voyage to papeete—in a tahitian dungeon—cruel treatment—write to friends—kindness of the american hotel keeper—brought before the governor—false charges read, and plea of not guilty entered—perjured testimony against me—forbidden to look at, or even cross-examine witnesses—secrecy of the alleged trial—demand my rights as an american citizen—confusion of the governor—returned to my cell—american consul takes up my case—gives bonds that i will leave the protectorate—elders and friends call on me—my visitors allowed to say but little, and sometimes excluded—decision of the governor that i must leave the society islands—fair trial refused me—letter from the american consul—taken to the consul's office—advised to leave—elders decide that i should go outside of the french protectorate—set sail from papeete.
on november 3rd, 1851, we set sail for tahiti, and on the 6th made the port of papeete, having had a rough voyage. when the ship anchored, a police boat came alongside, and the prisoner was ordered to try his skill at climbing down the rope ladder. he promptly obeyed orders, and soon found himself locked up in a cobblestone dungeon, six by eight feet, quite damp, and so dark that not a ray of light penetrated it anywhere. for his bed he had a board dressed out like a washboard. he had a good mattress and pillows and blankets of his own, but they were locked up in an adjoining room and he was denied the use of them. what the object was he never learned, unless it was done to punish him. he remained in that condition fourteen hours out of the twenty-four, and was fed on bread and water that was very filthy. the water was kept in a small keg in a corner of his cell, and was thick with a green, moss-like substance. in an opposite corner was a different kind of french water closet to that he had on shipboard—a keg which was never emptied during the prisoner's stay there. unlike the water keg, it was replenished often. as to the result of such conditions in that hot climate, i leave it to the reader to conjecture; for i had enough of it without dwelling further on the subject.
on november 7th i wrote letters to elders thomas whitaker and julian moses, the brethren who had been assigned to labor on tahiti. on the 8th, one mr. lampher, proprietor of the american hotel in papeete, sent me a prime dinner. it was received with thanks, and was duly appreciated.
on the 10th i was called out by the turnkey; immediately an armed soldier took position on either side of me, while a sergeant stepped directly in front, then moved three steps in advance, and gave the command to forward march. in this order we passed two lines of sentinels and went to the governor's mansion, where we met another officer, who commanded a halt, and i was directed to be seated for thirty minutes. then i was called into the governor's office, where i was confronted by his excellency and seven officers. they were in full uniform and had sidearms. each had in his hands what appeared to be notes. i was at once ordered to be seated, and the very profligate son of a protestant professor acted as interpreter, read the long list of charges spoken of, and asked for my plea thereto. i answered not guilty.
then the trial began. they placed on the witness stand a native named tania, who had been admitted recently to the catholic church. he had been posted in what he should say, but seemingly had some pangs of conscience, for when he stood up he turned his eyes toward me, then to the court, and back to me, and answered the questions in a hesitating way, his confusion being so great that the governer, through the interpreter, ordered me not to look at the witness, as he said my countenance was so fierce and vivid as to baffle the most substantial witness. i was not permitted to ask a question, not even to cross-examine the witness.
the next testimony came from a man who had been brought to papeete a prisoner, but who had been discharged without the formality of a hearing, evidently that they might have him for a witness against me. both he and the preceding witness were put on the stand without being sworn. not a single spectator was permitted to be present, so i concluded that if it was a court at all that was trying me it was a military court martial.
when i saw how onesidedly things were going, i arose and asked the court what right it had to try me with closed doors, not even allowing me the opportunity to defend myself. i told them i was an american citizen, and claimed my rights as such under existing treaties and international laws. i quoted law that i had never read or heard mentioned, for it was given to me of the lord in the hour that i had need. i can never forget the expression on the faces of those officers. not one of them would look me in the eye. as i spoke, every face was turned downward. at the conclusion of my remarks i was marched back to the filthy cell, without another word being said.
about this time mr. w. h. kelly, the american consul, called on the governor, and on making inquiries about me and my alleged crime and arrest, was told that i was a very dangerous man, a man learned in treaties and international laws. "why," said the governor to mr. kelly, "he can quote more of them than my officers, and he has great power and influence with the native people. he is undoubtedly a military man of no mean ability. for these reasons he cannot be permitted to take up his residence as a minister under the french protectorate." i learned the foregoing from mr. w. h. kelly, who told me that he had to sign bonds to the amount of fifty thousand francs, and that sum would be forfeited if i did not leave the protectorate by the first vessel sailing from port, or if i was known to preach another discourse under the french government.
