The Pirates Own Book Part 9

Now a servant, it is true, if he go voluntarily, and have his proportion, he must be accounted a pirate, for then he acts upon his own account, and not by compulsion: and these persons, according to the evidence, received their part, but whether they accounted to their masters for their shares afterwards, is the matter in question, and what distinguishes them as free agents, or men that did go under the compulsion of their masters; which being left to the consideration of the jury, they found them _not guilty_.

Kidd was tried upon an indictment of murder also, viz. for killing Moor, the gunner, and found guilty of the same. Nicholas Churchill, and James How pleaded the king's pardon, as having surrendered themselves within the time limited in the proclamation, and Col. Ba.s.s, governor of West Jersey, to whom they surrendered, being in court, and called upon, proved the same. However, this plea was overruled by the court, because there being four commissioners named in the proclamation, viz. Capt.

Thomas Warren, Israel Hayes, Peter Delannoye, and Christopher Pollard, Esquires, who were appointed commissioners, and sent over on purpose to receive the submissions of such pirates as should surrender, it was adjudged no other person was qualified to receive their surrender, and that they could not be ent.i.tled to the benefit of the said proclamation, because they had not in all circ.u.mstances complied with the conditions of it.

Darby Mullins urged in his defence, that he served under the king's commission, and therefore could not disobey his commander without incurring great punishments; that whenever a ship or ships went out upon any expedition under the king's commission, the men were never allowed to call their officers to an account, why they did this, or why they did that, because such a liberty would destroy all discipline; that if any thing was done which was unlawful, the officers were to answer it, for the men did no more than their duty in obeying orders. He was told by the court, that acting under the commission justified in what was lawful, but not in what was unlawful. He answered, he stood in need of nothing to justify him in what was lawful, but the case of seamen must be very hard, if they must be brought into such danger for obeying the commands of their officers, and punished for not obeying them; and if they were allowed to dispute the orders, there could be no such thing as command kept up at sea.

This seemed to be the best defence the thing could bear; but his taking a share of the plunder, the seamen's mutinying on board several times, and taking upon them to control the captain, showed there was no obedience paid to the commission; and that they acted in all things according to the custom of pirates and freebooters, which weighing with the jury, they brought him in guilty with the rest.

As to Capt. Kidd's defence, he insisted much on his own innocence, and the villainy of his men. He said, he went out in a laudable employment and had no occasion, being then in good circ.u.mstances, to go a pirating; that the men often mutinied against him, and did as they pleased; that he was threatened to be shot in the cabin, and that ninety-five left him at one time, and set fire to his boat, so that he was disabled from bringing his ship home, or the prizes he took, to have them regularly condemned, which he said were taken by virtue of a commission under the broad seal, they having French pa.s.ses. The captain called one Col.

Hewson to his reputation, who gave him an extraordinary character, and declared to the court, that he had served under his command, and been in two engagements with him against the French, in which he fought as well as any man he ever saw; that there were only Kidd's ship and his own against Monsieur du Ca.s.s, who commanded a squadron of six sail, and they got the better of him. But this being several years before the facts mentioned in the indictment were committed, proved of no manner of service to the prisoner on his trial.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Captain Kidd hanging in chains._]

As to the friendship shown to Culliford, a notorious pirate, Kidd denied, and said, he intended to have taken him, but his men being a parcel of rogues and villains refused to stand by him, and several of them ran away from his ship to the said pirate. But the evidence being full and particular against him, he was found guilty as before mentioned.

When Kidd was asked what he had to say why sentence should not pa.s.s against him, he answered, that _he had nothing to say, but that he had been sworn against by perjured and wicked people_. And when sentence was p.r.o.nounced, he said, _My Lord, it is a very hard sentence. For my part, I am the most innocent person of them all, only I have been sworn against by perjured persons_.

Wherefore about a week after, Capt. Kidd, Nicholas Churchill, James How, Gabriel Loff, Hugh Parrot, Abel Owen, and Darby Mullins, were executed at Execution Dock, and afterwards hung up in chains, at some distance from each other, down the river, where their bodies hung exposed for many years.

Kidd died hard, for the rope with which he was first tied up broke with his weight and he tumbled to the ground. He was tied up a second time, and more effectually. Hence came the story of Kidd's being twice hung.

