CHAPTER XXVIII. THE STORY OF TWO WOMEN PIRATES. The history of the world gives us many instances of women who have taken the parts of men, almost always acquitting themselves with as much credit as if they really belonged to the male sex, and in our modern days these instances are becoming more frequent than ever before. Joan of Arc put on a suit of armor and bravely led an army, and there have been many other fighting women who made a reputation for themselves, but it is very seldom that we hear of a woman who became a pirate. There were, however, two women pirates who made themselves very well known on our coast. The most famous of these women pirates was named Mary Reed. Her father was an English captain of a trading vessel, and her mother sailed with him. This mother had had an elder child, a son, and she also had a mother-in-law in England from whom she expected great things for her little boy. But the boy died. When Mrs. Reed, being afraid that her mother-in-law would not be willing to leave any property to a girl, determined to play a little trick, and make believe that her second child was also a boy.  But all this deception amounted to nothing for the old lady died without leaving anything to the pretended boy. Mary's mother believed that her child would get along better in the world as a boy than she would as a girl, and therefore she still dressed her in masculine clothes, and put her out to service as a foot-boy, or one of those youngsters who now go about the name of Buttons. But Mary did not fancy blacking boots and running errands. She was very well satisfied to be a boy, but she wanted to live the kind of a boy's life which would please her fancy, and as she thought life on the ocean wave would suit her very well, she ran away from her employer's house and enlisted on board a man of war as a powder monkey. After a short time Mary found that the ocean was not all that she expected it to be, and when she had grown up so that she looked like a good strapping fellow, she ran away from the man of war when it was in an English port, and went to Flanders, and there she thought she would try something new, and see whether or not she would like a soldier's life better than that of a sailor. She enlisted in a regiment of foot, and in the course of time she became a very good soldier, and took part in several battles, firing her musket and charging with her bayonet as well as any of the men beside her. But there is a great deal of hard work connected with infantry service, and although she was eager for the excitement of battle with the accelerating smell of powder and the cheering shouts of her fellow soldiers, Mary did not fancy tramping on long marches carrying her heavy musket and knapsack. She got herself changed into a regiment of cavalry, and here, mounted upon a horse, with the encumbrances she disliked to carry, comfortably strapped behind her. Mary felt much more at ease, and much better satisfied. But she was not destined to achieve fame as a dashing cavalryman with foaming steed and flashing sabre. One of her comrades was a very prepossessing young fellow, and Mary fell in love with him. And when she told him she was not really a cavalryman, but a cavalrywoman, he returned her affection, and the two agreed that they would quit the army and set up domestic life as quiet civilians. They were married and went into the tavern-keeping business. They were both fond of horses, and did not wish to sever all connection with the method of life they had just given up. And so they called their little in the three horseshoes, and were always glad when any one of their customers came riding up to their stables, instead of simply walking in their door. But this domestic life did not last very long. Mary's husband died, and, not wishing to keep a tavern by herself, she again put on the dress of a man, and enlisted as a soldier. But her military experience did not satisfy her. And after all, she believed that she liked the sea better than the land, and again she shipped as a sailor on a vessel bound for the West Indies. Now Mary's desire for change and variety seemed likely to be fully satisfied. The ship was taken by English pirates, and as she was English, and looked as if she would make a good freebooter, they compelled her to join them, and thus it was that she got her first idea of a pirate's life. When this company disbanded, she went to New Providence and enlisted on a privateer. But, as was very common on such vessels commissioned to perform acts of legal piracy, the crew soon determined that illegal piracy was much preferable, so they hoisted the black flag, and began to scourge the seas. Mary Reed was now a regular pirate, for the cutlass pistol and every outward appearance of a daring sea robber, except that she wore no bristling beard. But as her face was sunburned and seamed by the weather, she looked mannish enough to frighten the senses out of any unfortunate traitor on whose deck she bounded in company, with her shouting hairy-faced companions. It is told of her that she did not fancy the life of a pirate, but she seemed to believe in the principle of whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. She was as ready with her cutlass and her pistol as any other ocean bandit. But although Mary was a daring pirate, she was also a woman, and again she fell in love. A very pleasant and agreeable sailor was taken prisoner by the crew of her ship, and Mary concluded that she would take him as her portion of the spoils. Consequently, at the first port they touched, she became again a woman and married him, and as they had no other present method of livelihood he remained with her on her ship. Mary and her husband had no real love for a pirate's life, and they determined to give it up as soon as possible, but the chance to do so did not arrive. Mary had a very high regard for her new husband, who was a quiet, amiable man, and not at all suited to his present life, and as he had become a pirate for the love of her, she did everything she could to make life easy for him. She even went so far as to fight a duel in his place, one of the crew having insulted him, probably thinking him a milk-soap who would not resent in the front, but the latent courage of Mary's husband instantly blazed up, and he challenged the insultor to a duel. Although Mary thought her husband was brave enough to fight anybody, she thought that perhaps, in some ways, he was a milk-soap, and did not understand the use of arms nearly as well as she did. Therefore she made him stay on board the ship, while she went to a little island near where they were anchored, and fought the duel with sword and pistol. The man-pirate and the woman-pirate now went savagely to work, and it was not long before the man-pirate laid dead upon the sand, while Mary returned to an admiring crew and a grateful husband. During her piratical career Mary fell in with another woman-pirate, Anne Bonney, by name, and these women, being perhaps the only two of their kind, became close friends. Anne came of a good family. She was the daughter of an Irish lawyer, who went to Carolina and became a planter, and there the little girl grew up. When her mother died she kept the house, but her disposition was very much more masculine than feminine. She was very quick-tempered and easily enraged, and it is told of her that when an English woman, who was working as a servant in her father's house, had irritated Anne by some carelessness or impertinence, that hot-tempered young woman sprang upon her and stabbed her with a carving-knife. It is not surprising that Anne soon showed a dislike for the humdrum life on a plantation, and meeting with the young sailor, who owned nothing in the world but the becoming-close he wore, she married him. There upon her father, who seems to have been as hot-headed as his daughter, promptly turned her out of doors.  There she was thrown into an entirely news-circle of society. Pirates were in the habit of congregating at this place, and Anne was greatly delighted with the company of these daring, dashing sea robbers, of whose exploits she had so often heard.  Anne went on board the ship of her pirate husband, and as she was sure his profession would exactly suit her wild and impetuous nature, she determined also to become a pirate. She put on man's clothes, girded to her side a cutlass, and hung pistols in her belt. During many voyages Anne sailed with Captain Rackham, and wherever there was pirate's work to do, she was on deck to do it. At last the gallant Captain came to grief. He was captured and condemned to death. Now there was an opportunity for Anne's nature to assert itself, and it did, but it was a very different sort of nature from that of Mary Reed. Just before his execution Anne was admitted to see her husband, but instead of offering to do anything that might comfort him or palliate his dreadful misfortune, she simply stood and contemptuously glared at him. She was sorry, she said, to see him in such a predicament, but she told him plainly that if he had had the courage to fight like a man, he would not then be waiting to be hung like a dog, and with that she walked away and left him. On the occasion when Captain Rackham had been captured, Mary Reed and her husband were on board his ship, and there was perhaps some reason for Anne's denunciation of the cowardice of Captain Rackham. As has been said, the two women were good friends and great fighters, and when they found the vessel engaged in a fight with a man of war, they stood together upon the deck and boldly fought, although the rest of the crew, and even the Captain himself, were so discouraged by the heavy fire which was brought to bear on them that they had retreated to the hold. Mary and Anne were so disgusted at this exhibition of cowardice that they rushed to the hatchways and shouted to their dastardly companions to come up and help defend the ship, and when their entreaties were disregarded, they were so enraged that they fired down into the hold, killing one of the frightened pirates and wounding several others. But their ship was taken, and Mary and Anne, in company with all the pirates who had been left alive, were put in irons and carried to England. When she was in prison, Mary declared that she and her husband had firmly intended to give up piracy and become private citizens, but when she was put on trial the accounts of her deeds had a great deal more effect than her words upon her judges, and she was condemned to be executed. She was saved, however, from this fate by a fever of which she died soon after her conviction. The impetuous Anne was also condemned, but the course of justice is often very curious and difficult to understand, and this hard-hearted and sanguinary woman was reprieved and finally pardoned. Whether or not she continued to deport herself as a man we do not know, but it is certain that she was the last of the female pirates. There are great many things which women can do as well as men, and there are many professions and lines of work from which they have been long debarred, and for which they are most admirably adapted. But it seems to me that piracy