Chapter CXXIII (1)

THE ALLEGED MUTINY, AND THE EXECUTIONS (AS THEY WERE CALLED) ON BOARD THE UNITED STATES MAN-OF-WAR, SOMERS.

In the beginning of this year the public mind was suddenly astounded and horrified, at the news of a mutiny on board a national ship-of-war, with a view to convert it into a pirate, and at the same time excited to admiration and gratitude at the terrible energy with which the commander of the ship had suppressed it--hanging three of the ringleaders on the spot without trial, bringing home twelve others in irons--and restraining the rest by the undaunted front which the officers assumed, and the complete readiness in which they held themselves to face a revolt. It was a season of profound peace, and the astounding news was like claps of thunder in a clear sky. It was an unprecedented event in our navy, where it had been the pride and glory of the seamen to stand by their captain and their ship to the last man, and to die exultingly to save either. Unlike almost all mutinies, it was not a revolt against oppression, real or imagined, and limited to the seizure of the ship and the death or expulsion of the officers, but a vast scheme of maritime depredation, in which the man-of-war, converted into a piratical cruiser, was to roam the seas in quest of blood and plunder, preying upon the commerce of all nations--robbing property, slaughtering men, and violating women. A son of a cabinet minister, and himself an officer, was at the head of the appalling design; and his name and rank lent it a new aspect of danger. Every aggravation seemed to attend it, and the horrifying intelligence came out in a way to magnify its terrors, and to startle the imagination as well as to overpower the judgment. The vessel was the bearer of her own news, and arriving on the coast, took a reserve and mystery which lent a terrific force to what leaked out. She stopped off the harbor of New York, and remained outside two days, severely interdicting all communication with the shore. A simple notice of her return was all that was made public. An officer from the vessel, related to the commander, proceeded to Washington city--giving out fearful intimations as he went along--and bearing a sealed report to the Secretary of the Navy. The contents of that report went direct into the government official paper, and thence flew resounding through the land. It was the official and authentic report of the fearful mutiny. The news being spread from the official source, and the public mind prepared for his reception, the commander brought his vessel into port--landed: and landed in such a way as to increase the awe and terror inspired by his narrative. He went direct, in solemn procession, at the head of his crew to the nearest church, and returned thanks to God for a great deliverance. Taken by surprise, the public mind delivered itself up to joy and gratitude for a marvellous escape, applauding the energy which had saved a national ship from mutiny, and the commerce of nations from piratical depredation. The current was all on one side. Nothing appeared to weaken its force, or stop its course. The dead who had been hanged, and sent to the bottom of the sea, could send up no voice: the twelve ironed prisoners on the deck of the vessel, were silent as the dead: the officers and men at large actors in what had taken place, could only confirm the commander's official report. That report, not one word of which would be heard in a court of justice, was received as full evidence at the great tribunal of public opinion. The reported confessions which it contained (though the weakest of all testimony in the eye of the law, and utterly repulsed when obtained by force, terror or seduction), were received by the masses as incontestable evidence of guilt.

The vessel on which all this took place was the United States man-of-war, Somers--her commander Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, Esq., with a crew of 120 all told, 96 of which were apprentice boys under age. She had gone out on one of those holiday excursions which are now the resource of schools to make seamen. She had crossed the Atlantic and was returning to the United States by way of the West Indies, when this fearful mutiny was discovered. It was communicated by the purser's steward to the purser--by him to the first lieutenant--by him to the commander: and the incredulous manner in which he received it is established by two competent witnesses--the lieutenant who gave it to him, and the commander himself: and it is due to each to give the account of this reception in his own words: and first the lieutenant shall speak:

"I reported the thing (the intended mutiny) to the commander
immediately. He took it very coolly, said the vessel was in a
good state of discipline, and expressed his doubts as to the
truth of the report."

This is the testimony of the lieutenant before the court-martial which afterwards sat upon the case, and two points are to be noted in it--_first_, that the commander did not believe it; and, _secondly_, that he declared the vessel to be in a good state of discipline: which was equivalent to saying, there was no danger, even if the information was true. Now for the commander's account of the same scene, taken from his official report:

"Such was the purport of the information laid before me by
Lieut. Gansevoort, and although he was evidently impressed with
the reality of the project, yet it seemed to me so monstrous, so
improbable, that I could not forbear treating it with ridicule.
I was under the impression that Mr. Spencer had been reading
piratical stories, and had amused himself with Mr. Wales"--(the
informer).

