Rough housing on the Mauretania's fast trip
Mischief on the ocean liners Pt. 3
The Cunard steamship Mauretania broke the record for speed in travel from Queenstown, Ireland, to New York, New York, on June 2, 1908, making the trip in 4 days, 20 hours and 15 minutes. She broke the previous record held by her sister ship, the Lusitania, by seven minutes. Amazingly, she did this with only three of her four propellers as one had become disabled on her prior trip and there had not been time for repairs during her stop in Liverpool.
The record breaking speed of the Mauretania was not the only excitement of this trip, there was some dramatic mischief amidst the passengers that pitted a gang of American gamblers against a group of British travelers who had been lured into their trickery.
The three American gamblers went by the names H. L. Bralatour, William H. Day and Alexander Dwyer. One was noted to have his picture in the Mulberry Street Gallery, a rogues’ gallery, which was a collection pictures of known criminals used by law enforcement to identify suspects. When known gamblers were aboard the ocean liners, the crew would put up signs to warn passengers that professional gamblers might be aboard, but the passengers were still free to participate in the card games. It was noted that on this voyage a notice had been posted.
The three American men were career gamblers who made their living off of betting on card games with inexperienced passengers. Late one night in the smoke room Englishmen who were addicted to brandy and soda presented as perfect candidates for their scheme. The Englishmen's names were Pirkis, Eric Thornton, R. L. Macleay and A.B. Randolph.
After an intense game on Saturday night the Englishmen gave IOU’s for their debts which did not exceed $500. They found out in conversation in the smoke room from stewards that the American men were known swindlers and then they refused to pay their debts.
Thornton said, “the game was crooked. I don’t intend to pay you at all.” In response to this Dwyer shook his fist and said, “I’ll give you the best hiding of your life if you don’t pay.” The Englishman Pirkis picked up his brandy and soda glass and smashed Dwyer in the face and stewards interfered.
The Americans offered to take the Englishmen out on deck to settle the matter with fists, but the Englishmen postponed due to fears of brass knuckles and pistols. Then the real brawl broke out. The Americans jumped on the Englishmen, using their feet more than their fists. Passengers in the smoke room said it looked like an exhibition of La Savate (a martial art practiced in France). Everybody was noted to have marks on their hands and faces before they were separated by ship officers and stewards and several teeth were knocked out. A spitoon (a receptacle for spit) was thrown at an Englishman but missed him.
After the brawl one of the swindlers tried to appease the Englishmen by asking them to sit down and take a drink. His offer was refused and he responded, “if you ever get off this boat you will never get to Mexico. See?” Twenty passengers on the ship were so aggrieved by the behavior of the gamblers that they signed a petition asking the captain to make peace, but he said there were no irons on the ship to lock up the trouble makers. He did have the master-at-arms and two stewards stationed outside the rooms of the Englishmen for the remainder of the voyage so they would not be thrown overboard by the gamblers.
A complaint was made to Captain Pritchard and a message was sent to the Police Headquarters and the Pinkerton Detective Agency to arrest the American men when the Mauretania arrived at the Cunard Pier in New York.
Captain Pritchard encouraged the Englishmen to appear at court to witness to their behavior, but nobody appeared against them due to fear of retribution by the American gambling fraternity.
For many years gamblers were onboard the ocean liners, existing as their own subculture with mutually understood agendas and tactics, but they rarely seemed to be held accountable for their predatory actions. It was left up to the passengers to choose to heed the posted warnings, and often the excitement of chance outweighed the risks to these passengers.
There is a book by author George Behe that discusses the gamblers of the Titanic called Fate Deals a Hand. He not only talks about the gamblers who were on the ill fated maiden voyage of the Titanic, but he also explains how gamblers operated on the ships and how the crew responded. If you enjoyed this story, I would highly suggest checking this book out. I will have more stories to come of both mischief and gambling on the ocean liners.
Sources:
“Mauretania does the Westward Trip in 4 Days, 20 Hours and 15 Minutes,” The Champaign Daily Gazette, June 2, 1908.
“Rough house on the Mauretania,” The Sun, June 3, 1908.
I think this may be my favorite series to write. More to come soon.
I enjoyed learning about the rogues' galleries.