Providence, Rhode Island, USA
1905 - PIRATE DRUGGED HIM. Arrested Shipmate Tells Strange Story of Sloop Dorado.

Special to The New York Times.

NEWPORT, Oct. 24. - The arrest of Otto Steifel in Providence to-day proved of great importance in clearing up the mystery about the sloop Dorado and the plunder found on the two pirate boats held here. Steifel confessed to the Providence police that he had been with H. A. Jackson since Sept. 6, and was part owner of the sloop. He was identified by Deputy Sheriff Harvey as the man aboard the catboat Bessie, stolen from Charles L. Burlingame of Providence.

Steifel protests that he never helped Jackson steal anything, and never stole anything himself. He said:

"I have believed, on a number of occasions, that Jackson drugged me or administered chloroform, and that while I slept off its effects he went plundering yachts near which he would tie up in the Sound or in Narraganset Bay. I know that I would wake up at 10 or 11 o'clock the next morning with an aching head that wasn't due to drinking anything, and the sloop would be miles away from where we had anchored when I turned in the night before."

Steifel informed the police that Jackson had come aboard one night at Greenwich, Conn., with a suit case, and, after that, had exhibited a valuable gold watch. He told of stopping at other places, but denied that he had visited Stamford, Conn.

The New York Times
New York, New York
October 25, 1905

Visit Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Discover the people who lived there, the places they visited and the stories they shared.