Ridicule was the only answer which the commander deemed due to the information, and in that he was justified by the nature of the information itself. A purser's steward (his name Wales) had told the lieutenant that midshipman Spencer had called him into a safe place the night before, and asked him right off--"Do you fear death? do you fear a dead man? are you afraid to kill a man?"--and getting satisfactory answers to these questions, he immediately unfolded to him his plan of capturing the ship, with a list of four certain and ten doubtful associates, and eighteen _nolens volens_ assistants to be forced into the business; and then roaming the sea with her as a pirate, first calling at the Isle of Pines (Cuba) for confederates. It was a ridiculous scheme, both as to the force which was to take the ship, and her employment as a buccaneer--the state of the ocean and of navigation being such at that time as to leave a sea-rover, pursued as he would be by the fleets of all nations, without a sea to sail in, without a coast to land on, without a rock or corner to hide in. The whole conception was an impossibility, and the abruptness of its communication to Wales was evidence of the design to joke him. As such it appeared to the commander at the time. It was at 10 o'clock in the morning of the 26th of November, 1842, approaching the West Indies from the coast of Africa, that this information was given by the lieutenant to the commander. Both agree in their account of the ridicule with which it was received; but the commander, after the deaths of the implicated, and when making out his official report to the Secretary of the Navy, forgot to add what he said to the lieutenant--that the vessel was in a good state of discipline--equivalent to saying it could not be taken. Further, he not only forgot to add what he said, but remembered to say the contrary: and on his trial undertook to prove that the state of the ship was bad, and had been so for weeks; and even since they left the coast of Africa. In this omission to report to the Secretary a fact so material, as he had remarked it to his lieutenant, and afterwards proving the contrary on his trial, there is room for a pregnant reflection which will suggest itself to every thinking mind--still more when the silence of the log-book upon this "bad" state of the crew, corresponds with the commander's account that it was good. But, take the two accounts in what they agree, and it is seen that at 10 o'clock in the morning Lieutenant Gansevoort's whole report of the conspiracy and mutiny, as derived from the purser's steward (Wales) was received with ridicule--as the romance of a boy who had been reading piratical stories, and was amusing himself with the steward--a landsman, of whom the commander gives a bad account as having bought a double quantity of brandy--twice as much as his orders justified, before leaving New York;--and afterwards stealing it on the voyage. By five o'clock in the evening of the same day, and without hearing any thing additional, the commander became fully impressed with the truth of the whole story, awfully impressed with the danger of the vessel, and fully resolved upon a course of terrible energy to prevent the success of the impending mutiny. Of this great and sudden change in his convictions it becomes the right of the commander to give his own account of its inducing causes: and here they are, taken from his official report:

"In the course of the day, Lieut. Gansevoort informed me that
Mr. Spencer had been in the wardroom examining a chart of the
West Indies, and had asked the assistant surgeon some questions
about the Isle of Pines, and the latter had informed him that it
was a place much frequented by pirates, and drily asked if he
had any acquaintances there.--He passed the day rather sullenly
in one corner of the steerage, as was his usual custom, engaged
in examining a small piece of paper, and writing upon it with
his pencil, and occasionally finding relaxation in working with
a penknife at the tail of a devilfish, one of which he had
formed into a sliding ring for his cravat. Lieut. Gansevoort
also made an excuse of duty to follow him to the foretop, where
he found him engaged in having some love device tattooed on
his arm by Benjamin F. Green, ordinary seaman, and apprentice.
Lieut. Gansevoort also learned that he had been endeavoring for
some days to ascertain the rate of the chronometer, by applying
to Mid. Rodgers, to whom it was unknown, and who referred him to
the master. He had been seen in secret and nightly conferences
with the boatswain's mate, S. Cromwell, and seaman Elisha
Small. I also heard that he had given money to several of the
crew; to Elisha Small on the twelfth of September, the day
before our departure from New York; the same day on which, in
reply to Commodore Perry's injunctions to reformation, he had
made the most solemn promises of amendment; to Samuel Cromwell
on the passage to Madeira; that he had been in the habit of
distributing tobacco extensively among the apprentices, in
defiance of the orders of the navy department, and of my own
often reiterated; that he had corrupted the ward-room steward,
caused him to steal brandy from the ward-room mess, which he,
Mr. Spencer, had drunk himself, occasionally getting drunk when
removed from observation, and had also administered to several
of the crew; that, finally, he was in the habit of amusing
the crew by making music with his jaw. He had the faculty of
throwing his jaw out of joint, and by contact of the bones,
playing with accuracy and elegance a variety of airs. Servile
in his intercourse with me, when among the crew he loaded me
with blasphemous vituperation, and proclaimed that it would be
a pleasing task to roll me overboard off the round-house. He
had some time before drawn a brig with a black flag, and asked
one of the midshipmen what he thought of it; he had repeatedly
asserted in the early part of the cruise, that the brig might
easily be taken; he had quite recently examined the hand of
midshipman Rodgers, told his fortune, and predicted for him a
speedy and violent death."

