JOHN S.C. ABBOTT. sT. 2./.'o2_ Srorn ffie fetfirarg of (professor HEtffiam $)cnx% <& r ^ n Q$equeaf0eb fig fitm fo ffie £tfirarg of (prtncefon £0eofogtcaf ^iemtnarjj F 2161 . A13 Abbott, John S. C. 1805- 1877 . Captain William Kidd I Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 https://archive.org/details/captainwilliamki00abbo_0 Pioneei# kqd Pktfiot^ of Srqeridk By JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. Each one Volume, i2mo., illustrated, $1.50. DANIEL BOONE , MILES STAND I SH, FERDINAND DE SOTO, PETER STUYVESANT, KIT CARSON. DAVID CROCKETT, CAPT. KIDD AND THE AM. BUCCANEERS. Other Volumes in preparation. DEATH OF BLACK BEARD. AMERICAN PIONEERS AND PATRIOTS. Captain William Kidd, AND OTHERS OF THE PIRATES OR BUCCANEERS WHO RAVAGED THE SEAS, THE ISLANDS, AND THE CONTINENTS OF AMERICA TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO. BY JOHN S. C. ABBOTT. ILLUSTRATED, NEW YORK: DODD & MEAD, No. 762 BROADWAY. 1874. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1S74, by DODD & MEAD, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington. PREFACE. There can scarcely anything be found, in the literature of our language, more wild and wonderful, than the narrative contained in this volume. The extraordinary career of Captain Kidd, a New-York merchant, the demoniac feats of those fiends in human form, Bonnet, Barthelemy, and Lolonois ; the romantic history of the innocent female pirate Mary Read, and of the termagant Anne Bonney ; the amazing career of Sir Henry Morgan, and the fanaticism of Montbar, scarcely surpassed by that of Mohammed or Loyola, combine in creating a story, which the imagination of Dickens or Dumas could scarcely rival. And yet these incidents seem to be well authen- ticated. The writer has drawn his facts from Esquemeling’s Zee Roovers, Amsterdam, 4to, 1684; Oexemelin’s Histoire des Aventuriers, i2mo, Paris, IV PREFACE. 1688 ; Johnson’s History of the Pirates, 2 vols., Lon- don, 1724; Thornbury’s Mofiarchs of the Mam, 3 vols., London, 1855 ; History of the Buccaneers of America, 1 vol. 8vo, Boston, 1855; with many other pam- phlets, encyclopaedias, and secondary works. In exploring this hitherto almost unknown field of research, the writer has been as much surprised at the awful scenes which have opened before him, as any of his readers can be. There are but few think- ing men who will peruse this narrative, to whom the suggestion will not arise, “What a different world would this have been, and would it now be, were all its inhabitants conscientiously, prayerfully, with brotherly love striving to do right.” And this is the religion of Jesus. He has taught us to pray, “ Thy kingdom come on earth as in heaven.” John S. C. Abbott. Fair Haven, Conn. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Origin of the Bicccaneers. PAGE Renown of Captain Kidd. — Wild Legends. — Demands of Spain. — Opposition of the Maritime Powers. — The Rise of the Buccaneers. — The Pirates’ Code. — Remonstrance of Spain. — Reply of France and England. — Confession of a Bucca- neer. — Adventures of Peter the Great. .... 9 ' CHAPTER II. William Kidd becomes a Pirate. Ravages of the Pirates. — The King’s Interview with Earl Bello- mopt. — William Kidd, the New York Merchant. — His Com- mission. — Sailing of the Adventure. — Recruiting in New York. — Circuitous Trip to Madagascar. — Perils and Suffer- ings. — Madagascar the Pirates’ Home. — Murmurings of the Crew. — Kidd reluctantly turns Pirate. — His Repulses, and his Captures. 29 CHAPTER III. Piratic Adve?itures. Audacity of Kidd. — Fate of the November. — Kidd kills William Moore. — The Renowned Ballad. — Kidd’s Compunctions. — Kidd at Madagascar. — Piratic Carousals. — The Artificial Hell. — Kidd’s Return to the West Indies. — Exaggerated Reports of Avery. — His wretched Career, and wretched End 51 VI CONTENTS. CHAPTER IV. Arrest, Trial, and Condemnation of Kidd. FACS Appalling Tidings. — Trip to Curacoa. — Disposal of the Quedagh Merchant. — Purchase of the Antonio. — Trembling Approach toward New York. — Measures for the Arrest of Kidd. — He enters Delaware Bay. — Touches at Oyster Bay and Block Island. — Communications with the Government. — Sails for Boston. — His Arrest. — Long Delays. — Public Rumors. — His Trial and Condemnation 75 CHAPTER V. Kidd, and Stede Bonnet. The Guilt of Kidd. — Rumors of Buried Treasure. — Mesmeric Revelation. — Adventures of Bradish. — Strange Character of Major Bonnet. — His Piracies. — Encounters. — Indications of Insanity. — No Temptation to Turn Pirate. — Blackbeard. . — Bonnet Deposed 98 CHAPTER VI. The Adventures of Edward Teach, or Blackbeard. Seizure of the Protestant Caesar. — The Piratic Squadron. — -Vil- lany of the Buccaneers. — The Atrocities of Blackbeard. — Illustrative Anecdotes. — Carousals on Shore. — Alleged Com- plicity with the Governor. — Hiding-place near Ocracoke Inlet. — Arrangements for his Capture. — Boats sent from two Men-of-War. — Bloody Battle. — The Death of the Pirate. — His Desperate and Demoniac Character. ..... no CHAPTER VII. The Close of Stede Bonnet 3 s Career. Bonnet’s Abandonment by Blackbeard. — Avails Himself of the King’s Pardon. — Takes Commission as a Privateer. — Res- cues Blackbeard’s Pirates. — Piratic Career. — Enters Cape CONTENTS. Vll Fear River for Repairs. — Captured by Colonel Rhet. — The Conflict. — Escapes from Prison. — The Pursuit, and Trial and Sentence 125 CHAPTER VIII. The Portuguese Barthelemy. Commencement of his Career. — Bold Capture. — Brutality of the Pirates. — Reverses and Captivity. — Barthelemy doomed to Die. — His Escape. — Sufferings in the Forest. — Reaches Gulf. Triste. — Hardening Effect of his Misfortunes. — His new Piratic Enterprise. — Wonderful Success. — The Tornado. — Impoverishment and Ruin 139 CHAPTER IX. Francis Lolonois. Early Life of Lolonois. — His Desperate Character. — Joins the Buccaneers. — His Fiend-like Cruelty. — The Desperadoes Rally around Him. — Equips a Fleet. — Captures Rich Prizes. — Plans the Sack of Maracaibo.— The Adventurous Voyage. — Description of Venezuela. — Atrocities at Maracaibo and Gibraltar. — Doom of the Victors. . . . . .151 .CHAPTER X. The Plunder ; the Carousal ; and the New Enterprise. Gibraltar in Ashes. — The Return to Maracaibo. — Division of the Plunder. — Peculiar Scene. — Reception of the Pirates at Tor- tuga. — Fiend-like Carousal. — The Pirates Reduced to Beg- gary. — Lolonois’s New Enterprise. — The “ Furious Calm.” — Days of Disaster. — Ravaging the Coast. — Capture of San Pedro » 170 CHAPTER XI. The End of Lolonois' s Career. The Pirates’ Perfidy. — Capture of a Spanish Ship. — Misery of the Pirates. — Desertion of Vauclin. — The Shipwreck. — Life upon Vlll CONTENTS. the Island. — Expedition to Nicaragua. — Its utter Failure. — Ferocity of the Indians. — Exploring the River. — The Re- treat. — Coasting to Darien. — Capture and Death of Lolonois. — Fate of the Remnants 1 86 CHAPTER XII. The Female Pirate , Mary Read. Testimony of Charles Johnson. — Marriage of Mary Read’s Mother. — Singular Adventure. — Reasons for Disguising her Daughter. — Early Training of Mary as a Boy. — She Enlists on board a Man-of-War. — The Character she Developed. — Enters the Army. — Skill and Bravery. — Falls in Love with a Fleming. — Reveals her Sex. — The Marriage. — Happy Days. — Death of her Husband. — Adversity. — Resumes Male Attire 201 CHAPTER XIII. Anne Bonny, the Female Pirate. Rackam the Pirate. — Anne Bonny his Wife. — Her Reasons for Assuming a Boy’s Dress. — Infamous Character of Rackam. — Anne falls in Love with Mary. — Curious Complications. — The Duel. — Chivalry of Frank. — The Capture. — The Trial. — Testimony of the Artist. — Death of Mary Read. — Rackam Dies on the Scaffold 214 CHAPTER XIV. Sir Henry Morgan. His Origin. — Goes to the West Indies. — Joins the Buccaneers. — Meets Mansvelt the Pirate. — Conquest of St. Catharine. — Piratic Colony there. — Ravaging the Coast of Costa Rica. — Sympathy of the Governor of Jamaica. — Death of Mans- velt. — Expedition of Don John.— The Island Recaptured by the Spaniards. — Plans of Morgan. — His Fleet. — The Sack of Puerto Principe. — Horrible Atrocities. — Retreat of the CONTENTS. IX PACK Pirates. — The Duel. — They Sail for Puerto Velo. — Conquest of the City. — Heroism of the Governor 225 CHAPTER XV. The Capture of Puerto Velo , and its Results. The Torture. — Sickness and Misery. — Measures of the Govemoi of Panama. — The Ambuscade. — Awful Defeat of the Spa- niards. — Ferocity of the Pirates. — Strange Correspondence. — Exchange of Courtesies. — Return to Cuba, and Division of the Spoil. — Wild Orgies at Jamaica. — Complicity of the British Government with the Pirates. — The New Enterprise. — Arrival of the Oxford. — Destruction of the Cerf Volant. — Rendezvous at Samona 246 CHAPTER XVI. * The Expedition to Maracaibo. The Delay at Ocoa. — Hunting Excursions. — The Repulse. — Cities of Venezuela. — The Plan of Morgan. — Suggestions of Pierre Picard. — Sailing of the Expedition. — They Touch at Oruba. — Traverse Venezuela. — Enter Lake Maracaibo. — Capture of the Fort. — The City Abandoned. — Atrocities of the Pirates. ......... 260 CHAPTER XVII. Adventures on the Shores of Lake Maracaibo. Preparations for the Defence of Gibraltar. — The Hidden Ships. — The Hiding-place of the Governor and the Women. — Dis- aster and Failure. — Capture of the Spanish Ships. — The Re- treat Commenced. — Peril of the Pirates. — Singular Cor- respondence. — Strength of the Spanish Armament. — The Public Conference of the Pirates. — The Naval Battle. — The Fire-Ship. — Wonderful Achievement of the Pirates. . . 273 X CONTENTS. CHAPTER XVIII. A New Expedition Planned. PAGE The Threat to Espinosa. — Adroit Stratagem. — Wonderful Es- cape. — The Storm. — Revelry at Jamaica. — History of His paniola. — Plan of a New Expedition. — The Foraging Ships. — Morgan’s Administrative Energies. — Return of the For- agers. — Rendezvous at Cape Tiburon. — Magnitude and Ar- mament of the Fleet. — Preparations to Sail. . . . 290 CHAPTER XIX. Capture of St. Catherine and Chagres. The Defences at St. Catherine. — Morgan’s Strategy. — The Mid- night Storm. — Deplorable Condition of the Pirates. — The Summons to Surrender. — Disgraceful Conduct of the Spanish Commander. — The Advance to Chagres. — Incidents of the Battle. — The Unexpected Victory. — Measures of Morgan. . 305 CHAPTER XX. The March from Chagres to Panama. Preparations to Ascend the River. — Crowding of the Boats. — The Bivouac at Bracos. — Sufferings from Hunger. — The Pathless Route. — The Boats Abandoned. — Light Canoes Employed. — Abandoned Ambuscades. — Painful Marches, Day by Day. — The Feast on Leathern Bags. — Murmurs and Contentions. — The Indians Encountered. — Struggling through the Forest. — The Conflagration at Santa Cruz. — Battle and Skirmishes. — First Sight of Panama. — Descent into the Plain. — Feasting. ........ 3*9 CHAPTER XXI. The Capture of Panama. First Sight of the City.— The Spanish Scouts Appear.— Morgan's Advance.— Character of the Country.— Fears of the Spa- CONTENTS. xi niards. — Removal of Treasure. — Capture of the City. — The Poisoned Wine. — Magnificent Scenery of the Bay. — Descrip- tion of Panama and its Surroundings. — Wealth of the City. — Scenes of Crime and Cruelty. ..... 335 CHAPTER XXII. The Return from Panama. Return of the Explorers. — The Beautiful Captive. — Sympathy in her behalf. — Embarrassments of Morgan. — Inflexible Virtue of the Captive. — The Conspiracy. — Efficiency of Morgan. — His Obduracy. — The Search of the Pirates. — • The Return Marcii. — Morgan Cheats the Pirates. — Runs Away 349 CHAPTER XXIII. Montbar the Fanatic. Partial Solution of a Mystery. — Montbar’s Birth. — His Education and Delusions. — Anecdote of the Dramatic Performance. — Montbar Runs Away from Home. — Enters the Navy. — His Ferocious Exploits. — Joins the Buccaneers. — Desperate Bat- tles on the Land and on the Sea. — His Final Disappearance. 360 Captain Kidd. CHAPTER I. Origin of the Buccaneers. Renown of Captain Kidd: — Wild Legends. — Demands of Spain. — Opposition of the Maritime Powers. — The Rise of the Buc caneers. — The Pirates’ Code. — Remonstrance of Spain. — Reply of France and England. — Confession of a Buccaneer. — Adven tures of Peter the Great. . There are but few persons, in the United States, who have not heard the name of the re- nowned pirate, Captain Kidd. There are also but few to be found who have any intelligent conception of his wild and guilty career. The banks of the Hudson, the islands scattered through the Sound which skirts the southern New-England coast, and the wild rivers and craggy harbors which fringe the rugged shores of Maine, are all rich with legends of 10 CAPTAIN KIDD. the exploits and hiding-places of this notorious buccaneer. Thousands of fanatical people have employed themselves in digging among the rocks and sands, in search of treasure of gold and jewels supposed to have been buried, in iron-bound chests, by this chief of outlaws. It was well known that he had plundered many a rich Spanish galleon, laden with golden coin, bound to or from the colonies. Many a Spanish lady had been compelled to walk blind- folded the awful plank, until she was jostled into the sea, while her chests of golden ingots and dia- monds fell into the hands of brutal assassins. It was not always easy for the pirates to dispose of these treasures. They were sometimes pursued by men-of-war. Doubtless, as a measure of safety, they did at times bury their spoil, intending at a convenient hour to return and reclaim it. And it can hardly be questioned that, in some cases, pur- sued, harassed, cut up, they never did return. There- fore it may be that there is treasure still hidden in some secluded spot, which may remain, through all coming ages, unless by some accident discovered. This belief has, in bygone days, nerved many a treasure-seeker to months of toil, all along our north- ern coast, from Passamaquoddy Bay to the Jerseys. Half a century ago, when superstition exerted THE BUCCANEERS. II much more powerful sway than now, the wildest stories were told, around the fireside, of the com- plicity of the robber with the Archfiend himself, and of the agency of the Prince of the Power of the Air in protecting his subjects. Hundreds of parties, equipped with hazel rods, whose dip should guide them to the treasure, and with spades to dig, have gone to the most lonely spots at dead of night, in search of these riches. It was believed that not a word must be spoken, and particularly that Satan was so jealous, that if the Divine name were uttered, some terrible doom would befall them. The writer remembers hearing, sixty years ago, at the kitchen fireside, many of these wondrous sto- ries. One or two may be given in illustration of them all. A fortune-teller had told some men where Captain Kidd had buried a chest. They were to go to the spot, in the darkness of a moonless midnight. Not one word was to be spoken. A lantern, dimly burning, was to guide their steps. One carrying a hazel rod was to lead the party of four. When they reached the precise spot the hazel rod would bend directly down to indicate it. By digging they would find, five feet beneath the surface, an oaken chest, bound with iron, filled with doubloons. They obeyed all the directions implicitly. The spot was found. In silence and with energy they 12 CAPTAIN KIDD. plied their spades. At the depth of five feet they struck the chest. There it was, beyond all question, in its massive strength of oak and iron. The size of the chest and the difficulty with which it could be moved, proved that they had come upon an amount of treasure which would enrich them all beyond the dreams of romance. One thoughtlessly, in the ex- cess of his excitement, exclaimed, “ Thank God ! ” In an instant there was a flash of lightning which blinded them all ; a peal of thunder which stunned them all. Those in the pit were violently thrust out, and every one was thrown helpless and sense- less upon the ground. After a time they recovered one by one. The darkness was like that of Egypt, which could be felt. The rain was falling in torrents. Their pit was en- tirely closed up, and replaced by a ledge of solid granite. Terrified, they crept to their homes, fear- ing ever again to seek the treasure which the pirate, as an emissary of Satan, had seized with bloody hands, and with bloody hands had buried. Again, there was a young woman who had a sacred stone into which she looked and saw whatever she wished to have revealed. She could read the fortunes of others. She could foresee all future events. She could reveal any secrets of the past. Into this mysterious crystal she gazed, and saw a THE BUCCANEERS. 13 small vessel, under an immense cloud of canvas, flying before a huge man-of-war. But the smaller vessel was the fleetest. The larger vessel was firing upon it with heavy cannon, and the balls were bounding over the waves. She looked upon the deck of the little schooner, and it was crowded with the fiercest-looking armed men. Among them stood a man, in rich uniform, with drawn sword, and pistols in his belt, who was evidently their leader. She at once recognized him as Captain Kidd. It was in the evening twilight. The pirate ran in at the mouth of the Kennebec River. The man- of-war could not venture to follow amid the rocks and shoals. The commander, however, felt that the pirate was caught in a trap and that he could not escape. He decided to lay off and on until morning, carefully watching the mouth of the river. Then he would send his war-boats thoroughly manned, and the pirates would soon swing at his yard-arms, and their treasures would be transferred to his chests and his ship’s hold. Captain Kidd had a large amount of treasure on board his vessel, which he had plundered mainly from the rich argosies which carried on the com- merce between Spain and her colonies. At the same time he was not at all particular in his inquiries as to what nationality the ship belonged to, if the 14 CAPTAIN KIDD. cargo of goods or coin were valuable. His adven- turous sail ran along the shores of both the Indies, and all richly freighted ships he encountered were doomed. « The swift-sailing schooner which had run into the mouth of the Kennebec was heavily laden with gold and silver coin, rich silks, and others of the most precious fabrics of the two Indies. To save these from capture, so the story goes, and to lighten his vessel, so as to be able to creep away over the shallow waters out of reach of the man-of- war, he threw the heaviest and least valuable articles overboard. Then landing a portion of the crew in the night, he searched out a secluded spot, where he dug a deep hole, and placed in it an immense iron- bound hogshead. Here he carefully packed away his gold and silver coin in strong canvas bags. His silks and satins were wrapped in canvas envelopes, and then protected with tarred cloth, impervious to both air and moisture. Thus the cask soon held treasure amounting to countless thousands. This was carefully covered up and concealed, Captain Kidd taking notes which would enable him to find the place without difficulty. Then in the darkness he again spread his sails, and stealing out of one of the unfrequented mouths of the river, crept along the shore unseen, and turn- THE BUCCANEERS. 