THE PIRATES AND BUCANIERS (_continued_).
The Exploits of Captain Sawkins—Three Ships attacked by
Canoes—Valiant Peralta—Explosion on Board—Miserable Sight on Two
Ship’s Decks—Capture of an Empty Ship—Dissatisfaction among the
Pirates—Desertion of many—Message from the Governor of Panama—The
Pirate Captain’s Bravado—His Death—Fear inspired on all the
Southern Coasts—Preparations for punishing and hindering the
Bucaniers—Captain Kidd—His first Commission as Privateer—Turns
Pirate—The Mocha Fleet—Almost a Mutiny on Board—Kills his
Gunner—Capture of Rich Prizes—A Rich Ransom derided—Grand
Dividend—Kidd deserted by some of his Men—Proclamation of
Pardon—Kidd excepted—Rushes on his Doom—Arrested in New York—Trial
at the Old Bailey—Pleadings—Execution with Six Companions.
Among the great bucaniers of the seventeenth century were Captains Coxon,
Harris, Bournano, Sawkins, and Sharp, of the exploits of only one or two
of whom we shall have space to speak. On one of their principal
expeditions they started with nine vessels, having on board 460 men, and,
after a desertion of two of the ships’ companies, had still three-fourths
of the number left. Their march from the coast of Darien—the point of
destination being the unfortunate city of Panama—presented similar
difficulties to those already experienced by Morgan, and the narration of
them would be, therefore, tedious. On the way they took the town of Santa
Maria, but did not obtain much booty. From thence they proceeded by river,
in thirty-five canoes and a boat, to the Pacific Ocean. At the mouth of
the river, and on the rocks outside, some of them were shipwrecked, and
for a time the company became separated, although almost all of them were
able afterwards to rejoin. On the morning of April 23rd, 1680 (St.
George’s Day), they arrived within sight of the city of Panama, and also
in full view of some Spanish men-of-war ready for the fray, as they
immediately weighed anchor and sailed towards them. Some of the canoes
were sailing faster than the boats, and there was every fear that the
former would be run down by the ships. When the fight commenced, the
pirates had only sixty-eight men to contend against 228, Biscayans,
mulattoes, and negroes.
[Illustration: VIEW OF PANAMA.]
Captain Sawkins’s canoe, and also that on which was the narrator of the
fight, were much to leeward of the rest, so that one of the Spanish ships
came between the two and fired on both, wounding, with these broadsides,
five men in the two canoes. But the commander paid dearly for his passage
between them, as he was not quick in coming about again, and making the
same way; for the pirates killed, with their first volley, several of his
men upon the decks. Thus they got also to windward, as the rest were
before. The admiral of this armadilla (or little fleet) came up with them
instantly, scarce giving time to charge, thinking to pass by them all with
as little damage as the first of the ships had done. But, as it happened,
it turned out much the worse for him; for they were so fortunate as to
kill the man at the helm, so that his ship ran into the wind, and her
sails lay aback. By this means they all had time to come up under her
stern, and, firing continually into his vessel, they killed all that came
to the helm; besides which slaughter they cut asunder his mainsheet and
brace with their shot. At this time the third vessel was coming to the aid
of their general. Hereupon Captain Sawkins, who had changed his canoe and
had gone into one of the boats, left the admiral to four canoes (for his
own was quite disabled), and met the captain of the second ship. “Between
him and Captain Sawkins,” says the chronicler, “the dispute was very hot,
lying aboard each other, and both giving and receiving death as fast as
they could charge. While we were thus engaged the first ship tacked about,
and came up to relieve the admiral; but, we perceiving it, and foreseeing
how hard it would go with us if we should be beaten from the admiral’s
stern, determined to prevent his design. Hereupon two of our canoes, to
wit, Captain Springer’s and my own, stood off to meet him. He made up
directly towards the admiral, who stood upon the quarter-deck waving unto
him with a handkerchief so to do; but we engaged him so closely in the
middle of his way, that had he not given us the helm, and made away from
us, we had certainly been on board him. We killed so many of the men that
the vessel had scarce men enough left alive, or unwounded, to carry her
off; yet, the wind now blowing fresh, they made shift to get away from us,
and save their lives.
