The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-02-12
SIX SAILORS
WERE IN IRONS
CREW FROM ALICE MACDONALD
TO BE TRIED FOR
MUTINY.
REFUSED DUTY ON VESSEL AT
APIA.
Being Taken on sonoma to stand Trial
At San Francisco-Claim Schooner
was Uuseaworthy.

Aboard the Sonoma en- route to San
Francisco from Pago PagO, were six sal
lors i'm irons. The men were members
of the crew of the American schooner
Alice Macdonald who were being taken
To San Francisco to be tried on charge
of refusing duty. BOatswain Olsen Of
the u. S. $. Abbaranda has charge OF
them. First Mate Thomas Royal and
Second Mate Finley of the Macdonald
crew were also passengers for the pur-
pose of appearing as witnesses in the
case against the six sailors.
The men are from what was posted as
an overdue vessel and they have a very
interesting story to relate. The Alice
Macdonald left Newcastle for san
Francisco with coal in the latter part
of October She was overloaded and
was declared by the sailors to be unsea-
worthy. She met with bad weather and
repeated calms and ran short of pro-
visions. Her master T. M. Mardin, de-
cided to make for Apia which was
reached January 8 after a passage OF
76 days Mardin claimed, it is said, that
the vessel was unmanageable. She had
been posted as overdue in san Francisco
and considerable alarm was felt for
her until the news was received or heI
arrival at Apia.
A board of survey was called and they
had even 200 tons of coal taken out of
her for it is claimed she was overloaded
This lightened the vessel some what. 1t
was finally decided to have naval sur
vey of the vessel at Pago Pago so the
American naval shin Abbarenda was
asked to tow the schooner over TO Iu-
tuili island
When it came to going to sea again
Captain Mardin found he had neglect
ed to reckon on the disposition of his
crew Six of the men told him at Apla
that they would not turn to in the ship
i. i .Hn.. .HaH NRNH
This made no difference TO the captain
however for he persisted in his desire
to get over to PagO PagO. After the
Abbarenda had tOWed the vessel out of
Apia Captain Mardin called on the men
to turn to and the six again refused
point blank.
The crowd was arrested at Pago Page
and the United States governor decided
to send them to San Francisco for pro
secutiOn so the entire six were placed
in irons and put aboard the SOnoma
Their names are Michael Guerin. Fred
O'Farrell, Fred Hansen, Charles Lar
sen. William Johnstone and Emil An
dersOn.
The men appeared quite reasonable
over the charge against them and were
anxious to explain their reasons for re-
fusing duty. I'VE are being sent to
the coast said Michael Guerin 'to have
a trial on the charge of refusing duty
We refused the duty because We con-
sidered the schooner Alice Macdonald
unseaworthy. We told the captain SC
when we were in Apia and a second
time after we were tOwed out by the
Abbarenda. He asked up in Apia tC
turn to but we refused and then he
came up and asked us after we got out.
side to turn to but we refused duty.
THE boat leaks like a seive in ba6
weather. The captain is claiming thai
we had bad weather but we had nothing
out of the ordinary except for three
days before we got to Apia. He was
afraid to use his sails, for all of the rig,
ging and woodwork are bad and new
fitting will have to be made in the
ship. He gave as his reason for gOinG
into Apia that the vessel was unman
ageable. There were eleven people, al
told aboard the vessel, the captain, two
mates, steward and a boy. I dom
know what is being done with her il
PagO PagO but the board of survey wa'
not giving the captain much satisfac
ton"