The Savannah morning news., 1901-08-26
SAILOR TRACKS MURDERER.
Says the Cook of a Schooner Shot
His sBunkie."
From the New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune.
A big Finlander a sailor, entered the
Office of the Seamans Legal Aid So
ciety, at No. 3 State street yesterday
morning, and glared at a crowd of sea-
men who were telling their troubles to
the attorney.
II am looking for a - murderer" he
cried, banging a desk with his huge
fist, we'll hardened from much rope
handling.
The sailors thought the Finn was
crazy. and began to calculate the dis
lance to the windows and door.
You've come to the wrong place,
said Mr.. Abbott, the attorney. There
is no murderer here"
81 can't find him." continued the big
sailor, running his hand through his
yellow hair, but If / ever do. He
banged the desk a second time and the
windows ratified. HE killed my bun
kle,' and I'm goin' to see justice done"
EIe look as fierce as ever did any of
his Viking ancestors, and the attorney
half expected to see him take some
sort of a barbarous blood oath on the
spot that he would kill the murderer.
Instead he asked:
do you issue warrants here?" and
then added, Il want one for the captain
OF the Boston schooner Rebecca ].
Moulton."
1t developed, after some question
ing, that the Finlander was Peter N.
Uschis, and that he has been living
for several days at sailors boarding
house, at No. 1877 Cherry street He
says he left the Moulton at Brunswick,
Ga, in order to run down one Gus"
McCard, who was the schooner's cook
He says that he saw McCard shoot his
friend, G. M. Sundstrom, on July ii
last, when the schooner was anchored
in the harbor of Matanzas, Cuba. He
believes that the schooner, will touch
at Providence, r. l., in a few days,
and he desires to have the captain ar
rested for permitting the cook to es-
cape when the schooner reached the
Georgian port.
Uschis told the story of the murder
and the fight, which led up to it. 1t
was one of those sea fights which used
to be very common before steamships
attained their present ascendancy, in
the days when crews fought for the
pleasure of fighting, bleeding freely in
consequence. Every sort of weapon
that one would expect to find on a
schooner was brought into the action
at one time or another. Uschis says
he saw the entire fight, but he is not
quite sure whether the razor or the
ak was used before the long. sharp
pantry knife. He knows just when the
galley poker came into the fight, how
ever, and is certain that the fight end
ed when the cook emptied five slugs
from the captains big revolver into
Sundstrom's body at short range.
THE trouble began when Sundstrom
came out to the schooner after getting
drunk in Matanzas." said Uschis yes
terday. He had not been on board
long before he decided that it was time
for him to die, and promptly jumped
overheard. He refused to take the ropes
we threw him until he asw the cook
leaning over the rail Sundstrom did
not like the cook. and began to swear
at him from the water. Then he decid-
ed to come on board and fight him. He
climbed up the vessels side with the
aid of a rope, and began to run amuck
1.-The cook got the galley poker and
began chasing the drunken man about
the deck. Then Sundstrom went down
in the forecastle and got his razor. The
cook took a turn at running, until we
took the razor away from Sundstrom.
After awhile the cook got an AK and
chopped Sundstrom in the arm. This
made him very angry, and he went af-
ter the cook again, this time with a
long pantry knife. The captain drew
his revolver and threatened to shoot
Sundstrom. Then he thought better of
it, and gave the cook the revolver. We
were about to take the knife away
from Sundstrom when the cook began
to shoot at him. He shot him five
times in the body, and killed him in
stantly.
'McCard was taken before the cap
tain of the port. who decided that he
had no Jurisdiction in the case. The
captain was told to turn McCard over
to the authorities at the first United