The Panda was now warped out of the river and anchored off the negro
town of Cape Lopez. Negociations were now entered into for the surrender
of the pirates. An officer was accordingly sent on shore to have an
interview with the king. He was met on the beach by an ebony chief
calling himself duke. "We followed the duke through the extensive and
straggling place, frequently buried up to the ankles in sand, from which
the vegetation was worn by the constant passing and repassing of the
inhabitants. We arrived at a large folding door placed in a high bamboo
and palm tree fence, which inclosed the king's establishment, ornamented
on our right by two old honeycombed guns, which, although dismounted,
were probably, according to the practice of the coast, occasionally
fired to attract the attention of passing vessels, and to imply that
slaves were to be procured. On the left of the enclosure was a shed,
with a large ship's bell suspended beneath, serving as an alarum bell in
case of danger, while the remainder was occupied with neatly built huts,
inhabited by the numerous wives of the king.

"We sent in to notify him of our arrival; he sent word out that we might
remain outside until it suited his convenience. But as such an
arrangement did not suit ours, we immediately entered, and found sitting
at a table the king. He was a tall, muscular, ugly looking negro, about
fifty years of age. We explained the object of our visit, which was to
demand the surrender of the white men, who were now concealed in the
town, and for permission to pass up the river in pursuit of those who
had gone up that way. He now expressed the most violent indignation at
our presumption in demanding the pirates, and the interview was broken
off by his refusing to deliver up a single man."

We will now return to the pirates. While at Prince's Island, Capt.
Gilbert bought a magnificent dressing case worth nearly a thousand
dollars and a patent lever watch, and a quantity of tobacco, and
provisions, and two valuable cloth coats, some Guinea cloth and black
and green paint. The paint, cloth and coats were intended as presents
for the African king at Cape Lopez. These articles were all bought with
the money taken from the Mexican. After arriving at the Nazareth, $4000
were taken from the trunk, and buried in the yard of a negro prince.
Four of the pirates then went to Cape Lopez for $11,000, which had been
buried there. Boyga, Castillo, Guzman, and the "State's Evidence,"
Ferez, were the ones who went. Ferez took the bags out, and the others
counted the money; great haste was made as the musquitoes were biting
intolerably. $5000 were buried for the captain in canvas bags about two
feet deep, part of the money was carried to Nazareth, and from there
carried into the mountains and there buried. A consultation was held by
Capt. Gilbert, De Soto, and Ruiz, and the latter said, if the money was
not divided, "there would be the devil to pay." The money was now
divided in a dark room and a lantern used; Capt. Gilbert sat on the
floor with the money at his side. He gave the mate about $3000, and the
other officers $1000, each; and the crew from $300 to $500, each. The
third mate having fled, the captain sent him $1000, and Ruiz carried it
to him. When the money was first taken from the Mexican, it was spread
out on the companion way and examined to see if there was any gold
amongst it; and then put into bags made of dark coarse linen; the boxes
were then thrown overboard. After the division of the money the pirates
secreted themselves in the woods behind Cape Lopez. Perez and four
others procured a boat, and started for Fernando Po; they put their
money in the bottom of the boat for ballast, but was thrown overboard,
near a rock and afterwards recovered by divers; this was done to prevent
detection. The captain, mate, and carpenter had a conversation
respecting the attempt of the latter, to blow her up, who could not
account for the circumstance, that an explosion had not taken place;
they told him he ought to have burst a barrel of powder over the deck
and down the stairs to the magazine, loaded a gun, tied a fish line to
the lock and pulled it when he came off in the canoe.

[Illustration: _View of the Negro village on the river Nazareth, and the
Panda at anchor._]

The Panda being manned by Capt. Trotter and an English crew, commenced
firing on the town of Cape Lopez, but after firing several shots, a
spark communicated with the magazine and she blew up. Several men were
killed, and Captain Trotter and the others thrown into the water, when
he was made prisoner with several of his crew, by the King, and it
required considerable negociations to get them free.

[Illustration: _Burying the money on the beach at Cape Lopez._]

The pirates having gone up the river, an expedition was now equipped to
take them if possible. The long-boat and pinnace were instantly armed,
and victualled for several weeks, a brass gun was mounted on the bows of
each, and awnings fixed up to protect the crew from the extreme heat of
the sun by day, and the heavy dews at nightfall. As the sea-breeze and
the flood-tide set in, the boats again started and proceeded up the
river. It was ascertained the war-canoes were beyond where the Panda was
first taken; for fear of an ambuscade great caution was observed in
proceeding. "As we approached a point, a single native was observed
standing near a hut erected near the river, who, as we approached,
beckoned, and called for us to land. We endeavored to do so, but
fortunately the water was too shallow to approach near enough.

