Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1891-01-03
Some "reminiscences of the Bloody
Deed as Told ~ Fellow Pas
Senger.
The Man Subsequently Arraigned for
Trial but Released on the Ground
of Insanity.


md she was an old boat then In fact, /
! was told that on her arrival in Clyde she
was 20 have the machinery and boilers
/ taken out of her and 70 be entirely redtted
1 She is a medlum-sized vessel, but broad
in the beam and proportion to her length,
and, ] should judge, good sea-bodt. On
| this passage, however, the sea was like a
mill-pond the whole way across, SO there
was no opportunity Of seeing how she
would behave herself iii dirty weather
The trip eas marked by one tragic incident
which | shall never forget.
We left New York at O'Clock on a
/ Saturday morning and reached the Clyde
eleven days later, so that you can see she
was not a fast boat 1t was at the end Of
! the season, and there were only nine
! cabin passengers, including the four which
composed my own family, so we had
/ plenty Of room to move about in There
were something like ninety steerage and
/ intermediate passengers The captain IS
name was Campbell, and the chief nate,
also SCOtchman, named Wilson IKE
names of the second and third officers !
/ have f.rgotten, but they as well as the
| first mate held master certificates, and
each one was qualified TO navigate the
/ ship There were five boats, enough to
/ provide room for all then on board, but far
/ from sufficient had the ship been full OF
passengers We had boat drill once dur
| ing the voyage, and everything was run
! ship-shape and Bristol fashion, as the
ailors saw The crew were with scarcely
an exception, from Glasgow or Belfast.
The Ethiopia was not a crack ship by any
means, but she was a comfortable one. and
as my wife was unaoeustomed 30 the sea
and the children very young, | had no
desire TO cross in a greyhound for the
sake of saving forty-eight hours.
I'VE were well out beyond Sal DIV Hook
| by breakfast time On the Sunday after
noon my wife cane on the quarterback
for the FIRST time. | left her seated in ~
steumer-chair n the raised deck, and
when returned q few minutes later she
pointed out TO me mn on the lower
deck, who, she said, had been creating a
disturbance It appeared that he was a
storage passenger who had come further
aft thar the ship laws allowed, and had
been ordered forward 10y the chef officer
Nv wife was alarmed at the Wild appear
anee and the crazy mutjcrlngs Of theuau.
and expressed the hope that he was not q
Caoln passenger SdbIect on which was
not able TO reas5ure her On the Monday
night about O'Clock / was sitting in
game OF whist with the doctor and two
passengers in the smoking room on deck
when a wild-eyed woman, tine Scotch
gteWardess. rushed in crying: Doctor,
come quick, Maginni- has been stabbed
by one Of the Storage passengers. We
all ran hastily forward IN the dark and 10y
the malnmast we found the chief mate
holding bv the throat the murderer, HON
ha had Just grlpped with as he was going
over the side At the foot of the fore
companion was a group Of frightened oc-
cupants of the steerage, and among them
lay the first steward, grooming IN agony.
A rapid examination disclosed q knife cut
nearly ten lucne, long, which had rippej
open the abdomen, and, AS the doctor dis
covered at once, had severed the lower IN
testiue. A pdsseuge, who had had some
experience in accident cases IN a Ma,sa-
chusetts cotton mill assisted me TO adj
minister chlur0form 10 the wounded man,
the doctor did what he could to replace
the intestncs ard sew up the wound. The
poor steward begged pite9nsiy to he put
ont of his misery, and, although an enOr-
nous quantity of the anWsthetic was used,
il was impossible to get him thoroughly
under its influence.
Captain Campbell, kneeling 10y the side
OF the roor fellow asked him who had
stabbed him, and he identified the man,
who had in the meantime been handcutted
to a post in the bin II seemed that a
few minutes before the murderer asked
Maginnis for hight for his pipe and was
given one At 9 o clock, the hour at
which steerage passengers we're expected TO
retire, the steward laid his hand on the
man, shoulder and said: Now. my lad,
| II is time to 90 below Without a word
| the man drew a clasp-knIfe and struck at
| him. The steward fell, crying out as he
| fen. and his assailant threw his knife into
the sea and attempted TO follow himself,
| but was bounced upon by the chief mate
| Nacinnis died twenty hours after he had
! been stabbed, and in the afteru- ON the ship
| slowed IN for an instant IN mdoCean. \
scupp,r was opened in the side of the ship,
| a hasty command was given and a rude
nine box. bearing the remains, was cast
! overheard. Holes had been bored IN the
| box 10 sink it, but, so far as ! could see 1t
| danced away on the edges Of the wave nm
| tn lost ia our wake There w1s no re-
| lipious service or ceremony OF any hnd
/ ma ruld not help 6ut contrast the
Affair." with what had read Of the solemn
+
/ Nv ( a burial at sea,
''Ihe murderer was confined on deck ln
little cubby. sometimes used rs a h9spi-
tal had several conversations with HIM
and satisfied myself that he WAS insane.
He prlfessed that he Thought he was going
+ Ia he robbed. but il was faund he had only
ff.v cents in his possession he was the
same man 90 whom my wife had express.
fd Her fear We took up collection for
the fam., sc the murdered man ami re-
8ttyed pretty well considering how few we
numbered. On the tuesday We su.rU into
/ l.anrh Fovle. A hoat came alongside ard
hallsI the ship ID contained the w.ie ot
fhe murdered steward who had Obtained
+ Il massage in one Of tie anchor line shln>
fr6m GLASGOW and haS come % ue"t her
husband never witnessed more dis
ressing scene than when TIM news wtS
communicated q her
eTha facts were salegraphed trnm l0lsh
reyla and when We arrived n fhe llyJe
fanr GLASGOW policemen c1ma ga board
and took the prisoner N enstody. earn
81 ,qiterwara taat - VS. arralgned for
tria, sad it was shown that be nat been
an inmate Of lunatic asylum IN Canada