Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1850-1854, 1854-02-03


flashed on the brain of our skipper
"Quick gentlemen, | have i'll We are
safel" exclaimed he, Selling the wheel. "Mr
Brace, jump forward, if you please, take what
men you want and stand by to grapple the
schooner then take charge of her I" long Tom. I"
Major, will You command the sharp-shooters,
and pick off those fellows, if they come too
near. BY the great Jehosaphat. I'll show
| that fellow Yankee trick he never saw be-
| fore"
The idea was brilliant one. There was
every chance of our carrying The schooner, if
we could lay her broad while the greater por-
ton of her crew were in the boats; and the
breeze which had sprung up. and which prov
ed steady, was providential interpositon in
our behalf Our preparations were steadily
made, and the skipper steered with such eau
ton as gradually to approach the schooner,
of which we had the advantage in the first eff
fects of the breeze, without exciting suspicious
of his intention on board. 1t was some min
utes before the boats perceived the increased
speed of the brig, and even then they pulled
less vigorously than they might-endeavor-
ing still to preserve their plan of attack. The
brig had now full Storage way on her, and
was closing with the schooner, on whose decks
there appeared some str.
"Stand by, now gentlemen, said the skip
per, as he gave a few rapid turns of the wheel.
"Pick that fellow off who is steering, major,
the first one"
Our intention was now understood on board
the pirate, but too late for effective resistance.
They fired one of their cannonades without
damage to us--in reply to which; single
shot from the majors rifle brought down the
man at the wheel. The report of firearms
gave new impetus to the boats, and they
headed direct for us-but we were moving
pretty fast through the water. The skipper
laid us well alongside; our grapples were
thrown; and, leaving the mate and one hand
to secure them, leaped on board with the
remainder of the men, and cut down two or
three pirates who We're endeavesing to make
ready the "long gun" The major and his
command were equally prompt, and. in less
than three minutes, the decks were cleared,
and the schooner in our possession. Now,
however, came the tug of war. The collision
of the vessels had checked their Roadway, and
the breeze which had served US so we'll was
dying ont, while the pirates boats, containing
about forty armed and desperate wretches
were fast coming up with us. They were al
ready in musket range, and the majors force
was quietly picking them eff: This, however,
only enraged them the more, and it seemed
to me they must reach us, and give us hard
struggle for our lives.
Captain" said to our skipper, who had
coolly retained his station at the wheel "can
you let her yaw off when give the word "
"Aye. aye!" was the prompt.reply.
Taking two men whom had recognized
az men-ot-war's men, and one or two others
of the crew forward with me, cast off the
long gun, which | found loaded, and ram
ming home another strand Of grape, l depress-
ed the piece and prepared to fire.
"Now, captain." | sang out.
The vessels obeyed their helms promptly,
and came around almost broadside to the
boats.
STEADY. so.
applied the match. The foremost boat,
which [ had brought within range of my
piece, was some distance ahead of the others.
| The schooner trembled under the shock of
the explosion; a wild shrek was heard, and,
amid the spray and foam which the plunging
shot stirred up, fragments of the timbers,
oars, and few bleeding wretches struggling
in their death throes, were all that was left of
| the boat and her crew. Never did single
shot do such havoc! 1t was the grape and
canister which destroyed the first boat; but
the round shot with which the gun was load
| ed, ricocheting, took another of the boats,
which was in the line Of fire on her bow, and
stove her in, killing several of Ter crew, and
spilling the rest. The third boat paused, and
seeing the destruction, pulled for the survi-
vors from the second boat. | had not lost a
second in reloading my gan, and, by the time
she had come up to the spot, another storm
of grape spread death and destruction among
them. We now made haste to secure the pi-
rates who had been driven below, which was
speedily done. Our skipper then turned the
schooner over to my charge, allowing me two
of his sailors-ths rest of the crew being
made up of volunteers from among the pas
sengers, most of whom from curiosity or the
love of change desired to go with me. The
vessels were cast off, and hauled up for the
spot where the boats had been. Some ten or
fifteen wretches, most of them wounded, cling
ing to oars and planks, were all that remained
of the pirates crew. We might have left
these to their fate, and surely they deserved
such treatment, but humanity forbade it; and
| it struck me as queer sort of humanity too,
which saved men from drowning to consign
them to the gallows. With the assistance of
boat from the brig. however, we picked the
survivors up, and, having secured and divided
our prisoners for greater safety, We made sail
for our destination.
The skipper, elated with his prize, forgot
all about disposing of the small stores, aud
made the best Of his way into port. We
found capital larder on board the schooner,
and wines which even the major pronounced
unexeephonable In three days we anchored
in the harbor at Kingston; the pirates were
handed over to the authorities, and the schoon-
er adjudged prize and sold. The skipper
was honorable enough to wish to share pro
rata with his passengers, which however, was
pretty generally declined, l believe. The
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