Los Angeles herald., 1892-12-14
SHE IS A SURE ENOUGH HOODOO
The Schooner Lou Of San Diego
and Her History.
The Murder of the Neale Boy but
One of Many Episodes.
Her Timbers Were Brought Around the
Horn-Her spars Used as q Scaffold.
Exciting Events in Which
She Has Figured.

Captain Smith is now in jail, has mem
orable history:
The timbers in the craft were cut out
and dressed on the Atlantic coast anc
shipped in sailing vessel around Cape
Horn to San Francisco, where they were
put together. This was in 1850. The
new sloop was named the New Hope.
She was used for carrying freight from
San Francisco to Stockton, and engaged
in this business for several years.
Trouble was experienced with her from
the day she was launched and pressed
into the service. On one occasion she
ran on snag in river and sank. She
had big cargo and iull crew. For
tunately, however, none Of the latter
were drowned. After considerable
trouble and expense the New Hone was
lifted, repaired and again used for
freighting.
Along about 1853 number OF hard
characters settled in San Francisco
They came direct from Sydney, and had
no sooner reached their destination than
they proceeded to manipulate the polit-
ical machine in the bay city. They all
bore bad regulations, gambled freely,
and most OF them had blood upon their
hands. At one of the local elections
held at San Francisco they carried things
on high scale, and the ultimate result
was that the whole crowd was taken to
lance committee did very effective work.
| One bright summer morning, while
all this trouble was in progress, the New
| HnnQ tIpd II OF fba nf flaw
street. She vas aischarging her cargo
when the vigilance committee appeared
on the wharf carrying q man bound
hand and foot. The fellow was one of
the ringleaders of the boodling politi-
clans. He was taken ON board the little
New Hope and hung with the jib hal
yards.
About 25 years ago the Lou was trans
mogrified into whaling vessel, and
cruised along the peninsular coast, with
headquarters at San Diego. Some time
ago, when she was returning from trip
down the Mexican coast, heavily laden
with whale oil, she was caught in a
heavy gale and her decks cleared; all
OF the rigging being swept overheard.
When the storm had abated, the captain
and crew, after the anchor had been let
go, took to the boats. After much diff
Guilty the shore YVES reached and the
men walked to San Diego. They bad
terrible journey, and were averse to re-
turning to the New Hope. After while,
however, party brought the sloop to
San Diego. On one of the trips down
the coast man was washed overheard
and drowned.
Ten years ago Packard Bros sold the
vessel to Capt. A. Sevort. She was al
most wreck at the time of changing
hands. The new owner had her re-
paired and repainted and named her
LOU" which is Mrs. Sevort's given
name. She was used for fishing and for
trading. Captain Sevort had no end of
trouble with the boat and, instead of
making money out of her, lost.
Eight years since, five tramps stole
hand car on the line of the California
Southern and rode into San Diego early
one morning. That night they took
small boat belonging to Harry Schiller,
rowed to the Lou and boarded her. The
day before Captain Sevort had removed
nearly everything from the sloop.
-four and several gallons of water. The
tramps took no time to ascertain the
amount of provisions on board, but set
sail for the open sea. They reached
point opposite Ballast point and ran
aground. After fruitless attempts to get
clear, they got in the small rowboat
which they had stolen and reached
Point Iona in safety; but were cap
tured a day or two later and, upon trial,
sentenced to one year each at San
Quentin.
The Lou was gotten off at high tide,
Joe Jean then sailed her for some time,
trading at the Guadalupe island, which
is some 235 miles distant from San
Diego. On one of her voyages to the
island the little sloop had for passen-
ger a prominent scientist, who spent
few weeks on the island gathering i'm
portant information.
Capt. George Porter bought the Lou
in 1887 and used her for trading down
south. After while the Mexican gov
ernment, being suspicious that the Lou
was engaged in smuggling, chartered the
Carlos Pacheco and captured the vessel
in Mexican water. Captain Porter and
his crew were placed on board the Pa
checo and Mexican officer remained on
the Lou. The little vessel was towed
into Rosalia bay. In the course of the
night the Americans escaped from the
Pacheco in row boat and boarded the
Lou. The Mexican officials were taken
completely by surprise. At the point of
revolvers they readily consented to va
cate the sloop and return to their own
vessel. Captain Porter and his men cut
the tow line and when the sun burst
forth in the morning the Lou was miles
away from the Pacheco. After forty
five days Captain Porter reached San
Diego.
A year later the Lou was the means of
saving the lives of six MEN. Captain
Behn, who is now confined ina Mexican
prison on the peninsula, had some sort
of concession from the Mexican gov
ernment to kill goats on Guadalupe
island for their skins. He made several
voyages to San Francisco on his vessel,
the Liberty, with cargoes of goat skins.
On the last voyage he got all the skins
aboard and proposed to embark the fol-
lowing morning with the entire outfit,
hunters and all The next morning
Captain Behn and his boat were gone,
leaving six men on the island without
provisions and without means of secur
ing any. They lived on goat flesh till
Porter came along one day in the Lou
and brought them to this city.
The United States government seized
the Lou some months later for being en-
gagged in smuggling and sold her at pub
lie auction to party who subsequently
disposed of the vessel to Captain Smith