Surely the historian, as well as the poet may say: To the jealous mind, trifles light as air are confirmations strong as proofs from holy writ. Here are fourteen causes of suspected mutiny enumerated, part of which causes are eminently meritorious in a young naval officer, as those of studying the chart of the West Indies (whither the vessel was going), and that of learning the rate of the chronometer; another part of which is insignificant, as giving tobacco to the apprentice boys, and giving money to two of the seamen; others again would show a different passion from that of piracy, as having love devices tattooed on his arm; others again would bespeak the lassitude of idleness, as whittling at the tail of a devilfish, and making a ring for his cravat, and drawing a brig with a black flag; others again would indicate playfulness and humor, as examining the palm of young Rodgers' hand, and telling his fortune, which fortune, of course, was to be startling, as a sudden and violent death, albeit this young Rodgers was his favorite, and the only one he asked to see when he was about to be hung up--(a favor which was denied him); others again are contradicted by previous statements, as, that Spencer corrupted the purser's steward and made him steal brandy, the commander having before reported that steward for the offence of purchasing a double quantity of brandy before he left New York--a circumstance which implied a sufficient inclination to use the extra supply he had laid in (of which he had the custody), without being corrupted by Spencer to steal it; others of these causes again were natural, and incidental to Spencer's social condition in the vessel, as that of talking with the seamen, he being objected to by his four roommates (who were the commander's relations and connections), and considered one too many in their room, and as such attempted to be removed to another ship by the commander himself; another, that occasionally he got drunk when removed from observation, a fault rather too common (even when in the presence of observation) to stand for evidence of a design to commit mutiny on board a man-of-war; another, that blasphemous vituperation of the commander which, although it might be abusive, could neither be blasphemous (which only applies to the abuse of God), nor a sign of a design upon the vessel, but only of contempt for the commander; finally, as in that marvellous fine music with the jaw out of joint, playing with skill and accuracy a variety of elegant airs by the contaction of the luxated ends of the bones. Taken as true, and this musical habit might indicate an innocency of disposition. But it is ridiculously false, and impossible, and as such ridiculous impossibility it was spared the mention even of contempt during the whole court-martial proceedings. Still it was one of the facts gravely communicated to the Secretary of the Navy as one of the means used by Spencer to seduce the crew. While ridicule, contempt and scorn are the only proper replies to such absurd presumptions of guilt, there were two of them presented in such a way as to admit of an inquiry into their truth, namely, the fortune-telling and the chronometer: Midshipman Rodgers testified before the court that this fortune-telling was a steerage amusement, and that he was to die, not only suddenly and violently, but also a gambler; and that as for the examination of the chronometer, it was with a view to a bet between himself and Rodgers as to the time that the vessel would get to St. Thomas--the bet on Spencer's side, being on eight days. Yet, the diseased mind of the commander could see nothing in those little incidents, but proof of a design to kill Rodgers (with the rest) before the ship got to St. Thomas, and afterwards to run to the Isle of Pines. Preposterous as these fourteen reasons were, they were conclusive with the commander, who forthwith acted upon them, and made the arrest of Spencer.

"At evening quarters I ordered through my clerk, O. H. Perry,
doing the duty also of midshipman and aid, all the officers to
lay aft on the quarter deck, excepting the midshipman stationed
on the forecastle. The master was ordered to take the wheel,
and those of the crew stationed abaft sent to the mainmast.
I approached Mr. Spencer, and said to him, 'I learn, Mr.
Spencer, that you aspire to the command of the Somers.' With
a deferential, but unmoved and gently smiling expression, he
replied, 'Oh no, sir.' 'Did you not tell Mr. Wales, sir, that
you had a project to kill the commander, the officers, and a
considerable portion of the crew of this vessel, and to convert
her into a pirate?' 'I may have told him so, sir, but it was in
a joke.' 'You admit then that you told him so?' 'Yes, sir, but
in joke!' 'This, sir, is joking on a forbidden subject--this
joke may cost you your life!'"

This was the answer of innocence: guilt would have denied every thing. Here all the words are admitted, with a promptitude and frankness that shows they were felt to be what they purported--the mere admission of a joke. The captain's reply shows that the life of the young man was already determined upon. It was certainly a punishable joke--a joke upon a forbidden subject: but how punishable? certainly among the minor offences in the navy, offences prejudicial to discipline; and to be expiated by arrest, trial, condemnation for breach of discipline, and sentence to reprimand, suspension; or some such punishment for inconsiderate offences. But, no. The commander replies upon the spot, '_this joke may cost you your life_:' and in that he was prophetic, being the fulfiller of his own prophecy. The informer Wales had reported a criminal paper to be in the neckcloth of the young man: the next movement of the commander was to get possession of that paper: and of that attempt he gives this account:

"'Be pleased to remove your neckhandkerchief.' It was removed
and opened, but nothing was found in it. I asked him what he had
done with a paper containing an account of his project which
he had told Mr. Wales was in the back of his neckhandkerchief.
'It is a paper containing my day's work; and I have destroyed
it.' 'It is a singular place to keep day's work in.' 'It is
a convenient one,' he replied, with an air of deference and
blandness."

