[Illustration: _The mate begging for his life._]

When the pirates had succeeded in effectually prostrating all the people
on deck, they drove most of them below, and reserved the remainder to
assist in their operations. Unless the circumstances be closely
examined, it may be wondered how six men could have so easily overcome a
crew of English seamen supported by about twenty soldiers with a major
at their head:--but it will not appear so surprising, when it is
considered that the sailors were altogether unarmed, the soldiers were
worn out invalids, and more particularly, that the pirate carried a
heavy long gun, ready to sink her victim at a shot. Major Logie was
fully impressed with the folly of opposing so powerful and desperate an
enemy, and therefore advised submission as the only course for the
safety of those under his charge; presuming no doubt that something like
humanity might be found in the breasts even of the worst of men. But
alas! he was woefully deceived in his estimate of the villains' nature,
and felt, when too late, that even death would have been preferable to
the barbarous treatment he was forced to endure.

Beaten, bleeding, terrified, the men lay huddled together in the hold,
while the pirates proceeded in their work of pillage and brutality.
Every trunk was hauled forth, every portable article of value heaped for
the plunder; money, plate, charts, nautical instruments, and seven
parcels of valuable jewels, which formed part of the cargo; these were
carried from below on the backs of those men whom the pirates selected
to assist them, and for two hours they were thus employed, during which
time Soto stood upon his own deck directing the operations; for the
vessels were within a hundred yards of each other. The scene which took
place in the cabin exhibited a licentious brutality. The sick officer,
Mr. Gibson, was dragged from his berth; the clothes of the other
passengers stripped from their backs, and the whole of the cabin
passengers driven on deck, except the females, whom they locked up in
the round-house on deck, and the steward, who was detained to serve the
pirates with wine and eatables. This treatment, no doubt hastened the
death of Gibson; the unfortunate gentleman did not long survive it. As
the passengers were forced up the cabin ladder, the feelings of Major
Logie, it may be imagined, were of the most heart-rending description.
In vain did he entreat to be allowed to remain; he was hurried away from
even the chance of protecting his defenceless wife, and battened down
with the rest in the hold, there to be racked with the fearful
apprehensions of their almost certain doom.

The labors of the robbers being now concluded, they sat down to regale
themselves, preparatory to the _chef d'oeuvre_ of their diabolical
enterprise; and a more terrible group of demi-devils, the steward
declares, could not be well imagined than commanded his attention at the
cabin table. However, as he was a Frenchman, and naturally polite, he
acquitted himself of the office of cup-bearer, if not as gracefully, at
least as anxiously, as ever did Ganymede herself. Yet, notwithstanding
this readiness to serve the visitors in their gastronomic desires, the
poor steward felt ill-requited; he was twice frightened into an icicle,
and twice thawed back into conscious horror, by the rudeness of those he
entertained. In one instance, when he had filled out a sparkling glass
for a ruffian, and believed he had quite won the heart of the drinker by
the act, he found himself grasped roughly and tightly by the throat, and
the point of a knife staring him in the face. It seems the fellow who
thus seized him, had felt between his teeth a sharp bit of broken glass,
and fancying that something had been put in the wine to poison him, he
determined to prove his suspicions by making the steward swallow what
remained in the bottle from which the liquor had been drawn, and thus
unceremoniously prefaced his command; however, ready and implicit
obedience averted further bad consequences. The other instance of the
steward's jeopardy was this; when the repast was ended, one of the
gentlemen coolly requested him to waive all delicacy, and point out the
place in which the captain's money was concealed. He might as well have
asked him to produce the philosopher's stone. However, pleading the
truth was of no use; his determined requisitor seconded the demand by
snapping a pistol at his breast; having missed fire, he recocked, and
again presented; but the fatal weapon was struck aside by Barbazan, who
reproved the rashness with a threat, and thus averted the steward's
impending fate. It was then with feelings of satisfaction he heard
himself ordered to go down to the hold, and in a moment he was bolted in
among his fellow sufferers.

The ruffians indulged in the pleasures of the bottle for some time
longer, and then having ordered down the females, treated them with even
less humanity than characterized their conduct towards the others. The
screams of the helpless females were heard in the hold by those who were
unable to render them assistance, and agonizing, indeed, must those
screams have been to their incarcerated hearers! How far the brutality
of the pirates was carried in this stage of the horrid proceeding, we
can only surmise; fortunately, their lives were spared, although, as it
afterwards appeared, the orders of Soto were to butcher every being on
board; and it is thought that these orders were not put into action, in
consequence of the villains having wasted so much time in drinking, and
otherwise indulging themselves; for it was not until the loud voice of
their chief was heard to recall them, that they prepared to leave the
ship; they therefore contented themselves with fastening the women
within the cabin, heaping heavy lumber on the hatches of the hold, and
boring holes in the planks of the vessel below the surface of the water,
so that in destroying the unhappy people at one swoop, they might make
up for the lost time. They then left the ship, sinking fast to her
apparently certain fate.

