(1885) The Sufferings & Escape of Captain Charles H. Brown

8/9/2019 (1885) The Sufferings & Escape of Captain Charles H. Brown

1/254


2/254

ClfdUsij.fML


3/254

\^k' ^^c^s^ )?^A^>t\


4/254


5/254


6/254


7/254


8/254

SOUTH AMERICA.


9/254

fVg |*715 .

10^on

en

IT?-1

71 II1 13 20

-1 !50

^r4 8 49

21 22

23

r2i^

3


10/254


11/254

KK


12/254


13/254

THE

SUFFERINGSMl ES

O F

. H.FROM

it %Mvi ImprisonmentBYCHILIAN CONVICTS,

BOSTON:HIGGINS AND BRADLEY,

20 Washington Street.1855.


14/254

THE NEWPUBLIC LIBRARY*


15/254

PREFACE.The preface to a book is very often nothing

more than a respectable cloak, allowed by theconventionalities of literature, in which an authormay wrap his excuses and apologies for troublingthe public with his lucubrations. This dressingup of excuses in order to introduce them intonotice under another name, is a thing so temptingto poor human nature, such a pleasant little off-ering to self esteem and vanity, that it would bevery hard if authors were to be debarred froma luxury in which all their fellow mortals indulge.Yet, if it be true that a good wine needs nobush, it is equally true that a good book needsno excuse ; and in this age of ready writers, itis very certain that no excuse or apology canjustify the publishing a bad one. To apologisefor poor or careless writing, because there hasnot been time or opportunity to make it better,provokes the question, " What necessity was therefor writing at all ? " a question not always easilyanswered.But this is not an apology for my own book ;

it is simply a preface to the narrative of anotherperson,

in which I can claim no part except that


16/254

8 PREFACE.of collecting the facts from different sources, ofarranging and compiling them. If in performingthis task, I have in any way " come tardy off,"my excuses are due to both captain Brown andhis readers.

In writing out this account, I have labored un-der the disadvantage of being able to hold nocommunication with captain Brown, except byletters. His legal papers connected with his claimfor salvage, and his own concise narrative of hissufferings and escape, drawn up for Mr. Webster'sinformation at the time the claim for salvage wasfirst made, were put into my hands; and hisletters from time to time have supplied me withthe details. I have, in every case where it waspossible, retained his own spirited language; butI feel that had it been possible for me to haveseen and heard him, the narrative as taken downfrom his lips might have been, not, I believe,more correct as to facts, but perhaps more graphicand life-like as to detail.

Still, I am convinced that the simple accountof his adventures, his sufferings, his unquenchablespirit, and the manner in which he sustained anddid honor to the reputation of our Americanseamen, amid dangers before which the bravestmiffht shrink, cannot be without its interest tohis countrymen, and especially to those of his pro-fession ; while every American must feel that hisservices to the Chilian government were receivedby them without even an acknowledgement oftheir value; his just and legal claims being re-


17/254

PREFACE. 9fused almost with contumely. Had captain Brown'sdemand for salvage on the treasure rescued byhim been backed by the presence of an Americanfrigate, commanded by such a man as captainIngraham, we should not have seen the Britishadmiral allowed to carry it off from under theeyes of the Chilian authorities, while they fearedto serve the process of detainer issued accordingto the law of the country ; nor should we haveseen an American citizen brow-beaten by an Eng-lish officer, while in the discharge of his duty tohis owners and to the government in whose em-ploy he was sailing. An American frigate wouldhave taught captain Stewart that no orders fromthe Chilian government could give him power toseize a vessel sailing under the American flag,commanded by an American citizen.

Such outrages and such injustice to our citizenswill never occur when that can be said of theAmerican navy, which one of our own authorshas lately said so well of the British. " An Eng-lish man-of-war seems to be always within oneday's sail of every where. Let political agitationbreak out in any port on the globe, if there beeven a roll of English broadcloth or a pound ofEnglish tea, to be endangered thereby, withinforty-eight hours an English steamer or frigate ispretty sure to drop anchor in the harbor with anair which seems to say, ' here I am ; does anybody want any thing of me ? ' " *

* Six months in Italy By George S. HUlard.


18/254

10 PREFACE.Our country should be the guardian of her

children, wherever the rights of civilized society-are respected, that our citizens may be in dangerof outrage and injustice only among savages andoutlaws ; and we may be assured that in suchextremities, they will, for the most part, like cap-tain Brown, be found fully able to protect them-selves.To return to my preface or apology : in offering

this narrative to the public, let me repeat myassurance, that captain Brown is answerable onlyfor the facts ; for whatever literary defects theremay be, I alone am responsible.

E. H. APPLETON.Cincinnati.


19/254

C N TEN ' S.CHAPTER I .

Valparaiso The barque Florida Cuurtered by the Chiliangovernment Prisoners for convict colony put on boardCaptain Avalos and soldiers sent for protection We setsail Arrangement of the vessel Mr. Shaw's sicknessAttempted insurrection among the prisoners Promptconduct of Captain Avalos All quiet again We reachthe Straits of Magellan Williwaws We anchor inSandy Bay 15

CHAPTER II.Sandy Bay Colony Governor Benjamin Munoz Gamero

Insurrection of Cambiaso Forged Message from the Gov-ernor Landing of Captain Avalos Escape of GovernorGamero Boat sent on shore Keturn of the boat Cap-ture of the Florida Mr, Shaw and myself seized Takenon shore Our imprisonment at the barracks Privations

Mr. Shaw removed 30


20/254

12 CONTENTS.CHAPTER III.

My prison My guards An English hymn book A fellowprisoner Capture of the Eliza Cornish Fears of theEnglish mate Death of Mr. Shaw Of Captain Talbotand boy Barbarity of their execution The Chilian pris-oners sympathize with us Cambiaso's bravado CaptainAvalos and others led out to view the dead bodiesTreacherous betrayal of Governor Gamero Executionof the traitor My walk 51

CHAPTER I Y .Capture of the Governor His execution I am led out ofmy prison The burning of the bodies Governor Ga-mero's character His intercourse with the native tribes

The Priest Acuna Arrival of H. B. M. war steamerVirago Mr. Dunn, the Secretary Cambiaso plans thecapture of the steamer He fears her force and discipline

The officers invited on shore No suspicions arousedThe Virago sets sail 71

CHAPTER Y.We are better treated Captain Avalos again His priva-

tions The sergeant shot Mr. Buela Cambiaso's dis-cipline His code of laws Personal appearance Hisvanity Threats of poison Improved fare The coffee


21/254

CONTENTS. ISThe mate secures the E. Comish Cambiaso and

Garcia visit me I go on board the Florida My stew-ard 94

CHAPTER VI.Comparative comfort The American ensign Christmasday My visit to the barracks The Indian boys Cam-biaso's rage Execution of the Indian woman Thecattle slaughtered Escape of the Indians Fears of therebels Preparations for leaving The Florida re-christ-ened Interview with Cambiaso The embarking of thecolonists Prisoners sent to the Florida 123

CHAPTER VII.Cambiaso's orders We set sail Wood's Bay The oldFrench ship A drunken riot The officer condemnedGarcfa's interference Men deserted at Wood's Bay TheEliza Cornish left behind Stormy weather Sandy Bayagain The Indians Cape Gregory Interview withCambiaso His promises Conversation with Mr. DunnMy determination 145

CHAPTER VIII.The re-taking of the vessel planned Mr. Dunn Captain

Avalos Preito The corporal Three bells The strug-2


22/254

14 CONTENTS.gle Cambiaso overpowered Garcia Cheers for victory

The crew swear -fidelity to me Our course Cambiasoput in irons Sis cowardice The prisoners from thehold River Gallegos Voyage round Cape Horn At-tempted outbreaks Our danger We reach San Car-los 169

CHAPTER IX.Reports of the revolt reach San Carlos American Ministeisends assistance Chilian Government despatches forcesto the Straits The Virago Fears of the inhabitants ofSan Carlos I deliver the Florida to the Chilian authorities

Arrival of the E. Cornish The Virago takes the pris-oners and treasure Passage to Valparaiso Protest andclaim of salvage Mr. Duer Don Antonio Varas Injustice done me by the Chilian government The BritishAdmiral claims the treasure I protest again Compromise Don Antonio denies all claim My claims put intcthe hands of the United States Authorities 19J

CHAPTER X.Cambiaso's trial His execution His character Garch.

