The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1903-01-08
AWFUL FATE
OF MRS. BATE---FINDTNG OF
HER BODY
Recalls the Wreck of the Scots
man.

Recalls the W Teek OF the scots
The body Of Mrs. Bate, one of the
! lost passengers Of the Scotsman, has
been found after TWO years. says the
San Francisco Examiner.
This discovery furnishes the climax
to one of the darkest tragedies OF the
sea that recent years have brought
torth.
Mrs. Bate was evidently murdered by
two Of the brutal crew of the Scots
man, whose treatment of the passen-
gers excited widespread indignation at
| the time.
The unfortunate woman was return
| ing to Montreal with fortune estimat-
| ed at $1,000 in valuables and securities
upon her.
While she was struggling with the
wind and the storm to reach place of
safety two sailors volunteered to help
her. She gladly accepted their offer
/ They then led her to lonely gulch,
where they murdered her and robbed
| her
| Although the sailors of the Scotsman
were arrested and many articles Tecov-
cred the property Of Mrs Bate was not
| recovered. 1t must therefore be assum-
ed that the murderers got away with it.
Perhaps they hid it near the scene of
the murder and later returned to Sc
cure it.
The Scotsman was wrecked on the
! lonely desolate rock of Belle Isle in the
fog haunted Straits of Belle Isle on
i September q. 1889. Fifteen persons
lost their lives there. The bodies of
IA Of them were found, but search for
| that of Mrs. Bate proved unavailing at
the time. Now, after three years, it
| has been found by accident.
James Mccormack, Of Coachmans
| Cove, Newfoundland fisherman living
in hamlet near the scene If the wreck
was driven for shelter recently to a
creek on the rocky islet with his boat
| and crew of three men. While they
! We're awaiting the end Of the storm
they wandered up a gulch and came
upon a human sekeltOn. The body was
at the bottom Of the gulch and its deep
est part. 1t was a very lonely and iso-
i lated position even for this desolate re-
gion. 1t was ten miles from the light
house, which was the first human habi-
! tatiOn that any of the passengers and
sailors Of the Scotsman reached in
their search for help. 1t was exactly
the sort of place that the murderers
would have desired for the commission
| of such a crime as this.
| The body was that of woman, With
| long light-colored hair The body was
covered with some remnants Of cloth
| ing Her silver neck brooch and sew
eral other articles were found near the
| body. Mccormack handed these over
to the local authorities as soon as he
was able to and they were the means
Of identifying the body as that of Mrs
Bate. The passengers Of the Scotsman
remembered clearly that Mrs. Bate
were shawl pinned with a large sill
Yer brooch. The police made careful
examination of the grounds in the vi
Cinity of the body in the hope of find-
| ing money or documents, but none
! could be discovered The remains were
/ then placed in a coffin and temporarily
buried at St Johns to await instruc-
tons from her relatives. Mrs. Bates
son informed the chief Of police - ST.
Johns that from the description for
| Warded to him he was certain that the
body was that of his mother He has
| since taken possession Of 1t and of the
few trinkets that We're found with It.
Mrs, Bate was 81 years of age, a ma
tive of North Staffordshire, England,
and had lived for many years in Mon
treal. Her last voyage to the old coun-
try was made for the purpose of taking
possession Of a large estate at Bed
worth, England, which had come down
to her from her grandfather, named
knapper The value of the estate Is
said to be enormous, including a large
area of land and buildings in the rich
est manufacturing district in England
Mr.. Bate says that his mothers share
amounted to at least $780, 900, and that
there were several other heirs entitled
to the same amount. Mrs. Bate had
converted all her property into pOrtab bic
securities 50 that another trip to Eng
land would be unnecessary. but it Is moi
known exactly how she had invested
her money. There is very little doubt
that the property was IN stocks anC
bonds of various kinds, including prob.
ably considerable proportion of gov.
eminent securities It may be possible
for her heirs to prove their right t.
some of these. but the task will be one
of great difficulty.
Mrs. Bate carried most of her valua.
bles in an old black handbag The pas
sengers saw that she took this ashore
With her. A very diligent search has
|