The Hawaiian gazette., 1893-02-28
MURDER AT SEA.
MUTINOUS SAILORS KILL
THEIR SECOND MATE.
from Daily. Fe0. %.


j. F. o. Sodergren, left Newcastle,
New South Wales, on December
I'D, with cargo OF coal. She
arrived yesterday morning with the
particulars of another marine horror,
only this time it is not a story of
wreckage, but one of murder, mutiny
and piracy.
The captain brings information of
plot to kill him and four others,
and their lives were only saved by
the accidental discovery of the first
murderous move on the part of q
piratical and mutinous crew.
The plot was patched by Thomas
LIE Clair, ssilor who shipped as a
native of Norway, but it was after
wards learned that he was born in
New York. LIE Claire's partners in
crime were four other sailors named
Herman Sparf, Hans Hansen, Thos.
Green and Edward Larsen.
TIE SECOND NATE MURDERED.
The men were shipped at New
castle, and, judging from their &C
tions, they are very dangerous men.
Their plot was to murder the captain,
mate, second mate, cook and a Greek
sailor in the forecastle, and then run
the vessel either to the China or Chill
can coast, sell the cargo and bit the
bark out for a piratical cruise.
The men were ali on one watch and
they had ample opportunity to for
mulate their dastardly programme
without the knowledge of the captain
or the officers under him. They
started in on the 18th of January to
carry out their bloody work. They
picked out dark night and about
1890 o'clock LIE Clair cruelty muir
dered the second mate by attacking
him with Ratchet. The murderer
lay in wait about amidships, and
when his victim came along he struck
him blow on the back of the head
with the sharp edge of the Ratchet
and almost instantly killed him.
After the mate fell down the fiend
ish mutineer struck and struck again
with the weapon until his victim
ceased to struggle. As soon as the
murder was committed two of his &C
completes, Sparf and Hansen, came
along. They wanted to throw the
body overheard and then remove all
traces of the terrible crime by wash
ing up the blood stains. st. Clair
would not consent to this and i'm
mediately proposed that they go after
the captain and the other marked
men and murder them also. His
companions weakened and would not
give their consent and LIE Clair left
them and went aft. The two men
then picked up the body of the muir
dered man, carried it to the side of
the vessel and then threw it over
board
TO KILL THE CAPTAIN.
The murderer was not satisfied
with his nights work and when he
reached the wheel, he told the man
on watch to call the captain from the
cabin with the intention of killing
him as soon as he made his appear
ance. but the wheelmau would not
obey LIE Clair's command The rest |
of the terrible story is told by Capt. |
Sodergren in his appended report of
the affair which he furnished to an
ADVERTISER reporter.
The next day the captain placed
LIE Clair, Sparf and Hansen in irons
and then changed his course and
made for Tahiti, which was reached
after voyage of fourteen days.
While the vessel was on her way
TO the French settlement to turn over
the men to the American Consul, the
other two mutineers Green and
Larsen attempted several times to
release the imprisoned men bat with
out success.
MADE A FULL CONFESSION.
When the Hesper reached Tahiti,
the five men were taken before Uni
ted States Consul Doty at that
place. He held an examination dur
ing which Sparf and Hansen made
clean breast of everything, and final
ly LIE Clair, the murderer and ring
leader, made full confession of his
crime. The five men we're placed IN
Jail, and on the 18th inst. they were
% be sent to San Francisco for trial
IN the barkentine Tropic Bird. Cap
ain Sodergren then shipped five
rahitians and continued on his voy-
sge to this port.
The Hesper viii load sugar for
San Francisco as soon as her coal
.argo is discharged. LIE Clair and his
companions will not be tried until
he Captain arrives in San Francisco.
THE CAPTAINS REPORT.
It sea, January Is, 1898, in latitude i
80 deg. south, longitude 159 deg. t
west. '
At s:45 PM. l, J. F. o. Sodergren,
laster of the American bark
fesper, came on deck as usual be-
IRE retiring, remained there about
L. \