Show N I 1 4 MURDER ON THE HIGH SEAS f two sailors hung for killing the mate story of the tha mutiny reads heads like a pirate yarn of the long loas ago intended to murder all the officers and confiscate tile ship necks of both men were broken san quentin prison cal oct IS I 1 thomas th h st claar C lair and liana hang hansen eom oui the m murderers mur derera s of Ala maurice urlce fitzgerald mate ot of the bark I lesper legrier were hanged in the loft of the jute mill at the tha prison nt it this afternoon the executions were witnessed only by united states marshal baldwin four deputies and twelve doctors newspaper men and others were excluded ln in accordance with a wish said to havo have been expressed by hansen death in each case ensued speedily the necks ot of both men being broken by the rail fall hansen and st clair spent the morning mornine with flithers lagan and gallagher hansen seemed reconciled to his fate and assi assisted a ted the deputies to adjust the straps on its his ankles as he stood on the trap just before the black cap was drawn over hla his head lie ho smiled as he looked at the deputies around him and said well goodbye good bye byc bo boys ya I 1 am thankful to you all st clair left a long rambling statement to tile the press in which he recited the incidents in connection with the murder and argued that on the showing of the circumstances presented he could not have been guilty of the murder of fitzgerald ite ile said that his trial was unfair from the fact that interested persons had caused the publication of articles in the newspapers which prejudiced the jurors against jilin him the executions lire are sail said to have been as successful as any that ever took place in the prison st clairs remains were placed in charge ol of a san rafael undertaker hansens body was turned over to an undertaker from san jose where it will be buried ty by a danish society STORY OF THE CRIME the crime for which st clair and ivansen were hanged was murder on the high seas they killed mate fitzgerald odthe of the bark I Hc fesper sper and threw his body overboard the story of the murder and the mutiny on the hesper reads like an old time pirate story instead of a tale of modern crime the bark ii espee sailed from newcastle N S AV on the ennd of december 1832 1892 bound for honolulu thomas st clair hans hansen herman sport and others were members of the crew st clair planned a mutiny and the others joined in the conspiracy sp iracy they planned that they should at night seize the vessel after murdering its officers and sail to chill and engage in coast trading it was waa decided to kill all the officers beginning with morris fitzgerald the second mate who was not popular the other oilier officers were to follow him to davy joness locker by the same route MURDER OF fitzgerald the night of january 13 was selected for the disposal of the officers the starboard watch which was fitzgeralds stood from 8 to 12 that night the watch was otherwise made up of st clair hans hansen and herman spart there were others in the conspiracy sp iracy but the case against them was less strong than against the three named and they were used as witnesses by the government the murder ot of fitzgerald was accomplished according to pro gramme it was a black night and there was a very heavy wind fitzgerald was wag attacked before midnight he was inveigled by st clair to the after part of the vessel and there he was set upon by three of the assassins one wielded a bludgeon and another a hatchet hal chet those who were still awake on the vessel at that ho hour ar and one of 0 them was the wife ot of tile the captain heard a shriek the shriek followed a blow struck fitzgerald with a hatchet and it was the last sound he utter red edi A few moments later his corpse was thrown overboard then the murderers took a broom and tried to wash the telltale tell tale bloodstains blood stains from the deck but they remained and though the hatchet with which the deed was done was washed a san francisco chemist found the stains of the second mates blood on oil lt it months afterward DISCOVERY OF THE CRIME at midnight on the night of the murder when the port watch went on deck the second mate was not to be found some ot of the sailors who had been on watch said they had last seen jilin him climbing into the rigging the bloodstains blood stains on the deck were soon discovered the murder was suspected and the remaining officers went below and armed themselves the tha obstacle aclo thus offered to the consummation of intimidated the mutineers muti and they submitted to arrest three were selected as ring leaders and brought to tills this city in irons st clair was tried as the leader and actual murderer of fitzgerald and spart and uan iran sen sell the other ring leaders were jointly tried convictions were secured in both cases an appeal to the united states supreme court resulted in alie verdict as to st clair being sustained in the case of and ana hansen there was a point as to the trial courts power in determining the facts tn in the case and the lower court was reversed as to spart sparr and sustained as to hansen in tile the longest opinion that had ever been given by the supreme court in a criminal case spart secured a new trial and was the 1 first i 0 the accused used men to take the stand lie ile admitted the conspiracy and the murder but said lie ho had been intimidated into assisting the others in killing fitzgerald he failed ailed to show why he had h ld not given information of the murder to the captain when there was no longer any danger from his fellow conspirators but the jury acquitted him it was in his favor that there was no alternative for murder in the first degree with the death penalty as the jury desired to find tor manslaughter though there had bad been a final decision in st clairs case long before the others werl were disposed of he was thrice the last time until the of 0 this month Ifan hansena senT countrymen wade made strong efforts to save him but la in vain |