Bulgarian Slain On Austrian Ship.

New York Times 100 years ago today, March 24, 1913:
Captain Says Steward Stabbed Him and Then Shot Himself on the Bridge.
HIS STORY IS DISPUTED
Hospital Doctor Asserts Bulgar Was Shot from Behind — Mates Had Jeered Him About War.
    Austrian bitterness toward the Balkan States found individual expression last night in a duel between Capt. Matildo Tomianovic of the steamship Istina of the Barber Line and Stefan Mutchreff, the Bulgarian steward of the vessel, as the result of which the steward lies dead in the Brooklyn Morgue with a bullet through the base of his skull and the Captain, with an ugly stab wound in the back of his neck, is a prisoner in the Seney Hospital, Brooklyn, charged with homicide. In the course of the affray, which occurred on board the steamship at Pier 36 Atlantic Basin, the steward held the entire crew of thirty-two men at bay with a revolver when they attempted to go to the Captain's assistance.
    Capt. Tominanovic and his men assured the police of the Hamilton Avenue Station that the duel had terminated by the steward turning his revolver upon himself after he had stabbed his superior officer, but Dr. Gildersleeve of the Seney Hospital, was emphatic in expressing his opinion that the case was one of murder and that the wound sustained by the steward could not have been self-inflicted.
    Acording to the story told by Capt. Tomianovic in the Seney Hospital, the duel occurred when the steward went to the , Captain's cabin at half past 6 last night to summon him to dinner. The Captain stated that Mutchreff had been constantly quarreling with the otner members of the crew, all or whom were Austrians, as is the Captain himself. Mutchreff joined the Istina on Feb. 4 at Buenos Aires, and since that time had been subjected to the gibes and jeers or his Austrian shipmates on the subject of the Balkan war.
    When the ship docked in Atlantic Basin five days ago Mutchreff went to the Captain and demanded his discharge and pay, but the Captain refused to pay him off. On Saturday the steward repeated his demand, stating that he would no longer serve under "an Austrian dog." For this language the Captain threatened to put Mutchreff in irons, and, according to Tomianovic, the man had been in an ugly mood ever since.
    When he went to the Captain's cabin last night to announce dinner, the steward again demanded his discharge papers and wages, and was curtly refused. Then, according to Capt. Tomianovic, he drew a heavy clasp knife and began to slash at him. This occurred upon the bridge, and Tomianovic called to the crew for help.
    The men gathered on the deck and saw the struggle going on between the Captain and his assailant. Under the leadership of a stalwart boatswain they made a concerted rush for the companonway leading to the bridge, but fell back when the enraged Bulgarian turned a revolver upon them and threatened to shoot the first man who put his foot on the bridge.
    Capt. Tomianovic sprang upon the steward at this moment, he says, and knocked the revolver from his hand. As he stooped to gain possession of the weapon the steward stabbed him in the back of the neck; and he stumbled to the deck of the bridge helpless. Then, according to the Captain and various members of the crew, the steward seized the revolver and turned it upon himself.
    It was more than an hour after the tragedy that the Police of the Hamilton Avenue Station learned of the trouble, and when detectives boarded the vessel this story of suicide was told to them.
    Dr. Gildersleeve was then summoned from Seney Hospital, and after dressing the wounds of the Captain, turned his attention to the body of the steward. His, examination revealed that the man had been shot in the back of the head at the base of the skull and instantly killed. The surgeon assured the police that such a wound could not have been self-inflicted and that the suicide story could not be true. It was on this authority that a charge of homicide was entered against the Austrian Captain and a policeman dispatched to the hospital to guard his bedside and prevent him from holding any communication with members of the crew.
    The Istina piles between New York, various South American ports, and Havre, France. She is a freight steamship and carries no passengers.