[Illustration: _Horrid abuse of the helpless women in the cabin._]

It may be reasonably supposed, bad as their conduct was towards the
females, and pitiable as was the suffering it produced, that the lives
of the whole left to perish were preserved through it; for the ship must
have gone down if the women had been either taken out of her or
murdered, and those in the hold inevitably have gone with her to the
bottom. But by good fortune, the females succeeded in forcing their way
out of the cabin, and became the means of liberating the men confined in
the hold. When they came on deck, it was nearly dark, yet they could see
the pirate ship at a considerable distance, with all her sails set and
bearing away from them. They prudently waited, concealed from the
possibility of being seen by the enemy, and when the night fell, they
crept to the hatchway, and called out to the men below to endeavor to
effect their liberation, informing them that the pirate was away and out
of sight. They then united their efforts, and the lumber being removed,
the hatches gave way to the force below, so that the released captives
breathed of hope again. The delightful draught, however, was checked,
when the ship was found to contain six feet of water! A momentary
collapse took possession of all their newly excited expectations; cries
and groans of despair burst forth, but the sailors' energy quickly
returned, and was followed by that of the others; they set to work at
the pumps, and by dint of labor succeeded in keeping the vessel afloat.
Yet to direct her course was impossible; the pirates having completely
disabled her, by cutting away her rigging and sawing the masts all the
way through. The eye of Providence, however, was not averted from the
hapless people, for they fell in with a vessel next day that relieved
them from their distressing situation, and brought them to England in
safety.

We will now return to Soto, and show how the hand of that Providence
that secured his intended victims, fell upon himself and his wicked
associates. Intoxicated with their infamous success, the night had far
advanced before Soto learned that the people in the Morning Star,
instead of being slaughtered, were only left to be drowned. The
information excited his utmost rage. He reproached Barbazan, and those
who had accompanied them in the boarding, with disobeying his orders,
and declared that now there could be no security for their lives. Late
as the hour was, and long as he had been steering away from the Morning
Star, he determined to put back, in the hope of effectually preventing
the escape of those in the devoted vessel, by seeing them destroyed
before his eyes. Soto was a follower of the principle inculcated by the
old maxim, "Dead men tell no tales;" and in pursuance of his doctrine,
lost not a moment in putting about and running back. But it was too
late; he could find no trace of the vessel, and so consoled himself with
the belief that she was at the bottom of the sea, many fathoms below the
ken and cognizance of Admiralty Courts.

Soto, thus satisfied, bent his course to Europe. On his voyage he fell
in with a small brig, boarded, plundered, sunk her, and, that he might
not again run the hazard of encountering living witnesses of his guilt,
murdered the crew, with the exception of one individual, whom he took
along with him, on account of his knowledge of the course to Corunna,
whither he intended to proceed. But, faithful to his principles of
self-protection, as soon as he had made full use of the unfortunate
sailor, and found himself in sight of the destined port, he came up to
him at the helm, which he held in his hand, "My friend," said he "is
that the harbor of Corunna?"--"Yes," was the reply. "Then," rejoined
Soto, "You have done your duty well, and I am obliged to you for your
services." On the instant he drew a pistol and shot the man; then coolly
flung his body overboard, took the helm himself, and steered into his
native harbor as little concerned as if he had returned from an honest
voyage. At this port he obtained papers in a false name, disposed of a
great part of his booty, and after a short stay set out for Cadiz, where
he expected a market for the remainder. He had a fair wind until he came
within sight of the coast near that city. It was coming on dark and he
lay to, expecting to go into his anchorage next morning, but the wind
shifted to the westward, and suddenly began to blow a heavy gale; it was
right on the land. He luffed his ship as close to the wind as possible,
in order to clear a point that stretched outward, and beat off to
windward, but his lee-way carried him towards the land, and he was
caught when he least expected the trap. The gale increased--the night
grew pitchy dark--the roaring breakers were on his lee-beam--the
drifting vessel strikes, rebounds, and strikes again--the cry of horror
rings through the flapping cordage, and despair is in the eyes of the
demon-crew. Helpless they lie amid the wrath of the storm, and the
darkened face of Heaven, for the first time, strikes terror on their
guilty hearts. Death is before them, but not with a merciful quickness
does he approach; hour after hour the frightful vision glares upon them,
and at length disappears only to come upon them again in a more dreadful
form. The tempest abates, and the sinners were spared for the time.

