Los Angeles herald., 1905-07-13
TWELVE PERSONS
SLAIN BY NEGRO
MURDERED BY STOWAWAY ON
STEAMER
THE ASSASSIN IS CAPTURED
Tragedy Takes Place on the Rratten,
Plying Between New Orleans
and Honduras
THE ASSASSIN is CAPTURED
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
NEW ORLEANS, July ia shock
ing story Of murder, with robbery as
the motive was brought to this city
today by Captain Hans Holm of the
Norwegian fruit steamer Bratten,
which plies between New orleans and
Honduras ports. 1t was separately
confirmed by the officers of the fruit
steamer Rosina, which came In later
II the evening with additional details.
The little island of Utilla, lying off
the Honduras coast and whose popu-
lation is an indiscriminate mixture of
whites, Caymanites and Caribs, was
the scene of the tragedy in which
twelve lives were sacrificed.
The captain of the schooner Olympia
was about to make a trip to Ruatan,
Truxillo and Belize. She was to buy
cattle at Truxillo to sell at Belize.
She carried a crew of four and quite
a number of passengers, making the
total list of people aboard number
thirteen. Among these were two wo-
men and two children.
The vessel left the harbor at Utilla
at II O'Clock Friday night, June 80,
and after she had been under way
less than an hour everybody was
aroused by a shot, and rushing on
deck found negro armed with a rifle
shooting down the men one after an
other This negro was Robert McGill
and as 1t afterward developed, he had
slowed away on board with the in
; tention of robbing the captain and then
swimming ashore.
After he had killed all but one of
the men he ordered the last survivor to
go below and scuttle the ship. When
the unfortunate reappeared on deck
and reported the negro shot him dead.
; He then put the two women Miss Elsie
Morgan and her sister, Mrs. Walter
Rose, in the dory with Mrs. Roses six
weeks old infant, steering for the
mainland. He changed his mind about
allowing the women to live and killed
, Mrs. Rose and her infant. Then he
began shooting at Miss Morgan, who
had leaped overheard and wounded
her in the arm. He fired at her in
effectually but his ammunition evil
IDENTIFY gave out, for he promised i'm
munity from harm If she would come
and when within an oars length 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 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 ex-
poSure until found by a woman from
the neighborhood and rescued from
starvation.
In the meantime the dory had been
washed ashore and there was great ex-
citement on the island, as it was be-
lieved the Olympia had gone down with
all hands.
When Miss Morgan told her story an
immediate search was instituted for
McGill and the authorities on the main
land were notified. They caught him
| DIT FL fOrVeIllr, llIIlo IOWH Oh In6
road to Ceiba, and there was demon
stration but he was protected and his
life was saved through the presence
of President Bonilla, who was on an
inspection tour.
The Honduran warship La Tumbla
was brought into service and the MUIR
derer placed aboard and sent back to
, the island. Up to last Sunday he was
still alive, though it is firmly believed
that he will be tortured to death. The
laws of Honduras prohibit the inhic-
. tion of capital punishment, but the
people will take the case into their own
hands. Miss Elsie Morgan, the only
survivor of the terrible experience, Wis
tied New Orleans three years ago and
is a we'll educated, refined woman of
25 wears