THE ADVENTURE OF THE MARY ANN.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 14, Issue 1127, 15 February 1870, Page 3

THE ADVENTURE OF THE MARY ANN.

IN TTV*O FABTS.—^PABT 11. •; (Continued from "Chambers's Journal.") .-; ■■i ir , The boat, on leaving the ship, had made , off rapidiy. towards the whales j bait she :: had had a long chase, and the captain had not attempted to shorten, it. Iv the enuV they were successful. A whale was har- ' pooned, lanced, and killed, and then for the first time the men became clearly conscious that the ship was not in sight. They concluded, of course, that they hadcome a long way} but the whalers had ' been placed in a similar difficulty^ before; and were certain that the morning would : shew them the Mary Ann in sight. They had j. stock of provisions, which would last them three or four days, , and therefore : made themselves as comfortable as they could, keeping watch in turns. The night passed pleasantly enough. In such latitudes, sleep in the open air is : the pleasantest kind of sleep, and but for the slightly cramped positions in which they had to lie, they had little cause to regret that they Were not on board ship; - Morning came ; but to their astonish* :: ment and disappointment, the ship way* not in sight. Still, it was probable thaff* she would cruise about during the day, and before night would sight them. Tuff " day passed wearily ; all the .men keeping,, an anxious look-out, and noiie more anxious than the captain. They honed, he feared, that the Mary Ann would be sighted* As' the day wore on, and no signs appeared/ the men, and especially the ex-bush-rangers, began to be seriously uneasy. The captain was shrewd enough to cfo nothing to make them less uneasy. J£p night, lie told them he must take charge of the small cask of water and the littj^' 1 stock of provisions. " Because," said he* - " if the Mary Ann is not in sight to-mor^ row, we must make for land." The three convicts were suspicious aif once. Suspicion is about the only quality which men of this class have in common* Forty soldiers will overawe four thousand convicts. The reason, that; there is not a convict who does not believe that if h& were to propound any scheme of resistance to his fellow, the plot wotild be;. ' instantly revealed. The convict suspectsevery body; his fellows, perhaps, worse' than all others. The install, therefore, the captain mentioned his proposal, they suspected treachery. In tru h, the matter was much more serious to them than to the sailors. If by chance they fell in with an English man-of-war,— although at present no one but the captain had the most remote notion that there was any possibility of such an occurrence, — and it became known that they were ex-convicts, they would be put in irons, and at once sent back to Van Diemen's Land, where death would be the penalty for their offences. The rest of the boat's crew,however, agreed with the captain. High words ensued. The three convicts were armed, and the five sailors unarmed ; but , the captain had near him the ship* lances, and the convicts must have felfc' that a conflict would be a hazardous thing. JNighfc came, and no sign of the ship. Suspicion was now in every one's breast. There was no sleep that night for any one except poor Charley, who, worn out by the hard work he had had on the firsi day, and less influenced by suspicion than; the rest, slept as soundly as in his berth. Morning came — the second morning — and no signs were yet visible. The sailors advised that they should make at once for /land, but the convicts opposed. Wearily ; the hours passed away. Half- provisions were served out : the convicts proposed that half even of that amount only should be given to Charley, but the others stood by him. jNuglit approached, and with the same . tale : no ship in sight. . Even the convict s began to see that the best thing to do was to make for land. If there were the choice of two deaths, any would be better than starvation. Besides, they might meet with some other ship, or with their own ; or even ou land they might, and probably . would, be perfectly safe. They agreed to take turns in watching during this night, two being always on watch, a convict and a sailor. The rest slept. When morning came they were all of one mind : they must now aim at land. The captain thought he could hit it. The best tiling they could do atanyrate was to try ; all agreed in that. So the boat's head was put landwards, anil the men pulled with a will. By night, however, they were nearly worn out. They had gone, according to the captain's caU. dilation, about one-third of the distance. The quantity of provisions distributed was reduced again. The reduction told on their labours next day : they dragged I wearily at their oars: their strength was failing them for want of food. The next daj' and the fifth passed, and on each succeeding one the distance got over was smaller than on the preceding. Some of the men could take very short spells at the oar ; Charley, shorter than any of the rest. The captain took his turn, and managed so well that but for the fact Hint i'.icli 'one lived in view of the rest, they would have suspected him of having a secret supply of food. On the night of the fifth day, the convicts made a rush at the food, and a fight; took place. No one, however, was wounded severely. Tne sailors were unwilling to shed blood ; the convicts were afraid to make open war. They knew that without the help of the captain at any rale, they