~-
~ - =AeaMMi
t_.e x
VOL. VIII. No. 2.]
PUBLISHED BY
THEODORE H. CREMER,
TERMS.
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Mutiny on Board the Somers.
The folk wing is the Narrative oh Coin •
model MACKENZIK, rt•specting the Mutt-,
ny and Execution on board the U. S. brig
Somers, which was read before the Naval
Court of Inquiry, at New York. It is
identical with the Official Report which he
transmitted to Washington.
U. S. BRIG SOMERS ) New-York,
Dec.l9, 1842.
Hon. A. P. UPSHUR, Secretary of the
Navy :
SIR: Since my communication to you
of the 14th instant, on which day I arri•
wed here with the vessel under my coos
mand, I have been engaged in preparing
a narrative of the cruise of the Somers,
which should embrace all the facts that
might in any way illustrate the late mu•
tiny on hoard of her, but I have been sub
jected to at, many interruptions, from
which it wits the less easy to escape as
they gi ew out ol the sympathy and soli
citude of real friends, and the narrative
grew so interminable as I advanced, that
I have deemed it due to the anxiety of the
Navy Department to receive a more de.
tailed statement of the facteof the mutiny
than I was at first able to communicate,
to break off at once from the elaborate
. narrative in which I was engaged, and
confine myself to a statement of the prin
cipal occurrences.
I will therefore sim:tly premise that,
after having made the Azores and touched
at Madeira, being thus lar diverted from
my course by constantly opposing winds,
I proceeded, in fulfilment of your orders
of the 7th and Sth September last, to
Tenerife and Port Praya. nod not flatting
the United States ship Vandalia there,
contirmed onward to Liberia; I there un
derstood, as a matter of common report,
that she had sailed on the sth of October
from Cape Palmas for the United States.
1 he orders under which I was acting sup
posed the Vandalia to be still on the sta
tion ; at all events the despat , :lies with
which I was charged could be ol no value
at home. I therefore placed them in the
.iands of Dr. I. S. Day, the United States
kgent, whose receipt for them I Hive the
Moor to enclose, and, having thus reach
ed the appointed limit of my orders. sailed
1 on the I Ith November for the United
States by way of St. Thomas ; where
prudence and a just regard for the health
mid comfort (Amy crew required I should
s'op to obtain a supply of bread, water,
and refreshment a.
On Saturilay, the 26th of November,
Lieut. G. Gansevoort came into the cabin
and informed the that a conspiracy exist
ed on board of the brig to capture her,
murder the commander, the officers, and
most of the crew, and convert 'her into
a pirate ; and that acting Midshipman
Philip Spencer was at the head of it. He
stated that Mr. 11. M. Hieskell, the pur
-er, had just informed him that Mr. J. W.
Wales, his steward, had approached him
as if to converse nit ibidr joint duty, and
revealed to hint, 14 the purpose of its `)e
.iii..; communicated to the commander, the
following information :
The ingot previous, being that of the
1
Silt November. between the hours of six
nil ~ i ght o'clock, he had been accosted
ty Mr. Spencer, and invited ty hint to
et up on the booms, as he had something
of importance to communicate. When on
'.., tie booms, Mr. Spencer addressed him as
le;lows; '. Do you fear death ? Do you
I • 0. a dead man? Are you afraid to kill
1,. oil" Mr. Wales, thus accosted, and
me, his curiosity excited, with adinira
: i! • coolness Induced Mr. Spencer to go
in, ind took the oath of secrecy which'
',.," administered to him. Mr. Spencer
iei informed him that he was leagued
v• ii about twenty of the crew to get pos•
:d
ession of the vessel, murder the cowman
fier and officers, choose from among those
Ai the crew who were willing to join him
. :9suelt as would be useful, and murder the
•,.'rest and commence pirating. He men•
`" tnteil all the details of the plan as you
''';rill find it in the statement of Mr. Wales,
`,;lend which wits well suited to the attaiii•
.;inent of his object, involving much better
epableotions of o seamanship f l.rrag.
