place on shore, and observed, that the chief difficulty was to get it
safe on shore; adding that, if either of the sloops should be attacked
alone, they would not be able to make any great resistance, and thus she
must either be sunk or taken with all the property on board. That, for
his part, his ship was so strong, so well manned, and such a
swift-sailing vessel, that he did not think it was possible for any
other ship to take or overcome her. Accordingly, he proposed that all
their treasure should be sealed up in three chests;--that each of the
captains should have keys, and that they should not be opened until all
were present;--that the chests should be then put on board his ship, and
afterwards lodged in some safe place upon land.

This proposal seemed so reasonable, and so much for the common good,
that it was without hesitation agreed to, and all the treasure deposited
in three chests, and carried to Avery's ship. The weather being
favorable, they remained all three in company during that and the next
day; meanwhile Avery, tampering with his men, suggested, that they had
now on board what was sufficient to make them all happy; "and what,"
continued he, "should hinder us from going to some country where we are
not known, and living on shore all the rest of our days in plenty?" They
soon understood his hint, and all readily consented to deceive the men
of the sloops, and fly with all the booty; this they effected during the
darkness of the following night. The reader may easily conjecture what
were the feelings and indignation of the other two crews in the morning,
when they discovered that Avery had made off with all their property.

Avery and his men hastened towards America, and being strangers in that
country, agreed to divide the booty, to change their names, and each
separately to take up his residence, and live in affluence and honor.
The first land they approached was the Island of Providence, then newly
settled. It however occurred to them, that the largeness of their
vessel, and the report that one had been run off with from the Groine,
might create suspicion; they resolved therefore to dispose of their
vessel at Providence. Upon this resolution, Avery, pretending that his
vessel had been equipped for privateering, and having been unsuccessful,
he had orders from the owners to dispose of her to the best advantage,
soon found a merchant. Having thus sold his own ship, he immediately
purchased a small sloop.

In this he and his companions embarked, and landed at several places in
America, where, none suspecting them, they dispersed and settled in the
country. Avery, however, had been careful to conceal the greater part of
the jewels and other valuable articles, so that his riches were immense.
Arriving at Boston, he was almost resolved to settle there, but, as the
greater part of his wealth consisted of diamonds, he was apprehensive
that he could not dispose of them at that place, without being taken up
as a pirate. Upon reflection, therefore, he resolved to sail for
Ireland, and in a short time arrived in the northern part of that
kingdom, and his men dispersed into several places. Some of them
obtained the pardon of King William, and settled in that country.

The wealth of Avery, however, now proved of small service, and
occasioned him great uneasiness. He could not offer his diamonds for
sale in that country without being suspected. Considering, therefore,
what was best to be done, he thought there might be some person at
Bristol he could venture to trust. Upon this he resolved, and going into
Devonshire, sent to one of his friends to meet him at a town called
Bideford. When he had unbosomed himself to him and other pretended
friends, they agreed that the safest plan would be to put his effects
into the hands of some wealthy merchants, and no inquiry would be made
how they came by them. One of these friends told him, he was acquainted
with some who were very fit for the purpose, and if he would allow them
a handsome commission, they would do the business faithfully. Avery
liked the proposal, particularly as he could think of no other way of
managing this matter, since he could not appear to act for himself.
Accordingly, the merchants paid Avery a visit at Bideford, where, after
strong protestations of honor and integrity, he delivered them his
effects, consisting of diamonds and some vessels of gold. After giving
him a little money for his present subsistence, they departed.

He changed his name, and lived quietly at Bideford, so that no notice
was taken of him. In a short time his money was all spent, and he heard
nothing from his merchants though he wrote to them repeatedly; at last
they sent him a small supply, but it was not sufficient to pay his
debts. In short, the remittances they sent him were so trifling, that he
could with difficulty exist. He therefore determined to go privately to
Bristol, and have an interview with the merchants himself,--where,
instead of money, he met with a mortifying repulse; for, when he desired
them to come to an account with him, they silenced him by threatening to
disclose his character; the merchants thus proving themselves as good
pirates on land as he was at sea.

Whether he was frightened by these menaces, or had seen some other
person who recognised him, is not known; however, he went immediately to
Ireland, and from thence solicited his merchants very strongly for a
supply, but to no purpose; so that he was reduced to beggary. In this
extremity he was determined to return, and cast himself upon the mercy
of these honest Bristol merchants, let the consequence be what it would.
He went on board a trading-vessel, and worked his passage over to
Plymouth, from whence he travelled on foot to Bideford. He had been
there but a few days, when he fell sick and died; not being worth so
much as would buy him a coffin!

