 Section 10 of the Pirates Own Book by Charles Alms. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Brian von Diedenroth. The Pirates Own Book by Charles Alms. Section 10, 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 desperados, therefore, the renegades of every country and every climb, might be seen swaggering an open day about the streets, elbowing its quiet inhabitants, trafficking their rich outlandish plunder at half or quarter price to the weary 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, 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 traitor, 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, Captain Kidd was recommended by the Lord Belamonte, then governor of Barbados, 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 govern 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 Belamonte and some others, who knew what great captures had been made by the pirates and what 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 Captain Kidd, of which the following is an exact copy. William Rex, William III by the grace of God, King of England, Scotland, France and Ireland, Defender of the Faith and so on, to our trusty and well-beloved Captain Robert Kidd, Commander of the ship, the Adventure Galley, or to any other, the Commander of the same for the time being. Greetings. Whereas we are informed that Captain Thomas II, John Ireland, Captain Thomas Wake and Captain William Mays or Mace and other subjects, natives or inhabitants of New York and elsewhere in our plantations in America have associated themselves with diverse 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 or allies and all others navigating the seas upon their lawful occasions. Now, no ye that we being desirous to prevent the aforesaid mischiefs and as much as in us lies to bring the said pirates, freebooters and sea rovers to justice have fought fit and do hereby give and grant to the said Robert Kidd, to whom our commissions 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 said ship for the time being and unto the officers, mariners and others which shall be under your command for power and authority to apprehend seas and take into your custody as well the said Captain Thomas II, John Ireland, Captain Thomas Wake and Captain William Mase or Mase as all such pirates, freebooters 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 which are the ships and vessels and all such merchandises, money, goods and wares as shall be found on board or with them. In any case, they shall willingly yield themselves but if they will not yield then you are by force to compel them to yield and we also require you to bring all cars to be brought such pirates, freebooters 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 presence 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 to the contrary at your peril that you do not in any manner offend or molest our friends or allies their ships or subjects by color or pretense of these presence or the authority granted in witness whereof we have caused our great seal of England to be affixed to these presence given at our court in Kensington the 26th day of January 1695 in the seventh year of our reign Captain Kidd had also another commission which was called a commission of reprisals for it being then wartime 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 burden the reader with it previous to sailing Captain Kidd buried his Bible on the seashore 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 ships 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 40 shares upon which encouragement he soon increased his company to 155 men 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 David islands to furnish the ship with salt and from thence went immediately to St. Yago another of the Cape David 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 Captain Warren Commodore of three men of war he acquainted him with his design kept them company for 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 Captain Kidd could get there was not one of them at that time about the island after having spent some time in watering his ship and taking in more provisions he thought of trying his fortune on the coast of Malibar 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 Mojila and sometimes at the Johanna between Malibar and Madagascar his provisions were everyday and his ship began to want repair where for when he was at Johanna he found means of barring 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 Mojila 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 Mabi upon the Red Sea where he took some guinea corn from the natives by force after this he sailed in Bab's Quay 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 14 or 15 ships ready to sail some with English some with Dutch we cannot account for this sudden change in his conduct otherwise then 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 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 later towards evening it appeared in sight being convoyed by one English and one Dutch man of war kid soon fell in with them and getting into the midst of them fired at a more ship which was next to him but the men of war taking the alarm bore down upon kid and firing upon him obliged him to steer 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 Malibar 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 kid forced him in 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 rubbed 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 Carowar 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 men wherefore as soon as kid came in he was suspected to be the person who committed this piracy and when Mr. Harvey and Mr. Mason two of the English factory came upon board and asked for Parker and Antonio the Portuguese but kid denied that he knew any such persons having secured them both in a private place in the hold for seven or eight days that is till kid sailed from thence however the coast was alarmed and a Portuguese man of war was sent out to cruise kid 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 more ship the master whereof was a Dutchman called Shipper 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 on 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 a captain and by, says he you are the captain the Frenchman durst not refused 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 in short yet he still seemed to have some fears upon him lest these proceedings should have a bad end for coming up with a Dutch ship sometime after when his men thought of nothing but attacking her kid 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 sometime without offering her any violence however this dispute was the occasion of an accident upon which an indictment was grounded against kid for more the gunner being one day upon deck and talking with kid about the said Dutch ship some words arose between them and more told kid that he had ruined them all upon which kid calling him a dog took up a bucket and struck him with it which breaking his skull he died next day but kid'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 30 jars of butter with some wax iron and 100 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 a shore was murdered by the natives upon which kid 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 Keda merchant the master were of was an Englishman by the name of Wright for the Indians often make use of English or Dutchman to command their ships their own mariners not being so good artists in navigation kid 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 Armenians and that the Armenians were part owners of the cargo kid 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 3,000 pound sterling but kid judged this would be making a bad bargain where for he rejected it and when the crew on shore at different places on the coast he soon sold as much of the cargo as came to 10,000 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 200 pound a man reserved 40 shares to himself his divided amounted to about 8,000 pound 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 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 kid put some of his men on board the kid a merchant and with this ship and his own sailed for Madagascar as soon as he had arrived there came on board of him a canoe in which were several English men who had formerly been well acquainted with kid 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 kid soon dissipated their doubts by swearing he had no such design and that he was now in every aspect their brother just as bad as they and calling for a cup of bamboo drank their captain's health these men belonged to a pirate ship called the resolution formerly the mocha merchant whereof one captain Colorford was commander and which lay at anchor not far from them kid went on board with them promising them his friendship and assistance and Colorford in his turn came on board of kid and kid to testify his sincerity in iniquity finding Colorford 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 wherefor kid shifted all the guns and tackle out of her into the cater 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 captain Colorford 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 piracy 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 seemed to lean a little hard upon lord Belomont who thought himself so touched thereby that he published a justification of himself in a pamphlet after kids in the meantime 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 Longitude and Meridian of Sokatora and Cape Cormoran in which proclamation Avery and Kid were accepted by name when Kid left Amboyna he knew nothing of this proclamation for certainly had he had notice of his being accepted 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 Belomont 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 he took himself in Boston then the alarm was given of his reappearance and measures were taken to arrest him the daring character which Kid had acquired however and the desperate fellows who followed like bulldogs 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 Captain Kid Nicholas Churchill James Howe Robert Lumley Abel Lough Hugh Parrot Richard Barleycorn Abel Owens and Darby Mullins were arraigned for piracy and robbery on the high seas and all found guilty except three these were Robert Lumley William Jenkins and Richard Barleycorn who proving themselves to be apprentices to some of the officers of the ship and producing their indentures 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 and 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 bear 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 kid was tried upon an indictment of murder also this for killing more the gunner and found guilty of the same Nicholas Churchill and James Howe pleaded the King's pardon as having surrendered themselves within the time limited in the proclamation and Colonel Bass Governor of West Jersey to whom they surrendered being in court and called upon prove the same however this plea was overruled by the court because there being four commissioners named in the proclamation this captain Thomas Warren Peter Delanoi 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 a judged 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 the King Mullens urged in his defense that he served under the King's commission