The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-04-15

about the future. Matters couldn't be
mended nohow, and SO I quit mopin',
and settled down to take the chances.
"On the fourth day Skipper Gordon
came on board. Shortly after we seen
a whole lot o. niggers come down to
the shore. They was all as black as
coal, and hadn't much O. anything on
to cover their nakedness. Pretty soon
a lot of small boats loaded with niggers
put out and came alongside the ship.
They were unloaded and dumped below,
where everything was ready to receive
'em. Well, to make a long story short,
when they got through we had nearly
six hundred niggers below matches.
They was all slowed away like herrin'
in box Then we trimmed ship and
sailed away. Our course lay for sew
eral days due east, and the skipper
kept a sharp lookout all the time,
| can tell you. | don't ex-
actly remember what latitude we
was in when we sighted sail
far astern, but know it sent Skipper
Gordon aloft with his glass in hand.
He must have been up in the cross-tree
for nearly an hour. and durin' all that
time he never once shifted that glass
from the little speck on the distant
sea. When he did come down he called
his mates and hurried into his cabin.
They was all in there about half an
hour, when they came out and gave
orders to set every stitch of canvas. All
hands went to work. and in short
time the ship was drivin' through the
water with studdin' sails, sky-sails, roy
ais and sky-scrapers all bellied out
with the stiff breeze. But, all the same,
the vessel astern was gainin' on us.
.sWhen the skinner seed this he
wh;snered to his mates. and the first
we knew orders were giyen to bring
tbe nigoe,.s nm from below They were
brought up in squads and chained to-
gether with heavy cables. When the
| first squad was fixed Skipper Gordon
ordered the crew to toss EN- overheard
1t went against the better feelin's %
the men. can tell YOU, but it had to
be done, cause if we'd refused we'd
likely as not been shot down. Well,
sir, SQUAD after squad of the poor Mig
gers was chucked overheard in this
way, until maybe there warn't more
than a hundred left below. Then we
seed that the vessel astern was nearin'
us rapidly. She was chasin' us. and /
knowed she was revenue cutter. jest
then the skipper had another talk with
| his mates, and pretty soon the latter
i came aft and ordered the small boats
of n their davits and lis sailors to take
to them. The mates took charge O.
the two boats. After putting provis-
ions and water in 'em we pulled away.
l heard the first mate beggin' the skip
per to 90 with him, but be wouldn't dc
it, and so when we pulled off in the
open sea there wasn't soul
aboard the SLAYER but Skipper
Gordon and the niggers below.
| .It was good MANY years after
that before heard any thing about the
fate of Skipper Gordon and the ship.
When we pulled away we could see her
Until night set in, but the next mornin'
she was nowhere. Our small boats
met a clipper ship on the third day
bound for Liverpool, and the mates
told yarn about us bein' wrecked
and we were taken on board. At Liv
erpool we all parted company; but as
4 say, some years afterward chanced tx
ship on vessel whose skipper was the
first-mate of theslaver. He recognized
me, and we had long talk about tina
voyage to the Zanzibar coast for mig.
gers. Then he told what had happened
to Skipper Gordon It seems he stayet
aboard the ship till she was taken b.
the other vessel, which proved o'be !
government cutter. The SLAYER wa
conveyed to New York, and the wa
was goin' on then, and things was hot
Gordon laid in that there jail for owe
two years. He was tried couple 0
times, but the. jury disagreed eacl
time. They went to him and told hin
they'd give him his liberty if he'd tel
who fitted him out for the African
coast. But he kept his lips closed ant
wouldn't tell anything. There wa
some big men in New York and Bos
ton behind the skipper and they shool
in their boots for fear he'd squeal
The skipper had plenty O. none.
when he, went. to Jail, but he had t.
buy certain favors and pay his lawyers
, SO that in two years he was broke.
s.He had a wife and little boy over i
! Brooklyn His wife never missed
, day that she didn't go over to the jal
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