Press and daily Dakotaian. (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1880-1889, 1886-06-02

DTGUal HaUufe. W1Glln nan an HOur after
/ had left the deck he forced an excuse for
knocking n of the men down, and an
hour later he reported to the captain that
he had never sailed with such q gang of
mutinous dogs.
During my night watch I saw and heard
enoughto realize a feeling of deep indig-
nation had taken hold Of the crew, and
that it needed only another act of brutal
ity. to incite u rebellion. The man at
the wheel invented an excuse to speak to
me and presently observed:
Some of the men feel pretty sore, Mr..
CARING, and | hope they went be driven
to-r
He did o finish the sentence, and
said:
LET them take their grievances before
the first American consul. There ara
laws to protect the sailor as well as the
officer"
"But who of us ever saw those laws en-
forced, sir? Jack is a dog at sea, and a
nobody ashore. The captain tells his
story to the consul, &ndif Jack follows
after, he's more likely to be sent to prison
than to receive justice"
l could not gainsay it, and l, as an Off
Ger OF the ship, had no right to encourage
a spirit of complaint. Sailor men will
stand poor rations and the most brutal
abuse so long as they are without a
leader, What had happened during the
day might have been passed over and for
gotten had not the scenes been renewed.
The mate came on deck in bad temper,
and as my watch turned in he was abus-
ing his for their hardness in answering
the call, though / never saw a quicker
change on any craft. 1t happened chat the
man who had acted as spokesman in re-
gard to the beef was the last one out of
the fo'castle. 1t was no wonder for sew
eral of his teeth had been loosened and
one of his eyes closed by the blows, and he
was probably stiff and sore. AS went
down the companion I heard the mate
shouting:
"Ahl you Internal skulker, but III cure
you of thisi If you've come aboard this
bark to sojer and live on sweet cake, you
want to look out for me!n
| turned in sick at heart, now realizing
that there would be no let up on the part
of captain or mate to the end of Che voy-
age. 1t did not seem as it / had been
asleep half an hour, theuga in reality
three hours had passed, when some one
pulled at my arm, and q voice said:
"Mr. CARING, you are wanted on deck,
SIR
"Who is it," / asked.
1It'S me, Sir--James Martin. vii Won
come on deck at once?n
/ knew that the man was a common
sailor, though / did not know any of them
by name as yet. | reached the deck a
minute behind him The bark was on a
course, but the breeze was very light. TO
my establishment l found most of the men
aft, and was no sooner on deck than I
saw that something was very wrong.
"Mr. CARING" said the man who had
complained of the beef, and whose name
was Johnson. @the Midway is in our pos
session. We have been driven to NUT
iny.n
ut can't bell exclaimed. as I looked
about.
But it is true, sir, and now we want to
know whether you are going to stand by
us or side with the captaini"
"Where is the captainsp
Lying over there in the lee scuppers,
bound hand and foot, The mate went
overheard half an hour ago."
walked over to where the captain was
lying. He was securely bound, but no
harm had come to him as yet. He was,
however, in mortal terror, and as soon as
he set eyes on me he called out, in broken
tones:
"Mr. Carling, for Gods sake save my
lifei Don't letthem murder me in cold
blood!n
As / looked from captain to mutineer,
johnson said:
1.-THE mate was among us with a Delay
ing pin, seeming bent on murder, and we
had to do for him. Then we reasoned that
we might as well be hung for a sheep as d
lamb, and we secured the captain.h
Men, you have done a terrible thingl
Don't you know every one of you will
swing for this?"
"We want no preaching, Mr., CARING"
replied johnson. @What we want to know
is, how you stand2 The mate has gone,
and the captain must follow. IL you will
navigate the bark for us, no harm shall
come TO you. II you refuse, then we shall
set you adrift. We've gone too far to back
water
ssTalk to 'em, Mr., CARING gasped this
captain, who was greatly broken down.
aTell 'em that if they will spare our lives
they shall not be punished for what they
have done. 1 give my word they shan't,a
what will you do with him." / asked.
"Set him adrift in the yawl at day
break
sAnsl if / refuse to navigate the bark p,
sYou go with him, though we'd be sorry
for 1t, for you've used the men right"
"What point do you wish to maker"
"The coast of Brazil.n
"Wiu you all sign a paper to the effect
that | had nothing to do with bringing
about THIS mutiny, Il that / navigated
the bark under duresssn
I'VE will that" they shouted in chorus.
Very well, l will remain; but why not
keep the captain a prisoner instead of
sending him adriftsn
He must be punished, sir,n replied
Johnson.
Iargued with 'em together and sepa-
rately, but it was nc use. They had de-
cided on a course, and could not be
swerved from it. Captain Burrows was a
eringing coward. He begged, entreated
and sought to bribe, and when day fully
broke he hadn't the heart Of a woman.
A man was sent aloft with 8 glass to sur
yey the sea, and when he came down and
reported the sea clear of sail the yawl was
lowered, q key Of water, some of the
spoiled meat, and q lot of wormy biscuits
were placed in it, and they were ready to
send the captain adrift. His cowardice
was SO great that n could not pity him
he had to be lowered over the side like a
bale of rags, and as his boat foated away
he covered down on the bottom. and
seemed to fall into a stupor. When he
was half q mile asterr, johnson called
every man aft and said:
'Now, men, Mr.. CARING !s to be our
captain, and he is to be promptly obeyeS.
l shall be first mate, Peterson second, and,
though we berth in the cabin. YOU shall
have Just as good food as we do We will