Such is Captain Kidd's true history; but it has given birth to an innumerable progeny of traditions. The report of his having buried great treasures of gold and silver which he actually did before his arrest, set the brains of all the good people along the coast in a ferment.

There were rumors on rumors of great sums of money found here and there, sometimes in one part of the country sometimes in another; of coins with Moorish inscriptions, doubtless the spoils of his eastern prizes.

Some reported the treasure to have been buried in solitary, unsettled places about Plymouth and Cape Cod; but by degrees, various other parts, not only on the eastern coast but along the sh.o.r.es of the Sound, and even Manhattan and Long Island were gilded by these rumors. In fact the vigorous measures of Lord Bellamont had spread sudden consternation among the pirates in every part of the provinces; they had secreted their money and jewels in lonely out-of-the-way places, about the wild sh.o.r.es of the sea coast, and dispersed themselves over the country. The hand of justice prevented many of them from ever returning to regain their buried treasures, which remain to this day thus secreted, and are irrecoverably lost. This is the cause of those frequent reports of trees and rocks bearing mysterious marks, supposed to indicate the spots where treasure lay hidden; and many have been the ransackings after the pirates' booty. A rocky place on the sh.o.r.es of Long Island, called Kidd's Ledge, has received great attention from the money diggers; but they have not as yet discovered any treasures.

THE b.l.o.o.d.y CAREER AND EXECUTION OF VINCENT BENAVIDES A PIRATE ON THE WEST COAST OF SOUTH AMERICA.

Vincent Benavides was the son of the gaoler of Quirihue in the district of Conception. He was a man of ferocious manners, and had been guilty of several murders. Upon the breaking out of the revolutionary war, he entered the patriot army as a private soldier; and was a serjeant of grenadiers at the time of the first Chilian revolution. He, however, deserted to the Spaniards, and was taken prisoner in their service, when they sustained, on the plains of Maypo, on the 5th of April, 1818, that defeat which decided their fortunes in that part of America, and secured the independence of Chili. Benavides, his brother, and some other traitors to the Chilian cause, were sentenced to death, and brought forth in the Plaza, or public square of Santiago, in order to be shot.

Benavides, though terribly wounded by the discharge, was not killed; but he had the presence of mind to counterfeit death in so perfect a manner, that the imposture was not suspected. The bodies of the traitors were not buried, but dragged away to a distance, and there left to be devoured by the gallinazos or vultures. The serjeant who had the superintendence of this part of the ceremony, had a personal hatred to Benavides, on account of that person having murdered some of his relations; and, to gratify his revenge, he drew his sword, and gave the dead body, (as he thought,) a severe gash in the side, as they were dragging it along. The resolute Benavides had fort.i.tude to bear this also, without flinching or even showing the least indication of life; and one cannot help regretting that so determined a power of endurance had not been turned to a better purpose.

Benavides lay like a dead man, in the heap of carca.s.ses, until it became dark; and then, pierced with shot, and gashed by the sword as he was, he crawled to a neighboring cottage, the inhabitants of which received him with the greatest kindness, and attended him with the greatest care.

The daring ruffian, who knew the value of his own talents and courage, being aware that General San Martin was planning the expedition to Peru, a service in which there would be much of desperation and danger, sent word to the General that he was alive, and invited him to a secret conference at midnight, in the same Plaza in which it was believed Benavides had been shot. The signal agreed upon, was, that they should strike fire three times with their flints, as that was not likely to be answered by any but the proper party, and yet was not calculated to awaken suspicion.

San Martin, alone, and provided with a brace of pistols, met the desperado; and after a long conference, it was agreed that Benavides should, in the mean time, go out against the Araucan Indians; but that he should hold himself in readiness to proceed to Peru, when the expedition suited.

Having procured the requisite pa.s.sports, he proceeded to Chili, where, having again diverted the Chilians, he succeeded in persuading the commander of the Spanish troops, that he had force sufficient to carry on the war against Chili; and the commander in consequence retired to Valdivia, and left Benavides commander of the whole frontier on the Biobio.

