St. Cloud Democrat. [volume] (Saint Cloud, Stearns County, Minn.) 1858-1866, 1860-07-26
PIRATES IN HOT WATER.
BY HAWsER MARTlMGALE.>y.-


It is nearly forty years since the brig
Blue Pigeon of HalloweIl, in Maine, was
bound tro,n Point Petre, in Guadalupe
to New Orleans. I've brig vas comnland-
ed by Captain .Nangrove, worthy and ,n-
tellgett man, who was gifted with a re-
sp ctable share Ut Yankee sllrewdness, aud
moreover, was not in the habit OF being
frightened at shadows. His wife was on
board, and u charming young woman was
Mrs. Man.rovc, whose presence seemed to
throw a halo ct brilllancy all over and
around the vessel. This woman was great
ly respected and admired uy the sailors,
any one Of whom woald have risked his
limbs or lite in her service.
Passing along through the Caribbean
Sea, within sight of the fertile island Of
Porto Rico, the rugged outline Of St. Do
mingo was soon visible. Leaving Cape
1iburon, they soon came in sight Of. Jau,i-
ca, ON the left; and then again on the
right they obtained i. glimpse Vt the high
mountains on the southern side Of Cuba,
the Sierra dc Cobra. 1t was delightful
sailing among these seas. The brcczes
w're gentle and balmy aud the surface Of
the ocean was unrufa.d. The worthy
Captain Maogrove and his fair companion
cheered by the presence OF each other, full.
ly appreciated the blessings with which,
the, were favored, and during the week
or ten days, in the course OF which the
bril-. propelled by the light trade winds
with studdinY s;lls set OF, both sides, sailed
about thousand miles, this couple enjoy.
cd the true poetry Vt the ocean. No vision
Of hurricanes, pirates, or shivwrecks iutru.
ded Oh their minds fora moment, to les en-
their cnj ,yment by the contemplation OF
troubles III the distance.
Captain Man grove was Informed that q
band OF pirates had established themselves
on the Coast OF Cuba, near Cape St. Anto.
MIA. They We're desperate men who made
war on all unarmed vessels Of all nations,
to gain pluudcr and yratity morbid apl e.
tite tor bicod: I"cy carr I'd on their 6end-
ish work liz a large open launch Or barge,
propelled by sails and oars and within
the last two months had chased several
vessels bound to ports iii the Gulf Of Mex.
leo, which had with difficulty escaped by
carrying sail. Others. however, were ~,
50 fortunate. There were reasons to be.
lieve that the pirates had actually boarded
and captured more than one unrcsistiua
mcrchantnian, and murdered the whole
crew. Their mode Of proceeding was to
pull for their intended victim in light
winds; to fire no guns and give no alarm ;
! to range up under the counter, hail the
vessel, and give temporary orders to '.heaye
to and surrender under the pain of instant
massacre" then dash quickly alongside,
spring on board, do the work Of death, rife
the v.ssel IT mon y and all other articles
Of value, and TIM scuttle her, and escape
to the shore. 80
This intelligence, although supposed to
be greatly exagerate l., was Of cha, aoter
truly alarming, especially the Blue Pig
con was not we'll provided with weapons
Of defence. Indeed the only engines Of
destruction, p operly 50 called. we're one
single gun, il tho shape Of a short, twelve
pound carronade and half dozen old
heavy muskets. There was some powder
in the run, but no cannon balls, bullets
boarding pixies, or cutlasees. :, Captain
Mangroye. however, although no did no:
repose implicit belief in the ,Engliety mans y
story, was determined not to b. eau. ht
mapping, and as there was no other wav
open for him to get to New Orleans, with