The San Francisco call., 1904-06-06

When the steam schooner River
Coquille tied up at Mission Eo. dock
yesterday afternoon four Of her crew
of seven were arrested for mutiny.
They are f. N. Nelson, A Z. Larson,
Jacob Swei and john Johnson. They
were taken in charge by Policemen
Edner and Helms 1T the request of
Manager Wilson of the Hobbs-Wall
Company, by whom the schooner is
leased.
The River Coquille left san Pedro
last Wednesday, bound for this port.
She had sailed from here with cargo
of lumber with a crew of nine men.
After unloading at San Pedro two of
the crew were discharged. When the
schooner put out from the harbor the
four arrested men waited on Captain
Sanford and protested against sailing
with a. short crew. He told them there
was no necessity for nine men to
bring the schooner back to San Fran
cisco.
He put into Santa Monica to take
on coal and ordered the Grew to get
ashore and shovel il aboard. The four
men refused TO do So on the ground
that loading was stevedore work, for
which fifty cents an hour was paid.
Finally the four men announced their
intention of quitting. and demanded
their pay from the skipper. They had
$34 apiece coming to them. He took
them to his cabin and offered each of
them $40 in money and checks on his
owners for the balance They refused
to accept the checks. and demanded
their entire money in wages. In order
to load the coal stevedores had to be
employed.
OFFERS THEM THEIR PAY.
Port Hartford was the next stop,
and there the skipper rendered the
men the full amount of money in cash,
but they demanded that he also pay
their fare back to Santa Monica,
where they first announced their in
tention of quitting. This he refused
to do and the schooner put TO sea with
the four men aboard.
All during the passage up the ar
rested men positively refused to lend
a hand in working the schooner, and
apparently enjoyed the increased labor
that had been forced on the mate and
the other three hands. When the
schooner docked the mate was obliged
to cast the lines ashore himself and
the four alleged mutineers jeered at
him.
SAILORS ARE ARRESTED.
Policemen Edner and Helms halted
the four men as they stepped on the
dock, and Manager Wilson went
aboard to consult with Captain San
ford. After the situation had been ex-
planned to him he told the policemen
to make prisoners of the four men,
agreeing to swear out a complaint of
mutiny to-day. They were handcuffed
and taken to the Harbor Station first
and later removed to the City Prison.
Captain Sanford is firm in the be-
lief that the men were guilty. of
mutiny when they refused to turn to
at the command of the mate after
leaving Santa Monica. He admits that
when they wanted to quit he did not
have sufficient money to pay them in
cash and offered the balance in checks
on his owners in this city. When he
offered them their pay in full at Port
Hartford he said they had no right TO
demand return passage to Santa
Monica. where they first announced
their intention of quitting.
E. N. Nelson, speaking for himself
and his three companions, said:
We were fully within our rights when we
refused to accept checks in payment for our
services Our articles call for payment in
had right TO remain with the schooner until
we were paid and demand return passage to
the point where we first announced our inten-