We shall now turn back and give our readers some account of the other
two sloops. Deceiving themselves in the supposition that Avery had
outsailed them during the night, they held on their course to the place
of rendezvouse; but, arriving there, to their sad disappointment no ship
appeared. It was now necessary for them to consult what was most proper
to do in their desperate circumstances. Their provisions were nearly
exhausted, and both fish and fowl were to be found on shore, yet they
were destitute of salt to cure them. As they could not subsist at sea
without salt provisions, they resolved to form an establishment upon
land. Accordingly making tents of the sails, and using the other
materials of the sloops for what purposes they could serve, they
encamped upon the shore. It was also a fortunate circumstance, that they
had plenty of ammunition and small arms. Here they met with some of
their countrymen; and as the digression is short, we will inform our
readers how they came to inhabit this place.

Captain George Dew, and Thomas Tew, had received a commission from the
Governor of Bermuda to sail for the river Gambia, in Africa, that, with
the assistance of the Royal African Company, they might seize the French
Factory situated upon that coast. Dew, in a violent storm, not only
sprang a mast, but lost sight of his companion. Upon this returned to
refit. Instead of proceeding in his voyage, Tew made towards the Cape of
Good Hope, doubled that cape, and sailed for the straits of
Babel-Mandeb. There he met with a large ship richly laden coming from
the Indies, and bound for Arabia. Though she had on board three hundred
soldiers, besides seamen, yet Tew had the courage to attack her, and
soon made her his prize. It is reported, that by this one prize every
man shared near three thousand pounds. Informed by the prisoners that
five other ships were to pass that way, Tew would have attacked them,
but was prevented by the remonstrances of his quarter-master and others.
This difference of opinion terminated in a resolution to abandon the
sea, and to settle on some convenient spot on shore; and the island of
Madagascar was chosen. Tew, however, and a few others, in a short time
went for Rhode Island, and obtained a pardon.

The natives of Madagascar are negroes, but differ from those of Guinea
in the length of their hair and in the blackness of their complexion.
They are divided into small nations, each governed by its own prince,
who carry on a continual war upon each other. The prisoners taken in war
are either rendered slaves to the conquerors, sold, or slain, according
to pleasure. When the pirates first settled among them, their alliance
was much courted by these princes, and those whom they joined were
always successful in their wars, the natives being ignorant of the use
of fire-arms. Such terror did they carry along with them, that the very
appearance of a few pirates in an army would have put the opposing force
to flight.

By these means they in a little time became very formidable, and the
prisoners whom they took in war they employed in cultivating the ground,
and the most beautiful of the women they married; nor were they
contented with one, but married as many as they could conveniently
maintain. The natural result was, that they separated, each choosing a
convenient place for himself, where he lived in a princely style,
surrounded by his wives, slaves and dependants. Nor was it long before
jarring interests excited them also to draw the sword against each
other, and they appeared at the head of their respective forces in the
field of battle. In these civil wars their numbers and strength were
greatly lessened.

The servant, exalted to the condition of a master, generally becomes a
tyrant. These pirates, unexpectedly elevated to the dignity of petty
princes, used their power with the most wanton barbarity. The punishment
of the very least offence was to be tied to a tree, and instantly shot
through the head. The negroes, at length, exasperated by continued
oppression, formed the determination of extirpating them in one night;
nor was it a difficult matter to accomplish this, since they were now so
much divided both in affection and residence. Fortunately, however, for
them, a negro woman, who was partial to them, ran twenty miles in three
hours, and warning them of their danger, they were united and in arms to
oppose the negroes before the latter had assembled. This narrow escape
made them more cautious, and induced them to adopt the following system
of policy:--

Convinced that fear was not a sufficient protection, and that the
bravest man might be murdered by a coward in his bed, they labored to
foment wars among the negro princes, while they themselves declined to
aid either party. It naturally followed, that those who were vanquished
fled to them for protection, and increased their strength. When there
was no war, they fomented private discords, and encouraged them to wreak
their vengeance against each other; nay, even taught them how to
surprise their opponents, and furnished them with fire-arms, with which
to dispatch them more effectually and expeditiously. The consequences
were, that the murderer was constrained to fly to them for protection,
with his wives, children, and kindred. These, from interest, became true
friends, as their own safety depended upon the lives of their
protectors. By this time the pirates were so formidable, that none of
the negro princes durst attack them in open war.

[Illustration: _Captain Tew attacks the ship from India._]

Pursuing this system of policy, in a short time each chief had his party
greatly increased, and they divided like so many tribes, in order to
find ground to cultivate, and to choose proper places to build places of
residence and erect garrisons of defence. The fears that agitated them
were always obvious in their general policy, for they vied with each
other in constructing places of safety, and using every precaution to
prevent the possibility of sudden danger, either from the negroes or
from one another.