My interview with him The officer saved by GarciaHis wife's gratitude Mr. Duer's kindness Mr. DunnCaptain Avalos Conclusion 220


23/254

INSURRECTION AT MAGELLAN.

CHAPTER I.Valparaiso The barque Florida Chartered by the Chiliangovernment Prisoners for convict colony put on boardCaptain Avalos and soldiers sent for protection We 6etsail Arrangement of the vessel Mr. Shaw's sicknessAttempted insurrection among the prisoners Promptconduct of Captain Avalos All quiet again We reachthe Straits of Magellan Williwaws We anchor inSandy Bay.In the latter part of October, 1851,

I was at the port of Valparaiso, Chili,having command of the barque Florida,of New Orleans, of about two hundredtons burden. My orders from my own-ers were to take the Florida throughthe Straits of Magellan to Rio Janeiro,where we were to take in freight for


24/254

16 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OF

the United States ; and my first businesswas to secure my officers and crew.One of my owners was now at Valpa-raiso, and would accompany me on thevoyage.To a sea-faring man like myself, such

a voyage was no new thing, and Ilooked forward with some interest, butwith no excitement, to the prospect ofmany days' tiresome battling with thewind and waves, to the annoyances ofclearing, and to the perils and laborsof a tedious navigation through theStraits. Had I known what perils andsufferings awaited me, with what differentfeelings should I have left the beautifulcity where I had received much kind-ness and hospitality, and trusted myselfto the treacherous elements, and to menfar more treacherous than they ! But,happily, Providence has given to us only


25/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 17

a knowledge of the present, and theblessing of hope for the future, withoutany foreshadowing of coming evil.The barque Florida was a long, low,

straight-built vessel, and a fast sailer.She had been employed formerly in sail-ing between Panama and San Francisco,conveying passengers to and fro, andwas well fitted up for that purpose, witha large cabin, extending as far forwardas her mainmast, and fourteen well fur-nished state rooms. She was alsofurnished with four brass cannon, fourpounders, and one iron swivel mountedforward. Her owners were Capt. JohnLovett, of Beverly, Mass., and his brother-in-law, Mr. Benjamin G. Shaw ; Mr.Shaw being the principal owner. Onboard of her were Mr. Shaw, the owner,and one cabin passenger, Mr. RamonBuela, belonging to New Orleair

2*


26/254

18 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFThe vessel having at that time no

cargo, we were applied to by the gov-ernment of Chili, to convey . certainState prisoners, charged with politicaloffences, to the penal colony establishedby that government at Sandy Bay, Straitsof Magellan. This was at the time whenthe Chilians, disaffected to the govern-ment at Santiago, had risen, underGeneral Cruz, and had seized the Prov-ince of Conception ; and the politicaloffenders whom we were to convev toSandy &a,y, were, some of them, impli-cated in that rebellion.

After some consideration, Mr. Shawdetermined to accept the offer of thegovernment, and to allow it to charterthe Florida for the conveyance of theprisoners to Sandy Bay, where we wereto leave them, and proceed on ourvoyage. The authorities were to seno


27/254


with the prisoners a sufficient number oftroops to secure us against any dis-turbance during the voyage, and accor-dingly, Captain Pedro Avalos, with acorporal and twelve soldiers were draftedon that service.On the morning of October 30, I took

command of the vessel, with the in-tention of getting her ready for sea thesame evening, that I might be preparedto receive the prisoners, who were to besent on board of her the same night.By hard work on my part, and plentyof pushing up my men, we were allready by night, and at eleven o'clock,P. M., the prisoners began to come onboard.Hard featured, desperate looking men,

some of them were, with the downcast,heavy look of criminals. Men wereamong them who had set law at defiance,


28/254

20 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OPwhose hands had been against everyman, and in whose hearts the kindly-affections had long been deadened; andI felt as I looked at their countenances,made, perhaps, more repulsive to me bythe dark, foreign cast of features whichmy early education and prejudices hadtaught me to associate with men ofdesperate fortunes, that there was noeasy task before me. There were, how-ever, among them men of high rank,who, for having joined in one of thosepolitical struggles which so constantlyshake the South American Republics,were now condemned to a long impris-onment on the savage shores of Pata-gonia, in the society of convicts andfelons of the worst kind ; some sen-tenced for a tedious term of three years,some doomed to a life-long imprisonment.On the evening of Sunday, November


29/254


3d, 1 received a notice from CommodoreR. Simpson, acting Intendente of Val-paraiso, by the captain of the port, thatall the prisoners were now on board,the notice being accompanied by anorder for me to proceed to sea at once,without any further communication withthe shore. The Intendente evidentlyfeared the escape of some of our pris-oners, or perhaps some communication be-tween them and their political associates,The evening being calm, the sea breeze

having died away, and no appearance ofthe land breeze springing up, I askedthe captain of the port, to whom theregulation of all the shipping in theharbor belongs, for the assistance of twoboats from the Chilian man-of-war whichwas lying in the harbor at the time, totow my vessel out to sea. They weresent, and assisted us till midnight, when


30/254


a land breeze springing up, they leftus, and returned to the harbor.

I had made every preparation to in-sure order and security during thevoyage, had mounted two of the fourpounders upon the poop deck, pointingforward so as to rake the whole deck,and kept them constantly loaded. Theprisoners, about eighty in number, wereput into the hold of the vessel, andwere only allowed to come on deck forair and refreshment, in small detach-ments. A sentinel was stationed at thegangway, and the deck was constantlyguarded by seven soldiers and half mycrew. The crew consisted of eight menbefore the mast, part Americai**, andpart foreigners, first and second mate,cook, and cabin boy. Mr. Shaw, CaptainAvalos, Mr. Buela, the first and .secondmates, and myself shared the cabin.


31/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 2HThe wind continued light until the

afternoon of Monday, the 4th, when afresh breeze sprung up from the south-west, right ahead : which head wind tand rough sea continued through thefirst part of our voyage. Our littlevessel was a fast sailer, but with theseobstacles in our way, we made but slowprogress, and our passengers began tofeel the tediousness of a sea voyage.For my part, my responsibility was tooheavy, and my avocations somewhat toonumerous, for time to hang heavily uponmy hands, for my officers were neithervery efficient or entirely to be dependedupon.My anxieties and responsibilities were

increased when we were some days out,by the sickness of Mr. Shaw, who wasseized with a relapse of the Panamafever. My relation to Mr. Shaw was


32/254


something more than the mere businessconnection between the owner and mas-ter of a vessel. We had been throwntogether very closely, and I had alwaysfound him ready and prompt with adviceand sympathy in every difficulty thatmight arise, and most considerate in al 1business arrangements. We were Amer-icans, from the same State, away fromour families and friends, and bounctogether by many common subjects ofinterest ; subjects which grow in im-portance when men are far away fromtheir homes. His sickness, where solittle could be done . for his comfort,was a source of considerable anxiety tome, and deprived me of almost all so-ciety, for Captain Avalos talked verylittle English.We had been out about a fortnight,

when, as Captain Avalos and myself


33/254


were sitting in the cabin, we werestartled by word being brougl t from thesentinel at the gangway, that one ofthe wrisoners had informed him thatthere uad been a proposition among theprisoners to rise and take the vessel.

I sprang upon the deck and called upall hands, while Captain Avalos orderedup the soldiers who were not on duty.The soldiers were all under arras, andthe captain proved himself soldier-likeand efficient in any emergency ; for hisfirst order was, that in case of anydisturbance among the prisoners, the firstman tftat made his appearance was tobe shot down. "We waited in someanxiety, but all was quiet ; then, or-dering the soldiers and the crew toremain on their guard, Captain Avalosand n/ielf went to the gangway andinquired into the cause of the alarm.