and therefore could not disobey his commander without incurring great punishments that whenever a ship or ships went out upon any expedition under the King's commission the men were never allowed to call their officers to an account why they did this or why they did that because such a liberty would destroy all discipline that if anything was done unlawful the officers were to answer for it for the men did no more than their duty in obeying orders he was told by the court that acting under the commission justified in what was lawful but not in what was unlawful he answered he stood in need of nothing to justify him in what was lawful but the case of semen must be very hard if they must be brought in such danger for obeying the commands of their officers and punished for not obeying them and if they were allowed to dispute the orders there could be no such thing as command kept at sea this seemed to be the best defense the thing could bear but his taking a share of the plunder the semen's mutining on board several times and taking upon them to control the captain showed there was no obedience paid to the commission and that they acted in all things according to the custom of pirates and freebooters which weighing with the jury they brought him in guilty with the rest as to captain kids defense he insisted much on his own innocence and the villainy of his men he said he went out in a laudable employment and had no occasion being then in good circumstances to go a pirating that the men often mutinied against him and did as they pleased that he was threatened to be shot in the cabin and that 95 left him at once 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 he said were taken by virtue of a commission under the broad seal they having French passes the captain called one Colonel Houston to his reputation who gave him an extraordinary character and declared to the court that he had served under his command and been in two engagements with him against the French in which he fought as well as any man he ever saw that there were only kids ship and his own against Monceau de Cass who commanded a squadron of six sail and they got the better of him but this being several years before the facts mentioned in the indictment were committed proved of no manner of service to the prisoner on his trial as to the friendship shown to Colerford a notorious pirate kid denied and said he intended to have taken him but his men being a parcel of rogues and villains refused to stand by him and several of them ran away from his ship to the said pirate but the evidence being full and particular against him was not what he as before mentioned when kid was asked what he had said to say why sentence should not pass against him he answered that he had nothing to say but that he had been sworn against by perjured and wicked people and when sentence was pronounced he said my lord it is a very hard sentence for my part I am the most innocent person only I have been sworn against by perjured persons where for about a week after captain kid Nicholas Churchill James Howe Gabriel Lough Abel Owen and Darby Mullins were executed at execution dock and afterwards hung up in chains at some distance from each other down the river where their bodies hung for many years kid died hard for the rope with which he was first tied up broke with his weight and he tumbled to the ground he was tied up a second time and more effectually hence came the story of kids being twice hung such is captain kid's true story but it has given birth to an innumerable progeny of traditions the report of his having buried great treasures of gold and silver which he actually did before his arrest set the brains of all the good people along the coast in a ferment there were rumors on rumors of great sums of money found here and there sometimes in one part of the country sometimes in another of coins with moorish inscriptions doubtless the spoils of his eastern prizes some reported the treasure to have been buried in solitary places about Plymouth and Cape Cod but by degrees various other parts not only on the eastern coast but along the shores of the sound and even Manhattan and Long Island were gilded by these rumors in fact the vigorous measures of Lord Belamont had spread sudden consternation among the pirates in every part of the provinces they had secreted their money and jewels in lonely out of the way to the places about the wild shores of the sea coast and dispersed themselves over the country the hand of justice prevented many of them from ever returning to regain their buried treasures which remain to this day thus secreted and are irrecoverably lost this is the cause of those frequent reports of trees and rocks bearing mysterious marks supposed to indicate the spots where treasure lay hidden and many have been the ransackings after the pirates booty a rocky place on the shores of Long Island called Kids Ledge has received great attention from the money diggers but they have not as yet discovered any treasures end of section 10 recording by Brian von Dedenroth www.vondedenroth.com Chapter 11 of The Pirate's Own Book This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Barry Eads The Pirate's Own Book by Charles Elms Chapter 11 The bloody career and execution of Vincent Benavides a pirate on the west coast Vincent Benavides was the son of the Gallier of Queerahu in the District of Conception. He was a man of ferocious manners and had been guilty of several murders. Upon the breaking out of the Revolutionary War he entered the Patriot Army as a private soldier and was a Sergeant of Grenadiers at the time of the First Chilean Revolution. He, however, deserted to the Spaniards and was taken prisoner in their service and he sustained on the plains of Maipo on the 5th of April, 1818 that defeat which decided their fortunes in that part of America and secured the independence of Chile. Benavides, his brother and some other traitors to the Chilean cause were sentenced to death and brought forth in the plaza or public square of Santiago in order to be shot. Benavides, though terribly wounded by the discharge, was not killed but he had the presence of mind to counterfeit death in so perfect a manner that the imposture was not suspected. The bodies of the traitors were not buried but dragged away to a distance and there left to be devoured by the Galanazos or vultures. The Sergeant who had the superintendents of this part of the ceremony had a personal hatred to Benavides on account of that person having murdered some of his relations and to gratify his revenge he drew his sword and gave the dead body, as he thought, a severe gash in the side as they were dragging it along. The resolute Benavides had the fortitude to bear this also without flinching or even showing the least indication of life and one cannot help regretting that so determined a power of endurance had not been turned to a better purpose. Benavides lay like a dead man in the heap of carcasses until it became dark and then pierced with shot and crushed by the sword as he was he crawled to a neighboring cottage the inhabitants of which received him with the greatest kindness and attended him with the greatest care. The daring Ruffian who knew the value of his own talents and courage being aware that General San Martin was planning to expedition to Peru a service in which there would be much of desperation and danger sent word to the general that he was alive and invited him to a secret conference in the same plaza in which it was believed Benavides had been shot. The signal agreed upon was that they should strike fire three times with their flints as that was not likely to be answered by any but the proper party and yet was not calculated to awaken suspicion. San Martin alone and provided with a brace of pistols met the desperado and after a long conference it was agreed that Benavides should in the meantime pull out against the arachan Indians but that he should hold himself in readiness to proceed to Peru when the expedition suited. Having procured the requisite passports he proceeded to Chile where having again diverted the Chileans he succeeded in persuading the commander of the Spanish troops that he had force sufficient to carry on the war against Chile and the commander in consequence retired to Valdivia and left Benavides commander the whole frontier on the Biobio. Having thus cleared the coast of the Spanish commander he went over to the arachans or rather he formed a band of armed robbers who committed every cruelty and were guilty of every perfidy in the south of Chile. Wherever Benavides came his footsteps were marked with blood and the old men the women and the children were butchered least they should give notice of his motions. When he had rendered himself formidable on the land he resolved to be equally powerful upon the sea. He equipped a coarse air with instructions to capture the vessels of all nations and as Eruquen is directly opposite the island of Santa Maria where vessels put in for refreshment after having doubled Cape Horn his situation was well adapted for his purpose. He was but too successful. The first of his prizes was the American ship Hero which he took by surprise in the night. Herculia, a brig belonging to the same country. While the unconscious crew were proceeding as usual to catch seals on this island laying about three leagues from the mainland of Eruquen an armed body of men rushed from the woods and overpowering them tied their hands behind them and left them under a guard on the beach. These were no other than the pirates who now took their Herculia's own boats and going on board surprised the captain and four of his crew who had remained to take care of the brig and having brought off the prisoners from the beach threw them all into the hold closing the hatches over them. They then tripped the vessel's anchor and sailing over in triumph to Eruquen were received by Benavides with a salute of musketry fired under the Spanish flag which it was their chief's pleasure to hoist on that day. In the course of the next night Benavides ordered the captain and his crew to re-remove to a house on shore in the distance from the town then taking them out one by one he stripped and pillaged them of all they possessed threatening them the whole time with drawn swords and loaded muskets. Next morning he paid the prisoners a visit and ordered them to the capital called together the principal people of the town and desired each to select one as a servant. The captain and four others not happening to please the fancy of anyone Benavides after saying he would himself take charge of the captain gave directions on pain of instant death that someone should hold themselves responsible for the other prisoners. Some days after this they were called together and required to serve as soldiers in the pirates army in order to which they consented knowing well by what they had already seen that the consequence of refusal would be fatal. Benavides though unquestionably a ferocious savage was nevertheless a man of resource full of activity and of considerable energy of character inverted the whale spears and harpoons into lances for his cavalry and halberts for his sergeants and out of the sails he made trousers for half of his army the carpenters he set to work making baggage carts and repairing his boats the armorers he kept perpetually at work mending muskets and making planks managing