countably depressed in spirits. When
he left the deck for his cabin he called
the second officer, James NJ. Lowry, and
shook hands with him. The incident
was vividly recalled by Mr.. Lowry after
the mutiny had occurred. Second Off,
Ger Lowry went off duty at midnight
and at 4 o'clock on Saturday morn
ing his watch was resumed. The second
officer took cup of coffee from the
steward, and then went forward about
5:15.
1t was about this time, it is supposed,
that the steward and the cook, each
with hatchet and an ordinary butcher
knife, went into the captains room and
hacked and stabbed the unfortunate
commander to death. The murder COM
pleted, the two villains went through
the cabin to First Officer Williams room,
forward. Mr., Williams was sleeping,
but he was aroused by cut over the
head from one of the assailants. Just
as the cook raised his hatchet to inf1ict
another blow, seaman named Frances.
CO, who had been attracted to the room
by the mates cry of "Murder!" crap.
pied with the assassin. The four men
struggling together, got out on the for.
ward deck. In the meantime Second
Officer Lowry had heard Mr.. Williams
calls and saw the struggling men. He
ran for help to the captains room, and
found his commander crouched on his
knees by his bunk, bleeding p1ofusely
and moaning.
"The captains murderedp ~ cried
Mr.. Lowry to the man at the wheel,
and he then dashed back to the forward
deck. His appearance attracted the
attention of the cook, who ran toward
Lowry crying: 81 will kill you, you
--p Lowry fed into the cap
tain's room and secured the captains
sword. Running around to the forward
deck he found the steward and the first
officer clinched. Lowry cut the steward
twice over the shoulder with his sword,
and the mutineer released his hold of
Mr.. Williams. A seaman named Andrew
Johnson, who had reached the spot.
followed the cuts with blow on the
stewards head with 6 capstan bar.
Charles Johnson, the ships carpenter,
who had been on deck only q few
minutes, seizsd an iron pump handle
and felled the steward. The latter
died in about fifteen minutes.
Meanwhile francesca, who had first
come to Mr.. Williams assistance, on
seeing the cook run after Lowry, ran to
the carpenters shop and secured an ak.
The cook, finding that his intended
victim had eluded him, rushed toward
francesca. The latter was chased to
the aft deck, where he turnel upon his
pursuer, and both men struck at each
other with their weapons at the same
time. francesca received cut on the
head, and he gashed the cooks face
severely. The mutineer then fled for
ward and was hit with claw-hammer
by another sailor. The murderer fell
and almost instantly died.
Mr.. Lowry, the carpenter, and several
seamen attempted in vain to revive Cap
tain d wight. He fingered for two or
three hours and then expired. The
gashes on the back of his head and on
his face are described as something
frightful. Fourteen wounds we're in
fiicted on his body by the murderers.
His right thumb was cnt off 1t is sup.
posed that, awsking under the assault,
he seized his revolver. which hung over
his head, but before he could use it the
weapon was struck with hatchet. After
the murder the steward took the revol-
yer and pointed it at some of the men
during the struggle. Evidently, how
ever, he did not know how to use it, and
could not discharge it. First Officer
W;lI;axnot xuoun1 ~aaaivad -, tI,o A.. e.