is not one of them. It is said that a woman's nature is apt to carry her too far, and I have never heard of any man pirate who would allow himself to become so enraged against the cowardice of his companions that he would deliberately fire down into the hold of a vessel containing his wife and a crowd of his former associates. Chapter 29 A Pirate From Boyhood About the beginning of the 18th century there lived in Westminster, England, a boy who very early in life made a choice of a future career. And all boys have ideas upon this subject, and while some think they would like to be presidents or generals of armies, others fancy that they would prefer to be explorers of unknown countries or to keep candy shops. But it generally happens that these youthful ideas are never carried out, and that the boy who would wish to sell candy because he likes to eat it becomes a farmer on the western prairie, where confectionery is never seen, and the would-be general determines to study for the ministry. But Edward Lowe, the boy under consideration, was a different sort of a fellow. The life of a robber suited his youthful fancy, and he not only adopted it at a very early age, but he stuck to it until the end of his life. He was much stronger and bolder than the youngsters with whom he associated, and he soon became known among them as a regular land pirate. If a boy possessed anything which Ned Lowe desired, whether it happened to be an apple, a nut, or a farthing, the young robber gave chase to him and treated him as a pirate treats a merchant vessel which he has boarded. Not only did young Lowe resemble a pirate in his dishonest methods, but he also resembled one in his meanness and cruelty. If one of his victims was supposed by him to have hidden any of the treasures which his captor believed him to possess, Lowe would inflict upon him every form of punishment which the ingenuity of a bad boy could devise in order to compel him to confess where he had concealed the half-penny which had been given to him for holding a horse or the ball with which he had been playing. In the course of time this young street pirate became a terror to all boys in that part of London in which he lived, and by beginning so early he acquired a great proficiency in dishonest and cruel practices. It is likely that young Lowe inherited his naivish disposition for one of his brothers became a very bold and ingenious thief and invented a new kind of robbery which afterwards was popular in London. This brother grew to be a torf fellow and it was his practice to dress himself like a porter. One of those men who in those days carried packages and parcels about the city. On his head he poised a basket and supporting this burden with his hands he hurriedly made his way through the most crowded streets of London. The basket was a heavy one but it did not contain any ordinary goods such as merchandise or marketing but instead of these it held a very sharp and active boy, seven years old, one of the younger members of the Lowe family. As the tall brother pushed rapidly here and there among the hurrying people on the sidewalks the boy in the basket would suddenly stretch out with his wiry young arm and snatch the hat or the wig of some man who might pass near enough for him to reach him. This done the porter and his basket would quickly be lost in the crowd and even if the astonished citizen suddenly finding himself hatless and wiggless beheld the long-legged Lowe he would have no reason to suppose that that industrious man with the basket on his head had anything to do with the loss of his head covering. This new style of street robbery must have been quite profitable for of course the boy in the basket was well instructed and never snatched at a shabby hat or a poor-looking wig. The elder Lowe came to have a good many imitators and it happened in the course of time that many a worthy citizen of London wished there were some harmless way of gluing his wig to the top of his head or that it were the custom to secure the hat by means of strings tied under the chin. As Ned Lowe grew up to be a strong young fellow he also grew discontented with the pilferings and petty plunders which were possible to him in the London streets and so he went to sea and sail to America. He landed in Boston and as it was necessary to work in order to eat for opportunities of a dishonest livelihood had not yet opened themselves before him he undertook to learn the trade of a rigour but as he was very badly suited to any sort of steady occupation he soon quarrelled with his master, ran away and got on board a vessel bound for Honduras. For a time he earned a livelihood by cutting logwood but it was not long before he quarrelled with the captain of the vessel for whom he was working and finally became so enraged that he tried to kill him. He did not succeed in this dastardly attempt but as he could not commit murder he decided to do the next worst thing and so gathering together twelve of the greatest rascals among his companions they seized a boat went out to the captain's schooner which was lying near shore and took possession of it. Then they hoisted anchor, ran up the sail and put out to sea leaving the captain and his men who were with him to take care of themselves the best that they could and live on logwood leaves if they could find nothing else to eat. Now young Lowe was out upon the ocean in possession of a vessel and in command of twelve sturdy scoundrels and he did not have the least trouble in the world in making up his mind what he should do next. As soon as he could manufacture a black flag from materials he found on board he flung this ominous ensign to the breeze and declared himself a pirate. This was the summit of his ambition and in this new profession he had very little to learn. From a boy thief to a man pirate the way is easy enough. The logwood schooner of course was not provided with the cannon, cutlasses and pistols necessary for piratical undertakings and therefore Lowe found himself in the position of a young man beginning business with a very small capital. So in the hopes of providing himself with the necessary appliances for his work Lowe sailed for one of the islands of the West Indies which was a resort for pirates and there he had very good fortune for he fell in with a man named Louther who was already well established in the profession of piracy. When Lowe sailed into the little port with his homemade black flag floating above him Louther received him with the greatest courtesy and hospitality and shortly afterwards proposed to the newly fledged pirate to go into partnership with him. This offer was accepted and Lowe was made second in command of the little fleet of two vessels each of which was well provided with arms ammunition and all things necessary for robbery on the high seas. The partnership between these two rascals did not continue very long they took several valuable prizes and the more booty he obtained the higher became Lowe's opinion of himself and the greater his desire for independent action. Therefore it was that when they had captured a large brigantine Lowe determined that he would no longer serve under any man. He made a bargain with Louther by which they dissolved partnership and Lowe became the owner of the brigantine. In this vessel with 44 men as a crew he again started out in the black flag business on his own account and parting from his former chief officer he sailed northward. As Lowe had landed in Boston and had lived some time in that city he seems to have conceived a fancy for New England which however was not at all reciprocated by the inhabitants of that part of the country. Among the first feats which Lowe performed in New England waters was the capture of a sloop about to enter one of the ports of Rhode Island. When he had taken everything out of his vessel which he wanted Lowe cut away the yards from the masts and stripped the vessel of all its sails and rigging. As his object was to get away from these waters before his presence was discovered by the people on shore he not only made it almost impossible to sail the vessel he had despoiled but he wounded the captain and others of the peaceful crew so that they should not be able to give information to any passing craft. Then he sailed away as rapidly as possible in the direction of the open sea. In spite however of all the disadvantages under which they laboured the crew of the merchant vessel managed to get into Block Island and from there a small boat was hurriedly rode over to Rhode Island carrying intelligence of the bold piracy which had been committed so close to one of its ports. When the governor heard what had happened he quickly sent out drummers to sound the alarm in the seaport towns and to call upon volunteers to go out and capture the pirates. So great was the resentment caused by the audacious deed of Lowe that a larger number of volunteers hastened to offer their services to the governor and two vessels were fitted out with such rapidity that although their commanders had only heard of the affair in the morning they were ready to sail before sunset. They put all on sail and made the best speed they could and although they really caught sight of Lowe's ship the pirate vessel was a swift of craft the nose in pursuit of her and the angry sailors of Rhode Island were at last compelled to give up the chase. The next of Lowe's transactions was on a wholesale scale rounding Cape Cod and sailing up the coast. He at last reached the vicinity of Marblehead and there in the harbor called in those days Port Rosemary he founded Anchor a fleet of 13 merchant vessels. This was a grand sight as welcomed to the eye of a pirate as a great nugget of gold would be to a miner who for weary days had been washing yellow grains from the pay dirt which he had laboriously dug from the hard soil. It would have been easy for Lowe to take his pick from these vessels quietly resting in the little harbor for he soon perceived that none of them were armed nor were they able to protect themselves from assault but his audacity was of an expansive kind and he determined to capture them all sailing boldly into the harbor he hoisted the dreadful black flag and then standing on his quarterdeck with his speaking trumpet he shouted to each vessel as he passed it that if it did not surrender he would board it and give no quarter to captain or crew. Of course there was nothing else for the peaceful sailors to do but to submit and so this greedy pirate took possession of each vessel in turn and stripped it of everything of value he cared to take away but he did not confine himself to stealing the goods on board these merchantmen as he preferred to command several vessels instead of one he took possession of some of the best of the ships and compelled as many of their men as he thought he would need to enter his service then as one of the captured vessels was larger and better than his brigantine he took it for his own ship and at the head of the little pirate fleet he bid fair well to Marblehead and started out on a grand cruise against the commerce of our coast it is wonderful how rapidly this man low