A CALIFORNIAN PIRATE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 10575, 16 October 1897, Page 2 (Supplement)

A CALIFORNIAN PIRATE.

PLUNDERING ON THE PACIFIC . . . ..COAST. The transportation companies which aro br|qging baqk|frq(q Alaska the 'gold-laden' argonauts who have found fortunes in the Klondyke have, expressed fears.of. being .attacked by 'piritqi' who, .they claim, infest the north Pacific. They have asked the Government to' provide' convoys' to protect the treasure on board the returning vessels.' That'there aro pirates in that section there' is no question.' There are Oriental desperadoes Chinese, Japanese, and Corean —who ' would hot' hesitate to attack treasure ships, and there are criminals from our own shore! Who have in the past stolen vessels arid gone to sea to commit robberies. ,;__/ One of. the most successful of this class of criminals'' Oscar Bartels, who has recently been sent to a Mexican prison,' For" years Bartels had carried on his plundering with insolent boldness. His craft was neither low. rakish, and carried no black' flag to give his prey' honourable warning. He wasted no 'time in making his enemies' walk the plank,' but flung them promptly overboard when he was done with them! He would steal Vessels, crew and all, if" need be, and carry them off under the very noses of the harbour guns. He was as bold and unscrupulous' as any freebooter that ever sailed the Spanish main, Bartels is about 43 years of age, The first that is known Of him on the Pacific

coast was in 1890, when ho made his appearance in' San Diego, coming from nobody 'knows where. He formed the acquaintance of' Captain William Behn, an old sailor. The men became fast friends, and soon set' about the seizure of the

schooner Dawn, that was lying ab anchor' in the bay, tlieirintention being to undertake a most hazardous raid on the goatherders of Guadeloupe Island, one of the largest in the Gulf of California, Bartels' had met two men who had recently arrived from the island on a schooner, carrying as cargo '2000 goat Skins, which brought a handsome price; Barbels and Behn surreptitiously stooked the Dawn with provisions, and ono dark night hoisted anchor and set sail for Mexican waters. Barbels had learned from the men who sold the skins that two men had been left on the island, well supplied with provisions. They were to continue the work of procuring goat-skins until a large number had been prepared, when a vessel would be sent down after thorn. Bartels and Bohn determined to make those skins their property. Arriving at tho island they found the two men with 1600 skins ready for ship, ment. The pirates surprised tho hunters, made them captives, nnd loaded the booty On their vessels, besides helping themselves plentifully to the supplies left for the men. When everything was in readiness to sail, Bartels liberated one of the captives, but warned him nob to set tho other free until the Dawn was wall underway from the island. Tho two men subsisted on goat flesh and piiionuts until nearly two months later. Monnwliilo the Dawn, had sailed to Santa Barbara, where the skins were disposed of ab a handsome profit. Three times tho pirates returned to Guadeloupe Island and loaded their vessel. They finally quarrelled nnd separated! • Nothing was heard Of "the' daring' free.boober until -early in 1893, when he and his brother Julius arrived at , Seattle from China. They immediately set about pro- 1 viding themselves with'a' "vessel. Captain Elmer, of South' Bend, Wash;, had been a seal-hunter for many years','and owned a little schooner named Achilles. The Bartels

Brothers offered to charter this for a year, and the papers wore, drawn up. When it damo to signing them Oscar Bartels cleverly substituted a bill of sale,'the old skipper nob discovering the fraud uiitil they had pub to sea, whioh they did as'soon as,they had mortgaged'the vessol to a Port Townsend man for 2400 dollars. The.Achilles hunted along the Japan coast, working well up into the Behring Sea, but met with'poor success, and they ran into Sitka Harbour in June with only eight skins on board. The vessol remained there for some time, and Bartols took up his residence with a Kussian woman in a cabin near the shore. The place soon earned the reputation of being a veritable deadfall, and one dark night tho Sitka constable with a posse' descended upon it. Some of the inmates,' including the woman, wore captured j but Bartols escaped through a back window and lied to tho bench,where he kept a. boat in waiting, thus making his way to tho schooner and 'Bnfoty. Tho following night he returned ashore and made an effort to rescue tho woman, and sue-

