The sun., 1919-04-01
TWO INDICTED FOR
SOUTH SEA MURDER
Capt. Petersen and Son AL
legged to Have Used Extreme
Cruelty Against Crew.
MEN JUMPED OVERHEARD
u. s. Grand Jury Hears Of Star.
walton, Water Cure and
Other Atrocities.

For crime alleged to have been COM
mitted in the lonely wastes of the south
Atlantic Ocean. Capt. Adolf Cornelius
Petersen .: the American barkentine
puaka and his son, Adolf Eric Peder-
sen, IS. second mate. were indicted on a
charge Of murder yesterday by a United
States Grand Jury.
Capt Petersen. known to seamen as
Hell Fire." in a four months voyage
from Vancouver to Cape Town. South
Africa. around Cape Horn, made the
trip one Of cruelty and privation. ac-
cording to the testimony on which he
was indicted. He and his sons are al
legged to have terrorised the crew with
rifles and revolvers. beaten them. cast
them into pump hole, where they were
doused with water. and kept them on
starvation rationa
Two Of the crew jumped overheard,
John Henry Stewart cook. and Axel
Hansen. seaman.
The death of Hansen led to the muir
der indictment. The seaman Is alleged
TO have drowned himself after he was
beaten because he resisted efforts to get
him to sign a statement to the effect
that the crew had been in state Of
mutiuy from the beginning Of the voy-
age.
Jumps to Death After q Bea ting.
The Grand Jurors were told by sea
men that Hansen stumbled from the
captains cabin after being beaten to
the deck rail. ct can't stand this any
longer" he is said to have muttered and
jumped overheard.
A seaman who was aloft testifed that
when Hansen was in the water he ap-
hiarently changed his mind about sui
eide. He grasped the log line which
trailed from the stern OF the barkentine.
The man aloft cried word of Hansen's
position and the seaman at the tiller at
tempted to bring tho ship into the wind.
Petersen is alleged to have knocked
ahe steersman from the tiller and kept
the ship moving on its course. Hansen
cluns to the log line until his strength
gave out.
According to the testimony, the trou-
bile aboard the Puaka began over food.
Stewart. the cook, was under pressure
from the captain and his sons on one
side and the seamen on the other. Pc
dersen complained of waste OF food.
Stewart told the seamen that the cap
tain was not allowing him sufficient
Stores to feed them sufficiently. Harassed
from the poop deck and the fo-c's'le. the
and jumped overheard.
After the cook was drowned the food
became more scanty and what there was
of II was so badly cooked that the crew
became rebellious.
When the ship arrived at Cape Town
most OF the members OF the crew were
in irons in the brig. The Pedersens,
heavily armed, had at no time been in
danger Of losing control OF their ship
lAI ~ al
deck. Seamen are alleged to have beeA
sent aloft or brought back to the cabin
TO be beaten with guns trained upon
them.
Quaint Form of Indictment.
The murder indictment follows tbs
quaint form of the common law. A
paragraph follows:
THE said Adolf Cornelius Petersen
and the said Adolf Eric Petersen did
with force and arms not having the
fear OF God before their eyes, then and
there unlawfully. feloniously. wilfully
malciously, deliberately and with malice
aforethought kill Axel Hansen. a human
being, late able bodied seaman, by cast
sing, throwing and plunging him, and by
causing him to cast, throw and plunge
himself from said vessel into the ocear
upon the high seas"
Another son, Leonard Petersen, 20
was named a codefendant in seven other
indictments, which charged assault on in
divdual members of the crew. The de-
defendants will be arraigned to-day.
The Pedersens and the crew were
token on the Puaka at Cape Town afte,
charges Of cruelty and counter charge.
OF mutiny had been made before tn,
British Consul Admission to British
dominions was denied to officers anc
crew. and they were sent to the United
States by way of Brest When the.
arrived here aboard the Cruiser Roch
ester a month ago they were arrested.
Charges of assault were laid agains
the Pedersens and they were committed
10 the Tombs prison. The members o
the crew were committed TO the Lud
low Street Jail to be held as materia
witnesses.
Mayor James Rolph, Jr., of San Fran
cisco Is a member of the company which
owns the Puaka. The senior Pedersei
has all owners interest in the ship.