succeeded in his business enterprises beginning with a little vessel with a dozen unarmed men he found himself in a very short time at the head of what was perhaps the largest piratical force in American waters what might have happened if nature had not taken a hand in this game it is not difficult to imagine for our seaboard towns especially those of the south would have been an easy prey for low and his fleet but sailing down to the West Indies probably in order to fit out his ships with guns arms and ammunition before beginning a naval campaign his fleet was overtaken by a terrible storm and in order to save the vessels they were obliged to throw overboard a great many of the heavier goods they had captured at Marblehead and when at last they found shelter in the harbor of a small island they were glad that they had escaped with their lives the grasping and rapacious low was not now in a condition to proceed to any rendezvous of pirates where he might purchase the arms and supplies he needed a great part of his valuable plunder had gone to the bottom of the sea and he was therefore obliged to contend himself with operations upon a comparatively small scale how small and contemptible this scale was if he's scarcely possible for an ordinary civilized being to comprehend but the soul of this noble pirate was capable of extraordinary baseness when he had repaired the damage to his ships low sailed out from the island and before long he fell in with a wrecked vessel which had lost all its mass in a great storm and was totally disabled floating about wherever the winds chose to blow it the poor fellows on board greatly needed Sukka and there is no doubt that when they saw the approach of sails their hopes rose high and even if they had known what sort of ships they were which were making their way toward them they would scarcely have suspected that the commander of these goodly vessels was such an utterly despicable scoundrel as he proved to be instead of giving any sort of aid to the poor shipwrecked crew low and his men set to work to plunder their vessel and they took from it a thousand pounds in money and everything of value which they could find on board having thus stripped the unfortunate wreck they departed leaving the captain and crew of the disabled vessel to perish by storm or starvation unless some other vessel manned by human beings and not pitiless beasts should pass their way and save them low now commenced a long series of piratical deprecations he captured many merchant men and committed the vilest cruelties upon his victims and in every way proved himself to be one of the meanest and most black-hearted pirates of whom we have any account it is not necessary to relate his various dastardly performances they were all very much of the same order and none of them possessed any peculiar interest his existence is referred to in these pages because he was one of the most noted and successful pirates of his time and also because his career indicated how entirely different was the character of the buccaneers of previous days from that of the pirates who in the 18th century infested our coast the first might have been compared to bold and dashing highwaymen who at least showed courage and daring but the others resembled sneak thieves always seeking to commit a crime if they could do it in safety but never willing to risk their cowardly necks in any danger the buccaneers of the olden days were certainly men of the greatest bravery they did not hesitate to attack well-armed vessels manned by crews much larger than their own and in later periods they faced cannon and conquered cities their crimes were many and vile but when they committed cruelties they did so in order to compel their prisoners to disclose their hidden treasures and when they attacked a Spanish vessel and murdered all on board they had in their hearts the remembrance that the Spanish naval forces gave no quarter to buccaneers but pirates such as Edward Lowe showed not one palliating feature in their infamous characters to rob and desert a shipwrecked crew was only one of Lowe's contemptible actions it appears that he seldom attacked a vessel from which there seemed to be any probability of resistance and we read of no notable combats or sea fights in which he was engaged he prayed upon the weak and defenseless and his inhuman cruelties were practiced not for the sake of exhorting again from his victims but simply to gratify his spite and love of wickedness there were men among Lowe's followers who looked upon him as a bold and brave leader for he was always a bluster and a braggart and they were on a semen and merchants who were very much afraid of him but time proved that there was no reason for anyone to suppose that Edward Lowe had a spark of courage in his composition he was brave enough when he was attacking an unarmed crew but when he had to deal with any vessel capable of inflicting any injury upon him he was a coward indeed sailing in company with one companion vessel for he had discarded the greater part of his pirate fleet Lowe sighted a good size ship at a considerable distance and he and his consort immediately gave chase supposing the distant vessel might prove to be a good prize it so happened however that the ship discovered by Lowe was an English man of war the Greyhound which was cruising along the coast looking for these very pirates who had recently committed some outrageous crimes upon the crews of merchant vessels in those waters when the two ships with the black flags floating above them and their decks crowded with desperate fellows armed with pistols and cutlasses drew near to the vessel of which they expected to make a prize they were greatly amazed when she suddenly turned in her course and delivered a broad side from her heavy cannon the pirates returned the fire for they were well armed with cannon and there was nothing else for them to do but fight but the combat was an extremely short one Lowe's consort was soon disabled by the fire from the man of war and as soon as he perceived this the dastardly Lowe without any regard for his companions in arms and with no thought for anything but his own safety immediately stopped fighting and setting all sails sped away from the scene of combat as swiftly as it was possible for the wind to force his vessel through the water the disabled pirate ship was quickly captured and not long afterwards 25 of her crew were tried convicted and hung near Newport Rhode Island but the Arendt Lowe escaped without injury and continued his career of contemptible crime for some time longer what finally became of him is not set down in the histories of piracy it is not improbable that if the men under his command were not too brutally stupid to comprehend his cowardly unfaithfulness to them they suddenly removed from this world one of the least interesting of all base beings end of chapter 29 chapter 30 of buccaneers and pirates of our coasts this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lucy LaFaro New South Wales Australia buccaneers and pirates of our coasts by Frank R Stockton chapter 30 the pirate of the Gulf at the beginning of this century there was a very able and indeed talented man living on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico who has been set down in the historical records of the times as a very important pirate and who is described in story and in tradition as a gallant and romantic freebooter of the sea this man was John Lafitte widely known as the pirate of the Gulf and yet who was in fact so little of a pirate that it may be doubted whether or not he deserves a place in these stories of american pirates Lafitte was a french blacksmith and while still a young man he came with his two brothers to New Orleans and set up a shop in bourbon street where he did a good business in horseshoeing and in other branches of his trade but he had a soul which soared high above his anvil and his bellows and perceiving an opportunity to take up a very profitable occupation he gave up blacksmithing and with his two brothers as partners became a superintendent of privateering and a general manager of semi-legalized piracy the business opportunity which came to the watchful and clear-sighted Lafitte may be briefly described in the early years of this century the Gulf of Mexico was the scene of operations of small vessels calling themselves privateers but in fact pirates war had broken out between England and Spain on the one side and France on the other and consequently the first named nations were very glad to commission privateers to prey upon the commerce of France there were also privateers who had been sent out by some of the central american republics who had thrown off the spanish choke and these considering spanish vessels as their proper booty were very much inclined to look upon english vessels in the same light as the english and the spanish were allies and when a few french privateers came also upon the scene they helped to make the business of legitimate capture of merchantmen during the time of war a very complicated affair but upon one point these privateers who so often acted as pirates because they had not the spare time in which to work out difficult problems of nationality were all agreed when they had loaded their ships with booty they must sail to some place where it would be safe to dispose of it so in course of time the Bay of Barataria about 40 miles south of New Orleans and very well situated for an illegal sediment was chosen as a privateer's port and a large and flourishing colony soon grew up at the head of the bay to reach came privateers of every nationality to dispose of their cargoes of course there was no one in the comparatively desolate country about Barataria who could buy the valuable goods which were brought into that port but the great object of the owners of this merchandise was to smuggle it up to New Orleans and dispose of it but there could be no legitimate traffic of this sort for the united states at the very beginning of the century was at peace with England France and Spain and therefore could not receive into any of her ports goods which had been captured from the ships of these nations consequently the plunder of the privateering pirates of Barataria was brought up to New Orleans in all sorts of secret and underhand fashions and sold to merchants in that city without the custom house having anything to do with the importations now this was great business John Lafitte had a great business find and therefore it was not long after his arrival at Barataria before he was the head man in the colony and director-in-chief of all its operations thus by becoming a prominent figure in a piratical circle he came to be considered a pirate and as such came down to us in the pages of history but in fact Lafitte never committed an act of piracy in his life he was a blacksmith and knew no more about sailing a ship or even the smallest kind of a boat than he knew about the proper construction of a sonnet he did not even try like the celebrated Bonet to find other people who would navigate a vessel for him for he had no taste for the ocean wave and all