A description of one of these dwellings will both show the fears that
agitated these tyrants, and prove entertaining to the reader. They
selected a spot overgrown with wood, near a river, and raised a rampart
or ditch round it, so straight and steep that it was impossible to climb
it, more particularly by those who had no scaling ladders. Over that
ditch there was one passage into the wood; the dwelling, which was a
hut, was built in that part of the wood which the prince thought most
secure, but so covered that it could not be discovered until you came
near it. But the greatest ingenuity was displayed in the construction of
the passage that led to the hut, which was so narrow, that no more than
one person could go abreast, and it was contrived in so intricate a
manner, that it was a perfect labyrinth; the way going round and round
with several small crossways, so that a person unacquainted with it,
might walk several hours without finding the hut. Along the sides of
these paths, certain large thorns, which grew on a tree in that country,
were stuck into the ground with their points outwards; and the path
itself being serpentine, as before mentioned, if a man should attempt to
approach the hut at night, he would certainly have struck upon these
thorns.

[Illustration: _A Pirate and his Madagascar wife._]

Thus like tyrants they lived, dreading, and dreaded by all, and in this
state they were found by Captain Woods Rogers, when he went to
Madagascar in the Delicia, a ship of forty guns, with the design of
purchasing slaves. He touched upon a part of the island at which no ship
had been seen for seven or eight years before, where he met with some
pirates who had been upon the island above twenty-five years. There were
only eleven of the original stock then alive, surrounded with a numerous
offspring of children and grandchildren.

They were struck with terror upon the sight of the vessel, supposing
that it was a man-of-war sent out to apprehend them; they, therefore,
retired to their secret habitations. But when they found some of the
ship's crew on shore, without any signs of hostility, and proposing to
treat with them for slaves, they ventured to come out of their dwellings
attended like princes. Having been so long upon the island, their cloaks
were so much worn, that their majesties were extremely out at elbows. It
cannot be said that they were ragged, but they had nothing to cover them
but the skins of beasts in their natural state, not even a shoe or
stocking; so that they resembled the pictures of Hercules in the lion's
skin; and being overgrown with beard, and hair upon their bodies, they
appeared the most savage figures that the human imagination could well
conceive.

The sale of the slaves in their possession soon provided them with more
suitable clothes, and all other necessaries, which they received in
exchange. Meanwhile, they became very familiar, went frequently on
board, and were very eager in examining the inside of the ship, talking
very familiarly with the men, and inviting them on shore. Their design
was to surprise the ship during the night. They had a sufficient number
of men and boats to effect their purpose, but the captain suspecting
them, kept so strong a watch upon deck, that they found it in vain to
hazard an attempt. When some of the men went on shore, they entered into
a plan to seize the ship, but the captain observing their familiarity,
prevented any one of his men from speaking to the pirates, and only
permitted a confidential person to purchase their slaves. Thus he
departed from the island, leaving these pirates to enjoy their savage
royalty. One of them had been a waterman upon the Thames, and having
committed a murder, fled to the West Indies. The rest had all been
foremastmen, nor was there one among them who could either read or
write.

[Illustration: _Captain Avery's Treasure._]




THE REMARKABLE HISTORY OF THE JOASSAMEE PIRATES OF
THE PERSIAN GULF.


_Containing a description of their chief town, Ras El Khyma, and an
account of the capture of several European vessels, and the barbarous
treatment of their crews.--With interesting details of the several
expeditions sent against them, and their final submission to the troops
of the English East India Company_.

The line of coast from Cape Mussenndom to Bahrain, on the Arabian side
of the Persian Gulf, had been from time immemorial occupied by a tribe
of Arabs called Joassamees. These, from local position, were all engaged
in maritime pursuits. Some traded in their own small vessels to
Bussorah, Bushire, Muscat, and even India; others annually fished in
their own boats on the pearl banks of Bahrain; and a still greater
number hired themselves out as sailors to navigate the coasting small
craft of the Persian Gulf.

The Joassamees at length perceiving that their local position enabled
them to reap a rich harvest by plundering vessels in passing this great
highway of nations, commenced their piratical career. The small coasting
vessels of the gulf, from their defenceless state, were the first object
of their pursuit, and these soon fell an easy prey; until, emboldened by
success, they directed their views to more arduous enterprises, and
having tasted the sweets of plunder in the increase of their wealth, had
determined to attempt more promising victories.