that evening elder t. whitaker called at my cell with two pies for me. we were allowed to speak but few words to each other. when the prison door had been locked again, i wrote to elder b. f. grouard, who, as i learned from brother whitaker, had arrived in port. november 11th, my old friend pahe called with a basket of fruit, which was admitted, but the giver was permitted to say scarcely a word.
i had a call on the 12th from elders s. a. dunn and julian moses. their short visit gave me much satisfaction, as they brought news from home. on the 13th elder grouard and some other friends called with some food, but they were not admitted, the food being passed in to me by a murderer.
on november 14th i was called before the governor's aide de camp, who said, "i suppose you have heard the decision of the governor and his council?" i told him no. he then said, "they have decided that you must leave the protectorate by the first vessel sailing from port, or you will be detained until you are willing to comply with that decision." i asked if they intended to send me away without a fair trial. he said yes; that the governor had it in his power to send out anyone that raised a disturbance in the country. i asked him to show that i had raised a disturbance. he said, "it does not need proof, for the mormon missionaries have caused the government a great deal of trouble, and the decision is that you must go by the first vessel leaving port, or remain in prison till you agree to do so." with this, i was satisfied that there was no redress for the wrong that was being done me.
i was then marched back to the cell, where i received a letter from w. h. kelly, the american consul. it read as follows:
"consulate of the united states, tahiti,
november 14, 1851.
"mr. james brown:
"dear sir:—having been informed, through the governor of the protectorate, that you are a state prisoner in papeete, charged with the crime of rebellion and attempting to subvert the laws of the protectorate established on the island of anaa, i am bound to furnish the honorable secretary of state of the united states with all charges and punishments to which the citizens of the united states may render themselves amenable, under the laws of the countries in which they may reside.
"you will therefore oblige me by furnishing me with an unbiased and clear statement of the facts connected with your arrest and imprisonment. i do not wish to know what has been told to you, or of what you have heard from others, but simply the truth of the whole transaction.
"this letter will be forwarded to his excellency, governor bonard, who will, through the proper channel, have it forwarded to you.
"i remain, sir, your obedient servant,
"w. h. kelly,
"united states consul."
elder b. f. grouard kindly came down and wrote my reply to mr. kelly. this was on november 15th. the same day i was called out into the yard, when a sergeant and two soldiers took me in charge and marched me along a back alley to the rear of the consul's office. then the sergeant stepped forward and notified mr. kelly that they had brought their prisoner to him, and without further ceremony the officers disappeared by the same alley by which they came.
mr. kelly welcomed me to his office, and congratulated me on regaining my liberty. then he told me of his visit to governor bonard, the conversation they had had, and about his signing the bonds for my release. he said, "mr. brown, the french authorities are afraid of you. they say that you are a highly educated man, and that you are capable of doing much mischief in the country. now you have your liberty in and about my office, but you must not go off alone in any by-place, for the french are a very excitable people, and they will watch every move that you make, and would shoot you if they could find you alone in the brush or where they could do it without being detected. now, i have got horses, and will accompany you to any place you may wish to go, to visit your friends or to settle up what business you may have to do. but you must not be caught alone, for the french fear that you could raise an army and cause much trouble. as your friends are in town, you and they had better have a consultation here in my office, and see what you can do."
accordingly, the elders came into the consul's office, and together with him said the best thing they thought could be done was that i should go on board the little schooner ravai, and that they get it ready for sea as quickly as possible, so as to leave port before any other vessel did, for if i did not go the fifty thousand francs would be forfeited. the schooner was the vessel owned by the saints of tubuoi, and commanded by captain b. f. grouard; it was bound for a cruise among the tuamotu group of islands before going to the island of raivavai, four hundred miles southeast of tahiti, and outside of the protectorate. it was thought that we could make the cruise intended, and then go on to raivavai without any danger of forfeiting the pledge. conformably with this conclusion, the vessel was got ready, and on the 17th we sailed from papeete.