speechless, helpless. A lifetime by that shore had taught them the utter
puniness of the sons of men. Others would have tried to do something
with what they thought was their strong arm. But the fishermen knew too
well that the Fundy's arm was stronger. In silence they waited with
bated breath while the awful moments passed. Imperturbable they stood
there, with their feet in the white foam and their faces in the salt
spray, and gazed at the curtain of the night, behind which a tragedy was
passing, as dark and dire as any in the annals of the sea.
Another flash of lightning, and there, dashing upon the iron rocks, was
a great ship, with all her sails set, and a cloud of lurid smoke
trailing from her funnel. She was gray-colored, with auxiliary power,
and as her lines dawned upon those who saw her in the moment of light,
they burst out with one accord, "It's the _Kanawha_! It's the
_Kanawha_!" As if an answer to their sudden cry another gun roared, and
another shower of rockets shot up into the sky; and then all was lost
again in the darkness and the voices of the tempest.
Next morning the winds had gone out with the tide, and when in the
afternoon the calm waters had risen, a boat put off from Hall's Harbor
and rowed to the Isle of Haut. For several hours the rocky shores were
searched for some traces of the wreck, but not a spar or splinter could
be found. All about the bright waters laughed, with naught but the
sunbeams on their bosom, and not a shadow remained from last night's
sorrow on the sea.
So Mogul Mackenzie, who had lived a life of stress, passed out on the
wings of storm. In his end, as always, he baffled pursuit, and was
sought but could not be found. His sailings on the sea were in secret,
and his last port in death was a mystery. But, as has been already
related, when the Northern Lights come down across the haunted island,
the distress signals of his pirate crew are still seen shooting up into
the night.
FOOTNOTES:
[27] From _Blackwood's Magazine_.
THE LAST OF THE SEA-ROVERS
The Riff Coast Pirates[28]
W. B. LORD
O nay, O nay, then said our King,
O nay, this must not be,
To yield to such a rover
Myself will not agree;
He hath deceived the Frenchman,
Likewise the King of Spain,
And how can he be true to me,
That hath been false to twain?
OLD SEA SONG OF THE YEAR 1620.
Probably by this time the greater part of the piratical craft along the
Riff coast has been destroyed, and the long-promised Moorish gunboat
stationed there to protect foreign shipping.[29] These steps have
doubtless been hastened by the fact that the pirates, unfortunately for
themselves, attacked a vessel some little time ago belonging to the
Sultan of Morocco. For years past the Governments of several European
Powers have sought to put friendly pressure upon the Sultan of Morocco
to effectually stop the depredations of the Riffian coast pirates. No
strong measures, however, were really taken until the above episode
occurred. It is said that in early days the Moors were some time in
accustoming themselves to the perils of the deep. At first they
marvelled greatly at "those that go down to the sea in ships, and have
their business in great waters," but they did not hasten to follow their
example. One eminent ruler of ancient times, in that region, when asked
what the sea was like, replied, "The sea is a huge beast which silly
folk ride like worms on logs." But it afterwards became clear that the
Moors had a strong fancy for the "worms" and "logs" too. They gave up
marvelling at those who went to sea, and went on it themselves in search
of plunder. The risk, the uncertainty, the danger, the sense of superior
skill and ingenuity, that attract the adventurous spirit, and the
passion for sport, are stated by some writers to have brought such a
state of things into existence. One fact seems to be pretty certain,
that when these depredations were first made, they took the form of
reprisals upon the Spaniards. No sooner was Granada fallen, than
thousands of desperate Moors left the land, disdaining to live under a
Spanish yoke. Settling along a portion of the northern coast of Africa,
they immediately proceeded to first attack all Spanish vessels that
could be found. Their quickness and knowledge of the coasts gave them
the opportunity of reprisals for which they longed. Probably this got
monotonous in course of time, for in their wild sea courses they took
to harrying the vessels belonging to other nations, and so laid the
foundation for a race of pirates, which has continued down to quite
recently. As nowadays, the Moors cruised in boats from the commencement
of their marauding expeditions. Each man pulled an oar, and knew how to
fight as well as row. Drawing little water, a small squadron of these
craft could be pushed up almost any creek, or lie hidden behind a rock,
till the enemy came in sight. Then oars out, and a quick stroke for a
few minutes. Next they were alongside their unsuspecting prey, and
pouring in a first volley. Ultimately the prize was usually taken, the
crew put in irons, and the pirates returned home with their capture, no
doubt being received with acclamation upon their arrival.