A than l
one e woitts
thehion himself
ucements to her capture, he stated that
,:,,,:' bus, containing wine of rare value,
ught oft with much care at Madeira,
THE JOURNAL.
as a present from J. H. Burden, Esq.,
United States Vice Consul at Funchal, in
Commodore J. H. Nicholson, contained
money or treasure to a large amount. It
was his object to carry the vessel to the,
Isle of Pines, where one of his associates
who had been in the business before, had
friends; to attack no vessels that lie was
not sure to capture ; to destroy every ves
tige of the captured vessels, after havilig
removed what was useful ; to select such
of the female passengers as were suitable,
and alter they had used them sufficiently,
to dispose of them. Mr. Spencer also sta•
tell that he had the written plan of his
project in the back of his cravat, which
he would show to Mr. Wales in the morn
ing. After which they separated, with
terrible threats on the part of Mr. Spen
cer of instant death to Mr. Wales from
himself or his accomplices, should Mr.
Wales utter one word of what had passed.
Such was the purport of the informa
tion laid before nie by Lieutenant Ganse
voort, and, although lie was evidently
impressed with the reality of the project,
yet it seemed to me so monstrous, so im
probable, that I could not forbear treat•
mg it with ridicule. I was under the im
pression that Mr. Spencer had been read
log attune piratical -tortes, and had amused
himself with Mr. Wales. Still, (felt that
this was joking on an improper theme,
and determined to notice it thereafter. I ,
also considered that duty required one to
be on my guard, lest there should be a
shadow of reality in this project, anti I
tin ected the first Lieutenant to watch Mr.
Spencer name ly, without seeming to do
so In the course of the day, Lieutenant
'3ltusevoort informed me that Mu. Spen
ce,- had been in the wardriann examining
a chart of the West Indies, and had asked
the Assit.tant Surgeon some qiiestions
about the Isle of Pities, and the latter had
informed him that it was a place much
frequented by pirates, and drily asloo
him it lie had any acquaintances there.
11.. passed the day rather sullenly in one
corner of the steerage, as wa, his custom,
engaged in exananinz a small piece of
paper and writing till it with his pencil,
and occasionally finding relaxation in wor
king with to penknife at the tail of a devil
fish, one of the joints of which he had
formed into a slitting ring for his cravat.
Lieutenant Gansevoort also made an ex
cuse of duty to hollow him to the foretop,
where he found him engaged in having
sonic love device tattooed on his arm by
Betij 'nun F. Green, ordinary seaman and
apprentice. Lieutenant Gansevoort also
learned that he had been endeavoring for
sonic days to ascertain the rate of the
chronometer, by applying to Nlidshipman
Rodgers, to whom it was unknown, and
Min referred hint to the master. He had
been seen in secret and nightly conferen-
Ces with boatswain's mate F. Cromwell,
and seaman Elkin' Small. I also heard
that lie had given money to several of the
crew; to Elisha Small on the 12th Sep•
t ember, the day before our departure from
New York; the same day on which, in
reply to Commodore Petry's injunctions
to reformation, lie had made the most sol
emn promises of amendment; to Samuel
Cromwell on the passage to Madeira ; that
he htd been in the habit of distributing
tobacco extensively anion. the apprenti
ces, in defiance of the orders of the Navy
Department, and of my own often reitera
ted ; that lie hail corrupted the wardroom
steward, caused him to steal brandy from
the wardroom mess, which lie (Mr, Sperm
'cm.) had drunk hiniselt, (occasionally get,
tiny drunk when removed from observe
, tion, and had also administeied to several
of the crew ;* that, finally, he was in the
habit of amusing the crew by making mu
sic with Ids jaw. lie hail the faculty of
throwing his jaw out of jotnt, and by con
tact of the bones playing eith 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
oflthe round house. Ile had some time
before drawn a brig with a black flag, amid
asked one of the midshipmen what lie
•
• NOTE.—The following statement is due
to the ward-room officers of the Somers :
When the vessel was first ,quipped, I told
the first Lieutenant that it w..s my wish that
no wine, and of course no spirituous liquors,
should oe us, din the steerage mess. 1 gave
as a reason that the obligations of hospitality
in out public vessels fell altogether on the
tabor and wardroom officers, they would
have the full share of this duty, `this hint,
accompanied by no word of compulsion, had
its eff:ct, and 1 never had occasion to give
any order on the subject, which I was at any
time ready to do had it been n, cessary. In
the wardroom, the officers of course had
their wine. I knew what had been the views
in that subj •ct of my friends, Comners P. n
dergrast and Du Pont, on board of the Ohio,
and what had been their practice with re
' gird to the total exclusion of mpirib,us
li
q ft' an the wardrootn of that :hip. I
that Lient. G insevourt's views were
identical on all subj.:cts with th"se of his two
distinguished m,-ssmates above named, and 1
did not, therefore, interfere with regard to
the wards nom, and if I had done it at all, it
would have been with extreme caution, and
only in the way of friendly advice. It now
"ONE COUNTRY, OhE CONSTITUTION, ONE DESTINY."