About the year 1797, one of the East India Company's vessels of war, the
Viper, of ten guns, was lying at anchor in the inner roads of Bushire.
Some dows of the Joassamees were at the same moment anchored in the
harbor; but as their warfare had hitherto been waged only against what
are called native vessels, and they had either feared or respected the
British flag, no hostile measures were ever pursued against them by the
British ships. The commanders of these dows had applied to the Persian
agent of the East India Company there, for a supply of gunpowder and
cannon shot for their cruise: and as this man had no suspicions of their
intentions, he furnished them with an order to the commanding officer on
board for the quantity required. The captain of the Viper was on shore
at the time, in the agent's house, but the order being produced to the
officer on board, the powder and shot were delivered, and the dows
weighed and made sail. The crew of the Viper were at this moment taking
their breakfast on deck, and the officers below; when on a sudden, a
cannonading was opened on them by two of the dows, who attempted also to
board.

[Illustration: _A Joassamee Dow in full chase._]

The officers, leaping on deck, called the crew to quarters, and cutting
their cable, got sail upon the ship, so as to have the advantage of
manoeuvring. A regular engagement now took place between this small
cruiser and four dows, all armed with great guns, and full of men. In
the contest Lieut. Carruthers, the commanding officer, was once wounded
by a ball in the loins; but after girding a handkerchief round his
waist, he still kept the deck, till a ball entering his forehead, he
fell. Mr. Salter, the midshipman on whom the command devolved, continued
the fight with determined bravery, and after a stout resistance, beat
them off, chased them some distance out to sea, and subsequently
regained the anchorage in safety.

Several years elapsed before the wounds of the first defeat were
sufficiently healed to induce a second attempt on vessels under the
British flag, though a constant state of warfare was still kept up
against the small craft of the gulf. In 1804, the East India Company's
cruiser, Fly, was taken by a French privateer, off the Island of Kenn,
in the Persian Gulf; but before the enemy boarded her, she ran into
shoal water, near that island, and sunk the government dispatches, and
some treasure with which they were charged, in about two and a half
fathoms of water, taking marks for the recovery of them, if possible, at
some future period. The passengers and crew were taken to Bushire where
they were set at liberty, and having purchased a country dow by
subscription, they fitted her out and commenced their voyage down the
gulf, bound for Bombay. On their passage down, as they thought it would
be practicable to recover the government packet and treasure sunk off
Kenn, they repaired to that island, and were successful, after much
exertion, in recovering the former, which being in their estimation of
the first importance, as the dispatches were from England to Bombay,
they sailed with them on their way thither, without loss of time.

Near the mouth of the gulf, they were captured by a fleet of Joassamee
boats, after some resistance, in which several were wounded and taken
into their chief port at Ras-el-Khyma. Here they were detained in hope
of ransome, and during their stay were shown to the people of the town
as curiosities, no similar beings having been before seen there within
the memory of man. The Joassamee ladies were so minute in their
enquiries, indeed, that they were not satisfied without determining in
what respect an uncircumcised infidel differed from a true believer.

When these unfortunate Englishmen had remained for several months in the
possession of the Arabs, and no hope of their ransom appeared, it was
determined to put them to death, and thus rid themselves of unprofitable
enemies. An anxiety to preserve life, however, induced the suggestion,
on their parts, of a plan for the temporary prolongation of it, at
least. With this view they communicated to the chief of the pirates the
fact of their having sunk a quantity of treasure near the island of
Kenn, and of their knowing the marks of the spot, by the bearings of
objects on shore, with sufficient accuracy to recover it, if furnished
with good divers. They offered, therefore, to purchase their own
liberty, by a recovery of this money for their captors; and on the
fulfillment of their engagement it was solemnly promised to be granted
to them.

They soon sailed for the spot, accompanied by divers accustomed to that
occupation on the pearl banks of Bahrain; and, on their anchoring at the
precise points of bearing taken, they commenced their labors. The first
divers who went down were so successful, that all the crew followed in
their turns, so that the vessel was at one time almost entirely
abandoned at anchor. As the men, too, were all so busily occupied in
their golden harvest, the moment appeared favorable for escape; and the
still captive Englishmen were already at their stations to overpower the
few on board, cut the cable, and make sail. Their motions were either
seen or suspected, as the divers repaired on board in haste, and the
scheme was thus frustrated. They were now given their liberty as
promised, by being landed on the island of Kenn, where, however, no
means offered for their immediate escape. The pirates, having at the
same time landed themselves on the island, commenced a general massacre
of the inhabitants, in which their released prisoners, fearing they
might be included, fled for shelter to clefts and hiding places in the
rocks. During their refuge here, they lived on such food as chance threw
in their way; going out under cover of the night to steal a goat and
drag it to their haunts. When the pirates had at length completed their
work of blood, and either murdered or driven off every former inhabitant
of the island, they quitted it themselves, with the treasure which they
had thus collected from the sea and shore. The Englishmen now ventured
to come out from their hiding places, and to think of devising some
means of escape. Their good fortune in a moment of despair, threw them
on the wreck of a boat, near the beach, which was still capable of
repair. In searching about the now deserted town, other materials were
found, which were of use to them, and sufficient plank and logs of wood
for the construction of a raft. These were both completed in a few days,
and the party embarked on them in two divisions, to effect a passage to
the Persian shore. One of these rafts was lost in the attempt, and all
on board her perished; while the raft, with the remainder of the party
reached land.

