WALKING THE PLANK

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXXII, Issue 12528, 13 April 1935, Page 9

WALKING THE PLANK

STRANGE TALES OF THE SEY EN SEAS. Even in these days, when people j move, live, ami think at top speed, ‘ most of us have a weak spot tor the ■ “good old days’’ when things were a bit quieter and when coaches were the only connecting links between big , cities. ... Who docs not still long lor the days when he read of the smugglers ami pirates and deep-sea voyages full of: thrills and mutiny? The bearded mariner who was to be encountered once upon a time leaning conveni- . ently against a bollard on the wharf with a pipe in liis mouth and an inexhaust’ble .fund of salty stories in hi-? head, is no more. Happily there are -other sources for the writer of true laics of the sea, such, as are to be found in “Strange < Tales of the Seven -Seas' - by -I. G. Lockhart LPh’.l- , lip Allan and C'o., London. THE SURA* I YOBS' STORY As yon rove through this book you find that mutiny is noi such a backnumber as you imagined. The present century has provided mutiny just no desperate and bloodthirsty as any in the history of the sea. Take, tor ex- . ample, the story of the three-masted barque Veronica, of 1167 ton.? bur-, den. which, according to Air Lockhart. sailed from Ship Island. Alississippi, for Alonte Video, with a cargo pf timber. A forlorn group of men. picked up from an uninhabited island off the coast of Brazil, declared themselves to be the sole survivors of tlic Veronica, and told a terrible tale of fire at sea and ibe loss of the rest of the crew. But one of the rescued was Aloses Thomas, a negro, and hi? tale ran on different- and still more terrible lines. The other survivors were tour young Gomans: Thomas swore that these four murdered the captain, the mates and the rest of the crew, and then fired the vessel. Thomas himself war? spared because he was the only one who could cook! “But for the grace of heaven," lie con-Tubed. "1 was murdered, too!” The Germans made away with their victims one by -one. the last being the first mate and then the captain, who. though wounded, took refuge in the navigation room, only to be brutally murdered later on, when the mutineers found it- necessary to enter the room where they had barricaded their quarry. The cook’s story, backed up later by one of the German-?, who gave evidence against his fellowmutineers, reads like a lurid flight or imagination. Few novelists could have conjured up a more terrible tale. A'ot this happened in 1902. AX AWFUL NTGTIT. These and other tales of equal merit and power run through the beforementioned book. Mutiny is ihe theme of most- of the stories, and mutiny is a desperate business. Ou February 22. 1861. five men were executed in a batch, after a trial at the Central Criminal Court. London. And so ouded the story -of the mutiny of the Flowery Land, a vessel which sailed for London in July. 1863. for Singapore. Among her cargo were several bag? of metal coins, polished to look like sovereigns, and actually worth ab n ut one penny each. Round the bags grew up" a legend- that the Flowery Land was a treasure ship, and this legend had a great deal to do with what followed.

The crew were a mixed crowd, ouly five of them being English-—-the captain, .John Smith : his brother George, who was a passenger: the first and second mates, and the ship’s boy. The others represented nearly a dozen deferent nationalities. There was much unpleasantness right from the start of the voyage, which culminated on the night of September 7. when the ship's* boy, Jim Early, who was at the lookout, heard tlic mate cry out; “AlurderT Help! Captain Smith!” Young Early, running courageously forward, saw the mate lying on the poop, with a half-breed member of the crew belaboring him with a “heaver.” a wooden tool used for splicing ropes'. From that moment the work ot cold-blooded murder went ahead until only one of the officers remained. When it- -came to sharing out the loot, it fell to tire lot of this officer to tell the mutineers that the “treasure.” which h«J. caused -.so much bloodshed, consisted of worthless tokens. The Flowery Land was afterwards scuppered, the -survivors escaping in two boats and reaching the coast of -Brazil. In -so many of those talcs -of terror the motive is very small in comparison with the cost-. Lives were taken rcgardlossly and ships burned or sunk

lor a few pounds’ gain. At times, it is true, there were ■’•grievances” alleged by the mutineers ; but- usually !t would'seem to be just for murder’s sake! WALKED THE PLANE. One of the most curious of these strange tales recalls the case of a man who was forced by the mutineers t-o walk the plank, and yet lived to tell the tale, lie was Mr S., wh-o held an appointment in India, and embarked at, Singapore with his wife in a vessel containing a large number of Chinese convicts. ft was these men who mutinied and forced the British crew to walk the plank. Mr S.’s turn came at midnight. JJe could not swim a stroke, the sea was full of sharks, land wan a thousand miles away, and the ship was iu complete possession of the convicts. Tot he lived to tell the tale at a London dinner party! “In tailing off the plank he caught a- rope towing overboard. By this he hung, invisible, hearing successive victims fall and distinguishing between the dead and living bodies by the absence in the former case of the last frantic struggle for existence. At length his chilled fingers lost hold of the rope." But 'Providence was kind. As Mr S. male his final effort to keep afloat his legs struck a hard substance. It was one of the ship's boats which wn,; rowing astern, half-submerged. So lie managed to support himself till dawn came, when he was discovered and brought- back on deck. Later h& was confined to IPs cabin, bur one or other of his captors came each day to inquire what lie would like for dinner ! A PECULIAR VERDICT. Tn due time land was sighted, n. bold headland, round which the pilot declared they must steer, although there presently appeared also a broad, fine channel dividing the headland irom the mainland. In spite of the man’s repeated assurance that this was full of rocks, the Chinese doubting gno{ faith, compelled him to lay what seemed to rhem a shorter course and enter the channel. The vessel struck a submerged rock. A hasty c-oun c-il was held, at which it was resolved that half the party should escape to land, sending back the boats ibr the other half, who should then follow their comrades, having first murdered .Mr and Mrs S. and fired the ship. The former part- or the programme was duly executed, and the boats were returning when three masts of a British sloop of war became visible not a mile distant. She had seen the course of the devoted ship, and, knowing what must ensue, gave chase to pick up the pieces. Her boats were already out-, and no sooner came within hail than Mr S. made known the state of affairs. In 'a moment the Chinese were on their knees praying for their erstwhile- prisoners' intercession. The sloop's boats, properly armed, went ashore and captured every individual of those who landed. The whole were conveyed ffr 'Singapore, and probably not the least remarkable feature of the remarkable story is that, for some reason best known to themselves, the jury oouid not he induced to award againi-t the actors in that- cruel deed of piracy and murder any other ver% diet- than .manslaughter.