Balked in finding this confirmation of guilt, the commander yet proceeded with his design, and thus describes the arrest:

"I said to him, 'You must have been aware that you could
only have compassed your designs by passing over my dead
body, and after that the bodies of all the officers. You had
given yourself a great deal to do. It will be necessary for
me to confine you.' I turned to Lieutenant Gansevoort and
said, 'Arrest Mr. Spencer, and put him in double irons.' Mr.
Gansevoort stepped forward, and took his sword; he was ordered
to sit down in the stern port, double ironed, and as an
additional security handcuffed. I directed Lieut. Gansevoort
to watch over his security, to order him to be put to instant
death if he was detected speaking to, or holding intelligence
in any way, with any of the crew. He was himself made aware of
the nature of these orders. I also directed Lieut. Gansevoort to
see that he had every comfort which his safe keeping would admit
of. In confiding this task to Lieut. Gansevoort, his kindness
and humanity gave me the assurance that it would be zealously
attended to; and throughout the period of Mr. Spencer's
confinement, Lieut. Gansevoort, whilst watching his person with
an eagle eye, and ready at any moment to take his life should he
forfeit that condition of silence on which his safety depended,
attended to all his wants, covered him with his own grego when
squalls of rain were passing over, and ministered in every way
to his comfort with the tenderness of a woman."

Double-ironed--handcuffed--bagged (for he was also tied up in a bag), lying under the sun in a tropical clime, and drenched with squalls of rain--silent--instant death for a word or a sign--Lieutenant Gansevoort, armed to the teeth, standing over him, and watching, with "eagle eye," for the sound or motion which was to be the forfeit of life: for six days and nights, his irons examined every half hour to see that all were tight and safe, was this boy (of less than nineteen) thus confined; only to be roused from it in a way that will be told. But the lieutenant could not stand to his arduous watch during the whole of that time. His eagle eye could not resist winking and shutting during all that time. He needed relief--and had it--and in the person of one who showed that he had a stomach for the business--Wales, the informer: who, finding himself elevated from the care of pea-jackets, molasses, and tobacco, to the rank of sentinel over a United States officer, improved upon the lessons which his superiors had taught him, and stood ready, a cocked revolver in hand, to shoot, not only the prisoners (for by this time there were three), for a thoughtless word or motion, but also to shoot any of the crew that should make a suspicious sign:--such as putting the hand to the chin, or touching a handspike within forty feet of the said Mr. Wales. Hear him, as he swears before the court-martial:

"I was officer in charge of the prisoners: we were holy-stoning
the decks. I noticed those men who missed their muster kept
congregating round the stern of the launch, and kept talking in
a secret manner. I noticed them making signs to the prisoners
by putting their hands up to their chins: Cromwell was lying on
the starboard arm-chest: he rose up in his bed. I told him if
I saw any more _signs_ passing between them _I should put him
to death: my orders were to that effect_. He laid down in his
bed. I then went to the stern of the launch, found Wilson, and a
number of small holy-stones collected there, and was endeavoring
to pull a gun handspike from the stern of the launch: _what his
intentions were I don't know_. I cocked a pistol, and ordered
him to the lee-gangway to draw water. I told him if I saw him
pulling at the handspike I should blow his brains out."

This comes from Mr. Wales himself, not from the commander's report, where this handspike-incident is made to play a great part; thus:

"Several times during the night there were symptoms of an
intention to strike some blow. Mr. Wales detected Charles A.
Wilson attempting to draw out a handspike from under the launch,
with an evident purpose of felling him; and when Mr. Wales
cocked his pistol and approached, he could only offer some lame
excuse for his presence there. I felt more anxious than I had
yet done, and remained continually on deck."

Here is a discrepancy. Wales swears before the court that he did not know what Wilson's intentions were in pulling at the handspike: the captain, who did not see the pulling, reports to the Secretary of the Navy that it was done with the evident intent of felling Wales! while Wales himself, before the court-martial, not only testified to his ignorance of any motive for that act, but admitted upon cross-examination, that the handspike was not drawn at all--only attempted! and that he himself was forty feet from Wilson at the time! (but, more of this handspike hereafter.) Still the impression upon the commander's mind was awful. He felt more anxious than ever: he could not rest: he kept continually on deck. Armed to the teeth he watched, listened, interrogated, and patrolled incessantly. Surely the man's crazy terrors would excite compassion were it not for the deeds he committed under their influence.--But the paper that was to have been found in Spencer's cravat, and was not found there: it was found elsewhere, and the commander in his report gives this account of it:

"On searching the locker of Mr. Spencer, a small razor-case was
found, which he had recently drawn, with a razor in it, from the
purser. Instead of the razor, the case was found to contain a
small paper, rolled in another; on the inner one were strange
characters, which proved to be Greek, with which Mr. Spencer
was familiar. It fortunately happened that there was another
midshipman on board the Somers who knew Greek--one whose Greek,
and every thing else that he possessed, was wholly devoted to
his country. The Greek characters, converted by midshipman Henry
Rodgers into our own, exhibited well known names among the crew.
The certain--the doubtful--those who were to be kept whether
they would or not--arranged in separate rows; those who were to
do the work of murder in the various apartments, to take the
wheel, to open the arm-chests."

