The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-31

tic liner President, which sailed from New
York in 1841 with 400 passengers and never
reached port. 1t related that during his Amer
lean trip in 1888 the Duke had been informed
by former United States Minister to Persia,
whose name he had forgotten, that a few years
previously an old sailor on his death bed had
confessed that he was one of the crew of pirate
vessel which captured the President, forced
every soul on board to walk the plank and then
scuttled the ship. The confession was said to
have been made in New Orleans and the story
was told at a dinner party in Chicago.
The absurdity of the pirate theory was ex-
posed yesterday by ]. j. Knowlton of this city,
who told the true story of the loss of the Presi-
dent, as he had heard it from his father, Cap
tain Z. KnoWlton, of the bark Planet, WI Sh
was within half mile of the President " IN
the latter went to the bottom. In spite of he
lapse OF time, however, the story has neversbe-
fore been published.
''My father said Mr.. Knowlton, "was mas
ter of the bark Planet plying between Boston
and Savannah. One evening in 1S41, when
well out to sea, his ship spoke the steamer
President. The latter had signals of distress
flying. AS the bark passed under the stern Of
the steamer her commander requested that she
would lay to during the night, and explained
that the shifting of the machinery had seriously
strained his vessel and that she was leaking
badly. The bark hove to at once and was dur
mile of the steamer. The latter was kept head
to the sea and slightly to windward of the bark
"At midnight, when the watch was changed,
nothing unusual had happened, but the cap
tain of the Planet gave his second mate strict
orders to keep an eye on the steamer and notify
him if anything should occur.
cat 2 o'clock the lights of the steamer sud-
denly disappeared. The captain was called,
and he signaled for the steamer to show her
lights. There was no response, and boats were
sent out to investigate. The sea was very
rough and it took some time for the boats to
reach the spot where the President had dis
appeared, and when they did so there was
nothing to be seen to tell her fate.
"0n reaching his destination Savannah, CAL,
Captain Knowlton reported the loss of the
President. and the facts were at once tele-
graphed to the Merchants Exchange in Boston,
1t was supposed at the time that the Presi-
dents machinery had broken through her
bottom as happened in later years to the Pacific
on this coast. If there had been any confess
sion by dying sailor, as referred to by the
Duke, the matter would have been cleared up
long ago by reference TO the records.
GAS matter of fact, piracy on the Atlantic
had been almost wholly wiped out before 1871.
The pirates had only sailing vessels and the
steamers Sirius and Great Western which had
then Piled that ocean for three years, had
frightened them from its waters. The only
cases of piracy which occurred were those in
which crews plotted to seize their vessels. This
occurred to my father once, shortly after the
loss of the President. His men refused to go
aloft and had agreed to murder their officers
and turn pirates. The plot was, however, over
heard by the ships cook, who told the captain.
He stood off the mutineers with his pistols
and brought them to port in irons"