The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1858-02-04

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round NJ. Feeling setain from what saw, and
from what knew 4 be contained IN the writ
ten paper signed BY Miss 4aryon, that We wsrs
on the point of une aaking long journey NJ
the country, AM ously examintd my fellow
prisoners, 70 zee hs } fit they looked for encour
teriDg bodily hards Up and fatigue, tosay moth
ing of mental sue ,nse and terror, over anf
above. y
With ell possible. respect for an official gen
tlemap, must 90 il that Mr.. Commissions
Pordage struck M. " being, beyond any com
parisoD, the mes helpless individual in our
unfortunate comp ~. What with the frigk
he had suffered, the LANCER he had gone through
and the bewildern ut of finding himself tori
clean away from 1 q safe Government moor
ings, his poor unf0 unate brains seemed to bs
as completely disc opposed as bis Diplomatic
coat He was De ectly harmless and quiet
but also perfectls light headed-as anybody
could discover WIS iooked at his dazed eyes OF
listened TO his ma .idering talk. / tried him
with word or twS about our miserable situa
ton; thinking thaa if any subject would get q
triHs of sense out Of him, it must surely be thai
| "You will obsef g." said Mr.. Pordage, look
ing at the torn q. fs of his Diplomatic coat
instead of at me, at cannot take cognisancs
of our situation. 20 memorandum of it has
been drawn mn: export in connection with il
has been presente = to me- / cannot possibly
recognize IL until he necessary minutes and
memorandums an reports have reached me
through the proper hannels. When our mis-
cradle situation OF ents itself to me, on paper,
/ shall bring it unG the notice of Government
and Government, Ter proper interval, will
bring it back sgai Under my notice and then
shall have sonnet hg to say about it. Not a
minute before-pr nv man, not q inmate
beforel
Speaking of M Pordage's wanderinga of
mind, reminds me, yat it is necessary to cay a
word next, about ~ much more serious case
of Sergeant Droocs, The cut on his head, acted
on by the heat Of tie climate, had driven him,
to all appearance, stark mad. Besides the
danger to himself, if he broke out before the
Pirates, there was the danger to the women and
children, of trusting him among them mis-
fortune which, il our captive condition, it was
impossible to avoid Most providentially, how
ever, (as found on inquiry,) Tom Packer, who
had saved his life, had q power of controlling
him, which none of the rest of us possessed.
Some shattered recollection of the manner in
which he had been preserved from death
seemed to be still left in corner of his
memory. Whenever he showed symptoms of
breaking ont, Tom looked at him, and repeated
with his hand and arm the action of cutting out
right and left, which had been the means of his
saving the Sergeant On seeing that, Drooce
fell silent ,We--thst is, Packer and lar
ranged it together, that he was always to keep
near Drooce, whatever happened, and however
far We might be marched before we reached the
place of our imprisonment
The rest of rs men-meaning MIR. Macy,
Mr.. Fisher, two Of my comrades of the Marines
and Eve of the sloops crew~were, making al
lowance for little smarting in our wounds, in
tolerable health, and not half 30 much broken
in spirit, by troubles, past, present, ard to cone
as some persons might be apt to imagine. As
for the seamen, especially, no stranger who
looked at their jolly brown faces would eyer
have imagined that they were prisoners, and in
peril of their lives. They sat together, chewing
their guilds, and looking out goodhumoredly
at the sea, Ikea gang Of iberty-men resting
saya ona e4 4A~ 49, aaaino - i~I-s-a, at khss.
Aud If you can't DO that, take 1t as easy as
you can" thought, at the time, that many
q wiser man might, have given me less sensible
advice than this, though it was only offered by
boatswain's mate
A movement among the Pirates attracted my
notice to the beach below us, and | saw their
Captain approaching our halting place, having
changed bis fine clothes for garments that were
fit to travel in.
His coming back to us had the effect of pro-
ducing unmistakable signs of preparation for a
long journey. SHORTLY after he appeared, three
Indians came up, leading three loaded mules ;
and these were followed, in few minutes, by
two of the Sambos, carrying between them a
copper full of smoking meat and broth After
having been shared among the Pirates, this
mess was set down before rs, with some wooden
bowls floating about in it, to dip out the food
with. Seeing that We hesitated before touch
ing it, the Pirate Captain recommended Us not
to be too mealy mouthed, as that was meat
from our own stores on the Island, and the last
We we're likely to taste for long time to come.
The sailors, without any more ado about it,
protested their readiness to follow this advice,
muttering among themselves, that good meat
was q good thing, though the devil himself had
cooked it. The Pirate Captain then, observing
that We were all resdy to accept the food, order
ed tie bonds that confined the hands of us men
to be loosened and cast of, 30 that we might help
ourselves. After we had served the women
and children, we fall to. 1t was good meal
though l can't say that myself had much ap-
petite for it. Jack, to use his own phrase,
slowed away double allowance. The jolly
faces of the seamen heightened . good deal,
however, when they found there was nothing to
| fat man, named Short, went 30 far as to say
that, in the turn things seemed to have taken,
he should like to make his will before we started
as the stoppage of his grog and the stoppage Of
| his life were two events that would occur un
commonly close together.
When we had done, we were all ordered to
stand up. The Pirates approached me and the
other men, to bind our arms again but the
Captain stopped them.
aNo," SAYS he. . &c want them to get on al
a good pace and they will do that best ~ith
their arms free. Now, prisoners, he continued
addressing as, {" don't mean to have amy lag
ging on the road. have fed you up with
good meat, and yeu have no excuse for your
not stepping ont briskly-womsn, children, and
all. You men are without weapons, aud with
out food, and you know nothing of the country
you are going to travel through. If you are
mad enough, in this helpless condition, to at
tempt escaping or the march, you will be shot
a. sure as you all stand there-and if the bull
let misses, you will starse to death in forests
that have no path and no end"
Having addressed Us in those words, he
turned again to HIS men. wondered then, Al
had wondered once or twice already, wha
those private reaeons might be, which he haC
mentioned in biz written paper, for sparinl
the lives of u male prisoners. | hoped b.
would refer tc. them now-but / was disap
pointed. y
"While the eosntry allows it, he went on
addressing his crew, march in q square, ant
keep the prise ,ess inside. Whether it is man
woman, or child, shoot any one of them whit
tries to escape, OF peril of being shot yourselve
if you miss. Pot the Indians and mules il
'front.' and the salabos next to them. Draw ~
the prisoners II sogether. Tell off seven mel
| | L. H.. >xl G. II
side; and lea..e the other nine for the rear
.n..d 6on IN mule for me- when get tired