34/254

26 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OPIt seems that the proposition to takothe vessel had been made b} one ofthe prisoners, one of those confined forpolitical offences. His plan had prob-ably been to run the vessel irto land,and join General Cruz and the revolu-tionary party in the province of Con-ception ; but few of the prisoners wereready to join him, and one of them hadfound an opportunity to communicate thedesign to the sentinel at the gangway.We had no further difficulty, and Iwas glad that this little disturbance hadoccurred, as it gave me confidence inthe promptitude and courage of my owncrew, and in the presence of mind andsoldierlike character of Captain Avalos.On the morning of November 24th, theweather was thick and foggy, and therunning became difficult, I run tillabout eleven o'clock, and then, judging


35/254


myself near the western entrance of theStraits, I hove the main-top-sail aback,waiting for clear weather, so that Icould see land. At twelve, the suncame out, clear and glorious, and Ifound myself within ten miles of theentrance, Cape Pillar bearing east fromus. Mr. Shaw and myself congratulatedeach other on being near the end ofthe disagreeable part of our voyage, forthere was something repugnant to us, inthe idea of standing jailors, as it were,to men for some or wnom our sym-pathies were enlisted ; for the freedomof our political institutions makes theidea of imprisonment for political offencesrepulsive to an American ; and, indeed,no free man likes to stand jailor toanother, be his offences what they may.We were, however, not so near ourdestination as we supposed, for the


36/254

28 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFweather continued very much againstus. I put the vessel before the wind,intending that afternoon to anchor inthe harbor of Mercy, but on account ofthe thick, squally weather, I was unableto make the harbor, and ran past theentrance, which is so small that it mayeasily be overlooked. I was thereforeobliged to run all night, and as thewind was blowing fresh, and the weatherthick, I took in sail, and put her underdouble-reefed top-sails. At daylight onthe morning of the 25th, I set allsail, and during the day we had afine, pleasant breeze from the westward.In the evening, not being able to makea harbor, we hove-to, for the night, ashort distance from Cape Froward, ahigh point of land within the Straits.These high lands I had learned to dread,as from off them, and out of the valley


37/254


come fresh, fitful winds, called by theIndians " williwaws," blowing sometimeswith such violence as to take the mastsout of \essels. These williwaws giveyou no warning, when your vessel isnear shore, and require constant watch-fulness.The morning of the 26th broke, how-

ever, with a light breeze from thewest, under favor of whirh I run alongthe shore until noon, when the windsuddenly canted to the northward, andblew so fresh and hard that at 3, P.M.; the main-top-sail split, and we wereobliged to reef it. At six in the af-ternoon we were glad to drop anchorin Sandy Bay, and to give notice ofour arrival by a salute of two guns,which was answered from the shore.


38/254

CHAPTER II.Sandy Bay Colony Governor Benjamin Numoz Gamerc

Insurrection of Cambiaso Forged Message from the Gov-ernor Landing of Captain Avalos Escape of GovernorGamero Boat sent on shore Return of the boat Cap-ture of the Florida Mr. Shaw and myself seized Takenon shore Our imprisonment at the barracks Privations

Mr. Shaw removed.

Sandy Bay Colony lies on the Pata-gonian side of the Straits of Magellan,on a level spot of ground which slopesdown gently towards the water on thesouth-east. The settlement had formerlybeen made at Port Famine, at a shortdistance to the south-west of the presentcolony : but that situation was found toV 1be verv bleak, the site of the buildingsbeing on a hill somewhat higher thanthe surrounding country, and exposed to


39/254


the sweep of the williwaws. The changehad been made under the direction ofDon Benjamin Numoz Gamero, governorof the colony, and the new site hadbeen selected with great judgment. Theland proved very fertile, being wellfitted to raise all the crops which theshort summers of that latitude will allowto come to maturity ; and the governorhad cleared a good deal of groundaround the barracks, and laid out manygardens, which were cultivated by theconvicts. A street ran in front of thebarracks, towards the water, and on theslope of the shore were some very goodhouses. These houses were made ofboards that had been sawed from logsby the convicts. They used hand-saws,and usually sawed about twelve or four-teen boards a day.As I looked towards the shore from


40/254

32 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFthe vessel, as the sun went down, onthe evening of the 26th, there was allaround the quiet and peace of earlysummer, and the barracks shone out withthe neatness that belongs to all buildingsfor military purposes. How little didI guess the violence and mutiny thatwere going on within !There had been an insurrection in the

colony about five days before, headed byone Cambiaso, second lieutenant of thetroops stationed there; who, as I learnedafterwards, had committed some offenceand been imprisoned a short time beforeby the order of the governor. At h'/sliberation, he had declared that he wouldhave his revenge, and I have somereason to suppose that he was instigatedto seize the place by some of the po-litical offenders confined there, who wereadherents of General Cruz, and who still


41/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 33held some communication with the revo-lutionists in the province of Conception.Cambiaso had been joined by most ofthe convicts And prisoners. This attackon the troops had been successful, butthe governor, priest, some soldiers, andone woman, a wife of one of the sol-diers, had escaped outside of the fort,and were then hiding in the woods.Cambiaso was in possession of the fortwhen wa anchored in the bay, but ofthis, of course, I knew nothing.Early in the evening, indeed as soon

as it was dark, a boat put off fromshore and came alongside, with five menin her, bearing a letter purporting tobe from the governor of the colony,and signed Numoz Gamero, desiring meto keep the prisoners on board untilthe next day, when I should receiveassistance from the shore, in landing them.


42/254

34 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFI showed the letter to captain Avalos,who, tired of his confinement on shipboard, determined to go on shore forthe night, taking with him some twelveprisoners in the boat which had beensent from the land, and leaving the re-mainder of the prisoners and the troopsunder my charge.About twelve at night, I 'was aroused

by the firing of cannon from the shore,and I sprung upon deck, but I foundall quiet in the vessel. In a few mo-ments, however, the watch gave thealarm that a boat was coming near us,and crvinp- for assistance The windblew so very fresh that it was impos-sible to hear what was said from theboat, ( the voices being blown away fromus,) but I conjectured that the prisonerwho were landed the evening before,and about whose security I hcd some


43/254


doubts, had made their escape fromcaptain Avalos, and had probabb stolena boat and were trying to get on board,where, with the assistance of the otherprisoners, they could seize the vesseland make their escape. I immediatelyordered a gun to be fired in answer tothose from the shore, to show that wewere on the lookout, and then had thelarboard quarter boat lowered away andsent her out with five men, armed withcutlasses, with orders to seize the shoreboat.

After being gone for a whole hour,they returned, saying that they had notbeen able to find her. Soon after, thenoise of firing from the shore ceased.In the boat were the governor, priest,some soldiers, and a woman, wTho hadescaped from the barracks, and, seizinga boat, had put off, in hopes to reach


44/254


me and warn me of the insurrection onshore. Having but one oar, however,tind the wind blowing very fresh, theywere unable to make the vessel, butdrifted across the Straits and attemptedto land on the Terra del Fuego side.As soon as captain Avalos reached

the barracks, he was seized, his paperstaken from him, +he prisoners who landedwith him set at liberty, and himself putinto double irons and thrust into acalaboose, as the buildings fo^ confiningthe soldiers are called. During theevening, he could hear the prisonerswhom he had brought on shore, in thefull enjoyment of a drunken frolic. Hetold me afterwards that no answer wasmade to his inquiries as to the reasonof his seizure, but that he obtainedsome idea of what was the real stateof the colony, by overhearing the con-


45/254


versation of the drunken prisoners. Latein the evening, the door of the cala-boose was opened, and five men, doubleironed, were thrust into the room.These, he found, were the Secretary ofthe colony, a Brazilian by birth, thecaptain and first lieutenant of the troopsof the colony, the apothecary, and gov-ernor's steward.The escape of governor Gamero had

been discovered by Cambiaso, and thesemen were thrust into the calaboose withcaptain Avalos, a guard of eighteen menstationed on the outside, with lk.b';edtorches in their hands, and with oidersto set fire to the four corners of thebuilding, and burn them alive, in casethe Florida made her escape during thenight. But the morning came, and theFlorida, fortunately for them if not forus, was still at anchor. It would be


46/254


inquiring somewhat too curiously of weakhuman nature, to ask if the prisonersfelt any thing but joy at hearing ofour fatal security. Captain Avalos andMr. Dunn ( the secretary ) told me after-wards, that during the night their guardswore cursing their tiresome watch, andwondering why Cambiaso did not shootthem at once, or burn them, withoutwaiting to know the result of the gov-ernor's escape. But Cambiaso was notso daring; a villain as not always toremember the possibility of the re-takingof the fort.Early in the morning of the 27th, I

sent my boat on shore, with ihe firstmate, Mr. Buela, the passenger, (he un-derstanding Spanish, ) three seamen, andone soldier, with orders to bring offcaptain Avalos, and to obtain from thegovernor orders with regard to the land-


47/254


48/254

ARY..