"We had hardly steered about for the channel, when the man suddenly
rushed into the bushes and disappeared. We got into the channel, and
continued some time in deep water, but this suddenly shoaled, and the
boats grounded near a mangrove, just as we came in sight of a village.
Our crew jumped out, and commenced tracking the boat over the sand, and
while thus employed, I observed by means of my glass, a crowd of
natives, and some of the pirates running down the other side of a low
point, apparently with the intention of giving us battle, as they were
all armed with spears and muskets."

The men had just succeeded in drawing the boats into deep water, when a
great number of canoes were observed coming round the point, and at the
same instant another large party running down to launch; some more on
the beach, when they joined those already afloat, in all made above
twenty-eight canoes, and about one hundred and fifty men. Having
collected all their forces, with loud whooping and encouraging shouts to
one another, they led towards us with great celerity.

We prepared instantly for battle; the awnings were got down to allow
room to use the cutlasses and to load the muskets. The brass guns were
loaded with grape shot. They now approached uttering terrific yells, and
paddling with all speed. On board the canoes the pirates were loading
the guns and encouraging the natives. Bernardo de Soto and Francisco
Ruiz were conspicuous, in manoeuvring the negro boats for battle, and
commenced a straggling fire upon the English boats. In them all was
still, each man had a cutlass by his side, and a loaded musket in his
hand. On arriving within pistol-shot a well directed fire was poured
into them, seconded by a discharge of the three pounders; many of the
balls took effect, and two of the canoes were sunk. A brisk fire was
kept up on both sides; a great number of the negroes were killed, and a
few of the pirates; the English loss was small. The negroes now became
panic-struck, and some paddled towards the shore, others jumped
overboard and swam; the sharks caught several. Captain Gilbert and De
Soto were now caught, together with five of the crew; Ruiz and the rest
escaped to a village, some ways inland, and with the aid of a telescope
it was perceived the negroes were rapidly gathering to renew the combat,
urged on by Ruiz and the other pirates; after dislodging them from this
village, negociations were entered into by the king of Cape Lopez, who
surrendered Ruiz and several men to Captain Trotter. They were carried
in the brig Curlew to Fernando Po, and after an examination, were put in
irons and conveyed to England, and there put on board the British
gun-brig Savage, and arrived in the harbor of Salem on the 26th August,
1834. Her commander, Lieut. Loney, waited upon the authorities of Salem,
and after the usual formalities, surrendered the prisoners into their
hands--stating that the British Government waived their right to try and
punish the prisoners, in favor of the United States, against whom the
principal offence had been committed. The pirates were landed at
Crowningshield wharf, and taken from thence in carriages to the Town
hall; twelve of them, handcuffed in pairs, took their places at the bar.
They were all young and middle-aged, the oldest was not over forty.
Physiognomically, they were not uncommonly ill looking, in general,
although there were exceptions, and they were all clean and wholesome in
their appearance. They were now removed to Boston and confined in
prison, where one of them, named Manuel Delgarno cut his throat with a
piece of glass, thus verifying the old proverb, _that those born to be
hung, will never be drown'd!_

On the 11th of November, Don Pedro Gilbert, _Captain_, Don Bernardo de
Soto, _Mate_, Francisco Ruiz, _Carpenter_, Nicola Costa, _Cabin-boy,_
aged 15, Antonio Ferrer, _Cook_, and Manuel Boyga, Domingo de Guzman,
_an Indian_, Juan Antonio Portana, Manuel Castillo, Angel Garcia, Jose
Velasquez, and Juan Montenegro, _alias_ Jose Basilio de Castro, were
arraigned before the Circuit Court of the United States, charged with
the crime of Piracy. Joseph Perez appeared as _State's evidence_, and
two Portuguese sailors who were shipped on board the Panda at Prince's
Island, as witnesses. After a jury was empannelled, Mr. Dunlap, the
District Attorney, rose and said--"This is a solemn, and also an unusual
scene. Here are twelve men, strangers to our country and to our
language, indicted for a heinous offence, and now before you for life or
death. They are indicted for a daring crime, and a flagrant violation of
the laws, not only of this, but of every other civilized people." He
then gave an outline of the commission of the robbery of the Mexican.
Numerous witnesses were examined, amongst whom were the captain, mate,
and several seamen of the Mexican, who recognized several of the pirates
as being the individuals who maltreated them, and took the specie. When
Thomas Fuller, one of the crew of the Mexican was called upon to
identify Ruiz, he went up to him and struck him a violent blow on the
shoulder. Ruiz immediately started up, and with violent gesticulations
protested against such conduct, and was joined by his companions. The
Court reprimanded the witness severely. The trial occupied _fourteen
days_. The counsel for the prisoners were David L. Child, Esq., and
George Hillard, Esq., who defended them with great ability. Mr. Child
brought to the cause his untiring zeal, his various and profound
learning; and exhibited a labour, and _desperation_ which showed that he
was fully conscious of the weight of the load--the dead lift--he had
undertaken to carry. Mr. Hillard concluded his argument, by making an
eloquent and affecting appeal to the jury in behalf of the boy Costa and
Antonio Ferrer, the cook, and alluded to the circumstance of Bernardo de
Soto having rescued the lives of 70 individuals on board the American
ship Minerva, whilst on a voyage from Philadelphia to Havana, when
captain of the brig Leon.