in this way to turn the skill of every one of his prisoners to some useful account he treated the officers too not unkindly allowed them to live in his house and was very anxious on all occasions to have their advice respecting the equipment of his troops upon one occasion when walking with the captain of the Herculia he remarked that his army was now almost complete in every respect except in one essential particular and it cut him he said to the soul to think of such a deficiency he had no trumpets for his cavalry and added that it was utterly impossible to make the fellows believe themselves dragoons unless they heard a blast in their ears at every turn and neither men nor horses would ever do their duty properly if not roused to it by the sound of a trumpet in short he declared some device must be hit upon to supply this equipment the captain willing to ingratiate himself with a pirate after a little reflection suggested to him that trumpets might easily be made of copper sheets on the bottoms of the vessels he had taken very true cried the delighted chief how came I not to think of that before instantly all hands were employed in ripping off the copper and the armor is being set to work under his personal superintendence the whole camp before night resounded with the warlike blasts of the cavalry the captain of the ship who had given him the brilliant idea of the copper trumpets had by these means so far won upon his goodwill and confidence as to be allowed a considerable range to walk on he of course was always looking out for some plan of escape and at length an opportunity occurring he with the mate of the ocean and nine of his crew seized two whale boats imprudently left on the banks of the river and rode off before quitting the shore they took the precaution of staving all the other boats to prevent pursuit and accordingly though their escape was immediately discovered they succeeded in getting so much the start of the people whom Benavides sent and that they reached st. Mary's island in safety here they caught several seals upon which they subsisted very miserably till they reached Valparaiso it was in consequence of their report of Benavides proceedings made to Sir Thomas Hardy the commander in chief that he deemed it proper to send a ship to rescue if possible the remaining unfortunate captives at Eruca Benavides having manned the Herculia it suited the mate the captain and crew being detained as hostages to sail with the break to Chile and seek aid from the Spanish governor the Herculia returned with a 24 pounder two field pieces 11 Spanish officers and 20 soldiers together with the most flattering letters and congratulations to the worthy ally of his most Catholic majesty soon after this he captured the perseverance English whaler and the American break ocean bound for Lima was several thousand stand of arms on board the captain of the Herculia with the mate of the ocean and several men after serving great hardships landed at Valparaiso and gave notice of the proceedings of Benavides and in consequence Sir Thomas Hardy directed Captain Hall to proceed to Eruca with the convoy to set the captives free if possible it was for the accomplishment of this service that Captain Hall sailed from Valparaiso and he called it conception on his way in order to glean the information respecting the pirate here the captain ascertained that Benavides was between two considerable bodies of Chilean force on the Chilean side of the bio bio and one of those bodies between him and the river having to wait two days at conception for information Captain Hall occupied them in observing the place the country he describes as green and fertile and having none of the dry and desert character of the environs of Valparaiso vegetables, wood, and also coals are found on the shores of the bay on the 12th of October the captain heard of the defeat of Benavides and his flight alone across the bio bio into the Eruca country and also that two of the Americans whom he had taken with him had made their escape and were on board the Chacabucco as these were the only persons who could give Captain Hall information respecting the prisoners of whom he was in quest he set out to search for the vessel and after two days search found her at anchor near the island of Moca from thence he learned that the captain of the ocean was several English and American seamen had been left at Eruca when Benavides went on his expedition and he sailed for that place immediately he was too late however the Chilean forces had already made a successful attack and the Indians had fled setting fire to the town and the ships who were in league with the Chileans were every way as wild as those who arrayed themselves under Benavides Captain Hall upon his return to conception though dissuaded from it by the governor visited the Indian encampment when the captain and his associates entered the courtyard they observed a party seated on the ground round a great tub of wine who hailed their entrance with loud shouts or rather yells and boisterously demanded their business to all appearance very little with the interruption the interpreter became alarmed and wished them to retire but this the captain thought imprudent as each man had his long spear close at hand resting against the ease of the house had they attempted to escape they must have been taken or possibly sacrificed by these drunken savages as their best chance seemed to lie in treating them without any show of distrust they advanced to the circle with a good humor confidence which appeased them considerably one of the party rose and embraced them in the Indian fashion which they had learned from the gentleman who had been prisoners with Benavides after the ceremony they roared out to them to sit down on the ground and with the most boisterous hospitality insisted on their drinking with them a request which they cheerfully complied with their anger soon vanished and was succeeded by mirth and satisfaction which speedily became as outrageous as their displeasure had been at first a favorable opportunity captain Hall stated his wish to have an interview with their chief upon which a message was sent to him but he did not think fit to show himself for a considerable time during which they remained with the party round the tub who continued swilling their wine like so many hogs their heads soon became affected and their obstreperous mirth increasing every minute the situation of the strangers became by no means agreeable at length penalty his door opened and the chief made his appearance he did not condescend however to cross the threshold but leaned against the door post to prevent falling being by some degrees more drunk than any of his people a more finished picture of a savage cannot be conceived he was a tall broad-shouldered man with a prodigiously large head and a square-shaped bloated face from which peeped out two very small eyes partly hid by an immense quality of black coarse oily straight hair covering his cheeks hanging over his shoulders and rendering his head somewhat the shape and size of a beehive over his shoulders was thrown a poncho of coarse blanket stuff he received them very roughly and appeared irritated and sulky at having been disturbed he was still more offended when he learned that they wish to see his captive they in vain endeavored to explain their real views but he grunted in tone and manner which showed them plainly that he neither did nor wish to understand them whilst in conversation with penileo they stole an occasional glance at his apartment by the side of the fire burning in the middle of the floor was seated a young Indian woman with long black hair reaching to the ground this they conceived could be no other than one of the unfortunate persons they were in search of and they were somewhat disappointed to observe that the lady was neither in tears nor in sorrow they therefore came away impressed with the unsentimental idea that the amiable penileo had already made some impression on her young heart two Indians who were not so drunk as the rest followed them to the outside of the court and told them that several foreigners had been taken by the Chileans in the battle near Chilean and were now safe the interpreter hinted to them that this was probably invented by these cunning people on hearing their questions in the court they came as a matter of policy to give them each a piece of money and to get away as far as they could Captain Hall returned to conception on the 23rd of October reached Valparaiso on the 26th and in two weeks thereafter the men of whom he was in search made their appearance the bloody career of Benavides now drew near to a close the defeat on the Chilean side of the bio-bio and the burning of Uruca with the loss of his vessels he never recovered at length in the end of December 1821 discovering the miserable state to which he was reduced he entreated the intendant of conception that he might be received on giving himself up along with his partisans this generous chief accepted his offer and informed the supreme government but in the meantime Benavides embarked in a launch at the mouth of the River Libo and fled with the intention of joining a division of the enemy's army which he supposed to be at some one of the ports on the south coast of Peru it was indeed absurd to expect any good faith from such an intriguer for in his letters at this time he offered his services to Chile and promised fidelity while his real intention was still to follow the enemy he finally left the unhappy province of conception the theater of so many miserable scenes overwhelmed with the misery which he had caused without ever recollecting that it was in that province drawn his breath his despair in the boat made his conduct insupportable to those who accompanied him and they rejoiced when they were obliged to put into the harbor of topocalma in search of water of which they had run short he was now arrested by some patriotic individuals from the notorious nature of his crimes alone even the most impartial stranger would have condemned him to the last punishment but the supreme government wished to hear what he had to say for himself and ordered him to be tried according to the laws it appeared on his trial that he had placed himself beyond the laws of society such punishment was awarded him as any one of his crimes deserved as a pirate he merited death and as a destroyer of whole towns it became necessary to put him to death in such a manner as might satisfy outraged humanity and terrify others who should dare to imitate him in pursuance of the sentence passed upon him he was dragged from the prison in a paneer tied to the tail of a mule and was hanged in the great square his head and hands were afterwards cut off in order to their being placed upon high poles to point out the places of his horrid crimes Santa Juana, Tarpolanka, and Aruca End of Chapter 11 CHAPTER 12 OF THE PARAT'S OWN BOOK This is a LibriVox recording in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org The Pirate's Own Book by Charles Elms CHAPTER 12 The Life of Captain Davis With an account of his surprising the fort at Gambia Davis was born in Monmouthshire and from a boy trained to the sea His last voyage from England was in the sloop Cadogan from Bristol in the character of Chief Mate This vessel was captured by the pirate England upon the Guinea Coast whose companions plundered the crew and