[Page 111]
The Saladin.
(1)
They shipped me on board the Saladin,
As you shall understand,
She was bound for Valparaiso,
MacKenzie had command.
(2)
We arrived there in safety,
Without the least delay,
Till
Fielding1 came on board of her
Curse on that fatal day!
(3)
'Twas Fielding who induced us
To do that horrid crime.
We might have prevented it,
If we had thought in time.
(4)
We shed the blood of innocents,
The same I don't deny,
We washed our hands in human blood,
For which we have to die.
(5)
'Twas on a Sabbath morning,
Our ship being homeward bound,
With copper ore
2 and silver
And over a thousand pounds.
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(6)
Likewise two cabin passengers
On board of her did come.
One was Captain Fielding,
The other was his son.
(7)
He did upbraid our Captain,
Before we were long at sea,
And one by one seduced us
Into a mutiny.
(8)
The tempting prize did attract his eyes,
He kept it well in view,
And by his consummate of art,
He destroyed us all but two.
(9)
On the 14th night of April,
I am sorry to relate,
We began the desperate enterprise,
By killing first the mate.
(10)
And then we killed our carpenter,
And overboard him threw.
Our captain next we put to death,
With three more of the crew.
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(11)
The watch were in their hammocks,
When the work of death begun.
The watch we called; as they came up,
We killed them, one by one.
(12)
These poor unhappy victims
Lay in their beds asleep.
We called them up and murdered them,
And threw them in the deep.
(13)
There were two more remained below,
And being unprepared,
The hand of God protected them,
And both their lives were spared.
(14)
By them we're brought to justice,
And both of them set free.
They had no hand in Fielding's plan,
Nor his conspiracy.
(15)
It was on a Sunday morning,
The work of death was done,
When Fielding took the Bible
And swore us every one.
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(16)
The tempting prize before his eyes,
He kept it still in view,
And like a band of brothers,
We were sworn to be true.
(17)
Our fire arms and weapons all,
We threw into the sea.
He said he'd steer for Newfoundland,
To which we did agree,
(18)
And secrete all our treasures there
Into some secret place.
Had it not been for his treachery,
That might have been the case.
(19)
We found on Captain Fielding,
For which he lost his life,
A brace of loaded pistols,
Likewise a carving knife.
20
We suspected him for treachery,
Which did enrage the crew,
He was seized by Carr and Galloway,
And overboard was threw.
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(21)
His son exclaimed for mercy,
He being left alone,
But his entreaties were soon cut off,
No mercy there was shown.
(22)
We served him like his father was,
Who met a watery grave,
For we buried son and father,
Beneath the briny waves.
(23)
So then it was agreed upon,
Before the wind to keep,
We had the world before us,
And on the trackless deep.
(24)
We sailed the ship before the wind,
As we could do no more,
And on the 28th of April,
We were shipwrecked on the shore.
(25)
We were all apprehended,
And into prison cast,
Tried and found guilty,
And sentenced on us passed.
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(26)
There were four of us who were condemned,
And sentenced for to die.
The day of execution
Is the thirtieth of July.
(27)
My father was a shipwright.
I might have been the same.
He taught me good example,
To him I leave no blame.
(28)
Likewise my tender mother,
Who for me suffered sore,
When she hears the sad announcement,
I'm sure she'll suffer more.
(29)
Likewise those pious clergymen,
Who for our souls did pray,
Who watched and prayed along with us,
As we in prison lay.
(30)
May God reward them for their pains,
They really did their best.
They offered holy sacrifice
To God to grant us rest.
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(31)
We were marched from prison,
Unto the gallows high,
And placed upon the scaffold,
Whereon we were to die.
(32)
Farewell my leving country!
I bid this world Adieu.
I hope this will a warning be
To one and all of you.
(33)
They were placed upon the fatal drop,
With their coffins beneath their feet,
While the clergy were preparing them,
Our Maker for to meet.
(34)
They prayed sincere for mercy,
While they humbly smote their breasts.
They were launched into eternity,
And may God grant them rest!
Finis.
Notes
1
Fielding was a smuggler who escaped from a Peruvian prison (Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, 2007)
2
The Saladin carried 90 tons of copper (Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, 2007)