coeded in getting hor out of gaol, but she refused to go with him on board tho ship. A scuffle ensued, whioh attracted tho attention of officers. Finding the guards were closing in upon him Bartels hurled tho woman far over the -bluff into tho icy waters Of tho bay, and half running, half tumbling down a treacherous pathway, readied his skiff. His pursuers were close behind; and two of them, putting out in a frail canoe, overtook their quarry before ho had got half-way to tho Achilles. Bartels protended to submit to arrest, but, watching his opportunity, grasped' the stdo of the canoe, and, giving it a mighty twist, turned it bottom up. Then he continued on his way to the schoonor, leaving the two officers struggling in the water. He was captured the following day, with his brother, but escaped with a light fine. Meanwhile the crew took the Achilles to San Francisco, where the ship was secured by its rightful owner. The Bartols Brothers dropped out of sight for a short time, simultaneously with the steam launch Periwihklo, belonging to the lighthouse department, nnd lying nt anchor at the station on Goab Island. The launch could never be traced, but aboub that time a mysterious little orafb, closely resembling the Periwinkle, began to cause the Puget Sound officers a great deal of annoyance by hor frequent and surreptitious trips betwoen Victoria and the American side. That was. before tho Chinese registration law was passed, and tho smuggling of Chinese across tho border was a highly profitable and extensive industry. The smugglers received 50 dollars for each Chinese landed on the American side, and of all the craft engaged in the nefarious business none met with greater success than the little launch. Officers in disguise were stationed in Victoria and other British Columbia points bo watch her movements, and the launch was finally captured, with six Chinese aboard. Bartels was un-

doubtedly . the leader of tho enterprise, but was nob aboard the boat when captured,

i The most intrepid act of this fin-de-siecle pirate was his Stealing of the schooner Star; of Freedom from harbour early in February, 1891, for which crime he is now languishing in gaol at La Paz, Mexico. •It was the first time he bad ventured,to show,himself in San Francisco since the disappearance of the Periwinkle. But as that offence could ..not be definitely, fastened upon him he felt comparatively safe. Captain Charles Johnspnatthattjmeownodthetrim little schooner Star of Freedom, a staunch craft and a fast sailer. Captain Johnson was away from home at the time,.and the sohoonor was tied up in Oakland: Creek, with a watchman ,on beard to protect her from the depredations of thieves. Bartels began negotiations for purchasing the boat ; and, after getting into the good graces of the watchman, went aboard ono night with a Russian Finn,, named Lundisshof and threw the watchman, into the water. It was the work of only a moment to cast off the mooring lines, hoist the jib and mainsails, and hoad the prize down the estuary, The night was dark and stormy, a stiff southeaster was blowing, and by the time the unfortunate watchman had orawled, halfdrowned, upon the Alameda shore, the Star of Freedom was well down toward the open waters of the bay. . Messages were sent to the San Francisco police, who thought ib would be an. easy matter to capture the ocean bandits as soon as daylight broke. But they did not know. Bartels. Darkness was the time best, suited to this work ; and instead of dropping, anchor and waiting until morning to pass, out to sea, he headed the little.,craft,.straight for the Golden 'Gate.' ; When daylight broke the Star of Freedom. was far out of sight of land, on the broad bosom of the Pacific. \ The authorities all along, the coast were, notified to, keep a, sharp lookout, for the pirates and. their prize, but Bartels kept well away from American ports. A year later he was captured, in the port of La Paz, where he has since languished, in gaol, awaiting trial, until recently, when he was sent to prison for three years. \ ' I Were Barteli on the high sea now there would undoubtedly be trouble for tome of the gold-laden Teasel*,- but- even with bin in gaol there is reason to fear the men, who have hew < •'' I