The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1889-05-07

applause, but others assembled, and there
was no longer any hope for him. The
poor fellow made the best defense posi-
Bile, but they cut and hacked him until
he lost his hold and fell to the deck. His
body was thrown overheard, deck and
cabins cleansed of blood stains and about
shutdown the schooner, with twenty-five
men, was headed for the Philippines.
The rest of the gang, numbering sever
or eight, followed with the native craft.
l boiled a large quantity of meat and got
the best supper possible, and was glad
to find that no one gave me any atten-
ton.
We had a brisk wind all night and
during the next forenoon, and at about
2 o'clock we reached ar anchorage on
the east side of the main island and
within a quarter of a mile of the beach.
The native craft passed us and entered
the mouth Of a river. From what / could
gather she was going to bring out men
and cannon to the schooner. A hunt
was made through the schooner for gun
carriages, and the discovery of the small
arms seemed to put the fellows in good
humor. There was about So, 500 in gold
aboard in the cabin, and this was count
ed out and divided pro rata, or in some
other satisfactory manner as we lay at
anchor. Then / was ordered to draw a
pailful of wine from a cask in a sort of
lazaretto or store room reached from the
galley. The cook might have known of
the presence of the wine there, but / did
not. I had never looked into the place.
There was a tin pail holding about ten
quarts in the galley, and this | filed and
carried to the main hatch, with several
glasses. and everybody proceeded to help
himself. Now that we were at anchor
all discipline had ceased, and one man
was as good as another. They were
prowling all over the schooner and per-
fectly at home.
The wine must have tickled their
palates nightly, for a second pailful
was soon demanded. 1t was while was
drawing it that I noticed the barrel had
no bung in it, and / wondered why the
wine had not soured. / retired to the
galley as o as / had filed the second
order, and for half an hour there was a
good deal of loud talk and laughter. All
of a sudden, while I was rejecting on
the situation, and perhaps crying a bit
in my sorrow and anxiety, it struck me
that things were wonderfully quiet. /
looked ont Of the galley to see half a
dozen figures lying on the deck, and
later on, when / had summoned courage
to walk the length of the schooner, I
found every man aboard apparently
sound asleep. Their breathing was la
bored, but / supposed this was the result
of too much drink. The night had come
down dark and gusty, with the wind
directly off shore, and as the sleepers
continued to lie quiet some strange ideas
came to me. I was tempted to take one
of their knives and begin killing, but ]
doubted my nerve. The yawl was at
the davits, and l planned to lower it and
let the breeze carry me out to sea.
held to this idea for a few minutes,
and then surrendered it for another. /
would swim ashore and hide In the forest.
/ had to abandon that scheme as well,
for l saw at a glance that the tide was
running out strong. l was wondering if
/ should not start a fire in the forecastle
or cabin when I discovered that the craft
was under way. She had her light anchor
out and had been Juggling heavily under
tide and gust. The chain had ground OF
against some sharp edged rock orthe pin
had slipped from a shackle. 1t was prob
ably the latter case, as | heard a splash
as of the end of the chain falling from
the hawse hole. She drove off stern first
and then, as she began to swing about, /
stepped softly back to the wheel, put it
over to get her off, and then extinguished
the two lanterns on deck and the lamp
in the cabin. I am not boasting of my
nerve in stepping over the sleepers to do
this work or of my sagacity in getting
the idea. l was working like n in a
dream and could hardly have identified
myself.
What occurred between the time / put
out the lights and daylight next morning
/ never can clearly remember. The
schooner took care of herself for any
effort of mine, and 1 think / went into
the galley and crept behind the stove.
At least 1 crawled out of that contracted
space soon after daylight, in response to
q call. / suppose l was called to pre-
pare breakfast for the pirates, but I was
no sooner out of the galley than l saw a
large ship hove to a quarter of q mile
away, while one of her boats, with five
men in it, was alongside the schooner. I
must have looked and actedl like a stupid,
for as a couple of men came over the
rail one of them gave me a hearty shak-
ing and growled out:
''You idiot, can't you get your mouth
open?"
There were twenty-five men lying on
the decks and in the cabin sound asleep.
No! Deadl Every of them dead and
cold, and I the only living thing aboard.
1t took some time to explain matters and
get at all the particulars, but with what
l could tell them and what they could
see it finally became plain to all. That
barrel of wine had been dosed with some
deadly drug. The cook must have done
it previous to the attack, Or. the bung
had been left out by another and some
poisonous reptile had crept in to die. No
one could tell for certain, but the drink
ers were all dead, and all had died in
sleep. The ship was English, and the
schooner was over thirty miles off the
land. One of her majesty's men-of-war,