The Middlebury people's press. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1841-1843, 1843-01-11

IF ularity. To my astonishmet upon the &C
II currences of this disaster all the conspira
=" tors who were named in the programme o
e Spencer,n mo matter in what part of the vesse
!. they were engaged at the time, immediatel,
u mustered at the mainmast-whether ANNA
u ted by some new. born zeal to serve thei
J. country, or intending to carry out their de
}. signs, | cannot say. This circumstance a
J. once confirmed my belief in the continued
+ existence of the danger. The eye Of Spence
d travelled continually to the masthead, & he
t cast quick and steaIthy glances about, a:
b he had not done before. The wreck was
:; soon cleared away, and supper piPed.
}, After supper the same persons mustered
e at mast. head, and the sails were set. After
: quarters they dismissed. Still did not think
r it safe to leave Cromwell at liberty during
f the night, which was emphatically the sea-
t son of danger. After consulting with Lieut..
r Gansevoort, | determined to arrest Crom.
well. An officer was sent to guard the rig
cling, | met Cromwell at the foot of the
t Jacobs ladder, going aft, and stopped him.
} L asked him about the conversation he had
: with Spencer. He denied that it was he,
and said, 1T was not me, sir it was Small. >
Cromwell was the tallest man on board the
r vessel and Small the shortest.) Cromwell
was Immediately put in irons. Small be-
} ing thus accused by an associate, was also
ifoned. The utmost vigilance was enjoin-
ed upon the officers. All were armed, and
} either myself or the First Lieutenant was
; constantly on deck.
The next morning, which was Monday
} the 2sth of November, two crimes of con-
siderable magnitude came to light. One
} of the men had been detected in stealing
from boat and the Steward had stolen
money and given some oft to Spencer
) This was no time to relax the discipline Of
, the ship, and both the men were punished
to the extent of the law. 1t was soon af-
ter found that man named Waltham had
J told Mckinley where three bottles of wine
were placed and offered them to him. Nc
Kinley was stationed near the arm-chest
and reported this to the first Lieut.. Pun
ishment of Waltham, however, was post
poned till The next day. Punishment of
the other two heing over, l thought that a
fit opportunity to endeavor to make an i'm
preston upon the crew. had good reason
ty think that the danger of the conspiracy
was not over. believed that majority
of the crew might be said to be in general
disaffected and disposed to resist discipline.
Some mysterious agency had evidently
been at work since the departure of the
Somers from New York; and this was now
disclosed. explained to the crew the
general nature of Spencer's plot and the
atrocious character of the designs he had
formed. | took especial care not to betray
a suspicion that thought any particular
one Of them was deeply implicated, but
exhorted all of them TO repent Of their in
tenlions and attend faithfully to their duty.
| took good care to assure them that the
majority of the crew must at all events
share the fate of the officers. | strose to
divert their minds from the pictures of sue
cessful vice which Spencer had presented
to them. brought up before them the i'm.
ages of friends..a at home; | endeavored to
impress upon their minds the endearing ma
ture of those ties of kindred from which
| Spencer had sought to sever them forever,
and expressed the hope that! within three
weeks we should all be again among our
friends. thanked God that he had pro-
vided them all with dear friends who were
deeply interested in their welfare, and that
they had the prospect ofso soon being once
more among them.
i The effect of my address on them was
various. Many of them seemed delighted
} at their narrow delivery, and others seem
} ed struck with horror at the thought of the
terrible danger they had escaped. Some
seemed overwhelmed with terror at the an
ticipation of punishment that awaited
. them. Others were overcome by thoughts
of returning home, and wept profusely at
the mention of the friends they hoped SO
soon to see. l could not help believing
that all the crew were now tranquil, and
that the vessel was again safe. Having
observed Spencer was endeavoring to hold
intelligence with some of them, directed
} the faces of all the prisoners to be turned
} aft, and that no tobacco should be allowed
them when the supply they had upon their
} persons at the time of their arrest should
t be exhausted. l told them that | would
r see that they had every thing necessary for
their comfort; that each should have his ra-
: ton; that they should be abundantly sup
piled with every thing necessary for their
health and convenience. But l told them
that tobacco was only a stimlan., and that
} as wished their minds to become as quiet
and tranquil as possible, could not allow
, them to use it.
The day aftel Spencer's tobacco was
stopped, his spirit gave way. He would
sit for long time with his face buried in
his cloak, and when he raised his head his
/ face was bathed in tears. He was touch
ed by the kind attention Of Mr.. Gansevoort.
!, He told him that he was not then in state
| 10 speak of anything, but that he would the
, next day tell him all-would answer any
, question that might be put to him.
: On Tuesday after quarters. all hands were
: again called 10 witness punishment, and
J, Watham was punished 10 the extent Of the
law for offering three bottles of wine to Nc
Kihley. l then spoke to the crew of the
necessity Of conforming in all particulars to