The paper had about thirty names upon it: four under the head of "certain:" ten under that of doubtful, and the remainder under the head of _nolens volens_--which was construed by the Latinists on board to signify men who were to be made to join in the mutiny whether they would or not: and these _nolens volens_ who were to be forced were more numerous than those who were to force them. Eighteen unwilling men to be forced into mutiny and piracy by four willing and ten uncertain; and of the four willing, one of them the informer himself! and another not in the ship! and a third Spencer! leaving but one under Spencer to do the work. The names of all were spelt with the Greek alphabet. Of course these _nolens volens_ men could not have been counted in any way among the mutineers; yet they were always counted to make up the thirty, as, of less than that number it would not have been seemly for a man-of-war to have been afraid; yet some of these were brought home in irons. The ten marked doubtful should not have been held to be guilty upon any principle of human justice--the humanity of the law always giving the benefit of the doubt to the suspected criminal. This brings the inquiry to the four "certain:" and of these four, it turned out that one of them (Andrews) was a personage not in the vessel! Another was the veritable Mr. Wales himself! who was the informer, and the most determined opposer of the mutiny--leaving but two (Spencer and McKinley) to do the work of murder in the various departments: and of this McKinley it will eventually be seen with what justice his name was there. The names of Small and Cromwell, both of whom were hung with Spencer, were neither of them in this certain list--nor that of Cromwell in any: in fact, there was nothing against him, and Small was only included in Wales's information. So that the "certain" mutineers were reduced to two, both of whom were in irons, and bagged, and five others out of the doubtful and _nolens volens_ classes. There was no evidence to show that this was Spencer's razor-case: it was new, and like the rest obtained from the purser. There was no evidence how it got into Spencer's locker: Wales and Gansevoort were the finders. There was no evidence that a single man whose name was in the list, knew it to be there. Justice would have required these points to have been proven; but with respect to the writing upon this paper it was readily avowed by Spencer to be his--an avowal accompanied by a declaration of its joking character, which the law would require to go with it always, but which was disregarded.

Small and Cromwell were not arrested with Spencer, but afterwards, and not upon accusations, but upon their looks and attitudes, and accident to the sky-sail-mast, which will be noted at the proper time. The first point is to show the arrestation upon looks and motions; and of that the commander gave this account in the official report:

"The following day being Sunday, the crew were inspected
at quarters, ten o'clock. I took my station abaft with the
intention of particularly observing Cromwell and Small. The
third, or master's division, to which they both belonged, always
mustered at morning quarters upon the after part of the quarter
deck, in continuation of the line formed by the crews of the
guns. The persons of both were faultlessly clean. They were
determined that their appearance in this respect should provoke
no reproof. Cromwell stood up to his full stature, his muscles
braced, his battle-axe grasped resolutely, his cheek pale, but
his eye fixed as if indifferently at the other side. He had
a determined and dangerous air. Small made a very different
figure. His appearance was ghastly; he shifted his weight from
side to side, and his battle-axe passed from one hand to the
other; his eye wandered irresolutely, but never towards mine. I
attributed his conduct to fear; I have since been led to believe
that the business upon which he had entered was repugnant to his
nature, though the love of money and of rum had been too strong
for his fidelity."

Here were two men adjudged guilty of mutiny and piracy upon their looks, and attitude, and these diametrically opposed in each case. One had a dangerous air--the other a ghastly air. One looked resolute--the other irresolute. One held his battle-axe firmly griped--the other shifted his from hand to hand. One stood up steadily on both legs--the other shifted his weight uneasily from leg to leg. In one point only did they agree--in that of faultless cleanliness: a coincidence which the commander's judgment converted into evidence of guilt, as being proof of a determination that, so far as clean clothes went, there should be no cause for judging them pirates: a conclusion to the benefit of which the whole crew would be entitled, as they were proved on the court-martial to be all "faultlessly clean" at this Sunday inspection--as they always were at such inspection--as the regulations required them to be--and for a fault in which any one of them would have been punished. Yet upon these looks, and attitudes, suspicions were excited, which, added to the incident of a mast broken by the blundering order of the commander's nephew, caused the arrest and death of two citizens.

After the crew had been inspected, divine service was performed, the crew attending before the time, and behaving well; and the commander again availed himself of the occasion to examine the countenances of the men; and, happily, without finding any thing to give him distrust. He thus describes the scene:

"After quarters the church was rigged. The crew mustered up with
their prayer-books, and took their seats without waiting for
all hands to be called, and considerably before five bells,
or half-past ten--the usual time of divine service. The first
lieutenant reported all ready, and asked me if he should call
all hands to muster. I told him to wait for the accustomed
hour. Five bells were at length struck, and all hands called to
muster. The crew were unusually attentive, and the responses
more than commonly audible. The muster succeeded, and I examined
very carefully the countenances of the crew, without discovering
any thing that gave me distrust."