15 ing his course south, was soon again engaged in his piratic cruise among the islands of the West Indies. He never returned to regain his treasure. The next morning the man-of-war sent up three boats well manned and armed to capture the pirate. But not the slightest vestige of his vessel could be found. It was believed that Satan had aided them to escape. Some of the sailors declared that in the night they had seen the schooner under full sail in the clouds, passing over their heads, and that they had heard shouts of merriment from the demoniac crew. The girl, looking into her enchanted stone, saw all this. She informed those inquiring of her, of the precise spot where the treasure was buried. To obtain it they must go at dead of night, and work in perfect silence. The utterance gf a single word would bring disaster upon all their efforts. They went, and worked with a will, in the dark- ness, by dim torchlight. Not a word was spoken. They reached the cask, spaded away the earth around it, and were just ready to open it and rifle it of its contents, when to their astonishment a little negro boy was seen sitting upon the head of the cask, entirely naked. One of them in his surprise thoughtlessly exclaimed, “ Who are you ? ” The spell was broken. Instantly one of the i6 CAPTAIN KIDD. blackest of thunder-clouds enveloped them, with a tornado which wrecked the skies. Carousing fiends were seen with bat-like wings through the gloom. Shrieks of derisive laughter were heard. Every man was seized, and whirled through the air to dis- tances several miles apart. Awaking from stupor, terror-inspired, they with difficulty found their way to their homes. Upon subsequently revisiting the spot they found no traces of their labor. Such was the general character of the legends which were floating about very freely half a cen- tury ago. Captain Kidd was the hero of all these marvellous tales. It is not easy to account for the fact that hismame should have attained such an ascendency over that of all other buccaneers. Though there was nothing so very remarkable in his achievements, there was something strange in the highest degree, in his partnership with men in England occupying the most exalted position in rank and power. After the discovery of the New World, Pope Alexander VI. issued a proclamation dividing all the newly discovered lands, in both the East and West Indies, between the crowns of Portugal arid Spain, to the exclusion of all other powers. This bull, as it was called, excited great discontent throughout all Christendom. This was nearly two hundred THE BUCCANEERS. 1 7 years ago. France, England, and the Netherlands, the three remaining great maritime nations, com- bined against Spain and Portugal. These courts would give any man a commission to take a ship, fill it with armed men, and prey upon the commerce of Spain and Portugal. There was no court to de- cide upon the validity of prizes. ’ The captors were responsible to nobody. They decided for them- selves whether the prize they had taken was their legitimate booty. The whole spoil was divided among them according to their own agreement. Very soon all seas swarmed with these adven- turers. They sailed in fleets. In armed bands they landed and ravaged the coasts, battering down forts and capturing and plundering cities. They did not deem themselves pirates, but took the name of buc- caneers. Though often guilty of great enormities, they assumed the air of legitimate privateerspien. With heads high uplifted they swaggered through the streets of England, France, and the Netherlands, with lavish hand scattering their ill-gotten gold. They were welcomed at every port they entered, for they proved very profitable customers. They sold their booty very cheap. They purchased very freely, regardless of price. In drunken frolics they had been known to scatter doubloons in the streets to see men and boys scramble for them. The mer- i8 CAPTAIN KIDD. chants all welcomed them, not deeming it necessary to ask any questions for conscience’ sake. Their numbers became so great and their depredations so audacious, that no ship could sail in safety under any flag. The buccaneers were not careful to ob- tain any commission. Assuming that they were warring against the enemies of their country, even when there was no war existing between the two nations, they ravaged the seas at their pleasure. Generally their bands were well organized and under very salutary discipline. The following arti- cles of agreement, signed by the whole crew, were found on board one of these ships : “ Every man is entitled to a vote in affairs of im- portance, and to an equal share of all provisions and strong liquors which may be seized. Any man who defrauds the company in plate, jewels, or money, shall be landed on a desert island. If he rob a messmate, his ears and nose shall be slit, and then he shall be landed on a desert island. No man shall play at cards or dice for money. The lights are to be put out at eight o’clock at night. No woman is to be allowed on board. Any man who brings a woman to sea disguised shall be put to death. No man shall strike another on board, but quarrels shall be settled on shore with sword or pistol. THE BUCCANEERS. l 9 “Any one deserting, or leaving his quarters, dur- ing an engagement, shall be either landed on a desert island or put to death. Every man losing a limb or becoming crippled in the service shall have eight hundred dollars. The captain and quarter- master shall receive two shares of every prize ; the master, boatswain, and gunner, one share and a half, and all other officers one and a quarter. Quar- ter always to be given when called for. He that sees a sail first is to have the best pistols and small arms on board of her.” Thus it will be seen that these buccaneers were regularly organized bands, by no means ashamed of their calling. They were morally scarcely inferior to the robber knights and barons of the feudal ages, from whom the haughtiest nobles of Europe are proud to claim their lineage. They were not petty thieves and vulgar murderers. They unfurled their banners and waged open warfare on the sea and on the land, glorying in their chivalric exploits, and ostentatiously displaying, in all harbors, the trophies of their wild adventures. These freebooters assumed the most gorgeous and extravagant dresses. Their favorite ornament was a broad crimsom sash, of bright scarlet, passing round the waist, and fastened on the shoulder and hip with colored ribbons. This was so arranged 20 CAPTAIN KIDD. that it formed a belt into which they could thrust three or four richly mounted pistols. These pistols were often sold at auction, on shipboard, for two hundred dollars each. Cocked hats, with a showy embroidery of gold lace, formed a conspicuous fea- ture of their costume. The captain, in time of battle, was invested with dictatorial power. He could stab or shoot any one who disobeyed his orders. His voice was generally decisive as to the treatment of prisoners. The large cabin was appropriated to his exclusive use. Often the freebooters combined, in several armed vessels, to attack some richly freighted fleet under convoy. Occasionally they landed, and captured and plun- dered very considerable cities. These buccaneers were generally, as we have said, Englishmen, Frenchmen, or Germans. Still, adventurers from all nationalities crowded their decks. The Spanish Court remonstrated with the several Governments of Europe against these out- rages. France replied : “ The people complained against act entirely on their own authority and responsibility, not by any commission from us. The King of Spain is at lib- erty to proceed against them according to his own pleasure.” Elizabeth, England’s termagant queen, with char- teristic tartness replied : THE BUCCANEERS. 21 “ The Spaniards have drawn these inconve- niences on themselves, by their severe and unjust dealings in their American commerce. The Queen of England cannot understand why her subjects, or those of any other European prince should be de- barred from traffic in the West Indies. As she does not acknowledge the Spaniards to have any title to any portion of the New World by the donation of the Bishop of Rome, so she knows no right they have to any places other than those of which they are in actual possession. Their having touched only here and there upon a coast, and given names to a few rivers or capes, are such insignificant things as can in no ways entitle them to a property in those parts,, any further than where they have actually settled and continue to inhabit.” Some curious anecdotes are told illustrative of the great respect some of these adventurers entertained for religion and morality. In many cases all bolts, locks, and fastenings of any kind were prohibited, as implying a doubt of the honor of their com- rades. Not a few men of noble birth became buc- caneers. A captain of one of these bands shot one of his crew for behaving irreverently in church. Sir Raveneau de Sussan, being deeply involved in debt, joined the freebooters because, he said, “ he 22 CAPTAIN KIDD. wished, as every honest man should do, to have withal to satisfy his creditors.” • The French called the buccaneers nos braves . The English papers were filled with admiring ac- counts of their unparalleled exploits. A French buccaneer, Francois l’Olonnais, at the head of six hundred and fifty men, captured the towns of Ma- racaibo and Gibraltar, in the Gulf of Venezuela, and extorted half a million dollars for the ransom of those places. A French priest extolled the deed as one of chivalric heroism. The pirates seized the Island of Tortuga, built a town there, and erected a strong fort on an eminence jvhich commanded a view of the encircling sea to the horizon. This island is situated a few leagues north of the magnificent Island of San Domingo, then called Hispaniola. It is long and narrow, running east and west, and iS about sixty miles in circuit. It is mainly a mountainous island of rock, but at that time was densely covered with a gigantic forest. The western part of the island was uninhabited. It was very rugged and barren, and had no harbor or even cove into which a vessel or boat could run. On the southeastern shore there was one good harbor, so landlocked that it could be easily de- fended. The island abounded with wild boars, and THE BUCCANEERS. 23 at some seasons, the very air seemed darkened with the flocks of pigeons which frequented its groves. The buccaneers seized this island, and sent to the French governor of St. Christopher’s to furnish them with aid to fortify it. The governor sent them a ship full of men, with all needful supplies. With this assistance they built a fort on a high rock, which perfectly commanded the harbor. There was no access to the fort but by climbing a narrow passage, along which but two persons could pass at a time. With great difficulty two guns were raised and mounted. There was a plentiful supply of fresh water on the summit, from an abundant spring gush- ing from the rock. One of these buccaneers, John Esquemeling, has given quite a minute account of the achievements of himself and comrades. His narrative, which is deemed authentic, was written in Dutch, but was translated and published in London in the year 1684. He had sailed from Havre - de - Grace, in France, for the New Wqrld,in the year 1666, to seek his fortune. He gives the following reason for join- ing the buccaneers : “ I found myself in Tortuga like unto Adam when he was first created by the hand of his Maker; that is, naked and destitute of all human necessaries. Not knowing how to get a living, I determined to 24 CAPTAIN KIDD. enter into the wicked order of pirates or robbers of the sea. Into this society I was received by com- mon consent both of the superior and vulgar soft. I continued among them six years, until the year 1672. Having assisted them in all their designs and attempts, and served them in many notable exploits, of which I here give the reader a full account, I returned to my own native country.” We will give one incident illustrative of the mode in which these buccaneers operated. There was at Tortuga a man born in Dieppe, Normandy. From his gigantic stature and his bold carriage he was familiarly called Peter the Great. He took a large boat, and with twenty-eight com- panions, desperate men, thoroughly armed, set out from the harbor in search of booty. For a long time they sailed over those tropical seas, keeping a vigilant watch from the mast-head, but no vessel appeared in sight. Their food was rapidly disap- pearing, and they began to be in despair. At length they espied, one afternoon, in the dis- tant horizon, a sail. As they approached it, they found, somewhat to their alarm, that it was a huge Spanish galleon laden to the gunwales with treasure. It probably contained passengers and crew, and per- haps soldiers, three or four times outnumbering the buccaneers. The sagacious Peter immediately sur- THE BUCCANEERS. 25 mised that the galleon was one of a merchant fleet which had recently sailed from Spain under a strong convoy, and being heavily laden, had, in some storm, got separated from the squadron. It was one of the most desperate of enterprises to attack such a ship with their little boat. The ship, though a merchant- man, had, without any doubt, some heavy guns, and the crew was well armed. But they were desperate men ; their provisions were exhausted ; they were in danger of actual star- vation. The captain assembled them all around him, and addressed them in a very glowing and inspiring speech. We cannot quote his identical words. But we have a record of the motives he urged to rouse his men to a frenzy of courage. “ Our cruise,” said he, “ has been thus far a fail- ure. We have no money. We have no food. We must soon perish by the most miserable of all deaths, lingering starvation. In that ship there is food in abundance, wine in abundance, gold in abundance. We are now beggars. Let us take that ship, and we are princes. We can revel in luxury. Our for- tunes are made for our lives. We can sail to any land we please, and there live in independence. Even if some of us must die, it is better to die sud- denly than to starve. We can take the ship if we all do our duty. I call upon every one now to take 2 26 CAPTAIN KIDD. a solemn oath either to capture the ship or to die in the attempt.” To this appeal the piratic crew responded with cheers, and the oath was promptly taken. The cap- tain of the Spanish ship had been informed that there was a boat in sight, and that it probably was manned by pirates. He came upon deck, examined it carefully with his glass, and then, turning upon his heel, said contemptously : “ We need not care for such a pitiful concern as that. It is a mere cockle-shell. If you wish, you may rig the crane out, and we will hoist the whole thing, crew and all, on board. We need fear no ship which is not bigger and stronger than our own.” The pirates had the advantage of the wind. They kept away until dark. Peter, or Pierre as they called him, informed them of his desperate plan. He would, in the gloom of night, put on all sail, and run his boat directly alongside of the galleon. Grappling-irons were immediately to be thrown over the gunwale of the ship, with ropes attached, by which the boat’s crew were instantly to leap on board. The carpenter was to have tools ready and bore a large hole in the bottom of the boat, so as to sink it at once. He was then to leap on board. Every man was to have three or four loaded pistols in his belt, and a sabre in his hand. Escape THE BUCCANEERS. 2 7 was impossible. If they failed to capture the ship, and were captured themselves, their inevitable doom was death by hanging. The programme was carried out in full. The night was dark. There was no vigi- lance, no suspicion of danger on board the ship. The boat came alongside the huge bulk of the gal- leon so noiselessl^fthat it was not perceived. The pirates rushed pell-mell on board. With their sharp sabres they cut down the terrified crew on the right hand and on the left. Pierre, leading a party, plunged into the cabin. The captain with several of his officers was playing cards. He sprang from his seat exclaiming : , “ Lord Jesus; are these devils?” Pierre, presenting a pistol at his breast, demanded the surrender of the ship. Had the captain or any of his officers raised a hand in self-defence, death would have been their immediate fate. They were all disarmed and bound. Another party, sweeping the decks with sword and pistol, drove all whom they did not kill into the hold, and shut the hatches upon them. They then seized the gun-room, where all the arms and ammunition were stored. In almost less time than it has taken to describe the scene, this majestic ship with its vast treasures was captured. Not a single pirate was killed or wounded. With three cheers the pirates proclaimed 28 CAPTAIN KIDD. their astounding victory. They were nearly all sea- men, and familiar with those waters. They turned the ship to sail to Europe. Coming in sight of an island, they landed the captain and all the ship’s company in a cove, and giving them a small supply of provisions, left them to shift for themselves. Several of the crew remained on board the ship, en- listing in the service of the pirates. This being done, they set sail for France, where they sold their ship, divided their immense booty, scattered, and were heard of no more. The inhabitants of Tortuga soon received tidings of this brilliant achievement. It seemed to inspire them all with the intense desire to go and do like- wise. All Tortuga was in an uproar. Every one applauded a deed which they deemed so glorious as well as so profitable. They saw that by a single en- terprise, Pierre had made his fortune for life. In a few months, more than twenty piratic vessels were fitted out at Tortuga. CHAPTER II. William Kidd becomes a Pirate. Ravages of the Pirates. — The King’s Interview with Earl Bellomont. — William Kidd, the New York Merchant. — His Commission. — Sailing of the Adventure. — Recruiting in New York. — Circu- itous Trip to Madagascar. — Perils and Sufferings. — Madagascar the Pirates’ Home. — Murmurings of the Crew. — Kidd reluctantly turns Pirate. — His Repulses, and his Captures. In the year 1695, the King of England, William III., summoned before him the Earl of Bellomont, who had been governor of Barbadoes, and whom he had recently appointed governor of New York, and said to him : “ The buccaneers have so increased in the East and West Indies, and all along the American coast, that they defiantly sail under their own flag. They penetrate the rivers ; land in numbers sufficient to capture cities, robbing palaces and cathedrals, and extorting enormous ransom. Their suppression is vital to commerce. They have possessed themselves of magnificent retreats, in Madagascar and other islands of the Indian Ocean. They have established their seraglios, and are living in fabulous splendor 30 CAPTAIN KIDD. and luxury. Piratic expeditions are fitted out from the colonies of New England and Virginia ; and even the Quakers of Pennsylvania afford a market for their robberies. These successful freebooters are making their homes in the Carclinas, in Rhode Island, and along the south shore of Long Island, where