Having thus cleared the coast of the Spanish commander, he went over to the Araucans, or rather, he formed a band of armed robbers, who committed every cruelty, and were guilty of every perfidy in the south of Chili. Whereever Benavides came, his footsteps were marked with blood, and the old men, the women, and the children, were butchered lest they should give notice of his motions.

When he had rendered himself formidable by land, he resolved to be equally powerful upon the sea. He equipped a corsair, with instructions to capture the vessels of all nations; and as Araucan is directly opposite the island of Santa Maria, where vessels put in for refreshment, after having doubled Cape Horn, his situation was well adapted for his purpose. He was but too successful. The first of his prizes was the American ship Hero, which he took by surprise in the night; the second, was the Herculia, a brig belonging to the same country. While the unconscious crew were proceeding, as usual, to catch seals on this island, lying about three leagues from the main land of Arauca, an armed body of men rushed from the woods, and overpowering them, tied their hands behind them, and left them under a guard on the beach. These were no other than the pirates, who now took the Herculia's own boats, and going on board, surprised the captain and four of his crew, who had remained to take care of the brig; and having brought off the prisoners from the beach, threw them all into the hold, closing the hatches over them. They then tripped the vessel's anchor, and sailing over in triumph to Arauca, were received by Benavides, with a salute of musketry fired under the Spanish flag, which it was their chief's pleasure to hoist on that day. In the course of the next night, Benavides ordered the captain and his crew to be removed to a house on sh.o.r.e, at some distance from the town; then taking them out, one by one, he stripped and pillaged them of all they possessed, threatening them the whole time with drawn swords and loaded muskets. Next morning he paid the prisoners a visit and ordered them to the capital, called together the princ.i.p.al people of the town, and desired each to select one as a servant. The captain and four others not happening to please the fancy of any one, Benavides, after saying he would himself take charge of the captain, gave directions, on pain of instant death, that some one should hold themselves responsible for the other prisoners.

Some days after this they were called together, and required to serve as soldiers in the pirates army; an order to which they consented, knowing well by what they had already seen, that the consequence of refusal would be fatal.

Benavides, though unquestionably a ferocious savage, was, nevertheless, a man of resource, full of activity, and of considerable energy of character. He converted the whale spears and harpoons into lances for his cavalry, and halberts for his sergeants; and out of the sails he made trowsers for half of his army; the carpenters he set to work making baggage carts and repairing his boats; the armourers he kept perpetually at work, mending muskets, and making pikes; managing in this way, to turn the skill of every one of his prisoners to some useful account. He treated the officers, too, not unkindly, allowed them to live in his house, and was very anxious on all occasions, to have their advice respecting the equipment of his troops.

Upon one occasion, when walking with the captain of the Herculia, he remarked, that his army was now almost complete in every respect, except in one essential particular, and it cut him, he said to the soul, to think of such a deficiency; he had no trumpets for his cavalry, and added, that it was utterly impossible to make the fellows believe themselves dragoons, unless they heard a blast in their ears at every turn; and neither men nor horses would ever do their duty properly, if not roused to it by the sound of a trumpet; in short he declared, some device must be hit upon to supply this equipment. The captain, willing to ingratiate himself with the pirate, after a little reflection, suggested to him, that trumpets might easily be made of copper sheets on the bottoms of the vessels he had taken. "Very true," cried the delighted chief, "how came I not to think of that before?" Instantly all hands were employed in ripping off the copper, and the armourers being set to work under his personal superintendence, the whole camp, before night, resounded with the warlike blasts of the cavalry.

The captain of the ship, who had given him the brilliant idea of the copper trumpets, had by these means, so far won upon his good will and confidence, as to be allowed a considerable range to walk on. He of course, was always looking out for some plan of escape, and at length an opportunity occurring, he, with the mate of the Ocean, and nine of his crew, seized two whale boats, imprudently left on the banks of the river, and rowed off. Before quitting the sh.o.r.e, they took the precaution of staving all the other boats, to prevent pursuit, and accordingly, though their escape was immediately discovered, they succeeded in getting so much the start of the people whom Benavides sent in pursuit of them, that they reached St. Mary's Island in safety. Here they caught several seals upon which they subsisted very miserably till they reached Valparaiso. It was in consequence of their report of Benavides proceedings made to Sir Thomas Hardy, the commander-in-chief, that he deemed it proper to send a ship to rescue if possible, the remaining unfortunate captives at Arauca.

