CONTAINING the TRUE LIFE of CAPTAIN KIDD
In England there lived a man who had been a great friend of King
William; who had been his friend even before he had become King. This
man was Lord Bellomont. It was he who was chosen Governor in the year
1696. But it was two years after this that he reached New York. During
these two years he worked hard in the interests of the province. He knew
all about the pirates, and knew that it would take a strong force to
subdue them. He called upon the English Government to fit out men for
this purpose. But the Government had neither men, nor ships, nor guns
to spare.
So Lord Bellomont decided to raise a private armed force. He got
together a company, of which the King was a member, and they fitted out
a strong and fast-sailing vessel called the Adventure Galley. Lord
Bellomont looked about for a good captain. At last he thought he had
found just the man in Captain William Kidd. Captain Kidd just at this
time happened to be in London, where he was well known, and well liked.
His home was in New York, where his wife and daughter lived in a fine
house in Crown Street, and where he was a respected citizen. But best of
all for the Company, Captain Kidd had been in command of a privateer,
and knew a good deal about pirates and their ways.
And so it came about that Captain Kidd sailed away, commander of the
Adventure Galley, with its crew of sixty sailors, and its thirty guns,
to destroy the pirates.
Then followed a space of time during which news of the bold Captain was
eagerly awaited. It came soon enough--news that was startling. Captain
Kidd had been tempted by the adventurous life and great gains, and had
himself turned pirate! During the next two years he was heard of as the
most daring and fierce of pirates, plundering and sinking ships, until
his name became a terror on the sea. He collected great treasure, and
then decided to give up piracy. He returned to New York, and touched
first at Gardiner's Island, a bit of land at the eastern end of Long
Island. There he buried a portion of his treasure. The remainder he
divided with his crew. Then he went to Boston, took a new name, and
intended to live in quiet and luxury during the remainder of his life.
But, unfortunately, one day Lord Bellomont was in Boston, met him, and
caused his arrest. In a few months he was sent to England in chains.
There he was executed.
When it was known that Captain Kidd had made a stop at Gardiner's
Island, search was made there and the hidden treasure was dug up. There
were rumors from time to time that Kidd and his pirate crew had stopped
at points on the East River shore of the Island of Manhattan, and many
men hunted that shore and sought in many places for hidden treasure, but
none was ever found there.
During the time that Captain Kidd was roaming the sea, Lord Bellomont
was governing New York.
[Illustration: Arrest of Captain Kidd.]
The new Governor was at first much admired. He was a fine man, with
faultless manners, and a commander in every inch of his tall figure.
He had hands as soft as a woman's, a kindly eye, and a gentle voice.
But he could be stern, and was stern and unyielding, too, when occasion
required. He dressed in better taste than anyone who had ever lived in
the province, and his horses and carriage were finer than had ever
before been seen in the city.
Friends of the dead Jacob Leisler had told Lord Bellomont tales of what
a good man Leisler had been, and how he had been unjustly executed. So
Lord Bellomont, to the end of his life, favored the friends of Leisler.
He was firmly convinced that many of the city merchants had become rich
through dealings with the pirates. This belief made many enemies for
him. Then, too, there were laws which would not permit merchants to
trade with any country except England; hard laws, that were constantly
broken, for the merchants could not see why they should not trade with
anyone they saw fit. Bellomont was so strict in enforcing these laws and
in collecting duties that he made more enemies, who sought his recall.
Nevertheless many improvements were carried out while Bellomont was
Governor. A first effort was made to light the streets, which had, up
to this time, only had the light of the moon at night. This was done by
a lantern with a candle in it hung on a pole from the window of every
seventh house. A night-watch was also established, consisting of four
men.
After Bellomont had been Governor for a few years, what remained of the
city wall was removed, and Wall Street had its beginning on the line of
the old wall. The same year the old Stadt Huys was found to be in a
state of decay. Then a new city hall was erected on the new Wall Street,
close by where Nassau Street now touches it. There were dungeons in the
new building for criminals, cells in the attic for debtors, and a
court-room on the main floor.
[Illustration: New City Hall in Wall Street.]
The first library, under the name of the Corporation Library, was
opened in the City Hall. This is the library that afterward became the
Society Library. It is still in existence, and now has its home in
University Place.
All in all, Lord Bellomont was a good Governor, who did much for the
people, and much to make the city an agreeable place to live in; and
there was deep regret when he died suddenly in the year 1701. He was
buried in the chapel in the fort, and as an especial honor to his
memory his coat-of-arms was fixed on the wall of the new City Hall in
Wall Street. This was a great honor, even though the fickle people, a
few years later, when a new Governor came, did tear down the arms and
burn them in the street.
John Nanfan, the Lieutenant-Governor, took command of the province until
news reached the city that Lord Cornbury had been appointed Governor.
Nicholas Bayard, who had made such a bitter fight against Leisler, and
who had been imprisoned so long, hated Governor Nanfan, because Nanfan
was a friend of the people who called themselves the Leislerian party.
So Bayard sent an address to Lord Cornbury saying that Nanfan was an
enemy. But Nanfan arrested Bayard, and had him tried under the self-same
act under which Leisler had been tried. This act pronounced traitors
anyone who should make an effort to disturb the peace of the province.
Bayard was sentenced to death, but a reprieve was granted pending the
pleasure of the King. Before word could be got to England, Lord
Cornbury arrived. Bayard was promoted to a place of honor, and there was
a scattering of the Leislerians, who were now looked upon as enemies of
the Government.
[Illustration: Fort George in 1740.]