The San Saba news. [volume] (San Saba, Tex.) 1873-1966, 1889-11-08

had committed an offence, but moth
ing deserving such punishment as l re.
ceived for the next three days. I was
fogged, kicked, cuffed and maltreated in
every way Captain and mate could think
of, and was more than once rendered in
sensible by their cruelty. l heard the
men cursing the officers for their con-
duct, and encouraging each other to in
terfere, but was passive. Indeed, after
beating or two, was so harried that I
could scarcely remember my own name.
On the afternoon Of the fourth day, soon
after dinner, while l was forward with the
watch and assisting the sailmaker to re-
pair a sail, the first mate called me aft.
The wind was light and the sea smooth,
and few fathoms astern of the brig was
an enormous shark. 1t had occurred to
the two brutes to have some fun with me.
The mate noosed a rope and passed it
around my waist, and then, while I
struggled and shrieked and begged for
mercy, he carried me to the port quarter
and dropped me overheard for shark
bait The shark made rush for me,
but l was hauled up just in advance of
his jaws. The Captain and mate laughed
uproariously, aud the latter had picked
me up to drop me from the other quarter
when the entire crew came running aft.
l saw that much, and then tainted away,
and what took place while I was uncon-
scious was never clearly related to me.
The crew had determined TO interfere,
and their action excited the Captain and
mate to a terrible degree. Thine former
had revolver in his pocket, and when
the crew refused to go forward he fred at
and wounded one of them. This brought
on fight, in which both officers and one
of the sailors were killed. It was rebel
iOn-nOt mutiny. The sole idea of the
crew was to protect me from further
cruelty. In carrying this out murder was
done and all were liable to the gallows.
The dead bodies were lying on
on deck when l recovered con-
seriousness while the men had congregat-
ed in the waist of the brig for consulta-
ton. The second mate whose name was
Chapman, had sympathized with the
crew although he had no hand in the
fight He was now asked to take COM
mand of the brig until it could be deter
mined what should be done, and he did
so. The three men were prepared for
burial in the usual way, and launched
over the side without service, and an
hour after the fight not trace of it was
left.
When the question of what should be
done came up for discussion most of the
men were appalled, at the seriousness of
the case. 1t was the first duty of the
mate to set signal of distress, but, of
course, nothing of the sort was done.
Under the law he should head for the
nearest port and there surrender brig and
rev, but, of course, he had no thought |
If this While he had not melted the
rev to resistance, he had not come to
he aid of the officers. It would have |
1een easy to prove his sympathy for me,
md that would have made him the acces-
DRY of the crew. 1t was realized that |
IL had outlawed themselves, and the |
question was where TO go and what to do |
With the brig. 1t was finally decided to
laul IN To- Il t7VisTTETTy - I
jig was bound home through Torres /
Strait, as she had two ports of call to
make before reaching the Cape OF Good /
Hope, and we were not over $50 miles
nut of Sidney when the muir
Iers occurred. We therefore had voy-
ge of quite 1900 miles before US.
For the first week men could not have
iehaved more sensibly. The discipline
vas good, and all were under proper re-
trsint. We were sighting vessels daily,
nd on several occasion we were passed
0 closely that we had to signal our mum
er and report all we'll On the third
ay man-of-war exchanged signals with
S, and through some bungling on our
art his suspicious seemed TO have been
reused, and he would perhaps have
oarded us had not a change In the
7eather occurred. After about week,
owever, the men began to get independ-
Mt and to bring forward new plans,
nd there was no longer any harmony
mong the crew. While Chapman. was
he only one who could navigate alship,
nd while he had been put in charge of
he brig, the men finally refused to do
ny work beyond that of sailing the craft
ONE openly advocated that we turn
irate, and others wanted to run into
ONE port and sell brig and cargo and di-
ide the money. This was hooted at by
he more intelligent, and gave rise to fur
her ill-feeling.
The brig had light or contrary winds
nd made slow progress, and at the end
f two weeks the situation on board
ould not have been much worse.
here were nine of US, including the
ook, black man, and each man of
hem seemed determined to do as he 1
leased. All messed in the cabin, and
Il had access to the liquor, and as a con- T.;
squence fights frequently occurred, and
Isie were times when the brig had close
lsses from being made wreck. On
nc occasion the men charged the mate
nth playing them false, and with plan
ing to deliver them up to justice, but he
1mehow satisfied them that he was hold
lg to the course originally agreed upon,
nd he was honest in what he said AT
II a run of some twenty-five days he an
ounced that we were approaching the
olomon Islands, and the men at once
Iade ready to carry out their further
lans.
One hundred miles southwest of San
hristoval, which is the easternmost ,
land of the group, is smaller group
He'd the Little Solomons. 1t was this
roup we were approaching, and at that ,
ate no white man had set foot upon
lem. They were inhabited by fierce and ]
Iood thirsty natives, who combined pi-
ICY, wrecking and fishing, and the mate
as for making for the other group. He !
as oyerruled in this, and when the brig :
I'd hauled in until the land could be
en- from the deck the long boat was got
yer and loaded. The men intended to
ay the part of castaways, and had a
DRY all fixed up. They erased the name
the boat, and took nothing aboard {
hich would betray the identity of the t
-ig which they meant to scuttle. AT i
Jon, after working all the morning,
ey had loaded the boat with whatever :
ited them, divided up the snm of $3.50 {
und on board, and were ready TO bore /
,Ies IN tha hrioie bottom O.,