Benavides having manned the Herculia, it suited the mate, (the captain and crew being detained as hostages,) to sail with the brig to Chili, and seek aid from the Spanish governor. The Herculia returned with a twenty-four pounder, two field-pieces, eleven Spanish officers, and twenty soldiers, together with the most flattering letters and congratulations to the worthy ally of his Most Catholic Majesty. Soon after this he captured the Perseverance, English whaler, and the American brig Ocean, bound for Lima, with several thousand stand of arms on board. The captain of the Herculia, with the mate of the Ocean, and several men, after suffering great hardships, landed at Valparaiso, and gave notice of the proceedings of Benavides; and in consequence, Sir Thomas Hardy directed Captain Hall to proceed to Arauca with the convoy, to set the captives free, if possible.

It was for the accomplishment of this service that Capt. Hall sailed from Valparaiso; and he called at Conception on his way, in order to glean information respecting the pirate. Here the Captain ascertained that Benavides was between two considerable bodies of Chilian force, on the Chilian side of the Biobio, and one of those bodies between him and the river.

Having to wait two days at Conception for information, Captain Hall occupied them in observing the place; the country he describes as green and fertile, and having none of the dry and desert character of the environs of Valparaiso. Abundance of vegetables, wood, and also coals, are found on the sh.o.r.es of the bay.

On the 12th of October, the captain heard of the defeat of Benavides, and his flight, alone, across the Biobio into the Araucan country; and also that two of the Americans whom he had taken with him had made their escape, and were on board the Chacabuco. As these were the only persons who could give Captain Hall information respecting the prisoners of whom he was in quest, he set out in search of the vessel, and after two days'

search, found her at anchor near the island of Mocha. From thence he learned that the captain of the Ocean, with several English and American seamen had been left at Arauca, when Benavides went on his expedition, and he sailed for that place immediately.

He was too late, however; the Chilian forces had already made a successful attack, and the Indians had fled, setting fire to the town and the ships. The Indians, who were in league with the Chilians, were every way as wild as those who arrayed themselves under Benavides. Capt.

Hall, upon his return to Conception, though dissuaded from it by the governor, visited the Indian encampment.

When the captain and his a.s.sociates entered the courtyard, they observed a party seated on the ground, round a great tub of wine, who hailed their entrance with loud shouts, or rather yells, and boisterously demanded their business; to all appearance very little pleased with the interruption. The interpreter became alarmed, and wished them to retire; but this the captain thought imprudent, as each man had his long spear close at hand, resting against the eaves of the house. Had they attempted to escape they must have been taken, and possibly sacrificed, by these drunken savages. As their best chance seemed to lie in treating them without any show of distrust, they advanced to the circle with a good humored confidence, which appeased them considerably. One of the party rose and embraced them in the Indian fashion, which they had learned from the gentlemen who had been prisoners with Benavides. After this ceremony they roared out to them to sit down on the ground, and with the most boisterous hospitality, insisted on their drinking with them; a request which they cheerfully complied with. Their anger soon vanished, and was succeeded by mirth and satisfaction, which speedily became as outrageous as their displeasure had been at first. Seizing a favorable opportunity, Captain Hall stated his wish to have an interview with their chief, upon which a message was sent to him; but he did not think fit to show himself for a considerable time, during which they remained with the party round the tub, who continued swilling their wine like so many hogs. Their heads soon became affected, and their obstreperous mirth increasing every minute, the situation of the strangers became by no means agreeable.

At length Peneleo's door opened, and the chief made his appearance; he did not condescend, however, to cross the threshold, but leaned against the door post to prevent falling, being by some degrees more drunk than any of his people. A more finished picture of a savage cannot be conceived. He was a tall, broad shouldered man; with a prodigiously large head, and a square-shaped bloated face, from which peeped out two very small eyes, partly hid by an immense superfluity of black, coa.r.s.e, oily, straight hair, covering his cheeks, hanging over his shoulders, and rendering his head somewhat the shape and size of a bee-hive. Over his shoulders was thrown a poncho of coa.r.s.e blanket stuff. He received them very gruffly, and appeared irritated and sulky at having been disturbed; he was still more offended when he learned that they wished to see his captive. They in vain endeavored to explain their real views; but he grunted out his answer in a tone and manner which showed them plainly that he neither did, nor wished to understand them.

