The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-08-01

san francisco, tor whom he was British
Columbia manager. This may or may
not have had something to do with his
disappearance. The latest theory is that
he has gone to Australia to close out his
business there, and thus secure the neces-
sary ready money.
THE NANAIMO KIDNAPPING.
Union Sailors Treatment OF Non-Union
Men-Perpetrators Convicted.
VICTORIA, B. c., July 3l.-[Special. i
The town and district OF Nanaimo, the
center of the coal mining industry on Van
couver island, has for years been a strong
union labor locality, but never before in
that district, in this province or, perhaps.
even in the Dominion of Canada, has q
bolder or more original method been
adopted to promulgate union principles
than in the case of the bark Richard I'LL,
which arrived at the mines about ten days
ago to load for San Francisco. She carried
a non-union crew, and hardly had the
anchor been dropped before the captain
became convinced that he was going to
have trouble. Every union sailor he met
insinuated that terrible things would hap
pen, and his own men came to him almost
hourly and reported threats of violence
offered them. The captain communicated
with the police, but paid little attention to
the signs of danger. The cargo was being
loaded, and it was thought the bark would
sail without molestation.
On the night of July q q strange thing
happened. The captain for some reason
did not sleep on board, and when he
hailed his. ship for boat in the morning,
she being at anchor in Departure bay. he
could get no answer. Then he routed up
a waterman and Investigated. The bark
was all but deserted, pet cat being the
only living creature aboard. Where the
crew had gone to was a mystery, as not
the slightest cIee presented itself. The
suggestion was accepted that they had
deserted in a body, no better theory being
offered, and preparations were being made
to ship fresh men, when one of the sailors
appeared at police headquarters and said
he had just escaped from the union mems
lookup. His tale, which was not at first
credited, was as follows:
While all hands were sleeping about
midnight about twenty or thirty union
men, the majority armed with revolvers,
boarded the bark, and. with threats OF
immediate death, hustled them into boats
alongside. in which they were rowed
ashore, being told to consider themselves
prisoners. They were ordered to march,
and about ten minutas' walk through the
darkness brought them to an old house
before which stood two trees taller than
the others and standing out from the back
ground of the forest. This swas the only
landmark possible TO be noted by the men,
all of whom were strangers to the place,
in the dim starlight. All were hurried
into the building and up the rickety stair
case into an unfinished attic, where they
were told to make themselves comfortable,
but not to think for a moment that they
could get away. Investigation showed
that this was true an hour or two later, as
two union men were found on guard at the
door, When the guard was changed in
the morning one of the captives managed
to slip out unseen and carried report to
Chief of Police Stewart.
The chief, with Provincial Officers Nc
.Kinnon and Stevenson, at once went to
work, and before the LOGS of the prisoner had
been discovered by the union men, located
his prison. The guards were completely
surprised at the appearance of the posse,
but offered feeble resistance, demanding a
search warrant at first, but making no at.
tempt to give battle against the superior
numbers of the police. The guards,
TIVE well-known lights of the Long
shoremen's Union. were arrested and
marched to Nanaimo Jail. They refused
to give the names of their associates in
the kidnapping, and the imprisoned men
could not furnish an intelligent descrip.
ton of any of the party. Z. Glynn, for
merry of San Francisco and Seattle, resi-
dent agent of the Seamen's Union, was
searched for high and low, but he had dis
appeared.
Yesterday the two captured guards were
arraigned for unlawfully hindering and
preventing the crew from engaging in q
lawful occupation. The charge of kid
naping was not laid, as no one could swear
that either man was with the party raid
ing the bark. Deputy Attorney General
A. q. Smith prosecuted, and Barrister III
a. Simpson, of Nanaimo, defended. The
latter made the best of poor case. bu.
the two guards, A Watson and ]. Frank.
lin, were convicted and sentenced TO one
and two months respectively. Identifica
ton failed in the case OF two others ar.
rested on suspicion. The police are still
working on the main charge. Superintend
ent Hussey. head of the police in British
Columbia. having some of his best men