The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1919-12-08
.TILLAMOOK HAS
ALLEGED MUTDVY
Chief Engineer Admits Shoot.
ing Two Men and Claims He
Acted in Self Defense.
OILER STOPPED ENGINE
Engineer on Watch Was Driven
From Engineroom by Al
legged Drunken Assistant.

The shipping board steamer Tilla-
fields to Pensacola, arrived in port
yesterday morning and was immedi-
ately boarded by District Attorney
Colonel John L. Neeley, accompanied
by special assistants and deputy Uni
ted States marshals, acting under the
direct orders of the department Of
justice at Washington.
No arrests We're made, but a thor
ough investigation is being made into
I the admitted shooting by Chief En-
| gineer McAvey of two oilers, E. Mar
! tinez and Manuel Gomez, on board tbs
| Tillamook on the night of November
Colonel Neeley was accompanied hy
| Special Investigator Dodd, DepJsS
| Marshals Mcmillan and Hurlburt, sEsd
The Journal representative.
| A short preliminary investigation
was held on the ship and was con-
| tinued at the office of the district at
| torney. The investigation, which
| lasted until late yesterday afternoon,
[ will be continued today at $50 o'clock.
According to the story as told by
Chief Engineer McAvey, Second and
! Third Assistants Casey and Grey,
| patched out with statements by other
members of the crew, the story OF the
shooting appears to be substantially
as follows:
Shortly after IL o'clock on the night
| of November s, while Third Engineer
Grey was on watch, the steam was
| f1uctuating badly, due it's seems 70
greeness on the part of the water-
! tender, Gomez, who would let the
i water get low in the boiler and the
/ till IL full. The ship at this time wa
tabout 27 miles out from Bluefieids
! Mr.. Grey sent for the chief engineef
| to come down and help out. In the
{ meantime he went into the fireroorIls
where Fireman Paulson was on watca
F! Mr. Grey had scarcely reached the
! fireroom when the oiler on watch in
| the engine room, Martinez, closed the
T! throttle, stopping the engines. Mr..
| Grey hurried back to the engine room,
started the engine and ordered Mar
i tinez to go up to his quarters and go
| to bed. Martinez refused. but later
! did go deck and tell a friend;
] Cabrera, about the trouble.
| When Mr.. McAvey reached the en-
| gine room Mr.. Grey had the engines
| running and Mr.. McAvey went into
| the fireroom to see what was wrong.
, He had no trouble in getting the ash
! pans pulled and steam maintained
! evenly. 1t was about Has p. m. when
Mr.. McAvey heard a shout in the en-
; gine room and went to see what was
wrong. He found the engine room
vacant when he got there and contin-
ued up the ladder to the deck. where
, he found Mr.. Grey fighting with Mar
! tinez and another man
! Mr.. McAvey had just stepped on
! deck when someone hit him and
knocked him over the e@aFssEssss
} gangway rail. He scrambisa 10 his
| feet and ran to his stateraozT IS he
entered the door he saw aaa ils-
/, hind him, ducked for a ssln
/ drawer. and as the man iIliIlsei a.
| monkey-wrench at him, fired The at
! tacker apparently turned around and
! walked away. Chief McAvey did not
know whether or not he had hit the
man, who proved to be Cabrera, until
the next day.
Mr.. McAvey went from his state
room to the main deck, where Grey
and Casey were fighting a short time
| before. AS he stepped to the waist
| accommodation plank, man rushed
at him with knife uplifted. The chief
cried out, stop. or I'll shoot. Stop."
and then fired. The man fell on pile
Il of coal and was later picked up and
carried to the bridge, where First Of
ficer, Mr.. Anderson, dressed his
| wound.
! By this time Captain MoIIer had
been called and was on deeisg bus there
was no one to be seen. He ASKED as4
| McAvey about the troubIS ard s
told much as Mr.. McAvev 8s1sexx e.
I the time. The next morntrls Ealeaka
I,-iy,o ~ 49,
sage way unconscious. He quickly re-
| covered consciousness, although hav-
ing a As calbre pistol wound through
his abdomen.
Cabrera and Martinez were taken
back to Bluefields and were sent to
New Orleans on the Nicaraguan
steamer, Managua.
The Tillamook continued to Colon,
where Gomez and another water tend sr
named Leon deserted
Captain Moller left $500 with the
American consul at BIuefields to pay
! the hospital expenses of the two
wounded men and also gave the consul
what money was due the men. He will
leave the ship at Pensacola to go to
his home in San Francisco, preferring
! not to work on ships sailing on the
east coast.
Il The investigation will be continued
at the federal building at 4:30 O'Clock
this afternoon.