The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-07-29
A TALE OF CRUELTY
As Told By a Sailor Of a Portland
Bark.
THE FIRST MATE ACCUSED OF
ABUSIVE TREATMENT.

OeVelOpe0-Ine tesSel Is the Bark
El1a-she Has just Arrived-Had
Been With Cargo of Lumber to the
River.
The Portland bark Ella, Captain
Merryman Of Harpswell, arrived here
day before yesterday from Turks island
with load of salt for Portland. This
is. the first time she has been in this port
since January IS, when she left here for
Buenos Ayres with cargo Of lumber,
and if all reports can be believed she had
a very eventful passage IN many ways.
Tt is said that yesterday afternoon two
United States deputy marshals visited
| the vessel with warrant sworn out by
several members of the Grew against the
| first. mate Isaac jenkins, who belongs in
Belfast. The charges brought against
the first mate, SO it is understood, are
cruel and abusive treatment to the mon.
Jenkins was not found on board the Ella
by the United States officers. He left the
vessel as soon as she raohed her dock at
Central wharf on Sunday. and has not
been seen since Monday. Over $500 In
money, the amount due him for his six
months pay, awaits him at the United
States shipping commissioners office, but
up to late hour yesterday afternoon Mr..
jenkins had not called for it.
After midnight last night PRESS re-
porter heard of the charges against
Jenkins, and after visiting several sailor
boarding houses on Fore, Commercial
and India streets, succeeded in finding a
member of the ELIAS crew. Some of the
crew are at Coombs' boarding house on
India street, and two or three more, in
Guiding the second mate, are stopping at
Donayan's boarding house Oh Fore
| street.
1t Is generally difficult thing to gain
an entrance to sailors boarding house
after midnight, and they are not usually
the most pleasant places to visit in the
day time, but after midnight they are as
a rule still more unpleasant. AT Coombs
boarding house where the reporter, went
seeking one of the ELIAS crew, he en-
countered the proprietor of the house,
who pulled out of bed at this hour of
night was not in very amicable frame
of mind. The reporter was rounaly
cussed and abused by this man, and for a
time it looked as If something more than
words might be used as weapons against
the newspaper. mans luokless head; if
the cause of the landlords excitement
was the fear that his guests might be
disturbed by the reporters visit, the loud
language used by him, would have been
sufficient almost to have awakened the
dead.
But despite these facts, one of the Elias
crew was found at last and to the PRESS
reporter he told the following story:
THE SAILORS STORY,
"The bark Ella sailed from Portland
OH January Is Of this year. She was
loaded With lumber for Buenos Ayres
and carried besides Captain Merryman
and his wife, the first mate by the name
of Isaac Jenkins, second mate named
Fisher, carpenter, cook, and six men
forward besides boy. AS soon as the
vessel was out Of sight of land the trouble
on board commenced. The men forward
were nearly all either Norwegians or
Swedes, and it was difficult for them to
understand all of the orders that were
given them by the mate.
Mate Jenkins seemed to be man of
very quick and ungovernable temper. and
it was not an unusual thing for him to
strike man with his fist or whatever
weapon came al hand and this he would
do on very slight provooation. Fights
were of daily occurrence, and hardly q
day passed without scrap of some kind.
When forty days out from Portland,
Second Mate Fisher and Jenkins got in
to fight in which both men were badly
bruised and injured. The fight was wit
messed by all of the crew, and was said
to have been caused by some trifing
mistake, which the second mate had
made and which the mate deemed
sufficient excuse for a blow which the
second mate returned.
Things went from bad to worse on the
vessel and every one was in bad humor,
caused by the mates ugliness and
brutality When the River was reached,
Fisher. the second mate, who had had
several other fights with the smate, left
the vessel saying he would not sail on
any ship where the mate acted as badly
| as he did on the Ella.
| ABUSED A SWEDE.
"After taking on board load of hay
| for the Barbados, the vessel finally set
sail. When threesdays out from land, the
crow were engaged one. morning in
putting an anchor up onto the forcastle
head when the mate, Jenkins, without
any provocation struck young Swede,
whose first name is Harry, and who was
one of tha men who swore out the war;
rant. in the head with his fist. kicked
him in the back and struck him three or
four times with heavy ropes end. The
Swede picked up a capstsn bar with
which to defend himself, but did not
offer to use it, although the mate walked