The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1893-12-29
A SAILORS NEW YEAR
BY NJ. QUAD.
Copyright, 1898. All rights reserved. !

At o'clock GA the morning of JAM /,
1858, the British brig Adventurer, from
the Cape de Verde islands to the river
Orinoco, passed a small French bark
at distance of about half mile. She
had been in sight for couple of hours,
and her actions had created no little talk
aboard the brig. When first sighted, she
had altered her course by three or four
points In the course of 10 minutes she
was heading as before. A bit later she
was off again. 1t was as if her crew
was divided as to her port of destination,
and as the crafts neared each other we
were puzzled by the lubberly looks of
things aloft. She was under short sail
in fair breeze, her yards were not
properly braced, and our first idea was
that she had sickness aboard and was
short handed. We shortened sail, ex-
pecting she would fly a signal of distress.
but she kept her course and did not even
return our salute. Our mate, Mr.. Hob
son, had the glass on her as we came op-
posite, and he hadn't held it to his face
over 10 seconds when he turned to the
captain, who had just come on deck, and
exclaimed:
"Why, sir, there are three or four men
on her decks wearing the uniforms OF
Cayenne convictsp
The captain seized the glass for look
and speedily satisfied himself that such
was the fact, and five minutes later the
Adventurer had come about and was in
chase of the bark. Let me explain to
craft engaged in harbor and coast sur
veys and was armed with two guns on a
side and Long Tom mounted amid
ships. From the surveys made by this
craft between the years 1866 and 1860 all
the rivers and bays along the east coast
of Brazil were charted. She carried a
crew of A men, and while surveying up
the Para and the Amazon had been at
tackled on several occasions by the vicious
minded natives.
We had no sooner come about than
there was great confusion on the decks
of the bark. More sail was made on her.
but in a bungling fashion, and it was
plainly evident that she wanted to es-
cape us. heard Captain johnson say
ing to Mr.. Hobson that she was certain
ly a French merchantmen, and he be-
ieved she had been seized by the con-
victs at Cayenne. She was doubtless in
charge of sailor, but there were not
enough sailors among them to do things
in shipshape fashion.
Numbers of men started to go aloft,
but stuck at the crosstrees, and such
sails as were cast loose were not sheeted
home to do their best. We walked up
to her hand over hand, and in half an
hour were within biscuit toss, and our
captain was hailing to know what was
wrong. The answer was plain enough
without words. When we passed her
only seven or eight men could be seen
on her decks. Now they fairly swarmed
with men, all but five or six Of whom
were in convicts dress. AS matter of
fact, there were just 80 of them. 1t was
useless for them to reply to the hail I'M
der such circumstances, and for min
ute they were silent as they gazed at us.
Then they suddenly found their voices,
and the yell they uttered in chorus was
enough to make the hair curl. They
screamed and cursed and danced about,
shaking their fists in defiant way, and
it must have become clear to our cap
tain that he had a desperate set of men
to deal with.
Our brig was sheered in a bit closer
and demand made that the convicts
surrender. They could plainly see that
we were a strong crew and had mounted
guns, but the demand was received with
yells of derision. The leader of the gang,
whom we had not before identified, now
mounted the rail, and in broken English
warned us to keep off or take the conse-
quences. He boldly declared that they
were escaped convicts from the penal
settlement referred to, and having got
safely to sea they would fight to the
death sooner than be retaken. He added
that an English ship had no business to
NEEDLE in the matter, and though we
carried guns he was not in the least
afraid of us.
Every man of the 80, as may tell you,
had been transported for serious crime,
and nowhere else could one have got to-