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[Illustration: SOUTH AMERICA.]
[Illustration:
1. Front gate.
2. House in which Cambiaso and Garcia lived.
3. Rooms where Mr. Shaw and myself were first confined.
4. The room I was afterwards removed to.
5. Where Mr. Dunn, Capt. Avalos, and others were confined.
6. Where my crew were confined.
7. Gallows.
8. Tree where the woman and others were shot.
9. The platform.
10. Flag-staff.
11. Guns.
12. Officers’ house.
13. Cook and bake houses.
14. Gate to the yard where the cattle were kept.
15. Trees where Mr. Shaw, Capt. Talbot, and the passenger were shot.
16. Where they were burnt, with the governor.
17. Where the vessels’ papers were burnt.
18 to 44. Houses or huts for the soldiers and prisoners.
45. Calaboose.
46 to 49. Store houses.
50. Gate.
51. Sometimes used for calaboose.
52. Dog house.]
[Illustration]
THE
SUFFERINGS
AND ESCAPE
OF
CAPT. CHAS. H. BROWN
FROM
An Awful Imprisonment
BY
CHILIAN CONVICTS.
BOSTON:
HIGGINS AND BRADLEY,
20 WASHINGTON STREET.
1855.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1854,
BY CHAS. H. BROWN,
in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the District of
Massachusetts.
GEO. C. RAND, PRINTER, CORNHILL, BOSTON.
PREFACE.
The preface to a book is very often nothing more than a respectable
cloak, allowed by the conventionalities of literature, in which an
author may wrap his excuses and apologies for troubling the public with
his lucubrations. This dressing up of excuses in order to introduce
them into notice under another name, is a thing so tempting to poor
human nature, such a pleasant little offering to self esteem and
vanity, that it would be very hard if authors were to be debarred from
a luxury in which all their fellow mortals indulge. Yet, if it be true
that a good wine needs no bush, it is equally true that a good book
needs no excuse; and in this age of ready writers, it is very certain
that no excuse or apology can justify the publishing a bad one. To
apologise for poor or careless writing, because there has not been
time or opportunity to make it better, provokes the question, “What
necessity was there for writing at all?”--a question not always easily
answered.
But this is not an apology for my own book; it is simply a preface to
the narrative of another person, in which I can claim no part except
that of collecting the facts from different sources, of arranging and
compiling them. If in performing this task, I have in any way “come
tardy off,” my excuses are due to both captain Brown and his readers.
In writing out this account, I have labored under the disadvantage
of being able to hold no communication with captain Brown, except
by letters. His legal papers connected with his claim for salvage,
and his own concise narrative of his sufferings and escape, drawn up
for Mr. Webster’s information at the time the claim for salvage was
first made, were put into my hands; and his letters from time to time
have supplied me with the details. I have, in every case where it was
possible, retained his own spirited language; but I feel that had it
been possible for me to have seen and heard him, the narrative as taken
down from his lips might have been, not, I believe, more correct as to
facts, but perhaps more graphic and life-like as to detail.
Still, I am convinced that the simple account of his adventures,
his sufferings, his unquenchable spirit, and the manner in which he
sustained and did honor to the reputation of our American seamen, amid
dangers before which the bravest might shrink, cannot be without its
interest to his countrymen, and especially to those of his profession;
while every American must feel that his services to the Chilian
government were received by them without even an acknowledgement of
their value; his just and legal claims being refused almost with
contumely. Had captain Brown’s demand for salvage on the treasure
rescued by him been backed by the presence of an American frigate,
commanded by such a man as captain Ingraham, we should not have seen
the British admiral allowed to carry it off from under the eyes of the
Chilian authorities, while they feared to serve the process of detainer
issued according to the law of the country; nor should we have seen
an American citizen brow-beaten by an English officer, while in the
discharge of his duty to his owners and to the government in whose
employ he was sailing. An American frigate would have taught captain
Stewart that no orders from the Chilian government could give him power
to seize a vessel sailing under the American flag, commanded by an
American citizen.
Such outrages and such injustice to our citizens will never occur when
that can be said of the American navy, which one of our own authors has
lately said so well of the British. “An English man-of-war seems to be
always within one day’s sail of every where. Let political agitation
break out in any port on the globe, if there be even a roll of English
broadcloth or a pound of English tea, to be endangered thereby, within
forty-eight hours an English steamer or frigate is pretty sure to drop
anchor in the harbor with an air which seems to say, ‘here I am; does
any body want any thing of me?’”[A]
Our country should be the guardian of her children, wherever the rights
of civilized society are respected, that our citizens may be in danger
of outrage and injustice only among savages and outlaws; and we may be
assured that in such extremities, they will, for the most part, like
captain Brown, be found fully able to protect themselves.
