The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1894-06-21
A oUAcK DOCTOR


Kills Woman and Baby and Induces a
Ships Crew to Rebel.
| SAN FRANCISCO, June 19.-The Brit
lsh bark Inverule, Captain Wilcox,
arrived today. GA days from New Gas.
tie, N s. W., with a most remarka-
BILE story of mutiny and crime. Just
before the vessel left New Castle a
man calling himself DR.. Armitage
applied for passage for himself and
wife to San Francisco. Captain Will
cox gladly took them on board as his
own wife needed the services of
! physician.
! ! About two weeks ago, at sea, Mrs.
Wilcox gave birth to child and Mr..
Armitage officiated as surgeon. He
| used instruments in such q manner
that the child died and the captain,
seeing he was unskilled, ordered him
away from his wife. Armitage ap.
pealed to the crew, telling them the
captain was killing his wife. The
crew led by the mate, mutinied, and
the captain; after being drugged, was
locked up. He managed to get out
just in time to see his wife die.
Several times he was imprisoned by
the crew but he managed to break out
Armitage's real name is Eustice Alex
ander. He is said to have deserted
his wife and baby In sydney and fed
to New Castle with another woman
where he Joined the Inverule. The
bark's crew and passengers are now
IN the custody OF the port warden and
the police made the arrests this after
noon.
Captain Wilcox gave the following
| account: After we had been out
few weeks | found that the first mate
spent all the time he was on watch
talking 10 Mrs. Armitage and when
he was off watch he spent the most of
his time in her cabin. This was go
ing on when Armitage would be
asleep. told the mate that when he
was off watch he could do as be
pleased but that when he was on duty
he must attend TO his work. Then
the trouble began. The mate and
Armitage got the crew to side with
them. The only men could depend
on were the second mate and two of
the seamen,
Things were in this uncomfortable
state when my wife was taken sick on
Friday the Sth inst. She was not very
bad but grew worse up to Saturday
afternoon. On sunday morning / sent
for Armitage. He came and said he
would have to operate on her. When
| saw him handle the instruments /
knew he was no doctor and told him
so. My wife was then under chloIo-
form and / could do nothing after he
butchered her. They overpowered
me and put me in irons in the FORE
castle. This was Monday the 1lth
inst. In the afternoon they brought
the body Of the dead baby and held
1t up to the grating for me TO look at.
A few hours later they dropped it
overheard. On the morning of last
Saturday they came to me to zee II
would forgive them and promise to
make no report against them and
they would let me out. agreed and
they at 10 O'Clock let me out. When
L reached my wife's side she was un-
conscious and at 80 Saturday night
she died. The men have got up all
sorts of stories but what tell you is
the plain and unvarnished truth.
The sailors, headed by the first
mate, have drawn up q series of
charges against the captain. They
say that he drank to excess on the
voyage and abused them on various
occasions. Alexander, or Armitage
as he now claims himself, was never q
doctor, but worked In cigar store In
Melbourne. He and the woman with
him are under surveillance of the po.
lice pending the result of the inquest.