“The vessel which was to relieve the admiral being thus put to flight, we
came about again upon the admiral, and all together gave a loud halloo,
which was answered by our men in the periagua (large boat), though at a
distance from us. At that time we came so close under the stern of the
admiral, that we wedged up the rudder; and withal killed both the admiral
himself and the chief pilot of his ship; so that now they were almost
quite disabled and disheartened likewise, seeing what a bloody massacre we
had made among them with our shot. Hereupon, two-thirds of his men being
killed, and many others wounded, they cried for quarter, which had several
times been offered to them, and as stoutly denied till then. Captain Coxon
boarded the admiral, and took with him Captain Harris, who had been shot
through both his legs as he boldly adventured up along the side of the
ship. This vessel being thus taken we put on board her all our wounded
men, and instantly manned two of our canoes to go and aid Captain Sawkins,
who had now been three times beaten from on board Peralta, such valiant
defence had he made; and, indeed, to give our enemies their due, no men in
the world did ever act more bravely than these Spaniards.
“Thus coming close under Peralta’s side, we gave him a full volley of
shot, and expected to have the like return from him again; but on a sudden
we saw his men blown up that were abaft the mast, some of them falling on
the deck and others into the sea. This disaster was soon perceived by
their valiant captain Peralta; but he leaped overboard, and, in spite of
all our shot got several of them back into the ship again, though he was
much burnt in both his hands himself. But as one misfortune seldom cometh
alone, meanwhile he was recovering these men to reinforce his ship withal
and renew the fight, another jar of powder took fire forward, and blew up
several others upon the forecastle. Among this smoke, and under the
opportunity thereof, Captain Sawkins laid them on board, and took the
ship.”
Soon after they were taken the narrator went on board Captain Peralta’s
vessel to see what condition they were in, and a miserable sight it was;
for there was not a man that was not either killed, desperately wounded,
or horribly burnt with powder. Their dark skins were frequently turned
white, the powder having torn it from their flesh and bones. On the
admiral’s ship there were but twenty-five men alive out of eighty-six. Of
these twenty-five men only eight were able to bear arms, all the rest
being desperately wounded and by their wounds totally disabled to make any
resistance, or defend themselves. Their blood ran down the decks in whole
streams, and scarce one place in the ship was found that was free from
blood.
Having possessed themselves of these two vessels, Captain Sawkins asked
the prisoners how many men there were on board the greatest ship, lying in
the harbour of the island of Perico, as also on the others that were
something smaller. Captain Peralta hearing these questions, dissuaded him
as much as he could, saying that in the biggest alone there were three
hundred and fifty men, and that he would find the rest too well provided
for defence against his small number. But one of the men who lay dying
upon the deck contradicted Peralta as he was speaking, and told Captain
Sawkins there was not one man on board those ships that were in view, for
they had all been taken out of them to fight the pirates, in the three
vessels just taken. These words were credited as proceeding from a dying
man; and steering their course to the island they went on board them, and
found, as he had said, not one person there. The largest of the ships,
which was called _La __Santissima Trinidad_, they had set on fire. They
had also made a hole in her, and loosened her fore-sail. But they quenched
the fire with all speed, and stopped the leak. This being done they put
their wounded men on board her, and made her for the present their
hospital.
Having surveyed their own loss, they found eighteen of their men had been
killed in the fight, and twenty-two wounded. The three captains against
whom they had fought had been esteemed by the Spaniards the bravest in all
the “South Seas”; neither was their reputation undeserved, as may easily
be inferred from the narrative given of the engagement. As the third ship
was running away from the fight, she met with two more coming out to their
assistance; but gave them so little encouragement that they turned back
and dared not engage the pirates. The fight began about half an hour after
sunrise, and by noon the battle was finished. Captain Peralta, while he
was their prisoner, would often break out into admiration of their valour,
and say that surely “Englishmen were the most valiant men in the whole
world, who endeavoured always to fight openly, whilst all other nations
invented all the ways imaginable to barricade themselves, and fight as
close as they could.”
Other vessels were shortly afterwards taken. But in spite of their
successes, there was dissatisfaction among some of the pirates, and
Captain Coxon was openly branded as a coward by some of them, for the
small part he had taken in the engagement. He immediately deserted with
seventy of the men. Soon afterwards other pirates, however, joined the
forces.
Eight days after their arrival at Tavoga (now called Toboga), they took a
ship that was coming from Truxillo, and bound for Panama. In this vessel
they found two thousand jars of wine, fifty jars of gunpowder, and
fifty-one thousand pieces of eight. This money had been sent from that
city to pay the soldiers belonging to the garrison of Panama. From the
prize they had information that there was another ship coming from Lima
with one hundred thousand pieces of eight more, which vessel was to sail
ten or twelve days after them, and which, they said, could not be long
before she arrived at Panama. Within two days after this intelligence they
took another ship laden with flour from Truxillo, and the men on this
prize confirmed what the first had told them, and said that the rich
vessel might be expected there in the space of eight or ten days.