MT AND


49/254


ing of the rest of the prisoners. Thesealso were seized the moment they arrivedat the barracks, and thrust into a littlebuilding about six feet square.The firing and disturbance during thenight had roused some sense of uneasi-ness in my mind, lest all should not beright on shore ; and early in the morn-ing I had gone into the cabin to consultwith Mr. Shaw. He was then quiteunwell, and most anxious to reach theshore, where he supposed he would beable to obtain medical advice ; while Ihoped to land all the prisoners duringthe day, and be able to proceed thatafternoon on our way to Rio Janeiro.We waited very anxiously, therefore,for the return of the boat, and at about

nine o'clock she came alongside, but tomy surprise, manned with six or sevenmen dressed as officers, who handed me


50/254


a letter purporting to be from governorGamero, stating that my men were drunk,and not able to row the boat back tothe ship. The letter also requested meto commence landing the prisoners. Allthis seemed to me very singular. I hadnever seen any disposition to drunken-ness among my crew, and even if theseamen had been incapable of returningin the boat, the first mate and captainAvalos would have been on board ofher. I went into the cabin, and, holdingout the letter to Mr. Shaw, said "De-pend upon it, there is something wronghere. My men are not drunk, and ifthey are, where are Mr. P n andcaptain Avalos ? " While I was speaking,a voice was heard on deck, the cabindoor was burst open, and four of theofficers rushed in, two of them withcAavrn swords. Mr. Shaw, who was


51/254


sitting down, was seized at once. Oneof the officers struck at me with hissword, but his arm was caught by oneof the prisoners, who rushed betweenus. In a few minutes I was secured,in spite of my struggles, and we weretold that we were prisoners. I asked towhom, and by whose authority we weretaken, but to this I received no answer.We were carried on deck, and I foundthat the prisoners had been freed. Thestruggle with the troops and the crewwas still going on, but as the prisonersrushed up from the hold, it becameevery moment more unequal. The pris-oners being unarmed, wrested the gunsfrom the hands of the soldiers, andoverpowered them by force of numbers.As I came on deck, the corporal calledout that he would not give up his gununless 1 ordered him to, for it seems

4*


52/254

2 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFthe guns had at first been demanded ofthe soldiers by the officers who camefrom the shore, and in the confusionsome of them had given them up. Asthe corporal called to me, three of theofficers threw themselves upon him, andafter a long struggle he %was disarmed,and put in irons. The whole attackwas so unexpected, the rush of theprisoners from the hold so overwhelming,and the confusion so great, that I donot wonder that the soldiers and crewwere overpowered.

Preparations were soon made for send-ing Mr. Shaw and myself on shore, anda sufficient guard was detached to ac-company us in the boat. "While rowingto the shore, our captors were contin-ual]y firing off their muskets, with shoutsof " Yiva la Cruz ! " These cries gave


53/254


happened in the colony, for they werethe same which had met my ear duringthe insurrection, ( previous to my leavingValparaiso, ) of which struggle I hadbeen a witness. On leaving, we weremet by several soldiers on foot andhorseback, one of whom seemed to beof some authority. This was Garcia,one of the officers in the service of thegovernor, Gamero, who had joined Cam-biaso in his revolt, being compelled todo so, as he afterwards pleaded, byfear of his life. However that may be,I certainly found him much more gentleand humane in his actions and ex-pressions than Cambiaso, and was in-debted to him for several kindnesses.From him I gained ihe first idea ofwhat had occurred in the colony.As we left the boat, I noticed Mr.

Shaw's extreme weakness, and feared


54/254


that if we were to be taken far fromthe shore, he would not be able tostand the fatigue. I therefore appealedto general Garcia, as I afterwardslearned to call him, and, calling his at-tention to Mr. ^haw's state of health,asked him if some arrangement couldnot be made by which he could ride.Garcia ordered one of his soldiers todismount, and Mr. Shaw took his place.We were taken up the slope from thewater, towards the barracks, and passingby the platform, under the mouths ofthe cannon which were mounted upon it,entered the great gate of the fortifi-cation. As I looked around, militarypreparations met my eye on every side,frat there was none of the order of aregular garrison ; on the contrary, theshouts of drunken rioters, the quarrellingand swearing of the soldiers, the shrill


55/254


screams of the women which struck myear, gave me a tolerably correct ideaof the sort of people into whose handswe had fallen. Conspicuous among themall, was their leader, Cambiaso, who castcontemptuous glances upon us as wepassed, and who might be heard givinghis orders, mixed with oaths and threatsof punishment and death to those whodid not obey him implicitly. He let uspass on, however, without addressing us,and it was only from his* officer's dressand authoritative manner that we wereable to guess at his rank.Very little time, however, was given

us for observation ; for we were hurriedacross the open space, and thrust intoone of the largest buildings used asbarracks. My crew, the remainder ofwhom were brought away from the vesselat the same time with Mr. Shaw and


56/254

46 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OP

myself, were put into one of the smallestof the barracks, where they, with Mr.Buela, were confined in a room aboutsix feet square, which was so crowdedthat they were obliged to take turns inlying down to rest. Mr. Shaw andmyself were at first put into the sameapartment, but we were not allowed tospeak to each other ; several soldiersstanding guard over us the whole time.In about two hours, however, I wastaken from this room, and put into asmaller one adjoining it. The apartmentinto which both Mr. Shaw's room andmine opened, was occupied by our guard,who ate and slept there, and who for-bade all intercourse between us.

I looked around the room, which 1felt would be my prison until I was ledout to death, for I knew now into whathands wo had fallen ; and, on my way


57/254


ap from the shore to the barracks, hadbeen threatened with death if I did notat once inform them what treasure Ihad on board the Florida ; and on mysaying there was none, one of theofficers said "he would soon find a wayto make me fir>d some."The room was without a floor, with

a board nailed to the wall, looking likea shelf, but serving for a seat ; thfctable was a board, supported by sticksdriven into the ground ; and these, withmy mattrass, formed the furniture. Ihad with me a small pocket lookingglass about the size of my hand, andthe miniatufts of my wife and children,which I managed to hide within mvD */shirt bosom. I had also in my pocketa pencil and a small piece of paper,which I used for the purpose of keepingmv dates. My guards, however, always


58/254

48 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFcame and watched me when they sawme writing, and at last told me I mustdesist, as some harm might come of it.After this, I put down my dates whenI was unobserved. This was not often.For the next two days I was nearstarving, nothing being given me to eat,except two ship biscuit, or

" hard bread,"as we sailors call them ; and my onlydrink was the water which I helpedaiyself to from the guard room.On the morning of the 29th, two day8

after our capture, I was taken out bymy guard, for a walk around the yardand on the platform which ran alongthe west side of the fort, apftd on whichthe cannon were mounted. I made thebest use of my eyes and ears duringmy walk, and managed to speak to oneor two of the prisoners who had beenon the Florida with me. and whom T


59/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 49had made some acquaintance with duringthe voyage. It was by these prisonersthat I was afterwards kept informed ofwhat occurred outside of my prison.They would talk to me during my walks,and sometimes would come to my win-dow and tell me what had occurred jsometimes in bravado, and with greatexultation, and sometimes with expressionsof sympathy.On returning from my walk, I met

Mr. Shaw, leaving his room with hisguard by his side ; taken out, I sup-posed, for a similar purpose. I saw hewas not looking well, and spoke to him,saying, " how do you feel 'this morning ? "His answer was, " pretty miserable ; "and he seemed about to say somethingmore, but my guard pushed between us,saying, with an oath, " We can't haveany talking, captain ; we have the gen-5


60/254

50 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE, ETC.

oral's orders against it." I was hurriedinto my room, and Mr. Shaw led away.This was the last time I ever saw him ;for, for some reason which I nevercould learn, he was not brought backto the barracks, but confined in abuilding outside the fortification. Itseemed to me, that with the sense ofhis nearness to me, I had lost my lastfriend ; so lonely and miserable did Ifeel when he had left.


61/254

CHAPTER III.My prison My guards An English hymn book A fellow

prisoner Capture of the Eliza Cornish Fears of theEnglish mate Death of Mr. Shaw Of Captain Talbotand boy Barbarity of their execution The Chilian pris-oners sympathize with us Cambiaso's bravado CaptainAvalos and others led out to view the dead bodiesTreacherous betrayal of Governor Gamero Executionof the traitor My wa^k.I now began to feel for a few days,

some of the monotony of a prisoner'slife. Shut up alone, without occupation,within hearing of the riotous conver-sation of my guard, but forbidden tospeak to them, with hard fare, and noarrangements for my personal comfort oreven cleanliness, except when I couldtake water enough from the guard room


62/254

52 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFto wash my face, using my pocket hand-kerchief for a towel.