This Sunday then (Nov. 27th) being the first Sunday, and the first day after the arrest of Spencer, had passed half by without any thing discoverable to excite distrust, except the cleanliness, the looks, and the attitudes of Small and Cromwell at the morning inspection. At the second ordeal, that of the church service, the whole crew came out well, and all seemed to be safe and right up to this time--being twenty-four hours after the arrest of Spencer--the event which was expected to rouse his accomplices to some outbreak for his rescue. But that critical day was not destined to pass away without an event which confirmed all the suspicions of the commander, and even indicated the particular criminals. Before the sun had gone down, this event occurred; and as it became the turning point in the case, and the point of departure in the subsequent tragic work, the commander shall have the benefit of telling it himself:

"In the afternoon, the wind having moderated, skysails and
royal studding-sails were set. In going large I had always been
very particular to have no strain upon the light braces leading
forward, as the tendency of such a strain was to carry away the
light yards and masts. Whilst Ward M. Gagely, one of the best
and most skilful of our apprentices, was yet on the main royal
yard, after setting the main skysail, a sudden jerk of the
weather main royal brace given by Small and another, whose name
I have not discovered, carried the topgallant-mast away in the
sheeve hole, sending forward the royal mast with royal skysail,
royal studding sail, main-topgallant staysail, and the head
of the gaff topsail. Gagely was on the royal yard. I scarcely
dared to look on the booms or in the larboard gangways where he
should have fallen. For a minute I was in intense agony: in the
next I saw the shadow of the boy through the topgallant sail,
rising rapidly towards the topgallant yard, which still remained
at the mast head. Presently he rose to view, descended on the
after side to the topgallant-mast cap, and began to examine with
coolness to see what was first to be done to clear the wreck.
I did not dream at the time that the carrying away of this mast
was the work of treachery--but I knew that it was an occasion
of this sort, the loss of a boy overboard, or an accident to
a spar, creating confusion and interrupting the regularity
of duty, which was likely to be taken advantage of by the
conspirators were they still bent on the prosecution of their
enterprise."

The commander did not dream at the time of treachery: did not dream of it when he saw the mast fall: and well he might not, for he had given the order himself to set the skysails, the ship running "large" at the time, _i. e._ with a favorable wind, and when a slight press of sail might carry away the elevated, light, and unsupported mast which carried the skysail. He did not dream of treachery when he saw it fall under an order which himself had given: but quickly he had that dream, and he must tell himself how it came to him; thus:

"To my astonishment, all those who were most conspicuously
named in the programme of Mr. Spencer, no matter in what
part of the vessel they might be stationed, mustered at the
main-top masthead--whether animated by some new-born zeal in the
service of their country, or collected there for the purpose of
conspiring, it was not easy to decide. The coincidence confirmed
the existence of a dangerous conspiracy, suspended, yet perhaps
not abandoned."

This is the way the dream began, in astonishment at seeing all those most conspicuously nominated in the razor-case paper, rush to the scene of the disaster. Now, for the misfortune of this paragraph, it came to be proved before the court-martial, and after the men were dead, that the majority of those who ran forward were not named in the paper at all! and especially that one of the two was not upon it who were presently seized as guilty, and whose haste to perform a duty was the passport to death. The crew ran to the place. This would seem to be the most natural conduct imaginable. They ran to the place where the mast and boy were expected to fall. They flew to the place at which the commander, in his intense agony, did not dare to look. This haste to such a place was proof of guilt, take it either way, either as animated by some new-born zeal to hide past defection, or to collect for a conspiracy. The commander finds it hard to decide between these two purposes; but take which he might, it was confirmation of a dangerous conspiracy, and of its suspension, not abandonment. The sudden running to the place was the proof of the conspiracy: the jerk which Small, and another whose name has never yet been discovered, gave to the weather main royal brace, pointed out the two eminently guilty. What put the seal upon the confirmation of all this guilt was the strange and stealthy glances which Spencer, in his irons, and his head then out of the bag (for the heads were left out in the day time) cast at it. Hear him:

"The eye of Mr. Spencer travelled perpetually to the masthead,
and cast thither many of those strange and stealthy glances
which I had before noticed."