they and their children take positions among the most respectable in the community. “ The buccaneers are so audacious that they seek no concealment. Their ships are laden with the spoil of all nations. The richest prizes which can now be taken on the high seas are the heavily laden ships of the buccaneers. I have resolved, with the aid of others, to fit out a private expedition against them. We have formed a company for that purpose. By attacking the pirates we shall accom- plish a double object. We shall in the first place check their devastating operations, and we shall also fill our purses with the proceeds of the abundant spoil with which their ships are laden.” This second consideration was doubtless the leading one in the movement. The king was in great need of money. His nobles- were impover- ished by extravagance. They were ready to re- sort to any measures to replenish their exhausted treasuries. This royal company was therefore or- ganized, not as a national movement, sustained by WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 31 national law, but as a piratic expedition against the pirates. The reclaimed treasure was not to be restored to its owners, nor to be placed in the treas- ury of the kingdom, but to be divided among the captors, as their legitimate spoil. And still the king was to give the commission in his kingly name. The king informed the Earl of Bellomont that he was about to invest him with the government of New York, and wished him to suggest the name of some suitable person, who was familiar with the North American coast and the West Indian seas, to whom he could intrust the command of the frig- ate they were then fitting out. It so chanced that an illustrious Englishman, Mr. Robert Livingston, the first of that name who had emigrated to the New World, was then in London. The earl con- sulted with him. He was informed that just the man he needed had accompanied him from New York to London, leaving his family behind. He was a merchant, by the name of William Kidd, a man of tried courage and integrity. In the last war with the French, Captain Kidd had commanded a privateersman, and had gained signal honor in many engagements. He had sailed over all the seas frequented by the buccaneers, and was familiar with their haunts. The commission which the king gave to Captain Kidd is a curious 32 CAPTAIN KIDD. document. It is here given abridged of its exces- sive verbiage : “ William the Third, by the grace of God King of England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, to our true and well-beloved Captain William Kidd, com- mander of the ship Adventure. Whereas divers wicked persons commit many and great piracies, robberies, and depredations on the seas, upon the coasts of America and other parts, to the hindrance of trade and the danger of our subjects, we have thought fit to give to the said William Kidd full authority to seize all such pirates as you may find on the seas, whether our subjects or the subjects of other nations, with their ships, and all merchandise or money which shall be found on board, if they willingly yield themselves. But if they will not yield without fighting, then you are, by force, to compel them to yield. We do also require you to bring, or cause to be brought, such pirates, free- booters, or sea rovers, as you shall seize, to a legal trial, to the end they may be proceeded against ac- cording to the law in such cases. “ We enjoin you to keep an exact journal of your proceedings, giving the names of the ships you may capture, the names of their officers and crew, and the value of their cargoes, and stores. And we command you, at your peril, that you do not molest WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 33 our friends or allies under any pretence of authority hereby granted. Given the 26th of January, 1695.” Captain Kidd at the same time received another document, which was called a commission of re- prisals. This authorized him, as a privateersman, to take any French merchant ships he might chance to meet ; for there was then war between France and England. A ship was purchased, for thirty thousand dol- lars, called the Adventure. Of this sum, Captain Kidd and Mr. Livingston furnished three thousand each. The remainder was contributed by the Earls Bellomont and Romney, Lord Chancellor Somers, the Lord High Admiral, the Duke of Shrewsbury, and Sir Henry Harrison. The king, rather inglori- ously, paid nothing. He purchased his share in the enterprise by the royal patronage. It seems that Captain Kidd was a man of high reputation at that time. It was a large amount of property to be intrusted to his hands ; for the ves- sel and its outfit must have cost at least fifty thou- sand dollars. Mr. Livingston became Kidd’s secu- rity that he would faithfully discharge his duties and account for all his captures. It is said that Kidd was not pleased with this arrangement, as he was very unwilling that Mr. Livingston should be his bonds- man. He probably, even then, felt that it might 34 CAPTAIN KIDD. prove an obstacle in his future course. The opera- tions of the human mind are often inexplicable. He might wish to steal the ship and turn pirate on his own account. And he could not honorably do this while his friend was his bondsman. Such pressure was put upon him that he was constrained to yield. Armed with the royal commission, and in com- mand of the Adventure, Captain Kidd sailed from Plymouth, England, in May, 1696. The frigate had an armament of thirty guns, and a crew of eighty men. He was ordered to render his accounts to the Earl of Bellomont in New York. He sailed up the Narrows, into New York harbor, in July. His wife and children were in his home there. In crossing the Atlantic, Captain Kidd came across a French merchantman, which he captured. The prize was valued at but seventeen hundred dollars. This was considered a legitimate act of war. Captain Kidd knew full well that the enemy he was to encounter would fight with the utmost des- peration, and that he might meet a fleet of piratic ships, or a single ship, more powerful in men and armament than his own. He therefore sent out re- cruiting officers through the streets of New York, to enlist volunteers. The terms he offered were that every man should have an equal share of every prize WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 35 that was taken, after reserving for .himself and the owners forty shares. With these offers he soon in- creased his crew to one hundred and fifty-five men. Sailing from the harbor of New York, he made first for Madeha, to lay in a stock of wine. Then he directed his course to the Cape de Verd Islands, for a supply of salt and provisions. Having obtained these, he spread his canvas for a long voyage around the Cape of Good Hope, to the Island of Madagas- car, on the eastern coast of Africa. This island had become, renowned as one of the most important ren- dezvouses of the pirates. Madagascar is larger than Great Britain. The pirates, by aid of their firearms, their desperate courage, and their superior intelligence, had gained possession of a considerable portion of the island- The natives were an inefficient race, copper-colored, 'with long, black hair. The pirates had treated them with such enormous cruelty, that the savages fled before them as if they had been demons. In this retreat, so far distant from the abodes of civilization, the buccaneers had reared forts, and built mansions which they had converted into harems. From their Voyages they returned here enriched with the plundered commerce of the world, to revel in all sensual indulgence. They made slaves of their prisoners ; married, in their rude way, any 36 CAPTAIN KIDD. number they pleased of the most beautiful of the native females ; “ so that every one,” writes one of their number, “ had as great a seraglio as the Grand Seignior at Constantinople. At length they began to separate from each other, each living with his own wives, slaves, and dependants, like independent princes. As power and plenty naturally beget con- tention, they sometimes quarrelled, and attacked each other at the head of their several armies. In these civil wars many of them were killed.” These reckless men used their power like tyrants. They grew wanton in cruelty. Nothing was more common than, upon the slightest displeasure, to cause one of their dependants to be tied to a tree and shot through the heart. The natives combined for their extermination. The plan would have suc- ceeded but for betrayal by a woman. They trem- bled in view of their narrow escape, and combined for mutual defence. These ruffians assumed all the airs of the ancient baronial nobility. Their dwellings were citadels. They generally chose for their residence some dense forest, near running water. The house was sur- rounded by a rampart and a ditch. The rampart was so high that it could not be climbed without scaling-ladders. The dwelling was so concealed, in the dense tropical forest, that it could not be seen WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 37 until you were very near it. The only approach was so narrow that two could not pass it abreast. It was contrived in so intricate a manner that, to all not perfectly familiar with it, it was a perfect laby- rinth, with cross paths where one might wander for hours, lost in the maze. All along these narrow paths, large and very sharp thorns, which grew in that country, were plant- ed in the ground, so as to pierce the feet of the un- shod natives. If any should attempt to approach the house by night, they would certainly be pierced and torn by those cruel thorns. It was a long voyage to Madagascar. Before he reached the island nine months had elapsed since leaving Plymouth. Captain Kidd had expended all his money, and his provisions were nearly exhausted. Not a single prize had they captured by the way. This ill luck caused a general feeling of murmuring and contention on board. The most amiable are in danger of losing their amiability in hours of disas- ter. Rude seamen, but one remove from pirates, in such seasons of disappointment and chagrin become almost demons in moroseness. One morning the whole ship’s crew were thrown into a state of the most joyous excitement by the sight of three ships in the distant horizon. They had no doubt that it was some buccaneer, with two 38 CAPTAIN KIDD. prizes, heavily laden with the treasures of the Orient. Suddenly all became very good-natured. Eagerly they prepared for action. They had no fear that the pirate, with his prizes, could escape their swift- sailing frigate. The supposed pirate was apparently conscious that escape was impossible ; for he bore down boldly upon them. Terrible was the disappointment. Captain Kidd, gazing upon the approaching vessels through his glass, exclaimed, with an oath, “They are three English war-ships.” Captain Warren was in command of the men-of- war. Meeting thus in mid-ocean, the two captains interchanged civilities, visited each other, and kept company for two or three days. It was in the month of Februar}', 1666, that Captain Kidd, coast- ing along the shores of Madagascar, approached the harbor upon the island frequented by the pirates. Here he expected to find treasure in abundance. He had very decidedly exceeded his orders in leav- ing the waters of America for the distant shores of Africa and Asia. Triumphant success, which he was sanguine of achieving, might cause the diso- bedience of instructions not only to be forgiven but applauded. Failure would be to him disgrace and irretrievable ruin. Again Captain Kidd and his crew were doomed WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 39 to disappointment. It so happened that they ar- rived at the island at a time when every vessel was out on a piratic cruise. There was not a single ves- sel there. All were growing desperate. * Captain Kidd had but very little money left, and nearly all his provisions were consumed. As hastily as possi- ble he replenished his. water-casks, and taking in a few more stores, weighed anchor, and voyaged thir- teen hundred miles farther east to Malabar, as the whole western coast of Hindostan was then called, from Cape Comorin to Bombay. He came within sight of these shores in June, four months after his arrival at Madagascar. For some time he cruised up and down this coast una- vailingly. Not a single sail was to be seen on the boundless expanse of ocean. There was universal discontent and murmurings on board the Adventure. The situation of the ship’s company was indeed de- plorable. One-half of the globe was between them and their homes. Their provisions were nearly all gone, and they had no means with which to purchase more. It was clear that unless Providence should interpose in their favor, they must either steal or starve. And Providence did, for a time, singularly inter- pose. As they were one day sailing by a small island, called Joanna, they saw the wreck of a ship 40 CAPTAIN KIDD. on shore. Captain Kidd took a boat, and was rowed to the land, where he found that it was a French vessel. The crew had escaped, having saved quite a quantity of gold. The ship and cargo were a total loss. The Frenchman, so the narrative goes, loaned this gold to Captain Kidd. Perhaps he did. It is more probable that it was a forced loan. Captain Kidd had, as we have mentioned, a double commis- sion, one against the pirates, and the other a regular commission as a privateersman against the French. Had he captured the ship before the wreck it would have been his lawful prize. It is hardly probable that he had any scruples of conscience in seizing the doubloons when transferred to the shore. With this gold he sailed to one of the ports on the Malabar coast, where he purchased food sufficient for a few weeks only. There was, at that time, in Asia, one of the most powerful nations on the globe, called the Mongols. The emperor, who was almost divinely worshipped, was titled the Great Mogul. His gorgeous palaces were reared in the city of Samarcand, in the province of Bokhara. This mag- nificent city, thirty miles in circumference, glittered with palaces and mosques of gorgeous architecture, constructed of white marble. The empire was founded by the world-renowned Gengis Khan, and extended by the equally celebrated Tamerlane. The WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 41 sails of Mongol commerce whitened all the East-In- dian seas. Piracy then so abounded that this com- merce was generally carried on in fleets under ‘convoy. Upon this cruise of disappointment and anxiety, Captain Kidd passed several of the ships of the Great Mogul. He looked upon them with a wistful eye. They were merchantmen. With his force he could easily capture them. There could be no doubt that they contained treasure of great value. There was loud murmuring among the crew. They could not understand those scruples of con- science which would allow them to plunder a few shipwrecked Frenchmen, and yet would turn aside from the rich argosies of the East. But Captain Kidd, a respectable New-York mer- chant, held in high esteem by the community, and who had been sent on this expedition expressly to capture and punish the pirates, was not then pre- pared to raise himself the black flag, and thus join the robbers of the seas. The struggle, in his mind, was probably very se- vere. He was daily growing more desperate. Star- vation stared him in the face. His crew was growing mutinous. He had reason to fear that they would rise, throw him overboard or land him upon some island, and then, raising the black flag of the pirate, 42 CAPTAIN KIDD. scour the seas on their own account, and join the riotous band defiantly established at Madagascar. He had no doubt that the powerful company, who had sent him on this cruise, would overlook any irregularities in plundering wrong vessels, and would make no troublesome inquiries into his mode of operations, if he would only bring them home an abundance of gold. On the other hand, should he fail, he would be dismissed from their service in dis- grace, an utterly ruined man. He had learned that the Great Mogul was about to send from the Red Sea, through the Straits of Babelmandel, a richly freighted fleet of merchant- men, under convoy, bound to China. The Straits are but about fifteen miles wide. Consequently there could be no difficulty in intercepting the fleet. Captain Kidd had probably, in his silent thoughts, decided to turn freebooter. Though as yet he had divulged his secret to no one, and had committed no overt act, he had passed the Rubicon, and was in heart a pirate. The change was at once percepti- ble. He ran his ship in toward the shore, and coasted along until he came in sight of a village of the natives, where herds were seen in the fields, and harvests were waving, and the boughs of the groves were laden with the golden fruit of the tropics. Doubtless he would have been glad to purchase WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 43 these stores. But he had no money. He had reached that point in his career at which he must either steal or starve. He sent several armed boats to the land, and robbed the unresisting natives without stint. He was not a man to pursue half measures. Having well revictualled his ship, he turned her bows to- ward the entrance to the Red Sea. Summoning his crew before him, he informed them of the change in his plans. “ We have been unsuccessful hitherto, my boys,” he said; “ but take courage. Fortune is now about to smile upon us. The fleet of the Great Mogul, freighted with the richest treasures, is soon to come out of the Red Sea. From the capture of those heavily laden ships we will all grow rich.” This speech was greeted with shouts of applause by the desperate men whom he had picked up in the streets of London and New York. He sent out a swift-sailing boat well manned to enter the Red Sea, and run along its eastern coast on a voyage of discovery. The boat returned after an absence of a few days, with the rather alarming intelligence that they had counted a squadron of fifteen large ships just ready to sail. While some of them bore the flag of the Great Mogul, at the mast-head of others floated the banners of England and of Holland. 