TWENTIETH CENTURY PIRATE

Marlborough Express, Volume XLIII, Issue 195, 16 August 1909, Page 6

TWENTIETH CENTURY PIRATE

BELGIAN RECEIVES A LIFE

SENTENCE,

A-thrilling story of piracy on the high, seas was told recently in the Supreme Court at Suva (the capital of-Fiji group of islands), before Chief Justice Major. The narrative, which reads more like a novel by Robert louis Stevenson than a record from a twentieth century court of law, has been sent by Mr J. Stafford Northcote, a--reader of Lloyd's News, who w^s one of-the jury at the trial: Sen-, tenee of penal servitude for life was passed on the prisoner) Joseph Mortelmaus. Important evidence was given by Fred. Skerrett, of London, an eyewitness of the scenes of piracy on the ill-fated Peruvian schooner Nuevo Tigre. - ■' .

The, facts of the case, as set forth by the Hon. W. Brough "(acting At-torney-General), who appeared for the Crown, were (Mr Northcote writes) as follows:—

:In 1902, one Juan Cafeiro, an Italian shipmaster, resident in Callao, the port'of Lima,/ Peru, went to Concepcion, in Chili, where he purchased the, Nuevo Tigre, a new schooner of about 100 tons. The following year he, died, leaving a widow and nine young children, and the schooner, the sole support of. the family, was hired to a .Callao ship-chandler named Morello, who paid for her £25 per month.

The captain of the little craft, which was engaged in the coasting trade, was Niceolo Melis, aged thirty, an ex--1 I>etty officer in the Italian Navy, and a ,man of very high character. The mate was one Juan Boster, aged about fifty, and when the vessel left on her last voyage for a-country port there were two other men aboard—John. Mortelinans, alias Joseph Mortimer, alias John Taylor, aged, twenty-five, a .native of Antwerp, and Fred. Skerrett, alias George Jackson, aged twenty, of Lambeth, London. The two last-named had been shipmates on the Glenogil, a four-master, that left Shields for South America in 1907. She put in at Queenstown in a leaking condition, and was towed to Liverpool. The crew left and Mort'elmans and Skerrett shipped on the new Peruvian cruiser Almiranfe Grau, the former as steward and the latter as* mess-room attendant. Skerrett left the warship at Callao a week before his comrade, and made a voyage in a coasting barquentine. After a month or so he returned to Callao and met Mortelmans in one of the public squares. Mortelmans, then employed as a seaman on the

Nuevo Tigre, introduced his shipmate to the captain, and Skerrett got a berth aboard^ £2 10s per month. That was in November, 1907, and on the la^h^of that month the little vessel' left; Calla<^ being seen frjdm the' Mole ivitli foUiviiieiiJ oil deck-H>ne at the wheel, two hauling on halyards, and one coiling ropes on deck. THE FIGHT ON THE SCHOONER.

After this the evidence in court must tell the ghastly story.' About midday on the second day out, Captain Melis went below aft, sending Skerrett to clean up the foc'sle; Mortelmans was at the wheel, and the mate was sitting oh the hatch preparing vegetables for dinner.1 Sk&rrett had been below some fitteen minutes when he heard a loud scream on deck. "He rushed up* and j met the mate running forward with blood pouring from a wound in the head. Skerrett asked what was wrong, but the mate made no reply, and climbed down into the foc'sle. Skerrett hurried aft, a,nd saw the captain about to come up the companionway. Before the captain reached the deck Mortlemans struck him on the head with a chopper, and the wounded man fell back. Mortelmans followed him, and the terrified lad heard a terrific struggle going on below.1 In a few seconds the captain, bleeding from the head, came on deck, and. said to Skerrett, "What's this for, Charfte?" Skerrett replied that he thought Mortelmans was mad. Going forward, the captain picked up the iron bar of the pump, but dropped it as he saw Mortelmans return to the deck, and seizing the foc'sle scuttle, he jumped overboard with it. ! Mor- , telmans had brought up a gun front" j the cabin, and loading it, he twice tried to shoot the unfortunate mani in the water, but the weapon missed fire. By; this time Skerrett had tossed a plank1 overboard. The captain caught this, \ and when last seen was swimming with- itsv aid. The only land in sight was a couple of small! islands some twelve or thirteen miles distant.

In the meantime, the mate had come from below and clambered into the fore-rigging. Skerrett, thoroughly frightened, tried to get into the dinghy, which was towing astern, : but Mortelmans, raising .the chopper, said he'd give him "the same do,se as the others,"; and made him desist. Then he bade the lad take the pump bar and beat the mate' out of the rigging, while he vainly tried to discharge the gun at Boster, calling on him to '.'come down." The poor fellow replied, "Oh,, Joseph, spare me; I've got a poor old mother ashore, who's no one to keep her but me." "I can't help that; come down," replied the cold-hearted ruffian. On seeing Mortelmans make as if to come aloft, the mate clambered out to the inner jib stay, where he hung for a minute or two, and then, weak .with loss of blood, relaxed his hold * and I fell into the sea. Skerrett saw him finally sink, about twenty feet astern, the-water around being blood-stained, as also were the' foresail and the deck beneath.>