that he had to do he did upon firm dry land it is said of him that he was never at sea but twice in his life once when he came from France and once when he left his country and on neither occasion did he sail under the Jolly Roger as the pirate flag was sometimes called for these reasons it seems scarcely right to call Lafitte a pirate but as he has been so generally considered in that light we will admit him into the bad company the stories of whose lives we are now telling the energy and business abilities of Jean Lafitte soon made themselves felt not only in Barataria but in New Orleans the privateers found that he managed their affairs with much discretion and considerable fairness and while they were willing to depend upon him they were obliged to obey him on the other hand the trade of New Orleans was very much influenced by the great quantities of goods which under Lafitte's direction were smuggled into the city many merchants and shopkeepers who possessed no consciences to speak of were glad to buy these smuggled goods for very little money and to sell them at low prices and large profits but the respectable businessmen who were obliged to pay market prices for their goods were greatly disturbed by the large quantities of merchandise which were continually smuggled into New Orleans and sold at rates with which they could not compete it was towards the end of our war with England which began in 1812 that the government of the United States urged to speedy action by the increasing complaints of the law abiding merchants of New Orleans determined to send out a small naval force and entirely break up the illegitimate rendezvous at Barataria Lafitte's two brothers were in New Orleans acting as his agents and one of them Dominique was arrested and thrown into prison and Commodore Patterson who was commanding at that station was ordered to fit out an expedition as quickly as possible to sail down to Barataria to destroy the ships found in the bay to capture the town and to confiscate and seize upon all goods which might be found in the place where Jean Lafitte heard of the vigorous methods which were about to be taken against him his prospects must have been very gloomy ones for of course he could not defend his little colony against a regular naval force which although its large vessels could not sail into the shallow bay could send out boats with armed crews against which it would be foolish for him to contend but just about this time a very strange thing happened a strong English naval force had taken possession of Pensacola Florida and as an attack upon New Orleans was contemplated the British commander knowing of Lafitte's colony at Barataria and believing that these hardy and reckless adventurers would be very valuable allies in the proposed movement upon the city determined to send an ambassador to Lafitte to see what could be done in the way of forming an alliance with this powerful leader of semi-pirates and smugglers accordingly the sloop of war Sofia commanded by Captain Lockyer was sent to Barataria to treat with Lafitte and when this vessel arrived off the mouth of the harbour which she could not enter she began firing signal guns in order to attract the attention of the people of the colony naturally enough the report of the Sofia's guns created a great excitement in Barataria and all the people who happened to be at the settlement at that time crowded out upon the beach to see what they could see but the war vessel was too far away for them to distinguish her nationality and Lafitte quickly made up his mind that the only thing for him to do was to row out to the mouth of the harbour and see what was the matter without doubt he feared that this was the united states vessel which had come to break up his settlement but whether this was the case or not he must go out and try the effect of fair words for he had no desire whatever to defend his interests by hard blows before Lafitte reached the vessel he was surprised to find it was a British man of war not an American and very soon he saw that a boat was coming from it and rowing toward him this boat contained Captain Lockyer and two other officers besides the men who rode it when the two boats met the captain told who he was and asked if Mr Lafitte could be found in Barataria stating that he had an important document to deliver to him the cautious Frenchman did not immediately admit that he was the man for whom the document was intended but he said that Lafitte was at Barataria and as the two boats rowed together toward shore he thought it would be as well to announce his position and did so when the crowd of privateers men saw the officers in British uniform landing upon their beach they were not inclined to receive them kindly for an attack had been made upon the place by a small British force some time before and a good deal of damage had been done but Lafitte quieted the angry feelings of his followers conducted the officers to his own house and treated them with great hospitality which he was able to do in fine style for his men brought into Barataria luxuries from all parts of the world when Lafitte opened the package of papers which Captain Lockyer handed to him he was very much surprised some of them were general proclamations announcing the intention of Great Britain if the people of Louisiana did not submit to her demands but the most important document was one in which Colonel Nichols commander-in-chief of the British forces in the Gulf made an offer to Lafitte and his followers to become a part of the British navy promising to give amnesty to all the inhabitants of Barataria to make their leader a captain in the navy and to do a great many other good things provided they would join his forces and help him to attack the American seaports in case however this offer should be refused the Baratarians were assured that their place would speedily be attacked their vessels destroyed and all their possessions confiscated Lafitte was now in a state of great perplexity he did not wish to become a British captain for his knowledge of horseshoeing would be of no service to him in such a capacity moreover he had no love for the British and his sympathies were all on the side of the United States in this war but here he was with the British commander asking him to become an ally and to take up arms against the United States threatening at the same time to destroy him and his colony in case of refusal on the other hand there was the United States at that moment preparing an expedition for the purpose of breaking up the settlement at Barataria and to do everything which the British threatened to do in case Lafitte did not agree to their proposals the chief of Barataria might have made a poor show with a cutlass and a brace of pistols but he was a long-headed and sagacious man with a strong tendency to practical diplomacy he was in a bad scrape and he must act with decision and promptness if he wanted to get out of it the first thing he did was to gain time by delaying his answer to the proposition brought by Captain Lockyer he assured that officer that he must consult with his people and see what they would do and that he must also get rid of some truculant members of the colony who would never agree to act in concert with England and that therefore he should not be able to give an answer to Colonel Nichols for two weeks Captain Lockyer saw for himself that it would not be an easy matter to induce these independent and unruly fellows many of whom already hated England to enter into the British service therefore he thought it would be wise to allow Lafitte the time he asked for and he sailed away promising to return in 15 days the diplomatic Lafitte having finished for a time his negotiations with the British lost no time in communicating with the American authorities he sent to Governor Clairborn of Louisiana all the documents he had received from Captain Lockyer and wrote him a letter in which he told him everything that had happened and thus gave to the United States the first authentic information of the proposed attack upon Mobile and New Orleans he then told the Governor that he had no intention of fighting against the country he had adopted that he was perfectly willing and anxious to aid her in every manner possible and that he and his followers would gladly join the United States against the British asking nothing in return except that all proceedings against Barataria should be abandoned that amnesty should be given to him and his men that his brother should be released from prison and that an act of oblivion should be passed by which the deeds of the smugglers of Barataria should be condoned and forgotten furthermore he said that if the United States government did not exceed to his proposition he would immediately depart from Barataria with all his men for no matter what loss such a proceeding might prove to him he would not remain in a place where he might be forced to act against the United States Lafitte also wrote to a member of the Louisiana legislature and his letters were well calculated to produce a very good effect in his favor the governor immediately called a council and submitted the papers and letters received from Lafitte when these had been read two points were considered by the council the first being that the letters and proclamations from the british might be forgeries concocted by Lafitte for the purpose of averting the punishment which was threatened by the united states and the second whether or not it would be consistent with the dignity of the government to treat with this leader of pirates and smugglers the consultation resulted in a decision not to have anything to do with Lafitte in the way of negotiations and to hurry forward the preparations which had been made for the destruction of the dangerous and injurious settlement at Barataria in consequence of this action of the council Commodore Patterson sailed in a very few days down the Mississippi and attacked the pirate settlement at Barataria with such effect that most of her ships were taken many prisoners and much valuable merchandise captured and the whole place utterly destroyed Lafitte with the greater part of his men had fled to the woods and so escaped capture captain Lockyer at the appointed time arrived off the harbor of Barataria and blazed away with his signal guns for 48 hours but receiving no answer and fearing to send a boat into the harbor suspecting treachery on the part of Lafitte he was obliged to depart in ignorance of what had happened when the papers and letters which had been sent to governor Clairborn by Lafitte were made public the people of Louisiana and the rest of the country did not at all agree with the governor and his council in regard to their decision and their subsequent action and Edward Livingston a distinguished lawyer of New York took the part of Lafitte and argued very strongly in favor of his loyalty and honesty in the affair even when it was discovered that all the information which Lafitte had sent was perfectly correct and that a formidable attack was about to be made upon New Orleans General Jackson who was in command in that part of