EXHIBIT X.
Statement of Capt. Thomas Scullun, captain of the whaling bark Cape Horn Pigeon, of the port of New Bedford, in the State of Massachusetts, of the United States of America, and of the officers thereof, with reference to the illegal seizure of the above-named vessel by the Russian authorities.
We, Thomas Scullun, master; William H. Young, chief mate; Antonio Margurita, second mate; George H. Peckham, third mate; William H. Griffith, fourth mate; John H. Smith, cooper and carpenter, and Samuel Mackintyre, Peter Layton, and Thomas Oliver, boat steerers or harpooners, all of the American whaling bark Cape Horn Pigeon, of the port of New Bedford, Mass., do solemnly declare upon our honor that all the statements herein made are true and without exaggeration or malice.
We declare that we sailed from the port of San Francisco on December 7, 1891; bound on a whaling voyage, and that we cruised in the Yellow Sea and Japan Sea until the beginning of July, when we called at the Russian port of Vladivostock, in eastern Siberia, on our way to the Okotchk Sea, for the purpose of laying in a stock of fresh provisions and to give liberty to our crew.
[Page 82]Up to this time we had caught no whales, and while in port permission was asked of the Russian authorities by Captain Scullun to enter the bays along the Siberian coast to hunt for whales, but this permission was refused.
We sailed from the port of Vladivostock on the 6th of July for the Okotchk Sea, and on the 12th of August caught our first whale about 120 miles from Sagalien Island and about 40 miles off Yetarup Island. Our second whale was taken on the 31st of August, the position of the ship then being about 150 miles from Sagalien Island and about 80 miles off Yetarup Island.
We further declare that about 4 a.m. on the morning of the 10th of the present month, while cruising for whales in latitude 46° 30’ and longitude 146° 35’, and being then about 126 miles from Sagalien Island and Yetarup Island being about 84 miles distant, we were boarded by a sealing schooner called the Marie, which had been confiscated by the Russian authorities, and was then manned by Russian sailors and commanded by a Russian naval officer.
The said Russian naval officer came on board of our vessel and demanded the ship’s papers from the captain, and informed him that he had seized the ship for whaling in the Okotchk Sea, and that this was contrary to the Russian law, as the Okotchk was a closed one. The captain protested against the seizure of the ship, and told the officer that he had never been informed that the Okotchk Sea was closed, nor had he ever been warned not to enter it. No attention was paid to the protest, however, and the said officer, with another officer and twelve armed Russian sailors, there and then took possession the ship.
We furthermore declare that the said officer never asked to see the log book, and that while in conversation with the captain he expressed doubts as to his legal right to seize the ship, but said that he was acting under instructions from his admiral, and that if any mistake was made his Government would rectify it.
We further declare that the said officer then ordered all hands, excepting the captain and the steward and a boy, to proceed on board of the schooner Marie and to take her to Vladivostock.
We proceeded on board of the said schooner and brought her to Vladivostock and arrived on the 15th instant. On the 18th instant the Cape Horn Pigeon arrived in the harbor flying the Russian naval flag. At about 5 p.m. a steam launch came alongside of the Marie and ordered us to take our effects and get into her, and we were then landed on the beach without food or shelter, and had it not been for a Chinaman, who took us in and allowed us to sleep in a storehouse, we should have had to sleep in the streets.
We were told when we landed from the schooner that quarters and food would be supplied to us in the gaol, but although we have applied there several times we can learn nothing.
We furthermore declare that we believe the seizure of the ship to be unjust and illegal, as the vessel has not visited the bays, nor have we fished inside the limit of 3 marine leagues, as the log book can testify.
William H. Young, First Mate.
Antonio Margarida, Second Mate.
George H. Peckham, Third Mate.
William H. Griffith, Fourth Mate.
John E. (his x mark) Smith, Carpenter and Cooper.
Samuel McIntyre, Boat Steerer.
Peter (his x mark) Layton, Boat Steerer.
Thos. (his x mark) Oliver, Boat Steerer.
Joe M. Sauza, Boat Steerer.
Witnesses:
W. M. Crose, Ensign, U. S. Navy.