Three or four days had passed, andI had lost the fear of immediate death,but my suspense and anxiety to knowwhat Cambiaso's intentions with regardto us were, were very great. Thereseemed to me no motive that he couldhave for keeping us prisoners, after hehad satisfied himself that we had notreasure on board the Florida, exceptthe fear that we would carry the newsof his revolt back to Valparaiso ; andthat danger to himself, it seemed to me,could be obviated only by putting us todeath. It was in vain that I appliedto my guards ; they were evidentlyunder orders to hold no communicationwith me, and the prisoners who visitedme from time to time, knew nothing ofCambiaso's plans. To my entreaties to


63/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 53be allowed to see Mr. Shaw, no answerwas given, except that it could not beallowed, that he had been sick, and wasnow very unwell.A few days after my imprisonment,an English book, containing prayers andhymns, was handed me by one of myguard, a man named Preito, who prob-ably could make no use of it himself.The hymns had little poetical merit, andprobably at another time would scarcelyhave aroused my attention ; but now thepromises and consolations of religionwhich breathed through them, the spiritof Christian resignation and faith ofwhich I was then so much in need, andwhich to me shone out in every partof them, were an unspeakable comfort.The first hymn to which I opened, seemedso very applicable to my situation, thatit impressed itself upon my memory ;


64/254


and I insert it here, thinking that itmay be interesting to my readers to seehow the promises of Christianity arethe truest consolation in all trials.

To my complaint, Lord, my God,Thy gracious ear incline ;

Hear me, distressed and destituteOf all relief but thine.

Do thou, God, preserve my soulThat does thy name adore ;

Thy servant keep, and him whose trustRelies on thee, restore.

To me, who daily thee invoke,Thy mercy, Lord, extend ;

Refresh thy servant's soul, whose hopesOn thee alone depend.

To my repeated, humble prayer,Lord, attentive be ;

"When troubled, I on thee will call,For thou wilt answer me.

Some few days after Mr. Shaw's re-moval from the barracks, one evening,the exact date of which has escaped me


65/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 55entirety, I was aroused by a great con-fusion in the fort, a noise of shouting,and, apparently, of rejoicing. While Iwas standing at my window, trying todiscover the meaning of the uproar, myprison door was opened, and a man putin. He was in sailor's dress, was ap-parently an American, and looked ter-rified and bewildered.

I accosted him immediately, in Englishasked who he was, saying that he

was probably a prisoner, like myself.The guards in the next room were insuch a state of excitement that theyallowed us to converse unchecked.He told me that he was the mate of

an English brig, the Eliza Cornish, ofLiverpool, bound from Valparaiso toLiverpool ; that the vessel had anchoredin Sandy Bay, intending to lay over forthe night ; that the captain, Capt. Talbot,


66/254

56 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFof Liverpool, had landed in the brig'sboat, with a boy, a son of his owner,who was passenger on board, and oneor two seamen ; that they had beenseized and put in irons the momentthey were out of sight of the brig.The boat was then sent back to thevessel, with five or six men in her, whocame on board and told the mate thatthe captain wanted him to come onshore ; but that while he was hesitatingwhat to do, they, seeing the small num-ber of the crew, attacked and over-powered them, and took possession ofthe brig. They then demanded of himwhatever money was on board, threat-ening him with instant death if he didnot give it up at once. The brig hadon board about ninety or one hundredthousand dollars, in bars of gold andsilver, which they seized and brought


67/254


on shore, together with the mate andcrew. Some of the bars of gold werecut up before his eyes, and distributedaround among the soldiers ; and theirexultation at the sight of their bootyhad raised the general shout which Ihad heard. This man was kept in myroom during all the rest of our impris-onment. He was a well meaning fellow,but evidently not much accustomed todepend upon himself, and very muchintimidated by the dread of approachingdeath, by these rebels. I constantlyfound it necessary to encourage him,and prevail upon him to show a boldface before our captors, were it only tocommand their respect. For myself, Iwas not really much afraid of them. Iwas afraid of dying, for my dangermade me realize how unfit I was foranother world

;and my dread of death


68/254


was such as a man might have duringa dangerous illness.At midnight, on December 2d, I was

aroused from my sleep by the report ofmuskets, of which they seemed to me tonumber about ten or twelve. A shorttime afterwards there was another report,and our guards began to run

out ofthe next room. The whole encampmentseemed in great confusion, and I becamealarmed, thinking some of our compan-ions had been shot, and that our turnwas coming next. I dared not askany questions of the guard, some ofwhom I saw looking through the doorof our room, which always stood openat night. The mate of the E. Cornishspoke to me, and said, "That is foulplay, captain Brown ; something desperateis going on. I am afraid my captainand Mr. Shaw are gone for it." Then,


69/254

VCAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 59

throwing himself upon his face, he beganto cry.His manner gave me a feeling of impa-

tience, and I answered him pretty quicklythat I did not doubt he was right, andthat I supposed our turn would comenext, but I did not want to hear thething talked about ; and at any rate, hemight as well show as bold a face aspossible, for the guard were watchingus, and listening to our conversation.This roused him, and he sat up, andduring the rest of the night we re-mained in anxious suspense. I believeI was too proud to ask any questionsof my guard, nor would I allow themate to ask any.Soon after sunrise, some of the men

who had come down with me as pris-oners, came into our room and whis-pered to me in Spanish, "Your poor


70/254

60 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFowner ! poor English captain ! poorEnglish boy ! " I questioned them closely,and learned that Mr. Shaw and captainTalbot, with the young passenger, hadbeen taken from their beds just beforemidnight, put in irons, both hands andfeet, led out to a short distance fromthe barracks, and there tied to a tree,and shot. I afterwards gathered someparticulars of their execution, which, forthe sake of clearness, I will inserthere.

Mr. Shaw had been very sick eversince we were seperated; and I was toldthat on the 2d December he sent toCambiaso, to ask if he might have somemedical advice. Cambiaso's brutal replywas, "Pass him out and shoot him, forwe have no time to attend to the sick ! "When they were led out, captain Talbotentreated most earnestly that the boy's


71/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 61life might be spared, saying that he hadbeen put under his care by his parents,that he was a mere boy, and could dono harm ; but his prayers were not evenlistened to. He never asked once forhis own life. The boy was abouteighteen years old, a son of one of theowners of the E. Cornish, and hadmade the voyage as a pleasure excursion.The first volley killed captain Talbot

and the young man, leaving Mr. Shawstanding unharmed, not a shot havingtouched him. Then a whole volley wasfired into him, killing him instantly.One of the soldiers was attracted bythe glitter of a diamond ring on Mr.Shaw's finger, and as soon as he wasshot, the soldier went up to him, tryingto remove it ; but finding that difficult,he cut off the finger with his cutlass.This ring I afterwards heard of, as


72/254

62 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OP

being seen on the finger of one of thewomen about the fort, and on my returnto Valparaiso, I offered twenty-five dollarsto recover it, thinking it would be agratification to Mr. Shaw's friends toobtain even so slight a remembrance ofhim, but I was not able to procure it.The bodies were afterwards taken downand hung by the neck to a tree, ex-posed to all the passers by.

I never knew why Mr. Shaw was shot,but I have every reason to suppose thatwhat I was told of Cambiaso's reply tohis request for medical advice was thetruth. It would have been too muchtrouble to take care of a sick man.The same fear of trouble probably de-cided the poor boy's fate. Why captainTalbot was executed, while I was reserved,is also a mystery to me. I never sawcaptain Talbot, but from his mate's re-


73/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 63marks about him, I felt that he was aman of some spirit and character. Per-haps his high spirit led him to saythings that exasperated Cambiaso. Hegave some expression of this spirit atthe time he was seized. Two officers( Chilians, ) were handling him ratherroughly, when he indignantly told themthey need not look so surly, and at thesame time drew a dirk knife from thewaist of his pantaloons. But it wasimmediately taken from him.

Mr. Shaw's death was a great shockto me, and is still a matter of deepgrief. We had been friends for sometime, and I had the highest respect forhim. He was indeed a young man ofgreat promise, and his loss to his fam-ily and friends is one which cannoteasily be replaced. I grieved for them,even there in my prison, while I ex-


74/254

64 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFpected each day to be my last, andwhile I remembered the agony of myown family, when the news of our sadfate should reach them ; and now thata kind Providence has restored me tothem, I grieve to remember him whomet so cruel a death from such bar-barous hands, on a desert and far dis-tant shore.