The commander nowhere tells when and how he had previously seen these sinister glances--certainly not before the revelations of Wales, as, up to that time, he was anxious before the court-martial to show that Spencer was kindly regarded by him. But the glances. What more natural than for Spencer to look at such a startling scene! a boy falling in the wreck of a broken mast, and tumbling shrouds, from fifty feet high: and look he did--a fair and honest look, his eyes steadfastly fixed upon it, as proved by the commander's own witnesses on the court-martial--especially midshipman Hays--who testified to the fixed and steady look; and this in answer to a question from the commander tending to get a confirmation of his own report. Nor did any one whatever see those strange and furtive glances which the commander beheld. Now to the breaking of the mast. This incident was reviewed at the time by two competent judges--Mr. Fenimore Cooper, the naval historian, and himself an ex-naval officer, and Captain William Sturgis of Boston, one of the best navigators that Boston ever bred (and she has bred as good as the world ever saw). They deemed the breaking of that slender, elevated, unbraced mast the natural result of the order which the commander gave to set the skysail, going as the vessel then was. She was in the trade-winds, running into West Indies from the coast of Africa, and running "large," as the mariners express it; that is to say, with the wind so crossing her course as to come strong upon her beam or quarter, and send her well before it. With such a wind, these experienced seamen say that the order which the commander gave might well break that mast. It would increase the press of sail on that delicate and exposed mast, able to bear but little at the best, and often breaking without a perceptible increase of pressure upon it. But the order which he gave was not the one given to the men. He gave his order to his relation, Mr. O. H. Perry, to have a small pull on one brace; instead of that the order given to the men was, to haul, that is, pull hard, on another; which was directly contrary to the order he had received--one slacking, the other increasing the press of sail. Under that order the men with alacrity threw their whole weight on the wrong brace; and the mast cracked, reeled, and fell immediately. The commander himself saw all this--saw the fault his nephew had committed--sent for him--reproved him in the face of the crew--told him it was his fault--the effect of his inattention. All this was fully proved before the court-martial. Perry's own testimony admitted it. Thus--questioned by the judge advocate: "After the mast was carried away were you sent for by the commander?" Answer: "Yes, sir." "Who came for you?" A. "I don't recollect the person." "Was it not McKee?" A. "I don't recollect." "What then occurred between you and the commander?" A. "He asked me why I did not attend to my duties better? and said I must do it better in future." "What was the commander alluding to?" A. "To my not attending to the brace at the time they were hauling on it." "Did he say to you, '_this is all your fault, sir?_' or words to that effect?" A. "I don't recollect." "What reply did you make the commander?" A. "I did not make any. I said, I think, that I understood the order to haul on the brace." There was also something else proved there, which, like the other, was not reported in the commander's account of that portentous event, which was the immediate cause of a new and terrible line of conduct. First, there is no mention on the log-book of this rush of the men aft: secondly, there is no mention in it of any suspected design to carry away this topgallant mast. The commander was seeing when he wrote his report what the keeper of the log-book did not see at the time it should have happened. And this point is here dismissed with the remark that, in this case (the men coming fast to the work) was the sign of guilt: in other cases, coming slow was the same sign: so that, fast or slow, from the time Wales made his revelation, to the time of hanging, all motions, however opposite to each other, were equally signs of the same guilt. The account of this incident being given, the report proceeds:

"The wreck being cleared, supper was piped down before sending
up the new mast. After supper the same persons mustered again
at the mast head, and the topgallant mast was fidded, the light
yards crossed, and the sails set. By this time it was dark, and
quarters had been unavoidably dispensed with: still I thought,
under all the circumstances, that it was scarcely safe to leave
Cromwell at large during the night. The night was the season of
danger. After consulting Lieutenant Gansevoort, I determined to
arrest Cromwell. The moment he reached the deck, an officer was
sent to leeward to guard the lee-rigging; and the main stays
were also thought of, though not watched. As his voice was heard
in the top, descending the rigging, I met him at the foot of
Jacob's ladder, surrounded by the officers, guided him aft to
the quarter-deck, and caused him to sit down. On questioning
him as to the secret conversation he had held the night before
with Mr. Spencer, he denied its being he. He said; 'It was not
me, sir, it was Small!' Cromwell was the tallest man on board,
and Small the shortest. Cromwell was immediately ironed; and
Small, then pointed out by an associate to increased suspicion,
was also sent for, interrogated, and ironed. Increased vigilance
was now enjoined upon all the officers; henceforward, all were
perpetually armed. Either myself, or the first lieutenant was
always on deck; and, generally, both of us were."

