Southern sentinel. [volume] (Plaquemine, Parish of Iberville [La.]) 1848-1858, 1849-09-12
Adventure with "A Pirate.
From the Log-Book Of u Naral Officer
BY f. w. DAVIS, JR.

fN" eN 10 0 "
BY f. w. DAVIS, JR.
"About two years since it became my for
tune to commad a sloop Of war in the service
of Great Britain. BY what steps | arrived at
this station it is unnecessary to detail, but it IS
sufficient for the purposes of my chronicle to
know that one fine morning found myself duly
installed as commander of her Britannia ma
lesty's sloop-ot-war Semiramis, twenty guns,
and one hundred and ten men. and sailing with
a brisk breeze from the harbor of Portsmouth,
bound for Montego bay, Jamaica, with special
directions to cruise in search of a ~piratical
schooner which had been committing depreda-
tons in that vicinity. As you perceive, | was
short of hands, but at Montego Bay | was to
receive a draft of some seventy or eighty men,
who were accustomed to the hot latitude OF the
Gulf and the Caribbean sea.
A quick and prosperous voyage brought US
safely to our destined port, where we remained
a week or ten days, filling our berths and re-
atocking the vessel with fresh provisions and
water.
This interval l spent on shore, and as ! had
friends there | soon became intimately acquain-
ted with some OF the first families of the place;
among others were two young ladies from Bos-
ton, who We're spending a few weeks with a
relative, and with one of these, Emily |
was so much struck, that her beauty touched
my heart at first acquaintance, but when |
afterwards discovered that her virtues, power Of
mind and gentleness, were equal to her lowell
ness, my admiration changed to a tenderer
sentiment. | did not then know that my feel
ings were reciprocated by the fair girl, with
whom | passed much of my time. At last all
was in readiness for my departure, and | was
compelled to bid her adieu, not without receiv-
ing earnest and pressing invitations to call on
her parents, who were in wealthy clrcumstan-
ces. if | should chance into Boston harbor in the
course of my duty.
The next morning we left Montego Bay, and
cruised hither and thither among the neighbour
ing islands, but without success. At the end
of a month we returned to port, having seen
nothing of the pirate, but on reporting progress
to the naval officer of the station, | was aston
ished to hear that the ~corsair, which, by the way,
was called the Agadin, had plundered and burnt
a vessel on the coast a few days previous, so
that | received orders to sail again the next day
in pursuit ofthe schooner. Calling at the house
of Emily D., | was told that she and her
sister had sailed for Boston a week before on
the Danish barque Frederick.
About dusk that evening, as | was preparing
to ride out with a friend, a messenger from the
station officer placed in my hands a note which
ran thus:
"Capt c. ir-I have just received in
formation that there is a suspicious-looking
craft living at anchor in a cove two miles distant.
Though | have no evidence that she is any,
thing out of the way, yet it may be possible that
this is the pirate. At all events it would do no
harm to send a few men to reconnoitre, so that
if it should be the Agadin, we may take mea-
sures for her capture. Yours, ETC."
| at once determined to reconnoitre the ves-
sci myself, and handing the messenger a note
to my lieutenant, ordering the latter to have
the Semiramis ready for sailing at a moments
notice, | gave the horse the rein, and seated IN
a light vehicle with my friend drove rapidly
away toward the cove, which | knew lay just
beneath the shelter of a high promontory. A
short time sufliced to bring us to the summit OF
the wave-washed eminence, and looking own
ward from our high position our attention was
arrested by a dark objectfoating on the surface
of the little bay far below US. The evening
was sufficiently light to enable us at once to
decide on the character of the object, which my
experienced eve told me was vessel OF some
seventy or eighty tons, and from the fact that
no lights were visible on board though rough.
voices were heard from the beach beneath, L
began to suspect all was not right. Desiring
nv companion to await with the vehicle, and in
case of any alarm to drive directly back to the
harbor and a~cquaint my second officer with the
fact, | made my way down the steep side OF the
promontory, which was covered with tropic
shrubbery 70 the waters edge, determined to
roooppoitra tho uSnicionS vessel.
A few minutes enabled me to obtain a posi-
ton near the foot of the eminence, and stopping
to listen, | found the voices | had heard were
those of men engaged in carousal and drunken
ness in a fishing hut, swearing and brawling over
their liquor. While thus listening several men
sprang suddenly from a clump of bushes and
attempted to seize me; | drew a pistol, but just
as | pulled the trigger, the weapon was dashed
from nv hand. and ere the explosion had fairly
rung out, | was thrown violently on the ground
and pinioned. One of my captors expressed a
desire to immediate me on the spot, but the
others restrained him; from various phrases IN
their conversation, l discovered that was real
ly in the power of the pirates OF the Agadln.-
They placed me in a boat, rowed to the schoo-
ner, on the deck of which / soon stood, while
one of the pirates narrated to a fSocIous look
ing s%coundrel whom they addressed as Captain,
the story and circumstances of my arrest
With an ominous scowl he ordered them to
carry me into his cabin till he had time to settle
nv affairs as he said; as they fastened to obey
him, heard him give command to bring on board
all the crew and set sail at once, as he knew not
what mischief was brewing. .
Twas thrown upon the cabin floor and left
alone to my meditations, which were rather
unpleasant. But a moment after a state-room
door opened, and a female voice, speaking in
tones Of surprise, met my ear. The voice was
familiar, and on looking up, to my astonish'
ment l saw Emily D. She sprang to my
side, and, at my request, took my pocket knife
from my waistcoat pocket and cut the fasten
- :, ,,,r;sts NV hands onca free. IT, was