[Illustration: _Explosion of the Panda._]

If, gentlemen, said he, you deem with me, that the crew of the Panda,
(supposing her to have robbed the Mexican,) were merely servants of the
captain, you cannot convict them. But if you do not agree with me, then
all that remains for me to do, is to address a few words to you in the
way of mercy. It does not seem to me that the good of society requires
the death of all these men, the sacrifice of such a hecatomb of human
victims, or that the sword of the law should fall till it is clogged
with massacre. _Antonio Ferrer_ is plainly but a servant. He is set down
as a free black in the ship's papers, but that is no proof that he is
free. Were he a slave, he would in all probability be represented as
free, and this for obvious reasons. He is in all probability a slave,
and a native African, as the tattooing on his face proves beyond a
doubt. At any rate, he is but a servant. Now will you make misfortune
pay the penalty of guilt? Do not, I entreat you, lightly condemn this
man to death. Do not throw him in to make up the dozen. The regard for
human life is one of the most prominent proofs of a civilized state of
society. The Sultan of Turkey may place women in sacks and throw them
into the Bosphorus, without exciting more than an hour's additional
conversation at Constantinople. But in our country it is different. You
well remember the excitement produced by the abduction and death of a
single individual; the convulsions which ensued, the effect of which
will long be felt in our political institutions. You will ever find that
the more a nation becomes civilized, the greater becomes the regard for
human life. There is in the eye, the form, and heaven-directed
countenance of man, something holy, that forbids he should be rudely
touched.

The instinct of life is great. The light of the sun even in chains, is
pleasant; and life, though supported but by the damp exhalations of a
dungeon, is desirable. Often, too, we cling with added tenacity to life
in proportion as we are deprived of all that makes existence to be
coveted.

[Illustration: _Thomas Fuller striking Ruiz in Court._]

"The weariest and most loathed worldly life.
That age, ache, penury and imprisonment
Can lay on Nature, is a Paradise
To that we fear of Death."

Death is a fearful thing. The mere mention of it sometimes blanches the
cheek, and sends the fearful blood to the heart. It is a solemn thing to
break into the "bloody house of life." Do not, because this man is but
an African, imagine that his existence is valueless. He is no drift weed
on the ocean of life. There are in his bosom the same social sympathies
that animate our own. He has nerves to feel pain, and a heart to throb
with human affections, even as you have. His life, to establish the law,
or to further the ends of justice, is not required. _Taken_, it is to us
of no value; given to him, it is above the price of rubies.

And _Costa_, the cabin boy, only fifteen years of age when this crime
was committed--shall he die? Shall the sword fall upon his neck? Some of
you are advanced in years--you may have children. Suppose the news had
reached you, that your son was under trial for his life, in a foreign
country--(and every cabin boy who leaves this port may be placed in the
situation of this prisoner,)--suppose you were told that he had been
executed, because his captain and officers had violated the laws of a
distant land; what would be your feelings? I cannot tell, but I believe
the feelings of all of you would be the same, and that you would
exclaim, with the Hebrew, "My son! my son! would to God I had died for
thee." This boy _has_ a father; let the form of that father rise up
before you, and plead in your hearts for his offspring. Perhaps he has a
mother, and a home. Think of the lengthened shadow that must have been
cast over that home by his absence. Think of his mother, during those
hours of wretchedness, when she has felt hope darkening into
disappointment, next into anxiety, and from anxiety into despair. How
often may she have stretched forth her hands in supplication, and asked,
even the winds of heaven, to bring her tidings of him who was away? Let
the supplications of that mother touch your hearts, and shield their
object from the law.

After a luminous charge by Judge Story, the jury retired to agree upon
their verdict, and at 9 o'clock the next morning came in with their
verdict.

_Clerk_. Gentlemen of the Jury, have you agreed upon your verdict?

_Jury_. We have.

_Clerk_. Who shall speak for you?

_Jury_. Our foreman.

The prisoners were then directed severally to rise as soon as called,
and receive the verdict of the jury. The Captain, _Pedro Gilbert_, was
the first named. He arose, raised his hand, and regarded the jury with a
firm countenance and steady eye.

_Clerk_. Jurors look upon the prisoner; prisoner look upon the jurors.
How say you, Gentlemen, is the prisoner at the bar, Pedro Gilbert,
guilty or not guilty?

_Foreman_. GUILTY.

