The delicious drink was very popular and even the ladies sipped it with delight. The effect was immediate; after the first two glasses, all grew very loquacious; two more glasses and the gentlemen were thoroughly intoxicated 12 without being stupified. At this moment the sale began, and all rushed on deck, and proceeded to purchase in such a wild, excited manner, that the worst article that we had, sold for twice its real value. When the business was nearly concluded, a frightful noise arose on the forward deck; the crew had received a double allowance of rum and brandy, and very naturally, a quarrel had arisen between two of the most excited, in which one of them was stabbed in the breast. As I understood something of surgery, I was called upon to dress and bandage the wound, and whilst I was thus engaged the company departed in the boats, the gentlemen in a high state of excitement and much pleased with their bargains.
When all was quiet on board, the captain called to him the man who had escaped from the combat unhurt, and inquired into the cause of the bloody fray. And now a fearful secret came to light. The man revealed a conspiracy against the captain, headed by one of the officers, which had been in progress for a month. The officer who commanded it had asked leave of absence, and was at that time on land, engaged in perfecting his plan, which was, to fall upon the captain and murder him with the greater part of the crew. The wounded sailor had belonged to this conspiracy, which was frightful enough, and so angered the captain that he was almost beside himself with rage. He forthwith called together the whole ship’s company and made known to them the plot he had discovered. He had scarcely finished speaking when fierce cries for revenge arose among the crew; they rushed below, and in a few minutes dragged up the wounded sailor, hacked off his arms and legs, plunged 13 their knives into his body, and threw it overboard. They then dragged out his chest; destroyed and tore to rags every thing in it, and in a perfect frenzy of rage, threw it into the sea also. Then the watch was trebled and set; all sharpened their daggers and knives, and prepared for an attack. But the night passed and nothing occurred.
On the following afternoon, a sail appeared, which steered towards us; the captain took the spy glass, and instantly recognized the boat which had carried the treacherous officer and part of the crew on land the day before.
“Here come the conspirators,” he cried, with a fearful curse, “we’ll give them the welcome they deserve. Thirty of you load your muskets and be ready.”
When the boat was within a short distance of us, it stopped and hoisted a white flag in token of peace; the captain did the same, and the boat then approached perfectly unsuspiciously. When they were within musket shot, the captain ordered his men to fire. Five men fell dead, a sixth sprang into the sea, and the rest turned and rowed away. The captain sent a boat out after the unhappy wretch who was in the water, and in less than five minutes they dragged him on board. He was wounded in the arm and was bleeding freely. But, notwithstanding, his clothes were, by the captain’s orders, torn off, and he was exposed naked to the burning rays of the sun. When he had suffered thus for an hour, the tyrant went to him and asked with suppressed rage:
“Now traitor, will you confess?”
“I am innocent,” replied the half-dead wretch, “I know of nothing.”
“Here,” cried the captain to his savages, “take him and row him into the inlet; there leave him in the swamp; we’ll see whether the gad-flies will not help his memory. You,” continued the captain, “go with them, and give heed to this example.”
Five of the pirates, armed with pistols and swords, bound the wretched man, hand and foot, threw him into the boat and rowed into the inlet. Just at the mouth of it there was a morass filled with gad-flies and other poisonous insects. Into this dreadful ditch they threw their former comrade, and then withdrew to a short distance to jeer at and mock him. In about an hour they drew him out again; he was still living, but his body was so covered with blisters that he looked like nothing human. In this condition he was taken to the ship again.