While they lay at Tavoga the President or Governor of Panama sent a
message by some merchants to them to know what they came for. To this
message Captain Sawkins made answer that “he came to assist the King of
Darien, who was the true lord of Panama and all the country thereabouts,
and that since he had come so far it was reasonable that they should have
some satisfaction. So that if he pleased to send five hundred pieces of
eight for each man and one thousand for each commander, and would not any
further annoy the Indians, but suffer them to use their own power and
liberty, as became the true and natural lords of the country, that then
they would desist from further hostilities, and go away peaceably;
otherwise, that he should stay there, and get what he could, causing the
Spaniards what damage was possible.” From the Panama merchants they
learned there lived there as Bishop of Panama, one who had formerly been
Bishop of Santa Martha, and who had been prisoner to Captain Sawkins when
he took the place about four or five years before. The captain having
received this intelligence sent two loaves of sugar to the bishop as a
present. The next day the merchant who carried them, returning to Tavoga,
brought the captain a gold ring, and a message to Captain Sawkins from the
President above mentioned, to know farther of him, since they were
Englishmen, “From whom they had their commission, and to whom he ought to
complain for the damages they had already done them?” To this message
Captain Sawkins sent back for an answer, “that as yet all his company were
not come together, but that when they were come up, they would come and
visit him at Panama, and bring their commissions on the muzzles of their
guns; at which time he should read them as plain as the flame of gunpowder
could make them.” But Sawkins’s bravado never came to anything, and he was
shortly afterwards killed at Puebla Nueva.
But the impression made by the pirates’ deeds had spread far and wide.
Some time afterwards, when Captain Sharp, who succeeded Sawkins, and had
made several captures in the meantime, took a vessel of the Spanish armada
on that coast (not the Great Armada, gentle reader; the word simply
signifies “fleet”) the captain proved to them in a speech how the fame and
fear of the pirates had pervaded the South Pacific, and what preparations
had been made to resist them. He said, “Gentlemen, I am now your prisoner
of war by the overruling providence of Fortune; and, moreover, am very
well satisfied that no money whatsoever can procure my ransom, at least
for the present, at your hands; hence I am persuaded it is not my interest
to tell you a lie, which if I do, I desire you to punish me as severely as
you think fit. We heard of your taking and destroying our armadilla and
other ships at Panama, about six weeks after that engagement, by two
several barks which arrived here from thence; but they could not inform us
whether you designed to come any farther to the southward, but rather
desired we would send them speedily all the help by sea that we possibly
could; hereupon we sent the rumour of your being in these seas to Lima,
desiring they would expedite what succour they could send to join with
ours. We had at that time in our harbour two or three great ships, but all
of them very unfit to sail; for this reason, at Lima, the Viceroy of Peru
pressed three large merchant-ships, into the biggest of which he put
fourteen brass guns, into the second ten, and in the other six. Unto these
he added two barks, and put 750 men on board them all. Of this number of
men they landed eight score at Point St. Helen, all the rest being carried
down to Panama, with design to fight you there. Besides these forces two
other men-of-war, bigger than the afore-mentioned, are still lying at
Lima, and fitting out with all speed to follow and pursue you. One of
these men-of-war is equipped with thirty-six brass guns, and the other
with thirty; these ships, besides their complement of seamen, have 400
soldiers added to them by the viceroy. Another man-of-war belonging to
this number, and lesser than the afore-mentioned, is called the _Patache_.
This ship carries twenty-four guns, and was sent to Arica to fetch the
king’s plate from thence; but the viceroy having received intelligence of
your exploits at Panama, sent for this ship back from thence in such haste
that they came away and left the money behind them. Hence the _Patache_
now lies at the port of Callao, ready to sail on the first occasion, or
news of your arrival thereabout; they having for this purpose sent to all
parts very strict orders to keep a good look-out on all sides, and all
places along the coast. Since this, from Manta, they sent us word that
they had seen two ships at sea pass by that place; and from the Goat Key
also we heard that the Indians had seen you, and that they were assured
that one of your vessels was the ship called _La Trinidad_, which you had
taken before Panama, as being a ship well known in these seas. From hence
we concluded that your design was to ply and make your voyage thereabouts.
Now this bark wherein you took us prisoners being bound for Panama, the
Governor of Guayaquil sent us out before her departure, if possible, to
discover you; which, if we did, we were to run the bark on shore and get
away, or else to fight you with these soldiers and fire-arms that you see.