Having gained the main land they now set out on foot towards Bushire,
following the line of the coast for the sake of the villages and water.
In this they are said to have suffered incredible hardships and
privations of every kind. No one knew the language of the country
perfectly, and the roads and places of refreshment still less; they were
in general destitute of clothes and money, and constantly subject to
plunder and imposition, poor as they were. Their food was therefore
often scanty, and always of the worst kind; and they had neither shelter
from the burning sun of the day, nor from the chilling dews of night.

The Indian sailors, sipakees, and servants, of whom a few were still
remaining when they set out, had all dropped off by turns; and even
Europeans had been abandoned on the road, in the most affecting way,
taking a last adieu of their comrades, who had little else to expect but
soon to follow their fate. One instance is mentioned of their having
left one who could march no further, at the distance of only a mile from
a village; and on returning to the spot on the morrow, to bring him in,
nothing was found but his mangled bones, as he had been devoured in the
night by jackals. The packet being light was still, however, carried by
turns, and preserved through all obstacles and difficulties; and with it
they reached at length the island of Busheap, to which they crossed over
in a boat from the main. Here they were detained by the Sheikh, but at
length he provided them with a boat for the conveyance of themselves and
dispatches to Bushire. From this place they proceeded to Bombay, but of
all the company only two survived. A Mr. Jowl, an officer of a merchant
ship, and an English sailor named Penmel together with the bag of
letters and dispatches.

In the following year, two English brigs, the Shannon, Capt. Babcock,
and the Trimmer, Capt. Cummings, were on their voyage from Bombay to
Bussorah. These were both attacked, near the Islands of Polior and
Kenn, by several boats, and after a slight resistance on the part of the
Shannon only, were taken possession of, and a part of the crew of each,
cruelly put to the sword. Capt. Babcock, having been seen by one of the
Arabs to discharge a musket during the contest, was taken by them on
shore; and after a consultation on his fate, it was determined that he
should forfeit the arm by which this act of resistance was committed. It
was accordingly severed from his body by one stroke of a sabre, and no
steps were taken either to bind up the wound, or to prevent his bleeding
to death. The captain, himself, had yet sufficient presence of mind
left, however, to think of his own safety, and there being near him some
clarified butter, he procured this to be heated, and while yet warm,
thrust the bleeding stump of his arm into it. It had the effect of
lessening the effusion of blood, and ultimately of saving a life that
would otherwise most probably have been lost. The crew were then all
made prisoners, and taken to a port of Arabia, from whence they
gradually dispersed and escaped. The vessels themselves were
additionally armed, one of them mounting twenty guns, manned with Arab
crews, and sent from Ras-el-Khyma to cruise in the gulf, where they
committed many piracies.

In the year 1808, the force of the Joassamees having gradually
increased, and becoming flushed with the pride of victory, their
insulting attacks on the British flag were more numerous and more
desperate than ever. The first of these was on the ship Minerva, of
Bombay, on her voyage to Bussorah. The attack was commenced by several
boats, (for they never cruize singly,) and a spirited resistance in a
running fight was kept up at intervals for several days in succession. A
favorable moment offered, however, for boarding; the ship was
overpowered by numbers, and carried amidst a general massacre. The
captain was said to have been cut up into separate pieces, and thrown
overboard by fragments; the second mate and carpenter alone were spared,
probably to make use of their services; and an Armenian lady, the wife
of Lieut. Taylor, then at Bushire, was reserved perhaps for still
greater sufferings. But was subsequently ransomed for a large sum.

[Illustration: _The Pirates striking off the arm of Capt. Babcock._]

A few weeks after this, the Sylph, one of the East India Company's
cruisers, of sixty tons and mounting eight guns, was accompanying the
mission under Sir Hartford Jones, from Bombay, to Persia; when being
separated from the rest of the squadron, she was attacked in the gulf by
a fleet of dows. These bore down with all the menacing attitude of
hostility; but as the commander, Lieut. Graham had received orders from
the Bombay government, not to open his fire on any of these vessels
until he had been first fired on himself, the ship was hardly prepared
for battle, and the colors were not even hoisted to apprise them to what
nation she belonged. The dows approached, threw their long overhanging
prows across the Sylph's beam, and pouring in a shower of stones on her
deck, beat down and wounded almost every one who stood on it. They then
boarded, and made the ship an easy prize, before more than a single shot
had been fired, and in their usual way, put every one whom they found
alive to the sword. Lieut. Graham fell, covered with wounds, down the
fore hatchway of his own vessel, where he was dragged by some of the
crew into a store room, in which they had secreted themselves, and
barricaded the door with a crow-bar from within. The cruiser was thus
completely in the possession of the enemy, who made sail on her, and
were bearing her off in triumph to their own port, in company with their
boats. Soon after, however, the commodore of the squadron in the Neried
frigate hove in sight, and perceiving this vessel in company with the
dows, judged her to be a prize to the pirates. She accordingly gave them
all chase, and coming up with the brig, the Arabs took to their boats
and abandoned her. The chase was continued after the dows, but without
success.