To return to my preface or apology: in offering this narrative to the
public, let me repeat my assurance, that captain Brown is answerable
only for the facts; for whatever literary defects there may be, I alone
am responsible.
E. H. APPLETON.
_Cincinnati._
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Valparaiso--The barque Florida--Chartered by the Chilian
government--Prisoners for convict colony put on board--Captain
Avalos and soldiers sent for protection--We set
sail--Arrangement of the vessel--Mr. Shaw’s sickness--Attempted
insurrection among the prisoners--Prompt
conduct of Captain Avalos--All quiet again--We reach
the Straits of Magellan--Williwaws--We anchor in
Sandy Bay 15
CHAPTER II.
Sandy Bay Colony--Governor Benjamin Munoz Gamero--Insurrection
of Cambiaso--Forged Message from the Governor--Landing
of Captain Avalos--Escape of Governor
Gamero--Boat sent on shore--Return of the boat--Capture
of the Florida--Mr. Shaw and myself seized--Taken
on shore--Our imprisonment at the barracks--Privations--Mr.
Shaw removed 30
CHAPTER III.
My prison--My guards--An English hymn book--A fellow
prisoner--Capture of the Eliza Cornish--Fears of the
English mate--Death of Mr. Shaw--Of Captain Talbot
and boy--Barbarity of their execution--The Chilian prisoners
sympathize with us--Cambiaso’s bravado--Captain
Avalos and others led out to view the dead bodies--Treacherous
betrayal of Governor Gamero--Execution
of the traitor--My walk 51
CHAPTER IV.
Capture of the Governor--His execution--I am led out of
my prison--The burning of the bodies--Governor Gamero’s
character--His intercourse with the native tribes--The
Priest Acuna--Arrival of H. B. M. war steamer
Virago--Mr. Dunn, the Secretary--Cambiaso plans the
capture of the steamer--He fears her force and discipline--The
officers invited on shore--No suspicions aroused--The
Virago sets sail 71
CHAPTER V.
We are better treated--Captain Avalos again--His privations--The
sergeant shot--Mr. Buela--Cambiaso’s discipline--His
code of laws--Personal appearance--His
vanity--Threats of poison--Improved fare--The coffee--The
mate secures the E. Cornish--Cambiaso and
Garcia visit me--I go on board the Florida--My steward 94
CHAPTER VI.
Comparative comfort--The American ensign--Christmas
day--My visit to the barracks--The Indian boys--Cambiaso’s
rage--Execution of the Indian woman--The
cattle slaughtered--Escape of the Indians--Fears of the
rebels--Preparations for leaving--The Florida re-christened--Interview
with Cambiaso--The embarking of the
colonists--Prisoners sent to the Florida 123
CHAPTER VII.
Cambiaso’s orders--We set sail--Wood’s Bay--The old
French ship--A drunken riot--The officer condemned--Garcia’s
interference--Men deserted at Wood’s Bay--The
Eliza Cornish left behind--Stormy weather--Sandy Bay
again--The Indians--Cape Gregory--Interview with
Cambiaso--His promises--Conversation with Mr. Dunn--My
determination 145
CHAPTER VIII.
The re-taking of the vessel planned--Mr. Dunn--Captain
Avalos--Preito--The corporal--Three bells--The struggle--Cambiaso
overpowered--Garcia--Cheers for victory--The
crew swear fidelity to me--Our course--Cambiaso
put in irons--His cowardice--The prisoners from the
hold--River Gallegos--Voyage round Cape Horn--Attempted
outbreaks--Our danger--We reach San Carlos 169
CHAPTER IX.
Reports of the revolt reach San Carlos--American Minister
sends assistance--Chilian Government despatches forces
to the Straits--The Virago--Fears of the inhabitants of
San Carlos--I deliver the Florida to the Chilian authorities--Arrival
of the E. Cornish--The Virago takes the prisoners
and treasure--Passage to Valparaiso--Protest and
claim of salvage--Mr. Duer--Don Antonio Varas--Injustice
done me by the Chilian government--The British
Admiral claims the treasure--I protest again--Compromise--Don
Antonio denies all claim--My claims put into
the hands of the United States Authorities 191
CHAPTER X.
Cambiaso’s trial--His execution--His character--Garcia--My
interview with him--The officer saved by Garcia--His
wife’s gratitude--Mr. Duer’s kindness--Mr. Dunn--Captain
Avalos--Conclusion 220
INSURRECTION AT MAGELLAN.
CHAPTER I.
Valparaiso--The barque Florida--Chartered by the Chilian
government--Prisoners for convict colony put on board--Captain
Avalos and soldiers sent for protection--We set sail--Arrangement of
the vessel--Mr. Shaw’s sickness--Attempted insurrection among the
prisoners--Prompt conduct of Captain Avalos--All quiet again--We
reach the Straits of Magellan--Williwaws--We anchor in Sandy Bay.