As far back as the sixteenth century the Spanish forts at Alhucemas--not
to mention other places--were established for the purpose of repressing
piracy in its vicinity. Considerable interest is attached to several of
the piracies committed during the past few years, as they culminated in
strong representations being made to the Sultan of Morocco by the
various Governments under whose flag the respective vessels sailed. Some
of them went so far as to send warships to cruise along the Riffian
coast. This step apparently had some moral effect upon the pirates, for
from that time onwards attacks upon foreign vessels practically ceased.
Something more than this, however, was needed, for no one could say how
soon the marauding expeditions might be renewed upon a larger scale than
ever, so as to make up for lost opportunities. On August 14, 1897, the
Italian three-masted schooner _Fiducia_ was off the coast of Morocco, in
the Mediterranean, homeward bound from Pensacola to Marseilles. Here she
got becalmed, and while in that condition two boats approached her from
the shore. At first the crew of the _Fiducia_ thought they were native
fishing boats. When, however, the latter got within a hundred yards or
so of the helpless vessel, the suspicions of the crew were aroused. The
captain warned the Moors not to approach any nearer; a volley of bullets
was returned by way of reply, followed by a regular fusillade as the
boats advanced. There were only three revolvers on board the schooner,
and with these the crew prepared to defend themselves. Soon, however,
their supply of ammunition became exhausted, and the pirates boarded the
schooner without further opposition. The vessel was at once ransacked,
even the clothes of the crew being taken. The ship's own boat was
lowered, and into this the marauders put their booty, and took it
ashore, also carrying the captain and one of the crew with them. About
an hour later another boat, containing about twenty pirates, came off
and fired on the ship. The crew, seeing that they could offer no
effective resistance, hid themselves away in the hold. The other pirates
had left very little for the new arrivals to take, and this seemed to
annoy them so much that they gave vent to their ill-feelings in several
ways, not the least wanton being the pollution of the ship's fresh
water. They also smashed the vessel's compass, and tore up the charts.
For the next two days the crew existed on a few biscuits, which the
pirates had left behind. The following day the British steamship
_Oanfa_, of London, hove in sight. The crew of the schooner hoisted a
shirt as a signal, which was fortunately seen, and a boat sent off in
response thereto. Assistance was promptly rendered, and the _Fiducia_
put in a position to resume her voyage. This was done until spoken by
the Italian cruiser _Ercole_, which assisted the schooner to her
destination.
In October, 1896, the French barque _Prosper Corue_ was lying becalmed
off Alhucemas, a place fortified by the Spaniards to keep the pirates in
check, when several boats full of armed Moors seized the vessel and made
the crew prisoners. They then completely pillaged the ship, removing
almost everything of any use or value. While the miscreants were thus
busily engaged a Spanish merchant steamship, named the _Sevilla_,
happened to come along, and was in time to capture one boat and rescue
several of the prisoners. The _Sevilla_ then made towards the barque,
but the pirates opened fire on the steamer, killing and wounding some of
the crew. The Spaniard was compelled to retire, leaving the captain of
the barque in the hands of the Moors. Subsequently the barque was
picked up in an abandoned condition by the British steamship _Oswin_,
and towed into Almeria. An arrangement was afterwards made with the
pirates to release the captains of the _Fiducia_ and the Portuguese
barque _Rosita Faro_--a much earlier capture--and some members of both
crews, in exchange for the Riffians captured by the Spanish steamer
_Sevilla_ and a ransom of 3,000 dollars. It was only after prolonged
negotiations and a large sum of money that a French warship succeeded in
obtaining the freedom of the captain of the _Prosper Corue_ and a few
other Frenchmen. For some reason or other, the pirates seemed very much
disinclined to part with these prisoners. Only a short time before the
attack on the French barque took place, a notice was issued by the
British Board of Trade, in which the attention of ship-owners and
masters of vessels was called to the dangers attending navigation off
the coast of Morocco. The document then proceeded to detail the case of
the British schooner _Mayer_, of Gibraltar, which was boarded about 10
miles from the Riff coast by twenty Moors armed with rifles and daggers.
