The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-06-18
CASE AGAINST A PRIZE
EVIDENCE THAT MAY CAUSE FOR
FIXTURE OF BRITISH COLLIER.
Spanish Consul Paid the Bills of the
steamer Twickenham,a and n Span
ish officer Was SupercargO.

KEY WEST, Fla, June 17.--William
Thompson, the steward of the British col
lier Twickenham, which was captured of
Kingston Jamaica, on June 10 by the aux.
iliary cruiser st. Louis, said to represent
alive of the Associated Press to-day: 1.-The
steamer and, l believe, the cargo, was
owned by Watts, Watts & Co., of London
We sailed from Newca stle-on-Tyne with a
full cargo of coal. at half an hour past mid
night on April 22 the day after war had
been declared. None of the crew knew that
war had been declared and l don't know
whether the captain did. Our destination
was st. Thomas, for orders. We reached
st. Thomas on May Is and received orders
to proceed to Martinique and report to the
Spanish consul there. Take orders from
the Spanish CONSUL, the cable from the
owners read.
AT Martinique the Spanish consul paid
our bills. We took aboard Chief officer
James Fornie, of the alleged Spanish hos
pital ship Alicante. He was to be super
cargo and take charge of the coal when we
reached our destination. The consul cleared
the ship for Dominica, Haiti, the owners
refusing to let her clear for Santiago de
Cuba. Fornie came aboard after dark Just
before We sailed l saw Fornie's chart of
cur sailing course, after passing Cape
Maysi, which had Santiago as our destina-
ton. Fornie was formerly an officer in the
Spanish navy.
when we were we'll on our way the cap
tain notified the officers and engineers that
they would go to Santiago. They held a
consultation and refused to take the steam
er to any but a neutral port. The engineers
decided they would disable the engines If
captain was very angry, and said he would
get a new crew, but the officers and crew
could not be bulldozed, and the captain
headed for Kingston
An officer of the ST. Louis, in speaking of
the capture. said: I'VE had been laying for
the Twickenham two days on orders from
Washington. We kept twelve miles off the
coast. When we sighted the Britisher we
got in front of him and fired blank shot.
Following 1t at once with solid shot The
captain hove to promptly. and came off to
us on a small boat protesting vigorously
against what he called an indignity to
w-abiding British mariner. He said the
wards contradicted this statement by say
ing he did not know the consignee. We put
prize crew aboard and brought the Twick-
enham to Key West"
Steward Thompson said: 1.-THE Alicante is
a 3O00-ton steamer, chartered from Hender-
son. of Glasgow. She is fitted out as hos
pita boat. and is painted white, but at the
same time she is collier and Spanish war
ship. She carries 300 men. myself saw her
coal the Spanish torpedo boat destroyer
Terror at Fort de France, in Port Royal
bay, twelve miles below st. Pierre, Mar
Unique. An American on shore told me to
watch the Spanish ships that night, and /
kept a sharp lookout. and saw the hospital
ship coaling the torpedo boat destroyer. The
Alicante can make fourteen knots. Her
engineers are English. and the engineers of
Cerveras fleet are Englishmen, who are
serving unwillingly against the United
States, but stick to their posts because they
were enlisted"
naioer ITorr;a ;e s+iT an +ba rru,;ol,anbor,
and will probably be sent to Fort McPher-
son at Atlanta. Ga. The evidence in the
Twickenham case is all in, and it will be
sent to Jacksonville, where the Federal
Court is sitting.