Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-05-11
RISE To
4 FULL PLEDGED
MUT|NY ON SHIP
Skipper of Steamer De-
clares He Has Completed
One of the Toughest Voy-
ages in His Life.

New York, May l0.-Captaln
John Bergsten, a two-fisted skip
per, today warped the shipping
board steamer Eastern ocean
alongside her pier with the pithy
remark that he had completed one
of the toughest voyages in his life.
Contributing to the toughness
was series of fights which rose
to a full fledged mutiny, requic.
ing the assistance of United
States destroyer at Novorossisk be-
fore it could be quelled, according
to the captains story.
Also jotted down in the log was
a collision at sea with a submerg-
ed object that nearly spelled the
ships doom, and forced landing
on the shores of the Black sea,
whence the Eastern ocean had
gone with 400 tons of wheat seed
for starving Russians.
Find 80 Bottles of Rum.
BY way Of a finaie, customs men
today found 80 bottles of rum
aboard the ship and asked the
captain some rather pointed ques~
tons. They completely eXoncrat-
ed him after he had told his story.
This is the story:
The Eastern Ocean put OFT
from Philadelphia in January
with a crew RECRUITED along the
Philadelphia waterfront. This
crew, the captain said, turned out
to be an old-fashioned hard boil
ed outfit, such as seldom sails the
high seas nowadays.
Two days out the first fight
started.
Cooks ana stewards staged 1t IN
a ring made by their cronies. The
captain overlooked it.
''Beat Up Combatants.
For the next three days the bat
Ting continued steadily. 1t could
not be overlooked. Twice the cap
tain, a six footer weighing 25o
pounds, said he had been COM
PEELED to break into the ring aud
beat up the combatants.
On the fifth day. two cooks
staged a knife duel, and went 10
the hospital. The stewards picked
up the battle where the others had
left off and they too went to the
sick bay for repairs. Then the
four sick men started to fight
among themselves.
For seven days the fighting was
halted because all hands were conf
|pelled to fight nature. The Eastern
Ocean had run into storm. AT its
height she struck something be-
meath the waves and shipwreck
loomed. With automatic in hand
Captain Bergsten kept his ugly
crew baling. although several times
some of them tried to man boats
land go over the side.
Beaches Steamer.
Finally thirteen days out of Phil
|adelphia. Captain Bergsten beached
his steamer near Novorosisk, threw
1000 tons of wheat overheard and
|lightened the ship by loading the
rest onto smaller vessels he had
called to his aid.
Steaming out of Novorosisk, how
ever, the real mutiny began. The
engineer, the captain said, demand
ed salvage for saving the ship and
the crew backed him up.
MY OIllCtlS anu myself llFeu re-
.volvers over the neads of the men
several times" said the captain,
"and kept them at bay. In the
harbor was United States de-
lstroyer, and I finally asked them
flor help.
Short. Vicious Fight.
"They sent forty men and, Off
Icers aboard. There was short but
vicious fight, the chief engineer
was put into irons and taken ashore
and the men were sent to quarter.
1T was then I learned the men
had brought rum aboard. They
were members of notorious Phil
ladelphia water front gang and did
nothing bu, fight. We went to
lConstantinople to load before re-
turning home.'
Captain Bergsten on docking to-
| day learned that two cooks, miss
ing when he left Constantinople
were arrested there on a charge OF
lmurdering two British soldiers.