The Sun.
London, England, 1830-06-03 00:00:00

FISH STORY.

Deposition of Captain J. M. Lopez, of the steam-
boat Neptune, before the Captain of the port of
Havannali

9 Having left Matanzason the 3d instant, at seven
o'clock A.M. for this place, in the steam schooner
Neptune, under my command, I proceeded on the
voyage without the occurrence of any thing worthy
of notice until noon, when, being off the place called
the Frayle, about four miles from the shore, there
appeared a large object about a mile and a half from
us, which the passengers as well as the crew sup-
posed to be a wreck; and being under this impres-
sion, I ordered the vessel to be put about, and as
we were approaching, we changed our intention, on
account of the wind. But being within gun shot,
we clearly distinguished the upper part of the mouth
of a fish of extraordinary magnitude. It was elevated
about sixteen feet above the surface of the water,
and surrounded by an infinite number of other ones,
of various sizes, leaping in every direction, occupying
a space about a mile in circumference. Going still
nearer, we saw it shut its mouth, with a great noise,
and discovered a fin about nine feet high on its back,
of a dark colour, and about sixty feet distant from
the said mouth. We were not able to calculate the
length, as it plunged suddenly and concealed the rest
of the body. The state of the sea, and the wish of
the passengers to get in as soon as possible, obliged
me to abandon the ►dea of remaining there any longer
to examine it snore leisurely. I put about and ar-
rived in this port, where I anchored at five o'clock
P.M. of the same day. Notwithstanding the disap-
pearance of the fish, ten minutes after we put about
we saw it again in the same position as before. The
s►ze of t his fish, incomparably larger than the greatest
whale, and of a form entirely different, does not
leave me to doubt that it belongs to a distinct
species. This is all I have to relate towards the
fulfilment of my duty.

" JOSE MARIA LOPEZ

" Havannah, Jan. 5, 1830."

NEGRO INTREPIDITY.

Four black officers were arrested on a charge of
plotting the assassination of the President of Haiti
arid the expulsion of the Europeans—a charge which
they denied, but admitted a desire to alter the Go-
vernment, and to break off all connexion with France.
They were condemned, and their execution is thus
described by Mr. Mackenzie in his Notes on Haiti:
—" They moved on without the slightest hesitation,
until they arrived at the fatal spot, close to a dead
wall. On reaching it, they still remained pinioned;
but the policemen retired, and the shooting party
advanced with evident reluctance. At the word
being given, the firing commenced, and instead of
the wretched scene being closed by one, or at most
two well-directed fires, there was absolutely a suc-
cession of discharges resembling a feu-de-joi. lam
sure that not less than one hundred discharges
mutt have taken place before the execution was
ended. On reaching the ground the whole four
refused to be bandaged, threw off their hats,
and exclaimed to their executioners, Ne craignez
pas !' The first volley only slightly wounded Cap-
tain Francois, who stood at the extreme left; a se-
cond brought hies down, though still alive. Michel
was shot through the body in several places, and
had both his arms broken before he fell. Lieutenant
Lion fell next, after having been severely wounded.
During the whole of this revolting exhibition, Ser-
jeant Lion Courchoise was standing on the extreme
right of the party, calmly smoking a cigar, without
moving a limb or a muscle of his face. A ball
through his body brought him to the ground, and
as he touched it, he spat the cigar from his mouth,
and calmly discharged a volume of smoke from his
lungs. The firing party then advanced, and putting
the muzzles of their pieces to the bodies of these
unhappy men, ended their sufferings by blowing
them literally to pieces. They dreamt not (adds
Mr. Mackenzie) of future immortality, nor that a
record should ever be made of a firmness and cou-
rage which would have done honour to any Roman."

A few days since some men employed in
quarrying stone discovered, in a field near Huish Church,
the skeletons of nine human bodies, lying about 18 inches
under the surface, and from two to four feet asunder. It
appeared that a few inches under the surface there was a
strata of white lias stone, which had been apparently taken
up for the purpose of depositing the bodies, but at what
period they were so deposited can be only conjectured, as,
on being moved, the remains crumbled to ashes.—Bath
Chronicle.