The Washington times., 1905-07-09

capturing the schooner and the money
| In all good faith, Captain Hackett ac-
| ceioted John Williams. Francis Fred
eritk, John P Rog, Nils Peterson. John
Smith, and thee others, known simply
as Stromer. acey, and Raineaux, first
| names not known. because they were
manifestly able seamen. Frederick was
even taken as a passenger. working his
passage, since the crew was already full
without him Stromer Wis a man of
such superior mental capacity that the
wise men said afterward that Hackett
should have known that such a man
sailing oefors the mast must be a
crooked stick
With his promising assortment of cut
throats the TGattsburg sailed from Balti-
more. July l. 1916 Trouble began early.
While ancho-ed OF the capes. Frederick
Yeiscr. the first mate. ordered Jonn
Smith to sweep the deck Smith set
| about it in such a slouching fashior. that
Yeiser found fault with him Smith
forced n fight. and would have whipped
the mate but for the timely arrival of
the captain. II was subsequently learn
ed that this quarrel was planned by the
| mutineers in order to gain the sympathy
of the crew. ana make them more likely
10 fall in with the plot that had been
Matched.
Plot to Poison Officers.
1t was perfectly successful. and by the
time the vessel reached the Azores. it
was greed that the officers should be
poisoned, and the crew seize the vessel.
Strorner provided the poison, but WILL
! Jams, VITO was to put it in the coffee,
| overdid the thing, and used so large a
desc tJat it acted as its own antidoce:
| and Lamberson, the negro cook, was
whipped for not keeping the coffee-pot
clean
a da'3 or two later the real outbreak
came On the night of Saturday. JULY
81. Mate YeiseF~had the deck from s
o'clock till midnight. when Second Mate
Stephen b Onion came On duty It was
so dark that he could see only a few
feet ahead. He was Mortified as he walk
ed forward, to hear John Williams, the
lockout, cry Sail hoi' He ran forward
| to the lee DOW, where Yeiser joined him.
As the two officers leaned over the rail
peering into the darkness trying TO see
what was coming, they were set upon by
! the mutineers. and knocked down by
| Clubs. Yeiser was thrown overheard
but Onion managed to escape, and hid
himself in the bread locker.
! The captain, coming on deck to find
out what the row was about. was knock
ed down and thrown overheard. The
| supercarso followed the captain. Onion
was spared tc help them navigate the
ship. Stroner taking CON mand They
| were then about a day oue from St
MaTy's, but they turned north, and sail
j ed their stolen ship to an obscure port
IN Norway. There they got drunk, and,
| instead of smuggling the coffee ashore,
as they had planned. the crew abandon
! ed the vessel.
Some Of them went to Copenhagen.
| where they spent money so freely as
to arouse suspicion, and when Onion.
the second mate. who had been impress
| ed by the mutineers, took Lamberson.
the colored cook. and told the whole
story 10 the American corsul. six of
! the mutineers. then in Cope,hS gen, were
arrested, a seventh being captured 1T
Cnristiansand. These arrests should
have brought about the sacovery of
81 ,0e0; but the men had been ashore
for two weeks. and they had out So 900
among them. Four of them-Rog. Peter
son, Williams, and Frederick-were con-
victed of murder and hanged y fifth
White. was cleared on the ground that
he was forced into the mutiny and
Onion and Lamberson were accepted as
state witnesses. The others escaped
The vessel had acquired such a bad
name in this affair that no decent crew
could be found to sail her: so her owner
sold her at auction. Eventually when,
sailing as a merchantmen under the
Spanish flag, she was captured by the
United States sloop of war Cyane. as
a SLAYER