276 



ST. HELENA 



afflicting scourge of humanity," and that their verdict would be such 

 as to satisfy their own consciences, the country which had made 

 such enormous sacrifices to abohsh that abominable traffic in human 

 flesh, and the world at large. The first witness called was Mr. 

 John Halliday Cave, midshipman, belonging to H.M.S. Wasp, who 

 being sworn, stated : " On the 5tli April last I was ordered by 

 Captain Usher to take charge of the whale-boat belonging to H.M.S. 

 Wasp, to chase and examine, under the orders of Lieut. Hockin 

 who was in the gig, a schooner which had just hove in sight off 

 Ambrizcttc about twenty miles from the land. Tliis was about 

 half-past seven in the morning The chase continued the whole 

 day. A little after sunset I observed the schooner firing musketry 

 at the gig, which was about two miles ahead of the whale-boat. At 

 the same time I heard a loud report from a small gun. The gig 

 returned the fire and about ten minutes after it ceased on lx)th sides. 

 About half an hour afterwards I succeeded in getting up with the 

 gig when Mr. Hocking made mc divide my ammunition with him, 

 as his was expended, and ordered me to pull ahead of the schooner 

 with him, and alter we had got ahead, to separate. I was to board 

 on the port bow wliilc Mr. Hockin boarded on tiie starlx)ard bow. 

 The colours were then hoisted in tlic gig and the whale boat. As 

 soon as the boats got within range the people in the schooner began to 

 fire again. They ail seemed on board the schooner to be armed with 

 muskets, and it w;is during the time wc were pulling ahead of the 

 vessel that three of the men in the Ixaat were wounded by muskets. 

 One man in the whale-boat, Austin Elson, was wounded in the 

 thigh by a musket ball which was fired from the schooner before 

 wegotaJongsidc. I also heard Edward Campbell in the gig cry out, ' I 

 am struck in tlie leg.' The firing from the schooner continued until 

 the boats got alongside, when it ceased entirely. On boarding the 

 schooner I saw only one man on deck — he was running to the hatch- 

 way and he was cut down. The rest of the crew all hid themsehes. 

 On going aft I saw a small gun, a three or four pounder, wliich ap- 

 peared to have recently burst ; and about the same time the captain 

 was handed up from below with one of liis legs off, wliich Jose 

 Ignaceo Oliveiro, one of the prisoners, gave me to understand had 

 been caused by the bursting of tlic gun. There was a great quantity 

 of ammunition and arms of all descriptions lying about tlie deck, 

 consisting of muskets, boarding pikes, cutlasses, musket ball-cart- 

 ridges, a case of canister shot, and a quantity of loose gunix)wder. 

 The schooner had no colours up at the time of boarding, and I saw 

 none before. A Brazilian ensign was found below. She was com- 

 pletely fitted up for slaves, had a slave-deck laid, also farina beans, 

 jerked beef, and several breakers of water. I had on my naval 

 uniform cap w ith gold band and blue jacket with naval buttons. Can- 

 not say whether Mr. Hockin had on his uniform. The crew of the 

 schooner were put into the whale-boat and towed astern. A blue 

 light was burnt as a signal to the Wasp which burnt another in 

 answer, and wc then proceeded in the direction of the Wasp, and 

 fell in with her about one o'clock iu the morning of the 6th April. 



