The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1900-09-29
The ugstsEg Of a uuIlly.
a RUSSIAN NAVAL TRAGEDY.


I'm the fall of 1867 said the oil
seaman Il was one of the crew of
New York merchantmen, which put i
at Fayal, in the Azores. When we ral
In we found Russian man-of-war nj
ready at anchor. She was brig call
ed the Gear, and If / remember COZ
rectly was there to see about a Rus
sian craft which has been wrecked il
that vicinity. 1t may not be news t
the average reader to be told that tn
discipline in the Russian army is thu
Gtrictest in the world. Ii anything cal
be more strict it is Russian naval dis
cipline. The commander of a Russian
man-of-war on a cruise has more pow
er than the car at home. The latter
must have at least some excuse fol
sending Citizen to death. The form
er has only to report him dead and
the details are never asked for.
Several of the crew of the Gar were
triced up and flogged in plain view of
us on the first day of our arrival, and
1t wasn't long before we learned that
the brig was floating hell. She had
a veteran captain, but most of her
crew were new to the service. They
were fine body Of men, but the cap
tain was continually nagging at them
and seeking an opportunity to infiict
punishment. In one day thirteen of
them were logged in quick succession,
uvxd ofh hod Of
punishment melted out to them. Men
were logged because they moved too
fast or too slow-because they had a
certain look or didn's have it-because
the captain thought they thought so
and SO. There were several among
them who could speak English, and
when We learned just how they were
being used we expressed our indigna-
ton and encouraged them to resistance.
1t wasn't the right thing to do, as 1
admit, but we were in the merchant
service, and felt that we had certain
rights which. no commander dared
trample on.
Zone dark and rainy night, while /
was standing anchor-watch on our
craft, one of the Russian sailors swan
off to us. He was about thirty years
Of age. He had been degraded from
the petty office he held and given twen-
dentally upset a lamp. He had come
for talk. He knew nothing what
ever of geography, and could not tell
in which direction @ny coast lay. He
asked particularly About the coast of
Brazil, the distance, the people, the riv-
ers, etc lie finally told me that the
crew OF the brig to man had decided
to mutiny, killfthe officers and run for
the coast Of Brazil There they would
run the craft ashore and each man
would shift Cor himself until the ex-
citement shad2blown over. told him
all he wanted to know SO far as I was
able. and he returned as he had come.
He had not told me when the uprising
would take place. There was an Eng
lish man-of-war In the harbor then,
and, Of course, no movement could be
made.
"The days went by. There was the
usual routine Of flogging aboard the
Gear, and a sailor who sprang over
board rather than be dashed was cool
ly shot down alongside the brig with
out having been ordered to return. At
noon Of the second day the English
man left, and at o'clock in the after
noon the mutiny suddenly burst forth.
There were six merchantmen In the
harbor, but had the Russian command
or called for assistance ii would not
have been afforded. At least fifty Of
us saw the Russian captain shot and
flung overheard and after him went
the first lieutenant Then followed the
Quartermaster and two others, and the
crew had the boat to themselves. Be-
fore going out of the harbor men were
sent to every vessel to show their raw |
backs and tell how they had been |
and as the brig turned her |
head to sea she was cheered. The sail |
or fully believes In the old saying that
turn about Is fair play. Treat him
half way decent and no peril is great |
enough for him to encounter, no hard /
ship severe enough to make him COM
plain. Use him like a dog and he will
submit to a certain limit. Go beyond
that and he becomes recklessly des-
perate and savage. Not sailor man
In port blamed these men, and all
hoped that they would get safely out
Of II. l was one of the three men
from our bark who picked up the cap
tain's dead body as 1t fioated in the bay
that evening and towed it ashore for
burial.
TT was a week later when we got
ready for sea, bound for Rio Janeiro.
We had no idea of hearing from the
Russians again, but when four DAYS
put we ran across New Bedford
whaler named Scott, which gave us
some exciting news. Two days before
she had been brought to by the Car
IN mid-ocean. An armed boats crew
had come aboard and robbed the whal-
er of whatever they fancied. The cap
tain had 500 which he was obliged
10 deliver up, and they took a share of
his water and provisions, and all his
spare sails. The Russians were not
ugly, but determined, and it was plain
that all had been drinking. and that
great confusion existed aboard the
brig. From what the crew of the
whaier overheard they were led to
believe that the men had abandoned
he. idea Of making the coast of Brazil,
Ind had decided to turn pirate.
1s's0n the next day we spoke an Eng