April 18, 1857.[sic]
At half past three I was waked by the dog and a terrible running on deck. I jumped out of my cot and went on deck, and asked what was the noise. Hait had the watch; said I don't know, but I will go and see. He ran forward as far as the main-hatch, and met one of the three New Zealand natives that had commenced a mutiny, that gave him a cut on the left shoulder with a hatchet; and he turned to come aft, while I saw another running behind him with a hatchet over his head apparently to cut his head. Then I jumped below and called the officers to look out for these New Zealand natives, as there was something going on. I took down some pikes by the door way, and Hait got a boarding knife. Mr. Dunning, the second officer, jumped out with a spare lance and Daniel Remsen, with another. Started to go on deck and were immediately darted at with a lance, and they started back without being hurt. Then all of the officers stood by the gangway below. While I was loading the muskets, John Caryall came from the helm to the cabin gangway, Mr. Dunning asked who is that. He said it is me, Mr. Dunning; let me come down; one of the New Zealand natives has stuck a lance through me, I am a dead man, and I believe Wall is dead. John died in about twenty minutes after he got below.
While thy were cutting away the starboard and larboard boats, we fired three muskets up the cabin gangway. One of them wounded one of the mutineers, and they struck in to singing their war song and fetched terrible yells.
In the meantime we got the cook and steward in the cabin through the door in the bulk-head, and gave them pikes to stand by the door. Then one of the Rotumark natives jumped off the stern, which we knew was wounded. One of the New Zealanders kept the people down in the forecastle with a spade and hatchet. The other kept us down in the cabin with with a spade and a lance with continual motion and chopping, while the third cut away the boats and got the waist boat ready to lower. They took all of the clothes they could find on deck and cut some out of the rigging; took two buckets of potatocs from forward, and supposed they had two sails in the boat. They cut up both compasses with a spade.
Then I gave Hait a horse-pistol to go into the steerage, raise the hatch a little, and shoot one if possible. When he got there, they were lowering the waist boat. He fired and killed the one that was lowering the aft tackle. Immediately one run aft and apparently hove him overboard. We then heard him call out three times to one of the New Zealanders, William, and all was still. We supposed they had kept still thinking that we should come on deck and they would cut us up with spades. As soon as we saw them out by the stern, I watched the boat and soon saw two stand up in the boat; them I fired a musket out of the cabin window, and took another and ran on deck and fired at them again. Supposed must of wounded one or both.
After we had been on deck a few minutes we found Thomas Wall dead by the windlass, with three cuts on the head, one on the neck under the ear, and two on the shoulder, apparently with a hatchet. Then Stephen Ladew came aft, and said that he waked and heard a noise on deck, and started up to see. He got to the top of the ladder and one of the New Zealanders struck at him with a hatchet and cut his arm just below the shoulder joint. He jumped down and waked all the rest, and told them that the New Zealanders were killing people on deck. They all turned out to look out for themselves, supposing that everybody was dead aft. Then I took Ladew and Hait below, and sewed up their wounds. By this time, Mr. Chase and others had veered ship and got a boat down from overhead, ready to lower; then we heard Bob, the Rotumark native, sing out. We lowered the boat and pulled in the direction where we heard the noise, and found him badly wounded, with one eyelid cut nearly off, and down on the check; another on one shoulder blade, with a hatchet, this was done, while he was on the windlass, and running aft where he stopped on the stern, and there he was cut again with a spade on the other shoulder, and one arm had a slit 8 inches long, that cleaved the flesh from the bone. He was in the water an hour. While I was sewing up his wounds, the officers and crew picked up the two boats that were thrown overboard, and some oars. At sunrise we saw the runaway boat bearing W. S. W., distant 7 or 8 miles, with sail set. We then steered for them with all sail set, and got up studding-sail and main royal. At 8 a. m., we buried John Caryall and Thomas Wall. We chased the boat all dry, and at night they were about 10 miles off in the same direction. We took in sail and veered ship to the eastward.
The three New Zealanders came from _____ river. They killed Thomas Wall, a native of Wales, John Caryall, belonging in the town of Senaca, state of New York. They wounded Calvin Hait, belonging in the state of Maine, Stephen Ladew, of New York, and Bob, the Rotumark native.
