When installing linux PPC with the X-Based Installer using a USB Mouse and an ADB Keyboard, the installer will recognize and offer to configure your mouse. During the install process, your USB mouse and ADB Keyboard will work fine. However, after the install, when you boot- it is very likely that the mouse will work fine, but the keyboard mapping will be wrong.
The best thing to do (since Telnetd probably is not up to fix things that way) is to re-install with an ADB mouse and all USB peripherals removed. Then, reboot with your USB mouse and proceed to configure Linux to use your USB Mouse.
moonglue@141.com |
Linux on PowerPC FAQ-O-Matic : 
Apple Power Mac G4 compatibility