Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-12-31

HELD ~ SHIPS CREW. TBA 81.
q Aadnan With Msfehss In the Hold III U rstro.
q leum Ship The Captain, Hate, and 8 gailor
| Wounded 81 Hin ~ q Sheath EAifs hs had
I$s Beand q 4 Handle of i Shoyel.
Nov York Sun.
Little Captain Fritz 81 TIE big ship
Granite State. ell I'D il an ulster reach,
ing to his feet, paced the deck 81 his
vessel IS she lay in Woodruff stores il
Br @ klynr, and told q reporter for The
Sun about mad Sailor Salaries and
his tragic death. Itgives one an idea
OF the size OF this earth and Of the
slowness with which news travels
from the region of the equator, to
know that the death Of Leon Salaries
occurred just q year ago this month,
and that the particulars Of his frenzy
have just reached us. st. 81. ! III
The Granite State reached Wood
rufus stores recently, after voy-
age OF 100 days from Manila. It is
eighteen months since the ship sailed
from this port from Hong Kong.
Among the the crew was this Leon
Salaries, and Spaniard, man OF quiet
manners and a popular fellow with
his shipmates. This was his second
voyage on the Granite State. There
were two countrymen of his in the
crew. The others were Swedes, Danes,
and Englishmen. During the early
part OF the voyage southwark Salaries
attended to his duties faithfully, but
later he developed q disposition to
shirk duty, and tried to- influence
Others OF the crew to resist the CAP
tain's orders. He became very surly,
stopping just short OF youtspoken
mutiny.
1t was in the early part OF Novem-
Der, 1885, that the Granite State
crossed the equator in her course
around Cape Horn to Hong Kong.
The winds were unfavorable, and the
crew were required to be on deck long
hours during the day and night. On
one occasion Salaries detied Captain
Fritz, and said: '"This ship is a float
ing hell, but won't let you kill me
with over-work" Suddenly he disap-
peared. The Captain Fritz caused
search to be made for him, and, not
finding him. ne concluded that he had
fallen overheard, and made a. minute
to that effect in his log. For three
days Salaries was missing, and then
he was found concealed be-
tween decks. A sailor saw smoke
coming out OF a. hatcl, and
found that Salaries was there with
his pipe. Salaries came out and went
to work again, denying that he was
III and spurning medical treatment.
For a time he was peaceful but sullen.
Then he disappeared again, this time
down the iorehatch, and when he Was
detected in his second hiding place he
threatened to kill any one who ap-
preached him.
The ships cargo was petroleum in
cases, and Salaries made his way for
ward and barricaded himself securely
with cases OF oil. He had taken about
fifteen gallons Of water and about forty
pounds OF bread with him into his re-
treat, nnd he was prepared for siege.
Captain Fritz ordered the mate
and members Of the crew to bring the
mutlneer On deck, but when they
moved on his barricade he held up q
box OF matches and threatened to set
lire to the inAammable cargo before
he would be taken. The captain was
now convinced that Salaries was in
sane, and he was left for the night in
his retreat. That was an anxious
night on shipboard, and Captain
Fritz, with his wife and daughter, kept
watch on deck, fearing that at any
minute the desperate man in the fore
hole might fire the ship, although i'm.
munlty from punishment was prom
ised him if he would come on deck.
On the following day another attempt
was made to capture him.
Captain Fritz led the men below in
to the hold where Salaries was con-
cealed. They crawled along over the
cases OF cargo, guided by the dim light
OF lanterns. From his concealment
Salaries shouted to the men startling
threats Of death if they approached
him. Finally he threw tim Der at the
mate. which struck him on the bridge
OF the nose and injured him so thathe
has not yet recovered. The Spaniard
stood at bay, bent on murder Cap
tain Fritz climbed over the cargo to
within four feet OF the mailman, when,
with fierce lunge, the latter struck
the captain on the left wrist
with q long sheath knife
bound upon the handle of a. shovel,
and cut the lantern from his hand.
The tendons OF the wrist were severed,
and the falling lantern WAS shattered
over the cases of petroleum. With
presence of mind Captain Fritz smoth-
cred the blazing wick before further
damage was done, and he and his
laen then retreated, but not before
Salaries had slashed the jacket of one
OF the sailors with his long handled
knife. 1t now became evident to Cap.
tain Fritz that Salaries must be raken
dead Or alive, and two OF the sailors
armed with pistols, went below again
to dare the madman's fury. Salaries
was concealed in the cargo and the
men were afraid to approach too near
because Of the long. handled knife
and a ditching spade, the point of
which he had ground to acutting edge.
With these, weapons the Spaniard in
his protected position had his pursuers
at disadvantage, and SO they re-
sorted to firearms. In the dim and
certain light of the hold they emp
tied their pistols i'll the direction of
the crouching sailor, but without effect.
When their ammunition was gone the
man stole upon them stealtl,ily, and
with his sheath knife on the shovel
handle stabbed Sailor Sam Robert in
the eye and slashed Alex. Crigg on the
arm. Then with q sweeping slash
Of his murderous knife he
atrf1clx 4 hlnyx al a Gnaniard xuhn