murdered the captain as is related in England's life Upon the death of Captain Skinner Davis pretended that he was urged by England to become a pirate but that he resolutely refused He added that England pleased with his conduct had made him captain in room of Skinner giving him a sealed paper which he was not to open until he was in a certain latitude and then expressly to follow the given directions When he arrived at the appointed place he collected the whole crew and solemnly read his sealed instructions which contained a generous grant of the ship and all her stores to Davis and his crew requesting them to go to Brazil and dispose of the cargo to the best advantage and make an equal division of the money Davis then commanded the crew to signify whether they were inclined to follow that mode of life when to his astonishment and chagrin the majority positively refused Then in a transport of rage he desired them to go where they would Knowing that part of the cargo was consigned to merchants in Barbados they directed their course to that place When arrived there they informed the merchants of the unfortunate death of Skinner and of the proposal which had been made to them Davis was accordingly seized and committed to prison but he having never been in the pirate service nothing could be proved to condemn him and he was discharged without a trial convinced that he could never hope for employment in that quarter after this detection he went to the island of Providence which he knew to be a rendezvous for pirates Upon his arrival there he was grievously disappointed because the pirates who frequented that place had just accepted of his Majesty's pardon and had surrendered Captain Rogers having equipped two sloops for trade Davis had claimed employment in one of these called the Buck They were laden with European goods to a considerable value which they were to sell or exchange for the French and Spanish They first touched at the island of Martinique belonging to the French and Davis knowing that many of the men were formally in the pirate service enticed them to seize the master and to run off with the sloop When they had affected their purpose they hailed the other ship in which they knew that there were many hands right for rebellion and coming to the greater part joined Davis Those who did not choose to adhere to them were allowed to remain in the other sloop and continue their course after Davis had pillaged her of what things he pleased In full possession of the vessel and stores and goods a large bowl of punch was made under its exhilarating influence it was proposed to choose a commander and to form their future mode of policy The election was soon over and a large majority of legal votes were in favour of Davis and, no scrutiny demanded Davis was declared duly elected He then drew up a code of laws to which he himself swore and required the same bond of alliance from the rest of the crew He then addressed them in a short and appropriate speech the substance of which was a proclamation of war with the whole world They then consulted what part would be most convenient to clean the vessel and it was resolved to repair to Coxson's hole at the east end of the island of Cuba where they could remain in perfect security as the entrance was so narrow that one ship could keep out a hundred They, however, had no small difficulty in cleaning their vessel as there was no carpenter among them They performed that laborious task in the best manner they could and then made to the north side of Hispaniola The first sail they met with was a French ship of twelve guns which they captured and while they were plundering her another appeared in view Inquiring of the Frenchman was a ship of twenty-four guns and sixty men Davis proposed to his crew to attack her assuring them that she would prove a rich prize This appeared to the crew such a hazardous enterprise that they were rather adverse to the measure but he acquainted them that he had conceived a stratagem that he was confident would succeed They might, therefore, safely leave the matter to his management He then commenced chase and ordered his prize to do the same Being a better sailor he soon came up with the enemy and showed his black colours With no small surprise at his insolence in coming so near them they commanded him to strike He replied that he was disposed to give them employment until his companion came up who was able to contend with them Meanwhile assuring them that if they did not strike to him it would most certainly fare the worse for them then giving them a broadside he received the same in return When the other pirate ship drew near they, according to the directions of Davis, appeared upon decks in white shirts which, making an appearance of numbers the Frenchmen were intimidated and struck Davis ordered the captain with twenty of his men to come on board and they were all put in irons except the captain He then dispatched four of his men to the other ship and calling aloud to them even to the captain with a request to send a sufficient number of hands to go on board their new prize to see what they had got in her At the same time he gave them a written paper with their proper instructions even to nail up the small guns to take out all the arms and powder and to go every man on board the new prize When his men were on board her he ordered the greater part of the prisoners to be removed into the empty vessels and by this means secured himself from any attempt to recover their ship During three days these three vessels sailed in company but finding that his late prize was a heavy sailor he emptied her of everything that he stood in need of and then restored her to the captain with all his men The French captain was so much enraged at being thus miserably deceived but upon the discovery of this stratagem he would have thrown himself overboard as his men prevented him Captain Davis then formed the resolution of parting with the other prize ship also and soon afterwards steered northward and took a Spanish loop He next directed his course towards the western islands and from Cape de Verde islands cast anchor at St. Nicholas and hoisted English colours The Portuguese supposed that he was a privateer and Davis going on shore was hospitably received and they traded with him for such articles that they found most advantageous He remained here five weeks and he and half of his crew visited the principal town of the island Davis from his appearing in the dress of a gentleman was greatly caressed by the Portuguese and nothing was spared to entertain and render him and his men happy Having amused themselves during a week they returned to the ship and allowed the other half of the crew to visit the capital and enjoy themselves in like manner Upon their return they cleaned their ship and put to sea but four of the men were so captivated with the ladies and the luxuries of the place that they remained in the island and one of them married and settled there Davis now sailed for Bonavista and perceived nothing in that harbour steered for the Isle of May Arriving there he found several vessels in the harbour and plundered them necessary He also received a considerable reinforcement of men, the greater part of whom ended willingly into the piratical service He likewise made free with one of the ships equipped her for his own purpose and called her the King James Davis next proceeded to St. Jago to take in water Davis was some of the others going on shore to seek water the governor came to inquire who they were and expressed his sufficient clearance Upon this Davis seemed highly affronted and expressed his displeasure in the most polite but determined manner He however hastened on board informed his men and suggested the possibility of surprising the fort during the night Accordingly all his men being well armed they advanced to the assault and from the carelessness of the guards they were in the garrison before the inhabitants were alarmed by the discovery of their danger they took shelter in the governor's house and fortified it against the pirates but the latter, throwing in some grando shells ruined the furniture and killed several people The alarm was circulated in the morning and the country assembled to attack them but unwilling to stand the siege the pirates dismounted the gun pillaged the fort and fled to their ships When at sea they mustered their hands and found that they were 70 strong Then they consulted among themselves what course they should steer and were divided in opinion but by a majority it was carried to sail for Gambia on the coast of Guinea Of this opinion was the captain who having been employed in that trade was acquainted with the coast and informed his companions that there was always a large quantity of money deposited in that castle and he was confident if the matter was entrusted to him that he should successfully storm that fort From their experience of his former prudence and courage they cheerfully submitted to his direction in the full assurance of success Arrived at Gambia he ordered all his men below except just so many as were necessary to work the vessel that those from the fort seeing so few hands might have no suspicion that she was any other than a trading vessel He then run under the fort and cast anchor and having ordered out the boat manned with six men indifferently dressed he with a master and doctor dressed themselves like gentlemen in order that the one party might look like full maskmen and the other like merchants In roaming ashore he instructed his men what to say if any questions were put to them by the garrison On reaching land the party were conducted by a file of musketeers into the fort and kindly received by the governor as they were and whence they came They replied that they were from Liverpool and bound for the river Senegal to trade for garment elephants teeth but that they were chased on that coast by two French men of war and narrowly escaped being taken We were now disposed continued Davis to make the best of our voyage and would willingly trade here for slaves The governor then inquired what were the principal articles of their cargo They replied that they were iron and plate which were necessary articles in that place The governor then said that he would give them slaves for all their cargo and asked if they had any European liquor on board They answered that they had a little for their own use but he should have a hamper of it He then treated them with a greater civility and desired them all to dine with them Davis answered that as he was commander of the vessel it would be necessary for him to go down to see if she were properly moored and to give some other directions but that these gentlemen might stay and he would return before dinner and bring the hamper with him While in the fort his eyes were keenly employed to discover the position of the arms and how the fort might most successfully be surprised He discovered that there was a sentry standing near a guard house in which there were a quantity of arms heaped up in a corner and that a considerable number of small arms were in the governor's hall When he went on board he ordered some hands on board a sloop lying at anchor, lest hearing any bustle they should come to the aid of the castle Then, desiring his men to avoid too much liquor and to be ready when he should hoist the flag from the walls to come to his assistance he proceeded to the