In the latter part of October, 1851, I was at the port of Valparaiso,
Chili, having command of the barque Florida, of New Orleans, of about
two hundred tons burden. My orders from my owners were to take the
Florida through the Straits of Magellan to Rio Janeiro, where we were
to take in freight for the United States; and my first business was to
secure my officers and crew. One of my owners was now at Valparaiso,
and would accompany me on the voyage.
To a sea-faring man like myself, such a voyage was no new thing, and
I looked forward with some interest, but with no excitement, to the
prospect of many days’ tiresome battling with the wind and waves, to
the annoyances of clearing, and to the perils and labors of a tedious
navigation through the Straits. Had I known what perils and sufferings
awaited me, with what different feelings should I have left the
beautiful city where I had received much kindness and hospitality,
and trusted myself to the treacherous elements, and to men far more
treacherous than they! But, happily, Providence has given to us only
a knowledge of the present, and the blessing of hope for the future,
without any foreshadowing of coming evil.
The barque Florida was a long, low, straight-built vessel, and a fast
sailer. She had been employed formerly in sailing between Panama and
San Francisco, conveying passengers to and fro, and was well fitted
up for that purpose, with a large cabin, extending as far forward as
her mainmast, and fourteen well furnished state rooms. She was also
furnished with four brass cannon, four pounders, and one iron swivel
mounted forward. Her owners were Capt. John Lovett, of Beverly, Mass.,
and his brother-in-law, Mr. Benjamin G. Shaw; Mr. Shaw being the
principal owner. On board of her were Mr. Shaw, the owner, and one
cabin passenger, Mr. Ramon Buela, belonging to New Orleans.
The vessel having at that time no cargo, we were applied to by the
government of Chili, to convey certain State prisoners, charged with
political offences, to the penal colony established by that government
at Sandy Bay, Straits of Magellan. This was at the time when the
Chilians, disaffected to the government at Santiago, had risen, under
General Cruz, and had seized the Province of Conception; and the
political offenders whom we were to convey to Sandy Bay, were, some of
them, implicated in that rebellion.
After some consideration, Mr. Shaw determined to accept the offer
of the government, and to allow it to charter the Florida for the
conveyance of the prisoners to Sandy Bay, where we were to leave
them, and proceed on our voyage. The authorities were to send with
the prisoners a sufficient number of troops to secure us against any
disturbance during the voyage, and accordingly, Captain Pedro Avalos,
with a corporal and twelve soldiers were drafted on that service.
On the morning of October 30, I took command of the vessel, with the
intention of getting her ready for sea the same evening, that I might
be prepared to receive the prisoners, who were to be sent on board of
her the same night. By hard work on my part, and plenty of pushing up
my men, we were all ready by night, and at eleven o’clock, P. M., the
prisoners began to come on board.
Hard featured, desperate looking men, some of them were, with the
downcast, heavy look of criminals. Men were among them who had set law
at defiance, whose hands had been against every man, and in whose
hearts the kindly affections had long been deadened; and I felt as
I looked at their countenances, made, perhaps, more repulsive to me
by the dark, foreign cast of features which my early education and
prejudices had taught me to associate with men of desperate fortunes,
that there was no easy task before me. There were, however, among them
men of high rank, who, for having joined in one of those political
struggles which so constantly shake the South American Republics, were
now condemned to a long imprisonment on the savage shores of Patagonia,
in the society of convicts and felons of the worst kind; some sentenced
for a tedious term of three years, some doomed to a life-long
imprisonment.
On the evening of Sunday, November 3d, I received a notice from
Commodore R. Simpson, acting Intendente of Valparaiso, by the captain
of the port, that all the prisoners were now on board, the notice being
accompanied by an order for me to proceed to sea at once, without any
further communication with the shore. The Intendente evidently feared
the escape of some of our prisoners, or perhaps some communication
between them and their political associates.
The evening being calm, the sea breeze having died away, and no
appearance of the land breeze springing up, I asked the captain of the
port, to whom the regulation of all the shipping in the harbor belongs,
for the assistance of two boats from the Chilian man-of-war which was
lying in the harbor at the time, to tow my vessel out to sea. They were
sent, and assisted us till midnight, when a land breeze springing up,
they left us, and returned to the harbor.
I had made every preparation to insure order and security during the
voyage, had mounted two of the four pounders upon the poop deck,
pointing forward so as to rake the whole deck, and kept them constantly
loaded. The prisoners, about eighty in number, were put into the hold
of the vessel, and were only allowed to come on deck for air and
refreshment, in small detachments. A sentinel was stationed at the
gangway, and the deck was constantly guarded by seven soldiers and
half my crew. The crew consisted of eight men before the mast, part
Americans and part foreigners, first and second mate, cook, and cabin
boy. Mr. Shaw, Captain Avalos, Mr. Buela, the first and second mates,
and myself shared the cabin.
