A FIEND INCARNATE.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 360, 5 October 1889, Page 3

A FIEND INCARNATE.

AN EXTRAORDINARY AFFAIR.

island trading vessel, the Saucy Jack, returned to Sydney from her cruise last Thursday week During the voyage one of the crew, a young fellow of 23 or 24 years of age, ••am d John O’Brien, who shipped in the vessel at Sydney as a seaman, developed into a sort of fiend incarnate. The old Cap tain of the vessel, Captain Joss, who ha* s tiled the Souths n s u as as a master for more than 30 years, says that he never in his life More felt afraid of being murdered until this voyage of the Saucy J ick. The story is a brief one. O’Brien quickly quarrelled with every man or boy on board. He would neither be denied by his fellow shipmates nor receive orders from the officers, By degrees on the passage ha succeeded in cowing everybody on board the vessel. As a result he had things pretty much his own way, and would have been allowed a considerable latitude, for peace and quietness sake, had that satisfied him, but an altercation between himtelf and another of the crew over some trifling matter terminated in the narrow p«oape of O’Brien's victim, who was struck down by a blow on the back of the head with a heavy bar of iron. Captain Joss at once interfered, and attended to the insensible | man, then lying on the deck bleeding from

the wound in hia head. With attention and Huoh medical help as could be rendered, the assaulted sailor recovered, and O'Brien was cautioned that in the event of any further quarrel he would be put in irons. On arrival of the vessel at bamoa, O’Brien wanted 10 leave the vessel, a wish heartily concurred in by the Captain, who at once offered to pay him off there. AH the arrangements were made, but on going before the Consul that official required a further undertaking from the vessel for the return of O’Brien to Sydney. As Captain Joss was not in a position to do this, the Consul’s advice was that the refractory {seaman should ba honed on board, and carried back by the Saucy Jack, Nothing, however, came of this, and in due cnnrsH the vessel with O'Brien on board as

ordinary member of the crew, left Apia for Savage Idland. A couple of days after sailing O'Brien nearly killed the cook by striking him with a heavy billet of wood on the head, laying bare hh skull, His provocation in that instance was because his coffee was not ready when he went to the galley tor it. The other members of the crew and the supercargo of the vessel at once insisted that the man should be placed under restraint. Captain Joss thereupon placed handcuffs upon him, but left him at liberty to go about the decks Soon after midnight of the 14th ultimo, and on the third day after O’Brien had been handcuffed, the man at the wheel saw a towering flame burst from the forecastle companion way, Luckily it was moderate weather st the time. The

steeraman at once called the captain, and all h inds were speedily awoke. The fire had tak<*n a strong hold, and the anxiety was intense in case it reached the cargo of copra stowed in the forehold. In that event no human effort could save the ship. The crew rapidly took in some of the sails and unbent them, and with these set to work to smother the flames. The smell of kerosene was immediately detected from the smoke, and it was known that a four gallon tin was in the forecabin, or near it. After a difficult combat with the flames, the Are was subdu ’d., Water was then p’ayed upon the charred deck, and below in the forecastle After the smoke had cleared, it was found that about two gallons of kerosene—half the contents of the tin—had b.-en used in saturating a sail and some bedding, and the flojr and fltti iKS in the forecastle. The vessel being in the tropics, the cr**w in fine weather slept out on the open decks, so that no one was below for some hours before the fire was discovered. O’Brien, who had last been seen sitting on the ship’s rail forward, was gone. Beyond this nothing is known as to how or when he sprang over the side, only it is certain he was not washed off the vessel, the weather being too moderate. It is the belief of the captain and rf the supercargo that having stated that he would not return

to Sydney he commuted the act of incendiarism, and followed it by throwing himself into the sea, supposing that the vessel would surely be destroyed.