Daily Kennebec journal., 1905-11-23
A HORRIBLE TALE.
Story Of the Mutiny on
the Schooner Berwind.
Captain RumiII Of Mt. Desert
Tells Of the Tragedy
And the Succeeding Trial and Conviction
of the Murderers.

bis Grew in the mutiny on board the
schooner Harry A. Berwind. last
month. is told in the report of the trial,
lust concluded at Wilmington. N. c.,
with the conviction and sentence to
death Of the three negroes who were
found on board the schooner when she
was picked up by the schooner Blanche
H. King. If the sentence to death is
carried out as passed, on Friday, Jan.
26, there will then remain alive not one
of the crew of eight men who sailed
from Mobile, Ala, for Philadelphia on
the Berwind, early last month.
The story in detail is bloody and
terrible one, SURPRISING almost the
imagination of writer's of yellow
backed fiction. The brutality of the
murders leaves little room for mercy
for the convicted murderers, yet there
seems grave possibility that one or
two Of the men convicted may die in
nocent. In Wilmington, where the
trials took place, there seems a grow
ing belief that two of the men under
sentence to be hung are not guilty.
The situation which the trials and
convictions leave, is peculiar one.
The three negroes convicted are Henry
Scott, Robert Sawyer and Arthur Ad-
ans. Sawyer and Adams were tried
jointly and convicted largely on the
testimony of Scott, who took the stand
against them. Scotts trial followed,
and he was convicted on the evidence
OF Sawyer and Adams, whose story
made him alone the murderer. If either
ic ait 10
innocent, or Sawyer and Adams will
die innocent. The two stories cannot
be harinonized If one is right the
other is wrong. One jury believed Scott
and convicted two men; another jury
believed the other story, and convicted
Scott.
1t is a peculiar situation. whichever
way You look at it. OF course there is
the possibility that all three. men were
implicated, but the three men found on
board the schooner are the only wit
nesses, and if neither of the stories told
is true, there was brought out at the
trial no evidence to show it. Here in
the North. the suspicion grows, after
reading all the evidence, that at least
one OF the verdicts was unjustited, and
that two such ver6icts on directly con-
Trajectory evidence. would be possible
only in the South, where one nigger
more or less counts for little
The cases We're tried in the United
States district court in Wilmington. In
the cases of Sawyer and Adams a YER
dict was returned after the jury had
been out but few hours, but in ScOtt'S
case, verdict was not returned until
after 4S hours. A Wilmington news
paper, commenting on the verdicts, said
both were a surprise-the first, that life
imprisonment was not,recommendeG in
the case of Adams and Sawyer; the
second, that it should take a jury so
long to decide Scott's guilt.
Scott is negro with some education,
anC quick-witted. His demeanor on
| the stand was remarkabl He was per-
fectly cool, was unshaken on cross
examination, and at times became dra-
matte As he approached the story of
me actual murders, he assumed a pose
| ana said: I'VE are now coming to the
story OF the big tragedy. and with a
| sweeping glance around the court
| room) L want you all to hear it"
| scott told the story Of the voyage of
the Berwind, from the time she left
Ph1iadelphia in July. with the same
ere" on board as at the time of the
mutiny, going to Cardenas. Cuba, and
thence to Mobile. Soon after leaving
Philadelpha, he said, there was
trouble with the food, which continued
all through the voyage becoming worse
| after the vessel left Cardenas for Mo-
| bile. The members of the crew were
| Lob IaII
| engineer; Folby. cook; John S. Coax
ley, negro seaman, all of whom were
murdered: and the three negroes, Ad
ans. Sawyer and Scott
AT Mobile. Scott said, all the crew
| went ashore, and Adams. Coakley and
sawyer bought revolvers at q pawn
| shop. telling him, Scott, that they were
| going to fix the officers of the
schooner if they had any more trouble
| coming up to the story of the tragedy.
| Scott said:
"On Friday night. Oct. s, off the
FLORIDA straits, storm struck us, and
carried away our forctopsail. All hands
| were called on deck that night to reef
the sails and put the storm trisale on
| the Spanker. We were not in good hu-
NOR. On Sunday, it was noticed that
| the rGdcerhead was sprung and we had
! TO put in 4 false steering gear. When
we went to supper that night there was
| nothing to eat. AT that time we were
about 80 or 20 miles at sea, and I should
| judge We were about off Charleston.
The last time l saw Capt. RumilI
was on Monday night. at o'clock. On
tuesday morning. this man Sawyer
was on the lookout and Adams was at
the wheel. We came on duty at 4
O'Clock and remained until s. Sawyer
made the bells. I and Coakley dressed
and came on deck. I went on lookout
on galley forecastle to relieve SAWYER
and Coakley went to wheel to relieve
| Adams
Il About 4.90 o'clock, the whistle blew
ana went to the cook to get coffee pot.
han. the mate, was sitting there drink
ihg coffee and the steward was in the
galley. I took the coffee pot and went
10 the forecastle. When 1 went in
ADAMS was lying down upon a bench
alo sawyer was setting by table read
lIis. | went aft to the wheel to relieve
Noakiey and he said he was going for
~ard TO give the cook hell. In a few
minutes saw Coakley come hack and