He was
weak at the time, having just recovered from the yellow fever. The shots
struck the man in the pit of the stomach, and he lived only about a
quarter of an hour. No magistrate in England has a right to arrest or
examine the captain, unless by a warrant from the Secretary of State, on
the charge of murder. After his statement to me, the mother of the slain
man went to the police officer, and accused him of killing her son. Two
or three days since, moreover, two of the sailors came before me, and
gave their account of the matter; and it looked very differently from
that of the captain. According to them, the man had no idea of attacking
the captain, and was so drunk that he could not keep himself upright
without assistance. One of these two men was actually holding him up
when the captain fired two barrels of his pistol, one immediately after
the other, and lodged two balls in the pit of his stomach. The man sank
down at once, saying, "Jack, I am killed,"--and died very shortly.
Meanwhile the captain drove this man away, under threats of shooting him
likewise. Both the seamen described the captain's conduct, both then and
during the whole voyage, as outrageous, and I do not much doubt that it
was so. They gave their evidence like men who wished to tell the truth,
and were moved by no more than a natural indignation at the captain's
wrong.
I did not much like the captain from the first,--a hard, rough man, with
little education, and nothing of the gentleman about him, a red face and
a loud voice.
Pages:
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56