THE PRIZE.
The damage sustained by the corvette was serious; the bowsprit is the
key of the ship's rigging, its loss entailed that of the foremast, which
the main-topmast, no longer stayed, speedily followed. The utmost
disorder prevailed on board, when, as nearly always happens under such
circumstances, the crew had suddenly passed from blind confidence to
profound terror.
The deck was encumbered with fragments of every description, yards,
spars, sails, stunsail-booms, and entangled rigging, in the midst of
which the sailors ran about distractedly, abandoning their posts, deaf
to the exhortations equally with the menaces of their officers, and
having only one thought: to escape from the death they believed
suspended over their heads.
Still, the officers did not at all conceal from themselves the gravity
of their position, which the brig's manoeuvres rendered more
complicated, and momentarily more precarious; they did all in their
power, therefore, to restore a little courage to all these individuals,
whom terror blinded, and induce them to sell their lives dearly.
A fresh incident occurred suddenly, which rendered the situation of the
ship, if possible, more critical and desperate. Commandant Rodriguez had
not left the quarterdeck; motionless at his post during the events we
have described, he had continued to give his orders in a firm voice,
apparently not noticing the symptoms of insubordination which, since the
catastrophe had happened, were manifest amongst the crew. With pale
face, frowning brow, and clenched teeth, the old sailor mechanically
played with the hilt of his sword, taking every now and then a cold and
resolute glance around him, while exerting his officers to redouble
their efforts to do their duty bravely.
Doña Mencia and the two supposititious officers of the American navy
were standing silent and attentive by his side, probably awaiting the
moment for action. At the tumult which suddenly broke out on the
forecastle, they all three started and drew nearer to the commandant
When the brig had so skilfully carried away the bowsprit of the
_Libertad_, Ramirez and his sailors were the first to sow and propagate
terror among the crew by uttering cries of terror; and running in all
directions. Their example was promptly followed. Then they changed their
tactics, and began openly accusing the commandant by asserting that he
was a traitor, who wished to ruin them, and surrender the corvette to
the insurgents.
There is nothing, however stupid it may be, a thinker has said, which
people may not be led to believe by a certain mode of treating them.
This remark is strictly true, and this time again received perfect
application. The sailors of the _Libertad_ forgot in an instant all they
owed to the Commandant, whose constant solicitude watched over them with
paternal care, for they were urged on and excited by the perfidious
insinuations of Ramirez and his comrades. The courage they lacked to
defend themselves and do their duty as men of honour, they found again
to accuse their chief of treachery, and seizing any arms they came
across, they rushed tumultuously toward the quarterdeck, uttering
menaces and cries of revolt.
The officers, justly alarmed, and not knowing what means to employ to
bring these men back to their duty, collected round their Commandant,
resolved to save themselves or perish with him. The old sailor was still
apparently just as calm and stoical; nothing revealed on his stern face
the agony that secretly crushed his heart. With his arms folded on his
chest, his head erect, and a steady glance, he awaited the mutineers.
The latter soon invaded the after part of the vessel; but, after passing
the mainmast, they stopped, through a remnant of that respect which is
innate in sailors for their superiors. The quarterdeck is that portion
of the deck which is exclusively reserved for the officers: the sailors,
under no consideration, are allowed to tread it, except for the purpose
of executing a manoeuvre.
On reaching the foot of the mainmast, then, the mutineers hesitated, for
they no longer felt on their own ground, and at length stopped: for the
mere fact of their invading this part of the deck constituted a grave
infraction of naval discipline. We have said that they stopped; but
they were like an angry sea which breaks against the foot of a dyke it
cannot dash over; that is to say, yelling and gesticulating furiously,
but yet without going an inch further. At the same time, however, they
did not fall back.
But this hesitation and almost timid attitude of the mutineers did not
at all suit the views of those who had urged them to insubordination.
Collected in the rear of the sailors, they shouted and gesticulated
louder than the rest, trying by all means to revive the fire which was
already threatening to expire. The corvette's deck presented at this
moment the most desolating, and yet at the same time imposing
appearance. In the midst of the fragments piled up pell-mell on this
fine ship so fatally decapitated by canister shot, these men, with their
rude and fierce features, grouped in disorderly and menacing groups;
and, scarce a few yards from them, a small band of calm and resolute
officers, collected round the Commandant, who, standing on the
quarterdeck, seemed to dominate over the men. Then, a little in the
rear, Doña Mencia and the two American officers, apparently
disinterested spectators of the events which chance compelled them to
witness, but, in reality, following with anxious glance all the
incidents of the drama that was being played before them. Assuredly a
painter would have found a magnificent subject for a picture in the
position of the different characters, and the expression that at times
lit up their masculine faces.
