DASTARDLY ATTACKS 
245 
the mate struck one, who retaliated by hitting him 
with a chain-hook. The mate then ran aft for his 
rifle, the men bolting below. Seeing the mate rush 
on deck with his gun, I followed him up and took it 
away. Later on in the evening, hearing a noise, 
I went on deck, and found the Chinese carpenter 
and several men armed with iron hatch battens and 
other instruments of defiance, confronting the 
captain, who was ordering them to go below and 
threatening them with a short wooden club. They 
refused to go, saying they wished to see me. Hearing 
this, I told them they had better go below, and I 
would see in the morning what they wanted. This 
satisfied them. They put aside whatever they had 
taken up to defend themselves, and proceeded to go 
below. 
Thinking the trouble finished, I went aft and took 
a cast of the lead to see if we had dragged our anchors, 
as there was a very strong breeze blowing off the 
land. Whilst I was doing this, the skipper called 
out to the mate, who was below, and then rushed 
after the carpenter, as he was making his way to the 
forecastle, and struck him several times on the 
head with the club. At this moment the mate 
rushed up with his rifle, ran forward, and fired, 
without putting the gun to his shoulder, at another 
man who was going below. He was part of the 
way down the companion-way, about half his body 
being exposed. The bullet passed through the large 
muscle on the outer side of the man’s arm; then 
through his cheek, striking both his upper and lower 
molars, breaking two of them; then upwards along the 
cheek-bone, where it remained alongside the nose. 
This all took place so suddenly that there was no 
