and waited only an opportunity to join in the melée. The instant they were discovered they sprang to their feet only to fall stunned and bleeding beneath the clubbed muskets of the guard. One was afterward found to have been killed; the other, recovering in a few minutes, started again to run forward, but was riddled with shot from a blunderbuss fired from the barricade.

Another of the four, fearful of the fate of his companions or anxious to join those below, succeeded in wrenching his hands from the irons, and, being a small man, tried to squeeze himself through the circular opening in the summit of the arched grating. Too late he saw his error, for, stimulated by the fear of being shot before he could succeed, he had forced himself trough and hung by his hands over the hold. Unable from the depth of the combing to swing himself clear so as to fall between decks, and seeing only the black hold, with a fall of thirty feet and certain death below, he was struggling to get back when a rifle-shot from the barricade pierced his brain and he fell into the abyss.

Amidst such horrors passed the night, the flames being at times completely extinguished, as the Coolies had abandoned the use of oil on account of the smoke, and burned only what they called "josh paper" to give great blaze and not really do much damage, for of course

they had no intention of burning the ship. Their only hope, after finding their plan foiled, seemed to be to terrify us by the fear of the ship's burning into abandoning her in boats and leaving her in their hands; and had those above deck been willing to assist them, or the captain been a less brave man, the daylight would never have come again to any of us. But come it did, and with it a demand was made to the rioters to surrender the ringleaders of the mutiny. In

stead of complying, one of them dipped a stylus in the blood upon the decks and wrote on a slip of paper to the following effect:

"Three hundred Coolies to be allowed on deck at one

time. They shall navigate the ship, and take her to Siam, where a certain number may leave her, after which she shall be allowed to proceed on her course. No signals of any kind shall be made to attract attention of other vessels."

In addition to these demands was the threat that, unless instantly complied with, the ship should be burned.

The yards were backed, the boats made ready to rescue the ladies and crew, every Chinaman above decks was bound so that he could give no assistance to the mutineers, and when all was ready the captain returned answer to "Burn and be;" but every man of them should be smothered and burn in her. The result of this decisive stand was a consultation below, and another message, written in blood, to the effect that no more fires should be built until night at any rate.

A temporary quiet was then restored, the yards again squared, and the ship put on her original course. Arms were re-examined, extra guards stationed, and the strictest surveillance maintained. The ladies bravely devoted themselves to providing food, making cartridges, and indeed doing every thing in their power to render assistance.

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Two serious difficulties were now presented, the chief of which was the want of fresh water, all the water-casks being stowed away upon or below the lower decks. The second, that, as the pumps on which the supply of salt-water for extinguishing the fires depended, passed directly up among the Coolies, they had succeeded in disabling them. The latter, however, was not of so much moment, since, after the captain's reply to their demands, they would scarcely dare to start their fires again. The decks, moreover, were now thoroughly saturated with water.

The demand for fresh water became every moment more urgent. One of the ladies suffering from effects of long illness, with a young infant demanding her constant care, was sinking under the accumulated horrors. At any moment the mutineers might succeed in gaining the upper deck, and by force of mere numbers overpower and massacre all on board. The torture of increasing thirst, however, soon overruled even our thoughts of peril, and some effort must be made to supply fresh water. ask the fiends on the berth deck to pass it up was folly; they only laughed, and offered the black bloody water on the decks. To go for it would have been madness. Providentially there was a small engine on board used for loading and unloading ship, and the plan of condensing steam was suggested. An extemporaneous condenser was soon made, and ere long we had the satis

To

Effort was then made to cleanse the upper deck. The wounded were collected, and the few who had been killed were thrown overboard. Many were found hidden away in all sorts of positions, to which they had fled during the previous night, and one or two stiff and gory corpses were dragged from the concealment to which the poor wretches, mortally wounded, had crawled to die.

A demand was meanwhile made to the Coolies to pass up the dead bodies. Hours passed, and no disposition to comply being manifest, it was proposed toward night to send down one of the Coolies who was bound on deck. This proposal was humanely rejected, for to the Coolies on deck the mutineers attributed their defeat at the outset, and his instant death would be certain. A volunteer came forward from the crew, and, though it seemed madness, he was lowered down, his companions, armed to the teeth, standing ready to jump to his rescue or die with him. Whether the boldness of the act, or the fact that they themselves were anxious to be rid of the bloody corpses strewn around restrained them, it is impossible to say. Certain it is he was unmolested, and one or two even proffered assistance. Night came as the task was completed, and soon began a repetition of the orgies of the last, though in a far less terrible degree. The Coolies tried unsuccessfully to force off the gratings and to break open the ports. They rushed with demoniac shrieks along the decks, burning

about their heads. But it would be useless to attempt to picture either the fury of the mutineers or the feelings of the defenders. Every means of egress was tried and retried in vain. Only one or two were shot during the night, but we waited in torturing anxiety the events of each succeeding hour.

Ere daybreak, satisfied of the impossibility of succeeding in their purpose, quiet was restored, and the tired wretches slept. The following day, after long consultation, they sued for pardon.

From that time onward, and particularly after rounding the Cape of Good Hope, no signs of insubordination arose during the passage. The Coolies had the satisfaction of sleeping for four months about the decks as they could find space, no berths or accommodation of any kind being allowed them. Only a limited number were allowed on deck at any time, and the police force was increased at every point. It was a long time before it was deemed safe to allow any of the crew to go below for even the most necessary provisions and water, and then only at intervals and in small numbers.

Upon arriving at Havana the whole mortality of the voyage was found to be about one hundred and thirty, of which number seventy were killed, or died from wounds received in the mutiny of the first few days, and a large portion of the rest from an epidemic of dysentery which occurred while lying at Havana before commencing to disembark.