The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-05-27


fishing banks, the little fleet was widely
scattered by Storm Abner Taft's
smack was driven out to sea before the
/ gale and nearly suffer ed a wreck. The
warning OF the tempest was in his ears in
| the long dark hours, as he hurried he
| knew not whittier. When the morning
broke on the wild waste of waters he knew
that he was far out at sea. for there was
nothing in sight except low down in the
! horizon large vessel, which was hardly
noticeable between the confused tumblino
of the waters and the thick. dark sky. The
! sight of ship at St for the imperilled
crew of frail iishing-boat is now a well
come one.
TO these three men of Marblehead II
was thing more pOrtentOus of evil than
! the cruelty of the ocean and the frown OF
! the skies. 1t could be nothing less than
an armed vessel of the enemy's, for the
colonies had but little merchant marine,
end their ships OF war were as yet stand
Ing peacefully in their primitive woods.
TO be captured had but one meaning
lingering death by Imprisonment in some
dungeon hulk, or possibly TO be impressed
into a service which they bitterly abhorred
in any case, a long, if not final, parting
fro n all those they loved.
There was still one clnnce: their little
boat, lying low, might not be seen. and
the British war vessel pass ON. This hope
was sOen crushed, as the rapidly enlarg-
ing ship came up with close reefed sails
before the stiff breeze, into which the gale
of the preceding night had subsided.
Only few minutes elapsed before a shot
Was fired and hOarse voice, roaring
through a speaking trumpet, bid them
come alongside.
Abner Taft and his mates had fallen
into the fate they so bitterly and justly
dreaded. They were in the merciless
clutches of the British. Instantly they
had mounted the sides, they We're sum-
mOned to the quarterback, and confront
ed with the English captain, heavy, dis
sipated-lOOking man, whose red faced We'd
with the scarlet splendors of his uniform.
Captain Scott, commanding the slOop-of-
war Tartar, a ship carrying sixteen guns
and a nominal crew of two hundred men,
had an unenviable reputation even among
his brother officers for brutality.
The legend preserves some record of the
interview between the captOr and his vic
tins, as they stood before him with stern
and surly looks, which they were either
unwilling or unable to subdue into the
semblance of submission.
Odd rebel spawn, I'll warrant ~ said
Capt. Scott; "whO are ye?"
"Fishers from Marblehead driven to sea
by the Storm" said Abner Taft in slow,
full tones and the peculiar accents which
marked the speech of his native town, so
different from that OF the rest of Yankee
land.
The characteristic intonation struck the
ear of the British captain, as he peered
IL in h., q
victims.
Englishmen, by Cd" said he; "nO
cursed rebel Yankee ever talked like that.
Pass the word forward to the bosom he'll
know 'em down to the shire and village"
The bosom, weather-beaten old salt,
with villainOus face, who had been one
of the most cruel and INSCRIPTIONS
crimps in the Plymouth, and who was a
sort of humble edition to his chief, came
aft.
"Ah, ha! bosom, here's a good, fat
piece of work cut out for you and your
mates with the cat roared the c0mman-
der. LOOK at these scoundTels. English
men, deserters from the colors of their
King. They'll pass for Yankees; but 1
know the breed too well. Talk to 'em
and let's know what part of Old England
they hail from"
SAY, ay, your honor know 'em by
the very cut of the iib ~ answered the
petty officer, scraping and pulling his top
knot to his superior.
The men of Marblehead saw the trap
into which they had fallen, and obstinately
refused to answer any further questions.
;, eing nothing but grim death before them
they were going to die grimly and silently.
AWAY with 'em to the gangway and
trice 'em 10 the grating = shouted the
Edglish captain. with a volley of oaths,
inturiated with the dOgged disdain of the
prisoners. "Give 'em four dozen apiece,
and with a right good will, too, or you
and your mates shall take their places.
TO morrow, it will be a matter of the yard
arm
The ho'son executed his mission with
cruel delight, and the crew were mustered
to witness the savage torture as the blood
SpurJed on the naked backs from the
strokes of the terrible eat.
The unfortunate men were taken be-
low and put in irons, expecting hext day
to be executed on the pretext which had
b. en- so unexUectedly raised by their bru-
tai captor. His comrades had WINGED un-
der the fierce torment of the cat, but the
blows had fallen on Abner TAFT 5 hercu-
lean shoulders as on cold, impasslVe mar
BILE. Not a sound from his lips, nor a
quiver in the flesh only a cold, quiet
look in the eyes, full of some strange
meaning.
The three fishermen owed their lives to
the fact that he Tartar was at that time
short-hanhed. She had taken
several prizes, and crews under the com
mand of petty officers had been detached
for the ptured vessels. Her ordinary
of hands was thus cut down
more than third. Capt Scott and his
Junior officers, in discussing the fate of
the prisoners that night, concluded to |
postpone their purpose of execution. |
They could be used to advantage in work
ing the ship for the present, and by-and- |
by they might be tried by cOurt-martial. |
So Taft and his two comrades were re- |
leased from the calaboose and assigned to |
duty, though strictly watched for some |
weeks. This sharp surveillance, how |
ever, gradually wore off in view of the ap-
parent submission and good behavior of
the men.
The British navy at that period was |
largely supplied with sailors through the |
operations of crimping agents, who seized |
and carried off men by armed fOrce-a
species of kidnapping tacitly counte-
IduCtu Dy INC 1ONeTnui6lll. MI uIdliN- I
therefore, there were many sour and dis !
spirits in the navy. Abner 1
Taft was not long in discovering that there /
were many mutinous and diSaffected men |
on board. Cautiously lie sounded them, /
and at last had fifteen men, whom he be 1
lieved he could trust, pledged to stand by |
him. The Tartar, since the taking COM |
man by Captain Scott, had become gen. |
orally known as "Hell Afioat," and the |
conspiratorS seemed to feel that, in case of /
failure, execution was but little worse than |
life under such brutal tyrant.
Circumstances conjoined in favor of the |
plot of these three stern and daring hearts |
Of Marblehead, which was TO be alike |
piece of superb personal vengeace, and |
a great patriotic service. Abner Taft, |
who conceived and organized the enter |
prise. had instructed his helpers TO secrete |
food about the deck and TO hold them |
selves ready to await his signal. Acci-
dent, too. had placed the eighteen con-
spirators in the watch, and, had it not |
been for this mere chance, it seems diff /
cult to understand how such plot could /
ever have been successful.
They had waited wearily for several |
weeks for an OrporrunitV which SbOufd i