d it needed somebody that
was equal to making a little speech, as it would be necessary to say
something before reading the resolutions. They also said, it needed a
man with plenty of gall, one that was not afraid to stand up be-fore the
world and ask for our rights. I felt flattered at being selected, but I
took the precaution to place a gunny-sack, nicely folded up, in the seat
of my pants, because I didn't know what might happen. After breakfast, I
took the committee and the resolutions, and went up into the cabin,
and told a colored man that he might tell the captain that a committee
wished an audience with him. He was playing poker in the ladies' cabin,
and I have always thought he had an idea there was a committee of
passengers who wanted to present him with a gold headed cane, a thing
that was often done on the boats. Any way he came along smiling, and
when the nigger pointed me out, and the captain noticed that I had a
large paper in my hand, he said, "What is it, gentlemen?" This was the
first time I had been alluded to in that manner since I enlisted. I
asked him to be seated, and he sat down on a lounge, and I proceeded. I
forgot to make any speech, but went right at the _whereases_ at once.
I say the captain smiled when he came up. Of course, reading the
resolutions, as I was, I could not see his face change, but afterwards
one of the committee told me about it. I could not tell that a storm was
coming. I noticed that quite a number of people had collected around
the captain, from curiosity, I supposed. I had just got to the last
resolution where it spoke of sending a copy to the secretary of war,
when there was a howl. The captain got up and grabbed me by the throat,
while somebody else took me by the hind legs. As we went towards the
door, I noticed other men were carrying the rest of the committee. My
idea was that they would throw us overboard, and as I could not swim, I
closed my eyes and said, "Now I lay me." The stairs leading to the lower
deck were covered with brass. I remember that distinctly, because I rode
down the stairs on the small of my back, and we had a committee meeting
at the foot of the stairs. I brought up on top of the rest of the
committee. We sat there a moment, and decided, unanimously, that we had
been unceremoniously chucked down stairs, resolutions and all, and we
picked ourselves up and limped back to where our companions were, and
so reported. The expedition was a total failure,