Whilst in conversation with Peneleo, they stole an occasional glance at his apartment. By the side of the fire burning in the middle of the floor, was seated a young Indian woman, with long black hair reaching to the ground; this, they conceived, could be no other than one of the unfortunate persons they were in search of; and they were somewhat disappointed to observe, that the lady was neither in tears, nor apparently very miserable; they therefore came away impressed with the unsentimental idea, that the amiable Peneleo had already made some impression on her young heart.

Two Indians, who were not so drunk as the rest, followed them to the outside of the court, and told them that several foreigners had been taken by the Chilians in the battle near Chilian, and were now safe. The interpreter hinted to them that this was probably invented by these cunning people, on hearing their questions in the court; but he advised them, as a matter of policy, to give them each a piece of money, and to get away as far as they could.

Captain Hall returned to Conception on the 23d of October, reached Valparaiso on the 26th, and in two weeks thereafter, the men of whom he was in search, made their appearance.

The b.l.o.o.d.y career of Benavides now drew near to a close. The defeat on the Chilian side of the Biobio, and the burning of Arauca with the loss of his vessels, he never recovered. At length, in the end of December 1821, discovering the miserable state to which he was reduced, he entreated the Intendant of Conception, that he might be received on giving himself up along with his partisans. This generous chief accepted his offer, and informed the supreme government; but in the meantime Benavides embarked in a launch, at the mouth of the river Lebo, and fled, with the intention of joining a division of the enemy's army, which he supposed to be at some one of the ports on the south coast of Peru. It was indeed absurd to expect any good faith from such an intriguer; for in his letters at this time, he offered his services to Chili and promised fidelity, while his real intention was still to follow the enemy. He finally left the unhappy province of Conception, the theatre of so many miserable scenes, overwhelmed with the misery which he had caused, without ever recollecting that it was in that province that he had first drawn his breath.

His despair in the boat made his conduct insupportable to those who accompanied him, and they rejoiced when they were obliged to put into the harbor of Topocalma in search of water of which they had run short.

He was now arrested by some patriotic individuals. From the notorious nature of his crimes, alone, even the most impartial stranger would have condemned him to the last punishment; but the supreme government wished to hear what he had to say for himself, and ordered him to be tried according to the laws. It appearing on his trial that he had placed himself beyond the laws of society, such punishment was awarded him as any one of his crimes deserved. As a pirate, he merited death, and as a destroyer of whole towns, it became necessary to put him to death in such a manner as might satisfy outraged humanity, and terrify others who should dare to imitate him. In pursuance of the sentence pa.s.sed upon him, he was dragged from the prison in a pannier tied to the tail of a mule, and was hanged in the great square; his head and hands were afterwards cut off, in order to their being placed upon high poles, to point out the places of his horrid crimes, Santa Juona, Tarpellanca and Arauca.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _The head of Benavides stuck on a pole._]

[Ill.u.s.tration]

THE LIFE OF CAPTAIN DAVIS

_With an account of his surprising the Fort at Gambia_.

Davis was born in Monmouthshire, and, from a boy, trained to the sea.

His last voyage from England was in the sloop Cadogan from Bristol, in the character of chief mate. This vessel was captured by the pirate England, upon the Guinea coast, whose companions plundered the crew, and murdered the captain, as is related in England's life.

Upon the death of Captain Skinner, Davis pretended that he was urged by England to become a pirate, but that he resolutely refused. He added, that England, pleased with his conduct, had made him captain in room of Skinner, giving him a sealed paper, which he was not to open until he was in a certain lat.i.tude, and then expressly to follow the given directions. When he arrived in the appointed place, he collected the whole crew, and solemnly read his sealed instructions, which contained a generous grant of the ship and all her stores to Davis and his crew, requesting them to go to Brazil, and dispose of the cargo to the best advantage, and make an equal division of the money.

Davis then commanded the crew to signify whether they were inclined to follow that mode of life, when, to his astonishment and chagrin, the majority positively refused. Then, in a transport of rage, he desired them to go where they would.