castle Having taken these precautions and formed these arrangements he ordered every man who was to accompany him to arm himself with two pairs of pistols which he himself also did concealed under their clothes He then directed them to go to the guard room and fall into conversation and immediately upon his firing a pistol out of the governor's window to shut the men up and secure the arms in the guard room When Davis arrived dinner not being ready the governor proposed that they should pass the time in making a bowl of punch Davis's boson, attending him had an opportunity of visiting all parts of the house and observing their strength He whispered his intelligence to his master who, being surrounded by his own friends and seeing the governor unattended by any of his retinue presented a pistol to the breast of the latter informing him that he was a dead man unless he should surrender the fort and all its riches The governor thus taken by surprise was compelled to submit for Davis took down all the pistols and loaded them He then fired his pistol out of the window His men flew like lions presenting their pistols to the soldiers and while some carried out the arms the rest secured the military and shut them all up in the guard house placing a guard on the door Then one of them struck the union flag on top of the castle which the men from the vessel perceiving rushed to the combat and in an instant were in possession of the castle in a tumult or bloodshed Davis then harangued the soldiers many of whom enlisted with him and those who declined he put on board the small ships and to prevent the necessity of a guard or the possibility of escape carried off the sails ringing and cables That day being spent in feasting and rejoicing the castle saluting the ship and the ship the castle on the day following they proceeded on the contents of their prize They however were greatly disappointed in their expectations a large sum of money having been sent off a few days before but they found money to the amount of about two thousand pounds in gold and many valuable articles of different kinds They carried on board their vessel whatever they deemed useful gave several articles to the captain and crew of the small vessel and allowed them to depart at the guns and demolished the fortifications After doing all the mischief that their vicious minds could possibly devise they weighed anchor but in the meantime, perceiving a small sail bearing towards them with all possible speed they hastened to prepare for her reception and made towards her Upon her near approach they discovered that she was a French pirate of fourteen guns and sixty-four men and one half French and the other half Negroes The Frenchmen were in high expectation of a rich prize but when he came nearer he suspected from the number of her guns and men that she was a small Englishman of war He determined not withstanding upon the bold attempt of boarding her and immediately fired a gun and hoisted his black colours Davis immediately returned the compliment The Frenchmen was highly gratified at this discovery both hoisted out their boats and congratulated each other Mutual civilities and good offices passed and the French captain proposed to Davis to sail down the coast with him in order to look out for a better ship assuring him that the very first that could be captured should be his as he was always willing to encourage an industrious brother They first touched at Sierra Leone where they aspired a large vessel and Davis being the swifter sailor came first up with him It was not a little surprise that she did not endeavor to make off and began to suspect her strength When he came back alongside her she fired a whole broadside and hoisted black colours Davis did the same and fired a gun to Leawood The satisfaction of these brothers in iniquity was mutual at having thus acquired so much additional strength and ability to undertake more formidable adventures Two days were devoted to Merth and Song and upon the third Davis and Cocklin, the captain of the new confederate agreed to go in the French pirate ship to attack the fort When they approached the men in the fort apprehensive of their character and intentions fired all the guns upon them at once The ship returned the fire and afforded employment until the two other ships arrived When the men in the fort seeing such a number on board lost courage and abandoned the fort to the mercy of the robbers They took possession remained there seven weeks and cleaned their vessels They then called a council of war to deliberate concerning future undertakings when it was resolved to sail down the coast in company and for the greater regularity and grandeur Davis was chosen Commodore That dangerous enemy strong drink had well nigh however sown the seeds of discord among these affectionate brethren But Davis, alike prepared for council of war addressed them to the following report Hear ye you Cocklin and Lebois which was the name of the French captain I find by strengthening you I have put a rod into your hands to whip myself But I am still able to deal with you both However, since we met in love let us part in love for I find that three of a trade can never agree long together Upon this the other two went on board of their respective ships and steered different courses Davis held down the coast and reaching Cape Apollonia he captured three vessels two English and one Scottish plundered them and allowed them to proceed In five days after he met with a Dutchman of 30 guns and 90 men She gave Davis a broadside of his men a desperate engagement ensued which continued from one o'clock at noon until nine next morning when the Dutchman struck Davis equipped her for the pirate service and called her the rover With his two ships he sailed for the bay of Anamaboa which he entered upon noon and took several vessels which were waiting to take in negroes, gold and elephants teeth Davis made a present of one of these vessels to the Dutch captain and his crew and allowed them to go in quest of their fortune When the fort had intelligence that they were pirates they fired at them but without any effect Davis fired also and hoisted the black colours that deemed it prudent to depart The next day after he left Anamaboa the man at the mast had discovered a sail it may be proper to inform our readers that according to the laws of pirates the man who first discovered a vessel is entitled to the best pair of pistols in the ship and such is the honour attached to these but a pair of them has been known to sell for thirty pounds Davis pursued that vessel which, being between him and the shore laboured hard to run aground Davis perceiving this got between her and the land and fired a broadside at her when she immediately struck She proved to be a very rich prize having on board the Governor of Acra with all his substance going to Holland There was in money to the amount of fifteen thousand pounds beside a large quantity of merchant goods and other valuable articles Before they reached the Isle of Princes the St. James sprang a leak so that the men and the valuable articles were removed into Davis' own ship When he came in sight of the fort he hoisted English colours The Portuguese seeing a large ship sailing towards the shore sent a sloop to discover her character and destination Davis informed them that he was an Englishman of war sent out in search of some pirates which they had heard were in this quarter Upon this he was piloted into the port and anchored below the guns at the fort The Governor was happy to have Englishmen in his harbour and to do honour to Davis sent down a pile of musketeers to escort him to the fort while Davis the more to cover his design ordered nine men according to the custom of the English to row him on shore Davis also took the opportunity of cleaning and preparing all things for renewing his operations He, however, could not contentedly leave the fort without receiving some of the riches of the island He formed a scheme to accomplish his purpose of bringing to his men His design was to make the Governor of present of a few Negroes in return for his kindness then to invite him with a few of his principal men and friars belonging to the island to dine on board his ship and secure them all in irons until each of them would give a large ransom they were accordingly invited and very readily consented to go and deeming themselves honoured by his attention which were invited would certainly have gone on board Fortunately, however, for them a Negro who was privy to the horrible plan of Davis swam on shore during the night and gave information of the danger to the Governor retreat of the pirates and death of Captain Davis The Governor occupied the whole night in strengthening the defences and posting the men in the most advantageous places Soon after daybreak with Captain Davis at their head were discovered landing from the boats and quickly marched across the open space towards the fort A brisk fire was opened upon them from the fort which they returned in a spirited manner At length a hand grenade thrown from the wooden veranda of the fort killed three of the pirates but several of the Portuguese were killed The veranda of the fort being of wooden very dry it was set fire to by the pirates This was a great advantage to the attacking party who could now distinguish those in the fort without being so clearly seen themselves But at this moment Captain Davis fell mortally wounded by a musket ball in his belly The fall of their chief and the determined resistance of those in the fort checked the impetuosity of the assailants They hesitated and at last retreated bearing away with them their wounded commander The Portuguese cheered and led on by the governor now became the assailants Still the pirates retreated was orderly They fired and retired ranked behind ranks successively They kept the Portuguese at bay until they had arrived at the boats when a charge was made and a severe conflict ensued But the pirates had lost too many men and without their captain felt dispirited As they lifted Davis into the boat in his dying agonies he fired his pistol at his pursuers They now pulled with all their might to escape from the muskets of the Portuguese who followed them along the banks of the river annoying them in their retreat to the vessel and those on board who expected to hoist in treasure had to receive nought with their wounded comrades and dead commander End of Chapter 12 Chapter 13 of the pirates own book This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Joelle Peebles The Pirates Own Book by Charles Elms Chapter 13 Authentic history of the Mele pirates of the Indian Ocean with a narrative of the expedition against the inhabitants of Kuala Batu commanded by Commodore Downs A glance at the map of the East India Islands will convince us that this region of the globe must from its natural configuration and locality be peculiarly liable to become the seat of piracy These islands form an immense cluster lying as if it were in the high road which connects the commercial nations of Europe and Asia with each other affording a hundred fastnesses from which to waylay the traveler A large proportion of the population is at the same time confined to the coasts or the estuaries of rivers They are fishermen and mariners They are barbarous and poor therefore rapacious, faithless, and sanguinary These are circumstances it must be confessed