could never hope to reach land. On the morning of the sixth day, one man, a sailor, and Charley, were so fat- useless that they could only lie in the bottom of the boat. Charley was quite senseless, rlnost lifeless. The convicts would probably have made open war but for the absolute necessity of not losing the captain. Xoon came. Land was sighted — land, land ! Land where water could be had— land where food might be procured ! ' Frantically they expended their failing strength in their endeavours to reach it suddenly. Gradually they could distiuguish the low line of green, and beneath" it a strip of yellow sand, becoming more and more distinct. IN T o houses could be' made- out. The men were in raptures;' the captain, however, was disappointed,' although he did his best not to show his disappointment. What ho had looked out most anxiously for was a ship: that he could not see. There "was just one hope' for him : Ihcro might be one on the opposite side of the island. Then one of the convicts drew his pistol,' and swore with a great oath that they should not go a boat's length farther until ho knew what was going io be done; '^Wero they going to split? He wasn't; f^jig to be sent back to Australia; ho irfaglit as well fi^ht it out there. If they wdn, well, they could tell their own tale : th^y could be a whaler's crew that had los-t; their ship ; and if they lost, they , ec/ild only be killed." / The other convicts joined with him, and . 'there was every probability of a lerriblfc / fight. . • : ; The danger was put an end to by a sailor. 1 "He did not want to split. They had all s shared alike in the boat, and they might s as well keep their tongues still." They I were now sufficiently strong to dictate • . their own terms. The other two sailors at i once promised not to mention to any 'Eu>

ropeans that they were Runaways., Charley was too exhausted to be capable of understanding what wa^a going on. Once or twice the captain had looked anxiously to see whether he still breathed. Extreme exhaustion had followed his hard work and rough usage, and he lay like one dead. The captain, only remained. At first, lie would not consent to make any promise . - Angry words passed ; pistols were cocked ; but jm were against him.. They talked of throwing him. overboard, since his knowledge was no longer indispensable. At last, under heavy- threats, he consented to be silent so long as he should be on the island they were approaching. No threats could extort r any promise beyond that. Perhaps the captain consented the more readily because he saw no sign of European civilisation. He was afraid he had . missed the island he was aiming at. By sunset the men were near the shore. Native canoes pulled off in wonder at the visitors arriving "in so small a ship. Soon food and water were procured, and the men stood once, again on land. The visitors; were made to understand that there^ were white men on the island, though, a few miles away. The gentle Polynesians treated the hungry Mows well. Two small huts were set aside for their use. Two days passed, and then all ., /were sufficiently recovered, with the exception of the boy, to prepare for their journey! across the island. They Lad founcta native who could speak a little English :,^e told them ' that there were only two or three small vessels at the is» land, an<l that the big ships were all at sea. This, of course, was excellent news fop the rconviets, but dismal enough for the captain. We may hasten over the journey across the island. The boy Charley was not strong enough, to accompany the rest. The old captain determined that he would send help to him as soon as ever he should meet with Europeans. They reached the small English settlement. There were a few English sailors who had been left on shore in the hospital, a small body of marines, and one or two merchant-settlers with their families. They welcomed the shipwrecked crew, as they believed them to be, as Englishmen in such circumstance always do. A small sandal- Wood vessel was going to leave the island fa. a day or two for Honolulu. 'The- convictst were glad of the chance of.gitfing with her, sinco it would be easy ehojigh. prdbably to find a ship from that'port to California, and the Australians'believed they would have a good chance of getting a passage to Van Diemen's Land. They accordingly were all ready to take the passage which was offered them.' Charley was left to the care of the Europeans. Before the little vessel weighed anchor, he was sufficiently recovered to nave started On his journey across the island ; but she had Sailed before he reached the settlement. The Captain had at first determined to remain behind, on the chance of the arrival of a man-of-war which might go in: chase of She Mary Ann. He concluded it would be better to go with the rest. If he could get a quick sailer at Honolulu, he might still reach California before the Mary Ann— would be able to give notice to the authorities, and be prepared to apprehend the runaways when his own slow- sailing ship arrived. Then, too, if he had remained behind, the convicts would at once have suspected him, and might have persuaded the captain of the little schooner to change his plans. The little vessel sailed, well stocked With provisions, and the shipwrecked crew especially well fitted out by the kindly hands of their countrymen. On the same day, the sick boy Charley was brought into the settlement by the men who had been sent over for him. He had not been in the