As the daylight broke they took to their boats, and abandoned the vessel
to preserve their lives. But there was no repentance in the pirates;
along with the night and the winds went the voice of conscience, and
they thought no more of what had passed. They stood upon the beach
gazing at the wreck, and the first thought of Soto, was to sell it, and
purchase another vessel for the renewal of his atrocious pursuits. With
the marked decision of his character, he proposed his intention to his
followers, and received their full approbation. The plan was instantly
arranged; they were to present themselves as honest, shipwrecked
mariners to the authorities at Cadiz; Soto was to take upon himself the
office of mate, or _contra maestra,_ to an imaginary captain, and thus
obtain their sanction in disposing of the vessel. In their assumed
character, the whole proceeded to Cadiz, and presented themselves before
the proper officers of the marine. Their story was listened to with
sympathy, and for a few days every thing went on to their satisfaction.
Soto had succeeded so well as to conclude the sale of the wreck with a
broker, for the sum of one thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars; the
contract was signed, but fortunately the money was not yet paid, when
suspicion arose, from some inconsistencies in the pirates' account of
themselves, and six of them were arrested by the authorities. Soto and
one of his crew instantly disappeared from Cadiz, and succeeded in
arriving at the neutral ground before Gibraltar, and six more made their
escape to the Carraccas.

None are permitted to enter the fortress of Gibraltar, without
permission from the governor, or a passport. Soto and his companion,
therefore, took up their quarters at a Posade on the neutral ground, and
resided there in security for several days. The busy and daring mind of
the former could not long remain inactive; he proposed to his companion
to attempt to enter the garrison in disguise and by stealth, but could
not prevail upon him to consent. He therefore resolved to go in alone;
and his object in doing so was to procure a supply of money by a letter
of credit which he brought with him from Cadiz. His companion, more wise
than he, chose the safer course; he knew that the neutral ground was not
much controllable by the laws either of the Spanish or the English, and
although there was not much probability of being discovered, he resolved
not to trust to chance in so great a stake as his life; and he proved to
have been right in his judgment, for had he gone to Gibraltar, he would
have shared the same fate of his chief. This man is the only one of the
whole gang, who has not met with the punishment of his crimes, for he
succeeded in effecting his escape on board some vessel. It is not even
suspected to what country he is gone; but his description, no doubt, is
registered. The steward of the Morning Star informed me, that he is a
tall, stout man, with fair hair, and fresh complexion, of a mild and
gentle countenance, but that he was one of the worst villains of the
whole piratical crew. I believe he is stated to be a Frenchman.

Soto secured his admission into the garrison by a false pass, and took
up his residence at an inferior tavern in a narrow lane, which runs off
the main street of Gibraltar, and is kept by a man of the name of Basso.
The appearance of this house suits well with the associations of the
worthy Benito's life. I have occasion to pass the door frequently at
night, for our barrack, (the Casement,) is but a few yards from it. I
never look at the place without feeling an involuntary sensation of
horror--the smoky and dirty nooks--the distant groups of dark Spaniards,
Moors, and Jews, their sallow countenances made yellow by the fight of
dim oil lamps--the unceiled rafters of the rooms above, seen through
unshuttered windows and the consciousness of their having covered the
atrocious Soto, combine this effect upon me.

In this den the villain remained for a few weeks, and during this time
seemed to enjoy himself as if he had never committed a murder. The story
he told Basso of his circumstances was, that he had come to Gibraltar on
his way to Cadiz from Malaga, and was merely awaiting the arrival of a
friend. He dressed expensively--generally wore a white hat of the best
English quality, silk stockings, white trowsers, and blue frock coat.
His whiskers were large and bushy, and his hair, which was very black,
profuse, long and naturally curled, was much in the style of a London
preacher of prophetic and anti-poetic notoriety. He was deeply browned
with the sun, and had an air and gait expressive of his bold,
enterprising, and desperate mind. Indeed, when I saw him in his cell and
at his trial, although his frame was attenuated almost to a skeleton,
the color of his face a pale yellow, his eyes sunken, and hair closely
shorn; he still exhibited strong traces of what he had been, still
retained his erect and fearless carriage, his quick, fiery, and
malevolent eye, his hurried and concise speech, and his close and
pertinent style of remark. He appeared to me such a man as would have
made a hero in the ranks of his country, had circumstances placed him in
the proper road to fame; but ignorance and poverty turned into the most
ferocious robber, one who might have rendered service and been an honor
to his sunken country. I should like to hear what the phrenologists say
of his head; it appeared to me to be the most peculiar I had ever seen,
and certainly, as far as the bump of _destructiveness_ went, bore the
theory fully out. It is rumored here that the skull has been sent to the
_savans_ of Edinburg; if this be the case, we shall no doubt be made
acquainted with their sage opinions upon the subject, and great
conquerors will receive a farther assurance of how much they resemble in
their physical natures the greatest murderers.

