News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-06-06

breathlessly, and in many cases tear
fully, awaited the final signal. There
was very little ceremony in preparing
them for death. Caps were drawn over
the faces of the doomed men, and late
in the afternoon, on one of those hazy
days SO common in q tropical climate,
the boom of cannon from the ships
prov rolled out over the water and the
three men were swung from the yardarm
and strangled to death.
cit was horrible sight
''I shall never forget it. The scene
often comes back to me and the impress
sions it made on my boyish mind can
never leave me. The look on the faces
of the crew at the moment of death or
the temper they displayed in the days
following the execution will never van
ish from my mind. Before, at the time
and after the terrible penalty had been
inflicted the officers walked the deck
doubly armed and with sharpened cut
lasses in hand ready to cut down any
one who expressed an opinion adverse to
the inhuman work of the day. The bod
les were allowed to hang for some time,
and while they were swinging to and frc
Commander Mckenzie made a spread
eagle speech to us about the necessity
of rigid discipline and the terrors of the
crime of mutiny. His remarks had nc
other effect than to increase the hatred
of the men toward him. No officer Old
land or sea was ever more thoroughly
despised.
CATER a time the bodies were cut
down and hastily prepared for burial.
No one who has never witnessed fun
or OF
ton of its awful solemnity. It is sad
enough when looked upon in the sun
light, but at night it is CHASTITY solemn,
and nearly all sailors are srperstitious
about dropping dead bodies overheard
after dark. Commander Mckenzie, as
if to add to the telrors of the day and
still further menace the crew, decreed
that the burial services should take place
at night. The bodies were shrouded,
placed upon the fitting board and all
the preparations carefully made for the
last scene. The services for the dead
were read by the Pickering light of the
battle lanterns and deathlike stiffness
hung like pail over the ship. At a
given signal the three bodies we're drop
ped into the sea as the Somers headed
toward st. Thomas, as il. to leave behind
as quickly as possible the scene of hid
eous tragedy.
Gin all my life never witnessed so
solemn an affair. 1t often passes before
me and [ see the execution and burial of
these men in my dreams. I have trav-
eled nearly all over the world and have
seen a great many sad sights, but of all
the scenes that was ever set by the bru-
tai talents of men to wiring the heart
strings this death and burial of young
Spencer and his companions was the
most agonizing.
ga day OF two afterward we ran into
st. Thomas, and all of us breathed
sigh of relief Almost Immediately we
set sail for New York and arrived there
ON the 18th of December AS soon as
the news of the mutiny and the execu-
ton was given out there was great ex-
citement all over the country, and hun
dreds of people fiocked to the docks to
get sight of the vessel which had but
just had such fateful experience. The
execution of Spencer and the other two
men aroused q great deal of indignation
and his father, with thousands of others,
was exceedingly bitter in denunciation
of the cruel act. 1t was then held and
still is, by those who were on the ship that
the men should have been brought back
to the United States as prisoners and
properly tried. Full opportunity for
defence and explanation should have
been giving them, and the indecent
haste with which they we're hanged was
one of the worst features of the whole
affair.
"The feeling against Mckenzie in
political circles was very bitter. A court
of inquiry was called for and then
court martial was ordered for his trial.
It was composed of his brother officers,
who evidently felt the necessity of stand
ing by their comrade in SO important
matter of discipline. After sitting for
forty days in trying the charges against
him he was acquitted. The friends OF
Mr.. Spencer then endeayored to have
him tried for murder in the courts OF
New York, but the judge decided that
the civil law could not reach the case.
Mckenzie, / believe, afterward met
violent death. At any rate he never got
"In looking back over these events /
have not revised my temper of that day
and I do not believe any man who wit
messed the execution has. My opinion
is that the hanging of those men was
more nor less than murder. -
New York Herald.