I was told by one of the men whocame into my cell that morning, thatthe bodies were to be left hanging untilwe had all seen them. Accordingly,about one o'clock that afternoon, threeof the prisoners '( I think they werecaptain Avalos, with the captain of theregular troops, and Mr. Dunn, ) weretaken from their prison, their ironsknocked off, and, when they were un-shackled, Cambiaso walked up to them,and with much mock politeness asked


75/254


them to accompany him for a walk.They were in no situation to refuse,but accompanied him in silence, followedby a file of soldiers as guard. He ledthem out of the barracks, toward thevessels. As they passed under the treeson which hung the bodies of Mr. Shaw,captain Talbot, and the young lad,Cambiaso pointed to them, and laugh-ing, said, "You see what happens tosuch villains when they fall into myhands ; it will be your turn next."After compelling them to pass roundthe tree, so as to view the bodies fromevery side, he conducted them back tothe barracks and to their crowded prison.The mate of the E. Cornish and my-

self spent that morning in a state ofanxiety, expecting every moment to becalled for perhaps to be led out todeath, perhaps to be shown the dead


76/254

66 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OPbodies of our friends, and to be consciousthat any emotion we might show wouldbe watched by eyes that would interpretit into an expression of unmanly fear.My feeling was a sort of indignantpride ; my own honor and the honorof my country seemed to me to dependupon my bearing before these piratesand desperate men ; and I repeatedlyrequested the mate, whose power of selfcontrol I began to doubt, to be bold,whatever might happen to him. I re-member thinking that if he did not, allaround him would attribute it to acowardly disposition. Towards threeo'clock we heard the report of fire-arms,and a general hurry and bustle in theyard. At the report, the mate sprungto his feet, saying, " Good God, captain !who has gone now ? " We listenedanxiously, but all was quiet again, aud


77/254


I ventured to ask our guard what thedisturbance was. They answered, care-lessly, " it is only a soldier who wasshot ; he is a traitor." In about twohours my guard called me out, sayingthat the mate and I were to walk inthe yard. I refused, at first, tellingthem that I did not need a walk, Iwas well enough as I was, and soforth ; but one of the soldiers, with anoath, exclaimed that they had the gen-eral's orders, and that I had bettercome, or worse might happen to me. Irose, and walked out quietly with themate. The first thing that struck myeyes, as I reached the door of theguard room, was a temporary gallows,on which was suspended the body of apoor soldier. Near it was a tree, thebark of which was torn with bullet-holes, and the ground below, which was


78/254


soaked with blood. I turned sick attHe sight ; but, summoning up all myresolution, I walked quietly up to thebody, and asked who it was. One ofmy acquaintances, a Chilian prisonerwho came with us, and who was saun-tering around, walked up to my side,and said, " You need not feel pity forhim, captain Brown ; he was a traitor,not worth caring for. Our general hasserved him right."

I questioned the man further, andfound that this was the body of one ofthe soldiers who had escaped from thebarracks with the governor, and who,worn out by suffering and the fear ofstarvation, had appeared at the gatethat morning, and delivered himself up,offering to give Cambiaso information ofthe governor's hiding place, if he wouldpromise him safety, and the sum of five


79/254

CAPT. CHAELES H. BEOWN. 69hundred dollars. Cambiaso promised,and as soon as he had gained what hewanted from him, had him ironed, andled out and shot. I felt that he haddeserved his fate, but remembering theproverb, " honor among thieves,' 7 couldnot but think that it was not at Cam-biaso's hands that he should have metit.

His story was, that after the boat inwhich they had left the shore on thenight" the Florida arrived, had driftedpast our vessel, and they had found itimpossible to make us understand whatthey wanted, they drifted on throughthe night, paddling as well as theycould till they . reached the Terra delFuego shore, soon after daylight. Therethey attempted to land, but were pre-vented by a party of Indians, who firedon them, and wounded one of the sol-


80/254

70 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE, ETC.diers. The weather then being calm,they paddled to the westward, andcrossed the Straits again to Port Famine,the former site of the colony. Therethey had concealed themselves in thebushes, and for the last week had beenliving on nothing but roots, and werenow in a state of starvation.

All this I gathered from my guardsand visitors, after I returned to myroom from my walk, in company withthe mate, although we had never ex-pected to see it again.


81/254

CHAPTER IV .Capture of the Governor His execution I am led out ofmy prison The burning of the bodies Governor Ga-mero's character His intercourse with the native tribes

The Priest Acuna Arrival of H. B. M. war steamerVirago ; Mr. Dunn, the Secretary Cambiaso plans thecapture of the steamer He fears her force and discipline

The officers invited on shore No suspicions arousedThe Virago sets sail.a -

On the afternoon of the day ofthese executions, Cambiaso sent out twoor three parties of soldiers, well armed,under one of the chief officers, andall on horseback, with directions totake the governor and his party, andbring them in, dead or alive. Theyhad accurate information of their hid-ing place from the traitor, and by


82/254


surrounding the bushes, and gradually-beating in, they succeeded in capturingthem, and about sunset brought them in,and they were soon heavily ironed.

I heard that they were terribly ema-ciated, and scarcely able to stand, fromweakness, having lived for nearly a weekon nothing but roots and berries. Cam-biaso ordered them to be served witha good dinner, saying that they shouldgo with a belly-full, and then thrustthem into the calaboose, where captainAvalos and the other prisoners wereconfined. Captain Avalos told me after-wards that neither the governor or thepriest showed any signs of fear, butwhen he asked them if they knew theirfate, they answered coolly, "Oh, yes!"Cambiaso seemed to intend to surroundthis execution with all the pomp andsolemnity that he could command. About

__-


83/254


nine, in the evening, there was a generalrush through the camp. The buglessounded the death march, the drumsbeat, the soldiers were all ordered underarms, and governor Gamero and thepriest Acuna were led out of the bar-racks. All was still in the yard afterthey left, and in a short time I heardthe report of their death shots. Theywere shot under the same trees to whichMr. Shaw and captain Talbot had beentied.

In about an hour I was called out ofmy room, and told that I was wantedin the yard. I went out doggedly, forthis day of excitement had worn medown into a sort of indifference as tomy fate ; but the scene that lay beforeme when I reached the platform, which,raised above the rest of the yard, com-manded a view of the land beyond the


84/254


fortification, roused me at once from myindifference. In the field north of thebarracks, was dug a deep hole, in whicha large fire was kindled, which threwits red light on all around. On thetrees, to the right, hung the dead bodiesof Mr. Shaw, captain Talbot, and theboy, and beneath them were dimly seenthe bleeding corpses of the governorand priest. The rebels were busiedaround the fire and the bodies, andCambiaso, with some mounted officers,were to be seen giving directions. SoonI saw a cart driven up to the fire, and adead body thrown from it into the flames,with as little ceremony as one wouldtreat a dog. One of my guard standingby me, said, " There goes the governor."The bodies of Mr. Shaw, captain Talbot,and the poor English boy were one byone cut down, and thrust into the fire.


85/254


The women of the canip had pleadedwith Cambiaso to allow the body ofthe priest to be buried, and he, hav-ing perhaps some feelings of reverencefor his sacred office, had allowed itto be given into their hands. Morefuel was now heaped on the flames,and their lurid light showed me a scenewhich makes me shudder as I recall it.The soldiers danced round the fire,

singing the national hymn of Chili, andmingling with it shouts and curses, im-precations on the governor, and threatsof vengeance against the remaining pris-oners ; especially against captain Salas,the commander of the troops underGamero, and against captain Avalos,whose rank as an officer under thegovernment of Chili seemed to be hisonly crime. The darkness of the night,the lurid glare of the flames, the fan-


86/254

76 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFtastic dancing of the soldiers, the min-gled shouts and curses that met myear, made every thing appear to me likesome revelry in hell, where the soulsof the damned make merry over theirfellow sufferers. On this evening thebarque's papers, also my private papers,were burnt, with shouts of joy.