44 CAPTAIN KIDD. England was in alliance with Holland, and on the most friendly terms with the Great Mogul. In the commission given to Captain Kidd by the king it was written : “We .command you at your peril, that you do not molest our friends or allies, under any pretence of authority hereby granted.” Captain Kidd must have pondered the question deeply and anxiously before he could have made up his mind to become an utter outlaw, by attack- ing a fleet composed of ships belonging not only to England’s friend, and to England’s ally, but also containing England’s ships. Neither did he yet know how strong the convoy by which the fleet was guarded. He, however, while weighing these thoughts in his anxious mind, sailed to and fro before the mouth of the Strait, keeping a vigilant watch at the mast- head. After the lapse of four days the squadron hove in sight, far away on the northern horizon. As the vessels approached, Captain Kidd carefully scru- tinized them through his glass. His experienced eye soon perceived that the fleet was convoyed by two men-of-war, the one English, the other Dutch. This added to his embarrassment, and greatly increased his peril in case he should attempt an assault. WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 45 The fleet was much scattered ; for, strong in its guard, no danger was apprehended. Kidd’s vessel was concealed from the general view behind a head- land. His ship was a swift sailer, and he had an immense amount of canvas, which he could almost instantaneously spread to the breeze. There was a large, bulky Mongol ship, laden to the gunwales, slowly ploughing its way through the waves, ap- proaching the point where the pirate lay concealed. The guard ships were at the distance of several miles. Captain Kidd darted out upon the galleon like an eagle upon its prey. He probably hoped to capture it, plunder it, and make his escape before the war-vessels could come to its rescue. He open- ed fire upon the ship. But the convoy, instantly taking the alarm, pressed all sail, and bore rap- idly down upon him, opening a vigorous fire from their heavy guns. Kidd could not think of contend- ing with them. His chance was gone. He sheered off, and soon his cloud of swelling canvas disap- peared beyond the southern horizon. The armed frigates could not pursue him. They were com- pelled to remain behind to protect the slowly sail- ing fleet. Captain Kidd, imbittered by constant failure, was now a disappointed, chagrined, exasperated, 46 CAPTAIN KIDD. desperate man. He was ready for any enterprise, however atrocious, which would bring him money. He ran back to the coast of Malabar. Cruisine along, he soon came in sight of a native vessel. Kidd captured it without a struggle. It was called the Maiden, belonged to some merchants of Aden, but was commanded by an Englishman by the name of Parker. The mate, Antonio, was a Portuguese, familiar with the language of the country'. There was nothing of value on board. Kidd, having resolutely embarked on a piratic cruise, impressed the captain, Parker, as pilot in those un- known waters. The mate he retained as an inter- preter. Vexed in finding no gold, and believing that the crew had concealed it, he treated them with the utmost cruelty to extort a confession of where they had hid the coin. They were hoisted up by the arms and beaten with terrible severity. But all was in vain. No amount of torture could bring to light gold which did not exist. The pirate, having robbed the poor men of a bale of pepper and a bale of coffee, with a few pieces of Arabian gold, contemptuously turned them adrift, bleeding and almost helpless in their exhaustion. After continuing his cruise for some time without any success, Kidd ran into a small port, on the Malabar coast, called Carawar. There were several English WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 47 merchants residing in that place. The tidings had already reached them of the capture of the Aden vessel, the impressment of the English captain and the Portuguese mate, and the cruel treatment of the crew. As soon as Captain Kidd entered the port, it was suspected that he was the pirate. Two Eng- lish gentlemen, Mr. Harvey and Mr. Mason, came on board, and charged him with the crime, asking him what he had done with his two captives, Cap- tain Parker and the Portuguese mate. Kidd as- sumed an air of injured innocence, denied that he had any knowledge of the event, showed them his commission from the King of England as the head of a company of the most illustrious nobles to pursue and punish the pirates. Triumphantly he submit- ted the question if it were reasonable to suppose that a man who enjoyed the confidence of the king and his nobles, and was intrusted by them to lead an enterprise so essential to the national honor, should himself turn pirate. The gentlemen were silenced, but not convinced. All this time Parker and Antonio the Portuguese were concealed in a private place in the hold. There he kept them carefully guarded eight days, until he again set sail. Just after he had left the port, a Portuguese man-of-war entered. The Eng- 48 CAPTAIN KIDD. lish merchants communicated to the commander their suspicions. He immediately put to sea in search of the Adventure, resolved, should he over- take her, carefully to examine the hold, hoping to find the captives on board, or at least some evidence of their having been there. The two ships met. Kidd was by no means dis- posed to have his vessel searched. A fierce battle ensued which lasted for six hours. Neither vessel was disposed to come to close quarters until the other was disabled. Kidd at length, finding the Portuguese ship too strong for him, spread all his sails and escaped. With his vast amount of canvas he could run away from almost any foe. Ten of his men were wounded in this' conflict, but none killed. Again these desperate men found it necessary to run into the land for provisions. They entered a small port called Porco. Here they filled their water-casks, and “ bought,” Kidd says, a sufficient number of hogs of the natives to victual the com- pany. As it is known that Kidd had no money, it is probable that the swine were obtained by that kind of moral suasion which is found in the muzzle of a pistol and the edge of a sabre. This suspicion is confirmed by the fact that the natives, in their exasperation, killed one of his men. The retaliation was characteristic of the crew and WILLIAM KIDD BECOMES A PIRATE. 49 the times. Captain Kidd brought his guns to bear upon the village. With broadside after broadside he laid their huts in ruins. The torch was applied,' and in an hour the peaceful village was converted into mouldering ashes. One of the natives was caught. They bound him to a tree, and then a whole boat’s company, one after another, discharged each a bullet into his heart. Having achieved this exploit, which they probably thought chivalric, but which others may deem fiendish, Captain Kidd again spread his sails for a piratic cruise. The first vessel he came across was a large Mon- gol ship richly freighted. Kidd gave chase, unfurl- ing the French flag. The captain was a Dutchman, by the name of Mitchel. Seeing that he was pur- sued under French colors, he immediately ran up the banner of France. Captain Kidd at once spread to the breeze the flag of England. He was very exultant. He could lay aside the odious character of a pirate, and seize the ship in the less disgrace- ful capacity of a privateersman. He exclaimed with an oath, “ I have caught you. You are a free prize to England.” A cannon-ball was thrown across the bows of the ship, and she was ordered to heave to. The ship was hailed in the French language, .and some 3 50 CAPTAIN KIDD. one replied in the same tongue. They were then ordered to send their boat on board. The boat came bearing the captain of the ship, who was a Dutch- man, by the name of Mitchel, and a French gentle- man by the name of Le Roy. Kidd received them in his cabin, and upon in- quiry ascertained that the ship and cargo belonged to Mongol merchants ; that they had intrusted the command to a Dutch captain, as was not unfre- quently the case in those days, and that the French gentleman was merely a passenger accidently on • board, passing from one port to another. These tidings, to use a sailor’s phrase, “ struck him all aback.” Holland, as we have mentioned, was England's ally. The Great Mogul was England’s friend. Kidd must release the ship, or confess him- self a pirate and an outlaw, and run the imminent risk of being hanged should he ever return to Eng- land. For a moment he seemed lost in thought, bewildered. Then his wicked mind, now rapidly descending into the abyss of sin and shame, rested in a decisive resolve. CHAPTER III. Piratic Adventures . Audacity of Kidd. — Fate of the November. — Kidd kills William Moore. — The Renowned Ballad. — Kidd’s Compunctions. — Kidd 1 at Madagascar. — Piratic Carousals. — The Artificial Hell. — Kidd’s Return to the West Indies. — Exaggerated Reports of Avery. — His wretched Career, and wretched End. Captain Kidd, with a piratic frown upon his brow, and piratic oaths upon his lips, turned to Mr. Le Roy and said : “ Do you pretend that this is not a French ship, and that you are but a passenger on board ? ” “ It is so,” Mr. Le Roy politely replied. “ I am a stranger in these parts, and have merely taken passage on board this native ship, under Captain Mitchel, on my way to Bombay.” “ It is a lie,” said the pirate, as he drew from his belt a pistol and cocked it. “ This is a French ship, and you are its captain ; and it is my lawful prize. If you deny this, you shall instantly die.” The features of Kidd, and his words blended with oaths, convinced Mr. Le Roy that he was in 52 CAPTAIN KIDD. the hands of a desperate man, who would shrink from no crime. He was silent. Kidd then added : “ I seize this ship as my legitimate prize. It belongs to a French subject, and is sailing under the French flag. I have a commission from his majesty the King of England to seize all such ships in his name.” It seems strange that Kidd, after the many law- less acts of which he had already been guilty, should have deemed it of any consequence to have recourse to so wretched a quibble. But the incident shows that the New-York merchant, formerly of good rep- utation, still recoiled from the thought of plunging headlong into a piratic career. By observing these forms he could, in this case, should he ever have occa- sion to do so, claim the protection of the royal com- mission authorizing him to capture French ships. Kidd took his prize, which he called the Novem- ber, because it was captured in that month, into one of the East-Indian ports, and sold ship and cargo for what they would fetch. What the amount was, or how he divided it, is not known. Again he resumed his cruise. It was evident that he had become anxious to renounce the career of pirate, upon which he had barely entered, and resume that of privateersman. They soon came across a Dutch ship, unmistakably such, in build and flag and rig- PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 53 ging. The crew clamored for its capture ; Kidd res- olutely opposed it. A mutiny arose. A minority of the ship’s company adhered to the captain. The majority declared that they would arm the boats and go and seize her. The captain, with drawn sabre in his hand, and pistols in his belt, and surrounded by those still faithful to him, stood upon her quarter-deck and said to the mutineers, firmly : “ You may take the boats and go. But those who thus leave this ship will never ascend its sides again.” One of the men, a gunner by the name of Wil- liam Moore, was particularly violent and abusive. With threatening gestures he approached the cap- tain, assailing him in the most vituperative terms, saying: “You are ruining us all. You are keeping us in beggary and starvation. But for your whims we might all be prosperous and rich.’’ The captain was by no means a meek man. In his ungovernable passion he seized an iron-boi/nd bucket, which chanced to be lying at his side, and gave the mutineer such a blow as fractured his skull and struck him senseless to the deck. Of the wound the gunner died the next day Not many will feel disposed to censure Captain Kidd very severely for 54 CAPTAIN KIDD. this act. It was not a premeditated murder. It was perhaps a necessary deed, in quelling a mutiny, in which the mutineers were demanding that the black flag of the pirate should be raised, and which demand the captain was resisting. And yet it is probable that this blow sent Kidd to the gallows. Upon his subsequent trial, but little evidence of piracy could be adduced, and the death of Moore was the prominent charge brought against him. Kidd ever averred that it was a virtuous act, and that it did not trouble his conscience. It was done to prevent piracy and mutiny. He also averred that he had no intention to kill the man. Had he so intended he would have used pistol or sabre. In the ballad which, half a century ago, was sung in hundreds of farm-houses in New England, the lull- aby of infancy, the event is alluded to in the follow- ing words : “ I murdered William Moore, as I sailed, as I sailed, I murdered William Moore as I sailed ; I murdered William Moore, and left him in his gore, Not many leagues from shore, as I sailed." We will give a few more verses to show the general character of this ballad of twenty-five stan- zas, once so popular, now forgotten : “ My name was William Kidd, when I sailed, when I sailed. My name was William Kidd when I sailed. My name was William Kidd, God’s laws I did forbid. And so wickedly I did when I sailed. PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 55 “ Thus being o’ertaken at last, I must die, I must die. Thus being o’ertaken at last, I must die ; Thus being o’ertaken at last, and into prison cast, And sentence being pass’d, I must die. “ To Newgate now I’m cast, and must die, and must die. To Newgate now I’m cast, and must die. To Newgate now I’m cast, with sad and heavy heart. To receive my just desert, I must die. “To Execution Dock I must go, I must go. To Execution Dock I must go; To Execution Dock will many thousands flock. But I must bear my shock, and must die. “ Come all ye young and old, see me die, see me die. Come all ye young and old, see me die; Come all ye young and old, you’re welcome to my gold. For by it I’ve lost my soul, and must die.” The Dutchman had no consciousness of the peril to which he had been exposed. The two ships kept company for several days, and then separated. Is it possible that all this time Kidd was hesitating whether to raise the black flag and seize the prize ? It looks like it ; for a few days after the Dutch ship had disappeared, quite a fleet of Malabar boats were met with, laden with provisions and other articles which Kidd needed. Unscrupulously he plundered them all. Probably he had no fears that tidings of the outrage would ever reach England. And even if a rumor of the deed were ever to reach those dis- tant shores, he had no apprehension that England 56 CAPTAIN KIDD. would trouble herself to punish him for a little harsh treatment of semi-savages on the coast of Malabar. A few days after this robbery a Portuguese ship hove in sight. Kidd’s moral nature was every hour growing weaker. He could no longer resist the temptation to seize the prize. He robbed the ves- sel of articles to the estimated value of two thou- sand dollars, and let her go, inflicting no injury upon the ship’s company. For three weeks they continued to cruise over a sailless sea, when one morning, about the middle of December, an immense mass of canvas was seen rising over the distant horizon. It proved to be a native ship of four hundred tons burden. The ship was called the Quedagh Merchant, was very richly laden, and was commanded by an Englishman, Cap- tain Wright. The wealthy merchants of the East were fully aware of the superior nautical skill of the English seaman, and were eager to intrust their important ventures to European commanders. Kidd unfurled the French flag, chased the ship, and soon overtook it. A cannon-ball whistling over the heads of the crew was the very significant hint with which the ship was commanded to heave to. Kidd ordered the captain to lower his boat and come on board the Adventure. The captain obeyed, and informed the pirate that all the crew were East- PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 57 Indians, excepting two Dutchmen and one French- man, and that the ship belonged exclusively to East-Indian merchants. Kidd took piratic possession of the ship. He had not the shadow of a claim to it on the ground of his commission as a privateersman. He landed the officers and the crew, in boatload after boatload, upon the shore, and left them to shift for themselves. One or two of the merchants who owned the ship and cargo were on board. They offered the pirate twenty thousand rupees, which was equivalent to about fifteen thousand dollars, to ransom the prop- erty. Kidd declined the offer. His own ship, after such long voyaging, was leaky and much in want of repairs. The Quedagh Merchant was far superior to the Adventure. He therefore transferred all his stores to his prize. The torch was applied to the Adventure, and the ill-fated ship soon disappeared in a cloud of smoke and flame. Kidd, now a confirmed pirate, directed his course toward the great rendezvous of the pi- rates at Madagascar. Here the prize was valued at sixty-four thousand pounds, or about three hundred and twenty thousand dollars. Still this strange man assumed that he was act- ing under the royal commission, in behalf of the Lon- don company ; and these treasures were the legiti- 58 CAPTAIN KIDD. mate plunder of a piratic ship. He therefore re- served forty shares for himself and the company. There were about one hundred and fifty men com- posing this piratic crew. Each man received about two thousand dollars. Kidd’s portion amounted to nearly eighty thousand dollars. In the pirates’ harbor at Madagascar, Kidd found a large ship, the Resolution, belonging to the East India Company, which the captain, a man by the name of Culliford, with the crew, had seized and turned into a pirate. It was clearly Kidd’s duty, under his commission, at once to attack and capture this piratic ship. When Captain Culliford saw him entering the harbor with his powerful and w r ell- armed ship, he was terrified. The pirates had heard of Captain Kidd’s commission, and had not yet learned that he had turned pirate himself. Captain Culliford, with the gallows in vision before him, and trembling in every nerve, for there was no pos- sibility of escape, sent some officers, in a boat, on board the Quedagh Merchant, to ascertain Captain Kidd’s intention. It was testified at the subsequent trial of Kidd, that he stood upon his deck and received with open arms the piratic officers as they came up over the ship’s side; that he invited them to his cabin, where they had a grea't carouse in drinking and PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 59 smoking ; and that in the frenzy of drink he offered for a toast : “ May damnation seize my soul if I harm a hair of the head of any one on board the Culliford.” It was declared that he received large presents of bales of silk from the piratic captain, and sold him some heavy ordnance, with suitable ammunition, for two thousand dollars ; and that he was on the most friendly terms with Culliford, exchanging frequent visits with him. On the other hand, Kidd emphatically denied all these charges. He said, “ I never stepped foot on board Captain Culliford’s ship. When I entered the harbor and ascertained the character of the craft, I ordered my men to prepare for action. But the mutinous crew, who had already compelled me to resort to measures against which my soul revolted, peremptorily refused, saying that they would rather fire two shots into my vessel than one into that of Captain Culliford. The mutiny became so menacing that my life was in danger. The turbulent crew rifled my chest, stole my journal, took possession of the ammunition. I was compelled to barricade myself in the cabin. The mutineers held the ship, and be- ing beyond all control, acted according to their own good pleasure. I was in no degree responsible for their conduct.” 