The Sun.
London, England, 1822-10-08 00:00:00

PIRACY.

The following is an Extract of a Letter from
Captain HEARN, of the Vittoria, bound from
Jamaica to London, and dated on board the brig
Blacken, Liverpool, October 3 :
" It is with great sorrow I have to communicate to you the
capture of the Vittoria on the 7th of August in the Gulf of
Florida, by a pirate. She left Jamaica on the 27th of July,
and nothing particular occurred till the 7th of the following
month, when shortly after day-light a brig appeared upon my
starboard bow, about 7 miles nearer the shore than I was,
Saddle Hill bearing S. by E. distant 30 miles; a short time
after a schooner hove in sight, a long way within the brig be-
fore-mentioned, and appeared to me to be working up along
the coast; when at 11 A. at. I saw him close to the brig, but I
could not distinguish what they were about. An hour after he
was within gun-shot of me, rowing with large scoups, there
being a very light air from the E.S.E., so that the Vittoria
could scarcely steer. He came close to, and desii-ed me to heave
to until he sent his boat on board, having then American colours
flying. I did so, when a boat-load of the most desperate robbers
human nature can furnish, headed by an Englishman, who it
appears had formerly been mate of a West lndiaman, came on
board armed with muskets, pistols, anti cutlasses. He ordered
me, together with my chief mate, second, and three of the crew,
to go into the boat. I did so, and was taken on board the schooner,
which had still American colours flying : when I got on the
schooner's deck, I found to my great astonishment, the Captain
of the brig to be Capt. Cook, of the brig Industry, of Montego
Bay, which I had spoken a few days before off Cape Antonio.
Captain Cook, together with four of his crew, were secured
below. We were then strictly searched, and every thing taken
from us. The pirates then made sail with the two brigs and
their scnooner towards the land, a little to the westward of tha
Saddle Hill; the chief of the robbers then came to me and told
me he knew I had money stowed away. I made answer I had
not; what I had, he had already taken a\vay; he then said, he
would more than probable find out, for he would do to me
what he had done to a master of some vessel he had previously
taken, which was, that he bad put him into a large fire on
shore, and then he confessed where he had money stowed ; for
which, however, he still burnt him alive. He had.then in his
possession in some creek within the Colorados Reef a Dutch
ship and an American, discharging, and said that he would
take our vessels into. the same place. They continued to run
iin with the land during the whole of the afternoon ; and about
five r. :is. the chief robber took Captain Cook, together with
his crew, on board the Industry, put them all below, ex-
cepting Captain Cook, whom he tied to the windlass, and
made four of his men fresh load their gulls and fire at him ;
but they, having a little more of the human being left than
,their master, fired at random, which was the preservation of
Captain Cook's life. The chief robber then came on board
the schooner, having first secured some of the brig's men below
on board of his own vessel, and left her in charge of five of his
crew, to follow him. When he had been board a few minutes,
he again came to me with his knife in one hand and a cutlass
in the other, and declared he would cut my throat ; I asked
what that would profit him, since he had taken my ship
and my all from me.? His reply to me was, that if any
English ship of war got hold of him he would be hung.
I answered—more than probable. Night coming on, and
the vessels still running down the land, we were put below,
and two sentinels placed over us, and at ten at night they came
to anchor in four fathoms. The head robber then went on
board the Vittoria in his boat ; and, according to the state-
ment of my carpenter, G. Lewis, who had never been taken out
of the Vittoria, made him take down all the lining of the cabin
and break open my trunks, & • ; he there found a few dollars,
and after drinking some time, he left the Vittoria, and came
on board his own schooner. About midnight lie called for one
of the prisoners ; my second mate was going on deck, when he
was stopped by the sentinel, and ordered to keep below. At
this time we heard a great noise upon deck for a few moments.
but in a short time ail was again silent. When the morning
came they agreed to give up the Industry, but not a single
thing, only as we stood : so you may suppose in what a deplor-
able state lam at present. I can only add by thanking; the Al-
mighty that I am spared with my life; for if the chief robber
had not been killed (which was the noise I have already
alluded to) that night, which we did not know of until we were
all on board the Industry, he had made a vow, when he left
the Vittoria, that the moment he got on board the schooner he
would have my life, and was only stopped by one of his own
people murdering him ; and he was thrown overboard very
quietly for fear we should know it. The command of the ves-
sel then fell to this Englishman, who would not so much as
allow me a change of clothes, but told me 1 might think my-
self well off that my life was saved. We soon fell in with
the Blacket, which has brought me safe here."
[The cargo of the Vittoria, we understand, has be insured at
Lloyd's for more than 30,00011