[Illustration: _The Neried Frigate chasing a Fleet of Joassamee Dows._]

These repeated aggressions at length opened the eyes of the East India
Government, and an expedition was accordingly assembled at Bombay. The
naval force consisted of La Chiffone, frigate, Capt. Wainwright, as
commodore. The Caroline of thirty-eight guns; and eight of the East
India Company's cruisers, namely, the Mornington, Ternate, Aurora,
Prince of Wales, Ariel, Nautilus, Vestal and Fury, with four large
transports, and the Stromboli bomb-ketch. The fleet sailed from Bombay
in September, and after a long passage they reached Muscat, where it
remained for many days to refresh and arrange their future plans; they
sailed and soon reached Ras-el-Khyma, the chief port of the pirates
within the gulf. Here the squadron anchored abreast of the town, and the
troops were landed under cover of the ships and boats. The inhabitants
of the town assembled in crowds to repel the invaders; but the firm
line, the regular volleys, and the steady charge of the troops at the
point of the bayonet, overcame every obstacle, and multiplied the heaps
of the slain. A general conflagration was then ordered, and a general
plunder to the troops was permitted. The town was set on fire in all
parts, and about sixty sail of boats and dows, with the Minerva, a ship
which they had taken, then lying in the roads were all burnt and
destroyed.

The complete conquest of the place was thus effected with very trifling
loss on the part of the besiegers, and some plunder collected; though it
was thought that most of the treasure and valuables had been removed
into the interior. This career of victory was suddenly damped by the
report of the approach of a large body of troops from the interior, and
although none of these were seen, this ideal reinforcement induced the
besiegers to withdraw. The embarkation took place at daylight in the
morning; and while the fleet remained at anchor during the whole of the
day, parties were still seen assembling on the shore, displaying their
colors, brandishing their spears, and firing muskets from all points; so
that the conquest was scarcely as complete as could be wished, since no
formal act of submission had yet been shown. The expedition now sailed
to Linga, a small port of the Joassamees, and burnt it to the ground.
The force had now become separated, the greater portion of the troops
being sent to Muscat for supplies, or being deemed unnecessary, and some
of the vessels sent on separate services of blockading passages, &c. The
remaining portion of the blockading squadron consisting of La Chiffone,
frigate, and four of the cruisers, the Mornington, Ternate, Nautilus,
and Fury, and two transports, with five hundred troops from Linga, then
proceeded to Luft, another port of the Joassamees. As the channel here
was narrow and difficult of approach, the ships were warped into their
stations of anchorage, and a summons sent on shore, as the people had
not here abandoned their town, but were found at their posts of defence,
in a large and strong castle with many batteries, redoubts, &c. The
summons being treated with disdain, the troops were landed with Col.
Smith at their head; and while forming on the beach a slight skirmish
took place with such of the inhabitants of the town, as fled for shelter
to the castle. The troops then advanced towards the fortress, which is
described to have had walls fourteen feet thick, pierced with loop
holes, and only one entrance through a small gate, well cased with iron
bars and bolts, in the strongest manner. With a howitzer taken for the
occasion, it was intended to have blown this gate open, and to have
taken the place by storm; but on reaching it while the ranks opened, and
the men sought to surround the castle to seek for some other entrance at
the same time, they were picked off so rapidly and unexpectedly from the
loop holes above, that a general flight took place, the howitzer was
abandoned, even before it had been fired, and both the officers and the
troops sought shelter by lying down behind the ridges of sand and little
hillocks immediately underneath the castle walls. An Irish officer,
jumping up from his hiding place, and calling on some of his comrades to
follow him in an attempt to rescue the howitzer, was killed in the
enterprise. Such others as even raised their heads to look around them,
were picked off by the musketry from above; and the whole of the troops
lay therefore hidden in this way, until the darkness of the night
favored their escape to the beach, where they embarked after sunset, the
enemy having made no sally on them from the fort. A second summons was
sent to the chief in the castle, threatening to bombard the town from a
nearer anchorage if he did not submit, and no quarter afterwards shown.
With the dawn of morning, all eyes were directed to the fortress, when,
to the surprise of the whole squadron, a man was seen waving the British
Union flag on the summit of its walls. It was lieutenant Hall, who
commanded the Fury which was one of the vessels nearest the shore.
During the night he had gone on shore alone, taking an union-jack in his
hand, and advanced singly to the castle gate. The fortress had already
been abandoned by the greater number of the inhabitants, but some few
still remained there. These fled at the approach of an individual
supposing him to be the herald of those who were to follow. Be this as
it may, the castle was entirely abandoned, and the British flag waived
on its walls by this daring officer, to the surprise and admiration of
all the fleet. The town and fortifications were then taken possession
of. After sweeping round the bottom of the gulf, the expedition returned
to Muscat.

