It is not likely that many of our readers will have heard of a certain
Captain Hayes, who a few years ago was one of the most notorious
desperadoes among the numerous ‘beachcombers’ and other questionable
characters who infested the South Pacific. A few instances of this
worthy’s escapades in the paths of fraud and villainy, drawn from
_Coral Lands_, by H. S. Cooper (London: R. Bentley & Son), may be of
interest, and will also show how, up to a comparatively recent period,
a determined character could pursue a career of actual crime and piracy
in the Eastern seas with impunity.
Of the antecedents of Captain (or ‘Bully,’ as he was commonly dubbed)
Hayes, little is known before 1858, when he appeared in the Hawaiian
Islands, having landed from the ship _Orestes_. After a short stay at
Honolulu, he left for San Francisco in the beginning of 1859; and a
few months afterwards reappeared in command of a brig bound for New
Caledonia. Having entered a closed port without having first passed
the custom-house, the sheriff arrested him and took possession of
the brig. Captain Hayes put all the blame on his first officer, and
was virtuously indignant with him for misinforming him as to the
necessity of first entering at the custom-house at Lahaina, at the same
time treating the sheriff with unbounded courtesy and every mark of
respect. He at once agreed to proceed to Lahaina, and seemed delighted
to find it was the sheriff’s duty to accompany him thither. When,
however, the ship was clear of the land, Hayes ‘changed his tune,’
and coolly informed the sheriff he had no intention of going near the
custom-house, and that he (the sheriff) could either remain on board
and pay for his passage to New Caledonia, or find his way back to port
the best way he could. The sheriff found himself completely outwitted,
and was perforce obliged to take to his small boat—luckily, still
alongside—and managed to reach the land with considerable difficulty,
having the melancholy satisfaction of seeing his late prisoner laughing
at him over the taffrail as he resumed his course for the Southern
Ocean. Next mail brought instructions to the United States consul at
Honolulu for Hayes’ arrest; and it then became known that when last
in the islands he had borrowed money from a confiding clergyman,
with which he had gone to San Francisco and negotiated the purchase
of the brig, fitted her out, engaged his crew and then set sail,
paying nobody. His cruise at this time, however, did not last very
long; shortly afterwards, his ship was wrecked at Wallace’s Island,
the captain and his ‘chums’ escaping in the boat to the Navigators’
Islands, leaving the rest of the crew to their fate. They ultimately,
however, succeeded in getting safe to shore by means of a raft.
Hayes was next heard of at Batavia in command of a barque; how
obtained is not known. He succeeded in getting a cargo of coffee for
Europe—which it would never have seen—when the Dutch East India Company
got some information as to his antecedents, and were only too glad
to get repossession of their coffee, losing the charter-money, which
Hayes insisted on being paid before he allowed the cargo to be taken
on shore again. Finding he had not much chance of doing any good—or
evil, rather—at Batavia, Hayes resolved to depart in search of a fresh
field for the exercise of his talents. Proceeding to Hong-kong, he
succeeded in filling his vessel with Chinese coolies, and sailed for
Melbourne. After a fair voyage, he was nearing the Australian coast,
when he spoke a ship, and was informed that a tax had been imposed on
all Chinese immigrants, and that he would have to pay fifty dollars
per head on his passengers before he would be permitted to land them.
This was rather a serious outlook for the captain, but, as usual, his
inventive brain was equal to the occasion. He sailed calmly on, and
soon arrived off his port of destination. Then he set to work to carry
out the plan he had conceived. He coolly filled his ship half-full of
water, hoisted signals of distress, and lay to, waiting the development
of his ruse. He had not long to wait; his signals for assistance were
perceived, and two tug steamers were soon alongside, proffering their
services for the purpose of towing him into port. Hayes declared his
ship would sink before she could be got into dock, as his pumps were
choked and the water rising at a great rate. He implored them to take
off his passengers, leaving his crew and himself to escape by means
of their boats, should the barque not float till they returned. This
the tug-owners agreed to do. The Chinamen were trans-shipped, and the
steamers bore off, promising to return as speedily as possible to his
assistance. They got their load of Chinamen safely landed, the owners
paying the head-tax, and steamed back to bring in the ship; but she was
nowhere to be seen, having, as they supposed, gone down with all hands.
No such fate, however, had befallen the gallant captain. No sooner were
the tugs out of sight, than he pumped his ship free of water, and lost
no time in putting a good few miles between him and Melbourne, inwardly
chuckling, no doubt, at the clever way he had duped the antipodeans and
got his Chinamen landed at others’ expense. Some time after this, Hayes
speculated in another cargo of Chinamen; but this time he landed them
without trouble and without paying anything, having gone through the
formality of getting them all made British subjects before he sailed!
