The Mutineers and Slavers 341 



when opportunity offered, and on other occasions 

 made protests to the captain in a body. Usually 

 a strike was ended by a free use of fists, belaying- 

 pins, or such other weapons as the officers could 

 get hold of. The officers stood together; the men 

 rarely did so. 



Of these lesser mutinies nothing more need be 

 said here; but two uprisings, in which the fore- 

 castle men triumphed through a slaughter of some 

 of the officers, are memorable. 



The ship Junior, Captain Archibald Mellen, 

 Jr., sailed from New Bedford on July 21, 1857, 

 bound for the Pacific by way of the Indian Ocean. 

 On the following Christmas day the ship was in 

 south latitude 37 58' and east longitude 166 

 57'. The log of the ship, as printed in the New 

 Bedford Mercury, says of the day : 



"At sundown shortened sail to maintopsail and 

 foresail. Middle part, strong gale. Latter part, 

 heavy gale from southward. Lying to at sun- 

 down." 



After shortening sail, Captain Mellen gave 

 each man a small glass of grog because it was 

 Christmas, and then in the usual course the deck 



