The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-08-18
CARTER NOT TO BLAME
STORIES OF THE ARRAY VARY.
Other Deck-Hands Tell OF the Scuffie
HASTE May Yet Make q
Charge of Murder.

We find that Charles Ling, China
man. came to his death from hemorrhage
caused by a knife thrust at the hands OF
Joseph Carter. who acted in seif-defense,
was the verdict Of the coronerS jury on
the stabhing ARRAY on the steamer Idaho
yesterday morning. after being out five
minutes.
The hearing was resumed promptly at
n o'clock and was concluded at II 80. The
testimony OF Peterson and Hanson. who
were at the breakfast table with Carter
and Young. differed somewhat from the
story told by Young, and the prosecution
felt positive that il would secure a YER
dict against Carter. The latter's story, as
told 10 several different people, also diff
fered materially. Prosecuting Attorney
HASTE late in the afternoon filed a COM
plant. signed by Woo Gen, charging Car
ter with murder in the first degree.
Two stories of the Quarrel.
John Peterson, a new deckhand, and
one of the eye-wituesses. was the first
called. He testified that he was sitting
at the table when the trouble started.
and drew a plan Of the mess table, cubby
hole and galley. Carter spoke to Ling
about the coffee through the cubby hole,
and Ling told him the coffee was made an
hour or two before and had to be weak
A wordy war then followed, the men abus-
ing each other, and the Chinaman said:
You call me - -. III fix you.
Carter said something about You can't
fix me-" and got up and went out. A
scufFie soon began in the galley, and he
heard the Chinaman yell out that he had
been stabbed by Joe. Soon after he saw
Ling living on the floor. bleeding and
groaning, but did not see Carter. He did
not hear the Chinaman say: Look out,
] kill you this time, sure"
hn Nth Ar. a aNt a
about the men Quarreling at the table
over the coffee, and said that Ling made
much noise. He heard Carter tell Ling 10
shut up" and rise from the table and go
toward the galley. Shortly afterward he
heard some scuffiing, but did not see it.
The next thing he heard was the China
man crying out as If in pain. He got UP at
this point and looked out The Chinaman
was turning around with his hands to his
side. bleeding considerably. Carter was
on the deck near the guard rail. with a
knife in his hand. which he afterwari
threw overheard. This is the last he saw
of Carter.
The Stewards story.
w. Duggan, steward was in the pantry
when he heard the trouble. He gave
some orders to the cook through blind
dummy leading from the galley to the Of
ficers' mess room, and soon after heard
some loud talk about coffee, but did not
pay much attention to ii. He heard Ling
call Carter vile names. and about a min
ute afterward heard a scuffie in which
Carter told the Chinaman not to call him
names. He saw the coffee pot falling of
the stove He went down stairs immedj-
ately and saw Ling close to the galley
door. bleeding and crying out that he had
been stabbed. On his way down stairs he
saw the knife going overheard. but did
not know who threw It, The Chinaman
Il ~ d..
was bleeding very profusely and groan-
ing a great deal. and he heard him say:
Joe, he killee me"
The witness explained the working OF
the blind dummy, and said from its posi-
ton and from the fact that the men had
TO talk through the cubby hole he could
not hear the conversation.
Carter's Confession to Quilter.
Deputy Marshal ouilter testified that
Carter was turned over to him in his office
by Deputy Curtis, and told him that he
had trouble with a Chinese cook and
stabbed him. He said the trouble was
over coffee and the Chinaman abused him
vilely and assaulted him. Witness said
that Carter seemed sorry that he COM
mitted the deed. Mr. Quilter turned him
over to Deputy Sheriff McCorey.
Deputy Marshal Curtis, who was on the
boat the morning of the affray and ar
rested Carter said he was at breakfast
with the captain. and the first he knew OF
the affair was when Duggan, the stew
ard rushed up and said that Carter had
stabbed the cook. Curtis rushed down
stairs and found the Chinaman standing
up just outside the galley, saying some
thing about being stabbed. Soon after
ward the wounded man went into the gal
ley whore he fell down. He heard him
several times say something about being
stabbed. He then went upstairs and
placed Carter under arrest. He asked
him what became of the knife and Carter
said he threw it overheard. Curtis asked
him why he did the stabbing and Carter
said that Ling assaulted him.
Portus Baxter, the Post-Intelligencer
reporter who interviewed Carter at the
county Jail testified to the account of the
affair given TO him by Carter and pub
lished in Friday mornings issue.
DR. Neville, who held the post -mortem
examination on the body of Ling. testi-
fed as TO the nature of the wound and
cause of death.
Nathan Anderson, reporter on the Even
ing News, testified 70 the story told him
by Carter. which was different from his
other stories in some particulars He told
Anderson that he went into the galley and
asked Ling why he used that kind of Ian
Euage 10 him, and when the Chinaman
reached for the knife he knocked his arm
up and took the knife away. In his
story 10 Baxter he did not make this
statement
Two Runaway Boys From North Seattle