Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-10-15 00:00:00

THE PALACE 0 F FASHION,

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62, BYROM-STREET.

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CLAYTON-SQUARE.

DESPERATE ENCOUNTER WITH CON-
VICTS ON BOARD SHIP.

(From the Overland Bombay Standard, Sept. •10. J

The story of the Ararat, now in Bombay harbour,
would have satisfied us when, in our schoolboy days, we
thought nothing more inspiriting than such Tales of -
the Sea," as narrated the bloody, 4:1444,0f -pirates, and' -
the righteous retribution which_ sometimes overtook
them.
With fifty pirates on board, twelVe ordinary convicts,
a guard of fifteen European Madras Artillerymen, and
eight Sepoys of the Marine Battalion, the Ararat left
Singapore on the 19th of June, and arrived at Penang
in the evening of the 24th. Twelve convicts were here
added to the gang, making seventy-four in all.
The Ararat left Penang on the 25th, a junk leaving
at the same time, and doing her best to
,keep up with
the ship. Captain Correvs, not liking the appearance
of things, dodged his satellite, and finally lost sight of
the craft. on the evening of the 27th. A few hours
later, the Ararat was some sixty miles from Penang.
The 28th broke gloomily, very dark, and sharp gusts'
of wind. At 2.45 the captain ordered the mates to, set:
top-gallant-sails if the weather should' clear, and- lay.
down again on the poop. His rest was of short dura-
tion. Ten minutes later he was aroused by a noise,
such a one as wakens a man broadly in an instant. The
noise, a crash as of something giving way, followed
by a shout, startled the mate also as he was standing
by the break of the poop. There was no doubt as to
the cause—the convicts had broken loose. Quick as
thought the captain leaped to the deck and brought
his arms—a revolver and two pistols—from the cabin.
The mate as instantly aroused the guard, at tthe same
time hailing the sentry forward, but received no re;fly.
He remained by the night guard muskets until the
guard turned out, before which the captain's revolver
spoke from the poop. The captain, it seems, on reaching
the deck, could just discern that the convicts were making-
their way aft. 'They had advanced as far as the stern of
the long-boat when he fired into them. Still they came
on, a tumultuous rush, yelling like fiends, and heaving
before them blocks, handspikes, holystoncs, firewood,
currystuff grinders—any-thing, in fact, they could lay
hands on. Capt. Correys was severely struck by some
of these missiles, as were also several of the guard, who
had by this time joined the captain (the crew, Lascars, and
Spaniards, being altogether without arms, having made,
their way into the rigging) on the poop. The gallant.
party had no thought, however, of acting on the
defensive, hut jumping to the quarter-deck, commenced
a hand-to-hand fight with the scoundrels. Both the
captain and guard fired into them as fast as, they could
load, using also their cutlasses and bayonets to keep
them at bay. They had desperate men to deal with,
No sooner was a musket fired than a rush was made
upon it before it could be reloaded ; but in no one
instance did they succeed in wrenching it fr-Jin the grip
that held it for life or death. One bayonet was their only..
spoil. During the whole time they kept up a shower.
of the missiles described. above, and it is only wonder-
ful that more mischief was not done by them. Inch by
inch, however, the captain and his party gained ground,
advancing purposely- with caution, lest from behind.,
the water casks a rush might be made upon them,'
and their arms—their salvation—be seized. And
here we have to record an instance of courage as rare as
heroic. Some ten minutes or so after the outbreak,.
amid an uproar as if of hell let loose, arising from men
who were thirsting for blood, the captain's wife took her
part in the fray, by loading and continuing to re-load
her husband's pistols, and passing them up from the
caddy skylight. As each hatch was gained, it was
seized by the guard and fastened down. After an hour's
hard fightii.gg the convicts were driven on the topgallant
forecastle, where they were charged with the bayonet,
and several run through or driven over the bows. Two
or three were seen to lay hold of the fore topgallant
studding-sail .which was
.Iying on the forecastle, and-
.
jump overboard with it. They were shot from the
. poop and quarter deck as well as the darkness permitted
their being made out.
The deek now being cleat, lights were brought=many
attempts had been made to get lights during the fight,,
but as soon as one appeared it was knocked over by the
convicts, and the whole was tone in almost solid
darkness. The sights which the lights revealed were of
the horridest. Here a man with a gashed face, there
another cut almost in two, there another riddled with
the bayonet, and there one—yes, yet living—with four
bullets through him. The aspect of the place wad
found
ta-en,
dhacvoemeb.eecntn;
of a slaughter-house. Eight dead bodies were found on.
the forecastle, and three on the main deck, including
the European sentry and Portuguese cook. It was now.
pwoasst
apparent why the sentry had not answered the hail of '
thchephoaodr
Ifeefltlohlivs
stabbed to "the heart. There seems, unfortunatelvrto be,
deck, where he is supposed to have fallen asleep, being
stabbed without awakening even to b-'-his
nthoedomuabttet—hat
was in his hand as he lay. riad he" which
been at his post, or
even awake on deck, an alarm id I
have been given sufficiently earlyig it,bin all probability,
have prevented the
convicts gaining the deck at all.
to
The poor cook was shot i
by
accident, being mixed up
with the convicts. The carpenter and Arab
passen-
ger kuuped overboard. The former fell into the Bight.
of the lee fore sheet, got into the fore chains,
his way aft. The Arab was never seen aand made
gain.
At daybreak a man was found hanrrin
der. A rope being let down he wasg on to. the rud- •
found to have been shot through hauled up, and was-
being made below, five more bodiesthe leg. On search.
who, on receiving enough, had
found that the '
convicts had
gone below to die. It was
escaped. y
with a knife, of which they had 13-
cutting through
posses-
sion, a bar f a prizon door fsomehow gained
through the inside partition forward, -then partly cutting
enabled them to burst bar on the port side, which
shouted to the the door- in altogether. They
rest in the other cells to follow-them!
o
which, with the exception whom
fourteen, the
guard
were enabled to keep down,
they did.
At six the convicts were mustered, when it was found'
that twenty-eight were dead or was
eiolt
out of sixty who came on deck. nTihisse „
two, with the exception of three wounded, were treated
to three dozen each. At half-past nine the sentries.
gave-the alarm that some of the convicts- had slipped
their leg irons. The guard was called and secured them.
On overhauling the remainder, it was found that many
of the irons were too large, and they were accordingly
reduced. A welcome sight must Bombay have been to
the Ararat.
The captain speaks in high terms of the European
sergeants and guard, and of the Marine Battalion also,
their havildar u
especially singling I • mself out by his
valour.
What shall we say of the captain himself.? What
would have been the result if he had been a roan of less
courage-and pluck than lie showed- himself to be ? The
vessel would have been taken, every soul on
murdered,. and these desperadoes have f --
to ilia China seas • found their way
again, to the destruction 0f..-.who can
say how much life andlt is -
property. so
excep-
tional a ease, that we do not doubt the very
Commerce will take some notice of it. Chamber o f
has earned for himself a life renown, and Captain Correys
should he dealt
with in a way becoming this
great commercial port and
cilambcr of calmercial men,