For a few years after this, Captain Hayes was little heard of, except
at some of the South Pacific islands, where he occasionally turned
up, ostensibly pursuing the avocation of an honest trader. By-and-by,
however, he resumed his old habits, and for a couple of years or so
he made raids on several of the island groups, robbing and destroying
the stations of the traders and native villages. Eventually, he was
arrested by the British consul at Upolu. As luck would have it, at this
same time a certain friend of Hayes, Captain Pease or Peace, arrived
at Upolu in his brig the _Leonora_. On some pretence or other, Hayes
obtained leave to go on board; and when next morning dawned, the brig
was invisible, having sailed during the night with him on board as
a passenger. In due time, the _Leonora_ arrived at Shanghai, and by
some dodge or other, Hayes managed to get Captain Pease put in prison,
passing himself off to the authorities as the owner of the brig. He
next got on board the supplies he was in need of, and set sail, as
usual paying for little or nothing. Hayes once more was in command of
a good ship, with a crew who asked no questions, and in a position
to resume his fraudulent career. His first port of call was Saigon,
where he was chartered to take a load of rice to Hong-kong and other
intermediate ports. At the first port of call, the owner of the rice
went on shore to try and effect a sale. Hayes took this opportunity of
leaving the owner behind, and set off for Bankok, where he disposed of
his cargo at a good price, and departed once more for his favourite
hunting-ground—the South Pacific.
Hayes some time after this was again without a ship, having imprudently
intrusted his vessel to the care of his first officer, who treated
the ‘Bully’ to a dose of his own game, and went off with her, leaving
him in a quandary on one of the South Pacific islets. Hayes was now
forced to change his play, and accordingly came out in a new character.
Pretending to be converted from his evil ways, he completely got the
better of the American missionaries, and obtained command of a small
schooner belonging to the Mission. At the first favourable opportunity,
as may be supposed, he disappeared with the schooner, and arrived
at Manila. Here, however, his fame had preceded him, and on being
recognised, he was promptly arrested, and put in prison. The captain’s
game seemed now about up; but his good luck had not yet deserted him.
Once more adopting the religious dodge, he turned a devout Catholic,
and so talked over the priests, that, although there was evidence
enough to hang him and a dozen others besides, he got off, and was next
heard of at the scene of his first escapade, San Francisco, where he
stole a smart schooner called the _Lotus_, and once more was off for
the Sunny South.
On another occasion, Hayes was captured by the U.S. steamer
_Narraganset_, which had been commissioned to look out for him. He was
not many days on board the war-ship, when, by his affable manners and
gentlemanly behaviour, he so won over the sympathies of the American
officers, that they became convinced he was a most worthy individual,
and set him free, actually supplying him with a new set of sails and
other articles he was in need of!
On another occasion, Hayes called at Levuka, the capital of Fiji, to
obtain supplies for a lengthened cruise. The goods were sent on board,
and the bill rendered, payment being expected next morning before
he sailed; but when the day dawned, the captain, as usual, was off.
Unfortunately for him, however, in this instance the wind failed him,
and the merchant was able to overtake the ship in a rowboat.
The captain was not at all put about when the merchant came on board;
said ‘he presumed he would have letters for him to post, and would be
delighted to be of use.’ The merchant was rather taken aback at such
coolness in an absconding debtor, and mildly hinted at payment of his
account.
‘Why,’ exclaimed Hayes, ‘you were paid yesterday!’
The merchant assured him that he was mistaken.
Hayes expressed astonishment, and ordered up one of his officers.
‘Didn’t I give you the cash to settle this gentleman’s bill?’ he
asked indignantly; and then the ‘Bully’ opened the vials of his wrath
upon the innocent seaman, who was cunning enough to see the captain’s
object, and held his tongue. Seeing, however, that there was no sign of
a breeze springing up, he was forced to pay for his supplies, no doubt
very much chagrined at having to be honest for once in his lifetime.
After a long career of robbery and bloodshed—for he gets the name of
having perpetrated several murders—Hayes at last met his deserts at
the hands of one of his officers, whom he had defrauded and ill-used
in a most disgraceful manner. No doubt, the secret of his eluding the
hands of justice for so long a time was his particularly pleasing
manners and appearance. He was by no means a common ruffian, but the
reverse, having a handsome face and figure, and bestowing a deal of
care and attention on his personal appearance. His urbanity of manner
and conversational powers were of the most fascinating description,
and he could entertain a friend or knock him on the head in an
equally charming style. When he first appeared in the Pacific, he was
accompanied by ‘Mrs Hayes,’ and was seldom without a female companion,
several of whom are said to have been among his victims. He was
possessed of great natural abilities. If he had only turned his talents
into a proper channel, he might have made a good position for himself
in the world.