The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1907-09-04
fight IN CABIN.
Alleged Cheating at Cards Led to
Battle at Sea.

Battle at Sea.
Battle Which Put Loser in. Hospital
and Winner in irous--Iany Rows
Aboard ship.
The fstic battle that took place on
board the Kaiserin Augusta Victor
ia, of the Hamburg-American line,
on her last eastward voyage and
which resulted in the complete dis
ablement Of one of the participants
the day before the liner reached
Plymouth, Friday morning, August
Is. was graphically described in a
letter which was received in Brook
lyn from DR.. C. F. Bandel, the oste-
opathic physician and president of
the New York State Osteopathic So
ciety, DR.. and Mrs. Bandel left on
the Kaiserin on August S for their
annual tour abroad.
According to the story told by
DR.. Bandel, which corroborates the
meager cabled details Of the affair
received here on August l6, a fight
started in the smoking room of the
Kaiserin Augusta a day or two after
the vessel left Sandy Hook behind
her. Notwithstanding all the pre-
cautions of the Hamhurg-Amer:can
line officials at this end to prevent
card sharps from boarding the liner
at Hoboken, a clique Of men got
aboard, who, it is said, were prepar-
ed to fleece such of the male passeng-
ers as.they could get into crooked
game. The clique had woman &C
complice, whose special business it
was, it seems, to draw men Of wealth
away from the deck and into the
smoking room or into a private state
room for the purpose of game:
Several minor arguments and tlstlc
encounters occurred every day on
the second. third, fourth and fifth
days out of New York.
''On the afternoon Of Thursday
August Is, as l was sitting in my
deck chair" /" writes DR.. Bandel, Il
was startled by seeing two men rush
out Of the smoking room in a state
of great excitement My chair ad.
joined the smoking room entrance
| | had been able to hear pretty
strong argument that had been go,
ing on for some time, but was not
prepared for what happened.
"As the two men rushed out OF
deck one of them, a Mr.. Clarke, Of
Manhattan, handed Mr.. Cassidy
| also of Manhattan, a solar pleXu:
blow that took all of the fight out OF
the man with the French name. The
blow actually iarred the Kaiserin
| Of course, we all jumped to our feet
| The two men were separated, but
they vowed that they would gel
even at Plymouth where we were
due that same evening.
1.-Two hours later at 6 o'clock, the
two fellows went at it again. They
fought all oyer the deck. 1t seemed
that Clarke charged Cassidy with
cheating him at cards. There were
many rounds of drinks following the
encounter in the afternoon, anc
when the two met at 6 o'clock both
we're well prined for trouble.
''The finale of the battle occurred
in the smoking room. Cassidy was
carried out of the smoking room
badly used up, and from the way
lone Of his legs appeared to be, ii
| looked as if had been fractured.
Il saw Cassidy pounded practical,
" to a jelly and saw him carried out
of the smoking room. He was in a
bad way when he was landed at Ply
mouth. Clarke, l understood, was
placed in irons by orders of the cap
tain. But naturally the ships Off
GERS wanted to keep things as quiet
as they could, and therefore there
was little fruitful questioning to be
lone. The greatest excitement was
on board. The continuous perfor-
nance of fights in which the gam
bIing clique figured during the voy-
age kept the passengers agog with
the details of the battles. The Off
GERS of the Kaiserin deserve the
highest praise for the systematic and
quiet manner in which they went
about trying to keep trouble from
breaking out in the smoking room.
After the Kaiserin landed her Ply
mouth passengers the gambling eli
que subsided somewhat, and atCher-
bourg the last Of them left the ship.
The captain was very much vexed
that the card sharps should have
crept by him at HoboSen, for | un-
derstand the steamship company
makes special efforts to keep those
follows off their ships.