Two more were now arrested, and in giving an account of these arrests, as of all others (fifteen in the whole), the commander forgets to tell that the arrested persons were bagged, as well as double-ironed and handcuffed, and their irons ordered to be examined every half hour day and night--a ceremony which much interfered with sleep and rest. And now for the circumstances which occasioned these arrests: and first of Cromwell. There are but two points mentioned; first, "under all the circumstances." These have been mentioned, and comprise his looks and attitudes at the morning inspection, and his haste in getting to the scene of the wreck when the mast fell. The next was his answer to the question upon his secret conversation with Spencer the night before. This "night before," seems to be a sad blunder in point of time. Spencer was in irons on the larboard arm-chest at that time, a guard over him, and holding his life from minute to minute by the tenure of silence, the absence of signs, and the absence of understanding looks with any person. It does not seem possible that he could have held a conversation, secret or public, with any person during that night, or after his arrest until his death; nor is any such any where else averred: and it is a stupid contradiction in itself. If it was secret, it could not be known: if it was open, both the parties would have been shot instantly. Upon its stupid contradiction, as well as upon time, the story is falsified. Besides this blunder and extreme improbability, there is other evidence from the commander himself, to make it quite sure that nobody could have talked with Spencer that night. The men were in the hammocks, and the ship doubly guarded, and the officers patrolling the deck with pistols and cutlasses. Of this, the report says: "That night the officers of the watch were armed with cutlasses and pistols, and the rounds of both decks made frequently, to see that the crew were in their hammocks, and that there were no suspicious collections of individuals about the deck." Under these circumstances, it would seem impossible that the previous night's conversation could have been held by any person with Mr. Spencer. Next, supposing there was a secret conversation. It might have been innocent or idle; for its subject is not intimated; and its secret nature precludes all knowledge of it. So much for Cromwell: now for Small. His case stands thus: "Pointed out by an associate to increased suspicion." Here association in guilt is assumed; a mode of getting at the facts he wanted, almost invariable with the commander, Mackenzie. Well, the answer of Cromwell, "It was not me, it was Small!" would prove no guilt if it was true; but it is impossible to have been true. But this was only cause of "increased" suspicion: so that there was suspicion before; and all the causes of this had been detailed in the official report. First, there were the causes arising at inspection that morning--faultless cleanliness, shifting his battle-axe from one hand to the other, resting alternately on the legs, and a ghastly look--to wit: a ghostly look. He was interrogated: the report does not say about what: nor does it intimate the character of the answers. But there were persons present who heard the questions and the answers, and who told both to the court-martial. The questions were as to the conversation with Spencer, which Wales reported; and the answers were, yes--that he had foolish conversations with Spencer, but no mutiny. Still there was a stumbling block in the way of arresting Small. His name was nowhere made out as certain by Spencer. This was a balk: but there was the name of a man in the list who was not in the vessel: and this circumstance of a man too few, suggested an idea that there should be a transaction between these names; and the man on the list who had no place in the ship, should give place to him who had a place in the ship, and no place on the list: so Small was assumed to be Andrews; and by that he was arrested, though proved to be Small by all testimony--that of his mother inclusive.

The three prisoners were bagged, and how that process was performed upon them, they did not live to tell: but others who had undergone the same investment, did: and from them the operation will be learnt. With the arrest of these two, the business of Sunday closed; and Monday opened with much flogging of boys, and a speech from the commander, of which he gives an abstract, and also displays its capital effects:

"The effect of this (speech of the 28th) upon the crew was
various: it filled many with horror at the idea of what they had
escaped from: it inspired others with terror at dangers awaiting
them from their connection with the conspiracy. The thoughts of
returning to that home, and those friends from whom it had been
intended to cut them off for ever, caused many of them to weep.
I now considered the crew tranquillized and the vessel safe."

Now, whether this description of the emotions excited by the captain's oratory, be reality or fancy, it is still good for one thing: it is good for evidence against himself! good evidence, at the bar of all courts, and at the high tribunal of public opinion. It shows that the captain, only two days before the hanging, was perfect master of his ship--that the crew was tranquillized, and the vessel safe! and all by the effect of his oratory: and consequently, that he had a power within himself by which he could control the men, and mould them into the emotions which he pleased. The 28th day came. The commander had much flogging done, and again made a speech, but not of such potency as the other. He stopped Spencer's tobacco, and reports that, "the day after it was stopped, his spirits gave way entirely. He remained the whole day with his face buried in the gregoe and when it was raised, it was bathed in tears." So passed the 28th. "On the 29th (continues the report) all hands were again called to witness punishment," and the commander made another speech. But the whole crew was far from being tranquillized. During the night seditious cries were heard. Signs of disaffection multiplied. The commander felt more uneasy than he had ever done before. The most seriously implicated collected in knots. They conferred together in low tones, hushing up, or changing the subject when an officer approached. Some of the petty officers had been sounded by the first lieutenant, and found to be true to their colors: they were under the impression that the vessel was yet far from being safe--that there were many still at liberty that ought to be confined--that an outbreak, having for its object the rescue of the prisoners, was seriously contemplated. Several times during the night there were symptoms of an intention to strike some blow. Such are a specimen of the circumstances grouped together under vague and intangible generalities with which the day of the 29th is ushered in, all tending to one point, the danger of a rescue, and the necessity for more arrests. Of these generalities, only one was of a character to be got hold of before the court-martial, and it will take a face, under the process of judicial examination of witnesses, very different from that which it wore in the report. After these generalities, applying to the mass of the crew, come special accusations against four seamen--Wilson, Green, McKee, McKinley: and of these special accusations, a few were got hold of by the judge advocate on the court-martial. Thus:

1. _The handspike sign._--"Mr. Wales detected Charles A. Wilson
attempting to draw out a handspike from under the launch, with
an evident purpose of felling him; and when Wales cocked his
pistol, and approached, he could only offer some lame excuse for
his presence there."

This is the amount of the handspike portent, as reported to the Secretary of the Navy among the signs which indicated the immediate danger of the rising and the rescue. This Wales, of course, was a witness for the commander, and on being put on the stand, delivered his testimony in a continued narrative, covering the whole case. In that narrative, he thus introduces the handspike incident:

"I then went to the stern of the launch, found Wilson had a
number of small holystones collected there, and was endeavoring
to pull a gun handspike from the stern of the launch: what his
intentions were I don't know. I cocked a pistol, and ordered him
in the gangway to draw water. I told him if I saw him pulling on
the handspike, I should blow his brains out."