When I visited the pirate in the Moorish castle where he was confined,
he was sitting in his cold, narrow, and miserable cell, upon a pallet of
straw, eating his coarse meal from a tin plate. I thought him more an
object of pity than vengeance; he looked so worn with disease, so
crushed with suffering, yet so affable, frank, and kind in his address;
for he happened to be in a communicative mood, a thing that was by no
means common with him. He spoke of his long confinement, till I thought
the tears were about to start from his eyes, and alluded to his
approaching trial with satisfaction; but his predominant characteristic,
ferocity, appeared in his small piercing black eyes before I left him,
as he alluded to his keeper, the Provost, in such a way that made me
suspect his desire for blood was not yet extinguished. When he appeared
in court on his trial, his demeanor was quite altered; he seemed to me
to have suddenly risen out of the wretch he was in his cell, to all the
qualities I had heard of him; he stood erect and unembarrassed; he spoke
with a strong voice, attended closely to the proceedings, occasionally
examined the witnesses, and at the conclusion protested against the
justice of his trial. He sometimes spoke to the guards around him, and
sometimes affected an air of carelessness of his awful situation, which,
however, did not sit easy upon him. Even here the leading trait of his
mind broke forth; for when the interpreter commenced his office, the
language which he made use of being pedantic and affected, Soto
interrupted him thus, while a scowl sat upon his brow that terrified the
man of words: "I don't understand you, man; speak Spanish like others,
and I'll listen to you." When the dirk that belonged to Mr. Robertson,
the trunk and clothes taken from Mr. Gibson, and the pocket book
containing the ill-fated captain's handwriting were placed before him,
and proved to have been found in his room, and when the maid servant of
the tavern proved that she found the dirk under his pillow every morning
on arranging his bed; and when he was confronted with his own black
slave, between two wax lights, the countenance of the villain appeared
in its true nature, not depressed nor sorrowful, but vivid and
ferocious; and when the patient and dignified governor, Sir George Don,
passed the just sentence of the law upon him, he looked daggers at his
heart, and assumed a horrid silence, more eloquent than words.

The criminal persisted up to the day before his execution in asserting
his innocence, and inveighing against the injustice of his trial, but
the certainty of his fate, and the awful voice of religion, at length
subdued him. He made an unreserved confession of his guilt, and became
truly penitent; gave up to the keeper the blade of a razor which he had
secreted between the soles of his shoes for the acknowledged purpose of
adding suicide to his crimes, and seemed to wish for the moment that was
to send him before his Creator.

I witnessed his execution, and I believe there never was a more contrite
man than he appeared to be; yet there were no drivelling fears upon
him--he walked firmly at the tail of the fatal cart, gazing sometimes at
his coffin, sometimes at the crucifix which he held in his hand. The
symbol of divinity he frequently pressed to his lips, repeated the
prayers spoken in his ear by the attendant clergyman, and seemed
regardless of every thing but the world to come. The gallows was erected
beside the water, and fronting the neutral ground. He mounted the cart
as firmly as he had walked behind it, and held up his face to Heaven and
the beating rain, calm, resigned, but unshaken; and finding the halter
too high for his neck, he boldly stepped upon his coffin, and placed his
head in the noose, then watching the first turn of the wheels, he
murmured "_adios todos_," [Footnote: "Farewell, all."] and leaned
forward to facilitate his fall.

The black slave of the pirate stood upon the battery trembling before
his dying master to behold the awful termination of a series of events,
the recital of which to his African countrymen, when he shall return to
his home, will give them no doubt, a dreadful picture of European
civilization. The black boy was acquitted at Cadiz, but the men who had
fled to the Carraccas, as well as those arrested after the wreck, were
convicted, executed, their limbs severed, and hung on tenter hooks, as a
warning to all pirates.

[Illustration: _The Rock of Gibraltar._]




THE ADVENTURES OF CAPTAIN ROBERT KIDD


The easy access to the harbor of New-York, the number of hiding-places
about its waters, and the laxity of its newly organized government,
about the year 1695, made it a great rendezvous of pirates, where they
might dispose of their booty and concert new depredations. As they
brought home with them wealthy lading of all kinds, the luxuries of the
tropics, and the sumptuous spoils of the Spanish provinces, and disposed
of them with the proverbial carelessness of freebooters, they were
welcome visitors to the thrifty traders of New-York. Crews of these
desperadoes, therefore, the runagates of every country and every clime,
might be seen swaggering in open day about the streets, elbowing its
quiet inhabitants, trafficking their rich outlandish plunder at half or
quarter price to the wary merchant; and then squandering their
prize-money in taverns, drinking, gambling, singing, carousing and
astounding the neighborhood with midnight brawl and revelry. At length
these excesses rose to such a height as to become a scandal to the
provinces, and to call loudly for the interposition of government.
Measures were accordingly taken to put a stop to this widely extended
evil, and to drive the pirates out of the colonies.

