St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-12-29

surprise TO the Officers, but 1t was quickly
seen that there was also a conspiracy.
Not one of the seven new sailors would
fire shot, and the guns of four or five
others were found to have been
tempered with. The fight lasted about
ten minutes. during which time the sur
geon, first and second mates and three
hands were killed. In return they
killed seven of the cOnvicts. had no
hand IN the row. At the very first go
OFT some one struck me III the neck and
Knocked me fiat and unconscious, and
when came to the convictS had the
ship. have reason to believe that
was placed hors du combat that might
not be hurt during the row.
Well, as l SAID, the thing had been
done by the time / got my senses back,
and the convict gang was wild with ex-
ultation. The rougher portion demand
ed that every one who was not with
them should be butchered, but Small
and his three or four lieutenants put
them down. l think the first idea of
the cOnvicts was to 60 ashore at St.Paul,
having previously Scuttled the ship, but
this gave place to another plan. The
third mate, or bO'Sun. agreed to cast in
his lot with the cOnvicts. The captain,
carpenter, Sailmaker and six OF seven
hands got no choice. The long boat
was lowered, provided with sail, oars.
food and water, and the men / have
named were sent adrift without being
harmed.
By a pocket compass which one of
them carried they steered course for
the island, and landed there two days
later, but were on it six months before
being taken off. l wanted to go with
them, but Small refused me permission,
saying that l had been so kind to him
that he felt it his duty to reward me-.
All the others also spoke very kindly to
me, ana had the modification of real
iZlng that | was the cats paw by which
they had taken
Possession of the Ship.
Before going away the captain sought
to argue with the men, telling them
what the consequences of their act
would be, but he was hOoted at. IN
deed, but for Small he would never
have been allowed to go off in the boat
As soon as the long-boat had left us
and the dead had been thrown over
board, Small called all the people to-
gether and made speech. He APP
pointed his officers, stated that he pro-
posed to steer to the north, and that
every one aboard could consider himself
pirate and be hanged to him. The
again, and by an hour after merid-
ian everything was running smoothly.
Small enforced the strictest dis
cipline. and the two or three convicts
who growled about it We're knocked
down with promptness and vigOr. / was
assigned to the cabin to wait on the
captain, and our cook and steward had
| to do duty as before. Small knew some
| thing of navigation, and he had some
| smart sailors with him. He had whole
| ocean to himself, and the chart showed
| him that the nearest land to the north,
| after passing st. Paul and Amsterdam,
was the Chagos archipelago, in the In
| dian ocean.
For the next twelve days little hap
pened of interest. Then one day about
noon we sighted Dutch brig on her
way out from Java. The sailmaker had
manufactured very fair piratical flag,
and this was Immediately run up and
| our course changed to cut the stranger
| off. When signaled to heave to he lost
| no time, being scared half to death. He
| had crew OF seven men. and no re-
| SlStance was offered. Small sent boat
| load of armed men to take possession.
and, as it happened to fall calm soon
after the crafts drifted together. they
were dashed in that position for the next
| thirty hours. The brig was full of
| coffee and spices. Small took what he
wanted out of her and then Scuttled
her, while her crew were sent adrift in
their own yawl. Had the brig been new
or better Sailer part of our large
force would have seized her as tender.
| Some of our men were for killing all
| the Dutchmen, but Small decided other
| wise. He was a man averSe to blood
shed when it could be avoided.
During the next two weeks we sighted
only two sails. and they were
Far Distant. W}
[ think 1T was on the twenty-ninth day
after the capture of the ship. and we
were well up to the Chagos, when a sail
was made out on our port quarter. This
was about o'clock in the morning, and
man sent aloft declared her to be an
Indiaman. The regular track of those
vessels was to the west of Madagascar
up the Mozambique channel; but this
| one might be going to call at some OF
| the Eastern islands. No sooner was
her character made out than all was re.
| jOicing and excitement on board oul
ship. The arms were got out, grog
served to the men, and everybody was
impatient for the lndiaman to come on
| She came pacing along at good gait
the wind being fair, and she was in hall
| a mile of us when Small hOiSted the
black flag and Signaled her to heave to-
This was hardly accomplished when a
| dozen men cried out in chorus that the
| stranger was not an IndianIan at all
but corvette, and a moment later she
| flew French colors and began to drop
| her gun-port covers.
For the next five minutes confusion
| reigned supreme on our decks. Then
j 1ar I'D N To- lr flor 81,
hoisted the English colorS, and dipped
them in compliment, but the French
man could see over hundred men run
ming about on our decks, and he knew
| that something was wrong. He came
| racing up. and passed us close enough
| to hail and ask what was the trouble
| Small answered him that we were al
| emigrant ship, and that the black flag
was joke.
The corvette ran ahead, luffed up and
| fired a gun for US to heave to. Small
ordered all sail to be set, but the mer
were hardly aloft before the corvette
sent a solid shot over us and brought
| Small to his senses. AS soon as Oul
crew came aboard, and the fact that we
were convict ship was at once ap-
parent. Half our number were trans
| ferred to the corvette, and twenty-five
Frenchmen put aboard of the Queen,
and thus conveyed the latter returned
to Cape Town. The cock, steward and
| myself were eXonorated fIom all blame
when put on trial, but Small and five
others were hanged, and every other
| man whose sentence had been less thar
life had it extended.
VICTORIA KEEPING POSTED