ST. HELENA 269 



was suspicious, and, together with the fact of his having no register, 

 fully justified her being captured by the Conway, the impression 

 of the Conway being that the original master of the Comet had 

 met with foul play, and that the tale of the present master was a 

 fabrication. The above is easily understood after reading the 

 St. Helena Gazette for May ist, when the brig Comet suddenly 

 disappeared from this roadstead during the night, carrying off 

 two women of the town and a soldier of the garrison to have a 

 cruise ; and that Mr. Carrol, the agent of the vessel, was left minus 

 some ^300, which he had advanced for provisions, etc., little anti- 

 cipating this result. 



The Comet left this port without her register, which had been 

 deposited at the Custom House. 



Her crew was sent by the Conway to the isle of France to stand 

 its trial. 



October 18th, 1845. — H.M. steam-vessel Penelope (Commodore 

 Jones) after a cruise of nearly a month, returned to this island 

 on the 1 2th inst. During her absence she had taken two prizes, 

 one of which was the Cacique, on September 26th, a steamer with 

 no papers but showing Brazilian colours, of about 290 tons, to 

 carry 1,500 slaves, fitted out in New York. Her engine high pres- 

 sure, similar to those in use on our railways, is fixed on the deck, 

 the wheels being placed on each side abaft, each of which can be 

 worked separate from the other. Her speed (which has not yet been 

 ascertained), is supposed to be very great, although the engine 

 is only a 40-horse power. Previous to her capture by the Penelope 

 she had refused to ship a cargo of 1,060 slaves which were ready 

 for embarkation at Cabenda, preferring to wait for 500 more to 

 make her carrying number. Her crew numbered thirty — Portu- 

 guese, Spaniards, and four American engineers — and was furnished 

 with small arms of every description, the present being the first 

 voyage. 



The stores, etc., of the Cacique were sold at St. Helena, and the 

 vessel sent to Ascension. The second prize was a brigantine on 

 the 30th September with no papers, but showing Brazilian colours. 



Capture of the " Cygnet " (Capt. Layton). 



24th September. — The Cygnet was at anchor at the mouth of 

 the river Congo when she observed a ship come down river and 

 anchor. The Cygnet got under weigh and made sail in order to 

 close the ship, which weighed anchor and stood up river under 

 all sail. However, as the Cygnet gained on her, the crew set her on 

 fire, and running her into the shore they abandoned her. Captain 

 Layton despatched a boat's crew to extinguish the flames, but 

 they found it impossible to board her, and she burned to the water's 

 edge. She was afterwards discovered to be the Rose, 400 tons. 



The Alert has captured a brigantine which has been sent to Sierra 

 Leone in charge of Mr. London, master's assistant of that vessel, 



H.M.S. Star in the short space of a fortnight, viz. from the 10th 

 to the 34th October, captured three brigs fully equipped for the 



