The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1905-07-18
NE GRO MURDERS TIVE VI
Stowaway Stays Crew and Passen.
gers on Fruit Vessel
Young Woman tho Sole Survivor Of
an Appalling Tragedy which Hap
pened in the Caribbean Sea.

New Orleans, La--One plucI1y Amer
lean girl is the sole survivor Of thirteen
persons who sailed from the little ISL
and Of UtiIla. about ten miles OFF the
north shore of Honduras, on the little
schooner Olympia, the twelve others,
including a woman and child, being
killed, one by one by Robert McGill, a
negro, with a repeating rifle Miss
Elsie Morgan, the only one Of the thir-
teen left alive, was shot by the brute
and clubbed on the head with an oar
when, her bullet-brol1en arm trailing
uselessly, she swan toward d0ry into
which the murderer sought to lure her
She escaped by pretending to be dead
and floating for 100 yards or more
aimlessly as body. The negro, think
ing he had finished her, bent to his oars
and roWed to the island, where Miss
Morgan, almost demented from grief
and fear, was found hiding in the un
derbrush several days after.
The little island Of Utllla, lying Off
the Honduras coast, and whose popula-
ton is an indiscriminate mixture of
whites, Caymanites and Caribs. was
the scene of the extraordinary tragedy.
The captain of the little schooner
Olympia was about to make a trip to
Ruatan, Truxillo and Belize. He had
about 400 soils. and was to buy cattle
at Truxillo to sell at Belize. He car
ried a crew of four and some passen-
gers, making the total list Of people
aboard number thirteen. Among these
were Two women and two children.
The vessel left the harbor of Utilla
at IL o'clock at night and after she had
been under way less than an hour
everybody was aroused by a shot.
Rushing on deck, they found negro,
armed with q Winchester rife. shoot
ing down the men, one after another.
This negro was Robert McGill. 1t af-
terward developed that he had slowed
himself aboard, with the intention Of
r0bbing the captain and then swim
ming ashore.
After be had killed all but one Of
the men he ordered the last survivor
to go below and scuttle the ship. When
the man reappeared on deck and re-
ported the negro shot him dead. H0
then put the two women, Miss Elsio
Morgan and her sister, Mrs. Walter
Rose, with her six-Weeks-old infant in
the dory. AS soon as they were atioat
he changed his mind about allowing
the women to live, and killed Mrs.
Rose and her infant.
Then he began shooting at Miss Nor
gan and wounded her in the arm. She
jumped overheard and started TO swim
back to the island. He fired at her in
effectually, but his ammunition evil
IDENTIFY gave out, for he promised her
immunity from harm if she would
come back to the dory. She started
back, and when within reach he struck
her on the head with an oar, stunning
her Believing she was dead, he rowed
away toward the mainland.
Miss Morgan swan back to the isl
and, where she was thrown on the
beach by the waves in an exhausted
condition. She feared that the negro
would follow her, so she hid in the
bushes and for two days suffered from
the heat and exposure, until she was
found by a woman from her neigh
borhood and rescued from starvation
In the meantime the dory had been
washed ashore. and there was excite
ment in the island, as it was believed
the Olympia had gone. down with all
hands. When Miss Morgan told her
story an immediate search was insti-
tuted for McGill and the authorities
on the mainland were informed OF the
tragedy. They caught the murderer
at Ell Porvinir, little town on the
road to Ceiba. His life was saved
through the presence on the coast of
President Bonilla, who was an in
spection tour. The Honduras warsIiip,
La Tumbla. which has figured in so
many revolutions, was brought into
service, and the murderer was placed
aboard and sent back to the island
The laws of Honduras prohibit the
infection Of capital punishment, but it
was feared the people would probably
lake the case in their own hands
Miss Elsie Morgan, the only survivor
of the terrible occurrence, visited New
Orleans three years ago She is well
educated, refined young woman, TWEEN
ty-fiye years old.