NARRATIVE OF THE MUTINY, &c. 259 



be to seize this post, I distributed what men I had, to the guns 

 pointing on the road leading to the town ; the whole of the men 

 I expected, had not at this time arrived. About twenty minutes 

 before ten o'clock that night, I heard a great shouting in several 

 parts of the town, and two or three muskets were discharged in 

 the upper part of the street below the ofHcers' barracks. I im- 

 mediately fired a general alarm ; and at that moment was rein- 

 forced with a party of artillery men I expected from Banks's 

 guard. My detachment now consisted of two lieutenants, one 

 volunteer, one serjeant-major (invalid), one drill-serjeant, nine 

 Serjeants, six corporals, nineteen gunners, two drummers, forty 

 matrosses of artillery, and two privates of infantry (telegraph 

 officers.) At the instant the alarm was made, a very heavy 

 shower of rain came on, and caused such darkness, that I could 

 not distinguish any object in town, to which I could direct a fire. 

 I remained with the men at the guns, endeavouring to discover 

 what route the mutineers had taken ; and when the rain cleared 

 off, I observed a large body of men moving on the road leading 

 to this post. I concluded they were mutineers marching to attack 

 me, and prepared the men to receive them with firmness, and 

 was on the point of firing on them with grape shot, when Lieu- 

 tenant Wilson advised me to wait a little, until they came into a 

 more open part of the road, where I could bring more guns to 

 bear on them ; and by that time I might be able to ascertain 

 whether they were mutineers, or friends, particularly as a lant- 

 horn was seen moving very quick in their front. My advanced 

 picquet shortly after challeiiged Major Doveton, the commandant 

 of volunteers, who informed me that the party advancing were 

 friends proceeding to join the Governor, and that the mutineers 

 had gone to Deadwood shed. Captain Pritchard then arrived 

 with the same intelligence, and soon after Major Kinnaird (who 