As soon as we heard of your being in the seas we built two forts, the one
of six guns, and the other of four, for the defence of the town. At the
last muster taken, in the town of Guayaquil, we had there 850 men of all
colours; but when we came out we left only 250 men that were actually
under arms.” The story of Sharp and others of the pirates, after this,
shows that the Spanish preparations had a very decided effect on the
spoils they were able to acquire. Their gains were small; and apart from
the dangers of the sea, a number barely escaped being massacred ashore at
the Island of Plate. When they attempted to return by the Straits of
Magellan, they were tempest-tossed and sorely tried. They could not find
the entrance to the straits, and eventually rounded America by what is
described as “an unknown way.” That unknown route was unmistakably _viâ_
Cape Horn.
Among the notorious pirates probably no one is better known in England
than Captain Robert Kidd, whose trial and execution formed the subject of
many once popular ballads. He commenced life in the king’s service, and
had so far distinguished himself, that we find him in the first month of
1695 receiving a commission from His Majesty William III. to command a
“private” man-of-war to “apprehend, seize, and take” certain American
pirates. The privateer was actually fitted out at the expense of Lord
Bellamont, at one time Governor of Barbadoes, and others, who knew the
wealth that the pirates had acquired; and they obtained the king’s
commission, partly with the view of keeping the men under better command,
and also to give their enterprise some sort of sanction of legality. Kidd
sailed for New York, where he engaged more men, increasing his officers
and crew to a total of 150. Each man was to have one share in any division
of spoil, while he reserved for himself and owners forty shares. This
vessel was the _Adventure_ galley, of thirty guns.
After calling at Madeira and the De Verde Islands for provisions and
necessaries, he set sail for Madagascar, then a rendezvous of the Indian
Ocean pirates. After cruising on that and the Malabar coasts, where he was
not at first successful in meeting with any of the pirate vessels, he
touched at a place called Mabbee, on the Red Sea, where he helped himself
to a quantity of the natives’ corn, without offering payment. Hitherto he
had acted strictly in his capacity as a legalised privateer, but he now
began to show his true colours. The Mocha fleet was expected shortly to
pass that way, and when he proposed to his crew that they should attack
it, one and all agreed. He thereupon sent a well-manned boat to
reconnoitre, which returned in a few days with the news that there were
fourteen or fifteen ships about to sail. It will be understood that the
Mocha fleet had nothing to do with American pirates, but was a commercial
fleet, in this case consisting of English, Dutch, and Moorish vessels,
convoyed by a vessel or vessels of war, in the fashion of those days. The
man at the masthead soon announced its approach, and Kidd, getting into
the midst of the vessels, fired briskly at a Moorish ship. Two men-of-war,
however, bore down upon him, and knowing he was not a match for them, Kidd
reluctantly put on all sail, and ran away. Shortly afterwards he took a
small vessel belonging to Moorish owners, the master being an Englishman,
whom he forced into his service as pilot. He used the men brutally, having
them hoisted by the arms and drubbed with a cutlass, to find out whether
or no any valuables were on board. As there was next to nothing to be
found, he seized some quantity of coffee and pepper, and let the vessel
go. When he touched shortly afterwards at a Moorish port, he found that he
was suspected, and soon after this he discovered that many places along
the coast had become alarmed. A Portuguese man-of-war was despatched after
him, and met him; he fought her gallantly for about six hours, when he
again became convinced that prudence, in his case, was the better part of
valour, and made good his escape.
Not long after this he encountered a Moorish vessel, having for master a
Dutch “schipper.” Kidd chased her under French colours, and hailed her in
the same language. A Frenchman on board answered, when he was told, “you
are the captain,” meaning, “you must be.” Kidd’s reason for this was that
he held, in addition to his commission against pirates, one called a
“commission of reprisal” against French vessels. At this time he seems to
have been almost doubtful as to his course of action, for while he took
the cargo of the last-named ship, he refused to attack a Dutch vessel
which he met some time afterwards. In this case there was almost a mutiny
on board, a majority being in favour of attack. Many threatened even to
man a boat and seize her, which Kidd prevented by swearing that if they
did they would never come on board his ship again. His gunner shortly
afterwards reproached him with this matter, and said that he had ruined
them all. Kidd, whose career might have ended much sooner than it did, if
the mutinous ones had been so disposed, was equal to the emergency.
Politely calling his gunner “a dog,” he raised a bucket and broke it over
the unfortunate man’s skull, who died a day after. A Portuguese prize of
tolerable value, containing Indian goods, jars of butter, bags of rice,
wax, &c., was taken shortly afterwards, and this put the crew in better
humour, which was vastly increased when he fell in with the _Quieda
Merchant_, a richly-laden Moorish ship of 400 tons, having for master an
Englishman named Wright. Kidd chased her under French colours, and took
her without a struggle. There were hardly any Europeans on board, but
there were a number of Armenian merchants. The pirate at first proposed
that they should pay a ransom, and that he would let them depart in peace.
