The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-09-14
Anderson Committed the
Pecker Murders.
He Killed the Captain and the
Mate of the Vessel.
Official Information of the Sea
Tragedy Reaches Boston.

Boston, Sept. Ia The first .flicial It'd
ings of the awful tragedy at sea on the
Boston schooner Olive Pecker, in which
Capt Whitman of Rockland, Me, ana
First Mate Sanders were murdered, came
10 this city yesterday in letter To Col
leotor Winslow Warren OF the port, en-
closing a copy of the cablegram from
Bahia, Brazil, transmitted To the state
department by Vice Consul Br.cA Lac
oabegram read as follows:
"John Anderson, naturaliZed Amerl-
can citizen, steward of schooner OIlve
Pecker killed Capt. Whitman ami Nate
Sanders apparently under prOVocGtlon.
after which the crow, seemingly hnuur
threats of the steward, fired tho vessel
leaving Ter in their boats l2O mites from
the Brazilian coast. Ihey drew iotS 10 20
in pairs. the steward leaving with sailor
named John Lind. Swedo, white the
other four embarked in the other boats
and denounced the occurrence at the Lfst
place they reached Anderson ana LlBd
were taken prisoners on boaru NOT
wegian vessel at Port Bahls ana 1ullv
confessed the crime To me. All six men
are now prisoners in the house OF cor
rection, aud / await an American war
vessel TO send them tl the States as 0rol-
nary steamers are unable CT UNIV III y 10
take them. The behavior OF the br.z.il"n
authorities is worthy OF great pra'se.
The names of the four prisoners are:
Engineer William HorsbrOugh an Eng
lishman; Juan Dies BARREL Gumierrez,
"A Spaniard; Andrew March, an English
man, and Martin Barsted. "a Norwegian.
Dispositions of ali the men have been
taken by me and will be sent by the first
steamer. together with photographs OF
the men. (Slgneu)
"BRICE, Vice Consul" "
A copy Of the oablegram was also sent
60 the owners of the vessel in this city.
The first authentic account CT the MUIR
ders qualified previous stories and trans
fers the guilt TO other shoulders. lhe
murder was committed by Steward John
Anderson, native OF Denmark but "a
naturalized American citizen. After the
crimes were committed, tho murderer held
the crew in state OF abject terror and
compelled them to do his bidding. In
previous reports OF the horror. the name
Of the murderer has been variously given
as Horsbrough the engineer, Seaman
Lind and Peter Thomson, but neither of
these committed the crime, and in fact
theIe was no man named Thompson on
board the ill-fated schooner.
The first news of "A Grim, reached Bahia
by the German steamer Schonbur9, on
Aug. IA. her captain reporting passing
burning vessel on the night Of Aug. d.
He stated that As the steamer approached
he saw she was "a large lumber laden
schooner with her foremast overheard
and spanker hauled out. she was burned
fore and att and as no boats were in sight
and nobody appeared 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 overhaulinR. IL
is therefore quite probable that the men
will be landed here and their trial held
here. not only the home pert OF the ILL
fatod craft but the scene of the trial or
she men charged with committing that
other ocean horror, the barkentine Herbert
Fuller murder.