New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1854-09-14

side Of the land, the csptain called 10 the cook
and told him to bring up his bsggsge. 30 he
was set ashore. Afterwards we heard that
Lansing was dead OF course we believed the
report, for the man was as good as dead when
he went over the side with his traps,
Sc IL was about q year afterwards when we
were lying at Valparaiso. We took in some
provisions, and among the rest was q cask Of
jerked beef, which the captain ordered into the
cabin, for fear, no doubt, that some Of his half
starved hands would help themselves to its con-
tentsR II was put in the hold.
All being ready, we cleared ship and went
out Of the bay. We had been at sea some ten
days or 80, when some Of the hands determined
| to open a barrel of pork in the hold to help ont
our seanty allowance
'' One Frank Rogers and myself undertook it
in the middle watch below. We had crawled
in about midships where the pork was kept, and
were .astonished to find the barrel already
opened Several pieces Of pork had been taken
out This, however, made easier work for us,
and we took couple Of junks out Of the cask,
and hurried back to the forecastle, mistaking
every creak of the timber--as we were before
the wind-for an officer in chase Of US. As
was feeling my way along, my hand came III
contact with mans leg; but he scrambled off
| like frightened terrapin. s &@g
| ss Is that you, Frank = said /. ss
| g. Yes, I'm here,' answered he. M
&c perceived by the answer that he was ten
feet behind me. I shook as If the fever and
ague had got hold Of me, and for few mo-
ments | couldn't move Of course it was so
dark we could see nothing. Who could the
man be- At last we got back to the forecastle,
and then / laid down my pork and looked
around at the watch.
sss Are you ali here 2 says l. N'
a.To be sure Why do you ask } : cried
every one. sg W
"sI had my hand on a mans leg says l.
Frank turned as pale as death. Said he
8 I thought heard some one breathe near me,
but laid it to the fright r ses
ssWe are found out then,' said one Of the
men 7s, H., s4sfs s53,@g 5ssg s9sfr.gss fI5ss
some fellow ran up to see that the officer and
| the watch were all on deck.
ssHe came down and said he had seen them
all, and the officer was coming the man at the
helm. The captain was also on deck, locking
at the weather. We knew that the officer og
our watch had turned in. Here was yarn
Indeed! We began to think that some fellow
had smuggled himself aboard while we lay at
Valparaiso, and determined to have the thing
overhauled in the morning, pretending TO the
lcaptain that we had heard strange noises in she
ihold.
.sNext day the subject was broached to the
mate, who called us a pack of grannies who
were frightened at a rat. a+ e Eae
Son the second morning after this occur
renee, went on deck, and saw the two mates
talking earnestly together, and looking very
pale. After while, they called the carpenter,
and talked awhile with him. When he came
, forward, he told us the news The captain was
missing, and quantity Of blood had been found
ON the cabin floor. s.s-...<
GA general search soon after took place all
over the ship, but no trace Of the captain. The
cabin boy was questioned but said that he had
, slept soundly all night, and knew nothing about
the matter. The last he saw of the captain, he
was working out his longitude.
"F Frank spoke to me about the man in the
hold and in putting the two things together
below we frightened ourselves SO that we
scarcely dared to go to sleep in the forecastle at
, night. sy... i s.gs4.
= The mate determined to put back into VAL
paraiso, and have the matter undergo legal in
, yestigation. We went back to the port, and the
i consul and authorities ordered the cargo to be
broken up, and the ship to be searched This
was done. mans shoe was found in the hold
near the open pork barrel Our feet were all
examined, but the shoe belonged to none on
board The cabin boy underwent cross-ques-
, tioning for two or three hours, but he persisted
; in saying he slept soundly the whole night.
|, ssThe ship then went ON her voyage, and we
got home without further accident.
! Now it 80 happened that was sick about
two years ago, and was sent to the hospital,
!, where found our cabin-boy of the Xenophon,
dying of consumption. On the night he died,
!. he called me to his side and made clean breast
! of it. He told me that Lansing was not dead,
but that he had smuggled himself on board ouI
:, ship in that cask of ierked beef and that he the
= cabin boy, was privy TO it before Lansing had
! been on board two hours An understanding
= had always subsisted between these two, who
:. were alike victims of the captains cruelty.
"This boy stated to me that Lansing was &C
i customed to rove about the hold, out that he
often took his post in the cask of jerked beef tc
e watch his opportunity for pouncing on the
IL captain.
y aAt length the fatal night came. The cap
tain was sitting at his table writing, the cabir
boy pretending to be asleep, when suddenly the
former, hearing a noise in the direction of the
cask, looked that way. On seeing the head o.
man slowly rise, till halfh his body was revealed
above the cask, the captain was paralyzed
ID The man held out loaded pistol and said
~, s' Stir or speak and you are dead mani
ssThe captain evidently thought it was al
~ apparition, for he believed Lansing to be dead
= Before he could recover his scattered Senses tn
80 cabin boy stabbed him behind, in the back o
~ his neck He staggered, and before he coult
a. even groan Lansing was upon him. The tw
y gends held his mouth till the boy could succeed
E, in stufhng the end of sheet into his throat
~ and Lansing, with sharp Spanish knife stabbed
- the wretched man q dozen times to the heart
y "They then hastily wrapped the body in
thick coverlid, dragged it aft, and pushed i
through the cabin windows. It fell with heav,
splash into the sea. Lansing then hid himsel
II in the hold, after having engaged the boy t
4 supply him with food The latter washed him
self, put on a clean shirt, and jumped into hi
"a berth Such was the cabin boys story, an
Ao though believed it then, yet having seen thi
Lansing alive, under the name and title of Cap
Toby, master of the brig D--n, l feel eertai
4 of the truth of it; for the most improbable PAL
aa was that the poor decayed cook was not dead 9
act reported
90 "This Lansing said 1, .smust have stole
of off unseen after you put back into Valparaiso.
" " .sOf course said Reub. 'sThat was easil
H. done, as nobody suspected the fellow was alive
But, shipmate. beware of lean yellow fellows
et, and never go to sea with man that carries
60 pair of dead eyes in his head
lat -- ~ @a
%. THE LOST CHHD.--0n Saturday morning
" last week little girl some three years ole
~ daughter of II. McCabe, of this town, starte
a ea with her older brother to drive the cows Tt
little boy, after sending his sister home throug
's 'as the woods, went off to play, and did not r
'eo turn until about o'clock, P. N. The parent
supposing the girl with her brother, remain,
me unconoerned until his return, when the trut