Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 186, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 August 1912 — CREW OF OIL BOAT DESERTS [ARTICLE]

CREW OF OIL BOAT DESERTS

Lascar Sailors From India Bay Btench of Cargo Was Unbearable, So They Quit. New York. —The picturesque Lascar sailors, clad In outlandish costumes, such as is commonly supposed to be the garb of pirates, are taken before Magistrate McFarland of the night court and sentenced to 30 days each on the charge of attempting to desert the British oil steamer Indra, which is lying at Point Breeze. Captain Grann, master of the-vessel, and Chief officer Kennedy appeared against them, declaring the men started a row because they were refused shore leave. Mohan All, the only one of the ten who could speak English, was spokesman for his companions. He defended their action, saying that the captain ordefed them to remain in the forecastle, where the stench of oil was «> intolerable that they could hardly breathe. Arraigned. In the dock, the prisoners presented a novelty in the night court, so different were they from the usual types of prisoners. Most of them wore vivid colored handkerchiefs on their heads; some were garbed In wide trousers'which extended only to the knees, and others were half naked- One man wore & yellow turban. According to the testimony, the men were shipped in India, signing papers which stipulated that they were not to have any shore leave unless upon express permission of the captain. All said that the men had been deceived .when these papers were signed, as they understood at

the time that they were tor be permitted ashore at all ports. After completing their work yesterday the men demanded chore leave for the evening. The captain refused, and the Lascars threatened to desert There was. a wrangle on the deck, and one of the men Jumped to the wharf, calling upon the others to follow him. Meanwhile the captain sent word to the seventeenth district police station, and before the men could follow their leader Sergeant Duffy, with a detail of policemen, was on the scene and arrested them all. According to the police, the men submitted to arrest peacefully The magistrate said that be had no option but to sentence the men, as their act had been plainly illegal, in view of the papers they bad signed.