Evening star., 1937-12-01
NEW BOOKS
AT RANDOM
BY MARGARET GERMOND.
REVOLT AT SEA. BY Irwin Anthony.
New York: G. p. Putnams Sons.

On the morning Of June IA, 1905, the
Kn1az Potemkin Tavrichesky pride OF
the Russian Navy, rode at anchor in the
Gulf Of Tendra, which was the regular
grounds where the Black Sea fleet gath
cred annually for summer gunnery exer-
cises. She was new ship, a MASTER
piece Of modern warcraft in design, in
construction and in equipment. She was
under the command Of Captain Golikov
and her crew numbered 636 men.
Russia had been at war with Japan
since early February of the previous year
and had consistently suffered defeat, but
that circumstance had not served to
arouse patriotic sentiment among the
Russian people, nor had it caused the
commander in chief of the Black Sea
squadron to depart from the usual sched-
ule Of summer maneuvers. The first
battleship to be ordered to the Gulf OF
Tendra was the Potemkin.
The sea being too rough on the morn
ing of June IA for target practice,
there was practically no activity aside
from inspection, after which officers re-
tired to the wardroom and the crew
stood by waiting for the call to the noon
meal. The ships officers sat down to
enjoy fine dinner. But the men
were treated to feast Of rotten meat
Perhaps the tardiness of First Officer
Guilyarovsky had not been noted or
regarded as significant until he stopped
beside Surgeon Smirnov and reported
that the crew had refused to eat their
soup. The surgeon had been told the
day before that the meat brought on
board was full of worms. He had de-
clared it to be excellent. When told that
the men refused to eat the soup he
reiterated his statement that the meat
was good and that the worms were
nothing but eggs laid by flies which could
easily be washed off with vinegar and
water.
The first officer disappeared and soon
afterward Captain Golikov sent for the
surgeon and his junior and mustered the
crew on deck. They were lectured for
their refusal to eat and were told their
objection to eating worm infested meat
threatened discipline and was nothing
less than mutiny. He called upon those
who would not be mutinous to fall out
and few did. First Ondcer Guilyarovsky
lost his head and yelled at the boatswain
to bring a tarpaulin, which was all that
was needed to start the rebellious sea-
men on rampage.
Seaman Matusheshenko Immediately
took charge OF the armed crew and one
OF the most sensational mutinities in the
history Of the sea was under way.
During the Great War mutiny in the
German Navy began on the Prinzregent
Luitpold in 1917. spread to the Pillau,
the Konig Albert, the Thuringen, the
Helgoland and the Markgraf. Eventually
the spirit of revolt melted by Germanys
disillusioned seamen, spread to Kiel,
Hamburg and other cities. resulting
finally in weakening the whole structure
OF the empire to the point where it
could no longer wage war against the
allies or cope with the chaos at sea and
at home.
Bringing battleship revolt nearer home
there is only one case of mutiny
recorded in the history of the United
States Navy 1t happened back in
1842. while the U. S. S. Somers was
on training cruise to Africa. The
cruise was the first of its kind to be
undertaken and Commander A. S. Mac
kenzie had been selected for the expert
ment. One OF her riidshipmen was
Philip Spencer, son of the Secretary of
War. Mr.. Spencer, who was known to
be bad performer and who entertained
an ambition to become a pirate chief,
tried his hand at mutiny on the Somers
and failed
These are the outlines of only three
Of the stories of twenty-five occasions
Of revolt at sea told by Mr.. Anthony
and covering the most notable instances
recorded in the history of navigation.
They include the stories of Ferdinand
Magellan, Henry Hudson and Sir Fran
els Drake, Of Lafayette's experience on
the Alliance and the revolt of the British
tars at Spithead and at More. There is
a story about the ill-famed career of
the Plattsburgh and another describing
the bloody voyage of the Mary Russell
under the command of an insane cap
tain. The Braganza. in command of
Captain A. F. Turley, sailed from Phila-
delphia in 1888 and was the scene of fire
as well as mutiny. The story of the
Jefferson Borden tells how the wife of
Captain Patterson thwarted the murder
Of her husband and saved the ship
from Finn named Miller, an English
man named Clew and an American
known as William Smith.
Among packet ships there is the story
OF the Columbus and the Sheridan, and
the whalers are represented by the CORY
tale Of mutiny on the Globe The Vine
yard, sailing out of New Orleans in 1880
with a consignment of gold for Phila-
delphla, carried also as member of her
crew a notorious mutineer and pirate
known as Charles Gibbs. Another tale
relates how DR.. Alexander Tardy, a
landsman with a bad reputation, took
over the Crawford, bound from Matanzas
for New York.
X
And so the tales 60, stories of mutiny
for vengeance, mutiny for self-glorifica-
ton, mutiny for personal gain, mutiny
justified by worm-infested food and
brutal treatment, mutiny for all sorts of
reasons or for no reason; on clipper
ships, schooners, trading brigs, whalers,
battleships and packet boats; some Of
them sensational, most Of them horrible;
q few conducted with a minimum of
bloodshed, but all Of them dramatic
Revolt in any circumstance is never
beautiful. On board ship its horrors and
its fury are intensified by the smallness
Of the stage on which it is enacted. It
Is an experience which no normal hui
man being desires to witness, and yet
each one of the stories herein related
contains heroic figures whose unflinch-
ing courage places them among the
honorable leaders of men. The book is
notable for its value as volume of
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