6o CAPTAIN KIDD. The captain’s statement was not credited by the court. At the same time it was quite evident that he had lost the control of his crew. His testimony was, however, in some degree borne out by the fact that ninety-five of his men in a body deserted him, and joined the piratic crew of Captain Culliford. This would seem to prove conclusively that Captain Kidd was not sufficiently piratical in his measures to satisfy the demands of the mutineers. For several weeks these guilty and wretched men remained in the “ own place ” of the pirates, indulg- ing in every species of bacchanal wassail and sen- sual vice, amidst their palaces and in their harems. Their revelry could not have been exceeded by any scenes ever witnessed in Sodom or Gomorrah. There were between five and six hundred upon the island. They were continually coming and going. Some of them were so rich that they remained at home cultivating quite large plantations by slave labor. They amused themselves by hunting, and in the wide meadows and forests found abundant game. The arrival of a ship in the harbor was the signal for an universal carouse. They endeavored to magnify the charms of their women by dressing them gor- geously in silks and satins, with glittering jewelry. Often a pipe of wine would be placed upon the shore, the head taken out, and the community would PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 61 drink of it as they pleased, as freely as if it were water. Drunken pirates reeled through the streets. Oaths filled the air. Knives gleamed, and pistols were discharged, and there were wounds and death. In the midst of all their revelry and wantonness and brawls, it is evident from the record we have of those days, that a more unhappy, wretched set of beings could scarcely be found this side of the world of woe. There was not a joy to be found there. There were no peaceful homes ; no loving husbands and wives ; no happy children climbing the parental knee and enfolded in parental arms; and in death nothing but a “fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation.” These wretched pirates were hateful and hating. Satiated with vice, they , knew not where to turn for a single joy. Their shouts of laughter fell dis- cordantly upon the ear like the revelry of demons. Satan never allows his votaries any happiness either in this world or in that which is to come. Wisdom’s ways only are ways of pleasantness, and her paths alone are those of peace. How far Captain Kidd entered into these god- less carousals is not known. But it is not probable that he was then able to throw off all restraint, and become hail-fellow with these vulgar, degraded, profane wretches, whom in heart he must have 62 CAPTAIN KIDD. despised. Neither is it probable that one accustomed to the society in which an honored New-York mer- chant would move, could so soon have formed a taste for the drunken revelry of the lowest and vilest creatures on earth. It is evident that these men had occasionally reproaches of conscience, and some faint sense of their terrible responsibility at God’s bar. Four of them decided one day to make a little artificial hell for themselves, that they might see who could stand its pains the longest. A cloudless tropical sun blistered the deck with its blazing rays. The cabin was heated like an oven. In addition to this, they built a fire in the stove, till the iron plates were red hot. They then with blas- pheming oaths entered this furnace, and sprinkled brimstone upon the fire till the room was filled with its suffocating fumes. One of these wretches, ap- parently as fiend-like as a man could be, bore the pains of this little artificial hell for five minutes. None of the others could endure them so long. The victor came out very exultant. One would have thought that the idea would have occurred to their minds that there was some considerable difference between five minutes and eternity. We do not learn that any of these men were made better by the brief endurance of their self- PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 63 inflicted tortures. The mind is appalled by the thought that these same men, when transferred to the spirit land, may be as persistent in their hostility to all God’s laws as they were here. Captain Kidd found himself abandoned by nearly all his crew. He remained in port only long enough to recruit sufficient men to navigate his ship, and then, spreading the sails of his stolen vessel, the Quedagh Merchant, he set out for the West Indies, with his ill-gotten treasure of eighty thousand dol- lars. The news of Kidd’s piratic acts had been re- ported to the home government by the East India Company. Orders had accordingly been issued to all the governors of the American colonies to arrest him wherever he should appear. The voyage from Madagascar to the West Indies was long and tempestuous. Not a single sail ap- peared in sight. Day after day the ocean was spread out in all its solitary grandeur before these guilty, discontented men. At length, in a very destitute condition, the ship reached Anguilla, or Snake Island, so called from its tortuous figure. This is the most northerly of the Caribbee Islands, and there was a small English colony here. As Kidd dropped anchor in the little harbor he was greeted by the intelligence that he had been officially, in England, proclaimed a pirate ; that his 64 CAPTAIN KIDD. conduct had been discussed in Parliament ; that a committee had been appointed to inquire into the character of the company which had commissioned him, and into the nature of the commission he had received ; that a British man-of-war, the Queens- borough, had been dispatched in pursuit of him, and that a royal proclamation had been issued, offering pardon to all who had been guilty of piracy, eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, before the last day of April, 1699, excepting William Kidd, and another notorious buccaneer by the name of Avery. This Avery had obtained great renown, and the most extravagant stories were reported and univer- sally believed in reference to his achievements. It was said that this pirate had attained almost impe- rial wealth, dignity, and power; that he had become the proud founder of a new monarchy in the East, whose sceptre he swayed in undisputed absolutism. His exploits were celebrated in a play called, “The .Successful Pirate,” which was performed to admiring audiences in all the theatres. According to these representations, Avery had captured a ship, belonging to the Great Mogul, and laden with the richest treasures. On board the im- perial ship there was a beautiful princess, the daugh- ter of the Great Mogul. Avery had married her. The father, reigning over boundless realms, had PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 65 recognized the union, and had assigned to Avery vast territories in the East, where millions were subject to his control. He occupied one of the most mag- nificent of Oriental palaces, had several children, and was surrounded with splendors of royalty quite un- known in the Western world. He had a squadron of ships manned by the most desperate fellows of all nations. In his own name he issued commissions to the captains of his ships and the commanders of his forts, and they all recognized his princely authority. His piracies were still continued on a scale com- mensurate with his power. Many schemes were of- fered to the royal council of England for fitting out a squadron to disperse his fleets and to take him captive. Others affirmed that he was altogether too powerful to be assailed in that way. They urged the expediency of sending an embassage to his court, and inviting him and his companions to come to England with all their treasures, assuring him of a hospitable reception and of the oblivion of all the past. They feared that unless these peaceful meas- ures were adopted, his ever-increasing greatness would enable him to annihilate all commerce with the East. These rumors were so far from having any foun- dation in truth, that at the same time that such wondrous tales were told, the wretch was a fugitive, 66 CAPTAIN KIDD. wandering in disguise through England, trembling in view of the scaffold, and with scarcely a shilling in his pocket. His career was sufficiently extraordinary to merit a brief notice here. Avery was born in one of the western seaports of England, and from a boy was bred to the hard- ships and the degradation of a rude sailor’s life. He was educated only in profanity, intemperance, and vice. As he grew up to stout boyhood he became a bold smuggler, even running contraband goods on shore on the far-away coasts of Peru. The Span- iards were poorly provided with war-ships to guard from what they deemed illicit traffic their immense regions in the New World. They therefore hired at Bristol a stout English ship, called the Duke. It was manned chiefly by English seamen. Captain Gibson was commander. Avery was first mate. The captain was a gambler, fond of his cups, and he often lingered many days in foreign ports, spending his time in haunts of dis- sipation. Avery was a fellow of more cunning than courage. He despised the captain, and formed a conspiracy with the most desperate men on board, to get rid of the captain and any sailors who might adhere to him, run away with the ship, and crossing over to the distant waters of the East Indies, reap a harvest of PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 67 wealth from the commerce which whitened those seas. The ship was one day at anchor in a South American port. The plan had been, that night, when the captain was on shore, to weigh anchor, leaving the captain behind, and to set out on their cruise. But it so happened that the captain, that night, having drank deeply, did not go on shore as usual, but, at an early hour, went to bed. AU the crew, excepting the conspirators, were either on shore or had retired to their berths. At ten o’clock at night the long-boat of the Duke came to the ship’s side, bringing sixteen stout desperadoes, whom Avery had enlisted from the vagabonds of all nations who thronged the port. They were received on board ; the hatches were closed ; and then, everything being secure, the anchor was leisurely weighed, and the ship put to sea. The motion of the ship and the noise of the run- ning tackles awoke the drunken captain, and he rang his bell. Avery, with two sailors, entered the cabin. The captain was sitting up in his berth, rubbing his eyes, and evidently much alarmed. “ What is the matter?’’ he exclaimed in hurried accents. “ Something is the matter with the ship. Does she drive ? What weather is it ? ” 68 CAPTAIN KIDD. “ Nothing is the matter,” said Avery coolly ; “ only we are at sea, with a fair wind and good wea- ther.” “ At sea ! ” said Gibson. “ How can that be? ” “ Don’t be in a fright,” Avery replied. “ Put on your clothes, and I will tell you a little secret, /am now captain of this ship. This is my cabin, and you must walk out of it. I am bound to Madagascar, with.the design of making my own fortune and that of all the brave fellows joined with me.” The captain was now completely sobered. In anticipation of immediate death his terror was pitia- ble. Avery endeavored to console him with the not very consolable words : “ You have nothing to fear, captain, if you will join us, keep sober, and do your duty. If you behave well, I may, perhaps, some time, make you one of my lieutenants. Or, if you prefer, here is a boat along- side, and we will put you ashore.” The terror-stricken man begged to be landed. The rest of the crew were brought up, and all who wished to go on shore with the captain were per- mitted to do so. But five or six availed themselves of the privilege. All the rest joined the piratic crew. The captain and his few adherents were placed in the boat and turned adrift, to make their way to the land as best they could. The carousing pirates PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 69 directed their course to Madagascar. Here they found two piratic vessels, with whose crews they en- tered into close alliance. The three vessels, under Avery as admiral, set out on a cruise. Upon the Arabian coast, near the mouth of the Indus, the man at the mast-head cried out, “ A sail.” They ran down upon her, and fired a cannon-ball across her bows. But the vessel, instead of yielding at once, hoisted the Mogul’s colors, and cleared her decks for battle. Avery kept at a distance, cannon- ading her with his heavy guns, and not approaching within reach of the shot of his foe. He thus lost greatly reputation with his men, who regarded him as a coward. The crews of the two accompanying sloops, with their decks swarming with pirates, ran ‘one upon the bow and the other upon the quarter, and clambering over the bulwarks of the heavily laden merchantman, took her by storm. It is true, as the story had. it, that the vessel belonged to the emperor, or Great Mogul, himself. His daughter was on board, as well as several of the most distinguished personages of his court. They were bound on a pilgrimage to Mecca, with the rich- est treasures to present at the shrine of Mohammed. They had costly silks, precious jewels, vessels of gold and silver, and large sums of money. The booty obtained from this prize was immense. 70 CAPTAIN KIDD. Having plundered the ship of everything they wanted, the pirates let her go. The Mogul, when he heard the tidings, was greatly enraged. He threatened to send an army, with fire and sword, utterly to exterminate the English in all their East- Indian colonies. The East India Company, in Eng- land, was- greatly alarmed. They immediately dispatched an embassage to the Great Mogul to pacify him. They promised, in the name of the British Government, to pursue the pirates with the utmost vigor, and, if captured, to deliver them over into his hands. In the mean time the successful buccaneers were making their way back to their rendezvous at Mad- agascar. There they intended to store their booty, erect a fortification for its defence, garrison it with men of desperate valor, and then to set out again on another cruise. As they were sailing along, with this design, each of the vessels having a portion of the plunder, the villanous Avery sent for the chief officers of each of the vessels to come on board the Duke. He then said to them : “ We have immense treasure, sufficient to enrich us all for life, if we can only get it to some secure place on shore. But we are in great danger of being separated by bad weather. In that case, should either of the sloops meet any ship of force, PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 7 1 it would be captured. But the Duke, in build and armament, is superior to any ship to be encountered in these waters. My ship is so well manned that she can defy any foe ; and moreover, she is such a swift sailer, that she can easily escape any other ship, if she does not wish to fight. “ I therefore propose, for our mutual safety, that we put all the treasure on board the Duke. We can seal up each chest with three seals, of which each vessel shall keep one. The chests shall not be opened until we open them together at the rendez- vous.” This proposal seemed so reasonable that they all agreed to it. All the treasure was transferred to the Duke. Avery then said to the villains who sur- rounded him : “ We have now the whole treasure at our own control. Let us, at night, give the rest a slip, and sail for unknown parts in North America. We can go ashore, divide our wealth, and with ample riches settle wherever we please.” We have heard that there is honor among thieves. Among these thieves there was none. Not a dissentient voice was heard. All agreed to the plan. . In the darkness of the ensuing night the ship changed her course, and in the morning the crews of the two sloops searched the horizon in vain 72 CAPTAIN KIDD. for any 'sight of her. They knew by the fairness of the weather, and the course they were pursuing, that the flight had been intentional. The reader must be left to surmise the scenes of confusion and profanity which must have been witnessed on board these piratic crafts. The first land the Duke made in America was the Island of Providence. Here Avery sold the ship, pretending that it had been fitted out as a privateer, but having been unsuccessful, the owners had ordered her to be disposed of, as soon as any purchasers could be found. With a portion of the proceeds a small sloop was bought, and the buc- caneers sailed for Boston, New England. Avery, thief as he was, had concealed the greater part of the diamonds, of whose great value the crew were ignorant. At Boston they landed. Many of the men re- ceived their shares, and scattered throughout New England. Avery was afraid to offer his diamonds for sale there, where diamonds were so unusual a com- modity, lest suspicion should be excited. He per- suaded a few of his companions to accompany him to Ireland. They landed at one of the northern ports and there separated. Avery went to Dublin. He was still afraid to offer his diamonds for sale, lest inquiry should lead to the discovery of his manner PIRATIC ADVENTURES. 73 of acquiring them. He thus found himself in pov- erty with all his wealth. After remaining some time in Ireland under a feigned name, and ever trembling at his shadow, he crossed over to Bristol. Here he fell in with some sharpers, who, getting a hint of the treasures he had to dispose of, took him under their especial care. They wormed most of his secrets out of him, and then recommended that he should dispose of his jewels to an established firm of wealth and credit, who, being accustomed to great transactions, would make no inquiries as to the way he obtained his treasure. Avery, not knowing what to do, assented to this proposal. The sharpers brought some men whom they introduced to Avery as gentlemen of the highest standing in the jewelry business. Avery exhibited to them his diamonds and pearls, and many vessels of massive gold. They took them to sell on com- mission. This was the last he saw of his stolen wealth. To his remonstrances he received only the reply : “ If you speak a word out loud, we will have you hung for piracy.” Utterly beggared, and terrified by these menaces, he again, in disguise, and under a feigned name, crossed over to Ireland. Here his destitution and 4 74 CAPTAIN KIDD. distress became so great, for he was absolutely con- strained to beg for his bread, that he resolved to go back to Bristol, and demand payment for his treas- ure at whatever hazard. He worked his passage in a small coasting vessel to Plymouth, and walked to Biddeford. Here, overcome with fatigue and suffer- ing, both mental and bodily, he was seized with a fever, died, and, not one penny being found in his pockets, was buried at the expense of the parish as a vagabond pauper. Such was the end of the pirate Avery, of whom such extravagant stories had been told. It was while he was in this extreme of poverty in England, and when it was supposed that he was rioting in successful piracy in the East, that the Government coupled his name with that of Captain Kidd, de- nouncing them as outlaws, and declaring that their sins were too great to be forgiven, and that, if arrested, the gallows was their inevitable doom. CHAPTER IV Arrest , Trial , and Condemnation of Kidd. Appalling Tidings. — Trip to Curacoa. — Disposal of the Quedagh Merchant. — Purchase of the Antonio. — Trembling Approach toward New York. — Measures for the Arrest of Kidd. — He en- ters Delaware Bay. — Touches at Oyster Bay and Block Island. — Communications with the Government. — Sails for Boston. — His Arrest. — Long Delays. — Public Rumors. — His Trial and Con demnation. , Captain Kidd was greatly disturbed in learning at Anguilla that he had been denounced as a pirate, proscribed as an outlaw, and that he with the no- torious Avery was expressly excluded from the par- don offered by the king to other buccaneers. He had thus far flattered himself with the hope that he could make it appear that all the prizes he had cap- tured belonged to the French, and were legitimately taken under his commission as a privateersman. He also had placed much confidence in the support of the distinguished men composing the company by which he had been commissioned. The large wealth which he had expected to bring back to them, he thought, would unite their "powerful influence in his support. 