Among the distinguished individuals who lurked about the colonies, was
Captain Robert Kidd, [Footnote: His real name was William Kidd.] who in
the beginning of King William's war, commanded a privateer in the West
Indies, and by his several adventurous actions, acquired the reputation
of a brave man, as well as an experienced seaman. But he had now become
notorious, as a nondescript animal of the ocean. He was somewhat of a
trader, something more of a smuggler, but mostly a pirate. He had traded
many years among the pirates, in a little rakish vessel, that could run
into all kinds of water. He knew all their haunts and lurking places,
and was always hooking about on mysterious voyages.

Upon the good old maxim of "setting a rogue to catch a rogue," Capt.
Kidd was recommended by the Lord Bellamont, then governor of Barbadoes,
as well as by several other persons, to the government here, as a person
very fit to be entrusted to the command of a government ship, and to be
employed in cruising upon the pirates, as knowing those seas perfectly
well, and being acquainted with all their lurking places; but what
reasons governed the politics of those times, I cannot tell, but this
proposal met with no encouragement here, though it is certain it would
have been of great consequence to the subject, our merchants suffering
incredible damages by those robbers.

Upon this neglect, the lord Bellamont and some others, who knew what
great captures had been made by the pirates, and what a prodigious
wealth must be in their possession, were tempted to fit out a ship at
their own private charge, and to give the command of her to Captain
Kidd; and to give the thing a greater reputation, as well as to keep
their seamen under better command, they procured the king's commission
for the said Capt. Kidd, of which the following is an exact copy:

_William Rex_,

"WILLIAM THE THIRD, by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland,
France and Ireland, defender of the faith, &c. To our trusty and well
beloved Capt. ROBERT KIDD, commander of the ship the Adventure galley,
or to any other, the commander of the same for the time being,
_Greeting_: Whereas we are informed, that Capt. Thomas Too, John
Ireland, Capt. Thomas Wake, and Capt. William Maze or Mace, and other
subjects, natives or inhabitants of New-York, and elsewhere, in our
plantations in America, have associated themselves with divers others,
wicked and ill-disposed persons, and do, against the law of nations,
commit many and great piracies, robberies and depredations on the seas
upon the parts of America, and in other parts, to the great hindrance
and discouragement of trade and navigation, and to the great danger and
hurt of our loving subjects, our allies, and all others, navigating the
seas upon their lawful occasions. Now KNOW YE, that we being desirous to
prevent the aforesaid mischiefs, and as much as in us lies, to bring the
said pirates, free-booters and sea-rovers to justice, have thought fit,
and do hereby give and grant to the said Robert Kidd, (to whom our
commissioners for exercising the office of Lord High Admiral of England,
have granted a commission as a private man-of-war, bearing date the 11th
day of December, 1695,) and unto the commander of the said ship for the
time being, and unto the officers, mariners, and others which shall be
under your command, full power and authority to apprehend, seize, and
take into your custody as well the said Capt. Thomas Too, John Ireland,
Capt. Thomas Wake, and Capt. Wm. Maze or Mace, as all such pirates,
free-booters, and sea-rovers, being either our subjects, or of other
nations associated with them, which you shall meet with upon the seas or
coasts of America, or upon any other seas or coasts, with all their
ships and vessels, and all such merchandizes, money, goods, and wares as
shall be found on board, or with them, in case they shall willingly
yield themselves; but if they will not yield without fighting, then you
are by force to compel them to yield. And we also require you to bring,
or cause to be brought, such pirates, free-booters, or sea-rovers, as
you shall seize, to a legal trial, to the end they may be proceeded
against according to the law in such cases. And we do hereby command
all our officers, ministers, and other our loving subjects whatsoever,
to be aiding and assisting to you in the premises. And we do hereby
enjoin you to keep an exact journal of your proceedings in execution of
the premises, and set down the names of such pirates, and of their
officers and company, and the names of such ships and vessels as you
shall by virtue of these presents take and seize, and the quantities of
arms, ammunition, provision, and lading of such ships, and the true
value of the same, as near as you judge. And we do hereby strictly
charge and command you, as you will answer the contrary at your peril,
that you do not, in any manner, offend or molest our friends or allies,
their ships or subjects, by colour or pretence of these presents, or the
authority thereby granted. _In witness whereof_, we have caused our
great seal of England to be affixed to these presents. Given at our
court in Kensington, the 26th day of January, 1695, in the 7th year of
our reign."

Capt. Kidd had also another commission, which was called a commission of
reprisals; for it being then war time, this commission was to justify
him in the taking of French merchant ships, in case he should meet with
any; but as this commission is nothing to our present purpose, we shall
not burthen the reader with it.

