The Opelousas courier., 1896-11-14

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nerve than tina
which was told to the world early il
1886. The story of the mutiny or
board the American ship Frank N,
Ihayer, the murder of three of the
crew and two officers, and the frightfu.
wounds inflicted on Captain Robert
K. Clarke, followed by the firing o.
the ship and the escape of the captain
and his wife and daughter and the
survivors of the crew in an open boat,
which finally reached st. Helena, sent
a shudder through the civilized world,
and was the occasion of newspaper
stories and Investigations almost with.
out number. Captain Clarke will
never from the ef1ets of that
terrible fight; but he is still con.
nected with the sea, serving as shore
captain TOR the ships that are left of
the fleet to which the Thayer be-
longed. He has a charming home in
Port Chester, where the brave woman
who saved him from death and the
little daughter who was on the vessel
during the awful affair, but who is
now a stately young lady of twenty
years, do all they can to blot out the
memory of the tragedy.
The ship, which was owned by Ed
ward Lawrence, of Boston, and was
laden with 10000 bales of hemp,
valued at over $3.50, 600, sailed from
Manila for New York in November,
1885, carrying a crew of twenty-five
men, including two Malays and two
Cinnamon. The Malays were Manila
men, shipped at the last moment to
take the places of two men who had
decided to remain in the Philippine
Islands. and they were the ones who
committed the crimes. There was
nothing remarkable about the voyage
until the night of January 2, 1886,
when the ship was about seven hun
dred miles northeast of ST Helena.
The captain had gone below and fallen
asleep, and every soul on board, ex-
cept those two bloodthirsty savages
from Manila, was free from any
thought or danger OF suspicion. 1t was
this feeling of security which was a
fatal circumstance, for to it may be
traced the panic and bewilderment
which unnerved the crew Sd that they
were the victims of the two wretches
who had been their messmates for
more than two months. In the ST..
Helena Guardian, James A. Mcknight,
who was then the American Consul al
St. Helena, gave the following account
of the happenings of that night and
those which followed: .
'The two mates @. Holmes and w.
Davls) were sitting on the after
hatch talking when the two coolies
came along, one of them saying he was
sick. At the first word spoken they
fell or the mates with sharp knives in
each hand, cutting them both to death,
the second mate being able after the
blow to run to the cabin door and call,
Captain Clarke, Captain Clarke, twice
before he fell dead, and the mate dy-
ing in the f%orecastie three hours later.
Captain Clarke sprang from his bed
and half asleep started up the after
companiouway, thinking the mate had
called him to see a vessel which was
ahead in the evening and which they
had been afraid they might overhaul.
AS Don as he reached the top of the
steps he received a stab on the top of
the head and felt . hand grab him by
the throat. He was III his nightclothes
and empty handed, but seeing the
murderous intent of his antagonist,
and that he was one of the coolies, he
struck out with all his might, hitting
the murderer in the eyes and temper
airy binding him so that he could not
see to strike. The Malay continued
to hack at the captain with his knife,
however, till they went down the steps
together, where the captain would
have overaome him had he not slipped
in a pool OF ms own blood and fallen
to the floor. The coolie then gave
him a terrible slash in the left side,
and, thinking he was dead. went up
the steps to the deck. The captain
was not dead, however, but obtained
q revolver and again approached the
door, calling to the man at the wheel,
a sailor. named Malone, to shut the
outside door at the head of the CON-
panionway. Il can't SIR was the re.
ply. Why not? demanded the cap
tain. There's somebody there, sir,
replied Malone. who is it?' asked
the captain, but the man could not
tell him."
This was only the beginning OF the
struggle, and the remainder of the
story tells how the captain, returning
to the forward part of the cabin, found
the second mate dead on tbs floor and
one of the sailors SO paralyzed by fear
that all he could do was to beg the
to hide him from the MaIays.
Clarke did not know whether
the man was to be trusted, and told
him to 60 away, and the craven then
locked himself into the bathroom.
where the Malay from whom he was
escaping found him and tried to induce
him to open the door. lie would not,
aud the next thing was an attack on
The mar at the wheel, who was stabbed
md $hro-p oua~H,,owl -h:1A .k:I1 I'LL I