The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-05-24
Attempt to Murder Passed
Midshipman William
Gibson, U. S. N.
Captain John Taylor McKenzie's
Part in the Capture of the
Mutineers.
Eventful Career of a Pioneer Ship.
master Who Put the First BuoyS
in San Francisco Harbor.

Among the pioneer shipmasters of San
Francisco Bay perhaps none has seen more
important or more eventful service than
! Captain John Taylor Mckenzie of the
| ferry-boat Sausalito, plying between this
City and the town whence the vessel
derives her name. Captain Mckenzie
Is hale. hearty man, who, except for
his hoary head, looks as young at the age
OF 73 as many a man does at 80. Since
early boyhood his home has been on the
wave, and since his nineteenth year he has
been shipn aster. In 1912 he piled in
Long Island Sound and along the Atlantic
Coast down to Virginia. In 1874 he ran up
the Mississippi with the steamer McKim,
the first propeller that ever stirred the
foam of the Father of Waters. Four years
later be was in Philadelphia, when one of
| the shlp-owners read aloud in his presence
letter from California, telling about the
| wonderful gold strike. Young Mckenzie
| told the news to friends in his old home,
Newport, R. l., and Immediately craze
| took possession of the community. AS g
result company of seventy young men,
not one of them over so years old, was
formed; vessel, the Audley Clark, was
fitted out, stocked with three years provi-
sions and started for the new FL Dorado.
The Audley Clark reached this port on
the last day of August, 1849. The ship had
been anchored here only few days when
Colonel Jonathan D. Stevenson proposed
to the new arrivals to go to his ranch at
New York Landing, near the mouth of
the San joaquin River, where he had con-
cluded to establish city. Colonel Steven
sons offer of three lots of land was &C
cepted, and the seventy Rhode Islanders
were soon in camp at New York Landing.
When the Audley Clark left Newport there
was an incumbrance of $1,000 on her. This
| debt was raised sooner than was expected
by even the most sanguine of the young
argonauts. And just here is where bit
| OF history comes in, which, except to Cap
| tain Mckenzie and such of his compan-
| ions of the Audley Clark as still survive,
| seems to have been entirely lost. 1t is the
| story OF the arrest of the men who,
| on the night of September IL, 1649,
| attempted to murder Past NJ idsbipman
! William Gibson, U. S. N, who was the Ii
attached to the revenue cutter Ewing, lying
| in San Francisco harbor. Rev. Albert Will
liams, who was one of the cergymen called
| to give spiritual consolation to the cul-
| prits, gives an account of the crime in his
| book entitled, pioneer Passionate and
Times, but he hardly touches on the par
ticulars of the arrest, which one m ght be
led to suppose was effected by the Ewing's
crew.
Gibson commanded boats crew of five
men, which, on the night in question:
rowed ashore with party of persons who
had been visiting the Ewing. Now, all
five of the men under Gibson had shipped
on the cutter at Valparaiso, on her voyage
around to San Francisco, with the inten-
ton of desertingEat this point and going to
the mines. The boat had started back to
fho EtryiY md xrroIl on IN k,on
when the men sprang upon the officer and
threw him overheard. Gibson dragged
one of his assailants over with him, but
the man was rescued by his confederates.
who repealed every attempt on the part of
the officer to regain the boat and pulled
away in haste in the direction of the upper
bay, with the object of escaping to the
gold dlggingS. Gibson f1oated with the
tide, and had it not been for an accidental
discovery by a Waterman on the deck of
ship, who observed the body in the phos-
phorescent light of the waters and had a
boat lowered with speed, the officer would
never have opened his eyes in this life
! again. Doctors worked on him all night
before he was restored to consciousness.
! The fugitlves were pursued in all direc-
| lions. boat from the Ewing pulled up
| to the tUles at the mouth of the San Joa-
quin, near Colonel Stevensons settlement,
| and the story of The attempted assassina-
| ton spread all around.
| 81 got up unusually early one morning
! shortly after we arrived at New York
! Landing" said Captain Mckenzie yester-
| day, land hearing voices in the distance
| looked up in the direction of Mount Diablo,
| and saw number of men making their
way down toward us. When they came up
| l noticed that they were all pretty much
| exhausted, and about the first question
| asked was to know where they could get
| bite to eat. Meantime q crowd of the
| Audley Clark boys had come out and
| gathered round the strangers. Suddenly
one of the latter observed a familiar-look-
ing boat half hidden in the tuIes.
What boat is thatP" he asked. hur-
riedly.
That's one of the Ewing's boats"
blurted out a green youth from Newport.
"'Good God, told you it was Bill. cried
the youngest of the newcomers, and with
that he broke down and cried. No further
evidence was needed.
Upon delivering the prisoners he and
Cy Clark found that they were enti-
tied to the full reward of $500 for each
man, or $2500. That big sum of money
was paid over shortly afterward to Captain
Mckenzie and his comrades, who were
thus enabled to settle up that Rhode
Island claim of $4,000 on their vessel and
have q surplus fund in addition.
| The five men were all sentenced TO be
hanged, but one hour before the time set
| for the execution, October %, lS49 two of
| IHeIu, one an EuRllSnmau, aSeQ Is, who
| gave the name OF John Black, and the
other Scotchman, only 10 years old, who
called himself Peter Black, confessed their
guilt, took all the blame for the deed, and
secured a communication of sentence for the
other three. John was hanged to ward
| arm of the Savannah; Peter to yardarm
| of the Ohio.
The week following the capture of the
mutineers, Captain Mckenzie went to the
mines only to turn around and come
bay since the end of September, 1849.
1t was Captain Mckenzie who put out the
first buoys in San Francisco harbor for
1850 and 1859 he found all the rocks and
buoyed them as well as the bar. He ac-
CURED possession of the steamer Alex-
ander and the sloops Rhode Island and
tween Stockton and Sacramento, and then
between this City and Alviso. In 1854 he
opened up the Oakland and Alameda
ferries with the steamer Clinton and the
San Quentin ferry with the steamer Peta-