The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1843-01-10
The somers' Tragedy-Evidence on Crom-
well.

Mr.. EDITOR -
In your remarks on Friday about the. somers
Tragedy, you say very truly 4" that not single fact
is connected with Cromwell, that can be construed
into disObedience OF orders or attempt at mutlny.
wish to draw your attention to the following iacls
which seems to have been overlooked by the difer-
ent newspapers, commenting on the Somers case.
Mackenzie says in his narrative, Il quote from
the Herald report,) Cromwell fell on his knees
and protested his innocence; l was staggered al
this sent for Lieutenant Gansevoort and returned
to Spencer | explained to him, that Cromwell had
made use of him-that remarks had been made re-
spectng HIM and Small, by Cromwell, that were
not very credtable to either. Spencer then ex-
pressed great anxiety 10 hear what those remarks
had been, and then informed him that Cromwell
had saidsto the LIST Lieutenant, (iansevoort,) In
my opinion you have id fool on the larboard
chest, and id villain on the starboard."
Now Lieut.. Gansevoort, in his testimony says
nothing about all this but he does say, came up
and found King and Dickinson converslng on the
lee side OF the maln-mast. Alter some converse
lion about wilson, having two or three knives, &C.
King says to him, (GansevOor) Sin my opinion, sir,
you have the id fool on the larboard and the
id scoundrel or villain on the starboard.' Small
and Cromwell were both on the starboard side, |
said you mean Cromwell, though was pretty well
satisfied who he meant at the same time; he said,
yes sir, he is the most dangerous man on board Of
the ship Something else may have passed between
| us, but don't recoect" So it seems that an ex-
preston made by King, but understood by Nc
kenzle, by mistake or otherwise, to have been made
by Cromwell, was the cause of Mckenzie making
up his mind to hang him.
Is it possible that Commander Mckenzie would
resort to falsehood to irritate Spencer to get him
to impllcate an innocent man or was he, as you
say, panic struck, as to have lost all his recoec-
lion It so, where all the coolness calmness.
and deberation of the Commander of the Somers,
of which we hear much about by his officers T?
II Spencer had been great a rascal as Nc
kenZle would have us believe he would have lmpll-
Gated Cromwell in the mutny whether he was in II
or not. Lieutenant Gansevoort does tell us what
Cromwell did say, which was this, that, when
Cromwell was sitting the hammock cloths with
the whip, l. e. the rope, about his neck, that she
was an innocent man, and he hoped they would find
| it out before six months.'''
The fact is, there appears to have been an evident
desire on the part of Mac Kenze to impcate Crom.
| well at all hazards-from dislike to the man-this
| dislike arose from his, Mckenzie, having some
kind friend aboard who acted the part of an caves
dropper among the crew, and reported the galley
news to the Commander as regular as he did his
journal OF course some OF the expressions made
such as, {. On that jbstay and the id fool tina
invented it's were not very taterng to his pride
as an officer, and more particularly when made by
| an old seaman like Cromwell D.
| Cromwell had been told that Mckenzie the in
| ventor Of the stay.