The San Francisco call., 1897-12-21
1t Will Be Claimed That the As
sassin Was Subjected to
Unheard Of Cruelties.
THREATENED BY OFFICERS
Thrilling Scenes Aboard the Schooner
Olive Pecker During the Voyage
Last August.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

NORFOLK, Va. Dec. 20.-The trial
Of John Anderson, cook of the schooner
Olive Pecker, for the murder of Mate
William Wallace Saunders on the
high seas in August last, was begun in
the Federal Court to-day. Anderson
is also under indictment for the muir
der of Captain Whitman and burning
the schooner.
Attorney Mcintosh for the accused,
in outlining the defense, stated that
he would show that Anderson had
been subjected to unheard-of cruelties
and that the murders were committed
in self defense.
Martin Barslad, a Norwegian and a
member of the schooner's crew, was
called to the stand as the first eye
witness to the terrible tragedy which
Will so down as one of the most dra-
matte and remarkable of modern
times. Barslad testified that he was
at the wheel during the whole affair
He saw Anderson throw water on the
captains dog on the morning of August
6, the day of the crime; then he heard
the captain curse Anderson, after
which followed a noise as of some one
falling. He had supposed the captain
had struck Anderson, who came up
and asked the mate to protect him.
The mate said: Go to -; you've
got to die, anyway" Shortly after this
Anderson came out of the captains S
cabin and called the mate down out of
the. rigging and shot him four times.
He summoned all hands and made
them throw the body overheard. Then
he made them go down into the cabin
and get the body of the captain and
throw that overheard, after which he
-,
cabin and gave them whisky. The
story of the burning of the vessel un-
der AnderSOn's orders and the voyage
TO land in the small boats varied little
fIOm the published accounts.
John Lind was called to the stand and
told essentially the same story as Bars
lad, except that he did not see Ander-
son shoot the mate. Anderson came
up to him and told him that he had
killed the captain and that the mate
had TO go too. The witness then went
and called the watch, and while he
was doing this he heard three or four
shots on the other side of the vessel.
Witness helped to throw the bodies
overheard, and Anderson, he said,
cursed the dead body of the mate He
could not state what language he used.
Speaking of the whisky Anderson gave
the crew, Lind said it was only half a
bottle and no one was drunk. The cap
tain and mate were dead when thrown
C. -eTDOarQ. Anderson nred three shots
v hen the small boat left the burning
schooner, though why ne did it witness
could not say. Lind told how the
crew drew lots to see who should go
together, and his lot fell with that OF
Anderson. He said Anderson shot the
dog which came ashore in the boat and
on the way to Belmont sold the cap
tain's watch.
Upon ross-examination Lind said he
heard Anderson, prior to the killing
ask the mate to protect him from the
captain, and he had heard the mate
tell Anderson to Ego to hell; you will
be dead anyway"
Anderson that morning had thrown
water on the captains dog; the cap
tain cursed him in the worst Ian
guage he had ever heard" and then
'.made for him." after which Lind
heard a noise as if of some one falling
and presently Anderson came out of
the galley and asked the mate to pro-
tect him.
Andrew March, another of the
-schooner's crew, testified that he did
not see the killing of the mate, but
heard Anderson say he had killed him
Witness was in his bunk at the time
and heard Anderson call the mate
down from aloft He heard the con-