settlement one hour before every one in it know the character of the men by whom the Mary Ann had been seized, the particulars of her seizure, the real story of the whaling crew, and every particular about the voyage, with the exception of his own ill-treatment. The reader may judge how much the inhabitants of the little settlement were excited by what the boy had to tell. They had given their hospitality to scoundrels of the worst type. Tbe more fully they learned the details of the capture, of the ill-treatment to which the captain had been subjected, and little by little of his own ill-treatment, the more eagerly they desired to bring the offenders to justice, and to punish the men who had, as they considered, violated their hospitality. . A consultation was held at once. The uihabitants did what Englishmen always do in cases of difficulty— they called a public meeting, Europeans were got together ; the lieutenant in charge, who was acting-governor, was put in the chair ; and then, after the manner of their fathers, at any time during the last fifteen hundred years, probably longer, if we are to believe Tacitus, they sought wisdom in the multitude of counsellors. The problem to be solved was, how to catch, first, the boat : secondly, the Mary Ann. Some suggested a search for the man-of-war, which had but recently left the station, to be made by despatching canoes to the. islands where'she was likeliest to havecalled. This design, however, Jiaa\tp be abandoned. It was doubtful whether the man-of-war would have called ?* W-O f the islands lying near; and, even it she had, much valuable time would be = lost, during which both vessels would be ""' ™f fc M»g their way to their destinations. Ine suggestion finally hit upon was to~ send a small schooner which was in the harbour in pursuit. She was to carry as many men as could be spared from the settlement, so that they might be prepared ior a fight with the convicts if they should come up with them. Itwassoonfoundthat, Irom the sailors left in hospital, added to more belonging to the schooner, a crew could be obtained of a dozen men. Half-a-dozen marines volunteered to go likeWise. The night was spent in preparations. Jfrpvisions were taken on board in quantities sufficiently large to accommodate her large crew. A gun which had been left on shore by a man-of-war was placed on board, The little settlement was alive With preparations during the whole of the following day. In the evening, her crew went on board, taking with them, at his own desire, Charley. As the land-breeze began to blow, she weighed anchor, and with the good wishes of all commenced the chase. " ? _ifeP n board the Sandal- wood, as the little W"©r sent in pursuit was called, there was all the excitement of a long chase. •Every eye searched the horizon carefully during each successive day, with the view ©t catching sight of the Mary Ann ; and when at the end of the long week she was seen, every one felt as much delight as tho hunter feels when he has sighted his P™y> The gun had been prepared, so as M:P,?,°£ use Jf~ needed in attacking. The , v;dedka of the whaler were three or four feet at least higher out of the water than -': those of the Sandal- wood, so that boarding : would be extremely dangerous. It was s?;9^s?*f& (th&i the -best wav would be to ■ ; irauoeuyre the little vessel, bring the gun I- >^ Rear, and fire away until the enemy >^«uw^ndered» and. sent their men on board «¥roa^boat. The lieutenant who l^^&manded ifhe.Jittle vessel determined Wggm^ **" s failed/ he would then risk

And now, we must transfer ourselves to the Mary Ann. Prom the day on which the leader of the escaped convicts had | concluded that the boat was lost, he began to be suspicious of the mate. The missing boat might have gone to the bottom ; but then, on the other haud, sh^' might have met with some othership, or possibly even have reached land. If she had fallen in with another whaler or merchant-ship, or, as was possible, with a man-of-war, or if she had reached land, one of two things was pretty certain. to happen —either that menj of-war would be quickly in pursuit, or that they would be on their way to intercept j them on the American coast. Black Dick examined the mate very closely, and it required all that officer's ability not to shew that he knew more of the incident than he chose to tell. Six days had been lost in waiting about in vain endeavours to find the missing boat. At length, fearful of being intercepted off the Californian coast, the ship's head was turned towards that coast, and the Mary Ann resumed her voyage. But the winds were light, and the heavy, slow-sailing whaler — a capital ship for rough Antarctic seas — made very slow progress over the calm waters, scarcely ruffled by the light breezes of the Pacific. The bushrangers grew more and more impatient. For throe days the ship lay j becalmed. In the Atlantic there is always a long swell in .the sea, even when in the air the calm is perfect ; but in the Pacific, the water is absolutely and completely motionless. The calm fretted the men ; they chafed under the inaction ; they could bear anything but rest. They wanted to travel at the most rapid pace possible to man, and here they were kept idle, motionless. They cursed the calm in language which in the perfect stillness — the stillness which may be felt of a tropical calm — even occasionally appalled themselves. And when the wind did at last come to put an end to this wearisome and anxious suspense, it blew