The same verdict was pronounced against _De Soto_ (the mate) _Ruiz_,
(the carpenter,) _Boyga, Castillo, Garcia_ and _Montenegro_. But
_Costa_, (the cabin-boy,) _Ferrer_ (the negro,) _Guzman, Portana_, and
_Velasquez_, were declared NOT GUILTY.

After having declared the verdict of the Jury, the Foreman read to the
Court the following recommendation to mercy:

"The sympathies of the Jury have been strongly moved in behalf of
_Bernardo de Soto_, on account of his generous, noble and
self-sacrificing conduct in saving the lives of more than 70 human
beings, constituting the passengers and crew of the ship _Minerva_; and
they desire that his case should be presented to the merciful
consideration of the Government."

Judge Story replied that the wish of the jury would certainly be
complied with both by the Court and the prosecuting officer.

"The appearance and demeanor of Captain Gilbert are the same as when we
first saw him; his eye is undimmed, and decision and command yet sit
upon his features. We did not discern the slightest alteration of color
or countenance when the verdict of the jury was communicated to him; he
merely slightly bowed and resumed his seat. With _De Soto_ the case was
different. He is much altered; has become thinner, and his countenance
this morning was expressive of the deepest despondency. When informed
of the contents of the paper read by the foreman of the jury, he
appeared much affected, and while being removed from the Court, covered
his face with his handkerchief."

Immediately after the delivery of the verdict, the acquitted prisoners,
on motion of Mr. Hillard, were directed to be discharged, upon which
several of the others loudly and angrily expressed their dissatisfaction
at the result of the trial. Castillo (_a half-caste_, with an extremely
mild and pleasing countenance,) pointed towards heaven, and called upon
the Almighty to bear witness that he was innocent; _Ruiz_ uttered some
words with great vehemence; and _Garcia_ said "all were in the same
ship; and it was strange that some should be permitted to escape while
others were punished." Most of them on leaving the Court uttered some
invective against "the _picaro_ who had sworn their lives away."

On _Costa_, the cabin boy, (aged 16) being declared "Not Guilty" some
degree of approbation was manifested by the audience, but instantly
checked by the judge, who directed the officers to take into custody,
every one expressing either assent or dissent. We certainly think the
sympathy expressed in favor of _Costa_ very ill placed, for although we
have not deemed ourselves at liberty to mention the fact earlier, his
conduct during the whole trial was characterized by the most reckless
effrontery and indecorum. Even when standing up to receive the verdict
of the jury, his face bore an impudent smile, and he evinced the most
total disregard of the mercy which had been extended towards him.

About this time vague rumors reached Corunna, that a Captain belonging
to that place, engaged in the Slave Trade, had turned Pirate, been
captured, and sent to America with his crew for punishment. Report at
first fixed it upon a noted slave-dealer, named Begaro. But the
astounding intelligence soon reached Senora de Soto, that her husband
was the person captured for this startling crime. The shock to her
feelings was terrible, but her love and fortitude surmounted them all;
and she determined to brave the terrors of the ocean, to intercede for
her husband if condemned, and at all events behold him once more. A
small schooner was freighted by her own and husband's father, and in it
she embarked for New-York. After a boisterous passage, the vessel
reached that port, when she learned her husband had already been tried
and condemned to die. The humane people of New-York advised her to
hasten on to Washington, and plead with the President for a pardon. On
arriving at the capital, she solicited an interview with General
Jackson, which was readily granted. From the circumstance of her
husband's having saved the lives of seventy Americans, a merciful ear
was turned to her solicitations, and a pardon for De Soto was given her,
with which she hastened to Boston, and communicated to him the joyful
intelligence.

Andrew Jackson, President of the United States of America, to all to
whom these presents shall come, _Greeting_: Whereas, at the October
Term, 1834, of the Circuit Court of the United States, Bernardo de Soto
was convicted of Piracy, and sentenced to be hung on the 11th day of
March last from which sentence a respite was granted him for three
months, bearing date the third day of March, 1835, also a subsequent
one, dated on the fifth day of June, 1835, for sixty days. And whereas
the said Bernardo de Soto has been represented as a fit subject for
executive clemency--

Now therefore, I, Andrew Jackson, President of the United States of
America, in consideration of the premises, divers good and sufficient
causes me thereto moving, have pardoned, and hereby do pardon the said
Bernardo de Soto, from and after the 11th August next, and direct that
he be then discharged from confinement. In testimony whereof I have
hereunto subscribed my name, and caused the seal of the United States to
be affixed to these presents. Done at the City of Washington the sixth
day of July, AD. 1835, and of the independence of the United States and
sixtieth. Andrew Jackson.