Previous to sailing, Capt. Kidd buried his bible on the sea-shore, in
Plymouth Sound; its divine precepts being so at variance with his wicked
course of life, that he did not choose to keep a book which condemned
him in his lawless career.

With these two commissions he sailed out of Plymouth in May, 1696, in
the Adventure galley, of 30 guns, and 80 men; the place he first
designed for was New-York; in his voyage thither, he took a French
banker, but this was no act of piracy, he having a commission for that
purpose, as we have just observed.

When he arrived at New-York, he put up articles for engaging more hands,
it being necessary to his ship's crew, since he proposed to deal with a
desperate enemy. The terms he offered, were, that every man should have
a share of what was taken, reserving for himself and owners forty
shares. Upon which encouragement he soon increased his company to 155
men.

[Illustration _Captain Kidd burying his Bible._]

With this company he sailed first for Madeira, where he took in wine and
some other necessaries; from thence he proceeded to Bonavista, one of
the Cape de Verd Islands, to furnish the ship with salt, and from thence
went immediately to St. Jago, another of the Cape de Verd Islands, in
order to stock himself with provisions. When all this was done, he bent
his course to Madagascar, the known rendezvous of pirates. In his way he
fell in with Capt. Warren, commodore of three men of war; he acquainted
him with his design, kept them company two or three days, and then
leaving them, made the best of his way for Madagascar, where he arrived
in February, 1696, just nine months from his departure from Plymouth.

It happened that at this time the pirate ships were most of them out in
search of prey; so that according to the best intelligence Capt. Kidd
could get, there was not one of them at that time about the island;
wherefore, having spent some time in watering his ship and taking in
more provisions, he thought of trying his fortune on the coast of
Malabar, where he arrived in the month of June following, four months
from his reaching Madagascar. Hereabouts he made an unsuccessful cruise,
touching sometimes at the island of Mohila, and sometimes at that of
Johanna, between Malabar and Madagascar. His provisions were every day
wasting, and his ship began to want repair; wherefore, when he was at
Johanna, he found means of borrowing a sum of money from some Frenchmen
who had lost their ship, but saved their effects, and with this he
purchased materials for putting his ship in good repair.

It does not appear all this while that he had the least design of
turning pirate; for near Mohila and Johanna both, he met with several
Indian ships richly laden, to which he did not offer the least violence,
though he was strong enough to have done what he pleased with them; and
the first outrage or depredation I find he committed upon mankind, was
after his repairing his ship, and leaving Johanna; he touched at a place
called Mabbee, upon the Red Sea, where he took some Guinea corn from the
natives, by force. After this, he sailed to Bab's Key, a place upon a
little island at the entrance of the Red Sea. Here it was that he first
began to open himself to his ship's company, and let them understand
that he intended to change his measures; for, happening to talk of the
Mocha fleet, which was to sail that way, he said, "_We have been
unsuccessful hitherto; but courage, my boys, we'll make our fortunes out
of this fleet_"; and finding that none of them appeared averse to it, he
ordered a boat out, well manned, to go upon the coast to make
discoveries, commanding them to take a prisoner and bring him to him, or
get intelligence any way they could. The boat returned in a few days,
bringing him word, that they saw fourteen or fifteen ships ready to
sail, some with English, some with Dutch, and some with Moorish colors.

We cannot account for this sudden change in his conduct, otherwise than
by supposing that he first meant well, while he had hopes of making his
fortune by taking of pirates; but now weary of ill success, and fearing
lest his owners, out of humor at their great expenses, should dismiss
him, and he should want employment, and be marked out for an unlucky
man; rather, I say, than run the hazard of poverty, he resolved to do
his business one way, since he could not do it another.

He therefore ordered a man continually to watch at the mast head, lest
this fleet should go by them; and about four days after, towards
evening, it appeared in sight, being convoyed by one English and one
Dutch man of war. Kidd soon fell in with them, and getting into the
midst of them, fired at a Moorish ship which was next him; but the
men-of-war taking the alarm, bore down upon Kidd, and firing upon him,
obliged him to sheer off, he not being strong enough to contend with
them. Now he had begun hostilities, he resolved to go on, and therefore
he went and cruised along the coast of Malabar. The first prize he met
was a small vessel belonging to Aden; the vessel was Moorish, and the
owners were Moorish merchants, but the master was an Englishman; his
name was Parker. Kidd forced him and a Portuguese that was called Don
Antonio, which were all the Europeans on board, to take on with him; the
first he designed as a pilot, and the last as an interpreter. He also
used the men very cruelly, causing them to be hoisted up by the arms,
and drubbed with a naked cutlass, to force them to discover whether they
had money on board, and where it lay; but as they had neither gold nor
silver on board, he got nothing by his cruelty; however, he took from
them a bale of pepper, and a bale of coffee, and so let them go.

