The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-11-13
Seaman M a XWel |
Commits Murder in
the Bay Of Fundy.
THEN SEXES The SCHOONER.
Mate, Sailor and Dead Com
mander Left in An
Open Boat.

st. Johns, N. B., Nov. PA murder
at sea on the schooner ]. B. Van Dusen
was made known today by the receipt
of message from the vessels mate
to the owners agent in this city. 1t
stated that Capt. Baisley had been
stabbed by sailor named Maxwell, and
had afterwards fallen overheard and
died in the ships boat, which had put
off to rescue him. AS for the schooner,
it disappeared in the darkness, under
conditions which make it seem prob
able that the murderer and another
member of the crew had gotten her I'M
der way, and headed in towards the
Nova Scotia coast.
The schooner j. B. Van Dusen left
this port lumber laden for New York
late yesterday afternoon. The tragedy
was evidently enacted in the Bay of
| Fundy, within a few hours after clear
| ing land. The news of the affair came
from Point Lepreaux, to d. M. Driscoll,
| agent here for c. w. Crane & Co. of
New York, owners of the vessel and
| was in the shape of the following mes
! sage, signed by Mate Campbell:
Row on board ship Van Dusen last
| night. Capt Baisley stabbed by Sea-
man Maxwell, afterwards falling over
| board. Mate, with one man, took boat
! to rescue captain, who died in the boat
! before reachin Dipper harbor. Left
| steward and Maxwell on board. Last
! seen, schooner was sailing away from
us in the dark directly for land. think
vessel must be ashore between Dipper
harbor and Musquash.'
! Capt Baisley belonged in this city,
! where his wife and one child live. Max
well, who according to the telegram
| did the stabbing,i is also a St. Johns man.
and for several voyages sailed with
| Capt. Balsley as his mate.
The Van Dusen is one of the best
| known three-masted coasting vessels
She usually carried lumber from this
port to New York, and on the return
| brought coal or a miscellaneous cargo.
! At the time of Mr.. DriscolPs receipt of
| the telegram he was unable to account
! for the trouble, but lost no time in try
| ing to locate the missing vessel and to
| apprehend Maxwell, should he have
/ landed.
The schooner was finally located at
| Beaver harbor today. 1t seems that
the vessel. under charge of the cook,
Frank Snowden, was run towards Bea-
yer harbor for an anchorage. On max
ing that port, Snowden let go both
anchors At daybreak, Snowden hailed
| the captain of another schooner which
was anchored near by, and said that
| there had been trouble on board. The
captain who had been hailed was rather
suspicious of what Snowden had told
him, so he visited the captains of other
schooners in the port, and then went
ashore.
AS there was no resident magistrate
or a port official in the settlement, the
matter was referred to several of the
| best known men, and several of them
went out to the Van Dusen. Cook
Snowden asked them to go on board,
which they did. Everything on deck
was shipshape, but on the deckload of
lumber was a spot of blood.
The cook was questioned closely as
to what had happened and he said
that Capt. Baisley and Sailor Maxwell
had a fight about dark last night, dur
ing which the captain had been knocked
overheard, or had fallen. He further
said the mate and another sailor i'm
away in search of Capt. Baisley. This
boat, the cook said, soon disappeared,
! and as he had taken the wheel of the
schooner he kept her up in the wind
for some time, hoping that the boat
would return. AS the boat did not
did not show up in a considerable
! length of time Snowden said he got
I bearings put IliG SCilOOliCl OAl q SOul oS
| and made for a harbor. He ran in to-
wards land until he made out an an
Choir light, and let the anchor go, trust
ing to luck to be in a safe berth.
After hearing the stewards story, the
committee took charge of the schooner
| pending instructions from her owner.
| Later it was learned that the Van Du-
sens boat, with the mate and sailor,
had arrived at Point LeDreaux with
! the body of Capt Baisley. AT last ac-
| counts, Sailor Maxwell was on the
| schnnner guardad bN SnoMden.