They offered a sum something under £3,000, at which he laughed, and seized
the vessel, selling the cargo at various points, where he also left the
crew. When the division of the spoil was made, each man netted about £200,
while his forty shares amounted to a total of £8,000. In spite of these
enormous gains he was not above cheating some poor natives shortly
afterwards, who up to that time had been accustomed to look upon even
pirates as fair dealers in petty matters.
With the _Quieda Merchant_ and _Adventure_ he sailed once more for
Madagascar, where he, unfortunately for himself, met with some Englishmen
who knew him. Among them was a pirate named Culliford. When they met, they
told him that they had been informed he was sent out to take them and hang
them. Kidd laughed at their fears, and told them that they might look upon
him as a brother, pledging them in wine. The _Adventure_ was now old and
leaky, and Kidd shifted his guns and stores to the prize. Here he acted
fairly to his men, by dividing such of the cargo, &c., which was
available; a number of them returned the compliment by deserting him,
others remaining in the country, and some going on board Captain
Culliford’s ship.
At Amboyna, where he touched soon afterwards, he learnt that his
proceedings were understood in England, and that he had been declared a
pirate. The fact was that questions had been asked in Parliament regarding
the commission which had been given to him, and those who had fitted out
the vessel. The discussion seemed to Lord Bellamont to bear hardly on him,
and after Kidd’s execution, he published a pamphlet defending his course.
But to stop the piracy so common in those days, a free pardon was offered
to those pirates who had been engaged in the Eastern African waters who
should surrender their persons any time prior to the 30th April, 1699.
Kidd and Avery, the latter of whom we shall hereafter meet, were excepted
distinctly in the proclamation. When Kidd left Amboyna he most certainly
did not know this fact, or he would not have rushed into the lion’s jaw.
Trusting to his money, and his influence with Lord Bellamont, he sailed
for New York, where on arrival he was arrested with other of his
companions, and sent to England for trial.
A solemn session of Admiralty was that which met at the Old Bailey, in
May, 1701, when Captain Kidd and nine others were arraigned for piracy and
robbery on the high seas. All were found guilty except three, who were
proved to have been apprentices. Kidd was also tried for the murder of his
gunner, and found guilty. The men pleaded variously, and two of them had
undoubtedly surrendered themselves within the time limited by the
proclamation. Colonel Bass, the Governor of West Jersey (now the state of
New Jersey, adjoining that of New York), corroborated this statement. It
was shown that they had not surrendered to a commission of four specially
sent over for the purpose, and they were condemned to die. This was, as
far as the writer can judge, a hard case. Another seaman, Darby Mullins,
said in his defence that he served under the king’s commission, and had no
right to disobey any commands of his superior officer; that, in fact, the
men were never allowed to question his authority, because it would destroy
all discipline; and that even if unlawful acts were committed, the
officers were the persons to answer it, not the men. He was answered that
serving as he did only entitled him to do that which was lawful, not that
which was unlawful. He replied that the case of a seaman must be bad
indeed, if he were punished in both cases, for obeying and for not obeying
his officers, and that if he were allowed to dispute his superior’s
orders, there would be no such thing as command on the high seas. This
ingenious defence availed him nothing; he had taken a share of the
plunder, and had mutinied, showing no regard to the commission; and
further, had acted in accordance with the customs of pirates and
freebooters. The jury brought him in guilty with the rest.
Kidd’s defence was not strong, as a matter of legal argument. He insisted
that he had been more sinned against than sinning. He said that he went
out on a laudable employment, and had no occasion, being then in good
circumstances, to go a pirating; that the men had frequently mutinied, and
that he had been threatened in his own cabin, and that ninety-five
deserted him at one time and set fire to his boat, so that he was disabled
from bringing his ship home, or the prizes he took, to have them regularly
condemned, which prizes, he said, were taken under virtue of his
commission, they having French passes (false). A witness, Colonel Hewson,
spoke highly of his previous reputation for bravery. So much of his own
statement was doubtful or false that he was found guilty. When the judge
put on the black cap, Kidd stood up and said: “My lord, it is a very hard
sentence. For my part I am the most innocent person of them all, and have
been sworn against by perjured persons.” A week after the bodies of Kidd
and six of his men were seen by the passers-by on the river, hanging high,
suspended by chains, a warning especially to the seamen of and entering to
the port of London not to turn pirates.