of her, with a hatchet in each hand, with one of which he wounded, in
the breast, the chief mate of Amasa Delano, in the first act of
boarding; this all knew; that, in sight of the deponent, Lecbe struck,
with a hatchet, Don Francisco Masa, when, by the negro Babo’s orders,
he was carrying him to throw him overboard, alive, beside participating
in the murder, before mentioned, of Don Alexandro Aranda, and others of
the cabin-passengers; that, owing to the fury with which the Ashantees
fought in the engagement with the boats, but this Lecbe and Yan
survived; that Yan was bad as Lecbe; that Yan was the man who, by
Babo’s command, willingly prepared the skeleton of Don Alexandro, in a
way the negroes afterwards told the deponent, but which he, so long as
reason is left him, can never divulge; that Yan and Lecbe were the two
who, in a calm by night, riveted the skeleton to the bow; this also the
negroes told him; that the negro Babo was he who traced the inscription
below it; that the negro Babo was the plotter from first to last; he
ordered every murder, and was the helm and keel of the revolt; that
Atufal was his lieutenant in all; but Atufal, with his own hand,
committed no murder; nor did the negro Babo; * * that Atufal was shot,
being killed in the fight with the boats, ere boarding; * * that the
negresses, of age, were knowing to the revolt, and testified themselves
satisfied at the death of their master, Don Alexandro; that, had the
negroes not restrained them, they would have tortured to death, instead
of simply killing, the Spaniards slain by command of the negro Babo;
that the negresses used their utmost influence to have the deponent
made away with; that, in the various acts of murder, they sang songs
and danced—not gaily, but solemnly; and before the engagement with the
boats, as well as during the action, they sang melancholy songs to the
negroes, and that this melancholy tone was more inflaming than a
different one would have been, and was so intended; that all this is
believed, because the negroes have said it.—that of the thirty-six men
of the crew, exclusive of the passengers (all of whom are now dead),
which the deponent had knowledge of, six only remained alive, with four
cabin-boys and ship-boys, not included with the crew; * *—that the
negroes broke an arm of one of the cabin-boys and gave him strokes with
hatchets.
[_Then follow various random disclosures referring to various periods
of time. The following are extracted_;]
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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