As usual, the pirates ransacked the vessel, destroyed the ensign and
ship's papers, brutally assaulted the men on board, and then made off in
their boat. Scarcely had the foregoing notice been generally circulated
than another case of a similar character happened in connection with the
Italian schooner _Scatuola_. Again, there is the Spanish cutter
_Jacob_. She was running along the Moorish coast one fine summer's
evening a few years since, when a boat full of pirates suddenly came
alongside, and speedily upset the quietness which had previously reigned
on board the _Jacob_. Five of the crew managed to escape in the cutter's
boat and were picked up some days later by a passing vessel. Those who
remained on board the cutter fared very badly. After the vessel had been
pillaged, the rigging and sails destroyed, the men were all securely
bound and left to their fate. Fortunately the weather continued fine,
and the _Jacob_ drifted towards the Spanish coast, where she was seen
and assistance promptly rendered.
The captain of another Spanish vessel had quite a "thrilling" adventure
among these pirates in May, 1892. He left Gibraltar in command of the
barque _San Antonio_ for Alhucemas, and when about six miles from Penon
de la Gomera a boat manned by thirteen Moors was observed to be
approaching the vessel. When near enough they opened fire, and ordered
the captain to lower his sails, which was done, as the Spaniards were,
practically speaking, without arms. The Moors then boarded the _San
Antonio_ and took her in tow. When close to the land the captain was
rowed ashore, and the pirates spent part of the night in unloading the
cargo. Next morning the _San Antonio_ was seen drifting out to sea, and
the captain, who was afraid of being put to death, suggested that he
should go on board and bring her back to the anchorage. Probably
thinking that some of their comrades were on the barque, but unable to
set the necessary canvas to return, only two Moors were sent off with
the captain, and these remained in the boat when the vessel was reached.
Upon gaining the deck of the barque the captain was surprised to find
himself alone. Without hesitating for a moment he released the crew, who
were confined below, hoisted sail and stood out to sea. The Moors who
had been left in the boat were speedily cut adrift, much to their
amazement, for it so happened that none of the pirates had stayed on
board. No doubt they were eager to find a safe hiding-place for their
plunder, and, thinking the barque quite secure till morning, took no
further heed of the matter. A few days later the _San Antonio_ arrived
at Gibraltar, where full particulars of the outrage were furnished to
the authorities. Space will not admit of details being given of the
attacks on the Spanish barque _Goleta_, the Portuguese barque _Rosita
Faro_, the British felucca _Joven Enrique_, and other vessels. It should
be mentioned, however, that several famous British and foreign sailing
yachts upon various occasions have had remarkably narrow escapes from
being captured by these sea ruffians.
It is sincerely to be hoped that the Sultan of Morocco is carrying out
his task in such a manner as will induce the inhabitants of the Riff
coast to follow some occupation in future which is more likely to be
appreciated by those who have to navigate vessels in the Mediterranean.
Previous to stern measures being taken by the Sultan, it was not at all
uncommon for his envoys to the native tribes--for the purpose of
obtaining the release of captives--to be received with derision. Often,
too, they were maltreated to such an extent that they were glad to
escape with their lives. Some of the neighboring tribes continually
endeavored to purchase captives for the pleasure of killing them, but it
is satisfactory to learn that no sales are recorded, as the anticipated
ransom was always largely in excess of the sums offered by the
bloodthirsty natives.
FOOTNOTES:
[28] From the _Nautical Magazine_.
[29] About twenty years ago.