The San Francisco call., 1895-11-17
HAD NO TRIAL, THEY SAY
Twice Thrown in Jail and Kept
There Without Any
Hearing.
TURNING TABLES ON sHOREY.
They Intend to Prosecute Him and to
Also Libel the Whaler and
Her Cargo.

The three white sailors of the American
whaling bark Gayhead, whom Captain
W. T. Shorey caused to be arrested here
Friday afternoon on charge OF attempt
ing to burn his ship while at Honolulu
last March, threaten to turn the tables on
him completely and to also demand in
demnity from the Hawaiian Government
for beng wrongfully imprisoned in the
Honolulu jail.
The story they tell is that Captain Shorey
first had them arrested and imprisoned by
the Hawaiian police on a charge of arson,
and afterward had them again thrown into
the jail and kept there ten days on charge
of disobeying orders. In neither instance
were they granted any kind of a hearing
whatever, they say, and no opportunity
was allowed them to make anything ap-
preaching defense.
Altogether, they spent twelve days in
the Honolulu prison, yet, so their state
ment goes, no Consular court of inquiry
was held at which they were permitted to
be present, and no proper arraignment
Of them was made by the Hawaiian judi
ciary. They were simply put into Jail and
left there, they allege, until Captain Shorey
got ready to put out to sea, and then they
were taken aboard in irons.
All tell substantially the same story,
though Walter Ekerenkutter, being per-
haps more intelligent in some respects
than the other two, was the principal
speaker. when the three men engaged
counsel at the County Jail yesterday after
noon. He is a native of this City and the
pr nf no
trip of any Importance. William Bresling
is native of Ireland and William Gehr-
mann talks with Prussian accent. ALI
three men say they are American citizens.
They were very indignant over what
they considered a series of high h-handed
outrages to which they had been subjected
ever since the fire on the Gayhead, on the
they had been imprisoned three times
practically for the same offense and they
asked by what right the Hawaiian authori-
ties could keep them in jail day after day,
without giving them an opportunity to be
heard in their own defense.
1t was all "put-up job" they intimated
to Mr. Monteith, to defraud them of what
is coming to them. AS was stated yester-
day, the clay" or agreement, they shipped
on was that each was to receive one-one
hundred and SEVENTEEN part OF the cargo
when the cruise was finished. The cargo
is roughly estimated at $25, ,0O0-though its
full market value will probably be twice
that sum-and the ship would owe each of
the three men about $3.50. They fear the
financial luck of the average whale hunter
after he reaches shore.
'We demanded to see the Consul, Mr..
Mills, at Honolulu and for that the cap
tain had the police put us in Jail for ten
days more. Can American citizens be
treated like that just because they happen
to be seamen of a whaling-ship?" Ekeren-
kutter asked.
''And when we were at the Isle of Guam
the captain put me down in little sail
and rope locker for twelve days." Gehr-
mann broke in with. "This locker was
only about by 10 feet in size and the heat
was something awful-must have been
about 100 degrees and probably more"
Bresling interrupted to say that when
Gehrmann was taken out of the sail-locker
his body was literally covered with blist-
ers. And as to his own grievance Bresling
remarked: ''Why, l was never given a
chance to sign the ships articles at all.
Just before the ship left San Francisco,
last December, | was told to go aboard her
and work for few days. On the day she
sailed her agent, Magee, would not let me
come ashore to sign articles. i was actually
shanghaied, for they would not let me 60
ashore at all. And then, when we were at
Honolulu, | wanted the captain to let me
sign articles before the Consul, but be
wouldn't permit me. Instead, be put me
in Jail there on a charge of arson, and
when the Consul and the Hawaiian au-
thorities would not have anything to do
with that, he ordered us to go to work.
Then, because we insisted on seeing the
Consul, he had US thrown into Jail again
and kept there till he got ready to go to
sea.
"After we left Honolulu he wanted me
to sign the articles on the ship and, of
course, l refused to do so. did not think
had been properly treated"
II told him not to sign them then"
Ekerenkutter observed, "and he never af-
terwards had chance to sign them prop
erly."
Then Ekerenkutter's mind went back to
that imprisonment at Honolulu, and he
continued: 81 can't understand it. 1t
looks very strange that we should be put
in jail by the police there, and kept in jail
on the captains mere say so. have been
thinking over that ever since we left the
islands,"
"But did you not get any kind of hear
ing or investigation at all?" was asked.
"No, sir" he answered. mot the slight
est. Why, Mr. Mills,sthe Consul, would
not have anything to do with the captain
and The captain got mad at him and had
some words with him abut it. Our posi-
ton was such that we could not get In
word on our own behalf.
"Mr. Mills did not think the captains
charge OF arson would stand investigation
after the interview he had with him and