The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-07-29

AROUSED WHOLE COUNTRY
TRAGIC FATE OF PHILIP SPEN-
GER.

=;
New York, July 2s.-The death at
Morristown, n j.. on July !3 of Har-
riet Duer Slidell Mackenzie. recalls
stirring incident I'm the life of her ia
Their, Commander Alexander S. Mac
kenzie, who was I'm charge of the Unit
ed states brig OF war Somers when the
so-called mutiny Of 1912 occurred and
when Philip Spencer, the son Of Presi-
dent Tylers secretary OF war, and two
other lads were hanged at the yard
arm for completely in the alleged plo.
10 kill the officers and seize the ship
with view TO turning pirates. The af-
fair aroused the whole country when
the details became known, but Macken-
zie was acquitted when tried by court
martial Mackenzie is said TO have died
insane, and his lieutenant, GansevOoTt,
plot to seize the ship, was reported 10
have died by his own hands.
Mackenzie was a young officer of
some note both through his family
prominence and through the publication
of a book he wrote about travels in
Spain The Somers sailed from New
York with a crew OF 120 men and car
ried in addition ninety-six apprentices
who had been sent out TO be schooled
for service in the navy. Among them
was young Spencer, wild, harum-
scarum lad, whose father had put him
in the navy with the hope of tanning
him down. He was the life of the ship
and a great favorite OF the seamen, but
the commander mistrusted him because
he had acquired the vices of idle rich
young men and he mad been sent back
home in disgrace from the South Amer
lean squadron for intemperance.
Plot to Seize Vessel.
On Nov IS, 1872 Purser HeiskelI was
told by his steward, Mr., Wales, of the
details Of the alleged plot 10 seize the
vessel. He said Spencer had told him
on the night before. under an oath of
secrecy, that he and several others had
bound themselves together in cabal
10 murder the officers and most of the
crew and sail the Spanish Main. Spen-
Ger told him, he said, that he was 10
have ten others with him and that they
would sail to the Isle of Pines, where
he had d number of cOnfederates, and
thence on freebooters' cruise. The
boys plan was to attack no vessel that
he was not certain to capture, and to
scuttle every prize, sparing only the
lives of such women as the crew wished
10 take with them.
Spencer asserted to his dying day
that the story was mel ely a hoax,
which he told to Wales, the landlubber
and the butt of the ship. just to have
fun with him. If that was the case. 1t
turned out to be a serious joke for the
boy. The purser repeated what he had
heard to Lieutenant Gansevoort. who
I'm turn carried the information to Cap
tain Mackenzie. At first the commander
was incredulous and ridiculed the So
called plot as a romance concocted by
the boy after reading pirate tales. At
that time there were no signs of mu-
tiny and the discipline, as the log of
the vessel showed, was excellent. But
after while the commander seemed
TO, have got scared, and he detailed
GansevoOrt TO watch Spencer.
Captain Badly Scared
The lieutenant made a report that
caused the captain TO believe that there
was a real conspiracy on foot. The re-
port embodied fourteen charges aimed
at Spencer, some of them so trivial that
no attention would be paid 10 them IN
ordinary times, but they convinced
Mackenzie that the boy intended to
start a mutiny. and that the lives Of
all the officers were in danger The re-
port charged among other things that
Spencer had tried to consult the chart.
had asked about the Isle of Pines, had
tried TO learn the rate of the chrome
meter. had nightly conferences with
some of the crew Lad sworn pretty
roundly when talking OF Mackenzie.
had employed Wales 10 steal brandy
from the wardroom mess. on which, the
captain alleged, he got drunk, and had
practiced palmistry aboard, predicting
the untimely and tragic death of one
man. Moreover the report said. Spen-
Ger had exercised an unheard-of power
of throwing his jaws out of joint and by
contact of the bones playing variety
Of elegant airs for the delectation and
seduction of the crew.
Mackenzie was always frank to admit
that he did rot like the boy There
were two of the captains relatives
aboard who also had no love for him.
The captain afterwaTd testified that he
feared that Spencer would contaminate
The morals OF the crew, and for that
reason he had been anxious to keep
him off the boat before she sailed on
the cruise The boat was off the coast
Of Africa on the return trip when the
so-called plot was discovered.
Said 1t Was a Joke.
When Spencer was accused by the
captain of being at the head OF the con-
spiracy the boy laughed and said the
whole thing was only a joke.
We'll, it was a joke that may cost
you your life replied the captain,
grimly. Thereupon the youth was ar
rested, double ironed. handcuffed. and
forced to crawl feet first into bag. He
lay on the deck in this condition until
the day he was hanged. The bag was
closed around his neck in the day ana
over his head at night. Besides there
was always a sentinel on duty, day and
night. with orders To shoot the prisoner
if he attempted 10 speak to any one
When the effects of Spencer were
searched piece of paper was found on
which was inscribed in Greek charac-
tiers the names of Spencer Wales and
Mckinley, the boy who made up the
officers cots, and the name of Andrews,
which was borne by no one aboard.
Following these We're ten names.