Semi-weekly register. (Brookings, Brookings Co., S.D.) 1894-1898, 1897-01-06
A TRAITOR ON BOARD
Cubans Suspicious Regarding
the Fate of the Filibuster
Commodore.
Believe Some One in Spanish
Pay Was the Cause of
the Wreck.
Of the Twenty-eight Men on
Board Eleven Are Unac-
counted For.

teen men accounted for out of the 80 on
the Cuban filibuster, Commodore. is
the record here, with slight chance of
seven more yet alive. Five men came
ashore at Dayton at noon, Captain Muir.
ply, Stephen Crane, the novelist, the
cook and two sailors, one of the latter,
William Higgins of Rhode Island, died
soon after reaching land from the ef-
fects of the high surf. One of the sur
vivors gives the following graphic de.
tails:
1.-THE tug sunk at O'Clock Saturday
morning 20 miles off New Smyrna. All
the Americans on board remain ed till
the last moment. A traitor in Spanish
pay was the cause of the leak He will
be found and dealt with later. The
pumps would not work long, though
they did good service for awhile. Find.
ing that
The Water Gained On Us
the captain called all hands and the
vessel was turned shoreward AS she
still continued to sink, two boatloads of
Cubans, IL men in all, were first sent
off. One boat containing six men cap.
sized and am afraid that the men
were lost. One o" the hfeboats con-
tanning nine men was swamped and a
hastily constructed raft was made up
from materials thrown to them and
they then disappeared from our sight.
Captain Murphy, Stephen Crane, the
newspaper man, Higgins, myself and
one other sailor took to the 10-foot
dingey at the last moment. We tried
to save the men in the water around
us but the heavy seas and binding
wind swept them from us. The spray
was SO thick that we could see only a
rending, but we could do nothing. 1t
required all our efforts to keep our
small boat right side up. For "a hours
we
Battled with the Heavy Sea
and at last land was sighted. AS we
attempted to land, the wind drove us
into the breakers and in an instant the
boat was overturned and we were
for life. For an hour we
battled for life and then managed to
crawl out on the sands almost dead
Captain Murphy saved Mr.. Crane by
him when cramp caught him.
Higgins was struck on the head by
floating timbers and he died soon after
landing. He was good sailor and
brave man. He worked hard to save
his comrades. The government off,
cials at Washington were promptly
wired to allow the Three Friends to 60
to the aid of the shipwrecked men, but
not until "a hours later and after sew.
eral messages had been sent begging
il the name of humanity to allow the
vessel to go was the necessary permis.
sion granted"
Was Loaded with Arms.
The Commodore left Jacksonville
Thursday with cargo of arms and
for Cienfuegos, Cuba.
The papers show that Captain Murphy
was master of the vessel and that
Frank P. Grain is first mate, Felix De-
los Rios second mate, James Reddlng
chief engineer, and Ed P. Ritter assist
ant engineer. The manifest shows the
cargo and value of the same to be as
follows:
Two hundred and three thousand
$4,000; 1000 pounds giant
powder, $500; 40 bundles of rifles,
81 400; 2 electric batteries, $50; 300
machetes, $500; IA cases of drugs, $3.50;
A bundles of clothing, $35. Total,
81, ,465.
The cargo was shipped by Henry P.
Tritot to Salvador Cisneros, Glen suegos.