And then, in the distance the lofty sails of the brig could be seen
glistening, which was rapidly approaching, doubtless with the intention
of coming, like the classic _Deus ex machina_, to unravel at the right
time this situation, which every passing moment only tended to render
the more complicated.
There was a momentary truce between the two parties, who, like practised
duellists, had tried to discover their adversary's vulnerable point
before crossing swords. A deep silence prevailed on the deck of this
ship, where so many passions were fermenting in these hearts of bronze;
no other sound was audible save the hollow and monotonous moaning of the
sea, as it broke against the sides of the corvette, and the indistinct
sound of weapons clutched by eager hands.
This hesitation had something sinister and startling about it, and the
Commandant resolved to put an end to it at all hazards. He understood
that he was the only person who could make an appeal to these misguided
men, who might possibly not remain dumb to the voice of duty speaking
through the lips of a man, whose noble character they had enjoyed many
opportunities of appreciating, and whom they had been so long accustomed
to respect and love.
Commandant Rodriguez looked slowly and sadly, but yet firmly, round him,
and extending his arm in the direction of the brig, which was hugging
the wind to be able to run alongside the corvette more easily, he said,
in a loud and marked voice--
"My men, here comes the enemy. We have our revenge to take upon him:
then why are you not at your quarters? What do you want of me? Are you
afraid that I shall fail you when the hour for fighting arrives?"
At this direct and firm appeal a strange quiver ran along the ranks of
the mutineers; some of them were even going to reply, when a voice was
heard from the rear: "Who tells you that we regard that vessel as an
enemy?"
Immediately hurrahs and shouts of joy, mingled with oaths and hisses,
burst forth on all sides.
"The man who dares to speak so," the Commandant shouted, in a voice that
for a moment quelled the tumult, "is a traitor and a coward. He does not
form part of my ship's crew."
An indescribable tumult then broke out. The sailors, forgetting all
respect and discipline, rushed toward the quarterdeck with frightful
yells and vociferations. The Commandant, not at all disconcerted by this
hostile manifestation, seized a pistol, which a faithful sailor handed
him, coolly cocked it, and addressing the mutineers, said: "Take care.
The first who advances one step further I will blow out his brains."
Some men are gifted with so great a magnetic power, and their influence
over the lower classes is so real, that the two to three hundred
mutineers, at the sight of this man, who alone withstood and threatened
them with a pistol, hesitated, and finally stopped, with a vague
movement of alarm. It was evident that this pistol was little to be
feared, even under the hypothesis that the Commandant carried out his
threat, since it would only kill or wound one man; still, we repeat, all
these men stopped, surprised, perhaps terrified, but certainly not able
to account for the feelings they experienced. A smile played round the
Commandant's lips; he understood that these rough and rebellious natures
had been subdued. He determined to make sure of his triumph.
"Every man to his quarters," he said; "the topmen will get the ship
clear while the carpenters rig up a jury bowsprit."
And leaving the quarterdeck, the Commandant advanced resolutely toward
the mutineers. The latter fell back as he advanced, without speaking or
gesticulating, but only opposing that final resistance, the most
dangerous of all, the force of inertia. It was all over with the mutiny,
however; the crew, shaken by the firm and wise conduct of their chief,
were on the point of returning to their duty, when an unexpected
incident completely changed the aspect of affairs, and put the officers
once more in the critical position from which the Commandant had
extricated them with such ease.
We have said that Doña Mencia and her two companions attentively
followed the incidents of this scene, in readiness to interfere, when
the moment arrived. Commandant Rodriguez had scarcely left the
quarterdeck ere the young woman, or young man, whichever it may please
the reader to call this mysterious being, rushed forward, and seizing a
telescope, fixed it on the brig, as if to feel certain of the
privateer's position, and be assured of support if required. The brig
was now only two cables' lengths from the corvette, and within a few
minutes would be within hail.
Suddenly Doña Mencia, throwing off her feminine character, hurriedly
tore off the dress that covered her, removed her bonnet, and appeared in
the masculine attire El Alferez had worn at the pulqueria. This
transformation had been so rapid that the officers and crew had not
recovered front the astonishment this strange metamorphosis caused them,
when the young man, drawing a pistol from his belt, cocked and pointed
it at a number of cartridges the boys had brought on deck when the
Captain beat to quarters, and which they had left lying pell-mell at the
foot of the mizzenmast during the disorder that followed the fall of the
spars.
"Surrender!" El Alferez shouted in a thundering voice; "Surrender, or
you are dead men!"
Don Cristoval and Don Serapio were standing on the right and left of
the young man, holding a pistol in either hand. Ramirez, for his part,
had lost no time; by his care two of the bow carronades had been dragged
from their ports and trailed on the stern, and two sailors, match in
hand, were standing motionless by them, only awaiting the signal to
fire. Ramirez and the fourteen men left him were aiming at the Mexican
sailors. The crew was taken between two fires; two hundred and fifty men
were at the mercy of twenty. The position was desperate, and the
Commandant had not even the resource of falling honourably.
