The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-07-31
HE PERFORMED LIKE A PIRATE KING
According to This story OF Cruelty 10
Members of the Crew.
Men Were Ironed and Then Hung
From the Spanker Boom.
Grave Charges Against a Sea Cap
tain who Halls From Bath.

New YORK, July 3O.-From the stories of
some of the crew Of the American clppef
ship j. F. Chapman, Capt. Joseph A,
| thompson must have reigned ON board of
her with the harshness of pirate king.
Three seamen, it is declared, were ironed at
the hands and strung from the spanker
boom. so that their feet barely touched the
deck, and were kept in that position for pc
riods ranging from 10 minutes to over an
hour. Erie A. Eklund, the ships carpenter,
has lodged complaint against the captain
before United States Commissioner Shields,
who will investigate the case.
The Chapman is full rigged ship of 20SS
tons, and is of this port. She carries grain
from San. Francisco to Liverpool. aud on
her return trip calls at New York She has
been commanded by Capt. TompsOn of Bath,
Me-, ever since she was built, nine years
ago, and he is also part owner of her. She
left San Francisco Ia the latter part of jan
uary last. The captain and his son, Albert
thompson, who Is the first mate. often had
words with the carpenter, Eklund, who
somehow did not please them. Second
Mate Martin said that Ekland didn't work
hard enough.
On May 2, after the ship had rounded Cape
Horn, Eklund was at work repairing spar
which bad begun to rot. The captain ca me
up to him aud asked him what he was dol ng.
The carpenter narrates what happened next,
thus: II told him that was mending the
spar. He cursed me aud struck me across
the face with his half open hand, tearing the
skin off my cheek in three places. / tried to
protect myself. but he and his son, the first
mate. put irons on my hands. Then then
took me to the miZzen-mast and fastened the
irons to the spanker boom. The boom was
just high enough from the deck to let my
toes touch it. Every time the vessel rolled 1
was dragged from one side to the other, my
toes being lifted from the deck.
Il suffered awful pain. l could hardly
breathe at times, and every muscle was filled
with pain from the strain. l couldn't help
groaning from the agony, and Jack son, the
man at the wheel, at last came and cut me
down. The captain and first mate were for
ward at the time. l was told that they kept
me hanging for an hour and twenty minutes.
When the ship reached Liverpool left her
and paid my way back to this city. / was
hurt internally by the strain and have been
here"
Charles Powers, of Detroit, who was an
able seaman on the Chapman, corroborat ed
Eklund's charge OF cruelty. Powers, who is
an Intelligent looking man of about 81 years,
shipped on the vessel at San Francisco, and
remained on her until she anchored off
Governors Island yesterday morning He
consideration by all the officers, but had wit
messed the stringing-up of two of the cre rew
he told the following story:
"Tha first one to be stretched from the
spanker-boom was Thomas Chapman, who
was about IS years old. About a month
after we left San Francisco, he had a fight
with the first mate. was helping to reef
the mainsail at the time, and saw the captain
and his son shackle the lads wrists and
tasten him to the spanker-boom by the irons.
His toes just touched the deck. They re-
leased him before we finished reefng the
sail, SO Judge he was suspended for about
ten minutes. When we landed at Liverpool
Chapman shipped for Quebec.
:, The officers did good deal Of quarrel
ling with the carpenter. don't know what
the trouble was. The carpenter could not
nave been drunk. because there was no
liquor to be had. On that day in May was
on Iop OF the forward house scraping oars,
and did not see them tie Eklund up. heard
him shout, though. think he must have
been hung up for twenty or twenty-five min
utes. Billy jackson, who was at the wheel,
couldn't stand the suffering mans cries any
longer and cut him loose while the captain
jackson was strung up himself, his place at
the wheel being taken by James Ericsson, l
didn't see him hanging from the boom. but
he told me they kept him there for an hour
and sixteen minutes.
''We got to Liverpool on Thursday, June
4, and were to be paid on the following Sat
urday. jackson and Ericsson, however, re-
ceived their money on the next day and
country. 1t was said that they got extra
money not to say anything about the affair.
jackson said he was going to ship on a ves-
sci plying in one of the Great Lakes"
Eklund has been staying at a sailors home
In Hamilton avenue in Brooklyn, since his
arrival from Liverpool two weeks ago. Dep
uty United States Marshals Van Buskirk
and Grant arrested Captain Thompson yes
terday morning and brought him before
Commissioner shields. The captain merely
said that he had already been acquitted by
the American consul at Liverpool. Mr..
Shields held aim in $2500 bail, for examina-
tion tomorrow at II a. m. Bond was fur
nished by John Wild, shipping agent at
No. Al Old Slip. who said he was worth over
$4,000. If found guilty the captain may be
fined $1,000, or imprisoned for five years,
or both.
Eklund is a native OF Finland, and is a
heavy set man OF medium height He is So
years old, and has been at sea for 42 years.