than himself." Justice readily accepted these
conditions; and Roche only discovering two,
who were comparatively innocent, paid well-
deserved forfeit at Execution Dock.

It may be permitted, by way of postscript to
these notes, to refer to a very singular story
lately revived by a gentleman who addressed a
public meeting on the subject of the American
"difficulty," and who, in doing so, also named
Captain Wilkes, of the San Jacinto, as the hero
of the tale. Friends of the latter gentleman,
have since separated his name from any concern
in the matter; but seeing that time has let slip
some few of the attendant circumstances and has
misrepresented others, here, in brief, is the true
narrative:

The United States brig-of-war Somers, ten
guns, the ship's company numbering in all
seventy-five persons, was returning home in
December, eighteen hundred and forty-two,
from the African station, under the command
of Lieutenant-Commander Slidell Mackenzie—
brother, it is understood, of the Southern
Commissioner, he having assumed the latter name.

When within three days' sail of St. Thomas's,
it came to the captain's knowledge that a
mutiny was projected on board, under the direction
of Midshipman Philip Spencer, a youth of
nineteen, the son or nephew of the then secretary-
at-war. The other ringleaders being Samuel
Cromwell, boatswain's mate, and Elisha Small,
seaman.

The informant was the purser's steward,
Wales, to whom the conspirators had imparted
a portion of their scheme, and who affected
cooperation in order to learn more. He was,
nevertheless, so narrowly watched, that, finding
it impossible to communicate with the captain,
he revealed the whole to the purser, who
promptly made it known. Thereupon Spencer,
Cromwell, and Small were secured, and the
former's papers being examined, the whole
nefarious plot appeared, set forth to the minutest
detail.

The brig was to be captured at Saint
Thomas's, because at that port she could be
best provided with stores, water, &c., for the
piratical cruise which was to follow. (It may
be mentioned that the Somers was a new vessel,
a very fast sailer; in fact, in construction, size,
and speed, the beau ideal of a pirate!) At the
time agreed upon, a scuffle was to be raised on
the forecastle, while the deck was in charge of
Midshipman Rogers, who was to be seized and
flung overboard. Spencer was then to enter the
cabin and kill the captain: while others, stationed
at the steerage-hatch, were to murder the whole
of the remaining officers as they came up: the
surgeon excepted. The crew were then to be
mustered, and all who refused to join the
mutineers were to be thrown overboard.

This completed, they were to make for the
Isle of Pines, where they were to meet a
confederate, then cruising off New York, capture
every ship they could, murder all the males, and
sink the vessel, so that nothing should be left to
tell the horrible tale. The arrangements for
division of spoil, and the allotment of female
prisoners, with other laws, were also drawn up in
detail in Spencer's handwriting.

The whole plan was interlarded with Greek
characters, by way of disguise; and the test
oath was to be:

"Do you swear that you have no fear of
shedding blood?"

A painful responsibility rested upon Captain
Mackenzie, in dealing with a case so new and
terrible. Who could say how far the contamination
had spread? To crush it at all hazards
was his solemn duty. A drum-head court-martial
was convened, and it was decided that the
safety of the vessel and the lives of all on board,
demanded nothing short of the prompt and
immediate execution of the three ringleaders.

One hour was accorded to the guilty and
unhappy men, and, at its expiration, the three were
hanged at the yard-arm, in presence of the
whole crew. Between ten and twenty sailors,
suspected of complicity, were placed in irons, and
conveyed to New York for trial.

Some attempt has been made to fix upon
Captain Mackenzie the charge of over-severity,
as also to show that the extreme penalty was
thus promptly carried out in opposition to the
wishes and earnest entreaties of most of the
officers. There is no ground whatever for the
latter assertion. As to the former, we may
leave Captain Mackenzie's defence to the pen
of an American commentator of the time:

"Let the mind for a moment picture to itself
the fastest vessel in our service, fully manned
and equipped, a piratical brig, hovering on our
shores, and laying wait for vessels between this
port and every other in the world. Imagine
but a portion of the horrors that must have
resulted from the consummation of this hellish
purpose, and then, if you can, condemn him who
has fearlessly discharged a most painful duty, and
assumed the power to carry into effect the spirit
of our laws, when in a position where its forms
could not be complied with."

NEW WORK BY THE AUTHOR OF
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