The Portland daily press., 1886-01-15
THE RACER
Captain cerrIor Held in $4,000.

At the trial of Capt. Gerrior in Boston
Wednesday, for sinking the schooner Racer,
Mrs. Catherine Sherman, wife of George
Sherman, the seaman, testified that Captain
Gerrior, at Petite Menan, said to her that
man had come on board and told him he
could sell the fish at Long Island for $3.50
barrel, and if he did so he would either run
the vessel ashore or sink her; afterwards ne
promised Mrs. Sherman and Ida Williams $40
apiece If they would say nothing provided
anything happened to the vessel; witness
told him she didn't want it lost while she
was on board, and he said it wouldn't be;
this was after the fish had been sold as to
the run" incident, the captain went down
the trap in the cabin, at Port Clyde, and
brought up piece of board which he called
piece Of the 'ceiling;" witness and Ida
Williams were then in the cabin; the captain
used hatchet at Portland and chopped some
in the same run !" he said before he went
down the trap that he was going to see if the
vessel was 'ceiled;" witness left at Portland
because she lived there; there was no fish or
salt left in the vessel after they left Gran
berry Island; she was not calked at the ISL
and the captain said he would lose the ves-
sci to get the insurance and then he was sure
of another vessel.
Alvan G.. Reed, of Gloucester, testified that
two nights before Christmas, while the ves-
sci was still at Portland the captain went
home by rail to Gloucester; when he return
ed he brought his wife with him; at Port
Clyde he was down under the cabin. and cal
ling for hatchet he pulled out about foot
of the ceiling" the two women, the cap
tain's wife and Ida Williams, were not taken
on the trip from Portland, but were put
ashore before the vessel started to go home
by rail, and the captains clothes were also
sent 9 home by rail; on the trip the captain
sold some of the cable, a sail and three of the
four dories he sold also some of the gear,
saying that it belonged to him; at Portland
the captain bought an inch and half bit;
the captain, the two Portuguese and witness
alone were on the vessel when she left Port
land about $40 o'clock that same day she
went down; witness took her out of the har-
Dor, but about 4 o'clock the captain took the
wheel; before witness left the wheel he
heard considerable chopping down aft and
also the bubbling of water; the captain he
could not then see, but the last seen OF him
was in the cabin; one of the other men was
on deck and the other up forward when the
captain came out of the cabin he went into
the main hold and remained there about ten
minutes coming up from there he took the
wheel and told witness to turn in; after wit
ness had been lying down in the forecastle
an hour he got up and said to the captain,
'She's leaking pretty bad, and the captain
said she was; he got up because the boys told
him the vessel was filling; he went to the
pumps but the captain told him it was no
use to pump, for there was too much water;
the captain sounded outside, but did not say
how deep the water was; the anchor was
dropped and the foresail taken in, and then
they took to the dory; they were then about
10 miles off Cape Elizabeth Light; they pull
ed into Cape Elizabeth and then to Portland
Light, but it was too rough to land in either
place, so finally they got on board a coaster
and were taken to Portland; witness asked
the captain what he did with the list, and he
said he hove it overheard; in Portland the
captain and witness were locked up, and the
former told witness that he wanted him to
swear that he (witness) was forward and
asleep, and that when they turned him wit
ness out the water was over his boots; he
also wanted witness to say that the remain
der of 81, 900 lbs. of fish after the $4,000 had
been sold was on board when the ship went
down. Lots of times the captain told wit
ness that he didn't expect to take the vessel
home, and that the owners would like to see
him lose her so they could get the insurance
and buy new vessel; never heard him say
this to anybody else.
Captain Gerrior was held in $4,000 for ap-
pearance before the March term of the Dis
trict Court.