The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-04-20

fore, didn't hesitate to pull. There were were seventy of the crew. The gun was fired and the order was given to the men to walk away" The men walked away or rather ran, and the prisoners were yanked up to the yard arm in no time, and the halyards were belayed.
 The hanging was then over. Then the men were piped to dinner and the mess cloth was spread on deck right where the boys could see the dead bodies hanging at the yard arm. It was duff day." when plum duff was served, being a Thursday, but very little was eaten. The dead bodies were not low cred down until about an hour and a half had elapsed after the hanging. Then two mess chests were spliced to- gether and box was thus made for Spencer's body and g. lot of 32-pound shot was put into the box as weight. The bodies of the other two men were each put in their respective hammocks and shot put in, and the hammocks were then sewed up and at o'clock that night the burial took place, Mackenzie officiating as chaplain.
 Mr. K. further said: q shall never forget that night. We all had prayer books. After service we buried the un- fortunates. Spencer's box when it was thrown overheard broke in two, it being a light pine box and heavily weighted. Spencer's body fell out as the box struck the water.
 Four days after that we arrived at St. Thomas and a business firm, of which Mr. Darlington, a New Haven man, relative of the late John B. Darlington, sent men down with tanks of water which we had ordered for use aboard ship.
 Young Spencer was a son of the then secretary of war, John c. Spen- cer. Great indignation was aroused in New York and throughout the country over the execution, as it was thought by many tht it was wholly unjustifi- able-that the alleged mutiny was a mutiny on paper-a mere boy's esca- l pade."
 The article in the Detroit Journal was | headed "A Tragic Fate," and expressed l the view that the new American tor pedo boat which has been named the | Somers was name not well chosen in view of the tragedy on the American brig Somers, and in view of the fact | that MT. Upshur, the secretary of the navy at that time, who approved of the | finding of the court of enquiry which i tried Mackenzie for the execution of | Spnncer and his comrades, was killed 1 by the bursting of gun on board the l United States steamer Princeton. But
 there were other tragedies in the same l connection which are mentioned by MT
 K. which are very essential in this con- l nection. MT. K. says: ''The mar
 Wales who disclosed the alleged plot
 was killed in New Orleans in drunker
 brawl. Commander Mackenzie died
 suddenly. Dr. Laycock of the brig
 Somers died suddenly on board tht
 United States brig of war Porpoise. H.
 was a good man and beloved by the l boys. Moreover, the brig Somers some | time after the execution, was sen | down to the Gulf of Mexico on a sta
 tion there. think, I am almost cer. I tain, that ship cleaning was going or
 and she had a good many of her things
 ashore. Suddenly for sope purpose thu
 brig was called away and went to set
 and one of those terrible northers tha
 occur in those waters caught her an(
 she was capsized and nearly half O l her crew were drowned, and that ended
 the brig's career. It was fifty-si1 years ago the first day of last Decem.
 Der that the hanging took place ant | the Somers, like McGinty, went to tht | bottom of the sea, where what remain.
 of her still lies. Truly she had a tragic fate'