I was kept on the platform until theflames had died down, when three cheerswere given by the soldiers around thefire, and answered by those within theyard ; and soon after, I was orderedback to my prison, to endure anothernight of anxiety.The mate eagerly asked me what I

thought was going to happen next, butI answered him shortly, and turnedfrom him, for I felt the necessity ofcalming my mind, after such excitement.That night I passed in close com-


87/254

CAPT. CHAELES H. BROWN. 77

munion with myself, strengthening mysoul to meet whatever might be beforeme, and rousing my energies to seizeevery opportunity to escape from thehands of such blood-thirsty fiends. Themorning found me calmer, and more fullof energy and determination, than anymoment since my captivity. If Cam-biaso ordered me to be brought out onthe platform in order to intimidate me,he did not know his man. The sight,instead of depressing me, roused in mea spirit of revenge, and determined meto retaliate the wrongs which I hadseen inflicted on my friend.Governor Gamero was a post captain

in the Chilian army ; his name, Ben-jamin Numoz Gamero. I afterwardsheard him spoken of as a man of finecharacter, and of excellent judgment.Under his directions, the colony had


88/254

78 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OPgrown in prosperity and in discipline.He had built some very comfortablebarracks for the soldiers, and some goodhouses for the officers. The convictshad been employed in clearing and cul-tivating the ground, and intercourse andtrade with the Indians of the countryhad been encouraged.The native tribes around the colony

had always shown themselves friendly tothe settlement ; and, as I learnt, hadbeen in the habit of coming down tothe barracks about once a month, bring-ing with them game, and other articles,which they were anxious to exchangefor flour, bread, and so forth. Theygenerally formed themselves on a line,on the north side of the barracks, andthe governor would range his troopsupon the platform, above the fence, andput in their view the two cannon, the


89/254


noise of which they had often heard,and of which they had a superstitiousdread. The chiefs would then comeforward and meet the governor outsidethe fence, and arrange their terms ofbarter.Of the clergyman, Acuna, I know but

little. The reverence of the women ofthe colony for him, certainly speaks inhis favor.The morning of the 4th of December,

while the mate and myself were eatingour scanty allowance of hard bread,washed down by the water which wehad taken from the dirty buckets in theguard room, a shout rose in the yard," A steamer ! a war steamer, with theEnglish flag ! " My heart leaped to mymouth, as I sprung to my feet, and themate seemed to gather courage from thevery sense of the vicinity of his country-


90/254

80 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFmen, and from his confidence in theprotection of his flag. One moment'sglance showed me that even amidst theirexcitement, some of the guards werewatching us from the other room ; andmanaging "to caution the mate by aglance, I endeavored to assume as naturalan air as possible, listening and askingquestions as if from mere curiosity. Igathered from the guard and from theidlers round the camp who flocked in,that Cambiaso had expressed his deter-mination to attempt to capture thesteamer ; that the Chilian flag had beenrun up at the flag-staff, and a gun firedto attract the attention of the steamer,and induce them to come into the har-bor and drop anchor. At last, she wasseen to make for the harbor, and to beevidently making preparations to anchor.Her name, they told me, was the Virago.


91/254


92/254

;ARY.AETXJR, LOX ANDTUXE* OWS.


93/254


During the last hour, the mate andmyself had been forming a thousandplans by which we hoped to attract theattention of the officers or men of thesteamer, when they landed, and warnthem of their own danger, and of oursituation ; but our plans were quicklyfrustrated ; for no sooner had the steamercome to anchor, than the mate and my-self were hurriedly taken from our room,and led across the yard towards a smallerbuilding. In vain I questioned thosewho were leading me, as to where Iwas going ; my only answer was ahasty oath, and an order to be quiet.The door of the little calaboose wasopened, and we were pushed into a roomabout eight feet square, and the boltsdrawn behind us. Before me, sitting orlying on the floor, were six haggardlooking men, heavily ironed. I spoke


94/254

82 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFto them iii Spanish, but was answeredby one of them in good English, whosaid, " You are the captain of the Amer-ican barque ? " I started with surprise,for I immediately thought him an Amer-ican ; and I saw that he was a gentle-man, or something beyond a commonsailor. And what American could beconfined there, not belonging to theFlorida ? Could there have been anothervessel captured by these pirates, of whichI had heard nothing ? " Who are you ? nI eagerly asked ; " are you an American ?How came you in this wretched place?"He answered that his name was Dunn,

and that he was a Brazilian, who hadbeen employed by governor Gamero ashis secretary. That he had been seizedby Cambiaso's orders, at the time ofhis insurrection, and confined in thatfilthy den ever since.


95/254


While lie was speaking, one of ourguard knocked on the door, and orderedsilence, saying that he would shoot downthe first one of us who troubled himagain.The next three hours we spent in

anxious listening to what was going onwithout ; Mr. Dunn and myself now andthen exchanging a word in a whisper.Every attempt that we made to lookfrom our little window was preventedby our guard, who stood closely gath-ered about both door and window, everynow and then looking in upon us. With-out, all was very still and orderly ; nonoisy rioting to be heard, nothing, saveevery now and then the tread of sol-diers, or the usual noises attending theregular military duty of a barrack yard.We expected every moment to hear thenoise of firing, or some shout of exulta-


96/254


tion, if the officers of the Virago wereentrapped as we had been ; but all wasquiet.Towards the middle of the afternoon,

the English mate and myself were takenout, and conducted to our old prison.All was quiet in the yard, and as Iglanced around, I saw no new faces, nochange in the arrangement of the sol-diers, no building guarded but thosewhich I had been accustomed to recog-nize as prisons for my crew, the crewof the E. Cornish, and the room wherecaptain Avalos, and the prisoners withhim, were confined.

Arrived at our old home, the guardbecame more communicative, and toldme that our prison had been changedto keep us out of sight of the Englishofficers, who had come on shore, visitedthe barracks, and the Florida, and had

/


97/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 85left the harbor without having theirsuspicions excited. This chance of es-cape was lost to us then. I felt veryindignant at what seemed to me theunparalelled stupidity of the officers ofthe Virago, and yet it is very possiblethat had their suspicions been excited,we might all have fallen victims to therevengeful spirit of the rebels, beforeany thing could have been done forour rescue.During that evening and the next day,

I managed to extract from my guardand from one or two of my fellowvoyagers, the Chilian prisoners, who hadnow become almost regular visitors tomy room, an account of all that hadoccurred during the visit of the Viragoto the colony.On the steamer's casting anchor, Cam-

biaso had manifested a great desire to8


98/254

86 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFcapture her ; probably expecting some-thing of a prize on board of her, andperhaps wishing to have in his hands sopowerful a vessel. He had called ameeting of his officers, to consult uponthe most advisable plan to pursue, toaccomplish the capture. The first planproposed, was that which had been sosuccessful in our case and that of theEnglish brig : to seize the officers asthey came on shore, and kill them atonce, to avoid the necessity of employ-ing men to guard them ; then to boardthe steamer and take her, having firstenticed away as many of the officersand crew as possible. The sight of thebig guns, which showed their teeth allalong the side of the steamer ; theirknowledge of the excellent discipline onboard a British man-of-war ; of the ca-pability of even the smallest midshipman


99/254


to take command of the crew in caseof the absence of the superior officers,all deterred the pirates from attemptingthis plan of capture.The difficulties in the way of the

capture were, I heard, discussed veryfreely ; general Garcia being most earnestin insisting upon them. The chief, orrather the first difficulty suggested byhim, was that the officers might comeon shore so well attended that a fightmight be necessary, to overcome them ;and that the noise of the struggle mightexcite the suspicions of those on board,when the whole colony would be at themercy of the guns of the Yirago. Thisplan was put to the vote among theofficers, and after voting upon it ninetimes, it was rejected. Once, I wastold, it came within one vote of beingaccepted.


100/254

88 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFThe next proposition was worthy of

the blood-thirsty wretches. It was thatsuch officers should be invited to dinewith Cambiaso, he supporting the char-acter of governor of the colony ; andthat poison should be mingled withsome of the dishes of which the officerswere to partake ; but this plan also wasrejected. The rebels must have feltthat it was too uncertain, even if humannature did not make them feel some-thing revolting in it. It was then pro-posed that some of the officers of Cam-biaso should be sent on board thesteamer, with an invitation to the captainto land, and that they should, on theirreturn, report the appearance of things.This was agreed to, and the spies weresent ; but their report of the order anddiscipline on board, the well mannedguns, the well drilled marines, deter-


101/254


mined Cambiaso to give up all hopes ofcapturing the vessel, and to confine him-self to attempting to elude suspicion.The officers of the Virago landed, andwere shown through the fortification andthe colony, Cambiaso attending them.I was told that one of the prisoners,Mr. Dunn, who talked both English andSpanish, was taken from his prison, andafter being threatened with instant deathif he revealed the true state of things,was employed to interpret for Cambiaso ;while at the same time two of the rebelswho had some knowledge of English,were ordered to watch him, and reportany thing which might sound suspicious.The captain of the Virago asked what

vessels those were lying at anchor.Cambiaso answered that they belongedto him ; remarking that the brig hadprisoners on board of her some of the