76 CAPTAIN KIDD. But instead of this, it now appeared that the company was disposed to make him their “ scape- goat.” They had been so severely condemned, as if responsible for the conduct of their agent, that in self-defence they became the loudest of his assailants, denouncing him in the severest terms, and clamoring most loudly that all seas should be explored to catch and hang the miscreant. It was these political complications, united with the renown of the com- pany of king and nobles, which gave the name of Captain Kidd prominence far above anything which his achievements would warrant. It was known that he had been scouring the East-Indian seas with one of the most powerful of English ships, and it was surmised that he had accumulated wealth suffi- cient to found an empire. What became of this boundless wealth ? This was the question which agitated England and America, and which set the money-diggers at work in so many different places. Captain Kidd and his crew, at Anguilla, were greatly alarmed. They kept a careful watch of the horizon from the mast-head, fearing every hour that they should see the flag of an English man-of-war approaching to convey them to trial and the scaf- fold. About a thousand miles south of Anguilla, there was, on the coast o( Venezuela, the little island of Curacoa. It was but about forty miles long, and ARREST, TRIAL, AND CONDEMNATION. 77 fourteen broad, and, belonging to the Dutch, was quite outside of the usual course of the British ships. To this place Kidd repaired to lay in supplies, of which he was greatly in need. Though he had heard of his proscription, he was not fully aware of the strength of hostility which was arrayed against him. He still clung to the hope that no evidence could be brought to prove that he had acted in any other capacity than that of a privateersman. But the very ship in which he sailed was evidence against him. The Quedagh Merchant, the property of the Great Mogul, was undeniably an East-Indian ship belonging to a friendly power, whom Kidd was expressly prohibited from assailing. He could not safely approach any English port in this ship. He accordingly purchased at Curacoa the small sloop Antonio, from Philadelphia. In this he placed his most portable treasures of doubloons, gold-dust, jewels, and vessels of silver and of gold, and with a crew of forty men set sail for New York. He kept the Quedagh Merchant in company with him as far as the southern coast of San Domingo. There he left the bulky ship, with a crew of twenty-two pirates, under command of a man by the name of Bolton. The ship had a very valuable cargo of one hundred and fifty bales of the finest silks, eighty tons of sugar, ten tons of junk iron, fifteen large anchors, and forty 78 CAPTAIN KIDD. tons of saltpetre. The ship was also well provided with ammunition, had thirty guns mounted, and twenty more in the hold. This was the division of the piratic plunder. The share which fell to Bolton and twenty-two of the men was the ship and this portion of the cargo. These wretches are heard of no more. It is to be hoped that the next storm which rose engulfed them all. It is more probable that for months they con- tinued to range the seas, perpetrating crimes over which demons should blush, until, in drunken brawls and bloody fights, they one by one sank into the grave, and passed to the judgment-seat of Christ. Unreliable rumor says that Bolton transferred his cargo and crew to a more swiftly sailing ship, and then applied the torch to the Quedagh Merchant. Many other rumors were in circulation, but none worthy of credence. Earl Bellomont was then in authority at New York. Kidd was hoping for his protection. But the earl felt that very active measures were requisite to exculpate himself, the king, and the ministry from all responsibility for the robberies of Kidd. He therefore, so soon as he heard of Kidd’s arrival upon the coast, ordered out an armed sloop in pursuit of him. It is evident that Kidd was then one of the most ARREST, TRIAL, AND CONDEMNATION. 79 wretched of men. His reputation was ruined ; his prospects in life were all blighted ; his companions were bloodthirsty pirates, whom he could not but despise, and he was in imminent danger of an igno- minious death upon the scaffold. Tremblingly he approached New York. As his vessel needed some repairs, he ran into Delaware Bay, and tarried for a short time at Lewiston. This was early in June, 1699. It was from this place that Bellomont heard of his arrival. Here one of the pirates, a man by the name of Gillam, left, being in possession of a heavy chest, laden with the fruits of his robberies. Kidd soon departed from the harbor, and thus . escaped the sloop sent in pursuit of him. Instead of sailing directly to New York, in his perplexity he followed along the southern coast of Long Island, until he reached its eastern extremity, and then, turning into the Sound, crept cautiously along to Oyster Bay. From this- place he wrote a letter to Bellomont, and also another very loving letter to his wife and children. In his letter to the earl he wrote '. “ The reason why I have not gone directly to New York, is that the clamorous and false stories that have been repeated of me, have made me fear- ful of visiting or coming into any harbor, till I could hear fr;m your lordship.” 8o CAPTAIN KIDD. In response to these letters, a lawyer by the name of Emot came from New York, and visited Kidd on board the Antonio. He brought the captain tidings respecting his family, and also the important intelli- gence that the Earl of Bellomont was then absent in Boston. Kidd employed Emot to repair immediate- ly to Boston, to secure from the earl the promise of safety if Kidd should visit him there. “ Inform the earl,” said Kidd, “that unquestion- able piracies have been committed by men nomi- nally under my command. But this has never been by fny connivance or consent. When these deeds have been performed, the men have been in a state of mutiny, utterly beyond my control. Disregarding my imperative commands, they locked me up in the cabin, and committed crimes over which I had no control, and for which I am in no sense responsible.” To this the earl replied, “ Say to Captain Kidd that I give him the promise of my protection if his statement can be proved to be true.” Kidd was still in a state of pitiable agitation. It might not be easy to prove his declarations. There was no evidence which he could possibly bring forward but that of the pirates themselves. And it was not at all probable that they would be willing greatly to exaggerate their own guilt by ex- onerating him. He, however, ventured as far as ARREST, TRIAL, AND CONDEMNATION. 8l Block Island. From that place he wrote to Bello- mont again, protesting his innocence, and dwelling much upon the devotion with which he had conse- crated himself to the interests of the owners of the Adventure. He also sent to Lady Bellomont a pres- ent of jewels, to the value of three hundred dollars. The earl’s lady, for a time, retained these presents from the proscribed pirate and outlaw. When sub- sequently reproached with this, they were surren- dered to the general inventory of Kidd’s effects. The earl apologized for retaining them by saying that he feared, if they were rejected, the giver would be so offended that the earl would not be able to get the developments he wished to obtain. While at Block Island, Mrs. Kidd and the chil- dren joined Captain Kidd, under the care of Mr. Clark. They were all received on board the Antonio, and Kidd, with a pale cheek and a trembling heart, set sail for Boston. As Mr. Clark wished to return to New York, Kidd turned from his course and landed him at Gardiner’s Island. Captain Kidd did not venture ashore at this place. But, for some un- explained reason, he deposited with Mr. Gardiner, the proprietor of the island, for safe keeping, a very considerable portion of his treasures. He then sailed for Boston, and entered the harbor on the first of July, 1699. 82 CAPTAIN KIDD. For nearly a week he remained in his vessel or traversed the streets unmolested. On the sixth of July, an officer approached him, placed his hand upon Kidd’s shoulder, and said, “ You are my pris- oner.” The pirate endeavored to draw his sword. It might have been an instinctive motion. It might have been that he deliberately preferred to be cut down upon the spot rather than undergo a trial. Others interposed. He was seized and dis- armed, while his sword remained in its scabbard. It is evident that there were very many chances that the trial might terminate in Kidd’s favor. It is a maxim of law that every man is to be con- sidered innocent until proved to be guilty. Kidd’s piracies were perpetrated on the other side of the globe. None of his victims could possibly appear against him. There were none to be brought up SIR HENRY MORGAN. the mountain, to order every musket to be dis- charged and loaded afresh, from fear that the powder might have become damp. There were several miles yet to be traversed, over plains and through forests, before the pirates could enter the streets of the city, which they had discerned in the distance. Cautiously they con- tinued their march until the approach of evening, when they ascended an eminence which commanded a perfect view of the city, with its steeples, houses, and streets all aglow with the rays of the setting sun. Here the shouts of exultation were renewed. The pirates, strengthened by their feast, danced for joy, beating their drums, sounding their trumpets, firing off their muskets, and exulting as in the hour of perfect victory. Here they encamped for the night, waiting impatiently for the morning, which would usher in the decisive battle. In the evening two hundred mounted Spaniards rode out from the city, dashed along until they came within hailing distance of the pirates, and shouted out to them words which could not be un- derstood. Morgan established double sentinels, and all his men slept upon their arms. At daybreak on the tenth day the Spaniards, from their walls, sounded with bugle-peal and drum- beat a challenge to their foes. The pirates were THE CAPTURE OF PANAMA. 337 equally eager for the fight. Rapidly they advanced into the plain. The Spaniards, on horseback and on foot, crowded out to meet them. In glittering battalions they were drawn up upon the plain, out- numbering the pirates three to one. There were two squadrons of cavalry, four regiments of foot, and, most singular to relate, “ a huge number of wild bulls, roaring and tossing their horns, driven by a great number of Indians and a few mounted matadores.” It is recorded that the pirates were surprised and alarmed in view of the force thus to be encountered. Many of them wished they were at home. No quarter was to be expected. There was no hope for them but in fighting with the utmost desperation. All were conscious of this. They therefore bound themselves, by the most solemn oaths, to conquer or to spend the last drop of their blood. Morgan formed his men into three battalions, after selecting a band of two hundred sharp- shooters to skirmish in the advance. Many of the Spaniards were armed in glittering coats of mail. Their silken banners, rjchly embroidered, presented a beautiful appearance as they fluttered in the rays of the morning sun. The Spaniards sent forward a squadron of horse. As they came galloping over the plain, Morgan’s skirmishers fell upon one knee, i5 333 SIR HENRY MORGAN. in the tall grass, and opened upon them a very destructive fire. Several riders dropped from their horses. Several horses, struck by the bullets, and appalled by the sudden explosion of two hundred guns, became uncontrollable, and rushed wildly over the plain in all directions. “ The bulls,” writes Thornbury, “ proved as fatal to those who employed them as the elephants to Porus. Driven on the rear of the buccaneers, they took fright at the noise of the battle, a few only broke through the English companies, and trampled the red colors under foot ; but these were soon shot by the old hunters. A few fled to the savanna, and the rest tore back and carried havoc through the Spanish ranks.” The plain was rough with ravines and quagmires, so that the cavalry could not operate to advantage. The desperate pirates were all reckless in their courage, and nearly all unerring in their aim. The Spaniards were also men of war and blood, who had been guilty of the greatest atrocities as they had cut down and robbed the native tribes. They fought with ferocity equal to that of the pirates. In this battle it was, in reality, fiend against fiend The Spaniards were as bad as the pirates. For two hours the battle raged with intensest fury. There was neither tree, stump, nor rock to THE CAPTURE OF PANAMA. 339 protect either party from the bullets which with deadly velocity swept the plain. On the one side there were eleven hundred pirates. Esquemeling estimated the force of the Spaniards at fohr hundred cavalry and two thousand four hundred infantry. There were also one or two hundred Indians and negroes to drive the wild bulls through the English camp, hoping thus to break their lines and throw them into confusion.- The Spaniards had also dug trenches and raised batteries to arrest the advance of their foes. Morgan, as usual, ordered his men to approach the city by a circuitous route, so as to avoid the batteries. In preparation for this movement he ordered a review of the troops. He concealed from his troops the number of pirates who had fallen, but announced, probably with some exaggeration, that six hundred of the Spaniards lay dead upon the field. It would seem that the Spaniards had not been very sanguine as to the result of the battle; for they had shipped to the Island of Tavoga much of their portable wealth and all of their women. In the battle thus far, the Spaniards had been so decidedly beaten that they had abandoned the field, and horse and foot had taken a new stand behind the ramparts. Many prisoners had been taken, includ- 340 SIR HENRY MORGAN. ing quite a number of Catholic priests. Morgan, not wishing to be encumbered with prisoners, ordered them all to be pistolled. The pirates had lost heavily, but their loss exasperated instead of dis- heartening them. Esquemeling writes: “The pirates were nothing discouraged, seeing their numbers so much dimin- ished, but rather filled with greater pride than before, perceiving what huge advantage they had obtained against their enemies. Thus, having rested themselves some while, they prepared to march courageously towards the city, plighting their oaths to one another that they would fight till never a man were left alive. With this courage they recom- menced their march either to conquer or to be con- quered. “ They found much difficulty in their approach unto the city. For within the town the Spaniards had placed many great guns at several quarters thereof, some of which were charged with small pieces of iron and others with musket bullets. With all these they saluted the pirates at their drawing nigh unto the place, and gave them full and frequent broadsides, firing at them incessantly. From whence it happened that they lost, at every step they advanced, great numbers of men. “ But neither these manifest dangers of their THE CAPTURE OF PANAMA. 341 lives, nor the sight of so many of their own drop- ping down continually at their sides, could deter them from advancing farther and gaining ground every moment upon the enemy. Thus, although the Spaniards never ceased to fire, and act the best they could for their defence, yet, notwithstanding, they were forced to deliver the city after the space of three hours’ combat. And the pirates, having now possessed themselves thereof, both killed and de- stroyed as many as attempted to make the least opposition against them. “ The inhabitants had caused the best of their goods to be transported unto more remote and occult places. Howbeit, they found within the city, as yet, several warehouses well stocked with all sorts of merchandise, as well silks and cloths as linen and other things of considerable value. As soon as the first fury of their entrance into the city was over, Captain Morgan assembled all his men, at a certain place which he assigned, and there com- manded them, under very great penalties, that none of them should dare to drink or taste any wine. “ The reason he gave for this injunction was because he had received private intelligence that it had been all poisoned by the Spaniards. Howbeit it was the opinion of many that he gave those prudent orders to prevent the debauchery of his people, which 342 SIR HENRY MORGAN. he foresaw would be very great at the beginning, after so much hunger sustained by the way ; fear- ing withal lest the Spaniards, seeing them in wine, should rally their forces, and use them as inhumanly as they had used the inhabitants before.” Morgan was now master of Panama. The city, with nearly all of its wealth, had fallen into his hands. And still the vanquished Spaniards could rally a force greatly outnumbering his own. The Bay of Panama is one of peculiar beauty. At that time its shores were fringed with luxuriant groves of oranges, figs, and limes. The feathery tops of the cocoanut trees towered over all the rest, rivalled only by the lofty tamarinds. Through the rich foli- age there peeped, in much picturesque beauty, nu- merous cane-built huts. Indian children, entirely unclothed, were running about upon the beach, while birch canoes, light as bubbles, were skimming the placid waves. The islands of Tavoga and Tavogilla appeared in the distance as masses of foliage. The mines of Mexico and Peru had emptied their floods of wealth into that port. Many of the mansions were archi- tecturally magnificent. They were adorned with the richest paintings and with the most costly furniture. The Spanish grandees had hung upon their walls the masterpieces of Titian, Murillo, and Velasquez. THE CAPTURE OF PANAMA. 