On the sailing of the fleet from hence, the forces were augmented by a
body of troops belonging to the Imaun of Muscat, destined to assist in
the recovery of a place called Shenaz, on the coast, taken by the
Joassamees. On their arrival at this place, a summons was sent,
commanding the fort to surrender, which being refused, a bombardment was
opened from the ships and boats, but without producing much effect. On
the following morning, the whole of the troops were landed, and a
regular encampment formed on the shore, with sand batteries, and other
necessary works for a siege. After several days bombardment, in which
about four thousand shot and shells were discharged against the
fortress, to which the people had fled for refuge after burning down the
town, a breach was reported to be practicable, and the castle was
accordingly stormed. The resistance still made was desperate; the Arabs
fighting as long as they could wield the sword, and even thrusting
their spears up through the fragments of towers, in whose ruins they
remained irrevocably buried. The loss in killed and wounded was upwards
of a thousand men. Notwithstanding that the object of this expedition
might be said to be incomplete, inasmuch as nothing less than a _total_
extirpation of their race could secure the tranquility of these seas,
yet the effect produced by this expedition was such, as to make them
reverence or dread the British flag for several years afterwards.

[Illustration: _The daring Intrepidity of Lieut. Hall._]

At length in 1815, their boats began to infest the entrance to the Red
Sea; and in 1816, their numbers had so increased on that coast, that a
squadron of them commanded by a chief called Ameer Ibrahim, captured
within sight of Mocha, four vessels bound from Surat to that port,
richly laden and navigating under the British flag, and the crews were
massacred.

A squadron consisting of His Majesty's ship Challenger, Captain Brydges,
and the East India Company's cruisers, Mercury, Ariel, and Vestal, were
despatched to the chief port of the Joassamees, Ras-el-Khyma. Mr.
Buckingham the Great Oriental traveller, accompanied the expedition from
Bushire. Upon their arrival at Ras-el-Khyma, a demand was made for the
restoration of the four Surat vessels and their cargoes; or in lieu
thereof twelve lacks of rupees. Also that the commander of the piratical
squadron, Ameer Ibrahim, should be delivered up for punishment. The
demand was made by letter, and answer being received, Captain Brydges
determined to go on shore and have an interview with the Pirate
Chieftain. Mr. Buckingham (says,) He requested me to accompany him on
shore as an interpreter. I readily assented. We quitted the ship
together about 9 o'clock, and pulled straight to the shore, sounding all
the way as we went, and gradually shoaling our water from six to two
fathoms, within a quarter of a mile of the beach, where four large dows
lay at anchor, ranged in a line, with their heads seaward, each of them
mounting several pieces of cannon, and being full of men. On landing on
the beach, we found its whole length guarded by a line of armed men,
some bearing muskets, but the greater part armed with swords, shields,
and spears; most of them were negroes, whom the Joassamees spare in
their wars, looking on them rather as property and merchandise, than in
the light of enemies. We were permitted to pass this line, and upon our
communicating our wish to see the chief, we were conducted to the gate
of the principal building, nearly in the centre of the town, and were
met by the Pirate Chieftain attended by fifty armed men. I offered him
the Mahometan salutation of peace, which he returned without hesitation.

The chief, Hassan ben Rahma, whom we had seen, was a small man,
apparently about forty years of age, with an expression of cunning in
his looks, and something particularly sarcastic in his smile. He was
dressed in the usual Arab garments, with a cashmeer shawl, turban, and a
scarlet benish, of the Persian form, to distinguish him from his
followers. There were habited in the plainest garments. One of his eyes
had been wounded, but his other features were good, his teeth
beautifully white and regular, and his complexion very dark.

