The Republican journal., 1909-07-15
Tragedies of the Sea.
Mutinies on Portland Ships. The Murder
of Can't. Humphrey and Mates.


nance of the deep. Extraordinary adj
ventures in shipwreck and mutiny were
not of infrequent occurrence and many
are the stories that retired captains spin
around their firesides at night of hazard
Gus times on the ocean in storms and
with rebellious crews. The incidents of
some of the stories are handed down
through reports of trials before the Fed
eral courts, for the officers who were
leading figures in the troubles never re-
turned to port.
This was the case in the famous mutiny
on board the Portland brig Albion Cooper
in 1857. The brig sailed from Portland
on August 10th of that year, bound for
Havana with box shocks, and was com
handed by Captain Daniel R. Humphrey
of Yarmouth. She became becalmed on
the Bahama Banks and anchored. Dur
ing the night the cook, man named
Cox, and one of the sailors, Dane
named Williams, murdered Captain Hum
phrey and the second mate, who were
sleeping in the mainsail on deck. The
mate, who was lying in his bunk, suffer-
ing from a wound inflicted by Williams
during quarrel over trivial matter
few days previously, was next killed.
Then the murderers went into the fore
castle and murdered sailor, whom they
believed would not be in sympathy with
them. A boy of 16 years, who knew
something ofo navigation, was spared,
after being threatened with death unless
he obeyed their orders and after he had
taken the most solemn oaths to keep
their secret.
The boy, believing that he would be
murdered as soon as land was sighted,
+lo cto Of hn
it inside the lining of his coat, thinking
that, if his body was ever recovered, the
account of the crime might be read by
some one Two days after the mutlny
the brig was set on fire and abandoned.
The boy was taken in the boat with the
murderers and two days later they were
picked up by the brig Black Watch Of
Philadelphia. The murderers said that
their vessel had been burned and that
they were the only survivors.
The boy told the story of the mutlny
on the first opportunity and produced the
account he had written from the lining OF
his coat The captain of the Black Watch
pretended to believe the story of the
mutineers and treated them as ship
wrecked sailors until entering the har-
Dor of Havana, when he placed them in
irons. The men were turned over to the
United States consul and were subse-
quently sent to Portland for trial, on the
bark r. H. Wright. Three days before
reaching Portland the boy died and was
buried at sea.
The bark arrived in Portland at mid
night and the murderers were secretly
carried to jail. News of the mutiny had
been sent here by mail and lynching
party had been made up. Only the uneX-
pected arrival of the bark defeated their
plans
The prisoners were tried before Judge
Ware in the United States court here,
were convicted and sentenced to be hung.
The Cumberland county Jail was then in
process of construction and the men We're
sent to the Androscoggin county jail at
Auburn. They We're executed in the Jail
yard and a large number of Portland
people witnessed their death.
Another famous mutiny, and one which
was connected with Portland in small
way, was that on the Boston ship Frank
N. Thayer, which occurred on January 2,
1886. The Thayer was built at kenne-
bunk and was commanded for a number
of years by Captain Andrew Mack of
this city. At the time of the mutiny
Robert Clarke was her master and she
was bound from Manila with cargo of
hemp for New York. The captain had
his wife and small child with him. They,
with n seamen, escaped from the vessel
and after hard and exhaustive voyage
in the ships boat arrived at st. Helena
in the South Atlantic.
The story of the mutiny as told by
Captain Clarke to the American consul
at St Helena is as follows: ''On mid
night Of January I'd, the ship was about
700 miles southeast of St. Helena, sail
ing before strong breeze. | turned in
at 10 o'clock, leaving the two mates on
deck Suddenly ! was aroused from sleep
by scream. | sat up and listened.
heard the scream repeated. | jumped
from bed and had just opened my state
room door when | heard the cry, Cap
tain Clarke! Captain Clarkev and hur-
ried rush of footsteps down the companion
outside. AS | stepped outside the door
the second mate fell at my feet dead.
Il rushed unarmed to the deck and had
but got my head above the companion
when | received a cut from knife on
the head and felt hand clutch my throat
l grappled with my assailant and found
him to be one Of the two coolies in the
crew. Fighting we rolled down the COM
panion steps, the cooley stabbing me with
his knife and | punching him with my
fists.
apparently leaving me for dead, with
several wounds, the cooley rushed back
to the deck. Ihad merely strength enough
to crawl into my stateroom and close the
door. My wife had my revolver ready
and gave it to me, meanwhile staunching
the flow of blood from dozen wounds
Il could hear the sound of the struggle
on deck and thought that half the crew
We're involved, but on account of the loss
of blood was too weak to go again to the
deck. Later in the night the coolies re-
turned and attempted to get into my
stateroom to secure my firearms. Sit
ting on mat in a corner | fought them
off by shooting through the window
whenever head appeared.
Extraordinary as it may seem, the
mutiny was confined from first to last to
the two coolies, who had succeeded in
killing five of the 20 men and driving the
others to the forecastle in terror. One of
the men had escaped to the main rigging
where he was able to prevent the coolies
from reaching him. They had barricaded
the forecastle doors on the men.
u learned afterwards that the mutt
neers had walked aft on the change of
watches at midnight to the mates who
We're standing at the BOBBY hatch and
complained of being sick. Before the
officers could suspect their designs the