The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1898-01-26
OUR HAT STOCK
JNO. R. TREWIN & CO.,
UNION ST., COR. CoRYELL, LAMBERTVlLLE, N. J.

able seaman ms mate. we nau nOpeu 10
get the provisions to the wreck before
night, but the gale continued, and we
had to stand by her fer 30 hours before
1t was safe to launch boat. We had
mutinied and taken possession Of the
ship, but we felt that circumstances jus
titled it. Neither harm nor insult was
offered our officers. After few hours
they were allowed full liberty, and not
one of us entered the cabin. There were
many threats as to the punishment we
should receive when the ship arrived in
port, but we stood firm and kept clear
of any further quarrels.
When wind and sea finally subsidized,
we boarded tho wreck, to find that one
woman and four children had died in
tho last > hours and that the living
were entirely out of food aud water.
There was no doctor aboard, the leak
was hardly to he kept under, and it was
plain that another 81 hours would send
the wreck to the bottom Of the sea. 1t
was therefore resolved to transfer every
body to the ship. Our captain and mato
rayed like madmeu when they heard Of
IHiS utClNltIl, anu tlt last Hdlllttl uc-
came So violent that we had to bind
him hand and foot. The wreck had lost
all her boats, but the ship had three,
and WHEN the work Of transferring he.
gan il was not interrupted until every
person had been brought safely off.
Then we secured most of the personal
baggage OF crew and passengers, and 10y
ha ti,, Last hAntia.I al
side the star the wreck rolled heavily
To starhoard and port and went to the
bottom Of the sea.
The ship had no accommodation
whatever for passengers, and you can
imagine the musS we were III when
that crowd of people were taken aboard.
The lIollander fatty refused to act rs
captain or to have anything ia do with
the castaways. He said we had deposcd
him by mutiny and must now run
things To suit ourselves and take the
consequences Everybody had to be put
on quarter allowance at once, and Il
shift was made up whereby the women
and children We're mt least sheltered.
After consultation IL was decided To
make for tho Bormudas, and on the third
day after taking the people off the
wreck we sighted the American ship
Ocean Queen and secured from her sew
oral hundred gallons of water and
quantity of flour and biscuit. 1t was
run of seven DAYS to the islands and
during the last four days no adult had
food enough To keep down the pangs of
hunger, The mate proved sn obstinate
and dangerous that his bonds wero not
released, but he shared the food and
water with the rest and was treated rs
kindly as circumstances would permit
None of us believed that we could he
punished for taking the ship ont of tho
captains hands to save human life, and
l am sure we should not have been med
died with but for the presence Of Il Brit
ish man-of war i'll port We had III.
formed the liollander of our readiness
to work the ship to her port of destina-
tion, and he seemed Ia think favorably
of the matter, but no sooner did he
learn of tho presence of the man of war
than he appealed to her commander
AS result the ten of us were at once
arrested and flung into prison to await
the action of the law. | never found
out just where they intended to send us
for trial, hut presume it was Holland
For some reason or other there was
long delay, and at length matters were
complicated by our being claimed rs
deserters from an American man Of
war The people whom we had saved
were grateful enough, God knows, but
all others looked upon us as Il lot of
pirates who ought to have been hung us
soon as captured.
When we had been i'll Jail for five
months, we got word from an American
who was pretty thoroughly posted on
tho case that we should soon be sent
away for trial and that we might ex-
pect at least five years Imprisonment
apiece This news decided US to make
an attempt to break Jail, and one night,
a week later using tools which guard
had been bribed to pass in to us we
sawed away the bars of window and
gained our liberty Proceeding to the
harbor, we found an American schoou-
er ready 10 sail and awaiting our com,
ing, and before our escape was discover
ed we were miles mt sea Five of us sur
rendered to the naval authorities and
took our punishment and served out the
remainder of our enlistment, but what
became of the others | do not know
But for oar action 200 people would
have been left TO so down with wreck
ON which they had dritted and suffered
for days and weeks, and yet that action
was rank mutiny, and had the ship been
English instead of Dutch our two lead
ers would probably have been hung and
the rest of us got long terms i'll prison