The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-03-18
A Mutiny
By DONALD CHAMBERLIN

Waterman we had bad luck with the !
crew. Two men were lost overheard in
a storm, three died of sickness, and five
deserted at Madeira We went through !
the strait of Gibraltar with eight men |
and when we reached Naples were re
duced to six, for we had scarcely cast |
anchor when two more men left US for |
parts unknown
We lay in Naples a week, taking on
d cargo of olive Oil. figs and Italian
fruits. Several days before sailing on
the return voyage the captain was re
quested to take some money to New
York. 1t wasn't much. but quite enough
to excite the cupidity Of a common
sailor Waterman was so proud Of be-
ing intrusted with the amount-about
S12 ,0O0-that he had to tell one of the
men about it. The worst of it was that
we were obliged to make up the crew
at Naples in order to take the ship back
to New York. and any one who has
ever been in Naples will understand
what kind of men we were obliged to
accept. Some of them were a weak
ened, degraded lot, while the rest look
ed as if they had seen service as brig
ands. The fact is that before we got
through with them made up my mind
, that they had spent the greater part of
/ their lives behind bars.
When we sailed away from Naples
l confess had misgiVings about ever
getting across the Atlantic with such
a crew. The second mate, Hanford
felt a good deal as l did about it, but
&Aa
least uneasy. Before making due
westward we went down to Messina
to take on oranges. The evening of our
arrival l noticed by the looks of the
men and certain hurried consultations
that took place among small groups OF
them that something was brewing.
Instead of going to my berth when |
came off watch and feeling uneasy.
when no one saw me l slipped into
one Of the ships boats. / hadn't been
there very long before there was
| cOmmOtion beneath me / heard shots
down between decks. and several of
the crew poured up the companion
way, and the whole lot of them
talked hurriedly directly beneath the
boat / was in. | knew by what was
said that they had killed the captain
| and the second mate and had been
disappointed in not finding me in my
: berth. What had become of me was
= their chief topic Of conversation, and
it seemed to trouble them very much.
Some one said that he had seen man
leap overheard, and this seemed to
: satisfy them that l had thus escaped,
but they didn't propose to take any
chances, and their leader, dividing the
ship into sections, detailed two men
to search each section. Certain of
being captured if / remained where |
was. when no one was near me l let
myself down into the water and
swimming to the rudder, climbed up OF
1t. Not being a first class swimmer,
. didn't dare to try to get to the shore
which was fully mile distant.
1t wasn't long before l heard the
anchor being drawn up, and / felt sure
that the men were going to put out
somewhere and I would stand a gooG
chance of being drowned percheC
where l was. However, | couldn't
help myself and must take my chances
of meeting death that way rather thar
giving myself up to be murdered
They sailed northeastward and in
few hours came near land, which was
a part of the toe of the boot of Italy
as it appears on the map. They coast
ed along till they came to a very thin
ly settled region from which noun
tains rose from a beach. There the
r ran the ship ashore, Taking two o
| the boats, they landed, and. turning
the boats adrift, they began to wall
n nOrthward on the beach.
% | was now relieved of my fear an,
turned my whole energies toward fol
10 lowing them up and turning them owe
r to the authorities for punishment
lie Swimming forward to the bowspri
ID chains. climbed up on deck, Iowere
ne boat and when the men were pass
sy ing around a spur in the mountai
pulled away from the ship. When
came in sight of them again ! was
them simply a man in boat for the
were too far away to see who l wa
- and, in order to IuIl any suspicion
they might have, | pretended to
= fishing.
After proceeding northward for
couple of hours, coming to a gap, the
turned eastward. I pulled ashore an
leaving my boat, took the only roa
!. they could have followed. They sto]
~ ped at a small town, and halted on
side. When they left the place I e.
tered it, and finding telegraph facilitie
sent a message to the nearest poll
l. where l would be likely to find p
lice force sufficient to handle them al
sent an account of the situation, wit
the direction the men were movin
was requested to keep track Of the
if possible and post the police fro
time to time of any change in the
route.
About o'clock in the afternoon
=, met the police detachment and guid'
no them to a point where ! knew the N,
lal- were 1ournevinp We LET them pr