The events had occurred with such rapidity, this coup-de-main, prepared
long beforehand, had been carried out with such coolness and skill, and
all had been so thoroughly foreseen, that the Commandant, after taking a
despairing glance along the deck, was obliged to allow that he had only
one chance of escape--laying down his arms. Still he hesitated, however,
and El Alferez understood the combat that was going on in the heart of
the brave officer.
"We are not pirates," he said, "Commandant Rodriguez, we are Texans; you
can lay down your arms without shame--not to save your life, to which
the defeat you have just suffered causes you to attach but slight value,
and which you would doubtless readily sacrifice to expiate your
misfortunes--but you are responsible before Heaven for the two hundred
and fifty men forming your crew. Why needlessly shed precious blood! For
the last time I invite you to surrender."
At this moment a thick shadow covered the deck of the corvette; the
brig, which everyone had forgotten, had continued to advance; it had
come within pistol shot, and its lofty sails stretched out over the
vessel and intercepted the sunshine.
"Halloo the ship!" a voice shouted from the stern of the cruiser; "Send
a boat aboard us with your captain."
This voice sounded like a thunderclap in the ears of the Mexicans. The
brig had shortened sail, and was now lying motionless to starboard of
the corvette. There was a moment of intense silence, during which all
eyes were instinctively turned on the privateer; her yards were lined
with topmen armed with muskets and hand grenades, through the open ports
the men could be seen standing by the guns, and it literally held the
corvette under its fire.
"Well," El Alferez continued, stamping his foot impatiently, "have you
made up your mind; yes or no?"
"Sir," the Commandant answered, "by an infamous act of treachery you
have become master of my vessel; as any resistance is henceforth
useless, I surrender."
And with a gesture full of dignity the old sailor drew his sword,
snapped the blade asunder, and after throwing the pieces into the sea,
retired to the stern with a calm and resigned step.
"Captain Johnston," El Alferez shouted, "your corvette is ours; send a
boat's crew on board."
A whistle was heard from the brig's deck; a boat was let down, and a few
minutes after, twenty privateer's men, armed to the teeth, and commanded
by the Captain in person, stepped on the corvette's deck. The
disarmament of the crew was effected without the slightest resistance,
and Commandant Rodriguez and his staff were at once transferred to the
brig, in order that the Mexican sailors, who were much more numerous
than their visitors, might be without a leader in the event of their
attempting to regain possession of the corvette by a desperate effort.
But this precaution was unnecessary, for the Mexicans had not the
slightest idea of rising; on the contrary, most of them were natives of
Texas, who found among the sailors of the brig many of their old friends
and acquaintances; in a few moments the two crews were on the most
cordial terms, and mixed up together.
Captain Johnson resolved to profit by this fortunate circumstance; the
privateer was in a very difficult position, and literally experienced at
this moment an embarrassment of wealth; he had, without striking a blow,
captured a first class corvette, but that corvette required a crew, and
the sailors he could dispose of by taking them from his own ship to put
them aboard the prize were insufficient; the good understanding that had
almost suddenly sprung up between the two crews, therefore, supplied him
with the means of escape from the difficulty.
Sailors, as a general rule, are men hardened to fatigue; faithful, but
unscrupulous in politics, whose questions are much too abstract for
their intellect, which is naturally limited on all affairs relating to
land. Accustomed to be sternly governed and have all the actions of
their life directed, from the gravest down to the most trivial, sailors
are only full-grown children, who appreciate but one thing--strength. A
resolute man can always do what he likes with them, if he succeed in
proving his superiority over them.
Captain Johnson was too old a hand not to know how he should act under
the present circumstances. So soon as the disarmament was effected he
mounted the quarterdeck, took up the speaking trumpet, and making no
distinction among the sailors scattered about the deck, he ordered a
series of manoeuvres, intended to habituate the men to the sound of his
voice, and prove to them that he was a thorough sailor, which all
recognised in a few minutes.
The orders were then executed with such rapidity and eagerness that the
corvette, almost unserviceable an hour previously, was soon under jury
masts, and in a condition to sail for any port to which it pleased its
new commander to take it. The deck had been completely cleared, the
running rigging cut during the action spliced--in short, an hour before
sunset any stranger whom accident brought aboard the _Libertad_ could
have formed no idea of what had really taken place.