which militates strongly to beget a piratical character It is not surprising then that the mele should have been notorious for their depredations Among the tribes of the Indian islands the most noted for their piracies are of course the most idle and the least industrious and particularly such as are unaccustomed to follow agriculture or trade as regular pursuits The agricultural tribes of Java and many of Sumatra never commit piracy at all and the most civilized inhabitants of Celebes are very little addicted to this vice Among the most confirmed pirates are the true melees inhabiting the small islands about the eastern extremity of the Straits of Malacca and those lying between Sumatra and Borneo down to Bilitin and Cavamitir Still more noted than these are the inhabitants of certain islands situated between Borneo and the Philippines of whom the most desperate and enterprising are the Sulus and Illinuns The former inhabiting a well-known group of islands of the same name and the latter being one of the most numerous nations of the Great Island of Magandando The depredations of the proper melees extend from Junk Salon to Java through its whole coast as far as Grip to Papyr and Criti in Borneo and the western coast of Celebes In another direction they infest the coasting trade of the Cochin Chinese and Siamese nations in the Gulf of Siam They bring sail for their booty and shelter for themselves in the ports of Tringham, Kalantan and Sahang The most noted piratical stations of these people are the small islands about Lingen and Rio particularly Galang, Tamiang and Mafar The chief of this last has 70 or 80 proas fit to undertake piratical expeditions The Sulu pirates chiefly confine their depredations to these Philippine islands which they have continued to infest with little interruption for nearly three centuries in open defiance of the Spanish authorities and the numerous establishments maintained to check them The piracies of the Ilanunes on the contrary are widely extended being carried on all the way from their native country to the Spice Islands on one side and to the Straits of Malacca on the other In these last indeed few years, two permanent establishments one of these situated on Sumatra near Indragiri is called Riti The other small island on the coast of Linge is named Salangut Besides those who are a found pirates it ought to be particularly noticed that a great number of the Malayan princes must be considered as accessories to their crimes for they afford them protection contribute to their outfit and often share in their booty so that a piratical proa is too commonly more welcome in their harbors than a fair trader The melee piratical proas are from six to eight tons burden and run from six to eight fathoms in length They carry from one to two small guns with commonly four swivels or rantakas to each side and a crew of from twenty to thirty men When they engage they put up a strong bulwark of thick plank and are much larger and more formidable and commonly carry from four to six guns and a proportionable number of swivels and have not unfrequently a double bulwark covered with buffalo hides Their crews consist of from forty to eighty men Both of course are provided with spears, chrisses and as many firearms as they can procure Their modes of attack are cautious and cowardly for plunder and not fame is their object They lie concealed under the land until they find a fit object and opportunity The time chosen is when a vessel runs aground or is becalmed in the interval between the land and sea breezes A vessel underway is seldom or never attacked Several of the marauders attack together and station themselves under the bows and quarters of a ship when she has no longer steerage way and is incapable of pointing her guns The action continues often for several hours doing very little mischief but when the crews are exhausted with a defense or have expended their ammunition, the pirates take this opportunity of boarding in a mass This may suggest the best means of defense A ship when attacked during a calm ought perhaps rather to stand on the defensive and wait if possible the setting in of the sea breeze than attempt any active operations which would only fatigue the crew and disable them from making the necessary defense when boarding is attempted Boarding, netting, pikes and pistols appear to afford effectual security and indeed we can see that a vessel thus defended by resolute crews of Europeans or Americans stand but little danger from any open attack of pirates whatsoever for their guns are so ill served that neither the hull or the rigging of a vessel can receive much damage from them however much protracted the contest the pirates are upon the hull extremely impartial in the selection of their prey making little choice between natives and strangers giving always however a natural preference to the most timid and the most easily overcome when an expedition is undertaken by the melee pirates they range themselves under the banner of some piratical chief noted for his courage and conduct the native prince of the place where it is prepared supplies the adventures with arms, ammunition and opium and claims as his share of the plunder, the female captives, the cannon and one third of all the rest of the booty in November 1827 a principal chief of pirates named Sindana made a descent upon Memudgu with 45 Proas burnt three-fourths of the Kampong driving the Raja with his family among the mountains some scores of men were killed and three-hundred made prisoners besides women and children to half that amount in December following when I was there the people were slowly returning from the hills but had not yet attempted to rebuild the Kampong which lay in ashes during my stay here ten weeks the place was visited by two other piratical chiefs one of which was from Kaili the other from Mandar Point under Bemboan who appeared to have charge of the whole between them three hundred and thirty-four Proas of all sizes among the most desperate and successful pirates of the present day Raga is most distinguished he is dreaded by people of all denominations and universally known as the Prince of Pirates for more than seventeen years this man has carried on a system of piracy to an extent never before known his expeditions and enterprises would fill a large volume they have invariably been marked singular cunning and intelligence barbarity and reckless inattention to the shedding of human blood he has emissaries everywhere and has intelligence of the best description it was about the year eighteen thirteen Raga commenced operations on a large scale in that year he cut off three English vessels killing the captains with his own hands so extensive were his depredations about that time that a proclamation was issued from Batavia declaring the east coast of Borneo to be under strict blockade two British sloops of war scoured the coast one of which the Elk Captain Reynolds was attacked during the night by Raga's own proa who unfortunately was not on board at the time this proa which Raga personally commanded and the loss of which he frequently laments carried eight guns and was full of his best men a European vessel was faintly described about three o'clock one foggy morning the rain fell in torrents the time and weather were favorable circumstances for a surprise and the commander determined to distinguish himself in the absence of the Raja Raga gave directions to close fire the guns and board he was the more confident of success as the European vessel was observed to keep away out of the proper course on approaching her on getting within about a hundred fathoms of the Elk they fired their broadside gave a loud shout and with their long oars pulled towards their prey the sound of a drum beating to quarters no sooner struck the ear of the astonished melees than they endeavored to get away it was too late the ports were opened and a broadside accompanied by three British cheers gave sure indications of their fate the captain hailed the Elk and would feign persuade him it was a mistake it was indeed a mistake by the Malayan explanation the pro was sunk by repeated broadsides and the commanding officer refused to pick up any of the people who with the exception of five were drowned these after floating four days on some spars were picked up by a forgotten proa and told the story to Raga who swore a new destruction to every European he should henceforth take this desperado has for upwards of 17 years been the terror of the states of Makassar during which period he has committed the most extensive and dreadful excesses sparing no one few respectable families along the coast of Borneo and Celebes but have to complain of the loss of a proa or of some number of their race he is not more universally dreaded than detested it is well known that he has cut off and murdered the crews of more than 40 European vessels which have either been wrecked on the coasts or killed themselves in native ports it is his boast that 20 of the commanders have fallen by his hands the western coast of Celebes for about 250 miles is absolutely lined with proas belonging principally to three considerable Rajas who act in conjunction with Raga and other pirates their pros may be seen in clusters of from 50, 80 and 100 at Sediano I counted 147 laying on the sand at high water mark in parallel rows and kept in a horizontal position by poles completely ready for the sea immediately behind them are the campongs in which are the crews here likewise are kept the sails, gunpowder etc. necessary for their equipment on the very summits of the mountains which in many parts rise abruptly from the sea may be distinguished innumerable huts here reside people who are constantly on the lookout a vessel within ten miles of the shore will not probably perceive a single proa yet in less than two hours if the tide be high she may be surrounded by some hundreds should the water be low they will push off during the night signals are made from mountain to mountain along the coast with the utmost rapidity during the daytime by flags attached to long bamboos at night by fires each chief sends forth his proas of which in hazardous cases are infuriated with opium when they will most assuredly take the vessel if she be not better provided than most merchant men Mr. Dalton who went to the Pergotten river in 1830 says whilst I remained here there were 71 proas of considerable sizes 39 of which were professed pirates they were anchored off the point of a small promontory on which the Raja has an establishment and bizarre a largest of these proas belong to Raja who received by the fleet of proas in which I came his regular supplies of arms and ammunition from Singapore here nestle the principal pirates and Raja holds his headquarters his Grand Depot was a few miles farther up Raja Agiboda himself generally resides some distance up a small river which runs eastward of the point near his habitation stands the principal bazaar which would be great curiosity for a European to visit if he could only manage to return which very few have the Raja gave me a pressing invitation to spend a couple of days at his country house but all the boguses Nacodos strongly dissuaded me from such an attempt I soon discovered the cause of their apprehension they were jealous of Agiboda well knowing he would plunder me and considered every article taken by him was so much lost to the Sultan of