the country issued a very savage proclamation against the British method of making war and among their wicked deeds he mentioned nothing which seemed to him to be worse than their endeavor to employ against the citizens of the United States the band of hellish banditi commanded by John Lafitte but public opinion was strongly in favor of the expirate of the Gulf and as things began to look more and more serious in regard to New Orleans General Jackson was at last very glad in spite of all that he had said to accept the renewed offers of Lafitte and his men to assist in the defense of the city and in consequence of his change of mind many of the former inhabitants of Barataria fought in the battle of New Orleans and did good work their services were so valuable in fact that when the war closed President Madison issued a proclamation in which it was stated that the former inhabitants of Barataria in consequence of having abandoned their wicked ways of life and having assisted in the defense of their country were now granted full pardon for all the evil deeds they had previously committed now Lafitte and his men were free and independent citizens of the United States they could live where they pleased without fear of molestation and could enter into any sort of legal business which suited their fancy but this did not satisfy Lafitte he had endeavored to take a prompt and honest stand on the side of his country his offers had been treated with contempt and disbelief he had been branded as a deceitful and no disposition had been shown to act justly toward him until his services became so necessary to the government that it was obliged to accept them consequently Lafitte accompanied by some of his old adherents determined to leave a country where his loyalty had received such unsatisfactory recognition and to begin life again in some other part of the American continent not long after the war he sailed out upon the Gulf of Mexico for what destination it is not known but probably for some Central American port and as nothing was ever heard of him or his party it is believed by many persons that they all perished in the great storm which arose soon after their departure there were other persons however who stated that he reached Yucatan where he died on dry land in 1826 but the end of Lafitte is no more doubtful than his right to the title given to him by people of a romantic turn of mind and other persons of a still more fanciful disposition might be willing to suppose that the Gulf of Mexico indignant at the undeserved distinction which had come to him had swallowed him up in order to put an end to his tension to the title of the pirate of the Gulf end of chapter 30 chapter 31 of buccaneers and pirates of our coasts this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Lucy LaFaro New South Wales Australia buccaneers and pirates of our coasts by Frank R Stockton chapter 31 the pirate of the buried treasure among all the pirates who have figured in history legend or song there is one whose name stands preeminent as the typical hero of the dreaded black flag the name of this man will instantly rise in the mind of almost every reader for when we speak of pirates we always think of Captain Kidd in fact however Captain Kidd was not a typical pirate for in many ways he was different from the ordinary marine freebooter especially when we consider him in relation to our own country all other pirates who made themselves notorious on our coast were known as robbers pillagers and ruthless destroyers of life and property but Captain Kidd's fame was of another kind we do not think of him as a pirate who came to carry away the property of American citizens for nearly all the stories about him relate to his arrival at different points on our shores for the sole purpose of burying and thus concealing the rich treasures which he had collected in other parts of the world this novel reputation given a pirate who enriched our shore by his deposits and took away none of the possessions of our people could not fail to make Captain Kidd a most interesting personage and the result has been that he has been lifted out of the sphere of ordinary history and description into the region of imagination and legendary romance in a word he has been made a hero of fiction and song it may well be then to assume that there are two Captain Kidd's one the kid of legend and story and the other the kid of actual fact and we will consider one at a time the two characters in which we know the man as has been said before nearly all the stories of the legendary Captain Kidd relate to his visits along our northern coast and even to inland points for the purpose of concealing the treasures which had been amassed in other parts of the world thus if we were to find ourselves in almost any village or rural settlement along the coast of New Jersey or Long Island and were to fall in with any old resident who was fond of talking to strangers he would probably point out to us the blackened and weather-beaten ribs of a great ship which had been wrecked on the sandbar off the coast during a terrible storm long ago he would show us where the bathing was pleasant and safe he would tell us of the best place for fishing and probably show us the high bluff a little back from the beach from which the Indian maiden leapt to escape the tomahawk of her enraged lover and then he would be almost sure to tell us of the secluded spot where it was said Captain Kidd and his pirates once buried a lot of treasure if we should ask our garrulous guide why this treasure had not been dug up by the people of the place he would probably shake his head and declare that personally he knew nothing about it but that it was generally believed that it was there and he had heard that there had been people who had tried to find it but if they did find any they never said anything about it and it was his opinion that if Captain Kidd ever put any gold or silver or precious stones under the ground on that part of the coast these treasures were all there yet further questioning would probably develop the fact that there was a certain superstition which prevented a great many people from interfering with the possible deposits which Captain Kidd had made in their neighborhood and although few persons would be able to define exactly the foundation of the superstition it was generally supposed that most of the pirates' treasures were guarded by pirate ghosts in that case of course timid individuals would be deterred from going out by themselves at night for that was the proper time to dig for buried treasure and as it would not have been easy to get together a number of men each brave enough to give the others courage many of the spots reputed to be the repositories of buried treasure have never been disturbed in spite of the fear of ghosts in spite of the want to vacurate knowledge in regard to favoured localities in spite of hardships previous disappointments or expected ridicule a great many extensive excavations have been made in the sands or the soil along the coasts of our northern states and even in quiet woods lying miles from the sea to which it would have been necessary for the pirates to carry their goods in wagons people have dug and hoped and have gone away sadly to attend to more sensible business and far up some of our rivers where a pirate vessel never floated people have dug with the same hopeful anxiety and have stopped digging in the same condition of dejected disappointment sometimes these enterprises were conducted on a scale which reminds us of the operations on the gold coast of california companies were organized stock was issued and subscribed for and the excavations were conducted under the direction of school for treasure seeking engineers it is said that not long ago a company was organized in Nova Scotia for the purpose of seeking for captain kid's treasure in a place which it is highly probable captain kid never saw a great excavation having been made the water from the sea came in and filled it up but the work was stopped only long enough to procure steam pups with which the big hole could be drained at last accounts the treasures had not been reached and this incident is mentioned only to show how this belief in buried treasures continues even to the present day there is a legend which differs somewhat from the ordinary run of these stories and it is told about a little island on the coast of Cape Cod which is called Hannah's screeches island and this is the way its name came to it captain kid while sailing along the coast looking for a suitable place to bury some treasure found this island adapted to his purpose and landed there with his savage crew and his bags and boxes and his gold and precious stones it was said to be the habit of these pirates whenever they made a deposit on the coast to make a hole big enough not only to hold the treasure they wished to deposit there but the body of one of the crew who was buried with the valuables in order that his spirit might act as a day and night watchman to frighten away people who might happen to be digging in that particular spot the story relates that somewhere on the coast captain kid had captured a young lady named Hannah and not knowing what to do with her and desiring not to commit an unnecessary extravagance by disposing of a useful sailor he determined to kill Hannah and bury her with the treasure in order that she might keep away intruders until he came for it it was very natural that when Hannah was brought on shore and found out what was going to be done with her she should screech in a most dreadful manner and although the pirates soon silenced her and covered her up they did not succeed in silencing her spirit and ever since that time according to the stories told by some of the older inhabitants of Cape Cod there may be heard in the early dusk of the evening the screeches of Hannah coming across the water from her little island to the mainland Mr. James Herbert Morse has written a ballad founded upon this peculiar incident and with the permission of the author we give it here the lady Hannah now take my hand quoth captain kid the air is blithe i sent the meads he led her up the starlit sands out of the rustling reeds the great white owl then beat his breast a thwart the cedars word and flew there's death in our handsome captain's eye murmured the captain's crew and longed their lay upon their oars and cursed the silence and the chill they cursed the wail of the rising wind for no man dared be still of ripe old songs they sang a score to stifle the midnight sobs and sighs they told wild tales of the indian main to drown the far off cries but when they ceased and captain kid came down the sands of dead neck aisle my lady weary's he grimly said and she would rest a while i've made her a bed tis here tis there and she shall wake be it soon or long where grass is green and wild birds sing and the wind makes under song be quick my men and give a hand she loved soft furs and silken stuff jewels of gold and silver bars and she shall have enough with silver bars and golden ore so fine a lady she shall be a many suitors shall seek her