A little time after he touched at Carawar, a place upon the same coast,
where, before he arrived, the news of what he had done to the Moorish
ship had reached them; for some of the English merchants there had
received an account of it from the owners, who corresponded with them;
wherefore, as soon as Kidd came in, he was suspected to be the person
who committed this piracy; and one Mr. Harvey and Mr. Mason, two of the
English factory, came on board and asked for Parker, and Antonio, the
Portuguese; but Kidd denied that he knew any such persons, having
secured them both in a private place in the hold, where they were kept
for seven or eight days, that is, till Kidd sailed from thence.

However, the coast was alarmed, and a Portuguese man-of-war was sent out
to cruise. Kidd met with her, and fought her about six hours, gallantly
enough; but finding her too strong to be taken, he quitted her; for he
was able to run away from her when he would. Then he went to a place
called Porca, where he watered his ship and bought a number of hogs of
the natives to victual his company.

Soon after this, he came up with a Moorish ship, the master whereof was
a Dutchman, called Schipper Mitchell, and chased her under French
colors, which they observing hoisted French colors too; when he came
up with her, he hailed her in French, and they having a Frenchman on
board, answered him in the same language; upon which he ordered them to
send their boat on board; they were obliged to do so, and having
examined who they were, and from whence they came, he asked the
Frenchman who was a passenger, if he had a French pass for himself; the
Frenchman gave him to understand that he had. Then he told the Frenchman
that he must pass for captain, and by----, says he, you are the captain;
the Frenchman durst not refuse doing as he would have him. The meaning
of this was, that he would seize the ship as fair prize, and as if she
had belonged to French subjects, according to a commission he had for
that purpose; though one would think, after what he had already done, he
need not have recourse to a quibble to give his actions a color.

[Illustration: _Captain Kidd attacks the Moorish fleet._]

In short, he took the cargo, and sold it some time after; yet still he
seemed to have some fears upon him, lest these proceedings should have a
bad end; for, coming up with a Dutch ship some time after, when his men
thought of nothing but attacking her, Kidd opposed it; upon which a
mutiny arose, and the majority being for taking the said ship, and
arming themselves to man the boat to go and seize her, he told them,
such as did, never should come on board him again; which put an end to
the design, so that he kept company with the said ship some time,
without offering her any violence. However, this dispute was the
occasion of an accident, upon which an indictment was grounded against
Kidd; for Moor, the gunner, being one day upon deck, and talking with
Kidd about the said Dutch ship, some words arose between them, and Moor
told Kidd, that he had ruined them all; upon which Kidd, calling him a
dog, took up a bucket and struck him with it, which breaking his scull,
he died next day.

But Kidd's penitential fit did not last long; for coasting along
Malabar, he met with a great number of boats, all of which he
plundered. Upon the same coast he also fell in with a Portuguese ship,
which he kept possession of a week, and then having taken out of her
some chests of India goods, thirty jars of butter, with some wax, iron
and a hundred bags of rice, he let her go.

Much about the same time he went to one of the Malabar islands for wood
and water, and his cooper being ashore, was murdered by the natives;
upon which Kidd himself landed, and burnt and pillaged several of their
houses, the people running away; but having taken one, he caused him to
be tied to a tree, and commanded one of his men to shoot him; then
putting to sea again, he took the greatest prize which fell into his
hands while he followed this trade; this was a Moorish ship of 400 tons,
richly laden, named the Queda Merchant, the master whereof was an
Englishman, by the name of Wright; for the Indians often make use of
English or Dutchmen to command their ships, their own mariners not being
so good artists in navigation. Kidd chased her under French colors, and
having come up with her, he ordered her to hoist out her boat and send
on board of him, which being done, he told Wright he was his prisoner;
and informing himself concerning the said ship, he understood there were
no Europeans on board, except two Dutch and one Frenchman, all the rest
being Indians or Armenians, and that the Armenians were part owners of
the cargo. Kidd gave the Armenians to understand, that if they would
offer anything that was worth his taking for their ransom, he would
hearken to it. Upon which, they proposed to pay him 20,000 rupees, not
quite L3,000 sterling; but Kidd judged this would be making a bad
bargain, wherefore he rejected it, and setting the crew on shore, at
different places on the coast, he soon sold as much of the cargo as came
to ten thousand pounds. With part of it he also trafficked, receiving in
exchange provisions, or such other goods as he wanted; by degrees he
disposed of the whole cargo, and when the division was made, it came to
about L200 a man; and having reserved forty shares to himself, his
dividend amounted to about L8,000 sterling.