so lightly, and the ship travelled so slowly, that the men's anxiety was scarcely relieved. Their captain, meantime, had been thinking what was best to be done, and had secretly made up his mind that almost their only chance of outstripping the pursuers who were probably after them was to abandon the Mary Ann altogether, and gain possession of a vessel which could sail quicker. Hitherto, they had carefully kept out of the way of the few vessels which they had sighted. They determined now to make an attack on the first suitable to their purposes which they should see. Black Dick would add piracy to the list of his qualifications for the hempen cord. The first vessel sighted after the calm by the Mary Ann was the little Sandalwood. She was seen at the stern of the Mary Ann in early morning, aud as the day^ advanced, became more and more distinct. This alone was proof that she was a quicker sailer than the whaler. She was a small schooner, very fleet, lightly built, carrying a large spread of sail, and evidently. constructed for speed in tropical seas. The mate, who had learned the plans of the convicts, was in fear. His plan of capture by a man of war was at an end ; his delays of the Mary Ann were fruitless. The captors of the whaler were going to escape by means of another unpunished piece of villany. As he saw the schooner approaching, he recognised only too well that she was exactly suited to their purpose. Black Dick called the five convicts around him, and the men arranged for the capture of the vessel. They would make signals to her, man a whale-boat, and, adopting the ruse which they had already found to be successful in the capture of the whaler, take possession of her. The mate was compelled to admit that it was unlikely there would be more than four or five men on board. But he was puzzled to make out what the schooner was doing. Little details connected with the way in which the ship was managed put him on the alert. Clearly she was well haudled. Could there be any hope of ? No ; she had answered the signals in the usual way. A slight movement in her sails shewed j him that she was, for some strange purpose or other, going to tack. In truth, i she was preparing to tack, in order that 1 she might come round so as to bring her gun to bear. Just then the whaler's boat was lowered. The mate, who was, of course, to be left on board the Mary Ann, looking towards the schooner, observed that there had been a change of purpose. The lieutenant on board the Sandalwood had been surprised at the lowering of the whale-boat. Possibly they were out ~ of provisions. But in such cases signals are usually made. Charley suggested to him that they were going to attempt a capture. The lieutenant prepared to receive them. Every man was armed ; the marines wero sent below. All but four were ordered to hide themselves behind the bulwarks. The four or five left on deck shewed no arms, but lounged about lazily after the manner of the men whom they wished to imitate. As the whale-boat approached, the hopes of the bushrangers ran high. This was exactly the vessel they wanted. A quiet pall to her side, a haul to her deck ; at the most, a short, easy fight with unprepared men, throwing one or two overboard, and she would be theirs, and then let English men-of-war do their worst. They were within hailiug-distance. ."What ship is that?" cried the convict leader. " The Sandal-wood." " Throw us a rope ; we are coming on board." .. A rope was lowered ; the boat made fast alongside. One after another the men swung themselves on board. They stood together for an instant, and Black Dick cried : " Now for it !" and knocked one of the seamen down, while ho and the rest produced pistols, and made a rush at the rest. But at that moment there was another rush. Men armed with the queen's weapons came from under the shelter of the little boat which was placed on deck, from the shelter of the bulwarks, and from the cabin. For an instant there was a panic. The convicts had never thought of the possibility of catching a Tartar. Cutlasses gleamed before them. A short, fierce struggle, one man after another belonging to the boat's crew disabled, a j desperate tussle with the convict captain, whose pistol was literally cut out of his hand, and the convicts were overpowered. They were placed in irons, and carefully guarded. We may pass over the scene which took place when the men saw Charley. The leaders of the gang were secured. All that remained to be done was to catch up with the little vessel in which the captain of the whaler and the whale-boat's crew had taken their passage to Honolulu, and then to deliver the whole of the prisoners to the first man-of-war they could find, to be sent back to Van Diemen's Land. In this the Sandal-wood was fortunate ; in two days, she fell in with a man-of-war. Her Majesty's ship had chosen to board the vessel bound for Honolulu, and the captain hnd, in spite of threats from the men, boldly denounced Jus three fellow-passengers. He and the rest of the whale-boat's crew were accordingly transferred to the man-of-war, the captain as a free man who had been ill-

used; the three convicts as prisoners. She then made a search for the whaler, and came up with her, as we have seen, in charge of a British officer. . The whole of the prisoners were taket^ off to Australia, where they paid J^ffHH penalty for their misdeeds. J£gjj^99Bß and his crew wore again i^^HEB^^HH of the Mary Ann ; J&mttttß^Hl^BP Charley found H^JBHS^BP^" the hour.