343 The streets of the city were broad, an unusual cir- cumstance in Spanish cities, and were lined with the most beautiful and ever-flowering of tropical trees. Within the walls of the city there was a cathe- dral of imposing magnitude and towering splendor. There were also eight monasteries, massive buildings, occupied by the religious orders, and abundantly supplied with works of art. The broad avenues were lined with two thousand mansions of the wealthy; and five thousand smaller houses and shops crowded the more busy streets. The most imposing block in the city was what was called the Genoese Warehouses. These belonged to a company who had enriched themselves by the slave trade. An immense number of horses and mules were used in transporting goods across the isthmus, from one ocean to the other. These were kept in long rows of stables admirably arranged. The products of the mines of gold and silver were melted down into solid bars called plate or bullion, and in that form were sent to the Old Worlds The city was surrounded with rich plantations and highly artistic gardens. “ Panama was the city to which all the treasures of Peru were annually brought. The plate fleet, laden with bars of gold and silver, arrived here at certain periods, brimming with the crown wealth, as well as that of private merchants. It returned laden 344 SIR HENRY MORGAN. with the merchandise of Panama and the Spanish main, to be sold in Peru and Chili ; and still oftener with droves of negro slaves that the Genoese im- ported from the coast of Guinea to toil and die in the Peruvian mines. “ So wealthy was this golden city that more than two thousand mules were employed in the transport of the gold and silver from thence to Porto Bello, where the galleons were loaded. The merchants of Panama were proverbially the richest in the whole Spanish West Indies. The governor of Panama was the suzerain of Porto Bello, Nata, Cruz, and Ve- ragua. The bishop of Panama was primate of the Terra Firma and the suffragan to the archbishop of Peru. The district of Panama was the most healthy of all the Spanish colonies, rich in mines, and so well wooded that its ship-timber covered with vessels both the northern and the. southern seas. Its land yielded full crops, and its broad savannas pastured innumerable herds of wild cattle.” * Such was the city and province which had fallen into the hands of this gang of pirates. They found the booty, notwithstanding all the Spaniards had removed, rich beyond their most sanguine expecta- tions. The stores were still crowded with goods of great value. Wine, spices, olive oil, silks and cloths * Monarchs of the Main, vol. ii. p. 159. THE CAPTURE OF PANAMA. 345 of every variety of fabric were found in great abund- ance. The magazines were amply supplied with corn and other provisions. Morgan himself was surprised at the grandeur of his capture. He was also alarmed in view of his own peril. The force which could still be arrayed against him was far greater than he had anticipated. He was in. imminent danger of being cut off from his return to the ships. There were several Span- ish vessels aground in the port. Morgan seized them. With the high tide they were floated. He manned them with the most desperate of his gang and sent them to the islands, and to pursue the ves- sels which had escaped with treasure along the coast. There was one royal Spanish mercantile vessel, in particular, of four hundred tons, which had es- caped, laden with church plate and jewels, and the richest merchandise. It had put to sea in the greatest haste, with but seven guns and but about a dozen muskets. It was poorly supplied with food and water, and had only the uppermost sails of the mainmast to spread. All the females of the nun- nery were on board this ship, with the most valuable ornaments of the church. Morgan was anxious to make an immediate pur- suit of this vessel. Had he done so the vessel would easily have been captured. But for a time he lost r 5* 34-6 SIR HENRY MORGAN. the control of his demoniac crew. Inflamed with wine — for Morgan’s prohibition had no effect — and rushing into the most pitiless debauchery, they spent many hours in scenes which neither Sodom nor Gomorrah could ever have outrivalled. Thus the ship escaped. It is said that it contained gold and silver of greater value than all the treasures found in Panama. Morgan probably foresaw that unless he could destroy these liquors, with which the city was filled, his men would become entirely disorganized, and the Spaniards, falling upon the drunken rabble, would easily cut them to pieces. He could not de- stroy liquors before the eyes of the pirates, for they would not permit it. He set fire to the city in various quarters, care- fully spreading the report that the conflagration was kindled by the Spaniards themselves. The fire spread with such rapidity that, in a few hours, nearly all of the business portion was laid in ashes. Most of the humbler buildings were of wood, with thatched roofs. They burned like tinder. Two hun- dred stores, with all their contents, were destroyed. The Genoese Warehouses were burned. There were many poor slaves imprisoned in them. They were consumed by the all-devouring flames. This energetic commander, as pitiless as any THE CAPTURE OF PANAMA. 347 beast which ever howled in the jungle, had accom- plished his purpose. His troops were driven out of the flaming streets into the .fields, and there they were compelled to encamp. These wretched men, satiated with gluttony, drunkenness, and debauchery, began now to awake, with new eagerness, to their old passion for plunder. Four vessels were dispatched to visit the islands and to cruise along the coast in both directions. One hundred and sixty men were sent back to Chagres to convey supplies to the troops in garrison there, and to inform them of the great victory. Daily companies of two hundred men, one party re- lieving another, were sent out to explore the region around. They returned every night with a group of pale and trembling prisoners, and with mules laden with treasure. These unhappy captives were tortured to compel them to reveal where treasure, of which they knew nothing, was concealed. The father, the mother, the maiden daughter, and the child were alike stretched on the bed of torture. Neither innocence, beauty, nor virtue afforded the female captive any protection. A pauper Spaniard, not much more than half- witted, wandered, during the confusion, into a rich man’s house, stripped off his rags, and clothed him- self in costly linen with breeches of bright red taf- 348 SIR HENRY MORGAN. feta and a coat of silk velvet. As he was foolishly strutting about admiring his finery, the pirates broke in, and seized him as their prize. They believed, or assumed to believe, that he was the master of the house, and demanded that he should inform them where he had concealed his treasure. In vain he pointed to his rags and protested, by all the saints, that he had lived upon charity. There was nothing he could reveal. These cruel men stretched him on the rack. They dislocated his joints. They twisted a cord around his forehead, “ till his eyes appeared as big as eggs, and were ready to fall out.” They hung him up by the thumbs and scourged him. They cut off- his nose and ears and singed his face with blazing straw. Then with the thrusts of their lances they put him to death. “ After this execrable manner,” writes Esqueme- -ling, “ did many others of these miserable prisoners finish their days ; the common sport and recreation of these pirates being these, and other tragedies not inferior to these.” CHAPTER XXII. The Return from Panama. Return of the Explorers. — The Beautiful Captive. — Sympathy in her behalf. — Embarrassments of Morgan.— Inflexible Virtue of the Captive. — The Conspiracy. — Efficiency of Morgan. — His Obdu- racy. — The Search of the Pirates. — The Return March. — Morgan Cheats the Pirates. — Runs Away. The vessels which Morgan sent out to the islands, and to cruise along the shore, all returned within about eight days. They came laden with merchan- dise and with captives. The fate of the female cap- tives was dreadful. In this treatment none of the men were worse than Morgan himself. In one of the shiploads of captives there was a Spanish lady of exquisite beauty. She was quite young, and the wife of a wealthy merchant, then absent in Peru. She is described by both Esquemeling and Oexeme- lin as a lady endowed with such loveliness as is rarely seen upon earth. Esquemeling writes : “ Her years were few, and her beauty so great as, peradventure, I may doubt whether, in all Christen- dom, any could be found to surpass her perfections, 'either of comeliness or honesty.” 350 SIR HENRY MORGAN. Oexemelin gives a more detailed account of her charms. He says that her hair was in glossy, silken ringlets of jet black. Though a brunette, her com- plexion was of dazzling purity. Her large, lustrous black eyes beamed with a peculiar expression of ten- derness, which won the admiration of all who be- held her. The roughest pirates were subdued and softened by her presence. To them she presented almost the image of the Virgin Mary, and they re- garded her charms as angelic. The moment Morgan cast his eyes upon her he was overawed and captivated by her beauty, and was inspired with the most intense desire to win her love. Others had been his slaves, subject to his bru- tal will. But this lady, with her beauty, her grace, her accomplishments, her virtue, so far vanquished him, that he could not approach her but as a suppli- ant for her favor. Love, the essence of the deity, is, under some cir- cumstances, in its legitimate bearing, the most puri- fying of influences. Under other circumstances it is the most debasing and brutalizing of passions. It was observed that the demeanor of Morgan became quite changed. He became more social, more gen- tle, and was particularly attentive to his dress, cloth- ing himself in his richest attire. He ordered his beautiful captive to be separated from the other THE RETURN FROM PANAMA. 351 prisoners, appointed a negress to wait upon her, sent her delicate viands from his own table, and treated her, in all respects, with the greatest consideration. The negress was instructed to do everything in her power to convince the captive lady that her captor was not a beast and a heretic, as she had been taught to believe, but a gentleman, and a Christian, a man of polished manners and cultivated mind. Esquemeling writes : “ This lady had formerly heard strange reports concerning the pirates, before their arrival at Pana- ma, as if they were not men, but heretics, who did neither invoke the blessed Tiinity, nor believe in Jesus Christ. But now she began to have better thoughts of them than ever before, having experi- enced the manifold civilities of Captain Morgan ; especially as she heard him many times swear by the name of God and of Jesus Christ, in whom she had been persuaded that they did not believe. “ Neither did she now think them to be so bad, or to have the shapes of beasts, as she had often heard. For as to the names of robbers or thieves, which was commonly given them, she wondered not much at it, seeing, as she said, that among all nations there were to be found some wicked men who natu- rally coveted to possess the goods of others.” Morgan visited the lady with smiles and bows 352 SIR HENRY MORGAN. and costly presents. He flooded her chamber with robes, jewels, and perfumes. She was not deceived. And when he ventured to propose that she should abandon her husband, and become virtually his wife, and accompany him to the home of splendor with which he would provide her, she repelled him with indignation and loathing. Replying to him with all the eloquence of impassioned innocence, she said : “ Sir, my life is in your hands. But sooner shall my soul be separated from my body than I will sur- render myself to your demands.” This repulse stirred up the rage of the infamous pirate. He stripped her of her rich attire, left her only the coarsest garments, and threw her into a dark and loathsome dungeon. She was supplied with only enough food to support life. By these brutalities he hoped to break her spirit, and to com- pel her to acquiesce in his wishes. Even demons can appreciate true nobility of character. The beauty and virtues of this lady had won, in some degree, the sympathy of the vilest of these wretches. Morgan could not conceal his treat- ment from them. They began to murmur, to de- nounce him, to curse him as a brute. “ I myself,” says Esquemeling, “ was an eye-wit- ness of the lady’s sufferings, and could never have believed that such constancy and virtue could have THE RETURN FROM PANAMA. 353 been found in the world, had I not been assured thereof by my own eyes and ears.” Morgan became alarmed by the threatening aspect assumed by his men. Various causes had been for some time undermining his authority. He knew full well that there was not one of these des- peradoes who would hesitate, for one moment, to thrust a poniard into his heart, or to pierce his brain with a bullet. These pirates were all consummate villains. There was no sense of honor among them. There was no crime from which they would shrink did they deem it for their interest to commit it. Even their sympathy for the beautiful captive lady resolved itself mainly into jealousy of the captain. Had they seized her unprotected in the halls of a nunnery, she would have experienced no mercy whatever at their hands. The pirates, flushed with their great victory, and the vast amount of wealth, of every kind, at their disposal, had formed a conspiracy, in which more than a hundred were implicated. Their plan was to get rid of Morgan, then to seize one of the islands in the neighborhood as their rendezvous, and to make it their stronghold. With the vessels they already had, and the ships they would soon capture, they would have an invincible fleet. Then they would sweep the Pacific Ocean, and ravage all the 354 SIR HENRY MORGAN. coasts of Chili and Peru. After they had acquired sufficient plunder to make them all millionnaires, they would return to Europe, by the way of the East In- dies, picking up ships by the way, and would then disperse to seek new homes and riot in luxury for the remainder of their days. In preparation for this movement they had se- creted several of the large guns of the town and an ample store of ammunition. But Morgan was equal to this emergency. One of the conspirators betrayed the rest. The first intimation the conspirators had that their design was discovered was in seeing every vessel and boat in the harbor in flames. Every piece of artillery in the place was spiked. Thus they were entirely frustrated in their plan. Orders were then given to pack the mules with treasure, and to make immediate preparation to return to Chagres. The plunder of Panama had not yet been divided. Though every pirate had taken the most solemn oath that all the booty should be thrown into com- mon stock, and that he would not secrete anything, no one had any confidence in the oath of another. Morgan ordered every man to be searched, from the crown of his head to the soles of his shoes. Though Morgan himself submitted to be first searched, they were all exasperated by this. Every man was com- THE RETURN FROM PANAMA. 355 pelled to discharge his musket to prove that no jewels were hidden in its barrel. The French portion of the pirates were espe- cially enraged against Morgan. Many oaths were uttered that they would put him to death before they reached Jamaica. In a few days all the treas- ure was packed in convenient bales, and placed upon the backs of the mules. The church plate was beaten into shapeless lumps for more convenient stowage. The treasure which could not be removed they wantonly destroyed. One hundred and fifty men were sent to Chagres to bring the boats as far up the river as the stream was navigable. He in- formed the prisoners that he should take all, as slaves, to Jamaica, who did not, through their friends, obtain an ample ransom. For the ransom of his beautiful captive, from whom he now rather desired to be relieved, he de- manded thirty thousand dollars. Two of the ecclesi- astics were permitted to go to her friends to obtain this money. It was immediately furnished them. They returned with it, and treacherously, instead of ransoming her, employed the money for the ransom of their own particular friends. This treachery was known throughout the army. Even the pirates denounced it. The murmurs in the camp were so loud, that Morgan was com- 35 6 SIR HENRY MORGAN. pelled to heed them, and he gave the lady her liberty! On the morning of the 24th of February, 1671, these robbers set out on their return to Chagres. Many of the captive women implored Captain Mor- gan, upon their knees, with loud lamentations, to permit them to remain with their husbands and their children. Unfeelingly he replied : “ I did not come here to listen to the cries of women, but to obtain money. Bring me money, and you shall be released. If you do not, you shall sure- ly go to Jamaica.” “ When the march began,” writes Esquemeling, “ those lamentable cries and shrieks were renewed, in- somuch that it would have caused compassion in the hardest heart to hear them. But Captain Morgan, as a man little given to mercy, was not moved there- with in the least.” The line of march was as before. First there were scouts a quarter of a mile in advance of the troops. Then followed the advance guard in great strength. The prisoners came next, with the heav- ily laden mules. The remainder of the pirates formed the rear guard. They goaded forward the fainting, tottering, despairing captives with push of javelin and prick of sabre. When they reached the blackened ruins of the THE RETURN FROM PANAMA. 357 town of Cruz, which was at the head of boat naviga- tion, the mules were unloaded, and their burdens were placed in the canoes. There was a necessary- delay here of several days, and quite a number of the prisoners, who had written agonizing letters to their friends, received their money and paid their ransom. Morgan still had with him many woe- stricken Spaniards, and one hundred and fifty negro slaves. These last he deemed cash articles, for they would bring the money in any of the ports of the West Indies. From Cruz the pirates advanced in two parties, one in the boats, and another on the land. Chagres rvas reached without any event occurring of special importance. Immediately after his arrival, Morgan, with his characteristic energy, sent some of his pris- oners to the important town of Puerto Velo, fre- quently called Puerto Bello, with the announcement that if the citizens did not forthwith send him a large ransom, he would utterly demolish the castle and lay all the works there in ruins. As Chagres was the all-important port of entry for the whole province, he thought that this threat would bring the money. They, however, paid no'heed to it. The booty - was now divided. The pirates were bitterly disappointed in finding that the whole esti- mated value amounted to but about two million 358 SIR HENRY MORGAN. dollars. Probably ten times that sum, which they could not remove, had been destroyed in their rapa- city. Every man had expected at least ten thousand dollars. When they found that but one thousand was their share they were greatly enraged. This pittance was scarcely sufficient for the carouse of a single week. Loud and threatening murmurs rose from nearly all lips. They accused Morgan of cheating them. The consummate knave with great adroitness had done so. Many of his men had conspired against him. With far greater ability he was now conspir- ing against them. He had taken a few into his con- fidence to share the spoil which they were to steal from the rest. The common sailors had no idea of the value of diamonds and other precious stones. His partisans bought them up at not one hundreth part of their real value. Massive bars of gold were easily concealed. Morgan endeavored to engross the attention of his men in plundering, burning, and destroying Chagres. While apparently his whole force, in the delirium of intoxication, were engaged in this work, Morgan and his accomplices repaired on board the ships, quietly in the night weighed anchor, and taking advantage of a fair wind, before the morn- incr were out of sight with all their treasure. Their O O THE RETURN FROM PANAMA. 