Anadarko daily democrat. [volume] (Anadarko, Oklahoma) 1908-191?, 1910-09-19


k1N Ea tho United States navy
k9dit HXSH who tried 10 capture the
klvYSSAfQl Alaska Pacific steamship
Buckman on the high
seas, and almost succeeded. is one
of tho most thrilling and daring
dramas of the deep since the days OF
the buccaneers. In these prosaic
days, when lawlessness on the ocean
hides In far-off, forgotten corners of
the world. the story of their plot and
how II failed narrowly OF success has
more OF strangeness about It than any
thing yet imagined by writer's OF
melodramatic fiction. These pirates.
however. had but brief career. From
it's beginning 10 It's end It was less
than two hours long
The way in which these two men
West and endeavored TO hold
up an ocean steamship followed as
closely as possible the lines pursued
by the robbers on land who hold up
trains. The adapting OF these meth
ods to piracy on the ocean is abso-
lutely new. II Is an up-to-date devel-
opment in freebooting that gives evi-
dence tiat there are men today who
are just as desperate and just as
bloodthirsty and cruel and just as
willing 10 take chances against tre-
mendous odds as any man who ever
drew cutlass and sprang aboard a
treasure-laden galleon.
The Buckman. steamer OF 5000
tons burden. was n treasure ship that
carried a greater store of gold than
any vessel that ever tempted pirates
greed I'm the days of old. In her
strong room were hundreds of thou
sands of dollars worth OF gold dust
and in bars-the riches OF the klon-
dyke. The robbers knew that at this
season Of the year the wealth OF Alas
ka flows in n steady stream from ev-
cry corner of that northern land to
'the states" They also knew that
the Buckman's freight was especially
precious, and that among her passen-
gers, too. there was much spoil.
Details Carefully Planned.
The two men planned It all out be-
fore they took passage on the steamer
at Seattle, bound for San Francisco.
| Together they tested every link in the
| chain of circumstances which they
were to set in motion. They would
| go aboard as ordinary passengers,
| just as they would take a train which
they planned TO rob. II was to be a
/ night affair, for that would be the
easiest People are less courageous
in the dark than by day. A train rob
ber. under the same circumstances,
might deem II best 10 cut the signal
cord that led to the locomotive. On
n steamship there was the rope that
/ led TO the vessels deep-toned whistle.
| That must be severed. But there was
another thing that had to be done,
they agreed. before the steamer could
be gagged. The wireless must be put
out of commission; the safeguard OF
the sea must be sllenced. While one
was cutting tho line to the whistle
the other in the darkness must sever
the wires that led TO the aerials be-
tween the masts. The wireless oper-
ator would be In bed. but they would
take no chances of his sending a call
for help.
WntGn
were discussed, and It was decided
that one of the robbers should silence
the man at the wheel by holding a
revolver at his head. while the other
should watch TO see that no one in
terfered with the ship being turned
due east instead " southwark. At
midnigh: oa 2 certain date they fig
uIed the vessel would be a certain
number OF miles Off the coast of Ore
gon. Two hours run would bring her
to the land. There was nothing to be
done during the first ninety minutes.
but to keep things quiet. The last
half hour one mans work would he
to kill the guard. break open the treas.
ure room and put the gold I'm n boat
swinging from the davits. When land
was but few miles away they would
make their escape under cove- of the
darkness.
Scheme Promised Well.
The scheme was marvellous in its
ingenuity. These men were expe-
rienced sailors. just as the most sue.
cessful robbers of trains have been
former railroad men. They knew n
steamer from end to end as well as a
man knows the path from his house
to his office. They even provided for
the contingency Of the crew becom.
Ing alarmed. In that event they
planned to herd the men all aft at
tie point of the guns and 10 keen
them there until they were through
One man well armed and desperate
can hold hundred at bay at night
on the narrow deck of steamer in
the ocean.
All the baggage these men had was
a steamer trunk, which they had
placed in their cabin. II contained
little else than arms; two heavy shot
guns with their barrels sawed on
/ the fayorite weapon of the train -