On the fatal morning of June 11th, 1835, Don Pedro, Juan Montenegro,
Manuel Castillo, Angel Garcia and Manuel Boyga, were, agreeably to
sentence, summoned to prepare for immediate execution. On the night
previous, a mutual agreement had been entered into to commit suicide.
Angel Garcia made the first attempt by trying to open the veins of each
arm with a piece of glass; but was prevented. In the morning, however,
while preparations were making for the execution, Boyga succeeded in
inflicting a deep gash on the left side of his neck, with a piece of
tin. The officer's eyes had been withdrawn from him scarcely a minute,
before he was discovered lying on his pallet, with a convulsive motion
of his knees, from loss of blood. Medical aid was at hand, the gash
sewed up, but he did not revive. Two Catholic clergymen attended them on
the scaffold, one a Spanish priest. They were executed in the rear of
the jail. When the procession arrived at the foot of the ladder leading
up to the platform of the gallows the Rev. Mr. Varella looking directly
at Capt. Gilbert, said, "Spaniards, ascend to heaven." Don Pedro mounted
with a quick step, and was followed by his comrades at a more moderate
pace, but without the least hesitation. Boyga, unconscious of his
situation and destiny, was carried up in a chair, and seated beneath the
rope prepared for him. Gilbert, Montenegro, Garcia and Castillo all
smiled subduedly as they took their stations on the platform. Soon after
Capt. Gilbert ascended the scaffold, he passed over to where the
apparently lifeless Boyga was seated in the chair, and kissed him.
Addressing his followers, he said, "Boys, we are going to die; but let
us be firm, for we are innocent." To Mr. Peyton, the interpreter, he
said, "I die innocent, but I'll die like a noble Spaniard. Good bye,
brother." The Marshal having read the warrant for their execution, and
stated that de Soto was respited _sixty_ and Ruiz _thirty_ days, the
ropes were adjusted round the necks of the prisoners, and a slight
hectic flush spread over the countenance of each; but not an eye
quailed, nor a limb trembled, not a muscle quivered. The fatal cord was
now cut, and the platform fell, by which the prisoners were launched
into eternity. After the execution was over, Ruiz, who was confined in
his cell, attracted considerable attention, by his maniac shouts and
singing. At one time holding up a piece of blanket, stained with Boyga's
blood, he gave utterance to his ravings in a sort of recitative, the
burden of which was--"This is the red flag my companions died under!"

After the expiration of Ruiz' second respite, the Marshal got two
surgeons of the United States Navy, who understood the Spanish language,
to attend him in his cell; they, after a patient examination pronounced
his madness a counterfeit, and his insanity a hoax. Accordingly, on the
morning of Sept. 11th, the Marshal, in company with a Catholic priest
and interpreter entered his cell, and made him sensible that longer
evasion of the sentence of the law was impossible, and that he must
surely die. They informed him that he had but half an hour to live, and
retired; when he requested that he might not be disturbed during the
brief space that remained to him, and turning his back to the open
entrance to his cell, he unrolled some fragments of printed prayers, and
commenced reading them to himself. During this interval he neither
spoke, nor heeded those who were watching him; but undoubtedly suffered
extreme mental agony. At one minute he would drop his chin on his bosom,
and stand motionless; at another would press his brow to the wall of his
cell, or wave his body from side to side, as if wrung with unutterable
anguish. Suddenly, he would throw himself upon his knees on the
mattress, and prostrate himself as if in prayer; then throwing his
prayers from him, he would clutch his rug in his fingers, and like a
child try to double it up, or pick it to pieces. After snatching up his
rug and throwing it away again and again, he would suddenly resume his
prayers and erect posture, and stand mute, gazing through the aperture
that admitted the light of day for upwards of a minute. This scene of
imbecility and indecision, of horrible prostration of mind, ceasing in
some degree when the Catholic clergyman re-entered his cell.

At 10 o'clock, the prisoner was removed from the prison, and during his
progress to the scaffold, though the hue of death was on his face, and
he trembled in every joint with fear, he chaunted with a powerful voice
an appropriate service from the Catholic ritual. Several times he turned
round to survey the heavens which at that moment were clear and bright
above him and when he ascended the scaffold after concluding his prayer,
he took one long and steadfast look at the sun, and waited in silence
his fate. His powers, mental and physical had been suddenly crushed with
the appalling reality that surrounded him; his whole soul was absorbed
with one master feeling, the dread of a speedy and violent death. He
quailed in the presence of the dreadful paraphernalia of his punishment,
as much as if he had been a stranger to deeds of blood, and never dealt
death to his fellow man as he ploughed the deep, under the black flag of
piracy, with the motto of "Rob, Kill, and Burn." After adjusting the
rope, a signal was given. The body dropped heavily, and the harsh abrupt
shock must have instantly deprived him of sensation, as there was no
voluntary action of the hands afterwards. Thus terminated his career of
crime in a foreign land without one friend to recognize or cheer him, or
a single being to regret his death.

