The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-08 00:00:00

THE STORY OF THE STEWARD.

William Tillman, a coloured man, is the ono hero in this
chapter of history. He says that he was born of free
coloured parents in Milford Delaware, and is 27 years of
age. His parents moved to Providence, H. 1., when he was
14 years old, and he has since called that place his home.
He has followed the sea for 10 years, and has been in the
employ of Jonas Smith and Co., No. 227, Front-street, by
whom the schooner was owned, for the last three years. He
is of medium height, rather strongly built, crispy hair, of
nearly unmixed negro blood, and bears in his pock-marked
countenance an expression of honesty, strong common sense
with some touches of humour.
The schooner S. J. Waring had started on a voyage to
Monte Video, with an assorted cargo, which, with the ves-
sel, was valued at 100,000 dols. There were on board the
captain and mats; W. Tillman, steward ; W, Stedding,
seaman, born in Germany, aged 27, has been sailing four
years out of New York ; Donald M‘Leod, seaman, of Cape
Breton, Nova Scotia, aged 30, has been sailing out of New
York for seven or eight years ; and B. Mackinnon, a pas-
senger.
On the 7th July they fell in with the Jeff Davis, and a
prize crew of five wei e put on board, who were unarmed.
To use the language of Mr. Tillman, they ran ten days and
didn't find Charleston ; we were, however, only 50 miles
south of Charleston and 100 to the eastward. On the voyage
they treated me the best kind of way, and talked the best
kind of talk. _ .

One day the first lieutenant of the pirate was sitting in
the cabin, cross •legged, smoking, and he said to me "When
you go to Savannah, I want you to go to my house, and I
will take care of you." I thought, continued the negro,
yes, you will take care of me when you get me there. I
raised my hat and said—" Yes, sir, thank you." But
afterward I said to Billy (the German), " I am not going to
Charleston a live man ; they may take me there dead." He
had been told by the prize master that he would get re-
warded in Charleston for performing his duty so well in
bringing the schooner in ; he had also heard conversation
not intended for his ears, in regard to the price he would
probably bring; and he had heard the prize master say to
ono of his men, " You talk to that steward, and hold him
in good heart. By G—d," said the prize master, "he will
never see the North again."

Tillman conferred with two of the seamen about taking
possession of the schooner, but they declined adopting any
plan, saying that none of them knew how to navigate her
back, should they succeed in getting control. Tillman
thought the matter over for three days and then made an
ap-
peal to the German, and said, " If you are a man to stick to
your word, we can take the vessel easy." Then we made a
plan that I should go to my berth, and when most of them
were asleep he was to give me some sign or awake me. We
tried this for two nights, but no good chance offered. But
last Tuesday night we caught them asleep, and we want to
work. The mate comes to my berth, and he touches me. He
says, " Now is your time." I went into my room and got my
hatchet. The first man I struck was the captain. He was
lying in a state room on the starboard side. I aimed for his
temple as near as I could, and hit him just below the ear
with the edge of the hatchet. With that he made a very
loud shriek. The passenger jumped up very much in a
fright. I told him, "Do you be still ; I shall not hurt a
hair of your head." The passenger knew what I was'up to ;
he never said a word more. I walks right across the cabin
to the second mate's room, I gave him one severe blow
in the mole of the head—that is, right across the middle
of his head. I didn't stop to see whether he was
dead or no, but I jumped on deck, and as I did so,
the mate, who had been sleeping on the companion way'
started from the noise ho heard in the cabin. Just as he
rose upon his feet, I struck him on the back of the head.
Then the German chap jumped over, and we " mittened"
on to him, and flung him over the starboard quarter.
Marshal Murray—What did you do then ?
Tillman—Then we went down straight into the cabin.
The second mate was not quite dead. He was sitting lean-
ing against his berth. I " catched" him by the hair of the
head with my left hand, and struck him with the hatchet
which I had in my right hand. I told this young German,
" Well, let's get him overboard as soon as we can." So we
hauled him over on to the cabin.
The Marshal—Was he quite dead ?
Tillman—No ;he was not quite dead, but he would not
have lived long. We flung him over the starboard quarter.
Then I told this German to go and call that man Jim, the
Southern chap (one of the pirates), here. He called him

aft. Says I, Jim, come down here in the cabin. Do you

know that I have taken charge of this vessel to• night ? I
am going to put you in irons. Well, says he, lam willing.
He gave right up. I kept him in irons till eight o'clock the
next morning. I then sent the German for him, and I said,
" Smith (the name Milnor went by on board), I want you
to join us, and help to take this vessel back. But mind the
least crook or the least turn, and overboard you go with the
rest." Well, said he, I will do the best I can. And he
worked well all the way back. He couldn't do otherwise.
It was pump or sink.
Marshal—Did they beg, any of them ?
Tillman—They didn't have any chance to beg, it was all
done in five minutes. In seven minutes and a half after
I struck the first blow the vessel was squared away before
the wind and all sail on. Wo were 50 miles south of
Charleston, and 100 to the eastward.
Tillman said that at first he had thought of securing all
the men, and bringing them all to New York alive in irons,
but he found this was impracticable. To use his own lan-
guage, " There were too many for that; there were five of
them and only three of us. After this I said, Well, I
will got all I can back alive, and the rest I will kill." Till-
man says he went away as a steward, but came back as a
captain.