Koti who naturally would expect the people to reserve me for his own particular plucking when the fact was known of a European having arrived in the Purgatin river this amiable prince and friend of Europeans impatient to seize his prey came immediately to the point from his country house and sending for the Nacoda of the proa ordered him to land me in all my goods instantly an invitation now came for me to go on shore and amuse myself with shooting and look at some rare birds beautiful plumage which the Raja would give me if I would accept of them but knowing what were his intentions and being well aware that I should be supported by all the boguses proas from Koti I feigned sickness and requested that the birds might be sent on board upon this Agiboda who could no longer restrain himself sent off two boats of armed men who robbed me of many articles and would certainly have forced me on shore or murdered me in the proa this signal been made to the boguses Nacodas who immediately came with their people and with spears and chrisses drove the Raja's people overboard the Nacodas nine in number now went on shore when a scene of contention took place showing clearly the character of this chief the bogus from Koti explained that with regard to me it was necessary to be particularly circumspect as I was not only well known in Singapore but the authorities knew that I was on board the sultans proa and they themselves were responsible for my safety to this circumstance alone I owe my life on several occasions as in the event of anything happening to me every Nacoda was apprehensive of his proa being seized on his return to Singapore I was therefore more peculiarly cared for by this class of men and they are powerful the Raja answered the Nacodas by saying I might be disposed of as many others had been and no further notice taken of the circumstance he himself would write to Singapore that I had been taken by an alligator or bitten by a snake while stout shooting and as for what property I might have in the proa he would divide it with the sultan of Koti the bogus however refused to listen to any terms knowing the sultan of Koti would call him to an account for the property and the authorities of Singapore for my life with others therefore dropped about four miles down the river where we took in fresh water here we remained six days every argument being in vain to entice me on shore at length the bogus's Nacodas came to the determination to sail without passes which brought the Raja to terms the proa's returned to the point and I was given to understand I might go on shore in safety I did so and was introduced to the Raja whom I found under a shed with about one hundred and fifty of his people they were busy gambling and had the appearance of what they really are a ferocious set of Bandidi Agibota is a good looking man about forty years of age of no education whatever he divides his time between gaming, opium and cock fighting that is in the interval of his more serious and profitable employment piracy and rapine he asked me to produce what money I had about me on seeing only ten rupees he remarked that it was not worthwhile to win so small a sum but that if I would fight cocks with him he would lend me as much money as I wanted and added it was beneath his dignity to fight under fifty reales a battle on my saying it was contrary to an Englishman's religion to bet wagers he dismissed me immediately after the two Rajas produced their cocks and commenced fighting for one rupee aside I was now obliged to give the old bow dare five rupees to take some care of me as Waltz walking about the people not only thrust their hands into my pockets but pulled the buttons from my clothes Waltz saundering behind the Rajas campong I caught sight of a European woman who on perceiving herself observed instantly ran into one of the houses no doubt dreading the consequences of being recognized there are now in the house of Agibota two European women up the country there and others besides several men the boogers inimical to the Rajas made no secret of the fact I had heard of it on board the proa and some person in the bazaar confirmed the statement on my arrival strict orders had been given to the inhabitants to put all European articles out of sight one of my servants going into the bazaar brought me such accounts as induced me to visit it in one house for the following articles for Bibles one in English one in Dutch and two in the Portuguese languages many articles of wearing apparel such as jackets and trousers with the buttons altered to suit the natives pieces of shirts tagged to other parts of dress several broken instruments such as quadrants spy glasses two binnacles with pieces of ship sails bolts and hoops a considerable variety of gunners and carpenters tools stores etc in another shop were two pieces of faded lilac color these were of modern cut and fashionably made on inquiring how they became possessed of these articles I was told they were some wrecks of European vessels on which no people were found whilst others made no scruple of a verring that they were formally the property of people who had died in the country all the goods in the bazaar belong to the Raja and were sold on his account large quantities were said to be in his house up the river but on the lands it was admitted Raga and his followers had by far the largest part of what was taken a mandor or head of one of the campongs showed me some women stockings several of which were marked with the letters SW also two chemises one with the letters SW two flannel petticoats a miniature portrait frame the picture was in the Raja's house with many articles of dress of both sexes in consequence of strict orders given on the subject I could see no more indeed there were both difficulty and danger attending these inquiries I particularly wanted to obtain the miniature picture and offered the mandor fifty rupees if he could procure it he laughed at me and pointing significantly to his chris drew one hand across my throat and then across his own giving me to understand such would be the result to us both on such an application to the Raja the universal custom of the pirates on this coast to sell the people for slaves immediately on their arrival the Raja taking for himself a few of the most useful and receiving a percentage upon the purchase money of the remainder with the modi of the vessel and every article on board European vessels are taken up the river where they are immediately broken up the situation of European prisoners is indeed dreadful in a climate like this where even the labor of natives is intolerable they are compelled to bear all the drudgery and allowed a bear sufficiency of rice and salt to eat it is utterly impossible for Europeans who have seen these pirates at such places as Singapore and Batavia to form any conception of their true character there they are under immediate control and every part of their behavior is a tissue of falsehood and deception they constantly carry about with them a smooth tongue cringing demeanor a complying disposition which always asserts and never contradicts a countenance which appears to anticipate the very wish of the Europeans and which so generally imposes upon his understanding that he at once concludes them to be the best and gentlest of human beings but let the European meet them in any of their own camp ponds and a very different character they will appear the character and treacherous proceeding narrated above and the manner of cutting off vessels and butchering their crews apply equally to all the pirates of the East India Islands by which many hundred European and American vessels have been surprised and their crews butchered on the 7th of February 1831 the ship Friendship Captain Endicott of Salem Massachusetts was captured by the Mayleys while lying at Kuala Batu on the coast of Sumatra in the four noon of the fatal day Captain Endicott Mr. Barry, Second Mate and four of the crew it seems went on shore as usual for the purpose of weighing pepper expecting to obtain that day two boat loads which had been promised them by the Mayleys after the first boat was loaded they observed that she delayed some time in passing down the river and her crew being composed of Mayleys was supposed by the officers to be stealing pepper from her and ridding it in the bushes in consequence of this conjecture two men were sent off to watch them who on approaching the boat saw five or six Mayleys leap from the jungle and hurry on board of her the former however supposed them to be the boat's crew as they had seen an equal number quit her previous to their own approach in this they were mistaken as will subsequently appear at this time a big hoven seen standing towards Susu another pepper port distance about five miles Captain Endicott on going to the beach to ascertain whether the brig had hoisted any colors discovered that the boat with pepper had approached within a few yards of the friendship manned with an unusual number of natives it appears that when the pepper boats came alongside of the friendship as but few of the hands could work at a time numbers of the Mayleys on board and on being questioned by Mr. Knight the first officer who was in the gangway taking an account of the pepper as to their business their reply was that they had come to see the vessel Mr. Knight ordered them into their boat again and some of them obeyed but only to return immediately to assist in the work of death which was now commenced by attacking Mr. Knight and the rest of the crew on board the crew of the vessel being so scattered it was impossible to concentrate their force so as to make a successful resistance some fell on the forecastle one in the gangway and Mr. Knight fell upon the quarter deck severely wounded by a stab in the back while in the act of snatching from the bulwarks a boarding pike with which to defend himself the two men who were taking the pepper on a stage having vainly attempted to get on board to the assistance of their comrades were compelled to leap into the sea one of them Charles Converse of Salem being severely wounded succeeded in swimming to the Bob's days to which he clung until taken on board by the natives and from some cause he was not afterwards molested his companion John Davis being unable to swim drifted with the tide near the boat tackle or davit falls the blocks being overhauled down near the water one of these he laid hold of the melees perceiving dropped their boat astern and dispatched him the cook spring into a canoe alongside and in attempting to push off she was capsized and being unable to swim he got on the bottom and paddled shore with his hands where he was made prisoner Gregory and Italian sought shelter in the four top gallant cross trees where he was fired at several times by the melees with the muskets of the friendship which were always kept loaded and ready for use while on the coast three of the crew leaped into the sea and swam to a point of land near a mile distant to the northward of the town and unperceived by the melees on shore pursued their course to the northward towards Cape Felix intending to go to the port of Anna Laboux about 45 miles distant having walked all night they found themselves on the following morning near the promontory and still 25 miles distant from Anna Laboux when Mr. Andicott, Mr. Barry and the four seamen arrived at the beach they saw the crew jumping into