The town of Ras-el-Khyma stands on a narrow tongue of sandy land,
pointing to the northeastward, presenting its northwest edge to the open
sea, and its southeast one to a creek, which runs up within it to the
southwestward, and affords a safe harbor for boats. There appeared to be
no continued wall of defence around it, though round towers and portions
of walls were seen in several parts, probably once connected in line,
but not yet repaired since their destruction. The strongest points of
defence appear to be in a fortress at the northeast angle, and a double
round tower, near the centre of the town; in each of which, guns are
mounted; but all the other towers appear to afford only shelter for
musketeers. The rest of the town is composed of ordinary buildings of
unhewn stone, and huts of rushes and long grass, with narrow avenues
winding between them. The present number of inhabitants may be computed
at ten thousand at least. They are thought to have at present (1816),
sixty large boats out from their own port, manned with crews of from
eighty, to three hundred men each, and forty other boats that belong to
other ports. Their force concentrated, would probably amount to at
least one hundred boats and eight thousand fighting men. After several
fruitless negociations, the signal was now made to weigh, and stand
closer in towards the town. It was then followed by the signal to engage
the enemy. The squadron bore down nearly in line, under easy sail, and
with the wind right aft, or on shore; the Mercury being on the starboard
bow, the Challenger next in order, in the centre, the Vestal following
in the same line, and the Ariel completing the division.

A large fleet of small boats were seen standing in from Cape Mussundum,
at the same time; but these escaped by keeping closer along shore, and
at length passing over the bar and getting into the back water behind
the town. The squadron continued to stand on in a direct line towards
the four anchored dows, gradually shoaling from the depth of our
anchorage to two and a half fathoms, where stream anchors were dropped
under foot, with springs on the cables, so that each vessel lay with her
broadside to the shore. A fire was now opened by the whole squadron,
directed to the four dows. These boats were full of men, brandishing
their weapons in the air, their whole number exceeding, probably, six
hundred. Some of the shot from the few long guns of the squadron reached
the shore, and were buried in the sand; others fell across the bows and
near the hulls of the dows to which they were directed; but the
cannonades all fell short, as we were then fully a mile from the beach.

The Arab colors were displayed on all the forts; crowds of armed men
were assembled on the beach, bearing large banners on poles, and dancing
around them with their arms, as if rallying around a sacred standard, so
that no sign of submission or conquest was witnessed throughout. The
Ariel continued to discharge about fifty shot after all the others had
desisted, but with as little avail as before, and thus ended this wordy
negociation, and the bloodless battle to which it eventually led.

In 1818, these pirates grew so daring that they made an irruption into
the Indian Ocean, and plundered vessels and towns on the islands and
coasts. A fleet was sent against them, and intercepted them off Ashlola
Island, proceeding to the westward in three divisions; and drove them
back into the gulf. The Eden and Psyche fell in with two trankies, and
these were so closely pursued that they were obliged to drop a small
captured boat they had in tow. The Thetes one day kept in close chase of
seventeen vessels, but they were enabled to get away owing to their
superior sailing. The cruisers met with the Joassamees seventeen times
and were constantly employed in hunting them from place to place.

At length, in 1819, they became such a scourge to commerce that a
formidable expedition under the command of Major General Sir W. Grant
Keir, sailed against them. It arrived before the chief town in December,
and commenced operations. In his despatches Gen. Keir says--

I have the satisfaction to report the town of Ras-el Khyma, after a
resistance of six days, was taken possession of this morning by the
force under my command.

On the 18th, after completing my arrangements at Muscat, the Liverpool
sailed for the rendezvous at Kishme; on the 21st, we fell in with the
fleet of the Persian Gulf and anchored off the island of Larrack on the
24th November.

As it appeared probable that a considerable period would elapse before
the junction of the ships which were detained at Bombay, I conceived it
would prove highly advantageous to avail myself of all the information
that could be procured respecting the strength and resources of the
pirates we had to deal with.

No time was lost in making the necessary preparations for landing, which
was effected the following morning without opposition, at a spot which
had been previously selected for that purpose, about two miles to the
westward of the town. The troops were formed across the isthmus
connecting the peninsula on which the town is situated with the
neighboring country, and the whole of the day was occupied in getting
the tents on shore, to shelter the men from rain, landing engineers,
tools, sand bags, &c., and making arrangements preparatory to commencing
our approaches the next day. On the morning of the 4th, our light troops
were ordered in advance, supported by the pickets, to dislodge the
enemy from a bank within nine hundred yards of the outer fort, which was
expected to afford good cover for the men. The whole of the light
companies of the force under Capt. Backhouse, moved forward, and drove
the Arabs with great gallantry from a date grove, and over the bank
close under the walls of the fort, followed by the pickets under Major
Molesworth, who took post at the sand banks, whilst the European light
troops were skirmishing in front. The enemy kept up a sharp fire of
musketry and cannon; during these movements, Major Molesworth, a gallant
officer was here killed. The troops kept their position during the day,
and in the night effected a lodgment within three hundred yards of the