When he had obtained this result, Captain Johnson smiled in his
moustache, and ordered Master Lovel, who had followed him on board, to
pipe all hands on deck. At this familiar signal the sailors, who were
now quite submissive, gaily ranged themselves at the foot of the
mainmast, and waited patiently for their new Captain's orders. The
latter knew how to address rude fellows like these; after complimenting
them on the intelligent way in which they had comprehended his orders,
he told them that he had no intention of keeping them prisoners, for the
majority of them were Texans like himself, and as such had a claim to
his entire sympathy. Consequently, those sailors who did not wish to
serve the Texan Republic would be landed at the first place on Mexican
territory the corvette touched at; as for those who consented to remain
aboard and serve their country, their pay would be raised to twenty-five
piastres a month, and in order to prove to them the good intentions of
the Texan Government towards them, a month's pay would be distributed on
the spot in the shape of bounty.
This generous proposition was greeted with shouts of joy by those men
who began at once to calculate how many glasses of tafia and measures of
pulque they could consume for this fabulous sum of twenty-five dollars.
The poor fellows, ever since they had been in the Mexican service, had
only been paid in promises, and for a long time past had considered this
pay far too meagre. The Captain was aware of this circumstance, he saw
the effect he had produced, and continued in the midst of a religious
silence--
"Then, that is settled, my men. You are free not to remain on board,
where I have no desire to retain you as prisoners. Still, reflect on the
propositions I make you, in the name of the Government I have the honour
of serving, for I consider them in every way advantageous for you. Now,
let those who wish to enter on board the corvette pass to larboard,
while those who wish to be put ashore can remain where they are. The
purser will draw up the agreement, and pay the bounty at once."
The Captain had installed the purser at the foot of the mizenmast, with
a table before him, and bags of dollars at his feet. This display met
with the greatest success, nothing more was wanting, and the sight of
the piastres decided even the most irresolute. At the command of "Go,"
given by the Captain, the sailors crowded round the purser, who ere long
did not know whom to attend to first, so anxious were all to receive the
bounty. The Captain smiled at the result of his eloquence, but he
considered it advisable to go to the aid of the purser, and by his
orders, the sailors displayed a little less precipitation in presenting
themselves to him.
The enlistment lasted two hours. All the sailors entered all now
joyously clinked in their horny hands the handsome piastres they had
received; and assuredly, if a Mexican ship had come up at the moment,
the new crew would have given it a rude reception, and infallibly
captured it. The result obtained by Captain Johnson was easy to foresee:
in every sailor there is something of the privateer, and ready money is
the only available argument with him.
But Captain Johnson was a cool and methodical man, on whom enthusiasm
had but a slight effect. He was not at all intoxicated by the success he
had met with; he knew very well, that when the first effervescence had
worn off, reflection would come, and with reflection that
insubordination so natural to the sailor's character. Above all, he must
avoid giving any pretext for mutiny; and for that purpose, it was urgent
to break up the unanimity which a lengthened dwelling together had
produced among them. The means to effect this were simple, and the
Captain employed them. His own brig had a crew of one hundred and ninety
men; of these he only retained fifty, while the others went aboard the
corvette, one hundred and forty of her crew being transferred to the
brig; in this way the two crews were fused, and were completely at the
disposal of the Captain, who became their entire master.
The various events we have described, and the incidents that followed
them, had occupied a considerable period; the whole day had slipped
away, and the organisation was not completed till an hour before sunset.
Captain Johnson gave the command of the corvette to Don Serapio, with
Don Cristoval as first lieutenant, and Ramirez as master; while he
himself retained the command of the brig. Then, when all was in order,
the Captain had the Mexican flag hoisted at the peak of the corvette,
which immediately started for Galveston.
The Captain returned on board his own vessel, taking with him El
Alferez, to whose determination and coolness the Texan Revolutionary
Government owed the possession of a naval force. The result was grand,
and surpassed even the expectations of the insurgents. But that was not
enough: on getting aboard his brig, the Captain ordered the Texan flag
to be struck, turned upside down, and hoisted again with the Mexican
colours above it. The brig set sail, and kept up with the corvette,
being careful to keep under her guns, as if really captured by her.
The sailors did not at all comprehend this singular manoeuvre; but, as
they had seen the Captain laugh, they suspected some stratagem, and, in
spite of the shame they felt at seeing their colours beneath those of
Mexico, they repressed their murmurs, in the hope of a speedy revenge.
In the meanwhile, the whole population of Galveston had since morning
been plunged in the greatest anxiety. Assembled on the jetty, they had
watched the obstinate pursuit until the vessels disappeared; the sound
of cannon, repeated by the echo of the cliffs, had reached the city; a
fight had, therefore, taken place, but what the result was everybody
asked the other, and no one could answer.
The silence of the fort had also seemed inexplicable; they could not
understand why it had not sunk the brig as it passed. Suddenly there was
an outburst of shouts and cheers, for the brig and corvette reappeared
at the entrance of the passage, with the Mexican colours proudly flying
on the two ships over the Texan flag, which was disgracefully reversed.
This delight knew no bounds when the ships were seen to anchor beneath
the guns of the battery; the Mexicans were victors, and the Texan
insurgents had suffered a defeat, from which they would not so easily
recover.