The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-08-24
Romantic Sequel to a
Traders Story.
THE DOCTOR AND MR.. SMITH.
They Chartered the Schooner
Golden Fleece.
DISAPPEARED MYSTERIOUSLY.
The Schooner Now in Yokohama,
the Doctor in Europe and Smith
Married to a Princess.
HE DOCTOR AND MR.. SMITH.
DISAPPEARED MYsTERIoUsLY.

This Is the tale of the schooner Golden
Fleece, a true story of the South Seas. a
news item and romance combined, clear
ly demonstrating that truth is oftentimes
even stranger than fiction.
What makes the log of the Golden
Fleece so interesting to local readers is
that she is vessel that was owned and
controlled by a San Francisco firm. What
makes her charterer's and captains his
tory intensely striking is that Skipper
Quintin, the mysterious doctor" from
Paris, and deVil-may-care. indolent Stat
ford Smith. trader and advent urer, sailed
from this city three years ago. and did so
with whole lot of newspaper fuss and
feather.
Recollections of the Golden Fleece have
not died out. Conjecturas were INDUCED
in regarding her whereabouts, and she
WAS supposed TO have been lost. One year
ago all hopes of her ever returning to port
were given UP.
But the Fleece turned up at Hong-K ong,
and is at present at Y okohama. Her crew
is penniless, she has been deserted by her
captain, there is no one 10 claim her bat
tered hull and the vessel is likely to be
sold to satisfy debtors, for during the abb
sence of the Fleece upon her remarkable
voyage the firm of Wright, Bovine & Co.
failed and there is really no one VINO is
willing to come forward, claim the trader
and fetch her back to San Francisco.
- The doctor" a clever sort of O chap
= with a chin beard and a mild blue eve. and
Smith. tall, reckless and belligerent look
ing, conceived the idea Of going trading in
the southern archipelago in the year 1891.
The two came here from New York and
chartered the Golden Fleece, secured the
services of Captain Quintin and sailed
away to make their fortunes.
:. Both charterers appeared to have
money. Prior 10 setting sail they spent it
freely and were such jolly, good aatured
sort of fellows that everybody took
: fancy to them.
The doctor. whose name is said to be
Edmunds, claimed to be a lineal de-
scendant of the Duke of York. or distant
connection of William the Conqueror, or
some other DISTINGUISHED nobleman, and
though some people disbelieved all this
they still admired Edmunds for his per-
sOnal qualifications as a gentleman and a
scholar.
Of Smith the ladies were all suspicious.
He claimed to hail from San Francisco.
Boston, New York and every portion of
the United States, according to whether
he person with whom he conversed was
from the North, South, East or West. He
liked the women, but the women did not
like him. He has at last found one who
DOES. however, as this story will relate
further on.
The Golden Fleece sailed with the two
queer characters to dong Kong. and there
she was initiated with bad luck by having
her spars condemned. She stopped at the
Caroline group of islands before going
over. but she did not make any money for
her charterers.
Wright, Bovine & Co. refused TO pay the
bills for the new sDars and there was
= trouble right away. The doctor and Smith
footed the bill finally to avoid being de-
tanned in port under heavy expense, and
after cutting wide path to notoriety in
the Orient they again fitted the Fleece out
for a cruiser.
: 1he doctor had mother or an aunt who
furnished him with coin and who was one
OF the securities in the charter She lived
In England, and it was she who sent the
doc" coin for another experiment.
Just as the Fleece was about to start
Captain Quintin drew $500 that was due
= him for wages and dropped out of sight
like twenty-dollar piece in a sure-tbing
game. lie has never been seen or heard
OF since. but it is supposed that he headed
for California, and may be here now for
aught that any one knows.
Smith said he could sail the schooner
and he did. The scheme of the traders
was to kill fish at the Pelew Islands with
dynamite and fetch cargo back to China.
The Fleece cleared and for over twenty
months not line was heard from her.
Everybody thought that she had struck a
reef, or been lost in typhoon.
Not so. Inc scheme of killing fish
proved a failure. The vessel did not
move away from the Pelews. In the
meanwhile several remarkable things hap
pened.
The monarch of the Pelew, copper
colored giant with five wives, had favor
lie daughter. typical belle OF the tropics
with dark dreamy eyes, long lsshes and
thick brown hair-just such as one reads
about In the novels. Smith couldn't i'm
press the bellies of civilization. but he won
this child's heart completely.
The King was rich in his way, The ad-
Venturer saw an opportunity to let the
cold world drift as il may and to cast
himself upon the hospitable shores of the
chlefs domains, where he might idle away
the balance of his days. "Then," said he.
will settle for life, and marry the Swear.
old princess" This he did.
The doctor must have become weary
with life on the islands. for one night he
got into canoe, rOwed over to an adjacent
Island. and the next thing was heard of
MIN ne had arrived in Paris, where he
walked the streets putting the most fra.
grant OF Havanas and stopped to sup in
the oonton OF the Boulevard cafes.
All this time the Golden Fleece was
missing. No tidings came from her.
Wright, Bovine & Co. failed and the firms
creditors were anxious to get the vessel
back to San Francisco. for she represented