River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1912-08-15

1t was still stormy when day broke the
next morning, and Won Hoydonck, peering
from the portfolio of his stewards cabin, saw
that there was considerable shipping about
them. The crew had discovered the flag of
distress almost Immediately, however, and at
once brought it down, but not until it had
been deserted by a passing tugboat. The
tug at once came alongside, but could not
get close enough for any communication other
than by signal The mutineers were clever
enough to explain, in response to the tugs
signals that their distress was due to the
fact that their chronometer had run down,
whereupon the other boat signaled them the
time and went it's way
Had Won Hoydonck then been aware that
the crew had no ammunition for the pistols
he knew to be in their possession, he would
have given them battle while they were sig
mailing in the hope that the men on the tug
would have taken cognizance of it.
While Won Hoydonck had been plotting
against the mutineers, they, too, had been
plotting. Believing themselves to be at
Cadiz, it had occurred to them that 1t would
be possible to navigate the Lennie through
the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean,
keeping within sight of the shore and hence
obviating the necessity of taking the sun and
making calculations therefrom Hence they
had decided to murder their navigator (and
incidentally the cabin-boy) in the morning
donck, therefore, not anticipated trouble be-
Of having run up the distress flag and
been led to take precautions in leaving his
cabin he would doubtless have been killed
then
The mutineers set sail and started for
Gibraltar that morning, posting a continual
lookout at the door of the stewards cabin.
Much to their surprise, however, after sail
ing for three days southwark along the coast,
no Rock of Gibraltar hove in sight. Accord
ing to the admiralty chart board it should
have been only days run from Cadiz. On
the third night, moreover storm drove
them out of sight of land, and the next day
they were compelled to make overtures to
Won Hoydonck.
Being in a position to dictate to the mutt
neers, the Belgian demanded that their two
pistols, which he knew to be the only ones
on board with the exception Of the two he
carried, be handed in to him before he left
mis- cabin 1t was when this condition was
complied with that he learned to his chagrin
that The ammunition for the weapons had
given out with the shooting of Mcdonald
eight days before and that he might have
thrown down the gauntlet to the desDeradoes
when they were in the Bay of Brest.
BY a remarkable coincidence the Lennie
was found to be approximately in the same
position when Won Hoydonck made his OBJ
: SerVatlOnS JnaC morning DIS sue Hdu ueeH
when he assumed the duties of navigator on
the day her officers were murdered He
refused to answer any of Green's questions
as to their whereabouts however.
Won Hoydonck sailed the Lennie for the
Pointe de IiAiguille in the province Of Ven
dee bringing her to anchor about five miles
from shore the evening Of the ninth of
the month for he was sure that some of his
messages would have been picked up by that
time and that search would have been insti-
tuted for the mutiny ship That night
Cargalis Cascaris, Kaida, Cauds, Angeles
/. and Green took Captain Hatfelds property
and the ships papers and went ashore in
one of the ships boats at Stables dOlonne,
where they claimed to be shipwrecked sail
ors, all unaware that the bottle found farther
up the coast had made the news of the
mutiny known all along the west of France.
The six sailors were at once recognized as
members of the murderous crew, and were
arrested and put In irons
Meanwhile Won Hoydonck, with the Eng
lshman, the Dane, the, Austrian and Turk
for his crew, had nayigated the ship to the
vicinity of La Flotte, off the Isle de Re. Here
on the following morning, the 10th of No
vember, the French man-of-war Travailleur,
that had got track of her through the landing
of the six mutineers at Stables d'Olorne, over
took the Lennie and the brave Belgian's long
vigil was over.
Newspaper reporting not as highly
developed vocation in Europe in the sew
enties Of the last century as it is today and
it was not until the trial of the ten mutneers
in England the following May that Won Hoy
donck's fame became international.