The Spanish Consul having requested that the bodies might not be given
to the faculty, they were interred at night under the direction of the
Marshal, in the Catholic burial-ground at Charlestown. There being no
murder committed with the piracy, the laws of the United States do not
authorize the court to order the bodies for dissection.

[Illustration: _Ruiz leaving the Panda._]




THE LIFE OF BENITO DE SOTO THE PIRATE OF THE MORNING STAR.


The following narrative of the career of a desperate pirate who was
executed in Gibraltar in the month of January, 1830, is one of two
letters from the pen of the author of "the Military Sketch-Book." The
writer says Benito de Soto "had been a prisoner in the garrison for
nineteen months, during which time the British Government spared neither
the pains not expense to establish a full train of evidence against him.
The affair had caused the greatest excitement here, as well as at Cadiz,
owing to the development of the atrocities which marked the character of
this man, and the diabolical gang of which he was the leader. Nothing
else is talked of; and a thousand horrors are added to his guilt, which,
although he was guilty enough, he has no right to bear. The following is
all the authentic information I could collect concerning him. I have
drawn it from his trial, from the confession of his accomplices, from
the keeper of his prison, and not a little from his own lips. It will be
found more interesting than all the tales and sketches furnished in the
'Annuals,' magazines, and other vehicles of invention, from the simple
fact--that it is truth and not fiction."

Benito de Soto was a native of a small village near Courna; he was bred
a mariner, and was in the guiltless exercise of his calling at Buenos
Ayres, in the year 1827. A vessel was there being fitted out for a
voyage to the coast of Africa, for the smuggling of slaves; and as she
required a strong crew, a great number of sailors were engaged, amongst
whom was Soto. The Portuguese of South America have yet a privilege of
dealing in slaves on a certain part of the African coast, but it was the
intention of the captain of this vessel to exceed the limits of his
trade, and to run farther down, so as to take his cargo of human beings
from a part of the country which was proscribed, in the certainty of
being there enabled to purchase slaves at a much lower rate than he
could in the regular way; or, perhaps, to take away by force as many as
he could stow away into his ship. He therefore required a considerable
number of hands for the enterprise; and in such a traffic, it may be
easily conceived, that the morals of the crew could not be a subject of
much consideration with the employer. French, Spanish, Portuguese, and
others, were entered on board, most of them renegadoes, and they set
sail on their evil voyage, with every hope of infamous success.

Those who deal in evil carry along with them the springs of their own
destruction, upon which they will tread, in spite of every caution, and
their imagined security is but the brink of the pit into which they are
to fall. It was so with the captain of this slave-ship. He arrived in
Africa, took in a considerable number of slaves, and in order to
complete his cargo, went on shore, leaving his mate in charge of the
vessel. This mate was a bold, wicked, reckless and ungovernable spirit,
and perceiving in Benito de Soto a mind congenial with his own, he fixed
on him as a fit person to join in a design he had conceived, of running
away with the vessel, and becoming a pirate. Accordingly the mate
proposed his plan to Soto, who not only agreed to join in it, but
declared that he himself had been contemplating a similar enterprise
during the voyage. They both were at once of a mind, and they lost no
time in maturing their plot.

Their first step was to break the matter to the other members of the
crew. In this they proceeded cautiously, and succeeded so far as to
gain over twenty-two of the whole, leaving eighteen who remained
faithful to their trust. Every means were used to corrupt the well
disposed; both persuasion and threats were resorted to, but without
effect, and the leader of the conspiracy, the mate, began to despair of
obtaining the desired object. Soto, however, was not so easily
depressed. He at once decided on seizing the ship upon the strength of
his party: and without consulting the mate, he collected all the arms of
the vessel, called the conspirators together, put into each of their
possession a cutlass and a brace of pistols, and arming himself in like
manner, advanced at the head of the gang, drew his sword, and declared
the mate to be the commander of the ship, and the men who joined him
part owners. Still, those who had rejected the evil offer remained
unmoved; on which Soto ordered out the boats, and pointing to the land,
cried out, "There is the African coast; this is our ship--one or the
other must be chosen by every man on board within five minutes."

This declaration, although it had the effect of preventing any
resistance that might have been offered by the well disposed, to the
taking of the vessel, did not change them from their purpose; they still
refused to join in the robbery, and entered one by one into the boat, at
the orders of Soto, and with but one pair of oars (all that was allowed
to them) put off for the shore, from which they were then ten miles
distant. Had the weather continued calm, as it was when the boat left
the ship, she would have made the shore by dusk; but unhappily a strong
gale of wind set in shortly after her departure, and she was seen by
Soto and his gang struggling with the billows and approaching night, at
such a distance from the land as she could not possibly accomplish while
the gale lasted. All on board the ship agreed in opinion that the boat
could not live, as they flew away from her at the rate of ten knots an
hour, under close reefed topsails, leaving their unhappy messmates to
their inevitable fate. Those of the pirates who were lately executed at
Cadiz, declared that every soul in the boat perished.