HUNTINGDON, PENNSYVANIA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25. 1843.
thought of it; he had repeatedly asserted,
in the early part of the cruise, that the
brig might be easily taken ; he had quite
recently examined the hand of Midships
man Rodgers, told his fortune, and pre
dicted for him a speedy and violent death.
These various circumstances induced
me to Intik back and recall all that I had
heard of and observed in Mr. Spencer..—
. 11 1 1mii lie reported himself to me for duty
at New York, about the 20th of August, I
at once gave him my hand and welcomed
him on board the Somers. I subsequently
heard that lie had quite recently been tits
missed with disgrace from the Brazilian
squadron, and compelled to resign for
drunkenness and scandalous conduct.- -
This fact made me very desirous of his
removal from the vessel, chiefly tin ac
count of the young men who were to mess
with and be associated with him, the rather
that two of them were connected with me
by blood and two by alliance, and the
four entrusted to my special care.
'l' he circumstance of Mr. Spencer's be
ing the son of a high officer of the Gov
ernment, by enhancing his baseness in my
estimation, made me more desirous to be
rid of him. On this point I beg that I may
not be misunderstood. I revere authority;
I recognise in the exercise of its high
functions in this free country, the evi•
dent e of genius, intelligence, and virtue ;
but I have no respect fir the base son of
an honored father. Oil the contrary, I
consider that lie who by misconduct sul
lies the lustre of an honorable name 1 ,
inure culpable than the untrieuded individ
ual whose disgrace rails only on himsell.
I wish, however, to have nothing to do
with baseness in any shape ; the navy is
not the place for it. On these accounts I
readily sought the first opportunity of
;etnng rid of Mr Spencer. When we wer
on tot- eve of twit mulsiopmait wlm
hail been with me before, mid ui w mot I
' ta il confi,lence, jollied the vessel. this
carried t.• seven the number to occupy a
space Capable of accommodating only five.
had heard that Mr. Spencer had expres
sed a willingness to be transferred trim.
the Somers to the °minims. I directed
Lieutenant Ginsevoort to say to him that
it lie would apply 111 Commodore Perry to
detach hum (dime was no time to c ttttt mu
ideate with the N ivy Department) I
would second the application. tie made
the application, I secomb,l it, earnestly
urging that it should be granted on the
score of the comfort of the young officers.
The commodore declined detitchin , Mr
Spencer, bit offered to detach Midship
man Henry Rodgers, who had been last
ordered. I could not consent to part with
Midshipman Rodgers, whom I knew tube
a seaman, an officer, a gentleman ;
young muttof high attaintnmits within his'
profession and beyond it. The Somers
sailed with seven in her steerage. 'they
could not all sit together round the tattle.
The two oldest and most uselul haul no
hickeys to put their clothes in, and have
slept during the cruise on the steerage
deck, the campstools, the booms, in the
tops, or in the quarter boats. They have
submitted to these inconveniences without
a murmur, and performed their duty to
my utmost satisfaction.
I recurred to this recollection; I en
deavored to review the conduct of Mr.
Spencer. I had treated Mr. Spencer
precisely like the other midshipmen.—
Perhaps I reproved him less frequently
than others for slight deviations from
duty : I had little hope of essentially
serving one who had Leen so great an
enemy to himself.
I had observed that he had very little
intercourse with the officers; that he was
exceedingly intimate with the crew. I
hail noticed on the interchane of a pas
sing joke as individuals passed by him, a
snide never seen but on such occasions—
a strange flashing of the eye.