359 dupes, consisting of nearly one-half of the piratic crew, were left on the shore amid the ruins, without food, without a boat, without shelter, in utter desti- tution. What ultimately became of them is not known. Probably some starved ; some were shot by the Spaniards ; some were caught and hung. “ Ven- geance is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord.” We have no more details respecting the final career of this very able, sagacious, and infamous man. We simply know that he reached Jamaica in posses- sion of an immense fortune. There he was honored as one of the great men of his age. Charles II., King of England, whose accomplice he is said to have been in his piracies, rewarded him for his achieve- ments, appointed him governor of the island, and conferred upon him the honors of a baronetcy. We know not when he died. But we do know that, how- ever Sir Henry Morgan may have escaped the pen- alty of his sins in this world, he has long ago appeared before the tribunal of that God “ who will render to every man according to his deeds.” CHAPTER XXIII. Montbar the Fanatic. Partial Solution of a Mystery. — Montbar’s Birth. — His Education and Delusions. — Anecdote of the Dramatic Performance. — Montbar Runs Away from Home.— Enters the Navy. — His Ferocious Ex- ploits. — Joins the Buccaneers. — Desperate Battles on the Land and on the Sea. — His Final Disappearance. In reading the narrative of the cruelties practised by the pirates upon the Spaniards, the mind is often oppressed with the thought that a God of infinite love and power should have allowed such scenes to have been enacted. There is nothing conceivable, in intense and protracted torture, which was not inflicted upon men, women, and children. There is no satisfactory explanation of this great mystery of earth. Still there are considerations which may perhaps point in the direction of a solution. The pirates seem to have been permitted to revenge upon the Spaniards the awful sufferings which they had inflicted upon the Indians. The Spanish armies of Cortez and Pizarro ravaged the homes of the innocent native inhabitants of those countries with ferocity and cruelty which Satan and MONTBAR THE FANATIC. 36 1 his legions could not possibly have surpassed. The Spaniards had thrown the Indian into the flames of the most awful misery. And then God allowed the pirate to throw the Spaniard into the same flames. There was a celebrated pirate by the name of Montbar, who seemed to have been inspired with fanatical frenzy approaching maniacal fury against the whole Spanish nation. He was the child of one of the most opulent and respected families in Lan- guedoc, in France. He had received all the advan- tages of education which wealth could afford. In the process of this education he had read the account of the atrocities practised by the Spaniards in their conquest of the islands and the continents of the New World. The blood of this ardent young man seemed to boil in his veins, while pondering these fiend-like crimes. As a child he brooded over these tortures until he became almost insane. Soon he devoted himself to all martial exercises, that he might avenge the wrongs of the Indians. This generous but cruel determination grew rapidly into monomania. The animal forces of a mind of unusual energy were all concentrated in this direction. Revenge for the wrongs practised upon the Cubans, the Peruvians, the Mexicans occupied his thoughts by day and 16 362 MONTBAR THE FANATIC. his dreams by night. This became the all-absorb- ing passion of his soul. Even when a child, practising with his cross-bow, he said, “ I wish to shoot well, only that I may know how to kill the Spaniards.” George W. Thornbury, in his sketch of this singular man, allud- ing to the Spanish enormities in the New World, writes : “ Fanaticism, avarice, and ambition had ruled like a trinity of devils, over the beautiful regions deso- lated and plague-smitten by the Spaniards. Whole nations had become extinct. The name of Christ was polluted into the mere cipher of an armed and aggressive commerce. These books had impressed the gloomy boy with a deep, absorbing, fanatical hatred of the conquerors, and a fierce pity for the conquered. “ He believed himself marked out by God, as the Gideon sent to their relief. Dreams of riches and gratified ambition spurred him unconsciously to the task. He thought and dreamed of nothing but the murdered Indians. He inquired eagerly from travellers for news from America, and testified pro- digious and ungovernable joy when he heard that the Spaniards had been defeated by the Caribs and the Bravos. “ He indeed knew by heart every deed of atro- THE DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE. 363 city that history recorded of his enemies, and would dilate upon each one, with a rude and impatient eloquence. The following story he was frequently accustomed to relate, and to gloat over with a look that indicated a mind capable of even greater cruelty, if once led away by a fanatic spirit of retaliation. “ 1 A Spaniard,’ the story ran, ‘ was once upon a time appointed governor of an Indian province, which was inhabited by a fierce and warlike race of savages. He proved a cruel governor, unforgiving in his resentments, and insatiable in his avarice. The Indians, unable any longer to endure either his barbarities or his exactions, seized him, and showing him gold, told him that they had at last been able, by great good luck, to find enough to satisfy his de- , mands. They then held him firm, and melting the ore, poured it down his throat, till he expired in tor- ments under their hands.’ ” The peculiarities of this young man were sin- gularly exhibited on one occasion, which showed that his mental operations were so deranged that he could not calmly reflect upon anything connected with the Spanish nation. At one of the college exhibitions, a comedy was to be enacted by the students, in which Montbar was to take a part. During the performance there was a dialogue to take place between a Spaniard and a Frenchman. 364 MONTBAR THE FANATIC. Montbar represented the Frenchman, and one of his companions the Spaniard. The Spaniard appeared first upon the stage, and began to utter a tirade of extravagancies against France, denouncing and ridiculing the French in unmeasured terms. Montbar listened, with ever- increasing excitement, until he lost all self-control. The mimic scene in his mind became a reality. In a perfect fury he broke upon the stage ; assailed the representative Spaniard like a maniac ; called him a liar and a murderer; knocked him down, and would inevitably have killed him, had he not been dragged away by the terrified bystanders. The boy developed a very active and powerful mind, and his wealthy father was very proud of him. His eccentricities did not alarm him, as he thought * that contact with the world would soon remove them all. He wished his son to study some pro- fession. But Montbar insisted upon entering the # army. “ I wish to learn to fight,” said he, “ that I may kill the Spaniards.” As his friends opposed his entering the army, he ran away from home, and found his way to Havre. Here he had an uncle who was in command of one of the king’s ships. France was then at war with Spain. The ship was just entering upon a cruise against the Spaniards. The uncle, pleased with the enthusiasm FEROCIOUS EXPLOITS. 365 of the boy, and with the intensity of his desire to join the expedition, wrote to the father, and obtain- ed his reluctant consent. In a few days the ship sailed. The young fanatic kept a constant watch for the foe, evincing the most intense eagerness for an en- gagement. The moment any sail appeared, he armed himself, and seemed overjoyed with the thought that he might soon wreak vengeance on the Spaniards. At length, a Spanish ship appeared. Soon they met and exchanged broadsides. Mont- bar was quite intoxicated with joy. He was per- fectly reckless. Not a thought of danger entered his mind. When the order was given to board, Mont- bar, sabre in hand, led the party, and was the first to leap on board the Spanish ship. He seemed to bear a charmed life, and to be endowed with her- culean strength. He sought no assistance from his comrades, but plunged into the thickest of the enemy, hewing on his right hand and his left, with marvellous strength. Twice he rushed from end to end of the vessel, mowing down all who opposed him. He would give no quarter. The Spaniards were overpowered. Their slaugh- ter was awful. Montbar, dreaming that he was God’s appointed minister of vengeance, was in an ecstasy of exultation, as he cut down some, ran his 366 MONTBAR THE FANATIC. sabre through the heart of others, and drove others into the sea. His spirit inspired the rest. Nearly every Spaniard was killed. His uncle succeeded in saving one or two. The prize was found to be of immense value. The hold was crammed with riches. There was one casket of diamonds of almost priceless worth. While the captain and the crew were examining these treasures, and rejoicing over them, Montbar regarded them with entire indifference. He was counting the dead. Blood, not plunder, was what his soul craved. As there was now war between France and Spain, the French buccaneers, even when acting without any formal commission, were regarded by the Gov- ernment as engaged in legitimate warfare. The buc- caneers of England, robbing Spanish commerce and Spanish colonies, were encouraged and aided by the French navy. The conflict we have described took place near the shores of St. Domingo. Montbar’s uncle learned, from his prisoners, that the ship he had captured had been separated by a storm from two others, and that they were bound to Port Mar- got on the island. He immediately sailed to the vicinity of that port, where he kept watch. The vessel he had cap- tured was used as a decoy. He placed French sol- JOINS THE BUCCANEERS. 367 diers on board, unfurled the flag of Spain, and stood off and on, waiting the arrival of the two vessels. While thus on the watch, some buccaneers, from the shore, came on board in canoes, with provisions to sell. They had been wrecked upon the coast ; and while a part of their number had been at a distance from the camp hunting, the Spaniards had fallen upon them, put them to flight, and plundered their stores. “ Why do you suffer this ? ” exclaimed Montbar, indignantly. “ We do not mean to suffer it,” they replied. “We know what the Spaniards are, and what our power is. We are collecting our forces, and will soon take signal vengeance upon them.” “ Let me go with you,” said Montbar. “ I do not ask to be your leader, but I will go at your head. I will be the first to expose myself, and will show you how I can fight these accursed Spaniards.” Gladly they accepted his offer. His ardor and energy inspired them with great confidence in him. His uncle very reluctantly allowed him to go, curs- ing him as a foolish, hair-brained madcap, ever eager to push his head into danger. Yet the uncle was very proud of him. As young Montbar descended the side of the ship into a canoe, the captain said 3^8 MONTBAR THE FANATIC. exultingly to one at his side, “ There goes as brave a lad as ever trod a plank.” The buccaneers returned to their camp, and im- mediately, in a strong war-party, set out in search of the Spaniards. They threaded intricate paths through the woods, until they opened upon a small treeless prairie, which they called a savanna. Just before entering this field, which was surrounded by hills and woods, they saw, in the distance, a mount- ed party of Spaniards who were evidently on the march to attack them. Montbar was transported with rage at the sight of the Spaniards. He was ready, single-handed, to rush upon them at once — he alone, against several hundred, regardless whether the others followed him or not. But an old, experienced buccaneer, who led the party, held him back. “ Stop,” said he ; “ there is plenty of time. If you do as I tell you, not one of those fellows shall escape.” ♦These words, “ Not one of those fellows shall escape,” arrested the impetuous young man. The buccaneers halted, pretending not to have seen the Spaniards. They allowed one or two of their num- ber to exhibit themselves, as if belonging to a hunt- ing party. They then pitched their tent of linen, apparently entirely unconscious that they were near DESPERATE BATTLES. 369 any foe. Drawing out their brandy-flasks, they feigned a great revel, singing songs, shouting, and passing the flasks from one to another, as if in the wildest of drunken bouts. This was done by a small portion of the company, while most of the buccaneers were hidden in ambush. The Spaniards, having secreted themselves, watched all these movements. They supposed that the buccaneers, stupefied with drink, would ere long fall helplessly asleep. The Spaniards would then creep cautiously upon them, and kill them all. But the cunning old buccaneer had taken good care that the brandy-flasks should all be empty. Not a single drop of intoxicating drink had the feigned revellers taken. As soon as darkness veiled the scene the bucca- neers all assembled in ambuscade, anticipating a mid- night attack. Every musket was in order, and their brains were cool and uninflamed with drink. The Spaniards delayed their attack until daylight. As the hours lingered away, Montbar was restless, crtid chafed like a caged lion, saying that they would never come, and imploring permission to march out and attack them. At daybreak the buccaneers discerned a dark line moving noiselessly over the ridge, and descend- ing into the plain. They knew full well what this 16* 370 MONTBAR THE FANATIC. meant. Every movement was watched by the ambushed buccaneers. Cautiously the Spaniards advanced. They crossed the prairie, and entered the forest, intending to encircle the tent, which they supposed held the sleeping buccaneers. Suddenly the woods seemed to burst into vol- canic flame. The report of the musketry was fol- lowed with shout and yell, and the storm of lead swept through the ranks of the Spaniards, striking down scores, either in death or grievously wound- ed. The buccaneers rushed instantaneously upon their bewildered, staggered, bleeding foe. Montbar seemed animated bydemonaical frenzy. He rushed upon the Spaniards in utter recklessness, regard- less of their numbers, or of the support he should receive from his comrades. His heavy sabre flashed in all directions, as if wielded by tireless sinews of steel. Soon he was quite in advance of his companions, and was alone in the very thickest of the Spanish squadron. He would inevitably have been cut down, had not the other buccaneers, astonished at his audacity, rushed to his rescue. Montbar’s sword was dripping with blood. He was in a frenzy of joy. Every blow he struck cut down a Spaniard. He exulted in the carnage, and ever after declared that this was the happiest day of his life. One DESPERATE BATTLES. 371 wounded Spaniard clung to his knee begging for mercy. Montbar brought down his sabre upon his head, splitting it from crown to chin, fiercely ex- claiming, “ I wish that you were the last of this accursed race.” An eye-witness of the battle de- scribes the carnage as horrible. Nearly every Span- iard was destroyed. The victors, all absorbed in their bloody work, stumbled over the dying and the dead, deaf to every cry for mercy. The buccaneers were astonished and delight- ed by the prowess which Montbar had displayed. They entreated him to remain and become their captain. But a signal gun, fired by his uncle, called him back to the ship. Montbar was placed as captain on board the large ship which his uncle had captured. Many of the pirates eagerly engaged to serve under him. After a sail of eight days these two vessels en- countered four Spanish war-ships, each one larger than either of those commanded by Montbar or his uncle. One of the most desperate of naval battles ensued. The elder Montbar was attacked by two of the ships. For three hours they struggled, grap- pled together, receiving and giving the most terrible broadsides. At last the three sank together in one watery grave. The uncle, it is said, rejoicing to drag the two other ships with him, went down laughing. 372 MONTBAR THE FANATIC. Montbar, with his crashing shot, succeeded at length in sinking one of the ships assailing him, and then he boarded the other. The terror-stricken crew threw themselves into the water. The floating bodies presented targets for the buccaneers. No quarter was shown. Montbar rushed up and down the decks killing all he could reach. His courage and accomplishments were so marvellous, that his comrades regarded him with superstitious reverence, as endowed with more than mortal powers. He himself ever averred that he was God’s appointed messenger, to avenge the wrongs the Spaniards had inflicted upon the Indians. It is not known that a single individual escaped ffom these four Spanish ships. Montbar had now two vessels at his command. He engaged many other buccaneers in his service, and soon had an army of nearly eight hundred men ready to follow him to the death. He swept the seas, and, often landing, ravaged the coasts. We have no detailed account of his subsequent career. One of his biographers writes: “ And this completes all that history has preserved of one of the strangest combinations of fanatic and soldier that has ever appeared since the days of Lo- yola. In another age, and under other circumstances, he might have been a second Mohammed. Equally HIS DISAPPEARANCE. 373 remorseless, his ambition, though narrower, seems to have been no less fervid. If he was cruel, we must > allow him to have been sincere even in his fanaticism. Daring, untiring, of unequalled courage and un- matched resolution, the cruelty of the Spaniards he put down by greater cruelty. He passes from us into unknown seas, and we hear of him no more. He died probably unconscious of crime, unpitying and unpitied. “ Oexemelin, who saw Montbar at Honduras, describes him as active, vivacious, and full of fire, like all the Gascons. He was of tall stature, erect and firm, his air grand, noble, martial. His complex- ion was sunburnt, and the color of his eyes could not be discerned under the deep, arched vaulting of his bushy eyebrows. His very glance in battle was said to intimidate the Spaniards, and to drive them to despair.” THE END. Princeton Theological Semmary-Speer Library 012 0 094 2409 DATE DUE DEMCO 38-297 L \ ■ ■ ’ v . % >