The Indians along the coast came on board and trafficked with all
freedom, and he punctually performed his bargains, till about the time
he was ready to sail; and then thinking he should have no further
occasion for them, he made no scruple of taking their goods and setting
them on shore, without any payment in money or goods, which they little
expected; for as they had been used to deal with pirates, they always
found them men of honor in the way of trade; a people, enemies to
deceit, and that scorned to rob but in their own way.

Kidd put some of his men on board the Queda Merchant, and with this ship
and his own sailed for Madagascar. As soon as he had arrived and cast
anchor, there came on board of him a canoe, in which were several
Englishmen, who had formerly been well acquainted with Kidd. As soon as
they saw him they saluted him, and told him they were informed he was
come to take them, and hang them, which would be a little unkind in such
an old acquaintance. Kidd soon dissipated their doubts, by swearing he
had no such design, and that he was now in every respect their brother,
and just as bad as they; and calling for a cup of bomboo, drank their
captain's health.

These men belonged to a pirate ship, called the Resolution, formerly the
Mocha Merchant, whereof one Capt. Culliford was commander, and which lay
at anchor not far from them. Kidd went on board with them, promising
them his friendship and assistance, and Culliford in his turn came on
board of Kidd; and Kidd, to testify his sincerity in iniquity, finding
Culliford in want of some necessaries, made him a present of an anchor
and some guns, to fit him out for sea again.

The Adventure galley was now so old and leaky, that they were forced to
keep two pumps continually going; wherefore Kidd shifted all the guns
and tackle out of her into the Queda Merchant, intending her for his
man-of-war; and as he had divided the money before, he now made a
division of the remainder of the cargo; soon after which, the greatest
part of the company left him, some going on board Capt. Culliford, and
others absconding into the country, so that he had not above 40 men
left.

He put to sea, and happened to touch at Amboyna, one of the Dutch spice
islands, where he was told that the news of his actions had reached
England, and that he was there declared a pirate.

The truth of it is, his piracies so alarmed our merchants that some
motions were made in parliament, to inquire into the commission that was
given him, and the persons who fitted him out. These proceedings seem to
lean a little hard upon Lord Bellamont, who thought himself so touched
thereby, that he published a justification of himself in a pamphlet,
after Kidd's execution. In the meantime it was thought advisable, in
order to stop the course of these piracies, to publish a proclamation,
offering the king's free pardon to all such pirates as should
voluntarily surrender themselves, whatever piracies they had been guilty
of, at any time before the last day of April, 1699--that is to say, for
all piracies committed eastward of the Cape of Good Hope, to the
longitude and meridian of Socatora, and Cape Cormorin; in which
proclamation, Avery and Kidd were excepted by name.

When Kidd left Amboyna he knew nothing of this proclamation, for
certainly had he had notice of his being excepted in it, he would not
have been so infatuated, as to run himself into the very jaws of danger;
but relying upon his interest with the lord Bellamont, and fancying that
a French pass or two he found on board some of the ships he took, would
serve to countenance the matter, and that part of the booty he got would
gain him new friends--I say, all these things made him flatter himself
that all would be hushed, and that justice would but wink at him.
Wherefore he sailed directly for Boston laden with booty, with a crew of
swaggering companions at his heels. But no sooner did he show himself in
Boston, than the alarm was given of his reappearance, and measures were
taken to arrest him. The daring character which Kidd had acquired,
however, and the desperate fellows who followed like bull-dogs at his
heels, caused a little delay in his arrest. He took advantage of this to
bury the greater part of his immense treasure, which has never been
found, and then carried a high head about the streets of Boston. He even
attempted to defend himself when arrested, but was secured and thrown
into prison. Such was the formidable character of this pirate and his
crew, that a frigate was sent to convey them to England for trial.

Accordingly a sessions of Admiralty being held at the Old Bailey, in May
1701, Capt. Kidd, Nicholas Churchill, James How, Robert Lumly, William
Jenkins, Gabriel Loff, Hugh Parrot, Richard Barlicorn, Abel Owens and
Darby Mullins, were arraigned for piracy and robbery on the high seas,
and all found guilty except three; these were Robert Lumly, William
Jenkins and Richard Barlicorn, who proving themselves to be apprentices
to some of the officers of the ship, and producing their indentures in
court, were acquitted.

The three above mentioned, though they were proved to be concerned in
taking and sharing the ship and goods mentioned in the indictment, yet,
as the gentlemen of the long robe rightly distinguished, there was a
great difference between their circumstances and the rest; for there
must go an intention of the mind and a freedom of the will to the
committing an act of felony or piracy. A pirate is not to be understood
to be under constraint, but a free agent; for in this case, the bare act
will not make a man guilty, unless the will make it so.

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. Bass, 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 entitled to the benefit of the said proclamation,
because they had not in all circumstances complied with the conditions
of it.