nary negro, to be placed on a New Orleans ship was to end hope. To Madison Washington it brought opportunity for freedom.
At eight o'clock on the night of November 7th the crew hove to the Creole for the night, because of the dangers of navigation ahead of them. At 9.30 o'clock if was reported to the mate Z. C. Gifford, who had the deck, that one of the negro men was among the female slaves. At that Gifford made an examination and found Madison Washington there. Having a very wrong idea of the negro's intentions in going there, Gifford expressed his surprise, and then, having brought him on deck, was about to secure him for punishment, when Washington suddenly resisted, a shot was fired by an unknown hand, the mate was severely wounded in the back of the head, and Washington cried out:
"Come on, my boys! We have commenced and must go through with it."
He had planned a mutiny, and the other negroes were awaiting his detection in the hold as a signal for the assault on the crew.
In the fight one white man was killed and several were wounded. No negro was hurt, and in ten minutes Washington controlled the ship. Then by threats and promises he got her navigated into Nassau harbor, where she arrived on Tuesday morning, the 9th, at eight o'clock.
Of course the American consul, as in duty bound, at once made every effort to get the brig again under the command of her crew, with the slaves on board. The populace, including the authorities, knowing all about the case of the Enterprise at Bermuda, were
