Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-06-26

a.. cantain of the silver crown, one Of
.ho company's traders, was an old friend
INV fathers, and SO 1t came about that
TOOK service in the company under
with the rating of cabin boy The
p', h"onar carried dozen muskets, lot
o'shoarding pixies and half dozen cut,
Vs. "a an armament, but everything
'l 'as boxed up and stored away, if not
r's,otten Capt Wharton had been in
~. .ta service for six years and had never
mat with any trouble.
When we got away it was with orders
Cor the Philippine islands, among which
the company had many resident agents
.rbo collected products Our course was
~ the southeast to pass between For
$50 and the 90 Cboo Islands, and we
Id made the run thus far without Incl
dont when one day about noon junk
s;oced native craft, which doubtless
eame from some port in Formosa, inter
oonted us to the eastward of that island
We we're about thirty miles off shore
n,hen she hailed us. She claimed to be
sbort of water, owing to an accident;
h,, this. as we afterward came to know.
ros only an excuse. When she learned
that we we're bound to the Philippines
she had three passengers to transfer
They we're three natives of Formosa,
ubo were going down there to found
colony, and would pay literally for a
massage by the schooner.
am only giving you the gist of what
was urged in excuse. We lay to for a
couple of hours, and heard only part of
what was said 1t did not seem to strike
CAPT. Wharton or Mate Williams as
meer or suspicious, and after haggling
over terms for a while the three natives
were transferred to our decks and the
vessels separated. Then | had time to
look the strangers over, and | was not
long in concluding that | did not wish
for an intimate acquaintance. They
were tough looking trio, and the cook
had scarcely set eyes on them before he
declared that we had made great mis-
take in taking them aboard We had no
accommodations for them aft, and as the
schooner was in ballast they had agreed
to occupy the hold.
took an early opportunity of COM
municatins my suspicious to the captain,
but he laughed at me in good natured
way. tried the mate. but he saw moth
ing to arouse distrust. 1t was singular,
however, that every man of the crew
outside of the two officers was satisfied
that there was something wrong with
the trio. While their excuse was rea-
sonable enough the looks and actions of
the men were suspicious, and it was
plain toall that they were sailors. They
let us all severely alone except the cap
tain and the cook, and called it to mind
afterward that while one interested the
former the other two were occupied with
the latter | could "chin-chin" a bit
and the cook could speak little En-
glish, and SO we managed to understand
each other pretty well. Three days
after the men came aboard "Slop-Slip,"
as we called the cook, assured me with
very serious face that the strangers were
1 evil minded men, who had planned to
capture the schooner They had asked
him to join them, and he had refused.
posted off to the captain with this news,
and he greeted it with contempt.
We were getting well down toward the
northenmost island of the group, when
something happened which should have
opened the captains eyes. The leader of
the three borrowed the glasses and went
d up TO the crOsStreeS of the mainmast and
n took long look around We saw the
sailor in his every move, and he had not
been down ali hour when a native craft
came creeping up from the south, bows
on TO us. She had a free wind, while
we had been beating down all The fore
noon We were at this time forty or
fifty miles to thgnorthward of the group
with beautiful afternoon and a smooth
sea. Half an hour after the native craft
mad been sighted, one of the natives and
the captain retired to the cabin. Five
minutes later the native showed his head
above the deck and called to the mate,
who had just come on watch. He dis
Il appeared down the companionway, and
at the same time entered the forecastle
II 10 look for something wanted, was
n uoWn there about five minutes. | heard
no particular row on deck, but when
reappeared | was struck dumb by the
spectacle. One of the natives was at the
wheel, and was bringing the schooner
INTO the wind to lie to- The decapitated
bodies of the two Americans and the
COOK were lying amidships, while the
TWO Swedes were at the foremost cross
Trees Not a shout had been raised nor
aCry uttered, The work had been done
II with terrible rapidity and in silence,
4 As reached the deck one of the ma.
yves came forward with bloody creese
III MS hand and called me good boy
anu SAID should not be hurt. He left
NE sitting on the windlass so scared and
i weak that could not stand, and then
aSsiS'ed his companions to lower the
'aHS When this had been accomplished
uey called to the Swedes to come down.
tAe poor fellows began crying aud
Amehting and refused to descend. The
natives picked up the bodies from the
uech and tossed them overheard, and
'ueil descended to the cabin and brought
uptne bodies of captain and mate and
served them the same way Both har
ueeh Killed by the one native who ra
n'eu them down. About the time th
last BODY was flung over the rail the II,
ave craft drew alongside. She h.
."T'y men on board, all of whom SCENE,
" AhoW our three passengers and then
r'1''S There was great rejoicing ovei
'4e capture of the schooner, and for d
quarter quarter OF an hour no one paid me any