he
had been treated like a pirate.

Without doubt if he had reached the cabin he would have blown up the
vessel, for in a locker over the transom were two open kegs of powder.
I led him to my boat, assisted him in, and returned to the Porpoise.
As soon as the Spaniard reached the deck the captain ordered his irons
removed, and expressed his regret that it had been necessary to use
force. The prisoner only bowed and said nothing. The captain asked him
what his cargo consisted of. He replied, "About four hundred blacks
bound to the Brazils."

I was then ordered to return to the brig, bring on board her crew,
leaving only the cook and steward, and to take charge of the prize as
Lieutenant Bukett, our first lieutenant, was not yet wholly recovered
from an attack of African fever. The crew of twenty men, when brought on
board, consisted of Spaniards, Greeks, Malays, Arabs, white and black,
but had not one Anglo-Saxon. They were ironed in pairs and put under
guard.

From the time we first got on board we had heard moans, cries, and
rumblings coming from below, and as soon as the captain and crew were
removed, the hatches had been taken off, when there arose a hot blast as
from a charnel house, sickening and overpowering. In the hold were three
or four hundred human beings, gasping, struggling for breath, dying;
their bodies, limbs, faces, all expressing terrible suffering. In their
agonizing fight for life, some had torn or wounded themselves or
their neighbors dreadfully; some were stiffened in the most unnatural
positions. As soon as I knew the condition of things I sent the boat
back for the doctor and some whiskey. It returned bringing Captain
Thompson, and for an hour or more we were all hard at work lifting and
helping the poor creatures on deck, where they were laid out in rows.
A little water and stimulant revived most of them; some, however, were
dead or too far gone to be resuscitated. The doctor worked earnestly
over each one, but seventeen were beyond human skill. As fast as he
pronounced them dead they were quickly dropped overboard.

Night closed in with our decks covered so thickly with the ebony bodies
that with difficulty we could move about; fortunately they were as quiet
as so many snakes. In the meantime the first officer, Mr. Block, was
sending up a new topgallant yard, reeving new rigging, repairing the
sails, and getting everything ataunto aloft. The Kroomen were busy
washing out and fumigating th