Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-06-04
DEFENDERS SAILS CUT
The New Canvas, of the Big
 Yacht Ruined.
sLAsHBR's IDENTITY A MYSTERY.

4 Strange Tale Comes From Bristol, Where
 the New Cup Defendef Is Being Built.
 Herreshoas shops Had Been Jealousy
 Guarded. but Mischief Was Done.
 NEW YORK, June 4.-About a week ago a relative of the HerreShoffs came to town and told queer story to a friend The latter kept it to himself until yester- day when it leaked out and became known to limited circle of Interested people The story is that person whose identity is still a mystery, despite earnest investi- gation, had managed to sneak into the great loft above the shopfn Bristol where the Defender lies, and that the intruder had cut and torn the big; sails which had been made for the slocp.
 The work, according to the man who old the story, was done most thoroughly and in way that showed oonclusvely that 1t had been done by somebody who knew just how and where to cut in order to ruin the sails utterly beyond the chance of repair.
 Great holes wore cut iR Q tho mainsail, iibs and spinnaker. and inc topsails and l other smaller sails were siashed in all di- rections. The result was that the entire set was made useless, ane new sails had to be ordered at once.
 Tho Herreshoff shops in Bristol have boon guarded night and day since tho work on the big sloop began, and intrud- 1 CTS wore warned away from the place by i determined and not particularly polite men, The workmen have not bccn per mittod to leave tho shop in company, 1 They have been warned never to speak with each other about the craft Each of thom is said to have bGcH closely watched i until the Hcrreshofrs weEe satisfied of his | trustworthincss
 Visitors Not .4Sowed.
 Visitors have not beoS permitted to get as closo to the boat as even tho little pri- vatc office at the entrance to the works 1 Much surprise was therefore expressed yesterday by those who heard the story Shat despite all these precautions, such a strange thing should haEr happened.
 Nobody could imagine what reason could have prompted the act, if it really had been done as alleged. Of course it is a woll known fact that n great many peo- plo in Bristol don t liko tho Herroshoffs but personal malice seemed hardly to be 1 a motive strong enough to make anybody | takc tho great risk that this unknown I person must have taken.
 According to the narrator of the story. the HrrreshotTs themselves and their con fidontial mon wero also utterly at a loss to understand why it had been done or evon to guess who could have dOno it. As soon as the damage to the sal!s was discovered they commanded that tho affair be kept secret, and the fow wofimen who knew what had happened vera at onoo warned that they mast not uttes a syllable about it. Then searching<Sn Snvostigatiun was started, and it is still, S0 it is said, being l rigidly prosecuted, but SO far without sue cess
 Tho big sails for tho Defender wore mado by Adrain Wilson. They were said to hc the largest ever mado fer an Amer ican singlo stickcr. the mAiusail being about 6, SUU square feet and the spnnaker :, loo square feet in area. Altogether there were tu bo over 1l,OO0 square feet of sail on tho craft Ramie. n new material made from Japanese plant of the thistle species, was used for tho big jib topsail. It is far superior 10 cottJa, partly because 1t will not mildevrs but ss&siGly -hecause, ii will neither stretch nor shrink, thus in suring A perfect fit