Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1897-09-14
OFFICIAL TlDlNGS
OF the Olive Pecker Murder
Received at Boston.
Vice Consul Brice Says John Ander-
son Did the Killing.
The Men Will Be Brought BY Frigaie Lancas-
Ter TO Boston Tor Trial.

Boston, Sept. 23.-The first official
tidings of the awful tragedy at sea On
the Boston schooner Olive Pecker, in
which Captain Whitman of Rockland.
Me-, and First Mate Sanders were
murdered, came to this city, today, in
letter to Collector Winslow Warren
of the port inclosing copy of the
cablegram from Bahia, Brazil, trans
mitted to the state department by Vice
Consul Brice. The cablegram read as
follows:
John Anderson. naturalized American
citizen. steward of schooner Olive
Pecker, killed Captain Whitman and
Mate Saunders, apparently under
provocation, after which the crew,
seemingly under threats of the steward
fired the vessel, leaving her in their
boats 120 miles from the Brazilian
coast. They drew lots to go in pairs,
the steward leaving with a sailor
named John Lind, a Swede, while the
other four embarked in the other boat
first place they reached.
Anderson and Lind were taken
prisoners on board Norwegian vessel
at Port Bahia, and fully confessed the
crime to me. All six men are now
prisoners in the house of correction
and l await an American war vessel
to send them to the state as ordinary
steamers are unable or unwilling 10
take them. The behavior of the Bra
lillian authorities is worthy of great
praise.
THE names of the four prisoners are
Engineer VIM. Horpbrough. an Eng
lishman, Juan Dies BARREL GumicrreZ,
q Spaniard, Andrew March, an Eng
lishman, and Martin BarsteJ Il Norwa-
gian.
Dispositions of all the men have
been taken by me and will be sent by
the steamer together with photographs
of men.
(Signed) BRICE, Vice Consul"
A copy of the cablegram was also
sent to the owners of the vessel in this
city.
The first authentic Information of the
murders qualities previous stories and
transfers the guilt TO other shoulders
The murder was committed by Steward
John Anderson. a native of Denmark,
but naturalized American citizen.
After the crimes were committed the
murderer held the crew in a state of
abject terror and compelled them to do
his bidding.
In previous reports of the horror the
name of the murderer has been vari-
ously given as Horsbrough, the engi-
neer. Seman Lind, and Peter Thomp-
son, but neither of these committed the
crime, in fact there was no man named
Thompson on board the Inflated
schooner. The first news of the crime
reached Bahia by the German steamer
Schonburg, Aug. IA, her captain re-
porting passing a burning vessel on the
night of Aug. 6.
He stated that as the steamer ap-
preached he saw she was large lum-
Der laden schooner with her foremost
overheard and spanker hauled out. She
was burning fore and aft and as no
boats were in sight, and nobody ap-
peared to be on board. the steamer
continued to Bahia where she reported
the circumstances.
The prisoners will be brought to the
United States on the cruiser Lancaster,
which has been ordered to the Charles
town navy yard for an overhauling. 1t
is therefore quite probale that the men
will be landed here and their trial held
here, not only the home port of the ill
fated craft but the scene of trial of the
men charged with committing that
other ocean horror, the barkentine Her.
bert Fuller murder.