Daily evening star. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1852-1854, 1854-07-27
amount u hnosas Il 1ilrffesspaoddsi rs 3 Bis bow,
that the law afioSs to Sea captains.
We had bean three uoako n,,t No.,

wueu SopSoIH L. unexpe6te0fT t&mk
t'odt 0 the eAhdh.' 4 hxtfSe6 'tliatsheabal
swiles q,eEvSus fock, rn6serhs efseeed
loRuana'stsd slsftg Suse ana man nasihsSaS
when SEadenly ssouysd.SfcsR . aipsiatpcs
|sei - Wits the unseRaf,hsahruptixdd
manded of the man at the wheel.s - Ma,
|, 6 Southeast by east, SIR ,,,a.,
+ d The aptain then ,steypsd up ta,,thI
9.AAa aye Ana leoksd ~ Jthe. ceWpssI
.IIurnlnsEsppa With An jAath, he struck
tne man blow 10, :, the n mouth thai
knocked him away, from the w6ssl. and
thundered- '''' I a'''da
"Fou take the spokes IN hand Yos
know no more about steering than YOU,
mother" -- - Il 81. ! bf.f'.ai7' 81 7
Such were the exact words, for I dis.
tinctiy remember them. asf'7tal bl~ .-
The poor fellow, who WIS one or the
best heimsmen in the ship. took hold of
the spokes again, the blood triekiins
down his chin, and muttered- .L.,|
was steering o hairs BREADTH,
/, -af' Whats that you SAY 2'' ga, s- esq,
"I say / was steering as we'll as any
man could and you're a. vtyrant, cap
The captains face grew black with
passion, and the light foam few from his
lips as he screamed a. '.'.l...7 u
"Mr. jackson, clap this fellow in
irons! No, seize him upAniake spread
eagle of him J. III teach him to toe the
mark :" -. ..s5 . -
The mate, jackson, IN VAIN ATTEMPTED
to soothe the nadman, who compslled
his officers to 's.sieze up'' the unfortunate
sailor-that is, to lash his wrists to the
shrouds, with his back bare for punish.
ment. This is called making s'sprsad.
eagle" II dare not dilate on the sick.
ening scene that ensued Suffice it that
the captain with his own hand fosged
the man most brutally in presence Of all
hands, and not soul Of us dared to speak.
That night we all signed GROUND |
robin, that is, paper stating griev!
ance, or petition, with the names of the |
men written in circle, SO as not one
can be pitched upon as the ringleader-
addressed to the chief mate, stating that |
we all felt that our lives were not safe in |
the hands of the captain, as he was OBJ |
viously insane, and requesting the mate |
to take command Of the ship, and place
the captain in confinement. We sent this
to Mr.. jackson by one of the boys, and |
in quarter of an hour the mate came
forward. fs...-. 1 : -r; h55
..Men," said he. '.do you know what
you are aboutz You are in open mutiny,
and you know what the penalty for that
is. Captain - IS captain, and his
will is law. We must all submit to it
We're to do my duty strictly, should
show this" pointing to the round robin,
'sto the captain; but don't want to
make matters worse. Let US get to port,
and then complain as you please. But
tor your own sakes-and for my sake,
don't mutiny." - 'zoe. .-e -.la'- |
We all respected the mate, and his
words made a great impression. We con-
suited together, and the prudence Of the
overcame the fierce impulse Of
the bolder spirits. 1t was. however, ta-
city understood, that if matters grew
much worse, we would risk the dreadful
penalty of mutiny, by seizing the captain, +
edly insane, although the mate acted
rightly enough in holding aloofat present.
as the captain had not yet evinced himself
incapable of managing the Ship. h''~ ha |
Whether any whisper had leaked out
in The cabin, through the steward or Off
GERS, cannot tello but the captain un.
suspected what had passed. =
At noon the next day he came on deck |
with double-barrelled gun in his hands, |
and deliberately loaded it with ball in our
presence. When be had done this, he
called all hands aft, and in language that
sufficiently indicated, from its wild inco.
herency, that he was undoubtedly insane,
he addressed the crew, winding up with
the words &
"You think to get the upper hand of
me, do you? You will rnntiny-you II
take the ship away from NEE I'll make
an example-I'n show you whom yeu
have to deal with. Mr.. jackson, let
those two men be seized up this minute,
for I'n make spread eagles of 'em as sure
as live. |
As he spoke the captain pointed to |
two of the nearest men-one an American |
and the other an Englishman. These
poor fellows looked round at their mess
mates, and seeing how undecided they all |
were, they suddenly turned and sprang |
into the rigging, running aloft for safety.
The captains eyes glared like a wild
beasts, and seizing his gun he shouted
- {" Lay down this moment, both Of We,
or I'll shoot ye!" 10 - -. !
They saw the threatening movement,
and heard the command; but this only.
caused them to run up the rigging stip !
higher and higher. Twice more the
captain hailed them, and then be raiseda
his piece, and quick as lightning. levehd
and fired. A burst of execratiOn from us
all followed, for the ball had struck the
and broken his leg. He fell
like wounded bird into the main.top
and screamed in -ageny. =, .-. -, |
.:sOh, God what have you done, Capt.
l. Z" exclaimed the horror-stficHenst
mate. you have committed murder =,
mo, I have not, answered the captain,
Il ordered the fellow down, and If he
won't obey, its mutiry, and the law Will
Justify me In killing him, or killing YOU
either, 50 mind what you say. ~. Sd II
The mate turned aside, and Hhen one
Of the oldest oseaznen -whispered-r in bis
ear, eSay the word, sir, and We wiilGlap
the madman in irons he only shook his
head and buried his face in his hands ~
o.