y. Here the cook stood with an axe, striking each
victim on the head as he was forced over the side of the vessel by the
other mutineers. In this manner twenty-two perished, and Augustus had
given himself up for lost, expecting every moment his own turn to come
next. But it seemed that the villains were now either weary, or in
some measure disgusted with their bloody labour; for the four remaining
prisoners, together with my friend, who had been thrown on the deck with
the rest, were respited while the mate sent below for rum, and the whole
murderous party held a drunken carouse, which lasted until sunset. They
now fell to disputing in regard to the fate of the survivors, who lay
not more than four paces off, and could distinguish every word said.
Upon some of the mutineers the liquor appeared to have a softening
effect, for several voices were heard in favor of releasing the captives
altogether, on condition of joining the mutiny and sharing the profits.
The black cook, however (who in all respects was a perfect demon,
and who seemed to exert as much influence, if not more, than the
mate himself), would listen to no proposition of the kind, and rose
repeatedly for the purpose of resuming his work at the gangway.
Fortunately he was so far overcome by intoxication as to be easily
restrained by the less bloodthirsty of the party, among whom was a
line-manager, who went by the name of Dirk Peters. This man was the
son of an Indian squaw of the tribe of Upsarokas, who live among the
fastnesses of the Black Hills, near the source of the Missouri. His
father was a fur-trader, I believe, or at least connected in some manner
with the Indian trading-posts on Lewis river. Peter himself was one of
the most ferocious-looking men I ever beheld. He was short in stature,
not more than four feet eight inches high, but his limbs were of
Herculean mould. His hands, especially, were so enormously thick and
broad as hardly to retain a human shape. His arms, as well as legs,
were bowed in the most singular manner, and appeared to possess no
flexibility whatever. His head was equally deformed, being of immense
size, with an indentation on the crown (like that on the head of most
negroes), and entirely bald. To conceal this latter deficiency, which
did not proceed from old age, he usually wore a wig formed of any
hair-like material which presented itself--occasionally the skin of a
Spanish dog or American grizzly bear. At the time spoken of, he