[Illustration: _The Pirates carrying rum on shore to purchase slaves._]

The drunken uproar which that night reigned in the pirate ship was in
horrid unison with the raging elements around her; contention and
quarrelling followed the brutal ebriety of the pirates; each evil spirit
sought the mastery of the others, and Soto's, which was the fiend of
all, began to grasp and grapple for its proper place--the head of such a
diabolical community.

The mate (now the chief) at once gave the reins to his ruffian tyranny;
and the keen eye of Soto saw that he who had fawned with him the day
before, would next day rule him with an iron rod. Prompt in his actions
as he was penetrating in his judgment, he had no sooner conceived a
jealousy of the leader than he determined to put him aside; and as his
rival lay in his drunken sleep, Soto put a pistol to his head, and
deliberately shot him. For this act he excused himself to the crew, by
stating to them that it was in _their_ protection he did the act; that
_their_ interest was the other's death; and concluded by declaring
himself their leader, and promising a golden harvest to their future
labors, provided they obeyed him. Soto succeeded to the height of his
wishes, and was unanimously hailed by the crew as their captain.

On board the vessel, as I before stated, were a number of slaves, and
these the pirates had well secured under hatches. They now turned their
attention to those half starved, half suffocated creatures;--some were
for throwing them overboard, while others, not less cruel, but more
desirous of gain, proposed to take them to some port in one of those
countries that deal in human beings, and there sell them. The latter
recommendation was adopted, and Soto steered for the West Indies, where
he received a good price for his slaves. One of those wretched
creatures, a boy, he reserved as a servant for himself; and this boy was
destined by Providence to be the witness of the punishment of those
white men who tore away from their homes himself and his brethren. He
alone will carry back to his country the truth of Heaven's retribution,
and heal the wounded feelings of broken kindred with the recital of it.

The pirates now entered freely into their villainous pursuit, and
plundered many vessels; amongst others was an American brig, the
treatment of which forms the _chef d'oeuvre_ of their atrocity. Having
taken out of this brig all the valuables they could find, they hatched
down all hands to the hold, except a black man, who was allowed to
remain on deck for the special purpose of affording in his torture an
amusing exhibition to Soto and his gang. They set fire to the brig, then
lay to, to observe the progress of the flames; and as the miserable
African bounded from rope to rope, now climbing to the mast head--now
clinging to the shrouds--now leaping to one part of the vessel, and now
to another,--their enjoyment seemed raised to its heighest pitch. At
length the hatches opened to the devouring element, the tortured victim
of their fiendish cruelty fell exhausted into the flames, and the horrid
and revolting scene closed amidst the shouts of the miscreants who had
caused it.

Of their other exploits, that which ranks next in turpitude, and which
led to their overthrow, was the piracy of the Morning Star. They fell in
with that vessel near the island Ascension, in the year 1828, as she was
on her voyage from Ceylon to England. This vessel, besides a valuable
cargo, had on board several passengers, consisting of a major and his
wife, an assistant surgeon, two civilians, about five and twenty invalid
soldiers, and three or four of their wives. As soon as Benito de Soto
perceived the ship, which was at daylight on the 21st of February, he
called up all hands, and prepared for attacking her; he was at the time
steering on an opposite course to that of the Morning Star. On
reconnoitring her, he at first supposed she was a French vessel; but
Barbazan, one of his crew, who was himself a Frenchman, assured him the
ship was British. "So much the better," exclaimed Soto, in English (for
he could speak that language), "we shall find the more booty." He then
ordered the sails to be squared, and ran before the wind in chase of his
plunder, from which he was about two leagues distant.

The Defensor de Pedro, the name of the pirate ship, was a fast sailer,
but owing to the press of canvas which the Morning Star hoisted soon
after the pirate had commenced the chase, he did not come up with her so
quickly as he had expected: the delay caused great uneasiness to Soto,
which he manifested by muttering curses, and restlessness of manner.
Sounds of savage satisfaction were to be heard from every mouth but his
at the prospect; he alone expressed his anticipated pleasure by oaths,
menaces, and mental inquietude. While Barbazan was employed in
superintending the clearing of the decks, the arming and breakfasting of
the men, he walked rapidly up and down, revolving in his mind the plan
of the approaching attack, and when interrupted by any of the crew, he
would run into a volley of imprecations. In one instance, he struck his
black boy a violent blow with a telescope, because he asked him if he
would have his morning cup of chocolate; as soon, however, as he set his
studding sails, and perceived that he was gaining on the Morning Star,
he became somewhat tranquil, began to eat heartily of cold beef, drank
his chocolate at a draught, and coolly sat down on the deck to smoke a
cigar.