long as they sought panellope and if a lover would win her hand no lip air kissed a hand so white and if a lover would hear her sing she sings at outlet light but if a lover would win her gold and his hands be strong to lift the lid tis here tis there tis everywhere in the chest quoth captain kid they lifted long they lifted well ingots of gold and silver bars and silken plunder from wild wild wars but where they laid them no man can tell though known to a thousand stars but the ordinary kid's stories are very much the same and depend a good deal upon the character of the coast and upon the imagination of the people who live in that region we will give one of them as a sample and from this a number of very good pirate stories could be manufactured by ingenious persons it was a fine summer night late in the 17th century a young man named Abner stout in company with his wife Mary went out for a walk upon the beach they lived in a little village near the coast of new jersey Abner was a good carpenter but a poor man but he and his wife were very happy with each other and as they walked toward the sea in the light of the full moon no young lovers could have been more gay when they reached a little bluff covered with low shrubbery which was the first spot from which they could have a full view of the ocean Abner suddenly stopped and pointed out to Mary an unusual sight there as plainly in view as if it had been broad daylight was a vessel lying at the entrance of the little bay the sails were filled and it was apparently anchored for a minute Abner gazed in utter amazement at the sight of this vessel for no ships large or small came to this lonely bay there was a harbor two or three miles farther up the coast to which all trading craft repaired what could the strange ship want here this unusual visitor to the little bay was a very low and very long black schooner with tall masts which raked forward and with something which looked very much like a black flag fluttering in its rigging now the truth struck into the soul of Abner hide yourself Mary he whispered it is a pirate ship and almost at the same instant the young man and his wife laid themselves flat on the ground among the bushes they were very careful each of them to take a position which would allow them to peep out through the twigs and leaves upon the scene before them there seemed to be a good deal of commotion on board the black schooner and very soon a large boat pushed off from her side and the men in it began rowing rapidly toward the shore apparently making for a spot on the beach not far from the bluff on which Abner and Mary were concealed let us get up and run whispered Mary trembling from head to toe they are pirates and they are coming here lie still lie still said Abner if we get up and leave these bushes we shall be seen and then they will be after us lie still and do not move a finger the trembling Mary obeyed her husband and they both lay quite still scarcely breathing with eyes wide open the boat rapidly approached the shore Abner counted 10 men rowing and one man sitting on the stern the boat seemed to be heavily loaded and the oarsmen rowed hard now the boat was run through the surf to the beach and its 11 occupants jumped out there was no mistaking their character they were true pirates they had great cutleresses and pistols and one of them was very tall and broad-shouldered and wore an old-fashioned cocked hat that's Captain Kidd whispered Abner to his wife and she pressed his hand to let him know that she thought he must be right now the men came up high upon the beach and began looking about here and there as if they were searching for something Mary was filled with horror for fear they should come to that bluff to search but Abner knew there was no danger of that they had probably come to those shores to bury treasure as if they were great sea turtles coming up upon the beach to lay their eggs and they were now looking for some good spot where they might dig presently the tall man gave some orders in a low voice and then his men left him to himself and went back to the boat there was a great pine tree standing back a considerable distance from the water battered and wracked by storms but still a tough old tree toward this the pirate captain stalked and standing close to it with his back against it he looked up into the sky it was plain that he was looking for a star there were very few of these luminaries to be seen in the heavens for the moon was so bright but as Abner looked in the direction in which the pirate captain gazed he saw a star still bright in spite of the moonlight with his eyes fixed upon this star the pirate captain now stepped forward making long strides one two three four five six seven then he stopped plunged his right heel in the soft ground and turned squarely about to the left so that his broad back was now parallel with a line drawn from the pine tree to the star at right angles to this line the pirate now stepped forward making as before seven long paces then he stopped dug his heel into the ground and beckoned to his men up they came running carrying picks and spades and with great alacrity they began to dig at the place where the captain had marked with his heel it was plain that these pirates were used to making excavations for it was not long before the hole was so deep that those within it could not be seen then the captain gave in order to see stinging and he and all the pirates went back to the boat for about half an hour though mary thought it was a longer time than that those pirates worked very hard carrying great boxes and bags from the boat to the excavation when everything had been brought up two of the pirates went down into the hole and the others handed to them the various packages skillfully and quickly they worked doubtless storing their goods with great care until nearly everything which had been brought from the boat had been placed in the deep hole some rolls of goods were left upon the ground which mary thought were carpets but which abner believed to be rich persian rugs or something of that kind now the captain stepped aside and picking up from the sand some little sticks and reeds he selected ten of them and with these in one hand and with their ends protruding a short distance above his closed fingers he rejoined his men they gathered before him and he held out toward them the hand which contained the little sticks they're drawing lots gasped abner and mary trembled more than she had done yet now the lots were all drawn and one man apparently a young pirate stepped out from among his fellows his head was bowed and his arms were folded across his manly chest the captain spoke a few words and the young pirate advanced along to the side of the deep hole mary now shut her eyes tight tight but abner's were wide open there was a sudden gleam of a cutlass in the air there was one short plaintive groan and the body of the young pirate fell into the hole instantly all the other goods furs rugs or whatever they were were tumbled in upon him then the men began to shovel in the earth and sand and in an incredibly short time the hole was filled up even with the ground about it of course all the earth and sand which had been taken out of the hole could not now be put back into it but these experienced treasure hiders knew exactly what to do with it a spade fall at a time the soil which could not be replaced was carried to the sea and thrown out into the water and when the whole place had been carefully smoothed over the pirates gathered sticks and stones and little brushes and great masses of wild cranberry vines and scattered them about over the place so that it soon looked exactly like the rest of the beach about it then the tall captain gave another low command the pirates returned to their boat it was pushed off and rapidly rode back to the schooner up came the anchor up went the dark sails the low black schooner was put about and very soon she was disappearing over the darkening waters her black flag fluttering fiercely high above her now let us run whispered poor mary who although she had not seen everything imagined a great deal for as the pirates were getting into their boat she had opened her eyes and had counted them and there were only nine beside the tall captain abner thought that her advice was very good and starting up out of the brushwood they hastened home as fast as their legs would carry them the next day abner seemed to be a changed man he had work to do but he neglected it never had such a thing happened before for hours he sat in front of the house looking up into the sky counting one two three four five six seven then he would twist himself around on the little bench and count seven more this worthy couple lived in a small house which had a large cellar and during the afternoon of that day abner visit himself in clearing out this cellar and taking out of it everything which it had contained his wife asked no questions in her soul she knew what abner was thinking about supper was over and most of the people in the village were thinking of going to bed when abner said to mary let us each take a spade and i will carry a pail and we will go out upon the beach for a walk if anyone should see us they would think that we were going to dig for clams oh no dear abner cried mary we must not dig there think of that young pirate almost the first thing we would come to would be him i have thought of that said abner but do you not believe that the most christian act that you and i could do would be to take him out and place him in a proper grave nearby oh no exclaimed mary do not say such a thing as that think of his ghost they killed him and put him there that his ghost might guard their treasure you know abner as well as i do that this is their dreadful fashion i know all about that said abner and that is the reason i wish to go tonight i do not believe there has yet been time enough for his ghost to form but let us take him out now de mary and lay him reverently away and then he looked at her with flashing eyes but abner said she do you think we have the right of course we have said he those treasures do not belong to the pirates if we take them they are treasure trove and legally ours and think dear mary how poor we are tonight and how rich we may be tomorrow come get the pale we must be off running nearly all the way for they were in such a hurry they could not abner and mary soon reached the bluff and hastily scrambling down to the beach below they stood upon the dreadful spot where captain kid and his pirates had stood the night before there was the old battered pine tree reaching out two of its bare arms encouragingly toward them without loss of time abner walked up to the tree put his back to it and then looked up into the sky now he called mary to him which star do you think he looked at good wife said he there is a bright one low down and then there is another one a little higher up and farther to the right but it is fainter it would be the bright one i think said mary and then abner his eyes fixed upon the bright star commenced to stride one two three four five six seven turning squarely around