The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-08-06
Murder on the High Seas
The Captain of the Schooner Fred Wood is Stabbed Death
With Knife in the Hands of a Japanese Cabin Boy.

The American four masted schooner
Fred j. Wood bound from Astoria
Oregon with a cargo of lumber to KaU
Chow, China, arrived and anchored of
the harbor yesterday afternoon
with her ensign flying at hal
mast Today the flag of all the
other ships in the harbor are similarly
placed in respect to the story of the
high seas tragedy that the schooner
brought. A murderous attack by a Jap
anese cabin boy upon a kind hearted
captain, the body, embalmed with rude
but willing skill and tenderness, en-
sconed among the deck load and d
young wife left a widow with two tots
of children who are chasing the sun
beams on the deck while She heart
broken, mOurns the loss of her husband
foully murdered in cold blood but few
minutes after he had left her side.
At Portland Captain j. J. jacobson
master mariner and captain Of the
schooner Fred j. Wood, shipped as ca
bin boy a japanese boy who for com
pany had that of the cook also a Jap
anese named Oto. The boys name was
Tanbara. The boy proved stubborn and
lazy often neglecting to do his work
For such conduct the first mate, Ii
Meyer, once wanted to argue with the
boy sea lawyer fashion, but the captain
demonstrated and saved the boy lick
ing which he probably deserved. one
of the sad points of the Story lies in the
unanimous praise that the crew, a mix
ed one of Frenchmen, Portuguese and
NOrwegians bestOw upon the captain
and their asseVeration that he was un-
usually lllnU towards his n.en in both
language and actions.
To understand the story clearly it
should be promised that the time of the
tragedy was six thirty in the morning
Ill t,fs, t,I, q
below. The second mate aft of the
mizzen mast. Beneath the deck at this
point are the cabins of the officers and
the dining room with the captain s
quarters still farther aft. Between this
and the mainmast lies the waist of the
schooner with the matches well covered
with deck load of timber in the ma
tuTal logs and some cut timber.
Hard by the mainmast the funnel of
the donkey engine sticks up above the
deckload. A rough ladder leads as a
companionway to the donkey engine
room, taken up on the starboard side by
the engines and to port with a narrow
shelf and a small part of the machinery
also. A narrow passage some thirty
inches wide runs between this shelf and
the boiler and furnace, leading to the
cooks galley This does not extend
across the entire width of the engine
room but has part partition on the
starboard side behind which are two
dirty hunks used by OtO and the muir
derer Forward again of this lies the
fUrecastle where the first mates watch
lay asleep. The only communication
between the fOTecastle and the galley is
by means of a scuttle or sliding panel,
through which the gruesOme scene was
witnessed by a member of the crew a
Frenchman named Claude Jean More.
The men have communication with the
deck by their own ladder leading
through the forward hatch.
At six thirty, the captain having had
his usual cup of coffee brought to him
by the cabin boy stepped up on deck
where second mate Nelson was mend
ing sails. He passed a remark with
him concerning certain ships duties
and strOlled forward. He entered the
cooks galley and, according to the tes-
timOny of that individual, asked him If
he had cook book, stating, on learning
that he had not that he would show
him how to cook dried apples and sago.
He then asked where the boy was and
the cook pointed to the berth where he
lay, at the same time telling him to
get up. The captain took him by the
arm and told him to get along and get
to his work.
Here the cook says that he kept
his back to the whole affair and did not
see what happened. The captain is be-
lieved to have come back after the boy
had got up and to have found him sit
ting on a small bench which is just 10
starboard of the doorway between the
engine room and the galley. Then he
demonstrated with him. The whole space
available is pretty well used up in the
galley when three men are in there and
it Is thought extraordinary that the
cook should have remained obstinately
with his head turned away while the
murder was committed
The next point in the story is taken
up by Claud Jean More, an intelligent
Frenchman, aged thirty-nine, who was
below asleep when awakened by cry
of boy! boy, give me that knife" He
darted to the panel through which food
is passed to the mems quarters and slid
ing aside the scuttle saw the cook Otto
just disappearing up the ladder leading
from the donkey room to the deck. The
captain and the boy were meanwhile