Mortlemans then said to Skerrett, "Now I've got rid of those two devils the ship's my own." He ordered the lad to clean up the bloodstains which covered the cabin, and himself ransacked the place high and low, tearing up and throwing overboard many books and papers. The vessel, which was painted green, was given a coat of white paint, and the name, White Rose, painted in red on the stern and on. the dinghy. Neither of the crew knew anything of navigation, although there was a sextant on board and several charts. One day late in January, 1908, the schooner grounded on a reef off Apamama, in the Gilbert group, those aboard not having the slightest idea where they were. On the opposite • side of the island were the Fiji-owned

auxiliary schooner Laurel (Capt. Malcolm), and the schooner, Louis© J. Kenny (Capt. Handley), owned by Burns, Philip and Co., of Sydney. The schooner's swaying, masts were seen from the vessels, and both sent their launches off to see if they could aid her. ,

Mr Dunn, engineer of the Laurel, was first aboard, and was surprised at seeing only twp men there. Mortelmans, who acted as spokesman, said they -.we're ■'■:nineteen; :'days' out from Valparaiso to Tahiti, and that he had mo papers of any kind. Mr Bradshaw, super-cargo of the Kenny, came ■next with his captain. To each visitor Mortelmans told varying and unsatisfactory stories. At one time he said the vessel was given him by his mother, and again, that he had bought her with money given him by a friend. He had no lag, he said, but surely 'a fellow could sail under any flag he pleased. Tr The Laurel was leaving: for Fiji next day, and Mortelmans desired to take passage in her, but Capt. Malcolm was doubtful as to facts, and refused. The native magistrate- at Apamana had all the personal effects taken from the ship and stowed ashore. All this time Mortelmans never left Skerretfs side, and told him repeatedly that if he divulged what he knew, it would be > his (Skerrett's) death. The Laurel having sailed, the native magistrate arranged for the castaways to be taken in the Kenny to Tarawa, the seat of Mr Telfer Campbell, Resident Commissioner for the Gilberts. On the voyage Mortelmans remarked to Skerrett that if he could { only get hold of a revolver he saw in the captain's room he could soon take the vessel.

! As Mortelmans was often in the cabin with the officers Skerrett found an opportunity to tell his story to the white steward. The latter related the facts to the captain, who, revolver in hand, at once arrested Mortelmans in the King's name for murder, and confined him in one of the state-rooms under guard. At Tarawa the prisoners were handed over to Mr George Murdock, Chief of Police, who had him put in irons and lodged in the local gaol. Skerrett was sent to the hospital to prevent any further intimidation. Mr Telfer Campbell held an .inquiry, and -subsequently sent Mortelmans and Skerrett to Fiji. In Suva preliminary evidence was taken, and Mr J. C. : Alexander, chief police magistrate, was.sent to Callao and Valparaiso to collect witnesses and evidence. PIRATE IN THE DOCK. When the trial opened; at the end of April, the court was crowded. Mortelmans pleaded not guilty to the three counts in the indictment, first of piracy of the vessel and cargo, and second and third, practical assault with intent to 'murder the captain and mate. He had grown a thick black beard, moustache) and whiskers since' his arrival in Suva about twelve months before. '

He is a "stockily" built man, about sft. oin. in height, rather-pallid in face, but decidedly plump of feature; his lips being full and of a bright red. His straight black eyebrows closely overhanging narrow, dark, slit-like eyes that suggested the Japanese. Mr Murdock, Chief of Police of the Gilberts, and Mr Gogswill, Deputy Commissioner, each produced many exhibits, the former's in. identification of the captain of the schooner, including a water-coloured drawing of a wrecked barque, signed "N. Melis," and many books- with, the same name; an Italian naval uniform of white bearing three stripes and crossed cannon on the arm, a hammock and singlet bearing the same number as appeared on Melis's naval discharge, a naval handbook and sundry works of religion and navigation, including Spurgeon's "Wise Words" (a present from the captain's sister in London). Mr Cogswill's evidence was indisputable proof of the vessel's identity. He produced the stern of the dinghy carved "Nuevo Tigre," and painted over with "White Rose" I in red. . . . •

Jose Cafeiro, son of the owner of tEe schooner, identified the. wheel cap,

a clock, and the late captain's clothes, and recognised Mortelmans as one of the men who left with the boat on her last voyage. On the second day of the trial Skerrett gave evidence. He was very nervous at first, and," speaking in a low voice, told the story as given above. He identified the bos of rubber type with which Mortelmans had produced a certificate of sale of the vessel by a person in Valparaiso, and he stated that several books purporting to be log and journal of the ship were in..Mortelmans' handwriting.

A British red ensign produced was made by himself and Mortelmans, the "jack"' being contrived from a Peruvian flag. The imitation was crude but certainly clever. He stated that he was always in fear of his life from prisoner,

The judge, in his summing-up, quoted authority to show that piracy was counted akin to highway robbery, and that a pirate was a foe to the human race. The jury in twenty minutes returned with a unanimous verdict of "Guilty" on all three counts.

The judge said that, as the bodies of the captain and mate had not been found, and there was no actual proof that they were dead, he would pass sentence of penal servitude for life. Had the fact of the death of the missing men been established he would have passed sentence of death on prisoner. So far, there has not been a wnite man executed in'-Fiji.