to the left he again made seven paces and now he beckoned vigorously to mary to come and dig for about ten minutes they dug and then they laid bare a great mass of rock this isn't the place cried abner i must begin again i did not look at the right star i will take the other one for the greater part of that night abner and mary remained upon the beach abner would put his back against the tree fix his eyes upon another star stride forward seven paces and then seven to the left and he would come upon a little scrubby pine tree of course that was not the place the moon soon began to set and more stars came out so that abner had a greater choice again and again he made his measurements and every time that he came to the end of his second seven paces he found that it would have been impossible for the pirates to make their excavation there there was clearly something wrong abner thought that he had not selected the right star and mary thought that his legs were not long enough that pirate captain quote she had a long and manly stride seven of his paces would go a far greater distance than seven of yours abner abner made his paces a little longer but although he and his wife kept up their work until they could see the early dawn they found no spot where it would be worthwhile to dig and so mournfully they returned to their home and their empty cellar as long as the moonlight lasted abner and mary went to the little beach at the head of the bay and made their measurements and their searches but although they sometimes dug a little here and there they always found that they had not struck the place where the pirate's treasure had been buried when at last they gave up their search and concluded to put their household goods back into their cellar they told the tale to some of the neighbours and other people went out and dug not only at the place which had been designated but miles up and down the coast and then the story was told and retold and so it has lasted until the present day what has been said about the legendary captain kid will give a very good idea of the estimation in which this romantic being has been and still is held in various parts of the country and of all the legitimate legends about him there is not one which recounts his piratical deeds upon our coast the reason for this will be seen when we consider the next chapter the life and character of the real captain kid end of chapter 31 chapter 32 of buccaneers and pirates of our coasts this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org buccaneers and pirates of our coasts by Frank R Stockton chapter 32 the real captain kid William Kid or Robert Kid as he is sometimes called was a sailor in the merchant service who had a wife and family in New York he was a very respectable man and had a good reputation as a seaman and about 1690 when there was war between England and France kid was given the command of a privateer and having had two or three engagements with French vessels he showed himself to be a brave fighter and a prudent commander some years later he sailed to England and while there he received an appointment of a peculiar character it was at that time when the king of England was doing his best to put down the pirates of the American coast and Sir George Belmont the recently appointed governor of New York recommended captain kid as a very suitable man to command a ship to be sent out to suppress piracy when kid agreed to take the position of chief of marine police he was not employed by the crown but by a small company of gentlemen of capital who formed themselves into a sort of trust company or society for the prevention of cruelty to merchant men and the object of their association was not only to put down pirates but to put some money in their own pockets as well kid was furnished with two commissions one appointing him a privateer with authority to capture French vessels and the other empowering him to seize and destroy all pirate ships kid was ordered in his mission to keep a strict account of all booty captured in order that it might be fairly divided among those who were stockholders in the enterprise one tenth of the total proceeds being reserved for the king kid sailed from England in the adventure a large ship with 30 guns and 80 men and on his way to America he captured a French ship which he carried to New York here he arranged to make his crew a great deal larger than had been thought necessary in England and by offering a fair share of the property he might confiscate on a piratical or French ship he induced a great many able seamen to enter his service and when the adventure left New York she carried a crew of one hundred and fifty five men with a fine ship and a strong crew kid now sailed out of the harbor with the ostensible purpose of putting down piracy in American waters but the methods of this legally appointed marine policemen were very peculiar and instead of cruising up and down our coast he gaily sailed away to the island of Madeira and then around the Cape of Good Hope to Madagascar in the Red Sea thus getting himself as far out of his regular beat as any New York constable would have been had he undertaken to patrol the dominions of the con of tartary by the time kid reached that part of the world he had been at sea for nearly a year without putting down any pirates or capturing any French ships in fact he had made no money whatever for himself or the stockholders of the company which had sent him out his men of course must have been very much surprised at this unusual neglect of his own and his employer's interests but when he reached the Red Sea he boldly informed him that he had made a change in his business and had decided that he would no longer be a suppressor of privacy but would become a pirate himself and instead of taking prizes of French ships only which he was legally empowered to do he would try to capture any valuable ship he could find on the seas no matter to what nation it belonged he then went on to state that his present purpose in coming into these oriental waters was to capture the rich fleet from the mocha which was due in the lower part of the Red Sea about that time the crew of the adventure who must have been tired of having very little to do and making no money expressed their entire approbation of their captain's change of purpose and readily agreed to become pirates kid waited a good while for the mocha fleet but it did not arrive and then he made his first venture in actual piracy he overhauled a moorish vessel which was commanded by an English captain and as England was not at war with Morocco and as the nationality of the ship's commander should have protected him kid thus boldly broke the marine laws which governed the civilized world and stamped himself an out and out pirate after the exercise of considerable cruelty he extorted from his first prize a small amount of money and although he and his men did not gain very much booty they had wedded their appetites for moor and kid cruised savagely over the eastern seas in search of other spoils after a time the adventure fell in with a very fine English ship called the royal captain and although she was probably laden with a rich cargo kid did not attack her his piratical character was not yet sufficiently formed to give him the disloyal audacity which would enable him with his English ship and his English crew to fall upon another English ship manned by another English crew in time his heart might be hardened but he felt that he could not begin with this sort of thing just yet so the adventure saluted the royal captain with ceremonious politeness and each vessel passed quietly on its way but this conscientious consideration did not suit kid's crew they had already had a taste of booty and they were hungry for moor and when the fine English vessel of which they might so easily have made a prize was allowed to escape them they were allowed in their complaints and grumblings one of the men a gunner named William Moore became actually impertinent upon the subject and he and captain kid had a violent quarrel in the course of which the captain picked up a heavy iron bucket and struck the dissatisfied gunner on the head with it the blow was such a powerful one that the man's skull was broken and he died the next day kid's conscious seems to have been a good deal in his way for although he had been sailing about in various eastern waters taking prizes wherever he could he was anxious that reports of his misdeeds should not get home before him having captured a fine vessel bound westward he took from her all the booty he could and then proceeded to arrange matters so that the capture of this ship should appear to be a legal transaction the ship was manned by moors and commanded by a Dutchman and of course kid had no right to touch it but the sharp witted and business like pirates selected one of the passengers and made him sign a paper declaring that he was a Frenchman and that he commanded the ship when this statement had been sworn to before witnesses kid put the document in his pocket so that if he were called upon to explain the transaction he might be able to show that he had had good reason to suppose that he had captured a French ship which of course was all right and proper kid now ravaged the east India waters with great success and profit and at last he fell in with a very fine ship from Armenia called the quadog merchant commanded by an Englishman kids conscious had been growing harder and harder every day and he did not now hesitate to attack any vessel the great merchantman was captured and proved to be one of the most valuable prizes ever taken by a pirate for kids own share of the spoils amounted to more than sixty thousand dollars this was such a grand hall that kid lost no time in taking his prize to someplace where he might safely dispose of her cargo and get rid of her passengers accordingly he sailed for Madagascar while he was there he fell in with the first pirate vessel he had met since he had started out to put down piracy this was a ship commanded by an English pirate named Culliford and here would have been a chance for captain kid to show that although he might transgress the law himself he would be true to his engagement not to allow other people to do so but he had given up putting down piracy and instead of apprehending Culliford he went into partnership with him and the two agreed to go pirating together this partnership however did not continue long for captain kid began to believe that it was time for him to return to his native country and make a report of his proceedings to his employers having confined his piratical proceedings to distant parts of the world he hoped that he would be able to make Sir George Belmont and the other stockholders suppose that his booty was all legitimately taken from French vessels cruising in the east and when the proper division should be made he would be able to quietly enjoy his portion of the treasure he had gained he did not go back in the adventure which was probably not large enough to carry all the booty he had amassed but putting everything on board his latest prize the Quadog