The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-09-08
ouELLING A MuTINY.


in, which uin't much Talk about sweet
little cherubS a-sittin up aloft,' lookin out
for SIGH MS these, | think they must have
full grown angels to act as supercargoes,
and navigatin ones at that.
II know'd skipper once as we were
a-goin from New York to Californy and a
chap what know'd him says to him, Why,
you don't know how to navigate No.
says he, Il don't, but guess I'll larn afore
/ gets there don't know now whether
he did or not, but he got there anyway.
He'd been captain of coastin schooner run
min down to the capes of Virginny, and put
him anywheres onto the coast of America
with lead line into his hand, and he'd tell
you where he were fast enough, but as for
doin anythin with the sun, moon or stars,
his eddication in that respect had been neg
lected
"He took out one of these here jint stock
affairs what went out to Californy in 1913
and lS49 in the first of the gold fever. Ev-
erybody were crazy TO 20, and n lot of chaps,
a hundred or so, would club together, each
putin in so much, and they would buy the
vessel out and put their own traps aboard
of her and start. They generally Civ the
skipper share of the consarn for his serv-
Well, of curse a skipper that were good
for anythin in them days wouldn't go on no
SIGH lay as that, and in consequence they
had to pick up anythin they could git. Gen
orally, however, the shippers was smart
enough for to git possession of the vessel
after arrival-leastwise this here one Pm
tellin on you did anyway.
IF he didn't know anythin about navi-
I. 4 Al.
these here greenhorns what had lived all
their lives on shore found out. When they
got down into the neighborhood of Rio they
holds meetin and passes resolutions for to
go in there, and they appoints committee
for to present these resolutions to the skip
per- He tells 'em that he wern't short Of
anythin, and that he wernt a-goin ill., Then
they tells him as how he were only their
sarvant, that they were the owners, and
that he must 20 in. Then he tells 'em that
they were only passengers, and that he
were the captain of that there ship, and
that if they We're mutinous he'd put 'em in
irons.
Then they gifts out their shootin irons
they all carried revolverS in them days
and they tells him for to try it on. Then
he turns and calls all hands, and takes the
stunsails off of her, clews up and furls the
royals and to'gallan sails, close reefs top
sails, furls the courses, puts the helm b
spoke or two down and sends all hands be-
low, tellin 'em that the passengers had
taken possession of the vessel by force, and
that havin made her safe he had conclud-
ed, as they outnumbered the crew SO large
ly and were so well armed, for to surren
der rather than to have bloodshed.
well, the sailors seen the joke right
away. They know'd that they and the Off
GERS could have whaled every one of these
chaps if they had "a wanted to, but they
know'd that this here plan of the old mans
would bring 'em to, and they liked that
better. Well, the old man tells these chaps
that, hayin mutinied onto the high seas,
and bein too strong for him with his force,
he had concluded for to surrender, and him
and his officers were prisoners, and they
could take the ship into Rio or anywheres
else.
''As the only charts or instruments on
board was in the possession of the captain,
and as there wasn't IL soul of 'em as know'd
where they was, they would have had nice
time findin Rio or anywheres else
"Well, they tried blusterin at first, but
the skipper and his mates had their revolv-
ers, and they just told these chaps that
while they would not begin the fight they
were agoin for to defend themselves, and
as there happened to be one or two lawyers
among this lot they told the rest as how
it wouldn't do; that nOtwithstandin their
bein owners they wasn't nothin else here
than passengers, and that the law would
consider them as mutineers and nothin
else if they used any force
$50, arter "a hours, they holds another
meetin and passes some more resolutions as
how they had Civ up the idea of goin to
Rio and orderin the captain for to proceed
on his v'yage, and they appointed another
committee for to let the old man know
this. He tells the committee that he will
take charge agin only on conditions that
they shall all sign a paper acknowledge
their mutinous conduct and sayin they are
sorry for it and prOmisin for the rest of the
wage for to obey all his lawful orders, and
also that they Civ up all their weapons
"Well, first off, they said they'd see him
II first, and so she laid comfortable and
quiet for two days longer. They tried all
ways for to git some of the sailors for to
take charge, but the men knowed better
than that, and SO at last they held another
meetin and passed some more resolutions
as how the necessity OF the case admitted Of
no alternative, and so they agreed to the
shippers terms That were the last meetin
they held, and they didn't pass no more
resolutions, but they signed the paper
which one of the lawyers drawed up, and
they brung all their revolvers and piled 'em
up on the poop afore the captain.
"Then the old man says-I was told this
yarn by a chap called Curly Jack, as were
aboard of her at the time, and be said how
the old man takes the paper and looks at
the pile Of revolvers, and be says, Gentle
men, I'm satisfied Then he tears up the
paper into small bits and throws it over
board, and then he says agin, Now you
may take your revolvers agin, for don't
want 'em. and amt afeared of you lot Of
Billy Tooleys, either with or without EN-.
could have brung you to terms in another
way If had wanted to, but thought this
would be the pleasantest for all hands, but
want you now-all Of you-distinctly for
TO understand that can't afford to lose
three days agin on this passage, and IL