The wind continued light until the afternoon of Monday, the 4th, when
a fresh breeze sprung up from the south-west, right ahead: which head
wind and rough sea continued through the first part of our voyage.
Our little vessel was a fast sailer, but with these obstacles in our
way, we made but slow progress, and our passengers began to feel the
tediousness of a sea voyage. For my part, my responsibility was too
heavy, and my avocations somewhat too numerous, for time to hang
heavily upon my hands, for my officers were neither very efficient or
entirely to be depended upon.
My anxieties and responsibilities were increased when we were some days
out, by the sickness of Mr. Shaw, who was seized with a relapse of the
Panama fever. My relation to Mr. Shaw was something more than the mere
business connection between the owner and master of a vessel. We had
been thrown together very closely, and I had always found him ready and
prompt with advice and sympathy in every difficulty that might arise,
and most considerate in all business arrangements. We were Americans,
from the same State, away from our families and friends, and bound
together by many common subjects of interest; subjects which grow in
importance when men are far away from their homes. His sickness, where
so little could be done for his comfort, was a source of considerable
anxiety to me, and deprived me of almost all society, for Captain
Avalos talked very little English.
We had been out about a fortnight, when, as Captain Avalos and myself
were sitting in the cabin, we were startled by word being brought from
the sentinel at the gangway, that one of the prisoners had informed him
that there had been a proposition among the prisoners to rise and take
the vessel.
I sprang upon the deck and called up all hands, while Captain Avalos
ordered up the soldiers who were not on duty. The soldiers were all
under arms, and the captain proved himself soldier-like and efficient
in any emergency; for his first order was, that in case of any
disturbance among the prisoners, the first man that made his appearance
was to be shot down. We waited in some anxiety, but all was quiet;
then, ordering the soldiers and the crew to remain on their guard,
Captain Avalos and myself went to the gangway and inquired into the
cause of the alarm. It seems that the proposition to take the vessel
had been made by one of the prisoners,--one of those confined for
political offences. His plan had probably been to run the vessel into
land, and join General Cruz and the revolutionary party in the province
of Conception; but few of the prisoners were ready to join him, and
one of them had found an opportunity to communicate the design to the
sentinel at the gangway.
We had no further difficulty, and I was glad that this little
disturbance had occurred, as it gave me confidence in the promptitude
and courage of my own crew, and in the presence of mind and
soldier-like character of Captain Avalos.
On the morning of November 24th, the weather was thick and foggy, and
the running became difficult. I run till about eleven o’clock, and
then, judging myself near the western entrance of the Straits, I hove
the main-top-sail aback, waiting for clear weather, so that I could
see land. At twelve, the sun came out, clear and glorious, and I found
myself within ten miles of the entrance, Cape Pillar bearing east from
us. Mr. Shaw and myself congratulated each other on being near the
end of the disagreeable part of our voyage, for there was something
repugnant to us, in the idea of standing jailors, as it were, to men
for some of whom our sympathies were enlisted; for the freedom of our
political institutions makes the idea of imprisonment for political
offences repulsive to an American; and, indeed, no free man likes to
stand jailor to another, be his offences what they may.
We were, however, not so near our destination as we supposed, for the
weather continued very much against us. I put the vessel before the
wind, intending that afternoon to anchor in the harbor of Mercy, but
on account of the thick, squally weather, I was unable to make the
harbor, and ran past the entrance, which is so small that it may easily
be overlooked. I was therefore obliged to run all night, and as the
wind was blowing fresh, and the weather thick, I took in sail, and put
her under double-reefed top-sails. At daylight on the morning of the
25th, I set all sail, and during the day we had a fine, pleasant breeze
from the westward. In the evening, not being able to make a harbor,
we hove-to, for the night, a short distance from Cape Froward, a high
point of land within the Straits. These high lands I had learned to
dread, as from off them, and out of the valley come fresh, fitful
winds, called by the Indians “williwaws,” blowing sometimes with such
violence as to take the masts out of vessels. These williwaws give
you no warning, when your vessel is near shore, and require constant
watchfulness.
The morning of the 26th broke, however, with a light breeze from the
west, under favor of which I run along the shore until noon, when the
wind suddenly canted to the northward, and blew so fresh and hard that
at 3. P. M., the main-top-sail split, and we were obliged to reef it.
At six in the afternoon we were glad to drop anchor in Sandy Bay,
and to give notice of our arrival by a salute of two guns, which was
answered from the shore.