Merchant he burned his old ship and sailed homeward when he reached the West Indies however our weary sea robber was very much surprised to find that accounts of his evil deeds had reached America and that the colonial authorities had been so much incensed by the news that the man who had been sent out to suppress piracy had become himself a pirate that they had circulated notices throughout the different colonies urging the arrest of kid if he should come into any American port this was disheartening intelligence for the treasure laden captain kid but he did not despair he knew that the love of money was often just as strong in the minds of human beings as the love of justice sir George Bellamond who was now in New York was one of the principal stockholders in the enterprise and kid hoped that the rich share of the results of his industry which would come to the governor might cause unpleasant reports to be disregarded in this case he might yet return to his wife and family with a neat little fortune and without danger of being called upon to explain his exceptional performances in the eastern seas of course kid was not so foolish and rash as to sail into New York harbor on board the quadog merchant so he bought a small sloop and put the most valuable portion of his goods on board her leaving his larger vessel which also contained a great quantity of merchandise in the charge of one of his confederates and in the little sloop he cautiously approached the coast of New Jersey his great desire was to find out what sort of a reception he might expect so he entered Delaware Bay and when he stopped at a little seaport in order to take in some supplies he discovered that there was but small chance of his visiting his home and his family and of making report to his superior in the character of a deserving mariner who had returned after a successful voyage some people in the village recognized him and the report soon spread to New York that the pirate kid was lurking about the coast a sloop of war was sent out to capture his vessel and finding that it was impossible to remain in the vicinity where he had been discovered kids sailed northward and entered Long Island sound here the shrewd and anxious pirate began to act the part of the watchdog who has been killing sheep in every way he endeavored to assume the appearance of innocence and to conceal every side of misbehavior he wrote to Sir George Bellamond that he should have called upon him in order to report his proceedings and hand over his profits were it not for the wicked and malicious reports which had been circulated about him it was during this period of suspense when the returned pirate did not know what was likely to happen that it is supposed by the believers in the hidden treasures of kid that he buried his coin and bullion and his jewels some in one place and some in another so that if he were captured his riches should not be taken with him among the wild stories which were believed at that time and for long years after was one to the effect that captain kids ship was chased up the Hudson by a man of war and that the pirates finding they could not get away sank their ship and fled to the shore with all the gold and silver they could carry which they afterwards buried at the foot of Dunderburg Mountain a great deal of rocky soil has been turned over at different times in search of these treasures but no discoveries of hidden coin have yet been reported the fact is however that during this time of anxious waiting kid never sailed west of Oyster Bay in Long Island he was afraid to approach New York although he had frequent communication with that city and was joined by his wife and family about this time occurred an incident which has given rise to all the stories regarding the buried treasure of captain kid the disturbed an anxious pirate concluded that it was a dangerous thing to keep so much valuable treasure on board his vessel which might in any time be overhauled by the authorities and he therefore landed at Gardner's Island on the Long Island coast and obtained permission from the proprietor to bury some of his superfluous stores upon his estate this was a straight forward transaction Mr. Gardner knew all about the burial of the treasure and when it was afterwards proved that kid was really a pirate the hidden booty was all given up to the government this appears to be the only case in which it was positively known that kid buried treasure on our coast and it has given rise to all the stories of the kind which have ever been told for some weeks kid's sleep remained in Long Island sound and then he took courage and went to Boston to see some influential people there he was allowed to go freely about the city for a week and then he was arrested the rest of kid's story is soon told he was sent to England for trial and there he was condemned to death not only for the piracies he had committed but also for the murder of William Moore he was executed and his body was hung in chains on the banks of the Thames where for years it dangled in the wind a warning to all evil-minded sailors about the time of kids trial and execution a ballad was written which had a wide circulation in England and America it was set to music and for many years helped to spread the fame of the pirate the ballad was a very long one containing nearly 26 verses and some of them run as follows my name was Robert kid when I sailed when I sailed my name was Robert kid when I sailed my name was Robert kid God's laws I did forbid and so wickedly I did when I sailed my parents taught me well when I sailed when I sailed my parents taught me well when I sailed my parents taught me well to shun the gates of hell but against them I rebelled when I sailed I'd a Bible in my hand when I sailed when I sailed I'd a Bible in my hand when I sailed I'd a Bible in my hand by my father's great command and sunk it in the sand when I sailed I murdered William more as I sailed as I sailed. I murdered William Moore as I sailed. I murdered William Moore and laid him in his gore, not many leagues from shore as I sailed. I was sick and nigh to death when I sailed when I sailed. I was sick and nigh to death when I sailed. I was sick and nigh to death, and I vowed at every breath to walk in wisdom's ways as I sailed. I thought I was undone as I sailed as I sailed. I thought I was undone as I sailed. I thought I was undone and my wicked glass had run, but health did soon return as I sailed. My repentance lasted not as I sailed as I sailed. My repentance lasted not as I sailed. My repentance lasted not. My vows I soon forgot. Damnation was my lot as I sailed. I spied the ships from France as I sailed as I sailed. I spied the ships from France as I sailed. I spied the ships from France to them I did advance, and took them all by chance as I sailed. I spied the ships of Spain as I sailed as I sailed. I spied the ships of Spain as I sailed. I spied the ships of Spain I fired on them a main, till most of them was slain as I sailed. I had ninety bars of gold as I sailed, as I sailed, I had 90 bars of gold as I sailed I'd 90 bars of gold and dollars manifold with riches uncontrolled as I sailed. Thus being overtaken at last I must die, I must die. Thus being overtaken at last I must die. Thus being overtaken at last and into prison cast and sentenced being passed I must die. Farewell the raging main I must die, I must die. Farewell the raging main I must die. Farewell, the raging Maine, to Turkey, France, and Spain. I shall never see you again. 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 the 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. Take warning now by me, for I must die, for I must die. Take warning now by me, for I must die.  It is said that Kidd showed no repentance when he was tried, but insisted that he was the victim of malicious persons who swore falsely against him. And yet a more thoroughly dishonest rascal never sailed under the black flag. In the guise of an accredited officer of government he committed the crimes he was sent out to suppress. He deceived his men, he robbed and misused his fellow countrymen and his friends, and he even descended to the meanness of cheating and dispoiling the natives of the West India Islands with whom he traded. These people were in the habit of supplying pirates with food and other necessaries, and they always found their rough customers entirely honest and willing to pay for what they received. For as the pirates made a practice of stopping at certain points for supplies they wished, of course, to be on good terms with those who furnished them. But Kidd had no ideas of honor toward people of high or low degree. He would trade with the natives as if he intended to treat them fairly and pay for all he got, but when the time came for him to depart and he was ready to weigh anchor he would seize upon all the commodities he could lay his hands upon, and without paying a copper to the distressed and indignant Indians he would gaily sail away, his black flag flaunting derisively in the wind. But although in reality Captain Kidd was no hero, he has been known for a century and more as the great American pirate, and his name has been representative of piracy ever since. Years after he had been hung when people heard that a vessel with a black flag, or one which looked black in the distance, flying from its rigging had been seen, they forgot that the famous pirate was dead and imagined that Captain Kidd was visiting their part of the coast in order that he might find a good place to bury some treasure which it was no longer safe for him to carry about. There were two great reasons for the fame of Captain Kidd. One of these was the fact that he had been sent out by important officers of the Crown who expected to share the profits of his legitimate operations, but who were supposed by their enemies to be perfectly willing to take any sort of profits provided it could not be proved that they were the results of piracy, and who afterwards allowed Kidd to suffer for their sins as well as his own. These opinions introduced certain political features into his career and made him a very much talked-of man. The greater reason for his fame, however, was the widespread belief in his buried treasures, and this made him the object of the most intense interest to hundreds of misguided people who hoped to be lucky enough to share his spoils. There were other pirates on the American coast during the eighteenth century, and some of them became very well known, but their stories are not uncommon, and we need not tell them here. As our country became better settled, and as well-armed revenue-cutters began to cruise up and down our Atlantic coast for the protection of our commerce, pirates became fewer and fewer, and even those who were still bold enough to ply their trade grew milder in their manners, less daring in their exploits, and more important than anything else, so unsuccessful in their illegal enterprises that they were forced to admit that it was now more profitable to command or work a merchantman than to endeavor to capture one, and so the sea robbers of our coast gradually passed away.