8*


102/254


convicts whom he had not the conve-niences for keeping in close confinementon shore ; and that as the vessel wasonly used as a prison, there would benothing interesting to them in going onboard of her.The captain and officers afterwards

visited the Florida, from which all mycrew had been removed except the stew-ard, a negro man, and on board whichwere living five or six of Cambiaso'sfollowers. How the English officers couldbe so blind as not to read on thestern of the barque the name, " Florida,of New Orleans," and on the brig," Eliza Cornish, of Liverpool," or not tohave their suspicions excited, if they didread those names, is incomprehensible tome. It would seem that their owncommon sense would have told themthat such a colony could not hold ves-


103/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 91sels ; or if it did, that the vessels wouldbe Chilian not American, or English.I was told that Cambiaso made thecaptain a present of eighty or ninetytons of coal, of which the Yirago wasin need ; but I could not but thinkthere must be some mistake about this.The coal was perhaps bought by theYirago. Surely, Her British Majesty'svessels do not accept such presents asthat from the governor of a small penalcolonv, on the shores of Patagonia. Solarge a quantity of coal would be a veryvaluable gift in such a place as that,where all the fuel, except the brush-woodfrom the scrubbv forests around, must bebrought from abroad.

Cambiaso told the captain, whose nameI afterwards learnt was Stewart, thatseveral of his prisoners had escaped,and were now lurking about the woods


104/254

92 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFat Port Famine ; and if, on the steamer'sanchoring there to take in some of thiscoal, which lay on the shore, any ofthese prisoners should wish to be takenon board the Virago, he wished captainStewart to order his men to drivethem away, and to hold no communica-tion with them. Some of the soldierswho escaped with the governor, had, itappears, never been re-taken, and Cam-biaso feared their report to the Englishvessel.

It seems to me another instance ofstupidity in captain Stewart, that heshould have swallowed unsuspiciously thisstory of Cambiaso's. Would it not havebeen much more probable that Cambiasowould have asked their assistance in re-capturing his prisoners, and requestedthe Virago to retain them until hecould send for them ? I could not but


105/254

CAPT. CHARLES H. BROWN. 93feel that all these things, or indeed,half of them, would have been enoughto have opened the eyes of even amoderately " cute " Yankee. But per-haps some allowance for my impatienceat the blindness of the English officersis to be made, when we consider howmuch this chance of escape was to me,and how bitterly I lamented its loss.My fellow prisoner and myself were

sad enough during the rest of that even-ing, as we heard that the Yirago hadleft Port Famine, and was now out ofsight.


106/254

CHAPTER V.We are better treated Captain Avalos again His priva-

tions The sergeant shot Mr. Buela Cambiaso's dis-cipline His code of laws Personal appearance Hisvanity Threats of poison Improved fare The coffee

The mate secures the E. Cornish Cambiaso andGarcia visit me I go on board the Florida My steward.After the departure of the steamer,

the severity of our imprisonment wasvery much relaxed. The prisoners wereallowed to walk about every day, ac-companied by a guard, and were evenallowed some communication with eachother. I saw captain Avalos again, andshook hands earnestly with him. Hetold me that he had thought that I hadbeen shot with captain Talbot and Mr.Shaw. Captain Avalos had been con-


107/254


fined in the same building with captainSalas,' and with the first lieutenant ofthe troops under Gamero, of whom Cam-biaso had been second lieutenant. Hetold me that captain Salas had madeseveral attempts to hold communicationwith some of the soldiers under hiscommand, but that they had been strictlywatched by Cambiaso, who feared treach-ery. One morning, before the executionof Mr. Shaw and the governor, a ser-geant who had formerly been a convict,but had been promoted for good con-duct was detected receiving a bottle ofbrandy from captain Salas, and wasimmediately seized, tried by a summarycourt martial, and put to death as atraitor, under the sanguinary code es-tablished by Cambiaso. After this, theofficers in confinement had been morestrictly watched, and forbidden to hold


108/254

96 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFany communication with the soldiers onduty.Mr. Dunn, the secretary, I often met

in my walks, and we generally managedto exchange a greeting, and to conveysome information to each other in Eng-lish, as we passed. Mr. Buela I alsosaw again at this time. He had sufferedmuch privation, being confined in the sameroom of six feet square in which hewas first put with my crew, where theywere so crowded that they were obligedto stand up most of the time.

It was good policy in me to cultivateall friendly relations with my captors ;and for this reason, I began, at thistime, to mingle in their sports, at leastas a spectator. In the evenings, themen and women would often collectunder a large tent, and dance the Fan-dango, the so well known Spanish dance.


109/254


They danced it with handkerchiefs, wav-ing them as each couple separated andretired to the right and left. Oneevening Cambiaso came up to me as Iwas standing by the tent ropes, andasked me to join the dance. I had noheart to do this, but pleaded in excusemv American ignorance of the figures.These evenings generally ended with afeast a pig or calf barbecued.One night's rude and cruel amusement

I cannot even now think of without ashudder. All the dogs of the encamp-ment were driven into a circle, andthen chased with clubs. The cries ofthe poor frightened animals, the howlingsof those who were knocked down, rangin my ears all night ; and next morn-ing their carcasses could be seen lyingaround on every side.

I also did my best, during my walks,9


110/254

98 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFto keep up my friendly intercourse withthe prisoners I had brought down tothe Straits with me, and who had beenallowed their liberty, on swearing alle-giance to Cambiaso. Some of them werevery friendly, and brought me such in-formation as they thought would interestme. From them I learnt much of thediscipline which Cambiaso had estab-lished, and of the sanguinary code oflaws which he had drawn up.Immediately after the escape of the

governor, and the success of the insur-rection, Cambiaso was proclaimed Coin-mandante by the rebels. Afterwardshis title was Major General, and Garcia's,General, or little general, as he wascalled by most of the soldiers, by wayof distinction. On the same day, byorder of Cambiaso, the hospital, chapel,with all the sacred vessels on the altar,


111/254


the house and robes of the priest, wereburnt ; Cambiaso declaring that he wouldhave nothing to do with any religiousrites. A red flag was hoisted, havingupon it a scull and cross-bones, withthe motto, " I give no quarter ; " andupon it the soldiers and released con-victs all swore fidelity. This flag Ioften saw raised in the colony, onparade days, during my imprisonment.I give below the code of laws, a copyof which I afterwards obtained at Val-paraiso. Of its atrocity I need saynothing, as it speaks for itself.

MILITARY CRIMES,AND THEIR CORRESPONDING PUNISHMENTS.

Article I.Every inferior who speaks disrespect-

fully of his superior officer, shall be

immediately shot.


112/254

100 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFArt. II.

Every inferior who should raise hishand against his superior officer, shallbe immediately hung.

Art. III.If an inferior strikes his superior

officers, with or without arms, he shallbe burnt alive.

Art. IV.He who should be a traitor to the

flag we have sworn, shall be cut inpieces, alive, and afterwards burnt.

Art. V.He who is guilty of perjury, incurs

the same punishment.Art. VI.

He who communicates with the enemy,incurs the same punishment.


113/254


Art. YII.He who speaks against the service,

incurs the same punishment.Art. VIII.

Robbery. He who steals any object,money, or any article whatsoever, shallbe hung.

Art. IX.Want of Punctuality. If any person

in the military service, (no matter inwhat capacity,) be wanting in his duty,and does not present himself in theplace and at the hour at which he hasbeen ordered to appear, he shall betried and shot.

Art. X.Cowardice. Every man who, for want

of courage, flies from the enemy, shallbe put to death by the bayonet ; and9*


114/254

102 IMPRISONMENT AND ESCAPE OFhis eyes shall be taken out to provethe fact. The body of a coward shallbe burnt.

Art. XI.If any traitor be seized, his tongue

shall be cut out, it being the instru-ment of his falsehood. He shall beburnt with a reel hot iron, and he shallafterwards suffer the punishments he hasincurred, according to Articles 4th, 5th,and 6th.

Art. XII.Sentinels found asleep at their posts,

shall be immediately hung ; they beingthe only persons responsible for saidpost's security. Therefore, the sergeantsare requested to visit the posts everyten minutes, for the observation of thisarticle.


115/254


Art. XIII.He who in battle gives quarter to an

(1885) The Sufferings & Escape of Captain Charles H. Brown

Documents

Transcript of (1885) The Sufferings & Escape of Captain Charles H. Brown