the sea the truth now with all its horrors flashed upon his mind that the vessel was attacked and in an instant they jumped on board the boat and pushed off at the same time a friendly raja named Po Adam sprang into the boat he was the proprietor of a port and considerable property at a place close to Tokyo but three miles distant from the mouth of the river Kuala Batu more business had been done by the raja during the eight years past than by any other on the Pepper Coast he had uniformly professed himself friendly to the Americans and he has generally received the character of their being honest speaking a little English as he sprang into the boat he exclaimed Captain you got trouble Mele kill you the Mele's assembled on both sides of the river brandishing their weapons in a menacing manner while a ferry boat manned with eight or ten of the natives armed with spears and chrisses pushed off to prevent the officers regaining their ship the latter exhibited no fear and flourished the cutlass of Po Adam in a menacing manner from the bows of the boat it so intimidated the Mele's that they fled to the shore leaving a free passage to the ship but as they got near her they found that the Mele's had got entire possession of her some of them were promenading the deck others were making signals of success to the people on shore while with the exception of one maniloft not an individual of the crew could be seen three Mele boats with about fifty men now issued from the river in the direction of the ship while the captain and his men concluding that their only hope of recovering their vessel was to obtain assistance from some other ships directed their course towards Muchi where they knew that several American vessels were lying at anchor three American captains upon hearing the misfortunes of their countrymen weighed anchor immediately for Kuala Batu determined if possible to recover the ship by four o'clock on the same day they gained an anchorage off that place the Mele's in the meantime had removed on shore every movable article belonging to the ship including Specy beside several cases of opium amounting in all to upwards of thirty thousand dollars this was done on the night of the ninth and on the morning of the tenth they contrived to heave in the chain cable and get the anchor up to the bows and the ship was drifting finally towards the beach when the cable not being stopped about the bits began suddenly to run out with great velocity but a bite having by accident been thrown forward of the windlass a riding turn was the consequence and the anchor in its descent was suddenly checked about fifteen fathoms from the house a squall soon after coming on the vessel drifted obliquely towards the shore and grounded upon a coral reef near half a mile to the southward of the town the next day having obtained a convenient anchorage a message was sent by a friendly Mele who came on board at Susu demanding the restoration of the ship the Roger replied that he would not give her up but that they were welcome to take her if they could a fire was now opened upon the friendship by the vessels her decks were crowded with Mele's who promptly returned the fire as did also the forts on shore this mode of warfare appeared undecisive and it was determined to decide the contest by a close action a number of boats being manned and armed with about thirty officers and men a movement was made to carry the ship by boarding the Mele's did not wait the approach of this determined attack but all deserted the vessel to her lawful owners when she was taken possession of and warped out into deep water the appearance of the ship at the time she was boarded beggars all description every part of her bore ample testimony to the scene of violence and destruction with which she had been visited the objects of the voyage were abandoned and the friendship returned to the United States the public were unanimous in calling for a redress of the unparalleled outrage on the lives and property of citizens of the United States the government immediately adopted measures to punish so outrageous an act of piracy by dispatching the frigate Potomac Commodore Downs Commander the Potomac sailed from New York the 24th of August 1831 after touching at Rio and the Cape of Good Hope anchored off Qualaba 2 in February 1832 disguised as a Danish ship and came to in merchant men's style a few men being sent aloft dressed in red and blue flannel shirts and one sail being clued up and furled at a time a reconnoitering party were sent on shore disguised as pepper dealers but they returned without being able to ascertain the situations of the forts the ship now presented a busy scene it was determined to commence an attack upon the town the next morning and every necessary preparation was accordingly made muskets were cleaned cartridge boxes buckled on cutlasses examined and put in order et cetera at twelve o'clock at night all hands were called those assigned to take part in the expedition were mustered when Lieutenant Shubrick the commander of the detachment gave them special orders when they entered the boats and proceeded to the shore where they affected a landing near the dawn of day amid a heavy surf about a mile and a half to the north of the town undiscovered by the enemy and without any serious accident having befallen them though several of the party were thoroughly drenched by the beating of the surf and some of their ammunition was injured the troops then formed and took up their line of march against the enemy over a beach of deep and heavy sand they had not proceeded far before by a native at a distance who ran at full speed to give the alarm a rapid march soon brought them up with the first fort when a division of men under the command of Lieutenant Hoff was detached from the main body and ordered to surround it the first fort was found difficult of access in consequence of a deep hedge of thorn bushes and brambles with which it was environed the assault was commenced by the pioneers with their crows and axes breaking down the gates and forcing a passage this was attended with some difficulty and gave the enemy time for preparation they raised their war-woop and resisted most manfully fighting with spears, sabers and muskets they had also a few brass pieces in the fort but they managed them with so little skill as to produce no effect for the balls uniformly whizzed over the heads of our men the resistance of the melees was in vain the fort was stormed and soon carried not however till almost every individual in it was slain Poe Muhammad a chief of much distinction and who was one of the principal persons concerned in the outrage on the friendship was here slain the mother of Chedula another Raja was also slain here another woman fell at this port but her rank was not ascertained she fought with the spirit of a desperado a seamen had just scaled one of the ramparts when he was severely wounded by a blow received from a weapon in her hands but her life paid the forfeit of her daring for she was immediately transfixed by a bayonet in the hands of the person whom she had so severely injured his head was wounded by a javelin his thumb nearly cut off by a sabre and a ball was shot through his hat Lieutenants Edson and Faret proceeded to the rear of the town and made a bold attack upon that fort which after a spirited resistance on the part of the melees surrendered both officers and marines here narrowly escaped with their lives one of the natives in the fort had trained his peace in such a manner as to rake their whole body when he was shot down by a marine while in the very act of applying a match to it the cannon was afterwards found to have been filled with bullets this fort like the former was environed with thick jungle and great difficulty had been experienced in entering it the engagement had now become general and the alarm universal men, women and children were seen flying in every direction carrying the few articles they were able to seize in the moments of peril and some of the men were cut down in the flight several of the enemy's pro as filled with people were severely raked by a brisk fire from the six pounder as they were sailing up the river to the south of the town and numbers of the natives were killed the third and most formidable fort was now attacked and it proved the most formidable and the cooperation of the several divisions was required for its reduction but so spirited was the fire poured into it that it was soon obliged to yield and the next moment the American colors were seen triumphantly waving over its battlements the greater part of the town was reduced to ashes, the bazaar the principal place of merchandise and most of the private dwellings were assumed by fire the triumph had now been completed over the melees ample satisfaction had been taken for their outrages committed upon our own countrymen and the bugle sounded the return of the ship's forces and the embarkation was soon after affected the action had continued about two hours and a half and was gallantly sustained both by officers and men from its commencement to its close the loss on the part of the melees was near a hundred killed while of the Americans only two lost their lives among the spoils were a Chinese gong a Koran taken at Muhammad's fort and several pieces of rich gold cloth many of the men came off richly laden with spoils which they had taken from the enemy such as Rajah's scarfs golden silver Chunam boxes chains, earrings and finger rings anklets and bracelets and a variety of shawls Chris's richly hilted and with gold scabbards and a variety of other ornaments money to a considerable amount was brought off that nothing should be left undone to have an indelible impression on the minds of these people of the power of the United States to inflict punishment for aggressions committed on her commerce in seas however distant the ship was got under way the following morning and brought two with a spring on her cable within less than a mile of the shore when the larbored side was brought to bear nearly upon the sight of the town the object of the Commodore in this movement was not to open an indiscriminate or destructive fire upon the town and inhabitants of Kuala Batu but to show them the irresistible power of thirty-two pounds shot and to reduce the fort of Tuka Dilama which could not be reached on account of the jungle and stream of water on the morning before and from which a fire had been opened and continued during the embarkation of the troops on their return to the ship the fort was very soon deserted while the shot was cutting it to pieces and tearing up whole cocoa trees by their roots in the afternoon a boat came off from the shore bearing a flag of truce to the Commodore beseeching him in all the practice forms of submission of the east that he would grant them peace and cease to fire his big guns hostilities now ceased and the Commodore informed them that the objects of his government to their shores had now been consummated in the punishment of the guilty who had committed their piracies on the friendship thus ended the intercourse with Kuala Batu the Potomac proceeded from this place to China and from thence to the Pacific Ocean after looking to the interests of the American commerce in those parts she arrived at Boston in eighteen thirty-four after a three years absence End of Chapter 13 of the Pirate's Own Book Recording by Joelle Peebles