and when
asked repeatedly, whether they found a place shut in between two heads
_the high seas_, they answered, without hesitation, "we do." Only John
Cam suffered death in Van Diemen's Land. Robert M'Guire was tried last
for this offence: in the scuffle, he wounded a soldier, who had
attempted to strike him, and whose testimony was decisive: he stood
sentry, with a military cross-belt and bayonet fixed; and was
recollected by his refusal of liquor, which he warned his comrades would
prove their destruction.

The chief advantage of Macquarie Harbour was its total isolation; but
the opening of the country from the Derwent to the Gordon, destroyed
this seclusion. The bar gradually rising, became more dangerous: the
place was too distant for supervision or supply; its barren soil allowed
no variety of labour or produce. The decaying buildings were of little
worth: there was nothing removable, except the doors and windows. These
were shipped on board the _Frederick_, of one hundred tons; and all
being ready for sea, on the 11th January, 1834, Mr. Taw, the pilot, as
captain, embarked with the master shipwright, Mr. Hoy, the mate, ten
prisoners of the crown, and a corporal's guard. They were detained by
adverse winds, and the pilot allowed the prisoners to land to wash their
clothing, all except one; they returned with great apparent
cheerfulness. Two of the soldiers were permitted to fish near a
neighbouring rock, and thus only two remained on board: while one of
these, allured into the forecastle, listened to the singing of a
convict, the prisoners on deck handed out the arms. Messrs. Hoy and Taw
endeavoured to recover possession, both by persuasion and force: there
was a short scuffle, and shots were fired: the balls passed near the
gentlemen in the cabin, though they were not injured. Remonstrance being
useless, they surrendered, and with the soldiers now recalled from the
rock, were sent on shore: thus, although the military and civil officers
were nearly equal in number, the mutineers accomplished their purpose
without loss of life. They sent next day a quantity of provisions, small
in amount, but, considering the voyage before them, more than such men
could have been expected to spare. The soldiers, gratified by their
fairness, forgot their own position in sympathy for the liberated men,
and gave them cheers and good wishes. On the morning after, the wind
became fair, and a light breeze carried them beyond danger.

W