The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1889-12-17

ABOARD our captain was oy no means
satisfied with their story. One OF
them claimed to be second mate, and,
as the crew had all got off in two
boats, it was a puzzle that the first
mate was not in command of one.
Other strange things came up, and the
story of the men did not hang together,
and so all hands were ordered to keep
an eve on the fellows.
We got a good slant of wind and had
run down to within fifty or sixty miles
of the coast When the fellows showed
their hands. They had been allowed
to mingle freely with our crew. but
had carefully abstained from a remark
to indicate that they had an evil pur-
pose in view. Their boat was large
and unwieldy, and we had towed ID
sfter us rather than to cast it loose or
to attempt TO hoist il inboard. / was
On watch from eight to twelve. and
nothing suspicious occurred during
the first three hours. About eleven
o'clock, as / stood near the man at the
wheel, / was hailed from the foremost
with:
"Mr. Merlin. will you please step
forward and take look 1t something
we can't make out?"
[ afterward recalled that it was not
the voice of one Of my watch, but did
not heed the matter av the time.
started forward and had reached the
waist of the vessel when two men
seized me. lifted me clear of the deck.
and before l could recover from my
establishment 1 was flung overheard
head first. 1t was more by instinct
than any plan of my own that | SWAN
for the boat towing astern. Had the
brig not been sailing close hauled. and
therefore sailing at a moderate pace. /
should not have reached il. 1t was q
close shave and as hung to the gun
vale for a moment | heard great
confusion on the brig. 1t was mutiny.
of course. and | was the first victim.
My idea was to get aboard again as soon
as possible, and the only way was to get
into the yawl. pull her close up. and
then shin up the painter. After an eff
fort or two pulled myself in, and just
then there were oaths and cries and
pistol shots from the brig. followed by
a couple of splashes alongside. which
meant that two bodies. living or dead.
had gone overheard. | bad hold of
the painter when it was loosened from
above and / drifted rapidly astern.
The fight continued as long as | was
within hearing. was out of it en-
tirely. and could only hope that our
crew, who were all good men, would
overcome the mutineers in the strug-
gle
After the brig was out of sight got
sail on the boat, and followed her to
the best of my judgment 1t was just
in the gray of morning that / was
picked up by British ship bound into
Rio. 1t wasn't so very mysterious
that We picked up the boat and her
crew attempted our capture. but it
certainly was queer that from the hour
she left me to this day that brig has
never been heard of. But for my es-
cape she would have been rated as
lost and the insurance paid. As il was
the insurance company contested pay
ment, and won their case in court
The insurance of that day, at least, did
not provide for any such emergency
The naval and merchant service OF
every power was notified of the cir
cumstance and for two or three years
every sea was under observation, but
the brig was never overhauled, nor
any of her old crew heord of. My idea
is that she foundered within few days
with all hands, but others differ. She
certainly did not turn pirate, and she
was never heard of as a wreck. There
was no such British ship as the men
said, nor was any craft burned as they
stated. They must have been lying in
wait; but it is queer that they would
be so far out to sea in such boat.
Taken all in all it was a strange case,
and no one has ever got the right end
of the thread to solve the tangle<-N.
Y. Sun.