The.; various — recollections, added to
what had been revealed to me, to make
sure at once of his person, though I had
before meditated allowing Mr. Wales to
have another interview with him that
evening, tbr the purpose of ascertaining
more of his plans, as hail been weed aeon
appears that, when ordered to the coast of
Africa, some brandy was ordered for the
wardroom mess, to be used medicinally, in
consequence of advice given by the Asiistant
Surgeon of the Some, s and the Assistant
Surgeon of the Grampus, who, for a time,
had releaved Dr. Lercock on board the
Somers. They had been recently on the
co •at of Africa, and considered brandy as sal
utary in preventing the effects of malaria.—
By accident, as it was thous ht at the time,
but, a subsequent developements would
rather go to 'wave, by design, the wardroom
steward - contrived to make a mistake, and
the supply of brandy was ordered from two
chfferent grocers, thus doubling the quantity
int-nded to be taken. We were not expo
sed to the influ.-nce of the malaria, none of
the brandy was used in the mess, and all 4
it is still on hoard. except what was stolen
by the stewart at the request of Mr. Sp.
and drunk by Itiot and those he eitilea,r•
to core opt. It is due to the wardroom fa
cets tu At thus much should he known, to
sal, ti na 11 , 111 tieing pr. judiced in the
minds of th , so who hold, as I dn, that tht
drinking of bra tly is even more to be drea
ded than malaria..
between them. If he was really in earn
est, enough was already known. At
evening quarters I ordered through my
cleat, 0. H. Perry, doi.ig 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 toaster was ordered to take the
wheel, and those of the 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 Sinners." With a deferential, but
unmoved and gently smiling expression,
he replied, '' Oh no sir." Did you not
tell Mr. W ales, 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 T"
" I may have told him so, sir, but it was
in u joke." You admit then that you told
him sot" " Yes, sir, but in a joke."—
" This, sir, is joking on a forbidden sub
ject—this joke tnay cost you your life!
' Be pleased to remove your neck handker-
I chief." It was removed and opened, but
nothing wa•+ found .in it. I asked him
what he had done with the paper contain
ing the account of his project which he
had told Mr. Wales was in the back of
his neck handkerchief. "It is a paper
containing my day's work, and I have
i:eatroyed it." "Itis a singular place I
keep day's works in." "It is a conve
nient one," he replied, with an air of de•
ferenee and blandness. I said to him.
•. You must have been aware th•et you
could only have compassed your d , signs
!iassing over my dead body, and alter
that the bodies of all the officers. You
had given yourself, sir, a great deal to do.
It will be necessary for me to confine
you, sir." I turned to Lieut. Gansevoort
and viii , Arrest Mr. Spencer, and put
him .n 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 ndditional secu
lity, hanticu&d. I directed Lieutenant
Gans -yowl to watch over his Pecurity, to
ortl , him to be put to instant death if he
was detected speaking to or holding intel
lf:ence in any way with ally of the ere..
He was himself aritle aware of the nature
of these orders. I also directed Lieut.
tiansevoort to see that he had every com
fort 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 ne
zealously attended to ; and throughout
toe 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 for •
feu the coodittoo of silence on which his
safety depended, attended to all his
wants, covered him with his own grew)
when squalls of rain were passing over
at d ministered in every way to his com
fort with the tenderness of a woman.
Mr. Spencer being confined, the tithcer:
were remanded to their quarters, the
crew and the b ittery invected, the ordi
nary reports made to the first Lieutenant,
and by him to me, the retreat beaten.—
That night the officers of the watch were
armed with cutlaasts and pistols, and the
rounds on both decks made frequently to
see that the crew were in their hammocks,
'and that there were no suspicious collec
tions of individuals about the decks. 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 he possessed, was wholly
devoted to his country. The Greek char
acters, converted by midshipman Henry
Rogers into our own, exhibited well
known names among the crew. Th e cer
tain—the doubtful.— those who were to be
kept whether they would or not—a•ran
ged in separate rows--those who were to
do the work of murder in the various
apartments, to take the wheel, to open the
arm chest.
The following day being Sunday, the
crew were inspected at (palters at 10
o'clock. I took any station abaft with tl►e
intention ad purticulativ observing Crom
well and Small. The third or master's
division, to which they both belonged,
always n►ustered at maiming quarters upon
the after part of the quay ter-deck, in con
tinuation of the line !untied by the crews
of the guns. The persons of both were
faultlessly clean. They were determined
that their appearance, n► this respect,
.d in t i ld provoke no repcool. Cromwell
01..1 01) to his full stature, his muscles
his battle-axe grasped resolutely,
his check pale. his eye fixed as if inditler
ently at the other side. Ile had a deter
win
d and dangerous air. Small made a
very different figure. His appearance
was ghastly; he shifted his weight front
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. 1 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 fur his
fidelity.