In less than a quarter of an hour, the pirate had gained considerable on
the other vessel. Soto now, without rising from where he sat, ordered a
gun, with blank cartridge, to be fired, and the British colors to be
hoisted: but finding this measure had not the effect of bringing the
Morning Star to, he cried out, "Shot the long gun and give it her point
blank." The order was obeyed, but the shot fell short of the intention,
on which he jumped up and cursed the fellows for bunglers who had fired
the gun. He then ordered them to load with canister shot, and took the
match in his own hand. He did not, however, fire immediately, but waited
until he was nearly abreast of his victim; then directing the aim
himself, and ordering a man to stand by the flag to haul it down, fired
with an air that showed he was sure of his mark. He then ran to haul up
the Colombian colors, and having done so, cried out through the speaking
trumpet, "Lower your boat down this moment, and let your captain come on
board with his papers."

During this fearful chase the people on board the Morning Star were in
the greatest alarm; but however their apprehensions might have been
excited, that courage, which is so characteristic of a British sailor,
never for a moment forsook the captain. He boldly carried on sail, and
although one of the men fell from a wound, and the ravages of the shot
were every where around him, he determined not to strike. But unhappily
he had not a single gun on board, and no small arms that could render
his courage availing. The tears of the women, and the prudent advice of
the passengers overcoming his resolution, he permitted himself to be
guided by the general opinion. One of the passengers volunteered himself
to go on board the pirate, and a boat was lowered for the purpose. Both
vessels now lay to within fifty yards of each other, and a strong hope
arose in those on board the Morning Star, that the gentleman who had
volunteered to go to the pirate, might, through his exertions, avert, at
least, the worst of the dreaded calamity.

Some people here, in their quiet security, have made no scruple of
declaring, that the commanding officer of the soldiers on board should
not have so tamely yielded to the pirate, particularly as he had his
wife along with him, and consequently a misfortune to dread, that might
be thought even worse than death: but all who knew the true state of the
circumstances, and reflect upon it, will allow that he adopted the only
chance of escaping that, which was to be most feared by a husband. The
long gun, which was on a pivot in the centre of the pirate ship, could
in a few shots sink the Morning Star; and even had resistance been made
to the pirates as they boarded her--had they been killed or made
prisoners--the result would not be much better. It was evident that the
Defensor de Pedro was the best sailer, consequently the Morning Star
could not hope to escape; in fact, submission or total destruction was
the only choice. The commanding officer, therefore, acted for the best
when he recommended the former. There was some slight hope of escaping
with life, and without personal abuse, by surrendering, but to contend
must be inevitable death.

The gentleman who had gone in a boat to the pirate returned in a short
time, exhibiting every proof of the ill treatment he had received from
Soto and his crew. It appears that when the villains learned that he was
not the captain, they fell upon and beat him, as well as the sailors
along with him, in a most brutal manner, and with the most horrid
imprecations told him, that if the captain did not instantly come, on
his return to the vessel, they would blow the ship out of the water.
This report as once decided the captain in the way he was to act.
Without hesitation he stepped into the boat, taking with him his second
mate, three soldiers and a sailor boy, and proceeded to the pirate. On
going on board that vessel, along with the mate, Soto, who stood near
the mainmast, with his drawn cutlass in his hand, desired him to
approach, while the mate was ordered, by Barbazan, to go to the
forecastle. Both these unfortunate individuals obeyed, and were
instantly slaughtered.

Soto now ordered six picked men to descend into the boat, amongst whom
was Barbazan. To him the leader addressed his orders, the last of which
was, to take care to put all in the prize to death, and then sink her.

The six pirates, who proceeded to execute his savage demand, were all
armed alike,--they each carried a brace of pistols, a cutlass and a long
knife. Their dress was composed of a sort of coarse cotton chequered
jacket and trowsers, shirts that were open at the collar, red woollen
caps, and broad canvas waistbelts, in which were the pistols and the
knives. They were all athletic men, and seemed such as might well be
trusted with the sanguinary errand on which they were despatched. While
the boat was conveying them, Soto held in his hand a cutlass, reddened
with the blood of the murdered captain, and stood scowling on them with
silence: while another ruffian, with a lighted match, stood by the long
gun, ready to support the boarding, if necessary, with a shot that
would sweep the deck.

As the boarders approached the Morning Star, the terror of the females
became excessive; they clung to their husbands in despair, who
endeavored to allay their fears by their own vain hopes, assuring them
that a quiet submission nothing more than the plunder of the vessel was
to be apprehended. But a few minutes miserably undeceived them. The
pirates rapidly mounted the side, and as they jumped on deck, commenced
to cut right and left at all within their reach, uttering at the same
time the most dreadful oaths. The females, screaming, hurried to hide
themselves below as well as they were able, and the men fell or fled
before the pirates, leaving them entire masters of the decks.