After quarters the church was rigged.
The crew mustered up with their prayer
books, and took theirseats without waiting
for all hands to be called; and considera
bly before five bells, or half past 10, the
usual time for Divine service, the first
Lieutenant reported all hernia ready, and
asked me if he should call all 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.
In the sfternnoon, the wind having mo•
derated, skysales and roal-studding sails
were set. In going large! had always been
very particular to have no strain upon the
light braces leading forward, as the tend
ency of such a strain was to carry away
the light yards and toasts. Whilst Ward
M. Gagely, One of the blst and most skil
ful of our apprentices, was yet on the
main royal lard after setting the skysails,
a sudden jeik of the weather main royal
brace given by Small and another, whose
Marne I have not ye. discovered,carried the
top gallant mast away in the abet ve hole,
sending., forward the royal mast with ray
al skysal, road studding sail, inain top-1
gallant staysail, and the head of the gaff
topsail. Oagely was on the royal yard.
I scarcely dared to look on the booms
or in the larboard gangways, where lie
should have Innen. Frr a minute I was
iv intense agony; in the next I saw the
shadow of the boy through the top-gallant
sail rising rapidly towards the topgallant
yard, which still remained at the mast
heed. Presently he rose to view, descend
ed on the after side to the lop-mast cap,
and began to examine with coulees.; to see
what was first to be dime to clear the
wreck. 111111 not dream at the time that
the carrying away of this mast was the
%yolk al treachery; but I knew that it was
an occasion of this sort, the loss of s boy
overboard, or an accident to spar, creating
confussion and interrupting the regularity
°Nut . % ,which was likely to be taken
advan
't.ge of by the conspirator. were they sill
u. nt on the prosec 11011 at their en terer tin..
rile greatest pains were theref ore taken
to prevent all contusion. The first Lieu
remit took the deck ; every thing miner( t
ed with the wreck was sent down from a-
loft; the rigging unrio e and coiled down ;
sails bent rarest' to the yards ; the spare
topgallant mast got out, scraped, and
shlushed, and the tid-hole cut ; every one
employed, and every thing made to go on
with tualeviating regularity. To my as
tonishment all those who %vete most con•
spituously named in the programme of
Mr. Spencer, no matter in what part of
the vessel they might be stmioned, must
ered at the main-top mast-head ; whether
animated by some newborn zeal in the
service of their country , or collected there
for the purpose of conspiring, it was not
easy to decide. The coincidence confirm
ed the ex , stence of n dangerous conspira
cy, suspended, yet perhaps not abandon
ed. The eye of Mr. Spencer travelled
perpetually to the mast-head, and cast
thither many ot these strange and stealthy
glances •vlnch I had heretofore noticed.—
The wreck being cleared, supper was pip
ed before sending upthe new mast. After
supper the same persons mustered again
at the mast-head, and the topgallant least
was fielded, the light yards crossed, and
the sails set. By this time it was dark,
and quarters hail been unavoidably dia •
pensed with. Still I thought under the
circumstances that it was scarcely safe to
leave Cromwell at large during the night.
The night was the season of danger.--
After consulting Lieut. Gansevoort, 1 de
termined to arrest Cromwell the moment
he reached the deck. An officer was
sent to leeward to guard the lee rigging,
and the mainstays were also thought of,
though not watched,as his voice was heard
in the top and descending the rigging. I
met hint at the foot of the Jacob's ladder,
surrounded by officers, guided him aft on
the quarter-deck, and caused him to sit
down.
On questioning him as to a secret con,
versation he had 11 , Id the night before with
Mr. Spencer, he denied its being him, and
said, "It was nut me sir it was Small."
Cromwell ttas the tallest man on hoard,
Small the shortest. Cromwell was imme
diately ironed, and Small, thus pointed
out by an associate to increased suspicion
was also sent fr,r, interrogated, and iron
ed. Increased vigilance was now enjoin.
ed upon all the officers. Henceforward
all were perpetually armed. Either my
self or the first lieutenant was always un
deck, and generally both of us were.
On the morning of the following day,
[WnoLE No. 366.
being Monday, the 28th November, two
crimes of contsiderable magnitude appear
ed un the master-at•arms' report of priso
ners. Charles Lambert, apprentice, had
been guilty of theft in stealing sinnet for
a hat from Ward M. Gagely; and Henry
Waltham, the wardroom steward, had sto
len brandy from the wardroom mess, and
given to Mr. Spencer. These were vile
offences; the present was not the time to
bring the discipline of the vessel to a
stand, and the prisoners were both pun
ished to the extent of the law. Waltham,
whilst in irons, had the night before told
Daniel McKinley, who had access to the
wand room as cot buy, where three bottles
of wine could be found ; his object being.
no doubt to furnish the means of excite
ment to the conspirators to induce them
to rise, release Waltham, and get posses
sion the vessel. McKinley was down in
the programme as certain, and as station
ed at the arm cheat. He reported Wal
tham to the first Lieutenant; tin extraor
dinary denunciation under the circum
stances, probably occasioned by his desire
to relieve himself from suspicion. Wal
tham having thus, in contempt of disci•
pline, committed a second offence whilst
in confinement, was remanded into irons
to be subjected to a second pumahtnent on
the following day.
The punishment being over, I thought
this a fit opportunity to endeavor to make
some impression on the crew. The num
bee of them actually engaged in the con
spiracy might not be great ; that it w.,•
known to a majority of them 1 had reason
to believe; in general they might be con,ii
ered disaffected, and disposed on all ()cc •
shins to hold back and resist the dist.;-
pline of the ship. The mysterious ages
cy that had been at work since., our d
nurture from New Vol k to
.corruyt t!.
crew was now disclosed. eunti4nc,
by explaining to them : the gelieral natu.
of the project of Mr. Spencgr,
avoiding to excite, any stiglicion„ that I
was in possesmoiol. the amines of those
who were implilf4C4l,' I was willing in
fact that the worst Ortfiem — inind repent
and hide themselves among the well-dis
, posed . portion of the crew. I took care to
:nform them that the majority of them,
whatever might be their inclinations, were
to share the late of the officers. I Cr,.
deavored to divert the minds of the slight
ly disaffected from the pictures of suc
cessful vice which Mr. Spencer had pre
sented to them ; I alluded to the circum
stance of most of the crew, unlike crews
in general, having ties of kindred to ren•
der life dear to them, and expressed the
hope that within three weeks we should be
again among our friends ; I thanked God
that we had friends to follow us with so
, licitude and affection ; for to have friends
and not to be unworthy of them was the
best guaranty that could be given fur truth
and fidelity.
The effect of this upon the crew woo
various; it filled many with horror at the
idea of what they hail escaped from; it
spired others with terror at danger await
ing them from their connexion with the
conspiracy. The thoughts of returning
to that home and those friends from whom
it had been intended to cut them tiff for
ever, caused many of them to weep. I
now considered the crew tranquilt7ed and
the vessel safe. Having noticed Mr
Spencer to hold intelligence with the crew,
I directed that all the prisoners should be
turned with their faces aft. I also direc
ted that no tobacco should be furnished
them alter the supply they hail on their
persons when confined should be exhaust•
ed. They earnestly begged to be allowed
tobacco. I told the first Lieutenant to
say that Mr. Silencer should have all that
his mess afforded, and his mess•mates in
fact already took care of that ; that the
seamen should have their ration as it was
allowed by the Government; that every
thing should be supplied to them that it
was necessary to their health and comfort;
but that tobacco was only a stimulant,
and 1 wished them to tranquilize their
minds and remain free from excitement.
The day after Mr. Spencer's.tobacco was
stopped his spirits gave way entirely. He
remained the whole day with his face bu•
vied in the grego, and when it was tor a
moment rais.ll it was bathed in tears. Ile
was touched by the gentle and untiring
attentions of Lieut. Gansevoort. He told
him that he was in no state at that time to
speak of any thina.—when he felt more
composed lie would tell him all. Ile
would answer any questions that the
Commander might desire to put to him.
On Thursday, the 29th November, im
mediately after quarters, all hands were
again called to witness punishment, and
Henry Waltham was punished to the ex
tent of the law for offering the three ton •
ilea of wine to Daniel McKinley. I again
spoke to the crew. urging them to co:thorn
to the discipline of the vessel. The or
ders were all known and, of easy observ
ance. I mentioned that every punish
ment inflicted fill board the vessel must be
known to the Secretary of the Navy, and
that the !eat pitnieltraaut there was, the